Fang Xing was nervous. He knew that the [Scripture of the Revered Spirit] was mysterious and its ability that allowed him to convert Jing into Qi without restraint would be enough to cause anyone—even this white-haired youth—to covet it. Furthermore, the gap between their levels of cultivation was too wide, and this man could easily send Fang Xing to his death with a single finger. The difference was so great that Fang Xing wouldn’t be able to see a glimpse of survival even if he fought with all that he had.

　　However, the white-haired youth unexpectedly only let out a quiet sigh. “There are still some flaws with the recruitment methods used by the Qing-Yun Sect. How did someone with such a peculiar physique like yours end up as a D-Ranked disciple in the outer court? Even I myself only found out about this by chance.”

　　“Physique?” Fang Xing asked, curious. “What do you mean my physique?”

　　The white-haired youth smiled. “Don’t you think it’s a bit strange that you’re able to directly digest wines that have been soaked in beast cores?”

　　Fang Xing was a bit startled by the question, but he was still not the least bit concerned about that. “I eat what I have and drink what I can. Who cares?”

　　As if seeing through the evasiveness beneath the surface of Fang Xing’s face, the white-haired youth continued on, “I can guess what you’re worried about, but your worries are unnecessary. When I fed you the medicinal elixirs, I noticed that you were able to absorb all of its Qi at a faster speed than normal, so my curiosity grew. After some careful examination, I realized that you have a special physique that is different from anyone else I know; your digestive abilities are even ten times more than that of an ordinary person.”

　　The white-haired youth paused for a short moment before gently stroking Fang Xing’s forehead. “In the past few days, I’ve read through some historical books and records, and I think there is a high possibility that you have the bloodline of the hidden beast Taotie[1]. The ancient tribe of Taotie has the ability to devour the heaven and earth, and your ancestors should be the offspring between humans and the Taotie tribe. By the time the bloodline reached your generation, even though it has been diluted numerous times, you still possess the ability to consume all spirit pellets directly.”

　　The white-haired youth’s words were extremely serious and solemn. Even though it was merely a possibility based on his findings, he did not have any doubt that his theory was true; he hadn’t found any traces of a skill being used when Fang Xing consumed the elixir and had thus concluded it had to be due to a special physique. To his knowledge, the only physique that could possibly have this effect was one that possessed traces of the Taotie beast bloodline.

　　In this way, Bai Qianzhang’s wide breadth of knowledge and experience actually became a hindrance that obstructed him from considering alternate possibilities. Fang Xing, on the other hand, was internally cursing, ‘What the hell are you on about? You’re saying that I’m the halfbreed of a monster and a man, no, that my whole family is….’

　　Of course, despite all of the cursing within, Fang Xing gladly defaulted to the white-haired youth’s theory. There was no need for Fang Xing to tell him the truth.

　　When Bai Qianzhang saw Fang Xing’s expression make a slight change, he was even more reassured. “The world may have a misunderstanding towards those with mixed blood, so I can understand your struggles. You do not need to be ashamed of it, however; all beasts are living beings as well, and most have special abilities that may bring out innate powers stronger than any pure-blooded human. In the realm of cultivators, we do not despise those of the Mahn heritage. Besides, your bloodline is easy to hide from suspicion.”

　　“Eh… heh heh, well, I thought if I didn’t say anything, no one would know…” Fang Xing acquiesced to Bai Qianzhang’s words and grabbed the gourd beside him. With a gulp of the spirit wine, he could feel the conversion once again begin within his body, but he suddenly realized that the wine in the gourd tasted somewhat different; it was not the same wine he had made before.

　　The white-haired youth smiled again as though expecting this. “I had a taste of your wine and it tasted awful, so I remade it for you. Not only is the taste much better, but the effect it has is far superior as well. Here’s the recipe, be sure to remember it!” As he spoke, the youth pointed a finger at Fang Xing’s forehead, and a list of words simultaneously appeared within Fang Xing’s mind.

　　It was the recipe of the newly brewed spirit wine, and it left Fang Xing extremely happy. “Oh wow! Thank you very much!”

　　The smile on the white-haired youth’s face disappeared, his expression twisting into a concerned one as he lowered his tone, “You’re welcome. When I asked you to comprehend the Decapitation’s Portrayal, it was not without its risks, and this recipe can also be considered part of my compensation to you. The mysteries of the picture, have you understood them?”

　　‘Should I speak the truth? Should I lie?’ With that fleeting thought, Fang Xing decided that he would speak the truth. Even if Fang Xing told this person everything he’d learned from the picture, there was nothing he could lose; however, if this man found out he had lied to him and became angry, it would only become more dangerous for Fang Xing.

　　Another—and more important—reason was that Fang Xing had actually taken quite a liking to this white-haired youth. When Fang Xing was faced with danger, he would use his sharp wits and clear thoughts, but in everyday situations he would be quite carefree and react to people based on his feelings alone.

　　“It was easy. The key to the picture was the anger of the person being executed. The anger alone seemed to trigger a certain power within my body, which then transformed into a dangerous flame…” Fang Xing slowly recalled with a serious tone. “If somebody comprehends the flame by itself, however, it would be impossible to control it and they would end up out of luck. So that person then has to comprehend the will of the sword—”

　　“Will of the sword?” the white-haired youth interrupted, startled. He had obviously already known about the flames, but it was the first time he had heard about the will of the sword.

　　To the man’s question, Fang Xing nodded. “Yes, no matter how furious or strong his flames of wrath were, he did not escape his fate of being executed. This can only mean that the will of the sword was stronger than his flames of wrath. Within this Decapitation’s Portrayal lies the second layer of the mystery: the will of the sword….”

　　Upon hearing Fang Xing’s explanation, the white-haired youth fell silent. After a long while, his smile grew bitter. “Is that all…? What a pity….” With a long sigh, he left the cave.

　　Once he was outside the cave, the white-haired youth took out the [Decapitation’s Portrayal] and stared at it blankly, another long sigh coming forward once again. “I thought this picture would have some sort of Immortal-rank skill manual to help me break through into the Budding Soul Stage[2] so I could double my life expectancy once more. Who would have thought that the picture only contained some wrathful flames and a sword’s will? They’re all battle techniques, none of which are suitable to increase a person’s cultivation level. I… at the end of the day, it seems there’s no hope in extending my lifespan any longer….”

　　‘Am I really left with no other choice but to return?’ Bai Qianzhang sat outside the cave for a very long time. He was akin to a stone statue, wholly unmoving, and it wasn’t until six hours later that he broke his stillness with a sudden wave of his sleeve. A small purple stone plate—about seven fingers long and four fingers wide—flew out from his clothes, its material unnatural and radiating an indistinct ray of Qi. As soon as it flew into the air, all of the Qi from the surrounding area seemed to gain awareness and rushed towards the stone plate.

　　Bai Qianzhang fixed his gaze upon the stone plate for a long time before a golden ray of light suddenly shot out from the top of his head into the heavens. In this time frame, he had managed to form a complicated ancient formation that enclosed the entire stone forest, working as though to cut it off from the rest of the world. Now no one was able to take notice of its existence, not even through the use of Spirit Sense or any secret spells.

　　Once that was finished, Bai Qianzhang hesitated a bit before pointing his index finger towards the purple stone plate. Waves of condensed air began to spread itself outward from the plate’s center and—after a long time had once again passed—the stone enlarged into the size of a jade mirror. A layer of smoke gradually rose to reveal the slowly forming illusion of numerous pictures and sounds within.

　　Within the mirror was now a man with a large, almost lion-like face and a pair of eyes colored an eerie purple. His massive stature was clad in a purple robe as he sat atop a grand chair of jade. Within his eyes was an endless ocean of unsettled blood with countless innocent spirits struggling within; from time to time, it was even possible to clearly see pairs of hands reaching out from his irises, begging and silently crying for help.

　　Once the purple-eyed man blinked, the ocean of blood and aggrieved spirits disappeared and it all returned to normal.

　　“Ninth? Is that you?” the purple-eyed man asked, his mouth opening up wide to release a deep, thunderous voice. “You’re finally willing to contact the clan!”

　　Upon hearing this, Bai Qianzhang’s gaze became even more sorrowful in contrast to his usual tranquil self. The purple-eyed man also became quiet before suddenly blinking, a few streams of black smoke rising from his pupils.

　　Bai Qianzhang sighed at the sight. “It’s useless. I’ve already set up a Grand Formation of Heaven’s Guile; you will never find out where I am!”

　　The purple-eyed man gave a cold laugh. “You’re still as cautious as always, but what’s the use? The fact that you’ve finally decided to contact me means you’re almost at the end of your life expectancy, right? You were quite the genius; despite how the clan treated you, you still managed to break into the Golden Core Stage and amazed all of us overnight by stealing the Decapitation’s Portrayal before running off without a trace. You’ve hidden for all these years and the clan has never given up their search for you, but you’ve never let them find you either. You have some exceptional talent….”

　　—

　　NOTES

　　[1]Taotie: 饕餮, literally “devouring ogre”. it is one of the four evil fiends of ancient Chinese mythology that is known for its gluttony and voracious appetite that can devour all things.

　　[2]Budding Soul Stage: In the order of stages known so far (from lowest to highest) is Spirit Stage, Foundation Stage, Golden Core Stage, and finally Budding Soul Stage.