The pure melodies of the zither carried a tinge of sadness.
Feiyun stared at the platform hidden in the fog with a fiery gaze. Waves surfaced in his mind after seeing the white figure.
In this split second, her image appeared again. White-snow dress, a masterful display of the zither, and a slender figure dancing back and forth - truly intoxicating.
Shi Zhenxiang’s eyes flashed with desires. He laughed: “who would have thought that this tiny inn would have such a beautiful woman? Let’s see how pretty she is.”
He walked forward into the fog; his legs as big as bronze pillars. Each step made the ground tremble.
However, a purple figure stopped before him. It was Feiyun who raised his spear and threatened: “You are courting death for dishonoring her.”
He saw Nangong Hongyan’s image from the zither girl. When Zhenxiang lusted after Bai Ruxue, Feiyun only felt a battle intent stemming from male instinct and possessiveness. Now, when it came to “Nangong Hongyan”, this intent became murderous.
The sound of the zither stopped. A black-haired woman wearing a white-fox fur coat appeared. She slowly raised her head, revealing her exquisite neck and beautiful face. Her starry-eyes stared at Feiyun who blocked before the giant, looking quite gallant and unyielding.
She looked around the age of seventeen or eighteen, embracing a Pekingese while rubbing its head with a contemplative look.
Zhenxiang was full of murderous intent as he shouted: “Feng Feiyun, get the hell out of my way! You still bother me when I’m not going for your woman?!”
A sharp spear piercing through space answered him instead along with a massive bloodthirst.
Feiyun finally went all out, causing electrical currents to appear with loud crackles.
Zhenxiang roared and spewed out spirit energy in the form of a blue bell. It slammed into the spear and issued a metallic clanking.
“Break!” Beasts coiled around Feiyun’s arms before they were lit ablaze. The ground beneath his feet was crushed as the spear successfully pierced through the bell without losing any momentum, looking just like a dragon.
“Shi Zhenxiang, you dare to be discourteous towards Yaoyao? I’ll beat you so bad till your mother can’t recognize you.” Dahai became furious as the image of a big bull rushed out of his body and entered his saber. He unleashed a powerful slash straight at Zhenxiang’s head.
Strategist Mo joined with his iron fan. It acted as an iron curtain falling down from above.
Zhenxiang was alone against three. He grabbed the beast bone from his back. It was a skull yet had a stronger aura than a spirit beast - definitely belonging to a 2,000-year-old creature.
A 1,000-year-old spirit beast was comparable to a Giant.
A 2,000-year-old spirit beast was comparable to an Enlightened Being.
“Boom!” The bone blew the fan flying then Zhenxiang focused on dealing with Dahai’s slash.
The two of them staggered backward from the impact. They both focused on physical force and had a similar battle prowess.
Before Zhenxiang could stabilize, Feiyun’s spear was already near his face. It skirted by the skull and left a deep hole behind.
Zhenxiang summoned a piece of iron around the size of a palm. This was a unique brand of metal found underground, even tougher than Black Tortoise Metal. However, it was still penetrated all the same.
‘Such a sharp weapon!’ Zhenxiang was shaken and noticed the other two attacking again. He spat on the ground and knew about his disadvantage.
He leaped and smashed through a wall and ran towards the night without hesitation. He jumped over the cliff and headed for the black mountains.
Feiyun was even faster and rushed through the terrains with a single thought to give chase. The spear danced through the nice like a silver dragon and struck Zhenxiang in the back. However, something stopped the brunt of the damage so the wound was only one inch deep with blood oozing out.
Zhenxiang didn’t slow down at all. He continued jumping through the forest and made it to the horizon. His voice echoed back with hatred: “Feng Feiyun, if you ever set foot in Ancient Jiang, I will flay you! This isn’t over yet!”
He then disappeared into the night.
Feiyun could still catch up but there was no point since he wasn’t a match for Zhenxiang with his current cultivation.
Guo Dahai and Strategist Mo finally caught up since they were slower.
Dahai looked around and asked: “Where’s Zhenxiang?”
“He escaped.” Feiyun said.
Those from Jiang struggled against the fierce beasts in Endless Land since their youth. They had numerous escaping methods and ways to stay alive. The three of them could easily defeat Zhenxiang but killing him was a different matter.
Dahai gritted his teeth: “The bastard! I’ll cut him to pieces the next time I see him!”
The three began to go back. However, Guo Dahai and the strategist stopped near the cliff and saw the still-bleeding corpses of the six fallen generals. They were as close as brothers to Guo Dahai but they died for no reason today.
Dahai sat before the pile of corpses, clenching his fist and roaring towards the heaven: “Who did this?!”
They had to focus on facing Zhenxiang earlier in the inn so they didn’t notice the bloody carnage outside.
Feiyun returned back to the inn and asked the woman shrouded in fog: “Who are you?”
She stood on the platform without revealing her true appearance. Her eyes seemed quite amused. She eventually answered: “My name is Yaoyao, thank you for saving me from that brute, Your Excellency.”
Feiyun’s eyes narrowed. He naturally didn’t buy this. The inn wasn’t as simple as it seems on the surface. This girl’s cultivation was most likely higher than his expectation. Zhenxiang was only an annoying mosquito before her.
She simply didn’t wish to dirty her hands by killing him. Feiyun had a faint guess about her cultivation because of her demonic energy.
‘Why is she not killing me? I know about the vein too.’ However, he didn’t understand this particular question.
There was no point in asking again. He gave her a glance before shifting his gaze towards the zither then decided to leave the inn with Bai Ruxue.
This wasn’t the place to stay for long. It was best to leave as soon as possible to avoid further complications.
Feiyun understood demons better than anyone; these beings were eccentric and unpredictable.
While leaving the inn, he saw the worker with the jade ruler again.
The worker had a mysterious smile and bowed towards Feiyun: “We wait for your next visit, Young Noble.”
***
Back in the depths of the inn and above the stone forest was a floating palace.
The woman sat there, looking a bit lazy this time around while playing with her Pekingese. She brushed its fur with a comb made out of sandalwood.
An old voice with a hint of laughter came from outside: “Why didn’t you kill him?”
He looked around the age of sixty in mortal years but was still as vigorous as ever. He had several wrinkles on his forehead and a few strands of gray hair. He stood with both hands behind his back, looking relaxed and stately, quite imposing as well.
He was on top of a floating boulder not far from this palace.
The woman was surrounded by red flowers - the red of blood. She smiled in response: “He’s the only person with demonic blood in Jin, albeit only half. It makes me feel a special closeness.”
The two of them were the only demons in Jin. So, in her mind, everyone else was a different race. Only Feiyun gave her a familiar sense.
She asked: “What are you refining in that spirit vein? To actually need ninety-nine days with your cultivation.”
“A big part of why I was trapped in Bronze Cauldron Mountain for 1,840 years is because I wanted this item. Otherwise, I could have left 700 years ago.” His eyes were full of energy. The left resembled the sun, the right looked like the moon. Both were full of divinity.
He was refining something down inside the spirit vein earlier but no one spotted him, not even Feiyun.