The fight between Fang Xing and Lei Jiu had begun and dark clouds covered the sky.

The blue-clothed bandit landed on the ground and looked towards the black clouds before taking the Stellar Grass from Xu Linyun with a soft sigh. "So this bastard is the real Fang Xing. He hid it from me so well, and he found this herb ages ago and was hiding it from me until now in order to have me work for his benefit..." He looked towards Xu Linyun and sighed again. "But why does he know I don't have enmity towards him?"

The person Fang Xing entrusted Xu Linyun to was naturally the blue-clothed bandit. Fang Xing knew the blue-clothed bandit had made it inside the Chaotic Stone Valley before he did, and although he hadn't seen him yet, he knew the bandit had to be observing from afar. Fang Xing was indeed concerned Xu Linyun would wind up affected if he took her into battle, so he used the Stellar Grass in exchange for the bandit's help.

Of course, the reason Fang Xing decided to ask the blue-clothed bandit to protect Xu Linyun despite not knowing the bandit's true identity was because he could feel the enmity wasn't as strong as he initially thought. In fact, the bandit had been rather concerned about Fang Xing's safety, which could be seen from how he reacted upon hearing "Fang Xing" was trapped inside the Chaotic Stone Valley.

"Are you Shidi Fang's friend?" Xu Linyun's anxious voice interrupted the blue-clothed bandit's thoughts. "There's no need to protect me; I can leave here immediately, so it's best you go help him!"

The blue-clothed bandit looked at Xu Linyun and suddenly asked, "Are you the head disciple of the Qing-Yun Sect's Danxia Valley?" Xu Linyun was caught off guard and unsure why he would bring this up now. The bandit simply smiled and continued, "Someone said you're a person who likes to protect others, and it seems that wasn't untrue!"

Xu Linyun was surprised by this, but there wasn't time to ask for more details. She looked meaningfully towards Fang Xing in the sky.

The blue-clothed bandit began to laugh. "There's no need for you to worry about him. I may not have known him for long, but I don't think he'll be disadvantaged at all!"

The leader of the Nine Songs Tribe from Huangfu's Eight Bewitched Followers—Lei Jiu—alongside Prince Chu Huang, the King of Hell from the south, Melodic Ice Palace's Ye Gu'yin, and all those other numerous powerful elites in the sky all wanted to capture Fang Xing to exchange him for a summons for the Sword Mound. It could be said right now, Fang Xing had been trapped dead inside the Chaotic Stone Valley and the chance of him escaping was close to zero, yet this person said he wouldn't be disadvantaged?

Seeing Xu Linyun's anxious look, the blue-clothed bandit suddenly smiled and asked, "You like this little bandit?"

Xu Linyun was at a loss for words, but after taking a few moments she understood what the blue-clothed bandit meant and shook her head. "It's not what you think!" She considered it carefully before slowly explaining, "When Shidi Fang betrayed the Qing-Yun Sect, the entire sect thought of him as nothing more than a hateful traitor, but I know he's not bad. When he and Xiao Mahn had only each other, it was I who prevented them from meeting with each other despite being in the same sect. They were finally reunited, and yet Shimei Xiao Mahn was unexpectedly taken away by the Fuyao Palace, separating her from Shidi Fang once more. They might never meet again in this lifetime, and it would be all my fault..."

Xu Linyun let out another sigh as she spoke. "I originally thought Shidi Fang would hate me to the core, and yet even after betraying the sect and being brought to the brink of death, he still didn't forget to ask the sect master to give me a Foundation Pellet. This shows he truly sees me as his shijie." Her voice became heavier as she spoke and an apologetic tone settled into the words. "I, Linyun, am not the most clever person and have no methods of returning the favor, so how could I stay aside and watch when he's in danger?"

The blue-clothed bandit quietly finished listening before showing a smile. "He definitely doesn't blame you. It's easy to see; not only did he give you a Foundation Pellet, but more importantly, he wasn't actually inside the Chaotic Stone Valley earlier, either. This mess was caused by that sneaky bird of his. Do you want to guess why he would do this? Isn't he shouldering all the blame like this because he doesn't want to waste your good intentions?"

Xu Linyun was left speechless. She wasn't a stupid person, so it was only natural she understood what was going on after remembering the short exchange she had with the golden crow. Her face became as pale as snow before she spoke up with a quivering voice, "Then does that mean.. I've caused him trouble again?"

The blue-clothed bandit began to giggle. "I'm only kidding with you. This kid is very devious; even I was cheated by him, so who could harm him? Truthfully, from my point of view, the shrewdest option would be to keep his true identity hidden and help that bandit bird escape in secret, but he showed up and admitted to everything. Either it's very simple and he's doing it for you, or he has some other plans; what do you think?"

Xu Linyun was surprised by the bandit's words and glanced up at him.

The blue-clothed bandit smirked. "You think he's doing all this and took the blame for himself just so you won't be sad?"

Xu Linyun's brows creased before she firmly replied, "He did not!"

"Then he must have other plans." The blue-clothed bandit smiled. "What are you worried about, then?"

Only now did Xu Linyun understand the meaning behind the blue-clothed bandit's words. Her heart stirred at this and her gaze drew up towards the sky.

—

Inside the black smog up above, all the cultivators' sight was obstructed to the point they could see thirty feet away at most. This amount of distance was more than enough for a cultivator, however, and Lei Jiu had already gotten some distance.

When Fang Xing saw the black smog successfully scattered about and blocking everyone's vision, he stopped the Yin Yang Sanding Disc apex skill and took out a Nine-Turn Lucidity Pellet he'd obtained from the cauldron in the immortal's garden. He tossed the pellet into his mouth like a piece of candy and swallowed it whole while preparing himself for a great battle ahead.

After swallowing the golden pellet, the Scripture of Revered Spirit would be able to help Fang Xing convert the excessive amount of medicinal power to supply him with an endless amount of Qi. He wouldn't be able to add it to his own cultivation level in a situation like this, of course, but it was enough to help him replenish his own spent Qi with what was effectively an unlimited supply. Of course, he was perhaps the only person in the entire world who'd squander such a precious pellet for the sake of Qi replenishment.

It couldn't be helped—he was rich!

Before Fang Xing managed to head towards Lei Jiu, Prince Chu Huang rushed towards him instead. "You're always breaking the rules! For you to finally be getting a taste of your own medicine is karma!" Prince Chu Huang raised his hand and Qi began to circulate around him, causing golden rays of light to flow over his robe and turn into streams of golden flame. The fire was like stars of light in the sky forming into the likes of a constellation, and Fang Xing was directly contained within. Prince Chu Huang didn't bother speaking any further and simply began attacking directly—he wanted to be the one to take Fang Xing down to secure the Huangfu clan's summons for himself.

"Haha, golden turtle egg, all you talk about is rules. You've always taken pride in being the son of the heavens, so when did you become someone's dog as well?" Fang Xing sneered while forming a hand seal, causing his body to shudder and a pair of golden wings to appear. The golden feather swords surrounded him like a tornado surging into the sky, and it swept away all the flames with a full turn. Fang Xing gently added some force to the soles of his feet and the golden crow immediately let out a loud growl before rushing towards Prince Chu Huang.

BANG !

The body of the golden crow was extremely sturdy, and he turned himself into the likes of a weapon by thrusting himself directly at Prince Chu Huang.

"Within this heaven and earth, all ranks are rigid and strict. I am a believer in rules and the Huangfu clan has merely followed the rules and will of the heavens; as a follower of the rules, what is wrong in working on his behalf?" Prince Chu Huang yelled out. His golden robe fluttered upward with a gust of wind before two golden clouds formed above and below and headed towards the golden crow.

A loud bang rang out and a terrifying wind began to blow. The black smog surrounding the two seemed to be split apart, and even two of the spirit beasts that had been hiding in the smog in preparation of ambushing Prince Chu Huang were split apart as well. Taking advantage of this chance, Prince Chu Huang retreated ten or so feet back with a gloomy expression.

In Fang Xing's hands and the golden crow's mouth were some pieces of the golden robe. Although Prince Chu Huang hadn't been injured by the collision, the large sleeves he used to activate his skills had ended up torn away.

Fang Xing tossed away the cloth in his hands and praised, "It's been a while, Goldy! Your battle prowess has really improved by a lot..."

"Haha, I've also had some opportunities for myself. I'll tell you about it when we have more time!" the golden crow proudly declared while spreading out his wings for a second round of attacks towards Prince Chu Huang.

'This little bastard is so vicious!' Prince Chu Huang's face changed and thunderous light flickered beneath his feet as he dodged to the side. He didn't want to collide with Fang Xing head-on.

"Haha, brat, offending the Huangfu clan is a shortcut to death. Why are you still not giving up?" Suddenly, a ten-foot-tall spectral head appeared from the surrounding black smog with a mysterious ghostly flame and tried to swallow Fang Xing the moment it opened its mouth. This was precisely the King of Hell from the southern borders, and he'd used the black smog from the Flag of Ten Thousand Spirits to hide himself in wait. Now that Fang Xing had placed his focus on Prince Chu Huang, he'd made an abrupt attack to try to kill him by surprise and reap the benefits...

"Do you really think you hid yourself that well with spirit sense like mine?" Fang Xing exclaimed. Although he was heading directly towards Prince Chu Huang like a missile, he suddenly changed direction while a golden force surrounded one of his fists and a black force surrounded the other. The two completely opposing powers were thrust towards that giant spectral head as two great serpents that coiled around the head and interweaved their powers before exploding.

"Wayaya, such a cunning brat..!" The King of Hell hadn't expected the attack he'd planned out so well would be within Fang Xing's expectations and he began to scream out in pain. He'd been unable to dodge in time, and the giant spectral head he'd formed was ground down completely by the two forces until a stream of ghostly light fled back into the black smog.

Even when faced with hidden powerful masters awaiting their chance within the black smog, Fang Xing showed no signs of fear and fully displayed his might as he began his massacre. His fists punched Chu Huang, his feet stomped the King of Hell, his attacks rained down everywhere while he yelled out and fully displayed his viciousness for all to see.