The new Exalt—the venerated youth who'd been highly favored by the Hentian clansmen—was actually a Vermillion Bird. Such news shocked the entire clan.

The peril beast Vermillion Bird was an extremely powerful ancient peril. It once had the same prestige as the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise, who were known together as the "Foremost Perils"—the most powerful tribes of all peril beasts, as their title suggested.

Although the Azure Dragon was the ancestor of the true dragon tribe known today, the dragons later learned the Dao of man and were able to create their own human forms, and their innate color turned from azure to gold. The dragons were the best at adapting and gathering the strong points of each individual, allowing them to keep their bloodline going despite all the changes in the world.

The Vermillion Bird, however, hadn't been able to do so. Although its battle prowess was tyrannical, there had been no information about any still being alive and their tribe should have already become extinct during the world's changes. Not even the Guixu Ruins which was filled with peril beasts had any stories about a Vermillion Bird, yet one had shown up here.

"Ning'er, what exactly happened? How did he end up showing his original form?" the clan master questioned Hentian Ning with great seriousness.

Although Hentian Ning was difficult to deal with, the danger she'd just escaped had left her terrified and mournful. "I knew Venerated Big Br— this peril beast was wounded," she cried to her father, "so I wanted to bring him some medicinal pellets. But after he took the pellet, he suddenly changed and wanted to.. wanted to eat me. I quickly ran away, but he followed after me before turning into his true form..."

Although this girl was in a panic, she hadn't lost all of her sense and knew she couldn't reveal the secret agreement she'd made with Fang Xing. The idea of a pure maiden wanting to bed a man would be completely beyond the pale if she were to say it aloud, so she casually made up a lie to cover it all up.

"What medicinal pellets could you have?" The clan master's brows creased as he grasped on to the most important words and continued interrogating her. "Where did you get it from?"

Hentian Ning was suddenly unsure how to answer. She pointed her finger towards Fang Xing and replied, "It was him! He was the one who gave it to me!"

Everyone turned towards Fang Xing in unison when they heard this.

'Sh*t, this girl just sold me out...' Despite his inward curses, Fang Xing let out a couple dry coughs before standing up to admit to it all. "I was indeed the one who gave the medicinal pellet!"

Everyone's gazes were immediately filled with confusion. The enmity between him and the venerated youth was well known, causing everyone to wonder; had he wanted to poison the venerated youth and given a compromised pellet to Hentian Ning to deliver? Could the poison within the pellet have accidentally caused the venerated youth to revert from his human form to his original beast form? The looks directed Fang Xing's way changed very quickly, some filled with suspicion and others with disdain.

Fang Xing knew no one would believe him if he were to say the medicinal pellet was completely fine, but it would tarnish the good name he'd put so much effort into if he were to admit the pellet had something wrong with it. Fortunately, making up stories and lies was as simple as taking a stroll, and while everyone looked at him with complicated glances, he toughened himself, swept his gaze across, and replied, "There was no poison within the pellet. However.. the medicinal power is perhaps a little too strong. As everyone here knows, all my Spirit Stones and pellets were brought inside from the Colored Glass Palace outside the ruins, and their medicinal power isn't slight at all..."

Many within the crowd had accepted private gifts from Fang Xing in the form of Spirit Stones and pellets, and they showed an awkward expression. Seeing that these words had caused things to calm down a little, Fang Xing decided his lies were nearly enough and continued to speak in a solemn manner, his expression serious. "The medicinal pellet I gifted to the venerated youth doesn't contain any poison, but its medicinal power is very strong and violent. To tell the truth, after meeting him today, I felt something wasn't quite right. I sensed an inauspicious aura around him that couldn't be completely masked, which was somewhat similar to my red dragon when it gets angry. I purposefully had my red dragon fight him on the spot and took some of his blood over to investigate further, and there were indeed some problems..."

After saying this, he looked at everyone with a grave expression. It was well known the red dragon had chased and attacked the venerated youth until he was left in a very dire situation, so no one spoke up to interject.

"I did not dare say anything unless I was certain, but there was definitely something wrong with this venerated youth. I originally intended to advise the clan master first, but then I remembered both I and the venerated youth were fond of the eldest young master, and I was concerned people might misunderstand if I were to speak ill of him. I decided to probe a bit first, and by coincidence, the second little miss had become very upset with me since I wounded the venerated youth, and she came to reason with me. I gave that excellent-quality medicinal pellet to her as compensation.

"That pellet was in fact something I'd kept to save my life. Its medicinal properties are extremely strong and violent, enough that as long as a person is not dead, they can be kept alive. However, it is also because of its great power that once consumed—no matter human or beast—there is a chance for them to become mentally bewildered and for their Qi to reverse. In other words, if that venerated youth disguised himself with some manner of spell, this pellet's power would cause everything to be revealed..."

Fang Xing spoke with genuine sincerity before he sighed. "Of course, if he did not have any disguise in the first place, that pellet would certainly be enough to cure his wounds and it would be considered me giving an apology." Afterwards, he suddenly creased his brows and looked to Hentian Ning with a serious look. "Second Little Miss, did I not tell you to immediately leave after giving the pellet in case something unexpected happened?"

Hentian Ning hadn't expected him to suddenly question her. She was dumbfounded but hastily answered, "I.. I just wanted to have a look..."

Fang Xing sneered. "Because you don't trust me and wanted to see if the pellet had poison in it?"

Hentian Ning took the hint and replied, "There is a known enmity between you and him; how could I not be on guard against you?"

The pair echoed each other, completing the story. Through these words, not only had Fang Xing become an honest and genuine person, but also a good samaritan with great insight who was able to help the Hentian clan discover such a great disaster in advance. Although some people might have felt suspicious, they couldn't clearly pick out any flaws in his statements. Most did somewhat feel this Xing Fang person might not be doing all of this out of altruism, however...

"This matter can be considered solved. When that Vermillion Bird left, its speed was like that of lightning and it did not appear to be poisoned. Its wounds seemed to have healed a great amount as well!" The Head Exalt's words confirmed it all and hinted to Fang Xing that he believed him and felt Fang Xing deserved all the credit.

The clan master had wanted to continue his questioning, but the Head Exalt hinted to bring it to a close so he began to smile and patted Fang Xing's shoulder. "Exalt Xing, that Vermillion Bird was clearly up to no good by hiding within our clan for so long. Whatever its purpose had been, for you to help us find such a disaster in advance is certainly a meritorious contribution to our clan. As clansmen, there is no need for me to speak any pretty words—there will naturally be rewards later!"

"You are being too polite!" Fang Xing laughed, but he sensed these old guys were all behaving a bit strangely.

"What..? Venerated Big Brother.. how can Venerated Big Brother be a peril beast..? You.. you're all lying to me!"

At that moment, a female voice suddenly erupted in anger and drowned out all the discussion. The voice belonged to none other than Hentian Qing, and although she'd been forbidden from leaving her room, she'd been alarmed by the noises and had come over riding atop her cloud. When she heard from other people what had happened earlier, she couldn't help but to shiver and grow weak in the knees, causing her to fall from the air.

"Oh, be careful Eldest Young Master..." A red shadow shot out from the side and pulled the falling Hentian Qing into its embrace. When everyone looked closer, they saw it was the Exalt named Xing Fang, who'd extended both of his arms to catch Hentian Qing and hold her. When he lowered his head to look at her, he noticed she'd already fainted and he let out a long sigh. "This was all my fault. Although I discovered the true identity of the venerated youth, it broke the eldest young master's heart..."

Some were surprised when they heard this, and some felt their emotions stirred; it seemed this person truly was fond of her.

"Clan Master, I will first send the eldest young master back!" Fang Xing reported. The clan master was a bit hesitant at first, but he nodded and replied, "Why not? However, do not call her 'Young Master'. As a female, she will one day be wed; all the titles like 'Young Master' or 'Mister', do not mention them from now on!"

There seemed to be some kind of underlying meaning to his words, and Fang Xing nodded to signal he understood. Afterwards, he nodded his head once more before the red dragon swam through the air towards Hentian Qing's courtyard.

"Venerated Big Brother..."

Hentian Qing was after all a cultivator. She had a robust constitution, and the loss of consciousness she experienced from the shock was only temporary. She quickly regained awareness and felt she that was flying amidst the clouds with a pair sturdy iron-like arms holding her with a great deal of gentleness. She gradually opened her eyes and seemed to see the handsome face of the venerated youth in her daze, but such a dream lasted for only the flash of a moment and the venerated youth's visage disappeared, replaced with a thin and sharp face looking at her with ridicule and ill intentions.

"Ah, how is it you—" Hentian Qing suddenly shouted, and although she wanted to escape, his hands gripped her tightly and suppressed her Qi to to keep her from even continuing her yell.

"Of course it's me. Your Venerated Big Brother became a bird and flew away!" Fang Xing replied while looking down towards her as though nothing had happened.

Right now, even if the grand elders themselves swept out their spirit sense, they'd only believe Fang Xing was trying to gently soothe and show her his sincerity. They would never have imagined he was actually speaking such cruel words.

Hentian Qing wasn't stupid, and she immediately realized something through what he'd said. "You did it.. it was all done by you?"

"Of course I did it. I revealed the true identity of this guy and contributed greatly to the clan. I'm afraid the two of us will soon..." Fang Xing smirked, and although he didn't finish his sentence, Hentian Qing understood the meaning behind it all too well.

"I don't believe it... I won't believe it... Venerated Big Brother.. how could he be a disguised peril beast..?" Hentian Qing struggled once again to no avail; all she could do was glare coldly at Fang Xing even as a ferocious flame began to burn. "Bastard, you must have used some trick! It has to be you! Everyone thinks you're honest and genuine, but I know you are the one with ill intentions! It must have been you who framed Venerated Big Brother! Why did you do this?" Her voice became flustered and exasperated, her tone filled with endless grievances. "Why?"

Fang Xing, however, became quiet and expressionless when being met with Hentian Qing's furious gaze. After a long while, he finally lowered his voice and asked, "If you have the time to ask me this, why do you not ask yourself why you used the cleave nails on me before?"