Chapter 602: The Frailty of Beauty
Chapter 602: The Frailty of Beauty
Floating Cloud's Five Friends were merely minor characters in the Yun Lai Fang sect.
Five lowly-talented solitary cultivators, they would never come close to achieving the Dao Ji realm in their entire lives.
However, one of them seemed to possess hidden physical talents, and after death, he was refined into a Dao Ji zombie, a stroke of fortune.
Fang Xing followed the grey-white escape light without haste, his mind racing:
'Lin Xu's body should have fallen into the hands of the Shan Yin Xie Shi... affiliated with the Gua Shu Sect, but now they're using it as bait to lure me... Could it be that the Gua Shu Sect has joined forces with the Xue Ying Clan?'
'This isn't good news for Qingmu Mountain.'
'Isn't the Gua Shu Sect at war with the Flying Sword School? Looks like they have the upper hand and can still spare resources for this trap.'
'The Flying Sword School, the first among the Ten Great Clans, seems to have some water in their wine...'
He smirked inwardly.
If not for his exceptional perception, he wouldn't have discovered that Lin Xu was a refined zombie.
Their trap was clearly intended to use Lin Xu to lure him out to Dolong Slope and then strike.
As for why they wanted to lure him out, it was likely because they had suffered a setback at Dolong Slope.
They must have sensed something secretive and dangerous about Dolong Slope, prompting them to hastily attempt to capture Fang Xing.
'Wait... There's one more thing. How did they manage to capture me during this short window of opportunity?'
Fang Xing's gaze turned cold, and he said, "Unless... there's a traitor within the Xue Ying Clan, or a Qingmu Mountain cultivator deliberately sold me out!"
This was quite normal.
While others fought on the front lines, he was safely farming in the rear, amassing a substantial amount of merit points, which naturally made him stand out and attract resentment.
Although the disciples and descendants of Yinshen Immortals and Yangshen cultivators enjoyed similar treatment, ordinary Dao Ji cultivators wouldn't dare resent these 'second-generation immortals' and would only resent those of similar status.
Fang Xing, with no background or connections, had amassed a significant number of contributions and exchanged them for the Diagram of Supreme Power, naturally drawing attention.
'Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is human nature.'
'I hope the traitor will be here too, so I can deal with them openly...'
After all, colluding with the Xue Ying Clan to besiege Qingmu Mountain was outright treason!
'Although I focus on farming, I can't let people take advantage of me... I must display my strength to prevent others from coveting me.'
'The best strength, of course, is the Paper Folding Technique!'
After all, those who cultivated the Paper Folding Technique were all lunatics!
Cultivators, like ordinary people, feared those who were fearless and those who were fearless of death.
'Lin Xu' flew above a swamp and stopped moving.
Fang Xing looked at him and suddenly smiled, "Should I call you Lin Xu or 'Xie Songshan'?"
"Oh? You recognize me?"
Xie Songshan was slightly taken aback.
"Of course... After all, Lin Xu died in the battle against the Xie family, and you also possessed a Dao Ji zombie back then, ambushing the Fei family ancestor."
Fang Xing said, "Your Dao Ji power must be 'Twin Souls' or 'Corpse Guardians,' allowing you to split your consciousness and possess a Dao Ji zombie."
"As expected of a solitary cultivator who attained the Dao, you're indeed clever."
Xie Songshan chuckled, "I'm most satisfied with this zombie. I've completely hidden its zombie aura, but I didn't expect you to see through it... But since you know it's a trap, why are you seeking death?"
Whoosh!
Before he finished speaking, several escape lights appeared, sealing Fang Xing from all sides.
Among them was a man in a crimson robe with an aged demeanor, presumably Xie Songshan of the Xie family.
The other three were disciples of the Xue Ying Clan.
The leader was a red-browed man, his cultivation seemingly at the peak of the middle Dao Ji realm.
Additionally, there was another Xue Ying Clan cultivator at the middle Dao Ji realm, an elderly man with a pale complexion.
As for the old woman at the initial Dao Ji realm, she gave Fang Xing a familiar feeling.
"Hmm?"
He looked at the old woman, barely recognizing her from her facial features and demeanor.
However, the old woman had a cold expression, as if she had never met him before.
"The Paper Shadow Sect of the Xue Ying Clan, Red-Browed Elder."
Fang Xing nodded and looked at the other two Dao Ji cultivators, "These two must be from the Paper Folding Sect, right?"
"Not bad... Fang Xing, I didn't expect that a mere escaped slave from Zhi Nu Gu would be able to advance to the Dao Ji realm."
The middle Dao Ji cultivator chuckled, "If I weren't originally a manager disciple of Zhi Nu Gu, and you hadn't changed your name, I might not have recognized you."
"I see. May I ask the name of this Dao friend?"
Fang Xing looked at the old woman again.
"Hehe, this is my Dao companion—Tao Hong, also a former paper slave. Do you know her?"
The old man smiled triumphantly.
"Five Dao Ji powers... You're really giving me face."
Fang Xing nodded, and his aura suddenly erupted.
He was no longer at the initial Dao Ji realm but had advanced to the middle Dao Ji realm!
"Middle Dao Ji realm?"
The Red-Browed Elder's expression changed, and the surrounding tree shadows shattered, becoming hazy.
It was an upper-level Dao Ji realm—Yuconglong!
He tore open his robe, revealing a tattoo of a strange demonic beast on his chest.
But before the paper shadow could possess him, a sharp wooden thorn pierced his dantian.
"You... You're not an ordinary middle Dao Ji cultivator!"
The Red-Browed Elder tried to speak, but he was devoured by tree shadows.
In the blink of an eye, this formidable and fearsome maniac met his end.
Speaking of it, it was rather unfortunate. Who would've thought that the one with the highest cultivation would be targeted first by Fang Xing, and he wasn't even from the Origami Sect.
After securing the initiative, Fang Xing used countless tree shadows to obscure everyone's vision, forcing each cultivator to fight on their own.
Puff!
The old man from Zhinu Valley, clad in paper armor, held a paper sword in his hand, and had two paper generals guarding him. After tearing through the tree shadows, he witnessed a scene that made his eyes widen in shock—
"Ah!"
A Post-Dao Ji Paper General, whose cultivation had reached the later stages, had somehow appeared on the battlefield. With a single thrust of his spear, he lifted Xie Songshan's entire body into the air.
Rattle!
The paper general shook his spear, and Xie Songshan's body instantly shattered into four or five pieces.
The old man was stunned.
"A Post-Dao Ji Paper General? To reach such a level of cultivation, one would need to sacrifice at least a whole lifespan!"
"You actually refined such a fearsome thing? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
The old man's expression changed drastically.
"Oh? Does it require a whole lifespan?"
Fang Xing remained noncommittal.
He felt that it was either his sect's advanced origami techniques and the Ten-Thousand Perfect Hand, or perhaps his advancement to the 15th level of Druid, that allowed him to sacrifice less lifespan when refining paper figures compared to the Blood Shadow Gate's origami sect.
"Go!"
Fang Xing pointed, and the paper general immediately charged forward on horseback, moving swiftly. With each thrust of his spear, a paper figure fell.
Just as the old man was about to flee, his face was suddenly covered by a white piece of paper, causing him to freeze in place: "You wretched servant..."
Fang Xing observed clearly that after the old man's two paper figures were cut down, Tao Hong immediately used a secret technique to secretly attack the old man.
"Fang Xing... It's been many years."
After finishing her actions, Tao Hong looked up at Fang Xing, her face filled with wrinkles and age spots.
"Yes, it's been many years. You've aged as well," Fang Xing sighed. "But I don't think that our past acquaintance is enough for you to secretly attack your Dao companion."
"Dao companion?" Tao Hong's expression twisted. "It's more accurate to say that I was his crucible... This damned cultivation of 'Yin Yang Grudge' allows him to steal my lifespan through dual cultivation..."
"So that's how it is," Fang Xing said calmly, as if he had already guessed the truth.
After asking a few more questions, he learned that Tao Hong had received a large sum of support from him back then, and with some luck, she managed to catch the eye of a manager disciple and escaped from Zhinu Valley.
Unfortunately, even after joining the Blood Shadow Gate, she still faced discrimination as a slave-turned-disciple.
Later, with the help of this old man, she was able to cultivate and eventually forge her Dao Ji.
However, this old man also had ulterior motives. He had Tao Hong cultivate the corresponding Dao Ji, 'Turning Jade Wheel', for his 'Yin Yang Grudge'.
It turned out that when this old man was still a manager disciple in Zhinu Valley, he had already secretly planned to select and cultivate outstanding female slaves to become crucibles for the 'Turning Jade Wheel'.
His 'Yin Yang Grudge' could absorb lifespan through dual cultivation, but it required specific female cultivators at the Dao Ji stage.
Among those selected female disciples, only Tao Hong managed to achieve the Dao Ji stage.
"He considered my lifespan as his own... He even prevented me from cultivating the paper figure technique, fearing that it would shorten my lifespan..."
Tao Hong's face was filled with resentment: "If not for the slow process of absorbing lifespan, I might have aged to death long ago..."
"So, the Dao Ji cultivators from the Blood Shadow Gate's origami sect are all like this? They can either extend their lifespan or reduce the consumption of lifespan?"
"Even so, the cultivators from the origami sect still have such short lifespans..."
Fang Xing couldn't help but sigh.
However, he felt that Tao Hong's luck wasn't too bad.
The paper slaves from their batch were likely nothing but ashes by now.
To have survived until now was pure luck!
"Fang Xing..."
At this moment, Tao Hong seemed a bit embarrassed: "Considering that we once shared hardships together, can you give this person to me?"
"Oh? What do you want him for?"
Fang Xing looked at the old man whose face was covered by paper, seemingly turned into a walking corpse, and felt curious.
"I've been secretly cultivating a secret technique that should be able to reverse Yin and Yang, and reclaim his lifespan... But this method of stealing lifespan always comes with a cost. The loss of lifespan is too great, and even if I take all of his lifespan, it still won't compare to an ordinary Dao Ji cultivator."
Tao Hong gritted her teeth, clearly this tenacious woman had been waiting for an opportunity to turn the tables.
"Is that so? That's not a bad idea... But first, I'll use the Soul-Bewitching Technique to interrogate him and extract information about the paper figure technique."
Fang Xing nodded.
"Of course, this is natural. After achieving the Dao Ji stage, he became a disciple of a Yinshen Immortal and learned the 'Blood Paper Secret Manual'..."
Tao Hong's face showed a hint of interest in this secret technique.
"Hmm, aside from that, there must be someone from Qingmu Mountain who set up this trap. Do you know the inside story?"
Fang Xing asked.
"I don't know, but this old man was the one who contacted that person. He must know!"
Tao Hong pointed at the old man, a fleeting smile of satisfaction appearing on her face.
(End of Chapter)
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