"It's ok? Does she really think that it's ok for Heaven Dao Pavilion to come after me?" Fang Zhengzhi was enraged, but for an unknown reason, when he saw the smile on Chi Guyan's face, he felt comforted and assured.
However, he soon realized that something was wrong.
Wait a minute.
Did she call the jewel 'Spiritual Jade'?
Fang Zhengzhi was shocked to the core. Spiritual Jade wasn't a complicated name, in fact, it was fairly common.
However, according to the legendary myth in his previous life, Spiritual Jade definitely stood for something significant.
In the legends, Nüwa refined 36,501 stones when she mended the hole in the sky, but she only used 36,500 of them in the end. The last stone that remained…Its name was 'Spiritual Jade'.
This stone was even later mentioned in a famous novel in his previous life called 'Dream of the Red Chamber'. In the story, the stone became a spirit, and it wanted to experience the mortal life. This lead to the story of Jia Baoyu being born with the Spiritual Jade in his mouth.
"Could this be that Spiritual Jade?" Fang Zhengzhi wasn't too sure, because logically speaking, the legends in his previous life shouldn't appear in this world.
However, the fact that an actual descendent of Nüwa was standing in front of him, made him question himself.
If this Spiritual Jade was really the stone that was left behind by Nüwa…It definitely was an extraordinary treasure!
Just as Fang Zhengzhi wondered if he should ask Chi Guyan about the Spiritual Jade, the sky suddenly darkened.
"The Divine Rain Pond is closing soon!" said Chi Guyan.
"Closing?' Fang Zhengzhi was surprised by her words, and he grabbed the Spiritual Jade immediately, not daring to waste another second.
The jewel felt smooth and comforting to the touch, as if there was a warm stream of air flowing inside it.
Rumble!
The entire Ninth Heaven suddenly started shaking. However, it was different from the tremor before, because this time, it felt like the Ninth Heaven was collapsing.
"There's a trap after all!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Spiritual Jade in his hand and then looked toward the cracking ground. He knew that he needed to leave Heaven Dao Pavilion even if he didn't want to.
…
Heaven Dao Pavilion, outside the Divine Rain Pond.
The calm Divine Rain Pond suddenly started seething. The five-colored pond started bubbling and spinning uncontrollably.
"Eh? What's going?!"
"The Divine Rain Pond…What's happening?"
"The wall of the pond seems to be cracking!"
"Are you sure? How could that happen?"
The disciples who were previously in shock were now staring at the Divine Rain Pond, their eyes wide open with disbelief. They all took a step back subconsciously.
After all, something like this had never happened before!
"Hmm?!" The Sixth Elder also noticed the strange behavior of the Divine Rain Pond at this moment. As compared to the disciples, he was even more dumbfounded.
This was because, the Divine Rain Pond should be normally under his control.
But now…
He obviously wasn't the one behind the pond's strange behavior. More importantly, water had started to leak out of the wall that surrounded the Divine Rain Pond.
He couldn't help but be nervous about this.
This was because he knew well about the importance of Divine Rain Pond to Heaven Dao Pavilion. To put it simply, Divine Rain Pond was the heart and soul of Heaven Dao Pavilion.
The trials that disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion undertook, the breakthrough in their understanding of Dao, all had something to do with the Divine Rain Pond.
Since that was the case, how could he allow anything to happen to it?
"Look! The pond water…Seems to be surging out!" While the disciples backed away, they didn't let the Divine Rain Pond leave their sight.
At this moment, the five-colored pond water was spinning and seething more intensely than before, as if something was about to come out.
Then…A person actually charged out of the pond.
He was wearing blue, looking beaten-up with his tattered clothes. His face was slightly charred, and his hair even seemed to be burnt.
This happened out of nowhere, but the disciples of Heaven Dao Pavilion still recognized this person right away, because even if that face was reduced to ashes, they could certainly still recognize it.
"Fang Zhengzhi!"
"Why is he the first one out? What happened to sister Chi Guyan!"
"What happened inside?"
All the disciples were confused, but Fang Zhengzhi obviously wasn't in the mood for an explanation.
In fact, he wasn't even in the mood to stay in Heaven Dao Pavilion anymore.
"Crap, crap, I've really screwed up!" Fang Zhengzhi kept mumbling in his mind, while he dashed toward the Sword Peak without any hesitation.
"Eh? Where's this guy going?"
"Fang Zhengzhi, what happened to the Divine Rain Pond?"
"Why did he start running right after he came out?"
The disciples were almost left speechless when they saw Fang Zhengzhi running away, because under normal circumstances, he should be showing off right now.
After all…He entered the Ninth Heaven!
"Nothing, nothing has happened inside the Divine Rain Pond!" replied Fang Zhengzhi, as he continued running away.
"Nothing?"
"How can you call this 'nothing'?"
The disciples stared at each other before looking at the seething pond water, their faces black.
"Does he think that we are fools?"
While the disciples were confused, the Sixth Elder suddenly squinted. Just as Fang Zhengzhi was about to leave his sight, his eyes lit up.
"Catch Fang Zhengzhi, don't let him leave Heaven Dao Pavilion!"
"Oh no!" The disciples didn't know why the Sixth Elder said that, but they quickly reacted to his words.
"Stop him!"
"He's heading toward the Sword Peak, so he's probably trying to leave Heaven Dao Pavilion!"
"Inform our brothers who are guarding the Sword Peak that they have to stop Fang Zhengzhi immediately. We cannot let him get past the Sword Peak!"
Although they didn't know what was going on, the disciples had a strong feeling that Fang Zhengzhi must have had caused the disturbance in the Divine Rain Pond.
Every one of them bolted toward Fang Zhengzhi, moving at an extreme speed.
Fang Zhengzhi was upset to see this, because he originally planned to leave Heaven Dao Pavilion before anyone knew about what happened inside Divine Rain Pond.
However, it now seemed that…He had already been exposed!
"What should I do?"
Fang Zhengzhi was thinking hard and fast as he looked at the Sword Peak, which was still at a distance away, and the dense forests which were in another direction.
Given the current situation, once he got to the Sword Peak, the disciples that were on-guard would definitely come at him immediately.
If that happened, he would be a sandwiched by the disciples, becoming a cornered cat.
"Should I take another path?"
"Should I change my direction and leave through the dense forest?"
This was a decent idea, because Fang Zhengzhi was definitely capable of shaking them off in the forest.
But, what about Yan Xiu?
Fang Zhengzhi knew that Yan Xiu was waiting for him at the forest below the Sword Peak. If he took another path, it would take him longer to get out. At the meantime, if word got out that he was the one who spoiled the Divine Rain Pond, even Yan Xiu might be dragged into this mess. By then, how could he come back for Yan Xiu?
Furthermore, even if he wanted to escape through the forest, he still had to get through Heaven Dao Pavilion first, meaning that he must turn around.
However, could he really do that?
Fang Zhengzhi glanced at the massive crowd behind him, and he quickly shot down this impractical idea. Getting through Heaven Dao Pavilion was no different from digging his own grave.
There was no way back.
The only way for him was forward. Moreover, he had to get out through the Sword Peak.
That was the only way he could bring Yan Xiu along, or else, they might really be in deep trouble.
"Stop him!"
"Brother Li, stop him now!"
While Fang Zhengzhi was ready to charge straight ahead, the disciples behind him started shouting again.
"Hmm?" A passer-by who was holding a long sword and wearing a long white robe, clearly a disciple of Heaven Dao Pavilion, was startled to hear the shouting coming from behind Fang Zhengzhi.
He looked at Fang Zhengzhi, then at the massive group of disciples behind him, and he was quickly stunned.
After all, this was such a spectacular sight to behold.
However, how could a disciple of Heaven Dao Pavilion be caught off guard so easily? Although he was actually shocked, he still blocked Fang Zhengzhi's way instantly.
Fang Zhengzhi's fear came true, he was truly afraid that someone would stop him. Fortunately, the disciples were asking that guy to stop him, not kill him.
Most importantly, they didn't even mention his name.
"Stop him now, don't let Nangong Mu get away! He wants to destroy the Heaven-Receiving Door while the trial at the Divine Rain Pond is taking place. Brother Li, hurry up, he's on your right!" Fang Zhengzhi shouted anxiously as he pointed toward his right.
As our wise ancestors once said, "Others can die, but I can't!"
Moreover…Since Nangong Mu wasn't at Heaven Dao Pavilion anymore, Fang Zhengzhi didn't hesitate to sell him out.