However, Jun Mo Xie was still holding back until he had at least broken past the bottleneck and into the second layer of the Hongjun Pagoda since his strength would then be considered at par with that of an Earth Xuan expert by the standards of the Xuan Xuan continent; but before that time, the risk was simply too big!
However, the Xue Hun Manor's threat forced Jun Mo Xie to proceed with his plan ahead of schedule!
Although he still had some time to prepare himself, he impulsively decided to launch his plan even though it was still not ready for the execution phase!
Perhaps this plan was the reason why Jun Mo Xie was prepared to boldly go up against the Xue Hun Manor!
Of course, executing the plan at this stage would mean that the chances of success would be very less, but Jun Mo Xie decided to try anyway; because it was now or never. In case his plan didn't work as intended, then the Xue Hun Manor would destroy the Jun Family anyway!
As far as Jun Mo Xie was concerned, [people die all the time, so what's the big deal?! ]
[Damn it! Life is nothing more than just life, and there's really no need to attach so much value to it! ]
However, the young master Jun had never imagined that his plan would actually succeed; not only was he able to attract the right number of Spirit Xuan experts, but he also managed to attract two of the 'Eight Great Masters' of this world. Moreover, he was able to make them fight against each other, which was just as he had intended in his original plan. However, the biggest success that his plan had notched was; two extremely powerful King Xuan Beasts received this news, and arrived to compete for the Xuan Core.
Nevertheless, Jun Mo Xie was still looking rather gloomy right now since he had somehow managed to attract two Xuan Beasts rather than one as per his plan. Moreover, not only were these beasts more powerful than his expectation, but they were also harder to tame than he had anticipated!
As it stands, Jun Mo Xie's initial idea of tempting the Xuan Beasts into becoming his allies had already failed...
He was well aware that his grandfather would kick his buttocks in case he ever found out that his grandson was planning on attempting such a feat. After all, Jun Zhan Tian hadn't yet reached the Spirit Xuan realm yet, in fact barely any of Jun Zhan Tian's followers were at par with him; let alone any higher. Even the most highly decorated and valiant generals of the Xuan Xuan continent were below the Spirit Xuan realm.
Although Jun Zhan Tian knew that such Xuan Beasts existed in the world, he also knew that they extremely difficult to find. Such beasts were already at the peak of human possibilities, and were usually considered at par with the 'Eight Great Masters'. Moreover, they mostly chose to spend their lives living in secrecy; these Xuan Beasts were known to have silenced the odd Spirit Xuan expert who had ventured out in search of them, hoping to seek their companionship. Therefore, it was only natural that no one knew who they were, and where they could be found.
Another reason why Jun Mo Xie realized that his plan had failed was; Yun Bei Chen was the only man alive known to have such high-end Xuan Beasts as companions, in fact, it was rather evident now that these King Xuan Beasts had a very small, secretive and special circle, which seemed to have its own rules and regulations. This seemed to be the primary reason why even a man of Shi Chang Xiao's caliber was unable to identify Long Crane's true identity very easily, and had seemingly decided to abandon the Xuan Core rather than chasing after these two mysterious "poeple".
All in all, the young master Jun had already realized a while ago that this plan of his was blindly optimistic from the beginning because he was simply aiming too high. Therefore, he had decided to adjust his plan in hope of securing the next best possibility; [if I can't tempt them into becoming my partners, then I can at least tempt into doing just one task for me, right? Besides, they really can't refuse the reward I'm offering. ]
However, he wasn't expecting to run into another snag here…..
[Convince you of my strength? This is sheer damn nonsense! If I had enough strength to overpower you both, then why would I need to be afraid of Li Jue Tian?! I would have already gone up to his residence, knocked his head around like a ping pong ball until that Old Man's eyes started to glitter like the stars, and then I would have stuffed his head up his own backside... ]
Jun Mo Xie was silent, depressed, and at a complete loss at the moment.
He could obviously see through Long Crane's plan. [I know he's just trying to see if I can beat him and his brother since it would mean that I'm not lying and that I'm actually powerful enough to offer them what they desire…. As for my work, I'm sure that they can do it with ease... ]
[I never expected that a Xuan Beast could have such intelligence...] Jun Mo Xie was quite depressed and remained silent for a while, but then he decided that he need to take some initiative here…..
"Impress you? How do you wish for me to impress you?" Jun Mo Xie was a bit impatient at this point. [Damn this, I'm exuding the best Aura that you've ever seen and you're still chirping about? This is simply unbearable! ]
"Well, that's simple; you'll have to beat us in combat!" Big Bear opened his hairy mouth while his face exposed a sinister expression. His facial expression was so simply and honest, that Jun Mo Xie immediately realized that the Xuan Beast was quite serious about the offer.
"What are you saying?" Long Crane hastily berated his younger brother: "You just go about shouting for a fight all day long; that's enough now!" he looked at Jun Mo Xie and thought, [my brother simply doesn't know this guy's strength…. In case this guy is actually as strong as Yun Bei Chen, then wouldn't we also end up something like the second brother? ]
[And what if the two of us weren't able to escape away like the second brother did….. Wouldn't we end up dead after the boss finds out? If he's strong enough, then he'll kill us, else the boss will…. either way we'll die! ]
"We're all masters here, so let's not follow the usual way of the world. We'll play three games to determine the winner and the loser." Long Crane stretched out three finger for Jun Mo Xie to see clearly: "Winning two out of these three tests will mark the winner; if you win then we'll promise to do that one thing for you; however, if we win, we still get our reward!"
"That's right; even if you lose, we'll still get our reward! Even though we won't be helping you with your task!" Big Bear repeated the final sentence.
"That is to say, you get your reward irrespective of whether I win or lose?" Jun Mo Xie glared back at them with disbelief in his eyes: "Big Bear, you really don't have a knack for doing business, do you? You can't always make a profit if your business partner is making a loss!"
In reality, Jun Mo Xie had already agreed to this term. He knew that it was all in or nothing for him; although he was never likely to admit this in front of these two "People"...
However, he first needed to try and maximize his chances of making a profitable transaction...
A thick stench filled the atmosphere as Big Bear opened his big mouth and then stuck out his big red tongue, while his eyes continued to watch Jun Mo Xie. Then, he slowly licked the corner of his mouth as he raised his thumb and said: "Ha ha….. then why don't you just wait around and keep searching until you find someone with our talent? You need us more than we need you!"
Jun Mo Xie glared back at him, [these two aren't as stupid as I thought….. ah I guess they've realized my position now! It's a good thing that I only want this one task from them, else they would have become a major problem for me in the future! ]
Long Crane seemed rather embarrassed by his younger brother's shameless words, and said: "If you have any objections, then we can change the system a bit; but if you want us to obey you without you proving yourself first, then you can forget about it!"
"Who said that you would have to obey me? I'm offering you a good deal in return for a service; that's called a fair deal!" Jun Mo Xie waved his hand in frustration: "But since we're going to do some tests, then why should you get to decide the themes of these tests? For the sake of fairness, the first proposition must be set by me, and then you can set the next one; in case we need a third test, then we'll figure that part out after the second result, okay?"
"Good! Then tell us what the first test is?" Long Crane and Big Bear discussed this idea for a while, and then readily agreed. As far as they were concerned, [given our combined strengths, how could we possibly lose to him, ah? ]
"I will do an action, and if either of you is able to replicate it, then I will concede my defeat." Jun Mo Xie thought for a while, and stated his desire as his lips curved into a cunning smile.
"Good!" they both seemed very confident since the two of them were almost at the peak of their realm, and their bodies could be stretched to almost any extent. Long Crane simply couldn't help rejoicing his victory early; [forget about normal actions, I can even twist my neck in a knot! What could possibly be more difficult than that, ah? ]
"Let's go then." Jun Mo Xie started his game, and the two of them were left staring blankly at him.
The strangest thing was happening right in front of their eyes: Jun Mo Xie's feet were slowly sinking into the ground, and then his legs, his waist….. and then his entire body. However, the most magical thing was that the ground was still as flat as before… there was no hole in it!
An entire human's body had disappeared into the ground in front of these two "People".
A moment later, Jun Mo Xie's head started popping out of the ground about three meters away from his initial position, which was followed by his torso, his abdomen, waist, legs...
Jun Mo Xie's body had no traces of water on it, nor was his clothing stained by the mud and soil!
[How's this even possible? ]
Long Crane and Big Bear's eyes were glued to Jun Mo Xie's body in disbelief and it seemed as if they would simply pop out of their sockets, while their throats were unable to swallow down the saliva under the effect of the shocking scene they had just witnessed.
They suddenly remembered that Jun Mo Xie had emerged from this very spot, and figured that it was probably a trick. Hence, they immediately ran over the point where Jun Mo Xie had initially been standing and 'bang', they punched the ground hard and sent the water splashing in all directions. They lowered their heads to observe and inspect the ground below, but only to realize that there was no trick involved in this stunt...
The two of them wracked their brains for a long time and finally reached a conclusion; [This was legitimate; the other man didn't cheat us! ]
[However, this means that he's simply unbelievable, right? ]
[Is this guy even human? ]
These two Xuan Beasts simply wouldn't have believed that such a feat was ever possible; however, they had witnessed it with their own eyes just moments ago!
"Now it's your turn." Jun Mo Xie's voice seemed very modest, and very humble: "This was just a small piece of skill, and even if one of you can imitate it, then I will concede this round."
They looked at each other for a long while before Big Bear reluctantly opened his mouth and muttered: "We cannot do this; we concede."