Chapter 39

The Forest of Scorching Flames was immersed in pitch-black darkness, and within that darkness, Jiang Xiaofan stood less than a meter from the green-robed elder. The only difference was that the green-robed elder didn’t know Jiang Xiaofan’s location, but Jiang Xiaofan knew his.

The air grew even damper. Jiang Xiaofan didn’t know how much time had just passed. When cold sweat began to drip down his forehead, a soft but very noticeable *thump* sound broke the dead silence of the night.

Alarmed, the green-robed elder raised the pressure of his qi and prepared to lunge in the direction of that sound.

Jiang Xiaofan made his move as well. This was the moment that he had been waiting for. The added weight of the mist and the stone was more than what the small branch could support. Now that the sound of its impact against the ground diverted the old man’s attention, Jiang Xiaofan needed to take advantage of the current timing and thrust his Celestial Demon Sword through his opponent’s heart.

To his delight, Jiang Xiaofan had guessed correctly. The green-robed elder was indeed distracted by the falling stone in front of him. Just as the green-robed man was about to launch a powerful strike, his body was suddenly overcome with iciness. He abruptly felt his life force quickly slipping away from him.

“I won!”

Jiang Xiaofan’s voice resonated from behind. Around this time, the first glow of the morning sun warmed the land. He stabbed the blade deeper into the green-robed elder’s chest and split his heart before pulling out the Celestial Demon Sword.

“You…. little…. bastard!”

The old man fell down but didn’t immediately die. He turned his head to ferociously glare at Jiang Xiaofan.

He was flabbergasted. How can a Phantom Saint cultivator be this frighteningly powerful?! Even with a split heart, he didn’t immediately die! Nevertheless, Jiang Xiaofan wasn’t overly concerned. The green-robed elder was just merely living on his last breath. He was doomed to die sooner or later.

He pointed his blade at the old man and frostily smirked, “Old dog, you have no right to blame me for this. This is all your doing. However, you have no need to worry. You guys won’t be too lonely on the path to the netherworld. This time, death came upon you. Next time, it’ll be that pasty-faced Xia Fengming. I’ll personally deliver him down there to accompany you all!”

*Pff*

With a clean swing of Jiang Xiaofan’s sword, the green-robed elder’s head flew out. His pair of eyes continued to stare fixedly ahead. A ninth heaven Phantom Saint cultivator had been bested by a Micro Realm cultivator! He was reluctant to accept reality.

Following the green-robed elder’s death, this “game of death” that took place in the Forest of Scorching Flames finally ended. The sun rose into the sky, and its golden rays lit up the world far and wide, washing away the darkness of the night. It was morning again!

“Huff….”

Jiang Xiaofan dropped to the ground and sat down. He was completely drained.

The damp air in the forest slowly dispersed. Dew covered the surface of the green leaves. The scene had become very tranquil with the exception of the bloodstained soil and corpses lying around.

A long while later, Jiang Xiaofan stood up and walked towards the corpses. The battle had ended, and he was the victor. Now was the time for him to collect the spoils.

They were all high-level cultivators, especially that green-robed elder. Ninth Heaven of Phantom Saint! How can he not have goodies on him? There was no way that Jiang Xiaofan would believe that. Hence, the old man became his first target.

With his head gone, the green-robed elder’s corpse had turned stone cold. With a sweeping gaze over him, Jiang Xiaofan locked his eyes onto a blue ring worn on his wrinkly finger. It looked very delicate and valuable.

Jiang Xiaofan carefully pried the ring off and peered into it with his spiritual awareness. Instantly, he was stupefied as if lightning had struck him.

“Jackpot!”

He just couldn’t contain himself and broke into a wide grin. Drool dripped down from his mouth.

The old man’s spatial ring was an unordinary one. Its quality was far better than Jiang Xiaofan’s. The spatial ring given to inner disciples by the Emperor’s Heaven Sect was only several square meters large. Contrarily, the green-robed elder’s ring was dozens of square meters large. Oh my gods! More than ten large bulls can comfortably fit in there.

With a gleam of light, two jade bottles appeared in Jiang Xiaofan’s hand. Contained inside were two types of pills, and both exuded a dense but pleasant fragrance.Jiang Xiaofan widened his eyes in great disbelief. Extravagant! Way too extravagant! So ridiculously extravagant that it goes against nature!

One of the bottles was filled to the top with primary core pills, but Jiang Xiaofan didn’t bother counting how many there were. His eyes bulged further as he looked into the other bottle. Gods! More than a dozen gold core pills! Gold core! These are gold core pills! And there are at least a dozen of them! But what does this mean? How can a small sect possibly provide so many gold core pills?! This is too shocking! Just who is that green-robed elder?!

When he peered into the ring again, a dark-colored halberd materialized in his hand. There was a faint divine aura surrounding the weapon, and  Jiang Xiaofan was abruptly astonished. He warily channeled his spiritual energy into the halberd, and the halberd immediately emitted dazzling golden rays and a fierce battle qi.

Jiang Xiaofan salivated again. A spirit weapon!

Jiang Xiaofan’s fragile heart thumped wildly. Great joy overwhelmed him to the point of nearly fainting. This old man’s collection was very exuberant. Jiang Xiaofan couldn’t believe that the old man possessed such a powerful spirit weapon. He could feel just how mighty this halberd was. Even the Qingyun Sword could not compare  itwith. This halberd had to be cream of the crop among spirit weapons!

As to why that green-robed elder hadn’t used the halberd, Jiang Xiaofan didn’t have to think too deeply to discover the answer. With a cultivation level at Phantom Saint, was it necessary to kill a mere Micro Ream cultivator with a spirit weapon? That was the equivalent of using the halberd to slice tofu.

Besides the halberd and pills, there were also many expensive goodies inside the spatial ring. However, compared with the gold core pills and the spirit weapon, they were of lesser value. With a brief glance, Jiang Xiaofan dismissed them.

He transferred the halberd and the two bottles of pills to his own spatial ring and threw the green-robed elder’s ring away. Although the old man’s spatial ring was far better than his, he didn’t dare to use it as he wished.

He then searched the rings of the other dozen corpses and discovered numerous spoils. Yet, when compared with the green-robed elder, their goodies were far inferior. There was barely anything of practical use except a few primary core pills.

Still, they were better than nothing. Jiang Xiaofan made a final count of his spoils. In total, there were one hundred and thirty-six primary cores, thirteen gold cores, one spirit weapon, and other miscellaneous items. He grew giddy with jubilation. What a bountiful harvest!

The sun blazed more intensely. Thus, the temperature within the Forest of Scorching Flames sharply rose. This was the reason why Fire Birds like to inhabit this area. Incessant, noisy bird calls sounded around him. To Jiang Xiaofan, however, this was music to his ears as he was in a very good mood and willing to reconcile with anything.

*Chirp chirp* *Chirp chirp*

After he reached the outskirts of the forest, a multicolored feathered, little bird flew towards him and dived into his arms. It chirped nonstop, and its large eyes were filled with tears. This little fellow must’ve been so worried.

“Aww, it’s alright. I’m still in one piece, aren’t I? Okay, let’s head back then!” Jiang Xiaofan smiled at the bird and petted it.

Previously, his clothes had been torn and stained with the blood of that green-robed elder. Fortunately, though, he had spare clothes in his spatial ring which Ye Yuanxue had prepared for him. Before he walked out of the forest, he had already changed into his new clothes. Now, his entire being looked fresh.

*Chirp chirp*

Upon hearing that it would depart with Jiang Xiaofan, the little fellow immediately chirped happily. It flapped its colorful wings and danced around Jiang Xiaofan in a circle before nestling on his shoulder.

His task this time was rife with scares. Now that he recalled everything that had happened, he tingled with uneasiness. His enemies were just too strong. If not for the help of the brass piece, he was unlikely to survive the ordeal.

Jiang Xiaofan inwardly laughed. Xia Fengming, huh? I’ll remember you! The people who you’ve sent out this time were completely annihilated, so I’ll consider this as a big slap to your face. Not too long into the future, I will make sure that you regret all that you have done against me today!

Not long after, Jiang Xiaofan reached the base of the Emperor’s Heaven Sect. He walked towards the Hall of Spiritual Cultivation to record his completed task and contribution points. Like usual, after the recording, the leader of the hall “escorted” him out once again.

Jiang Xiaofan pouted but didn’t bother to resent him. He then headed for another direction and swayed up the Heavenly Maiden Peak under the petrified expressions of the male cultivators who watched him.

“I’m not dreaming, am I? He…. He…. He just went straight up there just like that?”

In a daze, one guy stared fixedly at the view before him and foolishly asked this question. This guy was the pervert who had once asked Jiang Xiaofan how to safely walk up the Heavenly Maiden Peak. When the pervert had attempted to try it, he was knocked flying outward by a middle-aged, female disciple.

*Pah*

After hearing him speak, the person next to him smacked him hard across the face.

“Why did you hit me?!” The pervert bellowed in anger.

Without answering his question, the one who hit him queried, “Does it hurt?”

“Of course it does! Wait…. So, I’m not dreaming after all! It is real!”

Naturally, Jiang Xiaofan didn’t know what was happening at the base of the Heavenly Maiden Peak. Currently, he was encircled by a group of girls with excited expressions on their faces. Their cheeks were tinged red, and they chattered ceaselessly.

It wasn’t because Jiang Xiaofan was handsome. It wasn’t because his popularity had suddenly rocketed off the charts either. The girls surrounded him because of the little fellow in his arms.

“So beautiful! How cute!”

“Perverted Wolf, move aside! Let me pet it!”

“I saw it first! I should be one to pet it first!”

The girls were beyond enraptured by the little bird. They swarmed up and fought with each other to get a chance to play with it.

It couldn’t be helped. The little fellow was just too adorable with its dazzling, colorful feathers, its bright, big eyes, and its occasional look of innocence. No female could resist its charm. Even Ye Qiuyu, someone with such a noble temperament like her, was drawn to the bird.

*Chirp chirp* *Chirp chirp*

The girls were too overly passionate, which in return frightened the little fellow. It nestled deeper into Jiang Xiaofan’s embrace.

“Eh? What’s wrong with it?”

“It looks scared.”

“Perverted Wolf, did you bully the little guy?!”

Noticing the bird’s scared expression, the girls instantly interrogated Jiang Xiaofan as if he was a criminal who had committed unspeakable crimes. This prompted Jiang Xiaofan to roll his eyes. Please, ladies. Don’t you know that you people are the ones whom the little guy is scared of?!

At last, Jiang Xiaofan handed the little fellow to Ye Yuanxue, causing the girl to be thrilled with happiness. The world’s loveliest smile then bloomed on her delicate, petite face, and she directly wrapped her arms around Jiang Xiaofan.

Blood nearly trickled down his nose, but he quickly snorted it back up. This was too just too embarrassing.

On the other hand, the little fellow anxiously chirped and beat its wings, not wanting to part with Jiang Xiaofan. After a long period of comforting, he told the little bird that they could meet at any time since he lived on another peak from not far away. Just like that, it calmed down and quietly stayed with Ye Yuanxue.