122: I hold grudges

Fang Huai was about to flee when he heard someone call out to him, "Fellow Daoist from the Danxia Sect, quickly join the Qi-Uniting Formation and help the Foundation Establishment Immortal Master slay the demon."

The voice was so loud that it drew everyone's attention to Fang Huai.

Fang Huai looked over and saw a Ninth Level of Qi Refining Cultivator named Liu Qian standing on the Qi-Uniting Formation, staring intently at him.

Due to excessive consumption of Spiritual Qi, Liu Qian's face had turned pale, and cold sweat kept dripping from his temples.

Fine, fine, fine. You just had to drag me into this, didn't you? You'll get what's coming to you in a bit.

Fang Huai leaped up and stepped onto the Qi-Uniting Formation.

Unlike the Formation Lin Yu had set up, this Qi-Uniting Formation had a stronger suction, drawing spiritual power directly from a Cultivator's Qi Sea, which was more damaging to them.

Seeing the [Extracting Spiritual Power] tag appear on himself, Fang Huai approached Liu Qian and said:

"Fellow Daoist, what kind of benefits do we actually get for participating in this Qi-Uniting Formation?"

The man wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Several Foundation Establishment Martial Uncles said that the centipede Yao Beast refuses to leave this place, so it must be guarding a supreme treasure. Once the Yao Beast is dead, the treasures it was guarding will be shared with us."

Fang Huai sighed. The minds of Righteous Cultivators were still too simple; they actually believed such words. They were being sold out yet remained full of hope.

More and more Cultivators stepped onto the Qi-Uniting Formation to provide spiritual power for the three Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Under the attrition of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators, the Black Fiend Centipede gradually began to show signs of defeat.

"I can't take it anymore. If this continues, my Foundation will be destroyed." Liu Qian quietly moved toward the edge of the Formation.

Want to leave the Qi-Uniting Formation? In your dreams.

Fang Huai intentionally shouted loudly, "Fellow Daoist, you are already at the edge of the Qi-Uniting Formation. If you take a few more steps back, you will leave the Formation."

Liu Qian's eyelids twitched, and he whispered, "I'm exhausted; I can't hold on any longer."

Fang Huai continued to shout, "Fellow Daoists on the Formation, who among us isn't exhausted? If everyone were as afraid of death and utterly selfish as you, how would we ever kill this Yao Beast?"

"That's right, you've only been on the Qi-Uniting Formation for a few minutes."

"This guy was just dragging others onto the Formation, and yet he turns out to be such a spineless coward."

"Bah! Looking at his attire, he's a Disciple of Huangfeng Valley, isn't he? A small Sect is just a small Sect, no sense of the bigger picture."

"..."

The Cultivators were already irritated by having their spiritual power extracted. Now that they had an object for their venting, they all began to speak up.

Liu Qian's face flushed bright red. He shot a fierce glare at Fang Huai and said, "I won't back down. I hope you, with your Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivation, can also hold out."

With that, he took out a bottle of spirit replenishing pills and poured them all into his mouth, intentionally smacking his lips at Fang Huai. "I have three more bottles of these spirit replenishing pills. I wonder if you have such savings?"

Fang Huai saw the [Spiritual Power Recovery (Grey)] tag appear on Liu Qian and quickly swapped it onto himself, feeling a massive amount of Spiritual Qi pour into his Qi Sea.

Fang Huai felt much better now. Looking back at Liu Qian, the other man had a panicked expression on his face.

He said mockingly, "Fellow Daoist, seeing how pale your face is, those spirit replenishing pills of yours couldn't be fakes, could they?"

"How could they be!"

Liu Qian glared at Fang Huai and pulled out another whole bottle of spirit replenishing pills, pouring them into his mouth.

However, the empty sensation in his Qi Sea forced him to take out yet another bottle of spirit replenishing pills.

"Damn it, they really are fakes! When I get back to the market, I'm going to tear that stall-keeper kid into ten thousand pieces!" Liu Qian cursed angrily.

Then, he summoned his Flying Sword, stepped onto it, and quickly fled from the Qi-Uniting Formation.

He no longer cared about the treasures mentioned by the Foundation Establishment Cultivators. With so many Cultivators present, the share he would receive would be meager, not worth the loss caused by a damaged Foundation.

Seeing this, Fang Huai also summoned his Flying Sword. "Fellow Daoists, I'll go catch that brat and bring him back!"

With that, he sped off in the direction Liu Qian had fled.

In fact, before Liu Qian, many others had also been unable to hold out and left the Qi-Uniting Formation, but most of them were low-key about it and didn't annoy anyone.

Those remaining on the Qi-Uniting Formation, struggling to hold on, would have long since abandoned the Formation if it weren't for their greed.

After only a short pursuit, Liu Qian fell from his Flying Sword due to depleted spiritual power. He rolled several times in a pathetic manner before finally slamming into a rock and coming to a halt.

Fang Huai stopped unhurriedly in front of him and smiled. "Fellow Daoist, why not come back with me and continue slaying the demon?"

"You're looking for death!"

Being insulted like this by a Qi Refining Seventh Layer Cultivator, Liu Qian was instantly consumed by rage.

Although his spiritual power was depleted, how could a Ninth Level of Qi Refining Cultivator like him not have some life-saving measures?

He slapped his spirit beast pouch, and an Eighth Layer of Qi Refining Demon Wolf instantly pounced toward Fang Huai.

Fang Huai didn't dodge; he just looked at Liu Qian with a smile, making Liu Qian feel uneasy.

Just as the Demon Wolf was about to pounce on him, Fang Huai shook out a fox fur coat and forced the hood open.

The seemingly tight hood was actually forced open by Fang Huai into an opening over a zhang in diameter, and the edges of the hood were now lined with dense, terrifying teeth.

"Awoo!"

The Demon Wolf sensed danger and turned around to flee.

Fang Huai's figure vanished from the spot. When he reappeared, he had already clamped the hood of the fox fur coat over the Demon Wolf.

The fox fur coat seemed to come to life, tightly wrapping around the Demon Wolf. Before the wolf could even howl, it disappeared.

Then, the coat transformed into a giant white fox, which let out a burp and said, "Brother, I was still sleeping. Why didn't you give me a heads-up before starting the meal?"

"A Foundation Establishment Stage Demon Beast! You're not a Cultivator from the Danxia Sect—you're a Demonic Cultivator!"

Liu Qian's face changed drastically, and he kept backing away.

Fang Huai shook his head and said, "I never said I was a Danxia Sect Cultivator; I'm just wearing their clothes.

You're quite interesting. Others avoid Demonic Cultivators like the plague, yet you couldn't wait to link yourself with me."

"Mercy! Spare me! Please, Great One, be magnanimous and let me go like a passing breeze."

Liu Qian fell to his knees and kept kowtowing. Now that his spiritual power was gone and his spirit pet had been eaten by the Demon Fox, he was powerless to resist.

Fang Huai sighed and said, "Not only are you a spineless coward who bullies the weak and fears the strong, but you're also a brainless fool. Now that you've exposed me as a Demonic Cultivator, do you think I'll let you go?"

Liu Qian hurriedly said, "I can cast a Memory-Loss Curse on myself and pretend I never saw you."

"That won't do either."

Fang Huai waved his hand and signaled Li Zhu to swallow him in one gulp. "I am a vengeful person. Since you provoked me before, there's no need for you to keep living."

After killing Liu Qian, Fang Huai looked toward the distance in the direction of Sect Master Peak.

The Black Fiend Centipede was covered in wounds, its vitality was failing, and its spiritual power was depleted; it was no longer capable of fighting.

It wanted to flee, but it was surrounded by three Mid-Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators and had no way out.

Realizing its fate was sealed, the Black Fiend Centipede suddenly curled its body and then rapidly expanded.

Fang Huai's eyes flickered, thinking to himself that the Yao Beast was about to self-detonate. Fortunately, he had left the Qi-Uniting Formation; otherwise, he would have surely been severely injured.

Seeing the Yao Beast in such a state, the three Mid-Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators each brought out Spirit Talismans, and Spiritual Power Shields instantly enveloped them.

But the low-level Cultivators on the nearby Qi-Uniting Formation were in trouble. They wanted to flee, but it was already too late.

They brought out Spirit Talismans, but most people's talismans were of low rank. Whether they could withstand the impact of the Yao Beast's explosion was entirely a matter of luck.

"Bang—"

With a world-shaking boom, the Black Fiend Centipede turned into a rain of blood filling the sky. A Purple Poisonous Mist enveloped the entire Sect Master Peak, nearly exterminating all living beings on the peak.