Why He Xiong Defected

At the summit of an unknown mountain, Han Fei sat in an open clearing, took out all the Storage Bags, and began sorting through his spoils.

Qi Xuanxuan had not bothered to clean up the battlefield because she could not be bothered. As the eldest daughter of the Tianyuan Divine Sect and the sect's Saintess, she had countless treasures on her, and everything she used was the best of its kind.

But while Miss Qi might look down on them, Han Fei could not ignore them.

As he sorted through the items, he chatted with the gods in the Primordial Group.

Chiyou: "Actually, what that Bai Ruoyan said was right. Helping that Blue Demon is harmful to your Tianyuan Divine Sect."

Yellow Emperor said, "I disagree. I understand what the group leader means. It's like those people called traitors to the martial path. The group leader doesn't know what wrong they committed, so it's hard for him to bring himself to act."

Fuxi agreed. "The group leader's personality is actually quite good. At least, I think so. He shows no mercy to those who deserve to die, but for those who do not deserve it, or who bear him no hostility, he spares them when he can. Why should he let others influence him? If the sect says someone is wrong, does that make them wrong? I think it's a good thing to have your own judgment."

Hongjun said, "I agree with Fuxi. Since ancient times, the Heavenly Dao has turned in cycles. Sow good causes, reap good results. Perhaps this Blue Demon will save your life someday."

Chiyou: "There are already a few goody-two-shoes in this group. Can you stop pretending to be a good person? Every time you open your mouth, you start going on about your hundred thousand Great Daos. It's annoying just looking at it."

Hongjun: "..."

Yellow Emperor: "Hey, little Chiyou, why are you baring your fangs at everyone? Haven't your beastly instincts fully evolved yet? Is Old Ancestor Hongjun someone you can slander?"

Chiyou: "Who are you calling a beast, Old Yellow? Isn't your true form half-human and half-beast too? You're covered in clean fur yourself, yet you have the nerve to call others monkeys?"

Watching the few of them argue and launch into another round of insults, Han Fei immediately gave up on the idea of chatting in the group. He focused on sorting through his spoils instead.

Aside from He Xiong's belongings, he had already sorted everything else. There were more than thirty thousand Spirit Stones alone, along with various pills, weapons, and other treasures.

Han Fei also found dozens of medicinal herbs, including Three-leaf Clover, the main ingredient for refining Spirit Gathering Pills. As for the other two ingredients, Floating Spirit Grass and Jingyuan Flower, they were not there. Still, those two herbs were easy to buy, and any herbal shop would have plenty of them.

After sorting everything into categories, Han Fei prepared to open He Xiong's Storage Bag.

According to that burly man, He Xiong had stolen a treasure from Digui Peak's Headmaster. However, Han Fei did not quite believe that explanation. Digui Peak's Headmaster was a Martial Soul Realm expert. Could his possessions really have been stolen by a disciple at the fifth level of the Spirit Gathering Realm? That clearly did not sound believable.

In Han Fei's opinion, the Headmaster of Digui Peak probably did not know about this treasure either. He Xiong's team had completed some kind of mission, obtained the treasure, and then fled. That was why the Headmaster had listed it as an S-rank mission.

Otherwise, if it truly had been his treasure, would Digui Peak's Headmaster have asked someone else to clean house for him?

After opening He Xiong's Storage Bag, Han Fei found more than three thousand Spirit Stones, four bottles of pills, and a spare pair of twin blades. He Xiong's original pair of mid-grade treasure short blades had been chopped apart by Han Fei.

Other than those items, the only things that could be called treasures were two scrolls.

He opened one of them. Written on it were the words: "Blood Qi Awakening."

"Using one's own blood as a foundation, merging the liquid state of blood with the gaseous state of spiritual energy, gradually removing one's own shackles and granting an all-around enhancement."

Han Fei murmured, "This is somewhat similar to my Blood Qi Judgment."

Chiyou said, "Not the same. Your Blood Qi Judgment concentrates its attack at a single point, using the fusion of two powers for a focused burst. This Blood Qi Awakening, however, can improve your strength in every aspect. To put it plainly, it burns your blood to gain a higher level of power."

"A move that hurts the enemy by a thousand but harms yourself by eight hundred. I don't recommend using it."

Hongjun said, "The group leader's cultivation is still relatively low, so using this technique now will not cause any serious consequences. But from what I can observe, if this secret art is pushed to its limit, it may burn away all your essence blood. Although the power gained could destroy heaven and earth, it would ultimately be temporary, and you would die in the end."

Han Fei asked in surprise, "With a secret art like this, why didn't He Xiong use it?"

Yellow Emperor said, "Did you give him the chance? You really should thank that little girl. Her Spirit Burst Bomb knocked He Xiong back, then you followed up and killed him in a single move. Otherwise, if He Xiong had activated this technique, even just the first layer, combined with his fifth-level Spirit Gathering Realm cultivation, you might not have been his match."

Han Fei fell silent. He knew Yellow Emperor was not wrong. Judging from Blood Qi Awakening's description, although it had eight layers, merely opening the first would increase all of one's power by ten percent. He Xiong's strength would have risen dramatically.

If that had happened, whether he could defeat He Xiong would have been uncertain.

Han Fei put away Blood Qi Awakening, intending to practice it when he had time. Though he would restrain himself and use it as little as possible under normal circumstances, at a life-or-death moment, Blood Qi Awakening would definitely be a formidable trump card.

He opened the other scroll. Han Fei had assumed it would be another forbidden art or secret technique, or at worst, some top-tier cultivation method or martial skill.

But to his surprise, it was merely a map of a small region.

The map recorded very few places, and the information visible on it was limited, but it still had a clearly marked location. There was even a city marked on it.

Han Fei immediately took out a map of the Tianyuan region, where locations throughout the Four Great Empires were clearly marked.

Comparing it to the larger map, Han Fei quickly found that city.

Luoan City lay at the border of the East Continent Empire. If he continued south for less than a day, he would leave the territory governed by the Tianyuan Divine Sect.

"Why is it so far from the sect, in such a remote place?"

Han Fei compared the maps. The marked location on the scroll was a mountain range on the larger map. Moreover, Luoan City, which was not far away, was not a prosperous city either.

An official road ran straight through Luoan City. One direction led toward the central region of the East Continent Empire, while the other led beyond the Tianyuan region.

Chiyou said, "The more remote and inconspicuous a place is, the more likely it is to hold an opportunity. It wouldn't hurt to try your luck."

Han Fei nodded. That was what he thought as well. When an opportunity appeared, one had to seize it.

After weighing things briefly, Han Fei decided not to return to the sect yet. He would first go check out the location marked on the map. Maybe it was some earth-shattering treasure trove.

There was only one problem now. The Swift Beasts Han Fei had ridden here were gone. Qi Xuanxuan had probably ridden one away, and the other had followed it.

With a soft sigh, he could only head south and buy another one when he came across a town.

Meanwhile, in the capital of the East Continent Empire, a mysterious woman in a black gauze robe sat by a window on the top floor of the largest restaurant, staring blankly at the beautiful scenery below.

Beside her, a maid in a black robe stood respectfully.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. The maid opened it and found Fu Jiahao standing outside.

The maid said softly, "Miss, Fu Jiahao has arrived."

With that, she ushered Fu Jiahao into the room.

Fu Jiahao said respectfully, "This subordinate, Fu Jiahao, pays respects to Miss."

The Black Veil Woman smiled. "How is it? Is Asura Hall better than the Tianyuan Divine Sect?"

Fu Jiahao nodded. "Asura Hall's cultivation methods are more domineering, and its martial skills are far more offensive. They are simply not comparable to the Tianyuan Divine Sect's methods. I truly regret joining the Tianyuan Divine Sect back then and never having the chance to enter Asura Hall."

The Black Veil Woman covered her mouth and chuckled. "No wonder Qi Xiaotian treated you so well back then. So it was all because of that mouth of yours. How did the matter I assigned you go?"

Fu Jiahao replied respectfully, "I already led people to Hidden Dragon Abyss. However, there seemed to have been a battle there. He Xiong and the others were all killed, so this subordinate did not obtain the sincerity He Xiong spoke of."

The Black Veil Woman frowned. "Killed? He had only just wanted to join Asura Hall, and he said he would give me an enormous surprise. Yet he was killed already? Who did it?"

Fu Jiahao said, "I captured several survivors. According to them, it was Qi Xuanxuan and Han Fei."

The Black Veil Woman paused. "Those two again?"

Fu Jiahao glanced at the maid beside her. "A few nights ago, if not for this one at your side stopping me, I would have already slaughtered Han Fei and captured Qi Xuanxuan alive."

The maid snorted coldly. "If I had not saved you, you would have died a hundred times over by now. There were four extremely powerful auras following them in secret. Couldn't you sense them? And you still dare to boast here."

Fu Jiahao was stunned. "Four auras? Qin, Qi, Shu, Hua?"

After saying that, Fu Jiahao fell silent. He had spent several years at Tongtian Peak. How could he not know that Qi Xuanxuan was protected by the four great experts Qin, Qi, Shu, Hua?

The Black Veil Woman waved her hand. "Go investigate their current location. I still want to know what He Xiong intended to give me."

Fu Jiahao bowed, then turned and left.