Xie Fang reached out and touched the barrier in front of him, only to be instantly bounced back. He couldn't help but find it fascinating.
He had thought this boundary was a place where he could absorb most kinds of energy. Who would have guessed that, after all these years, it wouldn't let him leave?
Something had to be wrong. As Xie Fang walked around the area, he noticed something unexpected.
A special stone altar had appeared directly beneath the spot where he cultivated. On the platform sat something that had suddenly appeared, something like a compass. He stared at it, feeling somewhat unfamiliar with it.
"Crackle!"
A loud boom connected directly to the compass before him. Xie Fang examined it carefully. The compass could actually summon lightning. He had cultivated for so long and never encountered anything this interesting.
The next moment, Xie Fang's soul was sucked into the compass, and a little girl suddenly appeared.
"So you're the one fate brought here. You look rather unfamiliar."
He guessed that she was the compass's spirit. He hadn't expected to encounter something so sentient, but perhaps he'd been overthinking it. Still, the longer he was delayed, the more unexpected events were bound to occur.
"This really was a coincidence. I don't know how I ended up here. Do you know how I can leave?"
"Of course!"
The little girl beamed, looking as if she had no ulterior motives. But what she said next left him stunned.
"Just sign a contract with me here, and I guarantee I can get you out safely."
Xie Fang's mouth twitched. He didn't want to sign a contract with her. It was only a little compass—how could it possibly restrain his immense power? She seemed to know what he was thinking and smiled.
"I'm not just about lightning. I remember you wanted an area-of-effect skill. If you sign a contract with me, you can use all this lightning however you like. Isn't that enough to tempt you?"
Just as he was about to answer, the little girl disappeared.
In her place, a vast sky appeared before him. As clouds drifted past, they brought a faint chill. Xie Fang couldn't understand why she was doing this.
"This is where the lightning was summoned earlier."
Hearing her say that, he more or less understood. She wanted him to experience the place for himself, but he had never paid much attention to things like this, nor did he have particularly high expectations.
"In that case, let's sign the contract."
"How can you be so casual about it? I'm a treasure people outside have begged to obtain. That Old Qilin kept me locked up here for so long—didn't you notice?"
The person beside him froze, seemingly unsure what she meant. Then he realized: even after ten thousand years, Shi Qilin was still training on Buzhou Mountain. The treasure he had been seeking had apparently slipped away without anyone noticing.
"You're sure he won't get angry when he finds out?"
"If you're the one I'm hitching my wagon to, I don't think it'll matter even if he does."
Some part of her words seemed to please Xie Fang. He smiled broadly, lightly cut his finger with a small knife, and signed the contract on the spot.
Unlike ordinary blue or purple light, the Lightning Compass gave off a flash of Golden Light. He hadn't even reacted by the time it shimmered before his eyes.
"Now that the contract is signed, I won't keep you any longer."
The little girl lowered her head, then climbed up her arm.
"If you need my power, just point your hand in the direction you want. I'll summon lightning there."
After saying that, she vanished. He had no idea where she'd gone. Only after he was able to leave did he realize how much the outside world had changed.
During the ten thousand years he'd been in seclusion, the Yuan Feng Clan had left this place and moved to another plane. After he went into seclusion, the Witch-Demon Tribes had moved into their territory.
They had forced the clan out, so it was no wonder they'd left.
"I'd heard a little about what happened. I never expected them to be driven out of their homeland."
"Why are you still here?"
"We're Qilin, and we live in the Extreme Cold Land. Our numbers are pitifully small, so we pose no threat to them. They simply didn't bother driving us out."
Xie Fang nodded, and the other person handed him something.
"Yuanfeng asked me to keep this for you. I haven't opened it, so I don't know what's inside."
Once he was alone, he opened it and took a look. It was a link to the formation that led from here to Yuanfeng's place.
Xie Fang made some arrangements, then made a special trip there. He could visit the Witch-Demon Tribes another time.
A man in black suddenly appeared inside the Witch-Demon Hall and reported all of Xie Fang's movements.
"You're saying he left again?"
"Yes."
"Did you find any relevant clues?"
The man in black fell silent for a moment, then immediately shook his head. The person above him was somewhat displeased, but didn't make things difficult for him.
"Wasn't Gege Wu saying he had nothing to do? Why not send him over to take a good look and find out what that man is capable of?"
The person on the other side nodded without objecting.
After receiving the message, Gege Wu immediately drew a formation circle on the spot, ready to head over and take a look. This might be his first time visiting the place where the Phoenixes had settled.
"Is there anything I should watch out for?"
"Just don't get yourself into trouble."
Gege Wu nodded, then turned and left.
Xie Fang had just arrived when someone came out to greet him.
"You must be the honored guest of the old clan leader?"
A blind girl had come to welcome him, which surprised Xie Fang. Could Yuanfeng really have no one left at her side after all these ten thousand years?
After she had led him to the hall, she stepped away. Xie Fang immediately asked the person accompanying him about it.
"Could you stop making wild guesses? You've confused the poor girl."
Then he glanced at the girl's retreating figure and sighed faintly.
"She was caught in the crossfire and injured her eyes while fighting those people from the Witch-Demon Tribes."
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