The flames faded, and horror appeared on everyone's faces.
A ferocious beast stood in the air.
It resembled a lion, with two horns on its head, golden scales covering its body, and raging flames coiling around it.
Its pupils were like two great fireballs, and even the breath from its nostrils was scorching hot.
"Th-this is... the Crimson Flame Golden Ni, one of the Ten Ferocious Beasts of Ancient Times!"
"Elder Jiang is truly terrifying, keeping a ferocious beast as a pet!"
Jiang Yantian smiled and waved a hand. "I named it Yanshi. I'll ask Master's Illusory Feather Azure Luan to give it some pointers!"
Below, Ye Feng's legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
What the fuck? How was he supposed to fight that?
He had even been thinking of torturing Jiang Yantian to death.
He probably couldn't even beat Jiang Yantian's ferocious beast.
This beast could kill him just by releasing its presence.
"Young friend, steady your Dao heart!" Elder Long, inside the Spirit-Fusing Mirror, sensed Ye Feng's emotional turmoil and hurriedly reminded him.
If he belittled himself any further, what fucking ambition would he have left? He already thought the other man could crush him with a flick of his hand.
Ye Feng abruptly came to his senses. "Don't worry, Elder Long. I'll hold steady."
"Good, that's good. This Jiang Yantian really is a genius of extraordinary talent."
"It's no exaggeration to say that if he steps into the Spirit Transformation Realm, even its early phase, he'll be invincible throughout the Nine Provinces."
"Invincible throughout the Nine Provinces? Wouldn't that mean invincible in the lower realm?" Ye Feng felt his scalp prickle.
He was only at fucking Foundation Establishment. When the hell would he ever catch up? Could he still avenge his great grudge?
Would he have to endure that man's endless humiliation all that time?
He might as well die.
"Don't worry, young friend. The lower realm is actually very small. Geniuses like that are everywhere in the upper realm. With me here, you'll surpass him," Elder Long said with utter confidence.
Only then did Ye Feng let out a great sigh of relief. "Elder Long, I'll be counting on you!"
While the two conversed, there was movement above again.
"Roar!"
The Crimson Flame Golden Ni roared, flames blazing as it charged straight at the Illusory Feather Azure Luan.
The ferocious beast and spirit beast immediately clashed, their momentum rivaling even Jiang Yantian and Luo Xingcai's battle.
"Master, are we still fighting?" Jiang Yantian asked with a smile.
Remembering how Jiang Yantian had teased her earlier, Luo Xingcai felt her anger surge again.
This rebellious disciple actually wanted a peek at her titties. Outrageous!
"Yes!" Luo Xingcai swung her sword, her imposing presence soaring once more!
"Good. Then today, your disciple will show you what a spatial transfer technique is!"
Jiang Yantian slowly raised his right hand, spreading his fingers and curling them slightly.
The next second, a gleam burst from Jiang Yantian's eyes and shot straight toward his palm.
Everything around him began to spin. Hurricane winds swept through and twisted, shredding even the clouds in the sky.
"Demon Kingdom in the Palm!"
Luo Xingcai felt a shudder run through her as a mass of black mist enveloped her.
When the black mist dispersed, she discovered that she was in an unfamiliar place.
Black mist surrounded her. Beyond it, she could faintly make out crumbling walls and ruins. Above her, there seemed to be no sky in sight, yet a bloody hue shimmered there.
In this place, with no sky above and no ground beneath her feet, she felt the pressing urgency of danger lurking on every side.
It was as though countless great terrors would charge out of the black mist in the next second!
Luo Xingcai swung her sword, sending hundreds of streaks of light shooting out in an instant.
Yet those streaks of light might as well have struck empty air. They touched nothing at all.
She put away her sword and used her teleportation movement method.
"What's going on?" Luo Xingcai exclaimed.
Even though she felt she had teleported a thousand miles away, she still seemed to be circling the same spot.
It was as though she was completely trapped within this barrier.
"What kind of Divine Ability is this?" Luo Xingcai bit her red lip, feeling somewhat powerless.
Trapped within Jiang Yantian's Demon Kingdom in the Palm, Luo Xingcai had no idea that Jiang Yantian was no longer in the sect either.
When he had unleashed his Divine Ability just now, he had already arrived beside a lake.
He looked at the mass of black mist in his palm, a victorious smile appearing on his face.
Demon Kingdom in the Palm was a supreme great Divine Ability the system had given him, a type of spatial transfer technique.
He was currently using it at only the Nascent Soul Realm, yet even someone at the Spirit Transformation Stage could forget about breaking through its barrier with ease.
Once his cultivation realm rose, it would truly become a great terror.
Jiang Yantian felt it had been long enough, so he withdrew the Divine Ability and released Luo Xingcai.
When Luo Xingcai abruptly appeared, even she was somewhat dazed.
In that bizarre world, she had had no sense of time. She even felt she had spent a long time inside.
She surveyed her surroundings, her gaze finally settling on Jiang Yantian.
"You... what Divine Ability was that?" While trapped inside, she had truly felt powerless for the first time.
That oppressive environment and the absence of any sign of time passing had tormented her heart and mind, while every martial skill she unleashed vanished into thin air.
There had been nothing to gain purchase on at all.
If she remained trapped there, even if she did not die of exhaustion, she would suffer a mental breakdown.
"A little trick, just a little trick. Master, forgive my offenses!" Jiang Yantian wore a wicked smile, his gaze still roaming over Luo Xingcai's rising and falling peaks.
Luo Xingcai seemed to notice as well. In embarrassed anger, she struck her palm toward Jiang Yantian.
Jiang Yantian immediately blocked.
Without using weapons, the two exchanged dozens more moves beside the lake.
One of Luo Xingcai's palm strikes hit Jiang Yantian.
It struck him over the heart.
"Ugh..."
Jiang Yantian staggered back several steps, clutching his chest with a pained expression.
"You..." Luo Xingcai wanted to walk over and check on him.
But Jiang Yantian held up a hand to stop her.
Without a word, he vanished from the spot in an instant.
Luo Xingcai sighed and prepared to leave as well.
Just then, however, she suddenly noticed a piece of silk cloth where Jiang Yantian had been standing.
Something seemed to be wrapped inside.
He must have dropped it while fighting her. There was no doubt about it.
She raised her hand and crooked a finger, and the silk cloth appeared in her hand.
Following the principle that she should not pry into other people's belongings, Luo Xingcai intended to put it away and find a chance to return it to Jiang Yantian.
But by sheer coincidence, just then...
As she picked it up, the silk cloth unfolded.
The things wrapped inside scattered out as well.
Luo Xingcai looked closely.
"These are... red beans..."
The things wrapped inside were merely some ordinary red beans.
But the writing at the corner of the silk cloth made Luo Xingcai unable to resist looking.
When she unfolded it, several lines of writing appeared.
It was a poem, and Luo Xingcai unconsciously murmured it aloud.
"Red beans grow in the southern lands; how many branches sprout when spring comes?"
"May you gather plenty of them, for nothing speaks more deeply of longing."
"This fellow has such literary talent. To think he's so accomplished in poetry."
This poem spoke of longing.
But the line that followed was rather abrupt.
"I gave my heart to the bright moon, yet the bright moon shines upon the ditch!"
The final line, however, left Luo Xingcai dumbfounded.
At the very bottom was written-"Dedicated to my biased master."
Luo Xingcai stood rooted to the spot, unable to come to her senses for a long time.
With the recipient identified, how could she fail to see that Jiang Yantian had written this for her?
And there were so many red beans.
Tokens of longing.
Luo Xingcai felt her face burn. She knew what it meant without even thinking.
"Rebellious disciple..." Luo Xingcai cursed angrily.
Her delicate hand pinched the silk cloth, and she was about to throw it away.
But after raising her hand, she could not help tightening her grip. In the end, she slowly lowered it.
That line surfaced in her mind again: "I gave my heart to the bright moon, yet the bright moon shines upon the ditch..."
There was a little sorrow and indignation in it, as though it were making a veiled accusation.
Luo Xingcai let out a long sigh, put away the silk cloth, and wrapped up the red beans as well, pretending she had never seen them.