Chapter 21: Holding Hands!

Feng Xixing’s expression froze at Lin Chuyun’s blunt words, a trace of heat rising to his ear tips. He instinctively looked away. His initial righteous confidence vanished, replaced by a faint, barely perceptible unease.

Lin Chuyun felt like he’d just escaped a disaster. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, Bai Linghan’s voice came from behind him.

“This Senior Brother…”

Lin Chuyun’s back stiffened instantly.

The voice was frail and weak, as if a gust of wind could scatter it. One could easily imagine a sickly beauty without even turning around.

However—in Lin Chuyun’s mind, that voice was a summoning from hell. Watching the smile on Feng Xixing’s lips grow deeper, Lin Chuyun, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, swiftly dodged behind Feng Xixing, putting as much distance between himself and Bai Linghan as possible.

Bai Linghan only saw a flash before his eyes, and that white-robed senior brother had abruptly vanished. He was stunned for a moment.

Feng Xixing was quite satisfied with Lin Chuyun’s reaction, and his killing intent subsided considerably.

He shifted his gaze toward Bai Linghan. Three other people had come over with him. Feng Xixing casually scanned them and, as expected, spotted Wang Jianbai among them.

Wang Jianbai sensed the Golden Core stage Spirit Power emanating from Feng Xixing, and his expression soured instantly. Back at the square, Feng Xixing had only been at Foundation Establishment. Barely half a month had passed, and he’d already succeeded in Core Formation!

It’s just dumb luck… Wang Jianbai gritted his teeth, swallowing his jealousy.

When Bai Linghan saw Feng Xixing, his brows furrowed involuntarily. Remembering the humiliation he’d suffered at the square, malice churned in his heart.

He naturally didn’t think he was at fault. He only believed Feng Xixing had deliberately set a trap to mislead him. Immortal Lord Lin must have also been bewitched by Feng Xixing, which was why he’d been so cold.

It was all this person’s fault!

Bai Linghan stared at the Ice Void Robe on Feng Xixing, his envy turning his eyes red. He had an inexplicable feeling that this robe should have been his, stolen away by Feng Xixing!

“Junior Brother Bai?” Seeing Bai Linghan’s reddening eyes, Wang Jianbai assumed he was wronged and upset. He quickly comforted him, “Junior Brother Bai, you’re just too pure. These people are completely unreasonable. You still insist on believing they’re good…”

Bai Linghan gently shook his head, but his gaze held a hint of wavering conviction. “Senior Brother Wang, please don’t say that. Linghan… Linghan believes Senior Brother Yan is certainly not that kind of person.”

As for the others, he simply glossed over them.

Yan Sha, listening nearby, was fuming. He’d encountered Bai Linghan in the sect before. He just remembered this person being soft and weak. How was he even worse at talking than himself? —He never realized Bai Linghan was doing it on purpose; he just thought this person was stupid.

“Stop talking. You’re giving me a headache.” Yan Sha gave Bai Linghan no face whatsoever.

Bai Linghan’s face paled further, his eyes filled with hurt.

Seeing his beloved being bullied, Wang Jianbai’s resentment toward Yan Sha deepened. He couldn’t help but speak up, “Yan Sha, you’ve gone too far!”

Yan Sha looked at him, utterly speechless. “I…”

“It’s not Senior Brother Yan’s fault. It’s all Linghan’s doing,” Bai Linghan intercepted, hastily trying to mediate.

But the more he spoke up for Yan Sha, the angrier Wang Jianbai became.

He and Yan Sha had entered Spirit Fire Peak together. Yet compared to him, Yan Sha’s cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, reaching the Golden Core stage in just two years. It had taken him a full five years just to barely form his core.

And now, even the person he liked was defending Yan Sha—

“Junior Brother Bai, you don’t need to make excuses for him. This time, I must seek justice for the junior brothers!” Wang Jianbai took a step forward.

Yan Sha was already furious. Cultivators with Fire Spiritual Roots were naturally irascible, and Wang Jianbai kept adding fuel to the fire. Yan Sha’s anger simply couldn’t be suppressed. He threw a punch directly.

Violent Spirit Power coalesced in the air into a massive, flame-wreathed fist, slamming viciously into the sandy ground between them. The flames instantly devoured everything, creating a huge, smoking crater in the sand.

The air fell deathly silent, leaving only the suddenly heavy breathing of the crowd and the sound of wind scouring the gravel.

Wang Jianbai carefully looked down at the crater, less than an inch from his feet, and nearly collapsed to the ground from weak knees.

Having vented some of his anger with that punch, Yan Sha snorted coldly. “Anyone else want to seek justice?!”

After those words, no one else dared to speak.

Nearby, Bai Linghan saw Yan Sha suppress the situation with a single strike, and a dark hatred flashed in his eyes. Gritting his teeth, a thin needle suddenly appeared in his hand. Taking advantage of no one watching, he stabbed himself in the chest.

“Cough, cough, cough…” Bai Linghan suddenly started coughing violently. His pale, slender fingertips covered his lips, but streaks of blood could still be seen trickling down from the corner of his mouth.

“Senior Brother Bai is coughing blood!!”

“He must have been injured by that Spirit Power just now!”

“Quick, quick, help Senior Brother Bai go somewhere to rest!”

The scene dissolved into chaos. Several disciples supported Bai Linghan over to sit beside a large rock. Wang Jianbai hurriedly followed, taking out a pill for Bai Linghan to swallow.

Yan Sha rolled his eyes, too lazy to bother with them anymore. He turned to Feng Xixing and Lin Chuyun. “Let’s go.”

But just as the three turned to leave, their path was blocked by several disciples, who glared at Yan Sha with outright hostility.

“You think you can run after injuring Senior Brother Bai?!”

“Don’t even think about leaving without compensating us for the demon beast!”

Yan Sha’s face finally darkened. He stared coldly at the disciples before him, his usually flamboyant red hair turning an even deeper crimson. Just as Yan Sha was about to strike out at his fellow sect members, Lin Chuyun had no choice but to nudge Feng Xixing.

The Star Point Sect had rules: disciples were forbidden from fighting amongst themselves. If Yan Sha attacked, he could be severely punished.

It took three or four nudges from Lin Chuyun before Feng Xixing reluctantly stepped forward. He placed a hand on Yan Sha’s shoulder, forcibly suppressing his fury.

“A Core Formation stage demon beast, is it?” Feng Xixing looked at those people and asked calmly. The color of the tear mole at the corner of his eye quietly deepened.

In his shadow, something silently stirred. A wisp of inconspicuous black mist burrowed into the sandy ground, swiftly seeking its target.

A hint of coldness touched the corner of Feng Xixing’s lips.

The disciples facing him felt inexplicably timid. But upon seeing Senior Brother Bai’s admiring gaze on them from over there, they instantly puffed out their chests again. “That’s right! A Core Formation stage!”

“Fine.” Feng Xixing replied evenly.

His quick agreement made the two disciples somewhat suspicious. They looked at each other doubtfully and confirmed again, “A Core Formation stage demon beast!”

Feng Xixing glanced at them. “Naturally. It will certainly be Core Formation stage.”

As soon as he finished speaking, before the doubt on their faces could fade, the sandy ground beneath their feet suddenly heaved.

The surrounding sand and dust, as if drawn by some force, began rushing madly in one direction. The few people couldn’t even keep their footing, tumbling onto the sand. The commotion was so great that even Bai Linghan and Wang Jianbai over there were alarmed.

“What’s happening?!” Wang Jianbai cried out in shock and anger, shielding Bai Linghan behind him.

But he didn’t need to ask for long. From the sand pit that was ceaselessly swallowing the gravel, a massive hooked claw slowly extended.

Countless grains of sand poured off the claw. Just from this single claw, one could imagine the immense size of the beast’s body hidden beneath the sand.

“What is that?!” Wang Jianbai’s pupils constricted sharply as he scrambled backward in panic.

Feng Xixing had already shielded Lin Chuyun and moved to a safe spot long before the claw emerged. Hearing Wang Jianbai’s cry, he even replied, “Well, here’s the Core Formation demon beast you wanted.”

Alive and kicking, of course.

“You…” Wang Jianbai wanted to say something, but the beast seemed to have already identified him as the one with the highest cultivation there. The hooked claw grabbed for him without hesitation.

Wang Jianbai hastily retreated, having absolutely no desire to personally test the claw’s sharpness. But something in the sand tripped him, and he tumbled all the way down to the bottom of the pit.

By the time he lifted his dusty face, a colossal, ferocious demon beast appeared before him.

The beast was several times larger than the previous Female Demon Spider. Its vicious eyes were locked onto Wang Jianbai, as if the moment he moved, the fangs hidden beneath its maw would tear him apart.

Wang Jianbai’s face was deathly pale; he couldn’t even stand.

“Senior Brother Yan, go save Senior Brother Wang quickly!” Bai Linghan, having somehow fled over to Feng Xixing’s side, said to Yan Sha, “He’s your junior brother! Can you bear to watch him be killed by that beast?”

Yan Sha turned his head speechlessly and asked with utter sincerity, “Then why don’t you go save him?”

Bai Linghan was clearly also at the Golden Core stage. Why should he stay out of it and demand Yan Sha to go?

Bai Linghan hadn’t expected Yan Sha to be so blunt. His expression froze, and for a moment, he couldn’t reply.

In the sand pit, Wang Jianbai finally snapped out of his terror and remembered his identity as a Golden Core cultivator. He swiftly summoned his Spirit Sword, but with no intention of saving the others. Instead, he directly fled into the distance on his sword.

The only ones left in the pit were the few Foundation Establishment disciples, who didn’t even have Spirit Swords. They could only flee outward in terror, screaming as they ran, “Senior, Senior Brother Bai! Help!!”

Bai Linghan’s expression shifted. Within the sect, he had always maintained the image of a kind and pure heart. If he left them to die, the reputation he’d built would be completely ruined!

But this was a Core Formation demon beast!

There’s only one way…

A ruthless glint flashed in Bai Linghan’s eyes. He took out the silver needle hidden in his palm. Just as he was about to stab it fiercely into his chest, he responded quickly, “Hold on, Junior Brothers, Linghan is coming to… you?!”

A streak of Ice Qi swiftly snatched the needle from his hand. Bai Linghan’s face instantly changed. He stepped forward, his usually docile face twisting. “Give it back!”

Feng Xixing had no intention of humoring him. The needle didn’t even reach his hand before he flicked it onto the sand, where it was quickly swallowed by the grains.

“You!” Bai Linghan was furious. He only needed to cough up a bit of blood, and he’d have a valid excuse not to save those useless fools!

Yan Sha poked his head over again. He hadn’t noticed what happened between the two, just asking another purely innocent question: “Junior Brother Bai, aren’t you going to save them?”

Bai Linghan gritted his teeth and forcibly swallowed the rest of his words. He had no choice but to summon his Green Water Sword and charge out.

Lin Chuyun, who’d been watching the spectacle with relative calm, instantly cowered the moment he saw the Green Water Sword.

That seemed to be the prize from the last inter-disciple tournament. If the original host hadn’t schemed in the shadows, how could it have fallen into Bai Linghan’s hands?

Wait, schemed in the shadows…?

As if suddenly remembering something, Lin Chuyun abruptly reached out and grabbed Feng Xixing’s left hand. His fingertips even brushed against Feng Xixing’s palm twice.

Feng Xixing: “?!!!”