Chapter 130: The Timid Fang Junmei

Beneath the surface of the earth, there was nothing but yellow sand, exceptionally soft and loose, which allowed the Earth-Drilling Shuttle to pass through with remarkable ease. Once underground, Fang Junmei dove straight into the depths.

Though the crystal spirit birds were strange and formidable, they could not burrow. They tracked Fang Junmei’s scent to the surface, screeching in anxious, indignant fury. It was only when they could no longer sense him that they finally flew back.

Deep underground, Fang Junmei’s luck held; he did not encounter the presence of any subterranean creatures. According to the accounts of Daoist Tianfeng and the others, those crystal pillars were split between the surface and the depths. Those above ground gave birth to the crystal spirit birds, while those below birthed crystal spirit beasts—monstrous, doll-like entities. Because the pillars were driven into the earth at an angle, the areas of appearance and protection for the two were entirely different. One should not take for granted that the underground half of a pillar aligned perfectly with the half above.

After descending to a depth of about six hundred zhang, Fang Junmei calculated that he was well beyond the sensing range of the spirit birds. He stopped, popped a Qi-replenishing pill into his mouth, and then slowly and cautiously began to ascend, his divine sense scanning the surroundings.

Upon emerging from the ground, he found no crystal spirit birds guarding the area. Fang Junmei took to the sky, surveyed the landscape, recalled the direction from which he had been swept earlier, and set off alone toward his destination. Along the way, he continued to contend with the crystal spirit birds, using his Earth-Drilling Shuttle and Three-Breath God Stone with agile precision to navigate the journey without any real danger.

In other directions, the other cultivators were doing much the same, each showing off their own unique skills. Some used ice spells to briefly freeze the birds or slow their flight, allowing them to escape at top speed. Others utilized clone techniques, creating phantoms with identical scents to confuse the birds before slipping away. Some used secret arts to mask their presence entirely.

Powerful figures like Long Jinyi, Gu Xijin, and Xue Fenglou simply carved a path through with brute force, moving in a straight line to secure an early advantage. There were also those like Luanshi Liangyan, who used immense primordial spirit power and meticulous calculation to navigate the gaps between the crystal pillars, changing direction constantly and passing through with barely a single fight.

Of course, there were also those who died.

More than an hour later, Fang Junmei’s spiritual sense captured the corpse of a cultivator lying on the sand five hundred zhang to his side. The man was dressed in grey, his clothes stained red with blood. His fatal wound was a hole punched through his chest, though his face remained intact. A few careful glances were enough for Fang Junmei to recognize him as a cultivator at the early stage of the Dao Embryo realm from the Black Water God Sect. It was clearly the work of a crystal spirit bird; the storage bag at his waist remained undisturbed.

In the cultivation world, there was no such thing as "the dead are supreme," and Fang Junmei was not a pedantic man. He saw no reason to pass up the storage bag of a deceased early-stage Dao Embryo cultivator. He scanned the area—no one else was around. The problem was that the corpse lay about four hundred zhang from the nearest crystal pillar; approaching it would surely alert the spirit bird within. If it were only an early-stage bird, it might be manageable, but if it were middle or late-stage, the trouble would be immense. He checked the vicinity; it seemed the ground was riddled with buried pillars as well.

After a moment’s thought, Fang Junmei extended his palm and released a "Palm Wind" technique to draw the corpse toward him. Because of the distance and the nature of the low-power spell, the speed at which the body crawled through the sand was agonizingly slow. However, Fang Junmei was in no rush; as long as it worked, he was content.

*Whoosh—*

He had only moved the body about fifty zhang when a sound of air being torn apart suddenly erupted from behind him.

"You brat surnamed Fang, with a cowardly nature like yours, what kind of fortune do you expect to seize? You’re so slow at looting a corpse—I think you’d be better off finding a safe hole to hide in until this secret realm closes!"

A mocking voice rang out. The newcomer was a thin, wolf-faced man in black robes, also at the early stage of the Dao Embryo realm. It was Hai Shan from the Lingjue Heavenly Palace. He strode through the void like a runaway horse, rushing toward the corpse. Clearly, he intended to steal the prize.

A flash of cold light crossed Fang Junmei’s eyes, but he suppressed his anger and remained still.

As expected, the next moment, the crystal spirit bird in the nearest pillar was startled. Sensing Hai Shan’s aura, it emerged to attack him. There were two middle-stage Dao Embryo birds, two early-stage ones, and one late-stage Floating Dust bird. A hidden nest of formidable foes!

Fang Junmei’s caution had saved his life, while Hai Shan, on the other hand, turned pale with shock. His reaction was swift and cunning; he abruptly changed direction. Abandoning the storage bag on the corpse, he veered toward Fang Junmei, hoping to use him as a shield or, at the very least, force him to shoulder half the fire.

"How can a human heart be so wicked... the distinction between the righteous and demonic sects is all nonsense!"

Seeing through the man’s scheme, Fang Junmei’s eyes betrayed a look of profound realization and speechlessness. He did not choose to flee immediately. Instead, with the cold, detached gaze of one looking at a dead man, he waited for Hai Shan to approach.

Seeing that Fang Junmei did not run, Hai Shan was puzzled, but he had no time to think. For a cultivator, a few hundred zhang was but a few blinks of an eye. In an instant, Hai Shan was within fifty zhang of Fang Junmei.

Fang Junmei finally moved. He brushed his waist, pulled out a blood-red object, and flung it toward Hai Shan. The object unfurled into a massive, blood-colored net, growing larger as it hit the air, enveloping Hai Shan. It was the same insidious artifact the old man from the Black Rain Abyss had once used against the White Horse Lightning!

After releasing the object, Fang Junmei pulled out his Earth-Drilling Shuttle and vanished into the ground with a *swish*.

Seeing the blood-red net descending, Hai Shan cursed while frantically throwing a punch. A river of flame surged from his fist, aiming to tear through the net and carve a path of escape. But this net was no ordinary object; while it could be resisted by physical force, the intangible flames passed right through the gaps, and the net continued to close in.

Hai Shan froze for a split second, and before he could employ other tactics, the net was upon him. The hooks on the knots dug deep into his flesh—the same fate that had befallen the White Horse was repeating itself.

Bound by the tightening net, Hai Shan struggled to even perform the movements for a spell, let alone run. He hastily summoned clouds beneath his feet, resorting to the most basic Levitation Technique to carry him away. His reaction was fast, but it was too late. The five crystal spirit birds had already caught up, raining down a torrential assault of water, fire, ice, and lightning.

In a short while, amidst agonizing screams, Hai Shan was obliterated by the five crystal spirit birds, reduced to a pile of charred bones that tumbled to the ground along with the blood-red net.

The five birds lingered for a moment, sensing Fang Junmei’s aura, but after staring at the ground for a while, they returned to their nests.

...

A hundred breaths later, Fang Junmei emerged from the ground. He looked at Hai Shan’s remains, shook his head slightly, and sneered, "The 'cowardly' Fang Junmei is still alive, while you, the 'brave as a tiger,' are dead."

He suddenly recalled Song Shede’s words: "If one day you are killed, do not seek out the cause in your next life; blame only your own lack of skill. If you cannot accept that, then never set foot on this path."

*Swish!*

He darted to the corpse, retrieved the blood-red net and Hai Shan’s storage bag, and used his Palm Wind to draw the original corpse toward him once more. This time, no one came to disturb him, and he secured his prize. After burning the corpses to ash, he continued on his way.

...

More than an hour later, after much searching, he returned to the place where he had parted ways with Yang Xiaoman and Linghu Jinjiu.

"Younger Junior Brother, over here."

Only Yang Xiaoman was there, standing in the shadow of some nearby ruins. Seeing Fang Junmei, she waved and greeted him sweetly. Fang Junmei approached and looked her over; she had no new injuries. "Has Senior Brother Linghu not arrived yet?"

Yang Xiaoman shook her head. The two briefly exchanged information about their experiences and then sat down to recover and wait.

They waited for half a day, but Linghu Jinjiu never appeared. Fang Junmei and Yang Xiaoman’s expressions grew grave.

"Let’s go, Younger Junior Brother. No need to wait. Senior Brother Linghu is cunning; he won’t die so easily. He must have lost his way in another direction," Yang Xiaoman said as she stood up.

Fang Junmei nodded in agreement; neither of them were the type to dither. They continued on their journey.

...

As they pressed forward, the crystal pillars grew denser, and the number of spirit birds increased, bringing greater danger. From time to time, they could hear the sounds of battle echoing from afar, though they had no way of knowing how many cultivators had already perished. It was truly frustrating that there were no treasures to be found in this vast desert.

Fang Junmei and Yang Xiaoman could no longer fully avoid the crystal spirit birds and were forced to choose the weaker ones to carve a path through. Yang Xiaoman was now forced to unleash the "Sword Dao into Bone" technique; with its power, she could fight and kill even the middle-stage Dao Embryo crystal spirit birds. Fang Junmei did the same, and Yang Xiaoman beamed at him, a look of "I knew you had already reached this stage" on her face.

Another day later, they finally reached the edge of the desert, but at the same time, the density of the crystal pillars had reached its limit.