Zhao Yuan let out a light laugh, utterly dismissive.
"A mere little wild chicken thinks it can pierce my defenses?"
He poured all of his power into his palms, ready to let the bird deliver itself to death.
The phoenix lifted its head and let out a piercing cry. Suddenly, its talons ripped through his defenses, its sharp beak stabbing into his eye, tearing out an eyeball and swallowing it before soaring into the sky.
"Ahhh!"
Zhao Yuan screamed in horror.
In the span of a single breath, both his eyes were blinded, darkness engulfing his vision. Meng Xiangxiang seized the chance to counterattack, ghostly shadows surging as he plunged into Zhao Yuan's body, gnawing at his soul.
"Ah! Master, save me!"
Zhao Yuan shrieked in terror, the agony in his mind so unbearable that he rolled on the ground, completely abandoning his dignity.
The gathered Wuxiang Sect disciples and the cultivators of Qingshui County turned pale, fearfully retreating and leaving Xiao Rong and his companions a wide berth.
Countless green blades tore through the sky, slashing across Meng Xiangxiang's body before he could evade.
Xiao Rong reacted quickly, weaving vines into a massive net in an instant, catching all the attacks.
"Such audacity! Who sent you to stir up trouble?"
A figure in azure robes stood tall like bamboo and leaves, graceful and commanding.
Yue Qingsu's gaze was cold, a green blade pinched casually between two fingers.
Xiao Rong puffed out his chest without a trace of fear. "So you are the elder of Wuxiang Sect? You actually look decent enough!"
Yue Qingsu: "...Foolish tree spirit!"
"The fool is you, you lying fraud!" Xiao Rong cursed furiously.
Meng Xiangxiang reverted to his normal form, while the phoenix perched before him, gently licking his wounds.
"That's right. When Qingshui County fell under the control of those black-robed men, my mother begged Wuxiang Sect for help many times. None of you cared whether we lived or died. Now that the poison has been purged, you shamelessly come to steal the credit?"
"What... what is he talking about?"
The people of Qingshui County looked at each other, whispering.
"Isn't he that accursed brat who was burned to death?"
"So he was the one who brought the miasma into Qingshui County? Then what does he mean by this?"
"I don't know..."
Xiao Rong put his hands on his hips, cheeks puffed in anger. "Haven't you figured it out yet? All those pills you ate yesterday—did you already forget? Don't you remember little master's vine whip?"
With a flick of his hand, over ten deep-green vines lashed out, cracking through the air.
The crowd gasped, jaws hanging open.
"That whip... yes, yesterday I was struck by that exact vine!"
"You too? I thought I was the only one beaten!"
"And me, and me! I was lashed ten times by him!"
Yue Qingsu's brow twitched.
What in the world was happening here?
"So you are the tree spirit assassin who failed in last night's ambush?"
Xiao Rong: "...Little master has never killed anyone!"
Meng Xiangxiang's mouth twitched, lowering his voice. "Rong-yé, you even beat them while feeding them medicine last night?"
Xiao Rong muttered guiltily, "Well, they wouldn't listen. And that guy who claimed he was whipped ten times—he was beaten twelve times!"
Meng Xiangxiang: "..." Was that the important detail here?
From the crowd, the man suddenly realized. "So it really was twelve lashes! No wonder it hurt so much!"
The others gave him sympathetic looks.
Yue Qingsu ordered his men to take Zhao Yuan away for treatment. Ignoring Xiao Rong's childish antics, his sharp gaze fell instead on the phoenix at Meng Xiangxiang's side.
"No ordinary chicken could wound my disciple. This bird at your side..."
"It is absolutely not a divine beast phoenix!" Meng Xiangxiang immediately scooped it into his arms and hid it behind his back.
Xiao Rong stared at him, stunned.
He never imagined that at a critical moment, Meng Xiangxiang could drop the ball even worse than him.
"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"
Both Wuxiang Sect and Qingshui County burst into raucous laughter.
Meng Xiangxiang realized his blunder too late, his heart leaping into his throat.
Yue Qingsu curved his lips in a faint smile. "It's a Golden Core stage cultivator, isn't it?"
The words left Xiao Rong and Meng Xiangxiang frozen.
"That's right! It's just a Golden Core stage cultivator!" Xiao Rong immediately confirmed.
Yue Qingsu's eyes gleamed knowingly. "Perfect. Qiao Qiao is lacking a Golden Core-stage mount. You can serve her together with it."
Xiao Rong's eyes widened in outrage. "You shameless bastard! My Boss will never let you off!"
Yue Qingsu merely chuckled, unbothered. "No matter who backs you, with Qiao Qiao here, Wuxiang Sect will never suffer the slightest mishap."
"I don't care about your so-called Qiao Qiao! Fairy Ranran will be Wuxiang Sect's mishap!"
Meng Xiangxiang roared in fury, summoning ghostly mist. A fleshy head sprouted grotesquely from his pale neck, blood-red fangs bared as it snarled at Yue Qingsu.
"Heh. Using your own blood kin to refine into a ghostling... you dare claim you are righteous? You look no different from an evil cultivator."
Yue Qingsu mocked coldly, his hands rising slowly. Countless green leaves trembled, trees swaying in unison.
Xiao Rong's vines suddenly shed leaves, glowing with eerie green light as they surged toward Yue Qingsu's body.
"What's happening to me?!"
Xiao Rong's eyes widened in shock as his vines spun out of control, drawn helplessly toward Yue Qingsu.
"Damn it! Yue Qingsu has a pure wood spiritual root, and his cultivation is above yours, Rong-yé. You're no match for him!"
Meng Xiangxiang recalled the rumors, rushing to shield Xiao Rong, straining to drag back the vines being pulled away.
Yue Qingsu sneered with disdain. "And yet you are a tree. Qiao Qiao will surely be pleased with such a tree."
"Bah! In your dreams! You'll never steal little master's beauty!"
Xiao Rong clung tightly to Meng Xiangxiang, still mouthing off.
Yue Qingsu snorted coldly, lifting both hands. Layers of green leaves rose, blotting out the blazing sun, casting down mottled shadows.
The overwhelming force made Xiao Rong and Meng Xiangxiang shiver with fear deep within their souls.
"Boss, save me!!!"
Xiao Rong screamed until his throat nearly tore, looking to the sky.
The phoenix spread its wings wide, flying frantically through the leafy shadows, yet found no way out.
Meng Xiangxiang's massive ghostly form shrank smaller and smaller, about to collapse into childlike size—
Then a voice of compassion descended from the heavens, driving away all darkness, restoring light to Xiao Rong and Meng Xiangxiang.
"Stop!"
Xiao Rong clung to Meng Xiangxiang and looked up at the one who had spoken.
"You are... the sun?"
He stared, stunned, at the radiant head glowing like light, recalling the night when Boss had seized the moon.
Mu Jialing's lips curved with a warm smile, his eyes full of mercy.
"This humble monk is a disciple of Guan Fan Temple, not the sun that benefactor imagines."
Xiao Rong blinked, while Meng Xiangxiang's eyes widened. "A bald donkey monk of Guan Fan Temple?!"
"This humble monk is not a bald donkey."
Mu Jialing pressed his palms together, compassion radiating as he pushed aside the sea of green leaves.