For a moment, we didn't dare move…didn't dare believe that we had just defeated a powerful foe. A commander-ranked spirit beast at that.
Then Fu Xi finally broke the silence.
"You did it!" He turned to stare at me in disbelief, a delighted grin creeping across his face. "Bro, you actually did it!"
"Uh, yeah, I did, I guess?" I was still studying the fire dragon incredulously, scarcely able to believe what I had just done. Of course, it wasn't just me. I would never have brought the dragon down on my own. If it weren't for my magic carp and Fu Xi…
Hell, Fu Xi did most of the heavy lifting. I had witnessed the damage that his Eight Trigrams Swordsmanship had wreaked upon the fire dragon, especially when he brought out those combined sword styles. Individually, each of his eight major styles could overwhelm any human opponent. But combining any two of those eight styles amplified the power of his techniques by several fold. Fu Xi truly wasn't someone I could underestimate.
In fact, I would wager that he did most of the damage. My killing array probably did little more than scratch the majestic fire dragon. If Fu Xi hadn't been fighting alongside me, I would never have been able to defeat the fire dragon on my own. It would have easily pulverized me with one of its claws, no matter how many spirit arrays I had…
And that was even taking into account the fact that my magic carp could reflect its flames back at it. yeah, perhaps the reflection of those superheated flames had done quite a bit of damage on the fire dragon – wounded it heavily, even – but it was certainly Fu Xi's Qian Kun techniques, as well as the accumulated damage from his other combined styles, that opened up that massive gaping hole that allowed me to slay the fire dragon by directing my Yin Yang Amalgamation Strike into it.
"Whoa, bro…when you said you have that technique, I never imagined it would be so powerful. I bet it can kill even cultivators at the low Yellowed Land realm in one shot."
Actually, I did kill a level 2 Yellowed Land realm cultivator with a single shot, but that was also because I borrowed Pang Bai Shan's qi when he was executing his White Mountain Strike. Here, I had to draw upon the rich fiery qi present in the volcanic region and combine it with the frosty yin qi from multiple ice spirit talismans before I could replicate an attack of equal magnitude.
"We'll have to rest for now before proceeding," I told him. My breathing had gotten a little heavy, which was only natural, considering that I had expended so much qi executing Yin Yang Amalgamation Strike. This was the reason why I was so reluctant to use it against the other spirit beasts earlier. Having used up so much of my energy, I was now vulnerable to attacks from the spirit beasts that now circled the site of battle like hawks eying their prey.
Fu Xi must have noticed them, for he scurried toward me. "Keep the killing array activated," he instructed. I nodded.
"I plan on doing that. But…"
"Oh, right. The fire dragon." Fu Xi glanced back at it. "Don't worry, I'll dismantle it and collect the valuable parts. You stay where you are and cover me. If any of those spirit beasts attack, blow them out of the sky."
He was referring to the fire drakes above, but they weren't the only enemies present. I could see a scalding snake keeping its distance, as well as several salamanders and lava lizards. The lava lizards expanded their frilly hoods again, hissing in an attempt to intimidate me. I rolled my eyes and fired a single golden beam at them, forcing them to scatter. One of them dropped dead, a hole in its forehead.
"Yeah, I've got you covered, Brother Fu Xi."
"Heh, I saw."
Fu Xi chuckled good-naturedly before he proceeded to cut apart the humongous fire dragon's body and stuff the parts into his backpack. While he did so, I drew a defensive array despite my exhaustion and simultaneously kept an eye (or my sixth sense) on the surrounding spirit beasts. Even though I was weary and wanted nothing more than to drop onto the ground and sleep, I couldn't. Besides, Fu Xi was doing quite a bit of work while I was just watching out for him. I wasn't thick-skinned enough to sleep on the job while my comrade was handling the major labor.
Fortunately, Fu Xi didn't take too long. He was done before I knew it and he hurried back under the aegis of my protective formation. The both of us sprawled on the ground gratefully, ignoring the spirit beasts that continued to circle us.
We were both utterly drained after that fight with the ire dragon, and neither of us was in any shape to fight off the spirit beasts eying us in a predatory manner. They knew it – spirit beasts always had sharp instincts – and they were seeking for a way to exploit our exhaustion.
However, we had no intention of allowing them to take advantage of our momentary weakness.
"Don't worry," Fu Xi said as he lay a few meters away from me, panting. "I'll definitely share the dragon parts with you. I won't run off with all the profits."
"Nah, I trust you." I paused to stabilize my breathing. I was still heaving from the earlier exertion. Most of my qi had been spent, particularly on Yin Yang Amalgamation Strike. And that was on top of controlling my killing array. Closing my eyes, I took off my glasses and tried to regulate my breathing. "Even if you did take all the dragon parts, I have no complaints. You did most of the work and did the most damage to the fire dragon. My only contribution was a single killing blow. You deserve all of the profits from selling the dragon parts."
"Nonsense! You and I worked together. Even though I managed to severely wound the fire dragon, if you hadn't dealt that finishing blow with that incredible technique, I would never have been able to defeat the fire dragon by myself. Even if I managed to get to Eight in One, it would still have been an arduous battle and I would definitely sustain much more severe wounds than what I have now. Not to mention, the spirit beasts around us right now would have capitalized the moment when I am exhausted to attack me. I definitely wouldn't have survived if you weren't around."
He gazed at the shimmering barrier above us before cracking a smile.
"No wonder array masters are so highly valued. Formations are a life saver."
I didn't respond to that. I was slowly dozing off. I had the impression Fu Xi said something else, but I was no longer paying attention because my mind was being sucked into the land of dreams.
*
We ended up spending more time resting on the volcano than anticipated. When night came, I felt too awake to sleep again, especially after spending so much of the day sleeping. I chose to train, making good use of the high temperatures and rich qi to temper my body.
By the time dawn came, I had advanced to level 5 of Heaven realm. Or so I hoped. I had no idea what was level 5 or what realm I was, not until I actually have a proper measuring device. All I could do was estimate and hope for the best. But I certainly felt several degrees stronger than I was yesterday.
"Are you ready?"
Fu Xi had woken up after taking a nap for a couple of hours when the night slowly drew to a close. I nodded and rose to my feet. My comrade watched me in concern.
"You sure you don't need more rest? You didn't sleep at all last night."
"I had more than enough sleep during the day yesterday."
"Ah. Okay then."
After packing up, I erased my formations and then followed Fu Xi down the mountain. We glanced up at the spirit beasts, but there weren't many of them left. Most of them had given up yesterday, realizing they had no way past the barrier. Cunning as they were, they had departed to seek easier prey. Since we didn't injure them, they had no intention of taking revenge.
Rather, they were more afraid of us than angry, giving us a wide berth as we descended the volcano.
We passed by the dig site, where the miners continued to work. The supervisor I encountered the other day did a double take when he caught sight of us.
"You! You're the kid from that day…"
"Sir." I did a kind of mock salute. "It's good to see you again."
The supervisor shook his head, his expression a mix of awe and disbelief. "I didn't think I would see you again this soon, still healthy and unscathed. Did you find whatever you're looking for? The whatever fruit?"
"Yeah. We have it."
The supervisor nodded, and then glanced at Fu Xi. "And this gentleman…?"
"We met on the volcano. It turned out that he took the same mission as me, so we decided to work together."
"I must say that was a great idea." Fu Xi was nodding with a smile. "If it weren't for your help, I would never have survived the mission."
"Same here."
The supervisor glanced from me to Fu Xi and then back at me again before sighing. "Well, the most important is that you're all right. We had a scare when someone saw the fire dragon yesterday. I was afraid you would run into it. Good thing you somehow managed to avoid…" he stopped when he saw Fu Xi and I exchange a look. "What? What is it?"
"Well…" I couldn't conceal a grin. "You don't have to worry about the fire dragon ever again."
"Huh?"
"The fire dragon you saw…was probably the same one we killed." Fu Xi reached into his backpack and retrieved its enormous head. The supervisor yelped and jumped back when the huge head dropped onto the ground. Fu Xi looked apologetic and quickly put it back into the storage device installed in his bag, "Whoops, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
"How…how…how…?!" the supervisor spluttered.
"Through sheer grit, determination, tenacity, tremendous effort…and a refusal to die no matter the odds."
"Um, we used a combination of ingenuity, spirit arrays and sword techniques." In contrast to my vague response, Fu Xi answered honestly. He then glanced at me and shrugged. "And Brother Shu here had a summoned spirit beast too. One capable of reflecting the fire dragon's attack back at it."
Did he seriously have to tell everyone about our techniques and skills? The guy was so naïve it hurt. I made a mental note to teach him later that it wasn't polite to tell other people about someone else's techniques. You never knew who would be listening…and I would rather as few people knew about my spirit beast or technique or ability to draw arrays as possible. It wasn't that I doubted the supervisor, but not everybody could be trusted.
One day, if it turned out that the other party was an enemy in disguise, or that there were spies in their midst (especially since I was being targeted by demonic cultivators from the future), I would be in deep trouble.
But I wasn't going to embarrass my comrade in front of others, and I knew from my interactions that he had no malicious intent. He was just very innocent and naïve. Such things weren't a sin. But since I was now his brother, I might as well enlighten him from his ignorance.
That was why his master sent him out of his sect and into the world. To learn about both the beauty and ugliness of the outside world. Since I was here, I might as well guide him.
"Okay…" The supervisor didn't look like he understood, but he shook his head. "As long as the both of you are safe. I'll report this too, but…what the hell? The two of you really defeated a fire dragon on your own?!"
"I can show you the head again if you don't believe…"
"No, no need for that!" The supervisor shook his hands frantically before clutching his head. He sighed. "Anyway, this is great news. I'll have to report this. And you two…stay safe, and try not to do anything reckless."
"Uh, yeah. We are returning to town now." I smiled politely. The supervisor nodded numbly before turning away and moving toward the tent where I suspected communication equipment was stationed. I then turned to Fu Xi and jerked my head toward the forest further down. "Let's go. The earlier we return to Xing Hao Island, the better. I've to introduce you to Headmaster Qi Xing and see if we can get you enrolled."
"Thank you. I'll be relying on you." Fu Xi bowed his head slightly before following me. I glanced at him.
"In the meantime, I'll have to teach you about some cultivator etiquette…"