When Xin Fan woke up, a horrible and clear memory was left inside his head. He remembered getting stabbed through his face, and the few words that his son yelled at him.
Memories of him being in a dangerous level of anger and him getting slammed, swarmed in his mind. He could hear himself being called an irresponsible person continuously by the son of his lover.
The feeling of his son suffocating him while spitting out such words felt so real that he couldn't understand how he was still alive. He knew he was irresponsible in taking care of his son, but that was because he was used to his son being a mortal.
Ever since his lover died, he didn't feel the need to live longer. Such thoughts of course effected his surroundings, and caused his underlings to worsen due to his laziness. Xin Feng despised him because of such influence that he had with his followers, which was why decided to punish him.
"One realizes reality through pain" Was a wise quote that Xin Feng remembered and used on many troubled people. And indeed, it seemed to have taken effect on Xin Fan.
Worry, regret, and vigilance would be the first stage his victim would have to go through. In the end, all those emotions would channel into a great determination, to become better and improve. That of course, would be a long and difficult road to go through. Still, Xin Fan took that decision to tread the road the moment he had noticed the gleeful grin of Xin Feng.
… After the three had taken care of the old man, Xin Feng told Liu Lue to tell her master about his plan to retrieve disciples, before he gave the master-disciple duo their own communication device. Together, he left with Hua Mei.
"Care to tell me what happened out there?" Hua Mei, who was flying the mount as usual, asked.
"I think my father realized that he should work harder after I defeated him."
"Uh… Yes, but I mean between you and Liu Lue?"
"Ohh~ Haha! Could it be that my dear wife is jealous?"
"No… Just wondering why she was so clingy."
"Yep, jealous! She did that because her morals that begged her to show how grateful she was. You know, right?"
"Ah… Yes. That longing for familial love character. Honestly, I despise her character sometimes. I had to go through worse as a beggar that had been abandoned when I was only three. But you know where that brought me? The ability to trample anyone who tried or tries to trample me."
"Ah~ Now I understand why. Because of your hardships, you had been longing for someone that you can rely on and leave your back open to. And that someone is me~" He giggled, before he embraced Hua Mei as Liu Lue did, while whispering "Don't worry, I'm here."
…
The two flew further to the east, as they searched for their sect members who were charmed. After traveling around two hours, they spotted three sect elders fighting beasts in different locations.
"You take the one on the left, while I'll go for the right. We'll meet each other in the middle." Xin Feng suggested, before he jumped out to fly towards his target.
Based on the Qi that had leaked out of the elder's body, Xin Feng was able to estimate that his target was around the mid stage of the profound realm, which was why he used both mental techniques of the Seven Soaring Swords sect to improve his proficiency in them. The battle had ended within a minute, as the old man didn't expect and couldn't handle the sharp wings of Xin Feng's attack.
The purpose of the technique had been completed, since the man was able to wake up from his horrible nightmare. After telling the old man the main story of what happened, he gave a device to him, and told him to join with the others on a village south west.
Since he managed to retrieve an ally, he decided to head to where Hua Mei would be after she finds someone as well. When Xin Feng had reached the discussed location, Hua Mei was there already with two sect elders setting behind her.
"Well done! Nice and clean!" Xin Feng cheered, before he told the two to find and scout around a village in the northern-side of the west.
"It's almost night. Shall we take a break over here?" Xin Feng asked after the two had traveled another distances.
The two spent their night training, and when it was very late, Hua Mei decided to sleep before Xin Feng. The following day, they went in search again, and found six more sect members. Two sect elders, and four inner disciples, which were send to help out the other members in different villages. After the last three members, finding other members of the sect became more difficult. The two had to travel miles to find one member.
"Why didn't the overseers request for Liu Xue's help as well…?" Xin Feng asked as they were sitting under a tree to enjoy the sight of the morning sun. He had pondered about it for a while, but he still couldn't understand why the overseers wouldn't try to fasten the process. Hua Mei told Xin Feng that it was exactly because of her. She explained how adding her to their plans, would ruin the chance of success. "Her emotions are unstable, and she would only focus on finding her father." She continued to say.
As the two were having a peaceful conversation, the ground suddenly trembled. What came out of the trembling ground, was an enormous black centipede that was trying to bite a floating man in front of its mouth.
"It's the patriarch!" Xin Feng yelled out, when he was able focus his sight to spot what was going on in the distance.
"Run, its poison is deadly! Even a nascent cultivator cannot stay close to it for too long!" Hua Mei replied as she was making a run for it already.
"Xin Feng!" She yelled once more, stopping a few hundred meters away out of concern.
"It's alright!" Was all Xin Feng said, before he rushed with a burst of speed to get near the centipede. After running around the centipede for a few minutes, his toxicity ability did indeed level up just as he thought it would.
...
The patriarch was still in the air, fighting the centipede. The sky darkened for a second, before it turned brighter from the six stacks of different sized yellow arrays that were above the beast. Three more arrays appeared on the ground, each surrounding the centipede from different angles. They brightened more, and when they were bright as the rays of the sun, chains came out of them, coiling around the body of the centipede.
When the chains had secured the centipede in one place, the arrays above started glowing as well, before a beam shot out from the highest one. The beam that was shot out from the first array, came in touch with the array bellow it, and stopped when that array was glowing entirely. When the second array was fully charged, it did the same thing as the first, and the process kept continuing until the last array.
A loud transferring sound could be heard from the beams, as it made a "whoop" type of sound, every time it channeled to another array. The power of the array, was not one to be joked about. Fortunately, Xin Feng was able to estimate the power of the technique, which Qi was equal to a sect leader.
"Get the mount ready! We need to flee!" Xin Feng shouted towards Hua Mei in desperation, as he flew in her direction while using a huge amount of mana.
Xin Feng felt the danger from the ability with its first shot already, and it was already on the third array as they retreated. It took around six second seconds to charge one array, so the two were already a few miles away from the attack. Still, from Balance's warnings, Xin Feng knew that they had to go further than ten miles to make it out uninjured.
In the end, they knew they couldn't make it, since they could only travel six miles within the forty seconds they had. Teleportation wouldn't work either, since it took about one minute to activate.
They were doomed and trapped like cockroaches in a corner. Xin Feng quickly entered his character room amidst the flight to think of a solution, and after many calculations, the only conclusion he could find was a guaranteed quick death. He resorted to asking Balance, since Balance was a higher being that might have better knowledge and secrets. Balance answered to him with cruel honesty that there was no method.
[But if it's you… It might be possible to survive] Balance continued, telling him that he has a near three percent chance of surviving if he's willing to take risks.
"What's the risk? I'll die either way, if I don't take it."
[A trial that is way too early for you…]
"A trial…" Xin Feng became numb of his surroundings, as he trembled from the thought of the previous trial.
"I... I'll face it." He stuttered.
[Understood…]
Xin Feng had a gloomy look, as he was terrified of the things he might face in the trials. The first trial was already a hell of torture. And that was while he was strong and prepared enough for the trial. Thinking about it, made him depressed and scarred. The upcoming trial would be too early for him, which meant that the level of hell would be way too unbearable for him. 'It is better to die a quick death.' Was a thought that kept hanging in his mind.
[Starting trial…]
[…]
[Error… It seems It's too early for you to start]
"What?" Xin Feng muttered in surprise, as he hadn't expected his wish to die a quick death to come true.
[Perhaps you shall survive… Good luck]
*Fwoosh*