Young Master Qiang turned his gaze towards Xiao LingYue's wretched and beggar-looking body as his two black tails billowed in the air behind him.
His countenance changed as he tried to decide on what to do.
Feeling his opponent's attention waver, LingYue fled as he felt this would have been the opportune time.
Ah!
The twins exclaimed as they saw LingYue rush into the thicket of the forest and unable to move since their Spiritual Qi was almost exhausted.
"Young Master Qiang?" Mei Hua asked as she looked towards him before looking in the direction Xiao LingYue had fled.
"Leave it. We know he's here so he can't get far, sooner or later I'll feed him to my saber." He retorted as he began to make his way to the light.
"The expert's cave abode is currently open, I'm leaving." His voice was monotonous as it rang out while he began to walk in the direction of the light.
Mei Ying turned to Mei Hua as she said, "Who would have thought the 7 Soul Peony would lead to finding a hidden cave abode?"
Mei Hua shrugged as she and her sister did their best to follow behind the young master of the Cloud Chasing Sect.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Xiao LingYue raced through the forest under the faint moonlight while the cold air licked at his face.
His body slowly came to a stop as he turned to look back, a sense of fear still lingering in his heart.
The Saber-wielding man was another monster of the younger generation.
His final attack had shown the meridians across his body shining like nebulae in the night...
A whopping 30 star-like meridians shone brightly with a blue-and-white glow!
That stalwart young man with the power of 9 QiongQi was soon going to break through to the Dantian Opening Stage!
Xiao LingYue collected his thoughts as he hid amongst the treetops, his eyes narrowing as he watched the pillar of light from afar while his hand brushed passed his storage pouch.
Upon taking out the Core of the bone-plated beast he stared at it as he glanced around his surrounding before placing it in his mouth.
Fresh Demonic Qi once again inundated his body as it began to crack and pop, similar to the sounds of fried beans.
His torn muscles began to mend themselves as his neidan spun, doing its utmost to convert the new influx of energy.
His body healed as he began to once again circulate his Moon Lotus Mantra while he bombarded his unopened meridians with Demonic and Blood Qi.
Boom Boom Boom
As he continued down the path of cultivation his speed of opening his meridians became slower and slower, and due to the beast he had hunted wasn't as powerful as the serpent, he had only been able to loosen the blockage for the next spiritual meridian slightly.
The river of time flowed as it continued unimpeded...
His body had soon recovered, this was currently the only thing he could rely on, anyone else would have long been a corpse due to the repeated injuries.
He changed his clothes before cleaning himself and using the Myriad Mask Silkworm to look like a plain-faced itinerant cultivator before heading towards the light.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The sun's rays began to paint the sky as the morning had begun, the passage of night was slowly being cleansed away as the lives lost within it would never be seen again.
Xiao LingYue slowly walked out of the trees to a clearing where he saw a mob of people wearing a multitude of different styles and colours.
From the way, they were dressed and grouped it was clear they were from different sects, factions or local powers.
On his way here he had suffered the repeated attacks of ferocious beasts of all kinds and while looking worse for wear he slowly approached the crowd.
The mob was seen on the shore of a lake as they watched the 7 Soul Peony dance to and fro within the wind, its 7 coloured petals flashed as it looked like it was painted made by an immortal.
A few eyes turned in his direction as he stood amongst the itinerant cultivators, but upon seeing his torn robes and lack of a spiritual pouch, their gazes soon swept in other directions.
His eyes glanced around as he walked to a rather jovial-looking young man, his face kept a perpetual smile as he ran between the crowd speaking to different people as he seemed to be peddling wares.
"A Low rank treasured sword only 25 spirit stones! Low-rank Treasured Saber only 30 spirit stones!" The fatty ran between the crowd as he shouted.
Xiao LingYue was startled as he saw the man's gaze pass over him before darting in his direction.
"Hey Hey! would you like one of my weapons?! They're crafted with the best materials under dantian opening!" He said as the words shot out his mouth.
LingYue shook his head as he asked, " I'll buy a saber if you can give me information. "
The fatty's eyes lit up as he began to chortle, " I knew you'd be a taker, with your wide forehead that commands excellence, and your... thick brows that can shelter wind and rain, I just knew you'd be a great person in future!"
LingYue's face twisted as he wondered if he was right to ask this strange person.
The fatty smiled as his eyes squeezed into crescents, " You need information about the lake, right?"
"Well let me tell you, the reason no one's fighting over the Peony is because it's not real!
It's only a projection!"
Seeing the shock on LingYue's face he continued,
"There's a seal here, and anyone who gets close is sent flying backwards, but it's slowly weakening, it should be broken within a few hours at most!"
Xiao LingYue cast his gaze at the Peony which seemed to be beckoning towards him, a slight feeling struck his heart, the feeling of closeness which made him shudder slightly.
The groups of powers were arranged in groups of 2 or 3 for their exploration as they waited for the seal to dissipate.
As time passed the seal began to dissipate as the 7 Soul Peony began to turn transparent, its body transforming into water of a multitude of colours before falling and splashing into the center of the lake.
The surroundings went deathly still, only the heavy breathing of various people could be heard as a vortex soon began to spin within the center of the lake...
Within the centre of the vortex, a formation laid in the middle as a cave abode could be seen under the surface, leading to a new and unexplored world filled with the unknown...