The Glory Merchants Inn, although dilapidated and run down, was actually an ancient edifice that had existed since the inception of Qinlingjun City. In a mere span of a few seconds however, it was completely wrecked and reduced to rubble.
The culprits, two rogue-looking cultivators, hovered above the site as they engaged in an intense battle confrontation, throwing deadly attacks at each other. Clearly, the explosion was a result of a divine art one of them had cast in combat just now.
As they fought, they paid no heed to the damage they were causing to the surroundings, including innocent passers-by trying to flee from the scene. As a matter of fact, the rush was so intense that a stampede occurred.
"Hey, put me down right now!" Balanced precariously across Pei Xue's left shoulder,
Fang Yu's expression alternated between panic at the situation and intense embarrassment. However, Pei Xue ignored him and did not stop running until they were a safe distance away from the battle zone.
Seeing the discontent look on Fang Yu's face as she put him down, she said, "You know, I didn't mean to damage your masculine glory or whatever. I just acted on instinct in the moment to get you out of there as quickly as possible."
"Well, thank you," Fang Yu said through gritted teeth.
Pei Xue paid him no more attention and turned her gaze to the battle in the distance. A vicious glint flashed across her eyes all of a sudden.
"Small world, hehe. The one with the jagged scar across his left eye happens to be one of those that chased after us earlier, and he's on the losing end in the fight," she laughed maliciously.
"Uhn?" Fang Yu was puzzled. From the distance he was at, his eyes could only vaguely make out two figures in the air and nothing more. Pei Xue's words suggested she possesed a godly eyesight Fang Yu definitely did not have.
"Didn't you integrate with a Godshard successfully? How come you haven't unlocked your divine body and abilities yet?" Pei Xue hissed irritably. "Or, are you pretending you haven't awakened yet so I can drop my defences?"
Her words indirectly revealed a crucial bit of information to Fang Yu. His eyes narrowed and he asked casually, "What are you talking about?"
Pei Xue didn't reply immediately. When she did, her tone was calmer, "Nevermind that for now. Let's move further away from here."
"Wait!" Fang Yu hurriedly spoke up just as she began to reach for him. "Can you just....hold my hand instead and pull me along as you go?"
"That's a terrible suggestion. With my speed, your arm will end up yanked off," Pei Xue said and suddenly smirked. "Actually, I just had an amazing idea."
"..."
Three minutes later, Fang Yu had on a gloomy expression as the cold wind blew past his face. Beneath him, Pei Xue moved as gracefully as a crane while grasping his legs tightly. He was actually perched on her back in an awkward piggyback position.
The good news was that Pei Xue's speed was pretty fast, and they soon left the battle zone far behind. Pei Xue shrugged Fang Yu off her back and gazed at the towering gates which were only a few metres away.
"We can take advantage of the chaos happening in the city right now to make away without stringent security checks and interference," she said. "Or, we can choose to disguise our identities and remain in the city for a while. Which do you prefer?"
Fang Yu noted her use of the 'we' instead of 'you' or 'I'. Essentially, it hinted that she was responsible not just for herself but for him too.
"Why didn't you make away when I was unconscious and leave?" Fang Yu turned serious and suddenly asked her out of the blue.
"What do you mean?" Pei Xue frowned.
"I just want to know," Fang Yu said. "It's not exactly logical for protect someone you've barely known for twenty-four hours."
Just then, the city gates started to close up. Clearly, an instruction had been given to barricade all entrances and exits to and away from Qinlingjun City.
"Great, now we have to figure out another way to get out of here," Pei Xue hissed, looking vexed. Seeing as Fang Yu did not seem worried in the slightest, she added, "Just so you know, if it comes down to it, I'd dump you and make my escape alone."
"Alright," Fang Yu was expressionless. "Can you answer my original question though?"
"Why not just ask the question you really want to ask?" Pei Xue turned to look at him and said calmly. "You're wondering if I'm still the original Pei Xue, right?"
Fang Yu's lips twitched, but he refute her words. Pei Xue continued.
"You guessed right, I'm not Pei Xue anymore," she blinked innocently as she spoke. "I don't know what Master was thinking, trying to have mortals wield the power of divine gods just like that. The experiment was doomed from the start."
'Now that she has directly confessed, will she eliminate me next?' Fang Yu was actually not surprised by her words but was more worried about her next actions. It didn't help matters that an invisible force was bearing down on him at the moment from her.
"You're quite the interesting case, you know," Pei Xue continued. "At first, I couldn't tell if you were team original mortal consciousness or team divine revivee like myself. Even now, I'm not entirely certain."
Far behind them, in the direction of the battle zone, another loud explosion sounded. Pei Xue and Fang Yu didn't turn around to look and remained locked in eye contact.
"By the way, I don't have any bad intentions. If you're a divine revivee like myself, I'm open to working with you as we recover our cultivation base and Dao Fruits. If you're still your original mortal consciousness though, you're not of much use to me besides being an attendant. I just revived after all and need some company to soothe my hyperactive mind frame after all!" At this point, she disengaged from the intense eye contact she was having with Fang Yu. "Based on your unnecessarily tensed expression just now, it seems you're the latter. Now, I'm curious; how did you manage to overpower the remnant divine psyche in your Godshard as a mere mortal with zero divinity?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Fang Yu blinked innocently as he replied. However, his back was totally drenched in sweat.
'If she decides to go on a rampage right now, I have no way to fight back,' he realized. Pei Xue seemed to have awakened divine abilities and was clearly no longer a mortal, and this tiny detail rendered all his cards useless.
In Fang Yu's Taotie Sack, he had a jet spray gun, some poison gas and a local grenade with low volatility output. If he hadn't been locked in place by Pei Xue's aura, he would have tried using all three on her as a final resort.
"Do you really not?" Pei Xue smiled coldly and suddenly grabbed him by the arm.
Fang Yu abruptly felt a stinging sensation as her fingers dug into his skin. There was a greenish glow at the point of contact and he felt something burrow into his body.
"Now, I'll like to see how much longer you can pretend!" Pei Xue examined Fang Yu's colourful expression and felt gratified at heart.
Meanwhile, a surge of Qi which was previously latent in Fang Yu's body suddenly became active and merged into his bloodstream, becoming a sentient wisp of blood qi. It quickly travelled to his right arm and confronted the invading creature, a Gu worm the size of a silk thread.
Meanwhile, Pei Xue's facial expression suddenly changed as she sensed something. Before she could react, she felt the link she shared with the Gu worm get destroyed.
Fang Yu only felt the stinging pain in his arm subside. At the same time, he looked at Pei Xue in surprise and wondered why she was bleeding from the nose all of a sudden.
"Hhm?"
His attention was soon drawn by another anomaly; without his conscious control, his entire arm stiffened and became numb. A sheen of blood escaped from his pores and left his arm to materialize into a familiar figure in front of him.
"Master?"