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Chapter 395: Three Moves (Requesting Monthly Votes)

Chapter 395: Three Moves (Requesting Monthly Votes)

A solemn feeling rose in Fang Xi's heart as he looked towards the source of the voice.

In the void, a black-robed figure had appeared at some unknown time.

This black-robed man looked to be middle-aged, with temples slightly touched with frost. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression stern, gazing mockingly at the three people in the arena.

A wave of magical power, far surpassing that of an ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, seemed to congeal the surrounding void.

"Black Sand True Monarch? ! " Madam Snake cried out, her face filled with despair.

She had never imagined that this Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator, rumored in their intelligence to have 'suffered a cultivation deviation,' would actually appear to hunt them down. . .

How could their family possibly be so important as to warrant a Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator personally pursuing them?

"Old Ancestor Black Sand! ?"

Upon seeing Black Sand True Monarch, Old Man Huang screamed, appearing even more terrified than Madam Snake.

"Elder Huang, well, well, well done! " Black Sand True Monarch chuckled as he looked at Elder Huang.

"Old Ancestor, please listen to my humble plea! This junior was acting for the sect, to pursue these Red Heart remnants! " Old Man Huang immediately bowed, pleading.

Upon hearing this, Madam Snake's face lost all color.

With a Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator making a move, she and her family were certainly doomed.

"Heh heh. . . a ruined family, is it worth you chasing them this far?"

Black Sand True Monarch said with a smile, "If this True Monarch hadn't spread the news that my closed-door cultivation went awry and I suffered a cultivation deviation. . . you probably wouldn't have made up your mind to take this step, would you? As a secret agent of the Eight Desolations Sect, having lain in wait within the Yellow Sand Sect for so many years, you finally found an opportunity and naturally wanted to return to the sect. . . After all, a great war is about to begin, and the intelligence in your hands is worth its weight in gold, your merits immeasurable."

The moment he uttered 'Eight Desolations Sect', Madam Snake wished she could cut off her own ears.

Why did she have to hear so many secrets?

"I should have known. . . a Core Formation late-stage elder from a great Nascent Soul sect chasing so far. . . showing such excessive importance to a tiny Core Formation family. So there was a reason behind it after all. " Fang Xi muttered to himself, deep in thought.

Madam Snake's family, it seemed, was merely a front.

After putting on this show, Old Man Huang would most likely just flee!

Recalling his previous performance, even Fang Xi couldn't help but admire his acting skills.

And Old Man Huang was clearly aware of this.

As Black Sand True Monarch laid his cards on the table, he fiercely gritted his teeth, seemingly casting some secret art. His aura violently erupted, reaching the peak of Core Formation Perfection.

Not only that!

Two mouse whiskers grew on his face, an inch of light emanated from his bean-sized eyes, and a phantom of a Brocade-furred Jade Mouse even appeared behind his body!

Whoosh!

His figure exploded, transforming into several streaks of earthy yellow light, each fleeing into different parts of the desert.

"You brat, you really aren't honest. . . you even refined a trace of the 'Earth Jade Mouse' bloodline. This bloodline excels at earth escape, and combined with your earth-attribute cultivation method and realm. . . an ordinary Nascent Soul old monster might actually let you get away."

Black Sand True Monarch chuckled, pointing a finger at the surrounding desert.

Bang! Bang!

A streak of earthy yellow light slammed into the desert, emitting a teeth-grinding sound, and then directly exploded, dissipating into a cloud of black qi. . .

As the vast yellow sand dispersed, a layer of pitch-black, steel-sheened substance appeared underneath.

It seemed that Black Sand True Monarch's casual pointer had unleashed the grand divine ability of 'Point the Ground into Steel', completely countering Old Man Huang's earth escape technique.

Thump! Thump!

One after another, the earthy yellow escape lights attempted to use their earth-burrowing technique, only to crash head-on into an iron plate, their fates too tragic to behold.

Whoosh!

From the last streak of escape light, Old Man Huang's figure emerged, an ancient jade talisman held in his hand.

Buzz! Buzz!

But above his head, a layer of pitch-black sand, like a curtain of night, thundered down!

Old Man Huang's yellow gourd, beneath this sky-filling black sand, was like a flickering candle in a flood, completely vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Subsequently, countless black sands condensed, forming a large black sphere.

Black Sand True Monarch formed hand seals, casting spells onto the black sand sphere.

Spirit runes flickered across the sphere's surface, and it abruptly transformed into the image of a pitch-black coffin, covered in countless spirit runes, which Black Sand True Monarch casually put away.

Only after completing all this did he look at Madam Snake and Fang Xi: "Although you are merely a front, with war on the horizon. . . all cultivation forces in this domain are forbidden from relocating! You have violated the rules, and thus will serve as an example to others."

"True Monarch, spare us!"

Madam Snake's face turned ashen with fright, and she immediately collapsed on the spot.

After all, Old Man Huang's recent fate left her no thought of resistance.

And at this moment, a sigh resonated.

Demonic light shimmered around Fang Xi, and a wave of magical power far exceeding Core Formation Perfection rippled far outwards, causing even the clouds in the sky to shatter: "Daoist Black Sand, why trouble a junior? How about, for my sake, you let the matter drop. . ."

"Nascent. . . Nascent Soul?"

Madam Snake's beautiful eyes widened, staring at Fang Xi in disbelief. She never imagined that this Core Formation cultivator, with whom she had spent intimately together day and night in the same carriage, was actually a hidden Nascent Soul old monster!

"Daoist friend, you are truly. . ."

Black Sand True Monarch looked at Fang Xi, his expression momentarily stunned. However, considering that most Nascent Soul old monsters were eccentric, having another one who liked feigning weakness to hunt a tiger and frolicking in the mundane world was unexpected, yet within the realm of reason.

While an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator might not be as strong as a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, if they were determined to flee, a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator would be helpless to stop them.

Only a late-stage Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator could suppress these two!

Within any major cultivation realm, a late-stage Grand Cultivator possessed a crushing advantage over the preceding two minor stages!

Because, in a broad sense, a late-stage cultivator also included the 'Perfection' minor stage; there was no bottleneck between late-stage and Perfection, merely an accumulation of magical power.

Some profound late-stage Nascent Soul Grand Cultivators could completely crush early and mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, and even slay them!

Therefore, Fang Xi felt little tension upon seeing this mid-stage Nascent Soul, Black Sand True Monarch.

"Daoist friend wishes to intercede for Madam Snake? " Black Sand True Monarch said expressionlessly.

Madam Snake, however, was almost weeping with joy, even wondering if she had fallen under an illusion.

After all, casually drawing in a Core Formation late-stage cultivator, only to discover that they were actually a Nascent Soul and the sole hope for her family's survival, felt completely like a dream.

"Precisely. . . " Fang Xi glanced at the woman, replying indifferently.

"..."

Black Sand True Monarch remained silent for a moment: "I still don't know your esteemed name, Daoist friend?"

"This humble Daoist is True Man Mu, merely a rogue cultivator," Fang Xi replied with a smile.

Rogue cultivators at lower stages were completely inferior to sect disciples, even at the Core Formation stage.

But upon reaching the Nascent Soul realm, it was entirely different.

Those rogue cultivators capable of forming a Nascent Soul were without exception individuals who possessed immense opportunities, and whose character, perseverance, and other qualities were outstanding and one-in-a-million!

It could be said that after taking the step to form a Nascent Soul, the differences between rogue cultivators and sect disciples, and even spiritual root aptitudes, would significantly narrow.

Every Nascent Soul old monster was not to be underestimated.

What's more, rogue Nascent Soul cultivators had no sect to burden them, acting as they pleased, and were often the most troublesome targets for those Nascent Soul sects.

It was even common for them to compile records of troublesome rogue Nascent Soul old monsters, distributing them to disciples with strict warnings not to provoke them or violate their taboos.

Black Sand True Monarch suddenly felt a massive headache.

Although he needed to strictly enforce sect rules and punish the traitorous family, provoking a rogue Nascent Soul old monster and having them bear a grudge seemed greatly unwise.

Moreover. . . Junior Brother Qiansha had just perished, and a volatile situation was brewing within the sect.

"If Daoist friend is willing to join my Yellow Sand Sect. . . then this matter can be discussed. " Black Sand True Monarch suddenly proposed.

"Recruit me?"

Fang Xi's expression was a little strange, but he mused internally: 'If you knew that I'd killed several of your Yellow Sand Sect's Core Formation cultivators, and that Venerable Qiansha's demise was also deeply connected to me, I wonder if you'd still say such a thing. . . Well, it seems your Yellow Sand Sect doesn't have something as grand and sophisticated as a 'Vengeful Soul Charm' technique. . . '

"My apologies. . . I'm accustomed to being a free spirit."

After feigning a moment of thought, Fang Xi naturally refused.

He wouldn't possibly join a sect about to go to war with another Nascent Soul sect, to serve as high-grade cannon fodder.

"In that case. . ."

Black Sand True Monarch said, "This woman's family betrayed the Yellow Sand Sect, and must be punished. If Daoist friend can withstand three of my moves, then this matter will be dropped. . . This is my final decision."

"Three moves, then?"

Fang Xi flew into the sky, meeting Black Sand True Monarch's gaze: "Very well!"

At this moment, the two were hundreds of feet apart, but their powerful Divine Consciousness had already firmly locked onto each other.

"Since that's the case, True Man Mu, you must be careful. My 'Black Marsh Profound Sand' is no weaker than 'Wutu Divine Sand', and it possesses a considerable contaminating ability against cultivators' bodies and souls. . ."

Black Sand True Monarch warned, forming a single-hand seal.

In the void, countless tiny black sands had appeared at some unknown point, covering an area of several miles!

One could say, Fang Xi was completely surrounded.

'Just now, it was these black sands that were set up early to block Old Man Huang's earth escape route. . . '

Fang Xi's Divine Consciousness was powerful; he had seen everything that transpired, so he naturally had some reservations about this Black Marsh Profound Sand.

He didn't know that Black Sand True Monarch possessed a Heavenly-grade Earth Spirit Root and had awakened a 'Black Sand Divine Body'. Ordinary Wutu Divine Sand, after his refinement, became this'black Marsh Profound Sand' with three times greater power, which was how he earned the illustrious reputation of'black Sand True Monarch' and was considered a particularly troubled sort among even mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

"First move!"

As Black Sand True Monarch spoke, the 'Black Marsh Profound Sand' suspended around them instantly solidified, transforming into innumerable, densely packed needles as fine as ox hairs.

Immediately after, countless pitch-black needles converged in dense volleys, erupting violently from all directions towards the center, leaving no blind spots.

Pfft! Pfft!

Countless black needles virtually engulfed Fang Xi.

And when everything had passed, a tall, three-eyed, six-armed phantom was seen, its ten fingers clasped tightly together, protecting Fang Xi within its embrace. . .