Chapter 107: Only an Idiot Would Risk Their Life for Them

"None of your business. Get lost!"

Li Hengyang had only just learned of the incident, and even with his cultivation level, he had nearly fainted from the shock. He had rushed to the location of the secret realm immediately.

"Brother Li! It isn't just your grandson who was killed by that wretch; the grandson of my chief disciple was also murdered by him!" Bai Wendao turned his gaze toward the giant screen in the sky, his teeth gritted in hatred.

Only then did Li Hengyang recover somewhat from his frenzied state. "Brother Bai, is this true? Oh, my heart aches! I had only this one grandson, and now he has been killed. What is the point of me living out the rest of my days?"

Perhaps feeling a sense of shared misery with Bai Wendao, Li Hengyang began to weep openly.

"Brother Li, please restrain your grief. As soon as that scoundrel Xia Jiuxuan emerges, the two of us shall tear him limb from limb to exact our revenge!"

"Yes! Yes! I will slaughter his entire lineage!"

Li Hengyang and Bai Wendao sat cross-legged on the ground, keeping watch at the site, waiting for Xia Jiuxuan to appear.

"Look!"

"Heavens, how are there so many!"

"Which sect does that boy represent? He’s struck gold! He’s really struck gold!"

At that moment, the eyes of all the major factions along the cliffside were fixed upon a young man on the giant screen. In the area where the youth stood, there appeared no fewer than a hundred orbs of fortune!

Hearing the commotion, the members of the Eighteen Sects hurriedly looked up at the giant screen. Upon seeing the display, everyone was stunned. It turned out that Xia Jiuxuan had stumbled into a valley where a dense cluster of fortune orbs awaited him.

"Hah! This wretch, is he truly that lucky?"

From the sect masters down to the talented disciples who had come to observe, everyone among the Eighteen Sects was moved!

"Hahaha! Heaven is aiding our Eighteen Sects! To think he would find so many fortune orbs!"

Seeing this, however, Li Hengyang and Bai Wendao’s expressions darkened sharply.

"Fellow sect masters, let me make this clear: regardless of how many fortune orbs this scoundrel Xia Jiuxuan gathers for your sects, I intend to kill him. Whoever tries to stop me will have to deal with me!" Li Hengyang declared coldly.

"Hahaha, rest assured, Elder Li. That Xia Jiuxuan is merely a tool. Once he emerges from the secret realm, he will be of no further use, and we shall certainly hand him over to you for disposal."

Following this statement from one of the sect masters, the others nodded in agreement.

"In that case, very well," Li Hengyang said, feeling reassured.

...

In a canyon with a rift several thousand meters wide, Xia Jiuxuan and his two companions stood at the edge.

"Senior Brother Xia, those are the fortune orbs!"

"Hurry, let’s bring them over and collect them!"

Seeing so many fortune orbs, Duanmu Wan and Mu Feng were filled with joy.

"These aren't fortune orbs; they are remnants of dragon energy," Xia Jiuxuan said.

"Ah?" Duanmu Wan asked, deeply confused. "How can dragon energy look like this? Does it persist without dissipating?"

"Of course it dissipates," Xia Jiuxuan replied. "If you had encountered this dragon energy right when the Seven-Winged Blood Dragon died, you would have been devoured instantly. Not just you—even those elders and sect masters outside would have been reduced to ashes if they had come within ten thousand feet of it."

"It's that terrifying?" Mu Feng was startled and took several steps back.

Xia Jiuxuan rolled his eyes at him and said, "I’m talking about back then. Now, the dragon’s baleful aura has long since dissipated; what remains is merely the waste energy of the dragon’s essence. Still, it is better than nothing. If we can secure it, it will be of great benefit to us."

Dragon energy could nourish the meridians, widening them and making them more resilient.

"Absorb!"

Xia Jiuxuan opened his palm, and the floating orbs began to drift slowly toward them.

"???"

Seeing this, Duanmu Wan and Mu Feng were completely bewildered.

"Senior Brother Xia, how are you still able to use your cultivation techniques?"

"Indeed, has your cultivation level not regressed?"

The two asked, clearly astonished.

"Shh!"

Xia Jiuxuan smiled mysteriously and gestured for silence. The hundred-plus balls of dragon energy drifted over.

"Quickly, split them up. I will teach you how to use them shortly."

Duanmu Wan and Mu Feng hurried to take out their spiritual rings, preparing to collect the dragon energy. Suddenly, Xia Jiuxuan slapped their hands, knocking the spiritual rings away and sending them plummeting down the cliff.

"Senior Brother Xia... what are you doing?" Mu Feng was completely baffled.

Duanmu Wan looked at Xia Jiuxuan with a strange expression, seeming to understand something.

"Are you idiots? Why would you give such precious things away to those sects for free?"

This was Xia Jiuxuan's intention. The spiritual rings contained special arrays; once the dragon energy was absorbed into them, it would be transmitted directly to the sects.

"Senior Brother Xia is right! Why should we hand over treasures we risked our lives to obtain to those sects? Besides, I can tell they don't intend to let Senior Brother Xia or me live. Why should we work for them?"

Duanmu Wan was no naive little girl; she could naturally guess a thing or two about what those sects were thinking. Xia Jiuxuan, for his part, was even more clear-sighted. He had long since deduced the true intentions of those sects.

"You’re a bit smarter, at least. Mu Feng is a complete moron."

As Xia Jiuxuan spoke, he took out his own spiritual ring, flicked his finger, and sent it tumbling down into the abyss below the cliff.

Mu Feng: "..."

He was speechless, but he made up his mind then and there: whatever this mysterious Senior Brother Xia said to do, he would do it! There would surely be benefits!

"Alright, absorb them directly into your storage spaces. Mu Feng, you can take more; Duanmu Wan, you take fewer."

Xia Jiuxuan instructed.

"?" Duanmu Wan frowned slightly and said in a delicate voice, "Why are you being so biased? Why let Mu Feng take more?"

Xia Jiuxuan said calmly, "Has your brain stopped working too? Mu Feng is a dragon-vein cultivator. Once he condenses this dragon energy, the improvement to his strength will be immense. Furthermore, his dragon veins can almost infinitely absorb and withstand dragon energy, whereas you and I cannot. If we absorb too much, our meridians will shatter."

Upon hearing this, Mu Feng felt a wave of dizziness. This mysterious Senior Brother Xia was actually looking out for him, allowing him to take more of such a precious treasure! Mu Feng felt immense gratitude and was deeply moved.

"Senior Brother Xia, thank you!"

Mu Feng knelt on one knee and bowed to Xia Jiuxuan. "From this day forward, regardless of my strength or cultivation level, I am willing to follow you and serve as your loyal dog!"

Mu Feng spoke from the bottom of his heart.

"Don't be a fool. You're pledging your life over such a small favor?" Xia Jiuxuan smiled faintly and continued, "There are many dangers to face over this coming month. I’m just making you stronger so you don't drag me down. Get up!"

"Uh."

Mu Feng stood up. Regardless of what Xia Jiuxuan said, he would forever remember this kindness.

The three of them began to collect the dragon energy. Mu Feng took about fifty, while Xia Jiuxuan and Duanmu Wan each took around twenty-five. Because their constitutions were different from Mu Feng's, taking more would only be a waste.

"Practice right here. I will transmit a method to condense the dragon energy to you both. Increase your strength as quickly as possible; we still have to go to the cliffs below—there are even better things down there!"

"Understood! We will follow your lead, Senior Brother Xia!" Mu Feng nodded hurriedly.

The three sat cross-legged, and Xia Jiuxuan directly transmitted the technique to them using his mental sense.

Outside, the people of the Eighteen Sects were in an uproar.

"That scoundrel Xia Jiuxuan, he’s embezzled the fortune orbs!"

"I’m furious! Over a hundred fortune orbs, all swallowed up by that wretch."

"Kill him! I want to carve that bastard into a thousand pieces!"

The bigwigs of the Eighteen Sects were so angry their hearts felt as if they might explode. As for the other sects, they had expected the Eighteen Sects to make a fortune, but none had anticipated this outcome. They all began to mock the Eighteen Sects, laughing at their expense.