“Gasp…” Mao Ba’er sharply exhaled and looked at Peony incredulously. “A C-C-Core Formation master?! H-How’s that possible?!”

“It’s no error.” Peony was without a trace of a joking expression. “In a red region in 1954, Shuangqing City’s Heavenly Pit, a Red Spider Lily bloomed, visible in complete view to the entire western region.”

“There was a nameless Core Formation master… leading ten Great Circle Foundation Establishment cultivators and 400 Qi Condensation cultivators. It was a night exploration of Shuangqing City’s Heavenly Pit. Not a single one of them… made it out.”

The room was silent. Xu Yangyi pulled up the sleeve of his snow-white shirt. The flooded Omega watch on his wrist twinkled with an enchanting brilliance under the illumination of the lightning. His hair recovered once more to choppy locks. Under the light, he didn’t resemble a cultivator; he was more like an idol. [1] 

A Core Formation cultivator, ten Great Circle Foundation Establishment cultivators, and 400 Qi Condensation cultivators… had all been lost to the Heavenly Pit! 20,000 Foundation Establishment cultivators; it was unknown whether or not there were even a hundred at the Great Circle of Foundation Establishment… and they had become immediately lost!

His gaze wordlessly swept over the map. Tianshan’s Heavenly Lake, Poyang Lake, Shennong Forestry, the Heavenly Pit, the Yellow River’s Great Jinshan Valleys, the Kunlun Mountain Range’s Death Valley, the Paracel Islands’ Dragon Hole, and Longsu Province’s Danxia Temple Colonnades. In total, there were eight locations. There were only eight major red sites in all of China. On the map, they were rather striking and harsh to the eyes. Nonetheless… they were also challenging cultivators with the desire of knowledge pertaining to the true world!

The greater the danger, the greater the harvest… For a place able to cause a Dao Master to disappear, there absolutely existed a colossal opportunity! Perhaps… it was some ancient, almighty Dao sanctum! 

“Got it.” After a while, Xu Yangyi’s voice rang out, not an emotion heard whatsoever.

“Commander…” Peony studied him for a few seconds but was incapable of discerning Xu Yangyi’s thoughts. “You won’t accept missions in these places… right?”

Xu Yangyi leisurely fiddled about with a cigarette, spun it a few times around his fingertips, and laughed, “Maybe?” [2]

A heartthrob sure was a heartthrob! Watching the movement of him picking up the cigarette was so graceful! Peony gently coughed. “If you cherish your life, stray far from the red…”

“Considering what you’ve said, he definitely understands… Even if he wants to go, I’ll bite down on his leg, too. Relax...” Mao Ba’er tentatively patted his chest in trepidation. “My 24-karat khorium braces aren’t so easy to break free from. It’s safe handing him over to me; they call me the condom!” [3]

From out of nowhere, Xu Yangyi tossed out a piece of dark chocolate. A black-white blur caught it in its mouth with a power just shy of a thunderbolt. Chewing and licking with his tongue a few times, Mao Ba’er fixed Xu Yangyi with a glare. “Impudent concubine, you’re of heart to poison me so easily!” [4]

“...” Xu Yangyi and Peony were completely silent.

“Is it true… that dogs will die when they eat dark chocolate?” Peony eventually resisted the urge to smile and asked.

“There are some dogs that can have a bite,” Xu Yangyi said with an indifferent voice.

Peony gently coughed and bowed. “Commander, if there’s no other business I’ll be on standby outside. Lastly, an A-rank legion must complete a mission within five years, otherwise we’ll be met with a rating demotion. Once demoted, some privileges can’t be used again, such as looking up S-rank and above demons.”

“I know.” Xu Yangyi responded, turning over to the computer. “I need a cultivation room like this with a high-grade Spirit Focusing Formation. Within a month.” 

Peony looked around, her gaze fairly amazed as she glanced at Xu Yangyi. She somewhat dared not believe it. Surrounding them were pitch-black stone walls, dazzling runes drawn on them of complex design, nodes where not the least bit amount of qi oozed out. A single glimpse was all it took to know that these were no ordinary goods. However, Peony’s surprise wasn’t due to the high-level Spirit Focusing Formation or Xu Yangyi’s extravagance. What surprised her… was that Xu Yangyi could cultivate in an environment like this?

This was an ascetic cultivator. Using difficult surroundings to temper one’s Dao heart, resolute in oneself with the convictions to keep moving. However… these days, which cultivator, even Foundation Establishment seniors, didn’t have extremely luxurious estates or Dao sanctums? 

What kind of feeling was it to sit down on the cold floor in meditation and cultivate? Even though there was the support of spiritual force in getting up, the lower-half of the body would be numb and aching to no end, the circulation of blood impeded. 

Moreover, after the end of a long seclusion, the first order of business was unconditionally a hot refreshing shower. Not to mention bathtubs, there were also many people who had swimming pools and hot springs in their cultivation rooms.

“Commander… since you’ve decided not to recruit for the time being, we don’t need to be so sparing with the 17,000 spirit stones… In fact, the signing ceremony’s most important matter wasn’t to bestow you these rewards but rather to promote you in front of the entire nation’s cultivators. It’s these contacts that are the most significant…” 

It’s not necessary at all for you to be so frugal! Please live it up in style and splurge, Commander-oppa! [5]

“I understand.” Xu Yangyi cupped his chin and nodded. “But I’m used to it.”

“...”

This little devil didn’t know how to sit back and relax one bit! Not one single fondness! In her heart, Peony silently cursed. Afterwards, she revolved her qi on the jade slip in her hand, glanced at it, and laughed, “Commander, these are your arrangements for the next few days. Tomorrow, you’ll have to go to Panshan City’s government hall and make reparations with the human government.”

Xu Yangyi nodded. His doings had to be tidied by himself. Peony bowed again and paced away in her graceful high heels. Just as she left, Mao Ba’er audibly scuttled onto his front legs. 

“I really didn’t expect you’d turn this apathetic after three years! Where’s my angel that agreed we’d do anything for each other!” His front paw landed on top of Xu Yangyi’s thigh, and he put his head on the surface to wipe his nonexistent tears. “You have a new favorite; you don’t love me! I’ve been abandoned!”

Xu Yangyi paid him no heed and turned his body back to use the computer, asking without much thought. “Did you eat the dark chocolate?”

Mao Ba’er gnashed his teeth in anger. “Do you really want me to die so much?”

“Yes.”

“No way!” Mao Ba’er’s hair stood on edge, and he jumped around in satisfaction. “A villain remains for a thousand years! Even if I don’t live to a thousand, I’ll stick around until at least 900!”

Beep… At this time, the computer softly rang out. Xu Yangyi’s face was cold like ice, a bloodthirsty smile hanging at the crook of his mouth. “Get out.”

“What! You!” Mao Ba’er raised his head in shock. Wasn’t it said that absence made the heart grow fonder? Where was the angel that spoke well of bonding with each other? However, just as he lifted his head, he saw Xu Yangyi’s expression. There wasn’t anything different from the usual, but through his ten-odd years of socialization with Xu Yangyi, Mao Ba’er could keenly sense something… 

An aura of death! A murderous will made manifest!

Is it…? Mao Ba’er seemed to recall something, quietly ran outside the room, and closed the door in consideration. Xu Yangyi clasped his water cup, calmly looking at the web page before his eyes. In ten-odd years… he had entered the Featherwood Guard, but in fact… all his current reasons weren’t his driving force. There was only one reason; the chance he had waited sixteen years for!

He appeared like a wooden sculpture, calmly observing, absent of joy and devoid of sorrow and without a billow’s trace. After a full five seconds, the water cup he was clenching suddenly chipped loudly, becoming completely covered with cracks. Xu Yangyi then appeared to somewhat gather his bearings and suddenly felt his eyes turn a bit wet. 

Was this the feeling of not having cried in so long…? He leaned back in his chair and laughed all of a sudden. “I’m not suited to cultivate this damn qi-nurturing art.” The web page in front of him had a black background with the crest of a feather and the totem of a spear and sword crossed together. Below, there was only one line of characters.

The Featherwood Guard’s Demonslaying Catalog. 

A line of characters that displayed “Already Connected” appeared at the top of the screen. This was moreover the soft echo of the incessant beeping. THIS was certainly the reason why he’d chosen the Featherwood Guard! It was precisely that day’s choice at the Unrivaled Beneath the Heavens Arena! The Featherwood Guard, only the Featherwood Guard was capable of totally characterizing all presently known demons!

Using the lives of cultivators, their experiences, and the process of legions, a database concerning all of China’s greatest demons had been constructed. As for Xu Yangyi… he inhaled deeply a few times, finally opening his eyes in caution.

 His eyes that were ordinarily somewhat indecipherable already flushed red. All commanders could automatically peruse the A-rank and below database. A-rank commanders were equipped with the authority to look through the S-rank database.

“C’mon, baby…” He breathed in deeply, suppressing the seething killing intent in his heart. “Are you looking forward to our reunion after sixteen years? Are you looking forward to when I rip you to shreds?” 

For all eternity, he would never be able to forget his blood-dyed birthday cake and toys when he came home at eight years old. Until the end of time, he was incapable of removing the ravaged limbs, splattered blood, and the deep-red eye since after he opened that door. Forever engraved in his mind was how solemn his seclusion was in his first five years at Heavens Law. Of how gravely he was frightened of blood. 

However, he had arrived here at the present. This time, that which he had lost was brought back. What his opponent felt to be hunger had transformed into his life. Click click click… The sound of the computer mouse echoed persistently inside the room. Xu Yangyi didn’t overlook neither hide nor hair. Opening files from the C-rank order, class, origin, and territory sections.

In the Featherwood Guard’s collective, there were a vast number of unidentified demons. By no means would he relinquish a single trace. After a full four hours, he wasn’t able to come up with anything once. However, he only finished reading the C-rank order section. 

Mao Ba’er was at the doorway. He hadn’t left. Through his ten-plus years of interaction, he had an all too well understanding of Xu Yangyi’s temperament. There were some men that wouldn’t place the words lying at the bottom of their hearts in their mouths, even making it seem that there was nothing wrong. However, they would always advance unflinchingly towards their paths, striving with great effort. They seemed reticent, even taciturn. Yet these sleeping lions weren’t to be provoked. Their slumber was due on their part in needing their energies for their own objectives.

“For the sake of our relationship of over a dozen years, I won’t disturb you tonight…”

Xu Yangyi shut himself in the room for a full day and a half, glued to the computer mouse. A-rank and below, nothing! By no measure or pace did he doubt that he’d seen It mistakenly; he had thoroughly memorized his mark’s imprint.

It… was a crow. 

Pitch-black from head to foot, like a reaper in the curtain of night. A crow no less than ten meters tall. Its eyes were akin to black jade. Its claws were comparable to the sharpest sword, and on its feathers, it bore the mark of golden eyes. It wasn’t bizarre whatsoever. It seemed to be of the most wild breed. However… It didn’t exist in A-rank and below!

Xu Yangyi’s gaze fell upon an option only available to A-rank commanders.

S-rank demons!