Chapter 23 Futu Hall
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Pei Jing hesitated for a moment and subconsciously leaned backward.
Chu Junyu’s pale fingers paused on the sword, and his stiff expression quickly disappeared. He looked back at Pei Jing’s face and said, “I don’t usually use a sword.”
Pei Jing sat with his legs crossed, grinning casually. “Well, that’s unusual. A swordsman who doesn’t use a sword often.”
Changtian Realm was a simple forest valley, with tall trees blocking the sunlight. There were no dangers, so there was no need to stick together in groups. After entering the realm, everyone said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, as nobody knew when opportunities would come.
Pei Jing asked Chu Junyu if he wanted to join him. Chu Junyu glanced at him, then turned and walked away.
Pei Jing stood in front of a tree and put a candy in his mouth, sighing, “Alright, I hope you find something amazing inside.”
Changtian Realm still carried the aura of Yunxiao Daoren, whom Pei Jing had met a few times and received guidance from. He felt a sense of familiarity with the plants and animals here. Consequently, many spirit beasts gathered around him, intimately touching him.
He had visited this place since his youth, thoroughly exploring every corner, both inside and out. He had little interest in further exploration.
Over time, Pei Jing tried every fruit in the forest. While washing his hands by the river, a five-colored deer suddenly leaped out from the woods. It looked anxious, with a bleeding wound on its leg. Tearfully, it approached Pei Jing and sought refuge behind him.
Pei Jing was surprised and gently rubbed its head. “What’s wrong?”
The five-colored deer sobbed but didn’t answer. The cultivators who hastily arrived later remained tight-lipped.
“Zhang Yiming, back off! We found that deer first!”
The leader, with an intimidating aura, turned out to be the same person who had wanted to confront Chu Junyu that night. His four companions were unchanged, each holding a longbow, indicating their prior preparation before entering the Changtian Realm.
Pei Jing comfortingly patted the deer’s head and noticed the bows and arrows in their hands. His voice turned slightly cold as he asked, “Why are you carrying bows?”
The leader, infuriated, exclaimed, “It’s none of your business! Just leave! This deer is our prey.”
“Prey?”
Contemplating their words, Pei Jing laughed, “My ancestors left this realm to bring blessings to future generations, and this is how you treat it?”
These individuals harbored intense hatred towards Chu Junyu, but their vast difference in strength prevented them from defeating him. Thus, they silently nursed their grudges, and over time, even Pei Jing, who was closely associated with Chu Junyu, became the target of their displeasure.
The leader glanced back and saw that all four of his subordinates were armed, and their numbers and imposing presence gave him confidence. With a harsh tone, he yelled at Pei Jing, “Why waste your breath? I’ll ask you once: Are you leaving or not? If you don’t leave, don’t blame us for not being polite! Fighting among fellow disciples inside the Changtian Realm is not against the rules!”
Pei Jing chuckled upon hearing this and whispered to the five-colored deer to go ahead and leave.
Another of the five men witnessed this and muttered, “Is he deliberately provoking us?”
“Don’t let it escape!”
The cultivators drew their bows and shot arrows at the retreating figure of the five-colored deer.
The long arrow shattered within a cold sword light.
With a crisp sound, the arrow split in half in mid-air and both pieces fell. Pei Jing reached out his hand and caught one end of the arrowhead. Then, in a swift motion, he threw the arrow back.
His movements were incredibly fast and accurate. Before anyone could react, the leader’s leg had already been pierced by the arrow.
“Ah!” He screamed, clutching his bleeding leg and wailing, “My leg! My leg!”
The other four were bewildered, completely unaware of what had just happened.
Pei Jing: I didn’t even touch his bones, and he’s making such a fuss.
This group of disciples lacked both ability and the right mindset, but they certainly had twisted intentions. They were pampered and lacked discipline.
The leader grimaced in pain, unable to close his mouth properly. He gasped for breath and pointed at Pei Jing, his teeth clenched in hatred. “Avenge me quickly! Chu Junyu isn’t here, but four against one shouldn’t result in defeat!”
The four men quickly reacted and frantically drew their bows to shoot at Pei Jing. They were all at the Qi Gathering Stage, and their basic spells required half a moment to chant. Their sword techniques were also far from reaching a seamless flow. When it came to actual combat, they could only rely on their weapons and brute strength.
Pei Jing sneered, “It sounds like you think I can’t beat you just because Chu Junyu isn’t here.”
Arrows rained down upon him. As he walked forward, the arrowheads grazed his hair and brushed against his clothes, not causing him the slightest injury. With a single swing of his sword, he split all the arrows in half and flung them back with a swift motion.
The five men shouted in agony, in a state of panic and disarray. They couldn’t avoid the arrows and ended up resembling porcupines. While the arrows didn’t penetrate deeply into their flesh, the pain tormented them.
Pei Jing approached them, wiping off the water that hadn’t dried on his hands, his gaze icy cold. “Now, can you tell me, what’s the purpose of wielding bows? If you speak up, your fate won’t end here.”
The leader had an arrow lodged in his leg and a wound on his arm. The pain made it difficult for him to articulate his words clearly. Finally understanding the situation, he immediately knelt down, repeatedly kowtowing while tears and snot flowed. “Please spare me, Brother Zhang! Don’t blame me! It was all Xiao Chen’s damned idea. Xiao Chen said he consulted many Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, but not one of them had any remarkable encounters within the Changtian Realm. We may only have one chance to enter in our lifetime, and we can’t come away empty-handed. The treasures in Changtian left by the Nascent Soul experts are priceless, and we should take as many animals and plants as we can. It’s all him! It’s all his instigation!”
Pei Jing rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Xiao Chen?” That name sounded somewhat familiar.
The leader, his face red from crying, had completely lost face. He harbored deep hatred towards that scoundrel Xiao Chen and hurriedly explained, “He’s the one who was assigned to the spiritual garden by the Peak Master! Full of twisted ideas! I fell for his wicked schemes!
Pei Jing recalled the disciple who had been foolishly deceived by him. He never imagined that even after spending several months cultivating in the spiritual garden, Xiao Chen’s twisted thoughts hadn’t been rectified but instead intensified, leading him to venture into Changtian Realm.
Interesting.
“Where is Xiao Chen?” Pei Jing’s hand rested on his sword as he asked coldly.
The leader’s face contorted into a frown. “How would I know? He went off on his own, heading towards the north, it seems.”
North.
Pei Jing turned around, gazing toward the north, but unable to recall what lay in that direction.
Suddenly, there was a booming sound from the north, followed by the rumbling of a landslide and the furious roar of a wild beast. The entire ground trembled in response. Concurrently, the cries of a group of cultivators filled the air, desperately pleading for their lives as they were chased and leaped around by the wild beast.
“Always causing trouble,” Pei Jing sighed.
The Changtian Realm wasn’t dangerous because the spiritual beasts within had no hostile intentions toward Yunxiao disciples and wouldn’t specifically attack them.
However, if someone deliberately provoked them, these spiritual beasts weren’t to be trifled with.
As he hurried over, Pei Jing witnessed a group of people screaming in panic, their faces pale, fleeing down the mountain.
Chasing after them was a creature resembling a crocodile, three meters long and half a person’s height, with a massive mouth, fiery-red eyes, and a ferocious appearance. With a sweep of its tail, it snapped several trees in half. It opened its wide mouth, revealing three rows of teeth.
The sight sent shivers down everyone’s spines.
Pei Jing grabbed hold of a person and asked, “Where did this beast come from that has everyone so frightened?”
The unfortunate person, gripped by Pei Jing, grew increasingly pale and frantically looked around. With the beast closing in and no means of escape, he sounded utterly desperate. “Don’t ask me, I don’t know anything!”
Pei Jing stated bluntly, “If you don’t speak up, then stay here and become its meal.”
The unfortunate person couldn’t believe his ears, as if encountering Zhang Yiming for the first time, and was on the verge of tears. “It’s not my fault! They were chasing a bird, and it led them into this mountain. There’s a cave inside, and someone triggered some mechanism when they went in. The moment the stone wall opened, this beast came rushing out with its jaws wide open.”
The cave.
Pei Jing recalled it.
He gave the young disciple a somewhat mocking glance and said, “You lot are quite capable, huh? Accidentally stumbling into the Futu Hall.”
The Futu Hall was the place where the ancient Yunxiao Daoren had overcome his inner demons. The ancestors practiced fighting poison with poison, hence the hall was filled with evil thoughts and the origins of inner demons. Although it couldn’t inflict substantial harm, those with impure intentions who entered would experience mental agony as if being sliced by a thousand knives.
The beast guarded the entrance, chasing them out as a form of protection, preventing them from entering. It was merely meant to frighten them. Once they left the mountain, it would cease its pursuit.
Pei Jing let go of him, and the disciple wasted no time in slipping away, not even catching his breath.
The crocodile reached the foot of the mountain, finding that everyone had gone, and its red eyes scanned the surroundings. Immediately, it transformed from a fierce man-eating monster into a dejected and lethargic creature. It closed its mouth, drooped its eyes, retracted its claws, and crawled along as slowly as an elderly person.
Pei Jing surveyed the trees that had been knocked askew by the beast’s tail and couldn’t help but offer some well-intentioned advice. “In the future, when scaring people, could you try a different approach? Stop swinging your tail and snapping trees. If you keep doing this every time, you’ll destroy all the trees in this forest sooner or later.”
The crocodile lifted one corner of its eyelid, glanced at him, and its red eyes conveyed a strong sense of disdain. It remained silent. Moving its limbs slowly, it seemed eager to crawl back with its belly touching the ground.
Pei Jing quipped, “So lazy, no wonder you’ve gained so much weight over the centuries.”
The crocodile ignored him completely and allowed him to follow from behind.
Pei Jing intended to follow it back to the Futu Hall.
If the guardian creature had been disturbed, it meant that the group of disciples inside had likely caused some damage. He would go and investigate, rectify the situation, and deal with them upon their return.
Pei Jing had previously entered the Futu Hall during his last visit to the Changtian Realm and had remained unaffected. Yunxiao Daoren had explained that it was because of his pure thoughts and lack of distractions. However, now standing at the entrance again, he couldn’t help but feel a strange sensation in his heart.
The entrance of the cave was concealed amidst flowers and grass, enveloped in darkness.
The surroundings were filled with lush greenery and vibrant flowers, enveloped in a swirling mist of spiritual energy. Deep inside, faint shades of purple and blue light danced mysteriously. It was an enigmatic sight.
Pei Jing asked the crocodile, “What’s the situation with this cave?”
The crocodile lazily extended its claw and made a cross shape on the ground, expressing its weariness.
“You don’t know either?”
The crocodile pondered for a moment, its bright red eyes glancing at Pei Jing before it began its performance. It closed its eyes, stretched its body flat, and comfortably positioned its limbs, mimicking a sleeping posture. Just as Pei Jing was wondering what this spirit-communicating crocodile was up to, it abruptly opened its eyes and tapped its claw on the cross it had drawn.
Pei Jing finally understood, “You mean you’ve been sleeping all this time and know nothing?”
The crocodile blinked its eyes, displaying both fatigue and laziness.
Pei Jing laughed and scolded, “What use are you then!”
Gripping the Cloud Slayer Sword, he stepped inside.
As soon as he entered, he felt a chilling, eerie, and sinister aura, unlike anything he had encountered on his cultivation path. It felt somewhat familiar, reminiscent of the Thousand-Face Woman. The thought of her raised Pei Jing’s alertness, but after contemplating for a while, he deemed it unlikely. The Chantian Realm was within Yunxiao’s domain, and it wasn’t easy for impurities to infiltrate. Even if they did, what would be their purpose?
“Take me to the main hall first.”
Pei Jing commanded.
The main hall was adorned with several mystical water mirrors, which illuminated every corner of the Futu Hall, allowing a clear view of everything happening inside.
The door was located next to the crocodile’s pool, requiring the touch of its tail to open.
As the stone wall opened wide, a faint, ethereal light poured down from above.
Pei Jing stepped into the main hall.
The crocodile by his feet was on the verge of falling asleep, unable to keep its eyes open.
Above the main hall, the water mirrors reflected all directions.
Pei Jing paused, his gaze landing on the central one—the entrance to the secret chamber where his ancestors had once secluded himself. It was a pitch-black, strange passageway filled with malevolent thoughts and inner demons. The young man stood still, his emerald-colored garments fluttering, his expression cold, and his eyes fierce.
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