that might be pus.h.i.+ng his luck. With another glance to her pretty face, a not-so-nice idea floated up into his mind.

After s.n.a.t.c.hing Liu Heihu’s storage sack, Fang Xing grabbed Qin Xing’er’s waist and gave her a solid kiss. He then licked his lips, deciding the taste was nothing out of the ordinary before letting out a laugh and turning back to face the beasts with grace.

"I’m not leaving!" After being kissed, Qin Xing’er was left dumbfounded for a split second before she started to try to grab Fang Xing with her. Liu Heihu, on the other hand, held onto her arm before activating his Flying Sword to transport the both of them towards the valley entrance. With tears in his eyes, he turned his head and yelled, "s.h.i.+xiong Fang, your kindness will never be forgotten by me, Liu Heihu. I will forever owe you my life…." Even now, he believed that Fang Xing had s.n.a.t.c.hed his storage sack to prepare for an extended battle against these beasts in order to protect their rear.

"d.a.m.n it! How dare you rescue people under my watch! Are you pretending that I don’t exist? I’m going to eat you!" the beast inside the golden light finally spoke in a hateful manner. Although it readied itself to stop both Liu Heihu and Qin Xing’er, it did not make any physical movements after giving a meaningful glance towards Xu Linyun at the far entrance fighting with the stone golems. Instead, it locked its attention filled with murderous intent onto Fang Xing and slowly lowered itself back down into the valley to block Fang Xing’s path.

"s.h.i.+xiong Fang…." Qin Xing’er screamed as the golden light obscured her view of Fang Xing. It was as though Fang Xing himself had been taken in by the light.

"How come there’s only the two of you? Where’s Fang Xing?" Xu Linyun loudly asked with pressing urgency once the two arrived at the valley entrance. Qin Xing’er immediately burst into tears while Liu Heihu answered while choking down sobs, "Little s.h.i.+xiong Fang is… he’s… in order to save us, he was caught up in the beasts. Then… then he was blocked by the Foundation Stage beast inside the valley…."

Xu Linyun’s expression immediately changed as she clenched her teeth and brandished her longsword. She wished to dash right back inside the valley, but no matter how courageous the white crane beneath her was, it did not dare to charge towards a Foundation Stage beast. The moment it sensed such a dangerous presence, its innate disposition had caused it to fly directly towards the entrance in order to get away. Not even Xu Linyun could change its mind, since Xu Linyun had always tamed her crane through love, not force. A mount that had been tamed in such a manner would usually have an excellent relations.h.i.+p with its master, but there were times that it might still throw tantrums or simply refuse certain instructions.

"Aaaaoooooo…." The stone golems chased after Xu Linyun, Qin Xing’er, and Liu Heihu, with Liu Heihu clearly nearing his limits as he stood atop his Flying Sword. Using a Flying Sword as a means of transportation—even for a short period of time—was extremely taxing on Qi, and it was all the more since he was also holding onto Qin Xing’er. Xu Linyun continued to gaze back into the valley before letting out a sigh and grabbing the pair onto her crane.

The white crane was as agile as lightning, and they were out of the valley in the blink of an eye. The stone golems behind them visibly melded into one before s.h.i.+fting back into stone walls, blocking the valley’s entrance completely. They did not stop there, either, and the walls grew taller and drew towards the center, until the entire valley was blocked off from the forest. From the outside, it looked impossible to get in or out.

This was in fact the result of the two Earth Puppets exhausting their supply of Earth Qi. However, to the disciples outside, it was as though these "demonic beasts" had summoned a spell to block off Fang Xing’s only chance for survival.

"s.h.i.+xiong Fang…." It was a dreadful howl from Qin Xing’er. Her eyes were filled with despair and tears flowed down her soft cheeks.

All of the Qing-Yun disciples that had managed to escape rested about a mile away from the valley and waited eagerly for Xu Linyun’s return, and they all felt a great weight eased from their chests when they saw her white crane. What they did not expect, however, was for Qin Xing’er to immediately fall limp upon the ground when she stepped off the crane, her tears rolling as she mournfully sobbed in a terribly saddening display.

Wu Xiangtong and the rest of the Duanzhen disciples were the first to come up for questions. "What… what happened to Little s.h.i.+xiong Fang?"

Qin Xing’er was now crying so uncontrollably that she could not form any words. Liu Heihu—his mood also dim—responded on her behalf, "s.h.i.+xiong Fang…. In order to save us, he…. He’s trapped inside the valley…."

"How can this be?" Wu Xiangtong was very surprised, and the same reaction was shared by the other disciples Fang Xing had saved.

In this moment, the Fang Xing that had thrown away his own life for theirs was undoubtedly a hero.

Those who had escaped early on didn’t know what had just happened and began to ask amongst each other. "What happened?"

"It seems like that kid tried to play at being a hero and overestimated himself, and is now trapped inside the val—" The person who spoke up was the Shuwen Valley disciple, Shen Lo. He had never had a good impression of Fang Xing, and was now rejoicing in Fang Xing’s misfortune. Before he had even managed to finish his sentence, however, silver lights flashed in front of his eyes as a half-dozen swords flew his way. Jumping in fright, he rolled onto the ground to narrowly avoid these blades while yelling out, "Are you all insane?"

"Where did you get such courage? To dishonor s.h.i.+xiong Fang is to dishonor me, Liu Heihu! I will duel you to the death!" Liu Heihu widened his eyes, his intent to kill very real.

"That’s right, s.h.i.+xiong Fang saved us with his own life, and you’re here speaking so lightly of him. Where is your conscience?"

"Shen Lo, you shameless a**hole, I will never, ever have anything to do with you!"