Chapter 452: Assassin

"Hm?"

Fang Xing, who was moving toward the Qinghua Small Realm, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

"It's the 'Severing Cause and Effect' secret art warning me… my karmic thread has been stirred."

He murmured, a faint sneer curling his lips.

"I don't have many karmic threads—besides Baihou Mountain… it must be…"

Fang Xing immediately activated the Karmic Secret Art; a hazy thread materialized in his hand.

This karmic thread was crystal clear, pointing to only one person!

"Not a leak from Wuji Mountain… did something happen again with Song Zhong of the Seven Kill Demon Palace?"

Fang Xing shook his head.

When he set up his scheme in the Peach Valley Secret Realm, he ordered Song Zhong to lure the Crown Prince of the Qing Emperor's Palace's She Xi Division—perhaps that left traces and vulnerabilities.

After all, as the top core member of Wuji Mountain, the higher he rose, the more curious outsiders became; some information was bound to leak.

Song Zhong being discovered was only natural.

"Back then, outside the Peach Valley Secret Realm, I directly sent Song Zhong into a Void Treasure to hide him, concealed his karmic thread… then abandoned him in the outside world."

"After killing Fu Shan, I let him fend for himself… now it seems he's finally been caught?"

He was, after all, his own soul servant; Fang Xing would never kill him unless absolutely forced.

And he had kept him alive as bait.

Now it seemed a fish had indeed taken the hook.

"Using karmic art to track me down?"

A cold smile appeared on his face.

Outsiders had no idea he had cultivated the Karmic Secret Art to this level—able to detect threats in advance, even trace them back to their source.

Yet now, he did not use the art to conceal his own karmic thread.

Instead, he openly allowed the karmic thread to coil around him, making his location clear.

"No one's coming as an Ogre Emperor… at most a Heavenly Ogre Sovereign…"

"Perfect chance to test my current strength…"

"Hmm, just in case, the battlefield should be near the Qinghua Small Realm—if I can't win, I can still flee into the secret realm…"

…

Qinghua Small Realm.

Perimeter.

Fang Xing sat cross-legged atop a mountain ridge, his eyes gleaming with sharp light: "Previously… I only broke through to Black Hole Level with my body. Later, using many rare artifacts, I cultivated my soul to the Ninth Layer as well…"

The auxiliary cultivation elixirs available at Dou Tian Palace would be even more effective than Soul Elixir.

"But my weakness remains: my understanding of cosmic laws is too weak… my overall power is average… only my physique rivals that of a Heavenly Ogre Third Layer."

He hadn't done nothing during his time in Dou Tian Palace.

He spent nearly a hundred Pangu Tokens, most of them on his physique and studying the Space-Time Great Monument, granting him tremendous progress within the Black Hole Level.

If before his breakthrough he could only match a Heavenly Ogre First Layer, the weakest Soul Sovereign, now he could match a Heavenly Ogre Third Layer—how many times stronger had his power become?

"Hm?"

At that moment, Fang Xing sensed a disturbance behind him in the void—a black hand lunged out, clawing for his heart!

Puff!

The black hand struck his back, but could not pierce his Black Hole Level physique; instead, he snatched it with a reverse grip.

Whoosh!

A figure retreated swiftly, but a crisp sound echoed from his hand.

"Heavenly Immortal? Imperial Artifact?"

Fang Xing gazed at the black glove-shaped Imperial Artifact in his hand, a faint smile appearing.

He gripped the black glove with both hands and strained his arms.

Hum!

A terrifying force of black hole distortion immediately acted upon the black glove.

Crack!

The black glove let out a mournful cry, a crack appearing on its surface—then he swallowed it whole, sealing it deep within his internal black hole.

There, space-time twisted beyond escape, even light unable to flee—the perfect prison and sealing ground!

Only now did Fang Xing have the leisure to look at his attacker.

The opponent was a Daoist, his face shrouded in black mist, his aura unmistakably that of a Heavenly Immortal!

A Heavenly Immortal assassin!

"I didn't expect… your physique could withstand an Imperial Artifact directly—you're truly a Soul Sovereign."

Wu Xin Daoist exhaled: "Pfft… this job's a total loss."

"Job? Are you from Tian Sha Tower or Yan Luo Gate?" Fang Xing frowned. "According to assassin guild rules… if the target's strength vastly exceeds estimates, shouldn't you return to revise the plan—or at least demand a higher deposit from the employer?"

"Hah… you black dragon are quite amusing. Are you also in this line of work?"

Wu Xin Daoist chuckled strangely: "The price will rise, but your chance to be alone is rare… I've got quite the appetite for your heart and liver."

"You're an assassin who likes hearts and livers... are you the Wu Xin Daoist?"

Fang Xing nodded. This Heavenly Immortal was infamous in the Qingyuan Great Realm—loved bullying the weak and worked as an assassin.

When a Heavenly Immortal assassin strikes, even a Soul Sovereign Crown Prince stands a high chance of death!

"Now that you know, die!"

Wu Xin Daoist's mind flickered—a vast black river appeared, his manifestation of the "Black Water Dao Principle." How terrifying was a complete Dao Principle?

In an instant, Fang Xing felt crushing suppression descend—even space-time fluctuations were stifled to their limit!

Dao Principle comprehension had always been his weakness; even at Proficient level, he was often suppressed by enemies who could summon laws with a thought.

Now, though he had fused Space-Time Dao, making him equivalent to Dao Level Five, he was still outmatched by Heavenly Immortals and Heavenly Ogres. Even at the peak of Dao Level Five, just a hair's breadth from mastering a complete Dao Principle…

But as long as that step remained unstepped, the gap was heaven and earth!

A Heavenly Immortal or Heavenly Ogre could annihilate a normal Soul Sovereign Ninth Layer with a single thought.

The only exception? Soul Sovereigns!

Even so, Fang Xing felt his Time and Void Dao Principles suppressed, making teleportation and other secret arts nearly impossible.

Unless… he used a secret treasure!

Hum!

A bronze mirror, weathered and ancient, appeared in his hand—his body instantly split into three.

"Hm? Time Dao Principle… past and future bodies?"

"A fine Time Artifact!"

Wu Xin Daoist immediately recognized the power of the Age Mirror, his tone filled with awe: "Looks like… you truly gained much in the Pangu Secret Realm…"

Greed stirred in his heart; the black river surged, engulfing hundreds of thousands of miles.

Fang Xing's past body smiled faintly—the black-robed youth form collapsed into a single "black hole!"

Boom!

Terrifying gravity erupted, spreading outward, even light unable to escape its grasp.

Splash!

The hundreds of thousands of miles of black water vanished instantly, compressed, twisted… absorbed into the core essence of the black hole.

Whoosh!

Wu Xin Daoist's form was also affected by the terrifying gravity.

Meanwhile, another black-robed Fang Xing appeared before Wu Xin Daoist and thrust out a finger.

His finger was pale, delicate… yet at the tip, a sliver of black hole power exploded.

Bang!

Wu Xin Daoist was flung back dozens of miles; the mist on his body dissipated, revealing a handsome face: "Not an ordinary Soul Sovereign… at least equivalent to a Heavenly Immortal Third Layer… given time, no—right now he's already a grave threat."

He extended both hands, drawing from his black river a long, black halberd.

Splash!

The halberd roared, black water surging into a colossal black dragon that crashed down!

Wu Xin Daoist's ability to survive this long clearly proved his strength—he was a Heavenly Immortal Fourth Layer.

Now, wielding another Imperial Artifact and activating a Heavenly Immortal secret art, his power reached terrifying heights.

Roar! Roar!

The black dragon coiled with black true water, engulfing "Fang Xing."

But the next instant, another black hole erupted—dark chaos swallowed an area of hundreds of thousands of miles.

A flash of light.

Wu Xin Daoist held the halberd, his robe torn, silently staring at the scene, his face dark as water.

…

A hundred thousand miles away.

Fang Xing teleported instantly to the entrance of the Qinghua Small Realm: "I'm not stupid. Wu Xin Daoist is powerful—I'll deal with you after I claim my inheritance…"

Though he couldn't enter the Qinghua Small Realm, he now released his aura—light flashed in the void, and he vanished.

Almost the instant Fang Xing vanished, Wu Xin Daoist transformed into a shadowy glow and arrived here; seeing the Qinghua Small Realm, he frowned: "Qinghua Small Realm? That's territory of the Qing Emperor Palace and the Seven Kill Demon Palace—hard to provoke… The Qing Emperor Palace is manageable, but Qi Sha Daoist of the Seven Kill Demon Palace is not someone who listens to reason…"

As a Celestial Immortal, though he could not enter the Qinghua Small Realm, he was confident he could destroy it.

But doing so would surely incur the wrath of both major factions.

The Qing Emperor Palace is tolerable as the client, but Qi Sha Daoist is not a man of reason.

As Wu Xin Daoist hesitated, the void above flickered, and the figure of a white-haired youth appeared: "Wu Xin, friend…"

"Qi Sha, friend…"

Wu Xin Daoist's expression darkened: "Why have you come here?"

"Heh, you've imprisoned one of my Seven Kill Demon Palace's elders—don't you owe me an explanation?"

Qi Sha Daoist wore the same pitch-black Daoist robe, his hair snow-white, his face strikingly handsome, yet his eyes now carried a faint crimson hue.

"Haha, Brother Qi Sha, this is all a misunderstanding… I suspected your elder was under control, so I intervened to seek justice for him…"

Wu Xin Daoist said: "Now that the little thief has fled into the Qinghua Small Realm, what do you suggest we do, Brother Qi Sha?"

"Wait."

Qi Sha Daoist glanced at Wu Xin Daoist, then closed his eyes.

As if afraid that even one more look might unleash the killing intent within him…

…

Qinghua Small Realm.

Steps ascended one after another, culminating at the statue of Lady Qinghua.

Fang Xing was instantly teleported here and bowed before the statue of Lady Qinghua.

Whoosh!

A beam of light descended, taking form as the Realm Spirit, Snake Woman.

She sized Fang Xing up, then nodded: "Congratulations on reaching Nascent Soul… With the Zhulong bloodline's transformation, this was not overly difficult… Lady Qinghua specially prepared three Imperial Weapons for you."

With a graceful wave, the Snake Woman displayed her treasures; three beams of light descended, revealing a blue-scaled armor, a wooden longsword, and a breastplate mirror.

"This 'Blue Snake Armor' and 'Yuanmu Sword' are both top-tier Imperial Weapons… but the most precious is this 'Wuyuan Mirror'—a treasure to protect the Nascent Soul."

Second chapter update later

(End of chapter)