Suddenly, Fang Zhengzhi felt his imagination weakening, unable to picture the Nine Heavens Sagely Ill.u.s.tration as a lively gigantic beast.

Hold on, is the Nine Heavens Sagely Ill.u.s.tration really a beast?

You"ve got to be kidding me!

Fang Zhengzhi wouldn"t be that naive, but he still decided to test that possibility, for instance, beating the beast before his eyes into a pulp and see whether it might drop some "clues".

Of course, the main reason for conjuring such ideas was that the beast had already charged up to him and was baring its ferocious fangs.

"Even a little cow like this would dare bully me? Why can"t I just view the ill.u.s.tration in peace?!" Without any second thoughts, Fang Zhengzhi leapt into air and clenched his fists, sending a formidable punch straight into the beast"s head.

"Boom!" A deafening blast. The gargantuan beast as tall as a hill was instantly sent flying backwards, its four pillar-like limbs flailing in the air as its body spun five rounds in midair. And then …

With a thunderous crash, it rolled on the ground.

It was astounded, absolutely astounded.

As a beast ruling over a certain territory in the Jungle of Mysteries, this Silver Horned Wild Ox had its dignity, even though it knew that its primary purpose was to train the Heaven Dao disciples.

But given its role as a trainer, shouldn"t it be the one pus.h.i.+ng the Heaven Dao disciples around? So what"s up with this brat in front of him? Why would they throw such a formidable b.a.s.t.a.r.d into the Jungle of Mysteries to train? Aren"t all the Heaven Dao disciples entering this area only in the Supernatural State or the Beginning Rebirth State?

The Silver Horned WIld Ox felt extremely indignant. It thought that the punch it just took must definitely have been just a hallucination, hence, despite having its brains blasted like this, it still wanted a second try.

"Roar!" The Silver Horned Wild Ox bellowed ferociously.

The black scales covering its body were instantly enveloped by a layer of eerie blue flames. Following that, it began charging towards Fang Zhengzhi a second time. And right at this moment …

The Silver Horned Wild Ox noticed someone falling towards it from above. The person pierced through the dense fog, with dark green robes bound tightly to his body and swarthy skin as dark as its own armor of scales.

"Eh? There"s another one?" Before the Silver Horned Wild Ox had any time to react, it felt another punch ramming straight into his skull. And afterwards … there wasn"t an afterwards.

The Silver Horned Wild Ox"s vision went pitch-black, its head plummeting straight into the ground. Just as it lost consciousness, there was only one thing in its mind: Do you really need to bully an ox like this?

….

Fang Zhengzhi blinked and gazed at the unconscious Silver Horned Wild Ox as well as Yan Qing standing calmly beside his prey. He was speechless.

Of course, he felt slightly relieved after seeing Yan Qing. At least Yan Qing"s appearance could prove that Fang Zhengzhi was in the right place. But could this be considered an "upstage"? What if the ox in front of him was really the first ill.u.s.tration of the Nine Heavens Sagely Ill.u.s.trations, or a clue? If that"s the case, Yan Qing would have s.n.a.t.c.hed it right out of his hands.

"What about the clue? What is it?" asked Fang Zhengzhi promptly.

"Eh?" Yan Qing didn"t seem to understand what Fang Zhengzhi meant.

"You knocked his bull out. Didn"t you receive any informative clues?" Fang Zhengzhi was not someone that would be easily fooled.

"Nope." Yan Qing still shook his head despite not understanding the question.

"That"s impossible. Or would you have to defeat a few more beasts?" Fang Zhengzhi felt that if this was the case, attempting to retrieve the Nine Heavens Sagely Ill.u.s.trations would be an unbelievably torturous process. Even though the beast in front of him was merely of average strength at best, probably on par with the beasts that Qian Wu summoned at the Flame Capital City, defeating a row of them in succession would be a little mundane.

"Hm, that"s probably it!" Yan Qing finally nodded. They would naturally need to complete their training in the Jungle of Mysteries and defeat a couple more beasts in order to leave this place and enter the Nine Heavens.

"...." Fang Zhengzhi didn"t continue.

He never expected that observing the Nine Heavens Sagely Ill.u.s.trations would be so troublesome. They would have to defeat numerous beasts while seeking clues inside each of their defeated opponents.

Why can"t this be easier? Why don"t they just flash the ill.u.s.tration and have everyone sit down together and chat joyfully while sipping on the rain dew?

A process like this is … completely pointless!

Just as Fang Zhengzhi was mulling over this issue, he suddenly noticed a bright ray of light flas.h.i.+ng across the horizon. Then, a stern voice boomed towards him.

"Chi Guyan has entered the Second Heaven!"

"Chi Guyan has entered …"

"...."

Fang Zhengzhi froze as he stared at the fading light and the thick layer of fog which blanketed the skies once again. In his astonishment, he quietly erected his middle finger in the air. "What … the f*ck!"

What"s the meaning of this?

Chi Guyan only entered the Divine Rain Pond a few seconds earlier than him! How could she advance to such a stage so quickly while he hasn"t even found a single clue?!

Could Chi Guyan have already started ma.s.sacring her opponents?

That"s not fair!

There must be some inner workings behind the scenes!

Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt as though he had committed an atrocious mistake - underestimating the overwhelming power of a home advantage.

What can he do?

Hold on, something"s not right.

If there are inner workings behind the scenes, would Yan Qing have been intentionally placed here at the elders" orders? They clearly knew how clingy Yan Qing was and yet they made him appear right beside Fang Zhengzhi - was this to delay him?

Isn"t this too despicable?

"Yan Qing, don"t tell me you wish to challenge me now? You should know that I made a bet with Chi Guyan, so I"m in a hurry!" Fang Zhengzhi believed that he should counter Yan Qing"s advances with reason and logic if Yan Qing was indeed placed there by the elders.

"Challenge? No, I don"t wish to challenge you here. We should get out of the Jungle of Mysteries as soon as possible in order to enter the Nine Heavens and observe the Nine Heavens Sagely Ill.u.s.tration." Yan Qing shook his head.

"We do think alike … Wait a minute, did you say this is the Jungle of Mysteries?" Just as Fang Zhengzhi prepared to praise Yan Qing, he suddenly pinpointed the crux of the issue.

"That"s right. When you jumped into the Divine Rain Pond, you jumped into the wrong area and entered the blue pond water, so you"re currently in the Jungle of Mysteries and not the Nine Heavens." Yan Qing explained.

".... I jumped into the blue pond water?" The edges of Fang Zhengzhi"s lips twitched in disbelief. He clearly remembered how he was being extra cautious to prevent any mishaps, and purposely chose the position where Chi Guyan entered the pond to jump in behind her.

Blue? It wasn"t red?

"That"s right, you did jump into the blue pond water. Of course, it isn"t your fault. Sixth Elder"s to blame." Yan Qing nodded and replied.

"Sixth Elder?" The old duff who was referred to as Sixth Elder by Chi Guyan and the Heavenly Dao disciples suddenly floated into Fang Zhengzhi"s mind. Now, he finally understood why Chi Guyan announced her bet with Fang Zhengzhi publicly given her wit.

Was it confidence? It"s certainly a factor, but it was more of a complete grasp over the situation.

Very evidently, Chi Guyan was exploiting her home advantage. She wouldn"t do the dirty work herself, but she used this bet to rally support on her side. The world of the Divine Rain Pond was naturally controlled by the Heaven Dao elders on the other side, and these elders couldn"t possibly stand by and watch as Chi Guyan suffers a devastating defeat and becomes Fang Zhengzhi"s concubine.

No wonder Sixth Elder asked Chi Guyan whether she really did make such a bet with him! It was to confirm this rumor!

Fang Zhengzhi felt helpless, not realizing that the bet between them had already begun on the day they first made this pact. Of course, as helpless and indignant as he felt, he was not angry.

Fairness? This world was never absolutely fair. Forget about intelligence, even luck can be considered a major strength in numerous occasions. But still … this is too much! This was over a hundred times worse than he had expected!

Sixth Elder actually threw him into the Jungle of Mysteries. Is there anything more unfair than this? This was absolutely despicable.

"Looks like … Chi Guyan wants to extend her time in the Heaven Dao Pavilion by another month." Despite only having brief interactions with Chi Guyan, he already knew her for a substantial amount of time, and he knew Chi Guyan"s personality inside out.

Although Chi Guyan would demonstrate a more gentler side under special circ.u.mstances, an innate quality of arrogance flows through her bones. Hence, considering her personality, she would never request for a longer stay here directly no matter how much she wanted it. She would just have to get what she wants using her own methods.

Now, Fang Zhengzhi also realized that Chi Guyan had antic.i.p.ated and preempted everything from the time he woke up and proposed to leave the Heaven Dao Pavilion. And this bet … was actually Chi Guyan"s attempt to extend her stay.

Fang Zhengzhi could understand Chi Guyan"s selfish intentions, and he could even ascertain that Chi Guyan would definitely embark on another expedition to seek out items like the Thousand Years Fire Herb after her stay.

But can Fang Zhengzhi do this?

No!

If a man"s life had to be maintained by something that a woman painstakingly "robs" from the outside world, what"s the purpose of living any longer?

"Chi Guyan, I"m sorry. I can"t accept this. As unfair as this is, I must still defeat you, because I"ll use both my hands to rewrite my fate!"