Chapter 13: The Terrifying Human-Faced Xiao

When a Human-Faced Jade Essence Flower bloomed, anyone who looked at it would become bewitched, including itself.

That was why the Human-Faced Jade Essence Flower in question was enchanted the moment it looked at its reflection in the copper mirror.

Wanting to take advantage of this moment when the Human-Faced Jade Essence Flower was distracted, Lin Bei drew his sword and prepared to cut the flower's stem from behind. Once the flower was picked, their assignment would be as good as done.

However, an unexpected change occurred right then!

Swoosh!

A white figure suddenly dropped from the sky and landed right beside the Human-Faced Jade Essence Flower and Lin Bei. It swiped ruthlessly at Lin Bei's throat!

This attack was swift and vicious, aiming to end Lin Bei's life in one strike!

Fortunately, Lin Bei reacted quickly, promptly pulling his sword into a horizontal position to block the attack. Clanging sounds rang out and sparks flew all over as the white figure's hand collided with Lin Bei's sword. The force of the collision even pushed Lin Bei backward a few steps. Had he been a bit slower, he would certainly have been killed.

The three members at the periphery of the sword formation finally turned at this moment. Once they got a good look at what was happening, they realized it was all due to a small, child-sized creature with an oversized head and a body that had the color of white jade.

"It's a Human-Faced Xiao[1]!" Fang Ting exclaimed.

His expression turned grim, and he swiftly drew his sword.

He had not expected to encounter this extremely elusive creature.

However, the creature's actions were extremely swift.

After pushing Lin Bei away, the Human-Faced Xiao quickly reached out and snapped off the bloomed Human-Faced Jade Essence Flower. It turned around and fled at once.

Nevertheless, Fang Ting's movements were quick too. He raised his Thunderstrike Sword high with his right hand. He placed his left hand in front of his chest and made a divine hand gesture. His index and middle fingers were pointed upward toward the sky, with the rest of his digits folded. In an instant, sword qi in the form of a golden dragon covered the area, making a cage! That creature was now trapped in the middle of what looked like a pool of lightning!

However, the creature didn't even evade the sword qi at all. Instead, it leaped straight up, becoming transparent for a split second. In that split second, it had passed through the sword qi cage and leaped high into the sky. Then the creature jumped onto an overhanging rock and leaped again, soaring into the air.

In the blink of an eye, it was already over ten or so zhang away.

"Evil creature, don't you leave!"

With a surge of urgency, Fang Ting stepped on his light sword. It instantly transformed into a raging golden dragon and chased after the creature.

The ravine was covered with overhanging rocks that extended horizontally and vertically, leaving no clear route to pass through. However, the white figure was incredibly nimble. It forged ahead, easily picking out a route through the rugged terrain.

Boom boom boom boom!

Flying on a sword provided incredible speed, but it was more suitable for covering straight routes and long distances. Fang Ting wasn't able to rotate to weave through horizontal spaces or make abrupt turns to dodge obstacles. Consequently, he repeatedly rammed into and broke large rocks as he made his way through the ravine.

If they were ordinary rocks, it wouldn't be an issue for him to bash and collide against them. However, these rocks were extremely hard, so it was really dangerous to repeatedly ram into them while riding the sword at high speed. Even someone like Fang Ting, who was in the fourth realm of cultivation, found it challenging to endure.

After a while, he changed his approach and switched to riding the wind himself, instead of riding his sword. He sent his Thunderstrike Sword splitting through the air toward the creature. He intended to use the sword like a flying dagger to slay that creature without the need to get close.

However, doing this slowed him down significantly. In the blink of an eye, the distance between him and the creature had widened greatly once more. The flying sword continued to chase after the extremely agile creature, but it never seemed to be able to catch up.

All of this transpired in an instant—in the same duration as a flash of lightning.

With both parties forging ahead at lightning speed, Fang Ting wasn't even aware that they had entered the deeper part of the ravine. His focus remained on the white figure up ahead, and he failed to notice a thunderous rush of wind overhead. A massive shadow loomed over him.

Whoosh!

Fang Ting came to an urgent stop and realized that the shadow was of a massive tree branch! He had stopped right in front of an enormous tree that rose high into the sky!

The colossal tree, which was at least several tens of zhang tall, stood in the middle of the ravine. Its branches had extended out with a wide reach, supporting a vast treetop that hid the sky and covered the earth. This tree seemed to have given rise to the lush plant life in the ravine.

There were numerous branches surrounding the tree. Any living creature that approached it would be subjected to the branches' attacks.

It was clear that this ancient and gigantic tree was the demon king of this ravine!

Fang Ting managed to dodge the first branch, but he failed to do so for the second branch that came at him from the right.

Wham!

This attack hurled him over ten zhang away!

Fang Ting ended up rolling on the ground, and once he came to a stop, he raised his head to look at the creature. Even amid the thrashing branches, the white figure continued to leap about and effortlessly evaded the giant tree's attacks. Not even a single leaf managed to touch that white figure.

It was ridiculously nimble!

The sword qi of Fang Ting's Thunderstrike Sword was swift, but it only utilized simple and broad strokes.

If Fang Ting were chasing the Human-Faced Xiao in an open space with even ground, he was confident that he would be able to catch it within a short time. However, it seemed impossible for him to catch the creature at all in this rugged and complex ravine.

Now, he didn't even dare continue chasing the creature because of that colossal tree.

All he could do was watch as the Human-Faced Xiao leaped further and further away in the blink of an eye.

"Damn it!" Fang Ting cursed angrily.

Despite having a Golden Core Realm practitioner as their team leader, the group had failed their assignment.

If we go back to the mountain like this, what will Teacher think of me? What will Senior Brother Ziyang think of me? What will Junior Sister Ziqing think of me... Eh?

Fang Ting thought to himself.

Swooooosh

!

While Fang Ting was wallowing in self-pity, a practically indiscernible shadowy figure shot past him and chased after the creature.

The shadowy figure was even faster and more nimble than the Human-Faced Xiao! The branches of the giant tree didn't attack the shadowy figure at all because it had passed by before the tree even realized what had happened!

Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh!

...

The Human-Faced Xiao was an extremely rare type of mountain spirit. It was the result of a supernatural being devouring a Human-Faced Jade Essence Flower right after it bloomed. The supernatural being would then grow a physical body, becoming a Human-Faced Xiao.

Their main characteristics were their incredible speed and agility.

This specific Human-Faced Xiao in the ravine had been waiting around for quite a long time for the Human-Faced Jade Essence Flower to bloom. So, of course, it wouldn't hesitate to kill every last human who dared to touch the flower it had found.

However, this group of humans had a formidable level of cultivation, so the Human-Faced Xiao could only snatch the flower and run.

The Human-Faced Xiao just needed to get back to its cave and consume the flower. By eating the flower, Its cultivation level would increase significantly.

Once that happened...

"

Heheheheheheheh...

"

The Human-Faced Xiao couldn't help but laugh creepily upon envisioning itself becoming more powerful.

As for the human cultivator who was chasing it persistently, the Human-Faced Xiao felt nothing but disdain toward him. It didn't matter how powerful the cultivator was; he would always be trailing behind the Human-Faced Xiao, eating the dust that it left behind.

The Human-Faced Xiao knew this ravine like the back of its hand, so it could easily shake the cultivator off its tail.

So, you think you can ride your flying sword here, hmm? Heheh. Just wait till I smash your head to pieces!

The Human-Faced Xiao knew it would be safe once it reached the colossal tree's branches.

It knew that there was no other demonic creature but itself could move about freely on this giant tree, not to mention those humans!

The Human-Faced Xiao nimbly maneuvered between the tree's many branches as if it were a human taking a stroll in their garden. At some point, it thought it should turn around and get a look at the human practitioner's flustered and exasperated expression. After all, it wouldn't be able to see the human's face once the distance between them grew wider.

With that in mind, the Human-Faced Xiao sneered and turned to look behind it.

Right then, the large eyes on its human face suddenly widened. It seemed to have seen something incredibly horrifying!

What's that?

The Human-Faced Xiao, with its underdeveloped intellect, struggled frantically to figure out what was going on.

What it saw when it turned around was a shadowy figure following very closely behind it, just an arm's length away.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

In the blink of an eye, the shadowy figure leaped over the Human-Faced Xiao. Now, the shadowy figure was running beside it, keeping pace with it!

How could this be?!

Have I encountered a ghost?

Wait, that's not right. I'm the one who's a ghost!

Throughout its whole life, the Human-Faced Xiao had never encountered any being who could match its speed!

Just what is going on?

The Human-Faced Xiao and the shadowy figure were both maintaining the same rapid pace. So, compared to their blurred surroundings, they seemed stationary to each other. As such, the Human-Faced Xiao was able to get a good look at the shadowy figure.

The shadowy figure turned out to be a handsome young man dressed in fine robes; he seemed refined and affable.

Why does he have such a terrifyingly fast movement technique?

Noticing the Human-Faced Xiao's gaze on him, the young man raised his gaze and looked at the Human-Faced Xiao.

Then... the young man stuck out his tongue and licked the palm of his hand... His eyes gleamed with an intense passion; he seemed to be really enjoying this hunt.

The creepy grin on the Human-Faced Xiao's face immediately crumbled.

My goodness, this guy's a pervert!

1. A mountain spirit that appears in Chinese folklore and mythology. ☜