Spirit Cultivation

The golden-robed youth didn't like how the situation was progressing so he quickly tried to interfere, "Milady… We can't let them fight. Pio has a rare, top ten Star Shaping ability. We need his spirit to open the Fate Kingdom. This Xuefeng seems to have some powerful spirit as well. If he also happens to have one of the top ten, which has a very high chance of being true, we would only need the last three before starting our operation. Both of them should be safe else another tens of years awaits us." 

Unfortunately, his Milady was supporting Xuefeng and Pio's fight more than he thought she would as the lady asked with a smile, "I know, but you think I, Liena, can't stop them before anything critical happens? We have still yet to confirm for certain that Ling is his Spirit, right? We need to see him in a battle to know more about him. If we don't have any information about him, it will harder to rope him in." 

"Alright, Milady. I will assist you with anything you decide." The golden-robed youth didn't argue at all and accepted her decision but then asked worriedly, "Milady, what if they create an enmity against each other that will make them not willing to cooperate in the future? Without them, our ultimate dream can't be fulfilled." 

Liena shrugged as she thought out loud, "Pio is settled so I only need to convince Xuefeng to join us. As long as we provide Pio with enough benefits, he will do what we want but Xuefeng seems to have some problems with us. I don't think benefits will work on him. If we have problems with him, we can only use some more extreme methods. He seems to love his women a lot…" 

"Milady…" The youth's eyes widened when he heard her proposition and reminded her, just to be sure, "We cannot touch mortals. The rules cannot be broken or else we will be moved back to the Heaven Realm. Everyone knows how hard you worked to escape from there and continue our Holy Mission to open the Fate Kingdom. Many have already given up, deciding to simply stop trying and enjoy their lives, locked inside the Heaven Realm but not you, Milady. Your will is still strong and you really believe that you can do it. This is why I follow you, Milady, because I believe in you. We don't need to take additional risks." 

At the end of his speech, the golden-robed youth took a deep breath and finally realised his milady acted weirdly, not scolding him or anything for talking so much as she usually did and instead smiled mysteriously as she asked, "Are you done?"

Naturally, Liena didn't wait for his reply as she continued, "Who told you that I am going after mortals? There is still one more person we can use if nothing else works..." 

The youth opened his mouth to ask more questions but Liena shushed him, looking toward a much more interesting scene which was happening right beneath them.

...….

Hearing Pio's question, Xuefeng wasn't in a hurry to reply and instead looked at Pio's hands and asked in his mind, 'Drakos, what do you think? What are my odds to take him down? That star-shaped object he pulled from his head… This should be his ability, right? Can you restrict him?' 

'Surprisingly, this thing is not made from Fate Qi… But to activate it and use it, he needs some fuel which will be Fate Qi in this case. He is not as weak as you think… I can sense another energy which is burning explosively inside of his body and it is not as calm as the one in his hand. Girls should know what ability it is. I am not a Fate Spirit so I have no idea. I can only help you fight against it.' Drakos said honestly, calling out for help from Ling and Ming. 

It was then that Xuefeng heard a gentle voice calling out to him, one that he didn't hear for a while already, 'Xuefeng… I know what ability he has!' Xuefeng was momentarily surprised but quickly called back, 'Little Ming! Since when are you back?!'

Ming knew he was busy right now so they didn't talk too much about themselves and switched to the ongoing topic, her gentle voice soothing his mind, 'Don't worry about it now. That Pio is lying to you. He is a lot more powerful compared to how he acts. He wouldn't find it hard to protect both sisters and Tianshi together. Xiao Feng would also find it hard to face him. His Star Shaper ability is ranked top ten, just like yours. The only difference is that it's an attacking type and yours is a passive ability. ' 

Many were waiting for Xuefeng's answer, finding it strange that he was silent but then he finally spoke, completely different from his expectations, deciding to expose Pio straight away. 

Looking around to gather everyone's attention, he glared at Pio and said sternly, "You seem to like pretending and lying, right? What are your motives? You are obviously strong enough to protect all of them yet you let Yu die and force Tianshi to escape alone which almost caused her to die as well. I wouldn't be surprised if you were on the same level as Master Xiao or even stronger, taking your unique ability into account." Turning to everyone Xuefeng continued as he asked, "Do you guys think Master Xiao wouldn't handle few tens of cultivators alone?" 

Naturally, with such theory, a seed of doubt grew in everyone's minds. If everything that Xuefeng said was true, wouldn't that make Pio a liar? Many cultivators squinted their eyes as they looked at Pio suspiciously. They fought by his side not long ago and they knew that even though his Cultivation Stage was lower than theirs, his strength was stronger.

This was why many respected him, but at the same time, Xuefeng's words made sense. What if he purposely did all that, hoping for their Princess to be caught? Wouldn't that make him a spy? What was worse in the whole accusation was Pio's reaction to it? All he did was smile, not saying a word to defend himself. 

Xiao Feng was also upset that such a young boy like Pio could be stronger than him but he didn't say anything to respond to it, confirming it to everyone. The one who was devastated the most was Yi who dropped to her knees, looking at Pio as if her soul just left her body. Knowing that her sister could live if only Pio did something was quite a shock for her. 

Looking at the style and easiness at how he saved her earlier made her wonder and realised that Xuefeng wasn't wrong. She looked Pio in the eyes and asked, her heart pumping blood too fast for her to keep up, making her out of breath, "You could save her… But you didn't…?" 

Unfortunately for her, Pio didn't even spare a glance at her, ignoring her completely as he knew nothing else could be done to get rid of the doubt in her heart. Her case was already closed for him. 

Just as others could figure it out, Xuefeng also thought about it and stated his verdict, "Knowing all the facts, I suspect Pio to be a Tang Family spy, helping them from the inside. He could help everyone but didn't. The very first thing he did when the invasion started was sending Princess Tianshi outside the capital where she could be caught by Tang Family experts. Now that they are losing, he is acting to not expose himself." 

He did not need to say anything else, as his words only confirmed everyone's thoughts and they didn't hesitate to prepare their weapons, aiming them at Pio. If he was really a spy, they were ready to pounce on him like a pack of tigers. 

"Is there anything you would like to say for your defence?" Xuefeng asked right when everyone already decided what the final verdict was to be. His wings spread wide, ready to chase after Pio if he were to try escaping. He knew that even if Pio wanted, he couldn't face the entire Xiao Family's elite by himself. Even If Xuefeng only were to join forces with Xiao Wen or Xiao Feng, it was enough to face him. 

Everyone awaited for Pio's response but he only chuckled while being surrounded by hundreds of opponents and replied while smiling, "Will anything I say make a difference? You all already decided." Just as he said so, his fingers crushed the crystal in his hand and the bright light spread all around them, filling the whole area with sparkle-looking little stars.