Spirit Cultivation

"Quick! Catch him before he reaches them!"

Yiren cried out, seeing the old man getting closer to the white barrier above the distant forest. It was definitely Xuefeng's Wind Domain! He was coming to save her!

She felt really excited, figuring Xuefeng was in the middle of battle, passing those feelings to her. Their connection was a blessing for her, letting her know if he was safe at all times. 

"I'm trying… He is just teleporting to increase the distance," the Phoenix commented annoyed, swinging with its wings even harder. 

How could a King of the Skies let someone else win in a battle of speed? 

Yiren barely held onto the Phoenix's feathers, forced to lay down as if glued to avoid falling off. 

"You brought it onto yourself! Let me show you the power of an immortal!"

She heard the old man's gibberish and then sensed an immense power building up in front of her. 

He was attacking!

"Dang it, we can't stop him anymore," the Phoenix cursed, scaring Yiren even more. 

She peeked curiously and saw a thick, two-meter bow in the hands of the old man. The bowstring was already pulled back, ready to release the shiny arrow made of Wind Qi. 

"Noooooooo!" Yiren screamed, extending her hand forward, hoping to disturb him with the power of her Bloodline yet she was too late. 

Swoosh! 

The old man released the arrow. It pierced through the sky with a whistle and entered into Xuefeng's Domain right after, heading straight to the center. 

Bang!

They heard a loud explosion and an immediate pain struck Yiren's back, giving her trouble to breathe. Fortunately, those were the only symptoms for her which meant only one thing. 

Xuefeng was still alive!

———

Crack, crack.

The human statue began to break, chunks of metal dropping to the frozen ground.

"Au…" Xuefeng grunted in pain, feeling as if he was just hit with a baseball bat in his spine. "Are you okay?" 

He held Princess Shan in his arms, blocking the strike with his own body. Compared to his own, her figure was much slimmer, letting him cover her completely. 

"I'm fine… What about you?" Princess Shan asked back, trying to help him stand. It was the least she could do after he protected her, using his own life to make sure she was safe. 

"Yeah… Ling is already repairing the damage. I'm feeling great. The better question is, what was that?" 

He looked around, checking where the attack came from only to hear an alarm from Ming.

'I can sense Fate Qi! There is a Fate Holder in this Hidden Realm! Watch out for another arrow!'

He didn't question her and immediately tumbled away with Princess Shan in his grasp, calling out to the rest, "Watch out!" 

Bang!

Another arrow smashed the ground, right at the spot he just left. This time he saw the attack clearly. Wind Qi arrow, flying so fast he didn't think he could dodge it without a warning.

Chunks of ice mixed with the ground flew everywhere

AWUUU!

To make it worse, multiple howls resounded from their surroundings at the same time. The wind barrier of their Dual Domain dispersed after they stopped controlling it, showing hundreds of wolves around them.

"We can't fight from two fronts! We need to run!" Xuefeng decided as he lifted them up, realizing they were facing two enemies at the same time.

Too bad, there was nowhere to run! 

Arrows fell from the sky while on the ground, they were surrounded. 

SCREEEE!

A sudden screech solved one of their problems. The moment the wolves heard it, they ran away in all directions. 

Xuefeng was in shock but not because of the sudden arrival of the beast that kidnapped Yiren but because of a massive anxiousness he felt. 

Yiren was worrying about him and she was close! He could sense her! 

"Xuefeng! Look!" Princess Shan tugged on his arm, pointing at the sky. 

Through the two holes in the trees made by the arrows, they saw a massive flaming bird, chasing after a man with a bow. He was so close they could see his face, old and wrinkled. 

"You are not going to dodge the third one! Die!" The old man cried out in a crazed voice, releasing another arrow. 

Xuefeng learned one thing since he came to this world. If you can't dodge it, face it!

A dark blue scaled sword appeared in his hand and he swung it with all his strength, using the side of the blade as if a baseball bat. 

Multiply!

Fate Qi got sucked into Dragon Edge, multiplying the power of his attack by a thousand times. 

BOOOOOM! 

Wind Qi Arrow smashed against his blade only to bounce in all directions, blasting all the trees apart.

Aside from his arms hurting, Xuefeng was fine, gazing at the old man with a smile. 

"Impossible!" the old man shouted in disbelief. "You are just a Monarch—" 

Bang!

His words got cut off as the flaming bird reached him, smashing the old man with its wing. 

"You forgot about me!" the bird called out, sending the old man flying like a meteor. 

"Xuefeng!!!" 

A loud, longing yell came right after and they saw someone jump off the bird's back. 

"Yiren!" 

Everyone shouted at the same time with Xuefeng rushing to catch her. 

Thud.

He caught her into his arms, falling to the ground under her weight but he didn't mind, hugging her without questions. No matter how much of a dummy she was, he still loved her. 

"I was worried about you…" Yiren muttered, squeezing his neck lovingly. 

"That's what I'm supposed to say," Xuefeng replied. "I'm glad you are back in one piece." 

He didn't plan on scolding her any time soon, knowing it wasn't the right time. A giant flaming bird was right above them, preparing to land and an old fate holder was hunting for him. It definitely wasn't the right time. 

They were quickly surrounded by other girls who got into formation around them, making him stand up as well to join them. 

Thud! Thud!

The giant bird finally landed with two loud stomps, instantly gawking its eyes at their group. 

"Little Dragon! Come out and fight me!" It cried out, not forgetting about its revenge. 

The tips of their swords aimed at the bird on instinct when Yiren called out to stop them, lowering their swords, "No! Stop! The Birdy is on our side! She protected me!" 

"Birdy? Our side? It's a fucking Phoenix! We cannot trust her!" Drakos called out, hiding behind them. "Let's fight her!" 

Contrary to everyone's expectations, the Phoenix didn't get mad but instead started laughing. 

"Haha, of course, we will fight! One on one! This lady promised me that," The Phoenix said while pointing at Yiren. "You wouldn't lie to me little girl, right?" 

"Never! After we are safe, Drakos will fight with you as promised," Yiren confirmed with a nod.

There was only one person who disagreed with that move and that was the battle participant himself. 

"There is no way—" Drakos denied immediately only to have his mouth shut by Nuwa. She finished the sentence for him, "…I would miss a battle with you. That's what he wanted to say." 

"Perfect! I cannot wait," the Phoenix nodded happily.

"Yiren, do you know who that old man is?" Xuefeng questioned, recalling they came from the same direction. 

He didn't ask how did she convince a Phoenix to listen to her, leaving that for later. 

"Oh!" Yiren exclaimed as if she recalled something. "He is mad because I stole him something."

She pulled out a shiny white stone from her ring and passed it to him in full smiles, "Is this what you are looking for?"