"Tell me, why did you try to deal with me?"
Xiao Fei, now in a victorious posture, looked down at He Ling, who was bound tightly by chains of spiritual energy.
"Of course, I had my eyes on your wealth and intended to rob and kill you!"
He Ling answered without hesitation.
While his words sounded plausible, Xiao Fei always felt there was more to it.
"Are there no other reasons?"
"You possess a large quantity of excellent quality millennium spirit herbs, a spirit treasure, and a Kunpeng, a creature from ancient legends. Who in the entire cultivation world wouldn't desire them?"
He Ling insisted it was all about wealth, but the more resolutely he stated it, the more suspicious Xiao Fei became.
He had initially planned to slice He Ling in half and be done with it.
However, He Ling was the grandson of the Grand Elder of the Thousand Cranes Sect, enjoying an extraordinary status and noble identity within the sect, highly valued by them.
Xiao Fei had heard that many major powers in the Heavenly Origin Realm had artifacts like soul lamps for their important figures. If they were killed outside, the soul lamp left in the sect would extinguish. Furthermore, the soul lamp's guidance could locate the enemy who killed the important figure.
If he killed He Ling now, it could lead to severe consequences, forcing him to live under the pursuit of powerful individuals from the Thousand Cranes Sect. At the very least, he was absolutely no match for such a colossal entity as the Thousand Cranes Sect. The Thousand Cranes Sect not only had a vast number of Nascent Soul cultivators but also Void Refinement realm experts, and even legends of those beyond Void Refinement.
Yet, releasing He Ling was absolutely out of the question. Since they were enemies, there was no reason to let him go. His spatial realm had three thousand six hundred mu of land, more than enough to raise a thousand cows, so holding one more He Ling was no burden at all.
"Then you shall stay here and endure the torment of a long time."
As Xiao Fei spoke, he condensed spiritual energy into walls, creating a small room for He Ling, isolating him from external light and perception, and then drained the spiritual energy from the room. Nascent Soul realm cultivators had long lifespans, living at least over four thousand years without accidents. Even after death, their primordial spirits could survive for a considerable time. He Ling had at least two thousand years of life left. Being imprisoned in this dark, lightless place, unable to absorb spiritual energy, hear sounds from outside the prison, or see external sights, this confinement should be more unbearable than killing him.
Xiao Fei rested on the deserted island with Fei Yu for a few days before continuing his journey. This time, they circled a large portion of the way and flew directly towards the Central Continent. Along the way, he inquired and indeed, the Thousand Cranes Sect was fully engaged in searching for him. However, no one knew about the news of their failed ambush on Xiao Fei. If it were to be known in the future, the Thousand Cranes Sect would shift all blame for the ambush onto the Three Mountains Sect. Since the Three Mountains Sect was already being wrongly accused, they could only bear the brunt of it.
Xiao Fei successfully bypassed the Thousand Cranes Sect and reached the Central Continent without being detected. In another 20-odd years, he would have to return to the Eastern Continent through a teleportation array. It was akin to traveling, wanting to visit popular attractions, leave evidence of one's visit, and then bring back local specialties. The prosperity of the Central Continent far surpassed that of the many islands in the West Sea.
Xiao Fei entered a city of cultivators, named Guiyi City. The city's scale was comparable to Thousand Cranes City. He planned to stay in Guiyi City for a while, hoping to find some local specialties to bring back to his friends in the Eastern Continent. However, he dared not sell spirit herbs in bulk like before. He could sell some finished pills to exchange for spirit stones or other treasures. In fact, pills were more profitable and valuable than spirit herbs. Xiao Fei had a large amount of time and spirit herbs in his spatial realm, so he would refine some pills whenever he had the time. Exchanging these pills for spirit stones or other spiritual items. Pills were different from spirit herbs; if a pill was of better quality, it would be upgraded from an ordinary low-grade pill to a mid-grade one, or from a mid-grade pill to a high-grade one. Therefore, if he sold more mid-grade and high-grade pills, people would only praise his alchemy skills and would not suspect the source of his spirit herbs.
Xiao Fei discovered that in the Heavenly Origin Continent, even things like spirit veins and spirit stone mines could be sold externally. For this reason, Xiao Fei had saved up spirit stones and was preparing to buy a spirit vein.
...
In the center of the Central Continent, there was an area surrounded by mountains, known as Tu Da Mountain. A group of fox demons lived in these mountains. Due to the relatively good relationship between the fox tribe and the human race, they even intermarried from time to time. Fox tribe women were all alluring and charming, possessing a captivating demeanor, which many human men were fond of and willing to marry. Therefore, despite being situated among the powerful forces of the Central Continent, this group of fox demons had not been exterminated by the human race. Instead, they had become relatives with many major powers, forming connections and acquaintances.
In recent years, a genius tribesman had emerged among the fox tribe. A small fox was born with a piece of jade in its mouth. After being appraised by the tribe's old ancestor, this piece of jade turned out to be a spirit treasure. Spirit treasures, even in the resource-rich Heavenly Origin Realm, were rare. However, everyone had tried, but for some unknown reason, no one else could activate this piece of jade. It was only this newborn little fox, with its own faint magical power, that could activate the jade. Naturally, the entire fox tribe rejoiced, raising the little fox with great care, giving it everything they themselves were reluctant to eat or use. This little fox did not disappoint; its cultivation progressed extremely rapidly, reaching the Nascent Soul realm at a young age. However, recently, the entire fox tribe had been in chaos because of this little fox. It had gotten lost.
...
Recently, Xiao Fei noticed a pure white little fox that had been following him, secretly observing him. He had tried to shake off this fox several times but had not succeeded. The fox tribe had complex relationships in the cultivation world, and it was best to avoid provoking them if possible. This fox seemed to have a special tracking device on him. Despite his best efforts to shake it off, it would soon reappear elsewhere, by his side, as if it had anticipated his movements. After several such occurrences, Xiao Fei gradually lost patience and deliberately walked towards more secluded areas.