"What?" Ning Weisheng stared at him blankly.
“Ji Mofan is covered in new wounds on top of old ones. You even asked him to take on the role of team leader, which is both stressful and physically demanding, once we arrived at the secret realm. Even an iron puppet would fall apart,” Fang Xuan said.
His voice sounded calm and emotionless.
But this also makes it seem quite credible.
"I...I don't know..." Ning Weisheng instinctively tried to explain, "The same goes for the leadership role this time. It was Senior Brother who argued strongly with the elders, saying he was certain he could..."
"Then guess why your sect's elders chose you as the vice-captain?" Fang Xuan slowly strode up to him.
Although he was a few centimeters shorter, it did not affect his imposing presence at all, which steadily overwhelmed Ning Weisheng.
“Every time something happens, you keep calling out ‘Senior Brother, Senior Brother.’ Can’t you do anything without Ji Mofan?” he said. “No wonder you’re so old and your cultivation has only just broken through to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm.”
Ning Weisheng's complexion turned quite bad in an instant.
But he couldn't say anything. Fang Xuan, who was more than ten years younger than him, was two minor realms higher in cultivation.
Although he was very unwilling, Ning Weisheng had to admit that if he were to take Ji Mofan back from Fang Xuan by force at this moment, his chances of winning would be almost zero.
He gritted his teeth and confronted him for a while.
In the end, Ning Weisheng put the sword away.
"Changfeng Valley had better take good care of our senior brother." He practically forced these words out of his throat.
“Your senior brother…” Fang Xuan mimicked his tone meaningfully, repeating those words one by one.
A strange chill crept up Ning Weisheng’s spine as Fang Xian’s voice rang out, and he involuntarily took a half-step back.
He forced himself to keep his back straight, but still had to turn away sheepishly under his gaze and fly away on his sword.
As the crimson sword light disappeared into the horizon, Fang Xuan walked back to Ji Mofan's side and kicked his foot without any politeness.
"The person's gone, stop pretending to be asleep," he said.
Ji Mofan opened his eyes and sat up, casually brushing off the wrinkles in his clothes.
"Are you planning to rely on me for the next few days of exploring the secret realm?" Fang Xian tilted his head and looked at him.
"You were really daring just now. That Ning guy from your Yuncang Sword Sect, although his cultivation is only at the early Nascent Soul stage, just so happens to be the one who counters my fire elemental root. If we add his experience over the past ten years, it's hard to say who would win in a real fight."
"Not to mention that my spiritual power hasn't even recovered to its full strength yet." He casually made a hand seal in the air, and only a small piece of spiritual power condensed in his palm, shaped like a green leaf.
Then, a few seconds later, it disappeared again.
"Whether you can beat him or not is none of my business." Ji Mofan shrugged and smiled indifferently. "Besides, it's not shameful if you really can't beat him, after all, he's so much older than you."
Fang Xian couldn't tell for a moment whether Ji Mofan's words were sarcastic or meant to comfort him.
It's more likely the former.
"But you reminded me." Ji Mofan half-closed his eyes, lowered his gaze, and focused his divine sense to examine his spiritual platform.
"After fighting for so long inside the Linglong Tower, my cultivation level has weakened," he said.
"Do you want to break through in the Dark Abyss Realm?" Fang Xuan asked.
"Isn't this great? It's perfect for consolidating my cultivation after the breakthrough." Ji Mo Fan spoke casually, as if breaking through a small realm was as simple as eating and drinking for him.
However, this statement is not entirely wrong. At least for Ji Mofan before the age of seventeen, breaking through was incredibly easy.
What might take others ten years to achieve, he might only need to contemplate in the afternoon.
“That’s right. The lightning tribulation can’t penetrate the secret realm; it will only strike after you come out.” Fang Xuan nodded.
"Protect me." Ji Mofan ordered without any hesitation.
"What will you offer in exchange?" Fang Xian asked the same question as usual.
“Isn’t one exquisite pagoda enough?” Ji Mofan frowned. “Although the Shenya Secret Realm has reopened after a hundred years, the treasures hidden inside are much more precious than those in other permanent secret realms. But after all, it’s not a high-level secret realm. For cultivation levels like yours and mine, many opportunities are no longer useful.”
"I didn't say I had to pay you back before we left the Dark Abyss Realm," Fang Xuan said innocently, shrugging.
Ji Mo Fan pursed his lips.
He felt that Fang Xuan wanted him to say something like, "Then I'll owe you for now, and I'll make it up to you when you figure it out."
However, given Fang Xian's personality, Ji Mo Fan would never dare to make such a promise to him.
Otherwise, who knows, he might suddenly get the urge and insist on him joining Changfeng Valley.
Not to mention that the conflict between the Yuncang Sword Sect and Changfeng Valley will become even more irreconcilable, and that Ji Mofan will become the center of the storm...
Just consider the treatment that Changfeng Valley can offer him.
Currently, Yuncang Sword Sect and Changfeng Valley hold almost equal positions in the cultivation world. Yuncang Sword Sect has more disciples, while Changfeng Valley has more outstanding resources. Overall, the two are evenly matched.
But he was the chief disciple of Yuncang Sword Sect. If he went to Changfeng Valley, he would probably only be able to gain a true disciple at best.
After all, there aren't that many vacancies over there.
That won't do.
After pondering for a long time, Ji Mofan finally gave up.
He stood up abruptly and flicked his sleeve, saying, "Forget it, I don't need you anymore. Go play somewhere else."
Fang Xian: ......
"Really? You're going to throw me into this huge, misty secret realm all by myself before my spiritual power has recovered?" he asked.
"You should have a locator on you, right? Why don't you just go back and find the others in your Changfeng Valley?" Ji Mofan put his hands in his pockets and glanced at him indifferently.
Fang Xuan's status within the sect was clearly different from his; he didn't need to hide from people.
"Besides, weren't you just showing off to me that you had a whole bag of magical artifacts? What kind of weak act are you putting on now?"
Fang Xuan scratched his head, annoyed by his retort.
"Alright, I'll protect you." He finally conceded. "Who told me I really want to have a fair fight with you at next year's Dao Asking Conference?"
The secluded spots in the Misty Secret Realm are relatively easy to find.
Ji Mo Fan found a cave, set up a defensive formation at the entrance, drew a stepping stone for Fang Xian on the ground, clapped his hands, and went deep into the cave to meditate and regulate his breathing.
Out of boredom, Fang Xian started picking grass and weaving little trinkets at the entrance of the cave.
Just as he had finished weaving the fifth grasshopper, some movement finally came from the cave behind him.
Clear spiritual energy flowed through the air, rushing inwards from the narrow cave entrance. The spiritual wind was almost tangible, ruffling the hem of Fang Xuan's clothes and the strands of his hair as he sat at the cave entrance.
"Wow, that's fast..." he exclaimed.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
