"Young Master, are you really going to the Northern Wilderness Forest?"
As soon as the question was asked, not only Cheng Boxuan but also his confidant, Yun Huan, looked nervous. They clearly didn't want Yang Xiao to go.
"What? You still don't believe in my abilities?"
Yang Xiao, however, laughed.
He had just returned only to be provoked by a bunch of idiots, so he was naturally in a foul mood. However, seeing how worried Cheng Boxuan and the other man were for him, his mood improved somewhat.
He chuckled.
Seeing Yang Xiao laugh so confidently and act so unconcerned only made Cheng Boxuan more worried.
He couldn't help but say, "Young Master, you still shouldn't be so careless and underestimate your enemies."
"Oh? You've seen my strength. Don't tell me there's someone among the remaining Sects who can actually threaten me?"
Now, Yang Xiao was intrigued.
Cheng Boxuan nodded with a grave expression. "In our Celestial Cloud Region, the Upper Three Sects have been held in the highest esteem since ancient times. The Pure Yang Sword Sect is the strongest among them and is truly terrifying. However, they've always acted with integrity and have never had a bad reputation. The Profound Celestial Sect, on the other hand, has a history of rather tyrannical behavior."
"In the last century, the Profound Celestial Sect's strength has grown daily. Ten years ago, a peerless genius named Xuan Tianzhan emerged. He killed the Young Master of the Pure Yang Sword Sect and also slaughtered more than ten of their powerful True Disciples. This has further weakened the Pure Yang Sword Sect, and now it seems the Profound Celestial Sect is poised to overtake them."
"So you're saying the Profound Celestial Sect is very strong?"
Yang Xiao frowned.
"Strong is an understatement. Young Master, what do you think of Medicine King Valley's strength?"
Cheng Boxuan suddenly posed a rhetorical question, but he didn't wait for Yang Xiao's reply and continued, "Medicine King Valley is counted among the Upper Three Sects not because its strength truly meets the standard, but because they are a Medicine Sect—and the best one in the Celestial Cloud Region. The same goes for our Purple Sun Sect."
"To put it bluntly, if Medicine King Valley and the Purple Sun Sect weren't Sects of Alchemists, they probably would have been wiped out long ago. The difference in strength is just too vast."
"The Purple Sun Sect is the last among the Lower Six Sects, and Medicine King Valley is the weakest of the Upper Three Sects. In fact, even the Ice Profound Sect, which ranks first among the Lower Six Sects, is a bit stronger than Medicine King Valley."
"As for the true Upper Three Sects, both the Pure Yang Sword Sect and the Profound Celestial Sect probably have the ability to annihilate Medicine King Valley with ease."
"There are even legends that the Pure Yang Sword Sect has experts who have surpassed the Martial Saint realm. And recently, the same rumor has been circulating about the Profound Celestial Sect."
At this, Cheng Boxuan's expression became very tense.
'Though Yang Xiao is strong,' he thought, 'he's still within the bounds of a Martial Saint. He might not even be a Peak Martial Saint.'
'After all, once you reach the Martial Saint Tier, a Martial Artist's power begins to surpass that of a Barbaric Beast.'
'Yang Xiao can kill a Tier Five Middle Grade Barbaric Beast with a single strike, but that doesn't mean he can kill a Tier Six Peak Martial Saint. And both the Pure Yang Sword Sect and the Profound Celestial Sect have existences that surpass the Martial Saint Tier. Even if that's just a rumor, they are still guarded by High-Tier Martial Saints.'
It was only natural for Cheng Boxuan to be worried.
"Are there people from the Pure Yang Sword Sect or the Profound Celestial Sect among those who came this time?" Yang Xiao asked.
"No, there aren't. People from the Sword Casting Sect didn't come either. Only disciples from four Sects are here: the Ice Profound Sect, the Sword and Saber Alliance, Snow Moon Manor, and the Six Yang Sect."
"Then there's no need to worry. Besides, even if the Profound Celestial Sect and the Pure Yang Sword Sect really want to make a move on me, I'm not to be trifled with."
Yang Xiao's eyes were profound.
'Experts beyond the Martial Saint Tier...'
'I'm actually looking forward to it.'
"But..."
Cheng Boxuan started to say more.
But Yang Xiao cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"I've already offended them anyway. Even if I don't go to the Northern Wilderness Forest, what's coming will come. For now, don't worry about it. Your Young Master isn't that fragile. The Sect's defenses, on the other hand, are a bit lacking."
Yang Xiao frowned.
'The Carefree Sect is too weak right now.'
'Although I've already thought of many ways to cultivate some disciples...'
'...growth, after all, takes time.'
'As for my father, sworn brother, and the others...'
'...I'd rather they not take any risks.'
'After all, I built this force to protect them, not for them to protect it.'
"Wait, don't I have some ready-made muscle right here?"
Yang Xiao's eyes suddenly lit up.
He began walking toward the unconscious Guardian Beasts.
'Originally, I only took these Guardian Beasts because I didn't want to let those sect disciples off easy. But now, after realizing how weak the Carefree Sect is...'
'...I have another idea.'
Yang Xiao stepped forward, his Heart Spirit Power activating to scan the Barbaric Beasts.
'The Blood-winged Flying Tiger and the Red Flame Blood Eagle are both severely injured. I could save them, but it would be too costly, so forget it. As for the Snow Peng Beast and the Profound Ice Carving, they're not in bad shape. I'll subdue them first.'
With a thought, Yang Xiao's Heaven and Earth Origin Flame produced two Red Flame Clones that entered the bodies of the two Barbaric Beasts.
Soon, Yang Xiao sensed two faint consciousnesses submitting to him.
Compared to the Purple Gold Cloud Peng Beast, neither the Snow Peng Beast nor the Profound Ice Carving was of the Fire Attribute. They leaned toward the Ice and Snow Attribute, and the Barbaric Beast Power in their bodies clashed with his Heaven and Earth Origin Flame.
Therefore, Yang Xiao didn't give them the Orange Flame.
Besides, although these two Barbaric Beasts were powerful, their bloodlines weren't particularly outstanding.
Unlike the Purple Gold Cloud Peng Beast, which contained a trace of the Golden-winged Roc's bloodline.
When it came to bloodline purity, it was even purer than the Earth Fire Qilin Beast, which possessed a trace of Qilin Bloodline.
That was why Yang Xiao had put a bit more effort into raising it.
'As for these two...'
'...forget it.'
'They don't have much potential.'
'Even if I exhausted my resources on them, they'd max out at Tier Five Barbaric Beast.'
'With this much time and energy, I'd be better off taking a trip to the Celestial Cloud Mountain Range.'
'Although our attributes clash, my Heaven and Earth Origin Flame contains the Dao of Heaven and Earth Origin. It will still be somewhat beneficial for these two Barbaric Beasts.'
'If they cultivate slowly in the future, it's only a matter of time before they advance to Tier Five Barbaric Beasts. As for these other two Barbaric Beasts... '
Yang Xiao's eyebrow twitched.
A pitch-black longsword appeared in his hand.
It was the Lifebound Magical Artifact he had refined.
He walked over to the Red Flame Blood Eagle and plunged the sword directly into its head.
Immediately after, his fingers moved lightly, tracing several mysterious patterns.
Instantly, the body of the sword trembled slightly.
The stabbed Red Flame Blood Eagle began to shrivel at a visible rate, as if something were sucking it dry.
Meanwhile, the pitch-black longsword flashed with faint wisps of bloody light, and it seemed to twitch as if it wanted to move on its own.
It was an extremely bizarre sight.
Watching this, Cheng Boxuan and the others felt their eyelids twitch.
Even Lu Fangliang couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise.
'This kind of technique... could it be...'
Lu Fangliang's expression turned solemn as he stared intently at the pitch-black longsword.
It was as if it held some earth-shattering secret.