Soaring the Heavens Chapter 293

Even though the dragon steeds’ resistance to poison were much superior than that of a human, they would still die much faster than those cultivators once the poison began to take effect. After all, they didn’t possess any transcendence energy that they could use to resist against the poison attack.

The limbs of these dragon steeds who had suddenly died, became stiff. The blood and flesh of their bodies had already been frozen solid together.

It wasn’t that Miao Yi didn’t want to reach out to help these steeds. He had already tried to do so in the midst of their escape. The technique he had cultivated could only save his own life, but he was unable to use it to save other people.

Initially, he thought that the condition of the steeds and the cultivators was almost similar to that of the little mantids’ bites. But after he tried to save them, he realized that these two conditions were completely different from each other. The bites of the little mantids inflicted the sensation of an extremely cold aura of the netherworld, whereas everyone was just inflicted with a cold type of poison.

The source of transcendence energy that he had cultivated inside his body could indeed destroy this type of poison. However, this source was at the moment only a ‘source’ and not yet a ‘spring’. He was unable to release the transcendence energy outside of his body just yet. Only when he was able to unbind the shackles between the body and the external world would he be able to let the ‘spring water’ flow outwards.

Once that set of shackles has been broken, it would also mean that he had opened up the Bridge of Heaven and Earth between his body and the external world. From then on, he would be able to soar the sky and fly through the air.

If he could reach this realm, then he would already become a Red Lotus expert. In other words, he could only save the others with the method that he used to save himself once his cultivation had reached the Red Lotus realm.

He was able to dispel the extremely cold aura of the netherworld inflicted by the little mantids, but not the cold poison, due the difference between the nature of each respective substance.

For example, when the darks eggs were initially hatched, the outer layer of the dark eggs were also covered in a thick layer of frost. However, when the eggs were taken outside and touched the ray of sunlight, the frost on those eggs immediately dissolved into thin air. On the other hand, the dragon steeds who had died on the ground were also laying under the sun, yet the frost formed on their body still remained dazzling and untouched. This was the difference between the two.

Even though the Glorious Star Immortal Herb was a divine healing medicine, it wasn’t a divine detoxifying medicine. It could heal wounds, not cure poison. Otherwise, Miao Yi would have already generously applied it to them.

Miao Yi began to grow frightened in his heart seeing this situation in front of him. He turned around and quickly flashed into the residence.

Once he reached inside, Charcoal was already staggering closer to him. It used its head to nudge itself against Miao Yi, and weakly neighed. It seemed like it was suffering as it begged Miao Yi to help it.

This damn fatty had followed him for so many years and saved him a countless amount of times from dire situations, yet he couldn’t even save it! Miao Yi eyes were instantly red as he strode toward Luo Shuangfei and roared, "Take it out and cure their poison!"

Like before, Luo Shuangfei shook his head without uttering a word.

"Take it out!" Miao Yi directly grabbed Luo Shuangfei by his lapel. 

Luo Shuangfei, on the other hand, held back his tears in his large eyes and continued to shake his head.

Yan Xiu, Qian’Er, and Xue’Er gazed at each other in confusion. They saw Miao Yi grabbing Luo Shuangfei and forcefully dragged out a beast sack from underneath his clothes with his hand. Miao Yi then relentlessly threatened Luo Shuangfei, "If you don’t give them the cure, I will kill it!"

"I can save them. But can we go somewhere further away and not right here?" Luo Shuangfei pleaded.

"Why do we have to go somewhere else? We don’t have the time for that now. If we keep dragging on, they will die!" Miao Yi swung his hand and pointed at the direction of the dead dragon steeds.

Luo Shuangfei continued to stare at him, his clear eyes filling with tears. Luo Shuangfei, who seemed very distressed, finally submitted to Miao Yi’s authority. He also knew for certain that this matter could not be dragged any further.

A purple marten with a subtle fragrance was taken out out from the beast sack. It was small and delicate, with small eyes that were glossy-green in color, with fur that glowed purple. It leaned against Luo Shuangfei’s shoulder, making it seem extremely adorable. The marten gazed at everyone with a sense of alertness in its tiny eyes.

Yan Xiu and the others were looking at this marten curiously. ‘This little thing can cure the poison?’

Luo Shuangfei pursed his lips and gently ‘shushed’ at the marten a few times. He extended his arm and pointed at Charcoal, who was on the verge of collapse, its body already covered with frost. He had followed Miao Yi for so long, so he knew Miao Yi’s relationship with Charcoal was of a special kind.

The purple marten took off from his shoulder with a purple flash, and began scurrying about as soon as it landed on Charcoal’s back. After finding a soft spot, it bit down with its sharp teeth, and began sucking contentedly with its eyes closed.

The miraculous effect could be seen as soon as the purple marten took a bite. The frost on Charcoal’s body immediately melted away at a steady rate, and Charcoal’s body eventually began to stabilize and stopped staggering. Its previously drowsy eyes began to slowly open as well.

Before everyone could react at the situation, the purple marten then flashed toward Tian Qingfeng’s body with a swish and took a bite on the back of his hand...

After it had completely removed the ice poison from twenty of them consecutively, the fur of the purple marten had become brilliant and luscious. Sucking on these toxins seemed to be immensely nourishing for this marten. With a flash of its silhouette, Luo Shuangfei retrieved the purple marten and returned to the beast sack.

Charcoal had already found a spot to lay down and then dozed off. Tian Qingfeng and the other cultivators, all sitting cross-legged, cupped their fists together to Miao Yi as a gesture of gratitude, their complexions still pale. Their vital energy had already been damaged by the ice poison.

Miao Yi waved his hand as a way to tell them that they didn’t have to thank him. This was what he was supposed to do in the first place.

He swept his gaze at everyone. The School of Blue Jade who came to lend their strength consisted of one Blue Lotus Fourth Grade, three Blue Lotus Third Grade, six Blue Lotus Second Grade, and ten Blue Lotus First Grade.

After some consideration, Miao Yi then took out the storage ring he had taken from Xiong Xiao and walk towards them to give out Orbs of Will one-by-one. He gave fifty low-grade Orbs of Will to Tian Qingfeng, forty orbs to every Blue Lotus Third Grade cultivator, thirty orbs to every Second Grade cultivator, and twenty orbs to every First Grade cultivators.

Among the 1,200 Orbs of Will he had plundered from Xiong Xiao, he had already used up 550 of them in an instant. Yan Xiu, Qian’Er, and Xue’Er were left speechless when they realized that Miao Yi was indeed financially secure. He gave away hundreds of Orbs of Will just like that without hesitation… They didn’t even know it was plundered from Xiong Xiao. They didn’t realize either that Miao Yi was the one who benefited the most out of it.

Even though this group of old fellows had cultivated for so many years, this was their first time receiving that many Orbs of Will for their own use. Each of them became excited and promptly stood up to give their gratitude, their legs still wobbling.

"You all deserve this. I will never mistreat those who have risked their lives to serve me." Miao Yi waved his hand, gesturing them to recover first before they tried to talk again.

He turned around and took out another hundred Orbs of Will in his hand, preparing to give it as a reward to Luo Shuangfei for saving Charcoal and the other guys. That fellow had earned a first-class merit, so naturally his reward would also be the largest among them all.

But when he turned around, he noticed that Luo Shuangfei had disappeared. So he immediately asked, "Where did Luo Shuangfei go?"

Yan Xiu pointed outward, "He went outside."

Miao Yi was surprised. He knew he was being slightly ruthless with his earlier command, but he’d had no choice. He quickly went outside and stood near the entrance of the residence to look around for him. Just then, he saw the back of Luo Shuangfei’s silhouette walking toward the mountain alone, his head lowered. He seemed abnormally desolate.

‘Crap, is he listless because of me?’ Miao Yi bitterly laughed and proceeded to flash towards him. After floating in an oscillating manner toward the foot of the mountain, he stopped Luo Shuangfei in his tracks. 

Both of them gazed at each other. Miao Yi flashed one hundred low-grade Orbs of Will in his palm and grinned, "You have saved a lot of people, and you have earned a first-class merit this time. Take it as your grand reward."

Luo Shuangfei’s gaze went from Miao Yi’s face to his palm. He continued to stare at the Orbs of Will as if he was lost in thought.

"Why?" Miao Yi frowned. "Is it too little?"

Luo Shuangfei quietly shook his head and said, "Just keep it for your own use."

‘Seems like this guy is angry at me.’ Miao Yi sighed, "I hope you can understand why I acted like that. After all, it concerns the lives of so many people. I don’t understand why you refused to take out the purple marten. Were you afraid that people would be covet it?"

Luo Shuangfei gave an non-committal answer and said, "After you meet up with Manor Head later, please remove my Immortal Records."

"..." Miao Yi was stunned. He then responded with a low voice, "You are just being childish. Can can you not suffer a bit of injustice in your entire lifetime? As my subordinate, aren’t you supposed to heed my orders?"

"You don’t understand." Luo Shuangfei shook his head and continued, "My lord, I am not being childish. I am just unfit to stay here any longer."

How could he easily let go of a person whose talent was to his liking, especially after he’d managed to ask him to join his troops! Miao Yi went silent for a while before he said, "Luo Shuangfei, I will tell you a secret. The candidate list for the ‘Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade’ in the next few years has my name on it. I haven’t told anyone of this news yet."

"Eh…" Luo Shuangfei, who was feeling melancholy, immediately became shocked. "You are joking, right? Aren’t you sending yourself to your death if you go there with your current cultivation base?"

"It was Hall Master who put my name into the list. In any case, I must go." Miao Yi sighed before he continued in an earnest tone, "Charcoal is very important to me. With its leg strength, I can at least increase half my chance for survival once I go to the Sea of Constellations."

There was an obvious meaning behind his words. ‘Just for this reason, I was angry at you because you turned your back on me.’

It would be unacceptable for a Mountain Chieftain to admit defeat to their subordinates. However, he was using another method to persuade Luo Shuangfei to stay.

"Which son of a bitch is trying to make you suffer behind your back?" Luo Shuangfei asked with a glare.

"I don’t even know which superior I offended." Miao Yi shook his head. He then gave his promise and said, "I will promote you to Cave Master once I come back from meeting with Manor Head. You can choose which dwelling you like among the ten in Mount Calming Sea."

He flashed the hundreds of low-grade Orbs of Will once more, motioning to Luo Shuangfei to take them. What he meant by this gesture was, ‘If you don’t accept my token of kindness again, then you are just being rude."

One should know that Miao Yi hadn’t become a Cave Master immediately after joining the rank of officials. It could be said that Luo Shuangfei was now pardoned for his offenses as he was able to become a Cave Master after following Miao Yi for less than a year.

Luo Shuangfei was speechless for a while. As he looked at Miao Yi, is eyes gave away the complex feelings he had for this situation. But in the end, he still shook his head and said, "My lord, I really have to go. Just remove my Immortal Records."

With a handful of orbs in his palm, Miao Yi’s face became stern as he said, "What do you think this place is? Do you think you can just come and go as you wish?"

Luo Shuangfei did not become angry. Instead, he forced a smile and said, "Actually, it doesn’t affect me whether you remove my Immortal Records or not. Removing my Immortal Records is for your own good, as I fear I will only bring you trouble. My lord, to be honest with you, I am actually not a Loose Cultivator. I snuck out from my house and came out to play. When the time to go home arrives, my family’s troops will come looking for me. I must go back at any cost."

Miao Yi was slightly shocked when he heard this confession. He knew from the beginning that Luo Shuangfei was a bit different, and that he had extraordinary capabilities. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have treated him like a talented person and requested for him personally. Miao Yi couldn’t help himself and asked, "May I know which sect you came from?"

"A rare sect. I can’t reveal it to anyone. Don’t force me to say it, my lord." Luo Shuangfei smiled bitterly.

Miao Yi stared at him for a moment before he said, "Then we will talk about this later after your family arrives."

After he had said his piece, he turned around and left. Miao Yi didn’t give his consent nor disapproval to Luo Shuangfei’s request to leave.

Miao Yi wasn’t a three-year-old kid who would believe anything that Luo Shuangfei told him. This wasn’t a place where one could come in or leave as they pleased. He would like to see with his own eyes what kind of sect had the balls to take away his subordinate from the officials.

It was evening. Half of the mountains and rivers were touched with the golden rays of the sun as it was setting. In the middle of the dazzling setting sun emerged a black dot. In an instant, a giant black eagle appeared and spiralled at a high altitude, which was then closely followed by several other black eagles soon after.

Luo Shuangfei sat on top of a rock in one of the mountain peaks all by himself. The mountain breeze embraced him as he looked up at the sky and muttered, "They came so quickly this time!"

Chapter end