Mu Fan wasn’t stupid, he had immediately realized Qiang's connection with this tree. From Li Shen's shout, both he and Jun knew Fei Yin's condition had something to do with her. And considering the sheer anger in Li Shen's voice, they also knew Fei Yin was about to die because of her.
Mu Fan continue to threaten her, but when he saw that she wasn’t responding to him he stopped.
He immediately spun on his heels and floated from the tree trunk. His saber in his hand begun to tremble and the Blade Will in his dantian began to become restless.
He was dead set on chopping this tree down.
“Mu Fan!”
Jun seeing this called out to him, but Mu Fan completely ignored him.
Jun with a worried expression turn to Li Shen but saw that he was focused on Fei Yin and wasn’t paying attention to the outside world.
Turning his head slightly he said to Qiang.
“Little sister Qiang, can you please stop what you’re doing to our friend?”
Jun felt her small hands tighten around his neck, but she continued to remain silent.
Suddenly, a terrifying Blade Energy erupted some distance away. Jun turned to see Mu Fan with a blood-red aura surrounding him.
“Mu Fan! What are you doing?!”
Jun yelled at him.
He was just like before, nothing had changed. He always chose to fight first and talk later, trying to brute force his way through everything.
They didn’t know what exactly was happening to Fei Yin or what his actions might result in.
However, Li Shen suddenly said.
“Mu Fan, if Qiang doesn’t release Fei Yin by the time I count to three I want you to use your Blade Will and cut him from this trunk.”
His voice was completely cold.
“1…”
“Little sister Qiang…”
Jun said once again trying to get her to talk, meanwhile Mu Fan clenched his saber’s hilt tightly.
“2…”
Li Shen didn’t pause or stutter. Time seemed to stop as this tense situation reached its peak.
“3..”
With one final count from Li Shen, Mu Fan's eye shone with a red hue and the blood red aura around him condense onto his saber as he raised it.
A projection appeared in the sky of a Heavenly Saber, unlike before when Mu Fan’s Blade Will was green, this was blood red and it dyed the entire world in its furious glory.
“He agreed to be Qiang’s friend…”
Qiang mumbled at first but suddenly yelled.
“HE AGREED TO BE MY FRIEND!!”
With tears streaming down her cheeks, she grabbed Jun’s shoulder who winced at her grip as he felt something crack.
In response to her shout, Mu Fan snorted before he barked.
“Bullshit he did!!”
He was ready to bring down his sword to sever the tree trunk Fei Yin was sitting on, but all of a sudden the entire tree began to tremble.
As a result, even from thousands of kilometers away, one could feel massive earthquakes. Beasts roars echoed out throughout the Western Territory.
Mu Fan, however, ignored Qiang’s actions, but a voice suddenly spoke up.
“Wait!!”
In the air, a projection of Fei Yin materialized.
“Mu Fan stop, this is my decision.”
Mu Fan seeing this frowned.
Fei Yin then looked down at Li Shen and said.
“Faction Leader, please allow me to do this, I have no regrets assimilating with Qiang. She just wants a chance to see the outside world rather than to be imprisoned in here.”
Meanwhile Fei Yin spoke Jun looked at his projection. His eyes slowly become completely white losing their pupils. The world around him changed and he saw a strand of golden Karma String, instead of leading to Fei Yin’s physical body, was leading to Qiang on his back.
Jun immediately turn to Li Shen to tell him what he saw, but he and others underestimated Li Shen’s acting abilities.
Li Shen's eyes that were closed immediately snapped out before he reached towards Fei Yin’s projection. A four-meter black hand made from his Time Qi shot out to wrap itself around Fei Yin's projection before it began to quickly pull him towards Li Shen.
“Thanks for releasing his consciousness.”
Li Shen would have never believed that this was Fei Yin either way. He would never have thrown away the life that Li Shen had returned to him so easily.
Li Shen's actions were so fast and so sudden that they all happen before any could react.
His hand squeezed shut and the black hand projection followed suit causing Fei Yin’s consciousness to burst into fragments.
With his Divine Will already spread out in preparation, Li Shen gather up the fragments that gave off Fei Yin’s aura.
With a thought, he sent all of them to Fei Yin’s forehead before his mind could fully scatter.
Silence suddenly overcame the area as Li Shen closed his eyes once again.
Failing to use Fei Yin's half assimilated consciousness to convince them, Qiang soon got off Jun’s back.
Mu Fan who was still preparing to act focused on her, but instead of attacking them like he thought she would, he saw that she was simply flying away.
Jun looked at her as she flew towards the top of the tree, she was crying.
Li Shen suddenly opened his eyes before looking down at Fei Yin, but not before taking a quick glance in her direction.
Qiang wasn’t some evil mastermind, the simple fact that she was so easily tricked into releasing Fei Yin’s consciousness proved that.
Jun felt a ray of complicated emotions when he saw her like that.
‘She’s just a little child.’
He soon turned to Fei Yin meanwhile Mu Fan recalled his Blade Will approached.
The two of them then along with Li Shen then watched as Fei Yin’s eyes fluttered open, revealing his pupils that had a light shade of emerald green.
He didn’t focus them on Li Shen or the others though, he set them on Qiang who was flying away.
A sad expression appeared on his face before his figure levitated up and flew towards her.
“Huh? Where are you going?”
Mu Fan seeing his actions asked confused.
Fei Yin didn’t answer him, and instead turned to Li Shen and said.
“Faction Leader, I hope you won’t blame her for her actions.”
“Huh?! If I’m not entirely crazy, then I know for a fact that what she did was nearly taking over your body. And after surviving the first thing you say is not to blame her? Then who should we blame?!”
“Blame me, I indeed told her I would be her friend but she thought it meant it was okay to assimilate with me. It was because of me not being clear with my words that this happened, so blame me.”
Mu Fan scowled, Jun remained silent while Li Shen looked at Fe Yin deeply. After a moment, Li Shen sighed and said.
“Tell her I don’t blame her, but she’s not allowed to call me big brother anymore.”
Fei Yin nodded before he turned and headed for the top of the tree where Qiang went.
Mu Fan didn’t understand why Li Shen agreed with Fei Yin’s suggestion, but he thought it was completely absurd.
To feel sorry for that brat after her selfish actions is just them being soft.
Mu Fan couldn’t be bothered anymore with this ridiculous situation so he grabbed Jun’s collar and pulled him off to go spar.
Wincing at his recent injuries being aggravated, Jun slapped away Mu Fan’s hand before he turned to Li Shen and asked.
“Master, what exactly happened just now?”
Li Shen watched Fei Yin disappear before he turn around and sat cross-legged on the tree trunk.
Hearing Jun’s question he said.
“Qiang has the mentality of a little child. Coupled that with the power she wields and her desire to leave this place, she wanted to assimilate with Fei Yin so she could leave this Dimension.”
Jun went quiet upon hearing that.
“I can't help but feel pity for her, is that wrong? After what she just did I feel like I should loathe her.”
Mu Fan off to the side rolled his eyes and said as he left.
“I’m waiting for our spar, away from this fucking tree. I don’t want to end up like that idiot Fei Yin.”
Jun shot him an annoyed glare but turned back to Li Shen when he began to speak.
“You can feel what you want to feel. All that matters is that Fei Yin’s safe, he’s also gained quite a lot from this so her actions had inadvertently helped him.”
“...What about you Master, what do you feel?”
Li Shen remained silent for a moment as he look into the distance, he suddenly sensed Tai approaching, but alone.
“I feel…”
Li Shen paused a bit.
“...helpless.”
Jun didn’t know how to react to that, he wasn’t expecting that response from Li Shen.
“It’s fine, go spar with Mu Fan. I need to see you’re progressing so far.”
Jun nodded before he turned around. Four snow-white wings that looked like projections appeared on his back before he flew out towards Mu Fan who was waiting some distance away from the tree.
Left alone, Li Shen released a sigh.
He had just received a wake-up call as to how easily someone next to him could have died.
It was just like his father said, death lurked everywhere when you’re in the cultivation world. Whether he wanted to or not, or whether he’s prepared for it or not, it will still appear.
Li Shen suddenly flipped over his palm and a featureless masked appeared in his hand. He stared at it for a moment, tracing the crack lines all over it from the battle against the Nascent Realm expert with his eyes.
With a thought, the masked surface liquefied before hardening once again, the cracks and even the half that was destroyed having been repaired.
Li Shen then placed it back into his storage ring, and at the same time, Tai appear in front of him in his human form.
Surprisingly, he looked to have aged. While wearing the same golden robes, he looked like a lean twelve or thirteen-year-old boy now. Whatever Li Shen had made him retrieve had increased his Heavenly Law cultivation of the Dao of Illusions and Space by a significant margin.
After appearing he flopped down in front of Li Shen exhausted.
Rubbing his now short golden hair, Li Shen asked.
“Where are the others?”
Rising his head slightly, Tai responded.
“Your friends are completely stupid. All of them said that they didn’t want my help and that they were going to come here on their own.”
Tai looked to be recalling his interaction with them and a grumpy look on his made its way onto his face.
However, he paused and said.
“Master, I still couldn’t find Fang Chen.”
Li Shen's brows furrowed a bit but he simply continued to rub Tai’s head as he said.
“It’s okay, I’ll go look for him when everyone’s gathered. You did a good job.”
Tai released a smile before he lay back face down and accepted Li Shen’s relaxing massages.
Li Shen meanwhile looked at the horizon, a mumble escaping his lips.
“Facing danger and death in the cultivation world is unavoidable. That I understand, but…”
Li Shen paused there and allowed the wind blowing by to carry away his last words.
“... it's not easy to accept.”
**
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