“Defend yourself Ni Xong! Kill him or he will kill you.” Wan Qing harshly said.

  Ni Xong was currently standing in front of an Emerald Lightning Snake. Their cultivation was the same but Ni Xong was shivering just at the sight of the beast. They both were at the 4th stage as Qi Gatherers. Wan Qing was trying to have him grow a spine or he’ll die before he knows it. And she did not almost die against Kun Lao just to have a worthless pet. She will change his cowardly nature even if she has to force it out of him.

“Fight!” She ordered.

  Ni Xong ran forward with his eyes closed waving his fists like a windmill. It looked pathetic but the snake was frightful of Ni Xong. It slithered backwards as it tried to find an opening to bite the young panda. The wind blowing from Ni Xong’s giant golden gauntlets was enough to put fear into the snake. Prey that acted unpredictable was dangerous. If it wasn’t careful, it could be killed and eaten instead.

  Ni Xong heard the snake hissing from the side of him and started waving his fist in that direction instead. The snake kept trying to circle around behind him but Ni Xong continued to swing his arms wherever he heard the snake’s movements. The snake wouldn’t live long if it got hit but it knew the bear wouldn’t live long if it could get its venom in. The snake sized up the cowardly bear that was terrified of it. Its eyes were barely open to see if the snake was still in front of it.

“Hiss!” The panda started waving its fists immediately in response.

  This wasn’t worth the meat. The snake started to slither away only to be stopped by Wan Qing’s threatening figure. Those massive mounds on her chest that was enough to smother any man to a heavenly slumber. A tight slim figure with a shapely behind and an attitude that was expected out of any cultivator with great talent. Wan Qing looked like an actual woman! Her eyes were sharp but feminine, she had soft pink lips that could tempt those who stared for too long, and skin so soft it was like a baby’s bottom.

  The snake knew it only had two choices. Die trying to escape from the human or face the bear and try to win. It took the second choice without a doubt and recklessly charged towards the bear. The Emerald Lightning Snake boosted its speed using its innate lightning qi and leaped towards the bear. Qi in the form of lightning sparked around its body. Ni Xong visibly cried out in fear once it saw this and increased the speed of its windmill punch even further.

  Despite having his eyes closed for a majority of this situation, Xong managed to slightly open his eyes and watch as the snake was unable to break past the speed of his fists. His gauntlet came smashing down on the skull of the snake, knocking it into the ground. It wasn’t dead though, it raised its body and started moving weirdly. He won! He beat the snake! Just like he was asked! He looked at Wan Qing with joy in his eyes.

“What are you waiting for!? Kill it already!” She ordered.

  Ni Xong looked at the funny moving snake and then back at Wan. The golden panda carefully walked over to snake and picked it up with his gloved hand. He pinched it with his index finger and thumb as he placed the head of the snake near his mouth. With a flesh-tearing bite, the mutant panda ripped the head off of the serpent with its teeth. Seeing the look on Wan’s face was enough to tell him that he was doing something right. He continued to eat the snake’s entire body.

“Next time, don’t waste time being so afraid of something weaker than you. Get on.” She opened up her fan and sat on top of it while it was hovering in the air.

  Ni Xong clumsily climbed up on the flying fan and sat in Wan Qing’s lap as they took off towards the Great Volcano to catch up with the others. Wan Qing didn’t want to hold the group back from acquiring treasures just because she needed to train her spirit beast. With the strange talisman made by Jing, she could find their location by sending her qi into the special slip and wait for them to respond by sending their qi into the talisman as well with the intention of wanting to give their location. It seems they just entered the Great Volcano area.

  That’s good, they shouldn’t have met with much trouble then. All the treasure near the entrance should’ve also been taken by the other disciples. They did spend a while inside that illusion formation and in the Great Plains. So, it should be some time before they encounter some magical treasure in the Great Volcano.

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  Wan Qing arrived at the Great Volcano and took in the sights. Volcanoes were all over the place. She could see volcanoes right under her and volcanoes as far as her sight could see. Lava made itself known in numerous places across this area. Lava rivers, lava waterfalls, spirit beasts who drank and bathed in the lava, and many fire-natured plants across the rocky hardened earth. This place is paradise for those who practice fire-based martial arts and those talented in water-based martial arts. Wan figured they were here to help Ying find something suitable for her. None of the others seemed to have martial arts related to fire.

“Come here little Roses!!! Ying needs a mystic flame and you’re her ticket to getting one!!!” She heard a familiar voice shouting from down below.

  Qing looked over her fan and saw Ying swinging her sword madly while chasing after a group of girls. They looked like they were running with everything they had, trying to escape from her. Bing and Lei Zhi were looking away in embarrassment as the murderous young lady swung her gigantic blade left and right to take the heads of the girls in front of her. Qing flew down towards them and hopped off her fan with Ni Xong.

  Bing aimed his shield at her and Lei Zhi waved at her.

“You want to fight me as well?” Wan Qing asked with an arrogant smirk.

“Where did you steal that Golden Panda from?” Bing glared at her.

“Where do you think I got him from?” Wan responded back.

“Hold on Bing. She’s not our enemy.” Lei Zhi told him.

“What do you mean?” He asked confused.

“That’s Wan Qing.” Lei Zhi stated.

“PFFFFT! I know you’re blind Zhi but now isn’t the time for jokes! She could be one of the top members from Fearsome Garden.” Bing said.

“I’m not joking. Can’t you see? She looks the exact same!” Lei Zhi argued.

“That woman does not look like Wan Qing in the... Well... She could pass as his older sister but that isn’t proof enough that she is Wan Qing!”

“Jing is our leader.” Wan Qing stated calmly.

“I have no further doubts.” Bing said, putting away his shield. “But how did you...?”

“It’s an illusion.” Lei Zhi said.

“How could you tell Fisherman?” Wan Qing asked curiously. He was able to see through her illusion in an instant. Just how was that possible? He didn’t use any spirit tools or his qi either to check.

“I didn’t do anything special. You just look the same to me.” He innocently responded.

“Didn’t you say, you got your vision back from some auxiliary martial art the Empress gave you?” Bing asked.

“Yes, I touched the cover of it and all the knowledge inside of it flowed into my mind.”

“I’ve never heard of a martial art being taken directly in your mind...” Wan Qing muttered.

“You haven’t?” Bing asked surprised. That was exactly how he gained his Devil’s Art.

“Maybe in fairy tales but nothing in real life! Martial art manuals that can do something like that would be worth fortunes! Even ancient clans would fork out thousands of spirit stones for valuable martial arts like that! And you’re telling me Jing just gave it to you?! For free!?” Wan Qing yelled.

“Well, I wouldn’t say for free. I gave her my loyalty and body to aid Jing in her goal of reforming the sect.”

“Who would take the loyalty and body of a man far past his prime and think of it as useful?”

“The Empress did.” Bing pointed out.

“Exactly! Don’t you all find it strange how Jing could make a seemingly useless old man into a competent cultivator with a future?! She is not that far apart from us in age yet her capabilities seem unimaginable for any youth! How many people would be able to turn a cultivator like him into something with substance?” Wan Qing asked referring to Lei Zhi. “And don’t even get me started on these weapons she’s gifted us! I doubt blacksmiths blessed by the heavens could recreate the weapons she’s gifted us!”

“Well of course we think it’s strange Qing. It's just that... It’s the Empress, you know? I wouldn’t be that surprised if she turned a mortal squirrel into a pig that could practice martial arts. You do know that even the Empress’s owl has his own martial arts right? Humans can’t make martial arts for animals because animals don’t cultivate the same way we do. But somehow the Empress was able to teach her owl martial arts. That means she’s able to do the impossible that no other cultivator has been capable of. Something not even those at the True Immortal realm could pull off.”

“Don’t you find that terrifying?!” Qing yelled. Bing only let out a tired sigh.

“Listen Wan Qing... Thinking too deeply about this type of stuff is only going to drive you crazy. I’ve already gotten past it by trying to live my life simply while following her directions. I’ve had many sleepless nights trying to understand who Jing is, where she came from, what are her limits, and what does she want. But none of that mattered. All that mattered was I lived my life doing what I aimed to do. I may have become her slave but I have not suffered greatly since being taken under her rule.” Bing told her.

“Slave?!” Qing and Lei Zhi asked simultaneously.