Deep within the Blackwater Basin, the Wine Immortal Daoist, dizzy and disoriented, collapsed onto the ground.
"Hahahaha…" Patriarch Wang and the others roared with laughter, finally confirming Xu Mu's demise, swallowed by spatial turbulence that even Human King powerhouses couldn't withstand!
Resurrection was impossible!
"Since the Heavenly Book is gone, we can't exactly go back empty-handed," Bite Fire said after a moment, his laughter subsiding as he slowly turned his gaze towards the Wine Immortal Daoist.
The latter was just managing to stagger to his feet, clearly at his wit's end.
"It's the rule of the martial world, the victor takes all. Since you've lost, you must leave something behind," Bite Fire stated.
"What do you mean, you intend to rob this humble Daoist?" the Wine Immortal Daoist replied, his expression grim.
"We are merely seeking rightful compensation," Bite Fire retracted his divine form and pointed at himself, speaking with fury. "Due to your negligence, you've caused what was supposed to be an easy mission to incur such a heavy price. I even risked a setback in my cultivation! Don't you owe us something?!"
"How novel! You set out to kill someone, and then you blame others for fighting back and demanding compensation instead of your own inadequate strength? What kind of logic is that?" the Wine Immortal Daoist retorted sarcastically. "Bite Fire, aren't you ashamed of yourself when you say such things!"
"Some compensation is indeed due," Patriarch Wang interjected. "The Blood Coral I carried with me could sustain the Wang family's expenses for a decade, but it's all gone now because of Xu Mu's extravagance. It's only right that you compensate us."
"What if I refuse to compensate?" the Wine Immortal Daoist asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Your life, and the life of your senior brother's successor, are in our hands," Bite Fire advanced, his voice filled with murderous intent. "You've already lost, so stop haggling. Letting you live is already a colossal favor!"
"Hand over your storage pouch, or die!"
"Do you dare take it if I dare to give it?" the Wine Immortal Daoist asked lightly, his gaze sweeping across them with a provocative tone.
"The possessions of my White Cloud Daoist Temple are not so easily plundered!"
"To think that the esteemed Wine Immortal would resort to threatening with his sect's name, truly disappointing!" Patriarch Wang mocked, not answering directly.
"So, you don't dare." The Wine Immortal Daoist turned his head. "And you, little girl?"
"Don't look at me, I'm not participating!" Annie retracted her Flame Giant Bear into the异空间 (yì kōngjiān - other dimension), then stood atop the stone giant墨菲特 (Mòfēitè - Malphite), giggling. "With the Heavenly Book gone, I'm not interested in anything else. I'm just here to watch the show."
"Then, do you dare to take it!" the Wine Immortal Daoist said, pulling out his storage pouch from his robes and tossing it onto the ground, making everyone's mouths water.
The entire fortune of a World Ranking powerhouse – the cultivation resources within could sustain a major sect for a lifetime. Who wouldn't covet it and wish to possess it!
But the problem was, the Wine Immortal Daoist was from the White Cloud Daoist Temple. The White Cloud Daoist Temple had many powerful Daoists walking the mortal realm, and domain lords were as numerous as clouds. If the Wine Immortal Daoist gave it, would they dare to take it?
"You lost, and that's that. We won't kill you, do you think your fellow disciples from your temple will come looking for trouble on your behalf?" Bite Fire sneered, beckoning with a finger to telekinetically retrieve the spatial pouch.
"You speak the truth. Even if I die, my sect might not avenge me," the Wine Immortal Daoist coughed up two mouthfuls of blood, then continued, looking at Bite Fire, "But it seems you don't dare to gamble, which is why you won't kill me. And since you won't kill me and have taken this spatial pouch, I will find an opportunity to kill you once I've recovered!"
"Grudges are settled in the martial world. Since you don't wish for it this way, I welcome your challenge anytime. I will always be ready to fight!" Bite Fire's expression remained unchanged, unfazed by the Wine Immortal Daoist's threat.
"Give me some of the contents of that pouch as well," Patriarch Wang stated calmly after a moment's thought.
"Oh, you're not afraid?" Bite Fire turned his head, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"This is the Blackwater Basin, with many powerful demons around, and it seems they've all surrounded us. In his current state, for the Wine Immortal to seek revenge, he'll have to survive leaving here first!" Patriarch Wang said with a grin. Even if they didn't kill the Wine Immortal, he would die today. In his condition, he wouldn't be able to escape this place!
"Do you know why I fought so desperately?"
The Wine Immortal Daoist, his hair disheveled and his appearance a mess, looked at Patriarch Wang. A mocking smile suddenly appeared on his pale, blood-stained face.
"It's all for that so-called, ethereal friendship," Patriarch Wang replied, narrowing his eyes.
"You're half right." The Wine Immortal Daoist coughed, shook his head, and then took out the divination bamboo tube from his robes.
"Desperate means not fearing death. But I fear death greatly, yet I fought desperately. Can you guess why?"
Patriarch Wang frowned, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.
"Because I divined beforehand before undertaking this mission tonight, so I knew I wouldn't die."
"So what? Will a Qiongqi appear now to save you?" Bite Fire sensed something was wrong. His pace quickened, and he instantly lunged towards the Wine Immortal Daoist, as if to seize his life.
But in the next moment, a tall, slender Daoist with white eyebrows suddenly appeared before the Wine Immortal Daoist. His long hair flowed, exuding an immortal aura. He held someone in his right hand and a pill in his left, gently feeding it into the Wine Immortal Daoist's throat with a calm and gentle movement that was impossible to refuse.
Bite Fire stopped abruptly upon seeing this.
"This… this is…" Bite Fire froze for a moment, then his body stiffened. His shocked eyes trembled incessantly, his fear undisguised.
"How embarrassing," the Daoist spoke, his voice ethereal.
"What do you mean embarrassing? If you have the ability yourself…" the Wine Immortal Daoist stopped midway through his sentence, feeling dejected. He had intended to say, "If you have the ability, you do it yourself!" But he suddenly realized that if the person before him had come earlier, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
"I have a friend named Xu Mu. He can inherit the legacy of True Master Zhang, but he seems to have encountered spatial turbulence. Could you…"
"We'll talk about it back at the temple," the Daoist waved his hand, interrupting the Wine Immortal. Then, from the dark night sky, a pure white crested crane suddenly flew down.
The Wine Immortal Daoist looked at the crane and silently sat on its back. Simultaneously, the Daoist floated into the air on the white cloud beneath his feet and slowly flew away, without another word.
"I'll leave the storage pouch with you for now. I'll come to retrieve it myself later!" the Wine Immortal Daoist called out to Bite Fire on the ground, remembering something. And perhaps because of his words, before disappearing into the horizon, the Daoist uncharacteristically lowered his head and glanced at him.
Boom!
Instantly, Bite Fire felt as if his soul had been electrocuted. His entire body trembled uncontrollably, his heart pounding like thunder, so fiercely that his chest seemed unable to contain it.
"That… that is!"
Bite Fire broke out in a cold sweat. Although he didn't know the Daoist's identity or when he arrived, he knew that the person he held was speaking, and the one being fed the pill and treated was the Wine Immortal. Therefore, he was the senior brother the Wine Immortal mentioned, a sixth-stage Human King powerhouse from the White Cloud Daoist Temple!
"I don't want this thing anymore." Patriarch Wang, having guessed the person's identity, shook his head repeatedly as he looked at the Wine Immortal Daoist's spatial pouch. He then quickly fled the scene, fearing the wrath of a killing blow. The others also fled as if they had narrowly escaped death, and even some approaching Great Demons retreated.
Thus, only Bite Fire remained in the space.
"White Cloud Daoist Temple…" He frowned, contemplating the Daoist's retreating figure, and then recalled the Domain Lord from his Demon Extermination Division. Comparing the two, there seemed to be a world of difference, a chasm between heaven and earth.
"Not too shabby, I suppose."
Bite Fire shook his head, pocketed the storage pouch, and then swiftly left the Blackwater Basin.