Obtaining Top Art on Family's Extermination Night

"You’ve interrupted my wonderful sleep."

Fang Shuwen wasn’t surprised. What man wears embroidered shoes?

However, the woman wore a white veil that obscured her features. Judging by her voice, she didn’t seem old, yet her tone was strangely patronizing.

’Another one who’s mastered the art of preserving her youth?’

Fang Shuwen thought to himself but said no more, simply cupping his fists.

"My apologies for the disturbance."

With that, he had Fang Dabao move on.

"You’re really going in?"

The woman said with a laugh:

"This Chaotic Stone Forest is no place to be. It’s a maze of boulders that obstructs your vision.

"If someone were to use these stones to set up an array, there’d be no getting out.

"You might go in alive and come out dead.

"Isn’t there a saying in the Jianghu? ’Never enter a forest blindly.’ The Chaotic Stone Forest is still a forest, you know."

Fang Shuwen looked thoughtful.

"Did you set an ambush in there?"

"If it were me, why would I be telling you all this?"

The woman in white chuckled lightly.

Fang Shuwen nodded.

"That’s true... Thank you for the warning."

"You’re still going in?"

The woman in white frowned slightly:

"Why are you so stubborn? I already told you there’s an ambush in the Chaotic Stone Forest. They’ve used the rocks to create an array, and they plan to trap and kill you inside it.

"And even that won’t stop you?"

"Correct."

Fang Shuwen said with a smile:

"They’ve gone to great lengths, enduring hunger and cold while waiting here for me. If I don’t go, wouldn’t I be letting all their good intentions go to waste?"

"You’re quite considerate of others, aren’t you?"

The woman in white laughed.

"To tell you the truth, that’s just the kind of person I am. I feel their pain, I share their urgency.

"Gentle and refined, well-read and reasonable, courteous and polished..."

Fang Shuwen paused for a moment.

"Forget it. We are but strangers meeting by chance in the Jianghu; why say more?

"Please, continue your nap, miss. We’ll be on our way."

Hearing this, the woman in white stopped trying to dissuade him, though a smile seemed to hide in her eyes.

Once Fang Shuwen had vanished completely into the Chaotic Stone Forest, she couldn’t help but shake her head.

’If I didn’t know your title was the Demon Evil God, I might have actually believed you... "Gentle and refined"? "Courteous and polished"?’

’When in reality you’re ruthless and have killed countless people.’

’But, so this is what he’s really like? How interesting...’

She thought for a moment, then took a bamboo tube from her robes and tossed it lightly in her hand.

’Should I give him this welcome gift or not?’

After hesitating a long while, she finally tucked it back into her robes.

’Forget it. I’ll wait until the Celestial Martial Grand Assembly is over... I wonder how many people will make it off Celestial Martial Peak alive after this battle.’

’Rain will fall, widows will remarry, and men will court death... These things are inevitable.’

Her figure blurred as she leaped down from the giant boulder. With a light tap of her toes, she trod upon empty air. Her body shot away like a bolt of lightning, a white phantom vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Though the form scatters, the intent remains. The shadow departs before the body returns. Treading the void is like treading waves, free to traverse the heavens and the earth.

If Fang Shuwen had been there, he would surely have recognized that this Body Technique was the very embodiment of those principles.

But by now, Fang Shuwen was already deep inside the Chaotic Stone Forest.

There was a path, but it ended abruptly.

After he crossed a distinct boundary, his surroundings suddenly became bizarre and otherworldly.

The sky was still the same sky and the rocks were still the same rocks, but the feeling they gave off was completely different.

At the same time, waves of killing intent washed over them from all directions.

Fang Dabao seemed to sense the strangeness of the place as well. It hesitated, refusing to move forward, and let out a low, menacing growl.

Fang Shuwen gently patted its large head.

"It’s alright. Keep going."

Hearing this, Fang Dabao seemed much more assured and strode forward.

Long Qingzhi’s heart pounded with nervousness, but she didn’t dare to speak.

She guessed they had already entered the array the woman had mentioned. Speaking rashly at a time like this might distract Fang Shuwen.

’My duty is to stay silent, trust Fang Shuwen, and not ask needless questions.’

Suddenly, a flash of silver light shot out from behind a huge boulder.

Fang Shuwen jerked his head back, and the path of the sword streaked past his face, missing the tip of his nose by a hair’s breadth.

The attacker had never imagined his strike would miss.

But he wasn’t worried.

’My sword is fast, and my Lightweight Technique is even faster.’

’Besides, with the Inverted Five Elements Array laid out here, Fang Shuwen is under its influence. He was just lucky to have dodged my strike.’

’There’s no way he can counter-attack right now.’

But in the next moment, he realized he was wrong... dead wrong.

Fang Shuwen executed the Plum Blossom Scattering Hand. With a casual motion, as if plucking a peach blossom, he seized the Swordsman’s wrist.

The Swordsman’s expression changed drastically. Before he could react, he felt his face being grabbed and shoved.

Utterly confused, he heard a dull THUD.

That was the sound of his head slamming viciously into the boulder, crushing his skull.

Fang Shuwen released his grip, and the corpse slid down the face of the boulder.

Long Qingzhi’s eyes sparkled as she watched, finding Fang Shuwen’s flair for killing with a mere wave of his hand utterly dazzling.

It wasn’t like he’d killed a man... but had swatted a stray mosquito.

He didn’t even spare the corpse a second glance.

’I wonder,’ she thought, ’if I ever truly master Martial Arts, could I kill with such casual ease, just like Fang Shuwen?’

Of course, Fang Shuwen had no idea what the young girl was thinking. He wasn’t paying attention to Long Qingzhi at all; instead, he was curiously examining the array they were in.

’I’m actually quite curious about arrays,’ he thought. ’It’s a shame my system only gives me Martial Arts.’

’At first, it just spammed me with Inner Strength, but it’s gradually gotten more varied.’