Chapter 92

"Sir, you flatter me. There are only two months left until the internal gate selection exam, and time is tight. If there's no urgent matter, I will take my leave now," Zhuge Xiang did not become complacent with the praise from the elder of the Winged People, but instead spoke up. In this place of the Winged People, the surrounding Winged People all looked at him with hostile eyes, making Zhuge Xiang feel very uncomfortable, so he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Leaving is not urgent. Let me see how much you have comprehended the essence of the arrow," the elder of the Winged People shook his head, clearly very interested in Zhuge Xiang. Without waiting for Zhuge Xiang to respond, a powerful and invincible essence of the arrow suddenly emanated from his body.

Buzz...

Joyful chirping sounds rose and fell, and the arrows in the hands of the surrounding Winged People actually flew out on their own, directly embedding themselves in front of the elder of the Winged People, as if in a sacred ceremony.

Under this overwhelming essence of the arrow, Zhuge Xiang also took out his Hundred-Refined Bow, activating the state of weapon intent. The weapon intent, which had already reached the highest level of perfection, transformed into the essence of the arrow.

One strong and one weak, the two essences of the arrow soared into the sky, opposing each other. Although Zhuge Xiang's essence of the arrow had already reached the highest level, his cultivation and strength were far inferior, and his soul and divine sense were not strong enough. Under the elder's essence of the arrow, he could only struggle to hold on, as if a mountain was pressing down on him, and he might be crushed at any moment. The elder's strength was indeed unfathomable.

"Tenfold essence of the arrow? Such powerful divine sense by nature?" Zhuge Xiang was amazed by the elder's strength, but he did not know that the elder was even more shocked by what he sensed from Zhuge Xiang. His eyes widened, staring at Zhuge Xiang in disbelief.

Those who could comprehend the essence of the arrow during the Soul Formation stage were all exceptionally talented, one in ten thousand. However, due to the limitations of their divine sense, comprehending even half or one to two tenths of the essence of the arrow was already very strong. But in Zhuge Xiang, the elder sensed a tenfold essence of the arrow. If it weren't for his insufficient cultivation and divine sense, who would suppress whom was uncertain.

The elder's essence of the arrow was released and then retracted, his eyes piercing as he looked at Zhuge Xiang, making him feel uneasy. The surrounding Winged People, sitting on tree trunks, also burst into a clamor, amazed that a sixteen-year-old could possess such a powerful essence of the arrow. The word "genius" was not enough to describe his talent.

At sixteen, reaching the Meridian Passage stage only earned the elder's praise, thinking Zhuge Xiang had good talent. But learning that he had comprehended the essence of the arrow piqued the elder's interest. After testing him and sensing the tenfold essence of the arrow, the elder was deeply shocked. Not yet reaching the Soul Formation stage, yet possessing such a powerful essence of the arrow, at least in the elder's knowledge, no one had ever succeeded in doing so. The thoughts that came to mind made the elder even more determined.

"With your talent, breaking through to the Soul Formation stage should not be a problem. Young man, I have a deal to propose. Are you interested?" the elder of the Winged People asked, his eyes piercing.

"Given the current situation, do I have the option to refuse?" Zhuge Xiang replied, looking at the elder. With such formidable strength and being in the territory of the Winged People, he had no choice but to comply.

"Young man, don't be so wary. I said we have no ill intentions. This is just a deal. Even if you don't agree, I will let you leave safely," the elder of the Winged People, seeing through Zhuge Xiang's thoughts, resumed his kind and benevolent demeanor, speaking gently.

As an elder of the Winged People, saying such things in front of the entire clan should not be a lie. This made Zhuge Xiang's vigilance drop, and his goodwill increased. He nodded, "Elder, please speak frankly."

"Good, straightforward and direct. I like that," the elder of the Winged People said with approval, then pointed to the giant female statue beside him, "You are only sixteen, so you probably don't know about the great battle three years ago, and you probably don't recognize this woman, right?"

"That's right. What does this have to do with the deal, Elder?" Zhuge Xiang tilted his head to look at the giant statue, also curious why the Winged People, who were hostile to humans, would have a human statue.

"Actually, this person is also a disciple of your Asura Sect. Although you don't recognize her, I'm sure you've heard her name, Ice Maiden. She is the undisputed chief disciple of your Asura Sect, with cultivation already at the peak of the Soul Formation stage," the elder of the Winged People looked at the giant sculpture, and even he had a deep look of respect in his eyes.

"Ice Maiden? What happened back then?" Zhuge Xiang was slightly stunned and asked in surprise. He had heard the name Ice Maiden before.

"Humans have always been exclusive, believing that those not of our kind must have different hearts. Naturally, they have no good feelings towards all humanoid races, and similarly, we Winged People are hostile to humans. Our clan originally had ten thousand members, living on a floating island in the Northern Sea. Three years ago, our clan suffered a great disaster, with countless deaths and injuries. Fortunately, Miss Ice Maiden came to our aid, saving us and bringing us back to the Asura Sect."

As the elder of the Winged People spoke, his eyes were filled with respect, and the thousands of Winged People were silent, not making a sound to disturb him. "However, the Asura Sect is a human sect. Even though Miss Ice Maiden is the chief disciple of the Asura Sect with a lofty status, the Asura Sect did not agree to let us live there and even wanted to exterminate us. After negotiations, Miss Ice Maiden reached an agreement with the Asura Sect to break through to the Void stage in seclusion. Once she obtained her own floating mountain, she would allow our clan to move to her floating mountain. Unfortunately, Miss Ice Maiden ultimately failed..."

At the end of his words, the elder of the Winged People was sobbing, and the thousands of Winged People were all weeping loudly, their cries piercing the sky, as if the heavens and earth were filled with sorrow.

"So, the legendary Miss Ice Maiden forced a breakthrough to the Void stage for this reason and ultimately failed," Zhuge Xiang finally understood the whole story from the elder of the Winged People.

"However, I wonder what the content of the deal between the elder and me is. Could it be to find a way to rescue Miss Ice Maiden from the Eastern Sea?" When the emotions of the Winged People had calmed down a bit, Zhuge Xiang asked.

"Of course not. Miss Ice Maiden practiced the ancient divine technique, the Ice Heart Sutra. I once heard her say that this technique is the most difficult to be affected by heart demons in the world. Even if she failed to break through to the Void stage, she should not have gone mad. I believe there must be some mystery. With your talent, breaking through the heavenly tribulation and reaching the Soul Formation stage should not be a problem. I only need you to, after reaching the Soul Formation stage, try to investigate the reason for Miss Ice Maiden's madness within the Asura Sect. If successful, my entire clan will be deeply grateful."

"System notification: Task 'Reveal the Truth' triggered. Task requirement: Investigate the reason for Miss Ice Maiden's madness. Task success: Level +2, Bow Skill 'Meteor Style'. Accept/Reject."

When the elder of the Winged People revealed the content of the deal, a system notification suddenly sounded in Zhuge Xiang's mind. The task panel finally triggered a task, directly increasing his cultivation by two levels and granting a skill book. The reward was indeed generous, and more importantly, there was no penalty for failure. How could Zhuge Xiang let it go?

Accepting the task, Zhuge Xiang smiled and nodded to the elder of the Winged People, "I agree to this deal. However, since it's a deal, can you tell me what the reward will be if I succeed?"

"Clarifying the terms is a good thing," the elder of the Winged People nodded, not disapproving of Zhuge Xiang asking about the reward. If he didn't ask, the elder would be afraid he wouldn't have the motivation to complete the task.

With a wave of his hand, the elder directly pulled out a crystal longbow from the air. "Our clan has always specialized in bows and arrows. This Crystal Dragon Bow was my weapon in the past, a seven-star magical treasure, with a spirit vein directly sealed inside. If you succeed, this will be your reward."

The Crystal Dragon Bow had a few simple array lines carved on it, but it gave a sense of simplicity. Faintly, a five-clawed golden dragon made of spirit energy could be seen moving on the bow. Zhuge Xiang had only heard that experts could directly extract spirit veins and seal them into their caves to become cultivation sanctuaries, but this was the first time he saw someone seal an entire spirit vein into a magical treasure. Regardless of its power, such a bow would greatly benefit cultivation.

"Excellent bow!" Zhuge Xiang's eyes lit up, but he then shook his head, "The bow is indeed excellent, but I can only get it after succeeding. Since it's a deal, shouldn't you pay a deposit, Elder?"

"Haha, you're a cautious one, aren't you?" The elder of the Winged People laughed and raised his hand, lightly brushing Zhuge Xiang's arm.

A powerful force suddenly surged, causing a tingling sensation in his bones, which quickly moved down. Then, his palm ached, and a plump, pink grub, resembling a silkworm, appeared in his palm. Seeing this, Zhuge Xiang's face lit up with joy. The life-bound grub of Zixiang, which the elder of the Winged People had extracted.

"Is this deposit satisfactory?" The elder of the Winged People retracted his hand, resuming his hunched and aged appearance, but smiled.

"Haha, satisfactory, very satisfactory. Elder, rest assured, I will complete our deal," Zhuge Xiang laughed, found a jade bottle, and put Zixiang's life-bound grub inside, then turned and left the territory of the Winged People.

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