Chương 381: Xiao Hu

"You're nothing here in the Inner peak. Getting rid of you wouldn't take much effort at all." Ren Ji added. Long Feng honestly found it surprising how he was able to keep the same harmless and gentle smile on his face while saying all these. There was not the slightest hint of killing intent at all. Either he really didn't possess any killing intent, or he was able to perfectly mask it and keep a smile on his face. The former was not very likely.

Since he spoke of killing, then even a strand of killing intent would subconsciously be formed in his heart. And if it was the latter, then this Ren Ji was an extremely fearsome individual.

"How did you know about the Dao heart?" Long Feng asked. His first thought was that either Zhou Zheng, Fang Feichen or Situ Hong had spread the word. But he wasn't sure who exactly it was among them.

"You don't need to know. This is your last chance. Will you peacefully hand over the Dao heart? Or would you rather I take it myself?" Ren Ji shook his head and threw back a question. Long Feng reached out and held his sword hilt while staring at Ren Ji coldly. He wasn't going to be hypocritical and act like he wasn't bothered.

"It's impossible to hand it over." He replied coldly. That was the truth. He didn't know if it was even possible to take the Dao heart out of his Dantian, and whether it would result in any backlash on him. Of course, Ren Ji wouldn't believe that. Or at least, he wouldn't care.

"Good. Then I guess I might as well fulfill my end of the bargain." Ren Ji faintly shook his head before taking light steps towards Long Feng, stunning him. He didn't think that Ren Ji would actually make a move here! While there was no one around, this was also not the training grounds. Or did the inner peak have different rules? He didn't have the time to ponder on that. His sword was drawn out of the sheath with a swish as he leapt backwards.

"I already told you, that sword is useless." Ren Ji glanced at the sword and chuckled. He took a casual step and appeared right before Long Feng. He was so close that their noses were practically mere inches apart, and they stared into each other's eyes. Long Feng's eyes were filled with shock at the unbelievable speed Ren Ji just revealed — even the third firmament step didn't come close.

As for Ren Ji, his eyes were extremely calm and placid like the surface of a pool, and the harmless smile was still on his face.

"The Inner peak is nothing like the outer peak." He lightly stated while lifting his arm. Long Feng's pupils shrank as he instantly gave up on attacking and placed the sword between them, intercepting Ren Ji's palm thrust. The palm touched the sword, and the peak Imperial armament instantly shattered to tiny fragments, unable to withstand the palm at all. Long Feng felt a heavy force hit him, and he borrowed the impact to rush backwards and flip around in the air before he landed on his feet.

Even then, he still took several steps backwards before he stabilized himself.

"Strong!" He thought sharply. He couldn't finally sense Ren Ji's cultivation when he made a move, and it left Long Feng feeling breathless. Mid stage deity! He had refined his cultivation once and returned to the mid deity stage, meaning he was an entire level stronger than Lan Wujie! Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Hm. Good movements." Ren Ji praised gently while reaching out to attack again. Long Feng felt a great pressure surrounding him, causing his throat to go dry. He wasn't delusional enough to think he would survive a second attack! Just before Ren Ji made a move though, a loud sound filled the air, abruptly breaking the formless tension. Ren Ji glanced behind Long Feng with a frown, and Long Feng himself glanced back. The sound came from the metal doors to a cave nearby being flung open forcefully.

This was one of the two caves beside Long Feng's own, the one that was occupied. This would be the first time Long Feng would meet his neighbor, and in a not so pleasant situation.

"I thought I heard someone barking. So it's you, Ren Ji!" An energetic voice filled the air as a burly youth strolled out of the cave and covered the few hundred meters distance between his cave and the duo. Glancing at the approaching youth, Ren Ji frowned briefly before concealing it with his harmless smile.

"So it's brother Xiao! What a pleasure it is to meet you!"

"Peh! Who is your brother? You damn hypocrite! It's never a pleasure to meet you!" The youth surnamed Xiao didn't give Ren Ji face at all and replied with a sneer. A few steps were all it took for him to stand before Long Feng, facing Ren Ji.

"What brings you to my cave? Are you here to seek trouble?" He questioned with narrowed eyes. His voice was extremely loud, echoing through Long Feng's ears. Long Feng stared blankly at the towering back before him. He hadn't realized just how huge this fellow was till he stood before him. He cast a huge shadow over Long Feng just by standing there, and Long Feng barely reached the youth's chest.

"It gets more ridiculous…" he couldn't help but sigh. Ren Ji shook his head at the huge youth's words.

"Of course not, brother Xiao Hu. I am here to have a chat with brother Long Feng over there. It's such a coincidence that he happens to be your neighbor!" Xiao Hu raised his brows "Really?" He then glanced back at Long Feng.

"Little fellow, you're that new guy who lives in that other cave?" He asked. Long Feng nodded. The youth's face instantly lit up.

"Hahahaha! Great to meet you little fellow!" He roared, nearly deafening Long Feng's ears with his voice.

"I am Xiao Hu, but you can call me Elder brother Xiao!" He added, staring at Long Feng with a gaze full of expectation. Long Feng sported a strange expression and hesitated, but after glancing at the nearby Ren Ji, all the hesitation vanished and he smiled.

"Yes, Elder brother Xiao. I am Long Feng." Xiao Hu instantly roared with laugher.

"Great! I finally have a junior brother! Little fellow, if anyone bothers you in the sect, come to me. I'll smash whoever it is to pieces!" Long Feng nodded immediately. This Xiao Hu seemed extremely strong, such that Ren Ji didn't dare to step out of place before him. It was clear that he was wary of Xiao Hu. The only thing was that Xiao Hu seemed a bit… not exactly dumb, just slow. He couldn't even read the tension in the air when he arrived, and he apparently believed that Ren Ji was here to chat with Long Feng.

Seeing that the two were getting together, Ren Ji's smile weakened slightly.

"It looks like brother Xiao has finally found a junior brother. This is something to celebrate. I will leave you two to bond with each other properly. Brother Long Feng, we'll continue our conversation later!" Saying that, he turned to go and Xiao Hu didn't bother to stop him, his attention all focused on Long Feng. Of course, was Long Feng going to allow Ren Ji to walk away after attacking him and threatening to kill him? He seemed to be very wary of Xiao Hu, so…

"Elder brother Xiao, Ren Ji broke my sword!" He directly pointed out.

"Huh?" Xiao Hu followed his finger and saw the broken fragments of the sword scattered on the floor.

"He sneaked attacked me during our conversation, wanting to steal my treasure. My sword was the only thing I brought with me from home, and now it's gone…" Long Feng sighed softly, forcing a sad expression on his face. His expression really seemed forced at a glance, but Xiao Hu didn't notice at all. It took a few seconds for him to comprehend what Long Feng said, and then…

"REN JI!!!" He roared, causing Ren Ji to freeze and curse under his breath.

"How dare you break my junior brother's treasured sword? I'll smash you!" Xiao Hu roared and leapt at Ren Ji. Not mentioning his huge frame, his speed was astonishing. Ren Ji wasn't able to go far before a fist as huge as his head came crushing down upon him.

"Damn it! I've lowered my head to respect you and you still attack me you crazy guy? Don't push me!" Ren Ji blocked the fist and skidded for several meters before he paused, and both of his arms were trembling slightly.

"Fuck You! You broke my junior brother's sword! Fuck You!" Xiao Hu roared with red eyes as his muscles bulged like snakes. A tremendous aura surged out of his body, causing the very earth he stood upon to sink. Long Feng's mouth widened as he realized that he had underestimated this Xiao Hu. He was rather slow, but his power was nothing to scoff at. Someone as powerful as Ren Ji barely blocked a single fist from him! Xiao Hu was stronger than Ren Ji!

"Damn it! I didn't expect to run into this lunatic here! And to think he became brothers with that brat! How ridiculous!" Ren Ji dodged another fist that left a deep crater on the mountain and retreated far away.

"Stop you lunatic! I'll repay your junior brother's sword! I have even better swords than his previous one!" He shouted, causing Xiao Hu to pause his attacks.

"Eeeh? You do?" He glanced back at Long Feng.

"Little fellow, he's going to compensate you for your sword. Is that okay?" Long Feng's eyes glimmered as he revealed a sad expression.

"Elder brother, I actually lied. He didn't just break my sword. He also stole my things as well! Look elder brother Xiao," he revealed his aura and continued sadly.

"I'm a mere rank five Imperial, so Ren Ji decided to buy me and take all the precious things I brought along with me!" Normally, his tale wouldn't fool any cultivator with a certain level of intelligence. Unfortunately… his words coupled with his cultivation as proof was enough to utterly convince Xiao Hu. His words caused Ren Ji's expression to change. He couldn't even keep the smile on his face any longer as he glared at Long Feng.

"You son of a…" he was interrupted by a powerful wave of air, followed by a tremendous amount of force rushing towards him as Xiao Hu threw a fist with red eyes.

"Bastard! How dare you bully my junior brother to such an extent?! I'll smash you to pieces!" Ren Ji managed to block the fist, but he was buried into the earth by the tremendous force. When he crawled out, he looked ragged. Seeing that Xiao Hu was about to attack again, Ren Ji shouted, "I'll compensate everything! Just stop you lunatic!" Xiao Hu instantly paused.

"Eeeh? That's good. You should have said it from the start." He glanced at Long Feng.

"Little fellow, what did he take from you?" Long Feng glanced at Ren Ji and found him glaring at him with clear killing intent, and he couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

"He broke my sword first." He uttered with a pained expression. Xiao Hu instantly turned to glare at Ren Ji, causing the latter to bitterly take out a longsword from his void ring and throw it at Long Feng. The longsword gleamed with an extremely piercing aura, and it actually emanated sword intent on it's own even without a sword cultivator wielding it. This was something unique to mortal grade armaments and above. Long Feng grabbed the sword and couldn't help but smile after assessing it.

It was a mid grade mortal armament! Several times more powerful than the peak Imperial armament he held before.

"What else, little fellow?" Xiao Hu asked. Long Feng suppressed a chuckle and met Ren Ji's icy gaze before speaking slowly, "Half a thousand low grade essence stones…"