Chapter Sixty-Seven: Bet On The Duel
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无罪 update:2022-07-21 15:26
“I wonder what Changling is like right now.”
In the dust mountains outside Yin Mountain, Tantai Guanjian looked in the direction of Changling and could not help but speak.
“If no one else is coming, no matter how it is in Changling, it has nothing to do with us,” the black-robed youth Qian Mu responded.
The passage of time in this formation that Ye Xiao had created at the cost of his life seemed to have a twisted feeling. The light dimmed and brightened in and out when disrupted by the energies of the dust mountains, and it was not possible to tell day from night.
There were the corpses of many flying snakes and other beasts around them. The soaring snakes, while not as powerful as Baili Suxue’s Nether dragon, were true dragons. Even though their limbs were cut off by sword energies, they smashed to the ground like a mountain of flesh and gave an unreal feeling.
Not just tiredness, the Donghu monk and Qian Mu were unable to keep fighting.
At this time, Tantai Guanjian was in the best state. Hearing Qian Mu’s words, he grimaced. He did not have the confidence to fight even one realm seven. He usually was not a chatty person, but because he had no confidence, he could not help but say some nonsense.
Ding Ning understood the feeling very well. In the many battles he had experienced before, the generals of some armies did not fear death, but when the situation was not good and they sensed that death was about to come, many of them would think of things they usually did not think, and say some nonsense. Some people would think of their childhood, and would even have some hallucinations in their daze.
“Jiaodong Commandery’s hundreds of years of assets has been put down here by her here so easily.”
In the dust mountains, the clouds and mist were twisted into strange shapes. Some of the blood of the beasts were suspended in the air, and occasionally, large drops would come down, creating splashes.
Zhangsun Qianxue was a person who liked cleanliness, and she was uncomfortable in this environment. She was leaning against Ding Ning, her face unusually pale. She was unable to rest and replenish her energy. After several battles, she had reached the limits of her endurance, just like poor farmland that could not produce any more grain.
“As long as they kill us, the entire world will be hers. But if we do not die, she would suffer a great loss now,” she looked at Ding Ning and said.
She was chattier than usual but still very calm. Living and dying together represented steadfastness, but was something most people in the world could not achieve. But she could do it easily.
The roars of the soaring snakes and other beasts sounded in the sky with twisted light again. Another wave of attacks was about to come.
The Jiaodong Commandery envoy in the distance clearly was acting according to her wishes, and did not care how many of the soaring snakes were left. He carefully separated these soaring snakes and other beasts into many batches, so they could not all be killed together by a powerful sword move, and so they would not have any chance to rest.
This Jiaodong Commandery cultivator was located in a place where several powerful surges of energy originated. Clearly, there was a battle between realm sevens. Clearly, a grandmaster coming to help wanted to kill this Jiaodong Commandery expert who was controlling many soaring snakes, and clearly did not succeed.
“Do you remember Su Ye Temple?” Ding Ning looked at her and asked.
Zhangsun Qianxue stilled and then nodded.
Su Ye Temple was not the name of a temple, but the name of an old academian of Changling imperial city back then. Yuanwu had not been the only imperial son of the Qin dynasty back then. This old academian Su Ye Temple of the Qin imperial palace supported another imperial son.
So when Yuanwu’s wings grew, and he could threaten the other imperial son, this old academian did something very direct, he personally went to assassinate the strongest supporter of Yuanwu, Wang Jingmeng.
The result of that battle was he was killed by Wang Jingmeng and Yan Xinlan.
“I helped Yuanwu by killing someone, now the descendants of Su Ye Temple come to kill us. Isn’t this very ironic?” Ding Ning took a deep breath and said with slight bitterness.
Zhangsun Qianxue’s body stiffened. She understood the meaning in Ding Ning’s words.
“If that is just it, then it is very good,” she relaxed, held his hand and said softly.
At least this time, they could die together.
**
The Donghu monk was resting by sitting with his eyes closed. Tantai Guanjian and Qian Mu heard Ding Ning and Zhangsun Qianxue’s conversation, and their expressions suddenly changed.
There was an explosion in the air which covered the howling of the soaring snakes. Then, an enormous pillar of smoke, burning with flame, fell from the sky at high speed like a falling star.
When this pillar of smoke appeared, the green grasses soaked in blood on the ground quickly withered like their life was drawn away.
Boom!
This pillar of smoke hit the ground, and caused a violent vibration.
But when the shockwave was still visibly expanding through the air, it caused the dust mountains to waver and Tantai Guanjian’s eyes widened to their limits.
At the center of the impact, a fire was burning. This was a terrifying presence caused by the friction between special primal energies of the universe and the air.
But such a flame had no life.
The body of a cultivator, in a strange posture, just like a sword stabbed into a cracked pit. Under the great impact, the spine of this cultivator was snapped into several pieces. His body looked like it was folded together, and he was half as short as usual. Naturally, he was dead.
Ding Ning was stunned. The presence from the cultivator was very familiar, like it was of the branch of the old academian. But he had not expected that when he just sensed the presence, he had become a corpse fallen on the ground.
An unusual indigo shadow appeared in the sky with strong energy vibrations.
The moment Tantai Guanjian saw this indigo shadow, his ewes filled with joy. But in the next moment, his heart turned cold and he said in shock, “How come you are here as well?”
The indigo figure suddenly paused when close to the ground, pausing silently and then softly landing on the ground. He wore the indigo robes of Min Mountain Sword Sect.
When Zhangsun Qianxue saw this person’s face, she understood why Zhangsun Qianxue reacted like this.
Other than Baili Suxue and Tantai Guanjian, there were two other people from Min Mountain Sword Sect that the outside world was so wary of, the Butcher Geng Ren and Qing Yaoyin, who was famed as a breeder of gods and demons.
This person in sight was dressed in tattered indigo robes, it was Qing Yaoyin.
Tantai Guanjian was not in Changling, and he was worried about Min Mountain Sword Sect and Min Mountain Sword Sect’s safety. But now, even Qing Yaoyin was here…… he did not even dare to imagine.
Qing Yaoyin nodded in greeting at Ding Ning, Zhangsun Qianxue and the others. But he did not immediately speak, looking up at the sky he had come down from.
There were several enormous and savage heads coming through the clouds, their dim yellow eyes filled with cruel and bloodthirsty light.
Volume 4 67 - Heartache
Shen Xuan warily headed towards the entrance and then his eyes immediately narrowed into lines.
The incoming air seemed to be spraying with fine dust, yet the air was actually clean and empty. This meant the primal energies of the universe in the deepest part of the Tianliang palace were so unique the invisible energy felt tangible.
There was nothing in front of him, only pure air, yet the light reflected strangely. People could not sense inside with their sight and perception. It was like nothing was there, but there was also a vast and new world.
Yet as he hesitated to move forward, Ding Ning walked ahead and stepped over the stone entrance, stepping onto the first stone stair.
Shen Xuan looked up slightly at Ding Ning’s back and followed silently. Just as he passed by the stone door, light suddenly shone in front of him. The light was dark green like numerous emeralds had been placed in front of him. But the precious stones would not be alive and sway softly.
Li Xixing and Hu Jingjing followed Shen Xuan onto the first step and simultaneously stopped breathing.
What appeared in front of them were countless swaying long green grasses. The stairs in front of them did not descend directly but slowly wound along the surrounding stone walls.
This palace was like a spiral-shaped hole that went down into the mountain. These winding stone stairs had been dug out of the rock wall. Green grass grew on the rocks and below.
These grasses were taller than people, but were exceptionally soft and clear like transparent gems. They did not look like grasses growing in dry land, but grasses growing in clean ocean water. Because of the unique light reflection, the soft grass seemed to grow above and around them, and even below.
They seemed to have arrived at the bottom of a waterless ocean. So even though they walked on the stairs, they did not know if the palace had a top.
Too much mystery can easily inflict terror in people. Especially when those experts who had been killed through their foreheads had once attempted to break into this place. Where were the corpses of the Tianliang experts, who had killed all the infected and managed to survive before coming here to commit suicide?
Were they here?
To their puzzlement, Ding Ning seemed to be confident and calmly walked at the front. He walked along the winding stone stairs, his pace growing faster until he walked faster than he usually did on Changling’s streets. After going down several dozen stairs, he suddenly stopped and looked at the top of the palace.
Shen Xuan immediately looked up and his gaze flickered. He seemed to understand why Ding Ning had looked up now.
Li Xixing and Hu Jingjing, though, did not understand.
Hu Jingjing always felt inexplicably embarrassed facing Li Xixing but she did not with Ding Ning. She knew that the recognized genius Jing Liuli had studied with this wineshop youth. She was not as good as her, and so there was no problem in appearing stupid in front of him.
And so, she naturally asked softly, “What happened?”
“The spirit rain you and Li Xixing made has stopped.” Ding Ning answered.
Hu Jingjing was shocked. She finally realized that while the long grasses were still swaying, the feeling of rippling light from above had disappeared. Only now did she realize the feeling of ripples when looking up came from the spirit rain falling on the roof.
Ding Ning answered her question but he still kept on looking up.
Hu Jingjing had a new question but in the next moment, like a sun falling into the water, a bright golden light appeared among the transparent watery colors above.
The golden color quickly expanded. Following an ear-piercing shriek, an enormous golden figure flew down urgently, brushing past them and stabbing downwards. This was the golden vulture who had easily killed other birds. Its head had been wounded by some other beast. There was a wound a foot long flowing with golden blood.
This powerful beast whose blood rippled with energy was just the beginning.
Zzt …… zzt …… zzt ……
The ceiling above seemed to be a leaking balloon. Successive air currents hissed. An indigo serpent, a white winged snake, and a black shadow so fast it was almost invisible flew down following the golden vulture.
The indigo serpent more than five feet long paused slightly when passing by them. Clear killing intent spread, but it only paused and then ignored them as though it was afraid of being left behind.
“Should we be faster?” Li Xixing took a deep breath and asked Ding Ning, gazing at the swaying long green grasses.
“No need.” Ding Ning shook his head and then re-examined the wildly swaying grasses around them. “Do not touch the grasses, they are extremely poisonous.”
“Why not warn us earlier?” Shen Xuan looked at his side profile and said in a cold voice.
Ding Ning started to move down the stairs and said, “Because they were not poisonous at the start. You must have heard of the touch-me-not plant …… These grasses are similar. When they are stimulated by certain conditions, they will change.”
Shen Xuan did not appear surprised as though his question had just been a pure test. “Why do you have such a strong perception?”
Ding Ning did not hesitate and said crisply, “Because of the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art.”
Shen Xuan said after a moment of silence, “If I take the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art to Zheng Xiu, and tell her these things concerning you, will you still explain with the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art?”
Ding Ning did not look at him and laughed. “That is a matter for the future, and you should have made a choice already.”
After a pause, Ding Ning turned to glance at Shen Xuan who had grown silent. He said in a serious and sincere tone, “In my view, the more I appear mysterious and powerful like this ancestral land, the more incredible, the more confidence you should have in making this choice. Because our relationship is one of cooperation and not master and servant. If everything goes smoothly, I will definitely give you what you want.”
As Shen Xuan listened on, a faint scorn appeared at the corners of his mouth. Then he said, “Do you know what I really want?”
“How about I say and you listen?” Ding Ning laughed.
Shen Xuan unconsciously paused in his steps. He wanted to hear what Ding Ning would say. But then the grasses around them suddenly shattered like calm water being disturbed.
A terrible shriek sounded. The golden vulture who had flown down first was furiously fleeing. It had five or six holes on its body. Half of its golden feathers had fallen off, and it looked worse than the chickens in Changling waiting for slaughter.
After the golden vulture was the fastest black shadow, and the white winged snake.
No one could see what the black shadow was, but when it flew by, it left behind black blood.
The white winged snake’s lower half had disappeared, and some pieces of its organs flowed away with blood. Even if it could fly out, with such serious injuries, it likely could not survive without the spirit rain.
The air shook violently once again and that indigo serpent seemed to roar from within the depths. But then the sound quickly disappeared and the serpent did not come back up.
Volume 5 67 - Awakening
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