Chapter 144: Chaotic Situation
Chapter 144: Chaotic Situation
“As expected, this Demon Beast protects the earth vein spiritual energy first. It won’t bother with us for now!”
Seeing the Demon Beast’s scaly claw appear and directly slam towards the fiery vein above, Mu Yuan and several others hidden with stealth techniques secretly thought.
The originally huge beast had shrunk into a tight mass. Its reaching claw shrank rapidly too, from several zhang long, instantly reducing to only one chi. Its power didn’t lessen and became even more concentrated, with whizzing sounds filling the air!
“What useless troublemakers!”
The person on the fiery vein, originally hidden, was pressed out by the tremendous force. Filled with fury, he felt killing intent rise for those cultivators who rushed in carelessly.
However, the priority was to handle the immediate danger.
This Demon Beast, guarding two earth veins day and night, had benefited greatly, its monstrous power formidable. This person had slipped in while the beast was distracted. Although he wasn’t exactly afraid of it, it was still trouble.
A flash of firelight covered his whole body. Within several zhang around him, fierce flames surged, churning into a huge cloud of fire that soared into the sky. It condensed mid-air into a palm the size of a palm-leaf fan, forming a strange seal, and smashed towards the Demon Beast’s descending claw!
Boom! Boom!
Instantly, firelight erupted brightly, illuminating the entire cave as if bathed in scorching sunlight!
Mu Yuan faintly glimpsed the crimson fiery vein. It stretched over ten li, concentrated and refined, unlike Divine Land’s dragon veins spanning tens of thousands of li. Its fiery essence drew inward, resembling a dormant fire snake coiled deep underground!
“Hmph!”
The firelight surrounding the man exploded outward, revealing his true appearance. He was a burly man with a fierce face, fiery red hair, blue eyes, long eyebrows, and a short, plump build. He wore a dark red robe embroidered with a white-thread monster—dragon-like but not quite, snake-like yet not, claws bared as if striking.
The Demon Beast’s claw snapped back violently, followed by a mighty roar. Its entire form squeezed further in, now condensed to about one zhang in size. In the vast, deep cavern, it strangely gained a somewhat delicate presence.
“No such easy luck! Don’t make me face this beast alone! All of you, get out here!”
The last sentence was roared by this fat man. Crimson light and fiery Qi shot out violently from him, swirling like a wind wheel!
Crack! Crack! Pop! Pop! Several crisp sounds rang out. One after another, several people’s stealth spells shattered, revealing their forms.
“Quite ruthless!”
Mu Yuan’s “Mirror Flower, Moon Shadow Art” dissipated under this fierce fire Qi. Seeing the fat man willingly take two strikes from the beast’s tail to force their group out, Mu Yuan inwardly admired his tactics.
“Roar! Roar!”
Seeing so many more people suddenly appear, the Demon Beast grew even more furious. A blast of intense white light surged along the long tail dragging behind it, sweeping horizontally. Where it hit the cave walls, stone shattered into countless sharp shards, flying wildly like arrows!
“Hee hee!”
The fat man chuckled strangely. His firelight receded, and his overall aura diminished sharply in an instant.
Amidst the Demon Beast’s angry roars, it spat flames and whipped its tail covered in sharp shards, indiscriminately attacking everywhere. The fat man, knowing he was now the beast’s focus and unable to hide, deliberately weakened his presence. This made the Demon Beast concentrate most of its aggression on Mu Yuan’s group!
Such a tactic, however, required profound Magical Power like his to pull off. For anyone else, weakening their aura meant less available Zhenqi. A sudden attack could mean death. Yet this fat man could shift it seamlessly, a wonder!
“This shows skill… at least a cultivator who survived trials of wind, thunder, and fire! Tricky!”
As Yuan Kong thought this, Great Sun True Fire erupted from him, liquefying the incoming sharp stone shards into molten fluid that dripped to the ground!
Within moments, the underground cavern became a furious battlefield. Hurricanes howled, flames roared skyward, waves of fire surged, sword Qi crisscrossed, all clashing against the Demon Beast!
“Tie down the beast first; I’ll help myself to some benefits!”
Mu Yuan secretly released the Great Sun Fire Curse once more. Amidst the chaotic flames, he swiftly headed toward the fiery vein.
Unlike Mu Yuan who seemed to have a quasi-double-body ability, others found their auras locked by the beast, helpless. Yet Mu Yuan’s covert action went unnoticed. Only the fat man glanced his way twice, seemingly sensing something.
Mu Yuan snorted internally. “So what if you noticed? What can you even do?”
Twelve figures and one beast erupted into a raging battle in the cavern!
In terms of true strength, if the twelve united, taking down one beast wouldn’t be difficult. But each worried—using full strength to slay the beast might leave them vulnerable to others stealing the spoils or setting traps. The loss could be heavy!
Mu Yuan, tangled in the fight, shared this thought. He focused his Clear Water True Qi on defense. Relying on the speed from Water Restriction Escape Sword, he darted through the vast space. Occasionally, he gathered Ice Soul Divine Light, releasing dozens of faint, chilling white threads that seared the beast’s spit flames!
The fat man transformed into a rolling mass of crimson light, like flowing lava. Occasionally, patches of dark, clinging smoke formed over the crimson mass. Shrouded in this smoke, the fat man moved like lightning. He liquified approaching Geng Metal Qi flying swords and sharp arrows. Meeting flames, he inhaled and absorbed them. He seemed the most at ease in the fight!
“Junior Sister Xing, this beast has immense strength and boundless primordial Qi! Hard to win by force! Perhaps retreat? Find our sect elders and plan then?”
Senior Brother Lu’s long sword moved powerfully. Seven star points floated, radiating oceanic starlight that gathered and scattered—assembling into balls, dispersing into light. This was Kunlun Langfeng Summit’s famous unique art: ‘Seven Stars Ancient Sword Sutra’!
The sword techniques inscribed within were divided into seven distinct categories, correlating to celestial constellations: Azure Dragon’s Seven Stars, White Tiger’s Seven Stars, Vermilion Bird’s Seven Stars, Black Tortoise’s Seven Stars, Big Dipper’s Seven Stars, Sun Star’s Seven Stars, Moon Star’s Seven Stars!
Currently, Senior Brother Lu’s group of five used the fiercest killing technique among the seven: the Big Dipper Seven Stars Sword Art!
Among the seven categories, the Big Dipper technique aimed for instant death. Though the White Tiger Seven Stars Sword Art excelled in martial combat and had greater destructive power, the Big Dipper Sword Art focused on lethal precision—a single strike before withdrawing far away, much like ancient assassins!
However, while Senior Brother Lu and his four companions possessed decent cultivation, their swordsmanship was rather lacking.
Although Langfeng Summit was renowned as the ‘Exquisite Terrace of Light, Hall of Jasper Jade’, not every disciple had innate talent for the sword. Among the five, Senior Brother Lu stood highest, yet barely reached ‘condense light into Qi.’ None among them mastered ‘Sword Qi Division.’
“Kunlun—a great sect. But not everyone there is a genius!”
Watching their clumsy movements, Mu Yuan felt a sense of balance. Flaunting a little, he flicked the Water Restriction Escape Sword. Dozens of Sword Qi burst from its tip, filling the air. Suddenly they split! Every single strand split into two! The cave grew heavy with moisture in an instant!
Most fighters present practiced the Metal or Fire elemental paths. This being a western region, few cultivated Water spells. Though an underground river flowed through the cavern, it was barely a trickle—after all, they were in a desert at a fiery vein’s location! Having any water at all was remarkable.
The Sword Qi shot through the air, aiming straight for the beast’s two glowing eyes glowing—bright like luminous pearls beneath its skull, emitting a faint red light, looking extraordinarily bizarre.
The Demon Beast simply lifted its front claw.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clear metallic clashes rang out!
Mu Yuan’s released Sword Qi bounced back harmlessly, sparking violently where they hit the beast’s claw.
“Fiendish creature!”
Mu Yuan muttered low. The reflected Sword Qi expanded and contracted momentarily, then reformed into luminous threads. They tore through the air with a sharp “Shh! Shh!” sound, like crossbow bolts.
“He condensed Qi into threads!”
Senior Brother Lu and his four companions exclaimed in unison. Doubt and surprise rose within them regarding this inconspicuous cultivator, Mu Yuan.
Yet when their eyes fell upon the Talisman Sword in Mu Yuan’s hand, all five instinctively relaxed a bit.
“Good. Even with such profound Magical Power and great swordsmanship, without a proper Flying Sword magic weapon, you can’t display the wondrous Divine Ability ‘One Sword Generates Ten Thousand Techniques’!”
After mastering Sword Qi Division, one could liberally create magical techniques and demonstrate Divine Abilities with a single Flying Sword. But Sword Qi remained illusory; many potent techniques still required physical conduits. Achieving Qi Condensation into Threads meant truly mastering the art. One could discard other Magical Artifacts; a single sword could let you travel the world!
But precisely because of this, the need for a high-quality Flying Sword became even greater. The Talisman Sword Mu Yuan held could unleash eighteen Sword Qi at most. One Sword Qi splitting into two makes thirty-six—still insufficient for weaving more complex and powerful magical techniques.
This certainly restored some balance to Senior Brother Lu and his companions.
They thought, “Swordsmanship lacking? No problem! My sect is strong; I wield a fine sword! So what if you can condense Qi into threads? Doesn’t guarantee you can best me!”
Young people harbor competitive spirits. Their thoughts provided self-comfort, harboring no bad intentions.
Mu Yuan, of course, knew nothing of others’ mental calculations. His sword threads shot through the air, striking the beast’s scaly armor with rustling noises. Several fish-like scales fell off, revealing the skin beneath.
Enraged, the Demon Beast charged straight at Mu Yuan! Panicking, Mu Yuan instantly regretted his action.
“Why compete with these guys? What does Kunlun being strong matter to you? Showing off just provoked the beast!”
Swirling the Water Restriction Escape Sword around, he hastily cast the “Mirror Flower, Moon Shadow Art” again. His figure twisted away to who-knew-where.
This was merely to temporarily evade the beast’s fury. Within the cave, fierce gales and Zhenqi whirlwinds raged everywhere. He’d soon be forced out again, but a brief respite was still some relief.
The Demon Beast’s massive claws slammed onto the rock. Crushed stone exploded wildly in all directions. Sand and debris started raining down from the ceiling. Within moments, the cave filled with dust and choking fumes. Breathing became difficult and stifling.
“Shut it!”
Another voice emanated from an unknown spot within the cave. A stream of ink-black light flashed mid-air. It coalesced into a palm the size of a fan, trailing a long tail of black vapor—like a comet streaking.
Though formed from Zhenqi, the palm felt remarkably solid and incredibly compressed. In flew, slapping directly onto the Demon Beast’s enormous head.
Smash!
The Demon Beast tumbled violently across the ground, whimpering as if in severe pain.
The hand didn’t stop. Instead, it swelled massively mid-air, aiming to clutch the beast. But then the fat man roared like rolling thunder! An equally crimson, fiery hand formed and shot towards that colossal black grasp!