Chapter 177: An Unexpected Encounter
Chapter 177: An Unexpected Encounter
Roar!
That was an earth-shattering roar. Though it came from a great distance, Tang Jinbiao’s expression changed slightly upon hearing it. He felt his blood boiling inside him, and even his Qi energy was thrown into disorder.
“Beast King (Nascent Soul)… that must be the roar of a Beast King!”
Feeling the terror within the roar, Tang Jinbiao’s face paled dramatically.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Moreover, Tang Jinbiao could clearly hear a series of enormous explosions accompanied by the Beast King’s furious roars. It was all rapidly approaching his location at astonishing speed.
Whoosh!
Tang Jinbiao hesitated not at all. He immediately rushed out of the cave and leapt onto the top of a giant tree several dozen zhang tall, looking toward the source of the beast’s roar.
“What?”
But when Tang Jinbiao could clearly see what was happening, his pupils contracted violently, shock written across his face.
For off in the distance, about ten li from him, an enormous, obese dragon, roughly fifty zhang tall, was stampeding directly toward him.
The trees in the Hundred Thousand Mountains were naturally tall, mostly around ten zhang, which was already quite tall for ordinary people. Yet, standing atop the giant tree, Tang Jinbiao could see that these already tall trees only reached the knee of the colossal dragon.
The dragon’s body was enormous and obese, entirely fiery red in color. Its massive fleshy wings beat continuously, stirring up violent gales that flattened the trees below, causing them to sway wildly and topple.
“What? The Flame Dragon King!”
The instant he saw the gigantic dragon, Tang Jinbiao immediately recalled the juvenile dragon he had seen back at the auction house. However, this beast before him was no juvenile; it was a true Flame Dragon King, a seventh-level Demon Beast – a genuine Beast King!
Roar! Roar! Roar!
The Flame Dragon King beat its fleshy wings at tremendous speed, moving like a logging machine. Trees flew wildly wherever it passed. Then, its maw opened, unleashing an ear-splitting roar that shredded the trees directly in front of it into splinters.
“Horrifying… terrifying… absolutely terrifying!”
Seeing that the Flame Dragon King was headed straight for him, Tang Jinbiao nearly wet himself. He instantly decided that the only way to survive this was to flee.
“What? Someone!”
Yet, just as he was about to run, his peripheral vision caught sight of something. The Flame Dragon King wasn’t rampaging without cause; it was chasing a Cultivator!
Whoosh!
At that moment, a blinding beam of white light erupted from the forest and shot vertically into the sky.
Roar!
Seeing the white light ascending, the Flame Dragon King immediately raised its head, opened its cavernous maw, and spat a massive blast of Dragon’s Breath straight at the light source. The Dragon’s Breath condensed into a gigantic fireball, easily exceeding ten meters in diameter.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Simultaneously, the Flame Dragon King began beating its colossal fleshy wings, lifting its immense bulk off the ground as it took flight into the sky.
“Gods above!”
The sight of the massive Fireball sent a chill down Tang Jinbiao’s spine. He was absolutely certain that being struck by such an attack would instantly reduce him to ashes.
Before this moment, all of Tang Jinbiao’s attention had been completely captured by the sheer terror of the Flame Dragon King. He hadn’t noticed much else. Seeing that there was actually someone else caught up in this filled him immediately with a blend of astonishment and delight.
Shock came from seeing the Flame Dragon King, but joy arose from finally encountering a living creature.
Boom!
That massive Fireball shot toward the white light in the sky and caught up with it in the blink of an eye, nearly colliding.
“Hah!”
However, at this critical moment, a sharp cry suddenly emerged from the white light, immediately followed by an explosion of powerful aura that formed a thick protective barrier.
Hum, hum, hum!
Simultaneously, a series of light humming sounds rang out, and a Bronze Mirror the size of a millstone flew up, shooting a beam of white light as thick as a water vat toward the giant Fireball.
Boom!
Though the Fireball pulsed with formidable energy, it exploded upon being struck by the white light, turning into a sky full of fire rain that scattered everywhere.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
As the fire rain landed, it instantly set trees ablaze, and in the blink of an eye, the once lush forest had become a sea of flames.
“Not good!”
Tang Jinbiao dodged several fire raindrops, immediately activated his Qi Energy, and sprinted into the distance to escape this dangerous place.
Roar!
The Flame Dragon King airborne spotted the Bronze Mirror and seemed to recognize it as something extraordinary; fear flashed in its eyes, and it immediately flapped its fleshy wings, retreating over ten miles to avoid the fire rain.
Whoosh!
But just then, the Bronze Mirror abruptly shifted direction and attacked toward the Flame Dragon King, unleashing another beam of white light.
Thud!
Suddenly, the Flame Dragon King saw only a blur before its eyes; before it could flap its wings, a huge bloody hole appeared on its head. Without even a cry of pain, it plummeted straight to the ground.
Crash!
No one knew the exact weight of the Flame Dragon King’s massive body, but its impact shook the earth fiercely. The sea of fire across dozens of zhang was instantly extinguished by its bulk, creating a huge deep crater.
“Not good!”
Feeling the intense tremor on the ground, Tang Jinbiao’s expression darkened slightly; he immediately leaped atop a giant tree and gazed into the distance toward where the Flame Dragon King had fallen.
The moment the Flame Dragon King hit the ground felt like a massive earthquake had struck.
“What was that?”
Only now, in his stunned state, did Tang Jinbiao clearly make out the white light in the sky.
Hum, hum, hum!
Emitting a soft hum, the large Bronze Mirror fired two enormous white beams that killed the Flame Dragon King, began to shrink, and returned into the white light.
“It was her!”
As the white light slowly faded, a human figure became visible within it; but when Tang Jinbiao recognized the shape clearly, a mixture of shock and joy showed in his eyes.
It was none other than the woman he had been yearning for day and night—Tang Yilin!
Tang Jinbiao had traveled to the Hundred Thousand Mountains mainly to evade the counterattack from Young Master Ma and others, while also trying his luck to find Tang Yilin. He never expected to meet her after just a few days.
At this moment, Tang Jinbiao felt like happiness came too suddenly!
“Ah!”
The far-off Tang Yilin seemed to have suffered serious injuries. With a sharp cry, she retracted her Bronze Mirror and transformed into a white streak as she plummeted towards the ground.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
The fireballs transformed from the rain of fire ignited the surrounding area for dozens of li. If Tang Yilin fell, she would land right in the sea of flames. While this level of fire posed no harm to a Nascent Soul Cultivator, it was hard to say if she remained unconscious.
“Save her!”
The decision formed instantly in Tang Jinbiao’s mind. Abandoning escape, he turned back and charged towards the inferno.
Five years. It had been a full five years. More than five, even pushing six years since their parting at Panlong City. Just how many five-year spans does one have in a lifetime?
“Finally seeing you!”
Tang Jinbiao sprinted relentlessly, utterly disregarding the flames licking at his surroundings, his eyes locked onto Tang Yilin’s form falling unceasingly through the sky.
“Frost Silver Spear!”
Even as he ran, he summoned the Frost Silver Spear, gripping it tightly. The slightest obstruction in his path was instantly obliterated.
His gaze held only that sight—Tang Yilin’s figure plummeting downward.
Though Tang Jinbiao did not truly love Tang Yilin and held no particularly positive feelings for her, when one reaches the brink of despair, even an enemy’s face can seem exceptionally dear.
“Haha, haha!”
Unconsciously, tears streamed down Tang Jinbiao’s face, yet his speed only increased. He unleashed bursts of force from the spear towards the trees blocking his path ahead.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
Extreme cold erupted from the Frost Silver Spear, shattering the trees and simultaneously extinguishing the nearby flames.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
The white streak falling from the sky was like a brilliant gardenia flower, a picture of pitiful, delicate beauty set against the fiery canvas.
Without intervention, she would fall into the sea of flames, burn, and be destroyed.
As the fall stretched on, Tang Yilin’s descent grew ever faster. At this rate, she would plunge into the fire sea before Tang Jinbiao could reach her.
“This is bad!”
Jubilation turned to alarm. Tang Jinbiao realized the danger, his expression shifting subtly.
The distance to her landing point was roughly ten li. At his usual pace, traversing it would take perhaps the time for brewing a cup of tea.
But Tang Yilin’s speed surged relentlessly; time was impossibly short.
“Graaaah!”
Recognizing this, a hideous snarl twisted Tang Jinbiao’s face. With a thunderous boom, an even wilder aura erupted from his body like a berserk beast. His speed exploded.
“Slow! Slow! Still too damn slow!”
In an instant, he reached his absolute limit—double his normal speed. Ten li might vanish in moments, yet to him, it felt agonizingly slow.
“Faster! Go faster! Have to be faster! Faster!”
Although his speed had already reached its limit, Tang Jinbiao was still dissatisfied and accelerated further.
His speed increased by another threefold!
Poof!
“Ah!”
But just as his speed had just sped up, Tang Jinbiao’s body couldn’t withstand it unexpectedly; the meridians within began to rupture, and his face paled slightly.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The falling Tang Yilin was speeding up even more. If this continued, she wouldn’t die from the fire but from the fall; perhaps Tang Yilin might become the first Nascent Soul Cultivator to fall to her death.
“Ugh ah!”
Enduring the physical agony, Tang Jinbiao pushed aside all concerns and charged headlong towards Tang Yilin’s direction.
Poof, poof!
As Tang Jinbiao advanced, his meridians ruptured again; instantly, beads of sweat densely covered his forehead.
“Frost Silver Spear!”
At that moment, Tang Jinbiao fiercely gripped the Frost Silver Spear with his right hand and bellowed.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
The Frost Silver Spear seemed to sense Tang Jinbiao’s will, trembling immediately; then, an intensely cold chill burst from it and invaded Tang Jinbiao’s body.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
As this chilling energy invaded, the meridians inside Tang Jinbiao’s body suddenly showed signs of freezing. However, this freezing reduced Tang Jinbiao’s pain and numbed him.
“Thank you!”
With the pain lessened, Tang Jinbiao’s speed quickened further.
If other Body Refiners saw Tang Jinbiao’s madness again, they’d surely be stunned speechless; his current speed was not something achievable by a Third-tier Body Refiner but approached Fourth Tier limitlessly.
“Ah!”
Tang Jinbiao ran wildly towards Tang Yilin’s landing point.
“Heh heh, it seems I’ll eventually perish here!”
The airborne Tang Yilin gazed up at the clouds in the sky, slowly closed her eyes, and murmured this.
Three months ago, she learned that Tang Jinbiao was at the Divine Wind Academy and instantly submitted her resignation, rushing back urgently. However, this rush led to an ambush by three Beast Kings midway. Though she killed them all, she suffered grave injuries, forcing a three-month recovery.
Three days ago, feeling able to move again, she set off but was immediately targeted by a Flame Dragon King. She fled nonstop for three whole days. Today, realizing escape was impossible, she fought desperately and killed that Beast King, feeling no joy as she knew she might keep falling to her death.
“Heh heh, Tang Jinbiao!”
Tang Yilin slowly closed her eyes; tears trickled from their corners, and as they flowed, they turned to countless droplets scattering into the air.
“Goodbye!”
At that moment, she sensed a sea of fire beneath her clearly, so she lacked even the courage to look back; she merely shut her eyes.
Thud!
But as she believed herself near death, a pair of icy hands suddenly caught her body…