Chapter 111: Entering the Magic Beast Mountain Range
A huge group of people were walking through the quiet forest. There were numerous pairs of alert eyes that continued to scan the dark hidden spots of the surrounding forest while hands tightly gripped the weapons at various waists, ready to handle any sudden occurrences.
As veteran mercenaries that had survived the Magic Beast Mountain Range for many years, even though many of them were cooperating with each other for the first time, they were still able to maintain a basic understanding with each other. When they briefly exchanged glances, they could recognise the signs of both safety and danger from the other party’s eyes.
The huge black sword’s heaviness and its strange ability to suppress Dou Qi caused Xiao Yan to have difficulty travelling. Each time his feet landed on the ground, it would sink into the soft soil. After travelling for a short distance in this manner, he had begun to pant and sweat.
Xiao Yan wiped the perspiration from his face and turned around to stare at the heavily guarded ‘Thousand Medicine House’ medicinal herb gathering team. After randomly sweeping his gaze over the team, his gaze finally landed on the lady in white at the center who appeared to be like a moon being crowned by the stars.
At that moment, the fragile beauty who was known as the Fairy Doctor had coincidentally straightened her back as she lightly wiped away the beads of perspiration that had gathered on her forehead. Her light gasps for air, together with her pretty face, formed a picture of tender loveliness.
Witnessing the Fairy Doctor presenting such an image, some of the surrounding mercenaries gained a reckless motivation to carry her straight to their destination. However, they knew that even if they wished to carry her, the Fairy Doctor would decline their offer with a smile.
When everyone’s gaze had gathered onto the Fairy Doctor, a slightly handsome young man who was full of smiles, moved away from the group of mercenaries. He lowered his head and said something to the Fairy Doctor.
After a brief conversation, the Fairy Doctor simply smiled and shook her head before continuing the journey on foot.
Despite being rejected by the Fairy Doctor, the young man did not show the slightest bit of anger on his face. Instead, he let out a faint smile, waved his hand as he called out, “Members of the Wolf Head Company, we are now about to enter the Magic Beast Mountain Range. Don’t screw up!”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Upon hearing the young man’s call, dozens of huge men surrounding him immediately responded in unison. The disciplined tone attracted numerous side long glances. Even the Fairy Doctor glanced backwards.
Being extremely satisfied with the response, the young man slightly smiled and hastened his footsteps to catch up with the Fairy Doctor. Walking alongside her, he enthusiastically provided her with close protection.
“Dammit. All he relies on is his father’s position as the head of the Wolf Head Mercenary Company. Does he think that he can win the Fairy Doctor’s heart just because of this?” Eyeing the young man who could get close to the Fairy Doctor and conversing with her, one of the mercenaries beside Xiao Yan immediately quibbled with a voice full of jealousy.
Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze over the young man. His eyes finally landed on a badge on the latter’s chest; on it was a carving of a wolf head with a single eye.
Leaping his gaze over the young man, Xiao Yan noticed another thirty plus mercenaries with the same badge and blinked. It appeared that the group was part of the Wolf Head Company, one of the three big mercenary companies in Qingshan Town.
Seeing the extent of protection that the Wolf Head Mercenary Company offered to the members of the medicinal herb gathering team, it was obvious that they were specially hired by the ‘Thousand Medicinal House’ to offer their protection. Moreover, it appeared that the trust the ‘Thousand Medicinal House’ placed on the Wolf Head Mercenary Company was much greater than that placed on the other mercenaries ahead. Otherwise, the Medicinal House would not have let them be their personal bodyguards.
Xiao Yan slowly withdrew his gaze. He was not interested in the young man and the Fairy Doctor. Thus, he simply shook his head and with his heavy footsteps, once again stepped towards the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
Everything was quiet outside of the Magic Beast Mountain Range. However, not long after the Company entered the Magic Beast Mountain Range, a small scale attack by the Magic Beasts was cruelly played out before Xiao Yan’s eyes.
The attackers were three First Ranked Magic Beasts known as Scarlet Ice Snake. These Magic Beasts frequently appeared at the edge of the Magic Beast Mountain Range and possessed the ice attribute; within them was an ice poison. If one was not treated within half a day of being poisoned, this poison would freeze the blood within the victim’s body and result in death.
The three rank one Magic Beast Scarlet Ice Snake hung on three branches. With lightning like speed, they took the mercenaries by surprise, swiftly and easily poisoning three of their members. Instantly, the three member’s faces turned an icy pale. Their legs and hands became cold as they collapsed.
Realizing that they were being attacked, everyone immediately angrily struck back. A moment later, the three rank one Magic Beasts were unsurprisingly killed by the group of mercenaries. Upon finding no monster cores within their corpses, the mercenaries could only let out a slightly regretful sigh. In the wild, it was common to suffer serious injuries and be unrewarded after killing the Magic Beast. Thus, they did not hold much hope of finding anything.
After the Scarlet Ice Snakes were killed, the three mercenaries who were inflicted with the ice poison were quickly transported to the back where the medical herb gathering team was gathered in order for the Fairy Doctor to personally remove the poison from their bodies.
With the encounter from the Scarlet Ice Snakes’ attack, the Mercenary Group became even more careful. Nevertheless, it was impossible to totally avoid the Magic Beasts in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, which was densely populated by the Magic Beasts.
During the next half a kilometer that the group covered, they were attacked by three waves of Magic Beasts. Luckily, the large number of mercenaries outnumbered the Magic Beasts and they managed to repel the three attacks at the expense of more mercenaries suffering light injuries.
Being part of the scouting Company at the front, Xiao Yan could not avoid participating in one of the battles. However, in a direct confrontation with a First Ranked Magic Beast, he paid the price of a numbed hand.
Seeing the cunning Magic Beast fleeing after Xiao Yan’s futile attack, Xiao Yao clenched his teeth angrily. If it was not for his Dou Qi being suppressed by the huge sword, he would definitely have killed that Magic Beast.
Even though he allowed the Magic Beast to escape, the strength that Xiao Yan displayed had resulted in the surrounding mercenaries looking at him with admiration.
“Little brother, you are quite strong, To actually be able to hold your ground against a Snake Tail Leopard that is known for its strength…”
“Tsk tsk, being so strong at such a young age… I can’t image how strong he’ll be in the future.”
“Ha ha, this guy should be the youngest two star Dou Zhe in this group, right? Looking at his strength, it seems that it’s really true.”
The surrounding mercenaries’ cheers caused a small commotion within the group. When the gaze of the mercenaries fell on the young man with the huge sword, their questioning glint was replaced with something else in their eyes.
In this circle, where one’s strength determined one’s status, as long as one exhibited a strength that surprised others, one would attain their respect. This was a simple and direct rule.
Xiao Yan simply smiled at these cheers. Within his smile, there was neither arrogance nor satisfaction. He simply followed the group and silently continued to advance towards the medicinal herb picking site.
“Everyone. We are already close to the herb picking site. After walking for so long, everyone must be tired. Please take a short rest.” After traveling some distance more, a gentle and crisp female voice suddenly called out from within the quiet group.
The advancing footsteps slowly came to a stop as the entire group ceased advancing at the same time. Turning around, they faced the innocently smiling young lady and obediently nodded their heads.
After a quick discussion, over ten mercenary were scattered towards the surrounding areas to act as lookouts. The remaining people simply sat down and started recovering the strength they had consumed during the journey.
Sitting on the ground, Xiao Yan slowly released his breath. He lifted his finger, prompting a Strength Recovering Pill to appear in his hand. He swept his gaze across his surroundings then raised his head and yawned. His palm covered his mouth as he did so, transferring the pill into his mouth. He then quickly swallowed the pill without leaving any sign of him having done so.
Once the pill was in his body, its effect swiftly spread all over his body. Xiao Yan leaned against a tree and closed his eyes, allowing the medicinal effect to quickly replace the depleted Dou Qi in his body.
With the help of the ‘Strength Recovering Pill’, Xiao Yan managed to quickly returned to his peak form. Surrounding him, the other mercenaries were still waiting for their strength to recover.
After whispering in his heart about how good it was to have the pill, Xiao Yan stood up. He whispered to the surrounding mercenaries about going to relieve himself before slowly heading towards the densely forested area by the side.
Within the densely forested area, the light had significantly dimmed. However, this place had been scouted by the other mercenaries beforehand, so Xiao Yan was not concerned about being suddenly attacked by a Magic Beast. His gaze swept across his surroundings, searching for a suitable training spot.
Following Xiao Yan’s surveyance of his surroundings, he began moving deeper into the densely forested region. After walking for a distance, the dim surroundings suddenly brightened. He lifted his head and discovered that he had exited the small densely forested area. In front of him was a precipitous cliff. The bottom of the cliff was filled with lush greenery, providing a beautiful scenery.
Xiao Yan’s gaze swept across the top of the cliff before suddenly halting. He rubbed his nose as he headed towards the cliff edge where a type of vegetation with blooming white flowers stood.
This particular vegetation had pale white flowers. Among these booming pale white flowers, a crimson fruit was stealthily hidden while emitting a faint medicinal smell.
After scanning the vegetation carefully, Xiao Yan raised his eyebrows in surprise. After which, he lowered his body and extended his hand to the plant, intending to pluck it.
Just as his hand came into contact with the vegetation, a jade white hand suddenly stretched out from the other side of the cliff, targeting the same plant only to grab onto Xiao Yan’s hand instead.
After the jade-like hand came into contact with Xiao Yan’s hand, it idled briefly before being withdrawn in a lightning fast manner. A moment later, a pretty face appeared from the other side of the cliff and appeared before the dumbfounded face of the squatting young man with a flustered one.
Chapter 112: Cave
Staring at the pretty face that had abruptly appeared from the bottom of the cliff, Xiao Yan was shocked. However, he managed to quickly recover and upon a closer look realised that the lady was the Fairy Doctor from the medicinal herb gathering team.
On the cliff, the two gazes continued to stare at each other. presenting a strange scene.
“Can… can you pull me up?”
After staring at each other for a moment, the Fairy Doctor was first to break the awkward atmosphere with her somewhat gentle voice.
Xiao Yan blinked his eyes and nodded as though nothing had happened. He grabbed the small hand that the Fairy Doctor had extended and with a little strength, pulled her from below the cliff. Her fragile body presented a beautiful curve in midair as she lightly leaped onto the cliff’s edge.
“Thank you.”
Once her feet landed on the ground, the Fairy Doctor whispered her thanks as she swiftly released Xiao Yan’s hand. She covertly glanced at the edge of the cliff as her fine fingers touched the black hair on her forehead. Her gaze then swept over Xiao Yan as she said softly, “You…you are one of the mercenaries hired by the ‘Thousand Medicine House’, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” Xiao Yan briefly relished the softness that was in his hands before nodding his head with a smile. After which, he shifted his gaze toward the endless green mountain that laid beyond the cliff. Although this lady was not extremely beautiful, her gentle and soft demeanor was more than sufficient to sway one’s heart. Had this encounter been at a different time, Xiao Yan would have teased her. However, he did not have such an interest during his intense training session.
After hearing Xiao Yan’s answer and seeing that he had no intention of leaving, the Fairy Doctor pressed her eyebrows together and allowed her eyes to roam. Finally, she pointed at the white colored plant by the cliff and asked with a smile, “It seems that you had intended to pick this medicinal grass, do you know what it is?”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and smiled, “This should be White Orchard Fruit. A middle-grade medicinal herb which usually only grows by the edge of a cliff. There are quite a lot of them. Unfortunately, they are the favorite food of a bird type Mystical Beast so they would usually be eaten once they grow and can be considered as one of the rarer ingredients among the middle-grade medicinal plants. If this matured White Orchard Fruit were to be sold at a medicinal shop, it should be worth around four thousand gold coins.”
Seeing how the young man was able to reveal so much about the White Orchid Flower before him, a glint appeared in the Fairy Doctor’s eyes. In a surprised voice, she said, “Have you learned how to differentiate the different medicinal plants?”
“I have touched the surface.” Xiao Yan said vaguely as he shrugged his shoulders.
After being with Yao Lao for such a long time, Xiao Yan had not only learned how to refine medicine but to differentiate the different types of medicinal ingredients too. With Yao Lao’s experience, he had seen all kinds of rare medicinal plants and as his disciple, Yao Lao had naturally imparted all this knowledge to him.
“It can be said that the White Orchard Fruit is fair game for anyone who found it but since you were the first to find it, I shall not snatch it from you.” After giving Xiao Yan a smile, the Fairy Doctor crouched down and carefully picked the crimson fruit from the bunch of flowers before handing it over to Xiao Yan.
Seeing the Fairy Doctor’s action, Xiao Yan touched his head and nodded indifferently. The White Orchard Fruit may be something rare and precious to others but it was something that Xiao Yan could do without. However, since the Fairy Doctor did not want it, it did not hurt to keep it.
“Alright. The group is probably well rested by now. Let us hurry back.” After seeing Xiao Yan accept the White Orchard Fruit, the Fairy Doctor hurriedly said with a suspicious happiness.
Holding the cold White Orchid Flower in his hand, Xiao Yan observed the impatience of the Fairy Doctor and frowned. His eyes narrowed as he felt that the Fairy Doctor now… appeared a little out of the ordinary.
“Why is she rushing to leave?”
A suspicion flashed across his heart as Xiao Yan placed the White Orchard Fruit into his breast pocket. Acting as though nothing was amiss, Xiao Yan randomly asked, “Why did you go beyond the cliff?”
Once Xiao Yan’s question left his mouth, the Fairy Doctor suddenly froze. A panicked expression appeared on her face for a fraction of second before being quickly hidden.
“Nothing, some medicinal plants grow on the cliff wall so I was just going down to take a look.”
“Oh…” Xiao Yan nodded his head. With this reason the Fairy Doctor had removed some of the suspicion in him. After all, there were indeed some medicinal plants that grew along the cliff wall.
“No, there seems to be something below the cliff…”
Just as Xiao Yan was about to turn around, Yao Lao’s voice suddenly appeared in his heart.
With narrowed eyes, Xiao Yan involuntarily stepped forward. The precipitous cliff wall entered his sight.
On the cliff wall, there was only broken rocks, strange branches that were randomly growing and some bone like object.
Xiao Yan’s eyes slowly swept across the cliff wall. A moment later, he paused at a spot that was covered by the distorted branches that grew from it.
The strange wooden branches that were on the cliff wall were arranged in a clever manner but with Yao Lao’s reminder, Xiao Yan realized that something was amiss.
With the help of the sunlight, Xiao Yan’s narrowed eyes could barely make out a pitch black empty hole under the cover of the branches…
“There is indeed something amiss…” Watching that particular spot on the cliff wall, Xiao Yan whispered in his heart. Suddenly, Xiao Yan’s face changed. His feet staggered as his body retreated. He yelled, “What are you doing?”
As Xiao Yan stepped backwards, white powder was suddenly scattered all over and quickly covered the retreating Xiao Yan,
The white powder surrounded Xiao Yan for a long while before it was slowly scattered by the wind, revealing an unconscious Xiao Yan on the ground.
Eyeing the unconscious Xiao Yan, the Fairy Doctor dusted the powder from her hands. She bit her lips and sighed, “I told you to leave but you didn’t listen to me. Now you know.”
Shaking her head, the Fairy Doctor slowly walked towards the fainted Xiao Yan and lowered her body. She took out a rope, grabbed Xiao Yan’s hand and prepared to restrain it.
Just as the Fairy Doctor was about to withstrain Xiao Yan, something unexpected occurred.
Xiao Yan, who was supposed to be unconscious, suddenly opened his eyes and rotated his palms. Catching the Fairy Doctor off guard, Xiao Yan reached out and grabbed her.
“I didn’t expect that you would actually be using such things. If it was not for my preparation, I would really have been drugged by you.”
The sudden change shocked her but it did not slow the Fairy Doctor’s reaction. After her hand was captured by Xiao Yan, she threw a violent kick at him.
Seeing that the Fairy Doctor relentless, Xiao Yan let out a cold laugh. Mirroring her, he kicked out his right leg and heavily knocked the Fairy Doctor’s small feet aside. Immediately, pain filled her gentle pretty face
Despite succeeding in one strike, Xiao Yan did not stop. Like a ribbon, his left leg held down both of the Fairy Doctor’s legs. Following that, both of them fell onto the ground, with Xiao Yan pressing down tightly on the Fairy Doctor.
The softness from beneath him caused Xiao Yan’s head to tremble. Secretly, he let out a pleased cry. Lowering his head, he stared at the red faced Fairy Doctor and raised his lips as he shook his lower body like a hooligan. Immediately, the two bodies became closer to each other.
“Let me go!” The male scent above her caused the Fairy Doctor to feel a little giddy as she clenched her teeth and seethed.
“Why did you attack me?”
Her moist red lips trembled as the Fairy Doctor coldly smiled, “Because I dislike you.”
“Do you believe that I would take you here and now?” Lowering his head such that they could almost feel each other’s breathing, Xiao Yan coldly smiled.
“If you have the confidence to handle the hundred plus mercenaries outside, you can try!” the Fairy Doctor said.
“The breasts aren’t full enough, the butt doesn’t stick out, I am not really interested.” Xiao Yan teasingly smiled before his face slowly turned colder. “What is below the cliff?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” The Fairy Doctor’s face changed slightly as she pressed her eyebrows together and said, “Quickly let me go or else I will scream. If the others see you doing this to me, you can forget about walking out of this Magic Beast Mountain Range alive.”
“Why don’t you shout? If you want to let more people know about the secret below, you can shout till your voice becomes hoarse.” Xiao Yan’s emotionless voice quickly caused the Fairy Doctor to give up on her intention to shout.
“What do you plan to do?” The Fairy Doctor took in a deep breath and seethed.
“What is there below? If you don’t answer me truthfully, I don’t mind tying you up and hiding you here before going down to take a look for myself.”
“You…” Hearing Xiao Yan’s threat, the Fairy Doctor’s face appeared to panic. Although she was slightly older than Xiao Yan, her mental strength and shrewdness was nowhere near Xiao Yan’s.
“I heard that there is an Magic Beast known as a Co-Ape in the Magic Beast Mountain Range. This kind of Magic Beast has an interest in human woman…” With the corner of his mouth rising teasingly, Xiao Yan lowered his head and with his lips touching the Fairy Doctor’s ears, he whispered into it.
“You bastard!” The Fairy Doctor’s face turned white as she obviously suffered a great shock. She had also heard of this horrible Magic Beast’s name.
“Let me up. I will tell you what is at the below.” Under Xiao Yan’s threat, this Fairy Doctor who could not hold out any longer, helplessly gave up.
With a smile, Xiao Yan pushed himself up before helping the Fairy Doctor do the same. As a precaution, he forcefully held on to her wrist and ignored her embarrassed and angry expression.
Both of them headed to the edge of the cliff and stared simultaneously at the strange spot on the cliff wall. A while later, the Fairy Doctor’s red lips slightly opened and somewhat unwillingly said, “That is a something that I have accidentally found when I was gathering medicinal herbs. Hidden behind the strange branches is a cave that is hard to notice.”
“The cave should contain some things that some ancestor left behind. However, I have never entered it, so I am uncertain about its interior. However, from some of the clues that were left behind, the ancestor who left this should be very strong.”
Chapter 113: Treasure Hunt
“A cave?”
Lifting his eyebrow, Xiao Yan watched the Fairy Doctor with great interest as he said, “You were trying to enter it a moment ago, weren’t you?”
“Yes but the cliff is too steep. I cannot get in.”
The Fairy Doctor threw a glance at the eager Xiao Yan and said blandly, “I can share this secret with you but you better not have any ideas about trying to pocket it all. Otherwise, I will not allow you to smoothly obtain the things. Believe me, my strength may not be comparable with you but as a two star Dou Zhe, you cannot be considered to be strong within the entire Qingshan Town.”
Seeing the seriousness on the Fairy Doctor’s face, Xiao Yan smiled, touched his nose and teased, “Originally, I had intended to knock you out and go down myself. But seeing your confidence… to be on the safe side, I better dismiss this notion.”
Hearing this, the Fairy Doctor snorted and threw Xiao Yan a cutting gaze. She did not expect that this person actually possessed such an idea.
“Do you want me to try now?”
Taking a step forward, Xiao Yan stared at the dangerous position of the strange branches before tilting his head and asked.
“Forget it. We have already been away from quite a while. If we do not return, Mu Li will become suspicious. The medicinal herb picking team will be staying at the Magic Beast Mountain Range for a night so why don’t we come tonight?” Shaking her head, the Fairy Doctor voiced her thoughts.
“Mu Li. He’s Wolf Head Mercenary Company’s young master, right?”
“Yes.” The Fairy Doctor nodded her head slightly, obviously unwilling to talk more about this person. After staring at Xiao Yan, she softly asked, “Your name?”
“Xiao Yan.”
Without saying a word, the Fairy Doctor nodded, turned around and walked towards the dense forested area.
Watching the graceful figure slowly disappear into the shadows, Xiao Yan simply shrugged. He turned around and once again threw his gaze at the barely visible cave entrance and excitedly waved his hands. When he was conversing with the mercenaries back at Wu Tan City, he had been very interested in this kind of adventure and treasure hunting. Was it not for his agreement with the Fairy Doctor, he would have immediately left the group and searched for the treasure alone.
After a quiet laugh, Xiao Yan also turned around and headed towards the dense forested area. He did not expect that his random stroll would actually grant him such a big reward.
By the time the pair had returned to the troop, they found that the resting mercenaries were already gathered and waiting.
“Fairy Doctor, if you were missing any longer, we would have sent people to look for you.”
Seeing the Fairy Doctor walking out from the dense forested area, a figure hurried over. However, his footsteps paused when he noticed Xiao Yan appearing behind her. He asked with a smile, “Who is this young boy?”
“He’s one of the mercenary guards. I coincidentally met him.”
The Fairy Doctor replied nonchalantly before softly continuing, “Young Master Mu Li, let’s get going. There’s still some distance to cover before we arrive at our destination.”
“Ke ke. Alright.”
The young man who was addressed as Young Master Mu Li nodded with a smile. He shifted his body and allowed the Fairy Doctor to pass. However, when Xiao Yan was walking past, he reached out his hand and halted him.
Pressing his eyebrows together, Xiao Yan tilted his head to eye the handsome looking young company master and asked with a smile, “Is something the matter, Young Master Mu Li.”
“Hehe, I’ve no ill intention. You should be that young two star Dou Zhe, right? I’ve heard from my subordinates that your talent is great.” With a smile, Mu Li slowly asked.
“I am merely lucky.” Glancing at the seemingly warm smile on Mu Li’s face, Xiao Yan replied indifferently.
“Do you have an interest in joining the Wolf Head Mercenary Company? Our Mercenary Company will give an outstanding talent like you preferential treatment. After all, one’s life is always in danger in this Magic Beast Mountain Range. It would be good if someone were to take care of you.” Mu Li laughed, his ten fingers crossing over each other.
Listening to Mu Li’s obvious attempt to recruit him, Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and shook his head. He replied, “Haha, sorry. I’m a wild and lazy person. If I were to join your company, I might end up giving you quite a lot of trouble and disappoint you.”
“Ke ke, it doesn’t matter. Little brother, if you were to change your mind in the future, you can come find me anytime. The honored positions of the Wolf Head Mercenary Company will always be open to those who are strong.” Hearing Xiao Yan’s rejection, Mu Li smiled and waved his hand in a manner that showed his lack of concern.
With an apologetic face, Xiao Yan sidestepped Mu Li and hurried back into the skirmishers unit at the front.
Watching Xiao Yan hurriedly join the group, Mu Li’s eyes narrowed. In the depth of his eyes, a faint coldness could be seen. Evidently, Xiao Yan’s rejection had aroused some anger within him.
“Little boy. I hope that you will not disrupt my plans. Otherwise, I don’t care about your future achievements and will have you stay in this Magic Beast Mountain Range forever!” Mu Li clenched his fist. Not only did his voice not contain the warmth earlier, it was actually filled with an evil chill.
After the mercenaries had a brief rest, they once again continued the journey. The route they took this time around was much quieter than the one earlier. Along the way, they were met with Magic Beast attacks twice but neither caused too much of a disturbance.
The group finally arrived at their destination just as the sky was gradually becoming darker. It was a sunken basin that was covered with numerous medicinal plants.
There were many different types of medicinal plants growing within the sunken basin. The medicinal aroma floated in the air, which upon being inhaled, would immediately give one a refreshed feeling.
“Everyone, let’s set up camp here. Please be careful not to damage any of the surrounding medicinal herbs.” The Fairy Doctor turned around and gently smiled to everyone as she wiped the perspiration from her forehead. The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Nôv3l–Biin.
Hearing the Fairy Doctor words, the surrounding mercenaries immediately gave a loud response and began enthusiastically setting up their tents.
Watching how just a sentence from the Fairy Doctor had motivated the mercenaries to work hard, Xiao Yan secretly whistled in his heart. It seemed that the position this lady held in their hearts was much higher than what he had expected.
Shaking his head, Xiao Yan gave another glance at the Fairy Doctor who had began instructing the medicinal herb gathering team on the unearthing of the medicinal plants before freely roaming around.
For some unknown reason, the sunken basin had a much richer and purer energy than compared to the outside. This had provided the necessary condition for many different medicinal plants to grow.
The basin was extremely wide and its internal terrain was something that even the ‘Thousand Medicine House’ had yet to fully explore. The current position that Xiao Yan and the others were occupying was only the exterior lane of the huge basin.
Xiao Yan explored the edges but he did not find any medicinal ingredient that he required. He disappointedly shook his head and glanced into the pitch-black interior. After a brief silence, he finally chose to obediently return. With his current strength, there was danger in every part of the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
When he had returned to the campsite, numerous white tents were already set up and the mercenaries were busying themselves with dinner.
The first thing he noticed when he entered the camp was the Fairy Doctor standing gracefully at the middle. By her side was Mu Li, who was following her closely.
During the time that Xiao Yan watched the pair, the Fairy Doctor and Mu Li diverted their gaze to him, seemingly having sensed his eyes. The three gazes clashed but the emotions within them were entirely different.
With a smile on his face, Xiao Yan nodded to the two before turning around and heading to the interior of one of the tents.
Watching Xiao Yan’s back disappearing, Mu Li faced the Fairy Doctor and with a grin said, “Brother Xiao Yan seems to have great training potential and is likely to have significant achievements in the future.”
“Maybe.” The Fairy Doctor smiled faintly, neither denying nor agreeing.
“I will go and check on the medicinal ingredients. As for the order in the camp, I will need to trouble you Young Master Mu Li.” The Fairy Doctor smiled to Mu Li and upon seeing the latter nod his head, she headed to a large tent in the middle of the camp.
Mu Li stared at the the Fairy Doctor’s elegant back until she disappeared from his sight. Finally, he unwillingly turned his gaze away, clenched his fist and lifted the corner of his mouth to form a strange smile.
The sun slowly descended behind the mountain and darkness encompassed the forest. The shadows of the leaves and branches intermingled and formed images of shadowy fierce beasts.
Following the darkening sky, the camp had also become quieter. Other than the mercenaries keeping watch, only the soft crackling of the firewood under the flame could be heard.
Under the quiet darkness, a tent suddenly moved slightly. A dark graceful shadow secretly exited and quietly escaped into the dark forest through a gap between the guards.
Not long after the black figure had left, another shadow exited from another tent and closely followed the former.
…..
The occasional wolf howl escaped from the dense forest, causing the mercenaries to shudder.
The two shadows a distance apart continued to walk briskly, steadily increasing their distance from the camp.
In the darkness, Xiao Yan lifted his head and with the help from the faint moonlight, stared at the graceful figure ahead of him. He chased after it, a faint smile on his face.
“The treasure hunt is about to begin…”
The lingering uneasiness in the darkness was dissipated by the excitement of the young man
Chapter 114: Danger at the Cave Entrance
On the precipitous cliff, two shadows appeared under the bright glow of the moon.
“Shall we start?”
Xiao Yan took a step forward to gaze at the pitch-black space beyond cliff before turning to smile and ask the Fairy Doctor who was clothed tightly in black.
Slightly nodding her head, the Fairy Doctor squatted down to pick up a few pieces of dry sticks before swiftly binding them together, forming two torches. She sprinkled some light yellow powder over them and then found a fire source to light the torches.
“Take this.” Handing over the torch to Xiao Yan, the Fairy Doctor once again fished out a long rope and waved it at Xiao Yan, smiling while saying, “As a man, you won’t let a weak girl like me be the vanguard right?”
Xiao Yan held up the torch and pulled at the rope with all his strength, after making sure that there were no problems with it. He then cast a glance towards the smiling Fairy Doctor, shook his head, and coolly replied, “Let us go down together, I can’t be at ease if I trust my back to someone I have not known for long.”
“You…… do you really have no manliness?”
Being doubted by Xiao Yan made the Fairy Doctor feel indignant. Usually, the mercenaries she met were rather outspoken and straightforward, she rarely saw someone like Xiao Yan who was cautious even towards a weak girl like her who was only a Dou Zhe.
“I only have one life and I can’t afford to gamble with it, acting like a hero in front of a beauty would put myself into danger…… *chuckles*, might as well forget it.” Xiao Yan ignored the Fairy Doctor, his tone remained as calm as water.
“You……”
“Still planning on going down? If there are any more delays, it would be morning.” Xiao Yan slanted back his head as he smiled while asking.
“Go!” Gazing at Xiao Yan’s repulsive smile, the Fairy Doctor could only grit her teeth and stamp her little feet hatefully.
With a faint smile, Xiao Yan tied the rope to a large and sturdy tree. Once more testing it with all his might before spreading his arms to gesture for the Fairy Doctor to enter his embrace, “Come here.”
“I have my own rope, I don’t need your help!” When she saw Xiao Yan’s action, the Fairy Doctor abruptly stumbled back a few steps, her charming face flushing with shades of bashfulness and anger as she exclaimed.
“Alright then. You can go solo but I’d like to remind you that no one can guarantee that there will be no poisonous snakes, scorpions or mice…… under the cliff tonight.” Xiao Yan nonchalantly smiled and said as he shrugged his shoulders.
“You bastard. You will definitely die a horrible death!”
A black shadow ferociously threw itself at Xiao Yan and the latter, extending out his palm, grabbed it with his hand. Taking a look, he discovered that it was the bundle of rope that was originally in the Fairy Doctor’s hands.
“If you dare to try any funny business, I will definitely poison you to death!”
In the wake of the Fairy Doctor’s threat, a fragrant breeze blew towards Xiao Yan. Shortly, a soft and tender body crashed into his embrace.
The soft and tender body that crashed into his embrace felt like it also crashed into the bottom of his heart, causing his heart to tremble uncontrollably.
Sighing deeply, Xiao Yan pushed down the stirring fire in his heart. Xiao Yan reached out with his arm to wrap around the slim waist he had once praised as the highest quality. With both arms tightly drawing the soft and slender waist towards himself, Xiao Yan momentarily lost his wits.
“Are you still not leaving?”
Just as Xiao Yan was enjoying that lovely softness and flexibility, the Fairy Doctor’s indignant voice suddenly flared up in his ear.
“Sorry.”
Xiao Yan laughed, however, his words contained no trace of apology. Once again tightly drawing the beauty towards himself, the tip of his foot lightly tapped off the edge of the cliff. The duo directly plunged into the pitch-black darkness that was under the cliff.
The violent gusts of wind assaulted their ears, stretching their clothes against their respective skins. Xiao Yan’s left hand held onto the Fairy Doctor while the rope bound around his right hand abruptly pulled taut causing their rapidly dropping bodies to slowly become suspended in mid air.
After a long, long sigh, Xiao Yan turned his head to look down at the Fairy Doctor who was hugging him tightly which caused him to let out a mocking smile. His gaze turned over the pitch-black surroundings, softly asking, “Can you tell where the position of the cave is?”
As she heard Xiao Yan asking about serious matters, the Fairy Doctor finally eased the tenseness that had come about from the ‘bungee jumping’. Her gaze swept all around as she muttered to herself before pointing towards one part of the darkness and softly saying, “It should be there……”
Xiao Yan gazed towards the direction the Fairy Doctor was pointing at, lightly nodding his head and reminded her in a low voice, “Hold tight.”
At these words, the Fairy Doctor somewhat hesitated, however when Xiao Yan stepped off the cliff wall with the tip of his foot and their figures once again fiercely flung away, she hurriedly grabbed onto Xiao Yan’s waist in alarm, burying her face into the his embrace
The tips of Xiao Yan’s foot continued to move along the cliff wall and with the help of the pulling force from the rope, the distance between the duo and the cave lessened.
“Throw the torch over.” Once again shortening the distance, Xiao Yan said in a low voice as he tilted his chin towards the dark spot in the distance.
“Oh.” The charming face slightly nodded in understanding as the Fairy Doctor aimed at the dark spot and flung the torch in her hand towards it.
The torch was flung against the walls of the cliff as sparks splashed in all directions. Borrowing these meager lights, Xiao Yan managed to vaguely spot the hidden cave in the distance.
“Huu….” Seeing that they had almost arrived at their destination, Xiao Yan heaved a sigh of relief. Then the hairs all over his body suddenly stood up as a warning flashed across his mind. The tip of his foot pushed heavily off the cliff walls as Xiao Yan’s figure shot outwards.
“Chi……” The faint sound of breaking through the air sounded across the night sky. Xiao Yan borrowed the light of the fire which had yet to go out to identify the thing which had made a sneak attack.
“Cliff Snake.” Xiao Yan’s complexion darkened as he shouted out this name and his facial expression suddenly turned somewhat ugly.
Cliff Snakes, as their name implied, were snake type Magic Beasts which lived within rocky cliffs and was around rank one in terms of strength. This kind of Magic Beast utilizes its long, wing-like body to soar in the sky like a falcon; furthermore since this Magic Beast has a rock attribute, it’s body is hard as rock and thus normal weapons would hardly be able to do any damage to it.
On an ordinary day, even if Xiao Yan met a Cliff Snake alone, he would be in a tangle with victory uncertain. Yet now, because he was in mid air while holding on to the Fairy Doctor, he could not possibly try to fight it. Thus laid the reason why Xiao Yan’s complexion was ugly.
“Cliff Snake? What do we do now?” Having heard Xiao Yan’s cry of alarm, the Fairy Doctor’s delicate body trembled as she hastily asked, she had also heard of information about this Magic Beast.
Xiao Yan squinted at the yellow Cliff Snake which spiralled in the air while glaring coldly at them with its triangular eyes. He muttered to himself for a moment before an idea suddenly came and he asked in a low voice, “Do you still have the powder that can cause people to lose consciousness?”
At this words, the Fairy Doctor’s jet-black eyes spun, short after she nodded before fishing a bag of powder from her bosom and handing it over to Xiao Yan, and said, “This is all that’s left, use it sparingly…… “
Xiao Yan took the bag and poured everything into his hand before gripping tightly. He stared at the Cliff Snake which was about to start attacking.
“Chi……”
With another hiss, the Cliff Snake’s narrow wings flapped. With an ominous glint in its eyes, it dived toward Xiao Yan. In its huge mouth, sharp fangs shined with a cold light.
Coldly gazing at the Cliff Snake which drew ever closer, Xiao Yan’s gripped his fist tighter and tighter.
“Quickly attack it, idiot!” In his embrace, seeing that Xiao Yan had yet to make a move, the Fairy Doctor hurriedly urged him.
Ignoring her urgings, Xiao Yan maintained his silence, yet the Dou Qi within his body had already started to flow through his arteries and veins.
Eyes on the Cliff Snake which was already almost within ten meters of them, the Fairy Doctor clawed at Xiao Yan’s back in anger, “Bastard, I’ll be killed because of you!”
Just as the Cliff Snake was about ten meters from the duo, Xiao Yan finally made his move. His tightly closed fist suddenly opened and within his palm a violent Qi burst out, carrying the white powder. Like a white arrow, it smashed towards the Cliff Snake.
The white powder crashed against the Cliff Snake, suddenly exploding into a cloud of powder, engulfing the Cliff Snake within.
“Thud!”
A yellow figure struggled in the white powder for a moment before rigidly falling from the sky, heavily smashing into the deep valley.
Gazing at the Cliff Snake as it disappeared into the darkness, Xiao Yan finally sighed in relief. At this height, even if it’s body were as hard as rock, it would also turn to mincemeat right?
Xiao Yan lifted his head to take a look at the white powder floating in mid air. Once again waving his palm, a violent Qi suddenly pushed forward, immediately sweeping through the air.
“I can’t believe that you have other skills besides knowing how to bully women.” Although Xiao Yan somewhat cheated in that fight, his calmness even in the middle of that dangerous situation could be clearly seen. Even the Fairy Doctor started to feel a new level of respect for him.
Unenthusiastically smiling, Xiao Yan finally carried the Fairy Doctor in his arms while slowly descending to a spot just outside of the cave. As he gazed upon the cave entrance, he found it densely covered with rubble and the odd bits of wood. His brows wrinkled together and soon after he shook his head helplessly, it looked like there was another round of bitter work in store for him.
Xiao Yan slowly opened his palm, taking in a deep breath, he shouted out in his mind: “Fire Palm!”
As the shout resounded in his mind, a huge pushing force gushed forth from the center of his palm. Like a gale sweeping through fallen leaves, it blew the piles of broken rock and timber into the pitch-black space between the mountains.
Having completed the task, beads of cold sweat appeared on Xiao Yan’s forehead while his breathing also became somewhat hurried. Under the suppression of the pitch-black broadsword on his back, the amount of Dou Qi he could use was not even 60-70% of the Qi Vortex.
After panting slightly for a while, Xiao Yan cast his sight towards the now cleared cave entrance.
Now that the wood and rock wreckage was gone, borrowing the faint moonlight, Xiao Yan and the Fairy Doctor were finally able to catch sight of the cave which had been left behind by some predecessor.
The cave entrance was not very wide, at most it could only fit about two or three people at once. The cave was dark but one could notice a faint light from within, giving it a look of mysteriousness.
Around the entrance of the cave, there were many blade marks but perhaps because of the long passage of time, these blade marks were extremely faint. If it were not for Xiao Yan’s keen eyesight, perhaps he would never be able to find them.
“We’re finally here……”
Laughing with excitement, Xiao Yan hugged the Fairy Doctor. With one last push off the cliff wall, the two figures flew across the air before finally landing steadily at the entrance of the cave.
After landing, the Fairy Doctor quickly separated herself from Xiao Yan’s embrace before sizing up the cave entrance with a look of happiness on her charming face.
“Let’s move and find out what kind of things we might obtain, I hope that they will not disappoint me.” The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Nôv3l–Biin.
Xiao Yan lightly smiled at the Fairy Doctor and fishing out a torch, he led the way into the pitch-black cave.
Gazing at the pitch-black interior of the cave, the Fairy Doctor was somewhat hesitant. A moment later she stamped her feet and gritted her teeth before catching up.
Chapter 115: Ice Spirit Blazing Grass
The coldness and darkness of the surroundings engulfed the two as they walked within the quiet mountain cave. Amidst the silence, only the soft footsteps of two people could be heard.
The surrounding atmosphere caused the Fairy Doctor to instinctively hug herself. She raised her head and watched Xiao Yan walking slowly ahead of her. A brief hesitation later, she increased her pace and closely followed behind him. In this environment, only the young man in front of her gave her some sense of security.
After walking for over ten minutes in the quiet atmosphere, the Fairy Doctor started feeling that the insanely quiet atmosphere was unbearable. At that moment, however, the young man in front of her abruptly stopped.
“Ah…” The Fairy Doctor failed to react in time and knocked softly into Xiao Yan’s back.
The intimate encounter caused the Fairy Doctor to take a step back with an extremely red face as she embarrassingly said, “What are you doing?”
The earlier soft contact had also caused Xiao Yan to take in a deep and heavy breath. He coughed drily as he pointed towards a rock door where a faint yellow light was emitted and helplessly said, “It’s a dead end.”
Hearing this, the Fairy Doctor pressed her eyebrows together and took two steps forward. Facing the door, she said in a deep voice, “Behind the rock door ought to be our destination. If the ancient elder had built a cave here, I don’t think that he would have created one that leads to nowhere.”
Xiao Yan stepped forward and touched the rock door. After estimating its thickness, he slowly shook his head. “The rock door is very thick and requires the strength of a Dou Shi to forcefully break it.”
“All that you know is how to use force. Look at the yellow light that is emitted from the rock door; this is obviously a ground element trap technique. If you pay more attention to the details, it isn’t difficult to open it.” After giving Xiao Yan a disparaging look, the Fairy Doctor placed her thin hand on the rock door which began to slowly move.
“You know about trap techniques? If I recall correctly, that is something a wood or ground element Dou Zhe is good at.” Seeing the serious face on the Fairy Doctor, Xiao Yan could not help but curiously ask.
“It’s just that I have read some books on trap techniques. I cannot be considered competent but it should not be a problem if I use it to probe around.” The Fairy Doctor carelessly answered as her hand’s action remained as graceful as ever.
Xiao Yan nodded his head but did not disturb her surveyance. His gaze moved away from the rock door and using a faint light, sized up the surrounding rock walls.
On the rock wall were some faint carvings. They had grown blurry but Xiao Yan could make out a couple of human shapes which were likely left behind by the cave owner.
“Found it!!” Just as Xiao Yan was studying the rock wall, the Fairy Doctor’s happy voice prompted him to shift his gaze.
Beside the rock wall, the Fairy Doctor was already squated down; her thin hand was touching a small protruding spot on the rock wall. When she pressed on it, a creaking sound slowly echoed through the cave.
Watching the rising rock door, Xiao Yan heaved a sigh of relief and gave the Fairy Doctor a thumbs up.
Following the rising rock door, a faint light emitted from behind it, chasing away the darkness around them.
Seeing the bright interior behind the rock wall, the Fairy Doctor smiled but retreated two steps. Then she faced Xiao Yan, raising her chin and smiled, “Please, go in.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Xiao Yan picked up a few stones and violently threw them into the cave. He felt slightly reassured when he did not notice any reaction.
“You’re really an overly cautious person.” Seeing that Xiao Yan did not forget to be careful even at this moment, the Fairy Doctor could only shake her head helplessly.
“Thanks for your compliment.” Smiling indifferently, Xiao Yan stepped carefully across the rock door and entered the interior.
Seeing that Xiao Yan had stepped forward, the Fairy Doctor followed closely behind.
Upon stepping into the interior of the cave, their range of vision suddenly widened.
Beyond the rock door was an enormous room which appeared somewhat simple and empty. Mounted on the walls were Moonstones that were used as a source of light. At the center of the room was a chair that seated a skeleton with its fallen skull placed on its thigh bone. This scene, when viewed from this quiet atmosphere, appeared quite ghastly.
In front of the chair was a wide and long black stone table. Three locked stone containers were neatly placed on it.
Additionally, there were large numbers of shiny gold coins and other precious items in the other three corners. Just by the number of the gold coins, the total wealth in this room was over the hundreds of thousands.
Valuables and money were not something that Xiao Yan lacked and from the way these valuables were randomly placed, it seemed that their owner did not hold them in high regard either.
Xiao Yan shifted his gaze away from the shiny gold, moving them to the last corner of the room instead. Happiness surfaced on his face when he did.
The last corner of the room was a flower bed made by piling soil together. Within it grew numerous different flowers and plants that shrouded the flower bed with fragrances.
While staring at these plants, Xiao Yan and the Fairy Doctor hurried forward in unison. An ordinary person may not recognize these plants but they knew very well that these seemingly ordinary plants was worth more than the piles of gold in the room.
“Purple Blue Leaf, White Spirit Ginseng Fruit, Snow Lotus Seed….”
The Fairy Doctor blankly stared at the small flower bed. One by one, the names of rare and expensive medical ingredients secretly leaped from her red moist mouth.
“Ice Spirit Blazing Grass!”
As he swept his gaze across the flower bed, Xiao Yan suddenly pulled back his gaze and stared intently at the middle of the flowerbed where a red and white grass grew.
The leaves of this grass were separated into two colors. Its stem, which was white, was also covered with droplets of what appeared to be icy crystals while its reddish tips were like a ball of burning flame. The two opposing colors and elements had miraculously grown on the plant.
A faint mist surrounded this plant, giving it an appearance of floating amongst the clouds.
This strange grass was named ‘Ice Spirit Blazing Grass’, an exceedingly rare ingredient that was also a necessary ingredient for the ‘Blood Lotus Pill’.
Xiao Yan excitedly stared at the medicinal grass as an agitated expression appeared on his face. Two of the medicinal ingredients that he had found no news despite having searched the entire Wu Tan City for six months had ended up in his hands not long after beginning his travels. This unexpected gain was something that filled Xiao Yan’s heart with happiness.
“Do you also recognise this?” Eyeing at how Xiao Yan was excitedly staring at the Ice Spirit Blazing Grass, the Fairy Doctor asked with a surprised voice.
“Um. This is something I need.” Xiao Yan nodded his head before tilting to gaze at the Fairy Doctor.
“What an unlikable person. Choosing the most valuable one straight off the bat.” Hearing Xiao Yan’s words, the Fairy Doctor immediately raised her eyebrows and muttered in an unwilling manner.
Smiling embarrassingly, Xiao Yan waved his hand, “I’m sorry but I really need it. I’ve been searching for it for quite awhile.”
Seeing that the Fairy Doctor still appeared depressed, Xiao Yan could only helplessly said, “Why don’t we do it like this. I will take the Ice Spirit Blazing Grass. As for the remaining medicinal herbs here, you will take two thirds and I will take the remaining one third.”
Hearing Xiao Yan’s suggestion, the Fairy Doctor nodded her head, the color of her face appearing slightly better.
Xiao Yan let out a breath when he saw the Fairy Doctor nodded her head. Without worrying about drawing suspicion, he extracted many exquisite jade bottles from his storage ring and a jade shovel. He carefully dug away the soil surrounding the Ice Spirit Blazing Grass and finally placed the plant, together with the soil into a jade bottle.
“Hu….” Xiao Yan quickly stored the jade bottle into his storage ring before opening the corner of his mouth and smiling. After which, he handed the jade shovel to the Fairy Doctor indicating for her to dig out the medicinal plants. L1teraryHub hosted the first appearance of this chapter at N0vel.B1n.
The Fairy Doctor’s eyes followed the Ice Spirit Blazing Grass as Xiao Yan stored it into his storage ring before unwillingly withdrawing her gaze. For someone like her who loved medicine, obtaining one exceedingly rare medicinal plant would make her far happier than obtaining hundreds of thousands of money or pieces of jewelry.
The Fairy Doctor sighed, feeling very vexed inside. Had this guy not accidentally discovered the secret on the cliff, all of this would have belonged to her. But now… alas, recalling this caused her to feel an urge to cry but her tears was not forthcoming.
“You should just go and die, bastard.”
After cursing, the Fairy Doctor received the shovel from Xiao Yan and began to carefully dig out the precious medicinal plants from the flowerbed before placing them into the jade bottles.
After eyeing the Fairy Doctor digging out the medicinal plants, Xiao Yan’s gaze once again roamed throughout the room but he spotted nothing of interest. Finally, he returned his gaze back to the three stone containers placed in the middle of the room.
Xiao Yan slowly walked towards the front of the stone table and touched the metal lock. He felt some warmth as his skin made contact, causing him to frown. For it to be able to retain warmth over such a long time, the lock was definitely not made of an ordinary metal. It would be pointless to try to forcefully break it.
“Where’s the key?” Xiao Yan muttered to himself as he scanned around. His eyes soon fell onto the skeleton seated behind the stone table. When he lowered his gaze, his eyes brightened as he found three black keys hanging from its hand.
Rubbing his hands, Xiao Yan stepped forward and stared at the skeleton. Disgust filled his heart as he slowly unclenched his fist before carefully grabbing the keys and pulled lightly.
“Crack…” Due to the years that had passed, the small force managed to break the skeleton’s arm, causing it to fall.
Seeing the broken skeleton hand, Xiao Yan smiled awkwardly before bowing to the remaining skeleton. After which. Xiao Yan bent to pick up the broken arm, intending to replace it.
Xiao Yan’s hand wrapped around the skeleton arm when his eyebrows suddenly rose. He could feel that the weight of this bone was a little unnatural…
From the corner of his eyes, Xiao peeked at the Fairy Doctor who was carefully digging up the medicinal plants before returning to the skeleton bone in his hand. His eyes observed the broken portion at the top only to discover that there was a small scroll hidden within the gap of the bone. Eyeing the stealthily hidden scroll, Xiao Yan swallowed his saliva as his finger involuntarily reached inwards and swiftly pulled it out before throwing it into his storage ring.
Only after the scroll was in his storage ring did Xiao Yan sigh in relief. He swept the dust from the skeleton arm before placing it back on its original position,
Xiao Yan grinned, flung the keys in his hands and slowly headed to the three stone containers on the stone table.
Chapter 116: Flying Dou Technique: Eagle Wing
Xiao Yan carried the keys to the boxes and once again, he touched the warm metal lock. Tilting his head and glancing at the Fairy Doctor who had finished digging out all the medicinal plants, he smiled and said, “Hurry over here. I don’t want to be accused of trying to pocket everything when I open these boxes.”
“At least you have some sort of conscience.”
The Fairy Doctor raised her nose, carried the ten plus bottles in her chest and placed them on the stone table. Finally, she unwillingly selected six bottles and handed them to Xiao Yan: “Hey, these are yours.”
Xiao Yan received them with a smile, took a brief glance and stored them into his storage ring. The Ice Spirit Blazing Grass was already in his hands so the other valuable medicinal plants were not very important to Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan waved the three black keys in front of the Fairy Doctor and smiled: “Then I will be opening them.”
“Open them!” After throwing Xiao Yan an irritated look, the Fairy Doctor quickly slotted the jade bottles around her waist and chest. Immediately, her narrow waist appeared much fuller than before.
Xiao Yan licked his lips as he stared at the stone containers. He randomly selected one of the keys, lifted the first lock and carefully inserted it.
“Not this…” The key stuck halfway causing Xiao Yan to shrug and replace it with a second key.
“Wrong again.”
Helplessly shaking his head, Xiao Yan held the last key tightly and once again carefully inserted it into the keyhole.
Seeing the key slowly disappearing into the lock, Xiao Yan and the Fairy Doctor both unintentionally held their breath. The only noise in the entire room came from the key being pushed through the keyhole of the metal lock.
“Clang…” Suddenly, a light clear noise was emitted from within the room, prompting Xiao Yan’s hand to freeze.
“It’s unlocked.” Seeing the lock’s shackle being launched from the lock, Xiao Yan let out a relieved sigh and said.
“Hurry up and open it.” The Fairy Doctor’s face was full of desire and happiness as she said in an impatient voice.
Xiao Yan glanced at the anxious Fairy Doctor but did not heed her call. Instead, he grabbed her hand and stepped back. He then lined up his palm with the box and unleashed an intense force from his palm which lifted the lid of the stone box.
After the lid was lifted, Xiao Yan waited a moment longer and sighed in relief after seeing that there was no reaction. Glancing at the Fairy Doctor who had her hands around her chest while coldly staring at him, Xiao Yan simply shrugged, “It is always good to be a little careful.”
“If you are thrown into the Magic Beast Mountain Range, I think that you will have a happier time living there than in the outside world. The reason being that even those Magic Beasts are not as careful as you are.” The Fairy Doctor curled her lips and said.
“I share the same thoughts.” Xiao Yan touched his nose and laughed.
After throwing a cutting gaze at the shameless man beside her, the Fairy Doctor walked towards the stone table. She looked into the opened stone box and was shocked. With a face filled with joy, she quickly reached her hand into it and retrieved an ancient rainbow colored scroll.
“What is this?” Xiao Yan curiously looked over and asked.
“A Poison Book that records the methods of making poison.” The Fairy Doctor flipped open the scroll and said with a smile.
“A Poison Book?” Raising his eyebrow in surprise, Xiao Yan took the scroll from the Fairy Doctor’s hand and glanced through it. Seeing the few words written on the side of the seven colored scroll, Xiao Yan said in amazement: “Rainbow Poison Book? There is actually something that focuses on how to create poison? Don’t tell me that the one who left this behind was also a physician?”
Physicians were usually the only ones in the Dou Qi continent who used poison to protect themselves. These people who excelled at using such positions were usually called Poison Master within the continent. However, the status of a Poison Master was still a far cry from that of an alchemist.
“Perhaps so. But you’re not allowed to split this with me. Due to my elemental affinity, I cannot become an alchemist so I can only rely on these things.” A dejected expression appeared on the Fairy Doctor’s face after she spoke. It was clear that her greatest desire was to become an alchemist and not a Poison Master that people both hated and disliked.
Eyeing the dejected looking Fairy Doctor, Xiao Yan smiled, handed over the seven colored scroll and said, “This is quite a good thing but it would require much time and effort in order to master it. Just training… Dou Qi consumes all of my energy. I’m not stupid enough to start on something else, biting off more than I can chew.”
“Thanks.”
The Fairy Doctor felt a deep relief in her heart upon hearing Xiao Yan’s words and gave the latter a grateful nod.
“You can put away what you have in your hands. I may not be considered a gentleman but given our our current relationship as partners, I would not try to take everything for myself.” Eyeing the Fairy Doctor who was slowing putting away the rainbow scroll, Xiao Yan smiled and said in a bland voice.
The Fairy Doctor’s face was stunned as embarrassment surfaced. She unclenched her hand, revealing a small bag of green powder on it.
“I…” Being caught red handed by Xiao Yan, the red faced Fairy Doctor was at a loss for words.
“Forget it. Being a women, it is only natural for you to take some preventive measures when you come with me in search for treasures.” Xiao Yan shrugged and said indifferently.
“Thank you.” Once again, the Fairy Doctor gave a grateful thanks as she hurriedly put away the green powder in her hand.
Xiao Yan touched his face and shifted his gaze towards the second stone container. He inserted a key in and slowly probed the interior.
“What was the effect of the green powder?” As the key in his hand was slowly being inserted deeper into the lock, Xiao Yan randomly threw out a question.
“This was made with Drunken Dragon Grass and a couple of other medicinal ingredients with a sedative effect. Once it is breathed into the body, it would cause one to fall asleep for at least half a day. But this powder is only a simple poison. Anyone with some strength would be able to use Dou Qi to suppress the effect and force it out of the body.” The Fairy Doctor embarrassingly replied.
“Luckily it is not some lethal poison. At least you are not so vicious.” Xiao Yan rubbed his lips together, rotated his wrist and smiled: “It’s opened.”
Following Xiao Yan’s voice, the tightly shut stone box began to slowly open.
Under the light of the Moonstones, everything in the stone box was immediately revealed to Xiao Yan and the Fairy Doctor.
“Another scroll?” Xiao Yan lifted his eyebrow upon noticing a black scroll that was placed in the box.
He reached his hand into the box, took the scroll out and flipped through it. Finally, his gaze paused on the small words at the edge of the scroll: “High Xuan Flying Dou Technique: Eagle Wing.”
“Flying Dou Technique?” Xiao Yan’s eyes gradually became bigger as he muttered the unfamiliar words. In his shock, he said with a hoarse voice: “This is actually a rare Flying Dou Technique?”
“Flying Dou Technique? What is that?”
Hearing this name for the first time, the Fairy Doctor blinked her eyes doubtfully. She had heard of Attack Dou Techniques, Defense Dou Techniques, Agility Dou Technique and many others but it was the first time she had heard of a Flying Dou Technique.
“As the name suggest, this Dou Technique can allow a person to fly in the air.” Xiao Yan smacked his lips in surprise as he explained.
“Fly? Isn’t that something that requires the strength of at least a Dou Ling?” The Fairy Doctor displayed an initial shock at the explanation before appearing confused.
In the Dou Qi continent, only with the strength of a Dou Ling can one leave the ground and fly for a short distance. Only after one’s strength had reached that of a Dou Wang or Dou Huang can one use the Dou Qi to form a pair of energy wings on one’s back. These wings would enable them to overcome their bond to the ground and fly amongst the clouds.
As for the Flying Dou Techniques, they were a strange secret technique that could enable the practitioner to form two small extensions that protruded from the veins on one’s back. With these two extension, one would be able to form a pair of wings and fly in the air even if one did not possess the strength of a Dou Wang.
Flying was something that was a great temptation to many. In order to fulfill this temptation, many strong people put in all their effort to reach for the unreachable dream of becoming a Dou Wang. At the same time, there were also many who wanted to find a shortcut by finding this rare and valuable Flying Type Dou Technique.
Xiao Yan slowly let out a long breath as he held the black scroll in his hand. He forcefully suppressed the happiness in him before waving his hand at the Fairy Doctor.
“I know. This goes to you right?” Having observed Xiao Yan’s action, the Fairy Doctor understood his intention and helplessly nodded.
“Haha, everyone takes what they require.” Xiao Yan grinned. His acquisitions today had almost caused his face to be paralysed from smiling.
“There’s still one more. Let’s hurry. We will leave once we open it.” the Fairy Doctor shifted her gaze to the last stone box and urged.
“Hum.” With his two acquisitions, Xiao Yan’s body was full of energy. He held the last key that was not used and prepared to open the stone box.
The spacious room once again became quiet. Just as Xiao Yan bent his body and was about to open the box, he suddenly stiffened. He quickly turned around and his face suddenly became dark.
“Someone’s coming!”
“What?” Hearing the words, the Fairy Doctor was also shocked. An instant later, she shook her head: “That’s impossible. Only the two of us know about this place.”
“I have not misheard. There are quite a few people.” Xiao Yan looked at the Fairy Doctor with a terrible face. A coldness flashed in his eyes. L1terary-N0v3l hosted the first appearance of this chapter at N0vel.B1n.
“You suspect that I have called these people over?”
Seeing Xiao Yan’s expression, anger erupted on the Fairy Doctor’s face. “Had I wanted to harm you, you would have died many times over.”
Seeing that the anger on the Fairy Doctor’s face appeared genuine, Xiao Yan pressed his eyebrows together and quickly turned around. He attempted to insert the key in his hand into the lock but in his anxiousness, he repeatedly failed to do so.
“Dammit!” Letting out a cry of anger, Xiao Yan grabbed the stone box with both hands in an attempt to lift it. Unfortunately, he found that the container was stuck onto the stone table.
“Stupid.” Xiao Yan once again scolded with an ashen face before slowly letting out a breath. In a cold voice, he said: “They are here.”
Hearing Xiao Yan’s words, the Little Doctor quickly directed her gaze towards the rock door. Her ears had also picked up the sound of footsteps approaching.
“Ke ke, Fairy Doctor. Thank you for leading the way. It seemed that the information we managed to get was true.”
Over ten figures slowly entered from the darkness outside the door while the familiar and pleased laughter echoed within the room.
“Mu Li!”
Upon hearing the voice, the Fairy Doctor immediately clenched her teeth tightly.
Chapter 117: Life or Death Escape
Outside the rock door, over ten figures slowly appeared, blocking the entrance..
Another figure strolled in from behind them. Under the light from the Moonstones, the figure’s face was finally revealed to identify to the young leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Company, Mu Li.
When his gaze initially swept over the piles of shiny gold at the corners, a greediness revealed in his eyes. He licked his lips before redirecting his gaze towards the two stone boxes that were opened by Xiao Yan, he smiled and said, “I’m sorry to disturb the both of you.”
Xiao Yan slowly tightened his grip on the key in his hands. His face turned a little gloomy as he glanced at the frowning Fairy Doctor beside him coldly saying to Mu Li, “You followed us?”
“It cannot be considered as following. A few days ago, I had received information that the Fairy Doctor had found a treasure cave. Because I didn’t know about the exact location…” Mu Li shrugged his shoulders and said.
“How did you get hold of this information? I have only told my assistant Li Fei about this. You… you bribed her?” A suspicion flew across the Fairy Doctor’s face, but was quickly replaced by anger.
“Ke ke, that woman’s pretty stupid. With just some sweet words, she obediently told me everything.” Mu Li smiled, not denying the Fairy Doctor’s speculation.
“You bastard!” With straightened eyebrows, the Fairy Doctor screamed.
“I’m sorry but these things here are too important to our Wolf Head Mercenary Company. Once we possess them, we would easily be able to absorb all the factions in Qingshan Town. When that time comes, we would have the ability to develop beyond the town. Our vision lies beyond this small little town.” Mu Li said emotionlessly.
“Hand over the things to me. Fairy Doctor, you ought to very clear about my feelings for you. As long as you are willing to become mine, I will definitely not mistreat you when I finally take over the Wolf Head Mercenary Company.” Mu Li gave the Fairy Doctor a gaze filled with emotion as he spoke in an increasingly gentle tone.
“Become yours? Just talking to you now repulses me!” The Fairy Doctor’s voice was mean as her red moist lips opened to mock him. It appeared that Mu Li’s act of bribing those around her had incited her fury.
A chill flashed across Mu Li’s eyes as he smiled and said softly, “It matters not. I will forcefully keep you by my side.” After saying these words, Mu Li shifted his eyes to the quiet Xiao Yan beside her and laughed, “I have already told you to join the Wolf Head Mercenary Company but you refused to listen to me. Now, it’s too late even if you wish to join.”
“A mercenary Company without even a Da Dou Shi is actually this arrogant?” Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and provokingly shook his head.
“At least it will be easy to kill you.” Mu Li revealed a smile that was full of killing intent.
“Hand the things over. I’ll let you die in one piece.” Mu Li coldly stared at Xiao Yan with his hands crossed over his chest.
Xiao Yan icily pulled his mouth. His gaze scanned over the badges on the chests of the ten odd mercenaries blocking the exit, getting a glimpse of their strength. These mercenaries all possessed the strength of a four or five star Dou Zhe while Mu Li was a six star Dou Zhe.
After weighing the opponent’s line-up in his heart, Xiao Yan’s heart sunk. At his current state, he could at the very most handle a four star Dou Zhe. If he removed the black heavy sword from his back, he should be able to hold his ground against a six star Dou Zhe.
However, there were currently over ten significantly strong mercenaries by the rock door. Under normal circumstances, if they attacked him as a group, Xiao Yan would very likely be killed with his current strength.
“Teacher?” Xiao Yan shouted for Yao Lao in his heart but received no response. He could only smile bitterly. It seemed that it was impossible to get Yao Lao to help him get out of this mess.
Mu Li hugged his arm and stood at the middle of the rock door. His sinister looking face stared at the rapidly changing face of Xiao Yan and felt like a cat playing with a mouse.
“Although you have great potential, it has yet to be developed. Ah, to be honest, I’m afraid that you will seek revenge in the future. In order to avoid feeling worried about such a possibility, I will have to kill you here and now!”
Lightly tapping his fingers on his hand, Mu Li spoke with a smile. Since he was a child, his father had warned him, if possible, to kill anyone whom he had offended and not allow the other party to have any chance of returning to seek revenge.
Xiao Yan stared at Mu Li who was full of smiles and his eyes narrowed. In all these years, he was the one who had always bullied others but he had never witnessed this kind of group attack with the intention to kill.
“You are right. If I have the chance to leave, I would definitely create trouble for the Wolf Head Mercenary Company.” The corner of his mouth rose coldly as Xiao Yan spoke.
“It’s admirable that you are able to put on a strong front in such a situation. But you have only strengthened my intention to kill you.” Mu Li smiled as a killing intent flashed in his eyes.
Xiao Yan lifted his eyelids, revealing a similar killing intent in his eyes.
Just as Xiao Yan was considering how to escape, his hand that was behind him suddenly moved as something was shoved onto it.
Narrowing his eyes, Xiao Yan clenched his hand without anyone noticing as the corner of his eye randomly glanced at the Fairy Doctor who was closely standing beside him.
“This is the sedative from earlier.” The Fairy Doctor’s red lips moved slightly, emitting a faint voice into Xiao Yan’s ear.
Inclining his head slightly, Xiao Yan swept his gaze across the walls in the room. When he noticed the three Moonstones that were emitting a faint light, an idea was born in Xiao Yan’s heart.
“Keep close to me.” Xiao Yan instructed with a serious expression.
“Ah,” The Fairy Doctor nodded her head obediently. At this moment, all her hope of escaping had been placed on Xiao Yan.
“Do it! Kill that boy! Remember not to hurt the Fairy Doctor. That is my woman.” Watching the pair, Mu Li tensely waved his hand and ordered.
“Yes!” Having heard Mu Li’s order, five of the ten odd mercenaries behind him instantly stepped forward and with a vicious expression charged at the pair.
Seeing that the rock door was still tightly blocked despite losing five men to attack, Xiao Yan frowned. These cautious mercenaries were giving him a headache.
“Bang!”
After glancing at the mercenaries charging at him, Xiao Yan extended his palm. The strong force threw the bag of sedatives into the air, which subsequently exploded. The scattered powder instantly covered the entire room.
“Hold your breath. Those at the door are not allowed to move. I want the door blocked. Ma Si, attack them!” Seeing the scattered medicinal powder, Mu Li’s face changed as he quickly barked his orders.
Mu Li’s orders caused the disturbance amongst the mercenaries to quickly calm down. The five mercenaries in the room took out their weapons from their waist and charged at Xiao Yan and the Fairy Doctor with fierce eyes.
Grabbing the Fairy Doctor with one hand, Xiao Yan withdrew further into the room. He then abruptly curled his hand, promptly sucking the Moonstone on the wall towards him. The Moonstone was detached from the wall and flew into Xiao Yan’s hand. L1terary-N0v3l hosted the first appearance of this chapter at N0vel.B1n.
Xiao Yan rotated his hand and the Moonstone was stored into the ring. Having lost one of it’s light sources, the entire room became darker.
After storing one of the Moonstones, Xiao Yan’s face was serious as he shifted his gaze. His right hand sucked the remaining two Moonstones which were also quickly deposited into the storage ring.
When the last Moonstone was stored into the storage ring, the entire room became pitch-black.
At the moment when darkness descended, Xiao Yan pulled the Fairy Doctor’s arm, spun around, and shot off in the direction of the exit that he recalled from his memory.
“Don’t panic! Take out your fire sparks. Those at the door, do not move and those in the room do not come over. Remember, kill whoever that dares come towards the door.
The sudden darkness caused Mu Li’s face to turn dark. However, he was impressively smart and made the right decision in a matter of seconds.
With a leader around, the Wolf Head Mercenary Company also calmed down. The mercenaries who had brought fire sparks quickly took them out. However, just as they were about to lgiht them, a rushing wind swept across these mercenaries. This was followed by a palm carrying a ferocious force which smashed heavily onto their chest. Immediately, the few mercenaries who were unable to react in time let out a muffled cry and fell heavily onto the ground.
“He’s coming! He’s at the Rock Door! Quick, stop him!” The mercenaries who were attacked withstood their agony and shouted.
Hearing his subordinates yell, Mu Li’s face once again darkened. He took a few hurried steps back and coincidentally ended up at the edge of the Rock Door, completely blocking the only path out.
“Bang!”
A strong and ferocious force shot from their front. Had the few five star Dou Zhe at the Rock Door not reacted in time, they would have been blown aside by it. While that had not happened, these few figures were forced to stagger backwards a few steps nevertheless.
During the time the few figures were unsteady, two rushing winds secretly escaped from the gap within them. By the time these figures had recovered, it was far too late the stop the pair and they could only shout at Mu Li who was standing at the rear: “Young Company Leader! They are headed towards you!”
Mu Li narrowed his eyes and spread both legs, blocking the narrow tunnel with his body. He held his hand tightly together and a light green Dou Qi gradually flowed. Under the influence of the Dou Qi, his hands started to turn into the color of wood.
“I want to see how you as a two star Dou Zhes push me back in a direct confrontation.” With cold laughter, Mu Li pulled out a Night-luminescent Pearl and threw it forward. The faint light only had a radius of about two or three feet but was more than sufficient in this narrow tunnel.
Not long after he threw the Night-luminescent Pearl forward, two figures stepped over it at great speed. With the light from the pearl, Mu Li could see a blurry image of the killing intent on the Xiao Yan’s face.
“Get back!” Seeing Xiao Yan rushing towards him like a moth to a fire, Mu Li laughed with a chilly voice. His wood like fist that was surrounded by a green light, ruthlessly and furiously struck towards Xiao Yan while carrying an aggressive force.
“Low Xuan Dou Technique: Strength of the Woods!”
The Dou Qi headed towards him caused Xiao Yan’s face to shiver. He raised his eyes and could clearly see the sinister look in Mu Li’s eyes.
“Dammit.”
Xiao Yan scolded in his heart as he took in a breath. His hands then reached for the huge black sword on his back and lifted it with a cry. Rotating his wrist, he stored the sword into the storage ring,
With the disappearance of the huge sword, Xiao Yan’s speed exploded in the blink of an eye. The slow moving Dou Qi in him sudden gushed through his veins like a rising tide.
This was the first time Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi erupted after having been suppressed. He tightened his fist and numerous veins began to vibrate. A frightening force was quickly being gathered.
Feeling the surging Dou Qi in his body, an intense urge to fight appeared on Xiao Yan’s delicate and handsome face. His eyes chillily glanced at Mu Li, who was within reach. The Dou Qi within him began to follow the Qi Pathes predetermined by the Dou Technique and began to spin in an uncontrolled manner.
“Octane Blast!”
A shout echoed within his heart almost caused the sleeves on Xiao Yan’s arms to tighten. The originally soft cloth had transformed into something as hard as metal.
The empty space under the sleeves contained an intense force as Xiao Yan pulled his fist back before throwing it forward with an explosive force.
“Bang!”
The two fists met under the narrow cave and the muffled, thunder-like sound reverberated throughout the tunnel for a long time.
Seeing that Xiao Yan was of equal strength as him, Mu Li’s face changed. He did not expect that Xiao Yan’s strength had increased by a few levels in the blink of an eye.
“I’ve stopped him. Hurry, kill him at any cost!” A cold and sinister roar vibrated from Mu Li’s throat. The strength that Xiao Yan was currently displaying had caused this extremely scheming young Company leader to become anxious. Even at such a young age, this person was able to fight equally with himself, a six star Dou Zhe. It was difficult to imagine just how strong he would be in a few years time. If Xiao Yan was allowed to escape, the Wolf Head Mercenary Company would potentially face the possibility of destruction.
Just thinking of being taken revenge on with that overwhelming strength caused Mu Li’s killing intent to surge.
Hearing Mu Li shout, the corner of Xiao Yan’s mouth was raised mockingly. He moved his lips, “Explode!”
“Bang!”
Another muted explosion sounded. However, this explosion came from within Mu Li’s body.
“Spoot!”
The sudden force that exploded in his body caused Li Mu face’s to turn white in an instant. His whole body shook before finally violently coughing up a mouthful of blood.
“Go!” After striking Mu Li down, Xiao Yan forcefully resisted the urge to kill him. He promptly pulled the Fairy Doctor and without looking back, charged towards the dangerous cliff outside.
Immediately after Xiao Yan ran off, over ten mercenaries charged from within the rock room. Upon seeing the pale face Mu Li on the ground, aghast filled their faces. The six star Dou Zhe young company leader was actually beaten by that young man? This horrible reality before them caused them to be in momentary states of shock.
“Idiots, what are you standing there staring at? Go and chase him. We must kill that boy. Once we leave, release our signal and get those in the ambush outside to kill him!” Seeing the blank faces of his subordinates, Mu Li once again coughed up blood as he angrily cried.
“Yes!” Mu Li’s cry prompted the mercenaries to recover from their shock as they hurriedly replied. After that, they faced the exit and hurriedly chased Xiao Yan and the Fairy Doctor.
With great difficulty, Mu Li pulled himself up and leaned against the rock wall as he let out a long breath. A sinister look appeared in his eyes. Clenching his fist tightly and punching against the rock, he said deeply, “Little bastard. You better not let me catch you. Otherwise, I will have you suffer a fate worse than death.”
Xiao Yan expressionlessly pulled the Fairy Doctor along as he continued to charge towards the exit. The fist that he hid in his sleeves was covered with fresh blood. This was the first time he had used the hidden force in ‘Octane Blast’ against an opponent after learning about it. The result was good beyond his expectation. However, his direct confrontation with Mu Li had also injured him slightly.
“Given Mu Li’s scheming mind, he would have placed more Wolf Head Mercenary Company mercenaries on the top of the cliff.” With a ragged breath, the Fairy Doctor reminded.
“Only by climbing up the cliff do we have the chance to lose ourselves in the forest and escape! Otherwise, death awaits us.” Xiao Yan answered gloomily.
“After we exit the tunnel, don’t climb the cliffs. If they cut our rope, we would fall to our deaths.”
“Do you have another plan to escape if we don’t climb up? Or do you intend to wait for the others to come out and kill us?” Xiao Yan frowned and said without stopping his footsteps.
The Fairy Doctor bit her red lips as if she had decided on something. Then she opened her mouth and said, “I can bring you away with me.”
Xiao Yan’s heart thumped and he became quiet.
“Don’t be so wishy-washy. I won’t harm you after you have helped me.” Seeing Xiao Yan’s hesitation, the Fairy Doctor could guess what this ever-careful guy was thinking and could only helplessly scold him.
Slowly releasing his breath, Xiao Yan slightly nodded.
Seeing Xiao Yan’s agreement, the Fairy Doctor took out a short bamboo flute from her chest pocket and placed it on her mouth. When she lightly blew, a somewhat strange sound was emitted from the bamboo flute, passed through the tunnel and circled towards sky.
“What are you doing?” Watching the small exit ahead which was emitting a faint light, Xiao Yan could not contain his curiosity and asked.
“I’m calling my partner.” Waving the bamboo flute in her hand, the Fairy Doctor smiled: “A First Ranked Blue Eagle.”
“A flying Magic Beast?” Hearing her words, Xiao Yan felt a little suspicious. When he saw the Fairy Doctor nodded, joy floated onto his face. They were saved.
“Unfortunately, there was still one more stone box that was left unopened.” The Fairy Doctor closely followed Xiao Yan as she said regretfully.
“Forget it. Don’t be too greedy. If we have the chance in the future, we will take it back.” A chilly expression appeared on his face. “Ha ha, I was originally worried about the days of tough training ahead. Unexpectedly, these guys have provided some entertainment. Alright Wolf Head Mercenary Company, during the time that I will spend in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, I will play with you.” As he ran along the tunnel, the light from the exit became increasingly bright. A moment later, their surroundings suddenly brightened; the bright, silvery moon and the scattered stars appeared in their sight.
After appearing at the exit, Xiao Yan quickly pulled on the Fairy Doctor and leaned against the rock wall. His gaze stealthily scanned the top of the cliff and found many figures on it carrying torches and patrolling the area.
“There really is something awaiting us here.” Xiao Yan vented his anger before placing his ear on the ground. Immediately he said gloomily: “Our pursuers are arriving. Where’s that flying Magic Beast of yours.”
The Fairy Doctor’s eyes scanned the night sky. Once again, she placed the bamboo flute in her mouth. The strange sound silently spread across the sky.
“Screech!”
Not long after the whistle sound was released, a sharp screech sounded within the night sky.
With the help from the moonlight, Xiao Yan could see a blurred image of a large, old eagle with a lush blue colored body near the deep regions of the mountain ahead. It flew quickly and within a moment, was floating up from the lower edges of the cliff.
“Let’s go.” Seeing the arrival of the Blue Eagle, the Fairy Doctor let out a sigh and waved at Xiao Yan.
After Xiao Yan nodded, he turned around and saw a few figures within the cave. With a cold laugh, his hand hugged the Fairy Doctor’s narrow waist and leaped, landing on the back of the huge Blue Eagle.
“Xiao Lan, let’s hurry!” Once they were on the eagle’s body, the Little Doctor hurriedly urged.
Hearing the Fairy Doctor’s voice, Blue Eagle immediately flapped its wings. A huge gust of wind passed by with a ‘thud sound’. After which, together with the two people on its back, the eagle rose towards the sky.
“Shoot it down!” Gazing at the duo that had actually managed to mount the blue eagle, the ten plus mercenaries who had appeared at the cave entrance hastily shouted to their comrades on top of the cliff.
“Xiu, Xiu Xiu!”
TL: Sound of arrows……
Hearing the shouts from below, the cliff top was in confusion for a moment, but soon after a rain of arrows suddenly flew across the sky, urgently aiming at the blue eagle.
As he gazed upon the rain of arrows, Xiao Yan’s was slightly alarmed but just as he was about to deflect them, the blue eagle below him suddenly shook its wings and a light green gale blew out, immediately causing the first wave of arrows to fall into the depths under the cliff.
As the Fairy Doctor squat down, the gale caused her long hair to be blown into a mess. With her lily-white hands gently stroking the blue eagle’s body, she smiled at Xiao Yan and said, “We are now safe.”
“Phew……” Heavily sighing, Xiao Yan weakly sat atop the blue eagle’s body. Looking down to gaze upon the rapidly receding forest, he felt goosebumps all over his body; this was the first time that he had flown so high.
Xiao Yan wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead as he felt his whole body go soft, the highly intense battle from before had left him extremely weary.
Seated atop the blue eagle, Xiao Yan looked down at the cave, staring intensely at Mu Li who was currently being supported by another mercenary at the entrance of the cave.
The two gazes met in the night skies, each of them smiling sinisterly, not bothering to hide the killing intent they had for each other.
As the blue eagle gradually flew away, Xiao Yan withdrew his death stare and turning his head to look at the Fairy Doctor, he asked, “Where do you plan to go?”
As her fingers tidied the few strands of fine hair on her forehead, the wind that blew directly at them caused the Fairy Doctor’s clothes to outline her figure, revealing the splendid curves that had been hidden before.
“I am returning to the medicine collection group.” The Fairy Doctor smugly said.
“You’re still going back? That Mu Li could also be returning.” Hearing her words, Xiao Yan asked, somewhat amazed.
“*Chuckles*, once I’ve returned to the medicine collection group, he will not dare to do anything to me.” The Fairy Doctor lightly smiled as she said. With the reputation she had in Qingshan Town, Mu Li would not dare to make a move on her unless he wanted to incur the wrath of the mercenaries in town.
“Furthermore, once we return to Qingshan Town, he would even more so dare not to make a move. The power of Thousand Medicinal House is not weaker than that of the Wolf Head Mercenaries. In addition, the leaders of the other two big mercenary groups also owe me a favor.”
“If it is like that, then do as you want.” Lightly nodding his head Xiao knew how much popular the Fairy Doctor was from the gazes that the mercenaries used to look at the Fairy Doctor. Thus, he was not too worried about her safety.
“What about you?” Turning her head, the Fairy Doctor smiled as she inquired.
“Me? Heh heh, I am not returning. I do not have the kind of popularity that you do and if Mu Li wants to kill me, no one would step in to stop him. Moreover, given the power that I’ve shown, that kid would definitely try to find any means possible to kill me. Thus, I cannot return the the little town of Qingshan.” Xiao Yan chuckled as he tightly gripped onto the blue eagle’s feathers.
“You want to leave?” At these words, the Fairy Doctor somewhat hesitantly asked.
“Leave? Hei hei, I would never do such a thing as run with my tail between my legs. In the near future I will be training in the Magic Beast Mountain Range for a period of time, after which…… I will find the Wolf Head Mercenaries to slowly settle my debts.” Xiao Yan grinned viciously as he declared.
“The commander of the Wolf Head Mercenaries is a two star Dou Shi; if you plan on taking revenge, you need to be careful.” The Fairy Doctor was silent for a while before silently warning Xiao Yan.
“Relax, it’s not like I have never seen a mere Dou Shi before.” Leisurely moving his arms to and fro, Xiao Yan laughed out indifferently. At that time, even a Da Dou Shi like Jia Lie Bi had his clan crushed by Xiao Yan.
Seeing the confidence in Xiao Yan, the Fairy Doctor could only nod her head, not saying anything more. Turning her head, she directed the Blue Eagle to fly towards the mountains.
On the back of the eagle, as the mood gradually fell into silence, the duo slowly pondered on their exciting close brush with death.
“Hei hei, you little brat, not bad. To actually be capable of escaping that dangerous scenario at such a minimalistic cost, it has already somewhat exceeded my expectations.”
Just as Xiao Yan closed his eyes to recover Qi, Yao Lao’s satisfied laughter suddenly sounded out in his mind.
Having heard Yao Lao finally speak, Xiao Yan frowned before groaning to Yao Lao in his mind, “I thought that you had disappeared.”
“Ha ha, brat, you are so petty. If I don’t let you personally experience this kind of danger, how can your potential explode?” Yao Lao laughed heartily as he continued to speak, “Furthermore, how was the feeling of throwing off the restrictions?”
“Not bad.” Xiao Yan rubbed his nose as he smugly said.
“Hei hei, do you want vengeance?” Yao Lao’s laughter was like that of a treacherous old fox, filled with enticement.
“When have you ever seen me being bullied without any retaliation? Since that bastard wants me dead, how can I let him off?” Though Xiao Yan had a small smile on his face, there was a cold glint in his eyes.
“You’ve heard what the little miss said, the commander of the Wolf Head Mercenaries is a two star Dou Shi.” Yao Lao laughed before continuing, “Thus if you want revenge , you need to advance to Dou Shi as fast as possible!”
“Of course, during this time I will be secretly training in the Magic Beast Mountain Range. No matter what kind of arduous training methods teacher uses, I will overcome them all.” Xiao Yan shrugged his shoulders.
“Ha ha, good. Since you have this kind of determination, I will use the fastest method without any negative repercussions to make you a Dou Shi!” Yao Lao immediately became delighted when he heard Xiao Yan’s words. Hate truly was the greatest medicine to advance a person’s progress. After circling in the sky for a while, the eagle finally folded its wings upon landing on a hilltop.
“The Medicine Collecting Group area is under us and since you are not going back, I will place you here. Wait until tomorrow before you leave by yourself, is that okay?” Gazing at the bonfires below, the Fairy Doctor said as she turned her head to lightly smile at Xiao Yan.
“Okay.” Xiao Yan smiled and nodded his head. He clasped both fists together and held them up to the Fairy Doctor and with a bright smile, he replied, “Then let us part ways here, when we next meet, a long time may have passed.”
“Yes.” The Fairy Doctor’s snow white chin lightly nodded as she slightly hesitated before finally retrieved a small bag of medicine and passed it over to Xiao Yan, “Though the effectiveness of this medicine powder is not huge, they should be just barely enough for your protection.”
Receiving the bag which still held a trace warmth from her body, Xiao Yan felt somewhat moved. Truthfully, the Fairy Doctor and him were only strangers that met by chance; not to mention that he had also shamelessly taken half of the treasures that was meant to be solely hers. Although he saved her as they were escaping, in that kind of situation, any man would have done the same.
Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and smiled before nodding. He waved towards the Fairy Doctor and then turned around to walk towards the dark forest, “See you again. When we next meet, I will demolish that lousy mercenary group for both of us.”
“Hehe, I will be waiting..” With a charming wink, the Fairy Doctor laughed out.
She watched as the youth’s figure slowly faded into the darkness before turning her head towards the camp, uttering in a soft yet cold voice, “Mu Li, just wait and see. A woman’s grudge is more terrifying than you could ever imagine.”
TL: Her fury knew no bounds and her hatred would last for an eternity, all that would be left is a lingering thought which wondered what mercy was.
With an icy sneer, the Fairy Doctor once again leapt onto the Blue Eagle before slowly spiralling down and finally disappearing into the darkness of the night. As she slowly faded away, the first rays of dawn spilled out from the horizon, shining on the white tentage.
When the Fairy Doctor woke up from her sleep, she heard a disturbance outside her tent accompanied by a nauseating and familiar voice. A malicious intent stirred in her rosy and tiny smile and languidly getting off her bed, she changed her clothes before slowly walking out of the tent.
Outside the tent, seven or eight mercenaries were currently tightly guarding the entrance. At this moment, these mercenaries were barring a young man from entering with solemn faces but when they saw the Fairy Doctor come out, they hastened to greet her.
“*Chuckles*, Young Master Mu Li, Why are you trying to barge into my tent so early in the morning?” As she graced the few mercenaries with a small smile, the Fairy Doctor slanted her head to smile at Mu Li who had a somewhat uncomfortable expression on his face.
“Haha, nothing much, it’s just that it’s getting late and I thought that I would come by to call the Fairy Doctor to continue on our journey.” Mu Li’s gaze swept around the area behind the Fairy Doctor and finding nothing, he wrinkled his brows together before smiling as he said.
Lightly nodding her head, the Fairy Doctor waved a hand to dispatch the few mercenaries. She took two steps forward and smiled while looking at Mu Li, “Young Master Mu Li, the mantis stalks the cicada unaware of the oriole behind, to be the oriole is such a great strategy.”
“What a pity that the mantis was too cunning.” Mu Li smiled, a coldness in his expression. Once again sweeping his gaze on the tent behind the Fairy Doctor as he coolly said, “I know that since you have returned here, I cannot do anything to you but my target is not you. Hand over Xiao Yan and I will not make things difficult for you anymore.”
“He left.” The Fairy Doctor spread out her hands and smiled as she said.
“Left?” Mu Li’s eyes withdrew as his expression turned even uglier.
“You could not possibly think that he would foolishly return to the campsite right?” With a sneer, the Fairy Doctor gazed at the surrounding mercenaries who had already woken up. These mercenaries were her protectors; as long as they were here, Mu Li would not dare to make a move on her.
“Wretch!” Mu Li swore, deeply taking in a breath, he cursed, “Since he entered the Magic Beast Mountain Range, he will meet an even swifter end!”
The Fairy Doctor ignored his curse while the corners of her ruddy and small mouth slightly raised upwards, her beautiful eyes full of ridicule.
“Miss Fairy Doctor, we are almost done with the gathering of medicine ingredients, shall we return?” A member of the medicine collection group from the Thousand Medicinal House quickly walked up before respectfully reporting to the Fairy Doctor.
“Okay, let us set out.” The Fairy Doctor smiled as she inclined her head, sweeping her beautiful eyes over the entire camp. She suddenly said in a gentle tone, “Everyone, because the Wolf Head Mercenaries have met with some slight problems, I want to invite everyone to help take over their job of being my personal body guards, would this be possible?”
Having heard the Fairy Doctor’s words, the mercenaries, originally shocked, abruptly threw down the things in their hands and hastily rushed towards the Fairy Doctor in excitement.
Mu Li gazed at the Fairy Doctor who was happily arranging the mercenary squads, the corners of his mouth slightly twitching; he knew that this was the Fairy Doctor’s way of guarding against him.
After arranging her personal guards, the Fairy Doctor turned her head to look upon Mu Li who had yet to move from his original position. Smiling, she said, “Young Master Mu Li, when Xiao Yan was leaving, he asked me to help him pass you a message.”
“As long as he hands over everything he obtained in the cave, I can let go of the fact that he injured me.” Mu Li sneered and said.
“Haha, Young Master Mu Li, you are wrong. What Xiao Yan wanted me to tell you was that…… he will be back……” With a gentle smile, the Fairy Doctor softly said.
The skin around Mu Li’s eyes tightened as he deeply spit out a sigh, a killing intent obvious on his brow. It was only a long while later before he icily nodded, “Good, as long as he is able to survive in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, I will await his vengeance!”
Done talking, Mu Li fiercely swung his sleeves in anger before bringing the few men under him to leave the place.
As she gazed at the leaving Mu Li, the smiling expression on the Fairy Doctor’s charming face gradually changed as a familiar coldness flitted across those beautiful eyes. She used her fingers to sweep away the fine black hair across her forehead before suddenly lifting her head to look upon the tall mountain peaks behind her.
As the rays of dawn shone down onto the mountain peak, the proudly standing figure of a youth seemed visible.
Xiao Yan stood on the mountain peak as he gazed at the leaving mercenaries, twisting his head from side to side slowly. He firmly gripped his fist and sneered, “Son of a b*tch, just wait for me. This young master will remember everything that happened last night and when we next meet, I will make sure to doubly repay you!”
Deeply breathing in the fresh and cool morning air, Xiao Yan suddenly turned around and, carrying the black broadsword, he walked towards the dense forest without looking back. He knew that the true hardships had only just begun!
————————
In the fresh and clean air of the forest, Xiao Yan was on his stomach while hiding in the grass; the dried leaves atop his body allowed him to be safely hidden, Making great efforts to suppress his breathing to the lowest extent, his breath seemed to completely vanish. His body as still as a rock while his eyes penetrated the grass and stared unwaveringly at the giant red wolf which was slowly walking towards his direction.
Today was already the second day since Xiao Yan separated from the Fairy Doctor. During these two days, he continued to travel towards the center of the Magic Beast Mountain Range. According to his speed, he should now be at the middle portion of the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
During these two days, Xiao Yan met more than ten attacks from Magic Beasts, of which he achieved two victories. As for the rest, they ended in him fleeing for his life. However, although he ran many times, the life and death battles with the Magic Beasts helped Xiao Yan to emit a sense of genuine blood thirst…
These last two days, Xiao Yan had continuously tried to search for a training location that Yao Lao requested but had yet to find an appropriate location. Thus he could only continue to move about and brave the dangers from Magic Beast attacks as he continued his cautious ways of survival.
The giant red wolf in front of Xiao Yan was a matured rank one Fire Wolf. It’s strength was comparable to that of a human six star Dou Zhe. In the many scuffles with Magic Beasts before, he had met a Fire Wolf before but because of the restrictions the heavy sword on his back placed him under, he ultimately ended up fleeing.
With a finger lightly touching the ground, Xiao Yan gazed at the giant red wolf which was already within hand’s reach. His body suddenly slightly arced, maintaining his position for a little bit. Then, like a drawn bow, he shot out from the grass like a flash of lightning, causing the dried leaves to fly up and fill the air before slowly floating back down.
Xiao Yan’s body passed through the falling leaves to arrive at the back of the giant wolf. Tightly clenching his fist, with a violent Qi energy, the fist smashed heavily onto the back of the giant wolf.
“Octane Blast!”
As the echoes of the inward shout faded, a huge Qi energy caused the giant wolf to whimper as its body was ruthlessly swept for over ten meters across the ground before finally smashing into a tree trunk. It’s four limbs stiffened as it tried to fight back before eventually, unwillingly softening in defeat.
With the soles of his feet stepped heavily on the ground, Xiao Yan let out a long sigh. Having stayed in a creeping position for a long time, his arms and legs had become slightly numb. Twisting his head about, he quickly walked up and drawing the small dagger from his waist, he cut the giant wolf’s head open. Suddenly, a tiny red crystal appeared before his eyes.
“Oh, Magic Core?”
Xiao Yan gazed distractedly at this red crystal. Soon after he happily extracted it, not caring even the slightest about the blood and gore. Cleaning it against his clothes, this was the first Magic Stone he had been rewarded within two days.
After removing the Magic Stone, Xiao Yan threw the wolf’s corpse to one side. He lifted his head to try and gain his bearings before dashing towards the faint sounds of water.
Nimbly passing through layer upon layer of branches in the forest, Xiao Yan rapidly travelled for a short period before his line of sight suddenly widened before him. The rumbling sounds from a waterfall caused a wild glee to fill his face.
As he tread past the last giant tree, Xiao Yan could not help but take in a deep breath at the scene that appeared before his eyes.
Within Xiao Yan’s view, a huge waterfall that looked like it was coated in a layer of silver furiously fell from the tall mountain peaks. The water smashed onto a giant stone causing vapor to fill the air…
On the two sides of the waterfall were a few precipitous mountain walls. On the mountain walls, each and every naturally formed cave caused Xiao Yan to be overjoyed; as long as he stacked up some rocks at the cave entrance, he could keep the Magic Beasts at bay, never again would he have to worry that he would find a savage poisonous snake by his side when he awoke from his training.
“Finally found the best training spot…… “ Xiao Yan mumbled before he opened up his arms widely and deeply inhaled the air that was saturated with water vapor.
Rubbing his nose, Xiao Yan’s palm turned as two scrolls appeared in his hand. These two scrolls were obtained by Xiao Yan in the cave and due to his dangerous circumstances for the past two days, he did not have the time to study them in detail. Now that he had found a safe haven, he could finally be at ease and start to study the scrolls.
Chapter 118: Purple Cloud Wings
Leaping across the valley, Xiao Yan leisurely headed towards the waterfall. His gaze cautiously scanned the surrounding area and only after finding that there were no Magic Beasts nearby, did he finally sigh in relief.
Arriving at the precipitous mountain wall, Xiao Yan took a long time in carefully selecting a cave that was four to five meters from him. Carefully climbing up the slippery rocks, Xiao Yan was just like an agile monkey and quickly spelunked into the cave he had previously selected.
It was somewhat cool within the cave and not too small: clearly more than enough for Xiao Yan to live here by himself.
Attentively sweeping his gaze over the floor inside the cave, Xiao Yan found no signs that a Magical Beast had ever been in the cave. With that he finally felt reassured. He gave the cave a quick cleaning before removing some camping supplies from his storage ring and building a soft and dry bed.
After setting up the essential items, Xiao Yan used a big rock to block the cave entrance such that only one person could pass through at a time. Since he would be spending many days here, safety concerns were of paramount importance..
Finishing these tasks, Xiao Yan clapped his hands together to remove the dirt on them. As he gazed at the somewhat dusky cave, he mused for a moment and then took out the three Moonstones that he had taken from the treasure cave and placed them in the grooves on the walls. Immediately the gentle light caused the cave to brighten up.
As he looked upon the completely new cave, Xiao Yan grinned and sat on the soft bed wit a long sigh. Soon after, he crossed his legs and formed a training seal with both hands, slowly recovering the Dou Qi he had used up and the mental plus physical fatigue from the two days of continuous and hurried journeying.
As Xiao Yan fell into silence, his breathing gradually steadied and a perfect cycle of his inhalation and exhalation was formed. Every time the breathing cycle alternated, faint threads of energy took shape in the air around Xiao Yan body and followed Xiao Yan’s breathing to flow into his body. And after his Qi Paths refined the energy, it was stored into the Qi Vortex in his lower abdomen.
As he silently trained, Xiao Yan’s thoughts sunk into his body. With the amazing Inner View, he was able to distinctly see the Dou Qi that was flowing in his body.
His thoughts passed through several core Qi Paths before finally arriving at the lower abdomen area. As the foundation of the Dou Qi, the Vortex slowly spun as it appeared in his sights.
Once again viewing this miraculous Qi Vortex, Xiao Yan felt slightly gratified. After almost a year of training, the thumb-sized milky white Qi Vortex from the time when he had just advanced to become a Dou Zhe had changed to a light yellow color due to the Qi Method. Furthermore, it was much wider than before. Xiao Yan could clearly feel that the concentration of Dou Qi in the Qi Vortex was more than ten times stronger than it originally was.
Gazing at the light yellow Dou Qi that continuously flowed from the Qi Paths into the Qi Vortex, Xiao Yan faintly smiled as his thoughts slowly withdrew from the inside of his body. Only when the Dou Qi within his body had completely recovered did Xiao Yan open his eyes.
Lazily twisting his body, Xiao Yan’s body once again felt refreshed. Tightly clenching his fist, Xiao Yan could sense that because of the recent bitter trainings, his current strength was slowly improving from its current state of a five star Dou Zhe towards that of a six star one. Perhaps in another month or two, he would be able to enter the six star level.
And when that time comes, if he removed the restrictions of the heavy sword and together with the few types of Xuan Level Dou Techniquess, it was possible for him to contend against an eight star Dou Zhe. Of course this was only if the classes of the Dou Techniques that the eight star Dou Zhe was proficient in were below that of Xiao Yan’s. After all, Xiao Yan’s Qi Method was that of the lowest level of Huang, this was his only weakness!
After recuperating his energy to normal levels, Xiao Yan flipped his palm and a black scroll appeared in his hand. This was the High Xuan flying Dou Techniques.
Soaring through the skies was every person’s dream, and with regards to the thought of freely flying through the skies, Xiao Yan was likewise extraordinarily interested. Flying was the best way to escape. If they did not have the Little Fairy Doctor’s blue eagle that night, the difficulty of the duo escaping from the heavily surrounded cliff would have risen sharply.
On the Dou Qi Continent, turning Dou Qi into wings was a right that only strong practitioners who were Dou Wang and above could have. For the rest, they could only gaze into the sky and sigh. Yet Xiao Yan had by chance obtained the rare flying Dou Techniques which could enable him to break away from the restrictions others had.
Grasping the scroll with both hands, Xiao Yan licked his lips and untied the string that bound the scroll before slowly unfolding it.
As the pitch-black scroll unfolded, two pitch-black eagle wings that caused him to slightly tremble appeared before his eyes. Since this pair of eagle wings were painted on the scroll, they were not too big. However they faintly emitted some warmth. Looking at this mysterious sight, it was obviously not just a simple picture.
The eagle wings were dark black in color with purple clouds faintly showing. If examined closely, the pair of wings was actually like black steel, possessing a special type of metal texture. The feathers on the eagle wings emitted a soft warmth and when Xiao Yan lightly blew on it, his expression could not help but become slightly alarmed. Under the light breeze, the feathers on the eagle wings unexpectedly swished up as if they were real. It was an extremely miraculous sight.
As his gaze swept across the eagle wings, Xiao Yan’s eyes suddenly stopped at a line of words to one side and blinking his eyes, he softly recited the words out loud.
“Purple Cloud Black Fire Eagle, a rank five flying type Magic Beast. According to legends, it possesses the bloodline from phoenixes of ancient times. It’s flying speed is the fastest among all of the flying type Magic Beasts. By nature, it is both cunning and cruel, extremely hard to capture and only lives in the misty mountain areas at the north of the continent.”
“Rank five Magic Beast?” Shocked, Xiao Yan swallowed drily; that was no less than a Dou Wang human practitioner.
“The name of this Dou Technique is Eagle Wings, also known as Purple Cloud Wings. It took three years for me, the author, and a few friends to successfully capture a Purple Cloud Black Fire Eagle. Then, using a secret method to obtain both wings, we finally managing to create this scroll that allows one to learn a flying Dou Technique. Towards the end of my life, I made this Dou Technique using Dou Qi. Remember this, it can only be learnt by one person!
“What an audacious person, to actually dare to capture a Dou Wang level flying Magic Beast……” Xiao Yan clicked his tongue twice as he exclaimed in surprise; somewhat curious at exactly what level of strength the person who had left behind these things was.
As his gaze moved away from the small words, Xiao Yan carefully stretched out a palm and lightly touched the pair of slightly violet, pitch-black eagle wings.
“Why does this feel…… as if it was the genuine article?”
The feel of feathers on his palm caused Xiao Yan to be greatly amazed. Once again gently caressed it with his palm when his expression suddenly changed. In a flash, he withdrew his hand and appalled, he hoarsely said, “There is a soul in these eagle wings?”
Xiao Yan’s spiritual perception was extremely outstanding and when he was touching the eagle wings, he could distinctly sense that a brutal and berserk soul was hidden within the eagle wings.
“Eh? There is indeed a hidden soul but it is a soul which lacks a conscious.” An aged and astonished voice suddenly sounded out from the ring on Xiao Yan’s finger.
“No conscious?” Dazed, Xiao Yan skeptically asked.
“I think that this was caused by the secret method used to make a flying type Dou Technique in the past. Oh, removing the flying type Magic Beast’s soul and wings from the beast before finally fusing them together, of course, this kind of fusion needs to be paired with a unique and secret method; only then can a true Dou Techniques be made…… No wonder flying Dou Techniques are no longer passed down now, the process of making the Dou Techniques requires you to know such an eccentric thing.” Yao Lao voiced out his thoughts as he laughed in a dull tone. The origin of this chapter’s debut can be traced to N0v3l-B1n.
“Then…… there should be no negative effects from learning this thing right?” Xiao Yan asked somewhat apprehensively.
“The soul that you felt just now should belong to that Purple Cloud Eagle and after being worn down for so many years, all that’s left of it’s intelligence is the instincts of a wild beast. As long as one guards himself when using the scroll, there should be no problems.” Yao Lao laughed as he advised Xiao Yan.
Only after hearing Yao Lao’s words did Xiao Yan sigh in relief; he was indeed somewhat afraid that he would be controlled by the soul of the Purple Cloud Eagle if he practiced the Techniques, after all the intelligence of a rank five Magic Beast was not lower than that of a human’s.
Once again casting his gaze onto the black eagle wings on the scroll, Xiao Yan read through the instructions on the practice procedures a few times. Eyebrows slightly creasing, he softly said, “The scroll says that when practicing the Technique, the soul of the Purple Cloud Eagle within the wings will possibly attack the person who is practicing. If he is able to endure the attack of the soul, then he will be able to continue practicing. If not, that person should give up on practicing this technique.”
“Phew, looks like if I plan on practicing this flying Dou Technique, there will be some danger.” Xiao Yan spit out a breath before helplessly sighing.
“Naturally, to obtain something, one must pay the price.” Yao Lao said in a serious tone as he smiled and continued, “Given the strength of your soul, you don’t need to worry too much about being attacked by the soul of the Purple Cloud Eagle. Although it was once rank five, it is now just a damaged soul which cannot do much.”
At these words, Xiao Yan slightly inclined his head. Soon after, he gritted his teeth and finally made his resolution while slowly stretching forth his palms.
Both palms moved onto the scroll and lightly pressed on the soft wings, Xiao Yan took a deep breath and unhurriedly closed his eyes.
Shortly after Xiao Yan laid his palms on the wings, from within the eagle wings, the tyrannical eagle soul suddenly roared out with a piercing chirp that caused souls to tremble. The chirp penetrated through the scroll and followed the path through Xiao Yan’s palms and like a drill, it desperately hammered at his mind.
This was the first time Xiao Yan had experienced an attack by a soul; his body suddenly trembled as his complexion turned several shades whiter.
“Concentrate, shield your mind, let it attack!” From within the ring. Yao Lao shouted out.
Gritting his teeth as he nodded, Xiao Yan’s spiritual perception formed itself into a few layers of protection around his mind, allowing him to finally be able to resist the piercing attack on his soul.
As if it could see that the chirp of the soul had no effect, the soul of the Purple Cloud Eagle lapsed into silence for a moment before a brutal presence abruptly forced its way through the scroll burrowing straight into the depths of Xiao Yan’s thoughts.
“Steady your thoughts, do not let it control your emotion. Or else you will be reduced to a beast that only knows how to kill!” Yao Lao’s heavy voice sounded out at this appropriate moment.
Once again deeply sighing, Xiao Yan tightly guarded his thoughts, not daring to let that brutal presence invade to even the slightest degree.
This exchange between souls continued for over ten minutes before the Purple Cloud Eagle slowly withdrew in defeat. Though Xiao Yan’s strength was far from being able to match up to a grade five Magic Beast, after being suppressed for countless years, currently, there was already no difference between this Purple Cloud Eagle and a crippled wild beast.
When the wild beast like brutal presence finally withdrew from the tides of his thoughts, Xiao Yan’s aching body immediately collapsed. His pale face looked extremely tired. This kind of soul clashing was much more draining than a clash of physical bodies.
“Is this considered a success?” Xiao Yan asked as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
“Yes, you now possess the qualifications to practice this Technique.”
Xiao Yan felt gratified at these words, laughing, he once again placed both palms on the eagle wings. This time, he did not receive an soul attack and pursing his lips, the Dou Qi within Xiao Yan’s body followed the instructions on the scroll as it slowly started to flow. A moment later, the Dou Qi in Xiao Yan flowed into his arms and gradually entered into his palms.
When the Dou Qi appeared at the center of the palm, the eagle wings on the black scroll suddenly lit up; violet and black. They shined brighter and brighter before finally turning into two rays of tiny purplish black light as they entered into Xiao Yan’s palm.
After the two rays of tiny, purplish-black light entered into Xiao Yan’s body, they followed the Qi Paths and flowed until they reached the Qi Paths in Xiao Yan’s back before they abruptly stopped and turned around to unexpectedly force their way through to carve two tiny new paths.
These two new Qi Paths grew from the main Qi Paths and only when they reached out to create an exit at the back of the body, did they slowly stop their growth.
On the outside world, Xiao Yan was still distracted by the disappearance of the eagle wings, suddenly he let out an intense scream while sweat started pouring down his forehead as he gripped both fists tightly together. Heavily gasping, he hissed, cursing, “What is this damned thing doing?”
His body curled up as he lay on the bed, Xiao Yan bit his lip causing a stream of blood to flow out of his mouth. After enduring for a moment longer, Xiao Yan could finally no longer take the pain of his Qi Paths tearing themselves apart and thus he lost consciousness.
Chapter 119: Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame
When Xiao Yan regained consciousness, he felt a faint pain all over his body, much like being pricked all over by needles. He stroked the storage ring on his finger and withdrew a small jade bottle. Tilting the bottle, he dripped a few drops of pink liquid into his mouth.
After consuming the pink liquid with numbing properties, Xiao Yan felt the prickling pain all over his body slowly disappear. He sat up and picked up the black scroll, only to realize that all the words and the drawing of the eagle wings had disappeared.
Xiao Yan stared at the empty scroll and blinked his eyes in confusion. Suddenly, he stripped and took out a piece of crystal mirror from the storage ring and, with the help of the reflected light, he noticed that a pair of palm-sized black eagle wing tattoos had unknowingly appeared on his back.
“Are these the Purple Cloud Eagle Wings’?” Xiao Yan mumbled to himself in a somewhat uncertain voice. The Dou Qi in his body flowed towards the two Qi Paths that had been forcefully created and into the tattoo on his back.
Upon receiving the transmitted Dou Qi, the pitch-black tattoo immediately emitted a faint purple light. Finally, it transformed into a solid pair of wings. The size of the black eagle wings also expanded from palm-sized to about half a foot in length.
Xiao Yan curiously looked at the pair of eagle wings with purple lines as he thought of moving them. A small lifting force was created under his body but it was far too small to lift him off the ground.
“In order to fly using the Purple Clouds Wings’, it will require a large amount of Dou Qi. With your current strength and your lack of practice controlling the wings, I’m afraid that you can only glide over a short distance.” Seeing the somewhat comical actions of Xiao Yan, Yao Lao could not help but laugh.
Xiao Yan grinned and nodded his head. From the beginning, he did not expect to be able to fly immediately. The slight result he currently had was already very satisfactory. After all, everything had to be done slowly.
When Xiao Yan stopped transferring the Dou Qi, the eagle wings on his back once again nestled up on his back and transformed back into the pitch-black tattoo of a pair of eagle wings.
Xiao Yan gradually and lazily stretched his back before keeping the blank black scroll in front of him. A brief silence followed. Then he once again took out another extremely old scroll from the storage ring.
After sizing up the ancient looking yellowish scroll, Xiao Yan rubbed his hands together. For the ancient elder to hide this in a secretive place like between the gap of a bone, it was very likely that this was no ordinary item.
Xiao Yan untied the scroll before slowly spreading it. When he saw the interior, however, he froze slightly. “What’s this?”
Before his eyes was a parchment made of an unknown material which was slightly yellowed. On it, there was many lines that appeared to be drawn without any form or order. Xiao Yan slowly traced one of the lines with his finger but found nothing as it finally reached the edge of the parchment.
“What kind of nonsense is this?” Xiao Yan said with a frown as he stared at this secretive item that held a talisman-like appearance.
TL: The talisman refers to a taoist talisman
The black ring on his finger trembled slightly and Yao Lao appeared. The latter swept his gaze over the ancient looking parchment, pressed his eyebrows together and said in a deep voice, “It seems…like a fragment of a map.”
“Map? And a fragmented one?” Hearing Yao Lao words, Xiao Yan rolled his eyes. His interest immediately died.
Ignoring Xiao Yan’s disinterest, Yao Lao slowly spread out the entire parchment and studied it carefully. When his gaze landed on the bottom corner of the parchment where the blurry image of something that appeared like a Lotus, his face suddenly changed. Once again, he bent down and carefully studied the Lotus shaped mysterious drawing. The inception of this chapter’s publication is linked to n(o)vel(b)(i)(n).
The Lotus shaped object appeared faintly yellow and blurry, possibly a result of its age. However, its general appearance was still visible.
The entire Lotus was black, with a thin black flame appearing to coagulate on the surface. When looked upon seriously, the entire Lotus gave one a demon-like feeling.
“Teacher, have you found something?” Xiao Yan was slightly shocked after witnessing Yao Lao’s manner. After being with him for so long, this was the first time that he had seen Yao Lao revealing such a demeanor.
“This…don’t tell me that this is the ‘Purifying Lotus Demon Flame’?” After staring intently at the strange black Lotus and studying it carefully, Yao Lao suddenly mumbled in astonishment.
“Purifying Lotus Demon Flame?” Xiao Yan blinked his eyes uncertainly before an idea finally struck him. He probed, “Is this a Heavenly Flame?”
“Yes. This is one of the Heavenly Flames and it is the most mysterious one amongst the Heavenly Flames Ranking.” Yao Lao nodded his head in a serious manner as he spoke in a deep voice.
.
“The ‘Purifying Lotus Demon Flame’ is ranked third on the Heavenly Flames Ranking. It has the special ability to cleanse everything. Any object that is slightly exposed to it would be cleansed into nothingness, an extremely frightening strength. This kind of Heavenly Flame is extremely rare with only around two or three flowers of it existing, but no one has an idea about where they are. I don’t know who actually recorded their existence but nobody has ever seen this flame. The only reason that I could recognize it was because I had luckily found some rough clues about it when I was looking for Heavenly Flames. Tsk tsk. don’t tell me that this map would lead the way to a ‘Purifying Lotus Demon Flame’?” Yao Lao exclaimed as he stared at the ancient looking parchment with shock.
“It’s too bad that this is only a map fragment. With such vague information, we have no hopes of finding it.” Xiao Yan’s interest had spiked but when he recalled that it was only a fragment of a map, he felt regretful.
“It is already quite lucky to find this little piece of information about the ‘Clean Lotus Demon Flame’. Even if you managed to find the flame now, you do not have the ability to do anything about it. Let’s take things slow. You may find the other map fragments in the future.” Yao Lao smiled and said, “If you can successfully swallow the ‘Purifying Lotus Demon Flame’, it is difficult to predict just what level your ‘Flame Mantra’ would evolve to.”
“Isn’t the highest the High Tian Level?” Xiao Yan spread his hands and muttered.
“That may not be true.” Yao Lao laughed softly before suddenly becoming silent. He waved his hand and said in a bland voice, “The Dou Qi continent is very huge. Once you have reached a certain level, you would naturally realize just how big it is. For the current you, it is better to honestly climb from the bottom. Don’t forget that just a small Wolf Head Mercenary Troop was enough to cause you to be badly battered.”
Xiao Yan eyed the mysterious Yao Lao and helplessly nodded his head. He rubbed his lips together and said, “Who doesn’t climb from the bottom?”
Yao Lao smiled and with a slight quiver, turned into a stream of light which returned into the ring. As he did so, he laughed one last time, “Rest for today. From tomorrow onwards, we will begin the training!”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan touched his face and grinned, “I’m looking forward to it.”
……
The warm sunlight shined upon the land. Under it, the huge waterfall surged forward with all its might, finally turning into a silvery line as it rushed down from the cliff like a furious dragon. Instantly, a roar reverberated throughout the small valley.
Standing under the waterfall, Xiao Yan took in a deep breath of the moist air. He raised his head and watched the towering huge waterfall. Within his chest, his heart could not help but tremble.
In the empty land behind Xiao Yan, dozens of wooden poles were affixed into the ground. About two meters above them, there were another ten plus wooden logs that hung from the tall branches, swaying in all directions when the fierce wind blew.
The black ring trembled slightly and Yao Lao unsteadily came out of it. He smiled and nodded when he noticed the dozens of wooden logs. With a slightly apologetic gaze, he looked at Xiao Yan, pointed to the wooden logs and smiled, “Every morning from now on, you will be training on these logs. I will manipulate these hanging logs to attack you. You must dodge them and you are not allowed to remove the heavy sword. Oh, I almost forgot.. you have already started calling it ‘Heavy Xuan Ruler’… When you dodge, you are not allowed to remove the ‘Heavy Xuan Ruler’. On top of this, you are not allowed to use ‘Vacuum Hand’ or ‘Fire Palm’.
Hearing this, Xiao Yan inclined his head slightly, his face filled with eagerness. He was fairly confident about his dodging speed.
“Do you want to try?” Seeing Xiao Yan’s expression, Yao Lao suddenly smiled and said. The smile was somewhat crafty.
“If you are willing to.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Xiao Yan’s feet stepped off the ground, propelling his body elegantly onto one of the wooden logs. His tall frame gave him a slight superior disposition as he waved his hands at Yao Lao and said, “Come. Let me see just how tough this thing that Teacher designed really is.”
“You have a good attitude. Let me see how many logs you can withstand.” Nodding with a smile, Yao Lao waved his sleeve. An strong gale rushed forth from the sleeve. Immediately, one of the ten plus wooden logs swaying randomly in midair hurtled towards Xiao Yan.
The faint pressure emitted from the hurling wooden log caused Xiao Yan’s face to become serious. His eyes locked onto the approaching wooden log before he suddenly bent over. The wooden log was close to his back as it dangerously flew past him.
Before he had time to recover from bending down, another wooden log shot towards him. Xiao Yan stepped onto the wooden pole beneath his feet and tried to jump up to dodge the wooden log. His face suddenly changed when he realized that the foot he had used to step on the wooden pole appeared to be stuck to it.
The unexpected change shook Xiao Yan up. However, his mental strength was quite good. He freely manipulated the Dou Qi in his body and quickly transferred it to his foot. Once again, he stepped heavily and his leg was finally freed. At the same time, he dodged two other wooden logs that were headed for him.
Although Xiao Yan managed to dodge the attack, his legs were stuck to a wooden pole when the fifth wooden log came hurtling towards him. Finally, it ruthlessly knocked him off the wooden pole.
Watching the moaning Xiao Yan on the ground, Yao Lao asked with a smile, “How was it?”
“What did you do to the wooden poles?” Xiao Yan rubbed his swelling chest as he groaned.
“The wooden poles are covered with black glue. Each time you move, you need to use Dou Qi to overcome the stickiness. Otherwise, you won’t dodge in time and be knocked out. Therefore, you will need to continuously maintain the flow of Dou Qi in your body while dodging. After maintaining this state for a long time, you will gain a lot.” Yao Lao faintly smiled.
“This thing here is meant to train your agility and your control of Dou Qi…” Yao Lao turned around, pointed to the wooden poles and smiled.
Chapter 120: Promotion to Six Star
The surging waterfall angrily smashed against the rocks as the resulting water vapor enveloped the small valley.
On the empty ground beneath the waterfall, a topless young man carrying a strange looking black sword was dodging whizzing attacks from wooden logs with a serious face. The occasional leaping and swift dodging that he performed was as nimble as a monkey. Under the sunlight, his tall strong body appeared to be relaxed.
A month had passed since Xiao Yan had arrived at the valley. During this period, Xiao Yan spent most of his time on the wooden poles, which resulted in many injuries and bruises on his body that came from being knocked down by these wooden logs.
Naturally, with effort comes reward. The current Xiao Yan was already able to dodge around twelve wooden logs at the same time. This was a great improvement compared to a month ago when he met a shameful end under five wooden logs.
On a huge rock outside the wooden log area, Yao Lao was seated with a smiling gaze as he observed the young man continuing to dodge in between the twelve wooden logs. He nodded slightly and swung his sleeve. One of the last three wooden logs hanging in midair suddenly rushed at Xiao Yan ferociously.
The unexpected attack promptly broke the equilibrium that Xiao Yan and the twelve wooden logs had. The little gaps that Xiao Yan could use were entirely blocked by the newly added wooden log.
Xiao Yan’s face turned serious as his eyes stared intently at the thirteen wooden logs that were coming at him from all directions. In the next moment, a wooden log neared his body, carrying an intense wind pressure that caused Xiao Yan to hold his breath.
Releasing a deep breath, the Dou Qi in Xiao Yan’s body surged forth as he tilted his body and dodged the two wooden logs that were headed for him.
Before he could recover from the angle which he used to dodge, Xiao Yan feet suddenly stepped on the wooden pole, allowing his body to jump to another wooden pole. He moved his head slightly back as another wooden log dangerously flew past his ears.
After one month’s adaptation, Xiao Yan’s dodging speed had far surpassed what it was a month ago. Although the twelve wooden logs’ continuous chain of attacks were always perilously and narrowly avoided, it was difficult for any of them to actually hit his body.
The strong pressure that the wooden logs carried as they narrowly passed him caused pain to well up on Xiao Yan’s skin. However, he did not dare use any Dou Qi to protect his body. At such a moment, every thread of Dou Qi must be used at the most appropriate place. Otherwise, once his Dou Qi was exhausted, what awaited him was the terrible end of being knocked off the poles. Such an ending was what had been accompanying him during this period of time.
A Low Huang Qi Method was far too insufficient to support any squandering by Xiao Yan. Hence, he needed to be extremely thrifty when deciding how each thread of Dou Qi was to be spent.
“If only the Qi Method could evolve. Then I would not need to be so ‘thrifty’…” Xiao Yan could not help but think after dodging the eleventh wooden log.
Just as the wooden log skimmed passed Xiao Yan, the twelfth wooden log came shooting towards him. However, Xiao Yan, who was already prepared, turned his feet on the wooden log. Only his toes were hooked onto the wooden log as he inclined his entire body at a strange angle.
“Schfwaff…” the wooden log whizzed passed him with just a mere half an inch of space. The sharp wind caused Xiao Yan to grimace in pain.
When the tail of the twelfth wooden log passed him, Xiao Yan’s face changed. Behind him was another log that was headed for him at an even faster speed and with greater strength.
In order to adapt to the twelve wooden logs’ attack, Xiao Yan had to spend over twenty days to grasp their timing and attacking orbit. The thirteenth log that Yao Lao added had caused him to be at a loss.
Feeling the approaching wind, Xiao Yan slowly let out a breath in his heart. He suddenly closed his eyes at that moment and listened to the sound of the pressuring wind behind him. The sweat pores on Xiao Yan’s back swayed like tentacles.
With the help of the pressuring air, a faint image tracing the wooden log’s attack appeared in the mind of the close-eyed Xiao Yan. In this timeless mental space, Xiao Yan managed to completely trace the orbit of the attack and the strength it possessed. The best position to dodge it naturally surfaced in his mind.
In the real world, Yao Lao’s eyes brightened when he saw Xiao Yan suddenly closing his eyes. In a somewhat shocked soft voice, he whispered, “This little boy actually knows how to use his spiritual perception?”
When the wooden log appeared in his mind, Xiao Yan’s body became strangely distorted. His two hands hugged his head and his body fell in an upright manner. At the moment he fell, the huge wooden log narrowly passed by his face; the pressuring wind caused Xiao Yan’s ears to swell slightly.
After hazardously dodging the thirteenth wooden log’s attack, Xiao Yan’s feet stepped on the side of a wooden pole, shooting his body upwards and finally landing on the ground. He grabbed his clothes and carelessly pulled them over his body.
Xiao Yan let out a breath and, before hearing Yao Lao’s words, sat upright on the ground and immediately took out a small bottle from his storage ring. He tilted the mouth of the bottle and two medicinal pills rolled out.
“Huh. have I consumed all the ‘Energy Recovery Pills’? It looks like I will have to go and pick some medicinal ingredients.”
Seeing that there were only two pills remaining, Xiao Yan helplessly shook his head. He placed one of them in his mouth and quickly went into his training form.
Seated on the ground, Xiao Yan swiftly entered the training mode. After months of training, he knew that the time after his Dou Qi was exhausted was the best time to train. At this time, all the cells and muscles in his body were far more greedy for Qi than usual.
Following his entrance into training mode and his calm breathing, a faint energy flow spiraled around Xiao Yan’s body. Any energy that came into contact with his skin was greedily consumed, much like a liquid being absorbed by a sponge.
As the training continued, the energy surrounding Xiao Yan’s body grew increasingly dense without any sign of diminishing.
Yao Lao tapped his finger on the rock as he calculated Xiao Yan’s training time. His eyebrows suddenly jumped; the time Xiao Yan took for training was slightly longer than usual.
According to Yao Lao’s calculations, the Dou Qi storage space in Xiao Yan should be approximately full. However, he noticed that Xiao Yan still showed no sign of stopping…
“Don’t tell me… he is about to break through and become a six star Dou Zhe?”
Yao Lao paused his tapping motion and softly spoke with a smile, “Not bad. My baseline was one and a half months to reach a six star Dou Zhe. But it appears that this boy managed to save half a month. It looks like the fight in the forest a while ago had benefited him significantly.”
Staring intently at Xiao Yan who had his eyes closed, the sharp eyed Yao Lao found something amiss. He frowned. “He is a little forceful in his breakthrough. It looks like a little external help is needed.”
After being silent for a while, Yao Lao lifted his finger and a wisp of air shot from his finger. It hit Xiao Yan’s head and instantly knocked him out of his training state.
With his training disrupted, Xiao Yan immediately opened his eyes and glared angrily at Yao Lao. This kind of opportunity to breakthrough was not something that could be easily encountered.
“Stupid. Had you continued to forcefully breakthrough, you would have to take a month to fully recover even if you did successfully become a six star Dou Zhe.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan promptly languished. Exchanging a month’s worth of time for a breakthrough was clearly a losing proposition. Sighing, Xiao Yan regretfully wailed, “What a good opportunity.”
Rolling his eyes, Yao Lao opened his mouth and scolded, “I didn’t say there was no chance. Get onto the wooden poles immediately. I will use all fifteen wooden logs!”
“Fifteen?” Pulling the corner of his mouth, Xiao Yan wanted to point his middle finger at Yao Lao. His limit was thirteen wooden logs; if there were fifteen wooden logs, he would be instantly knocked off of the wooden poles.
“Idiot, don’t you know to remove the Heavy Xuan Ruler?” Eyeing Xiao Yan who was staying put and refusing to get on the wooden poles, Yao Lao could neither smile nor cry as he scolded, “All you require now is an opportunity and you would be able to successfully breakthrough. Stop procrastinating!”
Hearing that he could remove the Heavy Xuan Ruler, Xiao Yan’s eyes brightened. He bent his legs and with a low groan, he grabbed the ruler’s handle and pulled it off with his strength before stabbing it into the ground.
Once the Heavy Xuan Ruler left his body, Xiao Yan felt that his body appeared to be floating. The Dou Qi inside him exploded like a volcanic eruption and surged through his Qi Paths. A feeling of increased strength spread throughout Xiao Yan’s body accompanied with the continuous cracking sound of his bones.
Once again Xiao Yan felt as if he had been reborn. This feeling was like taking a sip of water on a hot day. All of his pores emitted a relaxed feeling that came from deep within him.
Stepping lightly on the ground, Xiao Yan felt that his body was as light as feather. He raised his head and watched the fifteen wooden logs that were hanging in midair. Grinning, he stepped off the ground, shot his body onto a wooden pole like a cannonball and stood upright.
“Come!”
Xiao Yan spread his arms and waved at Yao Lao. After being relieved of his burden, he was confident that he could withstand being attacked by fifteen wooden logs simultaneously.
“Good attitude.”
Seeing that Xiao Yan’s confidence had grown, Yao Lao smiled. With a wave of his sleeve, a violent wind blew and the fifteen logs shook. A moment later, they were accompanied by a ferocious force as they rushed at Xiao Yan from all directions.
Watching the wooden logs that were smashing through the air towards him, Xiao Yan pursed his lips. His feet stepped lightly on the wooden pole and proactively moved towards it.
Under the control of Yao Lao, the fifteen wooden logs above the wooden poles formed an attack without any gaps. Under their simultaneous attacks, a strong wind blew the leaves and grass off the ground and scattered them in the air.
Without the burden of the Heavy Xuan Ruler, Xiao Yan’s speed increased by over two times. The dodging motion of his body appeared totally natural and the black glue under his feet was no longer able to slow him down.
Under the heavy attacks, the figure of the young man on the wooden poles continuously appeared and disappeared. The fifteen wooden logs repeated attacks were totally evaded by Xiao Yan who had been relieved of his burden,
Seeing Xiao Yan astutely dodging within the training ground, Yao Lao nodded his head. A hint of admiration briefly appeared in his old eyes; Xiao Yan’s performance without his burden had exceeded his expectation.
After the last wooden log was precariously dodged by Xiao Yan, the ten plus wooden logs that were shaking unsteadily in midair suddenly stopped.
Slowly letting out a breath, Xiao Yan stood like a stilt on a wooden pole as he swallowed the last ‘Energy Recovery Pill’. After a brief silence, a faint energy flow suddenly and strangely swarmed around him and wildly flowed into his body.
As more and more energy was poured into Xiao Yan, a pale yellow light appeared on his body. His delicate and handsome face was like a piece of warm jade and after a while, he opened his eyes, revealing an essence like light in his pupils.
After taking a long and deep breath, Xiao Yan tilted his head and eyed Yao Lao behind him. His face was filled with a brilliant smile.
“I’ve broken through!”
Hearing this, Yao Lao smiled and nodded. His gaze carried some satisfaction.
Upon breaking through to a six star Dou Zhe, Xiao Yan’s strength was once again enhanced significantly. Additionally, he was also able to dodge all fifteen wooden logs with the Heavy Xuan Ruler on his back after another three days of training. This obvious improvement caused him to smile widely.
Having become accustomed to the attack by fifteen wooden logs, Xiao Yan was finally able to avoid being bruised all over like he had been in the past when training against the logs. The peaceful days that followed gave Xiao Yan great joy.
……
Under the dense cover of trees, Xiao Yan walked with the Heavy Xuan Ruler on his back. His gaze continued to sweep around him. After the day’s training was over, he had come out of the valley to look for the medicinal ingredients for the ‘Energy Recovery Pill’.
The ‘Energy Recovery Pill’ was something extremely important to Xiao Yan’s training. With it, he could save more than half the time he need to recover his Dou Qi. Most importantly, time was something that Xiao Yan currently needed.
Although Xiao Yan had finally become a true first tier alchemist with the growth of his strength, the ‘Energy Recovery Pill’ was a second tier medicine that he, with the ability of a first tier alchemist, could not refine. Hence, refining the ‘Energy Recovery Pill’ was something that he had to rely on Yao Lao for.
Additionally, the medicinal ingredients needed to refine the ‘Energy Recovery Pill’ were quite rare. Back then in Wu Tan City, Xiao Yan could only find enough medicinal ingredients to refine ten pills. Under normal circumstances, just finding the medicinal ingredients would consume a significant amount of Xiao Yan’s time.
However, Xiao Yan could sigh in relief as this was the Mystical Beast Mountain Range where there was an abundance of medicinal ingredients. Out of the five medicinal ingredients needed to refine the ‘Energy Recovery Pill’, four had been found by Xiao Yan in significant quantity. If he could find the last and the most important ingredient, ‘Red Spiritual Recovery Fruit’, a sufficient number of pills could be refined for Xiao Yan’s use.
The ‘Red Spiritual Recovery Fruit’ usually grew in places where energy was dense. Of course, this was not always a given but it was better for Xiao Yan to search along the lines of this clue than to blindly look for it.
Relying on his outstanding spiritual perception, Xiao Yan could vaguely feel the surrounding energy abundance and rough positions of high energy places. His current path was headed towards a place where he sensed the energy was the most dense at.
Noon was a time that the Magic Beasts seldom roamed around. Understanding this, Xiao Yan picked this time to search for the medicinal ingredients. During his journey, he rarely met any Magic Beast roaming in search of food. The one or two of them that he occasionally found were avoided when he detected them.
Xiao Yan’s figure quickly passed through the cover of some bushes. Following which, a small pile of rubble became visible to his eyes. Behind the pile of rocks was a mountain wall with green ivy creeping all over it.
Eyeing the pile of rubble, Xiao Yan rubbed his hands. From his spiritual awareness, the energy that was aggregated around that area was the densest in the surrounding region.
Xiao Yan’s gaze, which was focused on the pile of rubble, was slowly sweeping the area and a moment later, it paused on a purple colored sapling on the mountain wall. The sapling grew from within the mountain wall. On it, green and red colors were interwoven because hiding under the green leaves were stealthily hidden red fruits that were emitting a faint fragrance.
“Red Spiritual Recovery Fruit…” Staring at that sapling, Xiao Yan smiled and heaved a sigh of relief. After searching for two days, he had finally found it.
The medicinal ingredient he needed was just in front of him but Xiao Yan did not hurry out. He knew that where there was a dense energy and rare medicinal herbs, there was likely a Magic Beast guarding it.
Xiao Yan’s eyes cautiously swept across his surroundings but did not find the trace of any Magic Beast. He frowned. After another brief silence, Xiao Yan slowly left his hiding place when he found no sign of any Magic Beast appearing. Then he slowly and carefully headed for the purple-colored small tree.
As his footsteps approached the tree, a cold feeling suddenly appeared in his heart. He halted his footsteps and pressed his eyebrows together before turning around and runing.
“Bang!”
Just as Xiao Yan turned around, a huge white figure suddenly descended the peak of the mountain wall, smashing onto the ground. Like a small hill, it completely blocked Xiao Yan’s path of retreat.
Seeing the sudden appearance of a huge Magic Beast, Xiao Yan felt a chill run down his spine. His body froze on the spot, not daring to move.
The beast that had appeared before Xiao Yan was a huge white Magic Ape. This Magic Ape was around two to three meters tall and its entire body was covered by long, snow-white hair. Its white fangs extended out of its sinister, huge mouth. From its pair of blood red eyes, a brutal killing intent was being emitted.
Xiao Yan’s eyes scanned the Magic Ape’s white body and took in a cold breath. “A rank two Magic Beast, Blizzard Magic Ape?”
“Bang, Bang!”
The Magic Beast held a coarse breath, its pair of blood red eyes stared intently at the human who had trespassed on its territory. Its huge claws smashed onto the ground, turning a couple of rocks to dust.
Eyeing the Magic Ape which showed no sign of hiding its killing intent, Xiao Yan swallowed his saliva. A rank two Magic Beast; its strength was equivalent to that of a human Dou Shi. With his current strength, fighting a rank two Magic Beast was no different than seeking death.
“Teacher?” Xiao Yan shouted in his heart but there was no response. His face became bitter, “Stop fooling around. This is a rank two Magic Beast…”
After his fruitless attempt at calling for help, Xiao Yan could only return his gaze to the Magic Ape’s body and study it carefully. When he did so, he found that there was a terrifying gash on the abdomen of this Magic Ape.
The gash nearly ripped apart the Magic Ape’s abdomen and when it moved its body, fresh blood came pouring out of the wound which painted the surrounding white hair scarlet.
From the appearance of the terrifying wound, it was likely caused by the claws of some savage Magic Beast. A wounded Magic Beast was usually crazy and the unlucky Xiao Yan happened to coincidentally trespass upon the territory of this severely wounded Magic Beast.
Xiao Yan’s eyes narrowed as he stared intently at the frightening wound where fresh blood continued to flow. An idea struck him. Although he was not able to defeat a rank two Magic Beast under normal circumstances, the current situation seemed to be in his favor.
“Dammit. It’s you who started this…” After scolding hatefully, Xiao Yan took off the Heavy Xuan Ruler from his back and fiercely stabbed it into the ground. The circumstances did not allow him to hold back.
Xiao Yan’s action appeared to be nothing but a challenge to the angry Magic Ape. Immediately, this Magic Ape pounded its claws on its hard chest, emitting a clanging sound.
The Magic Beast’s charging towards Xiao Yan, its red eyes staring at the latter. On the beast’s huge claws, a white-colored energy was swiftly being gathered. Almost instantly, the surrounding air turned cold.
Stepping lightly off the ground, Xiao Yan softly cried, “Purple Cloud Wings: Activate!”
Following his voice, a pair of black eagle wings that were two to three meters long suddenly shot out of Xiao Yan’s back. The wings flapped and with the help of the lift created, Xiao Yan quickly flew over ten meters above the ground.
“Roar!” the Magic Ape roared violently as the cold, white energy formed into a ball. It was released from the Magic Ape’s palm and shot towards Xiao Yan.
A month of agility training had endowed Xiao Yan with a monkey-like nimbleness. He strangely moved aside and easily avoided the Magic Ape’s attack.
After evading the attack, Xiao Yan curled his palm and aimed at the sinister looking wound on the Magic Ape’s abdomen and softly growled in a cold voice, “Vacuum Hand!”
Following his words, a ferocious suction force was emitted from his palm. Even the broken rocks on the ground were pulled by the suction force and shot at Xiao Yan.
“Roar!” The ferocious suction force pulled on the Magic Ape until its body was tilted sideways. When it finally stabilized its body, however, a huge pain erupted from its abdomen. Lowering its head, it found that blood continued to flow out like water from the wound that had yet to completely close.
The intense pain caused the mad Magic Ape to lose its sense of reasoning. With footsteps that vibrated the ground, it stomped towards Xiao Yan with killing intent.
Using his litheness, Xiao Yan managed to avoid all of the Magic Ape’s attacks. His palm repeatedly emitted a suction force that drew more fresh blood from within the Magic Ape.
On the pile of rubble, a strange scene was being enacted. The exceedingly mad Magic Ape unceasingly and angrily smashed at the small human figure beside him. Having lost its reasoning, it was no different from an ordinary Magic Beast. The human figure beside him was like a mosquito that continued to draw a large amount of blood from the Magic Beast’s abdomen each time he waved his hand.
The pile of rocks were entirely covered by bright red fresh blood, giving it a frightening appearance.
After a while of running around the Magic Ape, Xiao Yan was at his limit. He pulled out another suction force and this time around, pulled the intestines of the Magic Ape out along with more blood.
Being struck by a fatal blow, the Magic Ape roared a final time before dying. It fell heavily like a small hill collapsing while keeping its huge blood red eyes open.
At the moment when the Magic Ape fell, Xiao Yan’s weakened body also collapsed onto the ground. He ignored the blood blanketing the ground as he laid on the ground and took in huge gulps of breath.
After lying on the pile of rocks for a long while, Xiao Yan finally managed to slowly regain some of his strength. He eyed the Magic Ape’s corpse a short distance away and could not help but feel a lingering fear in his heart. Had he not risen to a six star Dou Zhe or had the Magic Ape not been seriously wounded and lost its sense of reasoning due to the pain, it was likely that the one who would have died here today would have been himself…
“Little boy, you actually managed to kill a rank two Magic Beast. Tsk tsk, amazing…” Yao Lao floated out from the ring and smiled when he observed the huge corpse.
Xiao Yan threw the smiling Yao Lao a disdainful look. He got up snappily and threw a phrase ‘Watch my back’ before forming his training pose and recovering the exhausted Dou Qi in his body.
Watching Xiao Yan close his eyes and recover his energy, Yao Lao floated in midair and acted as his guard.
Half an hour later, Xiao Yan finally slowly opened his eyes. His hands felt a little numb but his body was finally filled with Dou Qi.
“The energy here is quite good.” Xiao Yan mumbled as he stood up. He patted his hand and frowned, “The current ‘Flame Mantra’ is really too lousy. It only supported me for ten minutes. Had the Magic Ape held on a little longer, the one who would have fallen would have been me.”
“Hummph. It is really lousy.” Yao Lao was fairly honest regarding this point. Even if the ‘Flame Mantra’ had great potential, its starting point was too low. Its stamina or endurance in battles was plainly too weak.
“Ugh. When can I find a suitable Heavenly Flame…” Xiao Yan faced the sky and sighed. The pre-evolved ‘Flame Mantra’ was going to be his weakness for quite a long time.
Xiao Yan shook his head and sighed as he walked towards the small sapling. He plucked the thirty-plus ‘Red Spiritual Recovery Fruit’ on it, placed them in a small jade bottle and stored it in his storage ring.
Once the ‘Red Spiritual Recovery Fruit’ was properly taken care of, Xiao Yan took out a dagger from the storage ring and headed for the Blizzard Magic Ape’s corpse. He then proceeded to cut open its head.
“Heh, there was a Magic Stone?”
Cutting open the Magic Ape’s head, a snow-white Magic Stone which emitted a slight chill appeared within Xiao Yan’s sight.
Xiao Yan happily retrieved the Magic Stone, this was the first time he had encountered a Magic Stone of this grade. Somewhat excitedly flinging it about, he grasped it in his hand while the faint chill caused him to shiver slightly. At once, he made haste to carefully store it in the Storage Ring.
“Lets go.” Xiao Yan packed up his things and waved his finger as Yao Lao shot back into the ring.
Rubbing the simple ring on his hand, Xiao Yan lifted the Black Xuan Ruler onto his back before taking firm and stable strides as he traveled slowly down the path he had come from.
Leaving the pile of rubble, Xiao Yan travelled through the dense forest to quickly return to the valley. As a result of the battle, Xiao Yan was covered entirely in blood, thus he applied a layer of grass paste over his body which helped mask the scent of blood. It was an essential item while in the forest.
Once again stealthily journeying a length of distance, Xiao Yan’s footsteps abruptly stopped, he could sense faint voices coming from somewhere to his left.
Xiao Yan’s brows slightly wrinkled as he swept his gaze over the area before rapidly burrowing into a nearby thicket. Through a small crack in the grass, he unhurriedly observed the surroundings.
Not long after Xiao Yan had hidden himself, two figures slowly appeared within Xiao Yan’s line of sight. When he moved his gaze to sweep across the duo’s chest, the look on his face slightly changed. In his heart, he cursed in a cold and soft voice, “They are from the Wolf Head Mercenaries?”
“I think…… we had better stop here. If we continue, we would be entering into the inner section of the Magic Beast Mountain Range. The Magic Beasts there could easily kill us with a single swipe.” Slowly walking over, one of the mercenaries suggested, a look of worry on his face.
At his companion’s words, the other mercenary also somewhat helplessly nodded his head in agreement, swearing, “Damnit, where exactly is that brat hiding? The commander has already given the death order, we must find that bastard dead or alive.”
“Maybe he has already been eaten by a Magic Beast and become mud. Heh heh……”
“Heh, that could be possible. Looking at his age, he doesn’t seem like he has much experience in the forest given his age…… Forget it, let our search end here today. We’ll return to report and continue tomorrow.” One of the mercenaries said as he frowned before pausing his steps to peer into the already somewhat dark forest.
“En, too bad, that brat is worth eight thousand gold. If we have the good luck to encounter him, judging by both of our strengths as five star Dou Zhes, stopping him should not be difficult.” The other mercenary nodded before regretfully voicing his thoughts.
“Heh, lucky him, lets go.”
The mercenary smiled as he nodded. However, just as he turned around, his complexion abruptly changed. Turning back like lightning, a fierce Qi heading right for his head greeted him.
This sudden attack caused the mercenary to extend out a fist out of reflex to clash heavily with the incoming fist. However, the strength in the Qi attack had wildly exceeded his expectations.
After making contact, the mercenary’s face turned a deathly pale, his chest felt blocked as he violently spit out a mouthful of blood while his body was flung away through the air.
“Kill him!” In the split second before he was sent flying, the mercenary hastily shouted at his companion who had been thrown into a daze by the sudden turn of events.
However, before his shout faded, to his horror, he found that his body which was flying backwards was suddenly pulled forward by a strong sucking force.
In midair, a figure flashed forward. As the figure met the mercenary’s body, an elbow ferociously smashed into the mercenary’s throat. Immediately an ominous snapping sound echoed about the empty forest.
“Bang……” Still in the air, the mercenary’s limp body fell downwards, heavily crashing onto the ground and causing a cloud of dust to splash up.
Between the start of the sudden attack and the mercenary’s demise, only a short seven or eight seconds had passed. By the time the other mercenary regained his senses, he found that his companion had already lost his breath of life.
Overwhelmed with shock, the remaining mercenary lifted his head as he gazed in alarm at the nearby figure who was soaked in a layer of blood. Somewhat stuttering, he yelled, “Who are you? Why did you attack us?”
“Hehe, weren’t you all looking for me?” The figure raised it’s head, revealing the smiling face of a handsome youngster.
“You’re.. Xiao Yan?” The mercenary’s pupils shrunk and after shouting the name, he suddenly turned and ran. While escaping, his hands quickly fished out a signal beacon. Just as he prepared to fire it, the sucking force behind him rose sharply and the signal beacon flew out of his hands…
Easily catching the signal beacon, Xiao Yan fiddled with it for a while before storing it in the Storage Ring. He pressed down lightly with his foot and his body suddenly shot towards the mercenary.
Looking at Xiao Yan’s fierce approach, panic flashed across the mercenary’s face. With a choking sound, he drew the sword at his waist before viciously hacking at Xiao Yan in anger.
Xiao Yan’s body slightly leaned to one side, easily dodging the mercenary’s attacks. In a flash, Xiao Yan’s left leg ferociously kicked out, immediately landing on the lower abdomen of the mercenary.
Receiving a heavy blow to his lower abdomen, the mercenary groaned as a line of blood sprouted from the corner of his mouth. Staggering back a few steps, he saw the figure in front of him flash as the sword in his hand was snatched away which was followed by an ice-cold feeling of metal on his neck.
“If you make another move.. I will cut open your neck.”
The soft devilish voice slowly sounded in the mercenary’s ear, causing him to freeze up stiffly on the spot.
“You… If you kill me, the Wolf Head Mercenaries will never let you go!” A layer of cold sweat appeared on the mercenary’s forehead as he threatened in a rough voice.
“Hehe, let me go? All of you have never intended let me go, right?” Sneering as he laughed, Xiao Yan emotionlessly continued, “Answer a few questions for me.”
“Will you let me go after I answer?”
“You do not have the right to choices.” All smiles, Xiao Yan pushed the sword slightly closer, “If you don’t believe me, I can make tens of cuts on your body before throwing you into a flesh-eating ant’s nest?”
At these words, the mercenary’s face immediately turned a few shades paler. His legs continuously trembled, regretting that he thought the youth who looked like he was in his teens wouldn’t be malicious.
“What do you want to ask?”
“Did Mu Li obtain anything from the stone case in the cave? He seems to lack the key right?” Xiao Yan smiled savagely as he inquired.
“Commander Mu Li moved both the stone case and the stone table back, as for what was contained within, I do not have the authority to know.”
Eyeing the mercenary who seemed to be telling the truth, Xiao Yan’s brows slightly creased, “How much is the bounty the Wolf Head Mercenaries placed on me?”
“Gu.” The mercenary swallowed before nodding his head with some difficulty, “Since the young commander returned, the commander has issued a statement that whoever reports any traces of you to the Wolf Head Mercenaries will be given a high reward.”
“Hehe, I can’t believe that they are actually so deathly persistent…” Lightly chuckling, Xiao Yan had a cold murderous intent in his face.
“One last question, did anything happen to the Little Fairy Doctor?”
“Nothing. After returning to Qingshan town, the Little Fairy Doctor has not left the Thousand Medicinal House. The commander and the rest dare not make a move.” Eyes turning, the mercenary stealthily slipped a dagger out of his sleeve.
“Oh…” Slightly nodding his head, Xiao Yan raised his brows. An unsympathetic smile suddenly appeared on his face, “Looks like you also know that I never intended to let you go back alive.” The original appearance of this chapter can be found at N0v3l.B1n.
“So, you can go and die!” An ominous glint flashed in the mercenary’s eyes as the dagger in his hand suddenly thrust towards Xiao Yan’s chest.
With an icy smile, Xiao Yan floated backwards, the sword in his hand pulled away as a trace of blood appeared on the blade.
Looking at the lightly twitching body of the fallen mercenary, Xiao Yan let loose a cold sneer. He had never planned to let this person return to make a report, which would lead to a huge troop being dispatched to the areas around here.
“Tch, tch. Looks like the commander of the Wolf Head Mercenaries is also a very vicious and thorough person. No wonder he fathered a son like Mu Li.” With a somewhat gloomy and cold smile, Xiao Yan carefully cleaned up any traces of the fight before dragging the two bodies some distance away to throw them into an abyss.
“Teacher, looks like we need to tighten our training schedule. In just a month, they’ve managed to come so far. Perhaps in a few more days, they will be able to find the place…” Xiao Yan said as his mouth twitched. Casting a glance at the endless abyss, Xiao Yan clapped his hands together as if to wipe off the grime from the bodies on his hands.
“En. Indeed, the schedule needs to be tightened.” From the ring, Yao Lao’s faint voice emerged.
Xiao Yan blinked as he laughed while clicking his fingers together. A small smile on his face, he asked, “Teacher, when will you honor the promise of the Di Rank Dou Technique?”
“Heh heh, little brat, don’t think that a Di Rank Dou Technique is the same as a Xuan Rank Dou Technique. To learn this thing, you need to be prepared for a world of pain!” Yao Lao maliciously laughed.
“Have I not already gone through a lot of hardship?” Feeling his face, Xiao Yan lightly smiled and then turned to travel towards the valley.
“I look forward to the so-called Di Rank Dou Technique. Exactly how strong will it be?”
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