The Immortals Poison

by Stayrr

This is the story of the youth Wen Leyang, born into the family with an expertise in the cultivation of the Art of Poison. The enemy may not always be evil, and neither does someone evil necessarily be the enemy. However, one thing is certain. Wen Leyang is a frank and honest young man, a delightful hero who posseses a kind disposition towards any living creature.

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Chapter 193: The Evil Scheme

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Many moons have passed since the events on Mount Hua has taken place. There was no way to prove the degree of authenticity to any of the monkey's claims.

Master cultivators from every sect in the world had rushed over to Mount Hua. Even with the power of the Ending Cave behind him, Qian Ren soon became exhausted from killing everyone who came.

Back in ancient times when the cultivation in heaven's powers was flourishing, there had been many practitioners in the world. Even if there were a hundred Qian Rens, they would not have been able to kill off all the cultivators that were coming in droves. Just as he had exhausted all his power and was awaiting death, preparing to perish together with the entire Ending Cave, Kong Nuer who had brought him the spiritual seed came.

When the two best friends met, they embraced and cried bitterly. Kong Nuer thumped his chest and cried in regret. Despite turning into a ruthless and tyrannical person, Qian Ren never once blamed his best friend for what happened.

Qian Ren had a profound cultivation base and Kong Nuer was his most intimate friend. Kong Nuer's supernatural powers were no less inferior to Qian Ren's. A large group of practitioners whom he had never met before had arrived with Kong Nuer. With their help, Qian Ren managed to hang on to his life just a little longer.

Despite his best efforts in guarding the cave, Qian Ren was only awaiting his death. Two months passed, Kong Nuer who had come to the mountain to help kill the enemies, approached Qian Ren in a pleasant manner. He presented to Qian Ren, who was desperately trying to suppress the divine power in his body, a roll of bamboo slips that he had found on an enemy's corpse.

The red monkey Qian Ren's voice was deep and hoarse, it echoed through the giant beast corpse. His voice was not joyous nor dispirited but within his flat and dull tone, there was a hidden power capable of shattering the world. "On the bamboo strips were recordings regarding the whereabouts of a strange beast, hidden in the western regions. This rare beast… haha! Haha! Haha! What a shame, at that moment, I still thought Kong Nuer was trying to do good by me. What a shame that I did not see through Kong Nuer's cruel and malicious intention!"

Qin Zhui grew bored of the monkey's long-winded story. Qian Ren laughed with almost every sentence he spoke. Qin Zhui shook his head and interrupted the monkey. "It was you that met with an accident while trying to harness the seed's power. It was you who had made a mistake, probably due to your lack of understanding in divine energy. You shouldn't blame your mistake on your friend."

The red monkey raised its head and started to laugh wildly and bitterly. "Of course I do not blame Kong Nuer, I still regarded him as my best friend at that time. When he rushed over to my aid, I wailed bitterly to him. I pointed to the brightest star in the sky and told him that I had wanted to become an immortal and pluck that star as a gift to him!"

The red monkey's eyes were bloodshot, almost squeezing out tears of blood. Its laughter pierced everyone's eardrums, like sharp knives. The laughing went on and on. Qian Ren suddenly started to pull out his own fur, scratching wildly at his body and drawing blood. Before long, his body was covered in fur matted with blood. "The strange beast in the west that had been recorded on the bamboo strips, is me, the Golden Monkey!"

Even head lama Rangjung and the dwarf Taoist priest, who had extensive knowledge of magical creatures, have never heard of this Golden Monkey. Everyone just stood and stared at one another. They knew that an important twist was about to come to light. The implications of this event should reveal how the Qian Ren turned from a human into a monkey.

Over the millenniums of fighting over extraordinary treasures, practitioners all over had created infinite enmity between one another. Through Qian Ren's doing, he had laid the foundation for a bloodbath around the Ending Cave. As this event was caused by the enmity between practitioners and did not involve ordinary people, King Gesar did not intervene. That was why there was no mention of King Gesar ever having stepped foot on Mount Hua in folk legends.

Qian Ren finally stopped laughing. His tone returned to its prior dullness but a faint hint of bitterness still remained. "The Golden Monkey is a strange beast connected to the metal element. It does not possess any supernatural powers but its body was said to be unimaginably tough. The Golden Monkey is also rumoured to be cruel and cunning but the creature was only an ancient legend. I had never thought I would come across a recording of it. I at first did not think much of this monkey but Kong Nuer helped me… hehe! That's right, he helped me! He helped me to see an almost unimaginable plan."

Amongst the five elements, hardness would triumph over softness. Following that, the metal element should be able to tame the wood element. Qian Ren was about to explode and die due to the divine wood elemental powers trapped in his body.

The Golden Monkey, which was extremely rare, was a strange beast possessing metal elements. Kong Nuer thought up a method to 'Enter the Body'.

Qin Zhui's jaw dropped in astonishment. "What do you mean enter the body?"

A ghastly smile appeared on the red monkey's face. "That means to fuse with the Golden Monkey's body."

Qin Zhui felt confused, he could not understand Qian Ren. He asked probingly, "Is it… is it the act of taking over the monkey's body?"

Qian Ren shook his head. "No no! The act of taking over a body would mean using one's primordial spirit to seize control over the other. Firstly, your old man here has never cultivated the practice of the primordial spirit. Secondly, there was an accumulation of power attached to my soul that could not be controlled. Not only would it be impossible for me to seize the other body, but it'd be useless as well. In order for me to retain my life, your old man must protect his human body."

Qin Zhui grew agitated, he shook his head and said, "Stop referring to yourself as 'old man', you old man. Otherwise, this old man here will start referring to myself as 'old man' while speaking to you, old man!"

The red monkey Qian Ren laughed out loud. He did not waste time bickering with Qin Zhui over this trivial matter. "Kong Nuer was referring to a spell known as 'Enter the Body'. It's a spell that would merge my human body with the body of the Golden Monkey. The monkey possessed high amounts of metal elemental energy that should be capable of dissolving the overflowing wood magic within me."

Qin Zhui was still dissatisfied despite the monkey's explanation. He gestured at Qian Ren. "You must have been a regular sized human. How did you merge with the body of a small monkey?" He suddenly recalled something and glanced at the dwarf Taoist priest, a cheeky grin spread across his face. He then looked towards the red monkey again and asked, "When you were a human, how tall were you?"

The dwarf Taoist turned green in rage, he stared at Gu Xiaojun with the wrath to match a God, "If you and I survive this to see the day of light, I will certainly challenge your magic to its limits!"

Gu Xiaojun didn't know how to react. He waved his hands. "You weren't talking to me right?"

"Of course not, I was talking to the ugly monster!" The priest's gaze shifted to head lama Rangjung as he spoke to Gu Xiaojun.

Whether it was in Taoist magic spells, science, technology, or academics, there is only one determining factor in the process of evolution. Practicality.

Magic spells from ancient times lacked in strength when compared to the arts of the future generation but spells had been more abundant in nature and had many more functions. Majority of those spells grew out of favour for being useless in facing an enemy or to one's practice. These tricks were lost through the generations.

That was why the act of 'Entering the Body' mentioned by the red monkey Qian Ren was unknown to even the leading master cultivators of today's world. Rangjung, the dwarf Taoist priest and Qin Zhui could not understand it.

Back then, the 'Enter the Body' magic spell was a dangerous one but it was not impossible.

Qian Ren, who had only a few months left to live, read the bamboo strips and listened to Kong Nuer's plan. He did not have much faith in the plan.

He was an elite practitioner, he had no qualms whether he remained human or became a demon. In his goal to achieve immortality, he was willing to turn over every piece of cow dung in order to continue his practice but to fuse with the creature like the Golden Monkey, that sounded like an impossible plan. The chance of this monkey's existence was also very low.

However, after much persuasion from Kong Nuer, which Qian Ren thought was his friend trying to make up for his actions, Qian Ren agreed to Kong Nuer's plan. He left Mount Hua with Kong Nuer. They travelled a long way to the western regions while the group of practitioners which had been brought over by Kong Nuer stayed behind and guarded his house in the Ending Cave.

The red monkey Qian Ren said gravely to Qin Zhui, "I told Kong Nuer that even if I were to die, I wanted to die in the Ending Cave."

Defying Qian Ren's expectations, they got lucky upon arriving in the western regions. After going through a few twist and turns, they managed to capture the Golden Monkey with surprising ease. Kong Nuer laid down a magic altar and launched the magic spell that same night. He expertly refined Qian Ren's body into the Golden Monkey.

The creature that stood in front of them was still a monkey though. Even though the group could guess the ending to that story, they could not help but feel a little astonished. How did such a huge human turn into a Golden Monkey?

Qin Zhui suddenly asked a totally unrelated question, "The Golden Monkey… but you are red in colour." Wen Leyang quickly took a step forward to Qin Zhui, afraid that the monkey might get angry and punch Qin Zhui again.

Unexpectedly, Qian Ren burst out laughing. It explained to Qin Zhui calmly, "It was originally gold in color but it turned red ."

Qin Zhui decided to drop the issue of how the gold coloured monkey turned red for now. He diverted the topic. "Even though you had turned… you did manage to save your life right? The Golden Monkey is a spiritual creature and if you had sincerely picked up your practice again, perhaps you could have achieved some level of power. You can't just blame everything on Kong Nuer right?"

Qian Ren, who had been agitated and angry earlier, suddenly sounded really tired. Its voice and tone of speaking had become calm. It pondered for a moment before it looked towards ugly Qin Zhui and laughed, "I noticed something. You seem eager to know how Kong Nuer betrayed me."

Qin Zhui laughed in embarrassment. He scratched his head and changed to a new question. "I do not know of this 'Enter the Body' spell but I guess it should be magic from a demon sect or a death sect. I thought you said that Kong Nuer cultivated the power of the sun and moon, yet he knew how to perform this spell. Did you not think that that was suspicious?"

The red monkey joined in on Qin Zhui's laughter, much to everyone's surprise. It seems that the monkey had taken a fancy to this honest, straightforward, ugly looking youth. "It's not just the spell, but also how we found and captured the Golden Monkey so easily. These were all indeed suspicious. Kong Nuer was my best friend though and I chided myself that I could even suspect him of anything. Thinking back now, I was being foolish. What a fool I was." The monkey's laughter continued. There was hatred nor joy in its laughter, just hollow, dry emptiness.

"I had not expected it. After I was refined into the monkey's body, I could not perform my magic anymore because…" Qian Ren's expression was dull. "From the moment I entered the body, I became the monkey while the monkey remained a monkey."

Qian Ren was a monkey, while the monkey remained a monkey?

Qian Ren's laughter was cold and flat, yet it condensed and did not fade, echoing next to everyone's ears. "What sort of creature was the Golden Monkey. It is a spiritual being that born of the world's metal energy. Even though I 'Entered the Body', I had no control over it! I couldn't find a way to control its movements. I was just like a parasite that had merged with its blood vessels, only barely retaining my primordial spirit."

Wen Leyang and the rest were dumbstruck, barely comprehending the story. A distinguished magic practitioner had turned into a monkey and could not control the body he went into. He could only watch as he turned into a beast. This was certainly a first-rate tragedy.

Qin Zhui's expression turned pale along with the monkey's laughter. "If it was true that Kong Nuer had wanted to harm you, what was his purpose in doing so?"

Qian Ren took his time before it continued, "This Golden Monkey was the purest embodiment of the metal element. I was refined by Kong Nuer's spell into its body. The monkey's body cut off my spiritual ties to Mount Hua's Ending Cave."

Qin Zhui opened his mouth to speak but Qian Ren simply shook its head towards him. "It was cut off, not destroyed. From then on, I was simply the Golden Monkey and the Ending Cave just became the Ending Cave. Even if I were to die thousands of times over, the Ending Cave would not be affected…" The monkey walked to Qin Zhui, raised its head and stared straight into the man's eyes. "Now, do you understand the purpose of Kong Nuer's betrayal?"

The red monkey did not bother with waiting for answering, simply turned tail and walked away with its hands clasped behind its back. As it turned around, it held not the appearance of a wild monster, but instead was like a loneliest old man in the world.

Wen Leyang's face too held an unpleasant expression. He inhaled a long breath and murmured, "Kong Nuer was trying to seize your wood elemental land, the Ending Cave…"

The red monkey Qian Ren whipped around, its expression regaining its previous savageness. "That's right! After I had 'Entered the Body', Kong Nuer suddenly knelt in front of me and told me the whole story. He disclosed the whole secret, leaving nothing out. He had orchestrated everything, from beginning to end. This malicious b*stard, he schemed against me and took from me the land of the wood element."

Every word Qian Ren uttered were pulverized by this teeth and then squeezed out from between his teeth gaps. They were so full of poisonous enmity that it could have smashed bones and broken the spirit of any man. "When he gifted me with the Seed of Gou Mang, he had already predicted that I would end up in a bad situation."

After Qian Ren entered the body, he became the Golden Monkey. Despite being able to listen and understand everything around him, he could not control the monkey's body. It was only then that Kong Nuer explained the truth to him.

When Kong Nuer had gifted Qian Ren with Gou Mang's Seed, he knew that Qian Ren would try to use its power and would lose control eventually. He predicted that Qian Ren would depend on his wood element practice and transmit the gush of power into the Ending Cave. Kong Nuer had just been using Qian Ren as a conductor. He had wanted to trigger the growth of the Ending Cave using the power of the spiritual seed.

Qian Ren was unaware of Kong Nuer's true intentions. He had been completely deceived. The Ending Cave may have grown exponentially but the cave's spiritual roots were now tied to Qian Ren's life force. The Ending Cave would wither away the moment Qian Ren died.

Kong Nuer had even expected this. Before giving the seed to Qian Ren, he had led his fellow practitioners and prepared for various setbacks. They had already found and prepared the Golden Monkey beforehand, then helped the severely injured and dying Qian Ren in defeating the incoming practitioners, then slipped in the prepared bamboo slips to Qian Ren, urging him to go to the west.

When they reached the western regions, the Golden Monkey had already been prepared and was easily found. Kong Nuer immediately launched the magic spell and refined his body into the creature. The monkey's metal element energy successfully cut off Qian Ren's body to the Ending Cave. Everything had fallen into place. Everything had been planned laboriously by Kong Nuer, just to seize Qian Ren's pure wood element land.

The red monkey Qian Ren finally finished his story, of how he had turned from a man into a monkey. Wen Leyang, Qin Zhui, and the head lama Rangjung looked solemn. Kong Nuer was a dark and evil person with sinister intentions. He deserved to be killed!

Suddenly, a loud panting sound was heard. The sound echoed all around them. The panting sounded like a pair of bellow working hard at a forge, forceful and strong. Even Wen Leyang who had the lung capacity ten times the average person was incapable of panting so loudly.

Wen Leyang and the rest were puzzled. A thunderous, raging roar suddenly sounded out. "I am so mad right now!" The giant pangolin, that had been lying motionless on the ground, suddenly jumped up. Its eyes were bloodshot and the scales on its body stood on end. It appeared to be shimmering with Overwhelming heavenly power.

Everyone there including the red monkey was startled. Only Gu Xiaojun stomped his feet and cursed, "You who can't even clamp a jujube fruit in a monkey's buttocks! You reveal yourself just because of this insignificant matter?"

The giant pangolin's pointy head shuddered. Its voice was more startling that a clap of thunder. "I couldn't stand it anymore! How could there exist such a vile and malicious b*stard, scheming against his own friend and taking away their treasured land and immortal cave? He even willingly turned his friend into a monkey! A man of such vicious motives, I will kill him if I ever see him!" The divine beast of the Immortal Sect had a hot temper.

The red monkey tilted its head, sizing Po Tu up and down in glee. It spoke in a peculiar tone. One could not tell if it was a mocking tone, contempt or rage. "I can't believe you were just feigning a coma and I fell for it! Well done, well done!" It then shot its gaze towards Gu Xiaojun. "What does 'you who can't even clamp a jujube fruit in a monkey's buttocks' mean?"

Gu Xiaojun quickly took two steps back and hid behind the other master cultivators. He cautiously said, "It means… it means that the dog's stomach that can't even hide one hundred grams of butter…"

Qin Zhui scoffed, he did not expect Gu Xiaojun to know so many witty remarks. He frowned as he refocused the topic. He asked Qian Ren, "Were you trapped in this monster's body by Kong Nuer?"

The head lama Rangjung exploded in anger at this question. "Shut up! How dare you say that the pious deed of King Gesar is Kong Nuer's doing?!"

Qin Zhui realized he had asked the wrong question and had made the lama angry. He quickly switched to a new question. "So how did you survive? Kong Nuer turned you into this, he could have easily just killed you and ended all his troubles. Why didn't he bother to do so?"

Qian Ren's face was filled with bitterness, its expression and gaze were poisonous but upon hearing Qin Zhui's question, its face softened and said joyously, "How could he have killed me? I had already entered the Golden Monkey's body. He did not possess the ability to kill it. The Golden Monkey was the embodiment of the purest metal element in the world. Who would be capable of killing it? Kong Nuer was aware that I could not control the monkey as well. He knew that I would not be able to seek revenge against him. After he had successfully used the monkey in cutting my ties to the Ending Cave, he let the monkey go."

At this point, Gu Xiaojun frowned and asked, "What use would it be for Kong Nuer to take over your Ending Cave? It's not like he was cultivating in wood element magic."

Qin Zhui thought this was a silly question. "Even if he did not practice wood element magic, a land with the purest form of any element would greatly improve anyone's magic practice. My own supernatural power of Force also improved remarkably when I practised in the Gold-Consuming Lair. I did not cultivate the magic spells of the metal element."

The red monkey Qian Ren shook its head. "That is not completely correct. He had been my friend after all and I would never have rejected him if he had just wanted to practice in the Ending Cave. He had used me to trigger the Ending Cave's growth. He told me the real reason he wanted to take over my Ending Cave was to use it to refine some sort of weapon."

The human had already turned into a monkey. Upon hearing the first half of the story, Qin Zhui was already seething with rage. This did not stop his curiosity though. He urged Qian Ren to continue. "So how did you end up in your current position? What is the deal with this gigantic beast corpse?"

Qian Ren had radiated with enmity while it spoke of Kong Nuer's betrayal. After it was done telling this portion of events, the monkey's story became much duller. In between the recounting of Kong Nuer's betrayal, the giant pangolin Po Tu had revealed itself and messed up its own plan of attack. It was unknown whether these events had taken place millions or even aeons ago, but the monkey had finally gotten its story off its chest. It smiled warmly at the group. "I was fused with the monkey. Regardless of how I put it, my life was saved at last. The Golden Monkey's body really did help to dissolve the vast power of the wood element magic stuck in my body."

Qian Ren had felt uncomfortable. The Golden Monkey, which now had the wood element magic mixed up in its body, felt uncomfortable as well. Even though it could dissolve the power, it would prove to be a slow and agonizing process. The battle between the purest powers of two opposing elements was blindingly painful, swallowing up the mind and breaking the bones. Monkey had frequent outbreaks of craziness whenever the powers clashed with each other.

The Golden Monkey had been regarded as a hostile creature. Every time it went crazy, it would commit horrendous crimes and leave massive destruction in its wake. Qian Ren could do nothing but watch helplessly. Many years passed before the Golden Monkey came across a top elite with strong supernatural powers. This elite then decided to eliminate it.

Wen Leyang gulped and asked, "Was it King Gesar?"

Qian Ren shook its head. "I do not know his name. Don't tell me when you're capturing a monkey, you will announce your name to it?"

The latter half of Qian Ren's story matched up with The Epic of King Gesar that was told earlier by head lama Rangjung. After a series of laborious battles, the Golden Monkey had finally been captured by the master practitioner of the highlands but not before his two hundred and seventy disciples had been lost.

At this point, Wen Leyang asked as if a letting go of a heavy burden, "So what you're saying is… the creature that had been wreaking havoc across the western region was actually the work of the Golden Monkey and not you?"

Qian Ren nodded. "Of course. If I could control the monkey, I would not have allowed it to cause harm to others. I would have since figured out a way to get revenge against Kong Nuer!"

Head lama Rangjung pondered before speaking in a low voice, "How can you prove that it was really the Golden Monkey that King Gesar was trying to suppress and not you?"

Before they had descended through the mandala from the small town of Tuer, everyone already had pre-conceived ideas of what had happened. They had expected to find the evil monster of the evil cult here. However, upon hearing monkey Qian Ren's story, they found his story a truly unprecedented tragedy. Even the giant pangolin, that had been force-fed bugs by the monkey, could not contain its rage.

It may have been easy to convince the others but in the eyes of the head lama, this was a matter of life and death. He had planned on perishing together with this monster before he came down. It was impossible that he would let this evildoer go so easily.

Qian Ren smiled viciously. The monkey clasped its hands behind its back and once more assumed the air of an erudite person. "Why is there a need to prove anything? By the time this deal is over, you can go ahead and continue to think of me as the Golden Monkey. Come and try to kill me!"

Qin Zhui tugged at the head lama's robes lightly and pointed at the monkey with his chin. He used his finger and dipped his head, signalling that the monkey has gone through mental trauma and there was no use in debating with it.

Head lama Rangjung smiled as he said to Qian Ren, "Please, go on."

The ugly Qin Zhui nodded strenuously, "That's right, that's right. Please continue! What's the story with this giant beast corpse, where did all those dung beetles come from, and how are you able to control the monkey now?"

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Chapter 194: Change of Temperament

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

A huge living human had been forcefully stuffed into the Golden Monkey's body using a magic spell. The clash of the purest powers of the metal and wood element in its body drove the already evil and cruel creature to new extremes. It started wreaking havoc all across the western region and had finally stoked the anger of a master cultivator.

(Author's Note: Why do I feel like I'm narrating Journey to the West huh?)

The story of the King's heroic deed in leading his loyal and brave warriors to capture the monkey had appeared briefly about seven hundred years ago, coinciding with when the Tibetan army was preparing to march on the town of Tuer. The divine singers that appeared before and after that event had never sang such a story before. All these matters were already past the point of verification, but whoever had come forth to kill the Golden Monkey, whether it truly was King Gesar or not, must certainly have been a kindhearted and brave practitioner, his heart devoted to the wellbeing of the people of earth.

The master of the highland may have caught the monkey but he did not have the power to kill it. The Golden Monkey was born out of the world's metal element after all and it would take a huge amount of effort to take its life.

Since there was no way to kill it, this highland practitioner came up with an idea. It decided to suppress and seal way the Golden Monkey instead.

The master caught a Dog-Headed Eagle of the fire element and sealed the Golden Monkey into the body of this creature.

Back in ancient times, Dog-Headed Eagles had been apart of massacres all over the western region. These monsters had a dog's head and an eagle's body came in various sizes. The smaller ones were sizes of bald eagles and fed on smaller animals. These creatures were cunning in nature but cowardly. Common folk did not fear them. The larger ones could block the skies and blot out the sun. They swallowed smoke and spat out fire, feeding on large pythons and even the occasional dragon. Considered spiritual beasts born of the fire element, even dragons would avoid the Dog-Headed Eagles. The legend goes, if the golden-winged Dapeng that hated all evil were to come across these creatures, they would certainly kill it without a second thought.

The red monkey Qian Ren jumped and stared straight at Qin Zhui as if confronting a formidable enemy. "Now don't you go asking me where the cultivator had got ahold of Dog-Headed Eagle! He did not say a word to me of his plans so I do not know where he found this creature."

The Dog-Headed Eagle was a strange beast belonging to the fire element and thus was perfect in restraining the Golden Monkey's sharp metal element. The Dog-Headed Eagle's fire qualities did not equal the pureness of the monkey's metal element though. Even with this method of restraining, this prison would only hold the monkey for a few centuries. Sooner or later, the monkey would break free.

The practitioner then employed another unique skill. He fused the Golden Monkey and the Dog-Headed Eagle into one. This form of magic was similar to the 'enter the body' spell used by Kong Nuer when refining Qian Ren into the monkey's body. The difference was that Qian Ren and the monkey's body had been completely fused together to become one while the Golden Monkey only became a part of the giant Dog-Headed Eagle's body. The monkey still existed as itself and could move freely within the giant body but it would not be able to leave.

Wen Leyang and the others stood staring at each in wonder. They had just figured out, the giant corpse they were standing in was a giant monster that had the head of a dog and the body of an eagle.

The Dog-Headed Eagle was a wild and untamed monster but it was significantly easier to handle as compared to the Golden Monkey. The practitioner sealed away the Dog-Headed Eagle, that was imprisoning the Golden Monkey, at the edge of Natmso Lake. He channelled the pure water powers of the lake using the Tibetan Buddhism Sect mandala and shackled down the Dog-Headed Eagle of the fire element.

A human trapped inside the body of a monkey, which was trapped in the body of a giant bird, a giant bird with a dog's head…

Breaking the wood element with the metal element, trapping the metal element with the fire element, and suppressing the fire element with the water element…

Kong Nuer's evil scheme had triggered the growth and seized the Ending Cave from Qian Ren. Qian Ren had been sealed away by his best friend into the Golden Monkey's body. The Golden Monkey then created trouble across the western region. The highland master then trapped the Golden Monkey and had sealed it within the body of a Dog-Headed Eagle of Fire. Then using the water power element of Namtso Lake, the cultivator had then grounded the Dog-Headed Eagle the edge of the lake. The Tibetan Buddhism Sect mandala had been set up in the town and its residents had chosen to stay behind to guard it, giving up their chance at rebirth. The general picture had been painted clearly by the monkey Qian Ren but there were still a few holes left. How did the dung beetles get in and how was Qian Ren controlling the Golden Monkey now? Also, how was the small town of Tuer connected to the nine-headed snake?

No one was thinking of those dung beetles at this moment though. Wen Leyang and Gu Xiaojun have barely kept up with the sequence of events, even the magic history experts had trouble keeping up. The monkey shut up then, seeing that they were all clearly confused. It looked towards them and smiled, giving them time to digest all the information.

After some time, the hideous Qin Zhui spoke cautiously, "So all this… there's something that we're not getting right?"

The monkey laughed loudly, its face filled with anticipation. "Of course there's something you're not getting but you have to figure it out which part it is yourself." Wen Leyang did not understand why Qian Ren was so friendly to his ugly friend.

Qin Zhui rolled his eyes in thought. He pondered out loud, stuttering, "The Golden Monkey had become a part of the Dog-Headed Eagle's body. This magic spell is albeit amazing but there's a huge flaw in the master's plan."

The monkey Qian Ren's eyes lit up. It gave out a shouted, roaring like thunder, "Continue, please!"

Qin ZHui puffed out his chest and continued as if he had suddenly glimpsed a spark of inspiration. "The two beasts had existed in the same body. There may have been an inter-restricting factor between the five elements but the Golden Monkey is far stronger than the Dog-Headed Eagle when comparing strength alone. The monkey would eventually rule take control of the other. The monkey may not be able to leave the Dog-Headed Eagle's body but in reality, it had actually been positioned to take control of the Eagle…" Qin Zhui stopped for a moment and thought his statement was misguided. He changed tack. "No no… The Dog-Headed Eagle became the armour of the Golden Monkey. Whether dead or alive, its body which was initially its prison would later become the monkey's armour instead!"

The monkey Qian Ren looked to the sky and laughed, it was delighted. "That is correct! You, my child, may be hideous but you have quite the inquisitive mind. It is not an eventuality though, it has been for a long time! Since a few centuries ago, the monkey had already gained control over the Dog-Headed Eagle and just like you said, this eagle became the monkey's flesh armour from that point on!"

Qin Zhui seemed delighted that he had been acknowledged but he still had questions. "What was the use for a suit of armour? The Dog-Headed Eagle had been suppressed by the mandala seal powered by the Lake Namtso, the armour can't go anywhere, it was still trapped in a prison after all."

In the learning atmosphere, the dwarf Taoist priest too temporarily forgot about the enmity between the two parties. "The wood element in your body had been neutralized by the monkey while the fire element of the eagle, in turn, melted away the monkey's metal element. The giant eagle had been suppressed by the water of Natmso Lake though. If you wished to see the light of day again, you would have to first break the mandala seal or destroy Natmso Lake. As long as the mandala remained, any other effort would be a waste of time."

The monkey Qian Ren was unforgiving towards the dwarf Taoist priest. It glared at the priest with huge angry eyes. "You are such a fool! The power of the fire element may appear in this realm in the form of flames but it is not the flames itself. The heavenly power of wood shelters itself in trees and grass but it the foliage itself isn't the wood power."

Wen Leyang was all muddled and confused when he heard that but the dwarf Taoist priest and Qin Zhui gradually came to understand.

Qian Ren truly regarded itself as a teacher, treating the cross-eyed elder and the ugly youth in front of him as his disciples. The monkey breathed in deeply and slowed down his speech, explaining patiently. "The inter-restriction of the five elements, I'll use the simplest example, water beats fire. Now, The 'water' here is not actual water and 'fire' isn't actually just fire. It only manifests itself in those forms but what we need to look at is the essence of these objects. The way that water restricts fire is not as simple as pouring a basin of water a fire to extinguish it. We should see it as the essence of water has the power to contain the essence of fire!"

Monkey Qian Ren paused, then his voice suddenly grew sonorous and forceful. "Water may restrict fire but that does not mean that the Yin water had destroyed the Yang Fire into nothingness. The Yang fire still exists, it only lost its material form and was melted into the water. The act of holding, that is the golden rule when we speak of inter-restriction. All of you here liken inter-restriction to simply a power being destroyed but what about the inter-promotion between the five elements? The monkey's sharp metal dissolved the wood element in my body but this did not destroy its power, instead, absorbing the power into itself. The wood element lost its material form and from then on, posed no more harm to me. Do you understand now?"

Old Gu and Wen Leyang did not understand the monkey's long explanation. They stood around feeling embarrassed, trying to play it off by busying with their clothes. The few other practitioners, including the giant pangolin, were ghastly pale. Their eyes filled with intense disbelief. The ancient books and recordings that they had been studying all their lives, the principles that had been passed down by their teachers and seniors, had only spoken of the inter-restriction of the five elements as one element destroying the other. Qian Ren's claim shattered their whole understanding of the five elements, it blinded them all. A crucial point drifted before their eyes but they could not find it in themselves to grasp it fully.

It was Gu Xiaojun who finally broke the silence. He said to the monkey Qian Ren, "I think its best if you just continue with your story first. As for the principle of the five elements, we will try to comprehend it slowly."

Qian Ren looked towards the glazed-eyed looking group before it, all feelings of enthusiasm from before was gone. With a 'heh', it waved its hands and tried to rouse the group. "Everyone! Stop thinking now! If you get possessed with figuring this out, the old man will have to waste time in healing you later! The practitioner had drawn upon the water element of the sacred lake using the Tibetan Buddhism Sect mandala but this was only a temporary measure. At most, it would only hold for a few millenniums but sooner or later, the monkey would have broken out of the prison after having gained control of the giant bird."

By the time the monkey had gained control over the giant bird, Qian Ren's wood element, the Gold Monkey's metal element, and the Dog-Headed Eagle's fire element had fused and converged into the body of the giant bird. This would have severely changed its level of power, making this beast now stronger than ever before. No matter how powerful the water element of Lake Natmso was, it would not have been able to withstand the combined forces of the other three elements.

The monkey Qian then chuckled. "The highland master had already taken into account all these things. He predicted that the monkey would gain complete control of the giant eagle's body and the bird would be dead by then. The Dog-Headed Eagle was a spiritual beast of the fire element though and its corpse would never decay. That was why when he sealed away the Dog-Headed Eagle, he simultaneously cast another spell that sealed in a strange species of dung beetles in with the giant bird. Upon the death of the Dog-Headed Eagle, the dung beetles would then be released upon its decaying corpse. The dung beetles would then make quick work of the corpse, tearing away the flesh and leaving only bone but new flesh was always growing…

The Dog-Headed Eagle corpse would go through this cycle, again and again, being chewed into nothingness and then regrowing new flesh. Over and over this process repeated itself over many centuries. Meanwhile, the monkey that had been fused to the bird could not gather enough strength to break through the mandala seal. The pangolin Po Tu had only been captured by the monkey because it had unknowingly entered the body of the Dog-Headed Eagle. The monkey Qian Ren may not have possessed any powers outside of the giant's body but within it, it had no equal.

This time, everyone understood the chain of events. Everyone wore an expression of shock. They were in awe and astonished at the highland master's thorough plan of action.

The master cultivator had employed two methods in his plan to suppress the monkey. He had drawn upon the power of the sacred lake into the town of Tuer and created the seal. This was meant to shackle the Dog-Headed Eagle while it was still alive.

After the monkey has gained complete control over the bird's body and the flesh armour was dead, phase two would be launched. The dung beetles would be released and they would start chewing away on the corpse, rendering the flesh armour of the monkey useless.

In truth, the mandala seal in the town of Tuer had been useless for years. The true shackles that kept the creature down were the countless amount of dung beetles!

Qin Zhui may not have understood the principle of the five elements which Qian Ren was trying to explain earlier but he did understand this part. He stretched out a finger and pointed to Qian Ren, "So tell us, how are you controlling the monkey's body now?"

Qian Ren's head bobbed up and down as it laughed. "I too thought that I would never see the light of day ever again. The Golden Monkey was by right a spiritual creature, born of the metal element. It was born out of the power of Heaven and Earth and was never supposed to leave its spiritual home. Upon being sealed into this void and away from the energy source of its primordial spirit, the monkey's soul was severely injured. Over the many years it was locked away, its spirit gradually withered and faded away into nothingness. What was left was a body without a master which naturally became mine. This ending, neither Kong Nuer nor the master practitioner would have been able to predict it."

Qian Ren had been sealed away into the monkey and the monkey, in turn, had been sealed into the Dog-Headed Eagle. Many years passed and the monkey finally gained control over the Dog-Headed Eagle, and now Qian Ren controlled the monkey.

The Golden Monkey which had originally been gold in colour had turned red, due to the convergence of water, fire, metal, and wood elemental magic in its body. The creature that stood in front of them currently had red fur and golden eyes.

The giant pangolin Po Tu was a burly creature with a square, wide face. It tossed about its thick, huge tail as he studied the monkey carefully. It exhaled a long breath as if relieved. The pangolin's message was obvious enough. The monkey's transformation was quite favourable, even pretty. It was certainly better than having a tuft of red fur here, a tuft of yellow there, then another tuft in green…

Qin Zhui laughed as he shook his head. He concluded, "So, a thousand years later, the story finally comes to an end huh!"

The monkey Qian Ren had been through a great ordeal. He was first harmed by his best friend Kong Nuer through a series of evil schemes. Kong Nuer then had turned him into a parasite in the body of a monkey. After that, the monkey had been caught and captured by the master practitioner of the highland, firmly sealed away. Qian Ren then finally managed to gain control over the monkey and the bird but he still went through days and nights of endless torture from the dung beetles chewing on its flesh.

The monkey Qian Ren unconsciously stretched out its claws and scratched its neck a few times. After a few moments, it stopped and chuckled. "I've been in this monkey's body for too long. I seem to have picked up some of its bad habits. When I saw the giant pangolin pass by, I couldn't help myself. If I was in my right mind, I would not have captured it or forced it to eat bugs."

The pangolin spat on the ground in fury, asking in a low growl, "Those bugs, why don't you catch them yourself? Once you've caught them all, you could-"

Qian Ren interrupted the pangolin, its face squeezed into a hideous smile. "The Dog-Headed Eagle corpse is apart of me, its flesh is my flesh. It certainly would not be difficult for me to kill one or two bugs but if you expect me to bore into my own skin and bones to kill off thousands and then find their eggs and obliterate those, you must be crazy."

Qian Ren was just a monkey but even if it had been an immortal monkey, he would not necessarily have the ability to part his own flesh and catch all the bugs and dig out the eggs from between its bones. He could only hope to get help from outsiders.

Qin Zhui realized something and cried out in alarm. He turned and glared at the monkey. "You asked us to help you exterminate the bugs just so that you could gain control of this body. You would be unstoppable then!" He shook his head as if he had said the wrong thing. "I am not afraid of you escaping this seal but the old father is angry at you for tricking me. Now that you have accidentally told us the truth, the old father shall see to it that you are properly dealt with."

The monkey was stunned at Qin Zhui scolding him, it blinked its eyes and stared at Qin Zhui. He asked in puzzlement, "Since when did the old father trick you?" Qian Ren was a monkey that refused to give up. He must take back the title 'old father' for himself.

Qin ZHui waved his Tang knife in a rage. "Just now you had told us that the act of catching the bugs and killing them is not related to your powers. In reality, once the bugs have been exterminated, your power will be restored!"

Qian Ren finally understood their concern. It raised its small head and laughed aloud. "I have not tricked you. The bird's body is just a flesh armour. If the bird's body is not restored, I would certainly be powerless towards outside objects. No matter how strong I am, I would not be able to exert my powers right now. However, if the fight is imminent, you will be dealing with me inside this bird's stomach, not with the giant bird outside."

Qin Zhi was stunned for a moment, "So you're saying that this giant bird is unrelated to you?"

The monkey jumped up and down in impatience. "Where did this fool come from? To deal with outside forces, I would have to depend on the giant bird's body. However, within the giant bird itself, I can deal with you directly and have no need for the bird!"

Qin Zhui sniggered. "You should use the word 'bird' so carelessly. It sounds like you're cursing someone." (Translator's Note: The word 'bird' here is also used to refer to male genitals.)

The monkey's eyes were blazing, it was outraged. The rest of them were slightly amused by Qin Zhui's silly comment.

The origin of the monkey was completely unrelated to the nine-headed snake. Gu Xiaojun and Wen Leyang's real concern laid in the town's recent transformation. Why had the nine-headed snake followers gathered in this town? Where had the town's residents brought the followers to? How did this all relate to the mandala seal that was left there?

Gu Xiaojun's forehead wrinkled with so many questions, every line in his forehead was a deep furrow. He hoped that the monkey would be able to shed some light on this. He hastily took a step forward and briefly recounted the incidents back in Tuer Town. He intended to guide the topic of discussion to the small town. "Mon… Qian Ren, what happened in Tuer?"

Wen Leyang's expression was not as easygoing as before. It was as if he was frightened of something. He tried to speak but a cat seemed to have caught his tongue.

From the beginning, both parties had agreed that the monkey was to answer all their questions and then the group would be responsible for exterminating all the bugs in return. The monkey had the attitude of a true businessman after all. It burst out laughing. "The residents of the town were followers of the master practitioner which followed him to capture and kill the monkey. You now know that these people had actually died, volunteering to give up their chance at rebirth and become zombie soldiers under the reanimation of the master cultivator. They stayed was to guard the town of Tuer for all eternity, to prevent outsiders from damaging the mandala seal. The highland master's powers were great but he had missed one crucial detail."

Gu Xiaojun rapted to attention. "What was it?"

The monkey Qian Ren gave him the evil eye. "You look too eager right now." Without acknowledging Old Gu's slowly reddening face, the monkey continued. "This place is an entanglement of four elements, water, fire, metal, and wood. Only one element is missing out of the five and that would have been fine if it was just for a few years but after so many centuries, this place has already become-"

Qin Zhui cut him off before he could even finish. "The missing element was earth! This would upset the balance between Heaven and Earth and the malevolent energy of the entire world would leak into this place!"

There should always be a balance between the five elements. The process of inter-promotion and inter-restriction between the elements should be a continuous, unbroken cycle but in this little town of Tuer, there had only been the presence of four elements. The thickest and heaviest element, earth, had been missing. To any practitioner who cultivated the power of the five elements, they would know that this would result in the breaking of Heaven and Earth.

The monkey Qian Ren broke out laughing while nodding its head vigorously. "That is correct! As time passed, the balance between Heaven and Earth in this town was broken and evil energy had started to accumulate here. Although, countless eminent monks had performed their rituals next to the sacred lake. This did help in dissolving most of the evil energy here-"

Gu Xiaojun stomped his foot in rage. "Will you please get to the point?! Stop talking in circles already!"

The monkey disregarded him completely, raising its head and burst out laughing again. "The old father has not had anyone to speak to for far too long. If I do not take this chance to say everything I can, I would never forgive myself!"

The small town had become evil and malicious after having absorbed all that evil energy. The Sacred Lake did help in dissolving most of that energy but after so many years, it would take a toll on the townspeople.

Great master Rangjung's eyebrows shot up, his gaze turned razor sharp as he explained to Wen Leyang and the rest, "The people of this town had opted out of being reborn, choosing to exit the three levels of the universe and six realms of existence of their own free will. These people had the purest and kindest hearts when they were alive but after their death, if they had been absorbing the evil energy all this time, there is no doubt that they have become corrupted by now. Their hearts would have changed."

The monkey chuckled as it took over from the head lama. "Most importantly, under the corruption from the evil energy, these living dead soldiers could no longer retain the purity and tranquillity that they had possessed upon their death. They could not even hold on to their dying wish. Now that you understand this, know that it was them who had turned their backs on Tuer Town. The damage upon the Tibetan Buddhism Sect's instrument, the instruments that held down the four corners of the mandala, was destroyed by their very hands."

Qian Ren's sounded rather nonchalant with this topic, after all, the thing was keeping it there was not the magical power of the Tibetan Buddhism Sect mandala but it was those giant dung beetles that could not stop feasting on its body.

Head lama Rangjung's predictions before coming down here have been proven to be absolutely wrong. Whether this monster would see the light of day once again was not dependant on the mandala. In other words, it had served its purpose in suppressing Qian Ren, it had completed its mission. It could now retire with dignity.

Of course, the residents of Tuer had not followed suit. They turned their gaze elsewhere instead. They had left to attend to matters regarding the nine-headed snake.

Wen Leyang's anxiety grew. These small town's residents had been corrupted by the evil energy. They had destroyed the mandala and departed from the highlands but these things still gave them no clue as to why the nine-headed snake followers had gathered here.

The monkey watched in glee as Wen Leyang and the rest grew ever anxious. Only when it was satisfied, did the monkey reveal the truth to them. "These people had been tainted with evil energy, the pureness in their heart could not last. A few decades ago, they had been enslaved by another embodiment of pure evil."

Wen Leyang ground his teeth together. "What do you mean an embodiment of pure evil?"

Qian Ren chuckled, "It was a practitioner who drew upon the evil energy of the world. The residents of Tuer Town shed their role as disciples of the highland master and instead turned to follow a new master."

When Qian Ren finished its sentence, a click sound came out of head lama Rangjung's mouth, followed by a river of blood flowing out from the corner of his mouth.

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Chapter 195: The Evil Sorcerer

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Qin Zhui flared up in anger. He raised his Tang knife and aimed it towards the red monkey Qian Ren. "Did you attack him?"

Head lama Rangjung shook his head. He stretched out his hand to block the Tang knife and spoke in a muffled voice, "This is no fault of his." He lowered his head and spat out a mouthful of blood onto his palm, followed by a tooth.

The warriors from the epic, who were loyal to the immortal who had descended to this earth, had lost their pure hearts under the influence of evil energy and was then subdued by another entity?

The head lama was infuriated. He had clenched his jaw together so hard, he broke a tooth!

The head lama inhaled a deep breath before addressing the monkey in an infuriated tone, "Continue the story."

Gu Xiaojun nodded hastily. "And do not leave out any details. Don't make us chase you for all the answers, it's driving us mad."

Qian Ren merely chuckled at this. It nodded towards head lama Rangjung and said, "Please be patient." The monkey had spent millenniums suffering from misfortune. Even though his temperament had been influenced by the Golden Monkey, his personal character was quite calm in nature. He disregarded head lama Rangjung's rudeness. If it had been with Grand Master Chang Li, no one would have dared to speak to her in such a manner. She would have used her bare hands to tear that person to pieces.

With some effort, the monkey recalled the story and starting speaking slowly, "A few decades ago, I had already noticed that there was something wrong with the townspeople. They still appeared as stone cold as before but their hearts were agitated. Have you ever seen a wolf that has been trapped? They will run around the cage ceaselessly, refusing to rest for even a moment. It was like there were wolves trapped in their hearts."

Qian Ren had used a metaphor frequently used on the highlands. Wen Leyang and Qin Zhui looked to one another in knowing. They recalled when they had first arrived in the small town of Tuer, Fei Fei's comment on the town's residents and the evil cult followers. She had said, 'Wolves! Wolves that had a sip of blood but have yet to partake in the flesh!'

"I do not understand what kind of magic the people on the highland were cultivating but under the influence of the evil energy, the townspeople's hearts never stopped struggling…" Qian Ren spoke in a monotonous tone. "Whether the town's residents were divine troops descended from heaven or soul reapers from hell, it never concerned me. A dozen or so years ago, a herd of antelopes strayed from their path and galloped into the small town."

Qin Zhui's small eyes widened in great surprise, "You mean actual antelopes? Like the animal?"

The monkey Qian Ren nodded, its voice becoming even more detached. "Yes, like the animal."

Without the slightest hint of hesitation, the small town's residents chased the antelopes out but the animals refused to leave. They milled about the small town's border and pleaded with the townspeople for help, tears running down their faces.

When night fell, a pack of hungry wolves arrive in the town and killed every single antelope. The howls of wolves echoed throughout the entire town.

Everyone was in disbelief. Head lama Rangjung frowned deeply, something was troubling him.

A few days later, the wolf pack returned to the town but this time, they were the ones being chased. They had now become the antelopes. They ran into the town, tail between their legs, hoping to find shelter.

The residents once again chased out the animals. Over a hundred wolves roamed at the edge of the town, howling bitterly and hissing in contempt. A she-wolf attempted to send its pups into the town but even they were chased out by the townspeople. A group of hunters wearing the traditional attire of the Tibetans arrived on horseback as night fell. The stench of wolf blood mingled with the reflection of their knives.

Head lama Rangjung heaved a heavy sigh. He raised his head and looked towards the monkey. "Did these hunters meet the same fate?"

The monkey Qian Ren nodded. "Just like the antelopes and the wolves from before, these hunters attempted to seek asylum in the village a few days later. They were being chased as well."

The hunters were killed by a group of sorcerers.

The time though, the sorcerers did not leave after killing the hunters. They tossed their weapons into the sky and cast a demon-exorcising spell, intent on getting rid of the small town's people. The townsfolk immediately launched a thunder-like counterattack. Qian Ren who had been watching the whole battle excitedly from beneath the seal. What he did not expect was this group of sorcerers, who had first shown threatening supernatural powers, did not even have time to retaliate. In the blink of an eye, the small town's residents had slaughtered them all.

As they died though, they cried out. They sounded like small children!

Head lama Rangjung could not contain his anger. He roared in rage. "The nerve of those evildoers!" He raised his arms and balled up his fists, bringing them down on the ground beneath him, ferociously pounding away. He was filled with all the anger of Heaven and Earth and he could no other way to vent.

A red shadow flew past. The monkey who had been standing to the side suddenly appeared in front of the head lama. It stretched out a small claw and firmly held onto the lama's fists that threw punch after punch. It sneered in contempt. "I know you're very angry right now but is there any way you could not hurt me in the process?"

The lama's eyes widened. "Since when did I…" He only got halfway through his sentence before he shut his mouth. The ground beneath their feet was not the soil of the earth but the body of the monkey. All the bones, the blood vessels, the muscles… They were all part of the monkey.

The monkey Qian Ren released the lama's fists as it continued on with the story.

When these sorcerers had been killing the hunters, they showed great bravery. Sadly, upon being struck by the townspeople's counterattack, they became as fragile as paper men. Their body was blown to bits and scattered.

Upon examination, they realized in astonishment that they were the bodies of children between three to five!

"A cloaking spell!" The monkey did not even wait for them to ask before answering. It then explained in a low voice, "A cloaking spell had been cast over these children. If they had not died, it would have been very difficult to tell that they were not adults. The children's minds had been concealed. They were like puppets. The attacks that they launched and the treasured weapons that they had used did not belong to them. Somebody else had been controlling them from behind the scenes!"

The monkey took a deep breath, sneering as it continued. "The antelopes, the snow wolves, the hunters, and the child-sorcerers, they had all been sent by the other party."

Qin Zhui frowned. "What happened? The wolves that fed on the antelopes, the hunters that killed the wolves, the evil children that had slaughtered the humans… Was it the work of Heaven and Earth's… uh… power something…"

The monkey Qian Ren shook its head impatiently. "This may have seemed like an insignificant matter but the residents of the town, their hearts had been slowly been corrupted by the evil energy. Their hearts had been in turmoil. After having gone through a series of events that had led to the death of some many innocents, their hearts were already at the edge of breaking. When they accidentally killed the group of children, they parted ways with kindness and transformed into demons!"

The town's residents turned into demons overnight. The pureness in their hearts had been completely destroyed by evil energy. As they had opted out of being reborn, they turned into wraiths and lonely ghosts. Then, under the watchful eye of the red monkey, an evil sorcerer entered the small town and enslaved the town's residents.

The town's residents destroyed the instruments that guarded the four corners of the mandala. They had been about to pull out the houses when they were stopped by the evil sorcerer. The red monkey Qian Ren shrugged then laughed. "I think he didn't know what was being suppressed underneath the seal. He had more important matters at hand. So he did not wish to release a monster that might cause unwanted chaos."

The town's residents act of destroying the instruments could have been considered a ceremony. A ceremony to bid farewell to the ancient saint they once followed and goodbye to the pureness of their hearts.

From the evil sorcerer's point of view, the instruments guarding the mandala had been destroyed but the mandala still remained. Even with its weakened state, it would take at least another century before the monster underneath could hope to break the seal. He didn't know that since centuries ago, the true power holding the monster down was not the mandala but the beetles instead.

The evil sorcerer did not care for the creature sealed under that small town. His only aim was to recruit the group of disciples left behind by the highland master. The town's residents obeyed his instructions to stay behind and continue masquerading as the walking dead. This had taken place a dozen years ago and the sorcerer had not been seen since then, up until a year ago.

Qian Ren shrugged helplessly at this point. "Since he had subdued the people of this town, he had no need for verbal communication with them. There was no need for him to gesture. When he arrived in the town, he merely stood in the centre of it while the townsfolk surrounded him. They stood around like tree stumps, standing there for a whole day. It was like a silent ceremony. I can never hope to understand it. Your group came to this town about a year from that incident."

Qian Ren paused for a moment and pondered for a while, before nodding in confirmation "I have now told you everything that needs to be told,"

The monkey's life story had been full of twists and turns. It had taken a long time to recount the whole story, stunning everyone into bewilderment and disbelief. The story of the town had been much simpler and could be easily explained in just a few sentences. To sum it up, an evil sorcerer is working from the shadows and the small town's residents had been enslaved and recruited into the Devil Sect.

Wen Leyang and Gu Xiaojun were at a loss for words, Qin Zhui stared at the monkey with wide eyes. "That's all? That is all you know about this matter?"

The monkey Qian Ren ignored Qin Zhui. It beamed with joy, gazing upon each and everyone's faces. Qian Ren started checking off with his fingers. "I have returned the giant pangolin to you. I have already told you about my origins and my trials. I have also finished telling about the town's recent happenings." Qian Ren clasped his hands behind his back. "Shouldn't you be preparing to kill the bugs?"

Qin Zhui replied, "Is it true, once all the bugs are gone, you will be able to break out of this seal?"

The monkey Qian Ren nodded with confidence. "That is true. Once all the bugs have been exterminated, the Dog-Headed Eagle will be restored to its unblemished state."

A cautious expression, one that Wen Leyang had never seen before, appeared on Qin Zhui's face. He squinted his eyes as he studied the monkey up and down. He spoke in a serious tone. "If you have no way to prove that you aren't the Golden Monkey that had been suppressed by King Gesar, then we cannot help you-"

The monkey waved its hands at Qin Zhui, cutting him off. "This is not the time for you to speak, confused fool. Shut your mouth and stand aside."

The dwarf Taoist priest finally saw an opportunity for revenge. He sneered as he commented., "Confused fool, did you just listen to the story and stopped using your brain? Maybe you don't even have a brain to begin with!"

Qin Zhui was livid. He raised his Tang knife, pointing it at the priest's nose. "When we get out of here, we ought to have a race!" He then paused for a moment before adding, "You're not allowed to help him!" He waved his knife at the giant pangolin.

Head lama Rangjung shook his head and smiled tightly. He took a step and stood between Qin Zhui and the priest, who wanted to resolve their dispute right there and then. "If Sir Qian Ren had really been planning to trick us, he would never have told us the truth about those bugs holding him down."

Qin Zhui was confused. " What are you saying?"

Gu Xiaojun was growing impatient. He quickly explained, "If mon… Qian Ren had been planning to trick us, then he would not have told us that the Tibetan Buddhism Sect mandala is not useless in holding him back. He would not have revealed to us that it's actually those bugs that are shackling him to this place, preventing him from escaping." From Old Gu's tone, he showed that he was on the monkey's side.

Qin Zhui's eyes lit up. His ugly face filled with understanding as he nodded wholeheartedly. "You've got a point there."

Qian Ren was supposed to be a magic practitioner, practising hard to achieve mastery over the wood element. He had been framed by his friend and turned into a monkey, which had then been trapped in a void. He has suffered the agony of being chewed to nothingness by the dung beetles for millenniums. His life story was truly a piteous one. If Qin Zhui could help him in any way, he would gladly do so.

Head lama Rangjung sighed. "The Golden Monkey had gone on a killing spree which resulted in King Gesar capturing and sealing it away but the true blame of that lies in Kong Nuer. I have high hopes for you, Sir, after you are released…"

The monkey Qian Ren been tricked and trapped in this void for too many years. It had grown stubborn and tyrannical. The monkey finally had the opportunity to retell its story and let go of its burdens. Qian Ren felt rather grateful to these people. It was satisfied that everything was coming to a happy ending. It chuckled and nodded, "After the bugs have been exterminated and you do not dare face off with me, scram."

Head lama Rangjung smiled widely. He turned around and looked towards Wen Leyang. "Then will you please proceed with the extermination?"

Wen Leyang looked at the faces around him, some were smiling affectionately, some were expectant, some even threw him an encouraging look. Wen Leyang's face fell and he shook his head. "There are too many of them… How can… How can I kill all of them?"

Upon hearing his helpless cry, they all stood around dumbfounded like wooden chickens, including the red monkey and the giant pangolin.

Assuming there were over thousands of dung beetles in this bird's body, the small number of ingredients Wen Leyang had on him wouldn't be enough to kill all of them. There was also the problem of the bugs' eggs hiding in between the bones.

Wen Leyang's voice grew softer than the buzz of a mosquito. He stuttered as he tried to explain himself. "I had thought that Qian Ren was a demon who had committed uncountable evil deeds. I assumed we would fight him sooner or later, that's why I made that promise…"

The monkey walked towards Wen Leyang, the entire Dog-Headed Eagle corpse shook with every step it took. He walked right up to Wen Leyang's face and raised its head, asking in a low tone, "The items from earlier, the terrified heart bewitching eye enchanting soul and whatnot, does not work?"

Wen Leyang put on a long face, he answered frankly, "It does work but I the scale wouldn't be big enough. It would have been enough for a hundred bugs, difficult against a thousand, but absolutely impossible against two thousand. However…" Wen Leyang spoke up, resolute and decisive. "Please give me a few months. I will prepare thoroughly and come back to exterminate all the bugs in one swift go!"

The monkey did not reply. It stood in front of Wen Leyang, hands clasped behind its back, staring at him in cold fury.

The atmosphere felt heavy as if the air had turned into ice. Even if you used all your strength, it would feel almost impossible to even take in a breath.

Gu Xiaojun suddenly laughed. His laughter was so dry feeling like sandpaper against one's eardrums. "Little Wen does have a point. We will return again when we are well prepared and kill off those dung beetles in one go."

The giant pangolin Po Tu dropped its divine demeanour. It played along and laughed with a strange expression on its face, "He does have a point, he does have a point." The dwarf Taoist priest looked uncomfortable, as the usually majestic divine beast of the Immortal Sect stared at him with that ghastly smile. Po Tu glared. "What the hell you staring at? Smile!"

The cultivators… The divine beast… The leader of the secret service… Each one wearing a smile uglier than the last. It wasn't that they were scared, they just felt really bad that after all the monkey had gone through, it now has to go through one more betrayal. They could see no other way to justify themselves and just smiled.

Gu Xiaojun had stated his point of view, while he raised his leg and kicked Qin Zhui. Only then did Qin Zhui react. He nodded in earnest, quickly agreeing with their discussion. "In my opinion, the most difficult part would be to find and destroy all the bug eggs. By the time Wen Leyang returns with a more effective recipe, your body will probably be chewed clean by then. The bugs would then have nowhere to hide-"

A raging howl suddenly exploded, drowning out Qin Zhui's voice. The monkey was glaring at them, its smile sinister. "I will make sure that none of you will die for now. I will make sure that you watch as you get chewed into a skeleton by those bugs. Make sure you are alive as they eat the flesh off your face. None of you are allowed to die!"

Before the monkey's voice had even faded, their vision was filled with streaks of red shadows. The sound of heavy blows rang out and moans echoed out after one another. One by one, they all slammed into the ground!

It had taken the monkey only a few seconds to bring everyone to the ground. It shouted in a rage, "Everyone! Stand up for the old father! Whoever stands up last, I will gouge out one of his eyeballs and force feed it to him!"

Wen Leyang's group possessed unprecedented power. They could have wiped out the whole magical realm in one go if they had wanted to but before the monkey, they couldn't even counterattack.

The monkey controlled its strength perfectly. The strongest in the group was the giant pangolin, who had been training for millenniums, while the weakest person was the person with no magic powers, Gu Xiaojun. The force the monkey had to exert in order to bring down Po Tu could have killed a hundred Gu Xiaojuns yet Gu Xiaojun survived.

Everyone suffered agonizing pain from the monkey's attack but none of them died.

Wen Leyang cried out. He flipped over and jumped up. He roared. "If you want to punish someone, punish me alone. They are not-" He was cut short by his own scream. He fell over once again. The monkey struck him over and over, he didn't have the chance to launch his Faulty Punch.

Qin Zhui jumped in and attempted to stop the monkey. With a loud explosion, he was thrown backwards and flew through the air like a dead fish. The monkey had seized his Tang knife and unceremoniously broke it into two!

The treasured weapon was destroyed and Qin Zhui was severely injured.

Gu Xiaojun was exasperated, he cried out, "Do not hesitate, subdue the monkey-" The monkey punched Gu Xiaojun in the throat. Old Gu felt his Adam's apple was about to be squeezed out of his windpipe. A terrifying crack immediately followed after Gu Xiaojun's shout.

The monkey sneered as it aimed a kick at the head lama, who had pounced forward to intercept it. Qian Ren then turned around and stretched out a hand, grabbing and crushing two of the priest's ribs. It then caught the giant pangolin by the tail and swung it around. Only then it stretched out its hands once again and pinched Old Gu's throat again to set the bones back. The monkey sniggered, "Don't worry. I told you no one is dying today. In fact, no one is allowed to die!"

Gu Xiaojun's face had turned into the colour of ash. He was inhaling mouthfuls of air like he had just survived a drowning. He could not say a word.

The monkey had not employed any supernatural powers, merely punching with its fists and kicking with its legs. In the blink of an eye, everyone was defeated a second time. It stood and looked grimly at the dwarf Taoist priest. "You were the last one to get up right?" As it said this, it pointed a claw at the priest's eyeballs. "Left eye or right eye, I will let you choose."

A 'bah' escaped the dwarf Taoist priest's lips. He struggled to fight back, willing to risk his life but he couldn't move. There was a heavy force holding him back from behind.

Wen Leyang's left hand was holding onto Qin Zhui while he held the priest back with his right. His eyes were murderous as he glared at the monkey Qian Ren. The monkey stopped his barrage of attacks. It raised its chin, seeming to find amusement in Wen Leyang's death stare.

This battle was full of resentment. Not only Wen Leyang but everyone, upon meeting the monkey earlier, had thought that they would end up in a violent battle in the end. No one had really put their heart into the deal. They had not expected to meet such an unfortunate man with a sorrowful past.

Qian Ren felt like it had been betrayed, it had trusted them. The monkey felt cheated. It was deranged. If there had only been him, Wen Leyang would have allowed the monkey to beat him up and vent out its anger. Wen Leyang would not have allowed it to kill him of course.

At this point, Qin Zhui and the dwarf Taoist priest were severely injured. Gu Xiaojun had just gone to hell and came back. The teachings of Wen Bucao did not produce dense disciples. The knife has been placed against his throat, Wen Leyang did not care who was right or wrong now. He held on to his two severely injured companions and glared at the monkey, he shouted hoarsely, "You've got me!"

The severely injured Qin Zhui cursed, "You have not got me!"

Gu Xiaojun stood behind Wen Leyang and waited for Wen Leyang to pull out his trump card. Old Gu's eyes brightened. He had been present at the fierce battle of Painting Town. He knew that You've Got Me could summon the giant sword, The Molten Metal Fire Bell. That sword was left back in Painting Town, stabbed diagonally into the ground and wrapped in a huge carpet.

The monkey Qian Ren burst out laughing, its gaze was filled with wonderment as it looked towards Wen Leyang. "And here I thought you were an unyielding man-" Before it could finish its sentence, a loud pop was heard from Wen Leyang. A red-coloured bug squealed and shot out from his chest, trailing in a dazzling arc. It shot straight towards Qian Ren at lightning speed!

With a wave of Qian Ren's hand, the bug and its trail vanished.

Wen Leyang had called on the bug who in turn would be able to summon the giant Molten Metal Fire Bell Sword. He had not expected the bug to pounce forward of its own accord.

You've Got Me was lucky that the monkey did not simply just crush it. The monkey clenched the bug in his palm as the hairs on the bug's body stiffened. The bug kept buzzing about, turning in circles.

The monkey looked towards Wen Leyang in apprehension. It finally understood. "This bug here is called You've Got Me?" It then followed with another question, sounding quite upset. "So you were planning all along to use this creature to destroy me?"

Back in Shanghai, You've Got Me have spent a wild night out, partying way too hard in one of the clubs. The very next day in Painting Town that had been created by Leyang Tian, You've Got Me had summoned the giant Molten Metal Fire Bell sword. It had killed the Ning Jiao and rescued Wen Leyang. Leyang Tian's witchcraft dimension had also sadly been destroyed by the giant sword's power, causing Painting Town's conjurer to perish along with the split body of the Taoist priest San Wei.

Ever since then, You've Got Me had been sleeping off its hangover. It laid still in Wen Leyang's chest and barely moved. Every time Wen Leyang used his finger to tickle it, the bug would simply turn over in agitation and continue sleeping.

Wen Leyang had met the head lama Rangjung, the dwarf Taoist priest, and the Qilian disciples not long ago back in Tuer Town. The bug had chosen that moment to awaken. That was why Wen Leyang had cried out, startling Fei Fei, Xiao Sha, and the rest.

You've Got Me might be small but it had the might of the gigantic divine sword behind it. The Molten Metal Fire Bell had decapitated the Ning Jiao before it could retaliate.

That was when Wen Leyang had started taking on every challenge. He did not fear anything from then on, even as they descended into the seal. He had been steadfast and confident.

Despite feeling utmost pity towards the monkey Qian Ren, Wen Leyang could not just standby and watch as it injured his friends. He couldn't allow the monkey to beat his friends senseless and fed them to the dung beetles. He then decided to call upon You've Got Me.

You've Got Me had obeyed his command in just a single try, to his great surprise but where was the Molten Metal Fire Bell?

The monkey Qian Ren held the bug in its fist. The smile on its face was turning sinister but the monkey suddenly frowned, rolling its eyes towards the sky and looking at something on the surface.

Wen Leyang was felt his nerves fray in anticipation. He turned around and passed his two severely injured companions to Gu Xiaojun. He was bracing for the monkey's counterattack, which he predicted that the monkey would launch upon the appearance of the Molten Metal Fire Bell.

The divine sword did not appear though…

The monkey retracted its gaze. It opened up its palm and brought the bug up to its eyes, observing the bug closely. You've Got Me was elated that the darkness had been lifted. Its plump body assumed an impressive posture, coiling itself and aimed at the monkey's golden eyes, ready to strike.

Wen Leyang whistled hastily, signalling to You've Got Me to stay calm. Wen Leyang knew that the bug was fast but it could have been no faster than the QSZ-92 bullet.

The Molten Metal Fire Bell still has not arrived. Wen Leyang realized with dawning horror, that perhaps the sword was incapable of entering this space.

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Chapter 196: The Enemy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Even though it had not managed to summon the Molten Metal Fire Bell, You've Got Me was still revving to go. It was practically itching for a fight, wanting to have a go at the red monkey Qian Ren. It seems as though You've Got Me was still drunk.

The red monkey had been furious earlier and was aggressively beating Wen Leyang and the rest, now stood still and observed You've Got Me with intense interest. The monkey calmed down once again. It frowned and asked Wen Leyang, "Are you acquainted with the Fire Master?"

Wen Leyang did not know how to respond to that. He stood rooted to the spot, simply glaring at the monkey.

Gu Xiaojun was glad for the change in mood. At least the beatings have stopped. He moved to Wen Leyang's side and repeated the question back to the monkey, "You know the Fire Master?"

The monkey nodded. It spoke in a proud manner, "Of course I knew the Fire Master… I had been practising wood elemental magic while he was cultivating the essence of fire. We were both at the peak of our cultivation, masters of their own element…." Perhaps it was because these events had happened so long ago that Qian Ren seemed to have difficulty in recalling its memories.

Old Gu and Wen Leyang looked to each other. Old Gu sniggered, "In that case, you should know about the power of the giant sword then?"

Qian Ren hesitated before laughing. "I do I do… I did not expect that you would be connected to the Fire Master though. This old father owes him a favor. Hehe!" Qian Ren diverted the topic of conversation then. Its gaze was piercing, firmly locked onto Wen Leyang's face. "Young lad, if I were to give you three months, will you swear to come back and remove all the dung beetles for me?"

This change of event was truly unexpected. Wen Leyang did not know why You've Got Me could sometimes summon the Molten Metal Fire Bell and sometimes could not. However, if he is thinking about this correctly, there was some sort of connection between the Fire Master and the divine sword which the bug is the link somehow.

Wen Leyang did not care to ask further into the matter. He nodded hastily. "In three months, I promise to return and help you remove these poison bugs!"

Qian Ren laughed and nodded, "In respect to the Fire Arya… Fire… Fire Master?" Everyone nodded their heads. The monkey continued, "In respect of the Fire Master, I will release you but you are to return alone. For the next three months, I will make sure they stay healthy and alive." The monkey's intentions could not be clearer. It wanted to keep hostages.

Wen Leyang did not know how to answer. The head lama Rangjung took a step forward and shook his head. "No, I am going to go after the wicked scoundrel that tainted the spirits of the King's loyal warriors. I cannot stay here! If Sir Wen were to leave and not return, I offer to cut my own throat as an apology after I have dealt with the evildoer."

Before the head lama had barely finished, Gu Xiaojun boomed out, "The evil cult followers from all around the world have gathered on these highlands for a reason. This matter of the nine-headed snake is connected to the fate of the world, I must follow through with it. If Wen Leyang does not return, I too will commit suicide and be buried with you."

"I have to return to the Qilian disciples and look out for them. If Wen Leyang were to never return, this old father also…" The giant pangolin too declared its position.

Old Gu and Po Tu were echoing the awe-inspiring speech of the head lama. That certainly was an uproar…

The monkey calmed down, much to everyone's surprise. It gazed at everyone present like a housewife picking out Chinese cabbage at a market stall. It nodded at some of them and shook its head at the others. After some time, it spoke to the group in a decisive manner, "Whoever I ask to stay shall stay. You're the ones who have broken the deal, you have no right to be negotiating. The Fire… Fire Master's honour is not as great as you imagine it to be."

Admittedly, it was truly like a market inside the Dog-Headed Eagle's body. There was no room for them to refuse the monkey, no matter what they thought. To Wen Leyang's surprise, Qian Ren only chose two hostages, the dwarf Taoist priest and QIn Zhui.

The giant pangolin, the head lama, and Gu Xiaojun were allowed to follow Wen Leyang and return to the surface.

Wen Leyang shook his head in disagreement. He ignored Gu Xiaojun's glance. He pointed at Qin Zhui who was lying injured on the ground. Before he could even say a word, the monkey interrupted him, "Are you able to heal him?"

Wen Leyang was stunned, then a joyous smile spread across his face. "Are you going to heal his injuries?"

Qin Zhui glared at the monkey. He clenched his teeth and spoke in a voice seething with anger, "Even if you can heal this old man here, it would be useless! My treasured weapon had already been destroyed, my lifetime of practice…"

The monkey laughed in response. "You ungrateful young lad, why do you think the old father didn't destroy anyone else's treasured weapon? Your martial arts practice is fine but if keep holding on to that broken knife and continue to train with it, you will not achieve your life goal till the day you die!"

Qin Zhui seemed to forget his injuries, raising his hand and pushing Gu Xiaojun away. "What do you mean?" He then cried out in alarm and tumbled to the ground again.

The monkey stretched out its hand to shoo away the few people crowding around him with their attempts to help, resulting in Qin Zhui falling head first in front of the monkey. On its face was a ghost of a smile, "Yung lad, you had first cultivated in the skill of Enter the Force, then you practised Hide the Force, correct?"

Qin Zhui was severely injured but this fall was not serious. He could not get up though so he just turned over and lied with his back to the ground, looking up at the monkey. The short and small monkey now looked much bigger from Qin Zhui's point of view. "Break the Force. Break the Force with the knife…"

The monkey laughed at him. "Bullshit! Sure you can learn to break the force but what good would that do you? That skill would be useless if you relied on it for the rest of your life. This old father destroyed your knife so that you can forget about the force and achieve Zero Force!"

Wen Leyang and Qin Zhui simultaneously gave out an 'oh'. Back in the Gold-Consuming Lair, the jade knife Guo Huan had told Qin Zhui that the next step in his practice was to achieve Zero Force after Hiding the Force but Qin Zhui had not understood then. When Qin Zhui was at Nine Peaks Mountain, the old demon rabbit had told him about Breaking the Force. Qin Zhui was overjoyed that he had found a new clue then.

The monkey's statement perfectly matched with Guo Huan's earlier words. Their experience was after all far greater than the old demon rabbit. The two old demons' statements were identical. In order to achieve a breakthrough, Qin Zhui would have to find out more about this Zero Force.

Qin Zhui waved his hand dismissively at Wen Leyang. "I will stay, you guys leave."

The dwarf Taoist priest looked towards Gu Xiaojun and reminded Wen Leyang in a desperate voice, "Three months!"

The terms have been set by the monkey. There was absolutely no room for anyone to refute.

They then realized the power from the Western region deity that had been summoned by head lama Rangjung had lifted, unknown since when. This brand of supernatural power was only ever meant to be a temporary measure and would not last forever.

Wen Leyang resumed carrying Gu Xiaojun and together with the head lama and the giant pangolin, they returned to the surface world. The seal of Tuer Town was almost in shambles and since they were not apart of the Dog-Headed Eagle, the seal did not hold them back and they dashed past it without much effort. You've Got Me had returned to Wen Leyang's body with joy. As long as Wen Leyang was safe, it could rest easy. The bug, which was still hangover, was still pretty riled up from its adventures. It continued to cry out softly while crawling all over Wen Leyang's body like a tiny train on the tracks. Occasionally, it crawled up Gu Xiaojun's body and made his hairs stand on end.

The sky above the small town was bright. Wen Leyang inquired and found out that they had spent almost two days in the eagle's stomach.

The moment the Qilian disciples caught sight of the divine beast Po Tu, they broke out in thunderous cheers but they then realized, their supreme leader was nowhere to be seen…

Wen Leyang briefly recounted their encounter to the company that had been waiting for them to return. Fei Fei wailed regretfully. She thumped her chest and stomped her feet, appearing extremely depressed. Hearing Wen Leyang's story, the chance to study the monkey's expression sounded like a missed opportunity.

Old Gu sniggered and consoled her. "Do not fret. Three months from now, you will have the chance to study a talking bird!" As he said that, he pulled out a pen from his chest pocket. Wen Leyang learned that it was actually a recorder. Fei Fei may have missed the chance to stud the monkey's face but she could still come up with some clues just from its voice.

Fei Fei pulled Xiao Sha off to the side and they both started listening intently. Gu Xiaojun then spoke to Wen Leyang softly, "Qian Ren is not a fool."

Wen Leyang raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Upon hearing Qian Ren's story, head lama Rangjung had decided to investigate the evil sorcerer that had broken the pure hearts of the followers left behind by King Gesar to guard the mandala. The only lead he had on the evil sorcerer was the group of evil cults that had gathered on the highlands. The head lama aligned himself with Wen Leyang and his original group. Upon hearing Gu Xiaojun's statement, he nodded in agreement. "The hostages he kept, they were not chosen blindly."

As he spoke, the head lama produced instruments that Wen Leyang did not recognise from the front of his robes and started putting them down in a circle, making a soundproof circle around them. This prevented the monkey Qian Ren from eavesdropping on their conversation.

After he had finished, Rangjung raised his thick and dark hand. He counted off on his fingers while addressing Wen Leyang, "This is the first time we are meeting, there isn't much kinship between us. If it were to take me as a hostage, you guys would not be too bothered."

Wen Leyang's interest was peaked.

The lama then pointed to Old Gu. "I do not understand the ties between all of you but I know that he is an ordinary human. He would never have survived being trapped underground for three months. It would only be troublesome for the monkey if he stays behind. If he dies and you have a close relationship, you might refuse to return and exterminate the bugs."

Gu Xiaojun took over from the lama, continuing the dissection, "The most important thing to note is that the monkey pinned down the Taoist priest but released the giant pangolin. Anyone could see that the Qilian Immortal Sect's supreme leader has a profound relationship with the divine beast. It kept one of the pair and released the other, prompting them to force you to return with the formula."

Wen Leyang was no fool, he understood the situation clearly after they have finished. He laughed loudly as he nodded, "That is true. It had chosen to keep the supreme leader and not the divine beast because Po Tu's strength is far greater. With the divine beast monitoring me, even if I decide not to rescue Qin Zhui, I would have to answer to the divine beast Po Tu."

Gu Xiaojun laughed. "Qian Ren kept Qin Zhui because it saw you and Qin Zhui join hands in battle. He and you certainly have a good enough relationship. Also according to my observation, Qian Ren seemed to have taken a fancy towards Qin Zhui. The practitioner has spent millenniums alone and perhaps had wished for a disciple. This could be the making of that ugly lad!"

The giant pangolin Po Tu lumbered into the lama's soundproof circle. It asked Wen Leyang bluntly, "Young lad, will you be able to remove every single one of those dung beetles?"

Wen Leyang nodded. "Those bugs are just odd in size. It would be difficult to settle them with brute force but with the use of poison, it would be no different than killing cockroaches. I just have to get in contact with my family and have them send me the materials." He asked for pen and paper from the sibling and hastily drafted a message to his family, including the recipe and the volume of ingredients needed. He took out a letter talisman belonging to the Wen family from his chest pocket. Wen Leyang passed the talisman and the letter to the pangolin, instructing the divine beast, "Please deliver these to the Wen family and bid my family to prepare the ingredients. Have them send the goods to this town when everything is prepared. The matter of killing the bugs is a small one."

Po Tu gave out a sigh of relief as if letting go of a heavy burden. "All is well then. I just thought, if everything else failed, I would have requested you to get help from Grand Master Chang Li. This way is the simplest. It is best we do not need to bother the grand old lady…" As it said this, it paused for a moment and then laughed heartily. "I will have no need to run this errand personally. The children of the Immortal Sect can deliver the letter."

The giant pangolin had already decided long ago that he would not leave Wen Leyang's side. Otherwise, if the young lad were to disappear, it would have no means to find Wen Leyang again. Po Tu handled the delegation, immediately calling upon the Qilian Immortal Sect disciples and instructed them to deliver the items to Nine Peaks Mountain.

Even without their supreme leader to hold their front line, the elite disciples of the Qilian Immortal Sect were a force not to be trifled with within the magical realm. They agreed to deliver the letter as staying back would prove useless, they wouldn't be of much help here. Based on power alone, if Wen Leyang's group prove not to be enough, the Immortal Sect's disciples could not help either.

The Qilian disciples worshipped the giant pangolin as a deity. The divine beast tossed its tail while giving them instructions. Over twenty disciples departed immediately. Every one of them left in a flash, leaving the small town of Tuer even more desolate than before.

Of course, Gu Xiaojun understood Po Tu's intentions, his old face beamed with joy. Two days had passed in this small town. Although they have lost Qin Zhui, they now had two additional members to their group. The head lama Rangjung and the divine beast Po Tu would help them in their mission.

Po Tu's magic roots were definitely more prominent than that of Wen Leyang and Rangjung but it was also more volatile and accident-prone.

Rangjung's powers were on par with Wen Leyang's but he had an added skill. He was a high-ranking personage amongst the people of the highlands. Judging from how he had summoned help from the practitioners from the highland and concentrated their powers using just the human bone flute, having his aid is equivalent to having all of Tibet's Buddhist heroes behind them.

As soon as the medicinal materials are delivered by the Wen family, the process of exterminating the bugs for Qian Ren would be an easy one for Wen Leyang. As easy as lifting a finger, thus he was not too worried. He refused to just sit back and wait though. They needed to continue investigating the matter of the evil cult followers.

Just relying on the collective powers of Wen Leyang, the head lama Rangjung, and Po Tu, the evil cult followers that had gathered here on highlands would not stand a chance. The evil cult followers' powers were pretty weak and this puzzled Wen Leyang. He wondered what could the nine-headed snake need from a group of foreigners with weak abilities.

Po Tu grew impatient as it slammed its tail on the ground. "So what's our next move? Are we going after the group of living dead?"

Fei Fei who had been pacing back and forth suddenly started jumping on the spot. With the recorder pen pressed to her ear, she raised her head and spoke to Old Gu in a confidential manner. "Everything the creature had been truthful all throughout the beginning but it's lying about the Fire Master. This person is a made-up entity!"

Gu Xiaojun and the head lama both smiled knowingly as if that was what they expected, the giant pangolin Po Tu was puzzled at this though. It was about to speak when its expression changed abruptly. The divine beast lifted its rapidly twitching nose into the air as if sensing danger. It rose up and shouted loudly, "Immortal Sect disciples! Retreat! Oh goddamn this soundproof circle!" It dove into the ground and burrowed away.

Wen Leyang and the head lama Rangjung frowned in unison. They looked to one another in astonishment. Gu Xiaojun stretched out his hand and grabbed onto both of them. "What is it?"

The head lama Rangjung spoke in a strained voice, "It's the enemy. The enemy that is coming for Tuer Town."

Old Gu started to laugh. "It is best that the enemy is here!" They had been entrusted to stop the enemy after all. They were still trying to figure out if they should continue waiting or give chase when the enemy finally arrived. They could either talk to the enemy into retreating or fight them into submission. Once they were done with this task, they could continue their search for the evil cult followers. After the events of the past few days, Old Gu had started to miss his African brother, Tutatunte.

Wen Leyang gave a forced smile as he said, "This group of enemies is large. There is a total of… over one thousand people! Also, they are acquaintances of ours."

Gu Xaiojun's laughter vanished. His eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets. He stared at Wen Leyang and repeated, "Over one thousand people?"

At this point, the giant pangolin had successfully pulled back the Qilian disciples albeit in a disorderly manner. The moment it entered the town, it shouted in a rage, "What is that? There are over a thousand people in that group!" It waved its hands and instructed its disciples furiously, "I command everyone to fall back!" With a loud bang, Po Tu changed from his Earthly form to his demon one. It raised its head and howled in anger, filling the air with a sonorous and forceful voice. Its howl was filled with murderous intent, a warning to the enemy which was rapidly approaching.

A moment later, a familiar voice rang out. "Taoism code, disciples of Kunlun. Execute the demon, kill the people in the town without mercy!"

Over a thousand voices answered with a resounding yes to the Taoism code instructions, shattering the tranquillity of the highlands. Their swords reflected the shimmering sky. Countless Taoist disciples were hurtling towards the small town at lightning speed. They aimed for the small town while under the protection of a sword formation.

Gu Xiaojun gave out a choked scream. He turned and asked Wen Leyang, "Is that the Kunlun Sect? Why are they here?"

Wen Leyang shook his head. He waved his hand and stopped the giant pangolin who was about to launch itself at the incoming horde. His body blurred as he jumped to the town's border. He roared, "Come out Liu Zheng! I am-"

The enemies, who looked like they would not give up until the small town was destroyed, were the disciples of Kunlun donning green coloured long robes. The person issuing orders from afar was Wen Leyang's old acquaintance, Kunlun Sect's supreme leader, Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng did not even wait for Wen Leyang to finish his sentence, he cut off Wen Leyang off with a loud roar, "Taoism code, disciples of Kunlun. Execute the demons-"

The moment the Taoism code was given, it was difficult to change its course.

Wen Leyang had fought many confused battles over the last few days but he refused to believe that the Kunlun Sect would still attack him despite seeing him. He did not wait for Liu Zheng to complete issuing the order before shouting back, "Execute my ass!" A tremendous force flowed through Wen Leyang's poisonous bones and Qi points. His entire person became as heavy as a hill but moved as fast as lightning. He pounced towards the Kunlun disciples.

The few Taoist priests at the front of the line were caught off guard. Just like empty bottles blocking the path of the savage horse, they were tossed aside from Wen Leyang's impact. The Kunlun disciples originated from Black and White Island, their lineage had existed for millenniums and they were very disciplined in their conduct. They were thrown into chaos for mere moments before they calmed down and closed ranks. The senior disciples shouted out. Streaks of swords flashed through the air and came together to shape themselves into dragons, peering at him from all directions.

Wen Leyang grew nervous and angry. He clenched his teeth and was about to charge forward despite the danger when suddenly, something tightened around his ankles. The giant pangolin had stuck its head out from the ground and pulled him under in one swift motion.

Wen Leyang felt his body tighten and loosed almost all at once. While being protected by Po Tu, they sped pass the sword dragons surrounding them through under the ground. Po Tu then tossed Wen Leyang forward with all its might, and laughed uproariously, "Go! Capture that b*stard supreme leader and strike him on my behalf!"

A few huge and thick sword dragons tried to encircle Wen Leyang but failed to suppress him. They were like leeches looking to suck out their souls and chew on his bones, immediately giving chase in the direction of Wen Leyang and Po Tu, giving out a loud bang. The giant pangolin turned around right after sending Wen Leyang away. It spread out its limbs, the scales on its body stiffened. Its already large body grew by several folds as it laughed madly and smothered countless Kunlun divine swords.

In a blink of an eye, the clashing sounds of metal echoed through the sky!

Wen Leyang dashed through the enemy's formation to grab onto Liu Zheng. Po Tu had burrowed underground to help him with this. Head lama Rangjung had formed a seal with his hands and guarded the small town of Tuer. He was also preparing to defend the people in the town.

The Qilian Immortal Sect's disciples brandished their own flying swords and took up their flaming sword formation. However, their red coloured sword formation was no stronger than a red beltfish when compared to the sword dragons of the Kunlun Sect. Old Gu led the Fei Fei siblings. Each of them held a handgun but they were at a loss at where to aim it.

Head lama Rangjung was knowledgeable and rich in experience but his knowledge was only limited to the highlands. He understood the Taoist magic from the central lands but he had never engaged with them on such a a large scale before. Now that he was seeing the Kunlun disciples launching their flying swords one after the other and their imposing mannerism, he was truly startled. These Kunlun Sect disciples' cultivation base was not worth a mention in his eyes but their joined forces were awe inspiring. If the person that took the brunt force of the swords had been him and not the giant pangolin, he surely would have suffered greatly.

Without a doubt, the disciples of the Kunlun Sect were giving it their all. Earlier when the enlightened person Tian Shu had been dealing with the Fifth Brother, Hanba, in the City God Temple, he had only brought along seventy-two esteemed sword seniors and over three hundred high-ranking disciples. This time, they had turned up with their full strength. Even fresh disciples who have only entered the school for less than three months came as well under the behest of their leader. The clenched their teeth and guided their three-inch flying swords through the air and fought desperately. Certainly, they perceived this as a grave matter of life and death.

The giant pangolin met the joint attack of the thousand Kunlun Sect disciples with great difficulty. It managed to last for mere moments before it gave out a shriek and fell to the ground. The entire ground shook when the body of the pangolin hit the earth. The countless long swords hummed and took off in all directions. They flew everywhere due to the tremendous force, their masters losing their command momentarily.

All this had happened in the blink an eye. Wen Leyang was now running at the speed of light. He dashed and stood in front of the little supreme leader, Liu Zheng, raising his fist to punch Liu Zheng out of desperation. "What the f*ck are you doing, you b*stard?!"

Before he could land his punch though, Wen Leyang suddenly cried out in surprise. His fist froze in midair. It had only been a few months since they've met but it was as if the little supreme leader had turned into a different person.

The original Liu Zheng had been mischievous and brutish. His body was built and his face handsome. When he tried, he could put on the airs befitting an official heir of a famous sect.

The Liu Zheng in front of Wen Leyang right now was withered in body and sallow in complexion. He was so skinny that there seemed to only be skin clinging to his bones. His face was so gaunt that one would only notice the huge pair of eyes sticking out. If he were to be put into the Dog-Headed Eagle's body, he could have been brothers with Qian Ren.

Wen Leyang may have frozen in midair but Liu Zheng did not hold back. Grunting in a low voice, he stretched out his skinny, chicken-leg-like hands and grabbed onto Wen Leyang.

Wen Leyang quickly reacted. His hands closed around Liu Zheng's fists that were attempting to break his ribs. Wen Leyang felt a strong gush of life force invade him, bursting into his chest through the supreme leader's hands, akin to an icy-cold spear. Wen Leyang's poisonous body immediately prepared to counterattack with the Faulty Punch. The two parties were locked in a battle and strength and Wen Leyang was stumped once again!

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Chapter 197: Walk Around the Lake

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Liu Zheng's powers had increased tremendously from before! He could now fight on par with Wen Leyang.

Liu Zheng's life force was pure and sharp. However, he was obviously not accustomed to his new strength, or else even Wen Leyang, who had his bones remoulded by poison, might not have withstood his attack.

After his initial blow, Liu Zheng retracted his powers and stopped his attacks. He frowned as he scrutinised Wen Leyang. "It is really is you." He waved for his disciples to stop their attack.

Wen Leyang's brows knitted together, "What do you mean? Of course. It's me!"

Liu Zheng broke out into a smile. A sense of friendliness shown through his eyes but it vanished just as quickly as it came. "I knew there was something strange about this town. Your powers have increased as well. This led me to believe that it was all some kind of trick of the eye cast by the enemy to deceive us."

Liu Zheng's gaze shifted to the people standing inside the town's borders. "They… they're not the original inhabitants?"

Wen Leyang nodded in response. "They're my friends. We have just arrived here not long ago ourselves."

Liu Zheng's eyes bulged all of a sudden. "Then where are the town's residents? Where have they gone?"

Wen Leyang shook his head. He did not answer the question and diverted the topic instead, "What's going on here?" He gestured towards the Kunlun disciples, who were recalling their flying swords and were slowly gathering around their supreme leader. Not had only Liu Zheng's powers improve, the magic powers of these Kunlun disciples were on the same level as the Kunlun sword seniors that he had met back at the City God Temple of Shanghai. If it had not been for the giant pangolin's desperate attempt to stop them, Wen Leyang would have suffered grievous wounds from the assault of the sword dragons.

Liu Zheng hesitated before opening his mouth and speaking stoically, "My master and the two Immortal uncles have passed away."

Wen Leyang was taken aback at this discovery. He pulled Liu Zheng to his feet. "Let's discuss this further inside the town." Liu Zheng did not protest. He instructed the one thousand Kunlun Sect disciples to standby. He followed behind Wen Leyang. The giant pangolin Po Tu, who had been struck senseless by the divine swords earlier, slowly got to his feet. He returned to his earthly form and staggered like a drunkard into the town.

When they arrived in the middle of the town, Wen Leyang repeated solemnly, "The enlightened person Tian Shu has passed away?"

Liu Zheng nodded rigidly, "Uncle Tian Hua as well." Liu Zheng had shrunk down to just a bag of bones in the last few months. It seemed to be empty under the Taoist robe. Gu Xiaojun was worried that if Liu Zheng would break his thin neck just by nodding.

"Before the master passed away, he passed on his remaining powers to me and the Kunlun disciples. My uncle buried himself in the sword grave and called upon the sword with his spirit." Liu Zheng stated rather drily.

The abilities of the three sword saints of Black and White Island were unparalleled. Before his passing, the enlightened person Tian Shu had used a secret technique to pass on his remaining powers to Liu Zheng and all the Kunlun disciples. That was how the Kunlun Sect as a whole had been raised to another level. Little supreme leader Liu Zheng had attained the level of power of an elite, like the old demon rabbit Bu Le.

If it has been the former Kunlun Sect, the disciples would not even have the chance to activate their sword formation before Wen Leyang had got ahold of Liu Zheng.

The sword dragons had been a formation formed by the flying swords of the Kunlun disciples. It was not, as Wen Leyang had thought, the Thousand Swords Greeting magic spell that had been used at the sword grave at the feet of the Kunlun Mountains.

Wen Leyang said with a soft smile, "Thank goodness you did not cast the Thousand Swords Greeting." He was trying to soothe and distract Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng merely squinted his eyes in disapproval. He did not find Wen Leyang's joke amusing. He said, slowly, word for word, "The Thousand Swords Greeting is used to kill…" Liu Zheng changed the topic then. He lifted his eyes and looked at Wen Leyang. "Why are you guys here? Where are the town's people?"

Wen Leyang roughly recounted their experience in Tuer Town. "The town's residents have left with the evil cult followers a few days ago." He lowered his voice, "Does the passing of the two sword Immortals have anything to do with this town?"

Little supreme leader Liu Zheng grunted in a non-committal manner. He continued to question Wen Leyang, "In which direction did they go?"

Wen Leyang did not answer but Gu Xiaojun, who was frowning, opened his mouth, "We are investigating the nine-headed snake cult followers. You guys pose such a large force. If you meddle in this, it'll-"

Liu Zheng stretched out a hand and cut Gu Xiaojun short, "If you are going to tell me, we will go look for them ourselves. I can't let them escape!" Gu Xiaojun may have been a mere mortal but he showed no weakness in front of Liu Zheng. He said forcefully, "If you want revenge, we will do whatever we can to help you but this issue involves the re-emergence of Xiang Liu. Nobody should act recklessly!"

Wen Leyang hastily moved to stand between the two. "Let's not quarrel. What exactly happened to the enlightened person Tian Shu and Tian Hua?"

Liu Zheng looked at Wen Leyang and answered flatly, "Master and uncle were badly injured by some scheming, wicked… some men. The two elders had rushed back before their final breath and left us with a clue." He closed his eyes and said, word for words, in a cold tone, "If we, the thousand disciples of the Kunlun Sect, cannot have this revenge, we will gladly lay down our swords and follow the heroic souls of my master and uncle into the grave."

These words had no effect on Wen Leyang. He was merely puzzled. "Who is this enemy you speak of? Also, the enlightened person Tian Yin still hasn't-" In the Kunlun ranks, the only remaining member of the three sword immortals was the enlightened person Tian Yin, who has not shown himself. Logically speaking, with such a serious matter taking place, the enlightened person should have come out of his seclusion and take charge.

Wen Leyang had only made it halfway through his sentence before he closed his mouth. Things must not be so simple, or else Tian Shu and Tian Hua would have looked for their big brother, enlightened person Tian Yin himself, and not the little supreme leader.

Liu Zheng's expression turned savage for a moment but he regained his ice-cold demeanour just as quickly.

Wen Leyang had picked up from Liu Zheng's statements, other than the fact that the two swords immortals had died, one of them had passed down his remaining powers to his apprentice and the Kunlun disciples before his death while he cultivated the sword with his spirit. Other than that, he did not know anything else. After some thinking, Wen Leyang opened his mouth and asked Liu Zheng. "What do the deaths of the two enlightened person have to do with this town ad the nine-headed snake cult followers?" He followed that with a heavy and sincere promise. "I will help you get your revenge."

Liu Zheng did not react immediately. He answered slowly, long after Wen Leyang had finished talking. He managed a weak smile as he waved lightly. "The grudges of the master are like grudges of a father, I shan't trouble anyone else with this matter."

He then turned and whistled to the Kunlun disciples. He said no more, just turned around and left. In the space of a blink of an eye, the thousand Kunlun disciples vanished from sight.

Wen Leyang stood riveted to the spot. Two out of three Black and White Island sword immortals had died. Liu Zheng led the Kunlun disciples, resorting to reckless tactics without first investigating. Every Kunlun disciple had been filled with hatred…

Wen Leyang and Old Gu looked at each other. They knew things had just gotten more complicated. Wen Leyang hesitated for a moment before saying bitterly, "Even if the two enlightened had been badly injured, I would still have not been able to withstand their deathly counterattacks."

A few months ago, Tian Shu had been badly injured by Fifth Brother Hanba at the City God Temple of Shanghai. Enlightened person Tian Hua too had suffered grievous wounds and fainted after a fierce battle with Chang Li, San Wei, and Hanba. Even if this were so, killing these two heavily wounded elites, breaking through the many layers of prohibition spells that surrounded Black and White Island, getting past the heavy protection of the Kunlun disciples, this would have been no easy feat.

Cultivators on their level could also launch an extremely powerful counterattack before their deaths. The Kunlun Sect had taken on a position of vengeful wrath. It was obvious that their foe was still at large.

Wen Leyang spoke out loud as he thought things over, his speech slow and steady, "The Tibetan people of this town must have made us stay back to deal with the disciples of the Kunlun Sect. The Tibetans had asked us to stay because they trusted in our abilities. The Kunlun Sect's search had led them here. The deaths of the two sword immortals must be related to the town's bodyguards or that unknown evil sorcerer. If that is the case, I'm afraid to say that the magic abilities of the enemy are far beyond what we may have imagined."

Old Gu snorted and nodded in agreement. "There are many strong people among the magical practitioners under the heavens, there will always be something new that we have never encountered before but the investigation must go on."

At that moment, Fei Fei suddenly jumped and shouted with some excitement, "I get it!"

The others had been immersed in their own thoughts at this point, thinking about Black and White Island and trying to gauge the enemy's level of strength. All of them were startled by Fei Fei's sudden exclamation. Old Gu glared at his subordinate. "What did you get? You know what happened on Black and White Island?"

Fei Fei reacted to her leader unprofessionally. She stuck her tongue out Old Gu playfully. "Not Black and White Island but the monkey Qian Ren. Wen Leyang could not help it to exterminate the bugs right then and there. Although it was mad with rage, it still hoped that it can be free again. That's why, after capturing the bug, it fabricated a lie about some Fire Master to make it seem less awkward! Also, it could see the outside world despite being stuck in that bird's belly. It must've noticed the Kunlun Sect coming from miles away."

Wen Leyang understood then. He temporarily forgot about Black and White Island. "The monkey did not wish for us to bear a grudge. He was worried that the people we left here back on the surface would be killed by the Kunlun Sect and we would take our anger out on him. That's why he chased us back up here?"

The monkey had been angry but it still kept a level head. It would not take any chances in escaping this hell and seeing the skies again.

The old and little foxes had seen through the monkey Qian Ren's intentions and laughed together.

Qian Ren sat inside the stomach of the dog-headed eagle. It rubbed its palms together with some embarrassment. It muttered under its breath, "I can hear everything you say. Which of you called me a monkey.. I will remember it…"

Gu Xiaojun wasted no more time. The group of Qilian Immortal Sect disciples embarked on their journey to send the message to Nine Peaks Mountain. The others quickly packed up and set out immediately. After meeting their "enemy", they logically went after the big group.

Xiao Sha had left tracking signals on the other evil cult followers. He had consorted with his secret fold magic ability to do this. He swiftly tracked them northwards. Although more than two days have passed, according to Xiao Sha, the evil cult followers and the Tibetan folk have not gone far. Xiao Sha could still follow their trail. The distance between them and the group was about a hundred and fifty kilometres.

Among the six of them, there were three individuals with amazing methods of practice.The head lama was a Tibetan Buddhism Sect practitioner, Wen Leyang had a body that had been refined by poison, and the giant pangolin was a great demon that has been alive for thousands of years. Their psychic nets were scattered far and wide. Initially, the Kunlun disciples had been within the boundaries of their psychic net but soon, they disappeared from it.

Due to them having to rely on Xiao Sha to lead the way, Wen Leyang and his group could not travel fast.

The head lama grew anxious whereas the pangolin Po Tu seemed at leisure. It walked while its large tail wagged behind it. It had no intention of catching the evil cult followers. The pangolin merely stuck by Wen Leyang's side, as if keeping an eye on a thief. It hoped that they would not be able to find the evil cult followers. As soon as the Wen family's insecticide arrives, the pangolin would exchange it for the dwarf Taoist priest and part ways with this group of people.

Xiao Sha's tracking speed increased gradually. Few people pass through the highlands, which proved a good thing for his tracking skills. After passing through a low hill, the sight before everyone opened up and brightened. A cold, delicious breeze blew across their faces. A resplendent shimmer reflected in their eyes, the great and still Natmso Lake.

Even someone like Wen Leyang, who cultivated in poison and had a tyrannical method of practice, was deeply awed by the purity of the highland's sacred lake. Above their heads, a sky so blue that it was hard to look away. Comforting, still blue waters before them. Lofty, snow-capped peaks glittered in the distance. A gentle breeze blew all their trubles and exhaustion away. When Wen Leyang laid eyes on Natmso Lake, there was only one thing on his mind. "If only I had brought Xiaoyi and Mumu with us."

It was currently in the rainy season. There were only a few people around Natmso Lake. A few devout Buddhists were walking around the lake and chanting sutras. Head lama Rangjung was quite well known amongst these highlands. He was recognised the moment he showed up. They started to kneel before him and paid their respects, head lama Rangjung returned the gesture in kind.

Xiao Sha was visibly delighted. "It's easier to track them here!" He looked to the three cultivators, "Can someone carry me? We can go faster that way…"

Old Gu climbed up on the giant pangolin's back, the head lama proceeded to carry Fei Fei. Xiao Sha patted Wen Leyang's shoulder as he pointed, "Follow the lake westward. Don't go too fast, about forty miles will do…"

Wen Leyang laughed and broke out into a run. Xiao Sha cheered loudly. After taking a couple of steps ahead, they stopped for Xiao Sha to pick up the trail again. Xiao Sha would observe for a while and point out the way. Other than him, nobody could see the marks that had been left behind. The three pairs moved faster than galloping horses. The few practitioners hurried along at wild speeds, long past the speed limit.

Namtso was regarded as a sacred lake by the Tibetan people. The practice of chanting sutras while walking around the lake has existed since ancient times. Legend has it, one could obtain many blessing by walking around the lake. An ordinary person may not be able to it feel but through the eyes of these practitioners, one would notice the sacred lake had magical properties. Running around the lake had become a form of training for them. Their life energy and blood flowed unhindered, giving rise to a sense of comfort from deep within the bones.

Head lama Rangjung chuckled as he explained to the others, "Namtso Sacred Lake is so clean and pure, a heavenly water spirit must reside within its depths. Otherwise, achieving this state would be difficult."

Wen Leyang ran to the head lama's side. He turned and asked with a smile, "Heavenly water spirit? What sort of treasure is that?"

"To put it simply, it is the soul of ice. It is the mother of Yin water, the gentlest of the five elements. King Gesar had been able to invoke the power of Namtso Lake to create the mandala seal due to the presence of such a treasure. The gentle force of the water element enshrouds this great lake is from the heavenly water spirit. As we run along its banks, it does not affect our powers but it produces a healthy effect on our bodies." As the head lama said this, he turned to ask Gu Xiaojun who was on the pangolin's back, "Would you like to come down and have a run as well? The quicker your blood flows, the better you will feel."

Gu Xiaojun quickly shook his head. "At my age, I can't run that fast anymore."

Wen Leyang, being a young lad in his early twenties, could not help but feel great curiosity towards these legendary treasures. He slowed down and kept pace with the head lama. "Then if I were to jump into the lake, will I be able to find this water spirit?"

Head lama Rangjung nodded in earnest. "You could, but…" The lama looked then like a bald fox that had bet his friends to go bte the hunting hound instead of the heavenly highland walker he was suppose to be. "Legend has it that the heavenly water spirit takes the shape of a drop of water. It would be near impossible to find it in such a a large body of water. If you can find a way to test every single drop of water, perhaps you'll be able to find it."

Wen Leyang laughed, "Then you will have to make me two buns!" He knew hat Namtso was a saline lake.

Fei Fei too was interested in their topic of conversation. She asked the lama with a small giggle, "Master, what about our inland's Lake Donting and Lake Tai? Do they contain such treasure as well?"

Ranggjung nodded firmly. "In the beginning, they all had them. The heavenly water spirit had definitely blessed the whole world. The origins of these lakes are only spoken of in legend. Not only the great lakes of the world, even the long and great rivers under heaven must be related to the heavenly water spirit. However, the lakes and rivers inland aren't as peaceful or calm as the ones on the highlands. The heavenly water spirit within them have gradually withered away but in Namtso, the purity of the sky and the earth gathers around it. Not only has this kept the water spirit alive but it has helped it to grow as well. I reckon it's now the size of a fist? Haha! If that's the case, Mr.Wen's search will be much easier."

Everyone laughed along humorously. After hearing the lama's words, they consciously took deeper breaths. The air on the Tibetan plateau was thin. Their stamina was quickly exhausted with the vigorous exercise of running around the huge lake. However, as they ran along the lake, maybe it was just a placebo effect but their spirits lifted up.

The group of picked up their pace but as night fell, even Fei Fei knew there was something wrong.

The three knights grew suspicious.

The faces of the three 'horses' gradually turned pale. The giant pangolin Po Tu finally broke out hysterically. It cursed loudly at Xiao Sha, "Little b*stard, you're literally just taking us for a ride, aren't you?"

Head lama Rangjung scowled as well. He looked like an angry deity. "We have gone in a full circle!"

Wen Leyang turned to Xiao Sha and said, "We're starting on a second round now."

Oh, Namtso Lake! The second largest saline lake in China. It had a perimeter of about a hundred and fifty kilometres. Xiao Sha had on a helpless expression. He defended himself in a soft voice. "This.. tracking art is called 'Mystery At Every Step'. I can only read their footsteps and retrace them… If they did a lap around the lake, then we will have to do the same…"

The giant pangolin exclaimed in surprise as he moved closer to Xiao Sha, "Then what if they did ten laps around the lake?"

Xiao Sha replied with a weary smile, "Then we will have to do ten laps as well. Even if all ten rounds of the enemies' footsteps were on top of one another, I can only make out the second round after we have finished the first…"

The giant pangolin rolled its eyes and pondered for a long while before saying in a shocked voice, "There really is a mystery going on here…"

Wen Leyang thought of another question. "I thought you sensed there were about a hundred and fifty kilometers away? This one lap around the lake is about that distance, isn't it?"

Xiao Sha smiled proudly, "In a straight line!"

Wen Leyang was dumbstruck. He stopped and cursed. "That doesn't make any sense! You can only see the first step in a circle but then you say they are a hundred and fifty meters away in a straight line."

Gu Xiaojun was seething with anger. "Why would you care if he makes sense or not? If everything made sense then where did those four buckets of water go? Stop your complaining and keep running!"

Namtso Lake was a place flowing with the power of the utmost gentle water element. As a result, they did not feel tired from their sprint around it. If it had been another place, even Wen Leyang would have collapsed after the hundred and fifty kilometre marathon.

The group picked up their pace again. Devout Buddhists, who were chanting sutras around the lake, stared open-mouthed at the little girl on lama Rangjung's back. 'How many blessings do I have to accumulate at the chance for the heavenly walker to carry me around the lake?' they pondered.

Pangolin Po Tu's impatience started to rise. He cussed out loud, "This bunch of evil cult followers must have been out of their minds! Going around the lake in circles-" It was halfway through its curse when Xiao Sha suddenly cried out and pointed away from the lake, "Their circling ended here!"

The group changed their direction after making a lap and a half around the sacred lake. They travelled north-east and slowed down their pace. The further the enemies were, the fainter their tracks became. Xiao Sha may have some trouble tracing the steps if they went too fast, and the 'mounts' dared not sprint wildly as they had done before. It would be troublesome if they exhausted themselves even before reaching the evil cult followers.

Xiao Sha's tracking art may have led the group on a detour, making it seem slightly less efficient, but it did have one perk. They could clearly see where the enemy had been. Wen Leyang asked head lama Rangjung as they hurried along, "Putting aside the evil cult followers, the Tibetan folk of Tuer town, could they have been praying for blessings while rounding the lake?"

The head lama shook his head in resolution. "Impossible. They have already exited samsara. On top of that, they are now tainted with foul energy. They could not have done such a thing. I reckon that they plan on borrowing the power of the heavenly water spirit to enact some water-based Dark magic."

The giant pangolin smiled in triumph. "The earth element flows through my body. If those crooked people are in fact preparing a spell using the water element, we've hit the jackpot!"

Gu Xiaojun took out his handgun. "This is a weapon made from metal element magic. I'm not afraid of whatever Dark magic they can conjure up."

Wen Leyang chuckled and asked him, "You guys are relying on just handguns? Why didn't you bring something with more firepower?" Anyone who went on an adventure to the wild would know that a handgun had a limited range, low accuracy, and little power. It would be useful in a close ranged fight but against a larger beast, it would prove almost useless.

Gu Xiaojun glared at Wen Leyang, "You try pinning a rifle to your belt."

The comings and goings of the evil cult followers and the ex-guardians of Tuer Town has been strange and mysterious thus far. In addition, there was now the great grudge born by the Kunlun Sect and for whatever reason, they have walked one whole circle around the lake. Wen Leyang and his group could no longer make sense of the situation. They silently agreed that they would not discuss the matter anymore, merely chatting idly as they went on their journey. They followed Xiao Sha's lead and chased after the footsteps.

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Chapter 198: Corpse Pit

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The further they moved away from Namtso Lake, the closer they got to the evil cult followers. Although there was supposedly no more than a hundred and fifty kilometres between them and the enemy group, Xiao Sha's pace in tracking was slowing down. They could not seem to catch up with the evil cult followers. Every day, they camped and rested whenever Xiao Sha had completely exhausted himself. They continued on their journey at the first light of day. This cycle went on for four days until the lift Tanggula Mountains come into view and blocked out the sky.

Xiao Sha finally called for a halt. He scrutinized the ground and started turning on the spot. He walked a few steps to the left then jumped onto the right as if his body was spasming and he had lost all control over it.

The giant pangolin glared at Xiao Sha and chided, "What are you doing?"

Xiao Sha's face was filled with shock. He ignored Po Tu, running around back and forth the area. He kept busy for almost half a day before he stopped. He lifted his head to his companions as he stammered, "They… they parted ways. The eight groups had split up here, going in eight different directions."

After taking a lap around the sacred Lake Natmso, the evil cult followers had gone off north-east until they reached the Tanggula Mountains. Upon reaching the mountains' base, they scattered in eight different directions, like a glass bottle that had been blasted to pieces.

Xiao Sha did not wait for his leader to question before explaining himself, "I had branded the leader of each group with marks, each distinct from the other. From what I can see, each leader led their own troops in a different direction from the rest." He stretched out his hand and pointed to the different directions as he sounded off, "The Khmer people went Southwest, the Persian people went Northwest, the Surinamese people-"

"What about the small town's guardians?" head lama Rangjung interrupted, his brows furrowed in concern. Technically, the group that had gone froth ahead of them could be divided into nine groups. Eight of those groups consisted of the evil cult worshippers from the different regions and the last group was made up of the original inhabitants of Tuer Town, the formerly loyal and brave guardians that had been left behind by the highland cultivator.

Xiao Sha shook his head. "The Tibetan people were too odd. I did not dare to mark them for fear they would notice me. I can't track them." He looked towards his leader. "What do we do now?"

Gu Xiaojun responded without hesitation, "Find the Persians, follow them." Back during the elimination race, apart from the China team, the ones with the most eye-catching performance and outstanding abilities were the Persians and the Indians but the Indians had been annihilated. Old Gu was confident in his decision to locate the Persians.

Xiao Sha turned westward and led the group in a chase.

After some distance, pangolin Po Tu swiftly plunged into the ground. He followed behind the group via under the earth. The head lama too kept his distance from the group, keeping himself out of sight. They did not want to be seen together with Wen Leyang and the others as they had not originally travelled with the group. Xiao Sha was not a slow runner and travelled fairly quickly but Wen Leyang grew anxious still. They ran for about fifteen kilometres before Xiao Sha stopped again.

Loft mountains rose in front of their eyes but around them, not a single soul was to be found. Po Tu poked his sharp head out of the ground, it's face etched with impatience. "Kid, why did you stop?"

Fei Fei grew defensive of her brother, turning and scolding the pangolin angrily, "He needs to rest! No one can stand running endlessly for that long!"

Despite being physically fit Xiao Sha had, after all, ran the last fifteen kilometres. His face had turned pale. He panted heavily and shook his head. "I stopped because… the enemy's tracks have stopped. It ends here."

The head lama caught up to them and rejoined the group. Po Tu emerged from the ground in a muffled boom. "It ends here? What do you mean? Did they grow wings and fly away or something?"

Xiao Sha tried hard to calm himself. He squinted his already small eyes into one thin line. "If they knew how to fly, they would have done so a long time ago. They would not have waited until now to do so." As he said this, he took out a shovel from the travel bag that Wen Leyang had been carrying and started to dig. Old Gu and Fei Fei looked at each other and followed in Xiao Sha's footsteps. Wen Leyang hastily took the shovel from Fei Fei and dug according to Xiao Sha's commands.

Po Tu was a typical, worthless wretch. When someone asked it to do something, he would turn down the request and display a face of unwillingness. When nobody asked for his help, it would sulk in the corner wearing a look of boredom. Po Tu folded its arms and watched the group for a bit, then criticised them. "Step aside, all of you. I am the ancestor of digging, I can do this much faster than any of you." Without giving them a chance to protest, the pangolin pushed them aside and dug into the ground. Po Tu's thick, strong arms made quick work of the earth while simultaneously using its back claws and tail to push the dirt out of the hole.

Po Tu may have used magic to tunnel into the earth but digging was also a natural instinct it possessed. When it moved, the difference between it and other creatures was obvious. The giant pangolin worked at the speed of light within the twelve-meter square drawn out by Xiao Sha. To anybody watching, the patch of ground before them sunk steadily into the earth, like tofu being scraped away by a knife. In no time at all, Po Tu had dug a pit about ten metres deep. It called to the people above, "They're coming out!"

With a whoosh, a bare-chested Persian man with a golden band around his left arm suddenly leapt out of the pit. His eyes were filled with deep grief and betrayal. He stared at the group with a fierce look.

Fei Fei had poked her head into the pit to take a look when the gruesome, burly man shot up to meet her. She cried out and fell back in alarm. The sounds of gunshots rang out. Old Gu and Xiao Sha reacted quickly to the man. They had immediately pulled out their guns and started to shoot.

Wen Leyang smiled bitterly as he shouted into the pit, "That was a bad joke!"

The man who had been shot did not cry out in pain. He did a somersault upon being hit and fell to the ground like a dead fish. Old Gu only saw it then, the man was already dead.

Po Tu laughed loudly from inside the pit. It was a mischievous demon. When it had dug up the corpse, it had tossed the body up.

At the bottom of the pit, a dozen or so corpses laid one on top of the other. They were all followers of the Persian evil cult, a golden band around their arms. They're gallant leader, Wahid, was among them. On every Persian's face was a look of surprise and anger. There was a deep gash on each of their backs.

Despite having mentally prepared themselves while they dug the hole, upon seeing the corpses, Wen Leyang's group still gasped in surprise. Po Tu and Wen Leyang worked together to transport the corpses onto the surface, laying them neatly side by side. With Gu Xiaojun's help, Xiao Sha checked on the bodies while simultaneously calling out his findings. "Livor mortis has set in, you can see this from where the blood pools. Their corneas are cloudy but their pupils can still be clearly seen. Rigor mortis is starting to leave the body… the upper part of the body is starting to relax. These people have been dead for about a day to a day and a half now."

Xiao Sha proceed to examine the wound upon concluding the time of death. Xiao Sha discovered a gruesome detail, all of the corpses were missing their hearts. Judging by their positions and the spray of blood on their wounds, these Persian evil cult followers had been bound and had their hearts carved out while they were still breathing,

"The technique they used to carve out the hearts is different from what I know. They swept in from behind…" Xiao Sha's already small eyes became even more impossibly smaller as he squinted with a frown.

Other than the bodies below the earth, there were no other clues in their immediate surroundings. No footprints… No signs of any battle…

Old Gu nodded. He wasted no time in giving his next order. "Let's follow another direction and find the other groups."

After another six hours, Xiao Sha found the spot where the Khmer people had disappeared. The giant pangolin bore into the earth under the watchful eyes of the group. Like the Persians, the dozen or so skinny but bold Khmer people had been killed and buried. However, it wasn't their hearts which were missing. Their deaths were far more gruesome. The corpses were akin to empty canvas sacks, all their bones have been removed. Even their skulls had been removed by some strange and unknown technique. The only wound on them was positioned along with where their spine should have been.

Wen Leyang started to grind his teeth.

Xiao Sha did not stop there. He led the group on to the other groups.

At the third location, they found the Indians buried there. Their brown-red skin had taken on a frightful pale colour. Their bodies were shrivelled and stiff. Their skulls were severed from their spines, bearing fatal knife wounds. Their corpses had been drained of all their blood but around the pit, there was not a single drop could be found. The town's residents had taken with them every single drop.

In the fourth pit were the Surinamese people. Cause of death was similar to the Persians but it was their liver which was missing, not their heart.

Digging up the bodies and checking them did not take a lot of time. The problem lies in the fact that these eight groups had all went in different directions. Xiao Sha's tracking skill could only lead them to the next group after they have backtracked to where the groups had first scattered.

Even great elites of the magical world like Wen Leyang and Rangjung felt exhausted after running around all day and night, let alone ordinary people like Xiao Sha and Fei Fei. The speed of their investigation had dropped considerably, from finding the corpse pits to checking over the bodies. It was noon of the third day before they had managed to find the seventh group of followers. All of the groups had died violently and been buried in pits.

Po Tu cursed in anger, "Did these town residents have to divide them up and kill them separately? Why couldn't they have just killed them all in one go?"

All of the dead belonged to one evil cult or another, none of the bodies was Tibetan. Po Tu, who did not like to use its brain, could have easily guessed who the perpetrators of the murders were.

The location each corpse pit varied greatly from where the groups had broken off from each other. Some were near while some were much farther away. Fei Fei bit her lip in frustration and said, "It's some sort of pattern, we just can't see it yet."

Fei Fei opened the notebook which she had brought with her. She drew out a map indicating the location of the corpse pits and showed it to the others. She chuckled, "If we could superimpose a map of the world onto this drawing, you would be able to see it clearly. Where the groups had split up, that is the centre and judging from the direction and the distance of each pit in correlation to the next, each group had been buried according to where they originate from. The centre acted as the Tibetan plateau. They are some errors but they are negligible. These guardians sure are well versed in world geography."

Fei Fei drew out a rough sketch of a world map next to her drawing of the corpse pit locations. She sketched the continents and oceans. As Wen Leyang looked, it was just as Fei Fei had predicted. If they had condensed the world map into a hundred-kilometre map, the spot where the evil cult followers had parted ways was the base of the Tanggula Mountains and the location of every pit was the coordinates for the country of origin for each group.

The corpse pit of the Persian evil cult followers lined up with the coordinates of Ancient Persia; the corpse pit of the Khmer corresponded to the location of Cambodia; the burial place of the Indians followed the location of the North American grasslands…

Fei Fei was an intelligent girl. She had already realized the oddity of the situation after they had found the third corpse pit. After the Indians, she had instructed Xiao Sha to search for their targets according to which was the nearest to where they were. They had now dug up seven pits so far. The only one left was the pit which should contain their African brothers, which was furthermost from them.

The giant pangolin took a look at Fei Fei's notebook. Its face filled with puzzlement. "I had heard that the Earth is round but what you drew… it looks more like a butt and is flat?"

Fei Fei ignored the divine beast. She flipped over a few pages and read out the forensics data that she had been collecting. Seven out of eight groups of evil cult followers had been located so far.

The hearts of the Persians had been carved out,

The Surinamese people had their liver removed.

The Canaanites were missing their spleens.

The Australian aboriginals had their lungs taken out.

The Khmers had all their bones removes, even their teeth.

The Indians were drained of all their blood.

The Gothic evil cult followers from Europe had suffered the most tragic death of all. Their corpses were nothing more than a mess of flesh, hair, blood, and bones. No one could tell apart the bodies, they were buried in one blood-red pile in the pit. Even if one had summoned help from every medical expert and make-up masters of funeral parlours from all over the world, there'd be little hope in restoring these bodies to their original looks.

The seven groups all had suffered different deaths. Their time of death, other than the Goths' whose were unintelligible, were all roughly the same.

Upon Fei Fei finishing her report on the death of the evil cult followers, everyone stood around looking at each other. Other than Gu Xiaojun, who was an experienced and knowledgeable old fox, nobody could wrap their head around the matter. When suddenly faced with such a complicated case that had such bizarre causes of deaths, none of them could come up with any solid conclusion.

After a while, Wen Leyang said slowly, "Excluding the Goths who had been crushed into a mash of flesh, the other six groups, they each had their heart, liver, spleen, lungs, bones, and blood taken away respectively. Although I do not understand the use of each material, it must be part of a plan to cast some Devilry Art. This ritual must be related to the nine-headed snake."

Rangjung was familiar with the powers of the Tibetan Buddhist magic. He knew a fair amount about the magic arts of the few sects on the central plains but he could not place where this kind of magic was from. After thinking hard for a while, he gave up and sighed, "I don't get it. I don't know! I can be certain of one thing though. The African followers will be missing their kidneys."

The others nodded in agreement. They had already noticed, from the groups that they have uncovered, four of the five internal organs had been removed. The final piece, the kidney, must be harvested from the evil cult followers. By the look of things, the African brother would not be able to hold onto their kidneys for much longer.

The members of the group pondered with the thoughts in their own head. Gu Xiaojun took a deep breath and reminded his companions in a loud voice, "We can discuss this further once we have found the bodies of the Africans."

Gu Xiaojun may have been an ordinary human but he was the one with the greatest experience in solving mysteries, even more than all the rest combined. In his experience, the final clue always shed the most light on the situation. If one started to come up with any theories too early, they would hit a wall very soon and that would be of no help in finding out the truth. That was what he reminded the others of.

Xiao Sha's complexion was pale. He had been hard at work for the past few days, tracing eight different sets of footprints. The corpse pit nearest to the breakaway point was fifteen kilometres away. Xiao Sha was exhausted but he still managed to keep his spirits up as he continued to observe the tracks on the ground. The others did not waste any energy in commenting, just silently followed behind Xiao Sha.

Fei Fei was heartbroken, seeing the exhaustion on her little brother's face. She fell to Wen Leyang's side and asked softly, "Does your family have any formulas or medicines which could restore a person's stamina?"

Wen Leyang frowned and shook his head. "We do but it is too strong for anyone not trained in Venomancy. It would be like quenching your thirst with salt water, it would do more harm than good. If I gave this concoction to Xiao Sha, it would damage his heart and kidneys."

Xiao Sha was shocked upon hearing this. He quickly shook his head – he would not do anything that might jeopardize his kidney functions.

As the sky started to darken, Xiao Sha stopped and sat on the ground. He pointed to a spot roughly three meters in front of him and looked towards the giant pangolin with tired eyes. "Dig." Xiao Sha laid down and started to snore almost immediately.

Fei Fei whipped out a sleeping bed and asked for Wen Leyang's help to tuck her brother in. The giant pangolin knew that this was the final pit. The fog in the surrounding area was the thickest and most confusing here. Po Tu started to claw away at the soil.

The dark-skinned corpses were found just a few dozen metres below the surface, laid on top of one another. Po Tu tossed the bodies upwards while Wen Leyang caught them and laid them beside the pit. Old Gu donned a pair of white gloves and took over Xiao Sha's role in examining the bodies.

Wen Leyang was well-versed in his family's teachings. He also had gained some experience after studying the Jianghu. Wen Leyang may not have possessed the deductive knowledge of death like Old Gu and Xiao Sha but he could at least point out the cause of death just by glancing at the corpses. When Wen Leyang had caught the first corpse, he frowned. The corpse's dark skin carried a slightly purplish tone, indicating the cause of death to be strangulation. The bodies did not have any wounds on their backs, as the group had guessed.

Wen Leyang felt something amiss when he looked at the black man. He could not tell what it was though that bothered him. Po Tu was tossing up the bodies at a steady pace, leaving Wen Leyang very little time to ponder over the matter. Wen Leyang merely caught body after body and laid them down at Old Gu's feet.

The bodies were slowly being cleared from the pit. The African cult followers all had clean, smooth bodies, with no fatal wounds on them. Their skins were purplish and their eyes had a white cast over them, it was obvious they had suffocated to death. Wen Leyang finally realized what was wrong with the bodies.

It was at this moment that the body of the African cult leader, Batis Tutatunte, was tossed up.

The strings on Wen Leyang's heart tightened. He reached out to catch the body when suddenly, Tutatunte's eyes flew open. Tutatunte's eyes were bloodshot and filled with malice. The previously still, bamboo-thin body sprang to life, attempting to wrap both its hands around Wen Leyang's throat!

In the haste of the moment, Wen Leyang could not tell whether Tutatunte was not dead or was the body a zombie of some sort. All he knew was that he could not risk hurting Tutatunte. The African's strike was swift and sudden but it was still slow in Wen Leyang's eyes.

Wen Leyang merely took a small step back from the pit, avoiding Tutatunte's attack. Recognition flashed through the man's eyes. The African relaxed his fighting stance as he asked in a hoarse and surprised voice, "Yang?" Whack! Tutatunte was hit by the next corpse that Po Tu had thrown up.

Po Tu emerged laughing. It winked at Wen Leyang. "Did that give you a fright, kid?"

The divine beast was the ancestor of playing dead, Tutatunte's trick did not fool it for a second. The demon was a prankster at heart though and did not want to expose the trick too early.

Gu Xiaojun stomped his feet in anger. Luckily his dark brother had attacked when he did. If Tutatunte had waited after Wen Leyang had put him down with the other corpses, twenty Old Gus would be dead by now.

Tutatunte recognised the group as his acquaintances. He heaved a long sigh and went limp, falling to the ground heavily. Out of the dozen African followers, he was the only one who had survived.

With the giant pangolin's protection, Fei Fei escorted the African leader some distance away from the pit to question him.

Wen Leyang and the others crowded around the corpses of the Africans. They looked at one another in puzzlement. These people had not been disembowelled as they had predicted but instead buried alive after being restrained by magic. The stranger detail, which Wen Leyang had failed to notice at first, was that these bodies had no hair. The hair on their heads, their eyebrows, even the fine hairs on up and down their arms and legs had been shaved off by the Tibetans. Their entire body was so smooth, with one touch, it made one's skin crawl.

Old Gu held Fei Fei's notebook in his hands and tried to connect the eight clues that they had uncovered. He led the group to sit down and officially started their analysis of the case.

The eight cult groups have had four out of five main organs removed, the spleen, lungs, heart, and liver. Hair, blood, and bone was also collected from the corpses. There was also the mystery item collected from the gruesomely, mashed up bodies of the Goths.

The lama spoke first, "From what I understand, no matter what spell or method they use, Devilry usually asks for one or all five of the organs. There'd be no reason to take only four."

Old Gu suddenly flashed a smile – something about it was unsettling. He shook his head and said to the head lama, "Master, you've only just arrived at this town hence you see yourself as a man on a hunt for an evil sorcerer. The truth is, we have another disguise. We are known as the 'Jiugui Sect'. In the eyes of the Tuer Tibetan people, we are also a group of evil cult followers who worship the nine-headed snake."

"Oh no." Wen Leyang cried out. His hands unconsciously went to where his kidneys were located. "What you mean is… that they're not done with the evil cult followers yet and they have counted in our kidneys as well?"

Master Rangjung squinted his eyes. He shook his head after some pondering. "This doesn't make sense. If the evil cultivator wanted our… your kidneys, he would not have just left. He would have at least waited for you guys before departing."

Gu Xiaojun waved his hands dismissively. "It's just an inference. Let's try to piece together all the clues first, perhaps that will make it easier for us to reach a conclusion. For now, let's count…" Looking straight into the head lama's eyes, his tone got heavy. "Our kidneys in as well."

If one of the five organs were missing, nothing could be accomplished. Now, Old Gu counted in their kidneys as well. "Five organs, bones, blood, hair, and flesh. What can they do with them? Rather, what could this all mean?"Old Gu's brows knitted together in concentration as he reiterated the story so far, "The actions of the evil cultivator are somehow related to the nine-headed snake, Xiang Liu. Only nine groups of evil cult followers were left in the end, most probably to represent the nine heads of Xiang Lui-"

Wen Leyang suddenly interrupted in n excited whisper, "I think I've got it!"

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Chapter 199: The Case

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Wen Leyang picked up a nearby rock and wrote out a few characters: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, sun, moon, stars, and chaos.

He pointed at the words on the ground and said to Gu Xiaojun and the head lama, "In the Gold-Consuming Lair on Mount Qilian, we had unintentionally broken the cloaking spell [1] left behind by Grand Master Tuo Xie and met the Heaven Cone Nail of the water element which the Master had revived. Cone Nail had told me that the Heaven Cone Nails holding down Xiang Liu on Black and White Island were divided into these nine attributes. Every Heaven Cone Nail corresponded to one of the heads of Xiang Liu. Together, using the power of the universe, they shackled down Xiang Liu and kept him bound to Black and White Island eternally."

This knowledge about the Heaven Cone Nails of Black and White Island could not have been known by outsiders. Wen Leyang himself had only learned about the nine attributes out of coincidence.

Wen Leyang paused. He allowed Gu Xiaojun and Rangjung some time to digest this new information before continuing, "Whether according to the practice of the immortal arts, or folk medicine, or in the study of poisons of my own family, each of the five organs of the human body corresponded to each of the five elements. The liver that carries Qi and blood throughout the body, is governed by the Wood element; the fiery and strong Yang heart is ruled by the Fire element; the spleen that transports water and food is affiliated to the Earth element; the lungs that purify the air we breathe is tied to Metal; the kidneys which store vitality and facilitates the movement of liquids, is attributed to Yin Water."

The liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, whether in Buddhist magic or following medical tomes, they each corresponded to the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.

Rangjung's eyes lit up. "Bones that support the tendons and flesh are considered to be Yang in nature, associating with the sun while blood which is attributed to the moon contains feminine Yin energy and provides oxygen and nutrients to the whole body. The hairs… the stars maybe? There are many sutras and poems referring to the bones and blood as representations of the sun and moon but I have not heard much about hair…"

Gu Xiaojun laughed as he slowly began to understand. "Let's just go with that, the hairs as stars. The mixing of bones and blood shall be the glare of the sun and the light of the moon, followed by the multitude of stars, uncountable as the hair on one's body. Haha! Makes sense, makes sense!"

Following Old Gu's daring proclamation, Wen Leyang continued, "Then the Gothic followers who were crushed into a pile of flesh, was Chaos? All the bodies had been mashed together into one that nobody would be able to tell if someone had scooped away a few spoonfuls."

Wen Leyang was unsure of what he had just said. Nevertheless, the head lama Rangjung nodded solemnly. "Let's put it this way. Each of the nine groups had one element taken from their bodies by the cronies of the evil sorcerers, each element corresponds to one of the Heaven Cone Nails."

If Wen Leyang counted in his own kidneys with the nine groups, five organs, bones, blood, hairs, and a lump of chaotic meat. Each of these items corresponded with one of the Heaven Cone Nails subduing Xiang Liu according to Buddhist magic laws.

Old Gu smiled, his mind working a mile a minute. He shook his head and interrupted the head lama, "This might not be related to the Heaven Cone Nails but more of a dark recipe meant for the nine-headed snake. We may not understand the evil sorcerer's magic but the materials they had gathered had been extracted out of the bodies of Xiang Liu's believers. No matter how I look at it, I don't think it's to make a weapon to shatter the Heaven Cone Nails but more like ingredients in a soup recipe. A soup to nourish Xiang Liu's body."

"Maybe the evil sorcerer believed that the bodies of Xiang Liu's followers are capable of invoking a special effect in the evil creature." Old Gu added.

Wen Leyang chuckled as he patted his side. "Then, with our kidneys missing from the list of ingredients, this soup might not be successful."

Rangjung nodded confidently. "Whether the evil sorcerer or the tainted guardians of the small town, they have to find us sooner or later to perfect this 'soup'. If they come looking for us, it will save us a lot of time looking for them."

According to Saint [2] Tian Shu of Black and White Island, each of the nine Heaven Cone Nails was tied to one of Xiang Liu's nine heads. That was why the revived Cone Nail shared the same fate as the escaped Wicked Soul.

Lucky for them, Wen Leyang had learned about the nine Heaven Cone Nails back at the Gold-Consuming Lair. That made it possible for him to connect the happenings now to the nine heads of Xiang Liu.

Across the eight corpse pits, it was apparent that each group had suffered and died in many different ways. Different parts of their bodies had been removed by the residents of Tuer Town. Other than the water element, the eight other elements – metal, wood, fire, earth, sun, moon, stars, and Chaos – were accounted for. With Old Gu's sharp mind and Rangjung's vast knowledge, it should not have been difficult for them to surmise the intentions of the evil sorcerer.

The answer was laid out right in front of them. The evil sorcerer was collecting ingredients from the bodies of the nine-headed snake believers to cast a spell to help the evil creature.

As to why that person has picked the hearts of the Persians or the bones from the Khmer… whether this was done with a purpose or randomly, it was irrelevant to the bigger picture so they did not dwell upon it.

Wen Leyang understood one thing though. Whether it was casting a spell or brewing poisons, if you only have nine-hundred and ninety-nine of the one thousand ingredients needed, it would fail. As long as they kept this in mind, meaning that they were to protect and hold on to their kidneys, this should keep the world at peace. The evil sorcerer's magic would prove useless.

Old Gu laughed happily and boomed, "The evil sorcerer's spell was doomed to fail from the start. We are not true believers of the nine-headed snake. Even if he did take my kidneys, I'm afraid it would prove to be useless."

The evil sorcerer had spent a lot of effort into gathering the believers of the nine-headed snake onto the highlands and picked out nine groups from those present. Perhaps it was because their bodies had changed somehow from worshipping the nine-headed snake or through the refinement of their practice, and this was perhaps crucial to the magic of helping Xiang Liu. If the body parts of any normal folk would have been sufficient, the evil sorcerer would not have gone through so much trouble to gather them all.

The three "detectives" had reached a conclusion while Fei Fei had also finished her interview with Tutatunte. She left the African leader under Po Tu's watch and dashed back to the group. Her face spook of exhaustion but also excitement. "I've got it, roughly. The beginning is more or less of what we have guessed so far. This tribe of Africans have believed in and worshipped this nine-headed snake for generations. Tutatunte is the leader of their tribe. Not long ago, while making sacrifices to their god, he received a divine reply."

Wen Leyang asked incredulously, "There really was an oracle? That must have been quite the spectacle."

The others have yet to grasp the seriousness of the situation, only head lama Rangjung's face had turned pale. He almost forgot himself as he grabbed onto Fei Fei's wrists with his meaty hands. "Are you certain? The black man received an oracle?"

Fei Fei kept her cool, unknown whether this was from all the training she had been through or she just didn't want to waste time. She simply shrugged and nodded, "Yes, I'm sure. The black man cannot fool me."

Although they do not speak the same language, Fei Fei was skilled in observing expressions. She also knew some words of the North African grassland language. Coupled together with some hand gesturing, her communication with Tutatunte proved to be quite smooth. In addition, as long as the subject was human, any lie they tried to tell would not escape Fei Fei.

Rangjung noticed his inappropriate behaviour then. His face flushed, he let go of the young lady in haste. He explained to the others in a solemn voice, "I have always been worried about the matter of the oracle but I had not said anything as there was no concrete evidence for it."

Gu Xiaojun snorted and egged on the head lama, "Master, we're already this far in. You don't have to explain to us all your reasonings."

Rangjung rushed through the next part, "The oracle itself isn't really anything of interest. These evil cult followers are believers of the nine-headed snake. Although their magic powers appear average, they are still connected to Xiang Liu. That's why, if Xiang Liu had wanted to contact them, it would not have been difficult. However, the crucial point here is that if Xiang Liu had wanted to do so, it must be the one to cast the magic-"

A hard thump interrupted the head lama. He turned to find Gu Xiaojun slumped on the ground.

Old Gu did not bother to get back up. He stared at Rangjung with frightened eyes. "You mean to say… Xiang Liu has already escaped from Black and White Island?! The evil sorcerer whom Qian Ren mentioned could be Xiang Liu in human form?!"

The lines on Master Rangjung's face was pulled taut. He remained silent.

Wen Leyang felt his heart beating wildly. He calmed himself and questioned Rangjung, "What if… what if it was not the real Xiang Liu but instead was the escaped Wicked Soul?"

Rangjung's brows rose slightly. He looked at Wen Leyang. "What do you mean?" The head lama had only read about how Xiang Liu was being subdued on Black and White Island through the power of the Heaven Cone Nails. He did not know about the one broken Nail and the escaped Wicked Soul.

Fei Fei and Old Gu had heard this story from Wen Leyang before. They recounted the story of how one of the souls of the nine-headed snake had made its escape and was eventually sealed away in Hanba's body for thousands of years. Head lama Rangjung heaved a sigh of relief after listening to their tale. The lines between his brows smoothed and he relaxed considerably. "If this Wicked Soul had gathered enough power, it could have very well sent out the summons for the evil cult followers."

Gu Xiaojun's expression did not lighten. He turned and looked towards Wen Leyang. "Could it be… Fifth Brother Hanba?"

Wen Leyang was worried about the exact same thing.

This evil sorcerer had visited the small town of Tuer about a year ago. After the initial shock of hearing Master Rangjung's thoughts, Wen Leyang determined that the evil sorcerer was not Xiang Liu. Wen Leyang had just met Saint Tian Shu a few months ago. If the nine-headed snake had escaped and was creating chaos, Tian Shu and Tian Hua would not have wasted their time in fighting Hanba. The demon cat Chang Li, the spark of evil, would have suffered divine punishment as well if Xiang Liu had really escaped from Black and White Island.

The evil sorcerer from Tuer Town must be related to Xiang Liu one way or another to be able to spread the message that called upon the creature's followers. If he was not Xiang Liu's true body, then it must be Xiang Liu's Wicked Soul.

The Wicked Soul had been greatly weakened by Grand Master Mi Xu who used the Thousand Year Trick to bind it to the body of Fifth Brother Hanba, after being tainted by Death Energy. Unless… Wen Leyang's expression turned sour as he contemplated the possibility that the Wicked Soul had been controlling Fifth Brother Hanba. From the beginning til now, it was truly the Wicked Soul that had been causing havoc and tricked Painting Town, Chang Li, San Wei, Cone Nail, and countless other elites!

Everybody had thought Fifth Brother Hanba was in control of the imprisoned Wicked Soul.

In truth, Wicked Soul had been controlling Fifth Brother all along, biding its time and waiting for the opportunity to strike and release Xiang Liu's true body.

According to the red monkey Qian Ren, the evil sorcerer carried with him an aura of utmost darkness. This zombie would naturally absorb the Foul Energies of the world.

Gu Xiaojun started shaking Xiao Sha, who was still tucked away in his sleeping bag and hastily started to pack for home. If the evil sorcerer really was Fifth Brother Hanba, his men would not have been able to go against him. Secondly, it seems that they have managed to dupe the sorcerer with their kidneys and have successfully put an end to the sorcerer's evil plans.

Wen Leyang tried to make sense of the information but his mind was a mess. He had been through too much recently. To his surprise, he could not recall any experiences or associations directly linked to Fifth Brother Hanba. Wen Leyang could not come up with any reason to be suspicious of Fifth Brother Hanba but that does not prove the zombie's absolute innocence.

Wen Leyang decided not to think too much about past events. He shook his head at Old Gu. "We can't say anything for sure about Fifth Brother just yet. Perhaps there's another explanation for this. For example, the two swords immortals Tian Shu and Tian Hua.greatest enemies, the Kunlun Sect!"

Old Gu snorted. "There's nothing to it. The Wicked Soul harbours a deep grudge against Tian Shu and Tian Hua. It took its chance to kill them while they were heavily wounded. Tian Yin may as well be dead, never to come out of his seclusion!"

Wen Leyang's face grew fierce. "If that's the case, then Liu Zheng should know the identity of the killer. Why did he not share that information with me?"

Gu Xiaojun could see that Wen Leyang was desperate. He smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Why are you asking me this when you already know the answer? Liu Zheng knew you consider Hanba as kin, how could he tell you?"

Fei Fei suddenly interrupted, standing up to defend Wen Leyang, "That's not it. Liu Zheng's expression was full of pain and disappointment. When Wen Leyang questioned him closely about the killer, he showed signs of shame."

Gu Xiaojun's packing slowed down. "Shame? What would he be ashamed of?" As he said this, he waved his hand impatiently. "Tian Shu and Tian Hua may have been murdered, perhaps by the tainted guardians of Tuer Town but I am not in charge of investigating such matters. We have already foiled the evil sorcerer's plan to help the nine-headed snake, I do not want to risk ourselves any further."

Old Gu paused slightly after his statement. He said to Wen Leyang earnestly, "Regardless whether Wicked Soul has truly taken control over Hanba, if you wish to pursue this matter, I suggest you bring Grand Master Chang Li along with you. If it turns out that the evil sorcerer truly is Brother Hanba, you could not hope to defeat him on your own."

Wen Leyang shook his head confidently. " I might not need to just yet. Hanba was ambushed by San Wei and Cone Nail not long ago and was badly injured. His powers should still be greatly diminished. If we have to do battle, our chances of winning are high."

Old Gu stopped his packing. He pondered for a while then broke out chortling. "You should have said so earlier. I've played the role of the bad guy in vain." Gu Xiaojun's laughter only lasted for mere seconds before he changed back to his usual stern self. "Regardless if this is connected to Hanba or the Wicked Soul, we should be heading back. As long as the evil sorcerer isn't the nine-headed snake, his identity doesn't matter. The Devilry Art that the evil sorcerer had wanted to use has already been thwarted by us, our mission has been accomplished."

Wen Leyang looked at Old Gu with half a smile on his face. From his point of view, if this was truly a mission, it was just getting started. He had not expected Old Gu to declare the mission over.

Old Gu picked his next words carefully. He left out a groan before continuing to speak, smiling awkwardly. "First, the mission that was given to me by my superiors is done. I'll have to speak to my leaders before acting on the matter of the evil sorcerer and the town's guardians. Secondly, to be frank, if we proceed with the investigation, we will not be of any help, we would also…"

As he said this, Wen Leyang nodded in comprehension. He smiled and said, "I understand. The Tibetans or the evil sorcerers will be hunting us." Xiao Sha's tracking art and Fei Fei's people reading skills had helped him a great deal in this journey but they were just ordinary people after all, with no magical powers to speak of. What would inevitably follow would be round after round of brutal killings. The three of them would be in harm's way with no way to defend themselves.

The goal of Gu Xiaojun's group for this trip was not to annihilate the Tibetan townspeople or apprehend the evil sorcerer but merely to investigate the evil cult followers who had entered the country in droves. If there truly was an evil plot going on, they were tasked to foil it and stop those plans.

Old Gu made arrangements to leave. Xiao Sha, who had been taking a nap, crawled out of the sleeping bag. His complexion was much better than before. When he heard that the mission had been accomplished and that his tracking art was a crucial factor in solving the case, he was immediately invigorated.

Only Fei Fei stood rooted to the spot. She smiled bitterly at Gu Xiaojun. "Chief, you have yet to hear Tutatunte's full tale. It might still be too early to call it mission accomplished."

Gu Xiaojun gave out an 'ah'. The others then recalled that Fei Fei had only started talking the testimony that she had received when they got sidetracked by lama Rangjung's 'oracle interference'. Fei Fei had yet to finish her story.

Gu Xiaojun asked cautiously, "Is something wrong?"

Fei Fei nodded her head. She pushed her little brother, "Go back to sleep, there's much more for you to do later."

Xiao Sha did not argue, merely crawling back into the sleeping bag in response. It seems like he did not like to use his brain much and would gladly do as he was told.

Fei Fei then started to recount the African's testimony.

If one measured the time that has passed, it has been one year since the nine-headed snake believers had received their oracle back on the African grasslands. It matched up with Qian Ren's account of when the evil sorcerer had returned to the town the second time. The god which the Africans worshipped for generations had finally responded to them. The details of the oracle and the way it was presented could not have possibly be explained in its entirety between Fei Fei and the dark man but it was clear that they had been instructed to head for the small town of Tuer on the Tibetan plateau.

Tutatunte had immediately gathered up the most skilled and devout tribesman and departed on their journey. Fei Fei skipped over the travel processes that followed up to when the Africans had arrived at the town. Firstly, they had had the wisdom to form an alliance with Wen Leyang and his group. They then won the ensuing battle easily without much fight and got through the elimination round unscathed. They were then led away by the Tibetan townspeople while Wen Leyang and the others stayed back to deal with the enemy.

Xiao Sha poked his head out from the sleeping bag. "Sis, what else happened when the evil cult followers followed the Tibetan people out of town?"

Rangjung, true to his nature, followed his heart. He wore his feelings on his sleeve and did not bother with the manners of an erudite person. He turned and stared at Xiao Sha in fierce disbelief. "Have you forgotten already? Perhaps you riders did not have to think much about it but us mounts almost broke our legs!"

Xiao Sha understood then. "We did run a lap and a half around the lake… Is that what Tutatunte is saying too?"

Fei Fei's expression turned grim. "When they were running around the lake, the Tibetan people had been trying to locate something. Although Tutatunte did not understand their magic, he could tell that they did not find what they were looking for. Everything he said after that is the same as we have concluded."

The Tibetans had run around the sacred lake in vain. They then led the evil cult followers north-east, to the base of the Tanggula Mountains. They split off into eight groups and headed in different directions. Every group consisted of evil cult followers and twice the amount of Tibetan people. Upon reaching this spot, Tutatunte was pinned down by the Tibetan people's magic, shaven clean, thrown into the pit to be buried alive. Although the Africans knew the art of breath-holding, they could not do it forever. Tutatunte's skill had been the most profound and was the only one who had managed to survive.

When he had been rescued, Tutatunte initially thought that the enemy had returned. He continued to hold his breath and readied himself for a sneak attack. When he realized it was his friend Yang, he relaxed immediately.

Xiao Sha asked in shock after Fei Fei finished, "What were they looking for around the great lake?"

Fei Fei glanced at her little brother with a broken expression, then gave Wen Leyang a smile and looked to the others warily. "He's too tired. He just woke up and his brain is not functioning properly yet."

Wen Leyang smiled awkwardly, he was not following Fei Fei's train of thought. He did not understand. What were the Tibetan people looking for at the sacred lake?

The head lama grunted in a low voice. "There are countless musical instruments that have been tossed into the sacred lake by generations of great practitioners. However, those guardians who have exited samsara and tainted by evil energy would only be seeking their own demise by touching these musical instruments. Other than that, there is only one other great heavenly treasure left in that sacred lake."

Wen Leyang was shocked. "The heavenly… heavenly water spirit!"

The killing intent in the squinted eyes of the head lama was as cold as a blade. "These arrogant, greedy men intend to desecrate the sacred lake?"

Fei Fei shook her head. She ignored head lama Rangjung's rage. "The point is, what did they want the heavenly water spirit for?" After she finished, she squinted her eyes and looked towards Wen Leyang but no matter how hard she tried, she could not mask her naturally smiley face. "I was listening to your theories just now. I think we all get the general idea but there's one crucial point you guys did not address. Currently, they are only eight of the nine snake heads are alive."

All who cultivated in Buddha was of great patience and Rangjung was certainly no exception. He patiently explained the theory of spell casting or refining medicines. They can never do with one less ingredient from the nine elements. They could not just ignore the use of the material just because one of the nine heads had died. Even if Xiang Liu only had one remaining head, they would still need to gather all nine ingredients if they wished to nourish the beast through some form of Devilry.

Fei Fei chuckled and shook her head. "That doesn't make any sense, it's too coincidental. How is it that the dead head is of the water element and that we are in such luck?"

Cone Nail was of the water element, the dead head of the nine-headed snake was also of the water element. Currently, out of all the materials from the eight groups, only the kidneys, which was of the water element, was the only one of the five organs left.

The probability was like one out of nine. Although the chances were not that slim, to have run into it was a great coincidence on its own. (Author's note: After I wrote this, I felt something was amiss. If one were to pick nine materials from nine groups, the probability of Wen Leyang's group being chosen to have their kidneys picked would be one out of nine? Those who are good in Math can help out in calculating this. If you can't do it, then let us all go ask Zhang Xiaohua…)

Fei Fei stared at Wen Leyang, eyes wide and unblinking. "Rather than saying that we got lucky, I for one feel that they never wanted our kidneys. This explanation seems far more likely. Besides…" Fei Fei's voice rang out like an unyielding, yellow oriole, crisp and unrelenting. "The way I see it, the Tibetan townsfolk would never go looking for us again because they never wanted our kidneys in the first place.When the Tibetan people asked us to stay behind in Tuer Town, they didn't mention anything about wanting us to catch up to them."

Wen Leyang finally got the picture!

Ar first, Wen Leyang and the others had not known the contents of the oracle. That was why they could not guess why the Tibetan people had wanted to leave them behind in the town. Now, through Tutatunte, they knew the oracle had only summoned them to Tuer Town. Whatever was to happen after, even the evil cult followers had no idea.

That was why, if Wen Leyang and the other truly had been evil cult followers, they would have listened to the town's residents and stayed back to keep the enemy at bay. If the Tibetan people did not return, they would have never left. It can be said that the Tibetan people had left the Chinese representative team in the town to perish! They had wanted Wen Leyang to help them guard the seal with his remaining years.

Of course, the Tibetan town's residents did not know that Wen Leyang's group were undercover agents. Naturally, they did not think that the group would have followed after them.

Having understood that, Wen Leyang and Old Gu looked at each other in alarm. Luckily they had not caught up with the Tibetan people or else their cover would have been blown!

Finally, Fei Fei left no more room for seconds thoughts as she waved and said resolutely to Wen Leyang, "So, all that you have inferred earlier were all wrong!"

Wen Leyang was slightly puzzled. The inference had clearly been made by Gu Xiaojun, since when did they become his? Then it hit him, Gu Xiaojun was Fei Fei's superior…

Fei Fei read Wen Leyang's mind in a glance. She giggled and stuck out her tongue. She did not wait for anyone to raise any more questions as she continued, "From what I can see, the Tibetan people had wanted to gather the nine materials that govern the five elements, the sun, the moon, the stars and chaos but the thing that governs water… it seems like they have found a better replacement for it. That's why they went around the lake!"

Head lama Rangjung's eye twitched. "You're saying that they wanted to find the heavenly water spirit?"

The heavenly water spirit contained the pure power of the water element. To use it as a replacement for the kidneys of Wen Leyang's group, from the aspect of function, it was plausible.

"But…" Wen Leyang's voice was hesitant, "didn't Tutatunte say that these Tibetan people could not find the heavenly water spirit from the lakeside?"

"Maybe there's some other heavenly water spirit somewhere else? Who knows?" Fei Fei answered helplessly.

Fei Fei's inference was similar to the one made by Gu Xiaojun, Wen Leyang, and the others earlier. The evil sorcerer and the living dead guardians under his control wanted to gather all nine materials which symbolized or contained one of the nine attributes to cast some sort of Devilry Art.

The difference in their judgement was that Old GU had thought that among these nine materials, the evil cultivators still needed their kidneys while Fei Fei thought that the item the other party was looking for was the more powerful heavenly water spirit.

Without a doubt, Fei Fei's theory was more precise and concrete. She had basically persuaded Gu Xiaojun that regardless of whether the evil sorcerer had found the heavenly water spirit, he would not be coming back for their kidneys.

Things seemed to have cleared up. According to Fei Fei, many more mysteries laid on top of the case and could not be resolved yet. Wen Leyang went through all the facts in his head once more.

Although nine teams had remained after the elimination rounds, the other party had needed only eight teams. That was why they left the strongest team behind to guard the town in the Tibetan people's place.

Maybe they had wanted them to snipe the enemy, maybe they had wanted them to protect the seal. After all, the evil sorcerer had something more important to attend to. If the sealed monster had broken free, it would not be beneficial to him.

The remaining eight teams had their bones removed and hearts carved out. Each of them met with different misfortune. Other than the water element, all other eight elements were accounted for.

Due to the fact that Xiang Liu's water element head being dead, they needed another more powerful water element treasure in the process of casting their spell. That was why the evil sorcerer had set his eyes upon the heavenly water spirit.

Currently, the whereabouts of the Tibetan townsfolk were unknown but according to Fei Fei's prediction, they should be looking for a way to obtain the heavenly water spirit.

With a thump, Old Gu tossed his backpack which was over his shoulders back on to the ground. "If they are not coming for us, we are going after them! Where did those zombies go? Who had a way to locate them?"

[1] The term 'prohibition spell' has been changed to 'cloaking spell'.

[2] The term 'enlightened person' has been changed to 'saint'.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

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Chapter 200: The White Robe

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Xiao Sha shook his head from his place inside the sleeping bag. For safety reasons, he had only planted markers on the evil cult followers. He had not expected the Tibetans would kill every single evil cult follower, leaving him without a clue.

From Wen Leyang's perception,.it does help that they came up with some conclusions but the actual facts do not perturb him. He has already made up his mind to investigate the evil sorcerer's identity, with or without any help. Wen Leyang looked towards Old Gu in excitement. "I take it that you will not be leaving?"

Old Gu shook his head, " Why the hell should I leave when the mission is still not complete?"

As long as the evil sorcerer's plans were yet to be foiled, Gu XIaojun's mission was still considered incomplete. Wen Leyang smiled as he consoled Old Gu, "I will be teaming up with head lama Rangjung to investigate the later events…"

Before Wen Leyang could finish his sentence, Gu Xiaojun heaved a sigh and interrupted him. "Do you think I do not want to leave yet?"

When he could not come up with a solid plan, Old Gu always relied on his instincts and experience as a soldier, even though he was just an ordinary human, no matter whom the enemy he was facing.

Gu Xiaojun waved his hand. The odd expression on his face vanished, switching back to his usual look of command and experience. He frowned as he spoke to Xiao Sha, "Think hard again. The Tibetans shaved away the African cult follower's hair, is it possible that…"

Xiao Sha shook his head so hard that his teeth chattered. "That's not how the trick works. The markers I placed are completely unrelated to…"

Fei Fei stood by frowning. She had been contemplating something from where she stood and finally, she spoke slowly, "Chief, please let me try." As she said this, she fished out a GPS device from the bottom of her backpack and being to operate it swiftly.

Fei Fei tinkered for a bit, then swept a beaming smile towards the three magic elites, Wen Leyang, Rangjung, and Po Tu. "Which of you immortal seniors could please give me a lift and run for another few rounds? We will need to revisit every corpse pit as I need to download the coordinates of each location."

Wen Leyang was a spry young man and would usually have no problem running for a bit while carrying a girl on his back. Running up to all eight corpse pits with almost no rest in between? That was proving to be quite the challenge.

At every corpse pit, Fei Fei would download the coordinates of their location. This process took no less than half a minute before she was jumping up on Wen Leyang's back again, yelling, "To the next one!"

Wen Leyang gave out a strained laugh as he ran, tilting his head to look at Fei Fei and ask, "Why did not do this earlier?"

Fei Fei shook her head, her face filled with regret. "This did not occur to me earlier. I was only focused on figuring out the cause of death of the evil cult followers, that's why I did not think to download it…"

Even though Wen Leyang could move as fast as the wind, by the time they arrived back at their campsite, the sky was already brightened. Fei Fei did not care for any rest, instead started bustling about her device, connecting the coordination of the eight corpse pits. With the aid of the GPS device, the calculations which resulted were much more accurate than what Fei Fei first drew on her map.

Po Tu was a creature that strode to make headway into any situation. It looked towards head lama Rangjung, who was smiling serenely but not speaking, and then to Wen Leyang who was panting on the ground. It finally could not conceal its curiosity any longer. Po Tu moved its huge head closer to Fei Fei and asked, "What are you doing?"

Head lama Rangjung immediately followed and nodded fervently, "That's right, that's right! Please tell us, quick! I have been wanting to ask that question since earlier."

Po Tu shot a glare towards the lama. "You were smiling in such a steady and sure manner that I thought you knew what was going on."

Rangjung sniggered as he shook his head. "She was so focused on her task earlier, I didn't want to break her concentration."

Fei Fei giggled and started to explain in a calm and composed manner, "As we discussed earlier if the positions of the corpse pits are located as I predicted on the world map, then knowing where burial grounds of the evil cult followers' are, we can predict where they had come from."

Gu Xiaojun nodded. "That is correct, so?"

Po Tu turned its huge and square face towards Old Gu, "Turns out you do not know what this little girl is up to as well? Why did you not ask?"

Old Gu burst out laughing."I do not usually ask about the process, I merely wait for results." As he said this, he waved to Fei Fei to continue speaking.

"The Tibetans did a thorough job. They made certain to kill these people at a certain location so there must be some purpose for that…" Fei Fei continued.

Head lama Rangjung smiled then, he continued Fei Fei's conversation, "Uh… I do not fully understand the principles of Devilry Arts but I think I can make a guess on its effects. These evil cult followers may not have possessed great magical powers but they had magical powers nonetheless. Of course, they would have acquired a certain level of power after having practised from some time, that is to say, their abilities would have been much stronger if they were back on their own native homes instead of in a foreign location…"

At this point, the head lama frowned. The group looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and loss. The lama's words were a little too abstract for them to understand.

Rangjung pondered for a moment as if trying to think of a better way to explain himself. He spoke again after a few minutes, rephrasing, "Let me put it this way, think of the evil cult followers as medicinal ingredients. The Persians were like ginseng grown in the mountains, The Khmer were the Lingzhi mushroom from snowy peaks, etc etc. The ginseng's medicinal effects are strongest when freshly picked from the mountains and forests. By the time it is taken to the inland, no matter how well preserved, its medicinal effects would have greatly diminished. The evil cult followers that worshipped Xiang Liu are also the same."

After this explanation was provided, Wen Leyang could roughly understand the story. He came from an elite family devoted to refining and learning about poisons from many generations passed. In essence, this concept was the same as refining a poison. The toxicity of a poison ingredient was much purer and stronger when used and harvested in its own cave rather than in another location. Wen Leyang responded to Rangjung's statement, "The evil sorcerer cast a magic spell to dig out the heart of the Persians. If these hearts had been dug out from them back in their homeland, its effect would have been much greater there. When their hearts were dug out on the highlands, its effect was greatly reduced."

Rangjung could finally convey his theory in an understandable way. He laughed heartily and nodded. "That is correct! It is the same for these evil cult followers. The evil sorcerer did not have the energy to travel all around the world to visit the birthplaces of these followers to harvest their hearts, lungs, bones, and blood. That was why he lured them put into the dessert. However, in order to achieve and maintain the maximum effect, at the base of the Tanggula Mountains, the evil cultivator had exerted his power in creating a miniature version of heaven and earth. This miniature version of heaven and earth may have been a scaled down but it was complete in terms of ratio to the real world. Within this space, he matched the evil cult followers to the location of their native homeland and killed them there, extracting the materials he needed."

Rangjung halted for a moment, allowing the group time to digest and understand what he had just told them before providing them with the conclusion. "Rather than killing them in any random location, by doing this, he had managed to extract materials which have a better effect."

Simply put, the head lama's convoluted theory was that the residents of Tuer Town chose to kill the evil cult followers on selected locations, which were in accordance to their native lands, in order to achieve and maintain the 'medicinal effects' of the parts extracted from them.

Fei Fei stared in bewilderment at that theory. She had not expected the head lama to be able to unravel the evil sorcerer's and his followers' methods. His statement sounded very plausible. She nodded her head and continued to explain her idea, "I wasn't thinking of that…"

Head lama Rangjung looked disappointed for a moment.

"I was only thinking of the fact that the evil sorcerer had instructed to kill those Xiang Liu followers in very precise locations. This would certainly be a matter of extreme precision for the evil sorcerer. There must be no mistake in calculating these locations. Where they were told to kill the people and dig out their hearts, that would be where the Tibetans would kill the followers and dig their hearts out!"

The group nodded in agreement. Fei Fei was indeed an intelligent young lady. Even though she was unaware of the evil sorcerer's ways and practices, her own speculation comes very close to head lama Rangjung's explanation, who has extensive and strong cultivation roots.

A smile hung on Fei Fei's face, making it so no one could read her expression. She spoke her next words full of pride, "It was only because of the unsually precise locations of where those evil cult followers had been killed, I had thought of a method that could possibly be useful in locating them. That was why I requested Wen Leyang to run with me on a trip."

Wen Leyang had been listening to many stories for the past few years. He had already become a professional audience. He chimed in and asked, "What method is that?"

Fei Fei nodded at Wen Leyang with eyes of joy, she pronounced each word carefully, "Distance! Direction! No matter how small the map of the world was scaled down, they would still require a point of reference, a united and original starting point. That means the person who drew the map and the position that he used to observe this miniature world must be a fixed location. Do you understand that?"

Old Gu and Xiao Sha, who had received strict training on the knowledge of surveying and drawing maps, nodded without the slightest hint of hesitation.

Tutatunte was at a loss for what to do. He cracked open his lips in a smile, revealing two rows of ghastly white teeth as he sniggered.

Xiao Sha had since come out of the sleeping bag. He was originally a healthy person and had rested for more than half the night, he had regained his energy by now. He chuckled as he tried to explain to Wen Leyang. "If you were to draw a map," He stretched out a hand and placed two pieces of rock on the ground, one big and one small. "In order to get an accurate measurement of the distance between these two pieces of rock, you will need to fix your position. Only then can you scale down the size of these rocks and the distance in between in the correct ratio and draw out precise illustrations. No matter which mapping point you choose, during the process of drawing the map, you changed change your location. If you fail to do this, for example, you draw out the distance of you and the big rock is one kilometre away, then you run two kilometres towards the small rock and draw it at from that point. If you refer to the map that you have drawn, the distance between the two rocks would certainly be inaccurate, do you understand that?"

As Xiao Sha was not very articulate and Wen Leyang did not possess any basic knowledge of mapping, he could only understand the rough idea. Nevertheless, he understood the heart of what they were saying. In order to draw out a precise map, there would have to be one fixed mapping point, which would be the original starting point mentioned by Fei Fei.

The giant pangolin Po Tu gave out a 'hah' as it said, "Stop talking about the big rock and the small rock, it's better if you not mention it at all. You're making us more confused!"

Fei Fei could feel the group coming around to her idea, she continued, "This mapping point could be any location, it doesn't have to be in the centre of this miniature heaven and earth. We're currently trying to locate the mapping point of this space. Theoretically, it is where the map drawer stood when they cast the spell. This mapping point could be of importance but it could also not mean anything. Worst case scenario, the evil sorcerer could have simply found a random spot and decided where the pits should be after. We may not find anything even if we rush over there. Best case scenario, the evil sorcerer had set up base there since the beginning of their plan and has not moved from that spot. That base may have become the mapping point for the miniature heaven and earth out of convenience."

No matter what the circumstances may be, they would still have to check out that spot and clear it of any suspicious activity. Wen Leyang was frowning so hard that his brows twisted like a pair of pretzels. He understood everything Fei Fei had side but to him, trying to locate this mapping point was like giving him a world map and asking him to find the position of the person who drew that map…

Fei Fei looked towards Wen Leyang with a smile. She shook her head gently, "It's not like what you imagine."

Wen Leyang hastily stretched out his hand and rubbed his face. "When I'm with you, I can't get even an inch of privacy!"

Fei Fei laughed out loud. "A different mapping point will not affect the ratio of the map but it will affect the position of the corpse pit. If the location was a different point, all the locations of the corpse pits would rotate accordingly." This was known as the principle of equidistance. Fei Fei held a GPS in her hand which she used to download the coordinates of the corpse pits and the actual coordinates of the represented land from the world map. This was not a difficult thing to do, simply time consuming. About an hour or two later, Fei Fei cheered in glee, "The zombies have entered the mountains! The point is on the Tanggula Mountains, to the southeast slope of the Geladaindong Peak, on the Jianggendiru Glacier!"

Gu Xiaojun and Xiao Sha jumped up simultaneously. They started packing swiftly, preparing to depart as soon as possible. Gu Xiaojun was brimming with enthusiasm upon determining the target of their mission. In high spirits, he fed the group with the geographical knowledge he possessed, "The Jianggendiru Glacier is also known as the Jianggendiru Snowy Mountain. It was formed way back in ancient times. The ice has been accumulating there for thousands and millions of years. The ice is a dozen meters thick, maybe even in the hundreds! It's a place on the highland where few people tread."

Xiao Sha tossed all the heavy luggage onto Wen Leyang and head lama Rangjung's back unceremoniously. He chuckled as he continued Old Gu's sentence, "The Jianggendiru Glacier was completely unknown to man but it was marked down during a geological expedition to find the original source of the Yangtze River. It was determined that these snowy peaks were the source and thus the location rose to fame."

Wen Leyang laughed. The opportunity for the descendants of the Yan and Huang Emperor to visit the source of the Yangtze River was indeed a fortunate event. Suddenly, a thunder-like roar erupted from Rangjun's throat!

In that instant, Wen Leyang thought that an enemy was approaching. Before he could react, head lama Rangjung's has already moved, looking like a fire cloud in his red robes. His body flashed past Wen Leyang as he moved to Xiao Sha's side. He grabbed Xiao Sha's wrists, "What are you say… oh no!"

Before Rangjung could finish his sentence, he jumped up, hands trembling. With a sound of a crack, Xiao Sha's entire arm dropped out of its socket and into the lama's hands. Rangjung had not intended to hurt Xiao Sha but he had not expected Xiao Sha to be so fragile.

Strangely, Xiao Sha's face did not show any signs of pain or agony. He looked at the lama serenely, "Great master, you ought to be more careful! The bones and bodies of an ordinary human cannot bear to be grabbed by you so forcefully." As he said this, his shoulder shook. From the sleeve, fresh blood spurted out and an arm started sprouting out. Rangjung realized he had been tricked by the small-eyed boy's folk magic. He turned around and looked down at the arm he held in his hands. The arm felt absolutely lifelike in its appearance and texture. There was no way to tell if the arm was real or fake.

Rangjung tossed the arm back to Xiao Sha. His worried expression was replaced by a look of mixed emotions, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry. He continued his earlier line of questioning, "Is it true that the Jianggendiru Glacier is the original source of the Yangtze River?"

Xiao Sha nodded in confirmation. He asked almost in a mocking voice, "The great master has been a heavenly walker on these highlands for decades now. How could you not know of this?"

"I did not know, I did not know…" Rangjung frowned, obviously distracted. A few moments later, he gave out a forced laugh and said, "This is still about the heavenly water spirit. There is certain to be a strong heavenly water spirit of the original source of the great Yangtze River. The evil sorcerer and his minions have entered the Tanggula Mountains in search of this precious water element!"

The Tibetans had failed to locate the heavenly water spirit of the Namtso Lake thus, led by the evil sorcerer, the enemy group had rushed towards the original source if the Yangtze River on the top of the Tanggula Mountains. They had already killed all the evil cult followers before they entered the mountains. It seems they were determined to acquire the heavenly water spirit that was located on the Jianggendiru Glacier. Maybe the evil sorcerer had even found his prized treasure by now.

Gu Xiaojun and Wen Leyang wasted no more time. They immediately move to depart when a series of babbling shrieks rang out. Tutatunte ran over and stretched out his arms, blocking everyone's way. He shrieked continuously as he gestured. His intention was obvious, he wanted to follow the group into the mountains. He wanted to avenge his fallen comrades.

"You are lucky you weren't killed. You should go home!"

Tutatunte's gesturing became frantic. The giant pangolin grabbed ahold of him and tossed him some feet away.

This was an urgent matter. Wen Leyang and the rest did not have time to argue with their African brother. Not to mention that these three cultivators would be carrying the luggage and one special agent each on their backs. They moved swiftly and in a flash were gone, disappearing under the foothills in the blink of an eye.

Tutatunte's face was filled with sorrow. He stood up and brushed the dirt off himself. Clenching his teeth, he ran towards the direction of the Tanggula Mountains after the group.

Wen Leyang and the divine beast Po Tu were used to seeing high mountains and great rivers. Upon first entering the greatest mountain on the highlands, they were slightly disappointed. The place was not as grand as they had imagined. The mountains were not as jagged or steeped as they had predicted. After having run some distance, they felt the sky was so low that it was about to fall on top of their heads and crush them.

The blanket of white clouds above their heads was like blooming white lotus flowers, auspicious and friendly.

The winds of the Tanggula Mountains were not so friendly though. It was bitter and cold, bitting into their like the howling, chilly winds in the dead of winter but the air was so thick and heavy that no ordinary person could have endured it. It pressed on the bodies of the explorers mercilessly, every step they took felt like it took every ounce of energy they had.

Wen Leyang had not expected the Tanggula Mountains to be as luxuriously green and idyllic as his family home but he had also not expected the hike to feel so heavy. The sensation was less like they were hiking the mountain, more like the mountain was hiking them…

Neither of the three cultivators cared to show off. They hurried through their journey in the day and at night rested for a fixed six hours. Every one of them understood that a violent battle was on the horizon.

On the third day, they crossed a nameless mountain ridge and finally strode over the snow line. The main peak of the Tanggula Mountains, the Geladaindong Peak, was near. It looked like a giant beast that was sound asleep. Its towering body curled up into a ball laid down quietly. Nobody knew if this beast was truly asleep or if it was merely closing its eyes, secretly peering at however entered the mountains!

Since crossing the snow line, Wen Leyang could not help but slow down his footsteps. He did not dare to speak too loud. He had yet to absorb the poison of the surrounding water element. He did not wish to cause a collapse of the snowy peak with his Faulty Punch.

These soaring mountains were high and lacked oxygen. Even Fei Fei's laughter sounded strained. "There's no need to be so cautious, it's fine to speak out loud. The cause of an avalanche is actually due to the melting of glaciers and natural gravity. Frankly, even if a helicopter passed through, it would not trigger an avalanche! The probability of snow collapsing from one's shouting is nonexistent! However, an avalanche is certainly terrifying so everyone is very careful about it. That is why they pass on false information on to others, out of fear!" Upon saying that, she started shouting loudly as a prank.

Xiao Sha was on the head lama's back. He turned around and shouted towards Wen Leyang, " If an avalanche is capable of being triggered by the sound of a voice, it would also be triggered by the footsteps of hikers! Those that hike snowy mountains often use ice picks to dig into the road, the clanging sound that action makes is much more aggravating than the sound of any human's voice."

Wen Leyang hastily picked up his pace. He spoke to Xiao Sha in a voice filled with caution, "It is best to be careful. My encounters for the past few years have all been low probability events!"

The giant pangolin that was walking at the head of the line slammed its tail. It turned around and scoffed. It shot a Wen Leyang a contemptuous glare. "Can your encounters be any more than mine? This old father can even dig out an old demon every time it burrows underground!"

Wen Leyang had not heard such a carefree thought in the last few days. He could not help but laugh out loud. His crisp and loud laughter echoed through the mountains. The echo of his laughter rang throughout the snow-capped mountain. It sounded like the mountains were haunted. Just as the sounds of Wen Leyang's laughter faded, a loud 'crack' sounded. The crystal clear sound of cracking ice reached everyone's ears.

The three transport vehicles stopped dead in their tracks. They stood looking at one another and thought in their hearts that this could not really be happening right now…

The crunchy sound of ice cracking rang out continuously. A spider web of fissures started appearing about ten metres away from the group but the fissures moved slowly like someone was using a chisel to knock on the ice from underneath the surface. In a few moments, with the sound of a pop, the ice sheet broke in the shape of a hole the size of a well. A white, shadowy humanoid figure leapt out of the hole like a fish.

When they realized it wasn't an avalanche, Old Gu, Xiao Sha, and Fei Fei let out a sigh of relief and watched the man who had just sprung out of the ice with intense interest.

On the other hand, Wen Leyang, Rangjung, and the giant pangolin gazed at one another in astonishment. The expression on their faces was hideous. One of them achieved saint-status from introducing poison into his body, the other was a master in the mindful training of the Tibetan Buddhism Sect, while the last of them has achieved mastery in the Demon Arts. They had already cast out their psychic net to cover their entire surroundings but even now, when their eyes could see the white shadow's facial features and even the frost between the man's brows, their ability still captured nothing. They could not sense this man's presence at all!

The person that had suddenly appeared was not old. He appeared to be a youth of thirteen or fourteen years old, being of bony and short stature. There was nothing remarkable about his appearance but his entire person seemed to shine and was transparent like he was built out of ice carving and snow bricks. His white robes covered him from head to toe so he appeared to be fused to the entire snow mountain.

The white-robed youth sized them up carefully. After a while, he looked towards Gu Xiaojun who appeared to be the oldest in the group, "Where are all of you heading?"

When he spoke, everyone was startled. He may have had a snow doll-like and youthful appearance but his voice was surprisingly hoarse. It pierced at ones' eardrums. It was as if there was a razor blade stuck in his throat and he slashed every word he spoke into two.

Even Wen Nine and Wen Thirteen could have seen that a person who could break through an ice sheet dozens of meters thick was no ordinary person.

Gu Xiaojun's face was ghastly pale, the expression on his face could not be read. "Who are you then? An obscure cultivator of the Tanggula Mountains?" As he spoke, Old Gu squeezed the giant pangolin's shoulders, signalling the beast to be prepared. The white-robed youth had arrived in an absolutely unprecedented was and could possibly be related to the evil sorcerer. They could not be too wary of him.

At the same moment, Wen Leyang made a hand gesture towards the head lama without speaking. They shuffled along slowly, trying to encircle the opposing party.

The white-robed youth immediately picked up on their hostility. His mouth cracked into a smile, "Please don't misunderstand me. There was quite a crowd that had entered the mountain recently. I am here to ask you if anything auspicious is about to happen…" The youth's smile was relaxing and made one happy, his laughter, on the other hand, was terrifying.

Old Gu had no intention of telling the truth. He sneered as he pondered how to go about the matter. Suddenly, a loud cry rang out, echoing between the layers of snow-capped mountain, rushing into the depths of their eardrums. The moment the white-robed youth heard the cry, his expression changed to one of shock. With a shriek, he dove head first back through the ice like a robust seagull.

All at once, Wen Leyang, Rangjung, and Po Tu gave out a simultaneous shout. They struck, fast as lightning, grabbing towards the white-robed youth!

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Chapter 201: The Ice Fissure

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The white-robed youth may have been swift but he was no match for Wen Leyang, Rangjung, and Po Tu. Upon launching their simultaneous attack, before the youth's body could even touch the surface of the ice, six large hands had grabbed onto him firmly.

Gu Xiaojun watched as the youth with unknown origins was caught. A small smile spread across his face but the three elites suddenly let out a cry of shock. A layer of white frost had rapidly spread from the youth's body and up their fingers. In a flash, their hands were frozen.

The frost shimmered magnificently under the reflection of sunlight, creeping rapidly up their arms. They were under attack and in self defence, they prepared to use their powers but before they had even exerted an ounce of strength, the frost shattered. This had slowed them down, thwarting their attempt at capturing the youth. Everything happened in just a blink of an eye and before they could try again, the white-robed youth had disappeared under the thick layer of ice underneath everyone's feet.

With a crack, the pangolin Po Tu attempted to chase after the youth but only reappeared with an empty, long, white robe in its paws.

When the white-robed youth was escaping, he did not break the ice as he had first done when appearing. Instead, as his body was about to make contact with the ice, he merely melted into the ice, like a snowflake that fell upon a fire, he disappeared without a trace.

Po Tu shook the long robe in its paws helplessly. It pouted its lips and laughed sheepishly. "This young lad's magic art is nothing special, just rare. Which is how he got away from me. I won't let him get away the next time I see him, no matter what."

Wen Leyang was astonished at how the other party managed to vanish so completely, simply melting away into the ice sheet. He pointed to the spot where the youth disappeared. "What kind of magic was that?"

On the other hand, head lama Rangjung was frowning. He appeared to be deep in thought as he stared at the hole that had been made by the youth earlier.

Po Tu had let the youth escape and was feeling slightly embarrassed. It wIt was grateful for the diversion in the topic, hastily answering Wen Leyang, "This is an Escape Art. almost the same as my ability to burrow underground but his skill is…"

Wen Leyang chimed in, "The Ice Escape?"

Po Tu burst out laughing. "What the hell is an Ice Escape? This the Art of Water Escape. Once he is fully trained, he can also use the ice to escape." As it said that, Po Tu flipped the long robe about in its hands, looking for any clues.

The long robe was snowy white in colour. Under the reflection of the sunlight, radiant strands of silver could be detected. The group may have comprised of experienced and knowledgeable individuals but nobody knew what material the robe was made of. When Po Tu had given chase earlier, it had managed to grab the youth, they both used their life force in the brief struggle yet the robe was not torn nor ripped at all. It was made with a material of unusually resilient quality.

The giant pangolin fiddled with the long robe yet he could not understand how it was so resilient. He passed the robe to Fei Fei and chuckled, "This is a remarkable piece of material, I shall gift it to you…" Before he could finish his sentiment, a white figure scurried underneath his feet, as fast as lightning. The figure pulled the robe out of Po Tu's paws in one swift attempt. As the group readied for an attack, the figure dove head first back into the ice, leaving behind a sound of peculiar, croaking-like laughter. "I think it's better if you returned my robe."

Everyone had thought the youth had left. He had been secretly lurking underneath their feet all along, waiting for an opportunity to seize back his robe! Wen Leyang the other's psychic ability had failed to detect any trace of him.

The divine beast was so angry that its lungs almost burst. A long and aggressive howl burst from its lips. The beast's gigantic body jumped high into the air, bawling up its fists like hammers and slammed into the ground with a loud bang. It was attempting to use its demon powers that it had accumulated over the centuries to push the white-robed youth out of the ice.

The first time the youth managed to escape, it could have been attributed to the fact that the youth's magic powers were unfamiliar. To its surprise, the youth had now managed to seize the long robe right out of its paws.

The particularly distasteful part was, based on the youth's brand of ice magic, his life force was actually not all that impressive. He relied on his strange ability to hide his body and the Art of Water Escape to trick and successfully escape from the clutches of the few strong elites over and over again.

Wen Leyang and the head lama were so startled that their eyes were wide in shock. Each one of them took one side as they jumped up and was trying to restrain the giant pangolin that was thrashing wildly in midair.

Po Tu was finally held down by its two companions. It panted in rage. It's bronze eyes shown with murderous intent as it glared at Wen Leyang and Rangjung. "Why the hell did you stop me?"

Rangjung smiled gently and calmly. "When you burrow underground to escape, can one find you by digging away the soil? The other party has escaped by water, you will never capture him even if you crush the whole ice sheet to pieces. The Art of Escape through the five elements is a brand of magic. One uses the power of one of the five elements to break through spaces. The act of escaping by burrowing underground is not like an earthworm that bore into the soil, neither is the water escape like how a beltfish swims away in the ocean. If it was, the act of escaping by fire would just mean that the person who attempted it would be barbecued…" As he comforted Po Tu, he had also conveniently explained the Art of Escape using the five elements to the rest of the group.

Wen Leyang hastily nodded in agreement at the lama's statement. In truth, he was more worried Po Tu might cause an avalanche.

Po Tu's face was filled with astonishment. "I was not going to simply break open the ice. I had planned to use the demonic energy of the earth element to break his escape spell…"

Halfway through the beast's speech, a pale old face suddenly stuck out from behind the pangolin's shoulder. He bared his teeth and widened his mouth towards the group, Wen Leyang could not tell if the face was crying or laughing. Wen Leyang's heart thumped in his chest. Before he could act on his first instinct to to punch the face, a crisp voice laughed and reminded him from behind him. "That's our leader!"

The three master cultivators earlier had moved so swiftly that their passengers didn't get the chance to dismount. Po Tu's passenger, Old Gu, had suffered greatly from the divine beast's violent actions. Gu Xiaojun's body was fatigued from having to hold on for dear life and had to rest for half the day before he could continue with the journey.

Despite the startling episode, he still had a clear mind. He stuck his head out from Po Tu's back and pointed at the ice hole that the white-robed youth had created. "Master Rangjung, do you know the origins of the individual from earlier?"

The group looked towards where Old Gu was pointing and gave out a surprised 'huh'. Ti everyone's surprise, due to the vibrations made by Po Tu, the sides of the irregular hole had chipped off to form the shape of a six petaled flower.

Po Tu forgot its anger for a moment and laughed as it spoke, "This flower is rather beautiful." Every single petal was round and symmetrical, forming an ice flower the size of a well. Coupled with the reflection of the blue sky and the surrounding snow, the ice flower gave of a sense of sweetness to anyone who looked at it. A cool and refreshing sensation penetrated straight to one's heart.

Rangjung moved calmly, not in any hurry to speak. He first placed Xiao Sha back ontot the ground before procuring four pieces of Vajvakilaka from his chest pocket. They were densely engraved with mantras from the Tibetan Buddhism Sect. He jumped up and spun around, scattering his ritual instruments around them. In a booming voice, he chanted, "Dayata om gadei gadei bara!"

The Tibetan Buddhism Sect mantra echoed throughout the mountains and the four pieces of Vajvakilaka shook abruptly in response, projecting the radiating light of Buddha. The brilliant, golden light reached into the ice sheet underneath the group's feet. In the blink of an eye, the ice sheet turned even more transparent than glass. The frozen soil and rocks underneath the thousand year glacier could clearly be seen and the youth was nowhere in sight.

Head lama Rangjung exhaled. "He has left." Following that, he chuckled and said, "I won't say I know about this much but I have heard of this flower mark."

The head lama was a heavenly figure on the highlands of Tibet. He had close relationships with practitioners from all over Tibet. He took extra care to keep in touch with the trainees that practiced Tibetan Buddhism. That was why he could call for help fromm all over Tibet just by using the human bone flute. He had an old friend who had been meditating and cultivating in the Tapas monastic practice at Geladaindong Peak, up in the Tanggula Mountains. That old friend had once mentioned about this flower mark to head lama Rangjung.

The group become visibly excited. Po Tu urged the head lama, "What did this friend of yours say? Who was that young lad?"

Rangjung chuckled, "My friend mentioned that there was a tribe living in seclusion up in the Tanggula Mountains. They like to use this six petal ice flower as their mark. This tribe of obscure practitioners bears the family name of Hua." (Translator's note: Flower)

Po Tu burst out laughing, "Perhaps the young lad was trying to tell us his name using this chiselled ice hole?"

"The family name Hua?" Fei Fei frowned, yet still appeared to be smiling, making her look peculiar yet adorable. "Is this tribe of obscure practitioners residents of the central plains?"

Head lama Rangjung shook his head. "I am a Buddhist follower thus care little for other obscure cultivators in the land of Tibet. My friend had only mentioned this to me in passing, I am afraid I do not know much."

Gu Xiaojun, Fei Fei, and Xiao Sha exchanged glances. Their initial purpose of entering the mountain was to pursue and capture the residents of Tuer Town and the evil sorcerer and now they have come actoss another obscure tribe of practitioners who bear the family name of Hua. If these obscure practitioners had been ordinary practitioners, they would not have been concerned. Seeing the other party's trick earlier, managing to escape twice, once from all of the three elites present and the other even successfully seizing back his long robe from the divine beast, this was a cause for concern.

Fei Fei was the most cautious one in the group. She continued to frown and raised the question on everyone's mind, "Is it possible that the Hua family is… in league with the evil sorcerer and the Tibetans of Tuer Town?"

The expression on head lama Rangjungs face was one of helplessness. "I cannot say for sure. My friend mentioned that he had close contact with one of the members of the Hua family. Initially, I had not planned to call on my friend. After all, his brand of magic and supernatural power would be of little help to us. However, I think we need to pay him a visit now since the people of the Hua family have already shown their face. We need to find out more about this tribe's origins and background.

As he said that, the head lama Rangjung turned his head towards Po Tu and laughed. Ï also stopped you earlier because I knew he would be hard to catch since he escaped using water. Besides, I took into consideration that if there was no connection between the Hua family and the evil socerer, your attack might just complicate matters further. After all, the other party had come over and announced to us his family name. It was us who did not understand."

The ice river that Wen Leyang and the group were heading to was situated on the Geladaindong Peak on the Nanling Moutain. As they were entering the mountain from the nortwest direction, head lama Rangjung's friend was on the way. He looked at the color of the sky and bent down to retrieve his ritual instruments. He hosisted Xiao Sha back onto his shoulders. "We should move quickly so that we can reach my friend's immortal cave before darkness falls."

Wen Leyang and the group picked up their pace. They moved swiftly across the vast snow field like a gust of white smoke, following behind the head lama Rangjung, dashing at full speed.

As the group disappeared over the horizon, the spell casted by head lama Rangjung on the large stretch of opaque ice sheet slowly dispersed.

The three elites were tense now as there was an enemy capable of escaping the group's combined physic ability. Po Tu could look out for the enemy but he could only rely on its eyes to see and its ears to hear. The three passengers were alert and surveying their surroundings vigilantly as they went along their journey.

The white-robed youth did not appear anymore during their journey. It was clear that he had left the group and was attending to his own business.

The Geladaindong Peak is the highest peak of the Tanggula Mountains. It was situated six thousand meters above sea level. However, Tibet itself was also four to five thousand meters above sea level. That was why the majestic peak did not seem that high. The base of the mountain to the peak was less than a thousand meters in height. This would not have been difficult for the few elites of the magical realm but as they scaled the mountain to Geladaindong Peak, even Wen Leyang who grew up on a mountain could not help but complain.

The reason why Geladaindong Peak was such a challenge was not because of slippery ice and snow sludge, nor because it was steep but because it was wide, making it difficult to climb!

Over the years, glacial cirques, knife-shaped mountain ridges, pyramid-shaped peaks, and ice rivers formed by frozen ice squeezed together on the wide mountain ridge. The smaller ones were less than a hundred meters while the bigger ones were three to five hundred meters in height. In order to reach the highest point of the Geladaindong Peak, Wen Leyang and company had to cross through these gigantic ice and snow cliffs one after the other.

Xiao Sha, who was on Rangjung's back, suggested softly, "Great master, why don't you blow the flute and summon your friend to us instead?"

Rangjung's laughed helplessly but if one were to listen closely, there was a tinge of pride hidden in his laughter. "The moment the bone flute is blown, the whole magical realm of Tibet would be rushing over to help. This item here is like a megaphone, not a cellphone. There is no way to use it to call just one person. It can only call to an entire crowd! Also, blowing the bone flute might alert our enemies."

The winds on the mountain were bitterly cold all year round, creating ferocious and terrifyingly huge fissures everywhere on the higher parts of the ice cliffs. They looked irregular and mottled, like welts left behind after an earthshaking war.

The narrower ice fissures were less than a finger's width while the wider ones were seven to eight meters. These obstacles would have been very difficult for an ordinary man but this was only a trivial matter for Wen Leyang and the other two elites. The three of them braced the strong winds and did not stop for even a moment, dashing madly all the way through.

Occasional dark blue lights penetrated to the surface from the depths of the fissures. Fei Fei could not stand to be silent, even with the strong howling of the wind. She was still chuckling and telling Wen Leyang, "Those fissures emit the strange blue light are mineral veins containing rock crystals. They are one of the precious minerals obtainable only from Geladaindong Peak!"

Wen Leyang slowed down his footsteps. It was not to look at the rock crystals but because he was afraid that if he ran too fast, the strong backwind would choke Fei Fei. So long as he could keep pace with the head lama, he was on track. He laughed and replied light-heartedly, "Is it expensive?"

Fei Fei answered with a smile, "Only the ones with high purity are expensive. The ordinary ones as used as a construction material. It's a pretty good paving material."

Wen Leyang laughed and was about to speak when an unusual ray of light from one of the blue mineral veins caught his eye. Wen Leyang immediately whistled for his companions. He turned around and returned to the fissure he had just crossed. He scaled down the steep ice fissure as agilely as an ape. It did not take him long to jump onto the mineral vein that was dozens of meters wide and slightly elevated.

This ice fissure was narrow on the top and wide at the bottom, similar to the shape of a flattened glass used in the traditional cupping therapy. This fissure was not formed from rigid ice that had cracked open but instead was a converging point between two ice cliffs. As strong winds blew through the mountain peak all year long, the surface of the ice appeared flat and smooth hence people could not actually tell it was two separate ice cliffs without looking closely. As the summer season had just passed, the snow sludge that had accumulated on the fissure had melted away, revealing its odd shape.

Fei Fei could not tell what Wen Leyang was thinking. As she was about to inquire about his intentions, she suddenly gave out a soft cry of alarm. Dozens of long swords were scattered on top of the blue mineral vein.

Wen Leyang immediately cast out his pshyic net, carefully examining his surroundings. He instructed Fei Fei to light up a few flares for more light. In the brightness of the flares, he surveyed his surroundings. The blue colour underneath his feet was the crystal mineral vein. It curved and twisted in between the two humongous ice cliffs and snaked from the top to the bottom. It glimmered all colors of the rainbow under the reflection of the fire from the flares, making one feel dizzy and bedazzled at the same time.

After he had determined that there was no one else around, Wen Leyang bent over and lifted up one of the swords. Before he could study the sword closely, he cried out in alarm and tossed the precious sword back on the ground.

Fei Fei was startled. She jumped off his back, her expression was one of panic. She lifted the QSZ-92 and asked softly, "What is it?

Wen Leyang was stunned for a moment before he laughed in an almost menacing manner. He bent over and picked up the sword once more. To his side, Fei Fei suddenly felt a piercing coldness radiating from Wen Leyang's body!

Not a few moments later, the giant pangolin and the head lama was climbing down the ice fissure in agile movements. They were stunned upon seeing all the long swords that were scattered on the ground.

Po Tu's face was filled with puzzlement. It was about to bend over and pick up one of the long swords when Wen Leyang, who was standing fixed to the ground, growled, "Stop!" He flashed past the group and attempted to push Po Tu away from the swords.

Po Tu jumped backwards in haste. Even though it had dodged Wen Leyang's attack, it was still startled. It shouted in rage, "What in the world are you doing?!"

Wen Leyang's expression was not fierce not stern. There was neither embarrassment on his face but instead had a look of surprise and joy, like a mad man. He stared at Po Tu and said, "There is poison on the swords!"

Po Tu had rarely seen an honest person who had gone mad. The divine beast's eyes widened as it took another furtive step back. "Why the hell are you happy about that?" It paused for a moment before it continued angrily, "Why are you so damn happy that there's poison!"

Wen Leyang was not just joyous, he was elated. The last time he had absorbed any poison this strong was when he first returned to the Wen family village with severe injuries. The Poison of Life and Death in his body had absorbed the strong poisons from the boundary spell on Nine Peaks Mountain and assimilated that using the power of Ying and Yang in his body, remoulding his bones to become even stronger.

Ever since then, Wen Leyang's power had improved vastly. After assimilating the poison, he resumed his previous state towards toxins and could not be harmed by ordinary poison but his body had not been able to find any stronger poison to absorb. However, the moment he picked up the long sword, a rush of ice needles invaded his body upon contact! The Poison of Life and Death in his body had surged forward like a bed of hungry snakes, surging out from the gaps of his bones and the pores of his skin. The poison was assimilated into his body within mere seconds.

Wen Leyang was an expert in poisons and could tell that the strong poison on the sword was something called Water Poison of utmost purity. However, the amount was too little. To Wen Leyang, it was like a drop of water to a big sized camel that was about to die of thirst in the desert.

Wen Leyang picked up another sword. It did not disappoint. His Poison of Life and Death drained the Water Poison upon the sword in a flash. After removing the poison off the sword did he wave his hands and toss the long sword to Po Tu. "Be careful. There is strong Water Poison on the sword. It would be difficult for any ordinary practitioner to withstand its effects."

It giant pangolin sneered, "Am I an ordinary practitioner?" It lifted its paws to receive the long sword. The giant beast may be stubborn but it still shuffled away from the long swords that were scattered all over the ground. It was aware that Wen Leyang was one of the most poisonous creatures on earth. Any strong poison capable of rousing Wen Leyang was certainly not the He Ding Hong. (Editor Note: Arsenic is made from He Ding Hong)

Gu Xiaojun may be old but he had sharp eyes. The moment Po Tu caught the long sword, he could read the ancient scriptures engraved at the bottom of the sword's blade. He read softly, "Kunlun… Shock Seal!"

The head lama too took Wen Leyang's advice. He did not touch the long swords as he cautiously walked among them. He lowered his head to take a closer long at the scriptures engraved on the blades. He spoke them out loud, "Kunlun Dessert Rebel… Kunlun Pointed Chase… Kunlun Perverse Ridge… these are all the flying swords that belong to the Kunlun practitioners!"

Wen Leyang did not answer. As he picked up one long sword after the other, absorbing the Water Poison, he suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia in his heart. He felt as if he had returned to his childhood, plucking off a handful of Sophora flowers when the trees were in bloom, sucking off that single drop of clear honey from its roots. Though sweet, it was merely a tiny drop. After sucking the honey, he would move on to the next flower.

The divine beast Po Tu was in a foul mood. After it had determined that the flying swords belonged to the Kunlun disciples, the beast's bronze eyes widened. "This group of ox noses put poison on their swords?"

Rangjung laughed as he shook his head. "Not necessarily! Strong poisons are capable of defiling the flying swords. What I believe, a pack of Kunlun disciples met with an enemy." Whether one was a demon or an immortal, one should have grown wiser with age. With the divine beast Po Tu however, unknown how many thousands of years old it was, instead of growing wiser, it just cultivated a bad attitude.

The giant pangolin shook its head in disagreement. "I see neither a living person nor a corpse. The person is gone but the sword is poisonous!" As it said this, it heaved a sigh. "You are still lacking in experience. The more impossible something is, the more meticulous the enemy is. In the past few millenniums, this old one had seen plenty of these situations."

Wen Leyang was done absorbing the strong water element poison off the long swords. When he heard what the giant pangolin had said, he shook his head, at a loss whether to cry or to laugh. "Even if the poison was intentionally placed, it should have been placed at a more obvious location right? If I had not slowed down, they could have filled this place with all the long swords of the Kunlun gang and we would have missed them! Let's not discuss the motive. Even is the Kunlun gang had been planning to ambush us, Liu Zheng knows about my practice in poisons. He would not be so foolish as to try to use poison against me."

"The toxicity on those swords would have been enough to deal with an ordinary disciple of the Kunlun Sect but it would be far from enough to deal with any of you." As he said that, Wen Leyang visibly excited. "I did not allow you to touch the flying swords because I was afraid that the Water Poison would be wasted."

The giant pangolin had made a fool of itself but it refused to give up. It insisted on its argument and refused to budge. "Then where are the corpses? Where are the corpses then?"

There were only the flying swords on the ground but no corpses. The strangest part, whether it was a disciple of the same sector an enemy, the Kunlun gang would not have left behind their flying swords when they buried their dead. Even if the sword was tainted with poison.

The giant pangolin was loudly going on and on at the others about the devilish ways of the Kunlun Sect when Fei Fei tugged at Wen Leyang's sleeve. She used her chin to point towards ahead of them, her expression was vigilant as she raised the gun in hand, appearing rather heroic.

Wen Leyang took one look and immediately stepped forward to shield Fei Fei behind him. At the same time, the giant pangolin and the head lama growled and assumed a defensive stance.

In the depths of the gigantic ice cliff that was as bright as a mirror, a dozen human figures stood together in a huddle!

Fei Fei let out a long breath and sighed in relief as she saw that the people were trapped in the ice. She lowered her gun. Wen Leyang still stood by, speaking in a steady voice, "When I first came down here, there was nothing underneath that ice. I did not even detect these people with my psychic net!"

As Wen Leyang said that, the human figures came into clearer focus. It was not that the human figures had walked out of the ice but more like the group's vision gradually focused. There were a dozen people wearing their hair up in a bun in the style of a Taoist Master and they had on green robes. They were all Kunlun disciples!

Wen Leyang was sure that he had even met one or two of them on occasion!

The giant pangolin rubbed its eyes in disbelief. It said in a low voice, "What the hell are you bastards doing?!" It asked its companions,"What shall we do? Shall I tunnel in and take a look?"

Before the pangolin's voice had died away, expression of joy appeared on the faces of the Kunlun disciples' faces as if they had heard the pangolin's words. They nodded their heads vigorously towards Wen Leyang and his group!

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Chapter 202: The Bubbles

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Fei Fei's wrist trembled and her flashlight dropped to the ground. As the flashlight rolled, its bright light slashed through the darkness.

In the depth of the glacier that was formed millenniums ago, drawing its form from nonexistence to existence, from indistinctiveness to complete revelation, a dozen of Kunlun disciples was akin to the figures in a drawing, appearing soundlessly. They seemed to be frozen in the ice that was a dozen meters deep, yet they could portray their expressions easily and could even nod slightly.

There was only the split rustling sound of the cold flares in the surroundings, which sounded extremely alike the hissing sounds of a dozen poisonous snakes.

Under the reflection of the cold flares and a few heavy-duty outdoor flashlights, the gigantic glacier shimmered with a dazzling array of colors. The Kunlun disciples' expressions differed from one another. Some were smiling while some were anticipating as they nodded strenuously from the depth of the glacier towards Wen Leyang and the rest.

Wen Leyang could only feel his scalp tightening. He bit his tongue intentionally, just to be sure he is not in a dream.

"What the f*ck? This is the first time I am witnessing a living ice lantern!" Xiao Sha jumped down from the head lama's back and stood alongside his sister. He squinted his eyes as he stared firmly at the people in ice. After a long while, he finally shook his head, "This is not a fooling trick of the folk magic. I cannot tell what is going on!"

Even though the dozen of Kunlun disciples could not move freely, their expressions were lively. However, underneath the slightly ghastly ice, each of their smiles was reflected with a slight gloomy color and a feeling of ghastliness.

"Is this an… illusion?" Gu Xiaojun asked the others softly, the three cultivators shook their heads in unison. Even they could not determine that. As the people in the ice could only be noticed by one's vision, similar to the white-robed youth that they met recently, these people could not be detected by their telegnosis ability and they had to rely on their senses.

Head lama Rangjung tried to use the previous method. He took out his Vajvakilaka once again and launched the Tibetan Buddhism Sect's supernatural power of vision, the golden-colored Buddha's light that was awe-inspiring yet majestic completely illuminated the gigantic glacier. The Kunlun disciples were still there. There were even a few of them who squinted their eyes due to the brightness as if they could not get used to the sudden bright light.

The head lama inhaled a deep breath as he shook his head to his companions, "That is not an illusion. Under the incantation of Prajnaparamita mantra, any magic spell that was any more profound would be broken."

Po Tu sneered, "If it is not an Art of Illusion, then it must be real! The Kunlun Sect's little b*stards are capable of performing the Art of Water Escape as well? They must be hiding inside to trick us! The glacier is intact and sturdy, there is not even a streak of fissure on it, without the water escape magic art, there is no way for them to enter the ice." While the pangolin was talking, its hand turned over abruptly, giving out a low muffled growl, "Scram out of there for the old father!" Its palm firmly pressed onto the ice cliff.

Following the pressure of Po Tu's palm, a dim brown-colored dark light was akin to a humongous and magnificent shadow of a knife, rolling up from the glacier, shattering the Buddha's light that was recently conjured from the lama's Tibetan Buddhism Sect's Prajnaparamita mantra in a flash!

It was using the demonic primordial energy to break the spell!

This palm was not meant to shatter the rigid ice, but to directly forced its demonic primordial energy into the ice cliff, using its pure and dignified life vitality to completely shatter the other party's magic spell. This was a method that used brute force to break the magic. There was not an ounce of fanciness in the method. Any magic spell that was any more magnificent and dazzling, once faced with the life vitality force of an enemy whose actual power exceeded himself, it was as fragile and useless as a soap bubble.

The demonic primordial energy in the glacier was akin to a fierce cyclone, completely swept away the rest of the magic spells in the blink of an eye. Even the Buddha's light that was conjured by the head lama was broken as well.

Wen Leyang had a pretty good understanding of the Kunlun Sect's supernatural power. Let alone the dozen of Taoist priests, even if there were more disciples, their magic spell would not even resist such a savage blow of Po Tu! However, the Kunlun disciples were still safe and sound within the glacier. The Kunlun Taoist priest that was standing in the front row, who Wen Leyang had met on a few occasions revealed a peculiar expression as if he could not understand what Po Tu was doing. His face muscles were convulsing and finally, he opened his mouth slowly in an attempt to make a sound as if he wanted to say something to them…

After a long while, his voice finally penetrated through the glacier in a slow yet twisted manner. By the time his voice entered Wen Leyang's ears, it was akin to a sound recording that was intentionally slowed down by countless times. The voice was so low it was impossible for Wen Leyang to tell what was he talking about. Nevertheless, the odd sounds of whining echoed continuously, as if there was a man without a tongue howling desperately from the other end of a void.

Po Tu's strike was futile. The densely arranged scales on its tail stiffened completely as its palms clasped together as it let out a muffled growl and struck towards the ice cliff again! Just as its hands were about to press onto the ice cliff, Wen Leyang suddenly realized that two rows of crystal clear tears flowed out from the eyes of the Kunlun Taoist priest that was heading the troop!

The brown-colored demonic primordial energy that was surging into the ice cliff was vigorous and fluctuating, akin to a gush of an agitated sandstorm, rolling towards the glacier. Almost simultaneously, the whining voice that was penetrating from within the glacier turned into a torn howl!

It was as if a litter of starving cubs that were on the verge of death could no longer resist the temptation of its instinct. The howling sound that the cubs made when they stretched out their paws abruptly and tore through their companion's stomach. It was hard to tell if it was a sorrowful cry or a cheer. There was only the bitterness of bloody violence! The moment the howling of a dozen Kunlun disciples echoed, they abruptly pounced forward. Everyone opened his mouth and revealed his ghastly pale teeth as they pounced as fast as lightning towards Po Tu's palms that were exerting its energy and pressed onto the glacier.

Under the attack of the Kunlun disciples in the ice, even someone as strong as Po Tu could not pull back its hands in time. The divine beast sneered once ferociously. When it was scattering its demonic primordial energy, it was also simultaneously channeling its power through its arms. As long as these ghastly unidentified Taoist priests dared to touch it, it would make sure that it broke their bones and scattered their ashes to the winds!

However, no one had expected that the moment the two parties came into contact, Po Tu suddenly raised its head and sneezed into the sky.

An enormous, outrageous sneeze.

At the sound of a whoosh, Po Tu was pulled by the Kunlun disciples into the glacier.

There was not an ounce of damage to the ice surface.

The pangolin's entire body was trembling vigorously as it was pulled into the depth of the glacier by the other party rapidly. It turned around and looked towards its companion with a gaze that was filled with fear.

Wen Leyang erupted in goosebumps. It was just like when he was watching a movie, the audience next to him suddenly dove headfirst into the screen. Following that the audience started gesticulating and performing with the characters in the movie…

In a blink of an eye, Po Tu had already been dragged by the Kunlun disciples for four to five meters. Wen Leyang squalled towards Rangjung, "Break the ice!" He could no longer care about anything else as he launched the Faulty Punch rippling with the power of Life and Death through every joint of his entire body and dove headfirst into the rigid ice cliff!"

"Ong A Bo Jiang Mei Luo Sa Luo…"

The head lama too was counting a string of bone beads. His mouth was enunciating the incantation word by word. His voice was sonorous and forceful as he chanted the Mantra of Light. Every incantation was akin to the loud crash of the heaven's thunder, strong enough to shatter any evil spirit that was creating mischief, while his expression was filled with resentment as he punched with his fist and kicked with his legs. He channeled the power of wrathful deities to guard next to Wen Leyang's side and he chased forward with quick strides!

If they were to compete against each other, Wen Leyang and the head lama's actual power was almost on par. However, when it came to the act of digging through the mountain and breaking through ice, it only took a few steps to compare the two parties. The great master Rangjung's punches and kicks contained the seed of a tremendous force, icicles were splattering everywhere after he crashed through it, his speed of advancement was albeit not too slow, he still needed to punch inwards step by step; while Wen Leyang's used his entire body to slice through the ice, just like a scorching hot knife cutting into a piece of butter without any resistance.

Old Gu, Fei Fei and Xiao Sha gazed at one another. No one knew what to do. Old Gu glared at Xiao Sha and asked, "Do you have a way of dealing with this using your folk magic?"

Xiao Sha put on a long face and pouted as he answered, "My trick is to scare people, not enough to scare ghosts…"

Wen Leyang's speed was extremely swift, but compared to the ghost Taoist priests that were moving in the glacier as agile as fish in the water, he was still too slow, any better swimmer was incapable of catching a living beltfish…he watched helplessly as the ghosts dragged the pangolin and ran further and further!

Po Tu was unsure which type of magic spell was launched by the ghost Taoist priests. Its entire body was in the ice cliff, but its movements were utterly incapable of damaging the ice surface. It was just like a shadow that was firmly pulled by the other party and was running towards inwards.

Just as everyone was in a chaos, Po Tu turned from its human form into its true demonic body. The surrounding glacier was immediately stretched by the pangolin's body, which was full of purple scales, into layers of gigantic fissures. The muffled sound of cracking sounded like exploding beans crackling and spluttering within the ice. Wen Leyang was joyous, if Po Tu was capable of stretching the rigid ice into cracking, it had already broken the other party's magic spell and revealed its demonic body in the ice cliff.

The moment Po Tu's demon body was revealed, it immediately roared hoarsely, "There is no need to help me!" The scales on its body stiffened up in an awe-inspiring manner, the brown-colored demonic primordial energy that was delivered by Po Tu into the ice cliff initially was akin to an evil fish that picked up the fishy stench. The demonic primordial energy followed the master's roar and encircled from all directions. Within the muffled sounds of cracking, the energy wrapped around every single Kunlun disciples. In the blink of an eye, the energy had already coagulated into a gigantic stone lock that tied around all the enemies.

One after another Kunlun disciple struggled desperately with ferocious expression. However, just by depending on their power, there was no way they could struggle themselves free from the giant pangolin's magic spell.

The three ordinary person that clenched their teeth out of anxiousness witnessed as Po Tu suddenly exploded with martial prowess and destroyed almost one out of three of the enemy in a short while. They cheered in unison.

Wen Leyang and the head lama stopped moving, they laughed to each other as they shook their head. The giant pangolin was a few thousand years old and had achieved mastery in its demon power. As long as it did not bump into the old demons like Cone Nail, Qian Ren and Chang Li, even if it was attacked sneakily, it would not yield that easily.

Wen Leyang secretly considered. All the top master cultivators that were alive, except Hanba, caught Po Tu…

The thundering loud noise echoed continuously, the giant pangolin used its tail to drag its captives. Its two thick and strong front claws shattered the ice surface and its face was filled with rage as it cursed with brutal words and returned to the bottom of the ice fissure.

The pangolin turned back to its human form with a loud bang. It raised its hand and slapped the Kunlun Taoist priest that was locked at the front position by the stone lock, "Little b*stard, why do you plot against your own family's divine beast immortal senior!"

That Kunlun Taoist priest's expression was in agony, yet he remained indifferent towards Po Tu's slap. He was only struggling to free himself desperately.

Po Tu raised its hand in preparation to slap again, when Wen Leyang grabbed a handful of its arm, "Please slow down for a moment, what happened earlier?"

The moment Wen Leyang mentioned of what happened earlier, Po Tu was even more furious. It spat out a mouthful of saliva ferociously and spoke loudly, "This gang of bastards used the magic spell of water element to sneak an attack. The old father was caught off guard by their Poison of Water, my demonic primordial energy became scattered for a moment. They then pulled me into the ice using the water escape spell…" Po Tu immediately summoned his true body of the earth element and first used its life vitality to cleanse away the strong poison before breaking the other party's magic spell and counterattacked. It almost did not waste any strength capturing the enemy.

Wen Leyang wanted to speak further when Po Tu's huge hands waved once, "Do not ask anymore, the old father does not honor anyone. Once I am done asking the question to clarify the situation, I will flay and swallow these little bastard that dared to raid the old father, if the Kunlun Taoist priests were to seek revenge, then ask them to look for me!" As it was saying it raised its hand and at the sound of a clap, it served one slap onto each Kunlun disciple's face. It then asked with a maniacal smile, "What enmity does the Qilian Immortal Sect and the Kunlun Sect have, such that your gang of famous sect need to create trouble in the ice?"

Po Tu slapped the leader into facial paralysis. His entire body was trembling vigorously as he opened his mouth strenuously.

Po Tu burst out laughing, "If you are sensible then you shall answer honestly, otherwise…huh?"

The Kunlun disciple opened his mouth but he did not speak… he spat out a bubble.

The Taoist priest exhaled a long breath joyously.

A bubble that was the size of a fist.

As Po Tu was attacked, it was initially filled with pent-up anger and had yet to vent. Suddenly, it witnessed the other party 'blowing raspberries' to itself. It was so furious its brows were scrunched together as it cursed in rage and struck as fast as lightning. Its punch landed heavily on the Taoist priest's face. Everyone cried out in surprise!

Under its punch, it was as if all the moisture was drained away from the plump Taoist priest. At the sound of a whoosh, he turned into a withered and ugly dried corpse.

Head lama Rangjung's expression showed signs of displeasure. He spoke in a lowered voice, "The divine beast's supernatural power is a bit too brutal right!"

Po Tu looked astonished. Absent-mindedly, it looked towards the Kunlun disciple that was punched into a dried corpse before his eyes. It shook its head in puzzlement, "It is not my…"

Wen Leyang also frowned, "There is something wrong with this bubble!" He had been standing next to the Kunlun disciple all along. His sight was much better than the lama Rangjung's. He could clearly see that, underneath the bubble, there was a fine long tail that was dragging the bubble secretly. Just as the bubble's long tail was rapidly pulled away from the Kunlun Taoist priest's mouth, the Taoist priest too simultaneously turned into a dried corpse!

The bubble that was dragging along its long tail was akin to a large-size transparent tadpole. It swam about nervously in midair. Its huge head swayed left and right. It seemed to be extremely unaccustomed to the outside environment. Its tail trembled faster and faster, then its entire body trembled once ferociously all of a sudden. It turned around its body in midair without a sign and dashed towards Wen Leyang who was closest to him at the speed of lightning!

Wen Leyang immediately stretched out his hand. His five fingers oscillated like wheels as he struck ferociously onto the monster that could be a ghost spirit or a bug. The moment that giant tadpole was struck by the Faulty Punch, it gave out the exploding sound that was even fiercer and more forceful than the heavenly thunder and exploded itself in a loud bang! Wen Leyang gave out a muffled humph simultaneously. The tremendous force struck his entire body and he was retreating continuously as a layer of frost appeared in between his beard and hair.

This form of unknown creature contained the Poison of Water that was very pure and strong. It was exactly the same as the poison that had tainted the Kunlun flying swords. The Poison of Water invaded his body and immediately assimilated itself with the Poison of Life and Death.

Everybody was greatly startled. They were just about to rush over when Wen Leyang who was lying on the ground spoke with a hoarse yet urgent manner, "I am alright, be careful!"

Just as everybody else's attention was fixated on Wen Leyang's body, the rest of the dozen Taoist priest opened their mouths in unison! Every one of them spat out the same type of transparent tadpole the size of a fist. After the Taoist priests heaved out a sigh filled with pleasure, they gave out a ghastly sonic boom before turning into dried corpses!

A dozen of giant tadpoles sprung out and immediately gave out the rustling sound of cries, just like the raging giant bees with its home destroyed. The tadpoles dashed towards everybody else from all directions with trembling tails. The great master Rangjung gave a low growl as his hands opened up. The four pieces of Vajvakilaka that were stabbed onto the ice cliff shot into the air. Within the loud noise, akin to exploding thunder, seven to eight giant tadpoles exploded, being stabbed by the Tibetan Buddhism Sect's mass instrument!

In the blink of an eye, more than half of those ghostly creatures were stabbed. It seemed that the creatures were not that terrifying after all. Head lama Rangjung's face had only relaxed when the Vajvakilaka that were shot into midair shook vigorously for a few times. The golden light suddenly extinguished without a sign. A layer of dark blue colored glacier that was invisible to the naked eyes had already completely covered the lama's Tibetan Buddhism Sect mass instruments! Head lama Rangjung's expression changed abruptly. He roared, "Poison!" His hands were turning again in an attempt to continue summoning his mass instruments when the remaining three semitransparent giant tadpoles had already bumped onto his face at lightning speed!

As the lama's face was huge, he was struck by the fist-sized tadpoles at the same time…

After the tadpoles struck onto the lama, the tadpoles did not explode or flew away, but the tadpoles were like small puddles of living water swimming on the lama's face swiftly, along his ears and mouth. The tadpoles moved its tails desperately, in an attempt to bore itself into the lama's body!

Rangjung gave out a muffled humph as his fat body fell to the ground with a loud bang.

When Po Tu realized that Rangjung made an attack that almost killed all these ghostly creatures in a flash, it protected everybody else from advancing wholeheartedly. It did not expect that the lama would suddenly fall over. Just as it was about to pounce forward to rescue the lama, Wen Leyang had already jumped up. He roared loudly, "Do not touch the strong poison, allow me!" His entire person was akin to a fierce cheetah, pouncing in front of the head lama swiftly. His hands trembled rapidly. With two muffled sounds of continuous bangs, the giant tadpoles that had already squeezed more than half of its body into the lama's ears were struck by Wen Leyang's trembling fingers.

Out of the three unidentified ghostly creatures, two were flattening its heads and bored into his ears, while the other one was shaking its head and wagging its tail, attempting to pry open his tightly shut mouth desperately. As a result, the shocking sound of thunder erupted in front of his eardrums… head lama Rangjung was extreme unlucky today.

Even though head lama Rangjung possessed exquisite Buddhism magic art and the Zen mind that was unmoved by all things, he was still a human after all. As long as one was a human, one possessed instinctive reaction. He immediately opened his mouth when his two ears were filled with loud explosions.

Wen Leyang shattered the two monster tadpoles. Its cold strong poison of gentle water invaded his body ferociously along his fingertips. The Poison of Life and Death surged wildly and rapidly assimilated itself with the Poison of Water, but the process slowed down Wen Leyang's movement in rescuing the lama by half a second. As he did not expect the lama would open his mouth to welcome the 'guest', he only managed to stretch out his hand and grabbed onto the tadpole's tail in the midst of panic.

At the soft sound of a squeak, Wen Leyang pulled off the tadpole's tail. Its fist-sized head bored into Rangjung's body.

The lama's eyes were suddenly fixated, his pupils that were initially clear turned into watery blue in a flash. He almost exerted all the strength from his entire body to roar towards Wen Leyang hoarsely, "The poison I… deal by myself…cannot!" Before his voice died away, he abruptly screamed out in agony. His hands covered his head and he started rolling everywhere on the ground.

Wen Leyang almost bit off his tongue. He was thinking in his heart why would the lama speak at this moment, his mouth shouted, "You've Got Me!" He took out the bamboo needles that he carried. He hesitated for a moment before he grinded his teeth as if he had finally made up his mind for something. His movements were agile as he started filling medicinal powder into the bamboo needles.

The fiery red 'You've Got Me' heard its master's summon. It jumped out joyously and cruised tightly onto the head lama's body in swift motion. Its body stiffened abruptly after a moment and it ululated as it dashed onto the lama's head.

The thing that was swallowed by the lama was not a poison but it was an odd creature that contained Poison of Water. The creature was alive. The moment it entered the lama's body it immediately swam about everywhere. 'You've Got Me' was the larva of fire element's king of bugs. It stuck itself tightly to the lama's body in order to locate that semitransparent little monster. Even though Wen Leyang had never heard of such a creature before, he could figure out what it roughly was. That was why he released his precious bug such that his bug could help him locate the monster hiding in the lama's body.

'You've Got Me' rolled around on the lama's bald head. It ululated in an extremely anxious manner as it nodded continuously towards its master as a signal. Wen Leyang clenched his teeth and made a move as swift as the wind. According to 'You've Got Me's' guidance, he continuously pricked bamboo needles into the top of the lama's head, while simultaneously stretched out his hand to rapidly knock onto the area next to the bamboo needles. It was the skill of the Wen family to fuse the medicinal powder in the bamboo needles into the surrounding blood vessels.

The tadpole-like monster that surged into the lama's body had surged against the current into head lama Rangjung's skull. When its track was discovered by 'You've Got Me' Wen Leyang's bamboo needles had sealed off its path. It was chased downwards under 'You've Got Me's' guidance.

'You've Got Me' was ululating and jumping. It only took a moment for Wen Leyang to prick the lama's head and face full of bamboo needles. Finally, 'You've Got Me' started chasing along the lama's neck towards his chest. Wen Leyang had already assimilated the Poison of Water that had invaded his body completely at this moment. His hands and legs became even more agile. His movements were so swift it bedazzled one. After a long while, he finally exhaled a long breath of relief. The bamboo needles formed a circle and were trapping the tadpole in between the head lama's lower abdomen.

At the muffled sound of a bang, head lama Rangjung's body that had already quieted down suddenly shook once. The tadpole that had been driven into a corner exploded and released all its toxicity.

The head lama simultaneously exhaled a long breath as he spoke softly, "I can handle the rest by myself!" He sat up and slowly closed his eyes.

Wen Leyang waited for a while. When there were no further movements, he became completely steady and sure.

Head lama Rangjung had no way to control this unknown monster creature from running everywhere in his body. Now that the monster was burst, its Poison of Water was albeit pure and strong, he could still manage to dissolve the poison using his cultivation base.

After the crowd watched the two humans and a bug bustled about, everything finally quieted down at this moment. There was only 'You've Got Me' that was still hanging on to the lama's body and refused to leave. It ululated continuously to its master. It seemed that it had yet to play to its great satisfaction and was hoping that someone would toss another 'tadpole' into the lama's mouth.

Po Tu possessed great experience, yet it had never seen such a terrifying creature before. If it was not for Wen Leyang, this tadpole would never cease before it churned the lama's brain into muddled soup. It asked him with lingering fear, "What kind of creature was that?"

Wen Leyang answered as if he was deep in thoughts, "It was alive, it should be some form of bug as well! Its body contained the Poison of Water of utmost disposition, but the amount was too little…" He absorbed a total of three tadpoles' Poison of Water, but there was no significant reaction from his body yet.

After he idled for a while, Wen Leyang continued, "The medicinal powder that I was using earlier was not meant to draw out the poison but it was meant to draw out the bug. If that creature was not a living one, my medicine would not have been useful." As he was saying that, Wen Leyang picked up the four pieces of Vajvakilaka's that were corroded by the Poison of Water and returned them to the lama in high spirits.

In the past, when he absorbed Xiu Er's Poison of Earth, Mo Ya's Poison of Metal, the results were like a shadow that was cast as soon as a pole was raised. He received instantaneous results. However, after he was done absorbing the Poison of Water, other than feeling slightly healthier and more vigorous, he had not experienced any other reactions. After all, the tadpole contained too little amount of Poison of Water. Especially after his body and bones were remolded by the Poison of Life and Death, his body was like a ship that rose with the tide level, his body improved. That amount of Poison of Water was not enough for him to reach a new level of cultivation base.

Fei Fei had just calmed her petrified soul. She chimed in out of astonishment from the side, "You were unsure if the medicinal powder was useful or not yet you dared to use it on the head lama?"

Xiao Sha continued his sister's conversation and added, "He treated the dead lama as a living lama…it is still slightly better than not treating the lama at all."

Po Tu was still in disbelief, "It was a bug? How can there be a bug in this world capable of escaping my telegnosis ability!"

The head lama finally exhaled a long and foul breath. Pale blue-colored water oozed out of his seven orifices simultaneously. He opened his eyes once again, his pupil had regained its prior clarity.

'You've Got Me' claimed the credit of saving the lama this time. As it saw that the lama was finally safe and sound, it raised its head in pride and ululated loudly. If one were to listen closely, it was as if this little fellow was shouting continuously, "Vote for me! Vote for me! Vote for me!"

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Chapter 203: The Hike to the Summit

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Wen Leyang asked in a rather strange manner, "Great master, the tadpole's toxicity should not be too strong, right?" The tadpoles' Poison of Water was albeit pure and strong, its amount was very little. The toxicity would be difficult to cause any harm to head lama Rangjung's cultivation base. However, when he used his life vitality to dissolve the toxicity, it seemed that he had exerted laborious efforts. He appeared tired and his gaze was not as lively as before.

Rangjung gave a forced laugh and scoffed, "The Poison of Water still came in second, most of my life vitality is dealing with your bug and the medicinal powder in the bamboo needles!" As he was saying that, he showed his body to Wen Leyang. His body was densely covered in small holes pricked by 'You've Got Me'.

'You've Got Me' was extremely excited when it was chasing after the tadpole. However, it had steel stings on its entire body. The lama was afraid that he would delay the bug's speed. Hence, he dared not cultivate his power to resist…

Rangjung got dressed and stood up. He first nodded in appreciation to Wen Leyang as he laughed, "I have no words to express his gratitude for saving my life." After saying that, he stopped for a moment, "These bamboo needles…can it be removed?"

Wen Leyang gave out an 'oh no'. He apologized profusely and hastily retrieved all the bamboo needles. The lama's plump and round head was pricked like a pickled cucumber.

At least, the lama was alive and he was not too severely injured. He was only slightly exhausted, so he could totally persevere. He stretched out his hand and pointed to his body, "The tadpole was not a ghost or demon. It was definitely alive, however…it had an exceptionally peculiar feature!"

The Tibetan Buddhism Sect's cultivator inherently possessed the inner sight that was clear and bright. As the odd tadpole entered Rangjung's body, it made him see through the creature. The moment the semitransparent tadpole was tainted with liquid, it was capable of launching a spell that was similar to the Art of Water Escape. That was why the creature surged into his brain but it did not churn his brain to a pulp. This form of 'water escape' ability was the monster's inherent ability and not a form of magic cultivation.

"Moreover, the part that was used by this creature to control a person was its tail!" The lama Rangjung's voice was low as there was lingering fear in his heart.

When the creature burrowed into his skull, its remnant tail was shaking as it tried to wrap its tail around Rangjung's brain on a few attempts. However, as most of its tail was ripped out by Wen Leyang that was why it failed. Even so, the head lama felt confused and uneasy, almost losing control of his body. If 'You've Got Me' were to arrive a bit later, it was afraid that he would not hold up anymore.

"Not only that!" Head lama Rangjung continued to describe the horrors of the creature, "This creature is the embodiment of the water element. Water is formless, that is why our telegnosis ability cannot detect its presence! I do not know how this group of Kunlun disciples ended up here but after they discovered the strange creatures, their treasured weapons and flying swords were corroded by the creatures' Poison of Water and were rendered useless. Their bodies were controlled by the strange creatures as well."

Po Tu had finally understood. It nodded as it sneered, "Once the person is controlled by this creature, the person will have the creature's inherent attribute. The person becomes capable of escaping with water. That is why they can move in the ice unhindered. Simultaneously, they also become the embodiment of water, there is no way our telegnosis ability can detect them!"

Wen Leyang heaved a sigh. One of the deceased Kunlun Taoist priests appeared familiar to him. Whether it was during the Five Blessings' gathering on the Nine Peaks Mountain or the great Hanba battle in the City God Temple, this person was always following next to Liu Zheng. He was obviously an important personage in the Kunlun Sect. Nevertheless, he died when he brought his disciples here to handle some unknown affairs.

Even in astonishment, Xiao Sha could not widen his eyes. He spoke in a low, monotonous voice, "So, what kind of creature is this!"

Rangjung squinted his eyes. He shook his head in a rigid manner, "I do not know! The embodiment of water capable of escaping the telegnosis ability's detection was only a theory in the past! This form of five elements' embodiment almost never appears in history!"

Wen Leyang suddenly thought of Cone Nail. No wonder she appeared suddenly out of nowhere every time. His telegnosis ability could not detect her at all. He was feeling a little narcissist. In fact, based on Cone Nail's cultivation power and supernatural power, even without the embodiment of water element, it would not be that difficult for her to hide from his telegnosis ability.

Gu Xiaojun thought of another question, "Do you still remember the white-robed youth? He is also capable of escaping by ice and capable of hiding from your telegnosis ability. Os it possible that he is controlled by the bug as well?"

Head lama Rangjung was stunned, he laughed as he shook his head, "That young man left behind the marker of the Hua family. The way he spoke and handled matters was agile and lively, the creature can never be that smart."

The few people scouted around the area at the base of the ice fissure but they did not find anything else that was suspicious. After they buried the Kunlun disciples, they embarked on their journey again and rushed towards the immortal cave of the head lama's friend.

Due to the incident in the ice fissure, by the time they arrived at the immortal cave, the sky had turned completely dark. Gentle moonlight emitted from the sky scattered quietly over the ice-capped mountain that was covered in thick snow. The reflection did not appear chill and serene, but it felt like there were layers of unorthodox charm!

There was a slanted pyramidal peak located at the far end, appearing just like a curved knife that protruded out of the mountain, pointing towards the boundless sky. Its sharp wilderness and loneliness could not be concealed. Head lama Rangjung pointed to the pyramidal peak afar and laughed, "My friend is staying at the cave under the peak, he is a Tapas cultivator. I think that he will not even light up a bonfire for us. You children, please do not expect him to treat us courteously!" Upon saying that, he shouted loudly, "My old friend Ji Song, Rangjung is here!"

Rangjung's voice sounded fair and clam. There was not an ounce of rudeness in his voice. Yet, when his voice was firmly echoing in the bitter cold mountain draft, every single word he spoke was as sturdy as iron.

Fei Fei was already asleep on Wen Leyang's back. She was jolted awake by Rangjung's voice. She was stunned for a moment before she laughed softly, "Thirteen? The great master's friend is called Thirteen? What sort of classical reference is this?" As she was saying that, she explained to Wen Leyang, "In the Tibetan language, the term Ji Song is a number, it means thirteen."

Rangjung was about to meet his old friend. He was feeling delightful and joyous. Laughing aloud, he answered Fei Fei, "Bullsh*t, classical reference. He was the thirteenth child in his family that is why he is called Thirteen! This person's temperament is a little…a little…peculiar!" The lama was at a loss of whether to laugh or cry, he continued to advise them, "If he were to launch an attack carelessly, there is no need for all of you to behave courteously but please do not hurt him."

As head lama Rangjung was speaking, an icy-cold soft cry echoed from the direction of the pyramidal peak abruptly in reply to lama's shout earlier. The shadow of a human figure swayed left and right in the mountain draught as if the person would be blown away at any time. However, his speed was extremely fast as he approached the group. It did not take a moment's time before the person arrived in front of the group. Rangjung laughed aloud as he introduced the person to his companions, "This is Ji Song, the Tapas cultivator of the Geladaindong Peak."

Ji Song was extremely tall, a head taller than Wen Leyang who was one point eight meters tall. Yet he was exceedingly thin. Rangjung was in a good mood upon meeting his old friend, he continued to laugh and told Wen Leyang, "He had been cultivating laboriously since young and had never eaten or drank well since he was a child. That was why his body was like a bamboo pole!"

Ji Song and the African leader Tutatunte had similar physique. They were both skinny and tall but Tutatunte's skinniness made one feel pity, while Ji Song's skinniness made one feel terrified!

His skin was tightly wrapped around his bones, his forehead was shriveled and his cheeks were sunken. There was only a pair of large eyes left on his face. A strand of savageness appeared in the midst of his rolling eyes. As Ji Song had been in the companionship of blizzard and strong wind all year long, his entire body was enshrouded with the icicle-like sharpness.

The moment Ji Song met his old friend, not only there was no joy in his expression, there was slight impatience. He frowned as he asked the lama, "Why did you come here?"

"I have a matter to discuss with you!" Head lama Rangjung spoke as he grabbed Ji Song's hand that was as skinny as a bamboo pole, "Well, don't just stand there in the wilderness, let us go to your place first before we discuss further!"

Unexpectedly, Ji Song stood on the same spot without budging. He shook his hand in an attempt to break free from the lama's grip, "I am on my way out to handle some affairs, you can wait for me at my place."

Rangjung had a highly honorable status on the highland. Almost all the Tibetan cultivators were respectful to him and dared not neglect him at all, but Ji Song who did not seem to possess any ability that was superior had a temperament and mannerism that was not inferior.

Rangjung was apparently used to Ji Song's icy-cold appearance. He was not offended at all. His huge hand was still firmly gripping onto Ji Song's skinny wrist, he chuckled, "Do you still want to go out since I am here? Any matter as important as the heaven is…" Rangjung was halfway through his speech when he suddenly frowned and sized Ji Song up and down meticulously. His tone of speaking sounded stern, "Is there an opponent that is troubling you?"

A torn red-colored fabric robe was draped over Ji Song's shoulders. He had a Vajra bell in the pocket in front of his chest and a pure white-colored Tibetan horn on his back. His other hand was still holding a Vajra dorje.

Wen Leyang did not understand the Tibetan Buddhism Sect but judging by Ji Song's fully armed appearance, he could tell that Ji Song was about to go out and fight.

Ji Song's strange eyes turned and glared at the head lama Rangjung, "Who knows who are those people? Do not hold on to me, I will not forgive you if they got away!" Upon saying that, he started swinging his arm desperately in an attempt to struggle free from Rangjung, yet the head lama did not behave courteously either. His huge hand was akin to a metal clamp, gripping tightly onto Ji Song and refused to let go as if once his grip was loosened the other party would run away so fast his shadow disappeared.

The giant pangolin watched as the two persons exchanged irrelevant conversation. They spoke for a long while yet they could not come up with an answer so they stood there playing arm wrestling. It lost its patience and shouted angrily in a low voice, "Everyone stop fighting! The skinny one speaks first, what are you going to do…"

No one expected that before Po Tu could finish its sentence, Ji Song shouted in rage all of a sudden, "What kind of creature are you. This is not the place for you to speak!" He raised the Vajra dorje and pounded right onto its face and head.

Po Tu was not one that could be beaten by him. It retreated as fast as lightning and squalled in rage. It rushed forward and was about to hit Ji Song when Wen Leyang hastily jumped in between the both of them. He waved his hands and before he could speak, Ji Song was waving the musical instrument in his hand and knocked repeatedly onWen Leyang's head, his mouth was still cursing furiously, "Common person, scram!"

Wen Leyang was still carrying a girl on his back. He watched helplessly as the Vajra dorje was about to beat himself mercilessly. Rage filled his heart. If he was a common person, he would surely be beaten to a pulp. His hands turned over, moved towards the Vajra dorje and launched the Faulty Punch. Two gushes of tremendous force rippled together. Wen Leyang stood unmoved, while Ji Song's buttocks landed into the head lama's arms.

If it was not for Rangjung who was still grabbing onto his hand, perhaps he would fall into somewhere unknown. Wen Leyang's cultivation base now was no less inferior than the old demon rabbit Bu Le. How would an ordinary cultivator's supernatural power resist?

Ji Song gave out an 'ow' as he jumped and stood up. He risked his life in an attempt to struggle free from Rangjung's hand like a mad chick while he used the Vajra dorje to point at Wen Leyang, "I have misjudged you. Turns out you are not an ordinary person, come at me again you b*stard!"

Xiao Sha burst out laughing, he lied on the head lama's back and shouted loudly towards Wen Leyang, "He is an unreasonable person, beat him!"

Fei Fei was much more sensible than Xiao Sha but she was also laughing hard, "Do not beat him, do not beat him, this Thirteen is albeit a little unreasonable, he knows a lot of things…"

The head lama Rangjung witnessed the scene before his eyes was turned into a chaos. His wrist turned over abruptly, he gave a shove with the bottom of his foot and directly tossed Ji Song onto the snow ground. His plump body turned around as he used both of his thick legs to firmly lock onto Ji Song. The lama did not launch the Tibetan Buddhism Sect's supernatural power but he performed the orthodox highland's Art of Wrestle. As he was pinning down Ji Song, he was also using his body to separate Ji Song from Wen Leyang and Po Tu. He then spoke, "If you are defeated you will help us and tell us the truth!"

Ji Song exerted himself and stuck out his head from Rangjung's buttocks. He nodded strenuously. He immediately turned over and jumped up. He glared at Wen Leyang and Po Tu, "Who amongst the both of you is fighting me?"

Po Tu pouted, it turned around and said to Wen Leyang, "You go. I am afraid I might break him!"

Wen Leyang laughed as he nodded, he did not even lay down Fei Fei as he asked Ji Song, "So when do we start?"

Fei Fei lied next to Wen Leyang's ear and spoke with an extremely soft voice, "Ji Song is not truly unreasonable, he is fearless… he knows that the great master will not allow anyone to hurt him…"

Ji Song seized the opportunity when they were talking. He placed down the Tibetan Buddhism Sect's Unmovable Body Dharmamudra on his surroundings to prevent the enemy from raiding him in agile movements and sniggered, "Now is the time to start!" Upon saying that, he raised his hand and shook the Vajra bell strenuously. He crossed the Vajra dorje in his hand and was about to chant the Tibetan Buddhism Sect's mantra, when the vision before his eyes blurred unexpectedly. The opposing party had already approached him. Ji Song's Unmovable Body Dharmamudra was utterly futile in resisting the enemy and was broken by Wen Leyang's Faulty Punch.

Ji Song was trying to retreat, when the shadow of a human figure swayed messily before himself abruptly. The silver bell-like laughter sounded far yet near, his right and left shoulder felt heavy in a flash, he was already patted by Wen Leyang in a manner that was not too light nor heavy.

By the time Ji Song was growling in rage and waving about his Vajra dorje to fight back, Wen Leyang had already retreated back to his original spot. He chuckled as he asked Ji Song, "So are we still fighting?"

Ji Song's face was filled with unwillingness. His shriveled face was covered in evil wrinkles, he opened his mouth in preparation to speak when he suddenly shouted something madly. His bamboo pole-like body was akin to convulsing as he somersaulted and fell to the ground.

Fei Fei who was lying on Wen Leyang's back was startled. She asked softly, "What…is he screaming about?"

Wen Leyang answered with a steadfast tone, "Spicy!"

Since Ji Song was a close acquaintance of Rangjung, he was not a bad person. However, he had no regards that his act earlier could kill a person. Hence, Wen Leyang could not help but to attack him as a punishment. He planted the 'Szechuan Cuisine' on Ji Song's body.

Head lama Rangjung stretched out his hand to support Ji Song who was flushing from the spiciness, he gave a forced laugh as he shook his head, "It is not considered injustice to teach you a lesson!" Upon saying that, he looked up at Wen Leyang.

Wen Leyang did not wait for the lama to speak. He laughed as he walked forward, he held up his canteen and fed Ji Song a mouthful of water. The 'Szechuan Cuisine' was a special recipe capable of defeating the opponent by a surprise move. It was easy to make and easy to disperse, it was even easier to dissolve. It could be dissolved immediately by drinking water.

Ji Song hastily drank a few gulps of water and slowly recuperated. He glared at Wen Leyang as if Wen Leyang was a monster. He panted as he asked, "What kind of magic spell was that?" He did not wait for Wen Leyang to answer before he closed his eyes, the corners of his mouth convulsed again and again as if he was trying to recall the sensation earlier. He finally jumped up and gave Wen Leyang a thumbs up, "Awesome!"

Wen Leyang was at a loss whether to laugh or cry as he turned around and gazed at Fei Fei. Fei Fei giggled. She could see through Wen Leyang's inner thoughts, "Ji Song is not an unreasonable person."

After they fought, Ji Song regained his prior mannerism of despising everyone, he pointed to Wen Leyang as he turned around and looked at Rangjung, "What do you want to ask? I know most of the things related to the Geladaindong Peak!"

Rangjung did not immediately ask about the Hua family but asked Ji Song, "Who is the person you going after?"

Ji Song gave out a 'heh'. He answered in a joyous manner, "I was cultivating the Wrathful Deities Dhyana a few days ago, my body and mind was not allowed to move outside. Since there was rarely any human presence on the Geladaindong Peak, I paid no attention to the outer world and only set down a layer of Unmovable Body Dharmamudra to protect myself. I used snow spiders to seal off the cave's entrance. However, when I regained my consciousness I realized that someone spied on my immortal's cave!"

On the other hand, Wen Leyang squinted his eyes as he inquired closely, "What kind of creature is the snow pearl?" (Translator's note: Snow pearl and snow spider has the same pronunciation in Mandarin.)

"The snow spider is a species of giant spider, it has eight legs and a round abdomen. It likes to feed on meat and is capable of spinning web! It is slightly spiritual. I use the spiders to seal off the cave when I engage in closed-door cultivation!" Ji Song answered with a groan. It was only then Wen Leyang realized that the other party was not talking about the snow pearl. He thought that the creature Ji Song grew was the ghost bubbles he found in the ice fissure.

There was a recording about this species of snow spider in the Place of Birth, Life, Sickness and Death. It was considered a poisonous bug that was rather incisive, any ordinary person that was stung by it would be immediately rendered unsalvageable.

After all, not everyone could afford to afford to grow a Mountain-guarding Divine Beast like the Great Mercy Temple or the Qilian Immortal Sect. An ordinary cultivator would grow some spiritual bug that contained strong poison to look after his home and this was quite normal.

Ji Song had been engaging in mediation and closed-door cultivation recently. By the time he awakened, he realized that the snow spiders that were sealing the entrance were pinched to death and someone had visited his immortal's cave. He had very little acquaintance. Even if someone were to visit him and saw that the snow spiders had sealed the entrance, someone would know that he was engaging in closed-door cultivation and would either wait for him or leave. There was no reason to pinch those spiders to death.

Rangjung frowned for a moment, "Is there anything missing from your place?"

Ji Song shook his head, "If you were a thief, you saw that there were two spiders the size of pot cover hanging by the door, would you still have the guts to enter?" His tone of speaking sounded as if he had swallowed gunpowder. It was impossible to hear him speak anything pleasant to the others.

Rangjung did not pay attention to Ji Song's tone of speaking as he continued, "If there was nothing missing and your person was safe and sound, the other party should be visiting your place to scout. The moment that someone saw that it was just an ordinary cultivator, that person retreated…"

The expression of unwillingness filled Ji Song's face, he continued discreetly, "So that two snow spiders of mine died for nothing? As long as this gang of people had not left the Tanggula Mountains, they would not be able to run away from me!" Ji Song was short-tempered. Someone seized the opportunity when he was engaging in closed-door cultivation to stroll around his immortal's cave, killed his snow spiders that were guarding his door. Hence, he immediately chased after them out of rage, just in time to bump into Rangjung who was visiting with Wen Leyang and the rest.

The head lama's eyes brightened in curiosity, "Is there a way for you to locate them?"

Ji Song's mouth cracked into a rarely seen smile. There was a little pride in his smile, the person who came to my place killed the snow spiders but his body was also tainted with the spider web!"

Wen Leyang gave a pleasant smile. The snow spiders were enormous that was why they spun a web to hunt for prey. The male spider was smaller in size, but even when it was separated by the distance of dozens of kilometers it could still find the female spider from the female spider's scent. Since Ji Song was growing these creatures, naturally he understood the spiders' habits very well, he made use of the male spider to track down the person whose body was tainted with the spider web. As long as the person did not run too far, he could certainly find and chased up to him.

Rangjung muttered to himself before continuing, "So which direction were they heading to?"

In reality, Rangjung did not even ask many questions but Ji Song's expression had become exceedingly agitated as if he was controlling his patience desperately as he answered, "They were heading to the summit!"

Wen Leyang and the rest's expression became relieved as their speculation was confirmed. They were still on the northwest slope of the Geladaindong Peak, if they were to head to the Jianggendiru Glacier they would first need to hike over the summit of the mountain.

Rangjung cast a consulting gaze towards Wen Leyang and Gu Xiaojun. Everyone had the same thinking, Old Gu straightforwardly said, "Then we shall chase after them with him! It is either the evil cult followers or the Kunlun disciples!"

Ji Song spoke impatiently, "When we come face to face with them, all of you do not attack them, I will avenge myself!" As he was saying that he started walking and chased in the direction of the mountain summit. He only took a few steps when he complemented, "But if they came in numbers, then all of you shall help me!"

The group laughed. Since they met Ji Song, this is the first time he finally spoke of something dependable. This person albeit had a peculiar temperament, he was truly not considered a foolish person.

The group of people hiked all the way towards the summit of the Geladaindong Peak. Of course, Rangjung did not waste time. He followed closely next to Ji Song and inquired about the Hua family.

Ji Song's expression was unpleasant all along, but the moment Rangjung mentioned of the Hua family, he immediately changed his expression. He appeared slightly in awe, and a little fearful, "Did all of you offend them? These people are the real obscure cultivators. Even though they had no concerns over the world affair but it is absolutely forbidden to provoke them, otherwise they would never rest until you die."

Rangjung was about to speak. He watched Ji Song's expression as he suddenly recalled something, "My old friend Ji Song, I thought that you are fearless. You acted so imposing and prestigious upon meeting the lama, yet your face is shadowed with fear when I mentioned the Hua family?" As he was saying that he squinted his eyes and shot Ji Song an evil stare, "Could it be that you know the lama would never hurt you, so you acted unreasonably to the lama?"

Ji Song had yet to speak when Fei Fei laughed and continued the head lama's conversation, "Just as the great master had expected, he could not conceal his emotions from me!"

Ji Song scoffed heavily and pretended not to have heard Fei Fei's words. He picked up his speed and ran towards the mountain summit. Head lama Rangjung was at a loss whether to laugh or cry as he rushed over and refocused the topic of conversation, "How much do you know about the Hua family?"

Ji Song did not talk nonsense as he directly told about everything he knew about the Hua family to Rangjung.

The Hua family was supposed to be the obscure cultivator of the central plains but millenniums ago, one of the first ancestors unintentionally discovered a new cultivation method, that was why he moved his entire family to the Tanggula Mountains. They engaged in the cultivation method of the water element. With Ji Song's cultivation base, there was utterly no way he could see through their abilities, he was even less daring to investigate about their tracks.

When Wen Leyang learned that the Hua family was already in this place for over a thousand years, he felt much more steady and sure in his heart. After all, the longer the Hua family was there, the less possibility there was for them to be associated to the evil cultivators, there was not a lot of people could be as capable as his Grand Master Tuo Xie that could make arrangement for an affair two thousand years later.

The Hua family's supernatural power was secondary. They were too ghastly as they were mysterious and unpredictable and even telegnosis ability could not detect them. If they were enemies, then the journey to the snow mountain would be undeniable more dangerous.

That was all that Ji Song knew, he did not speak more than a few sentences before he shut his mouth. Rangjung was feeling rather helpless, so the group did not speak anymore but crossed layers of knife ridges and ice cirques swiftly. They finally arrived at the summit of Geladaindong Peak before daylight the next day!

The summit of Geladaindong Peak was a stretch of plains. The land appeared flat and smooth at first glance but in reality, it was firmly covered in the ice cap as thick as a hundred meters. Some wide and some narrow fissures were arranged in a crisscross pattern. The ice cliffs and ice cirques were all linked together.

Near to where the group that had just arrived at the peak was a stretch of campsite standing tall out of nowhere.

Everyone probed around a little and was startled by the campsite that was located dozens of meters away. This place was apparently sealed by a magic spell and could hide from the detection of telegnosis ability. Ji Song scoffed, "The person who visited my immortal's cave is in that tent." As he was saying that, he removed an agitated snow spider from his chest pocket and tossed it onto the ground. The spider immediately concealed itself into the snow as it burrowed into a tiny snow mound on the ground, and ran towards the campsite swiftly.

On the other hand, Ji Song did not dash towards the campsite impatiently, but he held his chin in slight doubt, "These tents here… it seems that there are too many people here, right?"

Even though the campsite was built in a simple method, the layers of overlapping tents connected to one another. It could hold up to thousands of people!

Wen Leyang and Rangjung gazed at one another. They simultaneously spoke of one word softly, "Kunlun!"

They were tracking down the corpse pit at the foothill of Tanggula Mountains that delayed their journey by a few days. They did not expect that the Kunlun's battalion had already entered the mountain since earlier.

The evil cultivator with a big scheme in his heart and the warriors of the small town, the Kunlun disciples that swore an oath of revenge, the obscure cultivator Hua family that was mysterious and ghastly and Wen Leyang's group of people had turned the originally tranquil and peaceful snow peak of the Tanggula Mountains, into a bustling scene soundlessly.

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Chapter 204: The Campsite

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The interconnected stretch of tents on the snow peak of the Geladaindong Peak was large enough to hold thousands of people. Even though there was no obvious marker, Wen Leyang that had just arrived on the summit could tell that it was the Kunlun disciples' campsite. There was no other battalion this grand in this area other than them. The Kunlun disciples were albeit cultivators, they were still humans after all. Especially when they were in the snow peak, with the strong wind blowing, it was so cold a drop of water could be turned into ice. They needed a campsite where they could rest.

The Kunlun cultivation method had its own specialty. Even Wen Leyang's telegnosis ability that allowed him to drift outside nature could not detect their presence before he stepped onto the summit. However, Wen Leyang had no time to ponder about that, he gazed at the rest with his face filled with fear, the entire campsite was too quiet!

His telegnosis ability was futile. Theoretically, at the same time, Wen Leyang discovered the campsite, the Kunlun disciples should notice their presence as well.

The Kunlun Sect was one of the Five Blessings of the right path in the cultivation world. The disciples were well-trained with strict discipline. However, with Wen Leyang and the rest just meters away from this campsite, other than the howling of strong winds on their surroundings, not a sound could be heard. In the enormous stretch of campsite, everything was deadly still. Wen Leyang suddenly had a baffling feeling. He felt that this was unlike a campsite, but more like a cemetery.

The morning sun that had just risen appeared warm and solid but weak. The pale sunlight pierced through the chilly wind that was howling in rage with great difficulties and shed onto the campsite in slanted rays. Not only did it not bring a sense of warmth, it was rippling with slight gloominess.

The rest of the few people had yet to speak but Ji Song was the first person that jumped out. He puffed up his bony thin chest and spoke with an icy cold tone, "I will go first!" He turned around and looked towards the campsite as he roared loudly in rage, "Who was the one that hurt my Mountain-guarding Divine Beast. Come out quickly and face your doom!" As he was saying that his hands crossed, the Vajra bell in his chest pocket shot out into the air abruptly. The tinkering sound of bells was heard accompanied by its continuous shakings.

Po Tu's face was obviously filled with rage. How could Ji Song surprisingly address his two spiders as the mountain-guarding divine beast. Those words made Po Tu felt very frustrated.

The Vajra bell rang faster and faster yet there were no replies. Ji Song's face was filled with impatience. He suddenly opened his mouth and chanted the Tibetan Buddhism Sect mantra, "Ong Zi Song Zi Song Suo Ha! Ong Zi Song Zi Song Suo Ha…"

Wen Leyang thought that Ji Song was about to launch his supernatural power to attack the campsite. His body moved ever so slightly in an attempt to stop Ji Song when the head lama Rangjung on his side suddenly gave out a 'huh'. He stretched out his hand and blocked Wen Leyang. The head lama's expression was first astonished then an irresistible smile appeared on his dark-colored huge face.

The Seven Syllables Mantra did not turn louder under the influence of the bell but it became clearer and clearer. Even Wen Leyang and the rest who were standing aside could feel that they became high-spirited. It felt like drinking a large glass of chilled water after waking up from a hangover, their bodies became stimulated and excited for a moment. However, other than that, there was no other supernatural power that was performed by Ji Song.

Ji Song chanted the Seven Word Syllables Mantra for a few times and his supernatural power suddenly vanished. He strolled relaxingly back to Wen Leyang's side and spoke dully, "There is no one here!"

The head lama burst out with the loudest laughter that could shake the heaven and earth that made everyone startled. Even the strong wind ran away in fear before his laughter, "My old friend Ji Song, I think you were chanting the Refreshing Mantra right?"

This mantra's only use was to refresh the spirit and awaken the mind.

Wen Leyang and the rest were dumbfounded all of a sudden. Ji Song feigned his mannerism for a long period of time, he was actually blowing the wake up horn at the Kunlun Sect. His wake up horn had been blown for a long while yet he could not see any Taoist priest that had just awakened. That was why he could tell that there was no one in the campsite now.

The group understood the situation considerably, Ji Song was a person that appeared to be tough outwardly but timid inwardly. He dared not urge his treasured weapons to attack the Kunlun Sect's campsite directly but he refused to be embarrassed. That was why he ran forward and chanted the 'Refreshing Mantra' to the Kunlun Taoist priests loudly.

Po Tu glared at Ji Song ferociously. It waved its hand towards Wen Leyang, "Both of us shall enter. The lama will protect the three common people!"

Gu Xiaojun and the rest jumped down from their transport vehicle. The head lama held the human bone beads in his hand, appearing like a great mountain as he firmly blocked the common people behind his back. Ji Song clasped his hand at his back and his expression still remained as savage as before, his mouth was muttering in an icy cold tone, "For hurting my snow spiders, you will ultimately pay with your life!" Yet he stood on the same spot…

Wen Leyang shouted loudly towards the campsite, "Liu Zheng, we are about to enter!" Whether there was anyone in there, it was still necessary for Wen Leyang to greet them. After he was done shouting, he nodded towards Po Tu. Both of them walked towards the campsite side by side.

The campsite was suppressed by the Taoist magic art. Wen Leyang, Po Tu or Rangjung's telegnosis ability was incapable of detecting what was happening inside but this form of magic spell was only effective at guarding against the outside but not the inside. Once Wen Leyang stepped into the campsite, he felt that he suddenly sprang into a humongous soap bubble of a small world, his telegnosis ability became crystal clear all of a sudden. He immediately dashed towards the inside of the campsite!

Just as Wen Leyang and Po Tu entered the campsite in a flash, the colorful Taoist banners in all corners of the campsite shook abruptly. Within a series of muffled thunder-like roaring, the banners vaporized into a puff of green smoke. Po Tu was stunned for a moment, followed closely by its abrupt change of expression as it squalled, "A prohibition spell has been triggered…" Before his voice died away, a few thousand streaks of lightning erupted in the sky. Within the loud crashing sounds, the sharp purple-colored lightning bolts struck onto the both them just like a storm!

Other than the sound of surging heaven's thunder, there were also layers of raging flames that were roaring. Countless large rocks appeared out of thin air. A few sword dragons that were attacking violently… it was afraid that there was nothing left of the mountain-sealing prohibition spell in Kunlun Mountains' Yuxu Palace. The little supreme leader Liu Zheng brought along everything from his entire sect.

The few people on the outside turned pale with fear. The head lama had the fastest reaction. His plump and large body rippled in a layer of fiery cloud as he dashed towards the campsite ferociously, the moment he started chanting the Maha Vairocana Mantra of Light, he immediately heard the mountain peaks' responding shouts and muffled sounds. The string of human bone beads in his hand that was already so worn turned black and shattered abruptly. A few thousand rays of Buddha's light ripped and struck towards the prohibition spell in the campsite!

The bone beads were made from the bone in between the brows or the top of the skull of a lama that achieved mastery in cultivation. One bead could only be made from one lama. That was why his hundred and eight rosary beads were made from one hundred and eight lamas' blessing. The Maha Vairocana Mantra of Light triggered the power of cultivation that had been accumulated for millenniums in order to aid Rangjung in launching the strongest Tibetan Buddhism Sect's supernatural power!

The fatal prohibition spell of the Kunlun Sect, the Tibetan Buddhism Sect's divine power that rippled from the lama, the Metal Poison Stream that surged underneath Wen Leyang's feet and the demonic primordial energy of the earth element that was released from the divine beast Po Tu's strange cry entangled in the wild wind. It was akin to the bursting of the sun and moon and the collapse of the heaven and earth. It was unknown who was the one that gave out a series of agonizing howls, the sounds were akin to knives as it pulverized the Tanggula Mountain's silence!

At the sound of a thud, the first person that fell onto the ground was the ghastly pale Ji Song. His frightened pupils were bewildered under the reflection of the colorful radiance that rippled from the supernatural powers and treasured weapons, just like a laser chip…

Only after a long while, the Taoist magic prohibition spell with seemingly unsurpassed power gradually dispersed off. The thick and dense smoke was blown away in layers by the roaring strong wind, Wen Leyang and the giant pangolin held on to each other. They swayed for a few times towards the direction of Old Gu and the rest before falling head first onto the ground.

The lama's red-colored robe turned into hundreds of red cloth strips. The cloth strips draped his body in a hilarious way. His huge face with dark complexion turned ghastly pale out of exhaustion. He turned around on the same spot for half a circle before lying on the ground stiffly.

By the time everybody else staggered and dashed into the campsite, Wen Leyang and Po Tu who had already turned into its demon body lied in the shape of the word '大' and '木' respectively. (Translator's note: Po Tu has a tail.) They were looking at each other while sniggering foolishly. Both of them were covered in wounds so deep they could see the bones from head to toe. The wounds cracked open their skin, akin to a doll's mouth. Some wounds appeared to be crying while some smiling…

Fei Fei realized that Wen Leyang was still alive, her eyes reddened. Her little lips quivered for a few times as if she was about to bawl loudly but she finally suppressed the urge to cry. When she saw that he was still laughing, she stomped her foot in rage and anxiousness. She sounded a little choked up as she said, "What is the point of laughing now. You are lucky that you are still alive!" Then, she started dressing Wen Leyang's wounds.

Wen Leyang spoke with great difficulties, "Is the lama Rangjung still well?"

Fei Fei turned around and took a look. Ji Song was bustling about to help Rangjung up, the lama was albeit unusually confused and was injured rather severely, he was also giggling maniacally.

Xiao Sha looked at Po Tu and Wen Leyang, then he looked at the head lama Rangjung. His small eyes were filled with puzzlement.

The rest of the people did not understand. The ability to join hands and destroy the prohibition spell with shocking power was an event with such a high sense of achievement. Yet, the three men were laughing in a manner that was unlike people that had just escaped death in an almost miraculous manner, but more like a first-grade student that had just received one hundred points in his exam score, so fully satisfied that he did not know about anything else other than to laugh.

Even top master cultivators like Chang Li, Hanba or Cone Nail would be caught off guard and thrown into confusion by such an incisive prohibition spell. Even though they would not die, if they were not careful, they would be wounded.

The giant pangolin Po Tu tossed for a long while before managing to turn over, he laughed towards the head lama weakly, "Rangjung, Po Tu owes you one!"

Under Xiao Sha's support, Wen Leyang stood up with shivering legs. He shouted towards the head lama, "I cannot express my gratitude towards you for saving my life in words!"

The three men exerted all their strength out of desperation to resist this fatal supernatural power that was comparable to the god's punishment. If it was not Rangjung who exerted the cultivation base of his entire body to aid in time, the odds were mostly against Wen Leyang and the pangolin.

Rangjung waved his hand once, almost flinging away his entire arm. He clenched his teeth in pain while he laughed aloud in an incomparably hideous manner, "I am only saving your lives out of convenience, there is no need to be too thankful."

The pangolin spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva ferociously. It shook its head as it cursed, "Out of convenience? Conveniently turning your robe into a fishing net?"

Upon saying, the three of them laughed aloud together!

Wen Leyang laughed so hard that his bones were almost falling apart. It was only then he stopped laughing aloud. He looked around the campsite and exclaimed with heartfelt admiration, "The Kunlun Taoist magic is exceedingly amazing!"

This entire mountain top was crashed by the unsurpassed power of the prohibition spell into a heavily cratered land but not even one of the tents in the campsite topple over. The sword dragons and scorching flames that completely swarmed over Wen Leyang and Po Tu earlier surprisingly did not even scrape the side of a tent.

Gu Xiaojun cautiously opened a tent. The giant pangolin Po Tu spoke from the side, "There is not even a person in the campsite!" Its telegnosis ability had already swept past the entire stretch of campsite even before the prohibition spell was triggered. It was all emptiness. There was no one there. No one knew where did the battalion of Kunlun Taoist priests go.

Po Tu was in a rather good mood. Everyone appeared pleasing in its eyes after it escaped death from a great catastrophe. Even Gu Xiaojun benefited from that.

Upon saying that, Po Tu chuckled and complemented, "Such an incisive prohibition spell is already launched, there will not be any more ambush later. You can search the area if you want to, it is alright."

Fei Fei and the skinny bamboo pole Ji Song remained on the same spot to take care of the three severely injured members that were cultivating their poison power, life vitality, and demonic primordial energy respectively to recuperate. Old Gu brought along Xiao Sha as they started searching around the campsite rapidly.

Being attentive, Fei Fei was afraid that they would feel cold due to their severe injuries, she used the solid fuel that she carried along to ignite a bonfire in front of them. This was the first time since Fei Fei executed the mission that she brought along an adequate set of equipment. It was mainly because she had the better transportation vehicle this time.

Even though they were terribly injured, they were persons with extraordinary physique. Especially, since Wen Leyang's cultivation method was based on the path of turning his human body into a saint, he healed at an extremely fast speed. Not only his bleeding had stopped by itself now, if one were to examine closely, fine granulations were forming on his wounds.His wounds had started to heal slowly. Besides, the head lama and Po Tu were carrying rare and treasured potions on their bodies. Even though the three persons were incapable of instantly recovering, as long as they could recuperate in calmness, it would only take a day or two before they could regain some of their primordial vitality.

Ji Song was shocked. He had never fought Rangjung before. Even though he had a short competition with Wen Leyang, the competition was not an actual comparison of their superpowers. Ji Song was aware that their abilities were stronger than his but he had absolutely never expected them to be so strong. He could never imagine that the three persons could resist and even survive the incisive prohibition spell that would petrify him even if he was being brushed slightly.

Ji Song gave a few hollow laughs, his face filled with admiration. He was about to think of something to say. He held his silence for a long while before he spat out a mouthful of spit ferociously, "So this campsite belongs to the Kunlun Sect? Those Taoist priests are an abomination. There is obviously no one here but they leave behind such a violent prohibition spell!"

Before his voice died away, the head lama Rangjung and Po Tu opened their eyes at the same time. They gazed into each other's eyes. The head lama pondered for a moment before he spoke, sounding like he was muttering to himself but also sounded like he was asking Po Tu, "If there is no one else in the campsite, do they even need to use a prohibition spell to suppress this place?"

The giant pangolin swayed its pointy head and made a puzzled expression. A few question marks appeared on its lizard-like face. It was truly a little frightening.

Wen Leyang did not plan to acknowledge Ji Song initially but listening to his other two companions' conversation, he opened his eyes as well and asked, "What do you mean?"

Po Tu was aware that Wen Leyang had no knowledge of anything. Hence, it explained to him with an extremely rare patience, "The Taoist banners that launched the prohibition spell were treasured weapons that the Taoist family refined laboriously. The Kunlun disciples' absence was nothing but to deal with an enemy, they should not be leaving behind such an incisive treasured weapon…"

Wen Leyang seemed to not fully understand the explanation, "Those flags… the Taoist banners can be used as a treasured weapon to deal with an enemy?" When he saw the other two persons nodding their heads, he was suddenly enlightened. The Taoist banners were capable of launching the prohibition spell with tremendous power. It seemed to be really precious. However, when the Kunlun disciples left their lodge in a swarm, their purpose was certainly not for hunting. If their intention was to deal with the enemies, the incisive Taoist banners should be carried with them all the time and not used to guard these empty tents.

Ji Song did not pay attention to their conversation. He only glared at Wen Leyang with fear on his face. He was puzzled. How could this young lad who possessed shocking supernatural power did not even know about such a simple fact that the Taoist banner could be used as a treasured weapon to blast the enemy…

Wen Leyang pondered for a while then he spoke slowly, "So in this campsite… is something important there? Is that why they left behind the Taoist banners that formed into the prohibition spell to guard that item?"

The giant pangolin became joyous and gave out a 'hah'. Its pitch black-colored eyes were filled with greed, "That would be perfect. That would be compensation from the Taoist priests for causing my body full of injuries." Upon saying that, it stopped for a moment, then it honored the code of brotherhood and complemented, "We will divide it amongst the three of us. Both of you are injured too!"

Wen Leyang rubbed his palms together out of slight embarrassment, "We are acquaintances. It is rather mean for us to steal from them right?"

Rangjung sniggered as he shook his head. He refocused the topic of conversation, "There is another possibility, the Kunlun disciples had some emergency unforeseen event such that they had to leave urgently. That was why they did not manage to remove the prohibition spell and retrieve the Taoist banners…of course, if it would be better if the banners are guarding some precious then it will be even better!" As he was saying that the lama's eyes were burning with brightness. Just by thinking with his buttocks, he could tell how precious the treasure was if it was guarded by such an incisive prohibition spell.

At this moment, Gu Xiaojun who had just bore out of the tent suddenly spoke and continued the lama's conversation, "From my point of view, there may not be a treasure! I think the first half of the great master's sentence would be more dependable!" As he was saying that, he tossed over a Taoist disciple's commonly used bag.

At the sound of a thud, the bag landed in front of the few people. The items inside the bag spilled out. There was a dozen of cinnabar talismans. Even the piercing cold wild winds on the snow peak could not turn over a corner of these talismans. These talismans were apparently cast with a remarkable magic spell that it was not afraid of being blown away.

Other than the talismans, there was also a piece of Topaz Meteoric Water Token and an iron Bagua.

Po Tu was a mountain-guarding divine beast of the Qilian Immortal Sect. It was considered of the same lineage as the Taoist schools so it was a natural connoisseur. Upon seeing these items, its expression was a combination of sternness and disappointment, "These items here are all the treasured weapons that are refined by the cultivators through laborious efforts. They have always carried these items with them!"

Xiao Sha also found quite a few Taoist treasured weapons from a few tents, including the Square dharmamudra, the Disaster-breaking rod, the Yin and Yang Mirror, the Phoenix feather fan, the Heaven's Fire Basin… there was an abundance of treasured weapons of all sorts and all types. Every item was engraved with Kunlun's marker without exception. Po Tu hastily glanced through and said to Wen Leyang, "These items' power is not worth a mention but these are no doubt Taoist priest's treasured weapons!" Upon saying that, everyone shot an inquisitive gaze towards Gu Xiaojun.

Gu Xiaojun understood the group's intention, he immediately answered, "These items were placed in their packs or traveling bags that they carried on their bodies and were just placed next to their bed where they could reach easily. On the other hand…" Old Gu's gaze became obviously sharper in a flash and then returned to normal in the blink of an eye, "There are also flying swords! There are still some flying swords that had yet to be unsheathed in the tents, the swords are still in the scabbards."

Xiao Sha stopped searching around. He walked in front of the group and continued to complement, "In some of the tents, there are also green-colored Taoist robes that are scattered around!" As he was saying that, he looked towards Ji Song, "Your spider is seducing a robe."

No one was humored by Xiao Sha's joke. Everyone inhaled a sharp cold breath ferociously. It was clear that something had happened to the Kunlun disciples!

When the Kunlun disciples were leaving, their prohibition spell was still there. It was apparent that there was no enemy had attacked their place. The campsite was neat and tidy. There were no signs of struggle. No matter how they thought, it still appeared that the Kunlun disciples escaped by themselves. However, if they were going to confront an enemy then why did they leave behind their treasured weapons in the tents? What actually happened capable of making the Kunlun disciples that had already made astonishing advancement in their cultivation power to leave in such a hurry that they forgot about their flying swords!

Wen Leyang was engrossed in his thoughts, he asked probingly, "Is it possible that it is the…creatures? That species of strange tadpoles?

That species of strange tadpoles was the embodiment of water. It was capable of escaping from Wen Leyang and the rest's telegnosis ability, perhaps the tadpoles could escape the campsite's prohibition spell. Moreover, the tadpoles could swim in the snowcapped mountain unhindered.

Po Tu gave out a 'heh', "If this was a campsite for ten persons or even one hundred persons, then it is possible that the tadpoles did this. However, there are thousands of cultivators, yet no one noticed that they had been raided by the creatures? Even if they were all controlled by the creatures in the end, there would still be a sequence of events. Since no one triggered the prohibition spell and no one launched the supernatural power or the flying sword, it seems to me that this may not necessarily be the creatures' doing!"

Ji Song could not resist anymore. He rolled around his strange eyes as he asked the group, "What kind of creature is that? Your description is so subtle!"

Rangjung explained about their encounter with the strange tadpoles to him. Ji Song's eyes widened even more in surprise. He did not know how many times he had made the frightened expression, "This creature…I have never heard of it before, I have never seen it on the Geladaindong Peak, oh no, on the entire Tanggula Mountains!"

Wen Leyang inhaled a long breath, "Stop guessing. We ought to figure out a way to look for them!" As he was saying that he tried to move his body once. He gave a forced laugh as he shook his head and asked Rangjung and the giant pangolin, "How long do all of you need?"

When the prohibition spell dispersed off, they did not feel anything yet. As his vitality energy was circulating to heal the body, he could feel the discomfort in his limbs and bones that were almost scattered, Wen Leyang attempted but there was no way he could exert any strength.

Rangjung too gave a forced laugh and heaved a sigh, "Another one and a half day…at least."

Po Tu's answer was even more straightforward, "The same as the lama!"

Being so severely injured, it was not an easy task to heal. They could only heal a little of their primordial vitality as a temporary measure, such that they could move and walk by themselves and at least possessed the power of one attack upon meeting the enemy.

Wen Leyang laughed without a reason, he spoke in elation, "I am faster than the both of you!"

Even though he could not exert any strength at this time, he knew that his body healed at an extremely fast speed. It would only take one day's time at most before he could jump up and perform the Faulty Punch. Based on his cultivation method of turning his human body into saint, the external injuries were nothing. As long as he did not die, he could heal as soon as possible even if his injuries were even more severe.

The lama and the pangolin curled up their lips in disgust. Disdain filled their faces as they started closing their eyes and recuperated.

Old Gu and Xiao Sha stood up and continued to search the other tents. Ji Song sniggered to Wen Leyang, cautiously concealing his flattering intention, "Little brother's cultivation method is so marvelous…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the giant pangolin that had just closed its eyes suddenly opened its eyes and spouted a gush of cold humph out of its nostrils. Ji Song was startled, he hastily continued, "The divine beast's cultivation method is also remarkable to the greatest extent!"

The pangolin coughed, "I was not aiming at you! Heh-heh…" It was laughing halfway, when it suddenly turned around and spoke to Wen Leyang in an accented voice, "Yang!"

Wen Leyang was stunned. His telegnosis ability detected something as well, he frowned and gave a forced laugh as he shook his head, "Why is he here?"

Ji Song immediately jumped up. His hand gripped tightly onto the Vajra dorje. His face was filled with vigilance as he asked, "Is that the enemy?"

'Click' the crisp sound of the gun's bolt being pulled was heard. The witty Fei Fei could already make a guess of who that was, holding the QSZ-92. She laughed as she answered Ji Song, "It should not be, but it could be!"

The lama laughed softly. He turned around and said to Fei Fei, "The little girl need not worry. If he were to possess any malicious intent. Even if the lama could not stand, the lama would still make sure he is not reborn again!" As he was saying that, he removed a Vajvakilaka from his chest pocket in a strenuous movement and stabbed onto the snow ground in front of himself.

After more than ten minutes, a dark-colored head slowly probed out of the mountain cliff. He appeared unusually conspicuous in the snowy white land. Wen Leyang's African brother Tutatunte had arrived.

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Chapter 205: Flash Freeze

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Wen Leyang and the others rescued African brother Tutatunte from the corpse pit. He was the sole survivor of the evil cult followers. He could not understand what Wen Leyang and the others were discussing but he could get the gist just by observing their expressions. The Tibetan people who murdered his tribesmen had already entered the mountain. Even the most devout believer would not be able to tolerate the Tuer Tibetan people's act of killing without forewarning. Tutatunte had entered into Tanggula Mountains to seek revenge. It was rare for an African to be able to withstand the cold.

Naturally, Tutatunte could not keep up with the speed of Wen Leyang's group and was left far behind. However, Wen Leyang and the others were held up at the bottom of the ice fissure for half a day and took a detour to the immortal's cave where Ji Song cultivated. After all, Tutatunte was a cultivator, his traveling speed was much faster than an ordinary human. He caught up in no time.

Not long ago, the prohibition spell was triggered at the Kunlun Sect's tents and almost tore the place down. Tutatunte, whose head was spinning and had no idea where he should go, happily followed their voices and ran towards them.

Tutatunte peeped with extreme caution. When he noticed the person that was sitting not far from him was his most dearly beloved 'Yang', he was overjoyed. He howled and ran towards Wen Leyang. His happy face was like a blooming flower, a black flower.

He ran halfway when a yell erupted in mid-air, "From whence came ugly ghost!" Ji Song waved his Vajra dorje and struck at Tutatunte's head!

Tutatunte looked up and pronounced a stream of syllables, which no one understood. However, Wen Leyang's reckoned he must have shouted, "Where did this ugly ghost come from…" The African brother rolled sideways with agile movements and dodged Ji Song's attack. Then, he leaped and ran. He did not run far but ran in circles around Wen Leyang.

Two skinny bamboos, one black and one brown, chased and hit each other. Their speed was similar. Ji Song was right on the black man's tail, he was always that close to hitting his target but kept on missing. He cried in frustration.

Wen Leyang tried very hard to suppress his laughter. He managed to call the furious Ji Song back. Tutatunte did not bother about his bamboo brother and jumped in front of Wen Leyang. His spittle flew everywhere as he gestured and spoke. Then, he went beside the campfire. He cuddled his bony thin body into a ball and looked at them pitiably.

Fei Fei roughly understood from watching him. She explained to Wen Leyang with a smile, "He wants to travel with us, to seek revenge for his fallen friends… He also said that he is a brave warrior."

Wen Leyang laughed, "Forget it. From the day we met him, I never saw him fight. I have only heard him scream!"

Maybe it was because of the other party's 'delicate' pitiable gaze, maybe it was because he ate his roasted meat, Wen Leyang's impression of his African brother was not bad. Especially when they ate meat, he always saved the best part for them.

Not to mention the evil soul, even the town residents, who were King Gesar's legendary guardian, despite being corroded by the Foulness, they were already highly skilled. Even if Wen Leyang was not Fifth Brother Hanba, he reckoned that he was the only one capable of facing him. It would be a fierce battle and he would not be able to care for the others.

Strictly speaking, Old Gu, Fei Fei and Xiao Sha were the country's soldiers. They would not retreat without a valid reason. Wen Leyang could not say anything and could only plan in accordance to how things were. He would have to risk his life to look after them. However, it would be a burden to look after his African brother. Nevertheless, Wen Leyang could not allow Tututante to meet his demise just because Wen Leyang let him be. Wen Leyang shook his head at Fei Fei. He did not speak until Tutatunte who curled up beside the fire jumped to his feet suddenly. Tututante bared his teeth at Wen Leyang as he danced and squalled!

Africans had explosive expressions… Wen Leyang was greatly shocked by him this time. He quickly told Fei Fei, "If he is willing to follow then let him follow, make him stop screaming!"

However, Fei Fei squinted her eyes. She scrutinized Tutatunte's expression, her tone was slightly perplexed, "I think he… discovered some danger? During the 'elimination race', they kept squalling like this."

Wen Leyang was injured but his telegnosis ability was unaffected. He expanded his telegnosis ability but did not notice anything.

However, Tutatunte's expression was of extreme urgency like a greatly frightened monkey. His voice became sharper and sharper. He eventually ran over and wanted to hug Wen Leyang!

Ji Song's movements were extremely fast and stopped him in an instant. The two bamboo poles were of a similar height. Their eyes were almost at the same level. They stared at each other. One was eccentric while the other was frightened and afraid.

At this moment, the giant pangolin widened its eyes suddenly. It lifted its pointed head and twitched its nose. It sniffed the air carefully as if a dangerous scent was wafting by.

A series of shuffling sounds, which sounded hasty could be heard. The snow spider that was playing with the Taoist robe in the tent ran out wildly as if shocked by some stimulation. It jumped and bumped in its haste, eventually running into a small protruding ice. It mashed its own body.

Wen Leyang and Rangjung looked at each other. Their telegnosis abilities still could not sense anything. At this moment, the giant pangolin, who was so injured it could barely move, convulsed. It leaped up reflexively and squalled, "We're doomed!" Then, with a bang, it fell heavily to the ground.

Gu Xiaojun and Xiao Sha heard the commotion outside and went out of the tent to gather with the group. They asked in great urgency about what had transpired.

Po Tu shook its head, almost numbly. Its pitch-black eyes were full of despair! Even it did not know what would happen next. Everything was unrelated to the cultivator's telegnosis ability. It was purely the instinct of wild beasts to predict the coming of a catastrophe!

Tutatunte's sharp scream escalated after a moment of silence. It was even more intense and hurried than before. His sharp cries almost made his throat bleed! From his looks, Fei Fei saw that a great danger was coming. She placed her hands under Wen Leyang's armpits as she intended to pull him to his feet and she shouted one word to the others in a sharp voice. "Run!"

Gu Xiaojun and Xiao Sha hopped onto their 'transportation" without a second thought. They carried the wounded and broke into a sprint. Ji Song's body swayed as he carried the head lama with Xiao Sha. Tutatunte kept on squalling but his limbs did not stop, he towed Wen Leyang with the help of Fei Fei. Only Old Gu had a helpless expression as he negotiated with Po Tu, "Can you turn back into your human form…"

His voice had barely faded when their surroundings quieted down suddenly! The strong wind as cold as an iron horn on the mountain peak vanished in an instant. Tutatunte also shut his mouth. He stretched out his fingers that were no thicker than a chopstick as he pointed in utmost despair at the direction of the snow-covered peak far away! Everybody followed his finger and looked. They were flabbergasted!

A layer of thin, shiny, almost transparent color of water skimmed swiftly from a faraway section of the stretch of snow-covered peaks like an undercurrent!

Where the 'water color' skimmed, the initially fluffy and light snow surface immediately turned into a rigid appearance. The sunlight casted a strange brilliance. Everything froze into hard ice in an instant!

The always strong Fei Fei said a technical term as if she was moaning, "Instant low-pressure flash freezing…" She let go of Wen Leyang abruptly. She turned around and ran in front of her little brother Xiao Sha. She used her body, which could only be described as slender, to shield her brother! Xiao Sha howled furiously. He turned over and shielded his sister behind him. The siblings continued to entangle with each other. The flash freeze emanated quickly. It covered most of the huge snow-covered peak in a dozen seconds. It was like a giant invisible phantom that pounced on the group mercilessly.

If the three strongest cultivators among them were not injured, they could naturally resist this cold wave that surged through the sky and the earth. However, they could not even stand right now, let alone activate their magic powers. A few dozen meters behind them was a cliff. They had nowhere to run.

Gu Xiaojun's face was painted in a greenish hue like death. He stood on the spot silently. He had given up all useless struggles.

Fei Fei's movements were the fastest just now but she picked the wrong direction. Hence, Wen Leyang who was lying on the ground was now the vanguard of the group. He laid limply on the ground with pride. He could only look as the resplendent white emanated towards him after it swallowed the earth in front of him.

Wen Leyang could barely recall having watched a disaster film. The epicenter of a low-pressured cold wave skimmed past and froze everything in its path in the fraction of a second!

The flash freeze came strangely fast. The deepest impression that Wen Leyang had was when the cold wave reached him, the blazing campfire nearby grew stagnant the instant the low temperature skimmed past. Then, it let out a muffled bang and vanished quickly. Almost at the same time, a sensation of which he was unsure whether it was extreme cold or extreme heat rolled into his body quickly. The moment before he died, he could not bring himself to close his eyes…

At the instant Wen Leyang was about to be frozen into an ice sculpture, his chest heated up suddenly. A puff of pure black glow erupted fiercely and wildly without a sound! A black ball the size of a fist jumped out of thin air and barricaded itself on Wen Leyang's chest. The black light was as thick as matter, it immediately chased off the boundless cold!

Nobody expected that there would be a twist for the better at their deathbeds. The group hastily huddled behind Wen Leyang. They stared with gritted teeth at the water-colored flash freeze that spread towards their surroundings under the black light's protection.

Only the giant pangolin Po Tu stared at the black ball. A few seconds later, it seemed to have remembered something and squalled with fright.

Other than the area protected by the black ball, the entire few hundred kilometers of Geladaindong snow-covered peaks were covered by the flash freeze. The water-colored cold wave did not give up. Like the evil spirits in the unholy land, it surged in layers of impatience as it wanted to break into the black glow. It would not stop until it froze Wen Leyang and the others into a frozen lump.

The crackling sound of the flash freeze sounded endlessly with a noise dreary and dismal as if the mountain's belly was gradually crumbling. The black ball rotated swiftly in mid-air. The black glow grew thicker and thicker. Finally, after a few minutes, it erupted with a crisp snap. Millions of cracks spread across the frozen snow-covered peaks. Then, Wen Leyang heard the sound of wind again!

Not only could the flash freeze not seep into the black light, it was utterly scattered by the pure black glow. An extremely furious howl projected forth from afar, "Wicked demons breaking my spell, even a thousand deaths could not atone you…" The one who spoke had an extremely hoarse voice. It did not sound like the Hua family's youth whom Wen Leyang and the others have met before this. This person sounded older.

The other party had not finished when another rigid voice like a wooden peg sounded rudely from Wen Leyang's chest, "F*ck you!"

A white arc of lightning erupted beside Wen Leyang. A huge white Moon's blade shot swiftly towards afar. It was fast like lightning but it did not stir up any wind! Then a hoarse wail sounded. A human figure was mercilessly pierced at the shoulder blades by the moon glaive and crashed out of the surface of the ice.

Only then, the group understood that the flash freeze just now was not a natural phenomenon but the enemy's magic. By the looks of the wounded person's attire, it was the obscure cultivator of the Tanggula Mountains, the elite of Hua family.

The spell of the white-garbed middle-aged man was broken and revealed himself. That was why he was taken down by the Moon's blade with one hit.

However, Wen Leyang did not bother about the enemy who was slowly towed towards them by the Moon's blade but he pulled on the jade knife hung around his neck with surprise and joy, "You're… awake?"

The Moon's blade was ghastly pale, it stood for Yin's Error; the Sun's blade was matte black, it stood for Yang's Mistake!

The one who saved them from imminent danger was Guo Huan's powerful magic weapon "Yin's Error Yang's Mistake'. If the magic weapon was activated, naturally it meant that Guo Huan had woken up.

Guo Huan's voice was as rigid as ever, "Useless brat, need me to save your ass every time…" Halfway through his sentence, Guo Huan suddenly switched to a surprised and angered tone, "What the f*ck is this!? Who put this thing into the jade knife!?"

Chang Li and Fifth Brother Hanba had killed San Wei and badly wounded Zhui Zi at Miao stockade village. After the Taoist priest San Wei died, its primordial soul fled into the jade knife to linger on with its dying breath. Wen Leyang laughed and wanted to explain when Fei Fei suddenly came over and pulled on his sleeve. She pointed at the ground and quickly wrote four words on the snow, "His words are insincere!"

Wen Leyang knitted his brows. Fei Fei continued to write, "He asks as if he does not know, he is playing dumb."

At this moment, Guo Huan exclaimed in surprise. His rigid voice could not conceal his amazement, "This little girl knows how to read minds?" Then, it teased with a malicious intent, "Wen lad, you're almost a married man!"

Fei Fei gave an 'oh no' as she smiled bitterly and shook her head. In her haste, she reminded Wen Leyang with written words but she overlooked the fact that since Guo Huan could activate his magic weapon and land a hit on the hiding obscure cultivator, he could naturally read the words she wrote on the snow.

Wen Leyang was shocked as he asked casually, "How did you know I'm about to get married…" He had not finished when Guo Huan sneered and interrupted him, "You're still so dumb! Even the little girl could see through me!"

Wen Leyang pondered for a while and was hit with a sudden realization. He asked Guo Huan with a bitter smile, "You were awake all this time!?"

Guo Huan had almost exhausted all of his spirit primordial energy in the Gold-Consuming Lair and fell into a deep slumber after sustaining heavy injuries. Not long after that, he woke up a few times. Although he only stayed awake for brief periods of time, he had once said that he could awaken completely after going through the cycle of fainting and waking up. However, he did not wake up after the series of fierce battles at Shanghai's Painting Town.

Before Painting Town's Leyang Tian died, he had told Wen Leyang everything he knew about what the three Grand Masters had done two thousand years ago. Wen Leyang had one question then, whether it was in the past or in the present, the person who killed demons to extract their primordial energy was their own kin.

However, according to Guo Huan, he did not recognize the person who killed him. Nonetheless, the one who saved him was Grand Master Tuo Xie himself.

The stories of the two parties were clearly in conflict. The person who killed demons to extract their primordial energy two thousand years ago and had the ability to injure Guo Huan would have been Tuo Xie's second brother Mi Xu. If Tuo Xie ran into his second brother while he was killing demons to extract their primordial energy, he would definitely run over and stab Guo Huan a few more times. He had no reason to battle his second brother and rescue Guo Huan after that.

In no time, Wen Leyang figured out why Guo Huan had to lie. The line of Tuo Xie and Chang Li had always been his archenemies. When Guo Huan fell into the enemy's hands, he had to fabricate a lie to protect himself. If Tuo Xie had saved Guo Huan so many years ago, the Wen Bucao naturally had no reasons to defeat this mountain ghost.

If Guo Huan spoke the truth, Wen Bucao would have found a way there and then to grind him into Thunder's Heart Sand.

Wen Leyang scratched his hair in mild distress, he seemed to have thought of something, "Were you… when I found the jade knife in the belly of Mount Emei… already awake?"

Guo Huan had been exposed. He decided not to hide the truth. After all, he could activate the two powerful treasured weapons. He had the confidence to speak. Even if they truly fell out, he had the confidence to fight his enemies with the Yin's Error and Yang's Mistake. He snorted, "Not bad, young lad. When I said that you're dumb, you're not completely dumb! Do you want me to tell you everything from the start, or do you want to question me?"

Wen Leyang was overjoyed. He carefully cradled the jade knife in his hands, "It'd be best if you started from the beginning!"

Guo Huan immediately started to speak from the beginning. The first half of the story he told Wen Leyang and the others were true, but the elite who killed demons to extract their primordial energy was actually the zombie-controlling Mi Xu. After a fierce battle, Guo Huan's dharmakaya was almost destroyed. However, Guo Huan was also a powerful great demon. He made a close call when his demonic soul escaped into the jade knife. It plunged deep into the mountain and hid within the mountain's belly.

Mi Xu had labored in vain. He killed the demon but did not obtain its primordial energy. It was impossible for him to find a small knife the length of a finger among the huge mountain. He left since he could not do anything.

Two thousand years later, when Wen Leyang dug his way out from Mount Emei's belly, he found the jade knife under Wei Mo's calculations. Guo Huan was conscious back then. He could tell from Wen Leyang's Faulty Punch that Wen Leyang was his archenemy, but he could not move, nor did he have any treasured weapons as protection, hence he could only play dead.

He followed Wen Leyang out of the mountain. He understood a lot from their conversations, including Tuo Xie's disappearance, Chang Li's painful wait in the ancient cave for two thousand years and knew nothing about the outside world, et cetera.

Absorbing lightning was the special property of the thunder heart jade. It was unrelated to whether his primordial soul was awake or not. He then unintentionally discovered that his lost treasure was in the hands of Jilong Sect's supreme leader. He quickly acted and took it by force without hesitation. After he succeeded, Guo Huan's demonic primordial energy was badly damaged; he could not seek revenge on Tuo Xie's descendants other than perishing together.

It was true that he refined a dumb split body. In addition to that, Wen Leyang and the others had no idea what had happened in the past, that was why he told that great lie. He said that it was Tuo Xie who saved him that time. According to his understanding of Wen Leyang and the others, it was highly probable that they would help him find that split body. As to how he would persuade Chang Li to help him, he needed not to worry about it because Wen Leyang would naturally help him in that.

To protect his hope of being free again, Guo Huan had activated his magic weapon to rescue Wen Leyang a few times of his own accord. The damage to the jade knife and the diminishing of his demonic primordial energy were true. There are already a few nicks on the jade knife and it could no longer absorb the power of Heaven's Thunder. It could only serve as an ordinary soul vessel. The price Guo Huan had paid was not small indeed.

When Leyang Tian was telling Wen Leyang about the past with his final breath at Painting Town, Guo Huan had just waked up. He understood that his lies had been exposed. Hence, he did not speak up again.

After that, Mi Xu's zombie and Lue Luo's descendants appeared one after another. Eventually, even the teachings left behind by Tuo Xie in the jade talisman was discovered by Wen Leyang. Guo Huan could no longer cover up for his lies.

When the flash freeze erupted just now, the jade knife was already very weak. Guo Huan was worried that his only abode would be destroyed. Hence, he summoned his treasured weapons and saved everyone in Wen Leyang's group. Ever since he was badly injured at the Gold-Consuming Lair, he had recuperated for a long time and could direct his Yin's Error Yang's Mistake at will.

After explaining, Guo Huan laughed rigidly, "Young lad, listen well. I had saved you just now to protect my own body, it was not for you!"

He had no choice but to summon his treasured weapon. He initially prepared an explanation that would make himself sound good, but with Fei Fei there, he had been exposed to the first sentence. Guo Huan did not know about Fei Fei's ability, he thought that this young girl knew some mind-reading Art of Devilry. He decided not to fabricate more lies and truthfully told them everything.

The others did not understand the sequence of events and could not understand it. Only the giant pangolin remembered the great demon who was on par with Chang Li two thousand years ago after it saw the Yin's Error Yang's Mistake.

Guo Huan did not know that the person who injured him so many years ago was Lue Luo. He only added 'in the end Tuo Xie rescued me' behind the truth and deceived everyone. He even made the people from the Wen family treat him with a sense of guilt and friendliness.

Wen Leyang cradled the jade knife with his hands firmly. After a while, he heaved a sigh. He shook his head with a bitter smile, "You bunch of old demons, every one of you are ancestors of lies!" As he said this, he carefully hung the jade knife around his neck. He chuckled and asked, "How's your roommate? How's he doing?"

Yin's Error had towed the white-robed man over. Together with Yang's Mistake, they did not vanish in the air but circled the group with a malicious intent. The brown bamboo pole Ji Song was full of alarm but his sharp gaze could not conceal his fear. The black bamboo pole Tutatunte was filled with curiosity. He looked as if he wanted to touch this pair of treasured weapons to see what they were made of.

Guo Huan was in a trance. He paused for a moment before he asked, "You…"

Wen Leyang chuckled. He extended his fingers and counted, "The jade knife absorbed Taoist priest Qing Niao's thunder Buddhist magic, subdued Taoist priest Zi Que's Unmovable Sun and Moon's Disaster, withstood the Weeping Buddha's palm strike, inside the Gold-Consuming Lair and just now… whether it was the jade knife or Guo Huan, I cannot even finish counting the times that you have rescued me with one hand… I'll have to at least help you find your split body, but if you want to seek revenge on my Grand Master, you'll have to kill me first!"

After he finished, Wen Leyang paused briefly then laughed heartlessly, "Actually, you think that I'm not bad, don't you?"

Guo Huan had been awake for a long time. He had also regained his primordial energy. If he wanted to direct his treasured weapons in a sneak attack, Wen Leyang would not be alive even if he had twenty lives.

Guo Huan was silent for a while. He did not say a word. He only grunted in a low voice after awhile and answered Wen Leyang's question in a low, muffled voice, "That primordial soul is still sleeping, not waking up!" There was a hint of joy in his tone.

Wen Leyang was not a person to fuss over trifles. Guo Huan had saved him for who knows how many times, he did not want to fuss over a selfish lie. Also, even if Guo Huan found his split body and regained his freedom, his powers would also be greatly diminished. He would not be any threat to Grand Master Chang Li.

Gu Xiaojun also looked jubilant. The old fox understood that another powerful helper had joined their ranks, their chances of success increased significantly. He waited for Wen Leyang and Guo Huan to finish talking before he looked at the badly wounded white-robed man on the ground. He glared at the man with fierce eyes and asked, "Why do you want to harm us What are you guys plotting?"

The white-robed man's skin was like the youth whom they have met not long ago. It was soft and crystal-like but there were fine wrinkles at the edge of his eyes. A long beard grew between his lips and under his lower jaw. He did not look young. He twitched as he lay on the ground. His eyes were shut and had a pained expression. When he heard Gu Xiaojun's words, he quickly opened his eyes. He stared fiercely at the people in front of him and growled hoarsely. "All of you must die!"

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