Xiao Xue’s demonic gaze shifted to Jiang Chao Ge and scanned him up and down: “Such weak spiritual power. Zhi Xuan, are you really going to accept such a human as your spirit weapon user?”
Zhi Xuan laughed coldly: “What? Are you going to find me a stronger one?”
“Of course not.” Xiao Xue licked his lips: “I hate you. I never want to see you again. You seem to like this human a lot? Great, I’ll rip that human to shreds right in front of you.”
Zhi Xuan’s gaze was fierce, golden pupils flashing: “I will rip you to shreds first.”
“Haha, how can you be a match for me? That human can’t even….” He suddenly froze and said early: “Unless you’re thinking of using your spiritual power?”
Zhi Xuan revealed a twisted smile: “What? Scared?”
Xiao Xue suddenly roared with laughter: “Hahahahaha fool! For a petty and low human with only an a hundred year lifespan hahahahaha! Zhi Xuan how did you become so stupid after waking up? Before, I thought you at least weren’t as hypocritical as Yin Chuan and Ren Wang, wanting to understand humans. Now you actually….. hahahahahaha! Stupid, so stupid.”
Zhi Xuan’s eyebrows, gaze malicious as if he was about to pounce.
The maiden was shaken by Zhi Xuan’s gaze and shrunk a little. She grabbed Xiao Xue’s collar gently: “Xiao Xue, kill him.”
Xiao Xue shook his hand, heartlessly casting the maiden onto the ground. He said coldly: “Don’t order me.”
The maiden got up from the ground and quietly retreated to the side.
Jiang Chao Ge looked at the girl that was a few years younger than even Long Xiang with obviously delicate and innocent features. But with that pair of lifeless eyes it only made one shiver. As soon as Zhi Xuan and Xiao Xue begin to fight, his only chance of ending this battle that consumed Zhi Xuan’s cultivation was to kill her. But he didn’t know if he could do it. Although he wasn’t a good person, he wasn’t ruthless enough to kill without batting an eye particularly when the target was still a little girl.
The maiden seemed to sense the murderous intent in his gaze, taking a scarlet seven jointed whip from behind her. She shook it fiercely, the joints of the jointed whip emitting sharp collision sounds. That jointed whip was longer than her when unravelled. Jiang Chao Ge could finally see the spirit weapon Xiao Xue had turned into.
Zhi Xuan glanced at the maiden: “Be careful of your spirit weapon user. I will definitely kill her.”
“You should worry about your own spirit weapon user.” Xiao Xue long slender fingers rested on his lip, “That’s right, I remembered something interesting I want to tell you.”
Zhi Xuan narrowed his eyes: “What?”
Xiao Xue began to laugh. That laugh was incomparably horrifying: “Su Han awakened.”
Zhi Xuan humphed: “So? Nothing to do with me.”
“Don’t you want to know the first thing he did after waking up?” Xiao Xue was laughing so hard his shoulders trembled slightly, “He hasn’t changed at all. As soon as he woke up, he did his spirit weapon user for three days three nights. If that human didn’t have vast amount of spiritual power, they might’ve been killed by him long ago hehe.”
“Where is he now?”
“Don’t know. He said he’ll come drink with me but could long be drunk in lakes of wine and forests of meat.” Xiao Xue gave a dark laugh: “But Su Han that lewd beast isn’t who I’m looking forward to the most. I’m currently searching for Fen Nian. I know you are searching for Yin Chuan. If we all awaken, the Origin of Heaven and Earth will definitely appear. This time, there should be a conclusion.”
“There should be a conclusion.” Zhi Xuan said one word at a time.
Xiao Xue opened his arms and grinned hideously: “Come Zhi Xuan. It’s great that you like this human so much. I can’t wait to hear his screams, to see his flesh peeled off his bones, blood and internal organs covering the ground…. I definitely won’t kill him immediately. I want to let you watch him slowly die.”
Zhi Xuan roared furiously: “Xiao Xue go die!”
A sudden clap of thunder descended from the sky.
The originally cloudless sky was suddenly covered in dark clouds. For a moment, sand and stones hurtled through the air, grass and trees shaking violently. Two waves of powerful suffocating spiritual energy suddenly engulfed the earth. The flowers and plants of early spring withered in an instant. Even the wind sounded like the cries of an evil spirit. It was so terrifying it made one’s blood solidify.
Zhi Xuan and Xiao Xue’s bodies expanded rapidly, finally transforming into two ancient rare beasts the size of small mountains. One black, one red. Mingled with the strong air of death, they began to clash fiercely.
Bang!
It sounded like the mountains and earth were collapsing!
Jiang Chao Ge and that maiden were ruthlessly pushed back several metres by force of the spiritual power and the shaking of the earth. Jiang Chao Ge had already learnt how to use spiritual power to protect his body and hurriedly protected his internal organs. Otherwise this blast would’ve definitively made him cough blood.
After rolling for several metres, that maiden swiftly stood up using the momentum, staring at that black and gold Qilin in shock.
Jiang Chao Ge stared at those extremely fierce rare beasts and was also momentarily shocked.
This was his second time seeing Zhi Xuan’s original form. The first time he actually didn’t really look carefully. At that time he was so scared he’d almost soiled himself, if only he’d looked carefully. Additionally, the summoning time then was also extremely short. This time, he truly and completely saw Zhi Xuan’s true form.
Those thick black scales, golden flame patterns, huge sharp claws, that proud and straight horn. That was a god, a monster. That was a monster that shouldn’t even exist in this world!
Jiang Chao Ge really couldn’t connect the shockingly huge creature in front of him to the Zhi Xuan he always teased in his lap. When he thought carefully, he’d really eaten a leopard’s courage.
Zhi Xuan and Xiao Xue used their sharp teeth to tear at each other, their claws slamming into each other like the most insidious of swords. Each move left ghastly wounds. They were the most insane wild beasts, using the most primitive, the most savage methods to put the other in a death trap. The blood pouring out of them was like a falling rain of blood. That hair raising scene made even Jiang Chao Ge embarrassed to say he’d seen blood.
Jiang Chao Ge knew that every minute Zhi Xuan was risking his life, was consuming his precious cultivation. He didn’t dare hesitate any longer, taking out Zhi Xuan Sword and rushing towards the maiden.
The small maiden was no taller than Jiang Chao Ge’s shoulder, yet her body was unbelievably agile. With a shake of her thin arm, the seven jointed whip lashed towards Jiang Chao Ge erratically. Jiang Chao Ge had only dealt with three sectioned pikes before. With these kinds of jointed whips and rods, each extra joint required more of the user’s control. Even Jiang Chao Ge, who’d gotten used to seeing strange people and encountering unusual matters in Tian Ling, was shocked by the strength displayed by a little girl no older than ten.
The ends of Xiao Xue Seven Joint Whip swung around unpredictably in midair. Jiang Chao Ge had absolutely no way of following its trajectory. By the time he realised the whip was actually attacking his right side, it was already too late for him to use the sword to block it. He only felt searing pain in his right arm. The while wrapped around his right arm and tangled itself around his body, throwing him to the ground. Zhi Xuan landed on the ground, creating a huge crater in the ground.
Jiang Chao Ge felt his head spin, falling to the ground, half his body almost losing consciousness. He shook his head fiercely and just wanted to stand up when he heard the scraping sound of the while not far from him. He didn’t even think and rolled. With the crack, the whip landed to the side of the body. If he’d hesitated this time, he would’ve definitely gotten his brains blown out.
The maiden looked at Jiang Chao Ge coldly, a delicate voice coming from her throat: “How useless. Hurry up and die.”
Jiang Chao Ge bore with the pain and got up, running over and grabbing Zhi Xuan sword. He tested his right arm and took a deep breath, focusing his mind and recalling the basic sword moves he’d practiced repetitively. In fact, the simpler the move, the more it can bring out simple yet powerful strength. All movements are built upon basic sword skills. No matter how much it fluctuated it could never seperate itself from the basics. Sword skills can never deviate from waving, hacking, striking and stabbing. Today he will use the most basic skills to defeat this little girl.
Remembering that Zhi Xuan was wasting his own cultivation to fight for him, his heart hurt. He will definitely win. He must win.
The battle of the two ancient beasts truly had the power to split mountains and earth. Yet Jiang Chao Ge and the maiden’s battle was also becoming increasingly frightening.
The maiden was as light as a swallow. That Xiao Xue whip was as unpredictable as a water snake in her hands. Jiang Chao Ge forcibly took a few strikes in order to calculate the pattern of the whip’s movements. He noticed that the movement of the whip was largely influenced by the way her wrist exerted strength and the amount of strength she used. There were several differences. The way she exerted strength was the easiest to confirm. But determining the amount of strength exerted required Jiang Chao Ge to guess according to the degree by which she pulled back her arm.
After taking almost three blows to the point of coughing up blood, Jiang Chao Ge could roughly predict how the whip was going to attack him. Fortunately, the maiden was still young and there wasn’t enough strength in her arm muscles. The speed of the whip couldn’t be considered fast. If the wielder of the whip was Ruan Qian Xiu, Jiang Chao Ge would’ve long since been hung alive.
The whip came at him again. Jiang Chao Ge remained motionless until the ends of the whip appeared to his left. Jiang Chao Ge knew that this was his opportunity. With a loud yell, he swung Zhi Xuan sword ferociously towards the right. There was a crisp ringing sound. Crashing sounds followed immediately after. Xiao Xue whip was tangled around Zhi Xuan sword.
How could Jiang Chao Ge give up on the time gained by coughing up blood? Exerting strength, he twisted the sword. Xiao Xue whip wrapped even tighter around the sword. The maiden wanted to recover the whip but it was caught by Jiang Chao Ge’s reversed sword. Jiang Chao Ge licked the blood at the corner of his lips and laughed coldly: “Did you think I took those blows for nothing?”
The maidens expression darkened and she suddenly dashed towards him. Her petite body leapt up, actually leaping above the whip in her hands. She used the whip like a rope with one end around Zhi Xuan sword the other in her hands, kicking towards Jiang Chao Ge’s face.
Jiang Chao Ge shifted his head to avoid it. Zhi Xuan sword trembled and swung forcefully, throwing the maiden along with the whip towards the ground. The maiden was unwilling to let go of the whip, slamming into the ground and rolling several times before stopping.
Jiang Chao Ge didn’t dare allow her to catch her breath, aiming the blade of the sword towards the ground. The blade happened to pass through the joints of the whip and stabbed into the ground. He released his grip. The thousand pound Zhi Xuan sword sunk into the ground, firmly pinning Xiao Xue whip to the ground!
The maiden pulled at the whip several times and couldn’t get it to move. She could only let go.
Jiang Chao Ge pulled a dagger from his shoe and stabbed towards the maiden. His killing intent had arisen and he must press on in this spurt of energy, if he thought too much about it, it was hard to not grow soft hearted and ruin everything.
The maiden rolled on the ground several times, avoiding Jiang Chao Ge’s dagger. She suddenly thrust her hand into her clothes and fished out a spirit weapon. With a flash of white light, a Qu Ru Bird picked her up and immediately flew away.
Jiang Chao Ge was flustered and exasperated, momentarily unable to think of what to do.
Just then, Xiao Xue’s enraged radar came through: “You wrench, who asked you to summon that bastard?!”
Zhi Xuan took the opportunity and pushed Xiao Xue to the ground, sharp teeth going for Xiao Xue’s neck. Xiao Xue struggled with all his might, a claw swiping at Zhi Xuan’s head. The power of this swipe could shatter a thousand jin of rocks. Zhi Xuan didn’t dodge or evade it, persistently biting onto Xiao Xue’s neck. Simultaneously, Xiao Xue’s huge claw slammed into his head. Blood immediately splattered everywhere. It was unclear whose blood it was spraying in the air. The scene was so tragic, so cruel. It made ones scalp tingle.
Xiao Xue emitted a loud angry roar. A pained groan also came out from Zhi Xuan’s throat. He forcibly tore a huge chunk of flesh from Xiao Xue’s neck. St the same time, his body was also pushed onto the ground by Xiao Xue. His eye had burst, water and blood flowing from his bright golden pupils.
Xiao Xue spun around in a frenzy. The huge gap on his neck caused him extreme pain, his flames of fury also burning to its peak.
Jiang Chao Ge knew that it was definitely because the maiden had summoned Qu Ru in order to save herself that Xiao Xue was briefly short of spiritual power. It allowed Zhi Xuan to grasp an opportunity to make a surprise attack. He was internally ecstatic and yelled: “Zhi Xuan, get that bird down from the sky!”
Zhi Xuan turned his head, wanting to spew flames at Qu Ru. Xiao Xue saw through his intentions and leapt up, pinning him to the ground. The maiden was currently using spiritual power to heal Xiao Xue’s wounds. The two rare beasts began to fear at each other again.
After placing the maiden on a huge tree, the Qu Ru was immediately put back into the spirit weapon. Jiang Chao Ge thought, if they could return alive this time, they must get something that can fly. Otherwise they would really be at a disadvantage when they fought.
Jiang Chao Ge saw that sweat was already beading on the maidens forehead. Healing Xiao Xue’s wounds was evidently difficult. Yet Zhi Xuan’s condition caused Jiang Chao Ge even greater concern. Although Zhi Xuan looked extremely brave, but that was costing irreversible and irreparable cultivation. Every second and minute he fought with Xiao Xue, he was essentially wearing down his own lifespan. Jiang Chao Ge only hoped for this battle the end quicker. But they were currently fighting like a raging fire, neither side willing to give up.
Jiang Chao Ge thought, could they only wait for the maidens spiritual power to deplete? Then how much cultivation would Zhi Xuan have sacrificed?! These two spirit beasts couldn’t kill each other in such a short time. Yet dragging it on wasn’t beneficial for either side. What to do? How can he make this battle end sooner?
Just at this moment, a huge bird suddenly flew from the horizon.
There were mountains and forests in that direction. Seeing birds and animals wasn’t strange. Only the Qilin was currently fighting the Hun Dun. All birds and beasts would much rather be as far away from these mountain forests as possible to avoid getting caught up in it. To have a bird still fly here now can be considered abnormal.
As it flew closer, Jiang Chao Ge confirmed that this bird wasn’t just carelessly throwing itself into the middle of conflict. Rather it was really coming for them. He only saw it directly aim for the maiden in the tree, grabbing her from the tree with a claw and throwing her towards the ground.
The maidens body somersaulted twice in midair and rolled onto the ground.
Jiang Chao Ge looked towards the huge bird. On it there evidently sat a person. It was actually…..
**************
Seven jointed whip/七节éž-
Did/å¹²– no I did not make a typo. Yes it’s exactly what you think it is. He banged his spirit weapon user for 3 days straight…. I wonder how they can even be alive after that….
Qu Ru Bird/瞿如鸟– a mythological bird with three feet and a human face
****************
Translator’s Corner
AHDJKKAHSDSKJD I KNOW GUYS CLIFFHANGERS ARE THE WORST.
The epic battle scene between these two beasts is finally hereeee. Man battle scenes are the coolest to read but a real pain to translate smoothly. I hope I did it some justice
Comment