“You have balls, boy!”
The Hundred Besat Elder chuckled. “However, I’m afraid that you’re sorely mistaken if you think that these five attacks will be easy to endure. Get ready now. If you die, die knowing that your arrogance was your undoing!”
The Hundred Beast Elder then raised his snake scepter and shouted, “Bear Hug!”
“Roar roar…”
A loud roar came from the sky, and a giant bear about five meters tall appeared out of nowhere and swiped its claws at me. I wasn’t afraid though. A trickle of flame spread out from the Dihai Shield and quickly enveloped my entire body. It was of course the Fire God Barrier increasing my Defense and Magic Resist drastically. Afterwards, I activated Battle Astral Wind and put my shield between myself and the bear!
BANG!
There was a scattering of divine energy, and the giant bear withdrew with a cry of pain. It was because the impact had turned its paws into a bloody mess. However, I had lost my Battle Astral Wind as well. That was worrying. If the first attack alone was this powerful, I wasn’t sure if I could endure the next four attacks.
“Second attack—Snake Swallow!”
The Hundred Beast Elder roared and raised his scepter again. This time, a sinister python’s head appeared in front of me and attempted to swallow me whole. Once again, I backed two steps backward and crossed the Xuanyuan Sword before my chest. Guard!
Pu!
1,827,374!
God damn, that hurt! It was the Crimson Python from before, but its offensive power was at a whole different level!
The old man gave me no time to rest. A tiger’s head appeared above the snake scepter, and he shouted, “Third attack—Tiger Leap!”
“Roar roar roar…”
This time, it was the mythological king of the mountain itself that had come to face me. The Dihai Shield let out a shrieking noise, and I lost 3,752,255 HP just like that. I only had less than 9 million HP, so I hurriedly healed myself for 25% using Tenacity of the Dead, 15% with the Dark Magma Poleyn’s Dragon Bloodboil, and downed a Rank 14 health potion to heal myself. Now I was almost at full health and ready to receive the fourth strike!
“Great courage, boy… fourth attack—Phoenix Flight!”
The sky suddenly turned hot, and a fiery phoenix swooped down on me. The next moment, what felt like a fireball exploded beneath my feet, catching me off-guard and giving me no chance to Guard at all. All the HP I had regained before disappeared like it never happened. This fucking old bastard is ruthless!
6,927,234!
My soul felt like it might depart my body. These five hits were a bit too powerful!
I turned my Xuanyuan Sword and cast Life! The Xuanyuan Art instantly healed me for 70% of my HP and returned me to full health!
“Die, boy! Fifth attack—Rising Dragon!”
While swaying his scepter left and right, the Hundred Beast Elder roared, “Give it your all, little fellow! Whether I can continue living in the Immortal Realm with my face intact is all up to you now! Kill that boy, and I’ll treat you to a tiger lunch later!”
……
“Rising Dragon?”
I gritted my teeth and prepared for the worst. I was wondering where the final attack would come from when the earth suddenly shook, and the rocks beneath my feet suddenly crumbled without warning. It was—underground??
The next moment, a giant dragon burst out from beneath the earth and punctured my body with its claws and teeth. The attack was so great that it nearly severed my entire body!
8,719,237!
Unfortunately for them, it still wasn’t enough to kill me—wait a second…
Wait a second!
Why does that dragon look so familiar!?
Pa!
I abruptly leaped into the air and chased after that dragon. After I caught up to it, I grabbed its neck and punched it hard in the skull. As it fell back on the ground with a resounding crash, I pressed my blade against its neck and uttered, “You… are the Winged Silver Dragon!!”
That was correct. The dragon beneath my boots was none other than Xinran’s Winged Silver Dragon!
The Winged Silver Dragon waved its tail and twirled its black eyes a little. Then, it said, “Aha, I finally found you, my dear master’s big brother! I thought you were crippled by Lin Na at Sainthelm City, but to think I would meet you here of all places! I am so happy, haha! My late master would be happy to see how strong you’ve become!”
I punched it so hard that one of its teeth was knocked out of its mouth. “What happened to Xinran!?”
The Winged Silver Dragon answered while trying to wriggle away from me, “Oh, my beautiful, noble master… After she was taken to the Immortal Realm by Lin Na, her aura suddenly vanished like it never existed. There can only be one explanation. My pitiful master must’ve been stabbed in the heart by that villain, Lin Na! What a waste of her beauty and youth. Ai, my merciful yet sexy little master…”
I kicked the shameless beast away from me before looking at the Hundred Beast Elder. “Alright, I’ve received all five of your attacks, so it’s time you fulfill your promise. Where is Xinran?”
To my shock, he answered, “Very well, my answer is—I don’t know. Just like the Winged Silver Dragon, I am unable to sense her anywhere in the Immortal Realm…”[1]
……
Pa!
I vanished from my original spot. The next moment, I was pressing the Xuanyuan Sword against the Hundred Beast Elder’s heart and uttering with blood-red eyes, “I dare you to repeat your answer, old man! Don’t think for a second that I don’t have it in me to kill you! I can see from your eyes that you know where she is! Tell me where Xinran is now!”
The Hundred Beast Elder let out a sigh before replying, “Boy, you are a genuine talent. I don’t wish to see you die a futile death.”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
He answered, “Yes, I know where the Wind Singer is, but my advice to you is to give up and return whence you came. Otherwise, I promise you will regret ever entering the Purgatory!”
“Explain,” I urged.
For a time, the Hundred Beast Elder said nothing at all. Finally, he replied, “With your talent and cultivation, you can become a Sword Saint or even a Master Sword Saint. You can become the ruler of the entire human plane, or a god that is respected by all. If you insist on treading this path though, there is every chance your life will end in ashes…”
I lowered the Xuanyuan Sword and said firmly, “Please just tell me where Xinran is… I… I love her. I will find her even if the cost is everything!”
“Fine…”
The Hundred Beast Elder abruptly tossed his snake scepter away. It landed upright some distance away from me. He then said, “The Wind Singer is too powerful. Despite her injuries, she was able to retaliate against Lord Lin Na and destroy his arm upon entering the Immortal Realm, bleeding much of his strength. As a result, Lord Lin Na didn’t have enough power to kill her outright, and so was forced to exile her from the Purgatory instead!”
“Exile?” I was surprised. “Where was she exiled to?”
“The Banished Lands. Purgatory’s denizens consider it to be the eighth floor…”
I sheathed the Xuanyuan Sword and asked Uldan, “We’re going to the Banished Lands, Uldan. Are you okay with that?”
She nodded obediently. “Mn. I’ll follow wherever you go.”
……
“Are you two insane?”
The Hundred Beast Elder said in a trembling voice, “Both of you have no idea what kind of world the Banished Lands is, do you? Anyone who is exiled to the Banished Lands is either incredibly evil, or powerful, or both. I am not exaggerating when I say that the only thing the two of you can do in that land is to die. Even the Wind Singer is just an above average expert in the Banished Lands. What can the two of you possibly do in that plane? Moreover, it is a one-way trip! You won’t be able to return to your world!”
“Even still, I must go to the Banished Lands…” I declared with a determined smile on my face, “I won’t give up even if my fate is to be stuck in the Banished Lands forever…”
The Hundred Beast Elder sighed. “It’s your funeral, boy!”
“Now, tell me how I can enter the Banished Lands!”
The Hundred Beast Elder looked toward the sky and said, “It’s very simple. Lin Na’s living quarter is called the Bloody Hall, and behind his throne is an abyss called the Infinite Abyss. All you need to do is to jump into it. However, there have only ever been experts who were thrown into the abyss, never fools who leaped into it of their own accord, until now…”
I smiled. “Thank you, old man. We won’t forget you!”
I then grabbed the Winged Silver Dragon’s wing and uttered, “You didn’t think I would let you leave, did you? You’re coming with me to find Xinran!”
The Winged Silver Dragon shuddered visibly as he shot the Hundred Beast Elder a helpless look. “I’m your dragon, old man! Help me!”
The Hundred Beast Elder said indifferently, “Sigh. Looks like I’ll have to go to Binglan’s Dragon Domain and steal a new dragon to replenish my bestiary…”
Winged Silver Dragon: “…”
……
“First, we need to consider the immediate threat. To enter the Banished Lands, we must first escape Lin Na’s pursuit,” Uldan said behind me.
I nodded. “I know.”
The Winged Silver Dragon complained, “Lin Na generally never leaves the Bloody Hall. It’s suicide to enter that place…”
I growled, “Shut your mouth, you coward. Bloody Finger was way more courageous than you!”
“Which is exactly why Bloody Fingers is dead, and I’m still alive…”
I slapped the disobedient dragon in the head and lowered my voice threateningly. “Is that so? Until Xinran returns, I shall correct that cowardice of yours on her behalf!”
“Also, assuming that we succeeded in finding Xinran, how do we come back to this world?” Uldan asked.
I thought for a long while before stomping the ground, “Alright, let’s go!”
“What do you mean, alright?” Uldan asked in confusion.
“It’s nothing…”
While dragging the Winged Silver Dragon behind me, I took to the sky and flew straight toward Lin Na’s residence.
……
Twenty minutes later, we landed outside an impressively huge castle swarming with undead. Countless Hunters and undead cavalrymen were going in and out of the gates at all times, and undead dragon knights were flying in the sky. The undead dragons looked oddly-shaped, and the black armor failed to improve their appearance at all.
“Do we fight our way in, or?” Uldan asked.
I shook my head. “Of course not. The mobs are too dense, the dragon knights are all Ancient Immortal Rank bosses, and the two captains are Sovereign Rank bosses. There is no way we’re going to survive a direct battle.”
“How are we going to get in then?”
“By disguising ourselves…”
I took out the Master of Disguise Ring from my bag and put it on…
1. T/N: remember, he only promised to answer Lu Chen’s question, so “I don’t know” is a perfectly valid answer ☜
