The sound of clashing metal slowly faded after a few minutes. Wen Leyang was a bit shaken as he asked, “What was that?”
The jade knife Guo Huan laughed in a low, muffled tone, “It’s the Gold-Consuming Lair’s skyward roar. The metal element tempers itself and will let out a metallic roar after some time. The howling source is where the Gold-Consuming Lair is. Let us hurry, little boy and Xiaoyi!”
The whole group became serious and hastened their pace. Wen Xiaoyi sat delightedly on Wen Leyang’s back and occasionally produced a carrot to feed Wen Leyang. Wen Buzuo chuckled, “Xiaoyi, you can’t treat my brother like you’re rearing a mule.”
Wen Xiaoyi pointed a finger at the three-inch nail Wen Bushuo, “Your brother is right beside you!”
Although the skyward roar of the Gold-Consuming Lair can be clearly heard, it was still some distance away. The group of people traveled tirelessly through countless mountains and river valleys. They rested by night and traveled by day. The deeper they went the steeper the terrain became. Although the land under their feet was rugged, they did not encounter any accidents along the way. There weren’t even any large wild beasts let alone priests or mountain monsters. On the fourth midday, the group of people turned around a col and let out a startled cry before stopping simultaneously with a muffled exclamation.
In front of them, a wide river blocked their way without warning. The current was strong and churning. The roaring of the water was like a stampede of an army with a thousand men and ten thousand horses, resounding over heaven and earth. However, before they exited the col they had not heard any sound of rushing water.
The water was clear and cold and the riverbed could be seen through the rush of water. Not far from where they were standing was a huge rock that towered over everything else on the riverside. On the face of the rock, someone had flamboyantly engraved three seal characters. Wen Bushuo, who had kept his silence until now, squinted his eyes and shuddered as he recognized the words. He cried out involuntarily, “It’s the Flowing Sand River!”
Wen Xiaoyi burst out into laughter and jumped down from her perch, “It’s read as the Cleansing Magic River! That’s an ancient style of writing, don’t simply pronounce it if you don’t know it!”
The jade knife Guo Huan did not laugh. He did not know what kind of river was this ‘Flowing Sand River’, “The Gold-Consuming Lair is right across the river.”
His voice has barely faded away before everyone suddenly exclaimed in unison. Across the river was a vast expanse of empty land with unperceivable depth. Odd jagged rocks and great trees flanked the place. They could not see any Gold (metal) nor did it resemble a lair.
Wen Leyang’s face was full of surprise, “It’s this big?” He had thought that the Gold-Consuming Lair was only a big-sized cave and they need only bar the entrance to cut off the escape route of the Giant Pangolin. He never expected it to be as vast as this. It was endless, even.
The jade knife Guo Huan spoke in a ‘do-not-make-a-fuss tone’, “Let’s figure out how to cross this river first. Crossing this river won’t be as easy as you think!”
Wen Buzuo was already on the edge of the river. He took out a feather and threw it into the water. The feather swirled and sunk under the water. Little Chi Maojiu laughed crisply, “When did uncle Buzuo obtain that feather? I didn’t even notice.”
His younger brother the three-inch nail answered in his brother’s stead, “They’re from the buttocks of the chickens back in the village. We always carry some of them with us.”
Wen Buzuo was still not satisfied even after throwing the feather. He picked up a rock from the riverside and threw it into the river. The sound that came after that wasn’t the splashing of water but a crumbling sound. The hard granite rock was crushed into a fine powder as soon as it touched the water and did not even leave a ripple.
Wen Leyang can’t help but feel breathless, “What is this river, is it an acid river?”
The three-inch nail Wen Bushuo’s eyes lit up, his demeanor was extremely excited, “Think of some way to take samples for poison refining!” He was trained in Water Poison and he was so shocked by the power of the river’s water that his mind went blank momentarily.
The jade knife Guo Huan snorted, “That water is only normal river water! It has dissolved the essence of the tempering of metal from the Gold-Consuming Lair. Even if you crafted a spectacular bottle and fetched the river water, it would all be for naught once you leave this place.”
The river was almost a hundred meters wide. Unless one can fly, it would be wishful thinking to jump across it. In the nearby mountain ridges, there were no large trees to be seen, there’s only short shrubs and moss. They don’t even have the materials to build a bridge unless they were to travel back a day’s journey to cut down trees for a bridge. But with the manpower they have, it would be snowing by the time they got the bridge done.
Little Chi Maojiu knows how to grow Black Vine with witchcraft but the most he can conjure up was little more than twenty meters. The group was powerless before the great river. Wen Buzuo stomped his feet in frustration, “The demon monk San Duan tricked us! He did not tell us that there would be a damned river here!”
The jade knife Guo Huan’s tone was full of disdain, “It’s only a few hundred feet. In my days I could’ve just leaped across it, useless boy…”
Wen Buzuo ill-naturedly satirized him, “In the Miao stockade village, there was a primordial mutant giant toad. It could also easily leap few hundred feet. You two might be related in some way.”
Little Chi Maojiu shook his head seriously, “Xiu Er cannot leap that far.”
The group of frustrated people stood by the riverside, only Wen Xiaoyi thought to stroll to the giant rock with the river’s name engraved on it. She circled around the back and exclaimed, “There’s more!”
On the side of the rock, there was another row of tiny seal characters no larger than a plum blossom, “Hit the rock. You may pass if you’re strong.”
Wen Xiaoyi frowned her delicate brows and muttered, “There’s a mechanism in the rock to cross the river?” As she was saying this she gave the big rock a punch and her fair little hand turned red and swollen. Wen Leyang did not know whether he should laugh or cry. He immediately produced some medicine and carefully applied it to the back of her hand.
Wen Buzuo burst out in laughter, “Xiaoyi, even if you had a chance, you could never open it!” He paused briefly, took a deep breath and a smack of yellow flashed across his face. He then said to his younger brother three-inch nail, “You do it!” Wen Bushuo rolled his eyes at his brother and pounded on the rock with a fierce punch. Wen Leyang then proceeded to apply medication for Wen Bushuo… the great rock still stood there motionless.
Inside Wen Leyang’s body, the Life and Death Poison was flowing merrily. Without warning, he gave a low growl and the Faulty Punch landed heavily on the giant rock as fast as lightning without even making a sound. In a flash, he landed nine consecutive heavy hits with one punch.
After Wen Leyang had finished pummeling the rock, a trace of surprise flashed across his face. He instantly led the group backward. Out of the nine hits from that one punch, only the first three had landed on a solid rock wall, the remaining hits felt like he was hitting a tough but soft rubber, feeling nothing like confronting toughness with toughness.
After the giant rock was hit, it behaved just like how a human would. It shivered once, then started shaking heavily after a moment’s rest. A crack originating from where the punches have landed slowly began to extend through the rock. The cracks slowly widened with loud cracking sounds. Shortly after, a layer of scarlet blood gushed forth from the cracks. The navy-blue rock was quickly painted red!
Just as the giant rock was gushing blood, a loud explosion resounded from across the river. The great trees and huge rocks flanking the Gold-Consuming Lair tremored rapidly, giving out a sound of clashing gold and metal. Some of them felt dizzy. Even if they covered their ears, the sound was still like a terrifying leech, wriggling relentlessly to tunnel deeply into their eardrums. The sound was similar to the Gold-Consuming Lair’s skyward howl, only this has been amplified countless times.
Bushuo, Buzuo, Wen Leyang, Luo Wanggen and his zombie stood in a row, shielding Chi Maojiu and Wen Xiaoyi behind their backs.
The turbulent river water gradually slowed down and moved sluggishly after the skyward roar had sounded. A layer of white frost slowly sprouted and propagated from the river’s surface. The howl grew in volume and the river eventually lost its vitality. After the appearance of the white frost, the running water was tightly frozen by the cold ice. The water struggled a few times before reluctantly quieting down. After a few minutes, the skyward howl stopped and the river in front of them was frozen into a sheet of solid ice.
Wen Buzuo quickly picked up a middle-sized rock and threw it onto the ice which resulted in clanking sounds. The river surface had been frozen extraordinarily solid.
The jade knife Guo Huan urged them on with urgency, “Let’s go! It won’t hold for long!”
The brothers Buzuo and Bushuo ran wildly. Although the river had turned into ice, nobody knows how long it would last nor how solid were the deeper layers of ice. The brothers, one of them a happy-go-lucky person, the other silently making a fortune, were determined to be in front at times like this.
Wen Leyang did not waste any time. He grabbed both Chi Maojiu and Wen Xiaoyi by the hand and quickly followed behind Bushuo and Buzuo. Luo Wanggen and his zombie followed closely behind them.
Wen Buzuo stepped onto the frozen surface and promptly slipped. He slid forward quickly and steadily like a shuffleboard. The three-inch nail Wen Bushuo’s every step was like a nail, anchoring him on the ice before taking the next step. His speed was extremely fast and was not at the very least affected by the ice.
Although the ice was hard, it let out a groan after so many people and a shuffleboard started walking on it. A stifling breaking sound emanated from below their feet and slowly grew into a loud crack.
Those few hundred meters felt like it took a lifetime to traverse…
Finally, everyone reached the other side safe and sound. The ice on the river burst apart after some time. The time it took was enough for the shuffleboard to go to and fro. It must’ve been that terrifying cracking sound which had acted like a demon’s whip, mercilessly lashing at everyone’s nerves.
Wen Leyang let out a sigh. He lowered his head and asked Chi Maojiu and Wen Xiaoyi as he laughed, “Were you scared?”
Chi Maojiu’s face was green with a hint of black. He shivered as he shook his head, “I was…not scared!” Wen Xiaoyi wasn’t looking too good either but she smiled anyway, as though Wen Leyang had asked a silly question.
The huge rock with the ancient writing at the other side of the river was still standing tall, like a loyal and determined sentinel. The fissure which had been created by Wen Leyang had mysteriously disappeared.
When the river’s ice had completely melted and the river was raging once again, the huge rock regained its original navy-blue color as though nothing had happened.
Wen Leyang stuck out his tongue, “What just happened?”
Guo Huan pondered for a while before answering, “There’s something fishy about that rock. It was able to summon the Gold-Consuming Lair’s skyward howl.”
Wen Leyang sized up the Gold-Consuming Lair which was surrounded by jagged rocks and great trees before asking, “Now what?” On this side of the river, there was also a huge rock that looked exactly like the one on the other side. It looked to be the mechanism to leave the Gold-Consuming Lair.
“Sharp metal’s skyward howl, the tempering force unleashed in its fullness will freeze the great river. Hehe, this mechanism is quite interesting. Those with insufficient strength won’t be able to make it here. Those who do not need the mechanism to cross the river would naturally have enough power.”
Wen Buzuo has an eye for detail, “That means the Gold-Consuming Lair’s skyward howl that we heard a few days ago was triggered by someone else who had entered this place?”
Luo Wanggen, who was chuckling, took on a ghastly expression, “This… this is a doorbell!” Unless it was a flying great demon or sword saint, if anyone else crossed the river, the entire Gold-Consuming Lair would rumble. Anyone who was hiding inside would be alerted to the newcomers’ presence.
Wen Buzuo thought about that, “This side is a one-way entrance, the other side should be an entrance as well as an exit. The demon monk San Duan had passed by the giant pangolin, one of them must’ve been entering while the other was exiting the place.”
Wen Leyang walked in front of a crooked old tree and lightly flicked it with his finger. The old tree gave a strange sound which was neither metal nor wood. Wen Xiaoyi wondered out loud. She then used the butt of the blunderbuss and hit a bunch of strange-looking rocks. The same thing happened.
The jade knife Guo Huan explained to them, “This is the fringe of the Gold-Consuming Lair. Rocks and trees will become slowly corroded by the Gold-Consuming Lair, turning into half-metal-half-rock or half-metal-half-wood.”
Wen Leyang nodded without saying anything. He pulled Wen Xiaoyi behind his back and told the group, “Let’s go in!”
Little Chi Maojiu stopped him, “Wait!” He took out a pair of rag dolls as big as his palm and he waved his other hand. A puff of golden flames the size of a flower pot burned silently in front of him.
A surprised Wen Leyang and the brothers Bushuo and Buzuo looked at each other. In a mere two years, little Chi Maojiu has already refined his own vital fire.
Chi Maojiu’s small face was radiantly lit by the golden flames of the vital fire. He carefully took out two strands of hair from his pocket and embedded them on the heads of the dolls. He then threw the dolls into his vital fire.
The two dolls were not burnt by the vital fire and instead, they came to life. After looking around for a while, they jumped to the ground shoulder to shoulder and walked ahead with great strides.
Little Chi Maojiu waved and recalled his vital fire. “Let’s just follow them. If the Gold-Consuming Lair is intolerable to humans, the two dolls will be the ones to perish first.” He started walking, following the two dolls at a distance.
Everybody was delighted. With this witchcraft, they could even explore the more dangerous places. Wen Buzuo couldn’t stop praising it but as they were walking they could tell that something was amiss.
Something was strange about the two voodoo dolls which were leading the way. One of them walked steadily, every step was like a nail and it pinned itself on the ground before taking another step. The other walked briskly with its body almost floating as if it was walking on its own farts.
Wen Leyang and the others got the clue. They found it funny as they were walking along. Finally, they couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Little Chi Maojiu bowed repeatedly towards Bushuo and Buzuo who were glaring at him with raised eyebrows, “I only borrowed two strands of your hair. If the dolls were harmed I’m the one who’ll get hurt, not you guys, honest!”
Bushuo and Buzuo stared at the two smaller versions of themselves. It was awkward no matter how they looked at it. They unconsciously had the urge to correct the way they walk. The two brothers started swinging their arms and their horizontal distance grew wider than the vertical distance, like a drunken sparrow-hawk.
Although the dolls were leading the way, Wen Leyang still proceeded with caution. The pores on his skin contracted and relaxed, attentively feeling his surroundings. He was surrounded by cold, hard golden metal and not a trace of life was present. The earth beneath his feet had long been tempered by the metal element’s corrosion, not even a little worm or a little sprout can be sensed.
Wen Leyang’s group walked in a ‘Z’ formation. Although it was tiresome, since they have just arrived at the Gold-Consuming Lair, it would be wiser to figure out the terrain first. After walking for a few miles, the view in front of them did not change but it gradually grew narrower.
Although it was still wide enough that they could not see the edge, it was definitely narrower than where they just crossed the river.
Wen Buzuo laughed, “The land becoming narrower is a good thing…” He had not finished his sentence when Wen Leyang stopped in his tracks, “Someone’s coming!”
Bushuo, Buzuo, and the others immediately retreated to Wen Leyang’s side, shielding Wen Xiaoyi and Chi Maojiu behind them. Wen Leyang hesitated briefly and pulled Wen Buzuo behind him as well.
In an instant, a shirtless youth, who looked to be almost the same age as Wen Leyang and wore only white trousers walked casually out from the depths of the Gold-Consuming Lair. The youth was carrying a long bundle which any sharp-eyed person can immediately tell that a knife was wrapped inside it.
His longish hair was tugged absent-mindedly behind his head. He was slightly taller than Wen Leyang. He wasn’t a sturdily built but looked tough enough. The lines of his muscles were articulated as if they had been chiseled with a knife and an ax. From afar, his body’s build and imposing manner were first-class but his looks were terrible. His eyes were of unequal sizes while his brows were sparse and messy. Under his flat nose, there was a pair of thick lips. Compared to the Rakshasa on the little rabbit demon’s back, this youth’s ugliness was more lifelike.
Wen Bushuo squinted his eyes slightly. If it were down to martial art skills, he’s ranked amongst the top five in the Death Trademark. An old timer would never be tricked. Every step that the ugly youth took, he maintained his body’s coordination by flexing all his muscles without wasting a single ounce of energy. Wen Bushuo was watching him as he was walking but he could not find any chance to launch a sneak attack. His opponent was like a leopard who appeared to be casual but has a killing intent in its eyes. At the slightest sign of a threat, he will retaliate with the deadliest force.
A blunderbuss silently poked out its head out from behind Wen Leyang, Wen Xiaoyi eagerly asked in a low voice, “Can I shoot him now?”
Wen Buzuo was talkative but his martial art skills were sub-par. However, he will always do whatever needs to be done. He stepped forward from behind Wen Leyang with a face full of smiles and broke the silence, “Dear brother, it’s great fortune that we have met you. We were just worrying…”
The ugly youth did not slow down. He did not wait for Wen Buzuo to finish, “Who injured the river crossing rock?” His voice was as cold as ice, like a hay cutter that split Wen Buzuo’s words in half.
Wen Buzuo laughed, “What’s it to you? Are you the guard here? That rock…”
There wasn’t a trace of impatience on the ugly youth’s face. In fact, he had no expression at all. He cut Wen Buzuo short again, “Who did it?”
Wen Buzuo’s smile did not falter, “We didn’t know that we’re not supposed to hit that rock, we didn’t…”
His speech was cut short a third time. The ugly youth finally stopped walking. He slightly directed his gaze to Wen Buzuo.
Wen Buzuo was standing beside Wen Leyang. The distance between him and the ugly youth was about seven to eight meters but when the other’s gaze landed on him, he whole body felt heavier as if he was being pulled directly in front of the other. The opponent became a mountainous giant while he diminished and was in a sorry state from which he could only look up.
The ugly youth’s gaze only stayed a short while on his face. He shook his head while muttering to himself, “A mortal? No, it wasn’t you.” He scanned the faces of the remaining members of the group and finally stopped on the zombie’s face, “All mortals? Could it be this dead man?”
Wen Leyang was the same as always. In a cultivator’s eye, he was merely a youth with splendid natural qualities. Nobody could tell that he had the power to oppose a true cultivator.
Wen Buzuo finally calmed himself down. He secretly gave a sign to Wen Xiaoyi behind his back, telling her to take aim and get ready to fire. He smiled and spoke with a negotiating tone, “Brother, the inscription on that rock told us to hit it. You can’t blame us if we broke it.”
“That rock can never be broken, it will heal itself.” The ugly youth absent-mindedly pointed at the zombie, “It was you, then.”
The zombie’s eyes silently took on a fierceness and coldness. Its shoulders bent backward at a strange angle as it put down the big backpack which was like a small hill. It did not need to wait for Luo Wanggen’s orders and slowly took a step forward.
The zombie was a bit disoriented when it had just deposited its heavy backpack. Its body swayed for a while. After it steadied itself, it took a second step towards the ugly youth.
The first step was shaky and extremely clumsy but the second step was agile and fierce. It pounced as fast as lightning towards the ugly youth like a bloodthirsty wolf demon.
Wen Buzuo exclaimed, “The zombie knows some tricks?”
Throughout the journey, everybody could tell that although Luo Wanggen’s zombie’s face was also green and black, it did have expressions and sometimes even its own will. It was different from the walking dead on Crow Ridge. However, nobody had expected that this zombie could even manage highly skilled actions such as tricking other people and was good at it too.
A deep disappointment flashed across the ugly youth’s face. He seemingly absent-mindedly shifted the sack to the front of his chest.
The zombie was quick as a phantom while the ugly youth’s movements seem sluggish. But just at the moment when he was about to be opened up, the long sack snugly blocked the two large blackish-green hands.
The zombie immediately extended his body after his first hit missed. It doesn’t have the stiffness of a zombie but was terrifyingly nimble. It jumped here and there around the enemy as its ghost claws attacked the ugly youth from the top to the bottom. Wen Buzuo looked sideways at Luo Wanggen and asked in a serious tone, “This zombie is agile. Don’t tell me it’s one of the Luo family’s elites in disguise.”
The ugly youth lost all interest in the zombie and seemed to ignore the waves of killing intent from the zombie. His feet turned and backed and he completely broke away from the zombie’s torrent of attacks, “I don’t want to fight anymore. You lot can do whatever you want.”
Luo Wanggen was usually shy and cautious but once he faced an enemy his will to battle had surged immediately. He howled at the ugly youth, “Finish the fight before you go!” He flashed out his Spirit Calming Needles and frantically beat them together. Upon hearing the clacking sound, the already fierce zombie now became even more formidable. Its purplish black nails elongated and it gave a long howl, charging once again at the enemy.
The ugly youth only flashed a dull punch which dispersed numerous ghost shadows in an instant. With another bang, the zombie was heavily overthrown onto the ground, “Don’t pester me anymore…”
The ugly youth’s face turned cold in mid-sentence. Two thick black vines had wormed out from under his feet, wrapping around his left foot. At the same time, a soil bubble burst out of the hard half-metal-half-rock earth beside him. A drop of greenish water sprayed itself gently on his right foot. The water droplet spread its body comfortably and a layer of greenish watery glow quickly emanated from his right foot towards his waist!
Chi Maojiu and Wen Bushuo had prepared for a long time. They unleashed their witchcraft and Water Poison at the same time.
Luo Wanggen rubbed his hands and the two Spirit Calming Needles stabbed towards the ugly youth’s shoulders as fast as lightning!
The zombie who was on the ground leaped to its feet. Its dry and rotten hands made a sword summoning sign. A rusty old blade materialized out of thin air, releasing a nauseating corpse smell. The sword flew swiftly towards the enemy.
Even the buzzing sound of the old blade was hoarse compared to the singing of a flying sword, it was like a walking corpse’s wail. The chatterbox Wen Buzuo practically shrieked, “This zombie knows true cultivation!”
The elites from the three families plus a zombie all attacked at the same time but the ugly youth’s expression only became excited. He flipped the long sack in his hand and the green cloth was torn to shreds, exposing an antique shark-skinned scabbard Tang sword. He barked, “Nice!” He raised his sword with one hand and slashed.
The sword was still in its scabbard, but it felt as though the air in the Gold-Consuming Lair had been sucked clean by the Tang sword. Somewhere amongst them, a roar of an angry ancient evil beast could be heard. Everyone felt as if the entire world was coming at them with that one slash.
The black vine was shredded, the Water Poison was dispersed. The Spirit Needles and Flying Sword tumbled to the ground. But the sword’s aura did not stop, charging towards the zombie who had no means of dodging.
Wen Leyang bawled, “No!” The Life and Death Poison within his body surged. His body moved and shielded the zombie. He released a punch towards the incoming scabbard.
A thunderclap erupted in the Gold-Consuming Lair.
