Chapter 702: Huang Qianren; Evil Cultivator Ranking
On hearing that Ximen Bao had lured this enormous snake over, Hu Hai and the others were not surprised.
Ximen Bao had an arrogant and despotic character. Due to his position in his clan, he behaved fearlessly and recklessly outside, frequently doing things that benefited him but caused problems for others.
Ximen Bao’s great-grandfather was a Martial Emperor. Even if Ximen Bao went overboard, the older-generation experts would not dare to kill him, only teach him a lesson. Otherwise, if they incurred the ire of a Martial Emperor, the consequences would be dire.
Shui Lingling looked at the enormous snake, and a look of joy flashed in her eyes. She muttered, “A three-hundred-year-old Black Horned Venomous Snake. Just its venomous horn alone is worth cities.”
“Ha ha ha! A three-hundred-year-old venomous horn. This old man sure is lucky. To think I can obtain such a treasure here! My venom attacks will improve another step again.”
Just as Shui Lingling prepared to attack and take down the snake, laughter came from behind. A black figure flashed, leaving a trail of black.
That black figure quickly covered a distance of a few kilometers in a matter of a few breaths, heading for the Black Horned Venomous Snake.
“It’s Huang Qianren, the thirty-first-ranked loose cultivator on the Evil Cultivator Ranking. Unexpectedly, he is here as well.”
When everyone saw who it was, they all revealed shock on their faces as they moved back, afraid that this person would target and kill them.
Huang Qianren dressed in black from head to toe. His figure looked emaciated, and his eyes were sunken. Black lines formed of venom covered his skin, giving his withered-looking face a horrific appearance.
This person used venom and poison. His infamy spread throughout the Tianwu Domain. He had once poisoned an entire city of a hundred thousand to death, not even letting off the women, the old, or the young.
Huang Qianren’s skill in the poison arts was unfathomable. Several half-Sages with deeper cultivations than him did not dare to have him as their enemy.
Even if they killed Huang Qianren, they might not escape death from poisoning. A fight could very easily end up with both sides dying. This notoriety allowed him to move about the Tianwu Domain as he pleased, doing anything he wanted. Just the sound of his name struck fear in people’s hearts.
However, when this loose cultivator arrived, although the cultivators blocked outside were shocked and afraid, they also heaved sighs of relief.
With Huang Qianren here, the enormous snake obstructing the way would no longer be a problem.
When Shui Lingling saw Huang Qianren making a move, she revealed a contemplative gaze. However, she still gave up on taking action in the end. She did not practice the poison arts, and neither did any of her friends.
One venomous horn was not worth fighting a big battle with Huang Qianren here, especially when there were so many people around.
“Pu! Pu!”
Just as Huang Qianren approached the entrance, a long whip made of lightning tore through the air, giving off crackling sounds as it attacked him.
The lightning whip was like a venomous snake. The electricity was dazzling, lighting up this twilit space.
The electricity blasted the dust floating in the air into a fine powder that the wind swept away. The air became unusually pure.
The moment the lightning whip appeared, all of Huang Qianren’s hair stood on end.
When Huang Qianren saw the whip attacking him, he, who had been moving quickly through the air, stopped cold. He materialized a Quintessence shield and sent out a powerful palm strike to parry the whip.
“Bang!”
The palm wind formed by Quintessence clashed with the lightning whip, producing a loud sound in the air. The electric light exploded, looking dazzling.
The moment the lightning whip scattered, countless other lightning whips immediately formed and attacked. The numerous whips struck at him relentlessly, exploding forth with horrifying force.
The electric lights drove back Huang Qianren, who had been quickly flying over.
The other cultivators all looked to the side curiously. They dearly wanted to know who was so powerful that he could repulse Huang Qianren.
The person who arrived looked very handsome. He wore long robes with lightning patterns on it, and he held a purple whip in his hand.
This person moved very quickly, leaving behind afterimages. He gripped his whip with his right hand, and as he cut through the air, he swung the whip, bringing forth thunderous sounds.
Under the control of the whip, the lightning-attributed Spiritual Energy in the air took form and struck at Huang Qianren, allowing that person to attack from a kilometer away.
“It’s the Thunder and Lightning Palace’s An Junxi!”
After seeing who that person was, the initially curious cultivators all revealed unsurprised expressions of habituation.
The Thunder and Lightning Palace was one of the three Rank 9 sects in the twenty-three eastern provinces of the Tianwu Domain. Their top true inheritor was An Junxi, who was also one of the seven giants.
Of the seven giants, An Junxi was the earliest to become famous. He was also the oldest—thirty years old. Rumor said that he was the strongest of the seven giants.
Four years ago, An Junxi had a great battle with the top ranker of the Proud Son of Heaven Ranking—Feng Wuji—losing only after a thousand moves.
Feng Wuji was the leading youth of the Tianwu Domain, a bright shining star for the human race. He was the perennial top ranker in the Proud Son of Heaven Ranking.
Feng Wuji had already left for other Domains to temper himself. However, nothing had shattered the legends that he left behind. Everyone could only wait for the day where the other two Holy Lands’ Holy Son and Daughter surpassed him.
Within the same generation, aside from the other two Holy Lands’ Holy Son and Daughter, An Junxi was the only one who could last a thousand moves against Feng Wuji.
An Junxi’s strength went without saying. Being able to force back Huang Qianren from a distance was to be expected. After all, Huang Qianren’s Quintessence was not very strong.
Traveling rapidly, An Junxi did not stop moving. When he got to the entrance, he saw the black horn on the enormous venomous snake and quickly attacked.
An Junxi’s whip raised countless sparks as it wrapped itself around the venomous black horn.
An electric light flashed as An Junxi jerked back his right hand with a stern expression. An intense electric light exploded on the head of the Black Horned Venomous Snake, and blood flew everywhere.
Unexpectedly, An Junxi had forcefully pulled out the venomous black horn from the enormous snake’s head. The Black Horned Venomous Snake gave off a miserable low-pitched shriek.
Remaining in continuous motion, An Junxi twisted his body in midair, heading towards the entrance. Then, he caught the venomous horn with his left hand.
The mound-sized venomous snake soared into the air like a sharp arrow with a speed that belied such an enormous body.
The snake opened its huge jaws and tried to bite An Junxi. If it got him, he would definitely die; there would be no other outcome.
Who would have imagined that An Junxi would not even bother looking back? He gave his whip a backhanded swing, and it exploded with dazzling electric light.
“Pa!”
The whip struck the Black Horned Venomous Snake, and the enormous body immediately trembled violently in the air.
The impact sent the Black Horned Venomous Snake spinning high in the sky. Then it landed heavily on the marsh, splattering clumps of mud in all directions.
All this happened in the time it took for a spark to fly. Huang Qianren, who had just shattered two lightning whips, watched as someone took away the treasure that he wanted.
Roaring angrily, he quickly rushed over. When the freshly seriously injured snake saw someone charging at it, it swept its huge tail through the air. It carried five hundred tons of force, intent on smashing Huang Qianren into a paste.
“Scram!” Huang Qianren yelled, feeling extremely anxious.
He removed his gloves, then pushed his palm, which was smoldering with black smoke, forward and pressed it on the tail.
“Chi! Chi!”
The contact quickly corroded the scales of the enormous snake, leaving a large, bloody hole. The intense pain caused the snake to pull its tail back and thrash around.
This lightning-quick battle only lasted for a few breaths. However, this scene would remain forever imprinted on the minds of the crowd, never to be forgotten.
Be it An Junxi’s backhand strike with the whip knocking the enormous snake back or Huang Qianren corroding a large, bloody hole with his palm, they both left deep impressions on everyone who felt astonished at the two’s horrifying strength.
Xiao Chen had a contemplative look as he gazed in the direction that An Junxi took. He felt astounded as well.
This was Xiao Chen’s first time seeing such a horrifying lightning-attributed Quintessence within his generation. Furthermore, An Junxi could use it freely as he wished. The lightning-attribute Spiritual Energy in the air seemed like an extension of his body.
The Kunlun Realm was really full of geniuses. Just the Tianwu Domain alone had so many outstanding talents. Xiao Chen wondered what the other Domains were like.
There is always a higher pavilion and a taller mountain.
[TL Note: There is always a higher pavilion and a taller mountain: This means there is always someone stronger.]
After being severely injured repeatedly, the Black Horned Venomous Snake was no longer much of a threat. The remaining cultivators quickly surrounded it and beat it up, killing it with their numbers.
Then these cultivators stripped all the valuable materials of the enormous snake at an even faster speed.
“Let’s go. It is time we went in.”
After everyone else had left, Shui Lingling called out to the group and led the five to the entrance. After a while, a vast marshland appeared before them.
A black miasma drifted in the air, ever present. Stagnant water and litter covered the ground. Occasionally, there would be flat land. There were even large pools of water around.
When looking into the distance, they could occasionally see venomous pythons peeking out of the swamp.
Shui Lingling took out five jade bottles and handed them out. She said, “These are Rank 8 antivenom pills. Place one pill in your mouth. When the poison in your body accumulates to a certain level, the effects are extremely frightening.”
Then, Shui Lingling took out a fruit with an overwhelming fragrance. She explained, “This place has many strange fruits, but many of them contain poison. Do not consume them carelessly. The Earth Essence Fruit that you are seeking looks like this. Do not eat the wrong fruit.”
The group all took the fruit and carefully inspected it. Then, they returned the Earth Essence Fruit to Shui Lingling.
“In that case, we will split up for now. All of you will go and seek your own Earth Essence Fruits. How many you obtain will depend on your own ability. If there is any danger, remember to activate the siren of our sect, and I will rush over immediately.”
Shui Lingling gave some other instructions, telling her five junior disciples about the things they needed to take note off. Then, she sent them on their way.
After all, they were seeking fortuitous encounters; they could not let Shui Lingling keep leading them. That way, there would be no purpose to this experiential training.
Xiao Chen was the last to leave. However, as he was about to go, Shui Lingling stopped him. Then, she tossed over a spatial ring and told him, “This has Old Man Gu Mu’s treasures. They are for you.”
Seeing Xiao Chen’s stunned expression, Shui Lingling smiled and said, “Take it. You withstood a palm strike from him; I cannot let you do that for nothing. Furthermore, his corpse is even more valuable than this spatial ring.”
At that time, Xiao Chen had not thought this far. He had only wanted to test the defense of his physical body, not expecting to receive a reward like this.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and thanked Shui Lingling; then, he took his leave.
Ao Jiao, who was caring for the Netherworld Flower in the Immortal Spirit Ring, said playfully, Trashy Master, this First Senior Sister seems to be pretty nice to you.
