Chapter 739: Pulling Chestnuts Out of the Fire
The two half-Sages attacked without saying anything, knocking the Tricolored Flame Python that wanted to swallow the thousand-year-old White Nascent Fruit into the air.
The Tricolored Flame Python tumbled in midair and landed at the foot of the mound. Then, it glared ferociously at Situ Lei and Liu Chen, who had spoiled its plans.
“We need to move farther to deal with this beast. Otherwise, if we damage the White Nascent Fruit, it will be over!”
Situ Lei’s spear trembled. Before the Tricolored Flame Python could react, he took the initiative to attack. Liu Chen held on tightly to his sword and quickly followed with a surging killing Qi.
The Tricolored Flame Python’s strength was similar to the two’s. If Liu Chen or Situ Lei had been alone when they met it, even after expending a lot of effort, they might not be able to finish off this beast.
However, today, the Tricolored Flame Python encountered two half-Sages who steeled themselves to obtain the White Nascent Fruit no matter what, no matter how strong the creature was.
Two men and one snake fought an intense battle by the mound. With the combined power of the two, they suppressed the Tricolored Flame Python to the point where it could not cause any major problems.
Just at this moment, the battle around the mound started as well. Hundreds of elite cultivators from the two clans defended their assigned directions, blocking the Rank 9 Spirit Beasts rushing over wildly.
The battle at the periphery of the mound was even bloodier than the one at its foot. Although none of Spirit Beasts were peak Rank 9, they came in hordes.
The cultivators of the two clans defended bitterly, but they still paled in comparison to the Spirit Beasts; deaths occurred at every moment.
The tranquil scene instantly shattered. Screams of misery, the roars of beasts, the explosions of Quintessence, and all sorts of chaotic sounds rang out continuously.
Hidden under his hooded cloak, Xiao Chen stared contemplatively at the glowing White Nascent Fruit.
After a while, he gently pushed off the tree branch he stood on and flew up through the darkness like a spirit. He soared increasingly higher and tucked himself in a cloud.
Xiao Chen controlled the wind and slowly blew the cloud to above the White Nascent Fruit.
The masses of people locked in intense battle were under extreme pressure. No one noticed anything like a dark cloud in the sky slowly approaching the White Nascent Fruit.
When the cloud descended to an altitude of two kilometers, Xiao Chen stopped moving and stared at Situ Lei and Liu Chen. These two posed the greatest threat to him.
Wounds already covered the Tricolored Flame Python. The poison flames that it spat out became increasingly thinner. Its menace continuously declined.
It looked like the Tricolored Flame Python was at death’s doorstep. However, Situ Lei and Liu Chen started to move slower and put a distance between themselves.
A strange light flickered in their eyes as they stared at each other. They had long since shifted their focus from the Tricolored Flame Python.
The pitiful Tricolored Flame Python would have died soon enough. However, for reasons of their own, Situ Lei and Liu Chen dragged the fight out, not killing it quickly.
Situ Lei swept his spear across and sent the Tricolored Flame Python flying. The spear’s aura seemed startling, but the attack did not contain much force.
Liu Chen kicked the Tricolored Flame Python that was flying at him back. Then he smiled indifferently and said, “Brother Situ, you can have the final strike on this beast.”
Situ Lei smiled calmly and said, “Brother Liu, you should do it. With your Movement Technique, you definitely can dodge the Tricolored Flame Python’s counterattack.”
“Haha! It is better that Brother Situ does it. How can this old man’s strength compare to yours?”
Before any Spirit Beast died, it could always make one final counterattack. These two old men were crafty; neither wanted to deal with the snake’s death throes.
Just as the two people were pushing the problem off onto each other, a black figure suddenly dropped from a cloud above the White Nascent Fruit.
This black figure moved extremely fast. The place he came from also surprised everyone.
This black figure flashed, and Situ Lei and Liu Chen, who were arguing, could not react in time. Just like this, someone snatched away the radiant White Nascent Fruit.
When the two turned their heads, they only saw a black figure carrying the White Nascent Fruit and dashing wildly down the mound.
Situ Lei and Liu Chen had stunned expressions on their faces with their mouths hanging open wide. This stunt clearly astonished them. When they finally reacted, they raged.
“What great guts! He actually dared to snatch away the thousand-year-old White Nascent Fruit in front of us!”
The two roared angrily and chased madly after that black figure. Someone had stolen the treasure they had been yearning for at the last minute. The disparity between their expectations and reality was too much.
“Boom!”
Situ Lei’s spear trembled, and Liu Chen’s sword light flickered. Angered, the half-Sages each unleashed an attack.
A blue ball of sword Qi and a howling flame dragon headed for that black figure, flying over quickly to stop him.
The black figure seemed to have eyes on his back. He gently pushed off the ground and easily dodged the two dangerous attacks.
The flame dragon and the ball of sword Qi exploded, generating an unparalleled shock wave.
In their rage, the two sent out all sorts of strikes to stop that black figure as they ran frantically, bombarding Xiao Chen with relentless attacks.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Quintessence surged, and mountain stones flew around. The horrifying shock waves created strong winds that slashed the surroundings like knives.
Although Xiao Chen dodged all these attacks, the black cloak he wore became tattered, losing its effectiveness. So, he casually tossed it away.
When Xiao Chen’s white Clear Wind Robes appeared, Situ Lei and Liu Chen immediately recognized him but could not believe their eyes.
“How can it be? We injured him so severely! How could he appear again in such a short time?!”
The two’s eyes filled with astonishment. They could not help but stumble to a halt as they stared at Xiao Chen, dumbfounded.
After all their plans and schemes, searching everywhere and making preparations, in the end, this thousand-year-old White Nascent Fruit actually still ended up with an outsider.
“Don’t care about those Spirit Beasts! Stop him!”
The two recovered their wits and saw that Xiao Chen had already run far away. They immediately shouted to their disciples who had set up a perimeter around the mound.
Instantly, all the several hundred Martial Monarch disciples in the periphery of the mound ignored the Spirit Beasts they were fighting and scrambled to intercept Xiao Chen.
“Sou! Sou! Sou!”
Several figures shot over with surging Quintessence. With two or three hundred Martial Monarchs appearing together, their combined auras felt like a vast mountain range in front of Xiao Chen.
Although the cultivations of the close to three hundred Martial Monarchs varied, when that amount of attacks flew over, even a half-Sage would not dare to meet them head-on.
Xiao Chen’s face sank. His sea of consciousness surged as he quickly circulated his energies in his body for the Dragon Tone Art. He expended Quintessence and Mental Energy at the same time as a dragon-shaped Quintessence swam around in his chest. Dragon roars came continuously from him.
When Xiao Chen felt that he was on the verge of exploding from the energy in his chest, he opened his mouth wide and roared. The monumental sound of a True Dragon instantly blasted out.
Winds howled, and Dragon Might flooded out. A resonant dragon’s roar sounded like sudden thunder, earsplitting and potent. As the sound waves projected forward, all the trees in their way gave off a crunching sound, snapping at the waist.
When the close to three hundred Martial Monarchs felt the strong wind howl, they could not open their eyes. It even blew back those with weaker cultivations.
The more horrifying thing was the Dragon Might made of surging Mental Energy contained in the sound waves. It crashed into the seas of consciousness of these people and resounded like an explosion in their minds.
The impact stupefied these cultivators, and their movements all stopped for a while.
Using this time, Xiao Chen stood on an Azure Dragon image and barreled his way through. The quick and violent charge knocked away all the people in his path like sandbags.
By the time these cultivators recovered their wits, Xiao Chen had already passed through the crowd and fled far away.
When Situ Lei and Liu Chen saw this scene, they became so astonished that their jaws gaped wide open and their eyes goggled. Even though they had seen much of the world, they had not heard of such a Martial Technique before.
By the time the two reorganized their troops and chased away all the Rank 9 Spirit Beasts surrounding the mound, Xiao Chen had disappeared without a trace.
“Damn it!”
This situation angered Situ Lei to the point where he clenched his teeth tightly, and his face turned green. He stomped on the ground, making the entire mound tremble.
If Liu Chen had managed to snatch away the White Nascent Fruit, Situ Lei would not feel this sullen. However, he could not accept a nameless brat snatching away the thousand-year-old White Nascent Fruit.
Liu Chen’s expression looked equally frightening. In fact, it might even be worse as his Liu Clan was the first to discover the White Nascent Fruit.
In his heart, Liu Chen already considered the thousand-year-old White Nascent Fruit a treasure of his clan. He spent so much effort, had so many people help out, lost many elites in the process.
In the end, someone else benefited from Liu Chen’s efforts. How could he accept it?
“After the White Nascent Fruit is picked, it has to be consumed within twelve hours. No spatial storage treasure can change that. This person will not go far. We still have a chance,” Situ Lei said with a sullen expression as he thought of something.
If the White Nascent Fruit was not picked in its entirety, it was best to consume it immediately. Otherwise, the Spiritual Energy within it would slowly trickle out.
If one did not consume it within twelve hours, the thousand-year-old White Nascent Fruit would become like any ordinary Spirit Fruit, no longer possessing its miraculous effect.
Liu Chen’s eyes lit up as a small trace of hope ignited. “That’s right. Of course, he will not leave the Savage Beast Forest for these twelve hours. Let our two clans work together to search, and we will surely find him.”
Both clans had strongholds in the Savage Beast Forest. They were not limited to the number of people currently here. Although the others were weaker, not much strength was needed toconduct a manhunt.
—
On Xiao Chen’s end, he ran for about five kilometers before he stopped after noticing something happening in his Universe Ring.
He sent his Spiritual Sense into the Universe Ring and discovered Spiritual Energy spreading out in there like a mist.
A careful inspection found the thousand-year-old White Nascent Fruit leaking Spiritual Energy continuously.
Even after losing such a large amount of Spiritual Energy, the radiant fruit did not show any signs of dimming. No wonder the two clans would fight so hard for it.
However, Xiao Chen could not just let the White Nascent Fruit keep leaking Spiritual Energy like this. Even a fool would realize that this was a problem.
Now filled with doubts, Xiao Chen asked, Ao Jiao, what is going on?
Ao Jiao felt it was unfortunate as she replied, Consume it quickly. Otherwise, its effects will diminish considerably. If we had taken the roots together at that time, it would have been fine. The ideal situation would have been for the roots not to get damaged. That way, we could have transplanted it directly into the Immortal Spirit Ring.
Xiao Chen smiled bitterly. Ao Jiao said it as though it was so easy. At that time, he snatched the White Nascent Fruit from under the noses of two half-Sages. If those two people had not feared each other nor held hidden motives, he would not have stood a chance.
It would be very arduous to refine this thousand-year-old White Nascent Fruit in a short time. The two clans would no doubt send people to search for him.
[TL Note: The chapter title, Pulling chestnuts out of the fire, means to gain profit in risk.]
