“Master, what’s the matter?”
Qian Liangmu used his techniques again and again to assist the Myriad Poison Ancestor. He suddenly saw the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s expression change drastically, which made him ask that.
“Return to the Myriad Poison cult!”
The Myriad Poison Ancestor had no time to provide an explanation. He turned into a streak of green light and flew off to the Myriad Poison cult. The other disciples and elders had no idea what was going on, but they flew away with the Myriad Poison Ancestor.
Below, the surroundings of Savage mountain had been eaten away by the poisonous cloud and blasted into pieces by the techniques, reduced to a wasteland. However, Savage mountain itself was untouched. The mist continued to surge without dispersing.
The night roamers and the ten cave masters were all confused by why the followers of the Myriad Poison cult had suddenly retreated. They were all taken aback.
Ye Liusu asked the Great Banyan Tree King, “Senior, the Myriad Poison cult has suddenly retreated. Is this some kind of scheme?”
The Great Banyan Tree King, however, had a general idea of what was going on. He smiled. “Your great king must have used some kind of plan to draw them away.”
Ye Liusu stopped worrying. Even if the Myriad Poison cult had some kind of scheme, it would be useless before the Great Banyan Tree King who was known for his wisdom. Savage mountain was basically as safe as it could get with him watching the place.
The Myriad Poison Ancestor flew quickly. Suddenly, his heart skipped another beat, and another two inner courtyard disciples had died, both inside the Myriad Poison cult. He could not help but change drastically in expression, speeding up even more.
What exactly has happened? The formations haven’t been set off. Don’t tell me internal conflict has erupted in the cult?
There was nothing strange about having these doubts. Even the King of Southern Yue and the Great Banyan Tree King could not kill his disciples in the cult without even touching the formation. Speaking of which, probably only the Shadow Queen of the night roamers possessed such a wondrous ability.
However, the influence of the Shadow palace did not reach the south. Apart from Ghost Shadow, he had not heard about any night roamers active in the south. The Shadow Queen rarely took action herself too, let alone the fact that she would be making a large sect like the Myriad Poison cult her enemy.
The Myriad Poison Ancestor rushed back to the huge basin. He passed through the green miasma and landed in the Myriad Poison cult. Immediately, a heavy reeking of blood invaded his nose.
Corpses were strewn about with blood flowing everywhere, dyeing the square red.
The corpses were all headless. There was a pyramid in the centre of the square composed of several hundred heads, all disciples of the Myriad Poison cult. On the very top was protector Kang Ming. Under the glow of the setting sun, his eyes were wide-open and glassy, warping his face in a hideous manner.
Behind the pyramid of heads, six large words were written on the greenish-grey screen wall.
“Yours truly, the King of Savages!”
The blood was still wet, flowing down as streaks.
The Myriad Poison Ancestor’s face turned red before turning green and darkening. His eyes shone venomously as he squeezed out a name through his gritted teeth.
“Li Qingshan!”
He swung his hand violently, and the pyramid, along with the wall, was reduced to fine powder. His chest heaved heavily, but before he could even calm down, he suddenly said.
“Oh no!”
……
Qian Liangmu, his senior brother, his junior sister, five elders, and three protectors lead several dozen inner courtyard disciples back to the Myriad Poison cult. They were obviously much slower than the Myriad Poison Ancestor.
When the Myriad Poison Ancestor returned to the cult, they had not even covered a tenth of the journey. Everyone was worried. They had no idea what had happened in the cult, but they were not bold enough to abandon the regular disciples either. If the ten cave masters of Savage mountain came in pursuit, they would basically lose all of the sect’s foundations.
Of course, they were over-worrying with this. The Myriad Poison Ancestor’s name was already enough to deter the cave masters from taking this risk. None of the cave masters had encountered any actual danger in this battle, but they were all exhausted. They sat in meditation to catch their breaths.
A while later, only Yu Wufeng stood up. Clutching his Fogbow sword, he gazed in the direction which the Myriad Poison cult had retreated in and sank into his thoughts.
“Looks like our king has led away the Myriad Poison Ancestor. Regular disciples can’t fly quickly, so they must have fallen behind. They don’t have any geographic advantage either. They can’t recover much strength through pills alone, so why don’t you go after them and take a look, brother Yu?”
The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber laughed. He had lost quite a lot of fat yet again, now a fatty that weighed a quarter of a tonne.
“What a plan, fatty. You want to send me to my death?” Yu Wufeng said coldly.
Even without the Myriad Poison Ancestor, how was he supposed to fend off Qian Liangmu and the others alone? If he became caught in battle and the Myriad Poison Ancestor rushed back, he would have no idea how he died.
“Of course not, of course not. It’s not like I know how to ride swords, so it’s difficult for me to come or go. If you could kill a few people from the Myriad Poison cult, you’d be making a great contribution to Savage mountain. With how our king keeps such clear tabs over his debts of kindness and grievances, he might even give you freedom.”
The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber chuckled. He was basically all too eager to see Yu Wufeng run into the Myriad Poison Ancestor and die outside. That way, he would become the mighty first cave master of Savage mountain. Li Qingshan was the King of Savages, while he could be regarded as the crown prince.
However, he was not lying either. Otherwise, why would Yu Wufeng ever believe him? It was not like he was a fool.
Sure enough, Yu Wufeng gazed at the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber deeply. He was tempted. With his strength, he should not encounter too much danger as long as he did not run into the Myriad Poison Ancestor.
“We’ll work together!”
A black shadow appeared. Ghost Shadow was quite confident in his stealth. He believed that as long as he did not clash with the Myriad Poison Ancestor, remaining safe would be no problem at all. He had been persuaded by what the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber said. He wanted to see if there was any merit for him to earn.
“Alright!”
Yu Wufeng made up his mind and slammed the Fogbow sword, rising up with the sword. He merged with it and shot off as a white streak of light.
“We’ll go too!”
Ye Liusu said, merging into the darkness with Ye Liuxing and Ye Liubo and tailing right behind them.
The followers of the Myriad Poison cult rode on a huge, green cloud together, flying towards the Myriad Poison cult. A streak of white light tailed behind them, still several kilometers away. Yu Wufeng narrowed his eyes and brought his fingers together, stroking them past the Fogbow sword gently. Sword qi filled the surroundings, and his white hair danced about. Suddenly, he thrust out with the sword.
An extremely resplendent streak of light shot towards the green cloud, only in hopes of stopping the followers for a moment so that he could create an opportunity for Ghost Shadow. Of course, it would be best if he could kill a few disciples of the Myriad Poison cult during the process too.
The streak of light shot into the green cloud. The cloud seemed extremely soft, but after surging, it actually absorbed and nullified the streak of light with great ease.
Yu Wufeng came to a halt and frowned. The Myriad Poison cult really was capable of something. They were not a random assortment of people. Instead, their powers were united, assembling into something that resembled a formation. Even Ghost Shadow probably was not bold enough to infiltrate the cloud and carry out assassinations.
Qian Liangmu flew out of the green cloud and smiled. “You’ve come to see us off, cave master Yu?”
“That’s right. It’s been quite some time since I’ve heard about the Sickly Prince’s great reputation. You’re known as a genius together with my junior brother, Peng Jingni. Do you have the courage to face me in battle today?”
Yu Wufeng stood with his sword. He had noticed that the Myriad Poison Ancestor was not around a long time ago, which was why he spoke with such composure, but he was considering whether to advance or retreat right now. There probably were not any easy pickings this time, but if he wanted to leave, he only needed to bat an eye too. The Fogbow sword moved extremely quickly, well beyond what any of these people could keep up with.
Qian Liangmu said, “Cave master Yu’s courage is admirable, far more suited to become the next master of the South Sea Sword pavilion than your junior brother. It’s just a pity that you’re bound by the blood oath, which is quite the misfortune!”
“Are you colluding with the enemy in front of so many of us, junior brother? Stop wasting words on him. Kill the little pup of the South Sea Sword pavilion!” the centipede man said impatiently.
Qian Liangmu originally wanted to mock Yu Wufeng a little, hopefully impelling him into killing his way over, but he never expected his senior brother to trip him over first. He fumingly said, “Senior brother, you want me to perish together with him, but that’s exactly what I won’t do. Yu Wufeng was originally the first senior brother of the South Sea Sword pavilion, while senior brother is the first senior brother of our Myriad Poison cult. You’re the one who should be facing him today.”
“Stop bickering, senior brothers. You’re just making a fool out of yourselves in front of him. Let’s ignore this kid and return to the Myriad Poison cult quickly. We’ll have plenty of opportunities in the future to take his life.”
The spider lady urged, which earned the agreement of the many elders. They were all rather worried after the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s sudden departure.
“You can see us off for a great part of the journey, but we’ll still have to part at the end of the day. Please return, cave master Yu. We’ll definitely have another chance in the future!”
Qian Liangmu clasped his hands. He personally believed he was not as crude as these southern barbarians as he came from the royal clan. He would maintain his bearing as a prince at all times.
Yu Wufeng said nothing. Right now, they only stood a chance if all ten cave masters were present. He was about to retreat resolutely when a strange sound rang out in his ears.
It sounded like the cry of a dragon, striking fear into the soul and echoing through the clouds, yet also like buddhist chanting, righteous and conscientious, reaching all sentient creatures.
Even his soul began to shake when he heard it. Yu Wufeng immediately sealed off his sense of hearing, but it was useless. The sound grew louder and louder, boundless and omnipresent.
Since when did a technique like this exist in the south!?
Yu Wufeng gazed into the distance. The glow in the west was like fire. The sound originated from the rays upon rays of the setting sun. A speck of golden light flickered about like a brilliant star that had risen up from the incoming night, shining brighter and brighter, growing closer and closer.
“It’s her!”
“Who?” the spider lady blurted out.
If Yu Wufeng only felt shocked, then the followers of the Myriad Poison cult truly felt pressured. The green cloud that they rode on surged and fluctuated, showing signs of collapsing. It did not have a time as easy as when it devoured Yu Wufeng’s streak of light.
Xiao An was shrouded in rays from the setting sun, but even that was unable to drown out her golden glow. Her bluish-white robes surged as she flew towards the poison cloud. She opened her mouth slightly, unleashing the ultimate secret technique of the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga that even the Golden Cicada Spirit King wanted to learn, the Chant of Deva-Nāga!
Her dark eyes were still, seeing through the reality behind form and emptiness, comprehending the profound truths of buddhist dharma. She pushed this buddhist secret technique to the limit, but what she powered it with was the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, created for destroying buddhism.
“It’s her!”
Qian Liangmu gazed into the distance and saw the beautiful face he could never forget. He struggled to believe that such a vast and mighty sound actually originated from the mouth of such a small woman.
He had learnt long ago that she was the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga’s most outstanding disciple across the past thousand years, yet she still came to the south with Li Qingshan regardless of all the risks and costs. Under the great reputation of the King of Savages, she had remained silent the entire time, accompanying him and serving as contrast for his splendour, which made people look down on her or even neglect her. After all, she had only undergone the second heavenly tribulation recently. Even if she was a genius, her strength must have been limited.
Only now did it dawn on him that she was actually so powerful. She did not seem meek and compliant at all like when she was beside him. She actually overwhelmed them all in terms of aura.
“So she’s that Xiao An or whatever beside Li Qingshan! She’s come just in time! I’ll capture her and seek reward from master!”
The centipede man pursed his lips excitedly. Her beauty was virtually unheard of. Perhaps he could even get a taste of it for himself.
“Kill that bitch!” the spider lady called out enviously.
“Fucking idiots!” Qian Liangmu could no longer care about his image and demeanour as a prince. He cursed out loud, but his face was filled with shock.
Since she was already here, could Li Qingshan still be far?
