Ever since Wen Leyang and the rest of his group had entered the Gold-Consuming Lair, the sky had been covered in dark clouds all the while. It was as if the sky was telling the Gold-Consuming Lair that no matter how fierce, how sharp, or how tyrannical the Lair’s mannerism was, it would never break through the sky!
Thick and gloomy darkness was sinking firmly into the Gold-Consuming Lair.
After Little Chi Maojiu heard Wen Buzuo’s explanation, he was stunned for a moment before he suddenly yelled out a surprised ‘oh’. He stared at the eighteen bronze statues, each with a different look, and stammered, “They’re… they’re all corpses?”
Wen Leyang nodded, “Their bodies have been invaded by the Metal element. This turned them into bronze-boned and iron-skinned corpses. They can never decay and they had died with their eyes open – the same as dying with a grudge! However, these corpses here weren’t meant to be used to harm others!”
As Luo Wanggen saw that little Chi Maojiu was fine and that the process of detoxification used by the disciples of Wen Bucao was nearing its end, he exhaled a long breath and retreated back with his zombie, “What do you mean?”
Wen Xiaoyi explained in a crisp voice on behalf of Wen Leyang, “Chi Maojiu had been poisoned by the remnant poison on the corpses!” The disciples of Wen Bucao were connoisseurs of poison, they knew that little Chi Maojiu had become tainted by the remaining poison and that someone had intentionally used the corpses as the poison’s catalyst, all this was clear to their eyes.
Luo Wanggen took a closer look at the corpses before him cautiously, as if the deceased might come to life at any moment to pounce on him and take a bite, “The remnant poison was that intense, huh?”
The eighteen Taoist priests were all in different postures but their hands were all making the magic-conjuration gesture. Some of them were still holding pieces of paper talisman which had turned into bronze sheets. It was obvious that they had been casting spells right before they died.
The disciples of Wen Bucao were almost done bustling about. Wen Buzuo stretched out his arm and patted little Chi Maojiu as he spoke in all seriousness, “You’ll be fine now! Remember to not get injured by any kind of knives within the next seventy-two hours! Otherwise… it will hurt a lot!”
Little Chi Moajiu had leaped up and was moving his joints about. He burst out into laughter upon hearing Wen Buzuo’s words.
Wen Leyang was closely examining the eighteen bronze corpses before him. He then muttered, “They had been combining their spells to resist against the enemy but in the end, they had still been poisoned by the Metal Poison which has an incisive disposition…” He was halfway through his soliloquy when he was struck by an idea. Wen Leyang breathed in and contracted his abdomen so he could leap high up; after he had touched the ground once again his had a slightly astonished expression, “These Taoist priests had positioned themselves in the formation of the word 炎 (Hot)!”
When he had looked down from above, he could clearly see that those eighteen Taoist priests had formed the Chinese character 炎 (Hot) on the ground as their magic circle. At first glance, they appeared like an extinguished flame. He explained, “They must have thought to use the Fire element to restrain Metal. These Taoists priests had tried to arrange themselves in a magic circle in the form of the Chinese character 炎 (Hot) in order to deal with their enemies who were from the Metal element. Ultimately, they had still been turned into bronze corpses by the opposing party’s potent Metal Poison!”
Guo Huan suddenly spoke up in the mannerism of an Emperor as he used a lazy tone of speaking, “Walk all the way from the location where you had first found that flying sword, that’s around 1.5 to 2 kilometers away. Then all of you spread out and start looking around and you will definitely find another seventeen flying swords also 1.5 to 2 kilometers away! These Taoist priests had set their magic circle in a rather large area and it encompasses all the way from where their treasured weapons were to this spot. The closer you are the stronger the power is.”
The disciples of Wen Bucao knows that the saying: ‘all cultivators’ life vitality is capable of shielding them from being invaded by all kinds of poison’ was pure bullsh*t. They were not afraid of poison because the quantity of poison was too little, or the toxicity of poison was too weak. However, to be able to disperse such a potent poison so that the eighteen Taoist priests did not even have the opportunity to move their bodies before dying and that the remnant poison left on the corpses was still challenging for the disciples of the death Trademark to detoxify. Other than the four elders of the Wen family back home, the task was too difficult to be accomplished even by Wen Lazi who had the highest natural endowments within the Wen family’s patriarchal clan.
Wen Buzuo’s expression was suspicious, “Surely this was not the work of a master cultivator who specializes in poison?”
Wen Leyang shook his head in preparation to speak when he suddenly turned ashen; ‘You’ve Got Me’ which had been sulking on his chest suddenly somersaulted onto the ground. It then raised its head high and ululated rapidly in warning!
Wen Leyang was like to an alpha wolf who could pick up the scent of danger, he ground his teeth and showed a savage expression as he gathered everyone behind his back and rapidly retreated behind the eighteen bronze corpses. They lined up with their shoulders against each other and with their chests stuck to the back of another as they stood in a tight formation. He mumbled, “‘You’ve Got Me’!”
The Buddha’s Light Bug understood its master and it started to crawl about. It was as if its small body had turned extremely heavy for every time it moved an inch, it appeared to become exhausted and a streak of fiery-red color as thick as a little finger was being drawn onto the ground laboriously from under its body.
After a short moment, a gust of swooshing sound like to the surging of waves echoed from afar. The brothers Bushuo and Buzuo listened attentively for a moment before their faces turned as pale as Wen Leyang’s! ‘You’ve Got Me’s’ body had dimmed visibly to the eyes. After it had finished drawing the circle, it flipped over once and refused to move. This time, it no longer played dead and was truly exhausted. The little bug’s Fire Poison which it had painstakingly accumulated for years was almost completely depleted.
Luo Wanggen knew that the enemy was approaching and his palms flipped over to brandish his Spirit Calming Needles. However, the three-inch nail’s hand clamped suddenly onto his wrist and his expression was solemn as he spoke in a low voice, “Don’t move!” Soon after that, he added three more words, “Be absolutely still!”
Luo Wanggen suddenly realized that the three-inch nail Wen Bushuo who had always been courageous and patient, was frightened with his forehead was densely covered in sweat! The sound became clearer and clearer, Luo Wangggen abruptly noticed that this was not the sound of surging waves but it now sounded more like thirty-six thousand iron rods rubbing against one another and also like thirty-six thousand soldiers simultaneously sharpening their knives!
The sound of scraping metal became louder and louder. It rang all the way from one’s ears and erupted into the blood vessels, entangling the blood and flesh altogether. When they were almost at their breaking point, suddenly, dead silence befell without a sign!
The loud scraping sound which gradually turned one mad, to the desolated silence which was paler than a dead man’s fingers, happened in the blink of an eye.
There was not a sound between the Heaven and the Earth.
No one moved nor made any sort of noise. Other than their thunderous heartbeats and the river-like swooshing sound of their blood flow, any sound or movement could break everyone’s nerves now.
Suddenly, a gentle glow appeared on everyone’s head as a brightly shining full moon burst out of the clouds in the sky.
The thick dense darkness flinched abruptly and the Gold-Consuming Lair, bathed in sharp moonlight, became eye-piercingly agonizing to look at.
Almost at the same moment when the full moon was appearing, little Chi Maojiu could no longer contain his fear as he screamed out in terror, “What’s that…”
Low on the ground, a sheet of boundless shadow the color of dimmed brass was sweeping towards them soundlessly!
Other than the clouds and the moon, there was nothing else in the sky. The shadow on the ground was even more like a sheet of undercurrent dissolved from molten bronze, it tossed and turned without a stop as it glided towards them. Everywhere that it passed by, regardless of sharp stones or huge trees, were all covered by the shadowy undercurrent and melted into nothingness without a sound! At a glance, the direction where the undercurrent was coming from was a stretch of nothingness, smooth and boundless!
Wen Xiaoyi shuddered as she took a deep breath, her crisp voice squeaked within the silence, “It’s the circulation of liquid metal, it’s a flowing type of poison! There really is such a poison in the world!” Forging metal into a liquid form, based on the records in the Place of Birth, Life, Sickness, and Death, all the potent Metal Poison in the world can circulate about like water.
Just like that strand of Earth Poison which had generated Metal disposition from the earth-splitting toad Xiu Er in the Miao stockade village, when the strong poison was at its utmost level, it would change its form and property.
However, their records had only been based on the presumptions of the Wen family’s ancestors. Even for the Wen family members who were engaged in the refinement of poison for two thousand years, they had never seen this form of poison with such a disposition.
Wen Leyang too wanted to break the suffocating silence that was more agonizing than death. He said, “Only the Gold-Consuming Lair has this form of Metal Poison in this utmost disposition! Everyone, please be careful and make sure that your heels, toes, clothing, and arms do not exceed the circle drawn by ‘You’ve Got Me’.”
Luo Wanggen tried to feign calmness but when he spoke his voice was trembling like a sheep, “So, the Taoist priests had died from this form of poison?”
Out of everyone’s expectation, Wen Buzuo’s voice remained the same, “Bullsh*t, as compared to this Metal Poison Stream, the poison that had turned these Taoist priests into bronze statues can only be considered as a soy sauce, and it’s the weak kind of soy sauce!”
The Metal Poison Stream’s undercurrent appeared to flow slowly but as they were having their discussion it had already seeped until it reached the eighteen bronze corpses. Those corpses were almost immediately melted into liquid bronze and merged as one with the Metal Poison Stream! The Metal Poison Stream was like a mighty torrent which had converged from a plague of locusts with iron mouths and bronze teeth. Everywhere the torrent passed there would be nothing left but a bald patch of ground. The desolated silence was like the tempo of the dead as it soundlessly urged the poisonous stream to surge towards Wen Leyang and the rest without ceasing!
Chi Maojiu was close to tears as he stared at Wen Leyang, “Will the circle last…” Before his voice has died away, a part of the poisonous stream glided closely to the edge of the circle. Suddenly, an ear-piercing squeal which sounded like the chafing between an electric saw and a rebar erupted between the sky and the earth abruptly! The sharp squeal deafened everyone in the blink of an eye. Even Wen Leyang’s vision turned black and nothing could be seen, nothing could be heard, nothing could be felt!
After a moment, everyone slowly regained their senses. Only then did they realize that ‘You’ve Got Me’ had returned to the ground. It was standing with its head raised and the long barbs on its body were upright in rage. It looked like a majestic-looking warrior with red armor as it guarded firmly at the outermost end of the fiery circle!
The undercurrent-like Metal Poison Stream contested with the Fire Poison for a while. It was as if the Metal Poison Stream was hesitating as it wriggled and twined around continuously, surrounding the circle drawn by ‘You’ve Got Me’ in layers. The Metal Poison Stream covered an area the size of a football field and right in the middle was the circle drawn by ‘You’ve Got Me’ which was less than a meter in diameter.
‘You’ve Got Me’, on the other hand, circled around continuously, every time the Metal Poison tried to charge in, it would ululate in rage as it leaped forward!
Little Chi Maojiu could no longer stand upright and his small body leaned onto Wen Leyang, “This poison here… is it alive?”
Wen Xiaoyi huffed and her clear, beautiful eyes have regained their prior radiance, “The poison is not alive but the thing which is dispersing the poison is alive…” Before her voice has died away, the terrifying scraping sound which had stopped not too long ago started up again. Wen Xiaoyi’s words were torn into pieces in a flash.
In the direction where the poisonous stream had been surging, surrounding and trapping Wen Leyang and his group, the poisonous current abruptly split apart into a gap about a foot wide.
Two… ants?
Two copper-colored ants the size of one’s palm were rubbing their heads together intimately. They leisurely waltzed out of the gap in the Metal Poison Stream, crawling towards them in an intimate way!
One was slighter bigger than the other.
They had long antennas, huge jaws, six legs, and were exactly the same as an ordinary black ant. Only these two were copper-colored and as big as sparrows. The ear-piercing scraping sound which echoed through the entire land was the sound of these two ants continuously rubbing against one another intimately! Everyone looked into each other’s eyes in disbelief as these two ants were producing a noise which sounded like an army of a thousand soldiers!
Wen Buzuo cursed in a low voice, “Are they dating each other?” The moment his voice came out from his mouth, it was immediately deafened by the roaring scraping sound so no one heard him.
At the appearance of these two ants, ‘You’ve Got Me’s’ intimidating stance immediately deflated as if it was facing a dragon. Even though it was still flaunting its prowess, it could no longer attract as much attention as before.
Wen Leyang refused to give in on behalf of ‘You’ve Got Me’, he patted Wen Xiaoyi who unexpectedly reacted as if she had been electrocuted, “What do you want from me?”
Wen Leyang pointed towards the two copper ants on the ground, his eyes were black and shiny as he made a ‘fight them’ hand gesture.
Wen Xiaoyi was startled and she shook her head strenuously. However, the big-muzzled weapon in her hands still slowly rose to aim at the two copper ants. This act of hers completely confused the others.
The two copper ants crawled all the way until they reached the front of the circle laid down by ‘You’ve Got Me’. They then separated temporarily. As the ants were no longer rubbing against one another, the silence once again descended on every corner of the Gold-Consuming Lair. The little copper ants stopped on the same spot before the bigger ant crawled forward on its own and strolled around the circle in a relaxed manner for one round. The ant’s footsteps echoed as if it was stepping on everyone’s hearts.
‘You’ve Got Me’ was on alert for all possible dangers, it slowly crept around within the circle; where the big copper ant went it followed. Wen Leyang was worried that his precious bug could get hurt so he bent over and squatted down. If the copper ant were to attack them he was willing to risk being poisoned or injured just to squash it to death. As Wen Xiaoyi saw Wen Leyang’s body posture, she was so startled that she almost fainted in surprise, she struggled to block her weapon and body before him as well.
The big copper ant completely ignored ‘You’ve Got Me’. After it had strolled around the circle once, it then lowered its head and used its copper wire-like antennas to lightly tap onto the red line which had been drawn by ‘You’ve Got Me’. Soon after that, it reacted as if it had just been electrocuted and it rapidly retreated a few paces back. After a moment, it advanced once again. This time, it slowly pressed both its long antennas over the red line on the ground. Everyone had their hearts in their throats and their blood pounded in the vessels on their foreheads.
Wen Leyang ground his teeth out of habit as the Poison of Life and Death within his body rapidly circulated all of sudden – he was prepared to fight!
Unexpectedly, the big copper ant suddenly seemed to sense the danger and its body swayed before it retreated with lightning speed to seven or eight meters away. It raised its head high as it looked at Wen Leyang.
Wen Leyang immediately felt that his face was being grazed by an icy-cold razor blade.
On the other end, the smaller copper ant returned to its companion’s side. It appeared to be extremely heartbroken as it rubbed against the other ant. The big bronze ant seemed to hesitate for a moment before it shifted its gaze away and stopped looking at Wen Leyang. The two ants then continued to act intimately towards each other again.
The oppressive Gold-Consuming Lair; the bright moon which emerged from the dark clouds; the corrosive Metal Poison Stream which has covered the entire ground; the two copper ants which were as big as a sparrow that rubbed against each other intimately creating a noise loud enough to tear apart the sky. The feelings of being trapped, terror, panic, and confusion had turned everyone’s body rigid. There were a few occasions where Wen Leyang could almost not suppress the urge to pounce forward and squash the two ants to death but he was blocked by Wen Xiaoyi’s big-muzzled weapon.
Finally, the two ants stopped acting intimate and also stopped probing around the circle. Their four antennas waved up and down as if they were greeting ‘You’ve Got Me’. ‘You’ve Got Me’ too ululated twice and soon after that it slowly retracted the long barbs on its body. The two copper ants crawled away with shaking heads and wagging abdomens.
Once the ants have left, the poisonous stream immediately spread out like tidewater and continued to flow rapidly towards the depths of the Gold-Consuming Lair. It completely vanished after a moment. Meanwhile, the vision before everyone’s eyes darkened, almost as if the full moon in the sky had gotten bored of the scene and went back behind the dense clouds.
Wen Buzuo took out his short knife and tossed it out of the circle. The short knife bounced twice with a clanking sound before it lay flat on the ground. It did not turn into a copper color nor was it melted into nothingness. Only then did Wen Leyang and his group let out a long breath and step out of the circle to investigate.
‘You’ve Got Me’ was slumped onto the ground, it did not even have the strength to leap back into its master’s body. Wen Leyang hastily picked it up and caressed it gently before he placed it back onto his chest. He then asked Wen Xiaoyi, “What was that about earlier?” He raised his arm and wiped away the glimmering cold sweat on Wen Xiaoyi’s forehead with his sleeve.
The moment Wen Xiaoyi relaxed, she immediately felt her legs give way and she sat down hard onto the ground. She held the big-muzzled weapon as she spoke with lingering fear, “Those things are called the ‘Mo Ya’!”
Wen Leyang has heard that name before and he could not help but clench his jaw and grind his teeth together. Wen Xiaoyi, who had always found Wen Leyang to be pleasant-looking, burst out into laughter, “Whenever this type of bug appears, it will always be in a pair. These bugs will rub against one another continuously in an extremely intimate way for its entire life. The sound it makes is earth-shattering which is why it is called the Mo Ya. It means that the sound was like the sky and the earth were also grinding their teeth!”
Upon saying that, the little girl took a few deep breaths before the color of her face returned, “‘You’ve Got Me’ is a Buddha’s Light Bug, when it is fully grown it will become a Buddha’s Light Fly. It is a type of bug within the Fire element. The pair of Mo Ya which we had seen earlier are the king of bugs within the Metal elemental poison. They are not larvae, moreover…” Xiaoyi’s voice sounded heavier once again, “The Mo Ya, based on the records in the Place of Birth, Life, Sickness, and Death, were only ever noted to be around the length of one inch, not as big as a sparrow!”
“So it was because of this Gold-Consuming Lair here which had bred such a big spirit bug!” Wen Leyang laughed bitterly as he tried to make a good impression for his precious bug, “No matter how big it is, ‘You’ve Got Me’s’ Fire Poison still managed to drive it away. The five elements inter-inhibit one another so the scorching Fire will triumph over Metal.”
Wen Xiaoyi raised the big-muzzled weapon in an attempt to stand up. Wen Leyang lifted her arms and with a swoosh, settled her firmly on his back.
Wen Xiaoyi joyfully placed her chin on Wen Leyang’s shoulder, “It’s true about inter-inhibition but it doesn’t apply when there’s a big difference between two elements. Just like how you can’t forge metal with a cigarette, those two Mo Ya earlier could have easily created a huge stretch of poisonous stream. It would have been as easy as pie for them to destroy the protective spell laid down by our Buddha’s Light Bug. However, this type of bug is teleologic, firstly, there was nothing on us that they were looking for; secondly, both the Buddha’s Light Bug and the Mo Ya are the king of bugs in their respective elements so they were able to empathize with one another. Even though ‘You’ve Got Me’ is still a larva, it is a Fire element bug so they were slightly deterred. Lastly, it should’ve been your influence!”
Wen Leyang nodded as he grinned, “I’m the king of bugs too?” When the big copper ant earlier seemed like it was going to cross the red line, Wen Leyang had been primed to attack. The ant then immediately retreated as it seemed to sense it was in danger. It finally chose to continue to forward and let them go.
Wen Buzuo asked out of the blue, “This ‘Mo Ya’ here, does it disperse the strong poison everywhere on usual days whenever it appears?”
Wen Xiaoyi shook her head in negation, “Of course not. If it were to disperse poison, surely it would need to gather all the strong poison for some time beforehand. Otherwise, there will be no poison to be dispersed!”
Meanwhile, Wen Leyang waved his hand towards the group, “Let’s follow them!”
Little Chi Maojiu was startled, “Follow whom? The Mo Ya?!”
Wen Buzuo sniggered, “Is the Big Dragon’s Root afraid?”
Little Chi Maojiu was very familiar with the brothers Bushuo and Buzuo as well as Wen Leyang by now. He pouted with a mournful face, “I’m not afraid… not being afraid is a lie!”
The ants were as big as sparrows and could rub together to make a deafening sound like an exploding bell. They also seemed to be able to effortlessly disperse an entire stretch of corrosive strong poison the size of a football field. How could anyone not be afraid of that?
Wen Buzuo stretched out his hand and patted on little Chi Maojiu’s forehead, “The poisonous stream that the two ants were dispersing is of the same type as the strong poison which had killed the Taoist priests of the Qilian Immortal Sect. It was only slightly more tyrannical than the other. Now that the ants are dispersing the poison towards the Gold-Consuming Lair’s depths, it’s quite possible that the Mo Ya are making things difficult for the Qilian Immortal Sect. Naturally, the giant pangolin will strive to help the people in his own Sect, we can’t just let the giant pangolin die!”
Wen Buzuo was a person whose talkative characteristic never stopped his profound thinking. To him, such an unusual bug like this would not be dispersing such a huge quantity of strong poison without a cause, surely it was to deal with a great enemy or for some great event.
Within the Gold-Consuming Lair, other than the cultivators from the Qilian Immortal Sect, it could be that no one was worthy of the two bug’s laborious efforts.
Wen Leyang too laughed as he patted little Chi Maojiu, “We should try to come up with a way to lure out the giant pangolin without risking our lives to fight the ants!” As he spoke his footsteps were swift and they continued to rush towards the depths of the Gold-Consuming Lair.
Little Chi Maojiu was still concerned and he spoke as if he was consoling himself, “This poisonous stream… even though it’s rather fast but if we were to run away faster, I suppose we can still escape it, correct?”
Wen Buzuo immediately answered sternly, “Remember this, only run if it’s the last resort! On the outside, the speed of the poisonous stream may not seem fast but over here, the ground has already turned into metal so once the Metal Poison spreads, it can become faster than lightning! A man’s power will never triumph over it!”
This was also the reason why the disciples of Wen Bucao had refused to run when they first noticed the surging Metal Poison. On ground which had already turned into metal, a human could never run faster than Metal Poison.
Luo Wanggen suddenly interrupted and asked Wen Xiaoyi, “So why didn’t you fire the weapon then?” He had learned from Mumu about the big-muzzled weapon’s power.
Wen Xiaoyi shook her head, “If those two bugs had not dispersed the poison away from us, I would have fired the weapon. This type of bug has extremely profound teleologic abilities, it can recognize its killer before its death so the poisonous stream will definitely fight back against its killer!”
Little Chi Maojiu stomped his foot in rage, “You can’t run away, you can’t fight, so there’s no way to live!” Everyone laughed when they heard this; all of them have seen what this little fellow could do when he risked his life in the Miao stockade village. They knew that he could differentiate when to complain and when to risk his life so everyone took his complaints lightheartedly.
While Wen Buzuo was walking, he arranged the timeline of events for the rest of them. The giant pangolin was the first that had run past here, the eighteen Qilian Immortal Sect disciples released him and soon after that, they died tragically. Then Wen Leyang and his group arrived and not long after that, the ‘Mo Ya’ arrived to disperse poison before they rushed ahead of them. When he was finished, Wen Buzuo laughed forcefully, “There’s probably be a large-scale battle between the Qilian Immortal Sect and the ‘Mo Ya’ in front of us…” Before his voice had died away, the terrifying metal scraping noise surged skywards unexpectedly. At the same time, streaks of red-colored swords flashed here and there continuously. The loud clanging and scraping sounds were entangled in a mess but it could not suppress the sounds of agonized and terrified screams!
Wen Buzuo squalled, “They’ve started fighting already!” He then dashed over with quick strides as the rest of the group followed!
The purpose of their mission had been to capture the giant pangolin so they must never let the pangolin get killed by the ants. Soon, they could see the sword’s essence which was as red as fire and hear the sound of scraping which was as loud as a collapsing metal mountain. It was obvious that both parties were putting their all into the fight. Fearing that the giant pangolin could be killed in the battle, they no longer cared about moving stealthily but tried to maintain their formation with great effort as they dashed all the way towards the fight. Fortunately, the ground had become extremely smooth and flat after the Metal Poison had flowed through. There had utterly been no need to figure out the direction, all they needed to do was to follow along this riverbed-like pathway.
Not long after, Wen Leyang and the rest of his group arrived at the edge of the great battle. All of them sucked in a mouthful of chilled air vigorously, the scene before their eyes was in total chaos but things had turned out not the way they had expected.
