Chapter 88: Incredible Progression
Xie Changsheng instinctively felt terror. Facing the strange vibration in the distance within the dark red sea of brambles, he felt like a minuscule field mouse in the plains. He did not know if that unusual vibration would be a surging wildfire or a great earthquake.
He had multiple lacerations on his body, especially two wounds on his right arm that caused him so much pain that he was dizzy. Yet, he did not have any room to choose except to swing his sword.
He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. Facing the still surging wave of wild water rates, he swung his sword again.
The sword move was still the White Cloud Monastery’s Cloud Winding sword move. As he swung, unique seal lines formed in the air. Large amounts of primal energies were sucked in to form fluffy sword energies like white clouds.
Like last time, countless golden lines of light shone out of the transparent sword blade. These golden lines did not have any warmth, but when they landed in the soft sword energy, it was like fire landing in hot oil. The white clouds were instantly ignited, burning furiously as they gushed outwards.
The Cloud Winding Sword Essence was a secret sword technique of White Cloud Monastery used for attacking and defending. In White Cloud Monastery, it was one of the better sword manuals. Originally, with Xie Changsheng’s cultivation, he could at most cover about ten feet of area. But the burning golden mist that billowed out against the ground more than two score feet instantly. All of the black rats ahead of him disappeared, turning into sizzling pieces of meat that fell into the water.
This scene gave Xie Changsheng great confidence. He took a deep breath, trying to become more clear-minded, and then swung his sword again.
Crack!
Using the time that his sword swing had won him, he pushed the Brilliance Sword into the ground in front of him and tore off strips of cloth from his robe. He quickly wrapped the bleeding wounds on his right arm, and then reached out again with his right hand towards the hilt of Brilliance Sword, gritting his teeth.
A silent fire seemed to burn in his eyes. Even the rats, driven mad by the fresh blood and the scent of meat, felt terror and retreated.
A new tide appeared in the stream.
The disquieting vibrations were coming closer.
Xie Changsheng stopped. His breathing paused.
The black rat swarm formed a new black tide that collided with the new tide about a hundred feet from him.
The new tide of water had originally been clear with a surface layer of white bubbles. But the moment the two waves collided, the white bubbles immediately turned bright red.
A strong blood tang spread across the stream.
The sound of sharp teeth breaking bones came from the water. The black rat swarm turned from madness into terror. Black rats started to jump up, trying to leave the stream, and get onto the two shores.
Right then, a silver light shot out from below the stream and caught up to these black rats.
Xie Changsheng had no need to attack now. All of the black rats were prey now and had no attention to spare to his existence. Yet, he didn’t dare to put down the sword in his hand.
The silver lights shooting out of the stream were small silver beasts shaped like lizards. Unlike the ordinary lizards seen on the outside, these had gills like fish and could breath underwater. Their small teeth looked short and not very sharp. But even so … they wanted to tear and chew meat as fast as possible, so the teeth likely would be worn down quickly.
In Xie Changsheng’s eyes, these little silver lizard-like beats chewed faster than a swordsman could draw his sword. As their head moved and the teeth tore, they even left afterimages.
Due to such speed, the black rats would be whole in one moment and a stump in the next.
Xie Changsheng instinctively wanted to flee. But he caught something out of the corner of his eyes that made him stop.
Some of the silver lizard-like beasts with swollen bellies climbed onto the two shores of the stream. These little beasts, after feeding at an astounding speed, started to sleep. Silver cracks appeared on their bodies and they were shedding at a visible rate. As they shed their skin, their four limbs seemed to wither. Clearly, they were quickly transforming into another form, or rather, maturing.
At this time Xie Changsheng heard rustling sounds. The sound came from the dark red brambles on both shores.
Xie Changsheng’s body felt cold again. He instinctively walked towards the water.
Countless long dark red worms burrowed out of the soil, appearing next to the little silver beasts that were shedding.
These dark red worms looked like earthworms, but when they came close to the shedding little silver beats, they opened their mouths.
Their mouths looked very large and soft, lacking any teeth. Yet, as they slowly enveloped these shedding little silver beasts, they made a terrifying scene.
These shedding silver beasts had no ability to fight back. The silver beasts in the water were still hunting the black rats, tearing them apart, and swallowing meat and bone. Then the beasts would walk to the shore, start to shed and be consumed by the dark red earthworms.
These silver beasts seemed willing to be swallowed by these dark red insects as though they were food for them.
Xie Changsheng’s face grew paler.
In his senses, there were waves of energy forming in the stomachs of the feeding dark red worms. He started to see frost appearing on the mouths of the worms, and then pieces of ice.
This was such a quick evolution that he could not understand at all.
These dark red worms, like some cultivators who consumed spirit medicine, were accumulating special primal energies in their bodies.
The strange black rats became the food of the little silver beasts. Then the little silver beasts became food for the dark red worms. The dark red worms were now becoming strange beasts that possessed a kind of ice power.
This kind of process happened in front of Xie Changsheng at an astounding speed. Xie Changsheng, his hands feeling colder, felt that he had been the initial bait. His blood had been the bait that started this process off.
“Why would they become things like this?”
On the cliff that Xie Changsheng was unable to see, the green-robed man behind Jin Liuli showed a shocked look. He was shocked at the tactics of Qing Yaoyin who had managed this farm for more than a dozen years.
There were many strange beasts in the world that could control the primal energies of the universe just like cultivators could. For example, the flame black turtle in the desert, the ice winged snake in the tundra, the cold serpent in the cold lakes and the demon octopus in the deep of the sea. But these beasts were like cultivators among the ordinary beasts. They had experienced generations of natural selection, and most of them were in extreme environments. During the process of adjusting to their environment, they gained skills that used primal energies.
Turning beasts unable to use primal energies into those that could in such a short amount of time was like turning a group of ordinary people unable to cultivate into cultivators.
Could a human do this?
But it was happening right in front of his eyes.
“Sect Uncle Qing called them black ice worms. The black ice breath that they spray out can become ice spikes like the ice swords cultivators use.” Jin Liuli turned to glance at the green-robed man and slowly said, “Even more importantly, some black ice pill beasts will form in these black ice worms that can be used to make pill medicine.”
The green-robed man was speechless. He took a deep breath, his gaze moving away from Xie Changsheng onto Ding Ning.
Ding Ning was walking through a similar stream at this time.
A black wave had also appeared in front of Ding Ning.
The black wave was formed from an astounding number of black rats.
He would face a similar evolution process, except that he was encountering it later than Xie Changsheng.
“He should have sensed something is wrong.”
The green-robed man saw that Ding Ning, who had been advancing all this time, had stopped and was looking in the direction of the black tide. However, Ding Ning did not leave the stream.
He was puzzled by this.
“He has great confidence he can face such an abnormal situation? He did not pick any sword in the Sword Valley.” He looked at the waiting Ding Ning and suddenly thought of a problem. “What sword is he using?”
Jin Liuli’s eyebrows rose slightly. She said in a strange tone, “The Last Flower sword.”
The man in green robes shuddered, his expression stunned. “Last Flower Sword?”
“So incomplete that even you did not recognize it,” Jin Liuli said slowly.
The green-robed man did not speak, but his eyes shone with an unusual light.
Ding Ning quietly stood in the stream.
In his senses, chaotic flows had appeared in the calm stream. He waited for the black tide to come closer.
When the water surface started to ripple, and the black shadows started to create splashes, vital energy surged out of his hand that gripped the sword hilt.
The short remnant sword blade lit up, and countless white flowers bloomed. The remnant sword spread apart along the straight cracks, stretching and lengthening. It was like long hair billowing in front of him in the stream.
The black rats at the front seemed to hit a wall, a wall of death. Their bodies were penetrated by the sword threads which did not stop and continued to pierce through the black rats behind them.
Translator Ramblings: I now regret not naming the sword “Flower Ending Sword” or “Final Flower Sword.” “Last Flower” doesn’t seem as … majestic.
