“Is that you, Xinran?”
I turned around and dug out the rock and soil as quickly as I could, ignoring the fact that the furious action was causing my fingers to bleed profusely. A few seconds later, a metal cage appeared in front of me. It was from here Xinran had thrust out her Dragonbone Spear[1] from and saved my life. However, her arm was covered in horrific gashes as a result. There were spikes all over the iron bars.
Heart aching, I asked in a trembling voice, “Does… does it hurt, Xinran?”
“Mn…”
Xinran responded before looking at Night Fury with a frown on her face, “Night Fury seems to have become weaker, big brother. Did something seal his strength? Is it the legendary Godslayer Dagger?”
I nodded. “Yeah!”
“That’s wonderful, big brother! Kill him while I keep him pinned!”
She extended her arm even more and caused the Dragonbone Spear to pierce through Night Fury’s head completely and nailed him to the wall. Then, she summoned bloody wind blades from her palm and battered his body repeatedly to keep him from moving.
Crack!
I felt like I was floating even as I unsheathed the Xuanyuan Sword and executed Burning Blade Slash + Universe Break combo at Night Fury. Finally, I had found Xinran…
……
Night Fury stood almost no chance before our combined might. Every time he raised his sword, Xinran’s wind blade would interrupt his attack as if on cue. Not only that, he seemed to have lost his consciousness completely because his head had been skewered by the Dragonbone Spear. His retaliation was just a reflex. At this point, Night Fury’s death was all but cemented.
Chilly energy kept flooding into my arm and triggering the Xuanyuan Sword’s septuple-damage effect. When the damage effect had triggered for the tenth time, Night Fury’s remaining 20% HP finally hit rock bottom. Still nailed to the wall, he let out deathly throes and exploded into a pile of loot. It wasn’t the end, however. The entire Fire Dragon Lair shook violently, and cracks began spreading all over the walls at unnatural speed. The Fire Dragon Lair had been built by Night Fury. Now that he was dead, the power keeping the Fire Dragon Lair was gone as well [2].
Behind me, Uldan said, “The Fire Dragon Lair is about to collapse. You need to rescue the Wind Singer before it’s too late!”
I hurriedly raised the Xuanyuan Sword and flew up to Xinran’s cage. “Back up, Xinran. I’ll release you!”
“Mn…”
Xinran couldn’t walk because her legs were covered in wounds. She had to fly herself backward using her divine energy.
……
Chiang!
Sparks flew everywhere as I struck the cage’s metal bar with all my might. However, the blow only left an indentation on the metal.
“Dammit!”
I gritted my teeth and struck the cage again and again, but the progress was slow-going. Heaven knows what this metal cage was made from, because I had never encountered an object capable of withstanding this many hits from the Xuanyuan Sword until now!
My attacks grew more frantic. After a dozen or so attacks, the Xuanyuan Sword’s blade actually broke first as its durability hit zero. Goddammit!
I hurriedly took out a Magic Repair Oil and poured it over the sword. After its durability had been restored, I continued hacking away at the cage like crazy!
Chiang chiang chiang…
On the other side, metallic sparks illuminated Xinran’s tearful face as she murmured, “Big brother, big brother…”
……
Finally, when the Xuanyuan Sword had lost 74% of its durability, one side of the metal cage finally broke under my repeated assault. Her beautiful face covered in blood and tears, Xinran murmured again, “Big brother…”
I sheathed my sword and hugged her tightly. “I missed you, Xinran…”
Xinran hugged me just as tightly. “Xinran missed you too, big brother. The past few days have been completely sleepless because I couldn’t stop thinking about you… I was afraid that Lin Na would kill you because you came to save me, but I was also afraid you wouldn’t come because you don’t want me anymore…”
Heart aching, I replied softly, “Never. I would never abandon you, Xinran.”
It was at this moment a couple of giant rocks fell down from the ceiling and crashed behind us. Uldan urged, “Can we have this confession somewhere else? Otherwise, we’re all going to be buried alive here[3]!”
I nodded and dashed toward Night Fury’s corpse. After I pulled out the Dragonbone Spear, I kicked away his corpse, grabbed his loot and threw them all into my bag. There was no time to check them out after all. Finally, I raised my sword above my head and fired a powerful Xuanyuan Slash toward the ceiling!
Boom!
The power of an SSS Rank Ancient Divine Skill was of course incredible. It tore through the ceiling almost instantly and allowed me to fly Xinran and Uldan through it. Surprisingly, the Winged Silver Dragon appeared out of nowhere and clumsily chased after us, yelling, “Oh, my beautiful master, please forgive this Winged Silver Dragon for his late rescue! Please be assured that this Winged Silver Dragon is eternally loyal, and that he would never abandon your side!”
Xinran’s gaze and arms were fully locked on my person, however. She paid the Winged Silver Dragon no attention at all.
……
Swhoosh!
After we flew out of the cave, we looked down and saw that the Fire Dragon Lair was barely more than a pile of dust now. It was at this moment Princess Canarina rushed out of the rubble with her battle axe in hand. When she looked up and saw us, she let out a hearty laugh and said, “Oh, my brave warrior! I didn’t expect you to kill Night Fury and rescue the future champion of the Banished Lands too!”
I was confused at first. “Future champion?”
Then, realization dawned upon me as I looked at Xinran. “What were you doing before I came, Xinran? And how did Night Fury manage to imprison you?”
Xinran blushed like an Apple. “Lin Na was trying to execute me in the Immortal Realm, but I was able to find an opportunity to deal him a severe injury. However, I myself was greatly injured and exiled into the Banished Lands. Not long after that, I encountered that bastard, Night Fury, and he tried to force me into becoming his concubine. I managed to wound him, but he also managed to trap me in that dark metal cage. You already know the rest…”
“I see…”
I looked at the ruins and said, “Pooh! He thinks he can make Xinran his concubine with his character? He should’ve looked at himself in the mirror. That shameless, old bastard…”
Both Xinran and Uldan chuckled at that.
“Eh?”
Finally, Xinran noticed that there was another person clinging to my back and asked, “You are… the Twilight Wanderer? How are you here?”
I hurriedly explained, “I had rescued her while I was journeying through the Purgatory, and thank heavens for that. Without her, I would’ve died countless times before I made it to you…”
“Oh. Thank you for helping big brother, Twilight Wanderer…”
After Xinran shook hands with Uldan, I sucked in a deep breath and said, “Shall we leave this place now?”
“Of course!” Xinran nodded firmly. “I don’t know how we can do this though, big brother. The Banished Lands is a sealed plane, and no one has ever been able to leave this place. I’m sorry, but… you may be stuck in the Banished Lands with Xinran forever…”
However, I shot her a confident smile and said, “Don’t worry, I have a plan. However…”
I looked at Xinran’s marred legs again and said concernedly, “Let’s clean your wounds first, shall we? They look terrible…”
“Okay…”
Xinran curled up gently against my chest like a pretty little cat. Her gaze especially felt like it could turn my heart into butter.
……
Swhoosh!
It didn’t take long to fly toward the Blood Sea. Hovering a short distance above the sea surface, I carefully scooped up some crystal clear sea water and began washing Xinran’s injured legs. I also took out my Rank 14 Health Potions and poured them over her wounds without reservations. Xinran groaned from time to time and held me tighter. I didn’t know if it was due to pain or pleasure.
The Winged Silver Dragon was curled up nearby and watching me treating Xinran carefully. Suddenly, it let out a heartfelt sigh and said, “I finally understand why my master was willing to stake even her life to fight for this man…”
Xinran immediately shot it a glare and said, “Shut up!”
“Yes, my dignified master!” the Winged Silver Dragon responded before dunking its head into the water.
……
Xinran’s wounds began healing a short while later, but it was slow going to say the least. From the looks of it, it would take her at least a day or two before she could begin walking without support. Most importantly, she had been forced to fight multiple desperate battles in a short time and had used up most of her divine energy as a result. She couldn’t even regain her energy while she was imprisoned inside the dark metal cage. It was no wonder that she was feeling weakened.
Still carrying Xinran, I rose to my feet and said, “Let’s head back to the Immortal Realm right now. We’ll break through all obstacles and fly all the way back to the Human Realms. I can only hope that Binglan is still waiting for us at Sainthelm Ruins, and that she’ll be able to open a spatial rift to save us…”
Xinran scratched my chin once and giggled. “Don’t worry, big brother. I may not have much strength left, but I can still open a spatial rift without problems.”
“That’s even better!”
“But first, how are we going to leave the Banished Lands?”
“Hehe. The mountain man has his own ingenuity!”
……
I took out a deep blue stone from my bag. Then, I raised it above my head and activated a reverse teleportation formation!
Swhoosh!
A hexagram spun in the air, and a teleportation formation quickly manifested into existence!
Xinran’s mouth fell open. “Wow, is that… a Teleportation Divine Crystal? I’ve only heard of such a thing. Where did you get it?”
“From Dihai’s dead body.”
“You… you managed to beat Dihai? You’re amazing, big brother…”
I replied honestly, “Nah, Uldan’s the one who did most of the work. I’m just the opportunist who kicked the dog when it was down… Anyway, let’s go!”
Uldan chuckled. “Now I understand why you stomped the ground when you were at the Hundred Beast Elder’s residence. You were leaving behind a teleportation imprint! You really are an incredibly smart guy!”
I shot her a smile before entering the portal.
……
Swhoosh!
The teleportation formation tore our bodies into tiny bits of lights before reforming them on the other side of the plane. Before I knew it, I was standing in the Hundred Beast Elder’s courtyard once more.
“Hiss hiss…”
The Crimson Python was so scared that it hid itself in the Hundred Beast Elder’s lap. The old man himself looked deathly pale with fright. “Heavens, he actually managed to escape the Banished Lands! And… is that Lady Wind Singer he’s carrying? Er, it’s an honor to meet you, Lady Wind Singer. The next time you return and flatten the Immortal Realm, please leave my courtyard intact on account of my service rendered to your older brother, will you?”
Xinran simply smiled and said nothing. I said, “Goodbye, old man!”
Bang!
I kicked off the ground and flew straight toward the clouds. At the same time, Uldan suddenly looked at the Bloody Hall with a deeply worried expression, “Shit! Lin Na sensed our power! He’s coming after us right now!”
1. T/N: so, the idiot didn’t even disarm her ☜
2. T/N: which means that he had to expend at least a sliver of his power to keep his lair from collapsing at all times. How stupid is that? ☜
3. T/N: you’re all gods, you would’ve just dug yourself out… ☜
