Chapter 242: Fighting Over Treasure
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The dog-headed eagle flapped its wings strongly and swatted the surging icicles away. The monkey Qian Ren’s voice was shocked and angry as he came out from the dog-headed eagle’s mouth, “Woman, why do you keep troubling me? How long do you plan to do this!? I don’t kill women so don’t force me to break this rule!”
Zhui Zi replied angrily, “You’re the one who had stolen my stuff first and foiled my plans. I’ll be collecting these two debts today!”
Wen Leyang does not know how to fly but he knows how to jump. He then jumped dozens of meters up into the air and hastily waved his hands as he blocked Zhui Zi and the dog-headed eagle from each other, “Don’t fight, all of us know each other…” Before he could finish speaking, his body had begun to fall downwards again. Chang Li then chuckled and grabbed his hand. They floated at the side and she looked at the others with a smile.
The old man had suffered the dog-headed eagle’s attack first before his arms were then torn apart by Chang Li. He was then heavily wounded and his life vitality has been scattered. He had pa.s.sed out before he even reached the ground. Xiaowu had then stabbed him with her mourning staff.
It was obvious that the dog-headed eagle had fought Zhui Zi a few times before and knew how powerful its opponent was. Its giant body floated firmly in midair as the feathers behind its neck ruffled as it faced Zhui Zi coldly. Wen Leyang looked at them with astonishment. He did not understand why they had started to fight. Initially, the dog-headed eagle was not part of Wen Leyang’s family but because of Qin Zhui’s relations.h.i.+p to Qian Ren, these two parties should not be enemies.
Zhui Zi pointed at the dog-headed eagle contemptuously, “This beast had taken the ‘heavenly water spirit’ which you had given to the Hua family!”
Wen Make had helped the monkey Qian Ren to exterminate the millions of big dung beetles within the carrion swamp. When Wen Leyang and the group were on their way out of the highlands, Qian Ren had broken through Tu’er town’s mandala seal and was able to see the light of day again.
As Qian Ren practiced flying in the highlands, he had unintentionally discovered the spiritual vitality released by the ‘heavenly water spirit’ and immediately s.n.a.t.c.hed it. There was no way for the obscure cultivators of the Hua family to go against this monster. It was a pity that the utmost treasure of the Water Element which they had been searching for many generations had reached their hands only to be s.n.a.t.c.hed away before the warmth of their hands could reach it.
At that time, Zhui Zi was still on the Snowy Peak and had been trying to recall some memories of her past life. When she found out that the Hua family’s ‘heavenly water spirit’ had been s.n.a.t.c.hed, she had immediately given chase to the culprit. The two elites had fought all the way from the Snowy Peak to the highlands but neither had been able to harm the other. The dog-headed eagle could not injure Zhui Zi and Zhui Zi could not reclaim the ‘heavenly water spirit’.
As Zhui Zi was explaining the chain of events, Qian Ren interrupted her disdainfully, “The ‘heavenly water spirit’ does not belong to you and that bunch of croaking white-robed men are also not your subordinates. What’s it to you if I had taken something of theirs!? This utmost treasure of the Water Element is very important to me. When I had s.n.a.t.c.hed it away, I also told the white-robed men that I would repay them in the future.” Qian Ren then sneered again, “I get what I want! Let’s not talk about their compensation, even if I were to wipe them out and take this treasure away, who would be able to stop me!?”
Wen Leyang frowned as he looked unhappily at Qian Ren, “That drop of ‘heavenly water spirit’ was my payment for the Hua family’s ‘firecrackers’ so it won’t do that it has been s.n.a.t.c.hed away by you!” He then looked at Chang Li with pleading eyes.
Chang Li raised her brows as she looked at the dog-headed eagle and asked with a smile, “What say you?”
Qian Ren had found out from an unknown source about the way Wen Leyang had obtained the ‘heavenly water spirit’. He spoke reasonably, “The Hua family are your friends, the silly lad Qin Zhui is also your friend. Everybody is a friend. I need this drop of ‘heavenly water spirit’ badly so I’m just borrowing it from the Hua family. In the future, you can easily take another drop for the Hua family! I can also give the Hua family some favors to repay this kindness!”
Initially, it had been a straightforward robbery but with Qian Ren’s words, it has now become a three-way debtor’s dispute. Wen Leyang did not know whether to laugh or to cry. He looked at Chang Li again as if he was seeking her approval.
Zhui Zi nodded generously, “This monster had not harmed anyone…”
“Wait!” Chang Li suddenly interrupted her, “The dog-headed eagle is not a good bird, it would be strange if it had seen a treasure and did not s.n.a.t.c.h it! However, you, Zhui Zi, are no heroine either. The Hua family isn’t related to you so why are you helping them?” Zhui Zi felt wronged by Chang Li’s words. Her slim and fragile frame froze in midair as she looked pitiably at Wen Leyang.
Wen Leyang had initially nodded in agreement but when he saw Zhui Zi’s plaintive look, he became slightly dumbstruck.
Zhui Zi’s expression did not change and her tone was filled with the stubbornness of a girl, “I don’t care about the Hua family’s matters. I haven’t even digested the first drop of ‘heavenly water spirit’ so I have no use for the second drop just yet. The thing I’m trying to get back isn’t that drop of water at all!”
Qian Ren exclaimed as the huge dog’s head made a puzzled expression, “Why have you been chasing me all this while!?”
Zhui Zi looked close to tears but she gritted her teeth and held them back with all her might, “The small bowl! The thing that I want isn’t that drop of water, it’s the small bowl which contains that drop of water!”
The mountain breeze was piercingly cold, causing the dog-headed eagle’s body to sway visibly…
Guo Huan suddenly broke into laughter from within the jade knife. Zhui Zi blinked her big eyes and continued, “I had stayed on the Snowy Peak to regain more of my memories and to also wait for the Hua family to refine the ‘heavenly water spirit’ so I could get my small bowl back.”
Wen Leyang chuckled foolishly as he rubbed his palms and was at a loss for words.
Only the dog-headed eagle remained puzzled, “If it concerns that small bowl, once I’ve used that drop of Water Elemental treasure, I would no longer have any use for it. If you want it I’ll naturally return it to you…”
Zhui Zi pouted as she said, “I don’t trust you!”
Guo Huan quickly tried to ease the situation as he laughed and spoke from within the jade knife, “Let’s talk on the ground, let’s talk on the ground. After Qian Ren has refined the ‘heavenly water spirit’, he’ll return the small bowl to Zhui Zi. Besides, we’ll be going to the ore cave on the Snowy Peak again anyways, we can just get another drop of ‘heavenly water spirit’ for the Hua family. Haha, everybody’s happy!”
Everyone had returned to the ground. Chang Li was looking at Zhui Zi with a half-smile on her face. The smile lines at the edges of her lips were full of prettiness and provocation. Zhui Zi’s expression was pitiable as she looked at Chang Li fearfully but her gaze was even more piercing than the icicles which had frozen the cultivators. The dog-headed eagle had turned into an onlooker as it stood at one side like a mountain with its head held high. Then, it seems to have thought of something as it turned and looked at Zhui Zi, “You also said that I had foiled your good plans, what was it?”
Zhui Zi’s face turned mournful, it was a charm which made the others grit their teeth. She then pointed at the old man who only had half a breath left. She did not conceal her thought one bit as she spoke straightforwardly, “Initially, I had wanted to wait until he and the cat demon were both injured before I attacked the cat demon. You hit the old man when you had appeared but the cat demon still has most of her strength left…”
Wen Leyang was astonished. Before Chang Li could say anything, he quickly diverted the topic, “Qian Ren… Senior, who are these people?” When Qian Ren had appeared, he had ignored Chang Li and immediately targeted the old man. He obviously had not reacted like Zhui Zi who had attacked with the intention of lending them a hand.
“I had kept myself hidden from the start. These people were giving you trouble so, for Qin Zhui’s sake, I won’t sit idly by. Besides…” Qian Ren’s tone suddenly turned icy. His anger was unlike what he had directed towards Zhui Zi just now and his icy tone was now filled with a bone-deep hatred, “I don’t know the old man but I recognized his method of practice!”
The old man used a Fire Elemental magic art but it had been different from ordinary flames and San Wei’s true fire. The fire art the old man had cultivated was unconventional and was called the Red Lotus true fire.
“One of Kong Nuer’s best man had cultivated with this method of practice!”
Wen Leyang was slightly stunned. He remembered that the name Kong Nuer belongs to Qian Ren’s greatest enemy. Wen Leyang looked at the old man with slight surprise before he looked at the dog-headed eagle again.
The dog-headed eagle had a surprised smile on his lips, “We’ll ask him after he wakes up, I also have some questions for him!” The old man’s life vitality had been shattered and his fate was already determined. If they were to awaken him now forcefully, he might not even last two breaths before he dies. However, if they were to wait for his remnant life vitality to gather and awaken on his own accord, maybe he could live for some time yet.
Guo Huan asked Qian Ren with a smile, “You had cultivated in the Wood Elemental magic art while the monkey has a Metal Elemental body and the dog-headed eagle has a body of blazing Fire Element. Why do you even need the ‘heavenly water spirit’!?”
Qian Ren was a madman, he had put on an act in front of dolls such as Wen Leyang and Qin Zhui but his att.i.tude towards Guo Huan was indifferent. He cackled as he stretched out a wing which blotted out the sun and pointed at the demon fetus’s rock tower in the large pit, “It’s all for that!”
Wen Leyang was delighted, “You knew about this demon fetus?”
Qian Ren nodded before he shook his head, “I knew about it but… I never expected it to turn into a demon fetus!”
Before Qian Ren’s accident, he had been refining a magic weapon called the Ending Vine. After that, his good friend Kong Nuer had tricked him and caused him to almost lose his life. With low spirits, he had sealed this treasure which had been almost completely refined at the depths of the Ending Cave.
Qian Ren’s current form is multilayered; the dog-headed eagle was his body, flesh armor, and weapon. No magic weapons could do him any harm. However, after he had discovered the ‘heavenly water spirit’ on the Snowy Peak, it had reminded him of the Ending Vine.
Utmost Water Element generates Wood Element. The Ending Vine was very near to completion, if it could be nourished by the ‘heavenly water spirit’, it could take from even without the urging of any Wood Elemental magic art. This magic weapon was of no use to Qian Ren but for Qin Zhui, who had just cleansed his marrow, rebuilt his foundations and turned into a Wood Elemental body, it was a powerful magic weapon.
No matter how he put it, Qian Ren had s.n.a.t.c.hed the ‘heavenly water spirit’ for the sake of the ugly youth Qin Zhui. The dog-headed eagle then stared at Wen Leyang, “Do you understand now? The Hua family is your friend and Qin Zhui is your close acquaintance, how can you be unfair to one party? Naturally, the treasure should first be given to the one who needs it the most!”
Wen Leyang feels that if there ever was a person under the heavens who could reason with Qian Ren, that person would be Wen Buzuo. Wen Leyang gave up his attempt to try to reason with Qian Ren as he pointed at the demon fetus’s rock tower and diverted the topic, “This… Is that magic weapon of yours?”
Qian Ren nodded in confirmation to Wen Leyang’s question. He then recounted his experience roughly. If he had not discovered the ‘heavenly water spirit’, Qian Ren would have dallied much longer in the highlands. Although this dog-headed eagle’s body has accompanied him for thousands of years, he had been sealed before this and had not been able to even move. Now, when he directed the dog-headed eagle’s body, there were still many parts which he has to iron out. After he had s.n.a.t.c.hed the ‘heavenly water spirit’, he temporarily abandoned the plan to get used to the body. He then used the communication treasure he had given to Qin Zhui beforehand and asked Qin Zhui to wait for him at Mount Hua’s Ending Cave. Zhui Zi then caught up with him and a divine beast of G.o.d’s will and a primordial monster had fought fiercely. They had chased and fought each other from the Snowy Peak and it took them a lot of time before they finally reached Mount Hua.
Wen Leyang only found out now that Qin Zhui has also come to Mount Hua when he had left Wen family village. He then remembered something else as he said, “The ‘Standing Softsh.e.l.l Turtle’… Is Ending Cave!”
Qian Ren was too lazy to answer Wen Leyang’s silly question. He was glaring hatefully at Zhui Zi. Zhui Zi pouted and looked as if she had been wronged. It seems that these two have had their fair share of hards.h.i.+ps along the way.
The dog-headed eagle, naturally, has the ability to fly whereas Zhui Zi could only fly by using magic. She had lagged behind because of that which was how the dog-headed eagle managed to arrive a few days before her.
Wen Leyang was slightly stunned, “I thought that you…” He then paused and smiled halfway through his sentence. After all, the dog-headed eagle had attacked at an extremely apt time. The old man had been distracted by guarding against Zhui Zi’s potential sneak attack as he tried hard to block Chang Li’s attacks and thought about his escape plan at the same time. It was too much of a coincidence if the dog-headed eagle’s attack had been unintentional.
However, Zhui Zi had arrived just at the right time too. She had then helped Wen Leyang to defeat the bunch of cultivators.
After he understood this crucial point, Wen Leyang asked Qian Ren hastily, “Then, do you see…” Qian Ren knew what Wen Leyang wanted to ask as he flapped his large wings to cut him short, “Don’t rush, let me finis.h.!.+”
The dog-headed eagle had not been able to shake Zhui Zi off its tail and had wasted a lot of time. When they finally reached Mount Hua, Qin Zhui had already been waiting there for several days.
Wen Leyang was suddenly delighted and he could not refrain from interrupting, “If we were to combine Xiao Sha, Fei Fei, and Qin Zhui…”
His voice has barely faded away when everyone else except for Xiaowu yelled, “Shut up!”
Wen Leyang smiled shamefacedly.
To an outsider, even if one were as strong as Xiaowu, they could easily have been planted unknowingly with a demon seed by the demon fetus and ultimately turn into a luxuriantly green plant. However, Qin Zhui’s marrows had been cleansed, his foundation was rebuilt by Wood Elemental magic art, and his bones were remolded. Not only would he be able to see through the demon fetus’s harmful magic art, the demon seed was also ineffective against him. When the dog-headed eagle had flown here, the Fei Fei siblings and the team leader with the surname Qu had already been possessed by the demon seed and were barely alive while Qin Zhui had been nowhere to be found.
Qian Ren had recognized Fei Fei and Xiao Sha. He had helped them for Qin Zhui’s sake. As he said this, the dog-headed eagle used its wings to pat its stomach as it chuckled, “This dog-headed eagle flesh armor could not conjure any powerful magic so I could only swallow them first before I can think of anything!”
Fei Fei, Xiao Sha, and team leader Qu were ordinary people so they would not be able to withstand any demonic energy which was too domineering. Qian Ren’s Wood Elemental magic art was restricted by the monkey’s Metal Elemental body. This rescue had not taken too much time, they were extremely lucky and finally regained their life. They were quite weak now and were recuperating inside the dog-headed eagle’s stomach.
This demon fetus’s rock tower was too peculiar. Fei Fei’s team had fallen under its trick unknowingly. They had met Qin Zhui as they were about to turn into plants. Qin Zhui’s true Wood Elemental vitality could temporarily restrict the demon seed. Qin Zhui had spent several months with the Fei Fei siblings, they had the time of their lives all the way to Tu’er town. With his honest personality, it was only natural that he would try to save them. When he had arrived, he immediately cast his magic spell and helped them to temporarily suppress the demon seed. However, when Qin Zhui had gone to investigate the demon fetus, he had been dragged deep into the ground.
When Qian Ren had found out that his beloved disciple has been towed away by the demon fetus, he had not been surprised and, on the contrary, was happy instead. To him, this was a good thing. Qin Zhui has a Wood Elemental vitality base and could not be harmed by the demon fetus. After he had sunk into the ground and struggled for a little while, Qin Zhui could understand more about the nature of this Ending Vine. In the future, he could become very proficient with it.
The element of wood governs life; that Ending Vine had absorbed the spiritual primordial energy of the heavens and earth throughout the years and had gradually turned into a Wood Elemental demon fetus. There was nothing strange about this. When Qin Zhui had familiarized himself with the nature of the demon fetus after a few days, Qian Ren would dig through the soil and plant the ‘heavenly water spirit’ at the demon fetus’s root. The water would become the nourishment for the wood to grow. Though the demon fetus would not have a heart, in the end, it would still become an extremely powerful magic weapon, the Ending Vine.
That was why the dog-headed eagle had only stayed at the side and did not dig. Just as he had decided to start digging, Wen Leyang and his group had arrived. The dog-headed eagle then hid its presence and looked on pleasantly as this group of miners who had come from far away helped him to do his job.
The dog-headed eagle then placed his head on the ground and opened his mouth. After some time, three men appeared in a flurry. Although the expressions of the Fei Fei siblings were not too pretty, their spirits seem to be alright. There was also another burly man, the team leader Qu.
Wen Leyang was very happy when he saw that Fei Fei and Xiao Sha were unharmed. He quickly ran over and helped them up. Xiao Sha did not have time to greet him as he immediately took a cell phone out from his pocket. He muttered ‘there was no reception in the dog-headed eagle’s stomach’ as he called Old Gu and gave his report.
The dog-headed eagle ignored them but looked at Chang Li with interest, “How did you know that the two cultivators were up to their tricks? I had stayed invisible at the side but I didn’t sense anything funny before they attacked.”
Chang Li stretched with a giggle, “I didn’t notice anything wrong with them as well but I just couldn’t trust them. I don’t trust them from the bottom of my heart! No matter how great a show they had put up, it was useless.” Two thousand years ago, Chang Li had brought calamity upon the world. People with the old man’s cultivation base might be rare but she had met countless others who were far more mischievous than the old man. The cat demon was proud by nature so she could not truly like anyone, let alone trust.
Without trust, everything was futile.
Qian Ren nodded in agreement. He suddenly felt a chill on his dog’s face. He lowered his head and saw that Chang Li was looking at him as she giggled, “If I had trusted those two cultivators, won’t I be dead by now? You had been hiding at the side while watching this comedy the entire time.”
The dog-headed eagle was stunned and it quickly shook its big head, “That won’t do, I must save you no matter what…”
Zhui Zi continued fearfully from the side, “I was afraid that you’d be too late.” She then looked at Chang Li and reminded her seriously, “The dog-headed eagle had previously mentioned that the two cultivators had not been related to each other.”
Qian Ren was astonished and hastily reported to Chang Li, “Zhui Zi had asked the old man to hit your face just now!” He then snorted.
Chang Li smiled beautifully… Shortly after, the sound of wind erupted as the three peerless demon immortals leaped into the air. They stared each other down as n.o.body was willing to make the first move.
Wen Leyang was so anxious that he stomped his feet. He then asked Guo Huan, “What should we do, what should we do?” His voice has barely faded away when Xiaowu, who was beside him, grabbed his clothes and climbed onto his back with agile movements. She lifted her little face and looked at the sky with delight as her clear eyes were filled with longing, urging them to fight!
Before Guo Huan could reply, the old man who had been out cold suddenly shouted in pain. The old monsters in midair looked at each other. Only after Wen Leyang had shouted ‘Finish the proper business first!’ did they put away their fighting stance and busied themselves in unison…
The old man managed to open his eyes. He faintly remembered that he had been wounded only after a brief moment. He wanted to jump with all his strength just now when a piercing pain suddenly jolted through his limbs and bones. He was being supported by two people right now.
The old man looked at his surroundings. They were inside a dark cave and he asked in a low voice, “Who are all of you? Where… Is this?” With his every breath, spasms of pain would shoot through his body which made him wish that he was dead. He knows that he was an arrow at the end of its flight and that he does not have much time left.
A small-eyed youth and a girl with a naturally smiley face were standing before him. The old man may be dying but he still has his sight. With a glance, he could tell that the two of them were ordinary people so he could not help but relax.
The small-eyed youth smiled happily, “My name’s He, He Xiao Sha. I had trained in my family’s Jianghu Art since I was young and this is my older sister.”
The old man pondered for a while before he nodded, “The sc.u.mbag… He family? The men of Jianghu?”
The Wen, Miao, and Luo families had secluded themselves from the world. Throughout these two thousand years, other than the ancestor Wen Lazi who had shown his outstanding achievements, they had secluded themselves for generations. Naturally, they were not the only families with strange arts. There were also the Murongs of Gusu District, the Chenzhou Zombie Sect, the Jiangnan Thunderclap Castle, the Kanto Thousand Horses Hall, and numerous other families. However, these families were unlike the Wen Bucao who had lived in seclusion. Instead, they had relied on their strange arts and fought for their place in the society, living happily and with contented lives for thousands of years.
The lowlife He family’s martial arts skill were only at a villager’s level. Though they were fairly well-off and their reputation could not be compared to the n.o.bility, even the evil cults who had claimed countless lives would not want to provoke the He family.
The arbiters of the He family were skilled in the Art of Jianghu and they were unscrupulous in their methods. If one provokes them, they had ways to make one confused whether to laugh or to cry and one would hardly be able to eat or sleep in peace.
A bowl of fragrant rice would taste like dog’s p.o.o.p when eaten; gongs would suddenly clamor as if a theatrical troupe had just entered the room when one closed their eyes but when they opened their eyes again, there was n.o.body there; upon awakening, one would find another person on one’s bed. If that person was a corpse, one would do well to feel thankful indeed. One time, when a high monk had provoked the He family, he had found himself lying on a butcher’s chest when he had woken up…
Because the He family’s methods were unimaginably weird, it gave everyone gooseb.u.mps so they had earned the nickname of ‘sc.u.mbag’. There was a saying that goes ‘take the Lei family’s Thunder Pills over the He family’s meals’. These words have been circulating in society for quite some time now.
Xiao Sha was a direct descendant of the He family. He squinted his eyes as he smiled, “May I ask how you’ve come to hear about the He family name old man? Also, how should I address you?” As he said this, Xiao Sha flashed his Art of Jianghu. Suddenly, chickens flew, dogs leaped, and wolves howled as ghosts cried. There were also booming stepping sounds and giant footprints which appeared out of thin air…
The old man has been alive for many years now so he had heard some of the tales of the Art of Jianghu. He had remembered the name of the He family when he tried to recall his memories. The old man has an exceptional cultivation base and he also knows that he was dying. Nevertheless, he could not help but felt his hairs stand on end when he saw Xiao Sha’s smile. The old man frowned and replied, “My name is Wu Dudu.”
Xiao Sha’s eyes slanted as if he found this old man’s name interesting. Just as he was about to seize this opportunity to talk nonsense, Fei Fei, who does not know whether to laugh or to cry, pulled him aside. She then spoke seriously to the old man, “Old Man Wu, what’s up with that dog-headed eagle?”
Old Man Wu was stunned, “You’re not from Jianghu!” The people of Jianghu would never know about the dog-headed eagle.
Fei Fei nodded, “There’s no Jianghu anymore.” As she said this, she drew something on the ground, “We’re now this.”
Old Man Wu blinked with puzzlement as he looked at Fei Fei, “What do you mean?”