Ch 124: Does Sending You Off Count as Fate?
Qi Xuan immediately noticed the anomaly the moment it arrived, thanks to his 【Spiritual Sense】.
However, even so, he still barely managed to evade the attack that erupted from the tree roots.
Because the distance was simply too close, and the attack was simply too sudden.
It felt as if the enemy had teleported nearby to launch the attack, or perhaps the enemy had only just noticed his appearance a second ago before launching the attack.
The situation at the scene was undoubtedly the second type.
After a failed strike, the attacker staggered out from the tree roots.
Many tiny rootlets were wrapped around him, the movement of his joints seemed somewhat stiff, his eyes were cloudy, his hair was nearly white, and he looked very old, as if he would die on the spot in the next second.
Seeing the attacker who appeared on the spot, the Live Stream Room immediately burst into exclamations:
“What a mummy?!”
“A tree spirit has become a demon?!”
“What kind of new Monster is this?”
“Seeing this humanoid figure, especially the faint bulge under the ribs, isn’t this another Land Immortal?”
“Damn it! You can’t just keep popping out Land Immortals in this form! How am I supposed to maintain my Dao heart and cultivate in the future?!”
“Qi God! Hurry up and escape while the other party hasn’t woken up yet!”
“Yes, run away quickly! Don’t get beaten like before! Even running away is better than getting injured!”
……
However, Qi Xuan didn’t intend to run away.
When he was previously ambushed, he had already sensed the approximate strength of the attacker.
Now that he had seen the person in person, he further confirmed his own guess.
If he hadn’t guessed wrong, the attacker in front of him should be Nangong Yaohua, who had attempted to break through to the Foundation Stage.
From the results, he should have succeeded, but it could also be considered a failure.
On the one hand, he did become Foundation Stage, worthy of the name of Foundation Stage seed.
But on the other hand, his attempt to rely on a breakthrough to avoid the harm of the 【Bone-Spur Disease】 was naturally a failure.
Moreover, it failed very quickly.
Almost a few days after becoming Foundation Stage, he fell ill and became a Monster.
Perhaps, before attempting to break through to Foundation Stage, he was already in the stage of illness.
The attempt to break through to Foundation Stage further accelerated this process, so that he couldn’t control his illness shortly after becoming Foundation Stage, completely falling into madness, and transforming into a Monster.
And he probably anticipated this result long ago.
The instinct to survive, the fear of becoming a Monster, the fear of bringing Disaster to those around him… anyway, he had prepared in advance.
After confirming that the fact of becoming a Monster could not be reversed, he sealed himself inside the tree roots through a secret method.
If it weren’t for his accidental intrusion, which startled this guy awake.
Perhaps not long after, he would have completely perished in the self-sealing.
In an instant, Qi Xuan sorted out the cause and effect.
Seeing the Monster in front of him, who no longer had any rationality, Qi Xuan also lost the idea of communicating with the other party.
The former genius had fallen to this state, and to be honest, even he found it hard to accept.
Then just make it quick and send him on his way.
Qi Xuan raised his hand and took out the Dragon Spear, slamming it down with a sudden strike.
He started with a long weapon.
In terms of power, the damaged Magic Artifact was obviously more damaging.
It’s just a pity that it wasn’t suitable.
Although he had made the decision to eliminate Nangong Yaohua, he still acted very cautiously in actual combat.
Nangong Yaohua, as a Foundation Stage cultivator from nearly two hundred years ago, had long been decayed, not to mention compared to a normal Foundation Stage cultivator, he wasn’t even as good as Qi Condensation.
But after all, he was a transformed Monster, and he might have some special means, so he had to be more vigilant.
During the battle, he first created distance to prevent the other party from suddenly attacking, so that he would have time to react.
The two-meter Dragon Spear was his reaction time.
The heavy Dragon Spear slammed down on Nangong Yaohua’s head.
Before the other party could make an evasive move, Sunday, who had been staying near the tree roots, immediately released War Stomp.
It controlled the range of the dizziness very well, barely covering Nangong Yaohua’s body, avoiding affecting him.
But just like the last time he encountered Nangong Wuji, the always-successful War Stomp failed to have any effect on Nangong Yaohua.
It was as if they had completely become immune to this skill.
It was understandable that Nangong Wuji was immune, after all, the other party was a seasoned Foundation Stage cultivator, and was definitely not something that ordinary Qi Condensation skills could control.
But now even Nangong Yaohua could be immune, which only meant that the Monsters after their transformation possessed the characteristic of immunity to control.
Thinking about it carefully, the dizziness skill mainly targeted the consciousness of the cultivators, using the dizziness formed by the vibration of the consciousness to achieve control.
But they were already crazy, who the hell could control a madman?
With a “bang” sound.
The tough and heavy Dragon Spear slammed directly onto Nangong Yaohua’s right shoulder, causing his right shoulder to slightly collapse.
Seeing this scene, Qi Xuan couldn’t help but be greatly encouraged.
The fact that he couldn’t completely dodge meant that his speed wasn’t enough.
The collapse of his shoulder meant that his body strength wasn’t enough.
These two performances alone already showed that this guy was no longer Foundation Stage.
He could be completely regarded as a cultivator who had fallen from the Foundation Establishment Realm.
“I love bullying the old and weak the most!!”
Qi Xuan retracted his spear and slashed back, knocking Nangong Yaohua back with a strike, then followed with a thrust, the spear tip aimed directly at the other party’s chest, but at the moment of impact, it burst out with a crisp sound.
“Ding!!”
Hearing this sound, as well as the force of the impact from his hand, Qi Xuan couldn’t help but slightly pause his eyes.
Through the clothes torn by the spear tip, he immediately saw a treasure map placed between the other party’s chest and abdomen.
It was a defensive treasure map constructed from various colorful feathers.
If nothing unexpected happened, this should be the key treasure that allowed everyone to resist the Zhang Family’s ambush, the Hundred Feather Universe Map.
He didn’t expect it to be on Nangong Yaohua, and he thought it had been completely damaged.
“Your treasure map is very good, but it will be mine soon!”
Qi Xuan changed the direction of his attack, avoiding the chest and abdomen protected by the Hundred Feather Universe Map, and instead attacked the other party’s head.
Perhaps because his Realm was too low or because he went crazy too early, Nangong Yaohua didn’t retain much combat instinct, like a raging Wild Beast, only knowing how to pounce forward.
Even though the other party’s Realm after his decline was still higher than his, in the end, after only a dozen or so strikes, his head, which had long been decayed, was directly chopped off.
But what made Qi Xuan extremely apprehensive was.
Even though he had already severed the other party’s neck, with the head and body directly separated into two parts.
But whether it was the head or the headless corpse, it was still struggling fiercely, trying to launch an attack, and didn’t die on the spot at all.
Sunday was chased by the head, screaming, and his pig face was filled with panic.
When Qi Xuan finished dealing with the headless corpse and was about to go over to help, he saw that the head had also stopped moving.
It felt as if the stored power had been completely exhausted.
This also reminded him that he couldn’t simply equate the transformed Monsters with humans.
It was very likely that after the transformation, their physiological structure had completely changed, and now, rather than humans, they were more like Monsters in human skin.
At the same time, Qi Xuan felt very fortunate that he was facing Nangong Yaohua today.
If it had been Nangong Wuji, after the battle was won, he might have been taken away by the other party on the spot if he was caught off guard.
Nangong Wuji was obviously much stronger than Nangong Yaohua, so after being separated from his head and body, he would definitely be able to move for a longer time.
Even splitting this Monster’s neck was completely a bad move.
Originally, he only needed to deal with one, but splitting it turned into dealing with two, how could he increase his enemies?!
While Qi Xuan was reflecting, the Live Stream Room also sparked a wave of heated discussion because of this battle:
“It seems that this Four-Armed Monster isn’t as strong as we thought?”
“Indeed, it’s far inferior to the previous one, the previous one was completely overwhelmingly powerful, and this one in front of us is like it hasn’t developed well yet.”
“Do you think it’s possible that the strength of the Monsters is related to their appendages under their ribs? The appendages are long and thick, and their strength is extremely strong, while the appendages are short and small, and their strength is very weak?”
“So short and small, it looks like Trash fish.”
“Come on, even if it’s just a short and small Trash fish, its strength is also extraordinary, okay? The reason why it looks like Trash fish is because it’s in front of Qi God, if it were you, you wouldn’t be repaired to the point of oh-hoh-oh, I’d write my name upside down on the spot!”
“Indeed, these Monsters can’t be taken lightly, so the question is, what is the strength of the Monster on the island? If we judge by the size of the appendages, its strength must exceed this one in front of us, even if it’s not as good as Nangong Wuji, it’s probably not much different.”
“Speaking of which, it’s possible that the Monster on the island really comes from the Nangong Family, maybe it’s a Land Immortal guarding other Sub-trees.”
“At least it’s not the missing patriarch, who is also the top figure among the Land Immortals, it’s hard to imagine what a terrifying Monster he would be after his transformation.”
“Don’t be too happy, even if the Monster on the island isn’t as good as Nangong Wuji, it definitely can’t be underestimated, just talking about this one in front of us, the head was swept away and it could still chase the pig to bite, this kind of terrifying immortality, if the one on the island is blown to pieces, and the pieces of his flesh spread out and attack humans everywhere…”
“Damn it! You guys always make me unable to sleep well at night.”
……
While the netizens were discussing in the Live Stream Room, Qi Xuan wasn’t idle either, and began to harvest the spoils of war on the spot.
The first thing he targeted was naturally the treasure map carried by Nangong Yaohua.
After finally taking it down, when he saw the marks on it, Qi Xuan immediately felt a little regretful.
Because this treasure map wasn’t a real defensive Magic Artifact, it was more like a one-time defensive treasure.
It was also normal to say that, because it was difficult for even Qi Condensation to smoothly activate a real defensive Magic Artifact.
Moreover, defensive Magic Artifacts consumed a lot of Spiritual Energy, and if the Spiritual Energy wasn’t injected enough, the defensive power wouldn’t be able to be displayed.
With just a group of Qi Condensation Geniuses present, it was impossible to smoothly activate a defensive Magic Artifact.
The enemy didn’t even need to use too much force, they could exhaust their Spiritual Energy just by relying on the defensive Magic Artifact, and then capture and kill them on the spot.
So it was understandable that Nangong Wuji gave them this kind of defensive treasure that could be easily activated.
However, speaking of one-time defensive treasures, this Hundred Feather Universe Map should be able to be used a few more times at most, or even dozens of times.
The specifics still had to start from its own mechanism.
Each time it resisted a powerful external attack, the Hundred Feather Universe Map would consume at least one feather, depending on the power of the attack.
The greater the power of the attack, the more feathers would be consumed.
It was originally refined from a hundred rare feathers, and theoretically, it should be able to withstand a full blow from the peak of Foundation Stage, and after one blow, the entire map would completely collapse.
From this perspective, although the Hundred Feather Universe Map was only a defensive treasure, its value was even higher than that of ordinary defensive Magic Artifacts.
After all, not all defensive Magic Artifacts could withstand a full blow from the peak of Foundation Stage.
It’s a pity that Zhang Yongze, who led the ambush from the Zhang Family, although he wasn’t the peak of Foundation Stage, his strength was also not to be underestimated.
In the short exchange during the ambush, the Hundred Feather Universe Map had already lost forty feathers, and it couldn’t be ruled out that they were used elsewhere, but most of them should have been consumed on that Foundation Stage cultivator.
From this, it could also be seen how strong Zhang Yongze was, at least a Foundation Stage mid-stage cultivator.
Moreover, the Hundred Feather Universe Map couldn’t only be placed on the body to resist attacks, it could also be released after Refining, remotely controlling it to resist attacks, so the Nangong Family’s group wasn’t defeated by Zhang Yongze one by one.
Now, Nangong Yaohua didn’t mobilize this treasure at all when he was fighting with him, which was also a good piece of news.
If the Monster could still freely use the Magic Artifact equipment on his body, the consequences were simply unimaginable.
After putting away the Hundred Feather Universe Map, Qi Xuan searched Nangong Yaohua’s body again, and found four usable Talismans, as well as a small Jade Box.
Two of them were the Minor Teleportation Talismans that helped them escape the ambush of Zhang Yongze.
Although the teleportation distance of the Minor Teleportation Talisman couldn’t compare to the ten thousand zhang of the Teleportation Talisman, it was still better than the one thousand zhang of the Earth Escape Talisman, reaching three thousand zhang, which was also a rare treasure talisman.
With this Talisman, in the future, if he accidentally bumped into Nangong Wuji again, he could at least escape at the first moment.
It was considered to have a safety net.
As for the Jade Box, it was small and exquisite, with a Spiritual Rune seal on the surface, and it looked like a self-destruction device, so it couldn’t be opened casually, and he didn’t know what was inside.
In addition to the Talismans and the Jade Box, he also found a will.
Yes, a will.
In a certain sense, it could also be considered a memoir.
As he had guessed, Nangong Yaohua had already prepared for the worst before breaking through, and had written the will in advance.
The will wrote a lot of content of reminiscence and emotion, including his past cultivation experiences, and even the recent events, which was a side view that solved some of the mysteries that Nangong Nan couldn’t see through, and supplemented their ending:
“…The first time I did it, I hesitated for a long time, but I told myself that I had to do it, because A Xin’s condition was really bad, he was about to be unable to hold on.
And the most crucial point was that his screams were tormenting everyone’s nerves every day and night, the atmosphere in the Tree Hole was getting worse and worse, and the entire team might collapse at any time, as the leader, I had to be responsible for everyone.
So, I killed him, this was the first time I did it to my own people.”
“…I was very sad to see the ending of A Peng and A Yu perishing together, my parents died early, they and A Wei were my best friends since childhood, but A Wei committed suicide, and now they are both dead, I am the only one in this world.
At midnight, Xiao Qi came to me and said that she saw me assassinating A Xin, but she didn’t intend to report it, but instead asked me to cooperate and prepare to attack A Nan, and take the remaining Clarity Spirit Jade Dew from him.
Hehe, attacking a companion, and it was someone who had always loved her, what a vicious behavior, what a scheming mind?
I killed her on the spot in her unbelievable expression.”
“…The cave was deathly silent, only the five of us were left.
I saw the expressions on their faces were numb and desperate, I suppose I was the same.
But as the leader, I had to be full of confidence, I had to lead everyone to live.
I decided to go into closed-door cultivation to break through to Foundation Stage.
It would be best if I succeeded, and I wouldn’t have to worry about it if I failed.”
“…I became Foundation Stage! I successfully broke through the barrier!!
I thought everyone would be waiting for me, but what I saw was only the half-mad A Nan.
He cried and laughed when he saw me, and he sang and danced around me.
I asked him about the situation of the others, and he smiled and said that he had killed the mad A Feng.
And cried and said that he had ambushed and killed A Fan and A Yang.
But soon he said that he heard that the other party was conspiring to harm him, and he had to act in self-defense.
I guarded A Nan for three days, and his symptoms became more and more serious.
On the third night, A Nan barely regained his clarity and begged me to kill him.
He said he was in so much pain, he didn’t want to be in so much pain anymore.
Seeing him crying and begging, I agreed.
I killed the last companion with my own hands.
Now I am really alone.
In the huge Nangong Family, perhaps only I am left.”
“…I dug a pit for them and buried all the corpses.
But when I woke up from meditation the next day, those corpses would reappear in front of me.
Am I finally going crazy too?”
“…The corpses exposed to the outside were damaged more and more seriously.
It was as if some Demon Beast had entered the cave, tearing them apart, gnawing at them.
But what Demon Beast could escape my perception?
I decided to keep watch at night.”
“…Keeping watch at night didn’t solve the problem, the corpses were damaged more and more severely.
A Wei had been gnawed at earlier, and now he was almost only left with bones.
Who is it?
Who is it?!!
Who wouldn’t let go of the corpses of my own clan?!!!”
“…In order to drive away the insects, I cast the Water Arrow Technique, and the accumulated water on the ground reflected the red color of my mouth.
That unknown Demon Beast was me?
Hahaha, it was me?
It was me!!!!!!!!!”
“…Becoming Foundation Stage didn’t delay my illness, but greatly aggravated it.
I finally understood why the Fourth Elder said that a breakthrough wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
I have to prepare early, at least before I completely become a Monster, to end all of this!”
“…I decided to cast the Wood Sealing Technique.
If I succeeded, maybe I could drag out the illness with time.
If I failed, then let me become a part of the Mother Tree, at least I won’t cause any more trouble.”
“…It’s a pity that I still have regrets unresolved.
Since I started cultivating, I have always been regarded as a Foundation Stage seed, and as the pillar of the family in the future.
The family didn’t treat me unfairly because I was an orphan, the elders and companions were very friendly to me, and all kinds of cultivation resources were also used for me.
But the Nangong Family didn’t become stronger because I broke through to Foundation Stage, and even now my illness is so serious that I can’t even go home to take a look.
This is my biggest regret in this life, and after the wood sealing, I’m afraid it can never be made up.
In addition to this, there was the marriage with the Zhao Family.
Zhao Lingyun, the daughter of the Zhao Family’s patriarch, had a marriage contract with me, and because of my talent, the family gave me the greatest choice.
But in the end, I chose Zhao Lingyun, who they preferred, and I didn’t have much desire for love.
If my marriage could add some chips to the alliance between the families, then I would be happy to pay for it.
Moreover, Zhao Lingyun herself wasn’t bad, and she might be able to advance to Foundation Stage in the future, and she was quite fond of me, so choosing her should be a good decision.
In the subsequent interactions, my relationship with Lingyun was harmonious, although it couldn’t compare to true lovers, it could also be regarded as a model of the alliance between the two families.
I also gradually felt some of Lingyun’s advantages, and there was still a long time in the future, enough for the two of us to cultivate a good relationship and become a model couple in the eyes of others—
That’s what I thought.
Until I encountered that ambush.
Because it happened suddenly, and because of the need for secrecy, the patriarch asked us to set off as soon as possible, the people at home were fine, and they could barely say goodbye, but if the relatives were in other families, they might not even have time to notify them.
Fortunately, I had prepared a Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman in advance, and used the Sound Transmission Talisman to tell Lingyun about the situation here, and expressed my concerns about the journey.
Lingyun said that she would come over to help with her second uncle, although she hadn’t married yet, but she considered herself my wife, and should contribute to my safety.
I’ve met Second Uncle Zhao Yuehong, Foundation Stage mid-stage, he is forthright and generous, with him escorting us on the road, we should be able to safely reach the Mother Tree.
When we arrived at the agreed location, we waited for them for a long time, but in the end, no one came.
Everyone was comforting me, saying that Lingyun and the others might have encountered a Demon Beast, or that they were delayed because of something else.
But how could there be such a coincidence? The greatest possibility must be because they were afraid of losses.
Foundation Stage combat power was very important to every family, not to mention the loss, even the injury was a huge loss to the family.
Now that our group was rushing to the Mother Tree, the journey was very dangerous, and we didn’t know what Calamity we would encounter, and it was understandable that they would hesitate and even break their promise.
But they should have notified us in time, instead of letting us wait in place, wasting precious time in vain, so that we were ambushed by the Zhang Family later! A total of five people were lost!!!
Five people, those were my closest clan members, my companions who had been together for a long time!
How can I face them after I die?!!
This matter is unresolved, and the depression in my heart is hard to dispel.
Now, I can only wait until I wake up from the self-sealing in the future.
Or if I don’t wake up, then I can only ask the fated person to find out.”
Qi Xuan was stunned when he saw this.
Fated person?
Does sending you on your way count as a fated person?
It should count.
But that Zhao Family didn’t seem simple, who would run over there for nothing?
Qi Xuan shook his head and turned the page to continue reading:
“…Of course, I won’t let you make a wasted trip, I have nothing of value, only two Clarity Spirit Jade Dew, and an attack treasure, which I have stored in the Fire Heart Jade Box.
This Jade Box was originally intended to be a gift for Zhao Lingyun, and only her Aura could unlock the Spiritual Seal, and forcibly opening the box would only burn the internal items.
Therefore, it is given to the fated person who sees this will, you only need to find Zhao Lingyun, get close to her, and you can open this Jade Box and obtain the treasures inside.”
Qi Xuan touched the small Jade Box and said righteously:
“But then again, the problems between lovers still need to be solved, maybe it’s just a misunderstanding?”
Keeping Nangong Yaohua’s will, not only because it drew a rough map inside, but also because the will itself could help him gain the trust of Zhao Lingyun.
Although so much time had passed, Zhao Lingyun might have already died, but if she happened to break through to Foundation Stage, and then cast a self-sealing secret technique similar to the Wood Sealing Technique to actively seal herself, maybe he could still see her in person.
As for whether she would also transform into a Monster like Nangong Yaohua?
That was also possible.
But there was no need to worry too much, after all, he had two Minor Teleportation Talismans.
If one couldn’t teleport, I could use two in a row, and still couldn’t escape?
In this way, the Clarity Spirit Jade Dew also had a clue for the time being, and the 【Bone-Spur Disease】 also had a way to deal with it, so he wouldn’t be trapped in the anxiety of fear.
Qi Xuan was immediately greatly encouraged.
He was about to introduce the general situation of the scene to the audience in front of the camera.
Suddenly, his eyes seemed to be burned, and his whole body suddenly froze:
“This is…”
