Chapter 36: Li Ling
Xing Wanxing turned back and spotted the girl’s figure on the distant eaves, recognizing Li Ling. His eyes turned stern as he mobilized the surging magic power in his six spring eyes, stomping the ground heavily. His foot sank into the soil, and a circular shockwave spread out.
Countless gravel flew up from the ground.
“Swish! Swish! Swish…”
He struck out with one palm, sending the floating gravel flying rapidly with a sharp whistling sound that seemed to tear the night sky apart.
Li Ling left the eaves, riding blue fog light marks through the void. Her movement technique was exquisite to the peak, evading all the gravel.
She landed on the ground in the center of the street, her voice clear and pleasant: “Why do I feel that you don’t seem like Buddha Bandits?”
Xing Wanxing narrowed his eyes, killing intent flashing in his pupils: “Is that so? In a bit, this Buddha will recite a passage of the Romantic Sutra for you, or perhaps you can recite it for this Buddha.”
Six springs gushed out, his body’s magic power surging so abundantly that it overflowed onto his surface, forming a layer of protective gray mist. The Chi Fire Beetles that approached were all shaken to the ground by the magic power.
Xing Wanxing knew very well that Li Ling was not a martial arts cultivator, but a mind master walking the spirit god path, not skilled in close combat, with relatively fragile physical body strength.
Thus, he kicked off the ground in an instant, shooting out several zhang away to close the distance.
“Opening six springs, and you dare to clash hard with me? Who gave you the courage?”
As Li Ling retreated slowly, she formed a finger seal with her hand, and her brow lit up in a strange way, as if hiding a world of light beneath her forehead.
“Swish—”
Seven bright light marks flew out from her brow, extending nearly ten zhang into the night sky.
The surrounding air temperature clearly rose.
The seven light marks danced wildly on the streets of Zangxian Town. A wooden pillar supporting a house was slashed through and instantly severed. The cut showed scorch marks.
Over twenty Earth Wolf King Army soldiers who had been searching in the town gathered over, charging with weapons, but four or five fell instantly—severed hands, waists, heads, blood everywhere.
“It’s a mind master, that light mark whip sword is terrifying.”
“Retreat, retreat quickly.”
…
All the soldiers panicked and retreated far away.
In martial cultivation, a difference of one realm means a huge gap in combat power.
They clearly saw that even Xing, who had opened six springs, was in dire straits before that girl, coping quite strenuously.
Li Weiyi peered through the broken window lattice at the clash between those two top masters on the street, secretly shocked. Li Ling looked delicate and frail, like an obedient little neighbor girl, yet her combat power was so formidable—the Earth Wolf King Army’s leader was no match at all.
Killing those other spring opening martial arts cultivators was like chopping melons and vegetables.
How old was she?
This must be a cultivator surpassing high-grade talent!
He quietly leaped down from the beam, preparing to slip away.
On the street, a sudden change occurred.
From the branches and leaves of the thousand-year apricot tree above the ancient well appeared a graceful figure with a tail. She waved her hand, sending countless cow-hair fine flying needles out.
The flying needles were refined from the hair of fiend demon stone monkeys, light as nothing. Thus, when struck out with a special technique, they made almost no sound, achieving silent and undetectable attacks that were hard to guard against.
Of course, to hurl such flying needles as light as hair with lethal destructive power showed the immense magic power of the user.
Even with Li Ling’s perception as a mind master, she only sensed the danger when nearly a hundred cow-hair fine needles entered within ten zhang of her. Unable to judge where the danger came from, she instinctively retreated rapidly and then shattered the gate of a desolate house to hide inside.
“Chi chi!”
The flying needles impacted the street, earthen walls, and pillars.
The street’s stone slabs cracked, the earthen walls collapsed, and the pillars were riddled with dense holes.
Li Weiyi had just come down from the beam and hadn’t left yet when he heard a bang—the gate shattering—and a girl’s figure rushed in. For a moment, their eyes met, and neither spoke.
Li Weiyi wanted to slip out through the backyard.
Xing Wanxing’s fat and short figure was surprisingly swift, already leaping over the earthen wall ahead of him, landing with a boom in the center of the backyard, holding a chi-long short knife.
Footsteps came from all directions.
Over thirty surviving Earth Wolf King Army spring opening martial arts cultivators surrounded the desolate house completely.
Fearing Li Ling’s seven light mark whip swords from her brow, no one dared to rush in easily.
This was the fierce momentum she had killed her way out with!
“Swish!”
Yan Qingqing flew out from the towering apricot tree’s branches and leaves, her magic power flowing over her body like a leaf drifting to the wide and quiet street of Zangxian Town, stepping forward steadily.
Her figure was plump and full, her fiery red tail swaying with the movement of her slender legs, and her two dog ears added a touch of playful cuteness to her sexy and charming face.
“Cang Li’s little sister, Jiu Li Tribe’s nether lantern guide envoy… eh, it seems my stone monkey flying needles hit you!” Yan Qingqing’s voice was always coy and coquettish, her face carrying a smile.
She waved her palm to gather strands of magic power, retrieving the flying needles from the ground, and found one missing.
One was enough!
Standing in the backyard, Xing Wanxing said: “Why so much nonsense? Let’s attack together, hack her to death with chaotic swords, we need to leave this place quickly.”
Yan Qingqing was Shi Jiuzhai’s eighth disciple, a Spring Gushing Realm peak strong practitioner who had opened seven springs. But Xing Wanxing didn’t call her senior sister, nor show much respect.
Because his most outstanding trait had never been cultivation or martial force, but Shi Jiuzhai’s most valued money-making ability.
A flash of displeasure passed through Yan Qingqing’s eyes, but she smiled: “Why is junior disciple brother so anxious? The flying needles are poisonous; wait until her body gradually petrifies and stiffens, then go in to clean up—won’t it be easy as pie? Besides, such an important figure, such a delicate little beauty, how can you be so heartless? Could it be you’ve done something guilty and want to silence her?”
Xing Wanxing naturally understood that Yan Qingqing had followed secretly on Shi Jiuzhai’s orders.
Fortunately, there were no treasures in the silver giant coffin; otherwise, he would be the one hit by the stone monkey flying needles now.
Xing Wanxing said: “It’s not that this junior disciple wants to destroy the flower ruthlessly, but this girl seems to have discovered our secret. How major is this matter, no need to say? If news leaks and arouses Jiu Li Tribe’s suspicion, you and I won’t have a way to survive with master.”
Yan Qingqing’s smile faded from her face.
Pretending to be Buddha Bandits to attack Cang Li Tribe was to incite turmoil in Li Zhou; behind this were many big figures involved. If something went wrong, she didn’t dare imagine what fate she and Xing Wanxing would face.
…
Inside the desolate house.
Li Ling stared at Li Weiyi coldly: “You heard, right? All who know must be silenced. Do you think you can be the exception?”
When she suddenly burst through the door earlier, Li Weiyi was startled, but she was unusually calm.
Clearly, his prior guess was right: Li Ling had tracked him to Zangxian Town and knew his hiding spot all along.
Li Weiyi was speechless, whispering as low as possible: “You could have fled elsewhere, but you fled here on purpose to drag me down as a scapegoat? I saved your Cang Li Tribe; you’re not this ungrateful.”
“I had no other choice.”
Li Ling sat on the dusty, cobweb-filled earthen low couch, unconcerned with the filth, and continued: “That woman outside has profound cultivation, at least opening seven springs. Her flying needle attacks are silent and hard to predict or guard against. Escaping outside, she just needs another wave of flying needles, and I’m dead for sure.”
Li Weiyi was completely numb. Shi Jiuzhai’s two disciples—one with six springs, the other even seven. He, a mere mortal just entering three springs, had stumbled into what high-end game?
Even more terrifying, that seven-spring woman was a deformed humanoid race, with combat power higher than same realm mortals.
Li Weiyi said: “Flee outside, one dies. Hide in here, two die.”
Li Ling stared into Li Weiyi’s eyes and shook her head: “I’m a nether lantern guide envoy, with unique fortune and misfortune perception, so I can lead the coffin carrying team to find the correct path through the departed spirit fog domain. With you, I sense a slim chance of survival.”
“I think your excuse is too far-fetched.” Li Weiyi didn’t believe her mysticism at all and added: “You tailed me to Zangxian Town without good intentions, right?”
Li Ling knew nothing she said now would convince him, so she simply stopped explaining: “Right, I do want to drag you down. But now, aren’t we grasshoppers on the same rope? Only by getting through this crisis do you have a chance to get revenge, no?”
Not even pretending anymore?
Li Weiyi knew full well that over thirty martial arts experts outside had this place surrounded tightly, all escape routes blocked, like a desperate situation.
Shi Jiuzhai’s two disciples wouldn’t care if he was innocent or not; no living thing would leave Zangxian Town tonight.
Worried Li Weiyi would lose reason and go down fighting with her, Li Ling finally explained: “You’re underestimating the perception of a seven-spring martial arts master. I found your position, so she definitely can too. Plus, she’s a dog-like deformed humanoid race with keen sense of smell—think she doesn’t know where you’re hiding?”
“If I die, or escape, the next one she kills is definitely you.”
“I fled here, giving you a slim chance.”
Li Weiyi temporarily didn’t want to argue with her; this girl was small but cunning, calmer and more rational than many adults. He said: “You really got hit by her stone monkey flying needles?”
Li Ling’s delicate and obedient face turned gloomy: “Fortunately, only one needle hit me.”
Li Weiyi said: “Then while your body hasn’t petrified and stiffened yet, let’s split up and fight our way out, seizing that slim chance.”
Li Ling stared fixedly at Li Weiyi.
“What?”
“Cunning!”
“How am I cunning?” Li Weiyi said.
Li Ling said: “If we fight out now, all the bandits will target me, and you can slip away.”
Li Weiyi hadn’t even thought in that direction, but had to admit… she was right, very thorough.
“Either way it’s a dead end; acting now still gives a fighting chance.” Li Weiyi said.
Li Ling told him the truth: “The stone poison in one stone monkey flying needle is very mild; I’ve taken secret medicine to suppress it temporarily. But those outside don’t know—wait for them to rush in, catch them off guard, won’t our odds be even better?”
Li Weiyi increasingly felt this girl was deeply scheming; he’d need to guard against her more in the future.
She said: “Once I go all out, the stone poison will spread rapidly. Before that, I’ll do everything to heavily injure or kill those two highest cultivation martial arts cultivators; the rest are yours. After escaping, my body will definitely petrify and stiffen—that’s when you’ll need to take me back to Cang Li Tribe.”
“You think I will?” Li Weiyi said.
Li Ling said: “If you take me back, I’ll marry you.”
What a pie in the sky…
Does she even believe it herself?
