Chapter 169: Wait Up, My Fellow Cultivators!
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The humongous steely claws, made from the metal elemental demonic powers landed onto the sand shield erected by Kang Nanhua with a loud bang.
By right, the power from a Nascent Soul Stage attack would pulverise any cultivator at the final levels of the Aurous Core Stage.
However, for some weird reason, the claw of the Gengjin Tiger King was unable to smash the sand shield into bits.
The eyes of the Gengjin Tiger King widened in surprise and anger. Even if he had expended a large amount of demonic mana and energy fighting against the Changchun Cane and the Flower of Samsara, an Aurous Core Stage cultivator should not be able to parry the attack.
Gengjin Tiger King gave off a snorting noise of displeasure as he increased the amount of power and energy pumped into the claws.
Because of this surge in power, the sand shield was destroyed with a loud clang.
However, before the Gengjin Tiger King had a chance to make his next move, countless grains of sand had come together to reform another sand shield, blocking the Gengjin Tiger King.
And of course, on the other side of the shield was the calm and determined face of Kang Nanhua. His face was a little paler than before but his eyes still radiated his determination.
Everyone could tell that he was not going to give up easily.
Lin Feng looked from afar and a thought formed in his head, "Kang Nanhua must have discovered the complete version of the Ancient Mantra of the Flowing Sand of Ganges!"
The mantra which Kang Nanhua was practising and building his cultivation on previously was called the Secret Mantra of the Flowing Sand. It was a torn chapter of the Ancient Mantra of the Flowing Sand of Ganges. This resulted in an incomplete technique that was not very powerful.
Therefore, there were a lot of mantras, abhijna and spells which Kang Nanhua was unable to pick up and consolidate.
But the present Kang Nanhua had mana which was filled to the brim and like the Ganges, it flowed seamlessly as though it was endless.
In addition, after he had attained the final level of the Aurous Core Stage, Lin Feng dared to claim that since the splitting up back at the Great Swamp of the Ancient Regions, Kang Nanhua definitely had a fortuitous encounter, resulting in him acquiring the complete version of the Ancient Mantra of the Flowing Sand of Ganges.
This set of mantra was supposed to be a top tier mantra, giving the cultivator unique and powerful properties. If Kang Nanhua were to set up the Flowing Sand of the Ganges Formation again, the Almighty Celestial Destroyer Formation set up by General Xie then would not be able to win that easily anymore.
Now, if Kang Nanhua had the opportunity to set up the formation, Gengjin Tiger King would also have a hard time prying the formation apart.
However, Gengjin Tiger King was not the only one angered by Kang Nanhua. The Hundred Herbs Grandmaster was equally displeased with how Kang Nanhua and Yue Hongyan tried to free the children which were meant to be used to make the Mortal Spiritual Elixir.
There were only a few days left before the Mortal Spiritual Elixir was ready, but because Yue Hongyan had freed the children, the painstaking efforts made by the Hundred Herbs Grandmaster had gone down the drains.
"For all your actions, none of you will be leaving today!" The Hundred Herbs Grandmaster roared as his face darkened the more he thought about his lost elixir. Following which, he flew into the sky and disappeared into the depths of the colourful and bright cloud mist.
Immediately, the large volume of spiritual energy within the cloud mist began to concentrate towards the center of the cloud mist.
An aura of destruction and catastrophe filled the entire sky.
After scanning the colourful cloud mist, the Gengjin Tiger King turned his head around to look at Kang Nanhua and Yue Hongyan. "I don’t really care if both of you remove the children from the jars because I don’t care about the Mortal Spiritual Elixir. As long as their bodies still contain sufficient spiritual energy and medicinal power, that will be enough."
"Go ahead and run. Let’s see how fast you all can run", the Gengjin Tiger King laughed eerily before gazing at the sky. "Don’t blame me for not reminding you all. I won’t take much time to settle that old fool."
After finishing his sentence, the Gengjin Tiger King let out a loud howl before flying up to the sky into the depths of the colourful cloud mist.
Lin Feng’s eyes brightened as he thought, "It seems that the colourful cloud mist has the ability to insulate the environment within and prevent anyone from trying to sense or detect the activities within."
That would really be helpful because he happened to need to perform his next action in secrecy, without the two monsters who were fighting up in the sky.
Lin Feng revealed himself and Kang Nanhua identified him immediately. "It seems that my fellow cultivator Lin Feng is here as well. I hope you’re not here for the Mortal Spiritual Elixir."
"I am sorry but I’m here for the Mortal Spiritual Elixir. But not to wait for them to be ready from the crucible. I’m here to ensure that they’ll never appear on the face of our world again." Lin Feng replied truthfully with utmost sincerity. Afterwards, he looked up at the sky into the cloud mist before continuing, "Could you kindly escort these children down the mountain. I’ll clean up the rest of the mess over here."
Yue Hongyan stared at Lin Feng who was in mid-air, and his eyes revealed signs of being impressed.
Kang Nanhua gave a smile of relief as he replied, "Thank you, my friend. There are still many tiger demons on Changchun Peak. Amongst them, there are quite a few Demonic Commanders. After I’ve brought them to a safe place, I’ll return to lend you a hand."
Lin Feng laughed, "That would not be necessary." While his laughter was still resonating in the air, he had already begun flying into the depths of the colourful cloud mist.
The moment he entered the colourful cloud mist, Lin Feng discovered the mysterious ability of it.
The Changchun Heaven-Defying Formation had three levels of restrictions. At the foot of the mountain, there was the dirt-yellow cloud mist. It was the result of repeated refining of the essence from the earth and mud. Its dense Earthen essence had the ability to suppress and challenge any intruder.
At roughly the halfway mark of the mountain, the jade-green cloud mist formed the bulk of the Changchun Heaven-Defying Formation. Within the mist, one could find a strong and concentrated sense of vitality which was beneficial for the rapid growth of plants which possessed offensive abilities.
However, these two levels of restrictions were only suitable against weaker foes. When it came to restricting enemies of Aurous Core Stage and above, the formation would rely on the colourful cloud mist in the sky near the peak.
Inside the colourful cloud mist, one would lose his or her clarity in thought and henceforth, found himself entrapped within the cloud mist. AT the same time, the mist also had a strong corrosive ability, corroding the mana and energy of the intruder.
Therefore, the colourful cloud mist was essentially like a venus flytrap plant, inviting the intruder before swallowing and digesting them.
The colorful cloud mist was also linked to the consciousness of the Hundred Herbs Grandmaster and therefore, the moment that Lin Feng had entered the cloud mist, he had known about it immediately.
However, Lin Feng did not utilise the Fences of the Heaven for self-defence against the corrosiveness of the mist. He simply released some of his mana to deny the mist from corroding him in order to create an illusion that he was just an average Aurous Core Stage cultivator.
The Hundred Herbs Grandmaster thus continued to put in his best against the Gengjin Tiger King, believing that the corrosiveness of the cloud mist would be sufficient to kill Lin Feng.
In the center of the colorful cloud mist, the Hundred Herbs Grandmaster was sitting cross-legged while a giant circular fruit remained suspended in mid-air above his head.
Large volumes of spiritual energy and mana from the colorful cloud mist was concentrating towards the center of the fruit.
The gigantic fruit had a green exterior which flashed streaks of luxuriant purple colour, like a heart, beating and contracting at its own rhythmic pattern.
The Hundred Herbs Grandmaster glared at the Gengjin Tiger King which was at the center of the colorful cloud mist before bellowing, "You demon, watch out for my Heaven Cleaving Fruit!"
The gigantic fruit fell from the sky as it headed for a landing below it. If one were to pay attention to the exterior of the fruit, one would notice that there were signs of it being cleaved open which was analogous to the cleaving of the sky and earth which formed our world.
The separation of the sky and earth from this cleaving resulted in the formation of matter, leading to a vibrant growth of mother nature, creating a green natural world.
Although it gave off the strong scent of life, the sheer power, which was similar to the strength required to cleave apart the sky and earth, immediately demanded attention from the Gengjin Tiger King.
After a loud roar, an armor-like plate formed on the exterior of the Gengjin Tiger King while countless metallic sharp blades emerged from the exterior of the plates, giving him the look of a metal porcupine.
Just like how he parried the Flower of Samsara, the Gengjin Tiger King did not choose to evade or defend himself passively. But instead, he transformed into a streak of bright golden light with such high velocity that could seemingly destroy the colorful cloud mist and faced the Heaven Cleaving Fruit head-on.
The green fruit and the golden light collided heavily right in the center of the colorful cloud mist.
The sheer might and strength of the Heaven Cleaving Fruit exploded into action as countless streaks of colorful light were sprayed endlessly in all direction.
When the streaks of light came into contact with the colorful cloud mist, it was like sparks coming into contact with dry firewood, the cloud mist became violent and energetic.
The view from outside of the cloud mist would only show the rapid expansion of the cloud mist and the increasing density of it which made it looked as though it was solidifying.
The strong rippling of mana made the entire area a death zone where all living organisms would be melted and refined.
However, there was that single streak of golden flashing light which was like a destructive blade shrouded in an aura which radiated determination, as it smashed through all the energy and mana which stood in its way as it forcefully ripped the cloud mist and the rays from the Heaven Cleaving Fruit apart.
The Hundred Herbs Grandmaster was stunned, "What?! Even the Heaven Cleaving Fruit is unable to restrict and contain this demon?"
In the blink of an eye, the golden light had reached him and as it trembled, it transformed back into the figure of the Gengjin Tiger King.
The Tiger King which was enshrouded in a murderous aura gave a cruel smile to the Hundred Herbs Grandmaster before lifting his claw, which was like a consolidated stack of sabres. With a swift action, the Tiger King scratched towards the Hundred Herbs Grandmaster.
The Hundred Herbs Grandmaster retreated in shock and fear but was too late. Blood was already splattered as a few severe gashes were already formed on his body.
"How dare you! I will repay the humiliation that you have given me today in the near future." The Hundred Herbs Grandmaster took a deep breath as he circulated the mana in his body. Almost immediately, his injuries had recovered by a significant bit. Even though his offensive abilities were not that remarkable, his healing abilities were still one of a kind.
Seeing how his strongest offensive spell, the Heaven Cleaving Fruit, was powerless against the Gengjin Tiger King, thoughts of fleeing appeared in his head.
He glanced at Kang Nanhua and Yue Hongyan, who was at the top of Changchun Peak, with much hatred before muttering under his breath, "Those two brats took advantage of the situation and wrecked my plans. If both of you were able to escape the wrath of this wretched demon, I will find you and I will torment you!"
The Hundred Herbs Grandmaster believed that if he were to flee now, the Gengjin Tiger King would not go after him as there were plenty of Mortal Spiritual Elixirs and other magical elixirs which he could salvage.
Just when he had torn up the void in front of him to flee, the Grandmaster suddenly heard a voice behind him.
"Wait up, my fellow cultivator!"
Both the Hundred Herbs Grandmaster and the Gengjin Tiger King were shocked to hear the voice of another person as they saw a young man robed in purple emerged from the center of the colorful cloud mist. The man, as you would have guessed, was Lin Feng.
Lin Feng gave a gentle smile before greeting the Hundred Herbs Grandmaster, "My fellow cultivator, do not worry. I am here to lend some assistance to you."
As he spoke, the Black Dragon Jieyu was released as it surged towards the Gengjin Tiger King.
"No! Please don’t send me to the Tiger King! That is a Demonic Lord level creature!" Jieyu wanted to scream but no voice was coming out of its mouth.
Lin Feng brought his hands together and began an incantation before smiling, "The one who is named Jieyu, shall fulfil its orders and answer to my command. It shall fight to its death with this wretched tiger demon!"
Jieyu growled in return, "If somehow I don’t die from this battle, I’ll demand some form of compensation from you!" Despite being very unwilling, the contract rooted in its very soul demanded compliance to Lin Feng’s Dragon Taming Technique. Hence, he had no choice to fight with its nightmare, the Gengjin Tiger King.
Lin Feng chuckled, "Relax! Don’t worry! As long as I’m here, you won’t die."
The Gengjin Tiger King saw the fearful dragon and laughed mockingly, "Its body strength might be comparable to mine. But do you actually think that a Demonic Commander dragon would be able to win me? I shall skin this dragon alive before ripping apart its innards. Then I will wipe all of you out!"
The Hundred Herbs Grandmaster wrinkled his brows as he stared at this scene blankly without speaking.
Lin Feng smiled, "Don’t you worry my fellow cultivator. The fact that I had revealed myself means that I do have much confidence when it comes to slaying this demon." After which, he flailed his arms to reveal a ball of white brilliant lightning, which transformed into a humongous net of lightning which was tossed towards the head of the Gengjin Tiger King.
"Nine Thunder Screen?!" The Hundred Herbs Grandmaster exclaimed in disbelief as he stared at Lin Feng and questioned, "Who are you? How did my friend Huang Lei’s magic item land into your hands?"
Lin Feng smiled but remained silent. The only thing which he did was to lift his finger and point it at the Gengjin Tiger King.
Seeing the Nine Thunder Screen, the Gengjin Tiger King gave a few tamed roars and seemed to be quite fearful of the net.
The Hundred Herbs Grandmaster gritted his teeth and decided not to flee but to stay behind to guard and protect the estate which he had painstakingly built for the past thousand years.
He brought his hands together and a gigantic Heaven Cleaving Fruit formed once again in the center of the colorful cloud mist.
Lin Feng saw the fruit and a warm smile formed on his face.