Chapter 16 – Falling into the abyss
The Black-Moon Centipede escaped in a panic. Although the mutated beast below made Great Mage Bai Yuan Zhi extremely anxious, what he saw suddenly stunned him.
The same sight astonished Zong Ling, Tong San, Qing Shi, Kong You Yue, Ji Rong, and Si Chen as well.
Because-
After Xiang Pang Yun had transformed into the mutated beast, he had knocked Xue Ying out of Black-Wind Cliff, causing Xue Ying to become uncontrollably swept by the fierce wind towards the maelstrom. Unexpectedly, Xue Ying let out a world-shaking roar – his body had leaned backwards, a short spear had appeared on his right hand, and even his entire figure had been engulfed by flame; even the surroundings had been illuminated by dazzling, massively spread-out flame – like a very beautiful flame lotus.
Dong Bo Xue Ying was the very image of a fire deity.
Xue Ying threw the short spear! It shot through the sky like a meteor!
One spear, two spears, three spears.
Every single short spear was a spear that the mutated beast could not block. Each weapon penetrated through the beast’s vital spots, causing the creature to die on the spot. Its wings that were originally full of strength became limp, causing the monster’s enormous body to eventually get powerlessly swept by the fierce wind towards the black wind maelstrom.
“It died! The beast died!” Great Mage Bai Yuan Zhi was full of joy, though he was shocked as well.
“Quick, quick go and save Xue Ying, quick go and save him.” Zong Ling had encountered many life and death situations in his past, and thus, he knew how important time was, making his reaction the fastest of all. Qing Shi turned anxious at that, causing him to react with a shout, “Quick save my brother, teacher, quick save my brother.”
“Oh!” Bai Yuan Zhi also immediately responded to the urgent requests.
Hu.
He controlled the Black-Moon Centipede, turning in an arc, before rushing down at half-sonic speed. Even though the distance was more than a thousand meters, they easily covered it.
Unfortunately, Xue Ying had already been swept into the middle of the maelstrom and was currently being swept deeper into it.
“We’re too late.” Bai Yuan Zhi shook his head, “Even if we had enough time, I would not dare to bring the Black-Moon Centipede so close to the maelstrom.” He did not say as much at this moment. Actually, everyone realized it was too late. They just wanted to at least attempt to put in some last ditch effort at saving Xue Ying.
‘Dong Bo Xue Ying, is he going to die?’ You Yue’s felt complex emotions. She had never imagined that Xue Ying would be powerful enough that even the transformed beast, Xiang Pang Yun would still be executed by him!
However, Ji Rong’s eyes brightened. There was a hint of insanity in her gaze, ‘He died? That is good. Him dying is a good thing! It is only him preventing me and Qing Shi from being together. Now that he is dead, I believe that not long after, Qing Shi and I will be together! This dead expert must have left behind many treasures… I must acquire them so that I can present such riches to our noble god.’
……
He watched that Black-Moon Centipede descend.
“Little brother,”said Xue Ying. After seeing the gigantic four-hooved black-scaled beast’s corpse nearby, his heart trembled. Taking out a steel hook attached to a rope, he threw it.
Hu.
How great was his strength? Even as he was in the middle of the black wind maelstrom, the steel hook turned into a blur as it flew towards the four-hooved black-scaled beast, wrapping twice around its neck. This rope was actually a prize he had found in the treasure storage left behind by that Demonic Emissary. It was really tough. With just a tug, that dead mutated beast was pulled down while Xue Ying was pulled up.
Sou, in a flash, Xue Ying landed on the mutated beast’s body.
Standing on top of the four-hooved mutated beast’s body, getting a feel of the surrounding fierce wind, Xue Ying then exerted strength in his legs! His entire body bathed in flame!
Hong!
Soaring the skies with a leap!
However, the power of the Black wind maelstrom was too strong, reducing his flame empowered speed. At the very most, he could only reach a height of just over 50 meters before he fell again.
……
The Black-Moon Centipede dove down at top speed, but it stopped a few hundred meters away from the black wind maelstrom.
“Closer,” Qing Shi urged anxiously.
“I dare not go any closer. The wind is too strong, such that if I go any closer, the Black-Moon Centipede will not be able to withstand the wind,” Bai Yuan Zhi said as the fierce wind whizzed around them. Even at such a distance, the power of the fierce wind taxed the Black-Moon Centipede flight ability. Should they go any closer, the centipede would no longer be able to overcome the wind strength and would be swept with it as well.
Qing Shi, Zong Ling and the rest anxiously gazed at the distant Black wind maelstrom on the centipede.
Hu.
In the eye of the maelstrom, the four-hooved mutated beast suddenly dropped. At the same time, a figure bathed in flame soared up to the skies. Everywhere around him was a sea of bright-red flame, weakening the power of the surrounding wind.
“Brother!” Qing Shi shouted in tears.
“Xue Ying!” Zong Ling and Tong San were anxious as well, though they could not do anything to help out l.
Swathed in flame, Xue Ying raised his head and stared at the distant Qing Shi, Zong Ling and Tong San sitting on top of the Black-Moon Centipede.
He began uncontrollably descending downwards once again.
“Qing Shi! Live well. Don’t disappoint me!” Xue Ying’s forceful voice resounded through the world. He worried most about his little brother. Xue Ying was afraid that should he die, his little brother would be greatly devastated, and that was something he did not want to see.
“Hahaha, do not worry. I, Dong Bo Xue Ying will not die so easily.”
“Even if I get swept into the Black wind Abyss, I’ll still find a way to live on!”
Xue YIng’s voice was full of confidence.
His gaze swept across everyone on top of the Black-Moon Centipede. Suddenly, he looked towards Ji Rong, causing a jolt in his heart. This Ji Rong was after all, someone who was suspected of being a believer of the Demonic God by the Dragon Mountain Manor. Right now, she actually rode on top of the Black-Moon Centipede in order to get closer to his brother?
“Qing Shi, remember this. Never get together with this Ji Rong! Great Mage Bai Yuan Zhi, she will be exiled from my Snowrock Mountain from tomorrow on. Prevent her from ever stepping one foot onto it,” Xue Ying said unyieldingly.
Ji Rong was stunned.
Qing Shi’s big brother was not giving her even a single chance.
“Rest assured, Lord of the castle.” Great Mage Bai Yuan Zhi answered unhesitantly. Such a heroic, outstanding character was someone he much admired.
“Haha, thanks.” Xue Ying’s spirit was very much uplifted, “When I come home from Black Wind Abyss, I’ll definitely have a drink with you, Great Mage.”
“This old one will be waiting for you!” Bai Yuan Zhi replied loudly.
Finishing the conversation.
Xue Ying continued falling downwards. Amidst the black wind maelstrom, this figure in flame became more and more blurry. As he fell, he looked towards his little brother, Qing Shi, with a smile on his face.
The wind whizzed unceasingly.
No other sounds could be heard in the world.
That black-robed teenager, surrounded by flames, had truly entered into the deep recesses of the black wind maelstrom, disappearing from everyone’s sight.
Qing Shi’s body trembled. He raised out his hands as if wanting to catch at that… brother of his amidst the flame, somehow or another, still appearing in front of him.
“Why… why…” Qing Shi was fully devastated.
Pain and agony drowned him like an incoming tide.
This was a pain he had not encountered before.
His life felt torn!
“Brother!!!” Qing Shi let out a mournful scream, “Come back, come back for me, come back! I’ll listen to you, I’ll definitely listen to you and not curse you. I won’t get angry at you anymore. Just, just come back!!!”
Zong Ling and Tong San both hugged Qing Shi from the sides. Their eyes were filled with tears as well.
Living together for over 20 years.
Xue Ying was like their own child. How could they not feel grief? Yet because they had experienced more deaths in their lives, they were not as devastated.
“Xue Ying, do not worry. I and Tong San will definitely take good care of Qing Shi.” Zong Ling thought.
Beside him, Tong San was still hugging Qing Shi, “Qing Shi, your brother has a heaven-sweeping talent, with a combat ability that transcends our imagination. Even if he was swept into the Black-Wind Abyss, I’m sure he will survive. He will definitely survive.”
Mage Bai Yuan Zhi and Mage Si Chen rode beside them, sighing.
They believed that the last words of Xue Ying, about how he would definitely return… were merely to give his little brother hope. They knew Xue Ying did not want Qing Shi to do some desperate acts in his grief.
“Really amazing,” Bai Yuan Zhi sighed, “He is just 22 years. That Xiang Pang Yun became even stronger after revealing his beast-form, and yet, he was still killed by Dong Bo Xue Ying! In the end, Xue Ying was able to activate the flames of the world… that must be, Realm of Myriad Existence?”
“The fabled realm Myriad Existences. Even in the entire huge Dragon Mountain Empire, including those hundred years old men, those who have reached this Realm of Myriad Existences do not even number 50,” Mage Si Chen sighed, “Once one is able to achieve the Realm of Myriad Existences, they must have reached the top 50! Even if it was my clan’s old ancestors, they would be powerless in front of Dong Bo Xue Ying and not be able to retaliate. Even if it was the true self of Xiang Pang Yun, with such a rise of his combat power, he was still killed by Xue Ying’s short spears.”
“This combat power would be able to kill off even the pseudo-Transcendents!” Great Mage Bai Yuan Zhi sighed.
“This kind of genius will only be born once in a hundred years throughout the entire Dragon Mountain empire.” Mage Si Chen did not have thoughts of comparing himself with Xue Ying. Towards him, he only felt admiration and regret.
Comprehending One with the Heavens at 22 was already a rare sight in the Dragon Mountain Empire, with only around a dozen achieving it.
But comprehending the Realm of Myriad Existences at 22 years old.
It was something that would only appear once every 100-200 years, a truly proud son of the heavens.
“The end of such an elegant character just after exposing his prowess… “ Mage Bai Yuan Zhi sighed once again, “Pity, such a pity.”
“Yes, if he lives on, he is almost certainly will reach the rank of Transcendents.” Mage Si Chen nodded, “Their movement of chasing and battling throughout a distance of 50 kilometers would have attracted the attention of Dragon Mountain Manor. I believe very soon, someone will come and find us. With the release of the news of this battle… Dong Bo Xue Ying will definitely become famous, but it’s a pity, it will still be too late.”
“En.” Bai Yuan Zhi nodded. Once news of this battle was spread, it would definitely be world-breaking news. Initially, this should be Xue Ying’s splendor, and an achievement of allowing him to reach the highest level in the entire Dragon Mountain Empire. Yet now, he would not be able to enjoy that splendor anymore.
……
Black-Wind Abyss.
The fierce wind whizzed about. The deeper he went, the stronger the wind.
Xue Ying was surrounding by flames. He primed the World Energy into the flames in order to reduce his falling speed. Despite that, his speed continued to increase.
“This is too fast. My speed has already broken the sound barrier. If my speed continues increasing any further… I’m afraid that I’ll get splattered to death once I reach the rock-bottom of this Black-Wind Abyss!” Xue Ying was anxious. Suddenly, he saw the corpse of the four-hooves black-scaled mutated beast. Its body was really big, with two gigantic wings on it. Naturally, during its fall, the resistance brought by the wings was so great that its speed reduced so much till Xue Ying was able to reach it.
“En?” Xue Ying’s heart trembled. At that juncture, he brought forth the flames of the world, shrouding that four-hooves mutated beast and doing his utmost in slowing its speed.
As for himself, not only did he not rely on the flames to reduce his speed, he actually fell even faster!
Hu.
Soon, Xue Ying fell onto the body of the four-hooved mutated beast. Letting out his senses onto the beast, he discovered a storage wristband beneath the scales at the front chest section. He took the wristband and examined what was inside.
In the storage wristband, there were a lot of things; there was even food, a thick pile of gold notes, jewelry and more gold…
“Nothing useful here.” Xue Ying wanted to find something to aid in reducing his falling speed. The wristband contents did not contain anything useful for that purpose. Naturally, under ordinary conditions, Legend rankers would not die from falling. Regardless of whether it was Xiang Pang Yun or that Demonic God Emissary, none of them would prepare an item in breaking one’s fall.
Xue Ying’s gaze turned towards the four-hooved mutated beast.
“The scales of this mutated beast are really hard, harder than the rocks and soil on that mountain, and would not be able to reduce the force from the impact.” With a turn of his hands, the Flying Snow God Spear appeared in his grip. With that flat-sharpness of the spearhead, with a ‘Shuai’, he cut out the wings from the beast! Right now, those scaled-wings were not covered by the blood-stream as before, and thus, would not have defences as high as previously.
That blood-stream… was actually the Primordial Bloodline of this four-hooved mutated beast.
Quickly, Xue Ying cut one of the scaled wings entirely apart. This scaled wing had a wingspan of over a dozen meter, and it was quite wide. Yet compared to its size, the weight was quite light, implying a hollow structure within.
“Pu.” “Pu.” “Pu.” “Pu.”
Xue Ying stabbed apart some of the scales on this wing so that he was able to grab the bone support on it.
“Life or death, I’ll gamble on this.” Xue Ying kept his Flying Snow God Spear, grabbing onto a tough bone within the stabbed-open hole of the wing.
That was how he used the gigantic scaled wings as support.
Hu!
A wingspan of over 10 meters and 5 meters wide, this was how Xue Ying used it as his support. One must know that he was currently falling at a speed faster than sound and the fierce wind around was relentlessly pulling him down! But under the influence of the wing at speed faster than sound… The impact of airflow actually allowed Xue Ying’s speed to reduce, making him further and further from the four-hooved mutated beast body below him.
With both his hands holding onto the gigantic scaled-wing, coupled with the flames from the world, his speed gradually become slower. However, the deeper he fell, the stronger the wind, ensuring his falling speed to exceed sound regardless. Furthermore, there were even whirls within, causing Xue Ying to tumble around and making it hard to use the wing as support. He was struggling, doing his utmost in order to find that minute chance at surviving.
“How deep is this Black-Wind Abyss. It feels like I’ve already fallen for more than 7000-8000 meters already!” Xue Ying was rotating and overturning at times. But the fact remained that he was falling.
“En?”Xue Ying saw that beside the black fierce wind, at a mountain wall 1 km away, there was actually an enormous black organism entrenched there. That faint black figure seemed to be like a dragon! However, the length of its body was already over a thousand meters, longer than the body-length of any ordinary dragons. The enormous black organism swept around with its pair of golden eyes.
Xue Ying felt the tremors in his soul. This gap between them, was akin to how the organism could kill him with a breath. It was at this moment that Xue Ying Understood… why all rankers below Transcendents who came exploring would die!
Hu.
His falling speed was really fast. In a flash, he could no longer see that enormous black organism, falling even deeper into the pitch-black recesses of abyss.