Young Master Xiang scrambled and crawled on all fours, fleeing for dozens of li before his suppressed injuries finally overwhelmed him. He collapsed onto his back, panting in ragged, wheezing gasps.
A moment later, the comely Thirteenth Mistress limped over, coughing up blood.
The two great experts looked at each other, both thoroughly humiliated.
"To think his cultivation was so unfathomably profound. We truly met our match."
Young Master Xiang caught his breath and sat up. "Fortunately, we ran fast. Otherwise, we would have been dead without a doubt."
Thirteenth Mistress slumped to the ground. "I couldn't fathom the depths of his cultivation at all. He merely sat there, flicking his fingers casually in the air, and left us gravely injured. Could he be an ancient Qi Refiner from the pre-Qin era deliberately posing as a youth?"
She felt deeply ashamed. When Xu Ying dealt with the two of them, he hadn't even fully raised a hand before they were beaten half to death. They hadn't even caught how he struck!
Young Master Xiang shook his head. "We searched for ancient Qi Refiners for so many years before finally uncovering one in the rocky mountain. Where on earth did this ancient Qi Refiner spring from?"
Thirteenth Mistress was equally at a loss.
Upon the Nai River, the wind had ceased and the moon shone bright. Even the solitary souls and wild ghosts that typically made a clamor in the river were dead silent; aside from Xu Ying, not a single one dared draw breath.
Having severely wounded two great experts, Xu Ying's gaze turned somewhat profound and distant, as if he had become a peerless grandmaster himself.
After a short while, the youth finally snapped out of his dizzying conceit, thinking to himself, *If I grow arrogant and conceited, I could easily get done in out of nowhere. Just like many veteran snake catchers—they think themselves supremely skilled, only to slip up, take a single bite of snake venom, and kick the bucket with their toes to the sky.*
Even so, that bronze basin was truly astounding. It had actually disguised an insignificant Qi Refiner like him as a peerless master, battering Young Master Xiang and Thirteenth Mistress until they spat blood and fled in utter disarray. Xu Ying couldn't help but grow fonder of it by the second.
*The maiden in the coffin gave me the bronze basin, but she never said I had to return it. In that case, I won't,*
the youth thought. *Perhaps this bronze basin was a token of affection she gifted me. For the basin's sake, even if she's a female ghost, I suppose I could bring myself to accept...*
The maple leaf boat traveled thousands of li eastward through the night, finally drawing near Mount Wuwang. Suddenly, the sky brightened as the morning sun cast its rays. Knowing something was amiss, Xu Ying immediately clamped his arms around the bronze basin.
Beneath the maple leaf boat, the entire Nai River abruptly vanished without a trace. Deprived of the current, the boat turned into an ordinary fallen leaf, drifting and plummeting from the sky.
Xu Ying fell from midair. Though unhurt, the bottom of the bronze basin struck the ground and cracked, opening a fissure that continuously leaked water!
Grief struck Xu Ying's heart. Clasping the basin, he sprinted forward with all his might, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Hu family! Members of the Hu family! Lend me a big silver ingot! Gold is even better!"
The fox demons resided in a small town at the foot of Mount Wuwang. Dawn had barely broken, and many fox demons had yet to rise from their beds when they saw Xu Ying barge into the town clutching a bronze basin.
Elder Hu rushed out, flustered. "Monster King Xu, what brings you here in such a rush?"
The water in the basin was nearly gone. Having no time to explain, Xu Ying noticed a gold ring on the elder's finger, yanked it off in one swift motion, and tossed it into the bronze basin.
The water was already at the very bottom. The gold ring splashed into the puddle with a crisp *clack*.
Xu Ying hurriedly raised his head to look up. Suddenly, the firmament cracked open, and a colossal golden ring plunged from beyond the heavens, measuring roughly three to four li in diameter as it plummeted downward.
*Rumble!*
A violent tremor echoed through the air. The three-li golden ring tore through the atmosphere, trailing blazing flames as it hurtled straight toward Mount Wuwang, frightening the monsters great and small into howling in terror and scattering in all directions.
Xu Ying, having known poverty all his life, looked up with boundless anticipation, only to see the golden ring shrink as it fell. What had been two to three li across rapidly dwindled to around a hundred zhang.
By the time it reached Mount Wuwang, it was merely five or six zhang wide.
*Clang!*
The golden ring spun as it slammed down, embedding itself deep into the cliff face.
Xu Ying ran over and wrenched it free from the rock. The golden ring was only four feet wide, yet vastly larger than the original ring—and it weighed a solid thousand jin!
"I won't have to work hard for the rest of my life..." Xu Ying's voice trembled slightly.
He looked down at the cracked bronze basin. The water had drained completely, and the spatial art of the maiden in the coffin had vanished along with it.
Xu Ying tossed a small pebble into the basin. It produced only a dull *tink*; no stone mountain came crashing down from beyond the heavens.
*What a pity. Such a treasure was untold times more potent than any legendary cornucopia, but it's just too fragile.*
Xu Ying felt quite wistful. Still, ending up with a massive gold ring meant that Master Xu would never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of his days, nor would a bride-price ever be an issue.
The bronze bell floated quietly behind him, musing, *The silly brat thinks the bronze basin is a treasure, when in truth the treasure was merely the demoness's spatial divine art. Yet those capable of mastering such arts are usually of the celestial sort. For the demoness to cultivate such a method is truly extraordinary. Her escape this time can truly be called a dragon freed from the shallows.*
It suddenly realized that if the demoness wasn't demonic after all and had even neutralized the Plague God's incursion, wouldn't its own suppression of her have been a sin?
*Could it be that I'm a bad bell?*
It couldn't help feeling despondent, murmuring, *Could Master and I be the villains? No, Master was upright, illustrious, and martial—how could he be a villain? Most likely, the demoness is a hypocrite who deliberately deceived us!*
Xu Ying returned the original gold ring to Elder Hu, hoisted the giant ring over his shoulder, and headed back to Qinyan Cave, only to find a massive serpent coiled before the entrance.
The snake's head was over a zhang broad and bore two branching horns like newly sprouted deer antlers. Fluffy and dual-toned in black and white, blood vessels were visible beneath their surface.
The great serpent was over a dozen zhang long, coiled before the cave. Its scales gleamed like bright mirrors, shimmering with a golden-red luster beneath the spring sunlight.
Its head rose three to four zhang high, wrapped in dense demonic qi. Its gaze was deep and profound as it quietly watched the rising sun.
Facing the sun, it was performing respiratory guiding exercises. As it inhaled, its massive body expanded, its scales rubbing together with the crisp, ringing clash of metal and iron.
Countless motes of light swarmed from the sunshine, forming a vortex that streamed into the serpent's maw.
Within the serpent's body, a miniature sun could be seen roaming about, its radiance shining straight through the scales to illuminate its internal organs.
In just a brief moment, that miniature sun traveled from its throat down to the tip of its tail. Wherever it passed, the serpent's body swelled and bulged, growing two or three rings thicker than a peasant's water vat.
When the serpent exhaled, gravel flew and rocks tumbled. The venomous qi from its mouth formed clouds of mist that caught the sunlight, rising like iridescent rosy dawn clouds.
Xu Ying had encountered many monster kings and monster gods, but none possessed a presence or demonic qi as dense and ferocious as this giant snake.
"Are you... Yuan Qi?" Xu Ying approached and asked tentatively.
The giant snake looked down at him with profound eyes, remaining silent.
Xu Ying said, "Yuan Qi, the seventh most venomous in the world?"
The giant snake opened its mouth, but what emerged was the voice of a three- or four-year-old toddler, snapping indignantly, "Before my shedding, I was already fifth in the world! How could I be seventh after shedding? Right now, I'm at least in the top three!"
Xu Ying asked in confusion, "Yuan Qi, weren't you supposed to take human form? How did you end up like this?"
The giant snake snapped its mouth shut, staring at him with deep eyes and refusing to speak.
Xu Ying stared back. After a long pause, the serpent finally had no choice but to speak, its crisp toddler voice piping up again. "I thought I would take human form too. Transformative power was welling up within me, which is the sign of taking shape. Who would have thought that once I entered secluded cultivation, all that transformative power would gather at the back of my head and sprout two horns instead?"
Xu Ying noticed as well: the giant snake was fine as long as it kept quiet, but the moment it spoke, it sounded like a little child. He thought to himself, *No wonder he keeps his mouth shut.*
Yuan Qi's cultivation had borne fruit. In this session of secluded transformation, he had not only cultivated the Elephant-Strength Bull Demon Fist to the seventh tier and become a monster king, but had also achieved inner vision, developed divine sense, entered the Realm of Xiyi, harmonized his five qis, and achieved the Five Qis Facing the Origin.
His cultivation achievements over the past few days were truly extraordinary!
Xu Ying walked closer and said, "Yuan Qi, let me see how much progress you've made these past few days!"
He stirred his vitality and blood, and the divine body of the Elephant King manifested behind him. He struck out with a fist, immediately unleashing a tempest of wind and thunder!
In recent days, Xu Ying had slain Zhou Yang and whipped the Plague God, passing through extraordinary trials. Though this punch still held the essence of the Elephant-Strength Bull Demon Fist, it had fundamentally changed.
His fist intent had detached from the mad savagery of the Bull Demon, acquiring the sharpness and expansive grace of the sword dao.
Yuan Qi likewise surged with vitality and blood, manifesting an Elephant King divine body over a zhang tall behind him. Yet compared to his colossal serpentine form, the Elephant King looked remarkably petite.
He lashed out with the tip of his tail, treating it like a fist to meet Xu Ying's strike.
The tip of his tail was somewhat blunt, resembling a massive steelyard weight. The punch he delivered carried momentum not a whit inferior to Xu Ying's—in fact, it surpassed it!
*Boom!*
Fist and tail collided, unleashing an explosive burst of force. Air rolled back in surging waves, setting Xu Ying's robes flapping wildly. Behind Yuan Qi's head, a long mane fluttered in the gale like a banner of feathers.
Only then did Xu Ying notice the fluttering mane behind the snake's head. It resembled feathers yet looked like a horse's mane, soft and flowing.
*Could it be that drinking those few mouthfuls of dragon blood prevented him from turning into a human?* Xu Ying wondered.
He recalled Yuan Tiangang mentioning that Yuan Qi's greed for a few gulps of dragon blood had added an obstacle to his human transformation. It seemed Yuan Tiangang had been referring to this very condition.
Wielding his tail as a fist, Yuan Qi struck again. Xu Ying met him blow for blow with fists and kicks. Vitality and blood churned between boy and snake, stirring up dust and scattering gravel outside Qinyan Cave.
Suddenly, Yuan Qi unleashed the move White Elephant Swings Trunk. The tip of his tail cracked the air, producing a thunderous boom. Xu Ying hastily dodged, choosing not to meet it head-on.
Yuan Qi's tail swept across a boulder, instantly shattering it into pieces across the ground.
This was Yuan Qi's most potent strike. The tip of his tail broke the sound barrier, packing far too much force for Xu Ying to casually contest without risking injury.
"Little Qi, the Elephant-Strength Bull Demon Fist no longer suits you," Xu Ying said, glancing at the petite elephant-headed divine figure behind the giant serpent.
Yuan Qi nodded. He, too, felt that the Elephant-Strength Bull Demon Fist was somewhat ill-fitting. The Elephant King divine body condensed by this technique could not accommodate all of his vitality and blood, ultimately constraining his true strength.
"Ah Ying, where's the big bell?" Yuan Qi asked.
Xu Ying gestured toward the foot of the mountain with his chin. "I don't know why, but it's been brooding down there. It might have something weighing on its mind. Go talk to it."
Yuan Qi slithered downhill, his body over a dozen zhang long winding across the slope, flattening brambles and brush while shoving trees aside. The beasts of the forest fell silent and the lesser monsters prostrated themselves, not daring to lift their heads.
Yuan Qi glided noiselessly past the gathered beasts and monsters until he reached the bronze bell. Looming over it, he waited a moment before speaking: "Lord Bell, why are you wallowing in self-pity?"
The bronze bell's divine sense rippled. "I don't know whether I'm good or evil, and I've been feeling somewhat overwhelmed... Wait, it's you! Yuan Qi, why do you sound like a toddler?"
Both embarrassed and angry, Yuan Qi snapped, "Ah Ying said you had something on your mind and sent me to console you, yet here you are mocking me! What's bothering you anyway?"
The bronze bell voiced its worries. Having read many books, Yuan Qi replied, "Since you suspect you're a villain, why don't you just ask the ghost maiden in the coffin? If you talk things out with her, won't you have your answer? Why sit here feeling sorry for yourself?"
How could the bronze bell ever lower its head and admit fault to the maiden in the coffin? It sneered, "I was ordered by my master to suppress her, which makes her the villain! My master could never be wrong! Besides, I'm heavily injured right now. If I went to see her and she beat me to death on the spot, wouldn't that be a senseless end?"
Yuan Qi said, "So you're just chicken."
Enraged, the bronze bell pressed down on the serpent's head, slamming it into the ground as it shouted, "Me, chicken? I'm just wounded! If I were in top shape, would I fear her? Once I heal, I will personally suppress her and stuff her right back into that dry well on the rocky mountain!"
Even with a dozen bloody bumps hammered onto his head, Yuan Qi refused to yield, hollering back, "Back when you weren't injured, weren't you beaten half to death and forced to flee anyway? Even if you go seek revenge after healing, she'll only beat you worse!"
The bronze bell was beside itself with fury. "Dead snake, today this old bell is sending you to the netherworld right by the banks of the Nai River!"
"We're already in the netherworld, no need for you to send me!"
"Stinking snake, I'll beat you to death!"
"Lord Bell, have mercy!"
Before Qinyan Cave, Xu Ying practiced his breathing exercises, cultivating the Taiyi Guiding Technique. Hearing the commotion downhill, he glanced down to see the bronze bell and Yuan Qi bickering and tussling. One moment the bell was slamming Yuan Qi's head into the dirt, and the next Yuan Qi was constricting the bell, trying to crush it until it burst. They got along swimmingly.
"The spring sun is lovely today." Xu Ying smiled peacefully. Sunlight gathered above his head, gradually forming half an acre of radiant light fields.
The weather was pleasantly warm, and all living things unfurled.
Zhou Yihang was walking toward Mount Wuwang. Spotting the towering mountain from afar, his expression was dark and somber.
The old man was covered in wounds and sickness. Over the past two days, he had traversed forty li of the netherworld from Yilin Temple to this place, surviving all manner of perils and unfathomable phenomena before finally reaching Mount Wuwang alive.
"Yang'er, today your father shall sever Xu Ying's head and place it upon your altar as the very first sacrifice you enjoy after ascending to godhood!"
Chapter 28