Chapter 311 Scramble for the Sacred Relic!
Swoosh!
The halberd, throwing off a gold sparkle, pounced furiously and quickly.
Chu Xun drove his fist at the incoming halberd. A huge explosion erupted just as his fists collided with the sentient Sacred Relic, blasting it away while another wave of golden light from the rock caught him, causing his blood to boil while nearly sustaining heavy internal injuries.
“Kill him, damn it! Let it kill him!” Zang Fengling watched from afar, while deep down inside, he was cursing vehemently.
The golden halberd careened off before it swiveled back and dove at Chu Xun again like a shaft of gold that tore through the air, screaming shrilly as it came.
Driving a frantic blow to dispel another incoming wave of golden light, Chu Xun spun back to face the magical halberd and delivered a three-blow barrage at it, the sheer force of his punches sending chips of golden sparkles spraying everywhere.
With its glow diminishing, the halberd seemed to have lost its sentience. Flung away by the impact, it fell from the sky and struck quivering into the ice not far away from where Yan Wushuang and others were standing with more cracks stretching around like webs.
Swoosh!
Pan Chengfeng darted after the halberd with blinding speed. He wanted it so much since he knew it was an immensely powerful Sacred Relic.
Zang Fengling sprang into motion too. Hardly anyone could hold back from wanting to gain possession of it.
Yan Wushuang fired a Sword Qi bolt to stop them before he darted forward as well.
Swoosh!
The long length of white cloth gleaming white wrapped around the long handle of the halberd and yanked it out of the ice. The purple-haired woman had acted, too.
“Leave it here!” yelled Pan Chengfeng, producing his bronze mirror to fire a dark-purplish death ray.
Swish!
The black ray of light zapped the woman’s long white fabric and shredded it to pieces. The halberd clattered loudly on the ice.
Swoosh!
Li Hangyi’s hand came up sharply to launch an energy blast at Pan Chengfeng.
He was so close to reaching for the halberd, but he had to stop in his tracks. “Damn you,” he grunted angrily.
Li Hangyi merely snorted. The Faith of Canonization held no fear for the Chamber of Purple Garments. From inside his robes, he took out a little war banner and waved it. The banner swelled and grew in size, churning out multitudes of scarlet-colored runes and they swarmed at Zang Fengling like wasps.
Zang Fengling felt his scalp turning prickly numb as if warning him of the danger of these blood-colored runes. Howling in panic, he frantically dodged as he ran.
One of the runes missed him and hit the ice, causing a sudden explosion that split a chunk of the ice.
More explorers lunged, eager to join in the race to obtain the halberd.
Coldly, the purple-haired woman launched more bolts of white cloth into the air, flinging and flailing them like spears and lances to keep the others at bay.
“GET OUT OF MY WAY!”
Pan Chengfeng snarled, firing another purple-black beam of light at Li Hangyi.
Operating his war banner relic, Li Hangyi conjured a sudden deluge of blood-colored rays and a huge horde of runic symbols took into the air, colliding with the energy beam fired by the bronze mirror.
Another deafening boom ensued from the collision of the death ray and the blood-red deluge, sending shock waves that knocked several warriors off their feet.
But it was Pan Chengfeng’s bronze mirror who ultimately turned out to be the stronger Sacred Relic; the death ray singed a corner off the blood-red pennant, causing Li Hangyi to howl with anguish.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Glowing brilliantly with triumph, the bronze mirror continued firing more energy beams.
That made Pan Chengfeng so powerful that no one could dare hope to best him as everyone evaded and kept back.
At long last, he pounced and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the halberd and laughed triumphantly.
“Leave it here,” hissed a Sixth-grade Human King, attacking him from behind.
Pan Chengfeng cackled wickedly and swung his halberd in a deadly arc with its powers activated, the weapon shining a rich golden radiance.
Puff!
Blood sprayed for almost a meter into the sky and a head tumbled to the ground. In one stroke, the Human King was beheaded.
Pan Chengfeng was pleased. The halberd turned out to be incredibly powerful, stronger even than his bronze mirror.
“My congratulations, Pan,” Zang Fengling allowed as he did his best to mask the jealousy swelling inside him.
Swoosh!
The purple-haired woman flung an arm and a white cloth shot like light, coiling around the handle of the halberd.
Rumble!
The golden polearm erupted a huge burst of golden light and it arced back around, its tip gleaming like a golden star that sliced through the long white cloth.
That hardly deterred the woman; she weaved her fingers and performed another magical seal.
A snowy-white lotus flower appeared in midair, blooming handsomely as it spun slowly and it began firing white rays of energy.
Swoosh!
The white lotus hovered towards Pan Chengfeng.
Pan Chengfeng activated the magic of his halberd and golden ripples began stirring from the magical weapon. When the white lotus drew nearer, he thrust his halberd furiously at it.
Boom!
The collision elicited a shock wave that forced Pan Chengfeng to retreat backward with the ice cracking under his feet.
Hardly anyone was not shocked; the purple-haired woman possessed not only strange and quaint techniques, but her powers were also incredibly powerful.
“Surrender the halberd,” uttered the woman with an ice-cold voice.
Pan Chengfeng’s face turned ashen dark. He could not believe that his halberd was defeated. With shame and spite, he activated both his Sacred Relics – the halberd and his bronze mirror – and hurled attacks at the woman.
White tendrils of True Energy in the form of fumes snaked around her as her aura burgeoned. She weaved hand seals, ready to cast another spell when suddenly she stopped. With a quick evasive maneuver to dodge the death ray, she abandoned her initial attempt to retaliate.
Chu Xun had sent word via telepathy, asking her to hold on until he returns.
“Watch yourself,” the woman responded curtly.
Pan only wished that the woman would stop. Her unusual and yet powerful techniques made her the worst possible enemy; prolonging his fight with her could very well end with both parties being equally wounded enough for him to become the target by other explorers waiting to take the halberd from him.
“We should focus, Pan. The treasures are just in front of us,” Zang Fengling urged, his eyes set on the magical pear tree at the top of the rock, “Let’s try putting on the armor.”
Pan Chengfeng nodded.
One of Zang Fengling’s men removed his armor and gave it to Pan Chengfeng, who put it on and followed Zang Fengling up to the huge opened-fan shaped rock.
In piecemeal steps, they paced towards the rock.
Swoosh!
More golden sparkles rolled in sweeping waves.
They raised their arms together, summoning their Internal Breaths as one, and fired together, blasting part of the golden waves coming their way.
“It’s working! Just be patient and advance one step at a time. With the help of these armor suits, we can get closer!” Zang Fengling exclaimed with joy.
This delighted Li Hangyi too, who quickly asked his deputy, who was also wearing a suit of armor, to come with him.
The remaining of the explorers could only watch hungrily with no suits of armor of their own.
One of the parties who came produced a huge golden bell. It managed to protect them against the waves of golden lights trying to repel them, and they made good progress too.
“Remove your armors,” the purple-haired woman said suddenly to the four Human King retainers. “Give it to them.”
“What is the meaning of this, lady?” asked a puzzled Yan Wushuang.
“It’s my Senior Brother. He has a plan.”
“Liu?” Yan Wushuang’s gaze instinctively panned to Chu Xun, who was still struggling his way up the rock. He looked back at the purple-haired woman incredulously, thinking, how on earth did they communicate from such distance?! But he always knew the woman possessed strange and unusual methods.
“Give them your armors.” Yan Wushuang ordered.
The explorers who received Yan Wushuang’s armors were naturally grateful. It was no different from surrendering to them his own chance to climb up the treasure-filled rock.
“My thanks for this favor, Master Yan.”
“You are a true hero, Master Yan.”
One by one, the explorers expressed their gratitude, with Yan Wushuang feeling perturbed by their ostentatious pretenses. But he wondered, what is Liu thinking about?
With the armors to reinforce their defenses, the explorers began clambering up the rock, hoping to find treasures or grails that would change their fate and lives.
Yan Wushuang decided to make a move of his own too.
Chu Xun was already halfway up the gigantic opened fan-shaped rock. The waves came slower and more gradual, but the staggering pressure weighing down on him felt like mountains crashing down on him that he could barely walk.
Nevertheless, Chu Xun has reaped a good harvest; not a single blade of grass was left standing wherever he passed, and he gathered several dozens of magical herbs and shrubs.
Meanwhile, Pan Chengfeng and Zang Fengling split up and went on gathering some magical herbs they could find.
But Chu Xun maintained his stare on his ultimate prize: the magical pear tree at the top of the rock and clambered arduously upwards.
Crack!
A rock crumbled under his feet, nearly causing him to roll off the side of the rock. The pressure was so heavy that his legs felt like lead with the weight of a mountain resting on his shoulders.
Fall, dammit, Zang Fengling cursed from afar, just roll off and die.
As if he had heard him, Chu Xun’s head swiveled around and grinned at them.
“What are you laughing at, you oaf? Us?!” Zang Fengling could hurl whatever curses he wanted to; with the incessant battering of the golden sparkling waves and the invisible force pressing down on everyone climbing up the rock, he knew Chu Xun could hardly afford to do anything to harm them.
Oaf?! You’re calling me an oaf?!
That infuriated Chu Xun. How dare this bastard call him such names! Seizing a stone the size of his fist, he threw it at Zang Fengling.
It flew barely two meters before another wave of golden sparkles pummeled it into dust.
“Was that supposed to be a joke, oaf?! I am here, come at me if you dare! Perhaps I can beat some manners into you while we’re at it!” taunted Zang Fengling, knowing full well Chu Xun would not dare come down.
“Master Sexual Dysfunctional,” Chu Xun jeered from his perch.
That filled Zang Fengling with such rage that his nostrils flared. He saw it as extremely humiliating.
“Enough, Master Zang,” Pan Chengfeng urged, “Let it go and ignore him. Focus on the treasures.”
They worked cohesively and quickly and made comparable progress with Chu Xun.
Suddenly, hordes of hulking figures stepped through the golden wall of light and into the dome.
Sensing their presence, Chu Xun looked back and saw the Beast Lords. They have managed to come in too.
He spied the same emerald-cyan python from before, standing out from the rest.
A gigantic ape with fur as red as blood and its shoulders as broad as miniature hills.
A two-headed lion with manes of gleaming gold, looking absolutely kingly and magnificent like a true lord of beasts.
Last but not least, a wild hog the size of a locomotive with its two-meter-long tusks protruding dangerously.
Among them, Chu Xun spied the very same monster tiger he had wanted to use its phallus to mock Zang Fengling.
More beasts entered the dome, their numbers dwarfing even the amount of warriors inside.
Every explorer climbing up the rock paused to watch, their faces turning to stone with trepidation.
Roar!
The monster tiger aimed a roar at Chu Xun, its imposing voice rocking the earth.
Undaunted, Chu Xun yelled from the rock, “Dammit, you cat, are you here to offer your phallus to Zang Fengling?”
Zang Fengling felt as if his head was boiling.
Seething, he thought, Go, Tiger! Go and maul him to death!
“Don’t you blame me for wanting your phallus, you cat,” Chu Xun cried, “He’s looking for tiger phalluses and I’m only thinking of making a quick buck.”
The monster tiger’s eyes were bloodshot with grudge and enmity. Yet, in spite of that, he did not lunge for Chu Xun. Instead, he followed after Zang Fengling’s direction and began moving uphill.
The rest of the other Beast Lords ignored the warriors on the ground and began ascending the slopes of the rock.
They progressed quickly and with the help of their sturdy constitution, they managed to weather the repelling waves of golden sparkles just through their sheer toughness alone.
Then everyone began noticing something strange: the force of the waves of golden sparkles obviously weakened when they struck the Beast Lords.
“Goddammit, what a fraud,” Chu Xun grumbled loudly. But at the same time, it got him thinking, does this rock has sentience of its own?! Why else would the Beast Lords get preferential treatment?!
Down below, Zang Fengling and Pan Chengfeng were scared and nervous, for the monster tiger was catching up to them rapidly.
More so, for the angry look in its blood-filled eyes as it snarled incessantly.
The two men began clawing at every rock and crevice they could find desperately to climb up more quickly.
“Hey, you two, pick up the pace. Look, the tiger behind you has your buttocks in its sight,” Chu Xun teased from above.
Zang Fengling and Pan Chengfeng could hardly pay attention to Chu Xun’s taunts from above; all that mattered to them was getting to safety as they used whatever means they could to climb up.
“Watch out below, Liu!” Yan Wushuang yelled suddenly.
Chu Xun peered downwards and what he saw left him in dismay; the huge emerald-cyan python was climbing up his way.
“Gods in Heaven, you snake. I do hope that you understand what I said earlier about turning you into snake stew was just a joke,” he groaned weakly to himself.f𝒓𝑒e𝓌e𝚋𝘯૦𝘷e𝗹. c૦𝒎
He began to focus on climbing the mountain himself, no matter how difficult he was, for he knew full well that if the python managed to catch up to him, their fight could very well cause them both to fall off the rock, and all that he had endured would be all for naught.