Chapter 727: First Senior Sister Angered
No one could describe how fast that arrow was. If not for the piercingly bright light being too shocking, one might have taken it for an illusion.
Although Wang Meng appeared to be looking around casually, his focus had never left Shui Lingling's right hand, which had drawn back the bowstring. The moment Shui Lingling relaxed her grip, he took the initiative to dodge.
When the light flashed, Wang Meng had already retreated a hundred meters back. A finger-sized arrow hole appeared where he originally stood. It looked very dark, and no one knew how deep it went.
The broad plains turned quiet; only the soughing of the wind relieved the silence. The very air seemed to hold its breath, not turning back to normal for a long time. It was bizarre.
Hu Hai and the other two knew how strong Shui Lingling was. The instant she released her arrow, they immediately backed off. Relying on instinct, Xiao Chen went with them.
"Bang!"
Everything before this was indeed merely the calm before the storm. The Profound Sun Arrow that had burrowed an unknown distance into the ground suddenly exploded.
Without any warning, the flat ground burst, and cracks extended for a kilometer. Clods of dirt flew up into the air, scattering everywhere.
"Rumble…!" The ground shook, and dirt fell like rain. When one looked up, there were even many large clumps of soil in the sky.
With the force of the shock waves, these clumps soared higher. The entire place turned chaotic, shocking everyone.
"First Senior Sister is truly angered."
"In the cave, First Senior Sister could not display her true strength. Now that she is in a wide-open space, she can bring out her full power."
Hu Hai, Chen Xiao, and Jun Si were flabbergasted. They had not seen Shui Lingling this angry in a long time.
"Sou! Sou! Sou!"
The sky turned topsy-turvy with the flying dirt. Wang Meng held his saber and calmly leaped from boulder to boulder, continuously heading towards Shui Lingling.
Shui Lingling's hair flowed like a waterfall. Her gentle, pretty face turned cold at this moment. Her clothes fluttered as she radiated killing Qi from her entire body.
She drew her bowstring back and released. Three beams of fiery light flew out in arcs. Her movements were as fluid as water, decisive and quick; she did not pause for a moment.
"Bang!"
The three fiery beams of light shattered the boulder under Wang Meng's feet. Then, they turned into a fierce flame and billowed out.
Wang Meng's body became like a kite with a broken string, flying away unsteadily.
Shui Lingling gently pushed off the ground, and her exquisite figure quickly leaped into the air as she continued to pull her bowstring. Fiery beams of light shot out relentlessly.
Red lights flashed, bursting like fireworks in the dark space. The flares never stopped.
The endless flames highlighted Wang Meng's agile body rapidly dodging the arrows as he kept trying to close the distance with Shui Lingling.
However, this place was vast and open, boundless.
Shui Lingling's hair fluttered as her beautiful purple figure leaped nimbly through the air like a fairy. She did not give Wang Meng a chance to get near her at all. Instead, she wore him down with her attacks.
She paid a lot of attention to where she shot her arrows. As she leaped around, she described a large circle.
Gradually, that circle became smaller and smaller, limiting the space where Wang Meng could dodge to. Shui Lingling could not help but become more optimistic. Although she had not struck him yet, the shock waves her arrows created battered his body continuously, grinding down his Quintessence shield bit by bit.
The arrows flashed, moving extremely fast, straining Wang Meng's nerves as he fought to maintain a high state of alert at all times.
"Damn it! I must be crazy to start a fight with Shui Lingling on the plains!"
Wang Meng could not help but curse in a low voice as he dodged an arrow, but he got blasted by the shock wave in the process.
After thinking for a moment, he gave up on his original plan and broke out of Shui Lingling's circle, quickly flying backwards.
Shui Lingling held her bow up as she gave chase. Beams of light flashed, occasionally blasting out large pits a kilometer wide. It was a flabbergasting sight.
Soon, the two disappeared from the group's field of view. However, the four could still hear loud explosions coming from afar even after a long time.
Xiao Chen tried peering into the distance for some time before retracting his gaze. Then he asked, "Does she need to continue chasing him that far?"
A smile flashed on Jun Si's face. She replied gently, "First Senior Sister is trying to help you deal with this problem once and for all. Wang Meng has always been a brash person. If he has any frustrations in his heart, he has to vent it.
"If she only chased him away, he will come and look for trouble with you sooner or later. So she needs to make him retreat of his own volition due to the difficulty."
Hu Hai said, "Let's go as well. The direction which Wang Meng fled in happens to be the same direction as the exit of the Savage Battlefield."
The group followed the battle scars Shui Lingling left behind, continuing to head forward as they chased quickly. Who could have imagined that they would end up maintaining the pursuit for three days and three nights?
Occasionally, flames flashed and explosions roared ahead of them. After chasing for three days, Shui Lingling had not given up yet. Wang Meng could not bear this onslaught, ending up in a sorry state.
Many cultivators waited outside the exit of the Savage Battlefield. These people did not have the strength to go in, but they had friends or senior brothers from their sects who had entered.
These people waited here for news, hoping the people they knew would return safely.
On this particular day, explosions suddenly rang out. A man who looked like a beggar, dressed in tattered clothes with ash covering his face, rushed out holding a saber.
"Make way! Make way!"
As this person ran, he shouted at the people in front of him. He released a formidable aura that prompted others to step aside quickly.
"Who is this person? Given his strength, why is he in such a sorry state?"
That person's hair was burned black, his face sooty. As the bystanders could not see his face clearly, they all felt doubts.
Finally, someone recognized the dragon tooth saber that was the trademark of Wang Meng. Then, that person exclaimed, "That is Wang Meng, the brashest of the seven giants. Who is powerful enough to actually push him to this extent?"
This rock kicked up a thousand waves. The moment this person said that, everyone immediately looked over.
Everyone saw Wang Meng's tattered clothes and burnt hair. Soot darkened his face and wounds covered his body.
Wang Meng's eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like his nerves were shot. He could be mistaken for a refugee escaping from war.
"Sou! Sou! Sou!"
While everyone was feeling astonished, nine resplendent beams of fiery light shot out from the exit for the Savage Battlefield. Each beam consisted of an arrow made from the Profound Sun True Flame. They were so dazzling that no one could look at them directly.
The fleeing Wang Meng felt the nine fiery lights homing in on him from behind. An extremely frustrated look appeared in his eyes. Clearly, he was enraged, but he was helpless.
Wang Meng gripped his saber tightly and turned around quickly. His saber light danced, seeming to come to life. Then, he swung it nine times.
Every swing of his saber connected with an arrow. When each arrow exploded, a strong force blasted a horrifyingly deep pit in the ground. Shock waves surged and kicked up a fantastic amount of dust.
After nine explosions, smoke and dust wreathed the place where Wang Meng stood. Thick smoke drifted around the area, and dust clouds hindered everyone's vision. Then, an audible cough came from within.
"Shui Lingling, you are really ruthless. After running for three days and three nights, I have had enough. In the future, I will not seek that fellow to make trouble for him over the half drop of Dragon Marrow. Can you stop already?!"
From within the surging dust cloud, Wang Meng used all his energy to shout at the top of his voice.
Holding her purple bow, Shui Lingling floated out of the sky. A gentle expression warmed her cold face. Then, she smiled and said, "If you had said that earlier, everything would have been fine. Why buy trouble for yourself?"
After the dust cloud dispersed, Wang Meng saw that Shui Lingling seemed to be in high spirits. She apparently did not have any problems chasing him for three days and three nights straight.
He glared at her before quickly disappearing. He had utterly embarrassed himself this time, showing weakness in front of everyone.
"It turns out that he had angered Shui Lingling while in the plains. That serves him right."
"After Shui Lingling pulls a certain distance, no one among the seven giants, even An Junxi, would find her easy to deal with."
After Shui Lingling revealed herself, the others finally understood what had happened. They found Wang Meng's downfall reasonable and did not feel astonished anymore.
After four hours, Xiao Chen and the other three managed to catch up with fatigued faces. When they saw Shui Lingling, they heaved a sigh of relief.
For the past three days, they had been chasing after Shui Lingling and Wang Meng continuously, not stopping to rest at all. The pursuit tired them out greatly.
If even Xiao Chen and the other three felt that way, one could easily imagine how tense Wang Meng must have been, maintaining a high state of alert while in imminent danger. How exactly did he survive those three days?
The matter with Wang Meng gave Xiao Chen fresh insight into another side of Shui Lingling. He could not help but sigh ruefully. Sometimes, when women turned fierce, no matter how brash or domineering one was, one had to give in and not fight back.
Honestly speaking, Xiao Chen had not felt that there was anything wrong with Wang Meng's suggestion. Ending all grudges or gratitude quickly, this was something that he could accept.
Only after Shui Lingling explained did Xiao Chen understand that Wang Meng had the most horrifying close combat explosive power among the seven giants.
Wang Meng was not like Bai Wuxue. After all, the state of ice required some time to build up. Its target would suffer from a fatal frost poison entirely unawares. However, Wang Meng's explosive force could kill a person in one blow.
This matter was just a distraction and did not disrupt the group's journey. The group now stood on the Profound Sun Bird flying back to the Supreme Sky Sect.
Because there was nothing to do along the way, Shui Lingling and the others could not help but ask what happened after Xiao Chen flew into the True Dragon Storm, how his strength soared so much in half a month.
Naturally, Xiao Chen could not speak about the matters of the Azure Dragon Palace; he kept those a secret. He only said that he found a peak grade Earth Essence Fruit and then refined his Quintessence twice.
"That makes sense. According to the records, those cultivators who successfully refined their Quintessence twice again could always explode forth with a combat prowess that surpassed their cultivation."
After Shui Lingling heard his explanation, she analyzed it seriously. "Furthermore, your physical body laid an excellent foundation. When the conditions were right, everything fell into place, amazing everyone with one brilliant feat."
Jun Si asked out of curiosity, "First Senior Sister, based on what you said, Xiao Chen should be able to trounce Bai Wuxue a year from now, right?"
Shui Lingling revealed a contemplative gaze and shook her head slightly. "It's hard to say. To cultivators, one year is too short a time. However, we are in a special age. Many things can change in one year."
Hu Hai and the others exchanged glances and asked doubtfully, "What special age? The age of geniuses?"
Shui Lingling nodded and replied, "That's right. The coming year will be a very crucial year. You all spend most of your time in the Supreme Sky Sect and do not get around enough. However, I receive a lot of information in the Martial God Palace."