Chapter 679: Sparing All The Future Troubles
As an expert who was half a step away from Golden Core Stage, Jin Sanchi was still unfazed despite being trapped inside an array and facing the crises before him. He blasted out his True Essence and conjured small magic arts to constantly destroy the flame creatures, and his powerful attacks cleaved layer upon layer of spear shadows.
"The momentum may be great, but its power is too weak!" Jin Sanchi revealed a bit of contempt as his counterattacking strength turned more violent.
Meanwhile, Jin Sijie also began to fight with those flame creatures and evaded the dangers from the impaling and sweeping spear shadows several times. He did not fight as relaxedly as Jin Sanchi since he was, after all, seriously injured at present. Though the residual efficacy of the Holy Healing medicine inside his body was still there, the effect on him was not particularly significant.
Striking to kill, and smashing to destroy.
And yet, Jin Sijie's injuries turned more serious and worsened. At the moment when two fire serpents wrapped around his feet, a spear shadow finally impaled his waist. He bellowed in rage as the impaling wound on his waist gave him a devastating blow, while countless more flame creatures and spear shadows followed behind.
"BROTHER, AVENGE ME!"
Blood was flowing from Jin Sijie's seven orifices, but it then evaporated in the heatwave. His strong-built body finally fell to the magma at the side and, despite his hard iron-like body, the magma still engulfed him and eventually left no residue of his existence.
"SIJIE!!!"
Jin Sanchi clearly heard his young brother's shrill cry and his heart was as though falling into an ice hole. The anger and hatred made his face twist, and a devastating power blasted out from his hands and feet as it swept over the flame creatures around him; even the spear shadows kicked by him were blasted backward for dozens of meters before exploding.
Daoist Qiankun, on the other hand, had yet to move from the beginning. He just allowed however many flame creatures came crawl onto his body, and yet he stood ramrod like a stone in his spot. Through observation and conjecture, he found that as long as he did not move and stayed silent, those flame creatures would not actively attack him. Even those spear shadows also just flew around at random and seemingly had no target.
However, the shrill cry of his disciple made his heart shake. Finally, along with his trembling body, the crawling flame creatures around his body exploded one after another. The momentum of the explosions was even more direct as everything within a dozen meters was blown up by the rolling airwaves, thrown to the distance and blown to smithereens.
I must break through! Forcefully breakthrough!
Power and strength were upheld firmly by Daoist Qiankun. He believed that in the face of absolute power, any obstacles could be pulled, withered, and destroyed in a violent manner. He instantly released the Golden Core inside his body, as his surging True Essence then flowed like a torrential river and shot out his Golden Core along with it against the air in front of him with a loud bang.
BOOM…
Ripples were bursting inside the blazing world in the surroundings, as some dreadful cracks appeared amidst the undulating ripple in the middle layer of the air. But the instant after, the cracks healed themselves and the swaying ripples gradually faded away. Daoist Qiankun's complexion turned a bit nasty. He had tried his best, and yet he failed to destroy this array by relying on pure strength. He could not accept it.
"I want to see how long you can support this array!"
As Daoist Qiankun forced out a mouthful of blood essence, a circle of True Fire then suddenly rose from the Golden Core that was enveloped by an amount enormous of True Essence. As the momentum continued to soar, he slammed it against the air in front of him once again. This time, the ripples in the surrounding air were more intense and the cracks were wider than a while ago, and yet, the array was still recovering just like previously despite the violent quake.
"JUST FUCKING BREAK! BREAK! BREAK!"
Repeated successive attacks followed by successive explosions. The blazing world in front kept quaking as a crack in the corrugated air continued to increase. As the number of bombardments increased, the blazing world seemed about to be blown away to pieces at any time, and so was the spear array.
At the core of the array, Tang Xiu's complexion was somewhat ugly. Although he went all out to release his Primal Chaos Force to feed the array, Daoist Qiankun's attacks were really too strong. Despite having gone all out to control it, the array still had a tendency to be broken. He hardened himself and flipped his hands to take out five Raging Flame and Lightning talismans, the only remaining offensive talismans he had left.
"KILL!"
He slightly opened his lips to shout. With the control of his mind, five Raging Flame and four Lightning talismans appeared. Two Raging Flame and one Lightning talismans instantly appeared around Jin Sanchi and exploded, giving him severe injuries, whereas the remaining three Raging Flame and three Lightning talismans instantly appeared around Daoist Qiankun and directly enveloped him within along with the sea of the flame formation. Dozens of lightning bolts then bombarded him in an instant.
Daoist Qiankun once again forced out a mouthful of blood essence. He could feel his internal organs were injured and in a mess after the impact from the bombardment. The burning sensation caused him to suffocate and the scars of wounds strung together like beads, leaving his body badly tattered, bloody and bruised. And yet, the ferocious nature inside him was thoroughly aroused at this moment. While chanting an incantation in a somewhat shaky voice, he integrated his blood essence into his Golden Core. Nearly bordering on betting his life at stake and going berserk, he plunged forward and blasted out everything he had in an instant.
Crack…
The spear array was like a glass breaking to pieces and disintegrated in the blink of an eye.
Tang Xiu, who was in the core position inside the array, withstood the sudden outburst with his body, and the backlash from the array caused him to spurt out a mouthful of blood. If it wasn't for his extremely formidable body, the force from the backlash was enough to make his body explode. However, this kind of injury was nothing but a common thing he was used to, and he still remained cool-headed in such a downcast situation. His figure instantly flashed as he disappeared and reappeared in a flash in front of the badly tattered and riddled with scars Jin Sanchi, who looked a bit dull and distracted.
Puff…
Dazzling light erupted from Bloodguzzler as his head flew in an instant. Jin Sanchi, who was half a step away from breaking through to the Golden Core Stage, had his eyes staring wide like a copper bell. He saw the world spinning around, watching his headless body and a column of blood spurting out from its neck.
Beyond a hundred meters away.
Old Blind's divine sense had been enveloping the field of activity all along, and she clearly "saw" the entire combat scene. When the array was broken, Tang Xiu shot forward all of a sudden and killed Jin Sanchi much to her shock. That was difficult to believe despite how experienced she was.
Jin Sanchi's strength was evidently slightly stronger than that of Jin Sijie's. Tang Xiu was still young. Even if he did rely on the array, wasn't it next to impossible to kill Jin Sijie and followed to kill Jin Sanchi?
Mo Awu, Jin Shi, and the rest were shocked but also looked frantic and fervent. They looked at Tang Xiu with worshipping expressions and loudly shouted "LONG LIVE". Tang Xiu's performance impressed them very much. But inside the small building in the distance, Gesangjor and the two old men were tongue-tied and dumbfounded, as though they were seeing something unbelievable.
Jin Sijie as well as Jin Sanchi died along with the remaining tens of elites of the Strange Doors?
Suddenly, Gesangjor felt very fortunate inwardly, rejoicing that the did not involve himself in this incident. Else he and the two elders, and even the entire younger generations of Venom Sect would die without a burial ground. And yet, he too felt a tinge of regret since he could have sold a favor if Tang Xiu and the others were to arrive later.
Tang Xiu moved and acted quickly, and his timing in seizing the opportunity was very ingenious. Even Daoist Qiankun was unable to react as Jin Sanchi was directly beheaded. At this moment, despite having been through countless storms and waves in his life, Daoist Qiankun was still grieved and wept. He received and raised those two disciples nearly all his life and they were rapidly progressing and nearly stepped into the Golden Core Stage, and yet, they were slain just like this. This was undoubtedly a sharp knife that sheared his heart.
"I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
Daoist Qiankun roared, causing the luster of his Golden Core to turn extremely dim and its entire body to shrink in half. But he still controlled it and frantically stormed towards Tang Xiu.
He could never vent the hatred inside his heart if he did not slay this punk!
He couldn't care less whether he would be devastatingly injured if he kept engaging in this intense and bitter combat, for there was only one though amidst his berserk mind: KILL TANG XIU AND AVENGE MY DISCIPLES!
"You still need to cultivate for hundreds of years if you want to kill me. Hahaha!" Tang Xiu laughed loudly, his figure plunged forward like a sharp arrow to greet the explosive bombardment of the Golden Core. Vigorous and intense Primal Chaos Force crazily poured into his arms and blasted toward the bombarding Golden Core.
Old Blind, who was a hundred meters away, had her expression greatly changed and shouted with a horrified expression, "DON'T!!!"
KABOOM…
Tang Xiu's body was blasted backwards for dozens of steps, spurting out a bloody mist as he tried to stabilize his staggering body. Despite having a very formidable body, his finger phalanxes were still broken and his whole fist was covered with blood. Almost as soon as he stopped, he collected the spirit long spear and shot it straight towards Daoist Qiankun and instantly impaled the Daoist's through the back.
"H-how… H-how is this possible?"
With his seven orifices bleeding, Daoist Qiankun looked down at the hole in his chest. His Golden Core was exploded and destroyed after the clash with Tang Xiu's explosive fist. The backlash left him with a grave injury that he could hardly withstand. And yet, adding insult to injury, his chest and heart were directly hit and his life force was unceasingly decreasing.
Cough cough…
Tang Xiu's complexion was devoid of color. After coughing up two mouthfuls of blood, he looked up to Daoist Qiankun and sneered, "I may be inferior to you in regards to cultivation level, but what I'm mastering is fleshly body cultivation, and my physical body and constitution are ten times stronger than yours. Daoist Qiankun, remember my words. Don't become my adversary in your next life."
"Is there even a next life?" Muttered Daoist Qiankun. With that said, his body crashed into the ground and he drew his last breath.
Tang Xiu could not help but respond with a bleak smile. He turned to Old Blind, Mo Awu, and the others, who were quickly rushing toward him. He immediately flung his wrist and lightly smiled, "I'm fine. It's just a slight injury. Killing these Master and disciples indeed consumed quite the energy and effort, but removing them means we won't have extra worries."
"Tang Xiu, how can you be so strong?" Muttered Old Blind. "That old fart was a powerhouse at the Golden Core Stage, an old freak who had lived for two hundred-plus years. And yet, you… you're still so young that you couldn't have cultivated for that long, right?"
"Nothing is impossible in this world," replied Tang Xiu with a smile. "Daoist Qiankun and his disciples may have a very high cultivation level, but their combat techniques were just appalling. Even if I did not fight him directly, I still had countless ways to kill him; though it may have taken some more energy and effort to achieve that."
Old Blind fell silent. She could not see through Tang Xiu completely.
Tang Xiu slowly looked up and then shifted his vision towards the small building in the distance. "Gesangjor, as the owner of this hunting ground, shouldn't you greet your guest or something?"
Chapter 680: Pledging Allegiance
Inside another two-story small building, Gesangjor's breathing stagnated. As he turned to look at the two old men, he saw them nodding at him at the same time.
After a while, Gesangjor appeared in front of Tang Xiu and the others along with the two old men. He glanced at the dead bodies on the ground as a complicated look could be seen in his eyes. He then forced out a smile and said, "I never expected you to be a cultivator, Mr. Tang, and neither did I expect that you would have such a formidable strength. It seems that my worry was ungrounded."
"And neither did I expect that you were a member of the Strange Doors, Proprietor Gesangjor. More so that… your status should be pretty high, am I right?" Commented Tang Xiu lightly.
"I'm the Sect Master of the Venom Sect, but I've never involved myself in the other factions' disputes," bitterly explained Gesangjor. "If anything, we've been in Kanas for many years and have never provoked others. Mr. Tang, if you are annoyed and unhappy with the people from the Strange Doors, please do not direct your anger toward our Venom Sect. Daoist Qiankun, Jin Sanchi, and Jin Sijie insisted to stay here, while I did not have the guts nor the ability to drive them away."
"In today's society, covering-up others' crimes is also considered as being guilty before the law, don't you think?" Said Tang Xiu with a smile.
Gesangjor spread his hands and said, "I beg your forgiveness, Mr. Tang. You would not stoop down to our level, ignorant and less informed people, would you?"
"It's easy," said Tang Xiu with a faint smile. "I'm very much resentful for the fact that Jin Sanchi and Jin Sijie were able to beguile the forces under the Strange Doors and bossed them around. If you can make up for their previous faults and remove all those forces, I won't hold you accountable anymore."
Gesangjor's expression moved as he suddenly cupped his fists and replied, "Gesangjor is willing to serve you, Mr. Tang."
Serve me? Didn't he just want to expiate himself and make up for his faults with merits?
Tang Xiu's mind turned sharp. Despite knowing perfectly well what Gesangjor's intention was, he let out a faint smile, stretched out three fingers and slowly said, "Three years. If your Venom Sect's deeds and actions can satisfy me within these three years, I don't mind making you go on a step further."
Is it like an internship period?
Gesangjor's eyes lit up and with a bit of excitement, he replied respectfully, "I, Gesangjor, along with the entire Venom Sect behind me, will forever serve and work for Mr. Tang in the future. Regardless of whatever you order us to do, we will definitely do our best to achieve it as long as it is within our capabilities."
A smile outlined on the corner of Tang Xiu's mouth as he nodded and said, "Then your first task is to completely exterminate all the people from the Strange Doors who participated in this incident! His name is Mo Awu, and I'll instruct him to lead a few men of mine to stay here to aid you. I hope all of them have already reported to the King of Hell ten days later."
"Affirmative!"
Gesangjor did not know the degree of strength possessed by Mo Awu's group, yet he presumed that they were also cultivators given the fact that they could follow Tang Xiu. With the help from several cultivators, it would simply be a breeze to eradicate those eight families.
Afterward, Tang Xiu did not hurry to leave but stayed on the hunting ground to heal himself. Although his injury was not severe, it was not light either. Especially the backlash caused by the explosion of the spear array that made him feel the burning pain from his internal organs. If he did not heal himself as early as possible, it would probably leave a latent danger to himself.
At noon the next day, just as Tang Xiu came out of the room, Mo Awu told him that Old Blind had already left, leaving a message to Mo Awu to be conveyed to him that she would go to the Shanghai's Everlasting Feast Hall in June this year to find him.
"Boss, the Venom Sect is all done with the preparation and are ready to proceed."
At lunchtime, Gesangjor arrived in a hurry.
"Then, it's time to start since you've already prepared!" Said Tang Xiu. "And remember, do not leave any latent dangers behind, and neither must you create too much noise. Besides… the present time is kind of a new society, to begin with."
Gesangjor nodded with a prudent expression. In fact, Tang Xiu did not even need to remind him as he was also aware of how he should do the job. Under the current circumstances, the media had quick access to information and were well-informed. And what his Venom Sect was adept at was assassination with poison; killing while remaining invisible.
"Boss, those eight families and forces of the Strange Door have a very big power as far as I know. How should we manage the aftermath after we're done killing them?" asked Jin Shi all of a sudden.
Tang Xiu looked at him with an unusual expression and suddenly grinned, "Awu, I think Jin Shi is quite good and smart. Alright, I think he's suitable to be in charge of the matters here! As for you, go back with me."
Mo Awu was valiant and brave, yet was slightly lacking in thinking things through. Upon hearing the question from Jin Shi, he too realized that he overlooked the matter of how to manage the aftermath and thus let out a hollow laugh and nodded without speaking.
Tang Xiu then continued, "Jin Shi, call my Grandfather personally if some government officials are involved in this matter, I think he can solve it. In the case that it involves someone from the business community, you can call Kang Xia in person and she'll handle that for you. Do remember, the killing must be done, and you must not be soft-hearted."
"Affirmative," replied Jin Shi respectfully before he turned around and left.
In the evening, Tang Xiu went to Jie Walie's horse ranch in Kanas. After Jie Walie welcomed him, he then got out of the car and said with a smile, "Brother Jie, I just felt that I must dine in your place tonight."
"You're most welcome," said Jie Walie with a clear voice and a smiling face.
Tang Xiu nodded and smiled in response. As he walked inside, he said, "To make nothing of the hardships you endured, I troubled you to venture deep into the forested mountains this time, Brother Jie. I can't express my gratitude with words, so I'll just gift you something big after we're done dinning. Please consider it as a token of my gratitude!"
"Brother Tang, we are friends, you don't need to be overly courteous," said Jie Walie sternly. "What I like about you is neither your money nor possessions, but you as a person!"
"The thing I'm going to gift you is not something money can buy." Tang Xiu shook his head. "Alright, please don't refuse it, and let's just finish the meal first."
"Alright, I'll tell them to get it prepared now."
Jie Walie was somewhat looking forward to it. He already knew that Tang Xiu was a cultivator, and therefore felt that the gift Tang Xiu wanted to give to him was probably something that countless people could only dream of obtaining.
As expected! Tang Xiu imparted him a basic cultivation technique to cultivate qi after dinner. The technique could not lead an ordinary person to be called as cultivator, but it was still able to prolong his lifespan and strengthen his body, nonetheless. Furthermore, it was very easy to practice this cultivation technique, and Tang Xiu even gave Jie Walie a prescription to let him obtain medicinal herbs according to it and consume as a medicated diet.
With all this done, as Jie Walie was feeling grateful, Tang Xiu led Mo Awu and left the horse ranch and quickly rushed to the airport. What made him helpless was that all the flights from Kanas Airport were canceled due to bad weather. Tang Xiu did not want to waste time here and therefore took a bus with Mo Awu and rushed to the North Xinjiang Train Station overnight.
"All the train tickets have been sold out, Boss."
Mo Awu came out of the ticket booth looking a bit helpless. It just after the New Year celebration, thus it was rush time for students and migrant workers to leave their hometowns and return to their school and work.
"It's two in the morning now, and it seems like we can only stay here. Let's find a hotel nearby to spend the night and then leave tomorrow morning," said Tang Xiu.
Mo Awu silently nodded. But then, a glint suddenly flashed in his eyes and he hurriedly said, "I may have another way to buy a train ticket, Boss. Just wait a bit."
Tang Xiu watched Mo Awu leave quickly and spoke to a few furtive young men in the corner a dozen meters away. He handed over a few paper bills and then returned back with two train tickets, saying, "Boss, those guys are ticket scalpers. But we'll need to transfer to another transportation means in Ning Province, nonetheless."
After boarding the train, Tang Xiu and Mo Awu arrived in Ning Province in the evening. Fortunately, the ticket they bought was in couchette car, so they did not feel tired at all. Afterward, the duo rushed to Ning Province Airport without pausing to rest. After successfully buying the flight tickets, they then boarded the plane to Shanghai smoothly.
"Strange, how come no one is here?"
Tang Xiu and Mo Awu were surprised after boarding the plane since there was no passengers there at all. Other than the four flight attendants, the entire cabin was empty.
"The flight has been canceled due to the weather, Sir. However, the issue has been lifted due to the changes in the weather as well, but the passengers who originally booked the seats have already been refunded. The two Sirs may have to wait for a while since there's still half an hour left for four flights to take off. Also, there should be some more passengers boarding later," one of the elegant flight attendants answered.
Tang Xiu understood in a flash. After taking a seat according to the ticket number, he then waited quietly.
"Hello, Sir. There are a lot of passengers here, and I like sitting by the window. May I ask whether we can exchange seats?" A pleasant voice sounded as a woman with an alluring figure and wearing a veil standing in the aisle next to Mo Awu asked him.
"Exchange seats?"
Mo Awu furrowed his brows and quickly glanced around the cabin. What made him secretly vigilant was that the total passengers that boarded the plane were only five people. This also included the woman next to him. Tang Xiu, who sat by the window with his eyes shut, also heard her voice, as he opened his eyes to look around and found the same issue.
"Awu, pick any seat in the back," said Tang Xiu calmly after glancing at the veiled female.
"Alright," replied Mo Awu and quickly took a seat in the back row.
Tang Xiu calmly watched as the veiled woman took a seat and also smelled the fragrance she exuded out. He then let out a light smile and said, "Sure enough, it really is a small world, isn't it, Miss Xue? The saying does have its own truth."
Xue Yu's eyes curved and let out a smile as she replied, "The Old Ancestress told me that you'd take this flight to Shanghai. It just so happened that I need to go to Shanghai as well to find my fiancée, and we happened to bump into each other. What is it? Don't you want me to sit next to you, Mr. Tang?"
"Your fiancée? Is it Chu Yuan?" Asked Tang Xiu.
"Actually, I've seen that fiancée of mine," said Xue Yu, shaking her head.
"Huh?" Tang Xiu was surprised. "Where is he?"
"Far from the horizon and yet right here under my nose," said Xue Yu with a smile. "Do you really not know? Or are you intentionally playing the fool?"
Tang Xiu pointed his finger at his nose and said incredulously, "You mean, me?"
"Is there anyone else besides you in front of me?" Asked Xue Yu back with a smile.
Tang Xiu rolled his eyes at her and snappily said, "Miss Xue, you can eat whatever food you want, but don't speak nonsensical things randomly. The room in my home has already been occupied by someone else, and I have no interest to hear such a joke."
"Had I been unaware of your true identity, I may not be sure that you're the first man who ever saw my face." Xue Yu shook her head. "Mr. Tang… No, I should call you Tang Xiu. Addressing you with this name feels kinda intimate, right? Anyways, did I speak incorrectly that you've already seen my face back when we were in Star City, Tang Xiu?"