by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
The might of this flame was completely outside Devil Face's expectation. His glove was completely destroyed, and his hand was seriously injured. If he hadn't pulled away in time, his entire arm would have been reduced to ash.
Now, it was Xiang Shaoyun's turn to attack. He turned around and grabbed at Devil Face as he shouted murderously, "Kill!" Even with only one good arm remaining, he was still able to fully unleash the might of his claw attack.
Seven Scorching Sun Claws, Silver Tearing Stance!
Devil Face's chest was clawed, revealing the inner armor he was wearing. It was actually a king-grade armor, and it successfully reduced half the damage Xiang Shaoyun dealt to him.
Devil Face took this chance to send a kick at Xiang Shaoyun before quickly withdrawing. Xiang Shaoyun twisted his body and avoided the kick before pushing on with his Overlord's Nine Nether Steps.
One Step to Cross the Nine Nether Realms!
Xiang Shaoyun was starting to grasp the true essence of this footwork. Devil Face was shocked to see Xiang Shaoyun moving so fast. And before he could even attack, Xiang Shaoyun's attack arrived.
Lightning Bolt Fist!
Xiang Shaoyun shifted his claw stance into a fist stance. As the innate purple lightning erupted from his body, his fist shot out like an unstoppable lightning bolt.
Bang!
The punch connected, causing Devil Face's entire body to go numb. Ordinary Transformation Realm experts would be dead by now, but Devil Face was able to survive relying on his own strength and his king-grade armor. Unfortunately, he was still unable to escape defeat.
The only reason Xiang Shaoyun used a different technique was so he could break Devil Face's defense with the power of lightning. At the same time, by numbing Devil Face's reflex with lightning, he could then press on and finish his opponent off.
He pressed on, assuming his claw stance again and attacked. This time, he utilized the power of Yun Flame and clawed at Devil Face's arm, repaying Devil Face for the earlier attack on his shoulder. Yun Flame was worthy of being the millennium earthcore fire with the overbearing might it was displaying.
"Ahhhh!"
First, Devil Face had his arm ripped open. Next, his arm was lit on fire. The pain assailed him, causing a heart-wrenching wail to come out of his mouth. He struggled to extinguish the flame, but his efforts were futile.
Xiang Shaoyun did not press on. He sneered and said, "If you can extinguish this flame, I will spare you."
The moment Devil Face heard those words, he chopped at his burning arm with his other hand.
"AHHHH!"
He cut his own arm off, his miserable wails reverberating through the air once again. A large amount of blood gushed out of his severed arm unendingly. Despite the suffering, Devil Face had saved his life with what he did. If he was even one second slower, the flame would have spread all over him. At that time, death would be certain. One could say that Devil Face was quite the decisive person.
"I will remember this!" said Devil Face. Bracing the pain, he gave Xiang Shaoyun one last look before retreating.
Instead of giving chase himself, Xiang Shaoyun got the bucktooth tiger to do it.
Devil Face shouted in panic, "I thought you were sparing me?"
"Yes, I am sparing you, but I can't do anything if he isn't," said Xiang Shaoyun shamelessly.
Devil Face ran with all his might, but the bucktooth tiger was much faster. Due to Devil Face's excessive blood loss, his combat prowess had dropped significantly as well. Thus, he wasn't even the bucktooth tiger's match.
"Ah....I will have my revenge...even if I have to return as a ghost!" shouted Devil Face.
Although Devil Face still had some trump cards, he would not be able to use any of them in his condition with serious injuries. Ultimately, Devil Face ended up in the bucktooth tiger’s stomach.
"You brought that on yourself," said Xiang Shaoyun coldly.
He had experienced a lot over the past two years. Being kind to the enemy was equivalent to being cruel to oneself. He would not be overly forgiving like he was in the past. Now, he would repay anyone who dared to offend him. Meanwhile, the other Devil Blood Society members were being beaten into retreat by Liang Zhuangmin and Hua Honglou.
Both Liang Zhuangmin and Hua Honglou were War Kings. As for the Devil Blood Society group, only Devil Face had similar combat prowess. Thus, nobody could contend against the two's onslaught. However, Liang Zhuangmin and Hua Honglou hadn't exactly remained unharmed.
Liang Zhuangmin had once again fully exhausted all his energy, and three deep wounds had appeared on his body. If it wasn't for the earthstone heart he had on him, he would have collapsed by now.
Hua Honglou wasn't any better off. Her back and thigh were laden with wounds, and her inner organs were badly injured as well. The moment the enemies retreated, she collapsed to the ground. Xiang Shaoyun quickly rushed over and stood guard for the two as they recovered.
If I have a good healing spring like the millennia stone milk, I will be able to greatly speed up this recovery, thought Xiang Shaoyun inwardly.
In their current environment or other environments similar to this, if one was injured and couldn't recover in time, things would become extremely dangerous. That was why Xiang Shaoyun longed for a spring capable of healing.
But a spring like that was extremely rare, and only those with extremely great fortune would be able to obtain one. While Liang Zhuangmin and Hua Honglou were recovering, Xiang Shaoyun was also recovering.
One of his arms was badly injured, but fortunately, his bones were still fine. Otherwise, that arm would most likely be crippled. He smashed some herb and bandaged his arm. He then took out a storage ring the bucktooth tiger had given him earlier.
"This guy actually has a storage ring. Looks like his identity is not simple," lamented Xiang Shaoyun before sending his consciousness into the ring.
Soon, the contents within the ring was bared before him. There were a lot of spirit crystals, healing pills, numerous pills, and a large number of dark elemental treasures. Of these items, a certain bottle of liquid caught Xiang Shaoyun's attention. He took the bottle out and opened it slightly. Instantly, strands of energy rich in vitality drifted out, giving him an urge to consume the entire bottle of liquid.
"Is this young master really so heaven-defyingly lucky, to the point anything I wish for will appear before me?" said Xiang Shaoyun with a gleeful laugh.
This was not a bottle of millennia stone milk liquid, but it was also an extremely rare spiritual liquid extremely helpful for healing. There were at least a dozen drops of this liquid in the bottle, and each drop had the medical efficacy equivalent to 10 spirit medicines. This much would be enough for him for now.
Without thinking about it, he consumed a drop of it. Instantly, a refreshing sensation spread throughout his body. Strands of energy rich in vitality nourished his wounds, giving him an incomparably comfortable feeling.
"This is great!" Xiang Shaoyun cried out in excitement. He then shouted at Liang Zhuangmin and Hua Honglou, "Big brother, Hua Honglou, wake up. I have some good stuff here."
Chapter 278: Hua Honglou's Thoughts
Both Liang Zhuangmin and Hua Honglou stopped meditating and looked at Xiang Shaoyun in confusion.
"I have some healing spring water here. Come take some. It will increase the speed of your recovery," said Xiang Shaoyun while handing them some of the liquid.
The two were overjoyed and consumed the liquid without hesitation. Xiang Shaoyun then went through the storage ring again, but nothing else caught his attention. One ought to admit that Xiang Shaoyun's standards were a tad bit too high. Some tier-3 or even tier-4 items couldn't even attract his attention.
As far as he was concerned, the most valuable item he had received was the ring itself. After all, even Skysoar Realm experts would rarely have something like this in the Cloud Margin Pavilion. But even so, this ring was in fact not really a significant gain.
Well, I can give this to big brot
her, thought Xiang Shaoyun.
In the blink of an eye, half a day passed. Both Liang Zhuangmin and Hua Honglou woke up from their meditation. They had healed significantly, but they would still need some time to recover their combat prowess.
Hua Honglou winked her eye and said, "Thank you, Xiang Shaoyun."
"You're welcome. You are my bed warming maid. How can I let others bully you?" Xiang Shaoyun said as he rubbed his nose.
"Yes, yes, when we leave this place, I will go warm your bed," said Hua Honglou while shooting Xiang Shaoyun a glare.
Facing the bold response, Xiang Shaoyun ended up feeling embarrassed. "Hehe, we'll talk about that after I give it more thought."
"Oh? Why the hesitation?" Hua Honglou asked in a provocative manner.
Earlier, she already had the thought of committing suicide when Devil Face was about to rape her. Xiang Shaoyun coming to her rescue had caused her to feel extremely grateful to him.
In any case, Xiang Shaoyun was a handsome young man with extraordinary temperament. He was a giant among men, and a person with his qualities would be able to easily attract the fairer sex.
Thus, it was natural for Hua Honglou to have a good opinion of him. And with him being an enemy of the Lightning Alliance, she felt even closer to him. Now that he had saved her, although that wasn't enough for her to offer her body as gratitude, her opinion of him had still soared considerably. Any man would find it hard to endure an attractive woman's teasing.
With a perverse smile, Xiang Shaoyun replied, "Remember your words. Don't regret it later."
"I, Hua Honglou, have never done anything I will regret," declared Hua Honglou firmly.
Xiang Shaoyun had no interest in sticking with this topic, so he started talking about something else, "Oh, by the way, where are the others? They're not all dead, right?"
Hua Honglou's expression dimmed, and she said, "I am the only survivor among the people who came with me. Yaxuan and Zilong were not with us, and with their strength, they should be fine."
"Anyone coming into this place has already prepared for the possibility of death. Don't blame yourself," said Xiang Shaoyun. "Have you heard of any soul springs?"
Hua Honglou's expression went stiff for a bit before she said, "Yes, and I have even gotten one!"
She was telling him the truth because he had saved her. If he requested for the soul spring as repayment, she would not refuse him, but from now onward, she would no longer have anything to do with him. And if Xiang Shaoyun ended up not taking advantage of her while she was in her current predicament, she would be able to see clearly his real character.
"No wonder the Devil Blood Society people were attacking you so relentlessly," said Xiang Shaoyun in realization. "Do you know about any other soul springs?"
"Uh...don't you want the soul spring on me?" asked Hua Honglou, slightly stunned.
"Oh, sure, if you want to give it to me, I don't mind," said Xiang Shaoyun.
"Dream on," said Hua Honglou. "I had only encountered this soul spring by fluke. A lot of my people were killed, and if you want to find another soul spring, I'm afraid you have to go deeper into the territory of the ghostrunes."
Liang Zhuangmin cut in and said, "Unlike regular springs, soul springs won't be concentrated in the same general area. Like mist, they drift here and there. Generally, people can only rely on their luck to stumble upon one. But of course, the deeper one goes into the territory of the ghostrunes, the higher the chance is for one to stumble upon one."
"What? The soul springs can fly themselves? Is that even possible? Do you know where they come from, then?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.
Hua Honglou shook her head as she had no idea, but Liang Zhuangmin spoke after a short silence, "Is it possible that there is actually a large pool of soul spring water within a certain zone in the ghostrune territory? The soul springs we are finding outside are merely the ripples of that pool sent outside by a certain power?"
Hua Honglou gasped, "If that is true, then that means a big fortune is waiting inside the territory of the ghostrunes!"
If they could obtain an entire pool of soul spring water, they would be able to create a large number of Skysoar Realm experts! Unfortunately, this was a place only those at the Transformation Realm and below could enter. However, there were Kings among the ghostrunes, and with their ability to directly attack one's soul with their soul power, no Transformation Realm cultivator could stand a chance against them.
If one wanted to go deeper into the ghostrune territory, facing the soul attacks of ghostrune kings would be inevitable. And that was something no Transformation Realm cultivator could survive.
Xiang Shaoyun suddenly thought of the soul raising stone Hua Cheng had mentioned to him. He thought to himself, Perhaps the soul raising stone is also located at that same place.
After talking a little bit more about the ghostrunes with Hua Honglou, he decided to set off toward the territory of the ghostrunes with Liang Zhuangmin.
"Hua Honglou, you already have a soul spring. Are you still coming with us to the ghostrune territory? Or do you want to leave?" asked Xiang Shaoyun.
The Land of Soul Springs would remain open for a month. During this period, one could freely enter and leave. But after leaving, one could no longer re-enter and would need to wait for the next opening in 10 years to enter again.
Since Hua Honglou already had a soul spring, the smart choice would be to leave and break through into the Skysoar Realm in the outside world. That would be a much better choice compared to staying in here where danger might come anytime.
"I'll go with you guys. There are still a lot of brothers and sisters of the Red House here. I can't just leave them all behind," said Hua Honglou seriously.
"Sure, let's go together then," said Xiang Shaoyun.
Hua Honglou had impressive combat prowess, so it wasn't like she would be a drag to him.
As they set off, she grew curious about how Liang Zhuangmin and Xiang Shaoyun had come to travel together. Liang Zhuangmin was a genius from the generation before her, and not even the Young Lightning King and Young Eagle King could compare to him back in the days.
Unfortunately, his cultivation level was stuck for seven whole years, and he was eventually surpassed by his peers. But in this Land of Soul Springs, Liang Zhuangmin was definitely among the strongest in existence. Even the Lightning Kid would fear him.
After all, Liang Zhuangmin was once known as the number one Transformation Realm cultivator.
Chapter 279: Strongest Group of Three
Xiang Shaoyun, Liang Zhuangmin, and Hua Honglou were heading toward the place of the ghostrunes. Instead of rushing, they traveled at a slow pace as they recovered and discussed how to deal with the ghostrunes.
The ghostrunes were capable of flight. That alone would pose great trouble for many cultivators, placing many ghostrunes in an undefeated position when facing human cultivators.
Generally, only a bow or crossbow user would be able to pose them some threat. Xiang Shaoyun took out a crossbow from Devil Face's storage ring, and after some testing, he found that the crossbow was extremely powerful, capable of reaching a range of at least several hundred meters.
He was overjoyed at that discovery and gave the crossbow to Hua Honglou. "Here, this is your gift."
"Are you crazy? This is the best weapon to deal with the ghostrunes. After giving it to me, what are you going to do later?" said Hua Honglou in disbelief.
She might have coveted the crossbow when she saw how well it worked, but it had never crossed her mind that he would give it to her.
"Stupid girl. You are my bed warming maid. How can I leave you completely helpless?" said Xiang Shaoyun with a faint smile.
"If you put it that way, that's more reason I shouldn't accept it. How can a maid take the weapon the master relies on to defend himself?" rejected Hua Honglou even though she was very touched by the gift.
Xiang Shaoyun did not say anything and directly stuffed the crossbow into Hua Honglou's ha
nd.
At this time, Liang Zhuangmin smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, just accept it. My brother is giving you that as a token of love."
Hua Honglou's body went stiff for a bit, and she blushed when she heard that. When she looked at Xiang Shaoyun again, a different emotion could be seen in her eyes.
"Big brother, what are you talking about?" Xiang Shaoyun grumbled. He then handed Liang Zhuangmin the storage ring and said, "This is for you."
Instantly, an exaggerated expression covered Liang Zhuangmin's face.
"Shaoyun, do you know what this is? Are you sure you're giving it to me?" Liang Zhuangmin cried out in alarm.
"Of course I know what it is. How would I have taken something out of it otherwise?" said Xiang Shaoyun with a smile. "You are my big brother. It's completely fine for me to give you something like this. It's not like I needed it anyway."
He had taken some of the dark elemental items from the ring. As for the other stuff like the spirit crystals, weapons, and so on, they were all left for Liang Zhuangmin. Although these things couldn't catch his eyes, that did not mean they were worthless. On the contrary, for other Transformation Realm cultivators, it was a considerable sum of wealth.
The more Hua Honglou listened, the more envious she got, but she also knew that she should be happy with what she had. If one day she really became Xiang Shaoyun's woman, he would be as generous to her as well.
More and more, she felt that Xiang Shaoyun was like a deep pond that could not be read. She couldn't begin to understand why he was showing these treasures such indifference. She had thought that she knew everything about Xiang Shaoyun from what Li Yaxuan had told her. She even knew how he had caught the favor of the Zither Empress.
But from how Xiang Shaoyun had been behaving, he was definitely not someone from a small town or city. In fact, he behaved more like a disciple or young master of some massive organization.
Liang Zhuangmin gave Xiang Shaoyun a deep look, and when he saw the sincerity on Xiang Shaoyun's face, he accepted the ring.
Liang Zhuangmin patted his chest and vowed solemnly, "I feel bad not having anything I can give you as a big brother, but just wait until I reach the Skysoar Realm. Nobody can bully you anymore."