Chapter 170: Demonic Qilin’s Lair: The Sui Marquis Pearl!
The Sui Marquis Pearl, also known as the Spirit Snake Pearl or the Bright Night Pearl, was legendary for its ability to neutralize all poisons.
Shi Hao and the others had initially wondered if the Ghost Extreme Sect and the Chi Mu clan were also after immortal ingredients like the Azure Sky Vermilion Fruit and the Soul Severing Dew.
But the Ghost Extreme Sect was a demonic sect, and the Chi Mu clan wouldn’t cultivate Daoist techniques. What use would they have for such ingredients?
Now, realizing they were after the Sui Marquis Pearl, everything made sense.
“Where is the Sui Marquis Pearl?” Li Ximing demanded, taking a step forward, his aura pressing down on them like a tidal wave.
Du Yuejiao said, “How would we know?”
Li Ximing snorted and unleashed a flurry of palm strikes, targeting Shi Hao and Hou Bomin… He intended to kill the men first, then capture the women and interrogate them.
As a fifth-rank expert, his attack was overwhelming, a blur of motion, like a descending mountain.
Shi Hao drew his sword, its light flashing as he executed the Six Immortal Lightning Strikes.
But these weren’t the same six strikes as before. Empowered by the Three Origins Flowing Pearl Technique, his sword energy shifted and flowed, sometimes like ice, sometimes like water, accompanied by swirling gusts of wind.
Li Ximing’s expression changed slightly. Although this young man’s cultivation was only sixth-rank, his swordsmanship was impressive.
With Shi Hao’s intervention, the pressure on Xiang Gu eased. She rolled on the ground, her hook flashing towards Li Ximing’s leg.
The Parting Hook, like a living thing, darted towards its target.
Du Yuejiao, seizing the opportunity, thrust her sword towards Li Ximing’s chest… He had only intended to capture her, not kill her, so his attack on her had been less forceful.
With Shi Hao and Xiang Gu engaging him, she joined the fight.
Hou Bomin, however, retreated, his hand reaching into his sleeve, his back hunched.
Li Ximing, wary of Xiang Gu’s hook, stomped his left foot, unleashing a burst of energy that deflected the attack.
As a fifth-rank expert, he could project his energy at will.
Xiang Gu, however, nimble and agile, rolled to the side, evading his attack.
With a flick of his finger, Li Ximing deflected Du Yuejiao’s sword thrust and then, taking two steps back, avoided Xiang Gu’s hook.
As he retreated, Shi Hao leaped into the air, his sword raised above his head, a surge of energy swirling around it, then converging into a single, thunderous strike.
The Azure Sky Immortal Thunder!
Li Ximing’s expression changed again.
He crossed his palms, his energy sinking downwards, then, with a twist and a shout, a wave of force, like a roaring tiger, erupted upwards, meeting Shi Hao’s attack head-on.
A loud boom, an explosion of energy, and Shi Hao was thrown backwards, while Li Ximing also stumbled back three steps.
He, a fifth-rank expert, had been forced back by a sixth-rank.
Hou Bomin flicked his wrist.
Li Ximing roared, unleashing another wave of energy that deflected the incoming chain.
Although Hou Bomin’s Constraining Rope had been effective against Yu He, a sixth-rank expert, Li Ximing was fifth-rank, their difference in strength significant.
“Let’s go!” Shi Hao grabbed Du Yuejiao and retreated.
Li Ximing was too powerful. Even with their combined strength, they couldn’t defeat him, and there were other enemies nearby.
Hou Bomin and Xiang Gu, understanding the situation, also fled.
Li Ximing was about to pursue them when the sounds of explosions echoed from the distance.
Knowing Ghost Howl was facing the barbarian experts, he didn’t dare hesitate and turned towards the sound.
Shi Hao and Du Yuejiao ran, glancing back to see that Li Ximing wasn’t following them.
“He must be after Old Hou or Xiang Gu,” Shi Hao frowned.
Du Yuejiao muttered, “Those two are slippery. He won’t catch them easily.”
Shi Hao wasn’t too worried. Although Li Ximing was powerful, catching the elusive Monkey Thief and the unpredictable Xiang Gu in this terrain wouldn’t be easy.
“This is bad,” Shi Hao looked up at the swirling purple clouds, “How do we get out of here?”
Du Yuejiao snorted, “We shouldn’t have listened to Xiang Gu in the first place.”
Shi Hao, knowing her dislike for Xiang Gu, didn’t comment.
He continued looking up at the sky, muttering, “The Sui Marquis Pearl? Why are they looking for that?”
Du Yuejiao said, “I heard it’s a priceless treasure, like the He Clan Jade Disc, and it can neutralize any poison. It’s not surprising they want it.”
Shi Hao looked down.
The ground trembled beneath their feet, the sounds of fighting echoing through the mountains.
A beast’s roar, followed by another, made their scalps tingle.
Shi Hao said, “Let’s be careful. Li Ximing isn’t the only one here from the Ghost Extreme Sect.” He took Du Yuejiao’s hand and led her through the mist.
Du Yuejiao asked, “Li Ximing?”
Shi Hao said, “Yes, that was Li Ximing, the ‘Three Extremes Ghost Butcher,’ a powerful expert of the Ghost Extreme Sect. After their defeat in Dàxīng City, I heard their leader was killed by his own men during their retreat. I don’t know if Li Ximing was involved.
“If he’s here, Ghost Howl might be here as well. Although a man, he’s… effeminate, and his power is said to rival Li Ximing’s.”
Du Yuejiao muttered, “The demonic sects are truly strange.”
Shi Hao, using his Primordial Energy, carefully scanned their surroundings.
The sounds of fighting continued from the other side. The battle between the Ghost Extreme Sect and the barbarians wasn’t over.
“Brother Shi, look! A stone tablet!” Du Yuejiao suddenly exclaimed.
They approached the tablet. In the faint purple light, they saw an inscription: “Here, the Holy Jade Immortal slew the Black Blood Crimson Serpent.”
Du Yuejiao gasped, “The Holy Jade Immortal? I heard she was a celestial being, a legendary genius of the Taisu Immortal Pavilion three hundred years ago. She was here?”
Shi Hao was also surprised. Why was this place connected to one of his wives from the Primordial Grotto Heaven?
Du Yuejiao said, her voice filled with awe, “The Holy Jade Immortal… a legend in the Daoist sects. Even our Chongxian Sect, despite claiming to be the orthodox leader for three hundred years, can’t erase her legacy.”
Shi Hao looked at her, thinking, You might get to meet her one day.
They walked around the tablet, and Du Yuejiao looked back, “There’s something on the other side… a painting.”
Shi Hao looked. On the back of the tablet was a painting of a beautiful woman with a flying celestial bun, her face, however, contorted in a playful grimace. And beside it, an inscription: “Enchanting Fire Witch.”
Shi Hao: “…” What’s going on here?
Du Yuejiao gasped, “Enchanting Fire Witch? Is that the legendary Demon Empress? The one who united the dark path? The one whose name alone terrified the… the barbarian Supreme Emperor, preventing him from entering the Central Plains? The one whose name could even stop a baby’s cries? The one everyone feared?”
Shi Hao looked at her… Was she really that terrifying?
Although Su Mei was indeed powerful, her playful demeanor also strangely menacing, she was still a beautiful woman. He couldn’t imagine her being so universally feared.
But his two “wives” from the Primordial Grotto Heaven had both been here, three hundred years ago?
He was starting to think this “Immortal Qilin’s Blessed Land” was a very unusual place.
They climbed onto a rocky outcrop and looked down into the valley.
A giant ape with metal wings was fighting a massive serpent.
The serpent, its body as thick as an ox, its scales black and red, like flowing blood, must have been dozens of zhang long.
“Is that the Black Blood Crimson Serpent?” Du Yuejiao asked, her voice filled with awe.
Shi Hao nodded. Although he had never seen one before, this massive serpent certainly lived up to the name.
And the ape… it wasn’t an ordinary ape.
Its wings were made of metal, its body like steel, and although it had the shape of an ape, its beak was like an eagle’s.
The metal-winged ape seemed to have an advantage against the Black Blood Crimson Serpent, its sharp wings tearing through the serpent’s scales, despite being constricted by its massive coils.
The ape flew into the air, then swooped down, its beak tearing chunks of flesh from the serpent’s body.
And with every bite, its size increased.
Barbarian soldiers watched from a distance, along with a young man in a brocade robe, his forehead narrow, his chin pointed, his hands clasped behind him.
Shi Hao and Du Yuejiao noticed that the valley, which had once been filled with various plants, was now a ravaged battlefield.
Shi Hao felt a pang of regret… It seemed the Azure Sky Vermilion Fruit had been destroyed in the fight.
The two creatures battled, the earth trembling beneath their feet. Although the metal-winged ape seemed to have the upper hand, the Black Blood Crimson Serpent, its wounds seemingly healing instantly, refused to yield.
However, it was constantly on the defensive, while the ape continued to grow larger.
At this rate, the serpent would eventually be defeated.
A sharp shriek suddenly echoed from deep within the mountain.
It was an old woman’s shriek, piercing and chilling.
The ground trembled, and with a cracking sound, a chasm opened.
A beam of light shot upwards, towards the swirling purple clouds above.
The white qilin, still soaring through the clouds, its movements mysterious and unpredictable.
The beam of light struck the qilin, its head exploding, a white spark falling from the sky.
The young man in the brocade robe, Ghost Howl, the white-haired old man he was fighting, Li Ximing, the barbarian general facing him, and the numerous barbarian soldiers and Ghost Extreme Sect experts all looked up at the falling spark.
As the spark fell, the white qilin vanished, and the swirling purple clouds, like a living entity, pressed down on them, their presence oppressive.
The Black Blood Crimson Serpent, as if freed from some restraint, its power surging, turned and bit the giant ape, which screamed in pain.
But no one paid attention to the battling creatures.
Their gazes were fixed on the falling… pearl.
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