Chapter 109: The Shura Battlefield
Payne walked over slowly and looked at Zen. He frowned when he saw the wounds on Zen's body. Then he turned to Lennie and said, “So many bone spurs have penetrated this guy that his body looks like a sieve! How awful!”
“If he were not so severely injured, I wouldn't have come to you,” Lennie said crossly. Lennie had many kinds of pills with which to cure injuries. However, Zen was in a critical condition with a slim chance of survival. Lennie had no choice but to bring him to Payne.
Payne stretched out his fat, short finger and slowly pressed on Zen's neck. At the same time, he carefully avoided the acupuncture needles on Zen's body.
Payne moved his hand over Zen's body, pressing along the way. Finally, he reached Zen's belly. Payne frowned when he felt something unusual.
“This bloke's body... is weird! I have diagnosed thousands of people, but I have never seen such a body!” Payne said in surprise.
“Haha. He killed several demon generals singlehandedly even though he is only a half-step into the nature level. I would be surprised if this bloke isn't special!” Lennie thought that all capable men had something extraordinary.
Some of them cultivated a special cultivation method, some had a unique magic weapon and some had an extraordinary innate capability.
The world was big, and it was filled with countless people who were either capable or could perform miracles. With their experience, Lennie and Payne were unlikely to be surprised at something they thought perfectly normal. Lennie continued, “Payne, stop pretending. You just want to raise the price. I warn you not to go too far!”
Payne smiled sheepishly, “What I have said is true. Have a look at this bloke's meridians. They are as hard as gold and iron. It is like his body is not made of flesh and blood. Can you find another like him in this world?”
“Cut the garbage. Tell me what you want,” Lennie stated unkindly.
Payne nodded and continued, “Since all five of his organs have been destroyed, he is in a serious condition. He has a slim chance of survival. I can cure him, but the price is...” Payne paused for a moment. Then he flashed three fingers.
“30 cubic crystals?” Lennie gawked with disbelief.
“Hey!” Payne sneered. Then he shook his head and added, “Three thousand!”
Lennie's face turned red. He screamed, “3000 cubic crystals? Are you trying to kill me?”
“If you can't pay that much then you can take him away. But remember this. It would be difficult to find another to cure him in all of White Emperor City.” Payne waved his hand in dismissal.
“I will pay the 3000 cubic crystals,” Nina said resolutely. All this while she had been standing in silence and listening to the men negotiate.
“Forget it. Nina, I promised you that I would bear the expense. How can I let you pay? I can afford the cost,” Lennie mumbled. “It is only 3000 cubic crystals. Just consider it as my gift to my future nephew-in-law.”
Nina's eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed crimson. Embarrassed by what Lennie had said, Nina shouted angrily, “Uncle! Why are you talking nonsense? I have known him for only one day!”
Lennie laughed, “One day is enough. What a chance meeting! He must be special for I have never seen you so worried about somebody.”
“Uncle, if you talk nonsense again, I won't speak with you!” Nina threatened before turning away from Lennie.
“All right! I was just joking.” Lennie tried to comfort her when he saw that Nina was genuinely upset with him.
At that moment, Payne waved his hand and announced, “Since we have agreed on the price, I will begin my work. Please, wait outside.”
After driving them away, Payne pulled out four pills of different colors. He put the red pill in Zen's mouth and then crushed the remaining three into powder. He mixed the medicinal powders before sprinkling them on Zen's wounds.
The medicinal powder had magical properties. As soon as they fell on Zen's wounds, the injured flesh fell off, and new flesh began to grow. The skin grew so quickly that in no time, it fused with the new tissue on the other injuries. Within the blink of an eye, the bone spur wounds on Zen's body had healed.
But only on the surface! Zen's real wounds were inside his body.
Afterward, Payne stretched out his hand and began to remove the acupuncture needles Lennie had placed in Zen's body. Now, Zen's life was being protected by these needles, so every time Payne took one out, Zen's chances of survival diminished.
However, Payne had summoned his life vitality in his hand as well. As he removed a needle, he placed some life vitality in its place. Payne's life vitality was akin to fresh blood as it repaired Zen's internal injuries.
So each time Payne removed a needle and then applied life vitality, Zen's chances increased and decreased.
The process was slow and tedious and demanded all of Payne's energy. In no time, Payne's forehead was beaded with sweat.
Six hours later...
Payne walked out of the room.
Nina rushed forward and asked with concern, “Doctor Xue, how is Zen?”
Payne laughed, “You worry as though he were infected with some complex or challenging disease! He was just injured. He is fine now and will be better once he has rested for a day or two!”
Zen was critically wounded after his fight with the demon generals. If he had consumed high-grade pills such as the Red Cloud Pill or the Nine Turns Recovering Pill immediately after the battle, he would have recovered on his own and wouldn't have needed Payne's help.
However, there was a long delay, and Zen had become too weak. This was why Lennie had thought it necessary to bring Zen to Payne.
From the time Lennie placed the acupuncture needles in Zen, till he recovered, Zen was in a dreamless state.
After he woke, Zen took a few minutes to remember what had happened. When Zen looked around, he found that he was lying on a bed.
He stretched his hand and gingerly touched his chest. Shock was reflected in Zen's eyes when he realized that his wounds were gone.
“I am fine? All my wounds have healed?” When Zen found that there was nothing wrong with his body, he sat up. Then he jumped down from the bed and stretched.
He walked back and forth for dozens of steps and tried to operate his life energy at the same time. Finally, Zen felt as though he was fine.
Although Zen had been in a dreamless state, he remembered what happened before.
He had faced six demon generals and fought against them, risking his life. He had used his demonic life energy and killed them all.
Even if Zen had the body of a spiritual weapon, it was difficult for him to recover after being severely injured by the bone spurs from the demon generals.
Before his strength and senses became weak, Zen remembered that countless tiny silver swords had fallen from the sky and stabbed the demon general...
While thinking back, he remembered that he had been trying to save an inner disciple named Nina.
Just at this time, the door opened. A lady dressed in a light purple dress stood at the doorway. A thin, long golden hairpin glimmered in her hair. She looked so pure and beautiful that Zen was in a daze.
“Why do you look at me in this way?” The lady smiled at Zen.
Zen blinked and finally dared to confirm after hearing her voice, “Are you Nina Zhu?”
It was said that the woman changed fast in physical appearance. She had been dressed in a black robe when Zen had first met Nina. Now, she was dressed in regular clothes.
Nina smiled and said in a low voice, “Please, call me Nina.” A crimson blush crept on Nina's face. Till now, she had not asked a man to address her intimately.
“Nina,” Zen said with a nod. he hadn't thought that calling a woman by her name was unusual.
“Where am I?” Zen looked out the window as he spoke. Several tall white buildings filled his view. The environment was strange to him.
Nina laughed before she said, “Follow me!”
Then she turned and left the room. With a small smile, Zen followed. On the way, Nina told Zen, “This is the White Emperor City!”
“White Emperor City? Is this the White Emperor City that is guarded by millions of soldiers of the Imperial Army?” While speaking Zen turned his head and looked around. He had read in a book that White Emperor City was made of dolostone and looked snow-white because of the stone's characteristic white color. The city also defended the Shura region...
Zen had hence, learned something about White Emperor City before. He knew that it was made of dolostone and was very magnificent.
Now that he had the chance to see the city, Zen was left in awe. It was a hundred times better than what people had described it to be. Moreover, the brilliance of the white architecture shocked him.
Seeing Zen's stunned expression, Nina covered her mouth and chuckled. Then she pulled Zen by the arm. As they passed a bend in the road, they reached the top of the city wall.
White Emperor City was founded on a large mountain. As it was a military fortress, the land had been flattened to accommodate the city. Since the city wall was built with the natural geographical difference of the high mountain, when they stood on the city wall, they were on the mountain top.
Zen gazed into the distance. The scene before him left him wide-eyed.
“This is the Shura Battlefield!” Zen whispered.
In the distance, there was a black crack which split the heavens and the earth. It was the strangest thing that Zen had seen! He watched as lightning curled around it from time to time.
It was said that this crack had been opened by the great avatar of the demon, which broke the fence between the two spaces.
Once upon a time, humans had almost killed all the demons that had walked out of the crack. However, humans were overwhelmed by the size of the crack.
Nobody knew how to repair this space crack.
As long as this space crack remained open, demons would hide among humans.
The vast land not far from the White Emperor City was shrouded in darkness. This was where the demon soldiers and generals banded together!
The Imperial Army in the White Emperor City fought at close quarters against the demon soldiers and generals all day long to resist their invasion.
“Everybody says that the defense of the White Emperor City is as strong as iron and that no demon generals can get past it. So why are there so many demon generals in the Sky Forest?” Zen asked.
Nina answered, “Have a look. The Heaven Tower and the Earth Tower have fallen. This is why the demon generals sneak into the forest...”
“It appears that White Emperor City is in trouble.” Zen questioned as he observed the demon soldiers and generals gathering in the darkened land.
Nina nodded, “That is not the only trouble we face. My uncle said that the demons had sent four demon kings this time! In the entire history of the battle between humans and demons, such a thing has not happened. They probably want to take White Emperor City in one fight!”
If White Emperor City fell, the path of the demons would be smooth. The demon army would destroy everything on its way and invade the Burning Sky Imperial Capital!
Seeing Zen's anxiety, Nina smiled and asked, “Are you worried?”
Zen laughed, “Why should I be worried? If the sky falls, the tall guys will resist it. The demon king is powerful, but the humans of our Eastern Region are not weak!”
Zen's explanation was reasonable. The demons had called in an unprecedented army, but Burning Sky Empire had also sent many overmatches to the battlefield. White Emperor City had defended the battleground for many years, and this was not the first time that they were facing a crisis. Living in White Emperor City meant facing danger every day. So this situation was not an exception.
“By the way, we managed to leave Sky Forest safely enough. But where are the other disciples of Cloud Sect?” Compared with the safety of White Emperor City, Zen was more worried about the wellbeing of the disciples.
“Don't worry. Because there were demon generals in the Sky Forest, White Emperor City sent people to collect all the disciples in the forest. I will take you to see them!”
In no time, Nina brought Zen to the temporary residence of the disciples. As soon as Zen entered the spacious camp, he saw Cleve, Henry, and the others.
“Zen! Are you all right?” Cleve became excited when he saw Zen.
They knew that Zen was alive. They also knew that he had been in recovery for the past two days since his injuries were critical. They were naturally concerned about his recovery.
Zen shrugged and smiled, “See, I am OK!”
At the moment, Lenard and the others from the Skytop Peak stepped forward and surrounded Zen. Apparently, they were all worried about him as well.
Suddenly, all the disciples gathered around Zen and began chattering. Zen knew that the disciples of Cloud Sect had suffered significant losses in this trial to slay the demon.
Almost every peak had reported dead or injured disciples. Blackrock Peak had suffered the most as all ten disciples had died while protecting the disciples of Lady Peak. Besides the Blackrock Peak, all the disciples from three other peaks had been killed by demon generals.
As they spoke, several disciples from Skywrath Peak entered the camp.
The disciples of the Skytop Peak, Drizzle Peak, and Lady Peak saw the people from the Skywrath Peak and made a long face.
After Zen left to chase the demon general, they had a conflict with the disciples of the Skywrath Peak.
At that time, the disciples of Skywrath Peak thought they couldn't defeat disciples from Skytop Peak and gave up.
But after they entered White Emperor City, Yale, the leader of Skywrath Peak, had become arrogant again. It was said that Yale's elder brother was in the Imperial Army and had an important post in White Emperor City.
At this time, Yale saw Zen, and a sly smile grew on his face. He walked up to Zen.