Chapter 270 - Song He
After two days and two nights, Gongyi Tianheng was still carrying Gu Zuo on his back as he swiftly moved forward.
What they had been facing these past two days were concentrated attacks, so they didn’t rest. However, their energies were still abundant — In case they were a little tired, they would take a top grade medicinal pill that was prepared long ago. They would be vigorous and lively as dragons and tigers. They were full of energy!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Three silver awls were shot in three different directions. One awl nailed a lengthy, sharp-toothed vine to the ground. One awl shot through a swinging branch from above. One awl penetrated the skull of a bizarre wild rat, whose figure was short and small.
The entire process was direct and efficient. The accuracy was incomparable.
Gu Zuo habitually unleashed his psychic power. In the blink of an eye, the three species that suddenly and simultaneously attacked were annihilated.
At the exact same time, Tianheng drew his bow to fire arrows. Five arrows were shot in rapid succession. The first three directly pierced the eye, chest, and forehead of a gigantic wild beast. Meanwhile, the other two arrows penetrated two large trees, causing them to ignite into raging flames. In an instant, they were turned to ashes.
But matters still weren’t over. At once, Gu Zuo burst forth with over a hundred silver needles. The surrounding flying insects that were about as large as palms were completely destroyed. Tianheng slapped out a huge Blood Palm. It violently collided and ruthlessly crushed a poisonous, black-bodied wild beast into the ground!
Immediately following that, Gu Zuo sent out a dagger, which stabbed the chest of a mutated wild beast. Tianheng’s arrow pierced another mutated wild beast that came with it, causing that beast’s head to explode!
At the same time, Tianheng rushed at great speeds and crossed the swamp ahead. Meanwhile, Gu Zuo’s gaze lowered, and dozens of silver awls were launched. The densely-packed awls stabbed into the necks of the wild crocodiles that suddenly appeared with jaws wide open. Under the pain, they immediately crashed back into the muddy waters. As for Tianheng, he had already transformed into a remnant shadow, and quickly flitted across the territory of these wild crocodiles!
This was the kind of intensive battle where there wasn’t any time to rest. Initially, they would miss once in a while or they would have rushed or muddled moments. Now, their smooth, unhindered, and natural movements hardly had any delays. This showed the lightning-fast improvements of these two adoptive brothers.
Most of all was Gu Zuo, who had never experienced this kind of fighting before. After going through it once, his immaturity had diminished. What it was replaced by was a trace of solemn killing intent that would occasionally flicker in his eyes during battle.
After the two finished killing, the true qi within their bodies circulated very rapidly. Whether it was Tianheng’s martial skills or Gu Zuo’s psychic power, they previously felt that their usage was very smooth and meticulous. But after fighting one battle after another, they discovered that it could be improved even more.
Another hour passed, and Gu Zuo slew two wild beasts in a row. After that, he paused slightly.
In the direction that his psychic power swept out, he captured another fluctuation — That fluctuation, those qi emissions, it was from a martial artist?
In a split second, Gu Zuo opened his mouth: “Big brother, I’ve found a martial artist.”
While Tianheng continued to fight, he asked: “Oh? Can Ah Zuo distinguish which organization that martial artist is from?”
Gu Zuo carefully took measure of the martial artist. Soon after, he shook his head: “I don’t recognize him. That guy isn’t from the Southern Expanse. When we were on the giant pillar before, I didn’t see this person.” He paused, “That guy is surrounded. Should we go save him?”
Tianheng immediately said: “We’ll save him, and ask him a few questions.”
Gu Zuo was also thinking as such.
This was the first person they had encountered. Moreover, while he wasn’t from the Southern Expanse, they had met him on this path. What did that person go through, and how did it all come about? It was better to get a clear understanding of the situation, and to supplement any information.
Hence, Gu Zuo swiftly answered: “Then, let’s go quickly.”
The instant his voice fell, Tianheng leaped out and changed directions, rushing to that place.
That area…wasn’t too far away.
After hurrying over, that martial artist had already been ensnared by a large mass of rattan vines. A little farther away, there were also many predators in hiding. Only, because the rattan vines had captured the key moment, those predators were now looking for an opportunity.
However, there wasn’t any need for doubt. If no one came to lend a hand, no matter how valiant this martial artist was, he would still suffer the fate of becoming prey.
Tianheng and Gu Zuo acted simultaneously.
Like a shooting star, an arrow struck the outer encirclement of those rattan vines. Those vines were suddenly set on fire. In a split second, they let out a scraping sound similar to a screech. The vines promptly loosened and frantically writhed on the ground. It seemed that it wanted to use this method to save itself from the power of the sun.
Merely, the power of the sun wasn’t an ordinary flame. The more those rattan vines rolled around, the faster the reddish-gold power spread. Instead, the flames swiftly engulfed the vines, and burned them to ashes!
Gu Zuo’s psychic power had also transformed into silver awls, and quickly nailed down several small mutated wild beasts and other insect-like things that tried to sneak in, which relieved that martial artist’s fears of any trouble in the back.
After the two took action, those creatures that were still lurking around discovered that the newcomers weren’t to be trifled with. After directly observing the terrifying capabilities of the power of the sun, a trace of restraining fear emerged. Like the tide, they quickly retreated.
The martial artist who hadn’t died was shocked. He turned his head to look, and saw that the two individuals were young men who only seemed to be slightly worn down. One had just put away his bow and arrows. The other was looking at him with a beaming smile.
…This meant that he was saved by people?
Or did that side have other goals?
Granted that he had been helped, the martial artist didn’t dare to let down his guard. He only dragged his body, which was covered in cuts and bruises, and walked over with quick steps. He cupped his fist, and said: “This one is Luoyin Sect Disciple Song He. Many thanks for coming to my aid, senior brothers.”
However, his posture still allowed him to attack or defend. He looked like he could launch an attack or go on the retreat at any time.
Gu Zuo waved a hand. His smiling expression still glittered brilliantly: “Don’t mention it. My big brother and I have been in this forest for a long time. It hasn’t been easy to meet people, so we helped out in passing.”
Song He heard these words, and his heart slightly relaxed.
Since he could speak, then the other side shouldn’t have any intentions of murdering him for his belongings. The following matters would be easy to deal with.
Song He expressed his thanks once again.
Gu Zuo laughed lightly, and gave introductions: “I’m called Gu Zuo. This is my big brother, Gongyi Tianheng.”
Song He and Tianheng also greeted each other.
Tianheng’s expression was amiable: “I won’t keep this from Brother Song. Ah Zuo and I have been here for several days, and we still haven’t seen any other people. Now that we’ve met Brother Song with great difficulty, our hearts are gladdened. What has Brother Song seen and heard during these past few days?”
Song He dared to break through the Road of Death, but he also wasn’t a fool. He understood Tianheng’s meaning at once, and immediately relaxed even more: “I just came to this forest today, and I didn’t expect to be met with this disaster. As for what I’ve seen and heard…”
Gu Zuo patiently listened to Song He’s recounting.
He understood that there were similarities between what Song He and they had encountered, but there were even more things that were different.
For example, he wasn’t a member of the Southern Expanse. Rather, he was the disciple of a second-rate sect from the Southeastern Expanse. His sect only arrived with a dozen or so people. He was separated from the very beginning, and basically hadn’t seen the traces of anyone else. Fortunately, his luck was pretty good. When he just arrived, what he met wasn’t that kind of extremely dangerous illusion that Gu Zuo and Tianheng faced. Rather, he quickly spied a large road. After that, he sped along this road, and later saw this forest — Because he had been running too fast and had acted without taking the time to think, he didn’t even encounter those monsters that would attack at night!
However, the moment he saw this forest, it seemed like his luck had been used up.
Song He fought with some strange and bizarre creatures. In the beginning, he was handling things easily, but he immediately discovered that he couldn’t supply himself with more true qi. He wanted to take medicinal pills, but this wasn’t easy to accomplish due to the concentrated attacks. When he reached the deeper parts of the forest, his true qi diminished more and more. A moment of carelessness caused him to be wrapped up by the rattan vines, and he had no way of using his true qi to struggle free. This was the reason why he was in such a wretched state.
— It could be said that, if it wasn’t for Tianheng and Gu Zuo coming to the rescue, he would’ve died. Even his bones wouldn’t have necessarily been left behind!
As a result, Song He was very grateful towards these two people.
After all, he knew that everyone in this place actually had competitive relationships… Thus, when Gu Zuo and Tianheng inquired, he gave a full narration of everything that he knew about.
When Gu Zuo finished listening, he returned the favor, and told Song He about those monsters that they had previously encountered. Song He heard this, and was even more thankful.
After this hurried exchange of information, Gu Zuo said: “We shouldn’t linger here. Big brother has just set a fire, which will intimidate a few beasts for now, but I’m afraid that more will come to fight. Therefore, we’d better leave this place quickly.”
The words that were spoken here had the meaning of parting ways.
Song He hesitated, but still spoke with some embarrassment: “Would these two senior brothers allow this Song to tag along? I won’t hide it from you two. This Song’s true qi is lacking. I need to take an opportunity to replenish it.”
Gu Zuo wouldn’t personally make a decision about this kind of matter. In comparison, his big brother was shrewder.
Tianheng and Gu Zuo had a tacit understanding. Hearing what was said, he smiled: “There’s no harm in traveling together for a time. Only, it already isn’t easy for Ah Zuo and I to protect each other along the way. I’m afraid that we won’t able to deal with that kind of comprehensive care.”
Song He heard the veiled meaning within those words, and wasn’t dejected. He hurriedly said: “I wouldn’t dare to trouble these two senior brothers. It’s just that, if you two could spare some time to watch over me for a little bit, I would be extremely grateful.”
Tianheng said: “Then, so be it.”
Song He was greatly relieved. He tightly followed the two by their side as they dashed out.
This dash left Song He extremely shocked.
First of all was the speed of this dash. Tianheng really was too fast. He was practically as fast as lightning. Song He needed to use up a lot of strength to barely keep up and not fall behind.
Aside from this, what astonished Song He even more was the two’s combat power.
Tianheng didn’t need to be mentioned. Up ahead, sometimes he would use a longbow, and sometimes he would use other bladed weapons. He was truly bold and decisive. Everything that blocked the way forward would be completely wiped out by him. An unobstructed passage was cleared out.
As for Gu Zuo, he was exceedingly good at utilizing psychic powers. He also let nothing through — Yes, Song He realized that this was psychic power because pharmacists had been capable of using psychic powers for close to a hundred years in their Southeastern Expanse. The offensive and defensive capabilities of numerous pharmacists had been witnessed by martial artists like him.
Only, Song He absolutely never expected that the strength of a mere pharmacist could reach this high of a degree!
Suddenly, his mind was sent into a turmoil… Now, it seemed like his fighting strength couldn’t compare to a pharmacist.
Please don’t forget to support the original author.