Chapter 368 - As the Dragon Turns, the Earth Quakes
After discovering this situation, Shen Yuanbai and the others swiftly reacted, and gathered together.
Gongyi Tianheng tugged Gu Zuo’s forearm: “Ah Zuo, stay close.”
Gu Zuo solemnly nodded his head: “I know, big brother.”
The group put down what they were doing, and focused their gazes to look in the direction of the fighting.
In that place, both sides had around five or six people. The battle was incredibly fierce and cruel. Martial artists landed punches and blows upon one another’s flesh, while the psychic powers of pharmacists were substantiated into sabers, spears, swords, and halberds, which clashed with sonorous ringing. From time to time, a portion of a person’s “blade” would be cut down, and instantly dissipate. As for the pharmacist whose psychic power was cut down, their complexion would become somewhat unsightly.
Gu Zuo’s attention fell onto one of the girls.
At this moment, this young lady with slender, silken-white hands flowed around and evaded her opponent’s attacks like a butterfly weaving its way through the flowers. However, if someone with discerning eyes went to watch, they would realize that there were a few times when she didn’t directly confront the other person. Whenever a clash occurred, her tempo would be thrown off, causing her to alternate her composition once more to slowly deal with it.
This young lady was precisely the Ice Phoenix Goddess, Mu Baizhi.
She had always been cold and dignified, but it wasn’t known why she was fighting others this time around.
A hint of a strange look flashed across Gu Zuo’s expression.
The Ice Phoenix Goddess was obviously a prodigy. However, after her internal qi was restricted, although the physical strength she displayed here was much stronger than that of ordinary martial artists, it was vastly weaker when compared to Tianheng and other prodigies.
Could it be that she had abandoned physical strength, and set her mind on cultivating martial skills and ultimate knowledge?
Gu Zuo glanced at the people who accompanied the Ice Phoenix Goddess.
Although that girl with a clear and exquisite complexion was a pharmacist, her movements and actions were devastating. That enormous horse-chopping saber was waved through the air, and unleashed a sharp sound that cleaved the void. In addition, there was the Ice Phoenix Goddess’ older brother, Mu Baiyue. While he appeared refined in manner, his physical body was incredibly strong. With his every move, he emitted a tremendous suppressive might — Compared to actual prodigies, such a physical body wasn’t the least bit inferior!
For some reason, Gu Zuo thought that the feelings this pair of siblings gave others were very strange.
After shaking his head, he tamped down on this odd feeling.
…In any case, this was other people’s business.
Once Lan Wenxi saw what was happening, his brows tightly furrowed: “Mu Baiyue, what the hell are you doing?”
Gu Zuo stared blankly.
Hearing this tone of voice, it looked like this wasn’t merely a “tentative friendship”.
Shen Yuanbai seemed to realize something. At this moment, he plainly said: “If you want to help, let’s figure out what caused this first.”
Lan Wenxi, who was originally wearing an unbridled expression, became dignified: “In this place, there are certainly reasons for coming to blows. Senior sect brother, why don’t we go over to have a look?”
Shen Yuanbai didn’t answer him. Instead, he looked at Tianheng.
Tianheng smiled and said: “This one is interested as well.”
Gu Zuo: “I’ll follow my big brother’s lead.”
At this point, the remaining two pharmacists could only obey the will of the majority. After this, the group quickly travelled to the place where the fighting had broken out.
Before long, the group of people drew closer.
Gu Zuo and the others didn’t recognize the other party. When they were in Maple Forest Ruins, they also didn’t see this group. Presumably, these were people who had entered the leyline from another entrance. The Ice Phoenix Goddess originally journeyed with three others, but now, two more people were fighting alongside them. In all likelihood, they encountered one another afterwards and joined forces.
The fighting between both sides was intense. It was as if they wanted to bury their opponents in the ground. From what Gu Zuo could see, the other party’s comprehensive strength was about the same as that of the Ice Phoenix Goddess’ companions. As a result, everyone was in a deadlock, and there was a possibility that neither side would win.
Noticing that some people were coming over, the Ice Phoenix Goddess flew back in retreat, and swiftly flitted her gaze over those people. When she saw Gongyi Tianheng, her eyes brightened slightly: “Brother Gongyi, please lend a hand!”
Tianheng’s expression didn’t change. He wouldn’t rashly take action. Instead, he unhurriedly said: “I don’t share any enmity with these people. If I get involved without careful consideration, I’m afraid that it would be inappropriate.”
Gu Zuo’s heart relaxed.
Right. Who knew what background the other side might’ve had? Helping someone, who basically amounted to a stranger, to get rid of another party — Clearly, something wasn’t right! Moreover, that Ice Phoenix Goddess hadn’t fallen into circumstances of certain death. She asked his big brother to take action with red lips and white teeth. She didn’t even make a single remark of there being a large reward to express her gratitude. Wasn’t this an empty-handed ploy to steal a white wolf? Who was she taking for a fool?
A trace of unhappiness flashed across the Ice Phoenix Goddess’ beautiful features. Immediately following which, she said: “This Ice Phoenix Goddess earnestly requests that the prodigy of a higher sect comes to my aid. These people aren’t affiliated with the higher sect. I hope that Prodigy Gongyi will give some thought to the feelings of an old friend!”
Gu Zuo: “…”
This was still the intention of stealing a white wolf!
It was one thing if such a matter could be handled with the flip of a hand, but who wasn’t aware that there were consequences to one’s actions? In addition, what was the point of playing the friendship card in this leyline, which restricted one’s internal qi?
The light in Tianheng’s eyes became faintly cold.
Meanwhile, a wisp of killing intent flickered in Shen Yuanbai’s eyes. As for Lan Wenxi, his smile curled into a sneer. He glanced at Mu Baiyue, who was still in the middle of a bitter struggle. When he swept another look at the Ice Phoenix Goddess, a sliver of hatred arose in his heart.
Even those two pharmacists furrowed their brows.
These actions and words of the Ice Phoenix Goddess truly left them discontented.
At this time, Mu Baiyue suddenly opened his mouth: “If these gentlemen are willing to lend a hand, this Mu will share the information we acquired with everyone. In addition, each of us will give two stone ova in return!”
The Ice Phoenix Goddess appeared anxious: “Elder brother —”
The space between the quiet and exquisite girl’s brows overflowed with heat. As she fought against her opponent, she spoke with a cold scoff: “When asking for help, it’s only natural to pay them back. This goddess still doesn’t want to reveal too much.” Once she finished saying that, she shouted in a loud voice, “Senior Sect Brother Mu’s words are our words. I ask that these sirs come to our aid! We won’t be able to thank you enough!”
When Mu Baiyue and the quiet and exquisite girl spoke like this, Shen Yuanbai and the others’ complexions improved somewhat.
They considered what the other party said just now, and suddenly sensed some things — Information? What information was specially worth mentioning now?
Gu Zuo couldn’t help looking at the Ice Phoenix Goddess’ enemies, and discovered that this group of six was already positioned to fight with everything they had. But if a person observed more carefully, one would realize that, while they openly fought as if their lives depended on it, there was a hidden tendency of wanting to run away.
It looked like the reason why these two sides fought was due to that “information”?
Tianheng said: “Since it’s like this, we should lend a helping hand.”
Shen Yuanbai and Lan Wenxi’s footsteps sped up, and they swiftly appeared near the members of both parties. These two martial artists showed up on the left and right of the battlefield, sealing all escape routes — Of course, anything that Gu Zuo was capable of noticing was naturally noticed by experienced veterans like them. As such, they immediately made preparations.
Soon after, the group joined the battle.
Gu Zuo and the other two pharmacists stood at the outer circle of the battlefield. Their psychic powers burst forth, materialized, and dashed into the fights between the two sides’ pharmacists!
Very quickly, the couple of oncoming weapons unleashed their might. All of a sudden, these weapons smashed apart the tenuous and perilous balance.
Meanwhile, Tianheng and the other two martial artists joined the inner circle. Likewise, the winds of victory started to blow in favor of Mu Baiyue’s side.
Those who had the advantage in numbers rapidly made their moves. Like stormy winds and torrential rains, the ferocity of the battle was without equal — Finally, once all of the combatants on the other side were rendered unconscious, they stopped and withdrew.
The Ice Phoenix Goddess motioned at the pharmacist by her side.
That pharmacist grasped a large saber in his hand, and walked towards the six unconscious enemies. He crudely smashed their skulls into a viscous paste one by one. There wasn’t even enough time for these six people to let out pain-filled screams before they lost their lives.
Gu Zuo furrowed his brows.
These actions were quite ruthless… But when he looked at his family’s big brother, he found that Tianheng’s expression was at ease.
Alright. It actually wasn’t strange. It seemed that these people were aware of the same information. It went without saying that one side would want to get rid of the other side. His big brother and the others only knocked them out, but didn’t take the initiative to kill anyone. This was probably the willingness of “lending a hand”. No one genuinely wanted to help them eliminate their enemies.
After those six people were killed, the Ice Phoenix Goddess and her party came over to express their gratitude: “Many thanks for coming to help, gentlemen.”
That quiet and exquisite girl had already taken the lead to bring out several stone ova and hand them over: “Senior Sect Brother Mu and I will each take out two stone ova as an expression of our gratitude.”
After that, a pair of beautiful eyes turned around, and looked towards the other four people — This was an urging signal.
At this moment, the Ice Phoenix Goddess appeared to have adjusted herself, and hinted to the pharmacist at her side: “Take out four stone ova.”
This pharmacist did as instructed. He brought out four ashen-white objects, and similarly handed them over.
The last two people were unwilling in their hearts.
Among them, the shorter and smaller one spoke discontentedly: “The two of us didn’t agree beforehand, so why do we have to…”
The taller and bigger one was similarly reluctant, but when faced with the attentive gazes of this many people, his fingers still hesitatingly rummaged around the inside of his sleeve.
The quiet and exquisite girl sneered: “Just a while ago, you guys were looking for people to rescue you. But now that you’ve been saved, you start complaining. This kind of temperament… No wonder you and — Hah!”
Her gaze swept over the Ice Phoenix Goddess at lightning speed. Then, she immediately retracted it.
The Ice Phoenix Goddess’ eyes flashed with several indiscernible, obscure lights. Shortly thereafter, the wind was gentle and the clouds were mild. It was as if she didn’t hear anything.
Mu Baiyue slowly opened his mouth: “Time is running out. If you guys don’t want to be left behind, you need to settle this matter as soon as possible.”
The complexions of the tall and short duo trembled. The stone ova were swiftly taken out, and handed over.
At first glance, it was hard to distinguish whether these stone ova were good or bad. It also wasn’t a smart idea to pick them without looking carefully. Hence, Gu Zuo and the other two pharmacists stepped forward to receive the stone ova offered by each person separately.
The stone ova that Gu Zuo took were the ones given by that quiet and exquisite girl. After taking them, he made a reserved motion to her.
The quiet and exquisite girl’s attitude towards Gu Zuo was considered pretty good. There weren’t any of those taunts or disdaining comments that she made whenever she mentioned the Ice Phoenix Goddess: “After this, we’ll tell you guys the information.”
Gu Zuo nodded his head and said: “We’ll listen with respectful attention.”
Off to the side, once the Ice Phoenix Goddess’ line of sight flitted across Shen Yuanbai and the others, it stopped on Tianheng. As her sight moved away again, her breathing changed slightly. However, this change only lasted for a split second before returning to normal.
Following this, she unexpectedly opened her vermillion-red lips, and spoke before the others: “This information was obtained by accident. I’ll inform these gentlemen in a moment, but I also hope that everyone will journey together with us following this…”
Tianheng didn’t respond. Among these martial artists, he was the youngest. He moved sideways to stand with Gu Zuo, and waited for the group to come to a decision.
Shen Yuanbai was the oldest. At this time, he spoke in a low voice: “For the time being, let’s see whether this information is worth it.”
The Ice Phoenix Goddess paused. It looked like she also knew that this wouldn’t be a commitment made in advance. She lightly sighed, and compliantly talked about the matter: “We became aware of it just recently. Originally, every hundred thousand years, the dragon of this leyline will turn over and the earth will quake. And every time this occurs, those wondrous medicines, which wouldn’t be born for a hundred thousand years, will gather at the head of the earth dragon, and emerge from the ground…”
According to what the Ice Phoenix Goddess said, they unexpectedly heard this from the mouth of a pharmacist. That pharmacist only spat out this information after losing a fight and being constantly tortured by another party. The Ice Phoenix Goddess and her group arrived too late, and couldn’t save that pharmacist. They had no choice but to chase and kill those evil people who tortured the pharmacist.
Of course, if it wasn’t for the assistance of Tianheng and the others, it would’ve been hard to confirm whether the ones to perish were them or the evil people.
As a result, they finally smashed those people’s heads. Besides wanting to prevent the information of the earthquake from spreading to too many people, the bigger reason was still for the sake of getting revenge for that pharmacist.
Gu Zuo: “…”
Only a few people would trust this manner of speaking.
But regardless of whether people trusted it or not, it was fine so long as the information was real… Right?
Indeed, Shen Yuanbai and the others didn’t pay attention to the truthfulness within this story. No one was familiar with one another, so it was even less likely for any thoughts of checking the truth to exist.
After the Ice Phoenix Goddess spun her tale, what they cared about was only the authenticity of this information about the “turning dragon and quaking earth”.
Lan Wenxi spoke with malicious intent: “How do we know that you aren’t trying to deceive us with lies?”
The Ice Phoenix Goddess furrowed her brows with indifference: “Because I invited everyone to journey together just now. You’ll know if what I said is true or false once you go.”
On that side, Mu Baiyue slightly shook his head. His eyes seemed to carry a somewhat defeated and helpless expression.
Fortunately, Lan Wenxi didn’t bother about this matter. He turned around, and discussed things with Shen Yuanbai, Tianheng, and the others.
Shen Yuanbai said: “If this is real, we can’t miss this opportunity.”
Tianheng also spoke: “Even if it’s fake, we should take a look around.”
Everyone here was an intelligent person. There was no need to waste too much time making a decision. Martial artists were always striving to reach the top. In order to obtain the final benefits, any valuable information was worth investigating.
It was clear that this matter was more likely to be true. As such, traveling together was the inevitable choice.
Gu Zuo simply asked: “Then, shall we go?”
Tianheng had a smile on his face, and said: “We’ll go.”
After settling this, several people turned around and gave a response.
Shen Yuanbai stated: “Since it’s like this, we’ll proceed to the dragon’s head together.”
The Ice Phoenix Goddess gently nodded her beautiful head: “Gentlemen, please follow us.”
Mu Baiyue and Lan Wenxi glanced at each other’s faces. Immediately following that, they acted as if they were strangers, and shifted away their lines of sight.
This spectacle was seen by Gu Zuo.
Wanting to conceal a friendship with Mu Baiyue… Things were getting stranger and stranger.
Because there wasn’t much remaining time, the present group of twelve people was hurriedly dashing to another location.
Gu Zuo rested his body against Gongyi Tianheng’s back, and listened to the sound of the whistling wind blowing past his ears. He only felt that this speed was truly fast. Compared to Shen Yuanbai, Lan Wenxi, and the others, Tianheng wasn’t the least bit slower!
At the moment, basically all of the pharmacists were being carried away by their martial artists — Either under the armpit, over the shoulder, or through other methods of carrying. This included the Ice Phoenix Goddess, Mu Baizhi. Granted that her physical body was the weakest among all the martial artists here, she was still stronger than a pharmacist. She had no option but to extend a hand, grab the collar of the pharmacist who had been following her the entire time, and tightly hang on to the tail-end of this hastened procession.
Gu Zuo occasionally turned his head to take a look. Through the boundless winds and waves, he could see a tempest-like gloom condensing on Mu Baizhi’s forehead.
Sure enough, she wasn’t really that kind of clear and cold fairy.
At any rate, this instance of rushing took more than half a day.
Although it required the Gate Opening Pearls to stimulate the giant pearls overhead to brighten and illuminate the interior of the leyline, there was practically no distinction between day and night. However, what kind of faculty of memory did everyone have? Naturally, they could perceive that it was already close to midnight. The day of the leyline’s sealing was less than twenty-four hours away!
Thus, they brooked no delays. If they wanted to get a piece of the action during the earthquake, they needed to move with all haste!
Gradually, those countless stone forests, coral reefs, dragons, and beasts became sparse and infrequent. Among them, the enormous stone trees were already long gone. What remained were heaps upon heaps of rubble-like mountains. It wasn’t known what forms these rocks were piled to create, but it would cause people to scratch their heads in confusion. One would feel somewhat dizzy after looking at these structures for long enough.
The group came to a halt.
Shen Yuanbai observed their surroundings, and inquired: “Is this the place?”
Mu Baiyue said: “That’s right.”
Gu Zuo sensed surges of warmth bubbling up in all directions.
At this moment, the Ice Phoenix Goddess also arrived. Just then, Mu Baizhi said: “When the dragon turns, the earth shall quake. The dragon’s head pours forth a dragon’s breath, and the surrounding lands shall be set aflame… That pharmacist said exactly this.”
Shen Yuanbai and the others weren’t concerned about any codes or hidden jargon within these words. It was enough to know that this place was their destination. However, they didn’t see any sights that resembled a dragon overturning the earth in this place — What was going on?
The Ice Phoenix Goddess’ gaze looked all around.
Then, Gu Zuo suddenly felt the hairs on his body stand up. It was as if he perceived a strong sense of danger. He couldn’t help calling out softly: “Big brother, be careful —”
Be careful of what?
He didn’t know what they had to be careful of, but that sense of crisis was impossible to shake off. It made him blurt this out!
Immediately following this, the other pharmacists reacted simultaneously. Each of them used a hand to cover the space between their brows, and started to rapidly size up their surroundings. Their bodies were drenched with a cold sweat, and their lips faintly quivered: “Be careful, be careful…”
Tianheng’s voice was deep and low: “Ah Zuo, hold me tightly.”
Gu Zuo hurriedly complied: “Big brother, I feel like something must be wrong.”
The mental states of Shen Yuanbai, Lan Wenxi, Mu Baiyue, and the other martial artists were stretched taut.
What the hell was happening —
The next moment, everyone couldn’t stop a chill from running down their spines.
Amid the mountainous heaps of rubble nearby, countless Earth Worms of incomparable bulk abruptly shot out! Every single one of these creatures was as thick as a water vat and almost fifty meters long! Their mandibles were sinister, and their tail stingers were sharp. It was incredibly scary!
At this time, it seemed like these creatures had encountered some kind of horrifying tribulation, and were in the middle of fleeing for their lives and darting all over the place!
Gu Zuo swallowed a mouthful of saliva: “The Earth Worms are going to go out of control!”
The others were apprehensive.
It wasn’t that the creatures were about to go mad. The Earth Worms had already gone mad!
Everyone swiftly reacted.
They absolutely couldn’t let the Earth Worms encircle them. Otherwise, even if the martial artists weren’t killed, their skin and flesh would be littered with bite wounds. This definitely wasn’t a relaxing matter. As for the pharmacists, it was even more perilous. If they weren’t careful, they could be pounced on by these Earth Worms. It wouldn’t take a second for them to be sucked dry and perish!
Tianheng carried Gu Zuo, and rose up in one bound. Then, he climbed up a huge boulder in the area. They needed to jump high to evade the attacks of some Earth Worms that burrowed through the ground.
Gu Zuo was uneasy.
This many worms… They resembled pythons, but were uglier than pythons. Ah, they looked disgusting!
The rest of the group were mostly searching for places to huddle down and to handle their own matters.
But shortly following that, something else happened that caused everyone to widen their eyes.
Rumble, rumble —
The mountainous land swayed and shook. The ground split open, revealing numerous, giant cracks. Many of the Earth Worms were swallowed inside. Soon after, several stony mountains collapsed, and huge boulders rolled down their sides. All of a sudden, within the earthen cracks and ruptured mountains, rivers of scarlet-red magma burst forth. It seemed like the terrifying temperatures could melt stone!
This region, which was originally a panorama of stone, transformed into an ocean of lava in the blink of an eye!
“Quick, avoid it!”
“Split up and escape —”
Everyone didn’t have enough time to say anything more to the others. They all leaped out, and fled from countless, falling stones that had yet to shatter into smaller rocks. Many times, as soon as they stepped on one chunk, that boulder would crumble. Other times, just as they departed one area, that place would be immediately engulfed in lava.
On Tianheng’s face, there wasn’t a smiling expression any longer, but he was still incredibly cool-headed. He observed many boulders that were comparatively sturdy, and jumped.
Gu Zuo firmly clung to Tianheng’s body. He didn’t want to increase the burden on his big brother, but he still blurted out a sentence: “So this is what it meant by the earth dragon turning over…”
As it turned out, it was this kind of turning!
He had thought it had already happened before they got there!
T/N: Thanks for the corrections, Charysa.
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