Chapter 21: What Are You Doing?
The wind howled, rustling through the leaves, as if a woman was laughing and crying in the dark, distant mountains and forests.
This was no longer Ning Family Villa in the old mountains but a key pass at the foot of Manfeng Mountain.
The bonfire still burned, but the red flames emanated a strange blackness, as if the fire itself had been stained black by the moonlight.
Ning Xuan stood up. With his nearly ten-foot-long Beast Slaying Blade, he lightly flicked it behind him, revealing the tent.
The place where his elder brother should have been resting was empty.
He retracted his blade and, with a slight bow, strolled around the perimeter.
To no one’s surprise, everyone had vanished.
The black moon hung high in the sky, dawn was approaching. This was a Nightmare World, a Nightmare like an endless hell, a Nightmare where failure to refine a talisman meant the body and soul would be scattered.
He casually tapped his forehead, conjuring a killing intent.
Instantly, a line of text appeared:
[One of Nine]
Ning Xuan blinked.
[One of Nine] meant that this time, his reincarnation count was only nine, one less than last time.
‘What caused this?’
He soon dismissed the question, as it was unanswerable. All speculation was a waste of time, a pointless delusion.
He silently chanted again: ‘Request, Heavenly Demon Scroll.’
There was no response.
The “Mountain Crushing Bear” Heavenly Demon Scroll did not appear, as if it had fallen into the sea.
This did not surprise him.
He had already sensed it when he requested the talisman.
He could only request one talisman at a time.
The process of refining a talisman was essentially the act of stripping away the Heavenly Demon’s power and transferring it to oneself. Therefore, it was a form of requesting a talisman.
As such, he could not request another talisman in the Nightmare World.
However, it did not matter.
Compared to his first entry into the Nightmare World, Ning Xuan was much more composed.
He began to quickly and skillfully search for usable items or treasures.
After all, last time, the Pear Blossom Needles and Rapid-fire Crossbow had been of great help.
Soon, he had gathered more items than last time, but there were no treasures used by Daoists, nor his elder brother’s Celestial Master Seal.
This was not surprising, though. The Celestial Master Seal, despite its name, was likely not a physical object but a form of power condensed by oneself.
Soon, Ning Xuan laid out everything with some potency, excluding soldier’s crossbows, shields, and spears.
One, Four Generations Under One Roof.
This was a dart with a unique design, consisting of a great-grandfather dart, several grandfather darts, child darts, and grandchild needles.
When this dart was used, it would explode upon impact with any target, splitting into many secondary darts. These secondary darts would then split again, and the child darts would shoot out a dense spray of grandchild needles upon impact.
If someone holding a shield faced this dart, the dart would first hit the shield, then split into more darts that would bypass the shield and hit the shield bearer behind.
If the dart entered the human body, it would explode inside, creating a multitude of even more hidden weapons.
Ning Xuan had heard of “Four Generations Under One Roof” from Master Zhang. Master Zhang seemed deeply impressed, even fearful, of the dart’s lethality, and had spoken of it at length, thus Ning Xuan recognized it.
Ning Xuan believed that while he could dodge this dart with his speed and reflexes, preventing it from hitting him, if he were to be hit within a cage, he would be in grave danger. This was because his Swallow Cry Strength was merely a single force, not a form of protective aura like those found in novels set in the past.
Even if he withstood the impact with his physique, if even a few of the exploding darts hit his eyes, nose, or ears, he would be severely injured.
This “Four Generations Under One Roof” was a level above the previous “Pear Blossom Needles” in terms of sophistication and range.
If Ning Xuan had possessed this “Four Generations Under One Roof” when facing the Mountain Crushing Bear Demon, he might have been able to extract at least thirty percent of its power by simply attempting to shoot the dart into its eye.
Two, Many Children and Grandchildren.
This was a large black box.
Ning Xuan had not heard of this from Master Zhang, but from Liu Gongzi of the Fugui Chamber of Commerce bragging during a feast.
Liu Gongzi had boasted, “My strength is as great as Many Children and Grandchildren.”
Ning Xuan had asked curiously, “What does it mean to be as strong as Many Children and Grandchildren?”
Liu Shirong then explained that in the Western Regions, a peculiar, depraved, and lascivious individual had created a terrifying mechanical concealed weapon. When activated, it would cause cataclysm, continuously erupting with various hidden weapons, annihilating an entire area, leaving no one alive except the user. Even hiding indoors was useless, as these hidden weapons contained powerful armor-piercing arrows that could penetrate walls.
Ning Xuan had also asked out of curiosity, “This clearly leads to the severance of descendants, why call it Many Children and Grandchildren?”
Liu Shirong replied, “Because the creator was a lecher, that’s why he gave it such a name, meaning so many erupting at once… understand?”
Ning Xuan was speechless.
However, he had genuinely found this “Many Children and Grandchildren” today.
He hefted it.
Good heavens, this box must weigh over two hundred catties. Carrying it on his back felt like carrying a pig.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Although there were other items, such as poisons, they were insignificant compared to the first two.
Ning Xuan slung “Many Children and Grandchildren” onto his back, placed “Four Generations Under One Roof” in his embrace, and then took out the poisons to meticulously coat his Beast Slaying Blade.
Then, he took a deep breath and began to measure the area of this Nightmare World.
He would not rely on past experience.
Last time, the Nightmare World was confined to the size of the villa. Crossing the boundary would return him to the starting point.
This time, he would not take it for granted.
At the very least, he had to try.
Soon, he had explored an area the size of a villa.
He continued to explore.
One li.
Two li.
Three li.
He still hadn’t reached the end, nor had he crossed the “boundary.”
Just as Ning Xuan was about to explore further, he suddenly noticed that dawn had arrived. This dawn was much earlier than the one in the villa, much, much earlier.
The black moon disappeared, and the pale, scorching sun exploded with light on the horizon, as if a fireball had cast a pale light over the entire area.
Instantly, the dense forests and mountains turned a ghastly white.
Ning Xuan’s entire body tensed, and he tightened his grip on the Beast Slaying Blade.
He stood in an open space, alertly scanning his surroundings, preparing for a great battle.
He was no longer like he was at the beginning; he would not cower and hide in a rockery.
Suddenly, he felt something looking at him.
He quickly scanned his surroundings.
Nothing!
Then, a thunderous voice boomed from above him.
“Little one, are you looking for me?”
Without even looking, Ning Xuan activated the mechanism of “Many Children and Grandchildren.” Countless arrows began to shoot upwards and outwards with a “swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh” and “thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack” sound.
Only then did he tilt his head back, his gaze quickly following the sound.
*Clang, clang, clang, clang!!*
An endless cacophony of impacts rang out, then fell back.
Above him, a hunched figure, a Bodhisattva, was looking down at him.
The Bodhisattva was ten zhang tall!
Its entire body was radiant. Its monastic head had snail-like curls like blue lotuses, its face was like a full moon, with a white mole between its brows, and its lips held a greedy smile, with saliva dripping from its corners.
The mechanism of “Many Children and Grandchildren” fired towards the Bodhisattva, but it could not harm it in the slightest, like a downpour that left one uneaten.
As soon as they hit the glowing surface of the Bodhisattva, they scattered and plunged deep into the earth. Even hard giant rocks were deeply impaled by them, demonstrating the immense power of these hidden weapons.
Without hesitation, Ning Xuan threw “Four Generations Under One Roof” as well.
The wicked dart instantly struck the Bodhisattva’s golden body, bounced off, splitting into grandfather darts, then bounced again, splitting into child darts, and finally, an endless stream of needles shot out… like bouncing spiders.
The golden Bodhisattva remained unmoved, looking down at him with great interest, and then asked in a voice that was neither smiling nor crying, “What are you doing?”
Its massive hand slowly descended from the sky.
Ning Xuan suddenly understood.
Manfeng Mountain was preparing for a banquet.
And the host of the banquet was someone he had stumbled upon.
Ning Xuan’s heart pounded like it hadn’t in a long time.
However, he still took a deep breath. He would try his best, as they say, a horse is a horse, and a donkey is a donkey.
He drew his poisoned Beast Slaying Blade, looked at the hand that was gradually filling his vision, roared, and his Swallow Cry Strength erupted, his blade light ferocious.
Die!!
The moment his Beast Slaying Blade struck the Bodhisattva’s massive hand, Ning Xuan felt an unbearable pain, as if a mortal had run headfirst into a solid pillar, and instantly fainted.
The Bodhisattva casually picked him up with two fingers, dangled him, shook off the Beast Slaying Blade and various poisons in his hand, and slowly lifted him higher.
The Bodhisattva opened its massive mouth.
*Snap.*
Its fingers released.
He plummeted downwards.
He was awakened by intense pain.
He felt tiny, sharp teeth gnawing at his body, bite by bite, little by little.
He opened his eyes, only to find… he could see nothing.
His eyes burned with pain.
That thing had eaten his eyeballs first!!
“So bitter…”
“So bitter, Hahahaha!”
“Hahahahahahaha!!”
Appendix: I am currently traveling with my family, but mostly they are sightseeing while I stay in the hotel. I will be heading to catch a train soon and will arrive at my destination in the evening.
The second update today will likely be late. Even after reaching the hotel, I will need to rest and recuperate to adjust my state before I can slowly start writing.
My apologies!
(End of Chapter)
