Chapter 23: Breaking the Ice
Ning Xuan woke up to intense pain. He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids throbbed, making it impossible.
His eyeballs had been eaten by the demonic creature again.
It seemed the demonic creature always ate his eyeballs first.
This time, Ning Xuan didn’t try to sense what the demonic creature was by “being gnawed.”
He decisively used his remaining strength, grunted, and his blood rushed to his head, spraying from his seven orifices.
The agony of being in the infernal abyss dissipated.
Darkness.
Boundless darkness.
Ning Xuan felt a gentle night breeze ruffling his hair.
[Chapter Nine, Section Three].
He opened his eyes, gazing absently at the dense forest, the black moon, and the mountains. He sighed, then simply lay flat on his back, spread-eagle, doing his best to relax.
A constantly taut nerve would destroy his will.
In this nightmare that felt like hell, dying once wasn’t terrifying. What was terrifying was the gradual disintegration of his heart, the creeping despair, which would be true eternal damnation.
He vowed that when he got out of this, he would gather all the Qīng Guānrén from Zuihua Tower and Chenxiang Pavilion, have them strip, and drink and revel with him, while musicians in the thinnest red gauze played the pipa under the moonlight.
He vowed that he would eat the most luxurious and delicious food, even if it meant wearing out ten Thousand-mile horses to transport it from thousands of miles away that same day.
He vowed that he would gather some people he found pleasing, and gently ask them about their dreams. If they were good dreams, he would help them realize them immediately. If they were bad, he would tell them to eat shit.
He had already suffered so much. He absolutely refused to marry into that Hanzhou Pasture. Why should he submit to others? Why should he continue to suffer? Why couldn’t he just give up, and do whatever he pleased?
“Hahaha.”
*Slap.*
Ning Xuan raised his hand and slapped his forehead, chuckling softly. He then took a few deep breaths, his eyes regaining their calm, shrewd, and decisive gaze.
Here, he had no one to rely on.
He had only himself to depend on.
He could only depend on himself.
He had to find any way possible to kill the other party.
He… had recovered.
He began to ponder the situation from moments ago.
Originally, he was close to succeeding. At least things were developing in a good direction, but the Bodhisattva suddenly recovered, and recovered even stronger than before.
Why?
That “humming and hawing” was a sound wave attack, similar to martial arts like “Lion’s Roar” in the jianghu, but executed by a Bodhisattva, it was incomparably terrifying.
So, why didn’t the Bodhisattva use it earlier, and instead lay in the mountain crevice looking for him?
Therefore, the “humming and hawing” was a secret technique, and the Bodhisattva’s sudden recovery was also a secret technique.
Was that right?
After being hit by the “humming and hawing,” his entire body was on the verge of collapse, but he still maintained a sliver of consciousness.
Thanks to his mother’s devotion to Buddhism, he could recognize the gestures the Bodhisattva made before eating him.
Catching him with palms facing up was the “Samadhi Mudra.”
Flipping him over and pressing him towards the earth was the “Subduing Demons Mudra.”
However, he didn’t feel any extraordinary power in these two mudras.
In other words, these two gestures were merely imitations of actions.
If it were a true Bodhisattva, it wouldn’t perform the initial gestures of divine abilities without them having any effect.
Thus, this further confirmed that it was just demonic creature wearing a Bodhisattva’s skin.
Was that right?
Suddenly, two details flashed through Ning Xuan’s mind.
One, a pale white light.
Before the Bodhisattva performed its secret technique to recover, a pale white light burst before his eyes.
That was the color of sunlight.
Why did the demonic creature only appear during the day?
What about at night?
It wasn’t there on the first night.
What about the second night, was it still there?
Two, slow movements.
Compared to the Bodhisattva’s power, its movements were actually not fast at all, especially when approached, they were even slower.
The Bodhisattva could actually be divided into “four power intervals.”
In terms of power, the Bodhisattva could completely collapse him with a single palm strike or a roar, leaving him with no strength to resist.
In terms of speed, the Bodhisattva could only match his pace. He was desperately fleeing, and the Bodhisattva was desperately pursuing.
In close-quarters maneuvers and evasions, the Bodhisattva could be described as “clumsy.” Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been possible for him to enter its mouth, down its esophagus, and force out the secret technique.
Inside the Bodhisattva’s abdomen, the demonic creature, which was very likely a mouse, was the last interval. Judging by the fact that it instinctively ate his eyes twice, this demonic creature was likely afraid of being seen. Even when facing prey, it would first eat its eyes.
Ning Xuan pondered, then glanced at the black moon in the sky.
He decided to do something.
A bold undertaking.
He fetched “Many Descendants, Many Grandchildren” and “Four Generations Under One Roof,” but he didn’t carry them on his back.
He collected bottles and jars of poison, but he didn’t poison the blade.
At the same time, he gathered some common medicines carried by people in the jianghu for “restoring qi and blood,” “soothing muscles and promoting blood circulation,” and “conditioning and recovery.” He stuffed these into his clothes.
Then, he thrust the Beast-slaying Saber straight into the ground, like a flag fluttering in the pre-dawn air.
Without these external items, he felt light and unburdened.
Then, he stopped exploring the “nightmare boundary” and simply sat cross-legged on the spot beneath the Beast-slaying Saber, closing his eyes to rest.
As time passed, his condition steadily climbed towards its peak.
Finally.
Daylight arrived.
Ning Xuan opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings.
He could already feel the gaze from above.
A rumbling sound, like thunder, came from overhead.
“Little one, are you looking for–”
Before he could finish, Ning Xuan slammed his palm on the ground and leaped up. His peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the Bodhisattva, hunched over, its downward gaze piercing the forest to land on him.
Then, like a gust of wind, he fled towards Manfeng Mountain in the north.
Without any load, his speed was half a step faster than before, and his energy consumption was slightly less.
The Bodhisattva smiled faintly, then gave chase.
The time it took for an incense stick to burn passed.
Half an hour passed.
An hour passed.
The Bodhisattva’s face showed a look of surprise.
Two hours passed.
Ning Xuan started his “medicine show.”
Three hours passed.
The Bodhisattva called out from behind, “Little one, you’re quite a runner.”
Ning Xuan didn’t answer, lest he waste energy.
He continued to run.
Another hour passed.
He felt he had traversed the entire Manfeng Mountain. The moment he stepped out of the mountainous terrain, he felt he had finally hit a boundary.
And beyond the boundary, he saw the Beast-slaying Saber.
The Beast-slaying Saber was still standing in its original spot, emitting a faint humming sound in the afternoon wind.
Ning Xuan sat down cross-legged and began to recover his stamina quickly.
He remembered that when he was refining the Mountain Collision Bear earlier, that bear demon had not leaped over the “boundary” to chase him, but had sensed his presence and returned the way it came.
He was looking forward to the Bodhisattva returning the same way.
Ning Xuan waited for a short while. Seeing that the Bodhisattva had not crossed the boundary to come here directly, he quickly found a water缸 in the temporary military camp, soaked himself in it, took a bath, and then found some dry rations and dried meat from the camp, devouring them.
He ate until he was seven-tenths full, then sat cross-legged by the Beast-slaying Saber again.
The sky began to darken.
The pale white sun gradually moved west, obscured by the mountains, casting cold and oppressive mountain shadows.
Ning Xuan’s physical strength was almost fully recovered.
But the Bodhisattva still hadn’t arrived.
The last time he fought the Mountain Collision Bear, the area was within a mountain village. Ning Xuan had never left that mountain village, so time had never extended beyond a day and a night.
But now, the second night was fast approaching.
He didn’t know if the Bodhisattva would disappear, or if it would… keep coming.
The sun disappeared.
The black moon rose.
Ning Xuan sat there quietly.
His physical strength had completely recovered.
Two more hours passed, and he heard a rumbling sound in the distance.
Under the moonlight, the Golden Bodhisattva was approaching.
Ning Xuan burst into laughter.
He slapped the ground and began to run again.
He circled around the Golden Bodhisattva and headed north again.
The Golden Bodhisattva followed in pursuit once more.
Four more hours passed.
He once again crossed the “boundary” and returned to his starting point.
The Bodhisattva continued to approach.
Ning Xuan continued to run.
He didn’t believe that the Bodhisattva could run indefinitely without any consumption.
During the third round…
The Bodhisattva finally stopped and ceased its pursuit.
It began to recover.
The white light on its body began to dim.
In the sky, the black moon was just rising.
Ning Xuan took a deep breath and finally drew out the Beast-slaying Saber.
With his black hair wildly flying, carrying “Many Descendants, Many Grandchildren” and wielding his long saber, the youth approached the Bodhisattva. He looked up at the giant and said, “A mere minor demon dares to put on a Bodhisattva’s skin?”
These words seemed to sting. The Golden Bodhisattva, which was currently regulating its breath, instantly opened its eyes and raised its hand to strike Ning Xuan.
Ning Xuan dodged the blow by spinning.
The Golden Bodhisattva glanced at the load on his back, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly got up and resumed its pursuit.
Ning Xuan began to run again.
This time, he only ran to the mountain crevice where the waterfall used to be, and like before, he squeezed inside.
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
The Golden Bodhisattva pressed its hands on either side, and its large face moved closer.
“Little one, this time I’ll see…”
*Boom!*
Before he could finish speaking, a roar was heard, followed by a streak of light.
Carrying the large iron box and gripping the Beast-slaying Saber, Ning Xuan, with a posture he had imagined hundreds of times, a posture that would not make any mistakes, violently charged into the Bodhisattva’s gaping mouth and proceeded straight down its esophagus.
He skillfully threw out “Four Generations Under One Roof” to lead the way.
He skillfully activated “Many Descendants, Many Grandchildren,” then delivered a powerful kick, causing the large iron box to shoot out hundreds and thousands of hidden projectiles while rapidly descending.
He followed behind, channeling his Swallow Chirping Force and slashing wildly with his saber.
*Cough!*
*Cough, cough!!*
The Bodhisattva’s coughing became more violent.
The wind in its esophagus grew fiercer.
“Many Descendants, Many Grandchildren” formed a balance in mid-air, unable to continue its descent.
Ning Xuan’s black hair twisted upwards like deep-sea kelp.
And the Bodhisattva’s esophagus was now covered with many scratches.
Both sides began a tug-of-war within the esophagus.
Just then, in Ning Xuan’s ear, a furious scream from deep within the Bodhisattva’s internal organs suddenly sounded. Immediately after, a familiar pale white light exploded before his eyes.
This light was not fierce.
But after passing over the wounds, it rapidly healed them.
Ning Xuan was stunned.
‘No way?’
A strong sense of despair welled up in his heart.
If he had already done all this, and it was just one cycle, then… how would he proceed next time?
A strange breath began to brew.
All the fierce upward airflow in the esophagus ceased.
“Humph–”
Although Ning Xuan was desperate, his reaction was extremely fast. He no longer moved downwards but stepped on the esophageal wall, flying rapidly upwards.
Just as he was about to reach the opening of the esophagus, the deafening roar erupted.
“HA!!!”
*Bang!*
He was like a grain of rice, sprayed out of a huge mouth and into the air.
His peripheral vision swept over the Golden Bodhisattva below.
Suddenly, he froze.
The ten-zhang-tall Bodhisattva had shrunk by a small amount, becoming eight zhang. It was now staring at him with eyes filled with extreme rage.
“Little one, I will slowly, slowly eat you, and make you regret ever being born into this world.”
Ning Xuan roared with laughter, despair completely vanishing from his heart.
The next instant, he exerted his strength. Before even landing, he took his own life.
(End of Chapter)
