novelThe Bubbles
| ← Ch.201 | Ch.203 → |
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Fei Fei's wrist trembled and her flashlight dropped to the ground. As the flashlight rolled, its bright light slashed through the darkness.
In the depth of the glacier that was formed millenniums ago, drawing its form from nonexistence to existence, from indistinctiveness to complete revelation, a dozen of Kunlun disciples was akin to the figures in a drawing, appearing soundlessly. They seemed to be frozen in the ice that was a dozen meters deep, yet they could portray their expressions easily and could even nod slightly.
There was only the split rustling sound of the cold flares in the surroundings, which sounded extremely alike the hissing sounds of a dozen poisonous snakes.
Under the reflection of the cold flares and a few heavy-duty outdoor flashlights, the gigantic glacier shimmered with a dazzling array of colors. The Kunlun disciples' expressions differed from one another. Some were smiling while some were anticipating as they nodded strenuously from the depth of the glacier towards Wen Leyang and the rest.
Wen Leyang could only feel his scalp tightening. He bit his tongue intentionally, just to be sure he is not in a dream.
"What the f*ck? This is the first time I am witnessing a living ice lantern!" Xiao Sha jumped down from the head lama's back and stood alongside his sister. He squinted his eyes as he stared firmly at the people in ice. After a long while, he finally shook his head, "This is not a fooling trick of the folk magic. I cannot tell what is going on!"
Even though the dozen of Kunlun disciples could not move freely, their expressions were lively. However, underneath the slightly ghastly ice, each of their smiles was reflected with a slight gloomy color and a feeling of ghastliness.
"Is this an... illusion?" Gu Xiaojun asked the others softly, the three cultivators shook their heads in unison. Even they could not determine that. As the people in the ice could only be noticed by one's vision, similar to the white-robed youth that they met recently, these people could not be detected by their telegnosis ability and they had to rely on their senses.
Head lama Rangjung tried to use the previous method. He took out his Vajvakilaka once again and launched the Tibetan Buddhism Sect's supernatural power of vision, the golden-colored Buddha's light that was awe-inspiring yet majestic completely illuminated the gigantic glacier. The Kunlun disciples were still there. There were even a few of them who squinted their eyes due to the brightness as if they could not get used to the sudden bright light.
The head lama inhaled a deep breath as he shook his head to his companions, "That is not an illusion. Under the incantation of Prajnaparamita mantra, any magic spell that was any more profound would be broken."
Po Tu sneered, "If it is not an Art of Illusion, then it must be real! The Kunlun Sect's little b*stards are capable of performing the Art of Water Escape as well? They must be hiding inside to trick us! The glacier is intact and sturdy, there is not even a streak of fissure on it, without the water escape magic art, there is no way for them to enter the ice." While the pangolin was talking, its hand turned over abruptly, giving out a low muffled growl, "Scram out of there for the old father!" Its palm firmly pressed onto the ice cliff.
Following the pressure of Po Tu's palm, a dim brown-colored dark light was akin to a humongous and magnificent shadow of a knife, rolling up from the glacier, shattering the Buddha's light that was recently conjured from the lama's Tibetan Buddhism Sect's Prajnaparamita mantra in a flash!
It was using the demonic primordial energy to break the spell!
This palm was not meant to shatter the rigid ice, but to directly forced its demonic primordial energy into the ice cliff, using its pure and dignified life vitality to completely shatter the other party's magic spell. This was a method that used brute force to break the magic. There was not an ounce of fanciness in the method. Any magic spell that was any more magnificent and dazzling, once faced with the life vitality force of an enemy whose actual power exceeded himself, it was as fragile and useless as a soap bubble.
The demonic primordial energy in the glacier was akin to a fierce cyclone, completely swept away the rest of the magic spells in the blink of an eye. Even the Buddha's light that was conjured by the head lama was broken as well.
Wen Leyang had a pretty good understanding of the Kunlun Sect's supernatural power. Let alone the dozen of Taoist priests, even if there were more disciples, their magic spell would not even resist such a savage blow of Po Tu! However, the Kunlun disciples were still safe and sound within the glacier. The Kunlun Taoist priest that was standing in the front row, who Wen Leyang had met on a few occasions revealed a peculiar expression as if he could not understand what Po Tu was doing. His face muscles were convulsing and finally, he opened his mouth slowly in an attempt to make a sound as if he wanted to say something to them...
After a long while, his voice finally penetrated through the glacier in a slow yet twisted manner. By the time his voice entered Wen Leyang's ears, it was akin to a sound recording that was intentionally slowed down by countless times. The voice was so low it was impossible for Wen Leyang to tell what was he talking about. Nevertheless, the odd sounds of whining echoed continuously, as if there was a man without a tongue howling desperately from the other end of a void.
Po Tu's strike was futile. The densely arranged scales on its tail stiffened completely as its palms clasped together as it let out a muffled growl and struck towards the ice cliff again! Just as its hands were about to press onto the ice cliff, Wen Leyang suddenly realized that two rows of crystal clear tears flowed out from the eyes of the Kunlun Taoist priest that was heading the troop!
The brown-colored demonic primordial energy that was surging into the ice cliff was vigorous and fluctuating, akin to a gush of an agitated sandstorm, rolling towards the glacier. Almost simultaneously, the whining voice that was penetrating from within the glacier turned into a torn howl!
It was as if a litter of starving cubs that were on the verge of death could no longer resist the temptation of its instinct. The howling sound that the cubs made when they stretched out their paws abruptly and tore through their companion's stomach. It was hard to tell if it was a sorrowful cry or a cheer. There was only the bitterness of bloody violence! The moment the howling of a dozen Kunlun disciples echoed, they abruptly pounced forward. Everyone opened his mouth and revealed his ghastly pale teeth as they pounced as fast as lightning towards Po Tu's palms that were exerting its energy and pressed onto the glacier.
Under the attack of the Kunlun disciples in the ice, even someone as strong as Po Tu could not pull back its hands in time. The divine beast sneered once ferociously. When it was scattering its demonic primordial energy, it was also simultaneously channeling its power through its arms. As long as these ghastly unidentified Taoist priests dared to touch it, it would make sure that it broke their bones and scattered their ashes to the winds!
However, no one had expected that the moment the two parties came into contact, Po Tu suddenly raised its head and sneezed into the sky.
An enormous, outrageous sneeze.
At the sound of a whoosh, Po Tu was pulled by the Kunlun disciples into the glacier.
There was not an ounce of damage to the ice surface.
The pangolin's entire body was trembling vigorously as it was pulled into the depth of the glacier by the other party rapidly. It turned around and looked towards its companion with a gaze that was filled with fear.
Wen Leyang erupted in goosebumps. It was just like when he was watching a movie, the audience next to him suddenly dove headfirst into the screen. Following that the audience started gesticulating and performing with the characters in the movie...
In a blink of an eye, Po Tu had already been dragged by the Kunlun disciples for four to five meters. Wen Leyang squalled towards Rangjung, "Break the ice!" He could no longer care about anything else as he launched the Faulty Punch rippling with the power of Life and Death through every joint of his entire body and dove headfirst into the rigid ice cliff!"
"Ong A Bo Jiang Mei Luo Sa Luo..."
The head lama too was counting a string of bone beads. His mouth was enunciating the incantation word by word. His voice was sonorous and forceful as he chanted the Mantra of Light. Every incantation was akin to the loud crash of the heaven's thunder, strong enough to shatter any evil spirit that was creating mischief, while his expression was filled with resentment as he punched with his fist and kicked with his legs. He channeled the power of wrathful deities to guard next to Wen Leyang's side and he chased forward with quick strides!
If they were to compete against each other, Wen Leyang and the head lama's actual power was almost on par. However, when it came to the act of digging through the mountain and breaking through ice, it only took a few steps to compare the two parties. The great master Rangjung's punches and kicks contained the seed of a tremendous force, icicles were splattering everywhere after he crashed through it, his speed of advancement was albeit not too slow, he still needed to punch inwards step by step; while Wen Leyang's used his entire body to slice through the ice, just like a scorching hot knife cutting into a piece of butter without any resistance.
Old Gu, Fei Fei and Xiao Sha gazed at one another. No one knew what to do. Old Gu glared at Xiao Sha and asked, "Do you have a way of dealing with this using your folk magic?"
Xiao Sha put on a long face and pouted as he answered, "My trick is to scare people, not enough to scare ghosts..."
Wen Leyang's speed was extremely swift, but compared to the ghost Taoist priests that were moving in the glacier as agile as fish in the water, he was still too slow, any better swimmer was incapable of catching a living beltfish... he watched helplessly as the ghosts dragged the pangolin and ran further and further!
Po Tu was unsure which type of magic spell was launched by the ghost Taoist priests. Its entire body was in the ice cliff, but its movements were utterly incapable of damaging the ice surface. It was just like a shadow that was firmly pulled by the other party and was running towards inwards.
Just as everyone was in a chaos, Po Tu turned from its human form into its true demonic body. The surrounding glacier was immediately stretched by the pangolin's body, which was full of purple scales, into layers of gigantic fissures. The muffled sound of cracking sounded like exploding beans crackling and spluttering within the ice. Wen Leyang was joyous, if Po Tu was capable of stretching the rigid ice into cracking, it had already broken the other party's magic spell and revealed its demonic body in the ice cliff.
The moment Po Tu's demon body was revealed, it immediately roared hoarsely, "There is no need to help me!" The scales on its body stiffened up in an awe-inspiring manner, the brown-colored demonic primordial energy that was delivered by Po Tu into the ice cliff initially was akin to an evil fish that picked up the fishy stench. The demonic primordial energy followed the master's roar and encircled from all directions. Within the muffled sounds of cracking, the energy wrapped around every single Kunlun disciples. In the blink of an eye, the energy had already coagulated into a gigantic stone lock that tied around all the enemies.
One after another Kunlun disciple struggled desperately with ferocious expression. However, just by depending on their power, there was no way they could struggle themselves free from the giant pangolin's magic spell.
The three ordinary person that clenched their teeth out of anxiousness witnessed as Po Tu suddenly exploded with martial prowess and destroyed almost one out of three of the enemy in a short while. They cheered in unison.
Wen Leyang and the head lama stopped moving, they laughed to each other as they shook their head. The giant pangolin was a few thousand years old and had achieved mastery in its demon power. As long as it did not bump into the old demons like Cone Nail, Qian Ren and Chang Li, even if it was attacked sneakily, it would not yield that easily.
Wen Leyang secretly considered. All the top master cultivators that were alive, except Hanba, caught Po Tu...
The thundering loud noise echoed continuously, the giant pangolin used its tail to drag its captives. Its two thick and strong front claws shattered the ice surface and its face was filled with rage as it cursed with brutal words and returned to the bottom of the ice fissure.
The pangolin turned back to its human form with a loud bang. It raised its hand and slapped the Kunlun Taoist priest that was locked at the front position by the stone lock, "Little b*stard, why do you plot against your own family's divine beast immortal senior!"
That Kunlun Taoist priest's expression was in agony, yet he remained indifferent towards Po Tu's slap. He was only struggling to free himself desperately.
Po Tu raised its hand in preparation to slap again, when Wen Leyang grabbed a handful of its arm, "Please slow down for a moment, what happened earlier?"
The moment Wen Leyang mentioned of what happened earlier, Po Tu was even more furious. It spat out a mouthful of saliva ferociously and spoke loudly, "This gang of bastards used the magic spell of water element to sneak an attack. The old father was caught off guard by their Poison of Water, my demonic primordial energy became scattered for a moment. They then pulled me into the ice using the water escape spell..." Po Tu immediately summoned his true body of the earth element and first used its life vitality to cleanse away the strong poison before breaking the other party's magic spell and counterattacked. It almost did not waste any strength capturing the enemy.
Wen Leyang wanted to speak further when Po Tu's huge hands waved once, "Do not ask anymore, the old father does not honor anyone. Once I am done asking the question to clarify the situation, I will flay and swallow these little bastard that dared to raid the old father, if the Kunlun Taoist priests were to seek revenge, then ask them to look for me!" As it was saying it raised its hand and at the sound of a clap, it served one slap onto each Kunlun disciple's face. It then asked with a maniacal smile, "What enmity does the Qilian Immortal Sect and the Kunlun Sect have, such that your gang of famous sect need to create trouble in the ice?"
Po Tu slapped the leader into facial paralysis. His entire body was trembling vigorously as he opened his mouth strenuously.
Po Tu burst out laughing, "If you are sensible then you shall answer honestly, otherwise... huh?"
The Kunlun disciple opened his mouth but he did not speak... he spat out a bubble.
The Taoist priest exhaled a long breath joyously.
A bubble that was the size of a fist.
As Po Tu was attacked, it was initially filled with pent-up anger and had yet to vent. Suddenly, it witnessed the other party 'blowing raspberries' to itself. It was so furious its brows were scrunched together as it cursed in rage and struck as fast as lightning. Its punch landed heavily on the Taoist priest's face. Everyone cried out in surprise!
Under its punch, it was as if all the moisture was drained away from the plump Taoist priest. At the sound of a whoosh, he turned into a withered and ugly dried corpse.
Head lama Rangjung's expression showed signs of displeasure. He spoke in a lowered voice, "The divine beast's supernatural power is a bit too brutal right!"
Po Tu looked astonished. Absent-mindedly, it looked towards the Kunlun disciple that was punched into a dried corpse before his eyes. It shook its head in puzzlement, "It is not my..."
Wen Leyang also frowned, "There is something wrong with this bubble!" He had been standing next to the Kunlun disciple all along. His sight was much better than the lama Rangjung's. He could clearly see that, underneath the bubble, there was a fine long tail that was dragging the bubble secretly. Just as the bubble's long tail was rapidly pulled away from the Kunlun Taoist priest's mouth, the Taoist priest too simultaneously turned into a dried corpse!
The bubble that was dragging along its long tail was akin to a large-size transparent tadpole. It swam about nervously in midair. Its huge head swayed left and right. It seemed to be extremely unaccustomed to the outside environment. Its tail trembled faster and faster, then its entire body trembled once ferociously all of a sudden. It turned around its body in midair without a sign and dashed towards Wen Leyang who was closest to him at the speed of lightning!
Wen Leyang immediately stretched out his hand. His five fingers oscillated like wheels as he struck ferociously onto the monster that could be a ghost spirit or a bug. The moment that giant tadpole was struck by the Faulty Punch, it gave out the exploding sound that was even fiercer and more forceful than the heavenly thunder and exploded itself in a loud bang! Wen Leyang gave out a muffled humph simultaneously. The tremendous force struck his entire body and he was retreating continuously as a layer of frost appeared in between his beard and hair.
This form of unknown creature contained the Poison of Water that was very pure and strong. It was exactly the same as the poison that had tainted the Kunlun flying swords. The Poison of Water invaded his body and immediately assimilated itself with the Poison of Life and Death.
Everybody was greatly startled. They were just about to rush over when Wen Leyang who was lying on the ground spoke with a hoarse yet urgent manner, "I am alright, be careful!"
Just as everybody else's attention was fixated on Wen Leyang's body, the rest of the dozen Taoist priest opened their mouths in unison! Every one of them spat out the same type of transparent tadpole the size of a fist. After the Taoist priests heaved out a sigh filled with pleasure, they gave out a ghastly sonic boom before turning into dried corpses!
A dozen of giant tadpoles sprung out and immediately gave out the rustling sound of cries, just like the raging giant bees with its home destroyed. The tadpoles dashed towards everybody else from all directions with trembling tails. The great master Rangjung gave a low growl as his hands opened up. The four pieces of Vajvakilaka that were stabbed onto the ice cliff shot into the air. Within the loud noise, akin to exploding thunder, seven to eight giant tadpoles exploded, being stabbed by the Tibetan Buddhism Sect's mass instrument!
In the blink of an eye, more than half of those ghostly creatures were stabbed. It seemed that the creatures were not that terrifying after all. Head lama Rangjung's face had only relaxed when the Vajvakilaka that were shot into midair shook vigorously for a few times. The golden light suddenly extinguished without a sign. A layer of dark blue colored glacier that was invisible to the naked eyes had already completely covered the lama's Tibetan Buddhism Sect mass instruments! Head lama Rangjung's expression changed abruptly. He roared, "Poison!" His hands were turning again in an attempt to continue summoning his mass instruments when the remaining three semitransparent giant tadpoles had already bumped onto his face at lightning speed!
As the lama's face was huge, he was struck by the fist-sized tadpoles at the same time...
After the tadpoles struck onto the lama, the tadpoles did not explode or flew away, but the tadpoles were like small puddles of living water swimming on the lama's face swiftly, along his ears and mouth. The tadpoles moved its tails desperately, in an attempt to bore itself into the lama's body!
Rangjung gave out a muffled humph as his fat body fell to the ground with a loud bang.
When Po Tu realized that Rangjung made an attack that almost killed all these ghostly creatures in a flash, it protected everybody else from advancing wholeheartedly. It did not expect that the lama would suddenly fall over. Just as it was about to pounce forward to rescue the lama, Wen Leyang had already jumped up. He roared loudly, "Do not touch the strong poison, allow me!" His entire person was akin to a fierce cheetah, pouncing in front of the head lama swiftly. His hands trembled rapidly. With two muffled sounds of continuous bangs, the giant tadpoles that had already squeezed more than half of its body into the lama's ears were struck by Wen Leyang's trembling fingers.
Out of the three unidentified ghostly creatures, two were flattening its heads and bored into his ears, while the other one was shaking its head and wagging its tail, attempting to pry open his tightly shut mouth desperately. As a result, the shocking sound of thunder erupted in front of his eardrums... head lama Rangjung was extreme unlucky today.
Even though head lama Rangjung possessed exquisite Buddhism magic art and the Zen mind that was unmoved by all things, he was still a human after all. As long as one was a human, one possessed instinctive reaction. He immediately opened his mouth when his two ears were filled with loud explosions.
Wen Leyang shattered the two monster tadpoles. Its cold strong poison of gentle water invaded his body ferociously along his fingertips. The Poison of Life and Death surged wildly and rapidly assimilated itself with the Poison of Water, but the process slowed down Wen Leyang's movement in rescuing the lama by half a second. As he did not expect the lama would open his mouth to welcome the 'guest', he only managed to stretch out his hand and grabbed onto the tadpole's tail in the midst of panic.
At the soft sound of a squeak, Wen Leyang pulled off the tadpole's tail. Its fist-sized head bored into Rangjung's body.
The lama's eyes were suddenly fixated, his pupils that were initially clear turned into watery blue in a flash. He almost exerted all the strength from his entire body to roar towards Wen Leyang hoarsely, "The poison I... deal by myself... cannot!" Before his voice died away, he abruptly screamed out in agony. His hands covered his head and he started rolling everywhere on the ground.
Wen Leyang almost bit off his tongue. He was thinking in his heart why would the lama speak at this moment, his mouth shouted, "You've Got Me!" He took out the bamboo needles that he carried. He hesitated for a moment before he grinded his teeth as if he had finally made up his mind for something. His movements were agile as he started filling medicinal powder into the bamboo needles.
The fiery red 'You've Got Me' heard its master's summon. It jumped out joyously and cruised tightly onto the head lama's body in swift motion. Its body stiffened abruptly after a moment and it ululated as it dashed onto the lama's head.
The thing that was swallowed by the lama was not a poison but it was an odd creature that contained Poison of Water. The creature was alive. The moment it entered the lama's body it immediately swam about everywhere. 'You've Got Me' was the larva of fire element's king of bugs. It stuck itself tightly to the lama's body in order to locate that semitransparent little monster. Even though Wen Leyang had never heard of such a creature before, he could figure out what it roughly was. That was why he released his precious bug such that his bug could help him locate the monster hiding in the lama's body.
'You've Got Me' rolled around on the lama's bald head. It ululated in an extremely anxious manner as it nodded continuously towards its master as a signal. Wen Leyang clenched his teeth and made a move as swift as the wind. According to 'You've Got Me's' guidance, he continuously pricked bamboo needles into the top of the lama's head, while simultaneously stretched out his hand to rapidly knock onto the area next to the bamboo needles. It was the skill of the Wen family to fuse the medicinal powder in the bamboo needles into the surrounding blood vessels.
The tadpole-like monster that surged into the lama's body had surged against the current into head lama Rangjung's skull. When its track was discovered by 'You've Got Me' Wen Leyang's bamboo needles had sealed off its path. It was chased downwards under 'You've Got Me's' guidance.
'You've Got Me' was ululating and jumping. It only took a moment for Wen Leyang to prick the lama's head and face full of bamboo needles. Finally, 'You've Got Me' started chasing along the lama's neck towards his chest. Wen Leyang had already assimilated the Poison of Water that had invaded his body completely at this moment. His hands and legs became even more agile. His movements were so swift it bedazzled one. After a long while, he finally exhaled a long breath of relief. The bamboo needles formed a circle and were trapping the tadpole in between the head lama's lower abdomen.
At the muffled sound of a bang, head lama Rangjung's body that had already quieted down suddenly shook once. The tadpole that had been driven into a corner exploded and released all its toxicity.
The head lama simultaneously exhaled a long breath as he spoke softly, "I can handle the rest by myself!" He sat up and slowly closed his eyes.
Wen Leyang waited for a while. When there were no further movements, he became completely steady and sure.
Head lama Rangjung had no way to control this unknown monster creature from running everywhere in his body. Now that the monster was burst, its Poison of Water was albeit pure and strong, he could still manage to dissolve the poison using his cultivation base.
After the crowd watched the two humans and a bug bustled about, everything finally quieted down at this moment. There was only 'You've Got Me' that was still hanging on to the lama's body and refused to leave. It ululated continuously to its master. It seemed that it had yet to play to its great satisfaction and was hoping that someone would toss another 'tadpole' into the lama's mouth.
Po Tu possessed great experience, yet it had never seen such a terrifying creature before. If it was not for Wen Leyang, this tadpole would never cease before it churned the lama's brain into muddled soup. It asked him with lingering fear, "What kind of creature was that?"
Wen Leyang answered as if he was deep in thoughts, "It was alive, it should be some form of bug as well! Its body contained the Poison of Water of utmost disposition, but the amount was too little..." He absorbed a total of three tadpoles' Poison of Water, but there was no significant reaction from his body yet.
After he idled for a while, Wen Leyang continued, "The medicinal powder that I was using earlier was not meant to draw out the poison but it was meant to draw out the bug. If that creature was not a living one, my medicine would not have been useful." As he was saying that, Wen Leyang picked up the four pieces of Vajvakilaka's that were corroded by the Poison of Water and returned them to the lama in high spirits.
In the past, when he absorbed Xiu Er's Poison of Earth, Mo Ya's Poison of Metal, the results were like a shadow that was cast as soon as a pole was raised. He received instantaneous results. However, after he was done absorbing the Poison of Water, other than feeling slightly healthier and more vigorous, he had not experienced any other reactions. After all, the tadpole contained too little amount of Poison of Water. Especially after his body and bones were remolded by the Poison of Life and Death, his body was like a ship that rose with the tide level, his body improved. That amount of Poison of Water was not enough for him to reach a new level of cultivation base.
Fei Fei had just calmed her petrified soul. She chimed in out of astonishment from the side, "You were unsure if the medicinal powder was useful or not yet you dared to use it on the head lama?"
Xiao Sha continued his sister's conversation and added, "He treated the dead lama as a living lama... it is still slightly better than not treating the lama at all."
Po Tu was still in disbelief, "It was a bug? How can there be a bug in this world capable of escaping my telegnosis ability!"
The head lama finally exhaled a long and foul breath. Pale blue-colored water oozed out of his seven orifices simultaneously. He opened his eyes once again, his pupil had regained its prior clarity.
'You've Got Me' claimed the credit of saving the lama this time. As it saw that the lama was finally safe and sound, it raised its head in pride and ululated loudly. If one were to listen closely, it was as if this little fellow was shouting continuously, "Vote for me! Vote for me! Vote for me!"
| ← Ch. 201 | Ch. 203 → |