novelFlash Freeze
| ← Ch.204 | Ch.206 → |
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Wen Leyang and the others rescued African brother Tutatunte from the corpse pit. He was the sole survivor of the evil cult followers. He could not understand what Wen Leyang and the others were discussing but he could get the gist just by observing their expressions. The Tibetan people who murdered his tribesmen had already entered the mountain. Even the most devout believer would not be able to tolerate the Tuer Tibetan people's act of killing without forewarning. Tutatunte had entered into Tanggula Mountains to seek revenge. It was rare for an African to be able to withstand the cold.
Naturally, Tutatunte could not keep up with the speed of Wen Leyang's group and was left far behind. However, Wen Leyang and the others were held up at the bottom of the ice fissure for half a day and took a detour to the immortal's cave where Ji Song cultivated. After all, Tutatunte was a cultivator, his traveling speed was much faster than an ordinary human. He caught up in no time.
Not long ago, the prohibition spell was triggered at the Kunlun Sect's tents and almost tore the place down. Tutatunte, whose head was spinning and had no idea where he should go, happily followed their voices and ran towards them.
Tutatunte peeped with extreme caution. When he noticed the person that was sitting not far from him was his most dearly beloved 'Yang', he was overjoyed. He howled and ran towards Wen Leyang. His happy face was like a blooming flower, a black flower.
He ran halfway when a yell erupted in mid-air, "From whence came ugly ghost!" Ji Song waved his Vajra dorje and struck at Tutatunte's head!
Tutatunte looked up and pronounced a stream of syllables, which no one understood. However, Wen Leyang's reckoned he must have shouted, "Where did this ugly ghost come from..." The African brother rolled sideways with agile movements and dodged Ji Song's attack. Then, he leaped and ran. He did not run far but ran in circles around Wen Leyang.
Two skinny bamboos, one black and one brown, chased and hit each other. Their speed was similar. Ji Song was right on the black man's tail, he was always that close to hitting his target but kept on missing. He cried in frustration.
Wen Leyang tried very hard to suppress his laughter. He managed to call the furious Ji Song back. Tutatunte did not bother about his bamboo brother and jumped in front of Wen Leyang. His spittle flew everywhere as he gestured and spoke. Then, he went beside the campfire. He cuddled his bony thin body into a ball and looked at them pitiably.
Fei Fei roughly understood from watching him. She explained to Wen Leyang with a smile, "He wants to travel with us, to seek revenge for his fallen friends... He also said that he is a brave warrior."
Wen Leyang laughed, "Forget it. From the day we met him, I never saw him fight. I have only heard him scream!"
Maybe it was because of the other party's 'delicate' pitiable gaze, maybe it was because he ate his roasted meat, Wen Leyang's impression of his African brother was not bad. Especially when they ate meat, he always saved the best part for them.
Not to mention the evil soul, even the town residents, who were King Gesar's legendary guardian, despite being corroded by the Foulness, they were already highly skilled. Even if Wen Leyang was not Fifth Brother Hanba, he reckoned that he was the only one capable of facing him. It would be a fierce battle and he would not be able to care for the others.
Strictly speaking, Old Gu, Fei Fei and Xiao Sha were the country's soldiers. They would not retreat without a valid reason. Wen Leyang could not say anything and could only plan in accordance to how things were. He would have to risk his life to look after them. However, it would be a burden to look after his African brother. Nevertheless, Wen Leyang could not allow Tututante to meet his demise just because Wen Leyang let him be. Wen Leyang shook his head at Fei Fei. He did not speak until Tutatunte who curled up beside the fire jumped to his feet suddenly. Tututante bared his teeth at Wen Leyang as he danced and squalled!
Africans had explosive expressions... Wen Leyang was greatly shocked by him this time. He quickly told Fei Fei, "If he is willing to follow then let him follow, make him stop screaming!"
However, Fei Fei squinted her eyes. She scrutinized Tutatunte's expression, her tone was slightly perplexed, "I think he... discovered some danger? During the 'elimination race', they kept squalling like this."
Wen Leyang was injured but his telegnosis ability was unaffected. He expanded his telegnosis ability but did not notice anything.
However, Tutatunte's expression was of extreme urgency like a greatly frightened monkey. His voice became sharper and sharper. He eventually ran over and wanted to hug Wen Leyang!
Ji Song's movements were extremely fast and stopped him in an instant. The two bamboo poles were of a similar height. Their eyes were almost at the same level. They stared at each other. One was eccentric while the other was frightened and afraid.
At this moment, the giant pangolin widened its eyes suddenly. It lifted its pointed head and twitched its nose. It sniffed the air carefully as if a dangerous scent was wafting by.
A series of shuffling sounds, which sounded hasty could be heard. The snow spider that was playing with the Taoist robe in the tent ran out wildly as if shocked by some stimulation. It jumped and bumped in its haste, eventually running into a small protruding ice. It mashed its own body.
Wen Leyang and Rangjung looked at each other. Their telegnosis abilities still could not sense anything. At this moment, the giant pangolin, who was so injured it could barely move, convulsed. It leaped up reflexively and squalled, "We're doomed!" Then, with a bang, it fell heavily to the ground.
Gu Xiaojun and Xiao Sha heard the commotion outside and went out of the tent to gather with the group. They asked in great urgency about what had transpired.
Po Tu shook its head, almost numbly. Its pitch-black eyes were full of despair! Even it did not know what would happen next. Everything was unrelated to the cultivator's telegnosis ability. It was purely the instinct of wild beasts to predict the coming of a catastrophe!
Tutatunte's sharp scream escalated after a moment of silence. It was even more intense and hurried than before. His sharp cries almost made his throat bleed! From his looks, Fei Fei saw that a great danger was coming. She placed her hands under Wen Leyang's armpits as she intended to pull him to his feet and she shouted one word to the others in a sharp voice."Run!"
Gu Xiaojun and Xiao Sha hopped onto their 'transportation" without a second thought. They carried the wounded and broke into a sprint. Ji Song's body swayed as he carried the head lama with Xiao Sha. Tutatunte kept on squalling but his limbs did not stop, he towed Wen Leyang with the help of Fei Fei. Only Old Gu had a helpless expression as he negotiated with Po Tu, "Can you turn back into your human form..."
His voice had barely faded when their surroundings quieted down suddenly! The strong wind as cold as an iron horn on the mountain peak vanished in an instant. Tutatunte also shut his mouth. He stretched out his fingers that were no thicker than a chopstick as he pointed in utmost despair at the direction of the snow-covered peak far away! Everybody followed his finger and looked. They were flabbergasted!
A layer of thin, shiny, almost transparent color of water skimmed swiftly from a faraway section of the stretch of snow-covered peaks like an undercurrent!
Where the 'water color' skimmed, the initially fluffy and light snow surface immediately turned into a rigid appearance. The sunlight casted a strange brilliance. Everything froze into hard ice in an instant!
The always strong Fei Fei said a technical term as if she was moaning, "Instant low-pressure flash freezing..." She let go of Wen Leyang abruptly. She turned around and ran in front of her little brother Xiao Sha. She used her body, which could only be described as slender, to shield her brother! Xiao Sha howled furiously. He turned over and shielded his sister behind him. The siblings continued to entangle with each other. The flash freeze emanated quickly. It covered most of the huge snow-covered peak in a dozen seconds. It was like a giant invisible phantom that pounced on the group mercilessly.
If the three strongest cultivators among them were not injured, they could naturally resist this cold wave that surged through the sky and the earth. However, they could not even stand right now, let alone activate their magic powers. A few dozen meters behind them was a cliff. They had nowhere to run.
Gu Xiaojun's face was painted in a greenish hue like death. He stood on the spot silently. He had given up all useless struggles.
Fei Fei's movements were the fastest just now but she picked the wrong direction. Hence, Wen Leyang who was lying on the ground was now the vanguard of the group. He laid limply on the ground with pride. He could only look as the resplendent white emanated towards him after it swallowed the earth in front of him.
Wen Leyang could barely recall having watched a disaster film. The epicenter of a low-pressured cold wave skimmed past and froze everything in its path in the fraction of a second!
The flash freeze came strangely fast. The deepest impression that Wen Leyang had was when the cold wave reached him, the blazing campfire nearby grew stagnant the instant the low temperature skimmed past. Then, it let out a muffled bang and vanished quickly. Almost at the same time, a sensation of which he was unsure whether it was extreme cold or extreme heat rolled into his body quickly. The moment before he died, he could not bring himself to close his eyes...
At the instant Wen Leyang was about to be frozen into an ice sculpture, his chest heated up suddenly. A puff of pure black glow erupted fiercely and wildly without a sound! A black ball the size of a fist jumped out of thin air and barricaded itself on Wen Leyang's chest. The black light was as thick as matter, it immediately chased off the boundless cold!
Nobody expected that there would be a twist for the better at their deathbeds. The group hastily huddled behind Wen Leyang. They stared with gritted teeth at the water-colored flash freeze that spread towards their surroundings under the black light's protection.
Only the giant pangolin Po Tu stared at the black ball. A few seconds later, it seemed to have remembered something and squalled with fright.
Other than the area protected by the black ball, the entire few hundred kilometers of Geladaindong snow-covered peaks were covered by the flash freeze. The water-colored cold wave did not give up. Like the evil spirits in the unholy land, it surged in layers of impatience as it wanted to break into the black glow. It would not stop until it froze Wen Leyang and the others into a frozen lump.
The crackling sound of the flash freeze sounded endlessly with a noise dreary and dismal as if the mountain's belly was gradually crumbling. The black ball rotated swiftly in mid-air. The black glow grew thicker and thicker. Finally, after a few minutes, it erupted with a crisp snap. Millions of cracks spread across the frozen snow-covered peaks. Then, Wen Leyang heard the sound of wind again!
Not only could the flash freeze not seep into the black light, it was utterly scattered by the pure black glow. An extremely furious howl projected forth from afar, "Wicked demons breaking my spell, even a thousand deaths could not atone you..." The one who spoke had an extremely hoarse voice. It did not sound like the Hua family's youth whom Wen Leyang and the others have met before this. This person sounded older.
The other party had not finished when another rigid voice like a wooden peg sounded rudely from Wen Leyang's chest, "F*ck you!"
A white arc of lightning erupted beside Wen Leyang. A huge white Moon's blade shot swiftly towards afar. It was fast like lightning but it did not stir up any wind! Then a hoarse wail sounded. A human figure was mercilessly pierced at the shoulder blades by the moon glaive and crashed out of the surface of the ice.
Only then, the group understood that the flash freeze just now was not a natural phenomenon but the enemy's magic. By the looks of the wounded person's attire, it was the obscure cultivator of the Tanggula Mountains, the elite of Hua family.
The spell of the white-garbed middle-aged man was broken and revealed himself. That was why he was taken down by the Moon's blade with one hit.
However, Wen Leyang did not bother about the enemy who was slowly towed towards them by the Moon's blade but he pulled on the jade knife hung around his neck with surprise and joy, "You're... awake?"
The Moon's blade was ghastly pale, it stood for Yin's Error; the Sun's blade was matte black, it stood for Yang's Mistake!
The one who saved them from imminent danger was Guo Huan's powerful magic weapon "Yin's Error Yang's Mistake'. If the magic weapon was activated, naturally it meant that Guo Huan had woken up.
Guo Huan's voice was as rigid as ever, "Useless brat, need me to save your ass every time..." Halfway through his sentence, Guo Huan suddenly switched to a surprised and angered tone, "What the f*ck is this!? Who put this thing into the jade knife!?"
Chang Li and Fifth Brother Hanba had killed San Wei and badly wounded Zhui Zi at Miao stockade village. After the Taoist priest San Wei died, its primordial soul fled into the jade knife to linger on with its dying breath. Wen Leyang laughed and wanted to explain when Fei Fei suddenly came over and pulled on his sleeve. She pointed at the ground and quickly wrote four words on the snow, "His words are insincere!"
Wen Leyang knitted his brows. Fei Fei continued to write, "He asks as if he does not know, he is playing dumb."
At this moment, Guo Huan exclaimed in surprise. His rigid voice could not conceal his amazement, "This little girl knows how to read minds?" Then, it teased with a malicious intent, "Wen lad, you're almost a married man!"
Fei Fei gave an 'oh no' as she smiled bitterly and shook her head. In her haste, she reminded Wen Leyang with written words but she overlooked the fact that since Guo Huan could activate his magic weapon and land a hit on the hiding obscure cultivator, he could naturally read the words she wrote on the snow.
Wen Leyang was shocked as he asked casually, "How did you know I'm about to get married..." He had not finished when Guo Huan sneered and interrupted him, "You're still so dumb! Even the little girl could see through me!"
Wen Leyang pondered for a while and was hit with a sudden realization. He asked Guo Huan with a bitter smile, "You were awake all this time!?"
Guo Huan had almost exhausted all of his spirit primordial energy in the Gold-Consuming Lair and fell into a deep slumber after sustaining heavy injuries. Not long after that, he woke up a few times. Although he only stayed awake for brief periods of time, he had once said that he could awaken completely after going through the cycle of fainting and waking up. However, he did not wake up after the series of fierce battles at Shanghai's Painting Town.
Before Painting Town's Leyang Tian died, he had told Wen Leyang everything he knew about what the three Grand Masters had done two thousand years ago. Wen Leyang had one question then, whether it was in the past or in the present, the person who killed demons to extract their primordial energy was their own kin.
However, according to Guo Huan, he did not recognize the person who killed him. Nonetheless, the one who saved him was Grand Master Tuo Xie himself.
The stories of the two parties were clearly in conflict. The person who killed demons to extract their primordial energy two thousand years ago and had the ability to injure Guo Huan would have been Tuo Xie's second brother Mi Xu. If Tuo Xie ran into his second brother while he was killing demons to extract their primordial energy, he would definitely run over and stab Guo Huan a few more times. He had no reason to battle his second brother and rescue Guo Huan after that.
In no time, Wen Leyang figured out why Guo Huan had to lie. The line of Tuo Xie and Chang Li had always been his archenemies. When Guo Huan fell into the enemy's hands, he had to fabricate a lie to protect himself. If Tuo Xie had saved Guo Huan so many years ago, the Wen Bucao naturally had no reasons to defeat this mountain ghost.
If Guo Huan spoke the truth, Wen Bucao would have found a way there and then to grind him into Thunder's Heart Sand.
Wen Leyang scratched his hair in mild distress, he seemed to have thought of something, "Were you... when I found the jade knife in the belly of Mount Emei... already awake?"
Guo Huan had been exposed. He decided not to hide the truth. After all, he could activate the two powerful treasured weapons. He had the confidence to speak. Even if they truly fell out, he had the confidence to fight his enemies with the Yin's Error and Yang's Mistake. He snorted, "Not bad, young lad. When I said that you're dumb, you're not completely dumb! Do you want me to tell you everything from the start, or do you want to question me?"
Wen Leyang was overjoyed. He carefully cradled the jade knife in his hands, "It'd be best if you started from the beginning!"
Guo Huan immediately started to speak from the beginning. The first half of the story he told Wen Leyang and the others were true, but the elite who killed demons to extract their primordial energy was actually the zombie-controlling Mi Xu. After a fierce battle, Guo Huan's dharmakaya was almost destroyed. However, Guo Huan was also a powerful great demon. He made a close call when his demonic soul escaped into the jade knife. It plunged deep into the mountain and hid within the mountain's belly.
Mi Xu had labored in vain. He killed the demon but did not obtain its primordial energy. It was impossible for him to find a small knife the length of a finger among the huge mountain. He left since he could not do anything.
Two thousand years later, when Wen Leyang dug his way out from Mount Emei's belly, he found the jade knife under Wei Mo's calculations. Guo Huan was conscious back then. He could tell from Wen Leyang's Faulty Punch that Wen Leyang was his archenemy, but he could not move, nor did he have any treasured weapons as protection, hence he could only play dead.
He followed Wen Leyang out of the mountain. He understood a lot from their conversations, including Tuo Xie's disappearance, Chang Li's painful wait in the ancient cave for two thousand years and knew nothing about the outside world, et cetera.
Absorbing lightning was the special property of the thunder heart jade. It was unrelated to whether his primordial soul was awake or not. He then unintentionally discovered that his lost treasure was in the hands of Jilong Sect's supreme leader. He quickly acted and took it by force without hesitation. After he succeeded, Guo Huan's demonic primordial energy was badly damaged; he could not seek revenge on Tuo Xie's descendants other than perishing together.
It was true that he refined a dumb split body. In addition to that, Wen Leyang and the others had no idea what had happened in the past, that was why he told that great lie. He said that it was Tuo Xie who saved him that time. According to his understanding of Wen Leyang and the others, it was highly probable that they would help him find that split body. As to how he would persuade Chang Li to help him, he needed not to worry about it because Wen Leyang would naturally help him in that.
To protect his hope of being free again, Guo Huan had activated his magic weapon to rescue Wen Leyang a few times of his own accord. The damage to the jade knife and the diminishing of his demonic primordial energy were true. There are already a few nicks on the jade knife and it could no longer absorb the power of Heaven's Thunder. It could only serve as an ordinary soul vessel. The price Guo Huan had paid was not small indeed.
When Leyang Tian was telling Wen Leyang about the past with his final breath at Painting Town, Guo Huan had just waked up. He understood that his lies had been exposed. Hence, he did not speak up again.
After that, Mi Xu's zombie and Lue Luo's descendants appeared one after another. Eventually, even the teachings left behind by Tuo Xie in the jade talisman was discovered by Wen Leyang. Guo Huan could no longer cover up for his lies.
When the flash freeze erupted just now, the jade knife was already very weak. Guo Huan was worried that his only abode would be destroyed. Hence, he summoned his treasured weapons and saved everyone in Wen Leyang's group. Ever since he was badly injured at the Gold-Consuming Lair, he had recuperated for a long time and could direct his Yin's Error Yang's Mistake at will.
After explaining, Guo Huan laughed rigidly, "Young lad, listen well. I had saved you just now to protect my own body, it was not for you!"
He had no choice but to summon his treasured weapon. He initially prepared an explanation that would make himself sound good, but with Fei Fei there, he had been exposed to the first sentence. Guo Huan did not know about Fei Fei's ability, he thought that this young girl knew some mind-reading Art of Devilry. He decided not to fabricate more lies and truthfully told them everything.
The others did not understand the sequence of events and could not understand it. Only the giant pangolin remembered the great demon who was on par with Chang Li two thousand years ago after it saw the Yin's Error Yang's Mistake.
Guo Huan did not know that the person who injured him so many years ago was Lue Luo. He only added 'in the end Tuo Xie rescued me' behind the truth and deceived everyone. He even made the people from the Wen family treat him with a sense of guilt and friendliness.
Wen Leyang cradled the jade knife with his hands firmly. After a while, he heaved a sigh. He shook his head with a bitter smile, "You bunch of old demons, every one of you are ancestors of lies!" As he said this, he carefully hung the jade knife around his neck. He chuckled and asked, "How's your roommate? How's he doing?"
Yin's Error had towed the white-robed man over. Together with Yang's Mistake, they did not vanish in the air but circled the group with a malicious intent. The brown bamboo pole Ji Song was full of alarm but his sharp gaze could not conceal his fear. The black bamboo pole Tutatunte was filled with curiosity. He looked as if he wanted to touch this pair of treasured weapons to see what they were made of.
Guo Huan was in a trance. He paused for a moment before he asked, "You..."
Wen Leyang chuckled. He extended his fingers and counted, "The jade knife absorbed Taoist priest Qing Niao's thunder Buddhist magic, subdued Taoist priest Zi Que's Unmovable Sun and Moon's Disaster, withstood the Weeping Buddha's palm strike, inside the Gold-Consuming Lair and just now... whether it was the jade knife or Guo Huan, I cannot even finish counting the times that you have rescued me with one hand... I'll have to at least help you find your split body, but if you want to seek revenge on my Grand Master, you'll have to kill me first!"
After he finished, Wen Leyang paused briefly then laughed heartlessly, "Actually, you think that I'm not bad, don't you?"
Guo Huan had been awake for a long time. He had also regained his primordial energy. If he wanted to direct his treasured weapons in a sneak attack, Wen Leyang would not be alive even if he had twenty lives.
Guo Huan was silent for a while. He did not say a word. He only grunted in a low voice after awhile and answered Wen Leyang's question in a low, muffled voice, "That primordial soul is still sleeping, not waking up!" There was a hint of joy in his tone.
Wen Leyang was not a person to fuss over trifles. Guo Huan had saved him for who knows how many times, he did not want to fuss over a selfish lie. Also, even if Guo Huan found his split body and regained his freedom, his powers would also be greatly diminished. He would not be any threat to Grand Master Chang Li.
Gu Xiaojun also looked jubilant. The old fox understood that another powerful helper had joined their ranks, their chances of success increased significantly. He waited for Wen Leyang and Guo Huan to finish talking before he looked at the badly wounded white-robed man on the ground. He glared at the man with fierce eyes and asked, "Why do you want to harm us What are you guys plotting?"
The white-robed man's skin was like the youth whom they have met not long ago. It was soft and crystal-like but there were fine wrinkles at the edge of his eyes. A long beard grew between his lips and under his lower jaw. He did not look young. He twitched as he lay on the ground. His eyes were shut and had a pained expression. When he heard Gu Xiaojun's words, he quickly opened his eyes. He stared fiercely at the people in front of him and growled hoarsely."All of you must die!"
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