Book 8 Chapter 43 - What Lies in the Upper Reaches?

Immortal Devil Transformation

The sky had already brightened.

Tong Wei quickly made his way through Great Desolate Swamp, his heart becoming more and more ice-cold.

This world had many powerful experts who defied the heavens, controlling many things of this world. However, life itself was made of countless unexpected events, there was no one who could truly make plans that had no chance of failure.

A Sacred Expert level sword manipulator was already practically an unmatched exceptional expert in this world.

Back then, that willful little girl who left the Imperial Princess’ side, with her strength and sword alone, slaughtered countless soldiers in that alley, triggering the great change in the western side’s border army.

Because of some special characteristics of their soul force, a Sacred Expert level Windstalker was an existence even more terrifying and powerful than a Sacred Expert sword master.

The reason why Green Luan Academy sent him out was originally to make sure that everything went absolutely smoothly.

It was because apart from the royal court Great Consecrators who might enter Dragon Snake Mountain Range, in all of Dragon Snake Border Army, not a single cultivator was Tong Wei’s opponent.

Normally, even if there was a Purgatory Mountain Sacred Expert who could communicate with the world’s vital energy, concentrate their power in a flying sword and control it at will, he would still definitely be killed by Tong Wei.

In Green Luan Academy, the strength of someone like Tong Wei was originally already second only to someone like Vice Principal Xia.

Meanwhile, Vice Principal Xia couldn’t easily leave Green Luan Academy.

This meant that special figures like Tong Wei who left Green Luan Academy, ware already close to unmatched in all of Yunqin.

However, no one here expected this place to produce a Purgatory Mountain Sacred Expert who was similarly astonishing, a Sacred Expert who flew in the sky above, able to control a flying sword beyond four hundred steps, moreover someone who cultivated Purgatory Mountain’s Demonic Transformation.

This Great Desolate Swamp really was too large. Tong Wei continued to search at full speed, but he still couldn’t find any traces of Lin Xi.

In the muddy flower land covered in corpses, Xu Ningshen howled  crazily.

He screamed for a long time.

In his ears, there were only the sounds of wind and his own howling left.

Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore, the swords in his hands stabbing through his own body, stabbing through his own heart.

Then, his putrid smelling body collapsed into the filthy bloody mud.

The sky had already brightened, but because of the thick lead-like clouds hanging above Great Desolate Swamp, sunlight never truly seeped through all year round.

That was why when he died, he couldn’t sense the light, and even after he died, he would never bathe in sunlight either.

He had previously served in Dragon Snake Border Army. For all border army soldiers who were stationed in this place sunlight didn’t reach, what they desired the most was sunlight. However, after he walked out from Dragon Snake Mountain Range and became a Three Towns Battalion Commander, he already completely forgot about radiance, the things he did no longer bright and glorious.

More than twenty halts after Xu Ningshen died, Di Choufei and Huang Huoxiao appeared next to his corpse.

“Your Great Mang Purgatory Mountain’s expert, since he could seize them and bring them there, there is no way he left them completely unharmed.”

While looking at the corpses covering the ground, Di Choufei’s thin, ice-cold, small sword-like lips moved. “This Green Luan Academy first year student truly is shocking enough.”

Huang Huoxiao nodded, his deep and cold silver mask releasing an arc of light in the air. “I even feel that Master Shentu wouldn’t give them the ability to move… Even though he was seriously injured and dying, since he could bring these two to the place we previously agreed upon, then he wouldn’t give them the ability to move. For the two of them to have left before I arrived is already shocking enough in itself.”

“There are still some things you aren’t saying.” Di Choufei looked at Huang Huoxiao, saying with a slight smile, “I believe Lin Xi has some secrets that left even Purgatory Mountain’s Sacred Exert shaken, or else he definitely wouldn’t have exhausted so much energy, instead choosing to directly kill this Green Luan Windstalker before he matured and not capture him.”

While looking at the tacitly agreeing Huang Huoxiao, Di Choufei continued to say with a smile, “After seeing that despite only facing two cultivators who, according to normal reasoning, shouldn’t have the ability to move, yet in the end, so many people died, including a Soul Expert, a Soul Master… you are still not nervous. I reckon that everything is still in Commander Huang’s grasp?”

“The reason why they chose to come here is because there is a cave barbarian tribe in the upper reaches of this place. The cave barbarian soldiers there are in charge of receiving and spreading orders should they suffer a defeat in this great battle where she doesn’t think defeat is possible. Right now, this great battle she doesn’t believe will be lost has already been lost, so she has to pass on the message that she has already escaped here, and then try to notify and transfer all cave barbarian troops that are hurrying over, those cave barbarians who penetrated deeply into Dragon Snake Mountain Range to save her… However, what she doesn’t know is that two days ago, my Black Dragon Army had already seized control of that position.” Huang Huoxiao said coldly, “That is why we only need to wait there.”

“Alright.” Di Choufei easily agreed. “We will just wait for him there.” Judging from his expression, he didn’t seem to be worried in the slightest,not thinking that Huang Huoxiao would try to use the Black Dragon Army to deal with him.

Chi Xiaoye quickly lost consciousness.

In the battle against Xu Ningshen, the intense eruption of soul force worsened her injuries. Meanwhile, the depletion of that special power and soul force within her even more so made her originally already extremely weak body worse.

In reality, when Lin Xi supported her to the riverbed, her body was already past its limit. She was relying solely on her powerful willpower to support her overtaxed body.

However, this type of persistence couldn’t be continued for too long. When she finally couldn’t support herself any longer, the speed of fainting was extremely fast. Chi Xiaoye who already didn’t have much consciousness left forcefully said, “Walk upstream…” And then lost consciousness.

Looking at the natural traces left on this giant riverbed’s mud, it wasn’t hard to determine the direction of the river water. This riverbed’s upper reaches were east, even deeper within Great Desolate Swamp.

“You definitely have to hold on… because this isn’t only your life alone, but rather many people’s lives.”

Lin Xi frowned with great worry, squeezing the medicinal herbs in his hands, sending drops of medicinal liquid into Chi Xiaoye’s dried lips while quietly saying this.

Soon after going unconscious, Chi Xiaoye’s body became extremely hot.

Lin Xi who had studied Medical Care from Green Luan Academy’s Medicine Department understood extremely clearly that only when the body functions of cultivators completely lost control, the internal system losing the function to adjust itself, would their bodies sink into a continuous feverish state. Right now, there was no way for Lin Xi to know what kind of savior was waiting at the upper reaches, but what he understood extremely well was that if Chi Xiaoye didn’t receive rescue and treatment while in this type of condition, she would definitely sink into a deeper coma and from then on pass away.

Lin Xi always continued towards the upper reaches like she said, but towards the bit of shallow medical care he knew, the medicinal herbs he gathered and treated Chi Xiaoye with, he had no confidence at all.

While Lin Xi was squeezing the three clumps of medicinal herbs, an exceptionally damp strong wind suddenly swept across this riverbed.

The ground beneath Chi Xiaoye and himself crazily shook. A black line quickly arrived from the east and then immediately turned into a giant wave that reached five or six people’s height into the air, crashing towards him like millions of black steeds, now already only five or six hundred steps from where he was.

Lin Xi looked at this black flood that would arrive in less than a halt of time, its speed even faster than that of cultivators, inwardly sighing at this world’s vastness, already not feeling much shock.

Just like what Chi Xiaoye said, during this half a day’s time, this vast plains-like riverbed had already experienced more than ten of these dam burst-like floods, rushing into dozens of newly formed ravines.

In Lin Xi’s previous world, he would have never gotten a chance to see this scene of heaven reaching black waves. Amidst the powerful winds, the countless black water droplets and mud were like fireflies that covered the sky.

Chi Xiaoye’s current state couldn’t handle any filthy objects entering through her mouth, so Lin Xi immediately put all of the medicinal herbs into Chi Xiaoye’s green robes, moving her behind him.

He himself instead closed his eyes, sitting down, only using a black cloth to cover his face. When facing these crazy winds and countless black specks that drifted over, he began to do his best to try and enter meditation cultivation.

Fighting with Wei Xianwu and Xu Ningshen left his body with many injuries, especially his lungs after forcefully exerting force while suffocating. However, fighting against them, especially facing Xu Ningshen, also brought his cultivation many benefits.

The feeling of soul force passing through his skin and hair became stronger and stronger.

He could almost ‘see’ himself approach Soul Master level step by step.

That gate was already right in front of him, just that he didn’t know how much longer that last bit would take.

When this black flood rushed past, the wind was great to the point where even walking was difficult. However, for Lin Xi, this was an extremely great cultivation opportunity.

Only while cultivating in this type of situation where it felt like a magnificent army was rushing by, could he be able to replenish soul force at any time in a true battlefield.

“Just what exactly is there in the upper reaches?”

After closing his eyes, Lin Xi quickly forgot everything. The final thought that appeared in his brain was only this question for Chi Xiaoye who he couldn’t receive an answer from.

He didn’t know that what Chi Xiaoye was hoping for in the upper reaches was already no longer there.

There was only a small mountain of skulls.

There were also many powerful soldiers dressed in black armor scattered throughout some caves, quietly adjusting their breathing, cultivating, waiting.

Next to this hill was precisely the limits of this riverbed.

At the limits of this riverbed were mud lakes that stretched into the horizon.

Within one of the lakes, there were many ice sheet-like mounds floating.

That jet-black little beast was still perplexed, confused as it waited, feeling more and more fear and helplessness.