Chapter 37 - Green Willow Village (2)
"Of course not. Lion turtle magical beasts have difficulty reproducing and live in solitude, never to be found by the eyes of another creature. This one was drawn to the spirit energy in the land. Most likely, it is the ancient, powerful object I detected earlier. The tree is a facade made by its shell. Such creatures are what gave rise to the legends of moving islands. This one is weak, probably at the Element Adept Stage. It explains why it is so... small and why there is a lone tree," Yang said, taking out a large vial containing a volatile purple and black liquid.
"What is that? It's like it is alive," Mei gasped.
"It is alive. It grows in the roots of a Black Eel Grass. Black Eel Grass nurtures poisonous herbs and enriches the soil, protecting it from the poison. It will seek living cells, like a parasite. It will poison the river, spreading to taint all who partake of it. It will appear invisible, a predator hiding in camouflage. All who partake of the water will be poisoned, slowly drained of spirit energy and then their very life," Yang grinned as he released the liquid into the river.
"Such a deadly poison!" Mei gasped.
"No. It takes too long to die from it. It is also easy to cure. However, most people notice it too late before they make a cure," Yang said. "The weaker you are, the faster it kills. It will only weaken the River Lion Turtle. In half an hour, we strike upon the first cries of woe. We will enter through the river. My snake is immune to such weak poison."
"Right," Mei nodded as she took out her sword while Yang brandished his spear.
"I must have the tree branches. Those of the Meteor Vessel tier are able to wield middle-ranked immortal treasures. I'll need the branches for my spear's shaft," Yang grinned.
"So that's why you didn't care. What about the eggs?" Mei asked.
"It is easy for me to neutralize the poison. We can sell the eggs or have them bind to one of us. A practitioner can have a maximum of three magical beasts, but having three chosen too soon is bad," Yang said.
"Will you ever bind a magical beast?" Mei asked as she saw the black and purple poison disappear ahead.
"I can only plan for the future. I cannot see nor foresee it. Everything we do is a variable. Every person we kill could have been part of infinitely many alternatives in the future. We can only predict and plan," Yang said, his eyes narrowing. "As I suspected, the whole village is made up of bandits. Can you not feel the spirit energy? People are dying. Those guards are dying. Probably poisoned. The people are too weak to kill them so quickly."
"I... I can sense it. It's like a cold vice is taking hold of me. The spirit energy in their bodies... it's like they're crying," Mei shivered. "What is this?"
"This is what you should have felt, but the Eye of Darkness blinded you from this feeling. It did not allow you to use your spiritual senses. When a life form dies, the spirit energy dies with it. It is blasphemous to the Heavens. The Heavens locked the Elemental Sovereigns in the Divine Realm to protect life. Yet, we take life to ascend to the Immortal Realm. This is what I read in that book grandfather gave me," Yang answered and laughed. "Heh. How ironic is that? We are our own worst enemy after all."
"I sense many humans dying now. I am ready to depart, master," Red Death hissed, Yang nodding and jumping on Red Death as it slithered and floated on the river.
"Let's go. You can collect souls and I can get my dues," Yang grinned, Mei nodding as she landed on the snake.
The snake hissed as it floated down the river, Mei gasping as she saw the black and purple liquid avoiding Red Death as it appeared to poison the snake. Mei narrowed her eyes as she saw bodies up ahead, recognizing the silver and red armor of the caravan guards sprawled all over the ground. Her heart ached as she saw women and children clawing at their throats, gasping for breath.
However, she had killed before and decided it was a mercy to kill them. Yang smiled as he watched her kill them and take their souls. She had been molded well. Sun Yi was the first; his and his clan's thirst for vengeance was very easy to manipulate and take advantage of. Guo Mei was his second, slowly influencing her while she fought the Eye of Darkness for control.
He grinned as he saw men stare at him in horror, sensing the poison within them due to the neidan in his Spirit Realm. He brandished his Moon Lotus Spear and charged at them. Red Death sprang out further down the river, men shrieking as its poisonous fangs skewered them before it spat them to move on to the next human. Yang used his Snake Specter Art, teleporting between the men and women as he pierced their throats.
He smashed their knees before beheading them with the spearhead. He laughed as their blood sprayed on him, the threat of death making him feel alive. They tried to outnumber him, but the poison weakened them. He was also someone at the late Elemental Adept Stage. They were all easy for him to kill regardless. His eyes slightly widened as he saw Shen Dong, watching him kill mercilessly.
"It would seem I underestimated how much he adored his father. This complicates things," Yang muttered. He planned to have the emperor assassinated, but Shen Dong would know it was him and seek revenge. He would have to plan to create rifts between the two eldest princes and the emperor.
"You entered the city?" Yang asked as Shen Dong walked to him, covered in blood.
"I had to kill the bandits," Shen Dong said. "Are we going to the tree?"
"Yeah, in a minu—" Yang began as he heard a scream, seeing Mei fly through a door. He turned around and saw a green glowing branch retract in the distance. "Fuck. The River Lion Turtle still has some strength. You use your lightning element arts and target the river. I need to slowly make walls of earth to blockade the river from going under the tree."
"Get up!" Yang said as he helped Mei to her feet. "I need you to heal yourself with the light attribute practitioner arts and then head to the roof a good distance away. I need you to count how many branches the tree has. They are the main offensive of the River Lion Turtle."
"I'll try," Mei said, a small stream of blood trickling down her mouth. "My ribs are bruised, but I should be fine."
Yang nodded and yelled, "Red Death, protect Shen Dong as he blasts lightning into the river. Secrete your poison into it too!"
"Yes, master," Red Death hissed and went in the direction Shen Dong had disappeared.
Yang walked to the river and breathed deeply. He focused his spirit energy into his left foot and slammed it into the ground, using his Rock Pulse Wave Art. The ground shook, and the river slowly began to clog as the earth and dirt fell into it.
With enough ground to form a small pile, Yang used his spear to break down the doors in the nearby houses and began stabbing them into the river. After a few minutes, the river was blockaded by three walls of doors secured by the large mound of dirt clogging it. He repeated the process on the other side of town. He could hear screaming and wailing outside the village, knowing it was Guan Hai killing the bandits.
After he looted the dead bodies of the villagers, merchants, and caravan guards, he ran toward the center of the village. He noticed the tree grow larger and saw Mei panting as he caught sight of her up ahead.
"Yang!" she cried. "I spotted eighteen branches. The way they move is unpredictable, never stabbing in a straight line. The branches glow slightly brighter before they change direction. They also avoid each other by three feet, not able to entangle one another. Red Death has lost some of its scales, and I noticed a shell beneath the tree. I think you are right about it being a River Stone Lion."
"Eighteen branches and strong enough to break Red Death's scales. It must be at the peak Element Adept Stage," Yang cursed. "Ancient magical beasts are stronger than humans at the same cultivation. Its strength equates to an initial Meteor Vessel practitioner. Get those two cowardly girls to provide backup. Tell them that if they don't come, I'll leave Shen Dong for dead."
"Right!" Mei nodded as she summoned her owl. The owl cocked its head to the side before she got on its back and flew into the sky.
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