Chapter 90 [VIP]
Jiang Zhuochen's attention was mostly focused on the direction of the Bitter Water Pool. Above his head, the dense, heavy leaves suddenly made a very slight "rustling" sound.
Something small and light moved very quickly and carefully among the leaves, causing a gust of air to disturb a particular leaf.
Jiang Zhuochen looked up, his eyes scanning the source of the sound. The leaves there had stopped rustling, but he couldn't see any birds or insects.
He remained calm, his fingertips pinching a talisman, his divine sense quietly extending upwards. However, this place seemed to have an effect of blocking detection; his divine sense was like being stuck in quagmire, unable to penetrate it.
Something's not right. Forest dumplings wouldn't be this agile, nor would they choose to roam in an area like the bitter pool that makes them uncomfortable.
The only people Jiang Zhuochen could think of were those two ghost cultivators. Only they would choose such a place to hide and recuperate.
Jiang Zhuochen's mind raced. He glanced at the timid and panicked children beside him, then looked towards the depths of the Bitter Water Pool where Xu Xing had disappeared. If he left to investigate the anomaly above, these children would be left unprotected. But if he didn't go, and if his premonition was right, and those two ghost cultivators were lurking in the shadows, it would be even more dangerous.
So he made a decision immediately.
"Shh—" Jiang Zhuochen gestured for the children to be quiet, his voice extremely low, "Since you're so scared, how about I take you to hide?"
Upon hearing this, the dumplings immediately wiggled their bodies and nodded back and forth. "Good!"
Jiang Zhuochen gently pushed them into the largest root hollow of the tree next to them. While the little ones were patting the dirt off each other, he took out a talisman, cast a spell to transform it into a dummy, and placed it at the entrance of the hollow.
“I’ll stay here and watch over you. You must stay inside quietly. If you dare to run around again, I’ll send you away.”
Zong Jiuyi immediately stopped what he was doing and said seriously, "I will keep an eye on them. You must find Hei Jiuqi!"
“Yes,” Jiang Zhuochen smiled gently, “My master is the most powerful in the world.”
It was probably the three enclosed pits that gave the dumplings a sense of security, and coupled with the news that their friends would return safely, they gradually became less afraid.
After settling Tuanzi in, Jiang Zhuochen turned towards the direction from which he had heard the sound and touched the brow that Xu Xing had touched not long ago. Then, his figure blurred, and he quietly darted upwards along the thick tree trunk.
He moved lightly, trying not to make any noise, and did not touch the sticky-looking leaves.
The higher he went, the fainter the austere air became, but the light grew dimmer. Layer upon layer of leaves blocked out most of the sunlight. Jiang Zhuochen strained his vision to its limit, moving silently among the branches, his sharp gaze sweeping over every possible shadow.
Suddenly, about ten meters to his left, something seemed to shrink in the dense foliage. Then, a blurry black shadow, slightly darker than the surrounding shadows, shot out as if startled into the denser canopy to his side and back!
Sure enough, there was something there.
Is this the kind of movement that these little dumplings, who squeal and scream even in the dark, would use?
Jiang Zhuochen stopped hiding and quickly chased after him.
The dark figure was exceptionally familiar with the complex terrain of this dimly lit forest, weaving and twisting among the thick branches and hanging vines with incredible agility, narrowly escaping Jiang Zhuochen's grasp several times.
The chase lasted for quite some time, circling extensively in the dim canopy, as if the dark figure was intentionally leading him away from the area.
Jiang Zhuochen was on guard, but thinking of the hidden dumpling and Xu Xing who might still be searching by the Bitter Water Pool, he had no choice but to give chase, to find out the dark figure's intentions, and even to capture it.
Just as he was closing in again, and a burst of spiritual energy was about to strike the dark figure, soft footsteps suddenly came from below.
Almost simultaneously, the fleeing shadow seemed to be startled by the sound, and its movements paused for a very slight moment.
Now!
Jiang Zhuochen flicked his finger, and several slender silver lights blocked the shadow's escape route from different angles, about to bind it.
However, in the face of desperation, the dark figure let out a roar, neither dodging nor avoiding, but instead charged straight at Jiang Zhuochen's face!
In the instant it was about to reach Jiang Zhuochen, it pulled out two black spheres from its body and tapped them together, causing a black gas to rapidly spread towards Jiang Zhuochen.
Jiang Zhuochen had no choice but to dodge to the side, and the spiritual power he unleashed was thus slightly off-target.
Taking advantage of the tiny gap created, the dark shadow suddenly sank downwards, passing through layers of leaves, and plummeted towards the ground in a certain direction!
"It's about to land! Master, stop it quickly!" Jiang Zhuochen shouted urgently, and then he also swooped down.
That was the very tree where he had placed the dumplings; a motionless dummy stood beside it, practically providing a target for the shadowy figure.
Xu Xing's figure had already appeared. His attention had been diverted long before the other party told him that something was strange through telepathy.
He found the unconscious black ball of flesh, completely blended into the mud, in a very secluded shallow depression by the bitter pool, and carried it back.
At this moment, the pursuit and chilling aura above Xu Xing erupted. Seeing the black shadow fall, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he waved his free left hand in the air. An invisible true energy, arriving first after being released, enveloped the trajectory of the falling black shadow like a cage.
"grumble--!"
The dark figure let out a shrill scream. Before the cage of true energy closed, it twisted with all its might, almost breaking itself, and narrowly grazed the edge of the true energy. With a "thud," it crashed onto the dark mossy ground, rolled several times before stopping, and its disguise became tattered, revealing its original appearance.
Jiang Zhuochen landed as well, blocking the escape route of the "bad dumpling" with Xu Xing in front and behind. Xu Xing placed the unconscious dumpling in the pit behind him, allowing the group of dumplings to regroup.
"What about the other one?" Xu Xing asked in a cold voice, turning to Tuanzi, who was struggling to get up from the ground.
The only person who could see the two of them so fearful and desperately trying to escape was a ghost cultivator.
Jiang Zhuochen looked around anxiously, trying to find another one.
The "black dumpling" raised its head, its bean-sized eyes flashing with resentment and despair. It didn't answer, but its body began to tremble violently, and the remaining glutinous rice on its surface swelled up in disguise.
The spiritual energy barrier beneath the "black dumpling" lit up slightly, and Jiang Zhuochen, pulled behind Xu Xing, peeked out with his head showing no sign of worry.
"What is he trying to do? Is he planning to take us all down with him?"
However, what happened next was beyond his expectations.
The "black ball" puffed itself up into a ball, pressed hard on the ground, and smashed a crater in the ground. At the same time, it used the recoil to leap up quickly, kicking up a sky full of sand and gravel.
Jiang Zhuochen thought he was going to take advantage of the chaos to attack, but instead he rushed to the tree hole not far away, where a group of dumplings had formed a circle to help the unconscious black dumpling, and several of them had already come out!
Xu Xing reacted extremely quickly. With a flick of his two fingers, the Binding Immortal Rope broke free from the group of dumplings and lay across in front of the "Black Dumpling." With a flick of the end, it tightly bound him.
The "black ball" sneered as his body was split in two by the Immortal Binding Rope. As he fell, the other perfectly disguised black ball, which had been tightly attached to the shadow beneath his body, suddenly sprang apart!
The other black ball that separated moved with lightning speed. With a clear target, it stretched out its two sinister black hands, grabbed the two trembling balls on the outside, and with all its might, hurled them toward the dark and silent bitter pool not far away!
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!"
The change came too quickly. The ghost cultivators knew they were no match for Jiang Zhuochen; what Jiang Zhuochen thought was a last-ditch effort was just a feint. Their real purpose was to create chaos so they could escape.
"Please save them!"
"The Heavenly Father said that the bitter water pool would erode Tuanzi's will!"
"They will drown!"
The little dumpling in the pit was crying anxiously, wanting to get out but also afraid of the two evil black dumplings.
As soon as Tuanzi was thrown into the air, Xu Xing and Jiang Zhuochen immediately took action, one rushing towards the Bitter Water Pool and the other towards the two ghost cultivators.
The "black dumpling," bound by the Immortal-Binding Rope, sprawled out in a puddle, using the gap to escape its restraints. The moment the "hostage" was thrown out, the two "dumplings" ceased their fight and turned without hesitation, fleeing in the exact opposite direction from the Bitter Water Pool.
Xu Xing caught the two dumplings in mid-air and protected them with gentle spiritual power, isolating them from the aura of the bitter pool.
Jiang Zhuochen stood still, following Xu Xing's gaze. The two fleeing black figures had already disappeared into the depths of the gray forest, leaving only a rapidly fading trace in the air, pointing directly towards the main city.
They escaped again.
But this time, perhaps those two ghost cultivators were panicked and fled in the direction of the most dumplings.
Xu Xing checked the two frightened little dumplings. They were only slightly affected by the aura of the edge of the bitter pool, nothing serious. They just needed to go back and get some sleep.
Jiang Zhuochen looked at the pile of sobbing children on the ground with a headache, "Warriors, are you coming again next time?"
"I'm not coming anymore, I'm not coming anymore, boohoo..."
"Godfather is right, this place is terrifying!"
"I will never take any more risks!"
Jiang Zhuochen used his fingers to separate them. "Don't cry, aren't we supposed to be saving our friends?"
"Oh, right." Zong Jiu, sobbing, pulled the other dumplings together, surrounding the several dumplings that had been injured, and performed their clan's unique prayer.
Jiang Zhuochen stepped back to Xu Xing's side and whispered, "They've gone to the main city."
“Yes,” Xu Xing replied, “I’ll go back and tell Heavenly Father.”
The two safely returned the dumplings to their home, then went to the castle to find the Heavenly Father and tell him what had happened.
The Father was initially a little worried, but the castle was patrolled by countless guards who were willing to cooperate with the two.
“As before, we would impose a curfew seven days in advance, allowing entry but not exit. Since you say those two bad guys have already entered, I will issue the order and it will be carried out immediately. The guards will then strictly control the situation, and any abnormalities must be reported immediately.”
The Father paused for a moment, “But the Harvest Festival is a big event after all. All the dumplings will come. If things get out of hand and cause panic, the consequences could be immeasurable.”
Xu Xing nodded. "We'll come up with a solution that satisfies both sides."
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