Chapter 72: Only fragments.
Chapter 72
Qing Yan's eyes instantly became as sharp as an eagle's, and his gaze seemed to be substantial. He was not fixed on the ferocious water dragons, but penetrated them and landed on a hidden place in the stream behind the water dragons.
"Qing Yan, have you found the sword?" Bu Xingjin asked in a low voice, his eyes revealing a hint of anxiety and curiosity.
Qing Yan nodded slightly and responded briefly, "Yes, but it's not complete, only a fragment."
Sword fragments? Bu Xingjin's mind, once brimming with joy at reuniting with Qing Yan, was now filled with ripples, like a stone dropped into a calm lake. Questions flooded in. Where had Qing Yan obtained the sword? Why was it broken? How had it ended up in this secret Shangli realm?
Thinking back, when Qing Yan mentioned coming to the Shangli Secret Realm to search for the sword, his tone was so natural and casual that I hadn't noticed and easily accepted his statement without giving it much thought. But now, with the water dragon beast already appearing, it was clearly not the time to ask too many questions.
The water dragon beasts emerged from the water, their bodies slender and agile, their dark blue scales gleaming coldly in the sunlight, like a mysterious treasure emerging from the depths of the sea, yet exuding a chilling chill. Their eyes, like cold gems, stared mercilessly at the intruders, and from time to time they let out deep, powerful roars, as if declaring their dominance and warning these uninvited guests not to act rashly.
The seemingly ordinary dry branch in Qing Yan's hand trembled slightly, as if in tune with its owner, gathering strength and poised for action. Bu Xingjin also took a deep breath and held the Blood River Knife steady across his chest. His palms paled slightly from the exertion, and the alarm bells in his heart were ringing at full volume. He knew full well that these water dragons were formidable and no easy task, especially when in the water. Their extraordinary agility and explosive power made them virtually impossible to defend against.
Jia Feng stood aside, his expression tense, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead, soaking his temples. Though he forced himself to remain calm, his hands unconsciously clenched the talisman in his hands. He leaned sideways, forming a horn-like formation with Bu Xingjin and Qing Yan, his muscles tense, constantly on guard against a possible attack from the water dragon beast.
Bu Xingjin leaned slightly to the side, approached Qing Yan, and whispered, "These water dragons may be very troublesome. We must be careful and not act rashly."
Qing Yan's expression remained calm, his gaze as sharp as a torch, as if he could penetrate the water dragon beast's exterior and reach its vital points. He spoke slowly, "Water dragon beasts are indeed powerful, but they also have weaknesses, and their abdomen is the weakest. As long as we can accurately hit their abdomen, we can inflict severe damage, and even have the potential to be fatal."
Jia Feng, standing nearby, clenched his teeth with nervousness. Upon hearing this, he quickly responded in a low voice, "My two Daoists, how should we respond? These water dragons swim as fast as lightning. If we act rashly, we'll be caught off guard in an instant, with disastrous consequences."
Qing Yan nodded slightly, glanced around, and said in a deep voice, "Let's hold our ground for now and carefully observe their movements. Although the water dragon beasts are ferocious and aggressive, they have a strong sense of territory. As long as we don't get too close to the stream, they will most likely not take the initiative to attack."
The three of them immediately held their breath, not daring to make a sound, as they carefully observed the water dragons' every move. Sure enough, after circling a few times at the top of the water column, as if surveying their territory and confirming there was no threat, they slowly sank back into the water, leaving only circles of ripples on the stream's surface that gradually dissipated, as if they had never been there.
Seeing this, Jia Feng breathed a sigh of relief, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly. He whispered, "It looks like they won't attack us for now. But if we want to pick those spiritual plants, we have to get close to the stream. What should we do?"
Bu Xingjin glanced at Jia Feng, but didn't point out that their true goal wasn't the rare spiritual plants. After all, everyone's goal at the moment was the same: whether it was picking the spiritual plants or obtaining the sword fragments, the most urgent task was to eliminate the water dragons blocking their way.
Qing Yan nodded slightly, saying nothing, but his stern expression betrayed his resolve. The three of them formed a triangle, like three sharp swords, slowly approaching the stream, attempting to seize the initiative and gradually reduce the water dragon's range of activity.
The water dragon beasts seemed to have sensed their intentions. The moment the three of them approached the stream, they immediately broke out of the water. The leading one was the largest in size. It raised its head and let out a roar that shook the valley. The sound waves were like substance, causing visible ripples in the surrounding air. Then, its body was like lightning, wrapped in large splashes of water, and it pounced straight towards Qing Yan. Its thick claws swept through the air, making a sharp and piercing whistling sound, as if it could tear the air apart.
Qing Yan stood tall, neither dodging nor yielding. A fierce, resolute look flashed in his eyes. The withered branch in his hand seemed to be infused with a soul, and he swung it fiercely. In an instant, a dazzling sword energy, as bright as the night sky, took shape. Like a roaring dragon awakened from ancient times, he met the water beast's ferocious charge head-on. The two collided with a thunderous roar, emitting a deafening roar. Water splashed in all directions like a torrential rain. The surrounding air was vibrating with the violent impact, buzzing like the beating of a war drum.
Seeing Qing Yan's move, Jia Feng couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He knew that Qing Yan's strength far surpassed his own, like the bright moon to a firefly. But he also knew that he couldn't retreat at this moment. Gritting his teeth, he pulled a talisman from his bosom and, with a desperate gamble, hurled it at a water dragon beast. The talisman instantly exploded in mid-air, transforming into a blazing, violent flame, like the wrath of a fire god, instantly enveloping the water dragon beast. The water dragon beast screamed in pain, its body faltering slightly as its skin and flesh were torn apart by the flames. Dark green blood oozed out, emitting a pungent smell.
Bu Xingjin seized the opportunity, taking advantage of the water dragon beast being restrained by Qing Yan and Jia Feng. Like a ghost walking in the night, he flashed and cut in from the side like lightning, raising the Blood River Knife high and slashing down with unstoppable, killing momentum. With a dull "puff," the Blood River Knife slashed into the water dragon beast's side. However, the water dragon beast's hide was incredibly tough, as if forged from fine steel. This full-strength blow only managed a large gash, and a large amount of dark green blood oozed out like a fountain, but ultimately failed to deliver a fatal blow and kill the stubborn water dragon beast.
The water dragon beast, in pain, turned its head in anger, opened its bloody mouth, and spewed out a powerful water arrow, like a water dragon emerging from the sea, heading straight for Bu Xingjin. Bu Xingjin reacted quickly and quickly dodged to the side. The water arrow flew past the corner of his clothes, like a passing shot of death, and hit a huge rock behind him. With a loud "bang", the rock was instantly shattered, and the debris flew everywhere.
Seeing Bu Xingjin in danger, Jia Feng was extremely anxious and rushed to attack from the other side. At this moment, he did not care about the preciousness of the talismans. He threw them out one after another as if they were free, trying to disrupt the water dragon beast's vision and create opportunities for his teammates.
The three water dragons had all joined the battle at this time. They cooperated with each other tacitly, like well-trained warriors, taking advantage of the natural terrain of the stream, and either attacked from the water like ghosts, or launched a strong attack in the air. For a moment, the three were attacked in a panic, like a lone boat caught in a storm.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Qing Yan suddenly shouted, "Hold on! Don't lose your composure!" After that, he took off like a rocket and swung several swords in the air. Each sword contained the power to split mountains and rocks. The sword energy crisscrossed and weaved into a huge sword net that covered the sky and the sun, temporarily restricting the range of activities of the three water dragons, as if trapping beasts in a cage.
The three water dragon beasts struggled mightily within the sword net, like trapped beasts fighting to the bitter end. They sensed the mortal threat, and their attacks grew increasingly ferocious. The leading water dragon beast lashed out with its tail, lashing out like a steel whip, severing several strands of sword energy before madly lunging at Qing Yan once again. The ferocity in its eyes grew ever more intense, like a demon choosing its prey.
Qing Yan's expression was stern, like an iceberg on a cold night. Instead of retreating, he advanced. The sword in his hand seemed to merge with his body, and he transformed into a stream of light, charging straight into the group of water dragons. The moment he got close, he transformed into the Thousand-Armed Guanyin, and the sword in his hand transformed into countless phantoms, each of which precisely stabbed the vital parts of the water dragon's abdomen, like the god of death swinging his scythe.
Seeing this, Bu Xingjin and Jia Feng, unwilling to be outdone, charged in from both sides like warriors ignited with fighting spirit. Bu Xingjin's Blood River Blade swung and swung wildly, each strike carrying a tremendous force, like Pangu splitting the sky, slashing the water dragon beast's scales and sending them flying like snowflakes. Jia Feng, relying on the talismans in his hand, moved like a nimble loach, moving between the water dragon beast's attacks, occasionally throwing one out, using the talismans as hidden weapons to harass the water dragon beast.
After a long, fierce battle, the three water dragons' movements gradually slowed, their strength at its limit. Their wounds grew more and more numerous, and their dark green blood stained the surrounding stream water, turning it into a pool of ink. All three, except Qing Yan, were panting heavily, their spiritual energy depleted to the point of almost running out.
"Try harder, they're almost exhausted!" Jia Feng shouted. Although his voice was a little hoarse, it was still full of excitement, as if he saw the dawn of victory.
At this moment, the leading water dragon beast seemed to realize that it was losing, and suddenly let out a shrill roar towards the sky, like a last desperate cry. Then, its body began to swell, and an extremely dangerous aura emanated from it.
"Oh no, it's going to self-destruct!" Qing Yan warned loudly, and then his steps were like a ghost, approaching the three water dragon beasts at a speed that was difficult to capture with the naked eye. The moment the words fell, he seemed to turn into three people, and stabbed a sword into the abdomen of each of the three water dragon beasts at the same time, at such a speed that it left afterimages in the air.
The three water dragons died instantly and fell into the water with a loud bang. The valley seemed to have been muted and returned to peace.
"Phew... That was a close call. I almost died here." After the water dragon beast fell into the water, Jia Feng wiped the blood off his face and said with lingering fear.
Bu Xingjin also smiled bitterly: "Yes, if Qing Yan hadn't taken action in time, we would be in big trouble today."
Qing Yan must have been extremely exhausted in that instant. Since entering the Shangli Secret Realm, his face had been calm, but when he killed the water dragon beast just now, his face turned pale for a moment.
"I'll go pick the spiritual plants first. Qing Yan deserves the most credit for picking the spiritual plants this time. He'll get 80% later."
Without waiting for the two to answer, Jia Feng took the special tools and hurried to pick the spiritual plants like an explorer eager to find treasure.
"Are you okay? I still have some spiritual marrow here?" Bu Xingjin hurriedly took out the jade bottle containing the spiritual marrow and handed it all to Qing Yan, his eyes full of concern.
"It's okay. I've already got the sword fragments. I'll be able to recover after a little breathing exercise. You can keep the spiritual essence for now."
Qing Yan waved his hand to reject Bu Xingjin's spiritual essence, then sat on the ground with his eyes closed and regulated his breathing like an old monk in meditation.
During this period, Jia Feng picked all the spiritual plants by the stream and shared them with Bu Xingjin excitedly: "Friend Bu, look, this spiritual plant is called Ice Soul Orchid. It is extremely rare. It is said that it only grows in extremely cold places where spiritual energy gathers. It contains extremely pure ice spiritual power. If a cultivator refines and absorbs it, it will not only greatly increase the power of ice-based exercises in a short period of time, but also have a wonderful effect on breaking through the bottleneck of practicing ice-based spiritual power, and can help cultivators understand the true meaning of ice more smoothly." As he spoke, he carefully held the Ice Soul Orchid. Its petals were crystal clear ice blue, and there seemed to be a trace of cold air lingering in the stamens, exuding a bone-chilling coldness.
"And this one, called Flame Sun Grass, is the complete opposite of the Ice Soul Orchid's cold nature, emitting a fiery aura." Jia Feng picked up another spiritual plant, its leaves a dazzling red like burning flames. "This Flame Sun Grass is almost extinct in the outside world, and it's a treasure coveted by fire-attributed cultivators. After refining it, it can make the flame spiritual power in the body even more violent and ferocious. In battle, when casting fire-attributed spells, the power can be increased by at least 30%. If used to refine pills, it can also increase the fire-attributed medicinal power of the pills, making their quality even higher."
Jia Feng became increasingly excited as he spoke, his eyes gleaming. "What surprised me most was this Star Pattern Ginseng. Look at the shimmering silver star patterns on its roots; they're the key to identifying it. Star Pattern Ginseng strengthens the body and nourishes the cultivator's spirit. Regardless of the cultivator's attributes, taking it can repair damaged meridians, replenish depleted spiritual energy, and quickly restore them to peak condition. Furthermore, long-term use can subtly widen the meridians, laying a more solid foundation for future cultivation. Its rarity is probably one of the highest in this secret realm."
"This Shangli Secret Realm is truly magical. Spiritual plants that require special environments to survive outside can grow easily here by the stream."
Bu Xingjin was amazed when he heard this: "Fellow Daoist Jia, today's harvest is really rich. If you take out any of these spiritual plants, it will attract everyone to fight for it."
Jia Feng scratched his head, forcing a simple smile onto his face. He chuckled and said, "This trip is truly thanks to Fellow Daoist Qing Yan! If he hadn't stepped forward at the critical moment and saved the day, we wouldn't have been able to pick these precious spiritual plants, and even our lives would have been in doubt. I've said before, these spiritual plants will most likely go to Fellow Daoist Qing Yan, I'll quickly divide them up for him."
As he spoke, Jia Feng began to work intently. His hands, as if handling rare treasures, carefully sorted the spiritual plants according to the previous agreement. Every movement was gentle and cautious, his eyes fixed on the spiritual plants, afraid of accidentally damaging any of them. After sorting them, he tiptoed to Qing Yan, who was closing his eyes and regulating his breathing. He bent down slightly and said softly, "Fellow Daoist Qing Yan, I have picked the spiritual plants and divided them according to the agreement. This is your share. Please keep it."
Qing Yan slowly opened his eyes, glanced at the spiritual plant handed to him by Jia Feng, and nodded slightly: "Thank you."
Seeing this, Bu Xingjin also hurried forward, looked at Qing Yan with concern, and asked, "Qing Yan, how are you regulating your breathing?"
Qing Yan stood up straight, his aura now much more stable, without the slightest sign of disorder. He handed the spiritual plant to Bu Xingjin, his gaze gazing out of the misty forest, his tone firm, "It's almost fully recovered. Keep this spiritual plant for me. Without further ado, let's set off for our next destination."
"Fellow Daoist Jia, what about you?" Bu Xingjin nodded and turned to look at Jia Feng.
Jia Feng patted his chest, his face determined: "Of course I'm going with you! We've been friends for life and death, sharing hardships. How can we go on this journey without me?"
"Okay." Qing Yan responded briefly.
The three of them quickly packed their bags and set out on an unknown journey again.
As soon as I came out of the misty forest, the outside world seemed to have changed its appearance. Raindrops as big as beans fell down with crackling sounds, and a rain curtain instantly appeared between the sky and the earth.
Along the way, the air was thick with mist, growing ever thicker, like thick milk. A few steps beyond, the misty rain enveloped everything, making it impossible to see anything. The road beneath their feet was rugged and bumpy, with winding vines occasionally blocking their path like lurking venomous snakes, or jagged rocks suddenly appearing, like deliberate obstacles, blocking their way.
When they reached a valley, the surroundings were as still as death, a touch eerie. Only the heavy footsteps of the three of them echoed through the damp mist, each one a heart-pounding knock.
Suddenly, a chilling wind, accompanied by raindrops, whistled past, rustling everyone's clothes. Bu Xingjin's expression froze, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on the hilt of the Blood River Knife. He lowered his voice, his tone full of caution, "This doesn't look good here. Everyone, be careful."
Qing Yan's expression remained unchanged, and the withered branch in his hand once again emitted a faint cold light, like a signal light in the darkness. At this moment, bursts of low roaring sounds were faintly heard from the thick fog, like the roar of an ancient ferocious beast, and the sound was getting closer and clearer.
"Another monster is attacking!" Jia Feng exclaimed, and the talisman in his hand was quietly prepared.
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