Chapter 220 - Iron-eating Beast
Chu Linyuan shuttled across the clifftop like the Grim Reaper. Every swing of the Frost Silence Sword inevitably brought up a puff of blood, reaping lives. No one could match him in a single blow.
The poisonous fog, heavy hammers, and talisman storms below caused heavy casualties to the ambushers and disrupted their formation.
"Devils! They are devils!"
"Run!"
I don't know who shouted first, but the morale of the survivors completely collapsed. They no longer cared about the mission rewards and fled in all directions crying, wishing their parents had not given them two more legs.
The battle was over faster than it began.
In just a stick of incense, the canyon returned to silence, even more dead silent than before.
The strong smell of blood mixed with the sweet odor of poisonous fog filled the air. The cliffs and riverbeds were littered with the bodies and severed limbs of ambushers.
On the Guixu Sect side, Tie Niu had several more scars on his body and was breathing heavily;
Luo Hongyi's face was a little pale, obviously the large-scale release of poisonous fog just now consumed a lot of energy;
Su Tang was almost exhausted and was supported by an outer disciple; many disciples were injured, but no one died. At this moment, they were supporting each other, taking pills to heal their wounds, and looking at Chu Linyuan and Xie Zhao with eyes full of relief for surviving the disaster and even more fanatical admiration.
Xie Zhao walked up to one of the ambushers who was still breathing, tapped his forehead with the Jinghong Talisman Pen, and asked in a cold voice, "Who sent you here? Which sects do you belong to?"
The man was so scared that he was shitting and pissing, and he stammered out the names of several sects. Sure enough, they were all local tyrants who had been dealt with by them before and the cultivation forces behind them.
"It's them indeed." Xie Zhao's eyes flashed coldly. He stood up and said to Chu Linyuan, "Brother, let's slowly settle this account after we get out."
Chu Linyuan nodded slightly, and the Frost Silence Sword returned to its sheath, without a drop of blood staining the blade.
His eyes swept over the embarrassed but high-spirited crowd, and finally landed on the canyon path stained with blood.
"Clean up the battlefield and leave as soon as possible."
Everyone acted quickly, collected the spoils, and treated the wounds.
The team set off again. They crossed the bloody canyon and moved forward resolutely in the direction of the fragments.
Those mice hiding in the dark have completely miscalculated.
They thought that Guixu Sect was a stumbling block that broke their path to wealth, but they didn't know that they were provoking a giant dragon from the abyss with sharp fangs and claws that was about to take off.
The news of the disastrous defeat in the canyon ambush spread quickly as if on wings, through some unknown channels, back to the distant core of Middle-earth, deep in an extremely luxurious and heavily guarded royal palace.
The precious white jade teacup was thrown heavily to the ground, with fragments flying everywhere.
A middle-aged man wearing a dragon robe and with a sinister face - Prince Jing, his chest heaving violently, his eyes filled with rage.
"Waste! A bunch of waste! Thirty or forty of us, ambushed and attacked, but were wiped out by a sect from a barbaric land?! Even Elder Zhao was killed?! What's the point of me keeping you around!"
The kneeling leader of the secret guards was sweating profusely, his head lowered even lower. "Your Highness, calm down! The Guixu Sect... is far more powerful than expected. Especially the leader surnamed Chu. The intelligence was wrong. His cultivation level may have already..."
"That's enough!" Prince Jing interrupted him abruptly, his eyes dark enough to drip water. He took a few deep breaths, forcibly suppressing his anger, and gripped the armrests of the armchair with his fingers, his knuckles turning white.
Guixu Sect... It's that Guixu Sect again! They've destroyed so many of his wealth-making strongholds along the way, and now they've caused him to lose so many soldiers and generals! How can Prince Jing maintain his dignity if he doesn't avenge this?
But... there are indeed more difficult things at the moment.
Thinking of the secret letter from the increasingly favored woman in the palace with an ever-growing appetite, as well as the subtle attitude of the man on the dragon throne who seemed to have noticed something recently... Prince Jing forced himself to calm down.
A little impatience can ruin a big plan. The struggle for the throne is the most important thing.
He snorted coldly, his voice icy. "Pass the order down. Temporarily halt all actions against the Guixu Sect. Let them roam around for a few more days. Once I've dealt with the trouble in the capital... Hmph, I'll find a way to show them what the consequences of offending me are!"
"Yes!" The leader of the secret guards retreated quickly as if he had been pardoned.
Prince Jing walked to the window and looked towards the direction of the palace, greed and cruelty flashing in his eyes.
The Guixu Sect...is nothing but a minor problem. When I ascend to the throne one day, I will crush them to death like ants!
In the secret realm, the people of Guixu Sect were naturally unaware of the anger and conspiracy in the distant royal palace.
After clearing the battlefield, the team followed Chu Linyuan's induction and the guidance of the bronze compass and continued to move towards the direction of the fragments.
The further they advanced, the more bizarre the environment became. The spiritual energy in the air was no longer violent, but instead became gentle and pure. Many rare and exotic spiritual flowers and plants began to appear around them, and even some docile small spiritual beasts looked at the team curiously, showing no fear of people.
"Huh? It feels much more comfortable here." Su Tang took a deep breath, and her pale face regained some redness.
"Looks like we're almost there." Xie Zhao fiddled with the compass, the needle steadily pointing to a bamboo forest shrouded in soft white light. "Brother, is the sensation getting stronger?"
Chu Linyuan nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the depths of the bamboo forest: "It's inside."
The team carefully stepped into the bamboo forest. The bamboo was as soft as jade, and the leaves exuded a fresh scent. The ground was covered with a thick layer of soft moss, which was very comfortable to step on.
Suddenly, Xie Zhao paused and pointed his Jinghong Fu Pen at a bunch of spiritual herbs next to him that exuded a milky aroma: "Wait! There's something behind that grass!"
Everyone immediately became alert.
The spiritual grass rustled a few times, and a small, round, furry creature, only the size of a palm, emerged.
Its entire body was black and white, with two dark circles under its eyes. It was holding a tender bamboo shoot that was taller than itself and was trying to nibble on it clumsily. When it saw so many people, it was startled and the bamboo shoot fell to the ground, making a small "hmm" sound.
"This is... a baby iron-eating beast?" Luo Hongyi raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. "This creature is an ancient species, extremely difficult to breed. How could we find a lone baby here?"
The iron-eating beast cub looked like it was just born, and it was staggering when it walked. It was frightened at the moment, and its black eyes were filled with moisture. It looked at everyone pitifully, wanting to run away but reluctant to leave the bamboo shoots on the ground.
Xie Zhao's peach blossom eyes lit up instantly, and all his vigilance turned into surprise. "Oh! Poor little thing! Why are you here alone?" He subconsciously softened his voice, slowly squatted down, and took out a spiritual fruit with more spiritual energy from his storage bag. He handed it over carefully, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. We are not bad people. Can you eat this?"
The red panda cub sniffed the spiritual fruit, then looked at Xie Zhao, who seemed to have no ill intentions. After hesitating for a moment, it slowly moved over, stretched out its little paws to hold the spiritual fruit, murmured "hmm", and then began to chew it clumsily, temporarily forgetting its fear.
Su Tang's heart was almost melted by the cuteness, and her psychic eyes were twinkling with stars: "How cute! This is a panda! Second Brother, it seems to have lost its family? We..."
Xie Zhao looked up at Chu Linyuan, his eyes filled with anticipation: "Brother, it's so small, it won't survive if left here. Let's..."
Chu Linyuan looked at the little creature munching on the fruit until it was dripping with juice, then looked at Xie Zhao's sparkling eyes and was silent for a moment. He didn't have any special feelings for this furry little creature, but... Xie Zhao liked it.
He said calmly, "If you want to raise it, then raise it. It's just an ancient species, and its habits are unknown, so be careful."
"No problem! Leave it to Junior Sister Luo to research...er, no, take care of it!" Xie Zhao immediately beamed and carefully picked up the shy red panda cub, which had even begun to rub against his palm. The little creature seemed to enjoy his scent, nestling comfortably in his arms and continuing to nibble on the fruit.
Tie Niu smiled innocently and said, "Hey, this little guy is not even as big as my fist."
Luo Hongyi had already begun to ponder: "The iron-eating beast... It is said that its saliva and blood have unique detoxification effects... Maybe it can..."
Xie Zhao quickly interrupted her: "Junior Sister Luo! This is a pet! Not a medicinal herb!" He hugged the little guy tighter like a baby.
With this little incident, the team's atmosphere became more relaxed. Continuing deeper into the bamboo forest, they soon found their target by a crystal-clear spiritual spring—a metal fragment about the size of a fingernail, dark blue in color, emitting the same aura as the Frost Silence Sword, but with an even colder aura. It was half-buried in the jade near the spring's eye.
Chu Linyuan walked forward, and the moment his fingertips touched the fragment, the fragment made a slight buzzing sound, flew up automatically, merged into his body, and combined with his original Frost Silence Sword fragment.
An even more powerful sword intent flashed from him, and the dark golden dragon pattern on his left cheek seemed to be clearer and more vivid.
"Congratulations, senior brother!" Xie Zhao said happily, and the panda cub in his arms also said "hmm" as if he understood.
The fragments were successfully found, and an ancient cute pet was picked up for free. Everyone was in a good mood and decided to rest by this spiritual spring.
As night fell, the bamboo forest was serene and tranquil, and the sacred spring gurgled, emitting a refreshing and soothing aura. The disciples took turns guarding the temple while the others sat in meditation and rested peacefully.
Chu Linyuan and Xie Zhao naturally occupied a corner a little further away, which was hidden by huge bamboo leaves.
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