Free Web NovelChapter 29: Chapter 29: Encounter
Shortly after Liang Cheng departed, Zheng Biao appeared. Finding no trace of him, he spat on the ground.
"Damn it. I was a step too late. That kid sure runs fast."
Resigned, he got his bearings and sped away.
’I’ll let you off the hook for now.’
...
Liang Cheng moved like a wisp of green smoke, passing silently through the dense forest. The Unity of Body and Will he’d gained from perfecting the Mixed Element Stance allowed him to place each step with perfect precision, never rustling a single dry leaf.
He had traveled just over a mile from the thicket when the shadows of the trees ahead wavered unnaturally. Liang Cheng came to an abrupt halt, hiding behind a tree trunk.
A giant, crimson-red python was slowly uncoiling from a large tree. Its body was as thick as a bucket and over thirty feet long. A scarlet tongue flickered as its vertical pupils coldly scanned the area.
A Tier Two Demon Beast: the Red-Scaled Python.
According to the records, the scales of a Red-Scaled Python were incredibly hard, its strength was immense, and it could spit a corrosive toxic mist. An ordinary Dark Force Martial Artist would have to be extremely careful when facing one; a single moment of carelessness could mean being devoured.
Liang Cheng held his breath, his eyes fixed on the base of the ancient tree where the Red-Scaled Python was coiled. A strange, three-leafed, azure-blue grass swayed gently there.
Cold Star Grass—one of the Spirit Medicines on his list.
A Python Beast guarding its treasure.
Without hesitation, Liang Cheng flicked his right hand, and the Cold Iron Dagger fell into his palm. Pushing off with his feet, he shot forward like an arrow!
The Red-Scaled Python reacted instantly. Its massive head snapped up, its gaping maw opened, and a foul-smelling, dark-green toxic mist spewed forth, blanketing an area thirty feet across.
Liang Cheng neither dodged nor retreated. Activating his Stone Armor Skill at full power and holding his breath, he charged directly into the toxic mist. He channeled Fierce Bull Force into his dagger, which flashed like a cold glint of light as he stabbed straight for the giant python’s vital spot!
SCREECH—
The dagger scraped against the scales with a piercing sound. The Red-Scaled Python cried out in pain and swept its massive tail, creating a howling wind. Trees as thick as a man’s thigh snapped in its wake.
Liang Cheng leaped into the air to dodge the tail. Tapping his toes on a broken tree trunk, he used the momentum to pivot back. He clenched his left hand into a fist and unleashed his Fierce Bull Force at full strength, smashing it viciously into the crack his dagger had just made in the scales!
BOOM!
Scales shattered, sending flesh and blood flying.
The Red-Scaled Python let out a piercing shriek. Its massive body thrashed wildly, felling a wide swath of trees. Liang Cheng stuck to it like a shadow, weaving around its body and repeatedly plunging his dagger into the wound, precisely enlarging the gash with every strike.
Within ten breaths, the python’s body crashed to the ground. It twitched twice, then fell still.
Liang Cheng quickly dug a red, pigeon-egg-sized Demon Core from the python’s head. He then carefully plucked the Cold Star Grass and placed it in a specially made box.
The entire process took less than twenty breaths. He had just stored his gains and was about to leave when his brow furrowed. In the distance, footsteps were rapidly approaching. It was more than one person.
With a flicker of movement, Liang Cheng slipped away, unwilling to make contact. Soon, five figures appeared at the edge of the battlefield.
The leader was a short, stocky man dressed in the uniform of the Iron Palm Martial Arts Hall. His aura placed him at the Dark Force Middle Tier. The four men behind him were weaker, having just entered the Dark Force Realm.
"A Red-Scaled Python!" one of the Dark Force Disciples exclaimed, sucking in a sharp breath as he stared at the massive corpse. "Who did this?"
The stocky man crouched down to examine the wound, his expression grave. "The wound is clean and precise. The Power is focused, not dissipated. This was the work of an expert. The scales were blasted open by sheer force. It would take someone at the Dark Force Peak, at least."
"Senior Brother Wang, should we..." another man began, his eyes filled with fear.
A vicious glint appeared in the stocky man’s eyes. "He just finished a tough fight. He must be exhausted, and he took the treasure! After him! We’ll finish him off!"
The five men came to a quick decision, identified the direction Liang Cheng had fled, and gave chase. High above in the canopy, Liang Cheng watched with cold eyes.
’These five weren’t a makeshift team. The Iron Palm Martial Arts Hall must have arranged for them to meet up near the entrance using some special method.’
They coordinated smoothly, spreading out in a fan formation as they searched and calling out to one another. After pursuing for about a mile, they came upon a rubble-strewn slope.
The stocky man raised a hand, signaling a halt. He frowned. "The tracks end here."
"Senior Brother Wang, do you think he’s hiding behind those rocks?" a disciple asked, pointing toward several massive boulders deeper up the slope.
"Be careful. Spread out and search," the stocky man ordered in a low voice.
The five men slowly fanned out, warily approaching the field of boulders.
Just as the Dark Force Disciple on the far left passed a massive boulder, a green shadow shot out from behind it like a bolt of lightning!
"Watch out—"
The cry of alarm had barely started when Liang Cheng was already on him. His left hand clamped around the disciple’s throat like an iron pincer, and with a sharp squeeze, he crushed the man’s windpipe.
*CHK!*
Blood sprayed as the disciple’s eyes bulged. His longsword fell to the ground with a CLANG. Liang Cheng released his grip, and the body slumped to the earth.
But he didn’t stop. Using the massive boulders for cover, he appeared like a ghost behind a second disciple, killing him with a single, fatal blow.
"Formation!" the stocky man roared. The three remaining men scrambled back-to-back, drawing their weapons with nervous expressions.
Liang Cheng slowly emerged from behind a boulder, blood dripping from his hand.
"It’s you!" The stocky man’s expression changed as he recognized Liang Cheng’s uniform. "Liang Cheng, from the Yangwei Martial Arts Hall!"
"Senior Brother Wang, he’s just one person..." another Dark Force Disciple whispered.
"All of you, attack! He just killed a Red-Scaled Python, he must be exhausted!" The stocky man gritted his teeth and charged first, his palms glowing with an iron-gray luster as they whipped up a vicious gust of wind.
The other two attacked from the left and right. Instead of retreating, Liang Cheng advanced, meeting the man’s twin palms with a single fist. An explosive CRACK of breaking bones echoed as the stocky man screamed and flew backward, coughing up blood.
The other two had already closed in. Liang Cheng sidestepped the longsword on his left and whipped his right leg out like a lash, striking the man square in the torso. With a muffled grunt, the man was sent flying a dozen feet, landing in a heap, unable to rise.
Seeing things had gone wrong, the last man turned to flee. The dagger left Liang Cheng’s hand, becoming a streak of cold light that buried itself precisely in the center of the man’s back.
In a mere five breaths, three were dead and one was grievously wounded, completely incapacitated.
Liang Cheng walked over to the stocky man and crouched down.
"Don’t kill me..." The stocky man’s face was filled with terror. "I’ll give you all my points. Just... crush my Vitality Order for me, how about it?"
"Tell me how you all met up, and I won’t kill you," Liang Cheng said.
"Before we entered the mountains, our Hall Master gave each of us a simple map with several rendezvous points marked on it," the stocky man stammered. "We agreed to meet at a spot near the entrance..."
Liang Cheng nodded, then reached out and ripped the leather pouch and the Vitality Order from the man’s waist. "I’ll take the points," he said, standing up. "And I won’t take your life."
"Thank you."
Liang Cheng ignored the man crumpled on the ground. He quickly looted the leather pouches and other valuables from the four corpses. Then, with a few bounds, he vanished into the depths of the rocky slope.
Only after Liang Cheng’s figure had vanished completely did the stocky man shakily try to pull out his own Vitality Order. But after fumbling for a moment, he couldn’t find it anywhere.
’Oh no!’
’The thick scent of blood will draw Demon Beasts... I’m completely immobile. I can only lie here and wait to die.’
Before long, a red-eyed Demon Wolf appeared and pounced.
"LIANG CHENG!"
A bloodcurdling scream echoed from the distance. Far away, Liang Cheng remained expressionless.
’I kept my promise. I didn’t kill him myself. A Demon Beast eating him? What does that have to do with me?’
He found a secluded spot to hide and began to take stock of his haul: seventeen left ears from Demon Beasts, three of which were from Tier Two beasts; five Demon Cores; several stalks of Spirit Grass; and a few map fragments marked with various symbols.
He pieced the map fragments together and found they marked several suspected resource points or Demon Beast lairs. ’It seems they came well-prepared.’
’The Iron Palm Martial Arts Hall certainly saved me some trouble.’
Liang Cheng stored the useful items and looked toward the deeper parts of the forest. ’The commotion from that fight was significant. It’s probably attracted the attention of others nearby.’
He got his bearings and, instead of continuing in a straight line, chose a more circuitous route, speeding off into the depths of the Central Domain.
...
