Chapter 69: Chapter 69: When the Suona Marches, No Grass Grows
Beneath the Mystic Gold Fruit Tree, a group of cultivators was being driven to distraction by a few Single-horned Rock Rats.
A straight fight would have been one thing, but this pack of rats was simply toying with them. They would pop up to land a quick scratch, only to vanish without a trace by the time the cultivators swung their swords.
The injuries weren’t serious, but being toyed with like this made everyone gradually lose their cool. They even began to forget about the Mystic Gold Fruit Tree, focused only on their desperate desire to kill these damn rats.
Amidst the crowd, however, Yi Ze remained completely calm, even sneering inwardly as he watched the others.
’A few rats are enough to make them lose their heads? And they think they can compete with me for the Xuanjin Fruit?’
’Heh. They’re dreaming.’
From the moment he arrived, he had been hiding his strength. Amidst the chaos, he devoted just enough attention to fend off the swarm of rats while secretly observing everyone else’s movements.
Now that he had a good grasp of the group’s strength, he couldn’t help but feel secretly pleased.
Seeing that the Xuanjin Fruit was about to ripen, he discreetly moved into the most advantageous position.
A moment later, a fragrance even richer than before wafted through the air. Someone cried out in alarm, "The Xuanjin Fruit is ripe!"
In that instant, the once-chaotic battlefield seemed to find a new focus.
The intense fragrance jolted everyone who had been distracted by the Single-horned Rock Rats back to their senses. Greed flashed in their eyes as they charged recklessly toward the Mystic Gold Fruit Tree.
However, the Single-horned Rock Rats, which had only been toying with them moments before, suddenly attacked the cultivators like a well-trained squad in perfect coordination.
For a moment, many of the cultivators were held up by the rats. The Mouse King seized this opportunity and, with a WHOOSH, shot toward the Mystic Gold Fruit Tree!
But just as it neared the Mystic Gold Fruit Tree, its path was suddenly blocked by an attack.
The Mouse King was startled. It had just turned its head when the pleasant sound of a Bone Flute rang out. Its mind faltered, and its gaze began to lose focus.
At the same time, all the other Single-horned Rock Rats on the scene reacted the same way. But their vacant stares lasted only an instant. Soon, their eyes turned red, and they charged at the cultivators with even more reckless abandon!
Someone snapped out of their daze and pointed at the man with the Bone Flute, exclaiming, "He... He’s Yi Ze of the Beast Taming Sect!"
Every sect’s younger generation had a few rising prodigies, and Yi Ze was the most prominent one from the Beast Taming Sect.
Although the Beast Taming Sect had been kicked out of the Five Great Sects hundreds of years ago and could now only be counted among the Four Small Sects, its power was still not to be underestimated.
The prodigies it produced were, naturally, well-known to all. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Hearing someone call out his name, Yi Ze couldn’t help but smirk. "Recognizing me only now? It’s too late."
Now, all the Single-horned Rock Rats, including the Mouse King, were under his control. The other cultivators were completely pinned down by the rats’ suicidal onslaught. There was no one left to challenge him!
Watching the arrogant Yi Ze put on his show, the hidden Lu Sangjiu narrowed her eyes. ’The Beast Taming Sect... such old friends.’
’She recognized the Bone Flute in his hand—wasn’t that the same one used by the Body Integration Realm Supreme Elder from the Beast Taming Sect, the one who controlled a White Tiger before she killed him?’
Whether it was because of the Bone Flute or not, Lu Sangjiu found Yi Ze’s arrogant posturing all the more irritating.
Seeing Yi Ze head for the Mystic Gold Fruit Tree, she decided she couldn’t wait any longer and was about to call Chi Yan to intercept him.
But before she could move, a sound so loud it nearly shattered her eardrums suddenly rang out!
How to describe that sound...? Well, basically, no one needed to see it to know exactly what instrument was making it.
As the saying goes: when the Suona marches, no grass grows in its wake.
The sonorous blast, combined with its unique melody, instantly stunned everyone present.
Everyone’s heads were ringing, and they felt their qi and blood roil violently in their chests.
In an instant, some were clutching their ears, some were vomiting blood, and others were writhing on the ground. What a miserable scene!
Even Lu Sangjiu, caught off guard for a moment, felt an old ailment flare up, causing her to spit up three liters of blood on the spot.
If the cultivators were in such a state, to say nothing of the rock rats.
The rats that had been muddle-headed just moments ago were now brutally snapped back to their senses. Some had even flipped onto their backs, legs in the air, and begun foaming at the mouth.
Clearly, the control Yi Ze exerted with his Bone Flute had been utterly and completely broken.
As for Yi Ze himself, his figure swayed, and he collapsed to his knees, clutching his ears in agony.
This wide-area destructive power... It was truly terrifying!
Lu Sangjiu and her companion were better off, as they weren’t in the main range of the attack.
They had only been caught in the initial blast and had quickly circulated their Spiritual Power to resist, so the discomfort subsided.
She and Chi Yan were now wincing as they looked over, desperate to see what manner of god would actually use a Suona as a weapon!
They looked over and saw, amidst the chaos, a lone Female Cultivator. She was exquisitely beautiful, with a cold and detached air, her white robes fluttering as if imbued with Immortal Qi. She stood among the crowd like a Goddess.
...If it weren’t for the fact that she was enthusiastically blowing on a Suona, she might have looked a bit more like one.
Lu Sangjiu fell silent. Chi Yan fell silent too.
’What is wrong with the Cultivation World? How could such a beautiful Female Cultivator lose her mind and decide to use a Suona as a weapon???’
’The destructive power is immense, sure, but it just leaves you... speechless!’
Just like that, the Female Cultivator continued blowing her Suona as she walked toward the Mystic Gold Fruit Tree.
The others wanted to stop her, but the moment they let go of their ears, they felt as if they wouldn’t just be spitting blood, but bleeding from all seven orifices.
Among the crowd, only Yi Ze managed to somewhat resist the sound after the initial agony. He still had some fight left in him.
Seeing the Female Cultivator approach, he spoke with difficulty. "...I’d long heard that the Lingyin Pavilion had produced a freak Sound Cultivator who uses a Suona as a weapon. I just didn’t expect to run into you myself."
"Your Suona is formidable indeed. But unfortunately for you... you ran into me!"
As he spoke, Yi Ze abruptly released his Contracted Spirit Beast—it was a majestic White Tiger!
This White Tiger looked like an ordinary Spirit Beast, a far cry from the Silver-Winged White Tiger Lu Sangjiu had fought years ago.
But Lu Sangjiu had to admit, seeing the combination of a Bone Flute and a White Tiger made her fists clench.
’She’d never experienced loving someone so much that you come to love everything associated with them, but she was certainly getting a taste of the opposite.’
Yi Ze was from the Beast Taming Sect, after all. His Contracted Spirit Beast was his true trump card.
The White Tiger, now released, appeared to be in some pain from the Suona’s sound, but it could still move freely.
It opened its massive jaws and let out a roar that actually caused the Suona’s melody to falter for an instant. Then it lunged straight for the Female Cultivator, looking as if it intended to snap her neck in a single bite.
Yet the Female Cultivator remained unhurried. Just as the White Tiger got close enough, a massive Golden Bell suddenly materialized, trapping both her and the beast within!