Chapter 96

Chapter 96: Fighting the Five-Colored Python

Hearing that, Yun Xi subconsciously clenched her fist. She quietly swept out her divine sense and found a group of Unicorn Rhinoceros bull-beasts charging toward the city gate. Behind them were sharp-snouted alligators slithering along the ground, and at a glance, they were coming in fierce.

Second Rank demon beasts did not care about the lives of First Rank demon beasts at all. Anything in their way was simply trampled. The howls of demon beasts were endless, and the cultivators responsible for observing the battlefield raised the alarm immediately.

After receiving orders, the Qi Refining Stage cultivators on the battlefield began covering each other as they retreated into the protective grand array. Yun Xi knew it was time for Foundation Establishment cultivators to enter the field.

Sure enough, Sheng Yu Hong turned and led the Hao Ran Sect Foundation Establishment Stage disciples down from the city wall.

Yun Xi felt like she was not ready yet, but she was already swept into the battlefield by the fellow disciples around her. Once she steadied herself, the stench of blood beneath her nose grew even thicker.

“Yun Xi, don’t space out! Get ready to fight!” Mu Ning Zhu called out at once when she saw Yun Xi had not reacted.

Yun Xi snapped back instantly. While releasing her divine sense to stay alert, she gripped the Seven-Star Doom Staff and poured in spiritual energy. The black staff rapidly extended.

She had her reasons for choosing this weapon. Unicorn Rhinoceros bull-beasts had thick hides and tough flesh. They loved charging head-on. The most valuable part of this kind of demon beast was its horn – extremely hard, excellent material for refining equipment.

And the Peerless Sword Thunder Art she was cultivating had only just reached the beginner level. Using lightning spiritual energy too openly would easily expose her, so she decided to use a staff to perform sword techniques, making it harder for others to notice.

If she still could not win, she would use the White Magnolia Hairpin’s defense to tank it. As long as she did not lose her life, it was fine.

When Mu Ning Zhu saw that Qin Tong Shuang and Long Dao Yu’s team had their retreat blocked by two Unicorn Rhinoceros bull-beasts, she immediately raised her sword and rushed over to support them. Yun Xi followed behind her.

Mu Ning Zhu slashed and injured one Unicorn Rhinoceros bull-beast. A bloody gash appeared on its body, and that only made it more savage. Snorting, it slammed toward Mu Ning Zhu.

Yun Xi stepped through the Thousand Shadow Wind-Supporting Technique. She twisted her body to avoid Mu Ning Zhu in front of her, then sprang upward and dropped back down. Gripping the Seven-Star Doom Staff with both hands and using the momentum, she smashed it viciously onto the Unicorn Rhinoceros bull-beast’s head.

With a dull “thump,” Yun Xi was sure she had cracked its skull. Unable to withstand the blow, the bull-beast dropped to its knees. It did not even have time to whine before its head lolled and it passed out.

Yun Xi landed beside it and waved her hand, storing it in her storage pouch. Then she saw Qin Tong Shuang and Long Dao Yu staring at her in shock.

Yun Xi said flatly, “Why are you still here? Retreat now. Once the real fight starts, I won’t have time to mind you.”

“Oh! Okay!”

“We’ll retreat right away.”

The two snapped back to their senses, feeling again that Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining truly could not be compared.

Mu Ning Zhu was fighting the other bull-beast. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yun Xi’s wild move. Her mouth twitched, and she called out loudly, “Yun Xi, over here!”

Yun Xi swung her staff and knocked away a sharp-beaked rhinoceros that had crawled to her feet. Then, stepping through her drifting footwork, she reached Mu Ning Zhu’s side. Dropping her stance, she swung the staff into the bull-beast’s knee. Another “crack” of splitting bone rang out.

Mu Ning Zhu reacted quickly. She thrust forward, and a green sword glow pierced the injured bull-beast’s eye. In the next instant, it collapsed and died. This time, Mu Ning Zhu did not hesitate – she stored it in her own storage pouch.

The two exchanged a wordless, coordinated glance, then went to save Zhang Yan, who was tangled up.

Zhang Yan had thought he was about to be killed by a Second Rank demon beast, but Mu Ning Zhu and Yun Xi saved him together. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and turned to rush back into the formation.

By now, sharp-snouted alligators had entered the battlefield, and behind them a swarm of brightly colored snakes slid into the fray.

Yun Xi’s eyes spun just looking at them. She muttered, “Did we kick over a snake nest or something?”

Mu Ning Zhu’s gaze turned even heavier. She immediately warned, “Yun Xi, keep an antidote pill in your mouth. If you get bitten by a snake, swallow it immediately.”

“Thank you for the reminder, Senior Sister.”

Yun Xi truly had not known that. She immediately took out two antidote pills, wrapped them with ice spiritual energy, and sent them into her mouth. Then she started attacking while swinging her staff.

At the same time, she secretly fed lightning spiritual energy into the staff. Even if she could not knock a demon beast unconscious, lightning could stun it. Later she could just claim there were lightning-aspected ores in the materials used to refine the Seven-Star Doom Staff.

While Yun Xi attacked bull-beasts and sharp-snouted alligators like crazy, she did not notice that one star on the Seven-Star Doom Staff flashed once, then fell silent again.

Just as the battle reached a fever pitch, Yun Xi was caught off guard and sent flying by the tail of a five-colored python. She fell straight into the snake swarm.

Mu Ning Zhu shouted, “Yun Xi!”

Yun Xi could not respond. She rolled on the spot, then slapped her palm to the ground and cast a freezing technique, temporarily sealing the snakes slithering within a five-meter radius.

A red light flashed across her body. Cracks appeared on one of her ruby studs. It had blocked the deadly strike from the Second Rank five-colored python, completing its duty as protection.

When Yun Xi stood up, her blood and qi churned violently. The five-colored python seemed to sense she had not died. Its cold, vertical pupils fixed on her as it flicked its tongue and slid toward her.

Yun Xi gritted her teeth and swung the Seven-Star Doom Staff in a wide arc, killing the snakes that had not broken free of the ice seal. She waved her hand and stored them away, then charged toward the five-colored python with ghostlike footwork.

“I’ll eat anything, but I won’t swallow a loss!”

Yun Xi muttered under her breath. Her speed did not slow at all. She swung her staff and met the python’s tail head-on.

Mu Ning Zhu’s heart shook as she watched. This junior sister was too reckless. A Foundation Establishment cultivator at the early stage dared to fight a peak Second Rank five-colored python head-on. Mu Ning Zhu did not know whether to call her fearless or suicidal.

After that, Mu Ning Zhu had no time to keep watching Yun Xi, because a bull-beast and a sharp-snouted alligator had latched onto her.

She formed hand seals and controlled vines to bind the sharp-snouted alligator, preventing herself from being attacked from both sides. Then she thrust her sword at the bull-beast’s eye. It blocked her, but she did not lose heart. While flipping through the air, she sent out a sword glow and killed the sharp-snouted alligator that was struggling to break free.

Standing on his flying sword, Sheng Yu Hong stared at the battlefield, keeping his eyes on the strongest late-stage Second Rank demon beasts. From time to time, he struck with his sword to finish them, helping sect disciples escape traps. Then he saw Wei Yun Xi locked in a death struggle with the five-colored python, and his face darkened.

“Wei Yun Xi, come back!” Sheng Yu Hong shouted immediately.

Yun Xi was in the heat of it. She noticed that the more she swung the Seven-Star Doom Staff, the stronger its attacking force became, yet the staff’s own weight did not change. She had already smashed a section of the python’s tail into a caved-in lump, completely enraging it. Its “hiss hiss” never stopped, and it was calling its kind.

Yun Xi had already taken a liking to its hide. It was excellent material for refining robes – water and fire could not? it, blades and spears could not pierce it. That was why she chose to use blunt strikes. She refused to believe she could not take that python hide after shattering all its bones.

So when Sheng Yu Hong’s voice reached her, she pretended she had not heard. Using the Thousand Shadow Wind-Supporting Technique, she circled around the python.

“Roar!”

A furious roar echoed across the entire battlefield.