Chapter 97

Chapter 97: A Newborn Calf

With that roar, all the cultivators in the middle of battle froze for a moment. This was a demon beast’s sonic attack. That brief pause immediately let the demon beasts that had been losing ground counterattack.

A Golden Core Master from Bao Hua City flashed into the air above the battlefield. With a cold snort, he dispelled the jungle tiger’s sonic attack, then swung his horsetail whisk and fought that Third Rank jungle tiger head-on.

Yun Xi was one of the few Foundation Establishment cultivators who had not been hurt by the sonic attack. It also gave her a good hint. While grappling with the five-colored python, she tried shaping her divine sense into a spike, then drove it viciously into the python’s head, determined to shred its brain. She succeeded.

The python that was wrapped around Yun Xi’s body went slack. Its raised head tilted to the side, and its life vanished. Yun Xi moved fast and stored it into her storage pouch. This was her spoils of war.

But after launching that divine sense attack, her face went pale. Just as she was about to leave her spot, a sudden pain shot through her ankle. A thumb-thick, emerald-green little snake bit her.

Half her body went numb. She immediately swallowed both antidote pills, then raised her hand and pinned the snake in place with an ice spike.

“How dare you sneak attack me!”

Yun Xi was annoyed. She smashed the green little snake into bloody mush with one strike of her staff.

As the medicine took effect, the numb half of her body regained feeling. But it also left her surrounded by the snake swarm again.

Yun Xi braced herself with the staff and steadied her stance. With a swipe over her storage pouch, she scattered a thick stack of attack talismans like a celestial maiden tossing flowers – at least a hundred. She activated the White Magnolia Hairpin’s defense, swallowed a top-grade spirit-replenishing pill, and began rapidly recovering the spiritual energy she had spent.

Explosions roared for three or four breaths, drowning out the battlefield’s scattered blasts and letting Sheng Yu Hong truly see how fearless – and foolish – Yun Xi was.

“Is she trying to die?”

Sheng Yu Hong’s brow tightened. Riding his sword, he rushed toward Yun Xi. As soon as the explosions ended, he dove, preparing to snatch her out.

The instant the explosions ended, Yun Xi released her divine sense to gather her spoils. She could not let anyone else take them. Just then, her divine sense caught a figure charging toward her.

Seeing it was Sheng Yu Hong, she immediately swung the Seven-Star Doom Staff and chopped down hard. She admitted she did it on purpose. Even though he had not yet ripped out her spiritual root or dug out her golden core, she still disliked him.

A battlefield was the best place to strike. She even had the excuse ready – she could claim she thought a flying demon beast was attacking her. What a perfect story.

Sheng Yu Hong did not expect this junior sister to attack him. He instinctively spread a defensive barrier and took the blow head-on.

With a sharp “zzzt,” purple lightning blossoms crawled from the black staff onto Sheng Yu Hong’s barrier. The barrier only lasted two breaths before shattering.

Still, it bought Sheng Yu Hong enough time to dodge. Yun Xi’s eyes flickered. What a pity. Then she put on a surprised expression and said, “Senior Brother Sheng, why is it you? I thought it was a flying demon beast.”

What could Sheng Yu Hong say? Looking at Wei Yun Xi, her robe filthy and her face already a mottled mess, his mouth twitched.

“Junior Sister Wei, you’re surrounded by snakes. Leave with me first.”

Yun Xi did not force it. She nodded and said a bit awkwardly, “Senior Brother Sheng, I rushed my Foundation Establishment. I haven’t learned sword flight yet.”

That was not a lie. After reaching Foundation Establishment, she had only managed one trembling, unsteady attempt to fly away from the red-beaked falcon nest.

Sheng Yu Hong pressed his lips together. In a flash, he grabbed Yun Xi by the back of her collar and carried her out of the snake swarm on his sword.

This time Yun Xi did not resist. It was embarrassing, but she had only just reached Foundation Establishment. What could she do?

Even while flying back to the grand array, she did not sit idle. She held attack talismans in her hand and, whenever she saw an opening, tossed them into the demon beast horde as support.

By the time Sheng Yu Hong threw Yun Xi into the grand array, Yun Xi had used up half the Second Rank attack talismans in her storage pouch.

As Yun Xi landed, Qin Tong Shuang and Long Dao Yu rushed over.

“Martial Uncle Wei, you’re amazing!” Long Dao Yu praised.

Qin Tong Shuang, however, disagreed. “Yun Xi, you were way too bold. You dared to charge alone into the demon beast horde. If it weren’t for Martial Uncle Sheng, you would’ve been swallowed by the snakes.”

Yun Xi rubbed her nose. She wanted to say she knew her limits and was not that fragile, but her friends were worried about her. All she could do was grin foolishly.

“I didn’t want to either. That five-colored python kept chasing me. It whipped me into the demon beasts with its tail.”

Long Dao Yu immediately exposed her. “Who told you to smash its tail flat?”

“It was a fight to the death. If I’d gone soft, I’d already be the python’s food. This time I killed that five-colored python. I’m going to use its hide to refine a robe. It’s worth it.”

Yun Xi was satisfied. It was her first time on a battlefield, and she came back with all her limbs intact. The way she returned was embarrassing, but it was still not a wasted trip.

After they spoke a few more lines, a piercing shriek sounded from deep within the Bao Hua Mountain Range. The demon beasts fighting as if possessed suddenly stopped attacking, as though they had received an order. Slowly, they withdrew back into the mountains.

The demon beasts even knew to clean up the battlefield, dragging the corpses of their own kind away with them.

The Golden Core Master who had fought the Third Rank jungle tiger also flew back into the city. The human cultivators who had gone out to meet the enemy retreated slowly into the city-protecting grand array. This time, Yun Xi went to meet Mu Ning Zhu’s group as they returned.

Mu Ning Zhu had already swallowed a spirit-replenishing pill. She looked mostly fine, but her face was pale, clearly having spent a lot. In just half an hour, the human side had taken losses.

On the Hao Ran Sect side, with Sheng Yu Hong watching over them, there were seriously injured disciples but no deaths. That was not bad.

Sheng Yu Hong was the last to enter the grand array. He swept his gaze around, confirmed all Hao Ran Sect disciples had returned, then raised his voice.

“Everyone, go back and rest first. The demon beasts withdrew on their own today, so negotiations should have made progress. Hold on a bit longer.”

“Yes, Senior Brother (Martial Uncle).”

After everyone answered, they returned to the outpost in small groups. Master Feng did not go back. He remained at the North City Gate to keep watch.

Back at her quarters, Yun Xi lowered the isolation formation and collapsed onto the bed. Dian Dian crawled out of her arms, sniffed her face, and confirmed that its master was only exhausted, not injured. Only then did it relax.

On the battlefield earlier, Dian Dian had not dared to poke its head out at all. The surrounding aura was too fierce. It was timid by nature and did not dare to disturb its master while she fought. It could only keep monitoring her condition through the contract.

Yun Xi was only ten years old. Once she closed her eyes, she slept for two hours. When she opened them, she found it was still dark outside. She yawned and asked, “Dian Dian, what time is it?”

“It’s the Yin hour. I saw you were tired, so I didn’t wake you.” (3 a.m. to 5 a.m.)

Yun Xi sat up and rolled her stiff body, then began cultivating basic body techniques.

The Interstellar Body-Refining Art strengthened the body through specific movements. Yun Xi felt it was somewhat like yoga, but not exactly.

When she assumed the first posture, soreness immediately surged through her body. She quickly moved the spiritual energy inside her through the sore areas. Then she discovered that some starlight power from Dian Dian was merging into her bones.