69 - A Farewell to Mr. Luo

Chapter 69: Ruthless Dragon Girl Earlier Chapter Bookmark Bookshelf Management Back to Index Next Chapter The lightning attacks were unpredictable compared to the fire; wherever White Fan stood, a strike came down, leaving him with no place to hide. His hair stood on end, and his face, covered in soot and grime, made him look utterly disheveled. The lightning caused excruciating pain, but wasn't immediately fatal. However, if he didn't dodge quickly enough, he would soon find himself coughing up blood from the relentless strikes. White Fan dodged around, clutching his head, and eventually couldn't help but curse, "You damned insects! Just wait; I'll fry all of you! Daring to strike me with lightning." He muttered incantations and made hand seals while dodging the incoming bolts. A massive storm cloud began to form above him. It had been a long time since he’d summoned lightning. With a dark determination, he promised in his heart to turn these lazy creatures into ashes. As the storm cloud grew larger, White Fan glanced at his tattered clothing, now hardly distinguishable from a beggar's rags, and gritted his teeth. With a final chant, he yelled, "Summon Lightning!" Immediately, the chamber filled with stormy winds. A colossal bolt of lightning crashed down into the swamp, causing a cacophony of explosive pops as countless lazy frogs were incinerated by the brilliant flashes. The once deafening frog croaks faded into the roar of thunder. When the storm cloud finally dissipated, the swamp was shrouded in darkness, indistinguishable between mud and scorched remains. White Fan reached up to tidy his hair, exhaled a deep breath of foul air, and with a light leap, crossed over the swamp into the next chamber. Just as he was about to leave, the sound of a lone frog croak reached his ears. Frowning, he turned to see a half-charred frog that still had faint sparks escaping its mouth. Without hesitation, White Fan kicked it into the next chamber, igniting a burst of flames. "Boom" The flames illuminated the chamber, revealing it was enveloped in green mist, making it impossible to see clearly. Concerned that the mist might be poisonous, White Fan covered his nose and walked across the bubbling green sludge, eager to escape this ghastly place. The constant bubbling felt like a drumbeat inside his heart, affecting his breathing. This passage was surprisingly safe; no fire-breathing frogs leapt out at him. However, as he exited, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him, just like before. A shiver ran down White Fan's spine, and he hurriedly moved to the next chamber. No sooner had he entered than seven or eight blurry shadows lunged at him. Struck in the chest, his vision blurred, and he spat out blood without even knowing what had hit him. "Ugh." The assaults were relentless, and though White Fan evaded one attack, he was struck by another, spewing blood as if it were free of charge. Frustrated and annoyed, he pondered what could be striking with such force. However, as he sustained more injuries, White Fan's evasion speed increased, and the shadows found it harder to land hits on him. The old adage "practice makes perfect" seemed apt. Unsure of how long he had been there, White Fan was tossed around by the shadows, sustaining two fractured bones. The slow recovery of his spiritual energy made every movement agonizingly painful. Knowing that if he didn’t find an exit soon, he might die trapped in there, White Fan held her breath, expanding his spiritual awareness to cover the entire chamber. If anything moved, he would spot it instantly. From his sleeve, he pulled out three gleaming silver needles, concealed until now for life-or-death situations. In an instant, spotting a shadow above him, White Fan hurled the needles which, trailing silver threads, pierced through the shadow’s body. Channeling his spiritual energy through the threads, the needles rotated fiercely inside the shadow, slicing it in half. A dull thud sounded as something hit the ground. As White Fan retrieved the needles, more shadows attacked. Their relentless assault didn't wane despite one of their own being felled. In fact, their attacks grew more frequent, and he was soon struck down, sent flying yet again. "Ugh." Clutching his repeatedly injured chest, White Fan vomited a mouthful of blood mingled with bits of his organs, the pain drawing sharp gasps and furrowed brows. Just as he was about to get up, he noticed the body of the recently slain shadow. It was inky black with long dark fur, yet its limbs were human-like. Curiosity piqued, White Fan flipped the body over to reveal an ape-like face, letting out a sigh. "I thought it was some monster, turns out it’s just another demon." Barely examining it further, he sensed more shadows approaching. His curiosity deepened, he drew three more needles and hurled them at an incoming shadow. The needles struck true, and as soon as his spiritual energy flowed into them, the shadow showed a pained expression, rushing at him again. White Fan kicked it away, the shadow bifurcating mid-air. With this newfound method, White Fan killed the ape-like creatures one by one. Once he felt no more threats, he collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily, listening to the wheezy sound of his injured lungs. “Rumble” The ground trembled, and White Fan turned to see the passage finally opening. As he looked back at the bodies of the slain ape-like beings, they had already dissolved into pools of blood and vanished. Meanwhile, on the other side of the seven doors, Red Carp Spirit and the others remained in their original spot, continuously battling seemingly endless puppets. What started as an effortless task had turned into an exhausting endeavor. "Are we going to be trapped here forever?" Taking turns to eliminate the puppets, they got brief rests, but as they began to despair, a sudden tremor in the left wall drew their attention. The wall revealed a stone door, and a figure emerged from it. Everyone looked up. The figure also glanced their way. "Who’s there?" White Fan, standing at the newly opened stone door, was first startled by the endless puppets below, then realized there were others he recognized – the shape-shifting demons who had been ahead of him earlier. Their appearances were just as bedraggled and bloodstained as his. "What are you doing here?" He questioned, to which Red Carp Spirit retorted, "Why shouldn’t we be here? More importantly, what are you doing here? Who are you anyway?" Uncomfortably, White Fan hadn't wanted to interact with these creatures but had no choice now. "I came through another passage." Little Snake Spirit, sensing a familiar aura from White Fan, found it strange. Despite White Fan being a human cultivator, he emitted the aura of a kin spirit. There wasn’t time to discuss further, as the inexhaustible puppets occupied them all. Seeing the dire situation, White Fan's frown deepened. If things continued as they were, the increasing number of puppets would need to be fully eliminated for them to escape. However, each puppet destroyed was replaced by more, crowding the space ever more. Red Carp Spirit, noticing White Fan still standing, called out, "Hey! Standing up there won't help! Soon these puppets will climb up to you. Stop acting like this doesn't concern you!" White Fan recognized him – the lone woman from before who almost detected him. Moreover, their opponents below were all at the Core Formation stage, whereas White Fan hadn't even reached that level. He couldn't afford to act recklessly. Adding to his frustration was the realization that even though these creatures knew fighting the puppets only multiplied their numbers, they continued this futile effort. Were they not thinking clearly? "Don't you realize the more you fight these puppets, the more there are?" he called out. "If you keep this up, soon this place will be overrun." Apart from Red Carp Spirit, none of the other demons responded to White Fan. Their indifference stemmed from their belief that White Fan was a human cultivator. Demons were generally friendly only towards their kind and often harbored deep dislike or even hatred towards non-demons. White Fan found their reluctance to speak strange, but didn't push the issue. At this moment, he had no intention of jumping into the fray. Instead, he maintained his composure. Observing the steadily increasing number of puppets, he felt a headache coming on. These demons had been fighting for some time now, and despite their efforts, the way ahead remained unclear. They needed to find a critical point to pave the way out. Watching closely, he noticed that most of the puppets had a red crystal embedded in their chests. It seemed they relied on this crystal for power. When Red Carp Spirit shattered a puppet’s crystal, its body slowly sank into the ground. If one smashed the red crystal directly, the population of the puppets wouldn’t increase or decrease; it would remain balanced. However, merely breaking other parts of the puppet and letting it sink into the ground caused their numbers to double. This meant the red crystal couldn't be shattered or allowed to sink. Instead, it must be removed to cut off the puppets' source of power. ＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊ Chapter Two is complete, Chapter Three is still in progress. 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