Chapter 487: Frenzy
Translator: Irene Editor: X, TYZ
In the sky, Ai Hui’s whole body was shrouded by lightning.
The lightning within his body was swimming all over. Even though his body had already been tempered with lightning and had a high tolerance for it, he was still injured as his flesh started to char and dry up.
Regaining clarity along with consciousness, the frenzy in his eyes became much milder.
He felt more at ease. Lightning was indeed the dire beasts’ nemesis. Lightning had a certain level of control over the fine, black, hair-like smoke within his body.
There was a constant scattering and dispersing of the black smoke amid the lightning.
Damage to the flesh wasn’t a big concern since there were ways to recover. He had to get rid of this strange black smoke first.
Ai Hui converted more elemental energy into lightning, hoping for an additional spurt of energy. However, he quickly realized that the situation wasn’t good.
Half of the elemental energy within his body had already been changed into lightning, but the hair-like smoke had only been reduced by about 10 percent. Following this rate, he wouldn’t be able to extinguish the smoke even if he exhausted his elemental energy.
While he could feel that the black smoke was being suppressed, it would rapidly reproduce within his body the moment he slightly relaxed.
Ai Hui’s brain spun quickly. Staying clear-headed was his priority right now.
Eh?
He suddenly noticed that there were almost no traces of smoke near his earth palace.
His heart jumped. Could it be that the sword embryo’s aura was effective against the smoke?
With rapt attention, he curled his hand into a fist, extended his index and middle fingers, and activated the lightning within his body.
The unruly lightning immediately gathered in his fingers as an intense sword aura enveloped his surroundings. Ai Hui did not release it, but allowed the lightning swords within his body to swim around.
The black smoke that it came into contact with along the way instantly vanished. It was much more efficient.
Ai Hui’s spirits rose. He only had one goal, which was to get rid of this dangerous black smoke. He had nothing to fear as long as his solution was effective. He constantly activated the lightning swords, allowing it to swim within his body and kill off the smoke.
Soon after, Ai Hui’s face turned grave once again.
The hair-like black smoke was tougher than he’d thought. Knowing the power of the lightning swords they automatically dodged it when it approached. They were exceptionally crafty, very slippery, and nimbler than the lightning swords.
The lightning swords consumed a large amount of elemental energy, so Ai Hui was quickly running out.
What to do?
Somewhere high up in the sky, the whistling metal wind was a sharp blade that could wring and shatter everything.
Le Buleng reacted indifferently toward the metal wind. His posture was strange, with his face facing the ground and his limbs spread out. It appeared as if he was sprawled onto an invisible mattress.
Staying motionless for such a long time, it seemed as though he’d fallen asleep.
The sunlight gathered on his back and formed a faintly visible golden light pillar that enveloped his body.
A wisp of faint golden, almost transparent, flame burned noiselessly beneath the light pillar.
Strangely, his clothes weren’t damaged.
Le Buleng opened his eyes suddenly as a wave traveled over from below. It carried an extremely sharp and overbearing aura of lightning.
That fellow, Ai Hui?
What was going on?
Such an intense wave fluctuation meant that Ai Hui was making an all out effort. Was there a powerful opponent around?
Le Buleng instantly grew interested and stopped what he was doing. The light pillar on his back rapidly dimmed as the faint golden flame entered his body. He shook his limbs then dove his body downward like a meteorite.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. The whistling metal wind around him formed metallic light traces.
The vast sea of clouds below magnified at a rapid rate.
The regions where ordinary elementalists conducted activities were mainly located amid the cloud layers. The metal wind here was gentle and generally harmless.
Only the really strong characters would prefer roaming high up in the sky, like the haughty and formidable humpback cloud whales.
Appearing like a stone that had fallen through a sea of clouds, Le Buleng first saw a sheet of white before quickly breaking through the clouds.
Whoosh.
A faint golden flame on his back transformed into wings that spread open, effectively halting his descending momentum.
Le Buleng quietly floated in midair as his gaze fell upon Ai Hui, causing his expression to turn serious.
Night Moth Fruit!
Different from people who had only heard about, Le Buleng had seen it with his own eyes and even participated in a bloody pursuit against organizations that used it. He knew how dangerous the fruit was.
He’d only left for a little while, yet Ai Hui was already poisoned?
He wrinkled his brows. The poison was incurable. Everything heralded misfortune.
What a pity.
He shook his head inwardly. Ai Hui was one of the few youngsters whom he thought would have a brighter future. Shortly after feeling regretful, he calmed down and returned to his apathetic disposition.
Le Buleng was very experienced and had seen countless geniuses. Among them were many fallen soldiers. There were many reasons for the death of a genius. Some died from complications arising from training, some were killed by strong enemies, some were assassinated by their family’s foes, some died from overindulgence, while others simply lost their will to fight.
What were geniuses?
Only geniuses who could stay alive were strong fighters.
Which strong fighter did not have piles of corpses of other so-called geniuses beneath their feet?
Ai Hui was just seafoam, just another corpse among the corpses. It wasn’t a big deal. This world wasn’t going to stop spinning because of his fall.
Eh? Surprise filled his face as the Night Moth Fruit’s aura within Ai Hui’s body weakened.
He could actually suppress it?
This immediately evoked Le Buleng’s curiosity. He’d underestimated Ai Hui.
It was his first time seeing someone suppressing the Night Moth Fruit.
How did he do it?
It was as if someone was scratching within his heart, itching to slice open Ai Hui’s body to find out what was going on inside.
Soon, the surprise left his face because the Night Moth Fruit’s aura had started to rally. He shook his head uncontrollably. Ai Hui wasn’t going to make it after all. At this rate, Ai Hui was going to become the fruit’s nutrients very soon.
Just then, Ai Hui moved. He flew toward the cloud layer.
Le Buleng observed Ai Hui’s movements without moving. He wasn’t able to cure Ai Hui, so it was meaningless for him to approach.
He believed that Ai Hui probably knew that the situation was irreversible and did not wish to die in front of his friends and comrades.
This fellow was pretty prideful!
A tinge of admiration flashed across his eyes as he saw Ai Hui threading his way into the clouds.
Eh?
Le Buleng noticed that Ai Hui had stopped amid the clouds and felt somewhat puzzled. What was he trying to do?
Floating amid the cloud layer, Ai Hui was surrounded and even blinded by a sheet of white. The wisps of mist soothed his scorched throat and provided his dry body with some moisture.
Puuu. He spat out a breath of air, feeling the frantically counterattacking black smoke within his body. He forced an electric arc out from the corner of his mouth. It was a wild, determined, and mocking arc.
He activated his remaining elemental energy and wisps of electricity swam within his body.
Like throwing a spark into a deep fryer, the thick sea of clouds started to undergo changes.
Located underneath the cloud layer, Le Buleng became excited and emotionally moved.
The calm layer of clouds overhead started to stir restlessly and faint lightning bolts could be seen among them. Quickly, the number of illuminated areas increased. Boom! An oppressive thunder resounded from deep within the clouds.
Flashing lightning and rolling thunder.
Bzzt. A solid, zigzagging bolt of lightning zapped across the cloud layer, illuminating a faintly discernible figure.
The fellow was really crazy!
The admiration in Le Buleng’s eyes grew thicker. He thought about the time when he was young.
What a pity.
It was the second time Le Buleng felt regretful. He felt it was a pity that Ai Hui had found a teacher at an early age. He was more satisfied with Zu Yan’s performance in all other aspects, but when it came to being brave and wild, Zu Yan simply didn’t make the cut and was unlike Ai Hui. What was the use of being so obedient and well-behaved?
Suddenly, he wished for Ai Hui to not die like this.
Wouldn’t the world turn duller if this crazy fellow were to leave just like that?
Like a wild cow, Lou Lan rushed to Central Pine Valley.
Blind He, who was doing some refining work, happily asked upon hearing Lou Lan’s footsteps, "Lou Lan? Come, let me consult you. The sword is almost taking shape, but can this thing really fly…?"
Turning a deaf ear, Lou Lan whizzed past like a gust of wind.
Blind He was stunned. He muttered to himself, "What happened? Why’s he in such a rush?"
He shook his head before lowering it and getting back to work. An eccentric object like this sword was beyond his knowledge, so there were many challenging areas that he had to deal with. Yet, this novelty was precisely what he was attracted to. He was engrossed in it and unable to free himself from it.
Lou Lan found Duanmu Huanghun in the bamboo forest.
He shouted from afar, "Bangwan!"
Duanmu Huanghun opened his eyes and was taken aback by Lou Lan’s hasty appearance. "What is it?"
It was his first time seeing Lou Lan in such a panicked state. Lou Lan was always so carefree, jolly, and lively.
Something must have happened.
Lou Lan asked urgently, "Do you know about the Night Moth Fruit?"
Duanmu Huanghun’s face changed and jolted up. "Who’s infected?"
Lou Lan, who was now in front of Duanmu Huanghun, cried, "Ai Hui!"
As if struck by lightning, Duanmu Huanghun was stupefied. With a pale face he asked, "How… how did it happen?"
It was incurable.
Not caring about anything else, Lou Lan said anxiously, "I can’t find any information and am unable to analyze it. What do you know about it? The more details the better!"
Lou Lan looked at Duanmu Huanghun in anticipation. He had thought of it when Mingxiu’s brother, Lu Chen, came to mind. Bangwan was Lu Chen’s junior and from an aristocratic family of wood elementalists. He must know a lot about the fruit.
If he could gather more detailed information, it would be much easier for him to analyze the fruit, and the likelihood of finding a cure would greatly increase.
Upon hearing Lou Lan’s words, Duanmu Huanghun calmed down and blood returned to his face. He nodded quickly while answering, "You’re right. I’ve read quite a lot about it. There are only 17 articles. I’ll recall them now."
The red glow in Lou Lan’s eyes started flickering.
With a serious look on his face, Duanmu Huanghun started reciting all content related to the Night Moth Fruit that he kept in his brain. He spoke at his usual speed when reciting the first article, but when he reached the second, his speed increased significantly and he finished without even taking a breath.
He completed reciting all 17 articles in a single breath without missing a word.
He continued, "There are a few other articles that talked about it. One article can be found in Master Chang Yu’s work, "Hall Cleansing Records". There’s a section on page 82 that goes like this…"
Duanmu Huanghun spoke speedily as Lou Lan’s eyes flickered rapidly as well.
Overhead, black clouds pressed down on them as lightning flashed and thunder rolled.