Stealing The Heavens - Page 525/686

Chapter 526: Fairy Xuan Die

Translator: StackThatCoin Editor: Hitesh_

The first thought that came to Wu Qi when he saw Reverend Li Yang was to flee.

But, the second thought that came to him sooner than the first. He thought of the huge gap between his overall strength and that of a Gold Immortal, which made him dismiss the idea of fleeing. Then, he recalled that he had schemed Reverend Li Yang, and after studying his aura for a brief moment, his restless heart settled down to a calm.

Reverend Li Yang's aura was weak, even weaker than an ordinary Heaven Immortal. His face was ugly and his complexion was dark. His hands were pale, with a strong hint of green hiding underneath the skin.

When he saw the hint of green, Wu Qi knew Reverend Li Yang had fallen into his trap.

In the great hall of Greenwood Mountain, those spirit fruits they had served Reverend Li Yang and his fellow Immortals were all good things which Wu Qi had carefully picked. Nothing would happen if they consumed them separately, or even mixed three to five together. They could even replenish their energies.

But, the spirit fruits that came from spirit herbs were still considered medicinal herbs. If the over thirty spirit fruits were consumed in a specific order, and were then catalyzed with three spirit wines made from three unique spirit herbs, these spirit fruits would immediately become poisons that could rot one's intestines. They could even slowly dissolve a Gold Immortal's immortal energy and corrode his fleshly body.

The method came from the 'Art of Poisonous Gu' [1] which Princess Zhang Le had inherited from her bloodline. It was a wicked method favored by the ancient humans whose veins had the blood of Ancient God, which they used to kill someone without being noticed. It was a rare knowledge among the Immortals who existed at the present time. On top of that, there was no way one could defend himself against such poisons, unless he had mastered the relation of mutual constraint and promotion between all spirit herbs and fruits.

Apart from the descendants of the Ancient Gods whose ancestors were born from the Principles of the Great Dao, thus allowing them to inherit the ultimate knowledge of the heaven and earth, knowing the essences of all the things that existed under the heaven and the relationship between them… No Immortals could master these ingenious methods, except the legendary Divine Golden Immortals.

When Reverend Li Yang and his fellow Immortals of the Green City were feasting and merrymaking in the great hall of Greenwood Mountain, they had eaten countless spirit fruits and drank a lot of spirit wine. As the persons who managed the feast were Shui Xin and Shui Yi, the two celestial fiend puppets, and with the rich products of Pangu Continent, Wu Qi found no trouble putting the poison named 'Tears of the Lover' into the stomachs of Reverend Li Yang and his company.

At the early stage when the poison entered their bodies, Reverend Li Yang and his fellow Immortals could only feel their immortal energy weakened, and strength going away slowly from them. Later, when they were pursued by Feng Lingling and attacked by Goddess Miao Xin and King Bai Shan, Reverend Li Yang had depleted much of his blood and energy essence. At that moment, the Tears of the Lover had begun to show its effect. It seeped into his body like the tears of a lover, tangling with all his organs, and eventually began the attack.

It had been three months since Reverend Li Yang was poisoned. The poison had rooted deep inside him, blended with his immortal energy and even blood essence. He had failed to cleanse the poison with his power of a Seventh-tier Gold Immortal. He was a paper tiger now, so weak that Wu Qi could kill him easily.

But, the lady in white standing next to him seemed difficult to handle.

She had a head of thick long hair tied into a complicated bun, and she wore a dozen ornaments made of jade and shaped like butterflies on it. They glimmered faintly as she moved, looking like real butterflies dancing on her hair.

She was tall and slender, with beautiful features. But, a scarlet scar ran across her forehead, giving her a touch of savageness. Apart from that, she looked like a gentle and delicate lady. She stood feebly next to Reverend Li Yang like a willow branch trembling in the breeze, tilting her head slightly to glance at Wu Qi from the corner of her eyes.

All her motions were graceful and soft as water, a true beauty with charming manners.

But, when Wu Qi exercised the Mystic Eyes of Universe and gave her a brief glance, he saw her shrouded in a ring of faint golden light. It made his heart wince. She was a Gold Immortal, and she was gravely wounded, causing her immortal body to be in an unstable state while her immortal energy leaked constantly, as shown from the ring of golden light around her.

However, from the looks of her and the way she walked, although her wound was grave, she had yet to fall low to the stage where she could not attack. So long as she was a Gold Immortal and still had the strength to attack, Wu Qi dared not to act recklessly before her.

Slowly, Wu Qi raised both arms over his shoulders and swayed his body lightly, putting up a wry smile as he told Reverend Li Yang and the lady in white, "Seniors, my name is Daoist Black Dragon. Truth be told, I do not have anything of value. Just half a month ago, I was robbed by some nasty fellows. Although I was lucky to escape, I've lost all my belongings. I don't even have a storage bag now, so how am I going to hand you all my energy stones and immortal stones?"

The chaotic energy in his body stirred, quickly forming a Nascent Soul in his dantian. The signature energy wave of a Nascent Soul cultivator slowly emanated from within him. Wu Qi could clearly see that both Reverend Li Yang and the lady in white had their facial muscles relaxed, and both had breathed out a sigh of relief.

The lady in white took a step forward and said in a delicate voice, "Fellow Daoist, my name is Xuan Die, and this is my husband, Li Yang. A recent encounter with some formidable foes has gravely wounded us and destroyed all our magical treasures. We have even finished all our spirit pills and energy stones."

She sighed faintly and continued, "Please forgive us if our rude behavior has offended you, fellow Daoist."

Reverend Li Yang's face turned cold and hard as he shouted, "Xuan Die, what's the point of wasting our breath on him? He is just a Nascent Soul cultivator, a lesser man who is lower than an ant!" Xuan Die gently pulled his arm before he could finish his words, and he shut his mouth instantly, eyes looking down as did not say a word again.

Wu Qi thought of something suddenly, something Lady Dark Gold Water had told him years ago. The only friend she had ever made in her entire life, Fairy Xuan Die, had secretly mixed the saliva of Xiang Liu [2] into her tea. Taking the opportunity when she was poisoned, both Reverend Li Yang and Fairy Xuan Die had assaulted her. She survived with only a broken soul, lingering on with her last breath of life thanks to the help of a spirit item.

And now, standing before him, the lady in white who looked graceful and gentle, was actually the cruel and merciless Fairy Xuan Die who had betrayed her best friend.

Wu Qi cursed in his mind, and his heart was filled with frustration. 'Why is my luck always against me?' He had fled into a random direction, yet he still bumped into the adulterous pair. Pangu Continent was a vast and nearly boundless land, but even so, he still ran into them. Wu Qi could not help but suspect that maybe he was destined to meet them here.

Xuan Die's fingers moved ever so slightly. A stream of white mist came spraying out of her fingertip, wheeling rapidly around Wu Qi and slithering all over his body. "Fellow Daoist Black Dragon truly is a man of his word. You do not have anything of value." She said with a faint sigh.

She moved closer to Wu Qi and bent her knees to offer him a graceful bow. Then, she raised her head, staring at him as she said, "Fellow Daoist, me and my husband are struck with a calamity. It has taken away most of our cultivation base, and the enemies are searching for us everywhere. They are powerful, and if we are captured, being dead will be better than staying alive."

Tears trickled down her cheeks. "Should fellow Daoist be cruel and refuse to provide us with aid, we will be doomed!"

Reverend Li Yang's eyes were flickering with a musing look on his face.

Wu Qi blinked his eyes as he was trying to figure out Xuan Die's intention. It was true that Reverend Li Yang had lost all his strength, but Xuan Die could still fight. So, why was she assuming the look of a weak lady? And, there was one other thing that puzzled him. Reverend Li Yang had come to Pangu Continent without Fairy Xuan Die, yet she was with him now. How did they get together?

Could it be that Xuan Die possessed some mighty divine ability that allowed her to quickly travel between Pangu Continent and outer heavenly realms?

But, that did not seem to be possible. A Primordial Immortal might have such divine ability, but Xuan Die was in the same tier as Reverend Li Yang, a Seventh-tier Gold Immortal.

Ao Buzun turned his head sideways as he stared at Xuan Die with saliva dripping from his mouth. A long object had poked its head out below his abdomen. At last, he finally wiped away the saliva with the back of his claw, clenched both front claws tightly into fists, and threw his head back, looking into the sky with a frustrating expression as he murmured under his breath, "A delicious piece of meat is right in front of my face, yet I can't even take a bite out of it! I hate this! I need to exert myself to cultivate and eat more food, so I can grow to the size of an ordinary human. If I don't, how many pretty girls are going to cry their hearts out for not being able to sleep with me?"

He lightly tapped at the long object with one of his rear claws, gnashing his teeth as he said, "My good brother, bear with me. No later than three to five years, and hopefully in just five to six months of time, I'll definitely feed you to your heart's content! We will definitely rise up from the ashes again! Wherever this treasure of mine goes, there shall be no virgins left! Let the blood stain the dragon spear!"

Wu Qi stared blankly at Xuan Die for a while, then suddenly gave her a deep bow and said, "Fairy Xuan Die, why do you utter such things? Nothing pleases me more than offering a helping hand to someone who is in a misery. I will never refuse to help you and your husband. Do tell me how you expect me to help. I'll see if I can do that for you."

Fairy Xuan Die smiled faintly, and she gave Ao Buzun a glance with her pretty eyes.

The glance stunned Ao Buzun. While lying flat on his belly on Wu Qi's shoulder, his lower was body arched in a bizarre manner. Wu Qi felt something was poking at his shoulder, throbbing.

Wu Qi slapped and swiped Ao Buzun away from his shoulder very quickly. The little black dragon shrieked painfully, covering his lower body with four claws as he rolled off Wu Qi's body.

Xuan Die giggled, pointing one finger at Ao Buzun as she said, "What an amusing little dragon! Could it be that fellow Daoist Black Dragon's name came from this little black dragon? Too bad that he is still young. I am afraid he will have to spend tens of thousands of years in cultivating arduously. Only then he can reach his adulthood!"

Gritting his teeth, Ao Buzun craned half of his head out from the grass, trying to catch a glimpse into Xuan Die's dress. "Just you wait, little wench! It won't take long before I teach you what the Divine Spear of Dragon is!" he grumbled in a slurred voice.

With one of his feet on Ao Buzun's body, Wu Qi said, "Could you tell me what you want from me, Fairy Xuan Die?"

Xuan Die smiled faintly as she said in a sweet voice, "I am badly in need of some energy stones!"

She sighed and continued in all seriousness, "Fellow Daoist, can you rob some energy stones for me?"

**********

[1] Gu - The legendary Chinese poison made by forcing snakes, scorpions, and centipedes to fight. (source: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-legendary-chinese-poison-made-by-forcing-snakes-scorpions-and-centipedes-to-fight)

[2] Xiang Liu - Also known as Xiangyou, is a nine-headed snake monster that appears in Chinese mythology. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiangliu)