Chapter 35: Death Of The General Before The Troops Were Even Dispatched
Translator: AstralGhost Editor: Kurisu
Visibly relaxed, Ol’ Black strolled leisurely across the yard. From his point of view, dealing with that hairless kid was no different than slaughtering a chicken.
‘Eh? What’s that?’
Just as he was thinking of what to do next after he was finally done with this troublesome task, he suddenly felt something cold and slimy brushing against his leg. It was as if some kind of insect was crawling up his hamstring.
Ol’ Black looked down, but it was too dark beneath the Banyan tree to see anything. Like a blind old bat, he reached down with his hands and felt around his leg.
"Oh? What’s this thing?" Ol’ Black looked at the root hair in his hand as he wondered aloud, his voice tinged with amusement.
His interest piqued, Ol’ Black tugged at the strand in his hand and slowly followed it, intent on finding its other end.
"What kind of plant is this? Its flower smells so nice!" Ol’ Black murmured to himself as he looked at the over two-meter tall Vampiric Vine before him in amazement.
"AH!"
Just as Ol’ Black was staring dumbly, the Vampiric Vine suddenly exploded forth with incredible momentum. Countless root hairs burst out of the ground and, in an instant, stabbed mercilessly into Ol’ Black’s body!
Ol’ Black only had enough time to let out a wretched cry before he became like a duck grabbed by the neck, unable to let out even the slightest whimper.
Four large branches the size of a grown man’s wrist wrapped themselves tightly around his mouth and throat, rendering him completely mute.
"Gru, gru!"
The snake-like branches let out a series of unpleasant sounds that made one’s teeth ache as they pulsated, sucking the blood out of the man’s body.
As for Ol’ Black, apart from his initial struggle, he was already entirely incapable of even the smallest movements.
Warm, fresh blood flowed steadily along the countless root hairs as the Vampiric Vine swallowed greedily. It was even waving its stem and branches merrily in the air as though it was experiencing a rare, joyful event!
"Geh…!"
Ol’ Black could only let out a muffled grunt dizzily as he watched his body becoming thinner and thinner, and his world was turning colder and colder with every passing moment.
"Peng!"
Before long, Ol’ Black collapsed to ground like a shrunken mummy, with only a third of his original weight remaining.
Copious amounts of vibrant, fresh blood circulated unceasingly within the Vampiric Vine, causing its flower to bloom with an even greater splendor!
This was the reputed Flower of Death, a flower of blood!
It was like a lone flower atop a mountain of white bones, born from the splendor of life and death!
***
"In the end, my biggest worry still became reality..."
Bei Feng, who had just gotten up early in the morning as per usual, was greeted with the sight of a dried out corpse in his yard. He had an extremely unsightly expression on his face as he scrutinized the grotesque body lying before the Vampiric Vine.
However, his countenance brightened slightly as he noticed a pistol with a silencer and a dagger lying by the corpse.
That person had probably sneaked into his house in the middle of the night. Judging by the weapons on his body, it was obvious that he had not come here for sightseeing...
The Vampiric Vine could be said to have rendered a major service this time. Nonetheless, Bei Feng felt even more guarded against it. Although a double-sided blade could be considered an incredible weapon, both sides of the blade were similarly sharp: it could be used to hurt others, yet one could likewise be cut by it if they were not careful!
Turning around decisively, Bei Feng picked up the Purple Bamboo Fishing Rod and activated the Ancient Well’s Myriad Heavens Fishing System. Immediately, a huge black vortex which led to an unknown location appeared within the well. Without even the slightest pause in his actions, Bei Feng picked up the dried corpse with one hand and flung it into the well like a bag of garbage!
Not even the sound of splashing could be heard as the body fell into the well, swallowed up by the vortex before it even hit the water.
"With this, there should be no evidence left behind. I refuse to believe that the body could still be recovered after this!"
Bei Feng narrowed his eyes and murmured in an icy tone, a cloudy expression on his face.
"No one may kill me! Those who try will all die!" Bei Feng’s eyes suddenly turned red as he growled in a low voice like an enraged beast.
After a long time, a slight tugging sensation travelled from the Purple Bamboo Fishing Rod into Bei Feng’s hand, causing him to jolt awake, breaking him out of his trance.
‘What happened to me just now?!’
A hint of fear flashed past his eyes. For some reason, he had descended into a frightening state of mind a moment ago, seemingly possessed by something. Every inch of his heart had been filled with rage and thoughts of murder and annihilation.
Hurriedly burying the troublesome incident in the depths of his mind, Bei Feng’s heart was overcast as he engraved the new experience into his soul. It was a good lesson for him. The results would have been unimaginable if he hadn't been extricated from that state in the nick of time!
What Bei Feng did not know was that due to his recent rapid progress, a heart demon had been formed within his mind, causing him to think that he was above all creatures!
That was actually precisely what was in Bei Feng’s heart. Whether consciously or not, Bei Feng believed that he was always right, regardless of reason and logic, and that no one could ever take his life!
Shaking his head hard to dispel all random thoughts, Bei Feng hurriedly reeled in the line. Before long, a pair of huge pincers appeared from within the well.
"Ding! Grade 1 treasure obtained. Imperial Shrimp! (Grade 1 Demonic Beast. Has physical strength superior to that of an ox! Its Meat is tender, juicy and succulent, especially nutritious for Martial Practitioners. This beast lives a thousand meters below sea level, and has incomparably powerful pincers which can slice through gold and crush jade with ease!) Experience +500!"
The System’s voice rang out within Bei Feng’s head, causing him to widen his eyes and stare at the huge creature before him in shock.
The Imperial Shrimp looked like a regular lobster, just that it was enlarged hundreds or even a thousand of times. Apart from its size, the color of its shell differed as well. Instead of a regular green or red, its shell was colored in a faintly-hued azure.
The sight of its two gigantic pincers truly caused one’s heart to shiver in trepidation. With its pincers included, the Imperial Shrimp measured close to three meters in length!
It had four pairs of legs, and each leg was as thick as a grown man’s knee, resembling a long and slender lance!
‘This fellow is actually so powerful?!’
Bei Feng recalled the System’s introduction with shock. Strength superior to an ox’s!
That was not a joking matter! How much strength did an ox have? Even a thousand jin of force would not be an exaggeration at all!
Bei Feng did not dare to rashly remove the hook. Good God, if the Imperial Shrimp so much as grabbed him lightly with its massive pincers, would it even still be possible for him to retain his little life?
Prompted by his thought, Extreme Arctic Frost came out of Bei Feng’s body, and a peerless long spear with an unequalled aura of dominance hung suspended in mid-air for a moment before dropping heavily onto the head of the Imperial Shrimp.
"Kuang! Ceng!"
An ear-piercing sound like that of metal clashing rang out across the yard. Extreme Arctic Frost, which weighed over 3,600 jin, had been dropped on the Imperial Shrimp’s head. And yet, it had only managed to create a slight dent in its outer shell!
"Oh my God! What a hard shell!"
Bei Feng walked up and touched the small dent with shock written all over his face. This translucent azure shell was actually so tough!
Even a tortoise’s shell wasn’t nearly as hard! With another thought, Bei Feng recalled Extreme Arctic Frost into his body before immediately resummoning it to smash again onto the Imperial Shrimp’s head.
"Kuang!"
Extreme Arctic Frost smashed onto the same area once more. It was as though it were hammering on iron. The dent on the Imperial Shrimp’s shell only deepened slightly.
"AHH! I don’t believe I can’t destroy you! Again!"
"Kuang! Kuang!"
Bei Feng recalled Extremely Arctic Frost and resummoned it time after time with increasing fervor in repeated attempts to smash through the giddy Imperial Shrimp’s head.
"Puchi!"
A sound like that of something sharp piercing through leather jolted Bei Feng from his fit of madness. Looking down, he realized that Extreme Arctic Frost had broken through the Imperial Shrimp’s head, and pierced all the way through its brain!
By pure luck, Extreme Arctic Frost had actually dropped blade side down, right onto the Imperial Shrimp’s dented shell! One had to understand that Extreme Arctic Frost’s blade was extremely sharp. In but an instant, it had cleanly stabbed through the Imperial Shrimp’s prized shell!
Waves of Frost Qi emanated out of the spear tip and, in but a short moment, a huge ice statue appeared in Bei Feng’s yard.
The Imperial Shrimp had been successfully encased in ice. It was only now that Bei Feng dared to move forward and remove the hook from the three-meter long Imperial Shrimp. He was already starting to drool as he tried to think of the best way to cook this Imperial Shrimp!
Bei Feng’s family had always been poor. He had never had the chance to taste a lobster, let alone a shrimp as big as this!
"Gosh, how long will this Imperial Shrimp last me?"
Bei Feng wondered aloud in amazement. Turning around, he made his way to Bai Xiang’s room.
As he listened to the thunderous snores emanating out of Bai Xiang’s room, Bei Feng felt extremely helpless and exasperated. Maybe it would be more appropriate to call that fellow Bai Zhu instead! [1] Such a commotion had taken place, and yet it'd actually failed to wake Bai Xiang from his slumber!
In the end, Bei Feng expended a considerable amount of effort before he managed to wake Bai Xiang. He hurriedly left the Imperial Shrimp in his care before dashing up the mountain like a gust of wind.
The reason he insisted on running up the mountain every morning to cultivate was not because he could absorb more Yang Qi on the mountain. He simply liked cultivating in that kind of environment.
He enjoyed standing atop the mountain, surveying the softly swaying sea of trees below him, feeling the gentle wind blowing against him. His heart would always be filled with an indescribable calm and serenity at times like that.
[1] TL/N: Bai Xiang’s name actually means White Elephant. Bai = White, Xiang = Elephant. MC was referring to Bai Xiang as Bai Zhu meaning White Pig. Zhu = Pig.