Chu Liang looked at Dual-Wielder's corpse and couldn't help but think, This guy's a true man. He chose to commit suicide so that he wouldn't reveal who was behind the assassination order.
Out of respect for the enemy, Chu Liang raised his flying sword and stabbed Dual-Wielder dozens of times[1]. Once Chu Liang was certain that Dual-Wielder was dead, he approached and searched the corpse.
However, after searching up and down for quite a while, Chu Liang found that Dual Wielder had carried nothing valuable with him except the black twin sabers. He did not even have a storage enchanted tool, which was an essential item for cultivators.
This was part of an assassin's professional conduct. Before each operation, they would discard anything that could prove their identity. Their weapons were all they took with them to execute the operation.
"Haa..." Chu Liang sighed.
All he could do was take the twin sabers and the Soul-Suppressing Banner as a consolation.
Chu Liang then stood up and bowed to the Tree Demon Clan.
He told Elder Qinghuai, "You saved my life today. I'm truly grateful to your clan for helping me."
"Please," Elder Qinghuai uttered, waving off Chu Liang's words, "there's no need for you to be so polite, Young Hero Chu. It was you who first showed kindness to us. How could we just stand by and do nothing?"
After the two parties exchanged some pleasantries, Chu Liang said, "When I went into the heart of the wildfire earlier, I saw something."
"Oh?" Elder Qinghuai immediately became concerned. "What was it?"
"It's a Winged Fire Python!" Chu Liang said.
The Tree Demon Clan members' expressions turned grim as they voiced their shock.
"A Winged Fire Python?"
"That's a notoriously vicious beast from the ancient times! It's ruthless and bloodthirsty! Our ancestors even once encountered a Winged Fire Python at the ninth realm—the Heavenly Origin Realm!"
"But the Winged Fire Python lives in the Evil Demon Mountain in the southwest. Why did it come here?"
After a moment, Elder Qinghuai spoke up. "That Winged Fire Python is just a fifth-realm spirit beast, but its fire attribute is in opposition to our attribute. It's just too difficult for us tree demons to handle. I'm afraid we'll have to ask the Mount Shu Sect for help again. Young Hero Chu, please go back and report this to your sect elders."
"Don't worry," Chu Liang replied. "I'll head back now and report this matter to the elders. I will definitely come back here as soon as possible to eliminate this menace."
Bearing the weight of the Tree Demon Clan's trust, Chu Liang rode the Golden-Furred Hou and hurried back to Mount shu.
Upon hearing Chu Liang's report, Elder Shen was quite astonished.
"The Winged Fire Python left the Evil Demon Mountain? That's something that hasn't happened in many years. Many vicious beasts inhabit that place, but it has always been uneventful. I wonder if anything's changed over there? I'll ask the other elders about it to see if we need to send someone to investigate that," Elder Shen said, already focusing on the matter regarding the Evil Demon Mountain.
As for the situation on the Tree Demon Mountain, it didn't need as much attention because a fifth-realm Winged Fire Python didn't pose that big of a problem for Mount Shu.
After a moment of contemplation, Elder Shen stated, "As for that creature on Tree Demon Mountain, it's only at the fifth-realm, so it should be easy enough to deal with. I'll look for a disciple at the sixth or seventh realm with some free time and send them over."
This was how immortal sects worked. When there was a situation with unknown specifics, they always dispatched the lower-ranked disciples to investigate first. If they could resolve the problem, then that would be the end of it. If they couldn't, they would return to the mountain to ask the more powerful members of the sect to intervene.
If Eminent Ones were needed for every little matter, there wouldn't be enough of them to resolve all the problems. They would be spread too thin.
"Elder Shen, there's no need for you to go to such trouble," Chu Liang said with a smile. "My teacher is free."
"Oh, I forgot about Di Nufeng." Elder Shen smacked his forehead lightly. "If she's willing to help, that would be best."
Elder Shen hadn't actually forgotten about Di Nufeng; rather, he just hadn't ever thought of asking her to help. Who in the Mount Shu Sect dared to ask Di Nufeng to do anything? It was to the extent that those at the Sword Exchange Pavilion didn't think about her at all, regardless of whether something good or bad happened. Going through Chu Liang was the only way that had any chance of successfully requesting help from Di Nufeng.
However, Chu Liang actually had ulterior motives. The Winged Fire Python was a fifth-realm spirit beast! Even if it were killed, it would still be a treasure trove.
Its gallbladder alone was very useful. The Winged Fire Python's gallbladder was only a grade lower than the Pure Gold Dragon-Snake's gallbladder that the Whale-Riding Immortal had given to Jiang Yuebai. The other parts of the Winged Fire Python, like its scales, blood, and even the flesh, were all valuable as well.
These treasures would fall into the hands of whoever killed the Winged Fire Python... so Chu Liang volunteered his teacher without hesitation.
...
When Chu Liang went over to Di Nufeng's pavilion, Di Nufeng was initially half asleep. Yet, the moment Chu Liang told her there were benefits to be had, she immediately felt very awake... especially after Chu Liang said that the spirit beast in question was a Winged Fire Python.
Di Nufeng sprang up with beaming eyes. "Snake meat! I've been craving that lately."
Chu Liang's eyebrow twitched uncontrollably. She's so wild.
The teacher and disciple rushed over to Tree Demon Mountain.
When Di Nufeng descended, the tree demons in the vicinity were unable to withstand the pressure she exuded.
They transformed into their humanoid forms and begged, "Oh, Eminent One, please withdraw your divine ability!"
Yet, upon sensing the demonic qi around her increase, Di Nufeng unleashed the strongest pressure she could.
The might of Di Nufeng's divine fire was far greater than that of the Winged Fire Python. Just the scorching waves of heat from her divine fire were enough to cause great discomfort to these little tree demons.
"Esteemed Teacher, these tree demons are all allies. The Winged Fire Python that we're after is further inside," Chu Liang said, pointing at the blazing wildfire that was growing increasingly large.
"Oh," Di Nufeng responded casually.
She leaped and soared into the air once again. Then she looked down at the divine fire that had left the tree demons helpless.
With an indifferent gaze, Di Nufeng suddenly took a deep breath, "Huu..."
With that one inhale, the raging fire on the mountain instantly found its final destination. The flames parted from the earth and rose toward the sky, converging as a massive fireball in the blink of an eye!
Once the fire was gone, a scene of devastation was revealed. The areas scorched by the wildfire were left with nothing but bare, charred ground. The fire had even spread several zhang underground, burning the underground rock formations. The massive wildfire had damaged the Tree Demon Mountain immensely.
Meanwhile, the arsonist, the Winged Fire Python, was lying on a pitch-black boulder. It had been frolicking in the fire, enjoying the sea of fire it had created. Then suddenly, its bed had been snatched away. Even its home had been torn down, exposing it to the gazes of everyone present.
The python's eyes flitted to the left and right. It looked a little flustered as well as a little stunned.
Either way, Di Nufeng didn't even spare it a glance. With both hands, she lifted the massive fireball in the sky that looked like a sun and compressed it with great force.
Compress...
Di Nufeng actually managed to compress the fireball, which had appeared to occupy half the sky, down to the size of her palm. She held it in her hand and gave it a squeeze.
Di Nufeng kept squeezing it until it became a hard walnut-sized, violet-gold sphere. The sphere didn't look like it had been formed from flames; it seemed more like metal.
She rolled it around in her hand a few times before lowering her head to look at the Winged Fire Python below.
"Didn't your elders ever tell you that children shouldn't play with fire?" Di Nufeng asked languidly.
The Winged Fire Python opened up its wings. Regardless of whether it understood Di Nufeng's words, it definitely sensed what kind of situation it was in—a dangerous one!
With a flap of its wings, the Winged Fire Python turned around to flee into the sky!
However, would Di Nufeng give the Winged Fire Python the chance to do that?
Winged Fire Pythons were inherently savage and bloodthirsty. They specialized in killing living beings and amused themselves by burning everything in sight. Winged Fire Pythons caused disasters wherever they went, so simply driving them away wouldn't be enough.
Di Nufeng didn't do much else; she just flicked the walnut-sized violet-gold sphere out of her hand.
Whoosh—
A streak of purple light chased after the Winged Fire Python.
Boom! Rumble—
The sphere exploded instantly!
The compressed fireball burst open and engulfed the Winged Fire Python in endless blasts of air and blazing waves of fire. The fire was the python's, but the force of the explosion was more than the python could handle.
A cloud of fire even spread across the sky for tens of li around the Tree Demon Mountain. That massive explosion shook the heavens and the earth.
"Esteemed Teacher! Make sure you leave its body intact!" Chu Liang called out.
Di Nufeng waved him off. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Chu Liang felt reassured. Di Nufeng might be unreliable in everything else, but when it came to fighting, she could always be trusted.
As expected...
After a long while, the smoke dissipated, and Chu Liang saw the charred corpse of the Winged Fire Python on the bare peak of the Tree Demon Mountain. The Winged Fire Python had likely never imagined that after a lifetime of playing with fire, it would end up dying in the flames of its own divine fire.
The Winged Fire Python's body had been preserved pretty well, with the only exception being that its scales had been destroyed. This Winged Fire Python had been killed purely by the explosive pressure of the explosion; it hadn't been blown apart. Di Nufeng had truly used the perfect amount of force.
"Bring it back. We'll cook hotpot with it," Di Nufeng said happily as she landed.
"Yes, a snake this large can feed us for many days," Chu Liang replied, "or to serve as a meal for many."
Di Nufeng waved her fist excitedly. "Let's have a feast!"
1. So respectful. ☜
Chu Liang looked at Dual-Wielder's corpse and couldn't help but think, This guy's a true man. He chose to commit suicide so that he wouldn't reveal who was behind the assassination order.
Out of respect for the enemy, Chu Liang raised his flying sword and stabbed Dual-Wielder dozens of times[1]. Once Chu Liang was certain that Dual-Wielder was dead, he approached and searched the corpse.
However, after searching up and down for quite a while, Chu Liang found that Dual Wielder had carried nothing valuable with him except the black twin sabers. He did not even have a storage enchanted tool, which was an essential item for cultivators.
This was part of an assassin's professional conduct. Before each operation, they would discard anything that could prove their identity. Their weapons were all they took with them to execute the operation.
"Haa..." Chu Liang sighed.
All he could do was take the twin sabers and the Soul-Suppressing Banner as a consolation.
Chu Liang then stood up and bowed to the Tree Demon Clan.
He told Elder Qinghuai, "You saved my life today. I'm truly grateful to your clan for helping me."
"Please," Elder Qinghuai uttered, waving off Chu Liang's words, "there's no need for you to be so polite, Young Hero Chu. It was you who first showed kindness to us. How could we just stand by and do nothing?"
After the two parties exchanged some pleasantries, Chu Liang said, "When I went into the heart of the wildfire earlier, I saw something."
"Oh?" Elder Qinghuai immediately became concerned. "What was it?"
"It's a Winged Fire Python!" Chu Liang said.
The Tree Demon Clan members' expressions turned grim as they voiced their shock.
"A Winged Fire Python?"
"That's a notoriously vicious beast from the ancient times! It's ruthless and bloodthirsty! Our ancestors even once encountered a Winged Fire Python at the ninth realm—the Heavenly Origin Realm!"
"But the Winged Fire Python lives in the Evil Demon Mountain in the southwest. Why did it come here?"
After a moment, Elder Qinghuai spoke up. "That Winged Fire Python is just a fifth-realm spirit beast, but its fire attribute is in opposition to our attribute. It's just too difficult for us tree demons to handle. I'm afraid we'll have to ask the Mount Shu Sect for help again. Young Hero Chu, please go back and report this to your sect elders."
"Don't worry," Chu Liang replied. "I'll head back now and report this matter to the elders. I will definitely come back here as soon as possible to eliminate this menace."
Bearing the weight of the Tree Demon Clan's trust, Chu Liang rode the Golden-Furred Hou and hurried back to Mount shu.
Upon hearing Chu Liang's report, Elder Shen was quite astonished.
"The Winged Fire Python left the Evil Demon Mountain? That's something that hasn't happened in many years. Many vicious beasts inhabit that place, but it has always been uneventful. I wonder if anything's changed over there? I'll ask the other elders about it to see if we need to send someone to investigate that," Elder Shen said, already focusing on the matter regarding the Evil Demon Mountain.
As for the situation on the Tree Demon Mountain, it didn't need as much attention because a fifth-realm Winged Fire Python didn't pose that big of a problem for Mount Shu.
After a moment of contemplation, Elder Shen stated, "As for that creature on Tree Demon Mountain, it's only at the fifth-realm, so it should be easy enough to deal with. I'll look for a disciple at the sixth or seventh realm with some free time and send them over."
This was how immortal sects worked. When there was a situation with unknown specifics, they always dispatched the lower-ranked disciples to investigate first. If they could resolve the problem, then that would be the end of it. If they couldn't, they would return to the mountain to ask the more powerful members of the sect to intervene.
If Eminent Ones were needed for every little matter, there wouldn't be enough of them to resolve all the problems. They would be spread too thin.
"Elder Shen, there's no need for you to go to such trouble," Chu Liang said with a smile. "My teacher is free."
"Oh, I forgot about Di Nufeng." Elder Shen smacked his forehead lightly. "If she's willing to help, that would be best."
Elder Shen hadn't actually forgotten about Di Nufeng; rather, he just hadn't ever thought of asking her to help. Who in the Mount Shu Sect dared to ask Di Nufeng to do anything? It was to the extent that those at the Sword Exchange Pavilion didn't think about her at all, regardless of whether something good or bad happened. Going through Chu Liang was the only way that had any chance of successfully requesting help from Di Nufeng.
However, Chu Liang actually had ulterior motives. The Winged Fire Python was a fifth-realm spirit beast! Even if it were killed, it would still be a treasure trove.
Its gallbladder alone was very useful. The Winged Fire Python's gallbladder was only a grade lower than the Pure Gold Dragon-Snake's gallbladder that the Whale-Riding Immortal had given to Jiang Yuebai. The other parts of the Winged Fire Python, like its scales, blood, and even the flesh, were all valuable as well.
These treasures would fall into the hands of whoever killed the Winged Fire Python... so Chu Liang volunteered his teacher without hesitation.
...
When Chu Liang went over to Di Nufeng's pavilion, Di Nufeng was initially half asleep. Yet, the moment Chu Liang told her there were benefits to be had, she immediately felt very awake... especially after Chu Liang said that the spirit beast in question was a Winged Fire Python.
Di Nufeng sprang up with beaming eyes. "Snake meat! I've been craving that lately."
Chu Liang's eyebrow twitched uncontrollably. She's so wild.
The teacher and disciple rushed over to Tree Demon Mountain.
When Di Nufeng descended, the tree demons in the vicinity were unable to withstand the pressure she exuded.
They transformed into their humanoid forms and begged, "Oh, Eminent One, please withdraw your divine ability!"
Yet, upon sensing the demonic qi around her increase, Di Nufeng unleashed the strongest pressure she could.
The might of Di Nufeng's divine fire was far greater than that of the Winged Fire Python. Just the scorching waves of heat from her divine fire were enough to cause great discomfort to these little tree demons.
"Esteemed Teacher, these tree demons are all allies. The Winged Fire Python that we're after is further inside," Chu Liang said, pointing at the blazing wildfire that was growing increasingly large.
"Oh," Di Nufeng responded casually.
She leaped and soared into the air once again. Then she looked down at the divine fire that had left the tree demons helpless.
With an indifferent gaze, Di Nufeng suddenly took a deep breath, "Huu..."
With that one inhale, the raging fire on the mountain instantly found its final destination. The flames parted from the earth and rose toward the sky, converging as a massive fireball in the blink of an eye!
Once the fire was gone, a scene of devastation was revealed. The areas scorched by the wildfire were left with nothing but bare, charred ground. The fire had even spread several zhang underground, burning the underground rock formations. The massive wildfire had damaged the Tree Demon Mountain immensely.
Meanwhile, the arsonist, the Winged Fire Python, was lying on a pitch-black boulder. It had been frolicking in the fire, enjoying the sea of fire it had created. Then suddenly, its bed had been snatched away. Even its home had been torn down, exposing it to the gazes of everyone present.
The python's eyes flitted to the left and right. It looked a little flustered as well as a little stunned.
Either way, Di Nufeng didn't even spare it a glance. With both hands, she lifted the massive fireball in the sky that looked like a sun and compressed it with great force.
Compress...
Di Nufeng actually managed to compress the fireball, which had appeared to occupy half the sky, down to the size of her palm. She held it in her hand and gave it a squeeze.
Di Nufeng kept squeezing it until it became a hard walnut-sized, violet-gold sphere. The sphere didn't look like it had been formed from flames; it seemed more like metal.
She rolled it around in her hand a few times before lowering her head to look at the Winged Fire Python below.
"Didn't your elders ever tell you that children shouldn't play with fire?" Di Nufeng asked languidly.
The Winged Fire Python opened up its wings. Regardless of whether it understood Di Nufeng's words, it definitely sensed what kind of situation it was in—a dangerous one!
With a flap of its wings, the Winged Fire Python turned around to flee into the sky!
However, would Di Nufeng give the Winged Fire Python the chance to do that?
Winged Fire Pythons were inherently savage and bloodthirsty. They specialized in killing living beings and amused themselves by burning everything in sight. Winged Fire Pythons caused disasters wherever they went, so simply driving them away wouldn't be enough.
Di Nufeng didn't do much else; she just flicked the walnut-sized violet-gold sphere out of her hand.
Whoosh—
A streak of purple light chased after the Winged Fire Python.
Boom! Rumble—
The sphere exploded instantly!
The compressed fireball burst open and engulfed the Winged Fire Python in endless blasts of air and blazing waves of fire. The fire was the python's, but the force of the explosion was more than the python could handle.
A cloud of fire even spread across the sky for tens of li around the Tree Demon Mountain. That massive explosion shook the heavens and the earth.
"Esteemed Teacher! Make sure you leave its body intact!" Chu Liang called out.
Di Nufeng waved him off. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Chu Liang felt reassured. Di Nufeng might be unreliable in everything else, but when it came to fighting, she could always be trusted.
As expected...
After a long while, the smoke dissipated, and Chu Liang saw the charred corpse of the Winged Fire Python on the bare peak of the Tree Demon Mountain. The Winged Fire Python had likely never imagined that after a lifetime of playing with fire, it would end up dying in the flames of its own divine fire.
The Winged Fire Python's body had been preserved pretty well, with the only exception being that its scales had been destroyed. This Winged Fire Python had been killed purely by the explosive pressure of the explosion; it hadn't been blown apart. Di Nufeng had truly used the perfect amount of force.
"Bring it back. We'll cook hotpot with it," Di Nufeng said happily as she landed.
"Yes, a snake this large can feed us for many days," Chu Liang replied, "or to serve as a meal for many."
Di Nufeng waved her fist excitedly. "Let's have a feast!"
1. So respectful. ☜
