Book 24 Chapter 9 - Bizarre Changes Occurring A Hundred Times
The snipe and the clam fight each other, the fisherman reaps the benefit [Chinese idiom based on a fable (Baike Baidu, in Chinese)].
n.o.body could imagine that Wanwan would appear in this critical moment. And as soon as she made her move, she seized the 'Immortal Print Scroll'.
Moreover, Xu Ziling secretly blamed himself for being careless. n.o.body knew better than he that Wanwan has arrived in Chengdu, so how could she possibly miss the 'Immortal Print Scroll', a treasury of the demonic school?
s.h.i.+ Zhixuan wanted to both unify the world and unify the demonic ways under his control; even if this huge ambition would never happen again, it definitely has not happened before. Since he created the 'Immortal Print Scroll', even Zhu Yuyan could not do anything to him. If there was a chance to know anything about secret of the 'Immortal Print Scroll' xinfa, it would only bring benefit without any harm. And the 'Immortal Print Scroll' in s.h.i.+ Qingxuan's hands offered precisely this unique and unmatched golden opportunity.
But this moment it was already too late to be sorry. Like a spirit snake Wanwan's Tianmo Piaodai [demonic floating ribbon] rolled the Print Scroll, and 'whoos.h.!.+' like a serpent's tongue it shrank back into her plain white sleeve and disappeared without any trace.
Xu Ziling had just flown over toward her, with both palms pressing down. This time he went all-out, like a tornado a vortex of energy rolled toward Wanwan.
Wanwan still had the time to cast an emotional glance at him, with hidden bitterness, secret grudge, and with affection in her eyes, as if she wanted to engrave his appearance in her mind. Her left sleeve brushed away carelessly, 'Bang!' it met Xu Ziling's palm power head on.
Once again Xu Ziling was overcome with the terrifying feeling of being trapped inside the four walls of Tianmo energy. 'Bad!' he cried inwardly, knowing that he was acting out of his anger, and had lost his cool-headedness in that he was stupid enough to meet force with force. Hurriedly he withdrew most of his power and used his ability to take a breath at high speed while soaring in the air, to fly sideways to evade.
If Wanwan seized this opportunity to pursue and attack, it would be guaranteed that he could not escape alive.
Fortunately Yang Xuyan chose this moment to rush over, while producing fantastical dots of sword light filling the air, to attack Wanwan. Although Wanwan appeared to remain calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, her pretty eyes showed that she was paying close attention to the attack. Her delicate feet moved rapidly within several chi radius on the ground, as if she was testing Yang Xuyan's ability to deal with a contingency. At the same time she fixed her eyes on the strange spectacle of his fierce and severe sword qi pa.s.sing through the Luohan statues standing in great number on both sides - forming a pa.s.sageway, swiftly coming at her.
An Long and Hou Xibai rushed over from different parts of the hall as if in agreement, forming a pincer attack momentum. On the back there was still Lian Rou, but s.h.i.+ Qingxuan was nowhere to be seen.
Xu Ziling was standing on the head of one of the revered Luohan statue, flexing his muscles and bones to neutralize Wanwan's Tianmo energy. His vision encompa.s.sed the entire hall, so that he was able to grasp the whole situation immediately.
According to reason, after Wanwan obtained the treasure, she ought to slip away immediately, yet she did not. Xu Ziling understood the reason was because she saw that in his raging temper he became irrational and disregarded life and death to violently attack her. As a result, her murderous desire flared up, even if she could not kill the enemy in one move, she would at least inflict him a heavy internal injury from which he would never recover; therefore, she was willing to meet his attack head on and thus lost a golden opportunity to get away.
However, Wanwan also made mistake in that she miscalculated Xu Ziling's ability; she thought that after a hard battle against Yang Xuyan, his power would certainly suffer substantial wear and tear, so that even if she failed to injure the enemy, it would still be easy for her to escape. Who would have thought that Xu Ziling had just gained understanding from the five hundred Luohan postures the wide-ranging and profound secret study of the Buddhism, and that his spirit, qi and essence had just reached its peak? On top of that, because of his unique ability to rapidly take a breather, combined with the 'hua jin da fa' [big method of transforming power] that he obtained from the 'Secret to Long Life' mixed with the Jade Annulus of He Clan, contrary to her expectation, he did not suffer the slightest degree of injury.
However, she was also shocked by Xu Ziling's reaction that the true qi within her body was surging. By the time she finished circulating her qi to suppress it, the sword qi from Yang Xuyan's Phantom Sword has already enveloped her, so that she lost the opportunity to take the treasure away.
If Yang Xuyan managed to entangle her, the other martial art masters in the hall would have one, at least half, a chance to take part in the battle, and then Wanwan would not be so sure if she could deal with them.
In that instant Wanwan raised her Tianmo Gong to the limit, while at the same time she coldly said, "An Long, it would be best if you do not meddle in this matter; otherwise, you will become our Yin Gui Pai's mortal enemy."
While still speaking, the Tianmo Piaodai from the gauze sleeve of her left hand, like a streak of lightning, ripped through the empty s.p.a.ce along the Luohan alley, straight toward the tip of Yang Xuyan's sword. Its accuracy was hard to believe.
Xu Ziling and the others gasped in amazement.
The floating ribbon split the sword encirclement that it splashed to all directions, several weak Luohan statues, out of a dozen or so, facing the alley immediately suffered the consequences; their hands broke their noses shattered, golden paint peeled and flew off.
Yang Xuyan's sword movement was actually hard to tell between the real and the fake, but now it was as if the demonic technique of the Phantom Sword immediately changed back into its original form of regular blade from the mortal world, just before the floating ribbon struck the blade; it slightly returned to be ordinary blade that began to spit out a real stab.
'Crack!'
The two energies collided, producing a crisp explosion.
Yang Xuyan was sent spinning backward, 'Thump! Thump! Thump!' only after three consecutive steps did he manage to steady his footing.
As Wanwan's floating ribbon hit the tip of the blade, immediately it was shaken into a wave-like pattern, strange to the extreme. Her tender body was also violently shaken backward, a shadow of red blush flitted across her pretty face.
The floating ribbon shrank back into the gauzed sleeve.
An Long and Hou Xibai separately came in front and rear of Wanwan's left side. The former spoke with evil laugh, "Xiao Yatou [little girl/servant girl (used deprecatingly, but sometimes also as a term of endearment), showing that he had neither respect nor fear toward Wanwan], why did you speak so seriously? Looking at your esteemed master's face, so what if Ol' An only become a spectator?"
Lian Rou moved far away behind Wanwan, and disappeared behind a Luohan statue.
Xu Ziling still did not see s.h.i.+ Qingxuan's fragrant trace. This woman's conduct has always been hard to fathom; although he was a bit worried, but he was not anxious at all.
'Qiang!'
Yang Xuyan's Phantom Sword returned to its sheath. He swept his gaze around first, and then coldly said, "This scroll is completely useless for Da Xiaojie; if you are willing to return it to Zaixia, perhaps Zaixia can help Xiaojie accomplis.h.i.+ng your heart's desire."
Hou Xibai blurted out laughing and said, "I never thought that unexpectedly my Yang s.h.i.+xiong [senior martial brother] is a despicable person. He himself is unable to deal with Xu Xiong, he wants to borrow someone else's hand, yet saying that he wanted to accomplish the beauty's heart's desire, while also wanted to have the secret scroll returned to him. One stone, three birds. Fancy that you can think of it."
Inside his hood, Yang Xuyan's eyes were flas.h.i.+ng like lightning. He laughed aloud and said, "Xu Xiong must not be mistaken, thinking that the Pa.s.sionate Prince is really pa.s.sionate. He is only thinking of his own need, not at all concerned about your safety."
Wanwan disdainfully said, "Wanwan has never discussed business transaction with someone who hide the head and show the tail, who do not dare to reveal his true appearance. Unless you, Yang Xuyan, throw away the hood covering your face, don't even think that I will be interested in any proposal you are making."
Yang Xuyan was greatly astonished; he cast a glance at An Long, not understanding why in such situation where there were enemies all around her, Wanwan did not hesitate to offend him at all?
An Long was actually sweeping his gaze around, looking for any traces of s.h.i.+ Qingxuan. This woman's martial art was handed-down personally by her mother; she was definitely not so simple.
Wanwan suddenly let out a faint sigh. First she cast a glance at Xu Ziling, who was still standing on a Luohan statue's head, and then her eyes moved to An Long, who was standing on her left front side. Shaking her head slightly, she said, "I really don't understand what ghost trick are you, An Long, playing, unexpectedly you did not hesitate to offend us, just for the sake of such a secret scroll containing xinfa that has no usefulness whatsoever for you; presumably you do not dare to set yourself against s.h.i.+ Zhixuan on the basis of the Print Scroll? Speaking about conduct as human beings, you can't possibly be stupid enough to seek amus.e.m.e.nt for no reason at all or for some empty matter. One small mistake, you will invite the disaster of provoking other people to come and kill you."
A clam was sitting out in the sun when suddenly a snipe flew down to peck at the clam. Suddenly the clam slammed the sh.e.l.l shut, gripping the snipe's beak in between. The snipe said, "If it doesn't rain today, and it doesn't rain tomorrow, I shall see a dead clam on the beach." The clam said, "If I don't open today, and I don't open up tomorrow, I shall see a dead snipe on the beach." While they were still grappling with each other, a fisherman pa.s.sed by and netted them both. (Source: Wikipedia)
