The Winged Serpent's Wrath
2,025 words
Inside the courtyard, Ji Yichuan was wielding a green longsword, striking at a wooden post. The basic sword forms—split, thrust, lift, sweep, smash, point—were executed one after another. He wasn’t even using much strength, leaving only shallow cuts on the post’s surface.
Beside him, his wife Yuchi Snow was holding an earthenware pot, occasionally smiling as she watched her husband practice, and occasionally watering the potted flowers and plants.
“Hm?” Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow both turned their heads at the same moment, both sensing a disturbance in the airflow.
“It’s from Dragon Fort.”
With a whoosh, the couple leaped onto the rooftop, gazing into the distance toward Dragon Fort.
Dragon Fort was built in a remote part of the inner city, about a li from their residence.
What they saw was…
Above Dragon Fort, a colossal Winged Serpent hovered. Its scale-covered bone wings were spread wide, as if blotting out the entire fort. On the fort itself, a blood-soaked, one-armed youth was frantically dashing about, even as a massive serpentine tail lashed toward him like lightning.
Yuchi Snow’s eyes turned red in an instant. A pained, desperate cry tore from her throat. “Ning’er!”
They were too far away.
There was no time!
“VILE BEAST!” Ji Yichuan’s eyes split with fury. The green longsword in his hand suddenly lashed out. Whoosh! A dazzling green sword-light shot forth. This beam of light, over a hundred zhang in length, was even slightly larger than the Winged Serpent itself. It streaked across the sky, slashing directly toward the serpent.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
In that same instant, the distant serpent’s tail lashed out dozens of times. The entire Dragon Fort exploded and collapsed, massive chunks of stone flying in all directions. The blood of the countless servants, guards, and Ji Clan members who lived in and around the fort sprayed into the air. The casualties were immense. Even some of the direbeasts in the lairs were caught in the blast and killed.
Ji Ning had just scrambled out of the Cage Battle pit when a huge serpentine tail came lashing toward him.
He understood that the Golden Dust Garment would be as weak as paper before this Winged Serpent monster. His Fiendgod Body Refining was only at the Houtian limit… a single strike would probably pulverize him into a bloody pulp.
“No.”
A powerful sense of unwillingness surged within Ji Ning’s heart. In this life, he had a healthy body, parents who loved him, and the chance to control his own fate by stepping onto the path of Immortal cultivation. He had cultivated in seclusion until now… everything was just beginning. He truly did not want to give up!
“Dodge it!” Ji Ning exerted every ounce of his strength, executing the Windshadow Steps.
Faster. Faster. A little bit faster!
“Whoosh!”
The wind was howling!
Whoosh! Ji Ning’s figure was howling with it!
“BANG!” The serpentine tail lashed out savagely, grazing past Ji Ning and slamming into the solid rock of Dragon Fort. The whole fort trembled, rocks flying in all directions as dust and debris filled the air.
“You dodged?” The Winged Serpent, its crimson vertical pupils burning, lowered its head and growled. “A lucky dodge. Do you think you can dodge a second time?”
BANG!
The tail lashed out again!
But Ji Ning was like a single leaf, drifting with the wind. He became like the wind, drifting as a shadow followed its form. The serpent’s tail missed him again, slamming into Dragon Fort once more.
“Impossible.” The Winged Serpent was enraged.
It was a great demon which had cultivated for a thousand years and reached the Xiantian (late) stage. It was countless times stronger than a Xiantian (early) stage demon. Killing a human youth like this should have been trivial. Just earlier, it had effortlessly massacred the thousands of members of the entire Golden Blade Tribe.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!! The Winged Serpent lashed its tail and beat its wings in a mad frenzy. The entire Dragon Fort trembled and collapsed, great boulders flying as countless servants and Black Armored Guards were caught in the destruction and killed…
“Die, die, DIE!” The Winged Serpent grew anxious.
A wild, bone-chilling cold spread, instantly freezing many servants to death.
A black poisonous mist filled the air, killing the Houtian-level lifeforms around it.
But within the cloud of dust and smoke, Ji Ning continued to dodge, time and time again.
The cold could kill a Houtian (perfect) Ki Refining warrior, but Ji Ning, who cultivated the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique, possessed a body over a hundred times stronger than a Houtian (perfect) Ki Refiner. These large-area attacks of cold and poison could not harm him at all.
“Like the wind. Like a shadow.”
“This is the Windshadow Steps. The true Windshadow Steps.” Ji Ning was completely immersed in the state. He let the serpentine tail lash at him again and again, let the scaled bone wings swing down at him, but he was able to follow the power of the wind in heaven and earth, borrowing its strength, borrowing even the power of his opponent, the Winged Serpent, to drift and dodge again and again.
He was like a shadow, following the form of his enemy, making it impossible for the Winged Serpent to ever strike him.
He was like a gentle breeze, his dodging movements as soft and casual as a leaf blown by the wind.
“This youth has actually reached Unity of Man and Heaven. His footwork has reached Unity of Man and Heaven?” The ancient, brutal Winged Serpent finally confirmed it. The human youth who had killed its child had actually reached the Unity of Man and Heaven stage—a stage that this ancient demon, which had cultivated for a thousand years, had never been able to reach.
Most Zifu Disciples were at the Unity of Man and Heaven stage. Some powerful Xiantian lifeforms could also be at this stage.
Human comprehension was inherently superior to that of beasts!
Only certain Godbeasts could match human intelligence.
“Damn it.” The ancient Winged Serpent understood that it would not be able to kill this human youth quickly.
“VILE BEAST!”
A colossal green sword-light shot through the air.
The ancient Winged Serpent swung its tail to meet the sword-light, not taking it seriously. “You, Ji Yichuan, think a single sword-light launched from two li away can hurt me?”
Pfft!
Dark green blood sprayed through the air, sizzling as it struck the ground, quickly corroding the rock and Blackwater Iron. The massive tail was hacked nearly in two, barely hanging on by a strip of flesh.
“How can he be this strong?!” The ancient Winged Serpent was terrified.
This number one expert of the Western Prefecture of the Ji Clan… was far too frightening.
“Whoosh!”
“I’ll let you live for now!” The ancient Winged Serpent shot one last, unwilling glare at Ji Ning, then flapped its wings and shot into the air, trying to flee.
“VILE BEAST!”
“Winged Serpent! You dare invade our Western Prefecture and think you can escape?”
“DIE!”
From all corners of the Western Prefecture’s inner city, furious bellows rang out. Dozens of Xiantian lifeforms, including Ji Lie and Ji Youyang, roared in anger.
“Lend me your Greenflame Bird.” Ji Yichuan transformed into a streak of light, flying toward a massive azure bird whose tail was wreathed in flames. Upon the bird sat a black-robed woman.
“Yichuan, I’ll go with you,” the black-robed woman said hoarsely.
“Let’s go.”
Ji Yichuan glanced down. Seeing his son alive amidst the ruins of Dragon Fort, he felt a slight measure of relief. But seeing his son’s severed arm and his body drenched in blood, his fury blazed even hotter.
“Whoosh!”
Ji Yichuan and the black-robed woman mounted the Greenflame Bird and shot through the air, pursuing the fleeing ancient Winged Serpent. The other Xiantian lifeforms of the Western Prefecture roared in fury as well. A single great demon daring to invade the inner city of their Western Prefecture was like stepping on their very scale!
But human Xiantian lifeforms could not fly, so only Ji Yichuan and the woman could chase after the Winged Serpent.
Ji Ning was still immersed in the Unity of Man and Heaven state. He could sense the power of the wind, and he could borrow it, transforming himself into the wind itself, free and unbound. He could even borrow the force of the enemy’s attacks, allowing him to dodge as if he were his opponent’s shadow.
“Ah…”
“Ahhh…”
Weak groans of pain roused Ji Ning. He looked around. Dragon Fort had become a field of ruins. Countless servants and Black Armored Guards lay dead, killed by the collapse, frozen, or poisoned—a horrific scene.
The joy of reaching Unity of Man and Heaven with the Windshadow Steps faded.
Gritting his teeth, Ji Ning leaped into the ruins with a single bound, kicking aside large stones until he found his severed left arm. He first stored the Northsea Sword still clutched in its hand into his storage ring. Then, grabbing the severed arm with his right hand, he pressed it against the wound on his shoulder. The wound had already stopped bleeding.
“Connect.” Ji Ning pressed the severed arm into place, then extended the Golden Dust Garment to quickly cover the arm, holding it firmly in place.
Even in his past life, a severed finger or arm could be reattached in a short time.
His body was like that of a Fiendgod; a severed arm would grow back in a few hours. Pressing it back now… Ji Ning could clearly feel his flesh rapidly growing together, his bones rapidly connecting as well. The connection had been made. It would take a little while for a complete recovery.
“Ji Ning!” A slightly anxious voice rang out.
Ji Ning looked up. An old man in a dark red beast-hide robe stood atop the ruins, looking at him. It was the Prefectural Lord, Ji Youyang. Seeing Ji Ning intact, he let out a breath of relief. “It’s good that you’re fine. Good.”
“Ning’er!” A pained cry filled with grief.
Ji Ning ignored the Prefectural Lord for the moment. With a single leap, he shot out of the ruins, seeing his mother running toward him, her face covered in tears, her expression agonized.
“Mother!” Ji Ning called out.
Seeing her son standing there alive and well, Yuchi Snow wept with joy. Ji Ning leaped to her side in a flash, embracing her. Yuchi Snow held him tightly. “It’s so good. It’s so good. I was so scared just now. If something had happened to you, I don’t know what I would have done…”
“Mother, I’m fine.” Ji Ning said quickly.
“Your arm…” Yuchi Snow hurriedly examined her son’s left arm.
“See? It’s fine.” Ji Ning even moved his arm. The skin and bones had completely knitted together. The minor details were about eighty percent healed; after waiting a little longer, it would be fully recovered.
Yuchi Snow finally relaxed completely. She knew about her son’s Fiendgod Body Refining regenerative abilities.
“What happened? That great demon from Winged Serpent Lake… how did it have the audacity to attack our Western Prefecture?” A deep voice sounded. Ji Lie, the old viper with a head of fiery red hair, strode over, his face twisted with fury. “That beast is simply courting death! And you—find out how this happened! Why did it strike our Western Prefecture?”
“It is very strange. Does the great demon of Winged Serpent Lake not know that this would enrage our Western Prefecture?” An emaciated old man with a lump on his forehead said coldly.
One Xiantian lifeform after another walked over.
Seeing Dragon Fort reduced to rubble, the countless corpses, and the pools of blood, these dozens of Xiantian lifeforms all wore ugly expressions. As the rulers of this land, how long had it been since a great demon had dared to attack the Western Prefecture? Every expert of the Western Prefecture felt both fury and humiliation.
“Damn him!”
“The Winged Serpent must be killed.”
“Kill it!”