Chapter 30: Wu Sheng

While Cang Luo defeated the three-tailed giant scorpion, the three of Zang Feng, over two hundred meters away, found themselves in a bitter struggle.

Liu Xuande's right hand, which had been holding a sword, was slashed by the three-tailed giant scorpion's pincer, leaving a deep wound that exposed the bone; it hung uselessly by his side. This injury was sustained while saving Li Zhanxing.

Li Zhanxing had long exhausted his Yuan power, his body covered in wounds, and now sat weakly against the side, watching Liu Xuande and Zang Feng struggle against the three-tailed giant scorpion.

He said angrily, "This three-tailed giant scorpion's strength is at least double that of the other one. It's all Cang Luo's fault.

If we had followed Senior Brother Zang's plan to kill the injured one first before joining forces against this one, how could it be like this?

He insisted on showing off. Now we don't even know where he ran off to. Did he run away because he couldn't win, or was he eaten?"

"Stop complaining. Quickly circulate the mental technique to restore your Yuan power."

Liu Xuande panted heavily. Now he could only hold the sword with his left hand, using the giant fir tree as cover to lure the three-tailed giant scorpion as much as possible, creating an opportunity for Zang Feng to attack.

Although Zang Feng's cultivation was not high, his combat strength was extremely strong. After battling the three-tailed giant scorpion for half a shichen, he had not yet suffered any obvious injuries.

His footwork was graceful, his sword technique sharp, and he occasionally left a few sword marks on the three-tailed giant scorpion.

However, because his cultivation was only Warrior Stage 4, his attack power was not high.

Although he could rely on skill to defeat disciples of Warrior Stage 6, in the face of absolute power he was powerless; the ordinary iron sword in his hand could never pierce the hard armor of the three-tailed giant scorpion.

Zang Feng originally wanted to attack its walking legs, but the three-tailed giant scorpion gave him no chance.

Because this three-tailed giant scorpion saw its companion have a leg severed by Cang Luo, it knew where its weakness lay, so it strictly protected its own walking legs.

"We can't continue like this. Xuande can only hold on for a few more moments. Without Xuande's restraint, I cannot kill it.

And if I fall, the two of them will surely die, let alone Cang Luo, whose life or death is unknown."

Zang Feng's mind spun a hundred turns; he struck once and retreated.

He flashed behind the giant fir tree, poked his head out, and seeing that the three-tailed giant scorpion could not find him and had turned to attack Liu Xuande again, he had to pursue once more; otherwise, the severely injured Liu Xuande would surely die.

"Beast, I am here!" Zang Feng roared, attracting the three-tailed giant scorpion's attention.

"Hiss..." Upon hearing Zang Feng's voice, the three-tailed giant scorpion immediately abandoned Liu Xuande, turned, and attacked him.

"Senior Brother Zang, you go. Don't worry about us."

Liu Xuande leaned against the giant fir tree and shouted weakly. He knew that with his and Li Zhanxing's injuries, they could not safely leave the Beast Forest.

Meeting a beast would surely mean death; it was better to let Senior Brother Zang run first.

Li Zhanxing also urged, "Senior Brother Zang, don't hesitate. While you are still uninjured, take Old Liu and run quickly. I will hold off this beast. If one can escape, let one escape."

"Impossible! I will not abandon you!" Zang Feng slashed one of the three-tailed giant scorpion's tails with his sword, but unfortunately, he could not even scratch its armor.

Zang Feng's strike was ineffective; he hid behind another giant fir tree again, extremely anxious.

"Damn it. I didn't expect this three-tailed giant scorpion to be a leader-level beast. A Warrior's cultivation cannot condense Gang Qi; relying solely on this ordinary iron sword, it is impossible to break its armor."

Zang Feng was very helpless; ultimately, he suffered the disadvantage of low cultivation.

If his cultivation were at the Martial General level now, able to condense Gang Qi and attach it to the iron sword, he could surely break the three-tailed giant scorpion's armor.

Or, if Zang Feng had a rune weapon now, even a lowest-grade Grade One rune weapon, it could break through the defense.

Unfortunately, the iron swords of Zang Feng and the others were forged by ordinary blacksmiths, made of ordinary materials, without inscribed formation arrays, nor refined from beasts.

Facing this situation, even though Zang Feng cultivated a Heaven-grade Top-tier mental technique, he felt powerless because his cultivation was too low to unleash its power.

"Hiss..." Seeing Zang Feng hide behind the giant fir tree again, the three-tailed giant scorpion did not pursue. It hissed once and charged toward Liu Xuande.

Although the three-tailed giant scorpion was a First-Grade beast, this one was leader-level and had already developed a trace of spiritual intelligence; it would not blindly chase a single target.

Seeing this, Zang Feng hesitated and struggled for a while, as if making some difficult decision.

Faint Bai Guang subtly shone through his clothes from his chest; what was glowing was a jade pendant he had accidentally obtained half a year ago...

"Master!" Zang Feng covered the jade pendant with his hand and said weakly, "Help me!"

As soon as Zang Feng finished speaking, a long and somber voice appeared in his mind.

That voice said calmly, "Disciple, my current state is merely a wisp of Yuan Consciousness; my strength is less than one hundred-millionth of my original self.

After helping you this time, I'm afraid I will need to sleep for a period of time, ranging from a few months to a year.

Have you memorized the technique I taught you previously?"

The source of this voice was the ancient jade pendant Zang Feng wore on his chest, which was faintly glowing with Bai Guang.

Zang Feng said resolutely, "Master, I have memorized it thoroughly. When you wake up next time, you will surely see me making a name for myself in the Outer Sect and entering the Inner Sect with a transcendent posture."

"Hmm, I believe you. The Formless Heaven and Earth Art cultivates slowly in the early stages, but once you reach the Martial Master cultivation level and learn my many Heaven-grade martial arts, it will be your time to soar.

If you do not cry, you do not cry; if you do cry, you will startle the world!"

"I will surely not disappoint Master's expectations!" Zang Feng's eyes lit up, filled with anticipation for the future.

"Hmm, by the way, disciple, you must build a good relationship with Cang Luo. It will be beneficial and harmless to you in the future."

Zang Feng frowned. Build a good relationship with Cang Luo? What help could a twenty-two-year-old with only Warrior Stage 3 cultivation offer him?

Could there be some great power behind him?

The possibility was small. If he had a background, he would not have been so wretched when facing Chen Dahu.

Besides, his own words and conduct did not look like those of someone from a great power.

Zang Feng did not understand and asked in confusion, "Master, what is special about Cang Luo? Could he possess a special physique like me?"

The Yuan Consciousness inside the jade pendant transmitted a voice, "It can be considered a special physique."

"What effect does this physique have?" Zang Feng asked again.

"The only benefit this physique brings him is that the time he spends cultivating from Warrior to Martial Spirit will be several times, or even more than ten times, that of an ordinary martial artist."

"How is that possible!"

Although Zang Feng was very surprised, he did not doubt his master's words at all. He said, "What about above Martial Spirit?"

That Yuan Consciousness laughed, "This is the reason I just said it can be considered a special physique. Unless there is an accident, his limit is Martial Spirit Level 9; he will never break through to Wu Zong."

"Then why does Master want me to build a good relationship with him?" Zang Feng could not understand.

"Unless there is an accident, the implied meaning is that there will be an accident. Do you remember me intentionally letting you touch his body twice?"

"This disciple remembers."

Cang Feng recalled—the first time was at the martial arts field when he patted his shoulder, and the second was when they arrived at the demonic beast mountain forest camp and he reached out to pull him and Li Zhanxing up together.

"Could it be that Cang Luo has some other special quality?"

"Exactly!" That wisp of primordial consciousness paused, then said in a low voice, "I discovered on him an existence similar to your master's.

No, even more terrifying than your master—only it has not yet awakened."

At the end, that wisp of primordial consciousness even trembled slightly, and even the light emanating from the jade pendant dimmed somewhat.

Cang Feng said in shock, "Impossible! Master, how could there possibly exist in this world an existence stronger than you? You are a Wu Sheng!"

Cang Feng could not believe it. He had once heard his master say that the highest cultivation one could reach on the Yuanwu Continent was Wu Sheng, because this world contained unknown restrictive laws.

Hearing these words now, how could he possibly believe them? How could he not be shocked?

The primordial consciousness lodged within the archaic jade pendant knew Cang Feng did not believe it, but merely chuckled and said, "Disciple, you must understand that there is always a heaven beyond the heavens, and a person beyond the people. When you reach Wu Sheng yourself, you will understand what your master has said today."

Cang Feng kept three parts of doubt and nodded, saying, "Yes, Master."

"Enough, idle talk ends here. Your master will shortly pin the Three-Tailed Giant Scorpion in place for three breaths. Within those three breaths, you may deal with it as you wish.

After that, I must fall into deep slumber. During this period, try not to leave Profound Tianmen, lest you meet with misfortune."

"Yes! Master......"

Cang Feng was extremely reluctant to part, not knowing when next he would be able to speak with his master. He had been fatherless and motherless since childhood—his master was his only family......

Although the conversation between Cang Feng and his Wu Sheng master was lengthy, because it took place within his consciousness, in real time less than two seconds had actually passed.

After finishing his exchange with his master, Cang Feng saw the Three-Tailed Giant Scorpion launch a tail-stinger attack against Liu Xuande. If it struck, Liu Xuande would undoubtedly die.

"Beast, don't you dare!" Cang Feng roared and rushed forward in quick strides.

At the same moment, a streak of Bai Guang suddenly shot out from his chest, moving a thousand, ten thousand times faster than he himself!

This streak of Bai Guang was precisely emitted from the archaic jade pendant on Cang Feng's chest. In the blink of an eye, it bound the Three-Tailed Giant Scorpion fast, rendering it unable to move.

After the Bai Guang shot out, Cang Feng sensed that he had lost contact with the jade pendant on his chest. He knew his master had fallen into deep slumber......

Cang Feng was furious to the extreme. He circulated his Yuan Wheel with full force, raised his sword, and thrust it straight into the Three-Tailed Giant Scorpion's excretory opening.

With a squelch, the entire iron sword sank into it, leaving only the hilt exposed outside.

The Three-Tailed Giant Scorpion immediately trembled all over. A disgusting, foul-smelling dark-green liquid flowed from its tail, and it frantically crawled forward, trying to shake off the iron sword embedded in its body.

Cang Feng naturally would not let it succeed. He released the hilt with his right hand, caught it with his left, then mobilized all his Yuan Power throughout his body to gather it in his right fist.

"Boom!"

A punch that exhausted Cang Feng's remaining Yuan Power slammed violently into the hilt, producing a heaven-shaking thunderous roar.

Along with that tremendous roar, the iron sword sank entirely into the Three-Tailed Giant Scorpion's body, pierced through and out from its mouthparts, flew past Liu Xuande's cheek, and embedded itself in a giant cedar.

The quivering sword blade emitted a continuous buzzing sound, startling Liu Xuande until every hair on his body stood on end, and he shivered.

The Three-Tailed Giant Scorpion, pierced through by the iron sword, collapsed powerlessly to the ground. The Bai Guang that had bound it also dissipated without a trace, leaving only specks of starlight that returned to Cang Feng's jade pendant.

"It's finally dead!"

Cang Feng breathed a sigh of relief. The attacks just now had nearly depleted his Yuan Power. If he still couldn't kill it, he would have been powerless.

Liu Xuande, who had escaped the calamity, let out a long breath as well. He slumped to the ground, patted his chest with lingering fear, and muttered that he had escaped a disaster.

But just at this moment, Li Zhanxing behind them suddenly shouted, "Careful! It's not dead yet—Old Liu, dodge!"

"What?" Liu Xuande's face drained of color in shock, while Cang Feng instinctively retreated two steps.

They saw the Three-Tailed Giant Scorpion, which had just been pierced through by the iron sword, suddenly twitch its pairs of walking legs, then struggle twice before standing back up.

Then, the longest tail in the middle lashed out with a 'whoosh' straight toward Liu Xuande's forehead.

"Stop!"

Cang Feng, reacting, flashed his body and leaped onto the Three-Tailed Giant Scorpion's back, grabbing its tail in an attempt to alter the direction of its attack.

But he was already utterly exhausted—how could he possibly stop it?

"Old Liu......"

Li Zhanxing cried out in despair, sprinting desperately toward Liu Xuande, trying to knock him aside, but it was already too late.

Liu Xuande knew he couldn't dodge, so he raised his iron sword to attempt a block. However, the Three-Tailed Giant Scorpion's tail-stinger attack was as fast as lightning, and holding the sword in his left hand, he simply had no strength to resist.

In that instant, many scenes flashed through Liu Xuande's mind.

Two years ago, encouraged by his father, mother, and grandfather, he had left his hometown and come to Profound Tianmen, where he successfully condensed his Yuan Wheel and became an outer disciple.

Last year, when he returned home for the New Year, his grandfather wept with joy, saying he was sure to become a figure like his ancestor Liu Bei, bringing honor to the clan......

"Father, Mother, Grandfather, please forgive your unfilial child......"

Just when Liu Xuande thought he was certain to die, a sword shadow gleaming with cold light suddenly flew past him at great speed.

The iron sword that had suddenly appeared struck the Three-Tailed Giant Scorpion's tail-stinger with a 'clang', altering its direction and allowing Liu Xuande to escape the calamity.

"Who is it?"

Liu Xuande's heart surged with wild joy. He instinctively looked toward Cang Feng, only to see that he had just been thrown to the ground by the Three-Tailed Giant Scorpion, while his iron sword was still embedded in the giant cedar.

"It wasn't Senior Brother Cang who saved me—then who was it?"

Liu Xuande had long since ruled out Li Zhanxing—that guy could barely protect himself, how could he have spare strength to save him?

In the midst of his confusion, a voice that Liu Xuande, Li Zhanxing, and Cang Feng had not expected suddenly came over.

That voice said anxiously, "Senior Brother Liu, are you all right? This junior brother has arrived late!"