Chapter 1256

Hu Xiaotian quickly realized he had nowhere to retreat; outside, Yan Tianlu's voice grew fainter, likely the Iron Thread Diamond Worm was about to seal the exit. Hu Xiaotian couldn't help feeling anxious; anyway, his whereabouts couldn't be hidden from Beize Lao Guai, and he didn't fear exposure, he shouted loudly: "Old sir, I can't hold on much longer!"

The Iron Thread Diamond Worm still hadn't completely sealed the cave mouth; Yan Tianlu certainly heard Hu Xiaotian's loud shout—if Hu Xiaotian weren't at a critical point he wouldn't have cried for help—Yan Tianlu shouted loudly: "You idiot, if you swallow that Five-Colored Spider King's inner elixir, you'll be invulnerable to all poisons; no poisonous worm will dare approach you!"

The Iron Thread Diamond Worm was about to seal the cave mouth; Yan Tianlu's voice became broken and intermittent, and with Hu Xiaotian's hearing he could only catch a few scattered words, but he heard the inner elixir. Hu Xiaotian startled, just as he was pondering the meaning of Yan Tianlu's words, Beize Lao Guai's attack loomed again—the giant fist formed by the Iron Thread Diamond Worms, accompanied by a matchless gust, swung toward Hu Xiaotian's chest. Hu Xiaotian hastily raised his fist to meet it, using his inner strength plus the overbearing God-Demon World-Exterminating Fist; if it were a head‑on clash, Beize Lao Guai would likely be shaken to vomit blood, but this giant fist was gathered from the Iron Thread Diamond Worms, and Hu Xiaotian's fist sank like into quicksand; then the worms tightened, binding his fist.

From within the worm armor a dry, bird‑claw‑like hand shot out, grabbed Hu Xiaotian's outer garment at the chest, and with a hiss tore open his front, revealing the inner armor of the Seven‑Colored Sea Snake inside; without that armor, his chest would surely have been torn open and a chunk of flesh taken.

Hu Xiaotian tried to pull out his right hand, but found his fist tightly wound by the Iron Thread Diamond Worms, unable to escape for a moment, and he was greatly alarmed. Wasn't this turning into a passive beating? In the crisis he lifted his leg to kick the opponent; the kick landed on Beize Lao Guai's worm armor, and his sole also sank like into quicksand. These Iron Thread Diamond Worms seemed to have changed—they no longer dodged his body as before, but had begun to take the initiative and attack.

Hu Xiaotian broke out in a cold sweat; now only his left hand and left foot could move freely. The Iron Thread Diamond Worms showed no sign of diminishing—rather, their numbers grew. In despair he suddenly recalled Yan Tianlu's words: the inner elixir, good, the inner elixir! Swallowing the inner elixir would indeed make him invulnerable to all poisons, and that was why Beize Lao Guai pressed him so hard, clinging to him not to let go—his aim was also to obtain the inner elixir.

While his left hand could still move, Hu Xiaotian reached into his bosom and sent the Five-Colored Spider King's inner elixir toward his mouth; the Iron Thread Diamond Worms had already begun to coil around his left arm. Their powerful pulling force made it hard for him to comply at once, and at the same time Beize Lao Guai extended a hand from his worm armor, intending to snatch the inner elixir.

Hu Xiaotian opened his mouth wide and drew in a sharp breath; the inner elixir was sucked in whole. Along with it he inhaled several Iron Thread Diamond Worms, which melted instantly upon contact with the inner elixir. The elixir landed in Hu Xiaotian's mouth, bitter and astringent beyond compare, quickly turned into fluid, and the inner elixir rapidly shrank; Hu Xiaotian furrowed his brow and swallowed the inner elixir together with that bitter fluid.

Beize Lao Guai's claws had already locked onto Hu Xiaotian's throat, trying to force him to spit out the inner elixir he had just swallowed. This inner elixir was of utmost importance to him; Beize Lao Guai had spent half his life cultivating the Five-Colored Spider King to refine the inner elixir, but in the end he fell short, cheaply benefiting another, and his vexation and fury were beyond words.

After the inner elixir entered his abdomen, a scorching sensation swiftly spread from his chest and belly; Hu Xiaotian felt every pore of his body emitting hot air. The Iron Thread Diamond Worms coiled around his body rapidly retreated, leaving him clean in an instant. His hands and feet were freed, and he raised his right fist to slam hard into Beize Lao Guai's belly.

Beize Lao Guai relied on his worm armor, thinking it could block Hu Xiaotian's punch, but he didn't expect that after Hu Xiaotian threw the punch, the poisonous worms swarming around him all scattered, leaving a large hole in the armor; Hu Xiaotian's fist passed through the hole unobstructed and struck Beize Lao Guai's chest heavily. This punch was the most overbearing move of the God-Demon World-Exterminating Fist, and Hu Xiaotian had put all his strength into it. Though Beize Lao Guai was formidable, he could not withstand the heavy blow; he let out a miserable cry, his body flying backward more than ten zhang before slamming into the cavern wall.

Hu Xiaotian let out a violent roar, exhaling only white hot air; the surrounding poisonous worms feared him as much as snakes and scorpions, scattering in panic—some fled outward, some dove into the cavern, some slipped into wall cracks—and in an instant they were gone completely, while the black mist filling the cavern dissipated under the white hot air he exhaled.

Hu Xiaotian's vision returned to normal, yet all that remained on the ground were patches of slime.

Beize Lao Guai's front ribs were shattered by Hu Xiaotian's punch, his heart and lungs ruptured as well; seeing Hu Xiaotian step by step approaching, his eyes flashed with inexplicable terror, and he screamed: "Even as a ghost I will never let you go!"

He bit his tongue tip, spitting out a puff of black blood mist; Hu Xiaotian worried the mist might be poisonous, hastily threw a bare fist, using its wind to disperse the mist, while Beize Lao Guai seized the moment to leap into the cavern where the Five-Colored Spider King had been.

Hu Xiaotian couldn't just let him escape; he followed him into the cavern, but even after searching deep to the bottom he saw no trace of Beize Lao Guai. He carefully examined the surroundings—there was no hole to hide in—and inwardly wondered, yet could do nothing else, figuring that even if Beize Lao Guai managed a lucky escape his days were numbered; his own punch, which had gathered his full bodily power, was tremendously destructive, and without worm armor Beize Lao Guai's heart and lungs must have been shattered by the blow.

Hu Xiaotian retreated along the original route, seeing no poisonous worms anywhere along the way.

Yan Tianlu waited at the cave mouth; seeing that this fellow returned safe and sound, he finally relaxed and laughed: "I knew you kid had great fortune, destiny, and luck—indeed you're fine."

Hu Xiaotian glared at him and said: "You lack all loyalty—I was fighting a life‑and‑death battle in there, while you're taking it easy here."

Yan Tianlu gave a wry smile: "It's not that I lack loyalty, I simply lack the ability. By the way, is that inner elixir still with you?"

Bringing up the matter, Hu Xiaotian couldn't help glaring at him again; Yan Tianlu was really unscrupulous—he had long known the spider's secret, yet deliberately withheld the truth from him.

Seeing his expression, Yan Tianlu stared in astonishment: "You swallowed it? You really swallowed it?"

"What's up?" Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, if I hadn't swallowed that inner elixir I would already have been strangled to death by those Iron Thread Diamond Worms.

Yan Tianlu sighed, his expression showing considerable regret, and he shot a whistling arrow into the air: "Let's leave this place first and talk later!"

"What?" Zou Yong, hearing the news that Heaven Star Manor had been burned, was stunned into speechlessness; he almost immediately realized that the so‑called hostage exchange was merely a feint by the other side, using their desire to eliminate Yan Tianlu as a pretext to gather the sect leaders of Falling Cherry Palace and Variegated Sect for the exchange, while secretly attacking Heaven Star Manor.

Tang Jingyu sighed: "Heaven Star Manor has been reduced to rubble, the Variegated Sect disciples suffered heavy casualties, Lu Qingyuan was killed, and Beize Lao Guai has vanished without a trace; one can say the Variegated Sect's power has been destroyed by more than half in a single night."

Zou Yong clenched his fists, his remorse reaching the extreme; he understood that in this confrontation he had not only lost, but suffered a crushing defeat.

Tang Jingyu asked: "What are we to do?"

Zou Yong drew a deep breath and said: "I will personally go to the king to explain."

Tang Jingyu looked at him full of worry; he also knew that Zou Yong had sworn before the Bohai King to capture Yan Tianlu and rescue the two grand princesses, yet now he didn't know how to explain this situation to the Bohai King.

Outside came the soldiers' report: "General Li has arrived!"

Zou Yong said: "Please have him sit awhile in the flower hall; I'll go see him myself." He turned to Tang Jingyu: "Jingyu, go to your father and tell him everything that happened in detail; remember, under the present circumstances we must not act rashly."

Tang Jingyu nodded and said: "Elder brother, be careful!"

Li Chen Zhou's inner feelings were far from the calm he showed on the surface; even someone as wise as he did not expect the enemy to dare to lure the tiger away from the mountain and launch a night raid on the Tianxing Estate, yet they did and won a complete victory. While many in the world could defeat Bei Ze Lao Guai in martial prowess, hardly anyone could surpass him in poison techniques. Bei Ze Lao Guai has vanished without a trace, and at the scene Lu Qingyuan's corpse was found. Lu Qingyuan was not only Bei Ze Lao Guai's most beloved disciple but also a young talent admired by Li Chen Zhou, who had given him considerable help in many matters, yet now he has died in this night raid.

Few masters could destroy the Tianxing Estate, kill Lu Qingyuan, and cause Bei Ze Lao Guai to vanish from the human world; Li Chen Zhou could conclude that this must be the joint work of Hu Xiaotian and Yan Tianlu. Originally, the situation in Bohai State was very promising, not only did he have internal-external cooperation with Zhou Yong, but also the combined assistance of the two top masters Tang Jiu Cheng and Bei Ze Lao Guai. Now, one of those two top masters is gone, and their strength has obviously been greatly weakened. Although this matter was planned and directed by Zhou Yong, Li Chen Zhou also felt he could not easily escape responsibility. From beginning to end, he never expected the enemy to dare to act against the Variegated Gate's disciples, yet the enemy happened to employ a risky maneuver.

Zhou Yong could not hide the dejection on his face; seeing Li Chen Zhou sigh despondently, he said, 'I have let Li Jiangjun down.'

Li Chen Zhou originally wanted to comfort him by saying that victory and defeat are common in military affairs, but when the words reached his lips he changed his mind and whispered, 'Is the Grand Princess safe?'

Zhou Yong nodded and said, 'Your country's Grand Princess is safe and sound.' The implication was that Yan Dongqing's whereabouts are still unknown.

Li Chen Zhou said, 'It seems I need to meet her.' The events of tonight have already proven that Xue Lingjun, Yan Tianlu, and Hu Xiaotian will undoubtedly join forces, and Li Chen Zhou no longer needs to hide; it can be foreseen that Xue Lingjun's return this time will inevitably be a fierce, storm‑like offensive. (To be continued~^~)