Chapter 1763: 【Exchange Terms】(Lower)

Hu Xiaotian secretly smiled, seeing that he had indeed grasped her vital point; Lady Meizhuang surely knew the importance of this skull. According to Hu Xiaotian's understanding, these skulls retained abundant information, but only a true Heaven's Mandate could read them. Among those he currently knew, Ji Feihua and Qiqi possessed such ability, yet surely there are others like them in this world. Even if Lady Meizhuang is not a Heaven's Mandate, she must be closely related to one; from what he has seen, even the rise and fall of the Wuxian Sect is secretly linked to those extraterrestrial visitors.

Bei Ze Lao Gu embraced the skull tightly; at first he wondered why Hu Xiaotian valued this mushroom so highly, but now it seems the skull's preciousness even surpasses Hu Xiaotian's wing armor.

Lady Meizhuang waved her hand; Rong Shi flicked a phosphorescent bomb toward the dome, which upon contact expanded from a red glow the size of a dragon's eye into a circle of light one zhang in diameter. Hu Xiaotian and Bei Ze Lao Gu suspected a trick and held their breath.

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought they were wary of causing collateral damage, so they wouldn't act rashly; this phosphorescent bomb must have served as a signal flare. Sure enough, not long after, several figures appeared above the dome—four frogmen in gray waterproof gear, each holding a corner of a fishing net that enclosed a transparent sphere one zhang in diameter. Inside the sphere slept a girl as beautiful as a lily, illuminated by the night pearls in the frogmen's hands—none other than Xi Yan.

Bei Ze Lao Gu gazed at the scene above the dome, sighing inwardly; no wonder Hu Xiaotian risked danger to storm the Wuxian Sect's headquarters alone—this girl truly could bring disaster to a nation, and if he were a few years younger he would surely be moved.

Lady Meizhuang said, "Hu Xiaotian, you see—I have brought the person before you; now it's time for you to fulfill your promise."

Hu Xiaotian replied, "Lady, do you take me for a three-year-old child who's easily fooled? If I handed over the skull now, you'd just send a signal, they'd immediately loosen the net, and the big sphere would float up at once—I'd end up with neither person nor wealth."

Lady Meizhuang snorted coldly, "What sort of status do I have? How could I go back on my word?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I don't know who you are, but I know you act without scruples, fickle and promiscuous."

Lady Meizhuang shouted angrily, "Impudent!"

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "Back then, who seduced Zhou Ruizhen, and who caused Qin Se's death?"

Lady Meizhuang's face changed abruptly; she gave a stern shout, shook her right hand, and a cold light shot toward Hu Xiaotian's brow****. Hu Xiaotian remained calm, his steps shifting, he unleashed the Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps; after several afterimages, he had opened another two zhang of distance from Lady Meizhuang.

The ice needles Lady Meizhuang fired missed, shattering in the distance into fine ice mist, which was condensed toxin.

Hu Xiaotian, however, noticed Shadow Granny's face showing utter astonishment, though the expression flashed and vanished quickly; still, he caught it. He mused that, from the discussion he'd heard in the Sword Palace between Qin Yutong and Lady Meizhuang, Qin Yutong's mother ought to be Lady Meizhuang's senior sister, meaning Qin Se also had an inseparable tie to the Wuxian Sect.

After dodging Lady Meizhuang's poison needles, Hu Xiaotian drew his side sword and, like lightning, slashed at Rong Shi, judging him the weakest of the three—picking the soft persimmon, he aimed to break the weakest link.

Rong Shi had prepared; he spread his arms, and from his sleeves two masses of black bees swirled up, sending two streams of black smoke rushing toward Hu Xiaotian.

Beside them, Bei Ze Lao Gu let out a cold snort: "Even a grain-sized pearl dares to shine!" From behind him a moth surged skyward like a whirlwind to meet the black bee swarm; moth and bees tangled together, inseparable in the opposing ranks.

Hu Xiaotian's body flipped midair and shot straight toward the dome.

Lady Meizhuang disdainfully glanced at the boy, thinking he meant to retreat, but saw Hu Xiaotian draw a light sword from his waist, twist the hilt, and a green blade of light flashed forth; then he lunged at the dome, man and sword as one, thrusting obliquely with all his might at the crystal dome. This move was the "Heaven-Splitting Sword" taught to him by the Sword Demon Dongfang Wuyo; it was the culmination of Dongfang Wuyo's lifelong martial prowess, and with the light sword set to second gear, energy instantly peaked, actually piercing the crystal dome two zhang thick.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian's light sword suddenly blaze brighter, Lady Meizhuang felt uneasy, yet still harbored a sliver of hope; though the sword's power was immense, the crystal dome was nearly two zhang thick and extraordinarily hard, and even if he damaged it he could not pierce it in one blow—but events took a turn for the worse: Hu Xiaotian's all-out thrust actually pierced the crystal dome, and at the instant of penetration he twisted the hilt, instantly raising the energy by another notch.

Blue light spread within the crystal dome as if a bomb had detonated inside; the light sword had pierced a hole two zhang wide, and the lake water above suddenly found an outlet, surging into the Bone-Melting Prison like a startled dragon.

This sudden change was not in anyone's plans; the Wuxian Sect had always deemed the Bone-Melting Prison impregnable, believing even Bei Ze Lao Gu could not escape from here, yet Hu Xiaotian shattered it with a single sword strike.

The four frogmen hauling the net were sucked into the Bone-Melting Prison before they could flee, almost simultaneously releasing the net; the transparent sphere imprisoning Xi Yan floated upward.

The moths and black bees sensed danger, ceased fighting, and scattered—but in the depths of the Bone-Melting Prison's lake, where could these poisonous insects escape? The water rose to waist level in an instant; the five top experts inside the prison had no mind to launch an attack, only thinking of swimming out through the broken dome once the flood filled the chamber.

Hu Xiaotian was more urgent than anyone else; Xi Yan had not been swept into the Bone-Melting Prison but was swiftly rising to the lake surface. This was the Wuxian Sect's headquarters; Lady Meizhuang had surely made full preparations for this exchange, and likely someone awaited them on the lake.

The water flooded the white bone cavern at astonishing speed, submerging their bodies. Somewhere beneath, a blue glow flickered—it was Bei Ze Lao Gu's location; the blue skull he held blazed brightly.

Two figures shot toward Bei Ze Lao Gu from left and right—Lady Meizhuang and Rong Shi. Only then did Bei Ze Lao Gu understand Hu Xiaotian's true intent in handing over the skull: this rascal wasn't expressing trust but using the skull to draw the Wuxian Sect's attention, making himself a target—true to the saying, "He who carries jade invites guilt." Though Bei Ze Lao Gu felt regret, he could not bear to discard the treasure and enrich the Wuxian Sect for nothing; though he did not know what it was, he had already guessed its importance from the earlier scene. As a sect leader, he was no ordinary man; he shook his right arm, and a cluster of iron-thread golden warrior worms combined into a black lash that whipped horizontally at the two of them underwater.

While everyone focused on the blue skull, Hu Xiaotian strove to swim toward the dome's opening; the water had not yet filled the Bone-Melting Prison, and the impact force at the aperture was tremendous. With his ability, trying to rush out before the prison flooded gave him less than a one-in-ten-thousand chance of reaching the lake.

Just as he rushed into that water column, he felt a tremendous force pressing down from above; even if he could enter the column, swimming against the current would be extremely difficult.

Hu Xiaotian sequentially pressed the three buttons on the left arm wing armor's six, deploying wings, flight, and rotation in one smooth motion; his body spun rapidly in the water, actually pressing forward against the raging, gushing current.

Hu Xiaotian used the wing armor's strong thrust to break free of the spinning undertow, entered the lake, lifted his head, and saw the transparent sphere right above his head slowly rising; he could not help but rejoice—Xi Yan was still inside. As he prepared to give chase, his body jolted; looking up, he saw several large fish's sharp teeth simultaneously biting his metal wings. He spun again, flinging the ravenous fish far away, and swiftly rose to catch up with the sphere.

As the clear sphere broke the surface, Hu Xiaotian's head emerged; sunlight bathed him, and a black sandbank lay a hundred zhang ahead. He pushed the sphere toward shore, scanning in vain for any Wuxian Sect disciples, and only then relaxed.

He brought the sphere to the shore and rolled it onto the black sandbank; the stones were honeycombed and light—clearly volcanic rock. Hu Xiaotian gently patted the sphere; it was elastic, and inside Xi Yan still slept soundly, her cheeks flushed, her pose utterly peaceful—she had no idea what had transpired.

Hu Xiaotian had wanted to pierce the sphere with his light sword, but feared an explosion might harm Xi Yan; he examined it thoroughly and found no seam. Just as he wondered how to open it, Xi Yan awoke leisurely, her beautiful eyes gazing at him outside, flashing with astonishment.

Hu Xiaotian, both startled and delighted, cried out, "How should I get you out of there?"

Xi Yan bit her cherry lip, her clear, beautiful eyes brimming with tears, obviously deeply moved; she took out her hairpin and stabbed at the sphere's wall. (To be continued~^~)