Chapter 24: The Battle of Plum Blossom Pond

The nearby dog yao charged forward without hesitation, slashing with its front paws and opening its bloodied maw to bite.

But what emerged was not Xu Yuan, but an external elixir.

“Snap!”

The elixir exploded, and a vast net descended from above, instantly engulfing the dog yao; the web tightened rapidly, binding the creature into a tight bundle before slamming its head hard into the ground.

Thump—splash… The dog yao slid three or four zhang away.

The other two immediately rushed toward this spot, but then—splash!—another figure burst forth from the pond!

After leaping out of the water, it immediately spat: “Puff!”

A golden pill shot forward and struck one dog yao in the waist.

Crack!

The dog yao’s spine snapped on the spot.

The dog yao let out a shriek and collapsed to the ground, its two front paws frantically scrabbling, carving two deep furrows into the earth.

The last remaining dog yao erupted in fury, turning and lunging straight at Xu Yuan.

It leapt a full zhang high, its mouth opening impossibly wide like a serpent’s, capable of swallowing Xu Yuan whole.

Xu Yuan stood motionless, as if frozen in terror.

Only when the dog yao was directly above him did Xu Yuan suddenly open his mouth and exhale a dragon of fire.

Whoosh—

The dragon of fire surged into the dog yao’s mouth and instantly erupted from its eyes, nostrils, and back.

In an instant, the dog yao’s insides were utterly burned to ash!

Plop!

The dog yao crashed to the ground; Xu Yuan didn’t even glance at it, striding quickly to deal with the other two.

One was trapped in the web, the other with its spine shattered.

Xu Yuan smashed their skulls with his external elixir, then gathered his belongings and cleared away all traces on the ground: “Come out.”

The tree hollow reappeared, and two fuzzy little heads poked out.

After confirming, the two heads instantly transformed into beautiful women’s faces, smiling warmly: “Young master, you’re amazing!”

The two sisters emerged, their bodies that of yellow foxes, crowned with beautiful human heads—unnervingly eerie!

They pressed their four paws down and leapt into the pond.

The girls’ tinkling laughter echoed again above the pond; as they spun in the water, they reemerged with snow-white, plump skin, hair like a waterfall, and feet like carved jade.

Though Xu Yuan knew their true forms, he still couldn’t help stealing two more glances before slipping back into the tree hollow.

…

Shenggu and her party were more than ten li behind the four dog yao, and upon hearing the yao’s roars ahead, they immediately quickened their pace.

But before they could reach the scene, they heard several screams, then silence fell.

“Something’s happened!” The alchemist’s face changed; Shenggu snorted coldly—she never expected a few medicinal beasts to succeed.

They cautiously circled the rocky cliff and saw a pond.

In the deep mountain valley, ancient trees stood dark green; in the emerald waters, two mermaid-like figures chased each other playfully, their graceful forms flickering in and out of the water, radiating irresistible allure.

Even knowing something was wrong, the alchemists couldn’t help swallowing hard.

The last two clerks from Zhao’s Fur Shop were even worse—their eyes glazed over, and they involuntarily stepped toward the pond.

Shenggu glanced once—each man’s mind swarmed with fat, wriggling lust worms.

“Hm?” Shenggu spotted her maid—this little wretch’s mind had also sprouted several robust lust worms!

“Dead already, and still coming out to steal my food!”

Shenggu let out a cold, dark snarl.

The pond radiated chilling yin energy; even Shenggu, at first glance, mistook the sisters for female ghosts.

But Shenggu didn’t rush forward—we were chasing that boy, and now two water ghosts appear?

The scheme to use others as blades is too obvious.

Shenggu’s hands slid beneath her skirt, then reappeared—one hand gripping a divine crossbow, the other a double-headed snake bell.

Shenggu gripped one end of the bell and gave it a gentle shake; its clear, clean chime echoed through the mountains.

The alchemists’ minds instantly cleared.

Looking again at the water ghost sisters, though still visually pleasing, they were no longer mentally affected.

The alchemist immediately waved: “Search! That boy must be hiding nearby!”

His men immediately began scanning the pond’s perimeter.

In the pond, the water ghost sisters no longer played; they floated half-submerged, hands clasped, their red nipples bobbing on the waterline, now visible, now hidden.

They stared coldly at the double-headed snake bell—so long as it was present, their seduction arts could not be deployed.

Shenggu pointed her divine crossbow at the two women.

The bolts on the crossbow shimmered with pale golden light, like the radiance of the sun, specifically lethal to yin ghosts.

Shenggu strolled calmly to the pond’s edge, tilting her chin at the water ghost sisters: “Don’t move. Once we find him, we leave. If you stir, I’ll slip—and take you both with me.”

The water ghost sisters exchanged glances, said nothing, but remained utterly still in the water.

Shenggu nodded in satisfaction, turning her gaze to the alchemists by the pond.

Besides the ancient plum tree, the only possible hiding spots near the pond were a few towering boulders in the northeast corner, overgrown with tall, dense wild grass.

The alchemist signaled with his eyes; his men subtly closed in around the boulders.

The tree hollow in the ancient plum tree—Xu Yuan couldn’t see it before, and now neither could the alchemists.

The men crept silently toward the boulders; when they were still a zhang away, the alchemist gave a hand signal, and all of them lunged forward at once.

The literary cultivator flicked his wrist, and a calligraphy scroll shot horizontally, covering the boulders above.

The scroll bore a character—“Thunder”—and a bolt of lightning crashed down, shattering the tall grass between the boulders.

The other two were wu xiu—one wielded a short spear, the other a shield and single saber; after the lightning strike, they rushed in swiftly.

The spear’s tip scraped a deep groove into the boulder with a grating sound!

In the pond, at the moment the thunder exploded, the water ghost sisters plunged deep underwater.

Shenggu had been watching them closely and fired without hesitation.

Swoosh—

A flash of golden light—but it missed; the water ghost sisters moved faster than Shenggu anticipated.

After the sisters sank, the pond surged violently, churning up massive waves that crashed toward the shore.

The water churned fiercely; within it, two enormous dark shadows could be faintly seen, thrashing rapidly.

The golden bolt skimmed across the water’s surface, flew to the far shore, then—impossibly—veered sharply downward, chasing one of the dark shadows beneath the water!

Shenggu stepped back; her maid stepped forward, spreading a pale gray, void-like barrier to shield Shenggu from the torrential flood.

Shenggu sneered: “Do you think my divine crossbow is so easily evaded?”

Before she finished speaking, sudden chaos erupted!

The ancient plum tree on the shore suddenly shook violently; its dense branches stretched out like a giant hand, snatching the golden bolt midair!

The bolt was about to pierce the water—but countless branches seized it.

Golden light exploded!

A power naturally hostile to the sinister.

The plum tree’s branches and leaves peeled off in large patches, burned to ash by golden voidfire.

But the plum tree was immense; despite losing vast amounts of foliage, it forcibly drained the golden bolt’s power.

Then, like a giant hand, the tree swept sideways, flinging the literary cultivator away from the boulders.

The alchemist, of higher cultivation, leapt backward and narrowly avoided the strike.

(End of Chapter)