Chapter 273

The purple sword light was still struggling in Wu Jin's palm.

Sparks flew in all directions, the sword light flailed wildly at tip and tail, emitting a sharp tearing-through-air sound.

The ragged-clothed girl stared blankly at Wu Jin, and a group of young men and women also stared blankly at Wu Jin.

Wu Jin strained to relax the knotted muscles of his face, straining to reveal what he considered a gentle smile.

A sharp cry rang out; the two most timid girls simultaneously raised both hands, and a vast shower of light burst like fireworks, within which a silver chain and a gold hairpin simultaneously turned to light and flew out—the silver chain struck Wu Jin's face, the gold hairpin thrust straight at his left eye.

Wu Jin let out a sigh.

Again, like this.

Too bad there's no mirror; otherwise he really wanted to see if he truly looked frightening now.

The silver chain slammed heavily onto Wu Jin's nasal bone; his nasal bone remained unmoved, only the flesh rippled like water twice.

The swiftly thrusting gold hairpin also accurately struck Wu Jin's left eye.

Wu Jin instinctively blinked; the gold hairpin struck his eyeball with a crisp sound, sending up a few sparks, his eyeball unharmed, while his eyelids pressed down, and as the upper and lower lids met, a clear 'ding' rang out.

His eyelids were like a chisel, cutting the gold hairpin into two pieces.

The two girls were stunned.

The girl who had released the silver chain hastily recalled her treasure, heartbroken, continuously stroking it with her hand.

The girl who had thrown the gold hairpin swayed, two streams of fresh blood seeped from her nostrils, dripping patteringly onto the ground.

Wu Jin looked a little embarrassed at the two fallen pieces of gold hairpin on the ground, helplessly spreading his hands: 'Sorry, I didn't mean to… well, when a tiny bug flies in front of your eyes, you always have to blink, right?'

He gave a dry chuckle, then Wu Jin said in a low voice: 'I just want to ask, do you know the way to the Kunlun ruins?'

The two groups of young men and women glanced at each other; the originally tense, ready-to-fight factions suddenly drew together, quickly forming a cluster. The two obviously highest-status young men stepped forward, gritting their teeth, legs slightly trembling as they looked at Wu Jin.

'I am Xu Mo of the Xu clan of the Three Rivers Region… Xu You, head of the Xu clan of the Three Rivers Region, is my great-grandfather.' A youth tall and straight-built, with a dragon-like bearing, gritted his teeth and snarled his lineage at Wu Jin.

'I am Bai Wushuang, Bai Zhan, lord of Wu'an City in the Wu'an Region, is my grandfather.' Another youth, somewhat shorter but much stockier, his whole body wrapped in battlefield killing intent, likewise declared his origin.

Wu Jin looked at Xu Mo, then at Bai Wushuang, and shook his head: 'The problem is, I've never heard of… the Three Rivers Region, the Wu'an Region—I've never heard of them. I am Wu Jin; I want to know how to get to the Kunlun ruins… you, you don't know?'

Wu Jin furrowed his brow, the smile on his large face retracting.

When he does not furrow his brow, his full-faced smile is already terrifying.

When his brow knotted, the knotted muscles over his whole face writhed, instantly turning him into a visage more ferocious and evil than the taotie carved on the face of his shield. Over these days, fighting and slaughtering over a hundred battles in the Nuwa ancestral land had cultivated a killing aura that now involuntarily spread outward.

The killing aura surged, turning into a substantive gale that swept over the group of young men and women.

Several girls let out a muffled groan, the killing aura knocking them off balance, their faces pallid as they staggered backward; two more girls swayed and collapsed in a sorry heap.

Those young men fared somewhat better; they had the courage to participate in the Nuwa ancestral land trial with its extremely high mortality rate, each being a person of firm resolve. Faced with Wu Jin's unconscious emission of killing aura, though their hearts pounded, they nonetheless kept their bodies upright.

'This fellow must be a monster bred over many years in the Nuwa ancestral land… not human.' Bai Wushuang shouted sternly: 'His strength is unfathomable; we have only a fight to the death!'

With a great shout, Bai Wushuang drew his waist sword.

Clad in heavy armor, he took large strides and launched a charge at Wu Jin, whose height was more than seven times his own.

A mass of white killing aura appeared behind Bai Wushuang; Bai Wushuang let out a hoarse, long howl, his long sword turning into a stream of light that stabbed straight at Wu Jin's ankle. Behind him, within the white vapor, a white tiger's skull could be faintly seen.

Wu Jin raised his left hand, a square wooden shield, and slammed it firmly in front of himself.

The wooden shield was like a city wall, blocking Bai Wushuang.

Bai Wushuang united his entire essence, energy, and spirit with his waist sword, turning himself and blade into a stream of light that thrust forward. The sword light was sharp and fierce, heavily striking the wooden shield, which was thick to about a meter.

With a tremendous crash, the waist sword snapped, and Bai Wushuang's whole body struck the shield, rebounding like a ball.

His arms shattered into seven or eight pieces upon striking the shield; exerting too much force and charging too fast, he spat out mouthfuls of blood, still airborne before landing, already overcome by pain and fainted.

Xu Mo stared blankly as Bai Wushuang rebounded and crashed heavily at his feet, then suddenly laughed: 'I said you were a brainless brute… you Bai clan of Wu'an City are just bullies on your own turf; once you leave the Wu'an Region, you'll surely suffer.'

Taking advantage of mocking Bai Wushuang, Xu Mo barely suppressed the fear and tension brought by Wu Jin's killing aura, drew a deep breath, and bowed with clasped hands to Wu Jin: 'Wu Jin… senior…'

'I'm still young; I may not be much older than you.' Wu Jin furrowed his brow, his face worsening: 'I don't deserve the title senior. I only want to ask, do you know the way to the Kunlun ruins? If not, don't waste my time.'

Wu Jin grew a little impatient.

Are all these men and women messed up in the head?

They shout to fight and kill upon first meeting, even sending swords to attack me? Even using silver chains to smash me? Even using gold hairpins to stab me?

Is it just asking for directions?

What's the point of all these tricks?

Especially this Bai Wushuang, still thinking he'd done something to me. But this fool is so stupid he headbutted my own shield—can that be blamed on me?

Wu Jin grew impatient, so the speed of his blood and qi circulation increased ever faster; his body now stood over ten meters tall, his inner blood and qi surging like great rivers, and as the blood and qi rushed, a faint thunderous sound echoed within him.

The surrounding ground trembled for no apparent reason.

Even the gravitational field around him fluctuated with Wu Jin's mood, becoming volatile and uneasy.

Above his head a mass of dark clouds appeared out of nowhere, within which a continual 'hiss' sounded; at first only tiny flashes of light, then soon long strands of blue lightning rolled continuously, the thunderclaps roaring across the wilds.

Such a mighty presence…

Xu Mo felt a wave of despair.

He looked down on Bai Wushuang's rash belligerence, but as a scholar, his mind was filled with too many convoluted thoughts.

Xu Mo happened to have just a little clue leading to the legendary Kunlun ruins… but the ruins are said to contain extremely precious divine artifacts and elixirs, making this clue too valuable for him to bring out.

So, he hesitated.

He wondered whether Wu Jin had learned that he knew this clue and thus deliberately came to his door, or whether Wu Jin had simply and purely come to ask for directions.

Soon, Xu Mo dismissed the possibility that it was all a coincidence.

How could that be? The Nuwa ancestral land is vast and boundless; each time, although the Nuwa open their sacrificial rites and send many people to explore the ancestral land, many great clans also treat the opening of the Nuwa ancestral land as a major trial for their own descendants…

Yet each time the number of testers sent in is still too sparse compared to the immense Nuwa ancestral land.

In the Nuwa ancestral land, not encountering a living person for three to five months is normal.

A person suddenly appearing and asking how to get to the Kunlun ruins—looking at it any way, it's abnormal.

Xun Mo hesitated for a moment, he took a deep breath, and sneered at Wu Jin: "Senior Wu Jin... do you know that my Xun clan is not to be trifled with? What my Xun clan excels at is the art of heavenly secrets divination; if you dare lay a hand on my clansmen, no matter who you..."

Wu Jin looked at Xun Mo's face full of pride, opened his mouth, and spat out a mouthful of saliva.

Like a waterfall, the spit made Xun Mo let out an "awoo" cry, and he rolled repeatedly on the ground for several somersaults.

Xun Mo, drenched and dripping, let out a hoarse strange shout, jumped up covered in saliva, pointed at Wu Jin and angrily said: "A scholar may be killed but not humiliated... Wu Jin, you've gone too far!"

Wu Jin looked at Xun Mo, puzzled.

This guy... has a screw loose.

Slowly rising to his feet, Wu Jin said in a deep, hollow voice: "Since you..."

Xun Mo's mind reacted extremely quickly; without waiting for Wu Jin to finish speaking, he interjected with his own imagined words: "If we refuse to tell you the route to the Kunlun ruins, are you going to kill us? Ha, I can clearly tell you, I, Xun Mo, indeed know some clues about the Kunlun ruins... but, what right do I have to tell you?"

Xun Mo held his head high and chest out, hands behind his back, adopting a mighty and unyielding posture.

"As the ancients said, wealth and honor cannot corrupt, might cannot bend—this is what makes a true man. Though I, Xun Mo, am lacking, I still have a bit of stubborn integrity; do not think you can obtain any information from me by violence."

Wu Jin, holding his shield and great axe, was already ready to leave.

Hearing Xun Mo's words, Wu Jin, who had already coiled his legs ready to spring away, squatted down again.

Staring fixedly at Xun Mo, Wu Jin grinned: "Actually, I truly don't know whether you know how to get to the Kunlun ruins—after all, the Wa clan's ancestral land is vast, and I didn't expect that just speaking would guarantee meeting someone who knows the way."

"Hey, you say, is this my good luck or your bad luck?" Wu Jin laughed cheerfully.

Just then, a gust of fierce wind blew.

In the wind, Xun Mo became disheveled, he stared blankly at Wu Jin: "You don't know that I know?"

Wu Jin looked at Xun Mo with a simple, honest smile: "I really don't know that you know."

Several of Xun Mo's companions simultaneously looked at him with the eyes of one looking at an idiot.

The young men and women who had just been confronting Xun Mo beside Wu Shuang simultaneously sneered and laughed.

The two sides had old grudges, so upon meeting in the Wa clan's ancestral land, Wu Shuang brought his companions to seek out Xun Mo's group, intending to settle some past grievances here.

Seeing Xun Mo make a fool of himself, among Wu Shuang's companions a young man stepped forward: "Lord Wu Jin, we are not allied with Xun Mo. We came to the Wa clan's ancestral land to gather as much rare metal ore as possible to forge weapons of war... we have no designs on the Kunlun ruins."

Wu Jin understood the young man's meaning.

He pulled a high-grade rare primal herb from the huge beast-faced belt and casually tossed it onto Wu Shuang.

"Go on... we have no grudge, it was just a misunderstanding. Take Wu Shuang and leave; he's badly injured, these primal herbs can heal him." Wu Jin waved his hand generously: "Any extra, consider it my gift to you—anyway, I've dug up plenty of these bark and roots lately."

Wu Shuang's companions looked at the primal herbs Wu Jin had thrown out, their eyes almost glowing green.

What great fortune it must be to gather so many top-grade primal herbs!

The primal herbs Wu Jin threw out were almost all top-grade first- or second-quality, especially with ample potency, at least a thousand years old.

Compared to these top-grade primal herbs, Wu Shuang's broken arm and his snapped side sword are truly worthless.

Wu Shuang's companions quickly broke away from Xun Mo's group, they lifted the unconscious Wu Shuang, grabbed those primal herbs, and prepared to leave.

"You kids over there, yes, you, stop for this prince."

A voice extremely arrogant and overbearing, hoarse and grating, echoed from afar.

Following it came a blade-thick arc of fire, the gold‑red flames carrying terrifying heat as they screamed past, barely grazing the toes of the youth holding Wu Shuang and carving on the ground a fissure a thousand zhang long, half a chi wide, and extremely deep.

The surrounding air temperature rose sharply; the energy contained in this fire was too strong, and the sand and soil on both sides of the fissure were melted into a flowing glass‑like state that streamed into the deep crack.

Wu Jin abruptly turned, instinctively raising his left shield to guard his chest.

The youths present all emitted various glows of light to protect their bodies; Wu Shuang and Xun Mo's groups quickly formed two strong defensive circles, separated by a distance of several dozen zhang.

A gleaming gold double‑wheeled chariot came screaming from the distant sky.

The chariot's twin wheels spewed flames, and even from far away everyone felt a wave of heat wash over them.

Above the chariot blazed a fireball a hundred zhang in diameter, constantly spraying flames outward; great clumps of fireballs continually fell to the ground, burning a conspicuous trail of fire across the earth.

Within the fireball, a dim‑colored phantom of a bird could be faintly seen, appearing and disappearing.

The chariot came flying forward; on it stood a youth wearing a gold robe, his body surrounded by flickering flames, his figure extremely tall and straight, his face exceptionally handsome—yet a large hooked nose utterly ruined his features, filling him with an arrogant air.

The youth stood alone on the chariot; behind it trailed four clouds of fire, and four warriors clad in gold armor, their aura astonishingly mighty, drove the fire clouds, never leaving the chariot's side.

In just a few breaths, the chariot arrived before Wu Jin and the others.

The youth stood with his hands behind his back, arrogantly on the chariot, his expression cold as he said: "I am Wu Xiao, seventh prince of the Wu clan of the Golden Crow, of the Soul clan."

A flash of fire passed through his pupils; Wu Xiao coldly said: "This prince intends to go to the Kunlun ruins, lacking attendants; now you are conscripted by me."