Chapter 106: 101 Chasing the Sun (Second Update)

"Ah—I'm exhausted, I'm exhausted!"

Tang Zhao had followed the fat cat all the way down, finally landing on the ground from the air. Once his body had something to lean on, his whole frame went limp; he simply wanted to collapse and sleep.

That final move just now was neither Sword Art nor Sword Technique. He no longer had the physical strength for any Sword Art or Sword Technique. He had merely used his last bit of power to simulate the Yanggu Sword, controlling the Sword Image, and stopped halfway through.

This control had given the sun a downward force, and then, by ceasing to apply force, it naturally fell in freefall.

What caused the damage was the manifested sun itself, and it was Xing Ji who had lured the flood dragon into the sun's falling path. There was a bit of luck involved in this; if the flood dragon had been clever enough to observe the sun above its head, it might not have even fallen into the trap. To ensure the trap was foolproof, Xing Ji had moved extremely stealthily and slowly, paying a great price for it. Even if he had escaped in the end, he was likely severely injured.

Tang Zhao had only given it a nudge, yet it had exhausted all his strength. If there was any left, it was only from maintaining the simulated state, keeping the Sword Image from disappearing, waiting until the sun fell into the valley before canceling the simulation to let the Sword Image extinguish completely.

This time, there really was nothing left.

Dragged and pulled by the fat cat, he was finally hauled back to the ground. Tang Zhao collapsed on the ground, dizzy and muddled. Even though he only wanted to sleep, he still had matters weighing on his heart, and he forced himself to stay awake, not daring to rest.

The first matter: was that Demon dead or not?

The sun setting just now could be called grand in scale, but in the end, it was not the real sun and lacked heavenly might. If that Demon had thick skin and flesh and could still linger on in a dying state under such circumstances, what was to be done?

The second matter: Xing Ji and the others had been teleported away; he wondered what their fate was?

At the time he proposed this method, he had intended for Xing Ji to use his Sword Technique to teleport the Demon directly to the sun so he could act immediately, saving time. Who knew Xing Ji would say: "My exile only has distance, not direction. I don't know where it teleports to, so I cannot perform targeted teleportation."

Good heavens, no wonder it was called exile and not teleportation.

But thinking about it, it made sense. This exile involved space and was already very powerful. The Pi Gan Jian was not specialized in space, so how could it be so wishful?

The final plan was for Xing Ji to first lure the dragon into the trap and then exile himself. He likely chose the shortest exile distance—thirty miles.

But those thirty miles were also in an unfixed direction. Who knew if he might land in a dangerous place, or even—land in the direction where the sun set?

One had to know that Xing Ji did not have much power left. It would be a shame if a dignified Town Guardian did not die on the front lines but was instead swept away by the aftermath.

And then... himself.

He himself was also left in the Demon Cave, and the surroundings were not exactly peaceful either. However, he was not worried, because he was not alone; the fat cat was still protecting him.

Huh?

Where was the cat?

Tang Zhao suddenly realized with a start. He looked left and right with difficulty, suddenly discovering that the cat had disappeared again.

Ah, he had been abandoned by the cat!

Forget it, it was to be expected... His battle here was over, but the Inspector was still fighting above. One couldn't just keep a Sword Image lingering here. Once the cat had safely put him down, it naturally went back to fight.

Hopefully, the battle above would also go smoothly. The Inspector was a Sword Hero; she should be more powerful and wouldn't have a brush with death like Xing Ji, right?

At this moment, he could only lie quietly. Although it was somewhat dangerous, he figured it was much safer than the members of the Land Inspection Division who didn't know where they were, or the Inspector at the end of the Demon Cave.

"Xiao Tang?"

A person's voice came from far to near, saying: "You can't sleep here! If a Phantom comes from somewhere and sucks you dry, that would be bad."

It was Peng Yiming.

Tang Zhao only then remembered that such a person had been left behind to guard the base. He wanted to force himself to sit up, but he was truly exhausted, saying weakly: "Official Peng, I am here! Forgive my lack of manners..."

Peng Yiming rushed over and said: "We're brothers, what manners! Are you injured? What happened above? A ball of light appeared above just now, alternating between day and night. Was that caused by the Demon? Could it be that the Demon is a Candle Dragon?"

Candle Dragon... you really have an imagination. A flood dragon was already this much trouble; if it were a Candle Dragon, would that be the end of it?

The situation above was hard to explain, especially regarding the sun rising and setting. There were some things Tang Zhao could tell Xing Ji, but Xing Ji wouldn't ask. Others would ask, but he wouldn't say.

He immediately edited the situation above, focusing mainly on everyone's current state. As for the final ultimate move, he vaguely attributed it to Xing Ji, only emphasizing that the Demon and the red sun had fallen together and their life or death was unknown, asking if he could go confirm it, and if possible, deliver a finishing blow.

Now, inside and outside the Demon Cave, there were only broken soldiers and wounded generals; only Peng Yiming was a complete combat force. It was the time to use him. Peng Yiming also knew that he bore a heavy responsibility and that the time for the final word had come. He was very excited, rubbing his hands and saying: "Good, I will go check right now."

Glancing at Tang Zhao, Peng Yiming still helped him up, saying: "Don't lie here. Although the area has been cleared on the surface, who knows where a Fierce Beast might pop out and snatch you away. Let's go."

He called his Spirit Image to pick up Tang Zhao, laughing: "Look how well I treat you. I won't hold you; I'll let this beautiful sister hold you."

Tang Zhao reunited with his own people, his mood gradually relaxing, and he joked along: "Many thanks, Official. When I was young, many beautiful young ladies wanted to hold me, but I wouldn't allow it. Today, I have troubled this sister."

Peng Yiming felt a critical hit, glanced at Tang Zhao's face, made two scoffing sounds, and went silent.

The two followed the direction of the fall. Along the way, they passed those Yumen Guan and saw that the Pi Gan Jian was still playing with a ball like a prayer bead. It turned out that although Ku Yi was dead, his Art Tool was still useful.

Peng Yiming only felt his head ache. He let the Spirit Image collect the Art Tool left behind by Ku Yi, and looking at the silly red tiger that acted as if nothing had happened, although it wasn't good to discuss superiors behind their backs, he still grumbled a few words to himself.

Without the ball to play with, the Pi Gan Jian returned to normal and went back into the Yumen Guan, and this Great Array was complete once again.

After exiting the Great Array, they could gradually see the capable bailiffs assisting on the perimeter. At this time, there weren't many tasks left inside. Peng Yiming originally wanted to pick some people to follow him to clear out the Demon and also divide up the materials on the Demon's body, but he was afraid that if the Demon hadn't died by luck, it would ruin the lives of a few bailiffs who were at most Knights-Errant. Finally, he picked four strong and nimble ones, letting them follow behind him at a distance, only allowing them to come forward when he gave the signal. He himself took Tang Zhao in front; if things went wrong, he could first hand Tang Zhao over to them to look after.

After running for a long time in the night, the valley was still far ahead. Tang Zhao felt uneasy in his heart and said: "Why is it so far? There wouldn't be any households nearby, would there?"

Peng Yiming shook his head and said: "There are no households for a hundred miles around here. We checked house by house within this month, and anyone still living here has been moved out. I saw that ball of light just now too; it fell into the valley. As long as it's still in the mountains, it won't hit the common people. Don't worry, 'looking at a mountain wears out a horse'; we are considered close."

Tang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, and Peng Yiming also said: "It's fortunate that this Demon Cave is in the mountains this time. If it were on the plains, let alone hitting villages and towns, even destroying farmland would have serious consequences. This night has been full of floods and heavenly fire; water and fire are heartless, and who knows how many more Yinhuo Township might have been created."

Tang Zhao remembered one thing and said: "What if it starts a forest fire?"

Peng Yiming let out a 'ha' and said: "If we can handle it, we handle it; if we can't, we have to ask for reinforcements. We'll find the brothers in the Ash Demon Cave; they are experts at dealing with fires."

As they got closer and closer to the valley, they could faintly see firelight emerging from the valley. Getting closer still, they could hear faint roaring sounds.

It was indeed the flood dragon!

"This demon really didn't die. But it sounds less imposing than before."

Indeed, although the roaring in the valley carried ten parts of anger, the voice was weak and lacked the momentum to overturn rivers and seas from before. It seemed that even if it wasn't dead, it was on its last breath.

But besides the flood dragon's voice, there seemed to be human voices?

Could it be that his guess was right, and some clerk from the Land Inspection Division had bad luck and ran into the Demon that fell from the sky?

"That's not right, there are many human voices!" Peng Yiming suddenly became vigilant, "It seems it really hit some mountain village. I'll go take a look."

Tang Zhao hurriedly said: "Take your Spirit Image with you to facilitate the battle; I'll be fine here."

Peng Yiming said: "Don't worry, my Spirit Image and I share a mental connection; I only need one thought to move her there. Carrying her now would make me conspicuous. Find a place to crouch down, and don't come unless I call you."

Tang Zhao agreed. By this time, the two had reached the mouth of the valley. Peng Yiming gathered his spirit and energy, striding toward the valley.

Suddenly, only a 'boom' was heard; a loud noise erupted in the valley, the earth shook and the mountains swayed, and large rocks rolled down from both sides.

The Spirit Image reacted extremely quickly, picking up Tang Zhao and flying up, escaping the range of the falling rocks extremely fast. Peng Yiming himself had decent martial arts; he leaped upward, bursting out from the rubble, and in his busy state, he shouted backward: "Four brothers, stop! It's dangerous here!"

This rockfall came quickly and went quickly, causing no chain collapse, and the dust soon settled.

It was just that the mouth of the valley had been blocked!

The two looked at each other; inside, the screams were incessant and grew increasingly clamorous, and although the roars were weak, they did not fade, clearly indicating that a human tragedy was unfolding within the valley. Peng Yiming said, "I will climb over; you do not come in." Having said this, he climbed onto the large rock.

He truly did not summon his Spirit Image; with his agility, climbing over this obstruction was not difficult.

Tang Zhao was in mid-air, his gaze passing over the obstacle, and he vaguely saw a ruin in the canyon that did not seem to be a village or town. A charred shadow was charging about, flat and wide; no matter how one looked at it, it did not resemble a flood dragon.

Just as he was observing thoroughly, the mountains on both sides moved violently again, and rubble fell continuously, filling the narrow valley mouth, piling higher and higher until it gradually resembled a sheer cliff that would not allow anyone to climb over.

Tang Zhao's line of sight was also blocked, and he could no longer see the situation inside.

At this moment, the Spirit Image suddenly descended, placed him on a flat piece of ground, and then, with a swish, it vanished—

The battle inside had begun.

I hope this is the final battle!