Chapter 49 The Water Buffalo and the Egret (Part 1)
Sincerity leads to foresight!
Tang Zichen is Wang Chao's older sister, master, and beloved wife. She holds the highest position in Wang Chao's heart, a position no one can shake. Her martial arts level has reached the ultimate truth of "not seeing, not hearing, sensing danger and avoiding it." If she doesn't take the initiative to appear, Jiang Liu simply cannot find her.
Jiang Liu and she did not fight. They talked on the beach all night, and at dawn, Jiang Liu set sail across the sea.
Yu Jingzi, Ba Liming, Yan Yuanyi, Bai Xianyong... Jiang Liu had already made arrangements, and his departure was swift and decisive.
"If we are fortunate enough, we shall meet again in the Milky Way!"
Before the sun rose, the sea and sky were shrouded in darkness. A colossal, even darker bronze gate appeared on the sea, and upon contact, one was instantly swallowed by darkness. A vast will, gentle yet resolute, enveloped Jiang Liu, severing all the intricate connections he had with the other world.
Meanwhile, in a very distant place, a vast entity that felt exceptionally familiar began to resonate with the river.
In an instant, the river disappeared into the sea and sky.
Then, Jiang Liu felt a tremendous suction force, as if he had been drawn into a vortex. Having experienced this before, Jiang Liu simply gave up resisting and completely lost consciousness!
When he opened his eyes, the bronze-armored corpse stood beside him like an iron tower. Looking around, he realized that he was indeed in the spiritual vein of Qianlong Mountain.
Jiang Liu (Qi Refiner)
[Cultivation Level: Second Stage of Refining Essence into Qi]
[Taoist Technique: Nine Heavens Thunder Orthodox Method (Minor Success):]
Palm Thunder: Using the Thunder and Lightning Talisman to unleash the Nine Heavens Thunder Orthodox Technique can greatly increase the power of thunder magic;
Chidori: Transforms vital energy into lightning, concentrates it in the hand to form a high-intensity current, then dashes forward and pierces the enemy, possessing extremely strong penetrating power and paralyzing effect;
Purification Mantra (Entering the Inner Chamber): Cleanse the body with the sun and refine the form with the moon, so that the physical body reaches the acquired state;
Maoshan Corpse Refining Technique (Advanced Level): Copper-armored Corpse, with copper skin and iron bones, possessing strength of a thousand catties;
Maoshan Talismans (Comprehensive Understanding): Great General Corpse-Suppressing Talisman, Zhang Tianshi's General Talisman for Suppressing All Evil Spirits, Qilin Talisman, Thunder and Lightning Talisman
[Martial Arts: Body Refinement (Innate Realm): "The tortoise and snake coil together, their life force is strong, yet they can grow a golden lotus in fire"; possessing the power of true martial arts]
[Boxing style: Chinese martial arts (Grandmaster): The boxing intent of 'Thunder in the Awakening of Insects, Dazzling Heavenly Might';
The Six True Techniques of Destruction (Great Completion): The Technique of Shock, The Technique of Transformation, The Technique of Boom, The Technique of Pierce, The Technique of Severance, The Technique of Emptiness.
[Swordplay: Wudang Turtle-Snake Sword (Mastery)]
[Body Techniques: Stepping on the Dipper and Spreading the Qilin (Mastery), Qilin Step (Mastery), Antelope Hanging Horns (Mastery), Elephant Crossing the River (Mastery)]
[Horizontal Training: Dragon's Roar Iron Shirt (Mastery), Tiger's Roar Golden Bell Cover (Mastery)]
[Equipment: Thunder Tribulation Peach Wood Sword, Soul-Destroying Nail, 3 Profound Origin Pills, 1 Rejuvenating Pill, 1 Soul Nourishing Pill, some jade, and some alchemy materials]
Looking at the empty spiritual vein, Jiang Liu sighed. Without a massive amount of energy to rely on, crossing over again was simply impossible.
A small spiritual vein can only support two transmigrations, and both are low-martial-and-magic worlds. If it were a high-martial-and-magic world like "Shushan", "Covering the Sky", or "Star River", how many spirit stones would be needed?
After sealing the spiritual veins, Jiang Liu arrived at the main hall. The three sticks of incense were still burning. He let out a long sigh and thought to himself, "It seems that no matter how much time passes during the transmigration, it's all frozen in the Journey to the West world!"
It seemed that the death of the evil Qingming Daoist had deterred the surrounding villains, and the night passed peacefully.
Before dawn, Jiang Liu sat cross-legged on a large blue stone on the back mountain, practicing breathing exercises in front of the rising sun. Before he knew it, the sun had risen high in the sky.
Jiang Liu finished his practice and looked up. He saw a large white bird perched on the treetop above him. It was pure white except for its thick yellow beak, which looked like solidified honey, incredibly lustrous. Its eyes were bright and alert, staring intently at Jiang Liu.
As Jiang Liu looked up, a hint of fear appeared in the large bird's eyes. It immediately spread its wings and took flight at an extremely fast speed, almost like a sharp arrow.
"snort!"
Jiang Liu snorted coldly, stretched out his palm and grabbed the large bird. In his palm was a lightning talisman, hastily drawn and somewhat hastily, but its power was undiminished.
In an instant, a thunderclap appeared in the void.
"Boom!"
A thunderclap sounded from the ground, and a bolt of lightning struck down, hitting the large white bird squarely in both wings.
Jiang Liu cultivated in a high-voltage electric simulation environment for more than ten days, and his skill in thunder magic naturally improved by leaps and bounds. The control of his palm thunder technique had become exquisite.
The large bird let out a scream like a young girl, its white wings charred black by the lightning strike. Fortunately, it was just a palm lightning strike cast in haste; if the eighteen lightning talismans had been arranged into a lightning-gathering array, this strike would have turned her into a roasted chicken.
The large bird plummeted from the sky in an instant, its eyes filled with tears, and a painful groan came from its jade-like beak.
Jiang Liu looked down at the little demon and sneered, "You little demon who hasn't even taken human form yet dares to spy on me! You really don't know what's good for you!"
For a demon to transform into human form, it must first refine its transverse bones before it can speak; otherwise, it will only utter animalistic language, which is detrimental to cultivation. Only after transforming into human form can it be considered a true demon. This is because humans are the most intelligent of all things in the universe, and the human body is more conducive to comprehending the great principles of heaven and earth.
This pure white bird has already refined its horizontal bones, but has not yet taken human form, and its cultivation level is only at the first or second level of Refining Essence into Qi.
The large bird flapped its wings, which had been struck by lightning and were now charred. It looked terrified and cried out in panic, "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
Jiang Liu grabbed the big bird by the neck, ready to finish off the little demon, when suddenly he saw dust billowing on the mountain path and a big man rushing towards him, his feet pounding the ground like drums.
"Huh! You have accomplices?"
"Waaah! Ugly, save me!"
Jiang Liu looked at the pure white bird in his hand, which resembled a cattle egret. Then he looked at the burly man rushing towards him, with two bull horns on his head, a square face and a broad nose, and holding a large Xuanhua axe. He was indeed a demon transformed from a water buffalo.
The bull demon saw from afar that Jiang Liu had the egret by the neck. In just a few breaths, it covered several hundred meters and stopped in front of Jiang Liu, staring with eyes as big as copper bells and nostrils as big as silver coins, spewing out two thick streams of white breath.
The bull demon's exposed chest still bore remnants of a dark bluish-black pelt, a remnant of its incomplete transformation. Though unsightly, it possessed formidable defensive power. The large patch of fur was exceptionally smooth and supple, without a single blemish, gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight, shimmering with a black sheen.
"Let go of Little Egret!"
The bull demon's voice was muffled and deep, and the Xuanhua axe in his hand gleamed coldly. If Jiang Liu dared to say "no," it seemed he would strike him down on the head.
"It seems like you're the ones trying to seize my Qianlong Temple, but it looks like I'm in the wrong?"
Jiang Liu chuckled. The bull demon in front of him had already transformed into human form, and its strength was in no way inferior to that of the Azure Netherworld Evil Path.
“Treasures and riches belong to the virtuous, the strong, and the mighty! This precious land was created by heaven and earth; you cannot protect it. Even if I do not take it, someone else will. However, if you release Xiao Lu, we will only take the spirit stones. A true man keeps his word! If I cannot persuade you, I will not harm a single hair on your head.”
The bull demon spoke eloquently and logically, clearly not an ordinary, crude monster.
Chapter Fifty: The Water Buffalo and the Egret (Part 2)
What if I say I won't let go?
Jiang Liu tightened his grip on Bai Lu's hand slightly, and the bull demon's eyes, as big as copper bells, instantly turned murderous, while the veins on his hand holding the Xuanhua axe bulged out.
"You're asking for it!"
"Ah Chou, be careful..." Bai Lu, though in great pain, still gasped, "He...he has thunder magic powers, you must be careful..."
"Thunder magic?! Master Xuanming has taken on a fine disciple! If the Xie family hadn't fallen from grace, I wouldn't have done such a shameless thing. A debt of gratitude is a debt that lasts a thousand years, and I can only repay Master Lingyun's kindness with this body! Boy, release Xiaolu now, and we can sit down and have a proper talk..."
Jiang Liu snorted coldly and said, "Let's see who's the real deal!"
The bull demon's eyes burned brightly. He took a deep breath, and his body instantly swelled to more than twice its original size. He was already a giant of more than two meters tall, and when he released his supernatural power, he immediately had a hint of "following the laws of heaven and earth".
"I hate that the sky has no handle, I hate that the earth has no ring, I could uproot mountains with my strength!"
Jiang Liu frowned. In his eyes, this bull demon suddenly seemed as heavy as a mountain. This was a supernatural power that could "overpower all techniques with sheer force," and anyone who touched it would surely die.
In an instant, Xuanhua's great axe came crashing down on his head.
The wind howled, splitting the sky and cracking the earth, with the force of thunder. Jiang Liu swallowed hard, completely unable to defend himself.
A mere graze will cause injury, a direct hit will be fatal; a single axe strike will shatter any defense into pieces!
Jiang Liu suddenly leaped backward, like a horse leaping over the Tanxi River, or a goat making a perilous jump on a cliff. There was absolutely no warning, no prior indication, leaving the bull demon completely unable to predict the direction of the leap and thus unable to launch a shadowy attack.
This leap also surprised the bull demon, who seemed to see a large antelope leaping between cliffs.
"Antelope Hanging Horns" is one of the two major body techniques in Shaolin Imitation Boxing. It is the most exquisite body technique that Shaolin Temple has been refining for more than a thousand years. When Jiang Liu used his Yuan Qi to perform it, he leaped more than ten meters and arrived in an instant.
Xuanhua's great axe slammed down, its force penetrating deep into the ground before exploding with a deafening roar! The entire earth trembled, followed by flying debris and dust billowing up. From a distance, it looked as if a cannonball had exploded on the hillside.
This shows just how powerful it is!
The pebbles came flying at him, hitting his body like bullets. If Jiang Liu hadn't been so skilled in martial arts, he would have been running away with his head in his hands.
He tossed the egret aside, instantly drew a thunder talisman on his palm, and roared, "Nine Heavens Thunder, heed my command! Descend!"
A terrifying bolt of lightning, as thick as an arm, suddenly appeared in the azure sky, its tearing blue-white light slicing straight down!
This was far more terrifying than the lightning strike that hit the egret before.
In an instant, the bull demon's head swayed, and its two black horns rammed into the falling lightning serpent.
A terrifying surge of electricity erupted from the pair of bull horns!
The bull demon roared and, despite the injury to its horns, actually managed to withstand the attack!
Then, he stomped his foot hard on the ground, his straw sandals shattering instantly to reveal a terrifyingly huge bull hoof. With this stomp, a powerful shockwave erupted from his foot, whipping up dirt and pebbles that flew out like waves, hurtling towards the river!
Immediately following was the large, ornate axe; the giant, four meters away, moved with the agility of a rabbit.
This shockwave is similar to the War Stomp of the Tauren Chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof. The immense force shakes the ground, creating shockwaves that can damage enemies and even cause the earth to resonate, making them tremble and become dizzy.
Instead of retreating, the river flowed forward. As the shockwave reached his feet, he was also jolted, and he used the "Transformation Technique" to reduce the terrifying power.
Stepping into the Dipper and spreading the energy, he plunged into the bull demon's embrace, coiling like a tortoise and snake, his True Martial power suddenly appearing, followed by a punch with the "Shock" technique.
"Thump!"
A loud, booming sound came from the point of contact. This bull demon's skin was genuine cowhide, possessing astonishing defensive capabilities. Even a knife might not be able to cut through it.
However, Jiang Liu used the "Zhen" technique, which emphasizes the effect of striking from a distance. No matter how strong the external defense is, it cannot protect the flesh and internal organs inside.
"Get out of the way!"
The bull demon roared, his breath turning into thunder. He clenched his fist and smashed it down, a punch powerful enough to turn Jiang Liu's head into a bloody pulp.
Don't even mention "Dragon's Roar Iron Shirt" or "Tiger's Howl Golden Bell Cover"; even a copper head and iron bones can be smashed.
One force can overcome ten techniques. Even if Jiang Liu had mastered the art of listening to force in Tai Chi to the level of a grandmaster, once the force exceeded its limit, no amount of skill would be of any use.
Retreat...without stopping, retreating again and again!
"Wow! That was a powerful punch!"
The bull demon vomited a mouthful of blood, then rubbed his chest with his palm, clearly feeling unwell.
The egret flapped its injured wings and landed far away on the bull demon's large horn.