CBGC - ch152

Chapter 152: Monster

The sky darkens, and visibility becomes limited; things too far away can no longer be seen.

But visible to the naked eye is the black smoke, as if rising from a large fire. But it doesn't carry a burnt smell. Instead, it emits a strong scent of blood, as if one is in a slaughterhouse.

The shadows of the trees sway. Those ancient trees lurk in the darkness, with branches like fangs and claws, resembling ferocious beasts with their mouths wide open, waiting for people to fall into their traps and devour them. The surroundings are eerie and terrifying, causing Su Tingyun's breathing to become heavier.

This time, the evil aura in the vicinity is much stronger than before. Despite her greatly enhanced cultivation, she still feels uncomfortable. Though her spiritual energy isolates her from her surroundings, she still senses a heavy feeling of oppression. It's as if, in the darkness, a ferocious creature could jump out at any moment to tear her throat apart. This makes her more vigilant, and her mind more tense.

She searches carefully for a long time, but Su Tingyun still doesn't find the entrance to the Dual Realm Mountain. She communicates with Xiao Mei at this moment, and Big Bai promptly throws up the girl.

Su Tingyun uses a spiritual energy barrier to completely protect Xiao Mei. The latter is out now, and although she finds the outside world terrifying, she doesn't directly come into contact with demonic or evil energy, and she isn't affected in any way.

After Li Xinmei comes out, her brows furrow. She places her right hand's index and middle fingers in front of her eyes, and then a faint red glow appears on her fingertips. When she lowers her hand eventually, Su Tingyun notices that the color of her eyes has changed again.

Previously a faint purple, now her irises are deep purple, shining like exquisite gemstones. She must have inherited the legacy of the Celestial Eye Clan. These deep purple eyes make Xiao Mei, who's already extremely beautiful, appear like an unparalleled enchantress.

Li Xinmei gazes quietly at her surroundings. Her eyes can dispel illusions, so even though her cultivation is lower than Su Tingyun's, she can see much more at this moment.

For some reason, tears start to flow from her eyes, and her complexion gradually turns pale.

"What's wrong?" Su Tingyun has been observing Xiao Mei closely. Noticing something unusual about her, she immediately instructs Big Bai to put her back inside. However, Li Xinmei waves her hand to stop her. Blinking her eyes, she then wipes away her tears and points to a spot, saying, "There seems to be something fishy here."

The location she's pointing to doesn't have the strange stone that Su Tingyun saw before.

Instead, there's only a fallen, withered tree lying on the ground, as if struck by lightning. Upon closer inspection, Su Tingyun notices that the tree has grown quite a few black wood ears. Although Su Tingyun's divine sense carefully searched and found no abnormalities before, looking at the black wood ears now, she feels they are as black as ink. As if ink could seep out from under them.

She directly summons the Springwater Sword and slashes at the withered tree. At that moment, gusts of cold wind emerge from behind the tree. Zhang Zhizi, accompanied by the Beauty Scroll, emerges from the entrance of the Dual Realm Mountain and happens to encounter this sword strike!

"Boom!" Black energy appears on the Beauty Scroll, and the entire painting emits light. After blocking the Springwater Sword, Bai Lu waves her feather fan, conjuring gusts of fierce winds sweeping towards Su Tingyun.

Amidst the strong winds, Su Tingyun stands firm with her sword in hand.

As the saying goes, "When you least expect it, you find what you're looking for." This is precisely the case now. Her goal is to find the entrance to the demon realm first, and if that fails, to figure out a way to seal off the Qilian Mountains. She hadn't expected to encounter a key figure right away.

Whenever the Beauty Scroll appears, the entrance to the Demon Realm will open. Although Xi Guang was sealed in the painting three thousand years ago, the entrance to the demon realm did not appear. This indicates that someone resealed the Beauty Scroll three thousand years ago. In other words, if Zhang Zhizi is killed, the Beauty Scroll will become ownerless, and she can reseal it again. If destroying it is not possible, she can also throw it back into the Dual Realm Mountain!

She instantly spreads out her pressure. Seven talismans float in the air, the sealing array simultaneously activating and blocking Zhang Zhizi's escape route as soon as he emerges from the crack. At the same time, she deploys a spiritual energy barrier. Under the double sealing, Su Tingyun feels slightly safer.

"What's the point of fighting and killing? Dear girl, you're so adorable," Bai Lu says, shaking her fan with a chuckle. She then glances around. "Mahayana cultivation, yet you just used spiritual energy and didn't incur divine punishment. It seems even the heavens are turning a blind eye these days..."

She presses her fan forward. "If I could put you in the painting, the power of this Beauty Scroll would probably double. Freed from the constraints of the Heavenly Dao..."

Su Tingyun's previous sword strike was casual, without revealing her sword intent. Also, she even used array talismans. Her body has completely changed now, so Bai Lu doesn't recognize her. If she knew about the Heavenly Fire and Kunlun Divine Tree on Su Tingyun's person, she definitely wouldn't be laughing now.

Xi Guang's beautiful eyes gleam with radiance as she coquettishly says, "Congratulations, Master; we shall add two more beauties to your collection."

Though trapped in the barrier, Zhang Zhizi shows no fear. He chuckles twice, his gaze sweeping past Su Tingyun and directly onto Li Xinmei. His eyes are piercing, filled with intense lust. As he speaks, his tongue darts out to lick his lips. "Sister Mei, you're becoming more and more beautiful by the day."

"Sister Mei, if you follow me, you will naturally become stronger. Then you can do anything you want. Come over here quickly." Because he painted Li Xinmei's half-body, Zhang Zhizi more or less feels her emotions at that time.

Her negative emotions are considerable, almost overwhelming her entirely. She feels guilty and blames herself, thinking she's useless and has brought down the strong in her Sect. In other words, this Sister Mei has extremely low self-esteem and is even cowardly. Back then, he didn't have such a deep understanding of what it means to enter the painting, but later in Dual Realm Mountain, he would occasionally recall Li Xinmei, naturally gaining a deeper understanding.

"Zhang Zhizi, I've never regretted anything that happened to me in this world, except for you." Li Xinmei's eyes deepen, enunciating each word slowly. "I regret giving you food and spirit stones back then; I regret healing your wounds for you. I should have just stabbed you to death, you scum!"

Zhang Zhizi's breathing quickens, and the black energy around him gradually thickens.

Xiao Mei is usually a gentle girl and doesn't curse people. However, at this moment, she wracks her brain for insults because Su Tingyun wants her to distract Zhang Zhizi and his group, making it easier for her to set up an ambush.

The other party doesn't know she's Su Tingyun, nor do they know about the Heavenly Fire on her. That's why they're acting so recklessly. Since that's the case, she must make good use of this opportunity to catch them all!

The entrance to Dual Realm Mountain is just behind them. If they can escape inside, it'll be their territory. Even the gods could be trapped in the Dual Realm Mountain until they die. Su Tingyun is not confident that she can kill them in there. Therefore, she must seize this opportunity.

"You are such a selfish little person! You drugged Granny's meat and knocked her out, stole the spirit stones while I was heavily injured and unconscious, then went to the Wuliang Sect to sign up. You already had such dark thoughts at such a young age. Turns out you could get even more repulsive..."

"Xu Wei also took the spirit stones. I just learned from him!" Zhang Zhizi has always felt like everyone has wronged him, so naturally, he doesn't think he's at fault. Now, with a dark expression, he says in a sinister tone, "I took the spirit stones, but you didn't die; you even joined the Wuliang Sect and became a highly favored disciple. If you had said a word in my favor, I wouldn't have ended up being looked down upon by everyone in the Sect. But you didn't."

"So I regret that! I should have just exposed your misconduct back then, should have prevented you from being accepted as a disciple, and then killed you. That would have settled everything. You, you, you are a beast, worse than a beast!" Xiao Mei speaks with anger about the past, but she truly doesn't curse people. It takes her a long time to muster up these words.

On the other hand, Su Tingyun straight up adds, "Your dad should have shot you against a wall!"

Li Xinmei is momentarily stunned, then says, "I should have let you starve to death long ago. Xu Wei was the strongest. If it weren't for us holding him back, he would have collected enough spirit stones long ago. I can understand his actions, but I can't forgive you. You ungrateful wretch! Hoping others would sacrifice for you. Who would be so foolish to repeatedly save a white-eyed wolf?"

Li Xinmei's face reddens as she gets all worked up while scolding, her chest heaving. Even though she's tightly wrapped in clothes, revealing nothing, just the slight curve of her chest movements catches Zhang Zhizi's attention, making his eyes slowly darken. Her mockery intensifies the surging black aura around Zhang Zhizi, with all his focus drawn to Li Xinmei.

He sees only her in his eyes, wishing he could immediately grab her and press her beneath him right then and there.

Bai Lu watches the scene unfold with her fan in hand, thoroughly enjoying herself. She now finds Li Xinmei quite impressive. The way she provokes Zhang Zhizi into a rage is just so satisfying for her. Just at that moment, Bai Lu suddenly senses something amiss. She looks down and angrily warns, "Watch out!"

But it's too late. Countless roots of the Kunlun Divine Tree entwine Zhang Zhizi and the Beauty Scroll from beneath the ground. Big Bai emerges from the soil and bites Zhang Zhizi's foot.

Bai Lu and Xi Guang act simultaneously, with the Beauty Picture transforming into blades flying towards Big Bai. However, at that moment, flames ignite along the Kunlun Divine Tree, engulfing Zhang Zhizi and the Beauty Picture at once!

"Heavenly Fire Incineration!"

"Kunlun Divine Tree, Springwater Sword, it's you!" Xi Guang screams, completely ignoring Zhang Zhizi and the Beauty Scroll. She flies straight towards Su Tingyun. In her hand appears a lamp, exactly as drawn in her painting. The lamp's surface rotates, displaying countless shadowy images of beautiful women, as if a gathering of female ghosts. With long, sharp nails, they reach out towards Su Tingyun.

Xi Guang could be considered the weakest one in the Beauty Scroll. Back then, she only had the cultivation level of the Tribulation Transcendent Period. Having just awakened not long ago, and with the Beauty Scroll still burning from the Heavenly Fire, her attacks cannot even break through Su Tingyun's spiritual barrier.

The Beauty Scroll emits black smoke as it burns, writhing and shaking in the air, attempting to extinguish the flames. But at this moment, Su Tingyun is exerting all her strength. She cannot let it have its way.

Her spiritual energy operates at its peak. Her soul concentrates, continuously urging the Heavenly Fire to burn. The ring that has gathered the five elements continuously nourishes her. Although it's using her consciousness immensely, she is not yet exhausted, thanks to the ring's nourishment. She doesn't have to worry about her body rejecting it anymore. Therefore, this time, she will definitely be able to detain the Beauty Scroll and Zhang Zhizi completely.

A beast-like roar rips itself out of Zhang Zhizi's throat. After being scorched by the Heavenly Fire, his body crouches low. His clothes are completely destroyed, and his body begins to mutate, crawling on the ground like a lizard. Meanwhile, within the Dual Realm Mountain, black energy continues to surge out, rushing into Zhang Zhizi's body, causing the Heavenly Fire on him to weaken significantly...

Su Tingyun is sustained by the ring.

Zhang Zhizi also has the entire demonic territory of the Dual Realm Mountain as his backing, resulting in a stalemate. Enduring the pain, Bai Lu says, "We have the Dual Realm Mountain as our backing. No matter what, this time, she must be eliminated!"

Last time, they failed to capture her, and now her advancement is far beyond their expectations.

Both sides consider each other the most crucial target for elimination. Therefore, Bai Lu and her companions do not attempt to break through the barrier and escape back to the Dual Realm Mountain. They must kill each other!

The Beauty Scroll shakes vigorously, undulating like rolling waves. Zhang Zhizi's body continues to expand, becoming unmistakably beast-like. At this moment, beads of sweat form on Su Tingyun's nose. Even though her primordial spirit feels a stabbing pain, she does not reduce her control over the Heavenly Fire Incineration. On the contrary, she continues to enhance the power of the Heavenly Fire. Meanwhile, Big Bai dashes around, adding Kunlun Divine Tree to the flames, allowing them to barely gain the upper hand.

Big Bai's attack ability lies in emotional contagion. However, her negative emotional contagion is undoubtedly the best nourishment for the demon Zhang Zhizi. So now she can't use it. Also, she can't swallow them and corrode them in her belly since the Beauty Scroll will block that. The Beauty Scroll can cut through her belly. Of course, she can still Speak and dictate to the universe. But in reality, Big Bai has no idea how to speak to mobilize the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. She only remembers that it was very uncomfortable last time, and they didn't want Granny to be sad, so they said those words. After saying them, her body deflated for a long time, as if she had lost all strength and couldn't recover for a long, long time.

At this moment, Big Bai can only keep adding wood to the fire. Her body becomes very small, yet the speed is extremely fast. Bai Lu tries to suppress Big Bai with her feather fan many times, but she's failing. Big Bai also has the cultivation of the Mahayana Realm now, so Bai Lu cannot exert soul suppression on her. At this moment, she has no way to deal with Big Bai!

Seeing the flames grow stronger, both Bai Lu and Xi Guang are in agonizing pain; their faces pale. They both look at Zhang Zhizi and say, "Master, it's so uncomfortable."

"Master, you're so useless."

"It's so uncomfortable." is said by Xi Guang, while "You're so useless." comes from Bai Lu's mouth. At this moment, Zhang Zhizi is gasping heavily, with the influx of demonic energy almost bursting his meridians. His body is covered in gruesome wounds, and he's in so much pain that he's almost unconscious. However, after hearing "You're so useless," he suddenly raises his head. His body surges with hostility. The branches of the Divine Tree are deeply embedded in his flesh, but he doesn't feel the pain at all. Instead, he carries the branches and the burning flames and charges towards Su Tingyun.

Zhang Zhizi's eyes are bloodshot. He opens his mouth wide, his teeth sharp, saliva flowing, no longer resembling a human.

At this moment, Zhang Zhizi is no different from a mindless monster.