Nu Art: Scattering Beans to Create Soldiers

The worried old man sighed, knowing he couldn't get Xu Ying to have tea today. He rolled up his sleeve, put away the table, chairs, teapot, and teacups, and slowly left.

His speed seemed slow, but in reality, it was very fast. In a short time, he disappeared from Mount Wu Wang.

Then, that Mount Wu Wang let out a world-shattering roar. The mountainside trembled slightly, countless shattered stones exploded, and the mountain body began to slowly tilt to one side.

This mountain was truly enormous. Even a landslide would take some time to smash onto the ground.

Xu Ying was still sprinting under the increasingly large silk scarf. However, he had now shrunk to the size of a bean. No matter how fast he ran, he couldn't escape the scarf's coverage for a while.

"A Ying, is that you?" A large snake suddenly appeared in front of him and asked.

The snake had one black and one white dragon horn on its head, and its body was covered in mirror-like scales. It was Yuan Qi. Although it looked the same size as before, that was relative to Xu Ying.

Xu Ying had now shrunk to the size of a bean, and Yuan Qi had also shrunk. He was only about a foot long, but he was still a hundred times larger than Xu Ying.

The man and the snake were in the same predicament, both shrunk by Granny Zhou Yu with a silk scarf.

Xu Ying jumped onto Yuan Qi's back and said, "Xiao Qi, you need to be faster. Let's escape this place as soon as possible!"

Yuan Qi carried him and swam outwards. "What kind of technique is this old woman using? How is she so powerful?"

The voice of the Great Bronze Bell echoed, "It should be the Nu Art of 'scattering beans to create soldiers,' but she's using it in reverse. 'Scattering beans to create soldiers' allows beans to turn into golden-armored divine beings upon landing, growing larger than normal humans when exposed to the wind. The old woman is doing the opposite, making people very small, shrinking them to the size of beans. Qi Refiners also have similar spells."

Xu Ying's eyes flickered. "I have already opened the Ni Wan Secret Treasury, understand life and death, yin and yang, and can control the body's vitality. Although her Nu Art is exquisite, it won't trap me for long. I can return to my normal size. Yuan Qi, if you can comprehend the size-changing techniques recorded in the 'True Cultivation of the Flood Dragon' and the 'Dragon Snake Awakening Technique,' you can also break her Nu Art."

Yuan Qi swam forward rapidly. He recalled the size-changing techniques from the 'True Cultivation of the Flood Dragon' that Xu Ying had taught him. Indeed, there were methods for body transformation. He was overjoyed. "A Ying is still the most reliable. After your guidance, I know how to break it."

Suddenly, through the silk scarf, they saw the tilting Mount Wu Wang. Despair welled up in their hearts. Mount Wu Wang was crashing down towards them and would soon crush them to pieces!

If it were any other time, they might have been able to escape. But now, with their short limbs, they couldn't escape the mountain's range!

Just then, the silk scarf was suddenly grasped by a large hand. Under the scarf, Xu Ying and Yuan Qi were wrapped by it and involuntarily flew into the sky.

Granny Zhou Yu, the old woman of the Zhou family, grinned and chuckled. She shook the silk scarf onto the basket she was carrying. Xu Ying and Yuan Qi felt their world spin, falling from the scarf and into the basket.

"I have invited Young Master Xu. I shall take my leave first!" Granny Zhou Yu said with a smile, as if speaking to someone.

There were about half a basket of beans in the basket. Xu Ying and Yuan Qi landed among them, causing the beans to cry out in pain.

Xu Ying and Yuan Qi were startled. They saw the beans stand up like people, wearing golden armor, golden helmets, and holding green swords. Their brows were filled with burgeoning heroic spirit, and each of them was exceptionally handsome.

Yuan Qi was startled and asked vigilantly, "Who are you? Were you also captured by the demoness?"

A burly man in golden armor, closest to him, put his hands on his hips and said with disdain, "What demoness? She's the Lord of Dangtian Prefecture! That slippery snake is ignorant! Haven't you heard of scattering beans to create soldiers? We are from Dangtian Prefecture..."

Tens of thousands of golden-armored men turned their heads in unison to look at them and said in unison, "Bean Soldiers!"

Yuan Qi's eyes twitched. He whispered to Xu Ying, "They aren't human?"

Before Xu Ying could reply, the Great Bell's voice came, "They are beans from scattering beans to create soldiers. However, that Granny Zhou Yu is also remarkable, being able to bestow intelligence upon these bean soldiers. This kind of technique cannot be achieved with the vitality of the secret treasury. The Zhou family's Nu Art has likely advanced beyond its original form, becoming much more exquisite than similar techniques used by Qi Refiners."

It had always believed that Nu Art was inferior to the techniques of the Qi Refiner era. To admit that the Nu Art of scattering beans to create soldiers surpassed similar techniques was rare.

The leading golden-armored man asked, "Which one of you is Young Master Xu? The Lord of Dangtian Prefecture has ordered us to look after the young master and ensure he suffers no harm."

Xu Ying didn't answer. He immediately stepped on a bean soldier's head and tried to climb out of the basket, attempting to escape.

"Don't go out!"

The golden-armored bean soldier grabbed his legs and shouted, "There's a terrifying two-legged divine spirit outside! Its claws are dozens of times larger than yours, with an iron beak and a golden throat. Flames are spewing from its head, it has steel wings, swallows clouds and mist, and its roar is like thunder! Many of our brothers have died in the mouths of the two-legged god!"

Yuan Qi thought for a moment and said, "Are you perhaps talking about a chicken?"

Xu Ying was determined to escape. He climbed upwards, and the bean soldiers pulled and tugged at his feet, trying to pull him down. Xu Ying finally managed to reach the edge of the basket and lifted the silk scarf to look out.

They saw that they were now in the sky. The old woman was carrying the basket, and behind her was a great peng bird, soaring through the air and carrying them at high speed.

That great peng bird was likely a manifestation of the old woman's Hidden Scenery, carrying the old woman and them through the sky.

Suddenly, Xu Ying saw the distant mountains tremble, followed by a terrifying wave that swept over, flattening the clouds in the sky wherever it passed!

"This is bad!"

Xu Ying's face changed drastically. He quickly shouted, "Grandpa Bell, come out and save me quickly!"

The Great Bell flew out from the back of his head, instantly bursting the basket. Xu Ying, Yuan Qi, and the string of golden-armored bean soldiers clinging to Xu Ying's ankles all fell into the Great Bell.

The Great Bell was a magical treasure refined by ancient Qi Refiners and was hidden in Xu Ying's mind. Granny Zhou Yu's Nu Art couldn't shrink it, so it retained its original form.

The moment the basket burst, Granny Zhou Yu noticed. The old woman was startled and quickly reached out to grab the Great Bell, saying, "Young Master Xu, don't resist me. I mean no harm..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the incredibly terrifying wave struck. The Golden Winged Great Peng Nu Art behind Granny Zhou Yu was instantly shattered. The terrifying impact force acted upon the old woman, causing her to spit blood and be thrown backward!

"Clang!"

The destructive wave collided with the Great Bell. The bell rang, and various runes on its surface lit up, spinning and transforming into an incredibly thick light barrier.

However, there was a huge palm print on the light barrier, which was the wound left by the Maiden in the Coffin on the Great Bell, becoming a breakthrough point on the bell's surface!

The next moment, the thick light barrier was torn apart. The Great Bell rang loudly and was spun and blasted away.

"It's over!"

The Great Bell felt a wave of sorrow. "I've only managed to heal a little of my injuries by stealing some Blood Essence these past few days. This time, I'm afraid all my efforts will be in vain!"

Inside the Great Bell, Xu Ying, Yuan Qi, and hundreds of golden-armored bean soldiers were violently tossed around, bumping into each other. Some bean soldiers cried out, "I'm being crushed! I'm going to die!"

After saying that, they were crushed into bean paste and met their untimely demise.

A moment later, the violent impacts from outside finally subsided. The Great Bell fell from the sky, crashing into the forest and rolling for three to four miles with clanging sounds before it stopped.

Xu Ying climbed out of the bell's opening with difficulty, sitting on its rim, his legs trembling and his body still shaking. After a moment, he recovered and reset Yuan Qi's dislocated bones.

It had been too bumpy earlier; Yuan Qi's entire skeleton had been jolted out of place. Fortunately, Xu Ying was a Snake Catcher, so resetting bones was not difficult for him.

Yuan Qi came to Xu Ying's side, looking at Mount Wu Wang, which had snapped in the middle in the distance. He felt like crying but had no tears, murmuring, "My home is gone..."

Behind them, the surviving Golden Armored Bean Soldiers knelt on the ground, crying and wailing over the corpses of their comrades. The divine ability fluctuation just now had crushed many Bean Soldiers into flat cakes, causing them to die tragically. However, more than half of them survived, totaling three to four hundred.

Suddenly, a Bean Soldier stood up and kicked his still weeping companions. "A man in this world should die in battle and achieve great deeds! Why weep like children? All of you, get up! Have you forgotten the painstaking cultivation bestowed by the Lord of Dangtian Prefecture?"

The Bean Soldiers became energized as if they had been injected with chicken blood, each one full of vigor.

Xu Ying looked at them in surprise. These Bean Soldiers had actually survived such a terrifying impact, which meant they weren't as weak as he had imagined.

On the contrary, each of these Bean Soldiers was very strong, possessing considerable power!

After Granny Zhou refined them into Bean Soldiers, she must have tempered them repeatedly to enhance their combat power, Xu Ying thought.

"Grandpa Bell, are you alright?"

Xu Ying called out twice, and the Great Bell's weak voice replied, "A Ying, I'm injured on top of my injuries. I need to hide in your Ni Wan Cave Heaven to heal."

It staggered into the air, growing smaller and smaller, and then suddenly drilled into the back of Xu Ying's head, disappearing.

The next moment, the Great Bell wobbled into Xu Ying's Ni Wan Secret Treasury, floating in the Ni Wan Cave Heaven.

"Grandpa Bell is injured. We can only rely on ourselves now. Strange, who was fighting? Their divine ability was so powerful that even the aftershocks of the impact injured Grandpa Bell further!"

Xu Ying calmed himself. Such a divine ability was far more powerful than the White-robed Nuo Immortal; it was truly formidable.

He knew few individuals who could contend with the great beings from underground. Judging by the White-robed Nuo Immortal's performance, they were likely no match for the underground beings. The Great Bell in its prime, and the Maiden in the Coffin, could certainly do it.

And that gloomy old man could probably do it too.

Others did not possess such capabilities.

"Many people from the Zhou Family came this time. The leader was Governor Zhou Heng, and this old woman named Granny Zhou, also a master from the Zhou Family. Could it be that the Zhou Family's ancestor made a move and fought with the underground being?"

Xu Ying was greatly moved. The underground being might be the master of the Ni Wan Palace, and the Zhou Family's ancestor might be the Snake Catcher who entered the stone chamber over three hundred years ago, the successor of the Ni Wan Palace master. How spectacular would their battle be?

He wished he could immediately return to Mount Wu Wang to watch, but the impact of just one divine ability aftershock had almost cost them their lives. How could they get close to watch?

"This place is not suitable for lingering. The Zhou Family will likely find us soon!"

Xu Ying looked around. Everywhere he saw were impossibly tall trees, and the mountain ranges were indescribably vast and insurmountable!

"You can't leave!"

The Golden Armored Bean Soldiers stopped Xu Ying and Yuan Qi. The leading Bean Soldier said, "The Lord of Dangtian Prefecture ordered that you are to stay here and await his arrival!"

Suddenly, a Bean Soldier pointed at the sky and screamed, "The Two-legged Giants are coming!"

Xu Ying looked up and saw a flock of unknown blue birds that had discovered them and were flying towards them. These blue birds were exotic flying creatures from the Underworld. As a Snake Catcher, Xu Ying had seen many kinds of birds and beasts, but he had never seen such blue exotic birds.

The flock landed with a whoosh and charged towards them. These exotic birds were like deities from ancient, primordial legends, clad in colorful wings, with bodies of bronze and iron, and physiques thousands of times greater than Xu Ying and the others!

Their footsteps shook the earth, and their wing beats stirred up gales!

When they pecked, the Bean Soldiers had no resistance, their bones breaking and snapping, and they were swallowed whole, dying instantly!

Around Xu Ying, Bean Soldiers were fleeing in panic everywhere, their cries filling the air, as if the end of the world was imminent.

An exotic bird pecked down, splitting a Bean Soldier near Xu Ying in half. He died a gruesome death, with half his body directly swallowed by the bird, while the other half continued to scream.

Some Bean Soldiers rallied, raising their swords and fighting the exotic birds. However, these birds were no ordinary creatures; they were exotic species from the great mountains of the Underworld, unafraid of swords. They simply pecked them up one by one, killing the resisting Bean Soldiers!

Xu Ying finally came to his senses and immediately shouted, "Little Seven, hurry!"

Yuan Qi had never encountered such a terrifying scene in his life. He let out a startled cry and quickly followed Xu Ying!

From behind, an exotic bird swooped down with a roar, grabbed Yuan Qi's tail, and lifted him up. Xu Ying shouted and leaped up, jumping onto the bird's head and sweeping out a kick.

The Elephant King Divine Body, only as high as two beans, appeared behind him and followed his kick.

"Smack!"

The exotic bird's beak was kicked askew, and it flung Yuan Qi away. However, the immense recoil shattered the Elephant King Divine Body behind Xu Ying, scattering it into a mist of blood.

Xu Ying was both shocked and furious. As he landed, he saw the exotic bird's sharp claws reaching for him. He immediately performed a giant python's roll, and the Flood Dragon, as thick as a finger, circled his body. With a swish, it wrapped around the exotic bird's legs!

"Fall!" Xu Ying roared.

The exotic bird exerted force with its legs, but it snapped the Flood Dragon transformed from his Blood Essence!

Xu Ying stared blankly.

The Flood Dragon was a Great Dao Manifestation he had comprehended by referencing the Flood Dragon Dao Image diagram in the True Cultivation of the Flood Dragon. It had been broken by an unknown bird!

Just as he was about to be pecked to death by the exotic bird, Yuan Qi rushed from the side, coiled his tail around Xu Ying, and fled with a whoosh, dodging the exotic bird's pecking beak!

"Cover Young Master Xu's escape!" a Bean Soldier shouted.

Dozens, even hundreds, of Golden Armored Bean Soldiers surged forward, throwing themselves fearlessly at the blue exotic birds pursuing Xu Ying, fighting desperately.

The blue exotic birds went on a rampage, Bean Soldiers' limbs flying everywhere, turning the battlefield into a living hell!

"Escort Young Master Xu!"

The golden-armored Bean Soldiers swarmed forward, wielding their green swords, fighting and risking their lives against the giant bird. One by one, they fell.

Xu Ying was stunned for a moment. This scene actually moved him somewhat.

"Yuan Qi, put me down," he said softly.

Yuan Qi heard him and stretched out his tail, setting him down.

Xu Ying stopped running. Yuan Qi urged him, "A Ying, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Xu Ying shook his head and said in a deep voice, "I've opened the Ni Wan Secret Treasury and am already a Nu Master. I want to reverse-engineer the Nu Art of 'scattering beans to make soldiers.' I can't let these Bean Soldiers sacrifice themselves for us in vain!"

Suddenly, he mobilized his Ni Wan Cave Heaven. Immediately, a chaotic space appeared behind his head. He pushed aside the chaotic clouds, revealing the Ni Wan Cave Heaven.