What Are You Doing?

The wind howled, rushing through the trees and beating against the leaves. Somewhere among the pitch-black trees on the distant mountains, a woman seemed to be laughing, then crying.

This was no longer Ning Family Manor in the old mountains. They were at a crossroads at the foot of Manfeng Mountain.

The bonfire still burned, but its red flames carried a strange blackness, as if the moonlight had stained them.

Ning Xuan rose to his feet. With a slight lift of the Beast Slaying Saber, nearly a zhang long, in his hand, he flipped open the tent behind him.

The place where his eldest brother should have been resting was empty.

He sheathed the saber, set down the lantern, and strolled around the area.

Just as he expected, everyone had vanished.

The black moon hung overhead, and dawn was drawing near. This place was a nightmare, a nightmare like the Avīci Hell—a nightmare where a single failed attempt at refining a talisman could cost him his life, scatter his soul, and leave him utterly destroyed.

He casually pressed a finger to his brow and gathered his killing intent.

At once, a line of information appeared:

[Nine of Nine]

Ning Xuan froze for a moment.

[Nine of Nine] meant he had only nine lives in this reincarnation, one fewer than last time.

What had caused this?

He quickly pushed the question from his mind. There was no way to find the answer, and all his guesses would be pointless fantasies—a waste of time.

He silently recited once more: Please, Heavenly Demon Scroll.

There was no response.

The Mountain Crashing Bear Demon Heavenly Demon Scroll did not come. It was as if his invocation had sunk into the sea.

That didn't surprise him.

He had sensed as much when he called upon the scroll.

He could only invoke one scroll at a time.

The process of refining a scroll involved slowly stripping away the power of a heavenly demon and transferring it to himself. That, in itself, was a form of invocation.

So he couldn't invoke another scroll while inside the nightmare world.

Still, it didn't matter.

Compared to his first time entering the nightmare, Ning Xuan was much calmer now.

He swiftly and deftly searched for usable tools and treasures.

After all, the Heavy Rain Pear Blossom Needles and repeating crossbow had been a huge help last time.

Before long, he had gathered more tools than he had the previous time, but there were no treasures used by Daoists, nor was his eldest brother's Celestial Master Seal anywhere to be found.

That wasn't strange. Although the Celestial Master Seal was called a seal, it probably wasn't a physical object at all. It was more likely a power condensed from within its wielder.

Soon, Ning Xuan laid out everything with any real power, except the soldiers' repeating crossbows, shields, and spears.

First: Four Generations Together.

It was a uniquely shaped flying dart, made up of one great-grandfather dart, several grandfather darts, child darts, and grandchild needles.

When thrown, it would explode the instant it struck any target, splitting into many secondary darts. Those would strike and split again into child darts, which would in turn strike and unleash a dense cloud of grandchild needles.

If someone holding a shield faced the dart, its first impact would hit the shield. The second would send more darts flying around it to strike the shield-bearer behind.

If the dart entered someone's body, it would explode inside them in an instant, spawning countless more hidden weapons.

Ning Xuan had heard Master Zhang mention Four Generations Together. The master seemed to have been deeply impressed by how vicious the dart was—in fact, he seemed to fear it—so he had talked about it at length. That was how Ning Xuan recognized it.

Ning Xuan knew that if he faced this dart, he could use his speed and reflexes to dodge it, keeping his opponent from landing a hit. But if he were trapped in a cage when the dart struck him, he would likely be in dire danger. The Swallow Cry force he had comprehended was only a force; it hadn't formed anything like the "protective aura" found in novels from his previous life.

Even if he could withstand it with his physique, all it would take was for a few of the darts to hit his eyes, nose, or ears as the weapon burst apart, and he would be seriously injured.

Four Generations Together was a level above the Heavy Rain Pear Blossom Needles as a hidden weapon. It was more intricate, and its firing power was greater.

If Ning Xuan had had Four Generations Together when he faced the Mountain Crashing Bear Demon, he would only have needed to try shooting it into the bear's eye. He might have been able to seize at least thirty percent of its power outright.

Second: Many Children and Grandchildren.

It was a large black chest.

Ning Xuan hadn't heard about this from Master Zhang. He had heard of it from Young Master Liu of the Wealthy Merchant Guild while the man was enjoying a night of wine and women.

Young Master Liu had bragged, "My power is as great as Many Children and Grandchildren."

Ning Xuan had asked curiously, "What does it mean to be as great as Many Children and Grandchildren?"

Only then had Liu Shirong told him that in the Western Regions, there lived an eccentric, depraved lecher who had created a terrifying mechanical hidden weapon. Once activated, it brought about the collapse of heaven and earth, unleashing hidden weapons one after another. They blanketed an entire manor, leaving no one alive except the person who had used them. Hiding indoors was no use, either, because among the weapons were armor-piercing arrows with tremendous force, powerful enough to punch straight through walls.

Ning Xuan had asked again, "If that's the case, shouldn't it be called 'Destroying Your Lineage'? Why call it Many Children and Grandchildren?"

Liu Shirong had replied, "Because the man was a lecher, that's why he gave it such a name. It means that a great many things burst out all at once. Get it?"

Ning Xuan had been speechless.

But today, he had actually found Many Children and Grandchildren.

He hefted it.

Good heavens, this chest must have weighed over two hundred jin. Carrying it on his back was like lugging around a whole pig.

Third.

Fourth.

Fifth.

There were still other things, such as poisons, but none of them were worth mentioning compared to the first two.

Ning Xuan strapped Many Children and Grandchildren to his back, tucked Four Generations Together into his robes, then took out the poison and carefully coated the Beast Slaying Saber with it.

Then he took a deep breath and began measuring the boundaries of the nightmare this time.

He wouldn't rely on past experience.

Last time, the nightmare had covered only the area of the manor, and crossing its edge had brought him back to where he started.

This time, he wouldn't simply assume things worked the same way.

At the very least, he had to test it.

Soon, he had explored an area the size of a manor.

He kept exploring.

One li.

Two li.

Three li.

He still hadn't reached the end. He hadn't crossed any "boundary" at all.

Just as Ning Xuan was about to keep exploring, he suddenly noticed that dawn had broken. It had come much earlier this time than it had during his last nightmare in the manor—much, much earlier.

The black moon vanished. A ghastly white sun blazed into view at the horizon, like a fireball casting a shroud of pale light across the world.

In an instant, the dark forest and mountains turned deathly white.

Ning Xuan tensed from head to toe. His five fingers tightened around the Beast Slaying Saber.

Standing in an open clearing, he warily swept his gaze over his surroundings, bracing himself for a great battle.

He was no longer the same as before. He would not cower inside a fake mountain again.

Suddenly, he felt something watching him.

He quickly scanned the area.

Nothing!

Then a rumble like thunder rolled down from above his head.

"Little fellow, are you looking for me?"

Without even looking, Ning Xuan activated Many Children and Grandchildren. Countless arrows began to whoosh, whoosh, whoosh and thunk, thunk, thunk, shooting high into the air and in every direction.

Only then did he tilt his head up, his gaze swiftly following the sound.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

Endless impacts rang out, then fell back down.

Above him loomed a Bodhisattva, hunched over as it peered down at him.

The Bodhisattva stood a full ten zhang tall!

Its entire body shone. Its Buddha's head was crowned with blue-lotus curls, its face was round as the moon, and a tuft of white hair sat between its brows. A greedy smile curled its lips, and foul saliva dribbled from the corners of its mouth.

The mechanism of Many Children and Grandchildren was firing at the Bodhisattva, but it couldn't hurt it in the slightest. The weapons fell like a sudden downpour, yet not a single drop dampened its clothes.

They scattered as soon as they struck the light shining across the Bodhisattva's body, embedding themselves deep in the earth. Even solid boulders were pierced through, proof of just how powerful these hidden weapons were.

Without hesitation, Ning Xuan hurled Four Generations Together at it as well.

The vicious dart struck the Bodhisattva's golden body, bounced off, and split into grandfather darts. They bounced off too, splitting into child darts, followed by an endless spray of fine needles. They were like spiders leaping in every direction.

The Golden Body Bodhisattva remained unmoved, gazing down at him with interest. Then, in a voice that seemed to smile and not smile, it asked, "What are you doing?"

Its enormous hand slowly descended from the sky.

Ning Xuan suddenly understood.

Manfeng Mountain was preparing a banquet.

And he had stumbled right into the host's presence.

His heart, long still, began to pound wildly.

But he still took a deep breath. Whether it was a mule or a horse, he'd find out by putting it to the test.

He drew the poisoned Beast Slaying Saber, looked at the enormous hand steadily filling his vision, and roared. Swallow Cry surged, and the blade flashed with savage force.

Die!!

The instant he slammed into the Bodhisattva's enormous hand, Ning Xuan felt agony tear through his entire body. It was like an ordinary person running headfirst into a solid pillar. He passed out at once.

The hand casually pinched him up between two fingers and gave him a shake, dislodging the Beast Slaying Saber from his grasp along with the various poisons. Then it slowly raised him higher.

The Bodhisattva opened its mouth wide.

Snap.

Its fingers parted.

He began to fall.

The searing pain jolted him awake.

He felt tiny, sharp teeth gnawing at his body—bite after tiny bite.

He opened his eyes, only to discover that he couldn't see anything.

His eyes were in agony.

That thing had eaten his eyeballs first!

"So bitter."

"So bitter! Hahahaha!"

"Hahahahahaha!!"

Note: I'm traveling with my family lately, but basically, they're out having fun while I'm holed up in the hotel. I'm about to hurry off to catch a train, and I won't arrive at the station until this evening.

The second update today will probably be pretty late. Even after I get to the hotel, I'll need to rest and get myself settled before I can slowly start writing.

So sorry, so sorry!