Stuck in the Pot, Rotting in the Pot

Chapter 50: Kept in the Pot, Rotting in the Pot

The sudden rain washed over the nine-story high towers and the dozen or so stone houses.

The bamboo raft bobbed on the water, and on the floating bridge, the so-called gambling match had already begun some time ago.

In the first round, the opponent sent out a Demon-Plague Warrior, who addressed Ma Changfeng as "Uncle."

Ning Xuan fought him for a full hundred rounds before repelling him, then said, "I concede."

Ma Changfeng's expression was solemn. He cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, General, for holding back."

He then added, "General, your skills are superb, and I, Ma, admire you. It seems the Divine Eagle Overturning Heaven Skill is already within your grasp. However, there are still the second and third rounds. General, you must make everyone in the Divine Eagle Tower wholeheartedly convinced."

After speaking, he seemed to explain, smiling apologetically, "The Flying Eagle Tower is not Ma's alone. Without immense merit, one cannot obtain this cultivation technique within the tower. I ask for the General's understanding."

His voice carried a tone of respect and caution.

But it was only in his voice.

Combining Ma Yingxiao's words from earlier with what he was now witnessing with his own eyes, he quickly assessed the young General's personality and purpose.

This young General seemed to be of a righteous and benevolent nature; he genuinely wished to win over the Divine Eagle Tower.

This young General wanted to obtain the Divine Eagle Overturning Heaven Skill peacefully.

Of course, the General might also be hesitant to act rashly. After all, although the Ma family was not powerful, they still had some foundation. This young General was cautious and did not want to test the Ma family's foundation.

Besides that, the young General had also mentioned, "When immortals fight, mortals suffer." He clearly suspected that there might be someone behind their faction, which was why he didn't want to break ties completely.

Ning Xuan made a gesture of invitation and said politely, "Tower Lord Ma, the second round."

Ma Changfeng seemed to have someone in mind and hurriedly sent someone to fetch them.

He himself glared at Ma Yingxiao on Ning Xuan's side and said sternly, "You unfilial son! The General is benevolent, why did you act rashly and take people to the General's mansion to do those filthy deeds?! You truly deserve to die!! Once this is over, I will surely have you subjected to the Nine Knives and Eighteen Holes torture to give the General an explanation!!"

Ning Xuan was standing by the side of the bamboo raft.

Ma Changfeng's words drifted past his ears.

Soon, Ma Yingxiao began to counterattack, angrily shouting, "You clearly knew about these things..."

Ma Changfeng denied it.

The father and son quickly turned against each other. Combined with Ma Yingxiao's earlier words, "If I were an only son, I wouldn't have volunteered myself and risked taking our retainers to pluck teeth from the tiger's mouth at your mansion just to earn merit," it was easy to infer that Ma Yingxiao's status in the Ma family was definitely that of an unfavored son.

However, Ma Yingxiao's words also drifted past Ning Xuan's ears.

He stood in the pouring rain. White Moon Zen Master's Heavenly Demon Scroll had already been brought out. Combined with his own, his physique had now reached a terrifying 15, so his perception was also at its peak. Not only could he hear the faint conversations from across the lake in the wind and rain, but he could even hear the breathing of people in the nearby towers and houses.

Just then, a new Demon-Plague Warrior strode over from a distance.

Ma Changfeng pointed fiercely at Ma Yingxiao and said angrily, "Our father-son relationship ends today. After these three rounds, I will surely kill you to give General Ning an explanation!!"

After saying that, he quickly changed his expression and smiled, "General Ning is a young hero, and I, this old man, truly admire him. The opponent for the second round has arrived. This is the chief retainer of my Flying Eagle Tower. If the General can quickly subdue him, then the third round might not even be necessary."

His implication was obvious.

In the first round, Ning Xuan had shown courtesy.

So in this round, he was expected to establish his authority and finish the fight quickly.

In his mind, this young General would first return the courtesy, then, as he suggested, unleash his own powerful strength to subdue this retainer.

But. He did not receive a response.

The young General standing at the head of the bamboo raft bridge, standing in the heavy rain, was silent.

"General Ning, is there a problem?"

Ma Changfeng asked respectfully.

Then, he saw the young General on the opposite side of his mouth curve slightly, then wider and wider. The humility and politeness in his eyes were turning into rampant arrogance, ferocious cruelty, as if a terrifying monster was shedding its harmless skin.

Ning Xuan's gaze suddenly swept towards the highest point of the nine-story tower, and he uttered a sentence that made Ma Changfeng's heart tremble with fear.

"I found you."

Then, Ning Xuan no longer looked at Ma Changfeng.

His Golden Body surged wildly. A Golden Body Bodhisattva, over thirty feet tall, rose from the ground amidst a strange incense smoke. He then stomped on the lake shore, crossing the lake in an instant, and appeared above the nine-story towers and stone houses.

The lake water surged, creating waves several feet high, causing many people on the shore to sway.

On the other side, the tower was barely thirty feet high, and he had already towered over it.

He appeared before the nine-story tower of the Flying Eagle Tower, his neck slightly hunched. His giant pupils peered into the small windows, which resembled an anthill.

Whoosh!!

Something shot out from a small window, silently and invisibly.

In the blink of an eye, a fist-sized hole appeared on the left eye of the Golden Body Bodhisattva.

The projectile had actually penetrated his Golden Body and caused such a significant injury.

But that was all.

To destroy the Golden Body, one either had to wear it down inch by inch, or penetrate it with an overwhelming, indestructible force, instantly killing the being within.

Otherwise, don't even think about it.

This sneak attack only managed to break through Ning Xuan's Golden Body, but in terms of consumption, there was none at all.

The hole at his left eye appeared and healed almost instantly. It couldn't be said that there was no damage, only that he was unharmed. Back when he dealt with the Stealing Incense Rat's Golden Body, he had entered its esophagus and chopped at it many times, but it hadn't caused any damage either.

Ning Xuan grabbed the body of the nine-story tower with a sweep of his hand, uprooted it, then held it horizontally in front of him and shook it.

This shake dislodged many wooden cabinets, tables, treasure racks, screens, and other daily furnishings, along with many clattering weapons and metallic objects, and a figure.

As soon as the figure appeared, a chilling, eerie wind emanated from it.

Amidst the rolling, eerie wind, the figure suddenly lunged forward, covering dozens of feet in mid-air, already about to escape the range of Flying Eagle Tower.

Ning Xuan's Golden Body raised a hand to grab, not at the figure dozens of feet away, but at the space in front of him.

The opponent could actually use [Illusionary Escape], a innate spell of demons and monsters.

He clenched his five fingers, and pulled a figure from the void.

The figure looked up, glaring at him with eyes about to split, struggling fiercely, exerting all its strength, but unable to break free from his tightly clenched Five Finger Mountain.

And just then, Ning Xuan felt many clanging sounds coming from below.

He looked down and saw Ma Changfeng, who had somehow brought many death warriors and was firing various hidden weapons at him.

Ning Xuan looked at the figure in his hand, asked nothing, and had no intention of communicating. Instead, he suddenly exerted his strength and tightened his grip.

The figure struggled madly, quickly losing its breath. Its resistance completely dissipated, turning into a pile of slightly hardened flesh.

Bang!

He was crushed.

Hot blood flowed from the fingers of the Bodhisattva Golden Body.

Ning Xuan casually tossed it aside and looked down at Ma Changfeng and the others, who had already despaired and abandoned their attack.

Ma Changfeng shouted sternly, "Great General Qin is the true General!"

Ning Xuan was not surprised.

He had no intention of wasting any more words with Ma Changfeng.

Before the three gambling matches, he had already said, "When gods fight, mortals suffer." At that time, Ma Changfeng had shown no mercy, indicating that the other party had been completely controlled by Huang Cihe or Qin Yi'er's people.

Huang Cihe was Scholar Huang.

Ma Changfeng had no way out, so naturally, he could no longer spare any room for him.

One sentence made him understand that there were likely experts sent by Huang Cihe or Qin Yi'er ambushing in this tower.

Huang Cihe, with his meticulous mind, must have calculated many things about him and made a foolproof plan.

Therefore, he then used the gambling matches to stall for time and observe. Finally, at the start of the second match, he found the hidden enemy.

This enemy seemed to be activating some treasure, but he spotted them halfway through the activation. Even so, that strike had pierced through his Golden Body.

While this was nothing, one could imagine that if the treasure had been fully activated, the consequences would have been rather dangerous. At least a first-rank Ning Xuan might not have been able to withstand it.

And Ma Changfeng was actually stalling as well.

Ma Changfeng used the guise of "benevolence and righteousness" and his own deference to try and restrain him, thereby giving the hidden expert more opportunity to observe.

In the second match, Ma Changfeng again provoked him to use his full strength. Thus, when he used his full strength against the chief enshrined expert of Flying Eagle Tower, his body was exposed with flaws, giving the hidden person a greater opportunity to kill him.

It was a pity that they failed.

No.

Even if they had succeeded, they would still have failed.

Because their goal was "even if Ning Xuan is a first-rank martial artist, today we have a fifty percent chance of keeping him here," but Ning Xuan was a second-rank, and moreover, a second-rank with a physique of 15.

From the very beginning, their failure was destined.

"Great General Qin is the true General!!"

Ma Changfeng roared, his eyes fixed on the Bodhisattva Golden Body above him. He was filled with fear, yet he forced himself to look up.

Ning Xuan said calmly, "Master Ma, every faction is very complex. Just like you and your son, you might not always see eye to eye. The one who controls you does not represent Great General Qin."

Ma Changfeng naturally understood.

He gasped for breath.

Ning Xuan said, "Alright, 楼主 Ma, you've lost, so at least be dignified."

Ma Changfeng suddenly raised his hand and pulled a box from his embrace, saying, "Let my brothers go, and I'll give you the Divine Eagle Overturning Heaven Skill."

Ning Xuan's aura suddenly surged, locking onto Ma Changfeng.

Ma Changfeng felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave and was instantly terrified into immobility.

Ning Xuan retreated his Golden Body, snatched the box, then opened it and began to examine it patiently.

He had initially thought this box contained a fake cultivation technique, but after looking, he found it quite profound.

He then quickly flipped through the pages of the cultivation technique and found no blank pages or torn pages.

It's actually true!

It seems Ma Changfeng also knew that only the real deal could save himself in the end.

After Ning Xuan confirmed it was correct, he crouched down and placed his hand on the back of Ma Changfeng's head.

Ma Changfeng still wanted to say something.

Ning Xuan said, "Don't worry, none of them will escape."

If they escaped, it would be considered making an enemy of the Qin family's forces, and it would be considered putting family and friends in danger.

If they all died, it would be considered an internal affair, something that happened within their own group, and no one would know what had happened.

Bang!

Ma Changfeng's head exploded, blood splattering everywhere.

Ning Xuan carefully placed the Divine Eagle Overturning Heaven Skill into his robes, then moved his body, directly destroying the floating bridge.

There was nothing more to say; cut the weeds and remove the roots, leave no one alive.

P.S. The next update will likely be before 5 PM. Taohuasu has really become a "hotel sitter" during this trip. Everyone else is out playing, and Taohuasu is just staying in the hotel.

Early month, requesting monthly votes. Thank you, everyone!