Its voice was ancient and hoarse, like a drake quacking. The black figure sprang four or five meters into the air, then slammed down with a smack, hitting the ground hard.
Zhou Heng and Han Yulian stared at the black figure, their faces filled with utter astonishment.
"You two little brats haven't even grown all your hair yet, and you dare stare at me so insolently? You're asking to die!" The black figure climbed to its feet and stretched its limbs. "First, let me loosen up. I haven't moved in hundreds of years!"
Zhou Heng and Han Yulian stared numbly at the black figure before them, like a pair of fossils.
They'd even seen a living skeleton, so in theory there shouldn't be anything in the world that could frighten them. But the shadowy figure before them... **wasn't human at all. It was a donkey, black from head to hoof, without a single stray hair.
Demonic beasts could cultivate and possessed considerable intelligence, but no one had ever heard of one that could talk!
Beasts were beasts, after all!
Yet the Black Donkey before them had spoken, and in a tone as pompous and world-weary as an old man's.
"What's the matter? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost? Did I get even more handsome after sleeping for thousands—or tens of thousands—of years?" The Black Donkey struck a pose, utterly pleased with itself. "Hey, you two. Why aren't you prostrating yourselves before me? I'll reluctantly take you on as my mounts!"
Zhou Heng's face darkened. How could anyone be pleased about a donkey saying it would take him as a mount?
"Brat, what are you glaring at? A weakling like you is someone I could crush ten thousand times over with a single finger. It's your good fortune from a past life that I'm willing to take you on as a mount!" the Black Donkey said carelessly, plopping down on its rump. It rested one foreleg against its mouth, looking terribly haughty.
He'd actually run into a donkey that knew how to put on airs!
Zhou Heng drew his long sword with a clang and flourished it. "I'm hungry. A nice meal of donkey meat will do me good!"
From the aura the Black Donkey gave off, it seemed to be at the Tenth Layer of Body Refining, not much stronger than Han Yulian. Zhou Heng had now reached the Ninth Layer of Body Refining. Although he was a whole major realm behind, the Heaven-Soaring Nine Styles were enough to make up the difference.
"You little brat, you haven't even grown all your hair, and you want to eat your Lord Donkey? I'll spit in your face!" The Black Donkey flew into a rage and leaped up, swinging a forehoof toward Zhou Heng.
Whoosh!
The wind howled around its hoof. The kick was astonishingly fast.
Zhou Heng twisted his body and unleashed the Flying Cloud Steps, dodging the blow by a hair's breadth. His sword stabbed back toward the Black Donkey, slashing at its big, foul mouth.
"Behold my Three Kicking Styles!" The Black Donkey rose upright on its hind legs. With a flurry of movements, it was even quicker than a demonic beast of the same rank. In an instant, it was behind Zhou Heng, bringing a hoof crashing down.
Zhou Heng pivoted and dodged by the narrowest margin, a surge of shock rising in his heart.
After practicing the Heaven-Soaring Nine Styles, he seemed to have grasped the grand principles behind all the martial arts in the world. From the tiniest movement, he could judge the path of his opponent's next attack—even against seasoned Blood Refining Realm experts like Zhou Xianming!
But the Black Donkey's attacks were completely beyond that. They were as wild and unpredictable as a heavenly steed soaring through the sky, as elusive as an antelope hanging its horns on a branch. He couldn't read them at all, so he could only rely on the Flying Cloud Steps to adapt as he went.
This was the first time he'd lost control of a fight.
"Take this—my Kicking, Kicking, Kicking!" the Black Donkey hollered. "Brat, you're no match for me. Get on your knees and admit defeat, or I'll kick your butt to smithereens!"
"You don't stand a chance against me!"
"I see you've got decent talent. I'll reluctantly take you as my disciple!"
"Pale-faced disciple, get on your knees and call me Master!"
The Black Donkey was such a complete rascal that Zhou Heng and Han Yulian wondered if some person had put on a donkey hide and was pretending to be one. Their initial shock had been entirely wiped away by its shamelessness. Listening to it spew obscenities, they couldn't help wishing they could shut its mouth for good.
"Brat, hurry up and become my disciple. I'll teach you peerless divine arts!" The Black Donkey clasped its forelegs behind its back and walked upright on its hind legs. Its footwork really was quite marvelous; time and again, it evaded Zhou Heng's sword.
Zhou Heng's eyes sharpened. He abruptly stopped, spreading a fearsome sword intent as he began to execute the First Form of Heaven-Soaring.
"Damn, what kind of sword technique is that? It actually makes me feel a little afraid!" The Black Donkey lowered its forelegs. "I'm done playing with you!"
Whoosh! It bolted away on all four hooves, moving at a ridiculous speed. In an instant, it vanished without a trace.
Zhou Heng stood there dumbstruck. He was skilled at movement techniques, but the Flying Cloud Steps had only given him the form, not the corresponding method of circulation. His speed wasn't much greater than that of an ordinary Ninth Layer of Body Refining martial artist, so all he could do was watch the Black Donkey vanish in a flash.
"This place... is too strange!" Han Yulian said tremulously. Everything that had happened so far had gone far beyond what she could handle.
It really was strange!
A corpse that came back to life, and a donkey that could talk!
Zhou Heng walked to where the stone stele had stood. Now, only a massive pit remained. He peered inside, but could see nothing in the darkness. He picked up a rock and tossed it down, yet waited a long time without hearing it hit bottom. The pit was unfathomably deep!
How had the Black Donkey climbed out of it?
Boom!
A powerful, heart-stirring aura surged out of the pit. Zhou Heng involuntarily stumbled backward, retreating dozens of meters before he finally stopped.
"I think we've caused trouble!" Zhou Heng scratched his head. He was now fairly certain that the stone stele had been suppressing this pit.
"It was you. It has nothing to do with me!" After the Black Donkey's antics had eased her nerves a little, Han Yulian even found herself joking with Zhou Heng.
That was true. He really was the one who'd caused the trouble.
Zhou Heng walked over to the stone stele and tried to heft it. It felt astonishingly heavy in his hands, and he struggled to lift it a mere inch.
"My strength is almost ten thousand jin now, so this stone stele must weigh even more than that," Zhou Heng thought. Still, he dragged it toward the pit. Only after working up a sweat did he reach the edge.
Buzz!
The Blood-Colored Stone Stele trembled, then stood upright of its own accord and shot toward the pit.
Zhou Heng hurriedly unleashed the Flying Cloud Steps, his body flashing away in a blur. The stele whooshed past the edge of his body, missing him by a hair!
The stele weighed a full ten thousand jin, and combined with the speed it had just gained, a collision would have shattered every bone in his body in an instant!
Only then did he feel a wave of fear. Cold sweat streamed down his back.
"What kind of place is this?" Han Yulian asked in a trembling voice.
Everything here was bizarre! If they could ask the donkey, perhaps they could get an answer—but unfortunately, that donkey ran like the devil himself!
The Heaven-Leveling Mountain Range had more than one strange place. There was also the reflection of a person at the bottom of the Cold Pool of the Absolute Valley, just as uncanny.
It seemed this place sealed something terrifying. He wasn't remotely strong enough to figure it out yet, so it was better not to meddle with it. He hoped it wasn't the donkey, Zhou Heng thought. Otherwise, he really would have caused a catastrophe.
The two headed back. After crossing the winding, twisting passageway, they once again came upon a thick stretch of mist. Faint cries could still be heard from within.
"...You've doomed your Lord Donkey!"
"Is anyone there? Get your Lord Donkey out of here!"
"Lord Donkey still has to catch the Saintess of the East Spirit Immortal Pool and make her his maid! I can't die here!"
The wailing grew louder and louder. Before long, a black figure came charging out of the mist. Wasn't it the Black Donkey with the foul mouth?
When it saw Zhou Heng and Han Yulian, the Black Donkey immediately let out a string of excited brays and ran toward them. "So you're both still alive! Your Lord Donkey has missed you to death!"
As it reached them, the Black Donkey abruptly spun around. Its hind legs shot out with a flurry of kicks, aiming for Zhou Heng.
"I knew you were up to no good, you donkey!" Zhou Heng had been prepared. He unleashed the Flying Cloud Steps, gliding aside to evade the kick, then swept his sword toward the donkey's rump.
"You snot-nosed brat, trying to make your Lord Donkey's butt blossom?" The Black Donkey sprang upright on its hind legs and just barely dodged the sword. Then it thrust its big, black rump backward. "If you've got the guts, hit your Lord Donkey! I'll reward you with a face full of gold!"
Faced with this hooligan of a donkey, Zhou Heng felt like vomiting blood. It completely washed away the shock of seeing a donkey talk.
The First Form of Heaven-Soaring!
"Again!" The Black Donkey reacted instantly, dropped onto its forehooves, and dashed more than twenty meters away. It had escaped beyond the reach of Zhou Heng's sword intent. "Good thing your Lord Donkey has seen plenty in his day. Otherwise, if some brat had stabbed me, I'd have lost every last bit of my lifelong fame!"
"Come on, brat, chase your Lord Donkey!" The Black Donkey stood upright again, shaking its rump and slapping it with its forehooves. It was so shameless that words failed to describe it.
Zhou Heng sheathed his sword, a smile appearing on his face. "I can get out of here!"
The Black Donkey froze as if it had been turned to ice. But a moment later, it rushed right up to Zhou Heng. "Brat, take me out of here! If I'm in a good mood, I might casually teach you a few moves. I'll make you the greatest expert under heaven!"
Zhou Heng burst into laughter, then shook his head. "Tell me where you came from, and I'll think about it!"
"What? You little brat dare threaten me?" The Black Donkey flew into a rage. It braced itself on its forehooves and kicked toward Zhou Heng with its hind legs.
"Damn Black Donkey, you really are despicable and shameless!" Zhou Heng hurriedly dodged, barely avoiding the kick to his chest. He slashed back with his sword, forcing the Black Donkey to retreat.
"Wrong. I'm kindly teaching you a lesson!" The Black Donkey's hide was impossibly thick. It spoke without a care.
Faced with this Black Donkey, which wore shamelessness as a badge of honor, Zhou Heng was at a loss for words. He could only whirl his sword more fiercely.
"Stop! Stop!" the Black Donkey shouted. "I don't have time to bother with you!"
Zhou Heng knew he couldn't do anything to this quick-witted donkey, so he put away his attack. He hadn't expected the Black Donkey to be so underhanded; it took advantage of the moment to kick him again.
"You Despicable Donkey!"
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