Luo Kedi Blocked the Gate

In the dark cave, a ball of pale yellow light moved slowly.

Yang Xiao lowered his head to examine two pools of green venom, one darker and one lighter. The venom had not yet congealed; it had only just been left there.

A thought flashed through his mind: there was more than one Nine-Spirit Poison Spider in this cave. Having never encountered one before, he did not know whether the extra spider was a newborn or a Hundred-Spirit Poison Spider in the Sea Condensation Realm.

Noticing something amiss, he slowed his steps further. He could survive the Nine-Spirit Poison Spider's venom, but if he were poisoned by a Hundred-Spirit Poison Spider, he would probably die here.

He slowly advanced. Suddenly, Yang Xiao's gaze settled on the stone wall to his right, where a colorful spider the size of a human head perched.

The manual for refining the Nine-Spirit Spider Rope contained an illustration and description of it. It looked exactly like a Nine-Spirit Poison Spider.

The Nine-Spirit Poison Spider stared at him with green eyes that pierced the darkness.

The next instant, the Nine-Spirit Poison Spider sprang from the wall and spat venom at him. Yang Xiao drew a deep breath. He had anticipated this scene before entering.

He used Shrinking Earth to Inches to dodge, and the Nine-Spirit Poison Spider's venom struck the stone wall, eating a large hole into it.

The venom sizzled against the stone wall. Yang Xiao grew even more wary. If it landed on a person, losing a chunk of flesh would be getting off lightly.

The Nine-Spirit Poison Spider spat venom continuously. Its eight legs carried it swiftly as it spun a web in midair, trying to seal off Yang Xiao's retreat.

Yang Xiao narrowed his eyes. If he allowed the Nine-Spirit Poison Spider to cut off his retreat, this battle would become even harder.

His figure flashed. The interval between his uses of Shrinking Earth to Inches was now less than a second, making him move as though he were teleporting.

Magical power condensed around his fists into a pair of Gauntlets. Taking advantage of the instant when the Nine-Spirit Poison Spider spat silk, Yang Xiao appeared behind it and clenched both fists. Direwolf phantoms flew from them, knocking the Nine-Spirit Poison Spider to the ground.

The Nine-Spirit Poison Spider landed with a shrill scream.

The cave shook, and a furious roar came from its depths. Yang Xiao's expression changed. There really was another one inside.

He flashed to the Nine-Spirit Poison Spider's side, condensed his magical power into a Spell Blade, and chopped off its head.

After putting the Nine-Spirit Poison Spider's body into his Storage Ring, Yang Xiao hacked through the silk and ran outside.

The Nine-Spirit Poison Spider's cultivation was not high, but its venom was far too potent. Otherwise, he would never have needed to fight it for so long, even alerting the unknown creature deep inside the cave.

Yang Xiao was fast, but the creature in the depths of the cave was faster.

Just as he flew out of the cave, a shriek sounded behind him. Yang Xiao glanced back and saw a colorful spider as tall as a person charging after him, its eight limbs flailing.

A Hundred-Spirit Poison Spider!

The thought had barely arisen in Yang Xiao's mind when the Hundred-Spirit Poison Spider chased him out of the cave.

At that moment, he stopped. A wicked smile curled his lips as he pointed at the sky, where lightning flickered within the dark clouds.

When he saw that the Hundred-Spirit Poison Spider was only one step away from the cave entrance, Yang Xiao shouted, "Thunderfall!"

Crack!

Eight bolts of lightning struck the cave entrance in succession. Their blazing light obscured everything within.

Yang Xiao watched the entrance nervously. When the final bolt fell, the Hundred-Spirit Poison Spider lay sprawled on the ground, green blood flowing from its mouth.

The Hundred-Spirit Poison Spider's green eyes slowly closed. It seemed to be dead.

Yang Xiao was about to walk toward the Hundred-Spirit Poison Spider, but stopped again. Nine bolts of lightning were enough to destroy a Sea Condensation Realm demonic beast, but too much time had passed, and the dark clouds overhead had released only eight.

Although eight bolts could also kill a Sea Condensation Realm creature, they could only kill the weakest among them.

Yang Xiao slowly backed away and connected with the Earth Vein Qi. An earthen hut rose from the ground. If the Hundred-Spirit Poison Spider was still alive, the hut would block its sight.

He pointed skyward and traced a formation. A fresh Nine Thunder Formation condensed overhead, turning white clouds black as threads of lightning swam within them.

Rumble!

Lightning furiously struck the earthen hut, and the Hundred-Spirit Poison Spider's howls came from inside.

It really was playing dead, trying to lure me over. Who would have thought a Sea Condensation Realm demonic beast could be so cunning?

The lightning blasted the earthen hut to pieces, leaving a charred corpse lying in the middle.

He inspected the Hundred-Spirit Poison Spider's corpse. Although the lightning had split its flesh, its venom sac remained completely intact.

Putting the Hundred-Spirit Poison Spider's corpse into his Storage Bag, Yang Xiao hurried toward the outskirts of the Lianfeng Mountains.

With the experience he had gained on the way in, the return journey was much faster. Taking small, quick steps, Yang Xiao walked out of the Lianfeng Mountains one step at a time.

Hmm, this always feels much cooler than flying.

Half a month later, Yang Xiao returned to the foot of Worry-Free Mountain. He smiled faintly and looked at his Storage Bag. Inside lay two corpses, one large and one small, along with all sorts of delicacies he had brought back from Falling Blossom City to comfort Wang Huhu.

He took a step forward, then frowned. Shrinking Earth to Inches had failed.

He took another step. It still did not work.

He looked around, a Spell Blade appearing in his right hand. Just as he was about to bow toward the heavens and summon the Heavenly Eye, laughter rang out around him.

"Yang Xiao, I've been lying in wait for you for over a month. I've finally caught you." Luo Kedi emerged from the forest behind him, holding a spear.

Yang Xiao knitted his brows. Ever since Luo Kedi had come up the mountain, he had rarely appeared before him. He had not expected Luo Kedi to show up now and intercept him outside the sect gates.

He was still several li from the gates. The Carefree Sect had very few people to begin with, so naturally there were no disciples guarding the entrance.

Chen Wuyou also knew it was unrealistic to make a group of great lineage scions guard the gates, so he had not assigned anyone.

Yang Xiao looked around and said, "This is Earth Vein Sealing."

Luo Kedi laughed. "I didn't expect you to recognize Earth Vein Sealing. I know you can use Shrinking Earth to Inches, but so what? Under Earth Vein Sealing, you can't use it at all."

Yang Xiao's heart sank. Luo Kedi was right. Earth Vein Sealing could sever the connection between an Earth Master and the Earth Vein. He recalled Luo Kedi's earlier seclusion; he had probably been cultivating this technique specifically to deal with him.

He said, "Luo Kedi, there isn't much bad blood between us. Must you go this far?"

Luo Kedi laughed, his laughter wild. Then he suddenly fixed Yang Xiao with an icy stare. "Because of you, my relationship with Dongfang Mingyue soured.

"Do you have any idea how much effort I spent getting close to Dongfang Mingyue? When I went home this time, I could have had my lineage approach the Eastern King with a marriage proposal. This is all because of you."

Luo Kedi swept his spear through the air, and a streak of spear light sent Yang Xiao flying three li.

Yang Xiao spat out a mouthful of blood and climbed off the ground. Luo Kedi was at least a Soul Seed Realm expert. That spear strike had left a piercing pain in his chest.

"Get up. Get up for me." Luo Kedi swept his spear again, smashing him heavily to the ground.

Yang Xiao glanced up the mountain. No one would come to save him. Although it was only a few li away, no one would pay attention to what happened outside Worry-Free Mountain.

A cold gleam flashed through his eyes. A trace of scarlet spread from his pupils, gradually filling both eyes, while pale black spiritual energy seeped from his body. The pain slowly vanished. This was the first time he had used his Bloodline Peak Demonic Will since embarking on cultivation, and he felt his combat strength double.

Seeing this, Luo Kedi recoiled three steps in terror. "P-P-Peak Demonic Will."

At the same time, Old Man Chen, who was hoeing a field behind the mountain, raised his head to look in their direction, his expression somewhat startled. "I didn't expect his Descendant to come here too. This is quite a headache."

"Oh well, oh well. Let him stay here. The Carefree Sect already has plenty of troubles. One more won't hurt."

Yang Xiao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stared at Luo Kedi coldly. "Since you know, I have even less reason to let you live."

Everything had happened too quickly, and he had already forgotten Butcher's instructions. Today, either Luo Kedi would die or he would.

Spiritual light flashed in his right hand, and he gripped the Dragon Horn. Magical power flowed into it, but the next instant, Yang Xiao's expression changed sharply. The Dragon Horn was actively drawing in his magical power, draining half of it in an instant.

"Die!" Yang Xiao roared, hurling the Dragon Horn at Luo Kedi with all his strength. In just three seconds, his magical power had almost been sucked dry.

The Dragon Horn shone with white light in midair, and a white dragon flew out of it. Its immense draconic might pressed the land within a hundred li down by a meter.

"What is that?" Luo Kedi cried in alarm. The draconic might pinned him in place. He raised his Spear for one final struggle, gathering all his magical power into it until it became a black line.

Boom!

The white dragon shattered Luo Kedi's Spear in midair, then struck him with a claw that passed straight through his body. It landed on the ground and turned back into the Dragon Horn.

Yang Xiao used the last scrap of his magical power to retrieve the Dragon Horn into his Storage Ring, then collapsed toward the ground.

Before closing his eyes, he saw several streaks of light flying down from the mountain. Their battle had alerted those at the summit.

Before he hit the ground, he felt a pair of warm hands catch him.

Yang Xiao woke from his coma. His weakened body left him utterly drained, but there was not a single wound on him. Pulling open his clothes, he found that the spear wounds Luo Kedi had inflicted had healed as well. His skin was as smooth as before, like a newborn baby's.

The powerful regenerative ability within his body must have healed him when he was injured.

He examined his qi sea and found not a trace of spiritual energy. Sitting up in bed, he crossed his legs and circulated the Great Martial Canon, absorbing spiritual energy from the air. After a short while, he opened his eyes, opened his Storage Ring, and took out an earth vein crystal to replenish his magical power.

Yang Xiao let out a long breath. This time had truly been perilous. Who could have expected Luo Kedi to ambush him at the foot of the mountain? If he had not had the Dragon Horn, he probably would never have made it back.

As he looked around, the door slowly opened. Chen Wuyou entered with a group of disciples, all wearing grave expressions.

"Yang Xiao, how are you? Are you hurt anywhere?" Wang Huhu was the first to rush over. Taking out one healing medicine after another from her Storage Ring, she said, "This is an Immortal Spirit Flower, the finest Healing Spirit Medicine. Even an injured Immortal will recover in no time after taking it."

Yang Xiao chuckled, rose from the bed, and patted her little head. "I'm fine now."

Just then, a gentle fairy-like woman approached from the side and took his hand to check his pulse. Yang Xiao felt a stream of magical power enter his body. He did not resist, because Senior Sister Lei was examining his injuries.

After a while, Senior Sister Lei released his hand with a faint smile, then turned and walked behind Chen Wuyou.

Chen Wuyou coughed. At last, it was his turn to make an appearance. He walked up to Yang Xiao and stared into his eyes. "Luo Kedi is dead. You know how he died."

"Junior Brother Luo is dead?" Yang Xiao cried, his face full of disbelief.

He had already planned this scene the moment he closed his eyes. He simply had not expected Chen Wuyou and the others to arrive so late. Shouldn't they have been waiting right beside his bed for him to wake up?

Chen Wuyou said, "What happened between you two? Do you know who... killed Luo Kedi?"

He shook his head. "I don't know who killed Junior Brother Luo. I was coming back from the Lianfeng Mountains. As soon as I reached the sect gates, I saw a man in black fighting Junior Brother Luo. That man in black was far too powerful. With a wave of his hand, he unleashed a white dragon.

"At the time, I thought, this won't do! Junior Brother Luo is my fellow disciple. How could I watch him die without helping? So I charged forward. Who knew that man in black would strike me with his palm? I passed out.

"I never imagined Junior Brother Luo would still end up dead."

Chen Wuyou flicked his horsetail whisk. "I hope you'll still say that when the Luo Family's people arrive."

Watching Chen Wuyou leave with the other disciples, Yang Xiao lowered his head in thought. Chen Wuyou's last remark was rather intriguing. He seemed to be telling him to cling to this account and never change his story. What an interesting master.