Chapter 045: Gu Hai’s Summon
At the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach Tree:
Boom!
One side had natives defending the place, and one side had outsiders coming to plunder. The various ferocious cloud beasts roared and killed each other.
With Meng Tai’s shout, nearly everyone’s eyes turned red with greed. The outsiders rushed over continuously, as a victor would appear in this decisive battle. The person at the front would be most likely to obtain a golden immortality peach. Although there would be danger, it would be worth the gamble.
Chen Tianshan had already fought for several days, and his eyes were bloodshot with greed like most people. After he roared, he controlled his huge bull to charge forward with all its might.
“Senior Chen, wait!” Gao Xianzhi shouted, his expression changing.
However, Gao Xianzhi could no longer stop Chen Tianshan. Chen Tianshan seemed to have gone crazy, rushing to the very front.
Gao Xianzhi appeared unsightly. He wanted to tell Chan Tianshan not to push too hard. However, the unity of will was an impregnable stronghold, so he could not loudly speak such words lest he get attacked from all sides.
“Gao Xianzhi, quick! This time, we definitely can break through. Hahaha!” Chen Tianshan charged excitedly to the very front. He wanted to be the first to obtain a golden immortality peach.
“Roar!”
A ferocious look flashed in Ninth Young Master’s eyes on the nine-headed snake. Then, after it swung its tail, he commanded the natives to start the battle.
Chen Tianshan was among the fastest attackers. The anxious Gao Xianzhi could not stop him and could only helplessly follow him.
The person who initiated the final battle, Meng Tai, made his large dragon slow down. The Elite Hall disciples followed Meng Tai. Soon, their group fell to the very back.
Then, Meng Tai coldly looked at the battle before him.
The natives, Chen Tianshan, and the eager people charged at the very front.
Rumble…!
“Roar!”
“Roar!”
“Roar!”
The cloud beasts at the very front started biting and clawing each other. The cloud beasts behind did their best to squeeze to the front.
Ninth Young Master and Meng Tai stood at the two ends, coldly watching the battle in the middle.
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
Many cloud beasts fell at the center of the battle, and many cultivators fell out of the sky.
Chen Tianshan faced an incredibly ferocious tiger cloud beast, something even stronger than his huge bull.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
After a chain of attacks, Chen Tianshan looked like he would soon lose.
Seeing the nearby golden immortality peaches, Chen Tianshan appeared unresigned.
“No! No! Why?!” Chen Tianshan roared, feeling upset.
“Roar!”
Boom!
The tiger cloud beast swiped its claw, tearing the neck of the huge bull. Then, it opened its jaws to bite down.
“Move away! Scram!” Chen Tianshan yelled in despair.
Chen Tianshan was unreconciled with this. Was he going to lose his opportunity? Should he give up the golden Go stone and fall from the sky? Or get eaten by the tiger cloud beast?
Indeed, when the huge bull lost, the tiger cloud beast sucked, and the huge bull entered the tiger cloud beast’s mouth.
“I do not accept this! I do not accept this! You cannot eat me!” Chen Tianshan roared while glaring, refusing to let go of the golden Go stone.
It looked like the tiger cloud beast would consume Chen Tianshan soon.
Boom!
A loud sound rang out as a dragon tail struck the tiger cloud beast, interrupting the tiger cloud beast.
“Quickly let go. Chen Tianshan, you lost. Jump over to me!” Gao Xianzhi roared furiously.
Chen Tianshan turned his head and looked at Gao Xianzhi. Gao Xianzhi’s glare startled him to his senses.
“Roar!” The tiger cloud beast roared and increased its pace of consuming the bull cloud beast. Then, it completely consumed the bull cloud beast along with the golden Go stone.
Chen Tianshan gave up struggling at the last moment. Then, he jumped out.
Gao Xianzhi immediately caught Chen Tianshan.
“Roar!”
The winged dragon cloud beast roared, wanting to retreat.
Rumble…!
Seven or eight cloud beasts attacked Gao Xianzhi at the same time. Aside from the natives, the outsiders attacked too.
“Kill those who retreat!” The cold shout of an outsider rang out from behind.
The winged dragon became sandwiched between one thousand cloud beasts. It could only move forward and not backward. However, even if it moved forward, the cloud beasts in front were extremely ferocious as well. It could only serve as cannon fodder.
“Chen Tianshan, I put myself in a terrible situation just to save you!” Gao Xianzhi said bitterly.
When sandwiched, Gao Xianzhi could only weary himself trying to cope. His earlier allies already fought on their own. After all, that was just a temporary alliance and would not last long. Despite seeing Gao Xianzhi in danger, no one came to save him.
However, the winged dragon possessed extremely ferocious combat prowess. Even when sandwiched by the two sides, it still could fight back, dealing with danger after danger.
Nevertheless, sweat covered Gao Xianzhi’s forehead. After all, he faced too many cloud beasts.
At this moment, Chen Tianshan completely regained his senses.
When looking at the countless cloud beasts around and seeing himself at the center—the most dangerous place—Chen Tianshan felt deep regret.
“I let my desires swamp my rationality. I’m sorry, Gao Xianzhi!” Chen Tianshan apologized bitterly.
“This is not the time for such nonsense. Hah! If only the division master were here. With his Go skills, he definitely can create a super cloud beast,” Gao Xianzhe sighed as he fought with everything he had.
Gao Xianzhi did not know how much longer he could last. He faced more than ten cloud beasts from behind and in front. Even though Gao Xianzhi’s cloud beast was huge, it could not take this for long.
What would Gao Xianzhi do if the winged dragon lost?
Gao Xianzhi felt frustrated. Since Chen Tianshan no longer had a cloud beast, he was free. Hence, he turned his head to look at Carefree Valley.
Chen Tianshan goggled. A huge fire burned at Carefree Valley, making it look like an erupting volcano. A fiery light shone up, looking very eye-catching.
“Oh no! Something happened where the division master is!” Chen Tianshan exclaimed.
“What?!” Gao Xianzhi’s expression changed. When he turned his head, he saw that huge fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Roar!”
While Gao Xianzhi was distracted, the winged dragon sustained several severe injuries. It cried out miserably, and its body shook, nearly falling.
Gao Xianzhi immediately showed an unsightly expression, forced to control the winged dragon in battle. However, the winged dragon seemed injured, having more difficulty fighting.
“The winged dragon cannot hold out for much longer. Finish it off!”
“If I eat the winged dragon, it will significantly strengthen my cloud beast!”
“Since the winged dragon cannot continue, he might as well let us benefit rather than the natives!”
Both sides stared at the winged dragon with bloodshot eyes, wanting to consume the winged dragon.
Even Meng Tai and Ninth Young Master, who were behind the two sides, felt slightly excited at this prospect, slowly inching their way towards the winged dragon.
“What happened to the division master?!” Gao Xianzhi asked anxiously while sweating.
“I can see him! Ah! The division master is there; he is the one who set the fire. The division master is fine. However, it seems like Xiaorou fainted!” Chen Tianshan suddenly exclaimed, his eyes brightening as he spoke.
“The division master is fine? That’s great!” Gao Xianzhi rejoiced.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
After suffering repeated attacks, the winged dragon sustained another severe injury. It looked like it would fall soon.
“Gao Xianzhi, what’s wrong with you? What should we do now?” Chen Tianshan said anxiously.
“Division Master! Save us!” Gao Xianzhi shouted.
“Roar! Division Master! Save Us!” The winged dragon let out a roar and spread Gao Xianzhi’s voice in all directions.
“Division Master?” The expression of Meng Tai, who had just rushed over, changed as he turned his head to look around.
On the other side, Ninth Young Master’s face sank as well, and his figure paused for a moment. He recalled the scene of Gu Hai solving the Heavenly Saber Death Match. Right, where is that person?
Meng Tai and Ninth Young Master looked around. Soon, they looked at the distant fire in Carefree Valley. Then, they suddenly noticed Gu Hai on a mountain, carrying the unconscious Xiaorou with one arm.
“Huh?” The two’s faces sank.
Although Gu Hai carried Xiaorou with one arm, his other hand held a golden Go stone while he soared up slowly. Was he summoning a cloud beast?
“He hasn’t summoned a cloud beast yet?” Hahaha! He is too late. The one thousand cloud beasts here have already been through a round of killing. All of them have consumed other cloud beasts before; they are the distilled essence of tens of thousands of cloud beasts. If he has only just formed a cloud beast, he can’t do anything. Humph!” Ninth Young Master snorted coldly in disdain.
Meng Tai also showed disdain in his eyes. Clearly, he thought the same as Ninth Young Master.
Chen Tianshan appeared anxious, but Gao Xianzhi seemed joyful.
Although Ninth Young Master and Meng Tai did not think much of Gu Hai, as he only just summoned his cloud beast, they wanted to see what it was.
Bang!
Then, they saw boundless clouds suddenly appear on that mountain peak. Gu Hai made his move, using his Go skills to drive the power of this world and form his cloud beast.
A gigantic horse head slowly emerged from the clouds.
“A horse head?” Meng Tai and Ninth Young Master felt slightly stunned. Gu Hai summoned a horse?
“Neigh!”
A thunderous sound rang out from where the distant large fire was.
Boom!
A three-hundred-meter-long horse emerged from the clouds.
“Three hundred meters? Just three hundred meters?! Hahaha!” Ninth Young Master laughed in disdain.
Right now, the nine-headed snake was over two kilometers long; it had consumed a cloud beast earlier and grown even larger. As for Meng Tai, his cloud beast approached one thousand six hundred meters long. None of the cloud beasts here now were shorter than one thousand three hundred meters.
The horse that Gu Hai summoned was only three hundred meters? That small?
“That’s not right. It is not just a horse. There is someone on the horse as well?” Chen Tianshan felt slightly stunned.
“Huh?” Ninth Young Master and Meng Tai also felt slightly stunned.
What cloud beast is this? How can there be a person on the horse? The merger of a horse cloud beast and a human cloud beast? Why are there two? Or is it a horse-man hybrid?
Gu Hai carried Xiaorou and stood on the head of that human cloud beast. Half his body sank into the human cloud beast. This human cloud beast looked like a general holding up a halberd as he glared at the sky.
“Humph! A strange monster that is neither human nor ghost. So what if his cloud beast turned out like this? It is still just three hundred meters long!” Ninth Young Master snorted coldly.
Meng Tai showed a similar expression. So what if it was a merger of horse and human? It was still too small; his large dragon could swallow it in one bite.
“Neigh! Neigh!”
The whinnies of two more horses rang out. Another two horse cloud beasts trotted out of the clouds, with soldierlike human cloud beasts on their backs.
“Huh? He…how did he summon out three cloud beasts? He can simultaneously control them?” Meng Tai exclaimed, his expression changing.
“Neigh! Neigh! Neigh!”
Horses appeared, one after another, from the boundless clouds around Gu Hai. Ninth Young Master, Meng Tai, and Chen Tianshan, who were watching, goggled.
Three horses…ten horses…fifty horses…eighty horses…one hundred horses…two hundred horses…
The eyes of Ninth Young Master and Meng Tai opened so wide, they were circular. The two appeared like they saw ghosts. What was going on? Could this be any more ridiculous?
“Using only one golden Go stone, the division master brought out hundreds of horses? How can he summon a herd of cloud beasts? What kind of joke is this?” Chen Tianshan gaped in shock.
“Let’s go!” Gu Hai shouted.
“Giddy-up!” The general cloud beast held up his halberd and swung his horsewhip.
Boom!
The horse carried Gu Hai and Xiaorou into the sky as it galloped up. The vast army followed close behind, exuding an overwhelming aura. Was it just a few hundred horses? No, more were still being produced in the clouds.
Although each cloud beast was only one hundred meters long, Gu Hai did not summon one cloud beast but a vast army.
“What level of Go skill is this? How can it be possible? How can he summon so many cloud beasts?” Ninth Young Master exclaimed while glaring.
It was indeed a vast army. It projected a surging aura as they galloped over with thunderous hoofbeats and intense murderous intent. As the magnificent army charged closer, it felt like the heavenly might descending, vast and puissant.
“That’s impossible. How can cloud beasts be summoned like this?” Ninth Young Master goggled in disbelief.
All the cloud beasts participating in the battle paused when they saw this shocking and incomprehensible scene.
Just one person summoned a vast army with one golden Go stone?
As the vast army charged over, they displayed strong momentum, even reproducing surging clouds of dust and sand. Every horse was a Ferghana horse, and all the soldiers on the horses looked ferocious as they clutched their weapons. The general wielding his halberd at the very front led the charge.
[TL Note: The Ferghana horse is a horse breed. The literal translation of its Chinese name is “blood sweating horse.” The horses gained this name because their blood vessels become clearly defined through their thin, almost-transparent skin when they run. They also give off a reddish liquid that resembles blood, making their coat look darker. Modern researchers have two theories on this red liquid, either their subcutaneous blood vessels bursting or parasites common to the area where these horses grow causing them to bleed. They are considered one of the three best purebred horse breeds, known for speed, endurance, and toughness. They are also known as Akhal-Tekes, heavenly horses, Nisean horses. They were very valuable, and a war was even started over them.]
More importantly, there was a large banner erected in the middle of the vast army. This banner had a huge “Xiang” character on the banner.
[TL Note: This Xiang refers to a family name, likely that of Xiang Yu, later known as the Hegemon-King of Western Chu or Overlord of Western Chu. He was a prominent warlord who overthrew the Qin dynasty but eventually lost to an ally-turned-enemy, Liu Bang, who founded the Han dynasty. Xiang Yu was depicted as a ruthless leader who ordered the massacres of entire cities even after they surrendered peacefully.]
Rumble…!
When the magnificent army charged with great momentum, the ground and sky shook.
Everyone thought back to when they first summoned a three-hundred-meter-long cloud beast. They had to fight hard, going through many battles and consuming large numbers of cloud beasts before reaching the heights they now had.
This person’s cloud beast was also three hundred meters long. However, how could he summon so many? This was simply cheating.
The many horses galloped together, the army radiating a surging murderous intent. Everyone felt their hair stand on end when they saw this scene.
How could it be like this?
“Damn! How are we to continue fighting like this?” someone exclaimed in shock.