Chapter 206: All In
The decision Xiao Chen made could very possibly result in him remaining in this underground world forever. He could not help but be cautious.
The Scarlet Crown Snake was getting closer to the glowing Flowing Light Marigold. There was not much time left for Xiao Chen to think.
“I’ll risk it all!”
[TL note: This is the chapter title but I translated it slightly differently here. They are both right; I just feel that the different forms were more appropriate for what they were used for.]
Xiao Chen made up his mind. The silver warship flew out of his right eye and grew larger. He pushed lightly off the ground and leaped up the boat. He moved as fast as lightning towards Flowing Light Marigold Tree.
“Life Bestowal Spell!”
“Pu! Pu! Pu!” The five sculptures became larger. When they landed, they were the same size as the Rank 5 Spirit Beast—Ice Ape.
This was the first time Xiao Chen controlled five Spirit Beasts simultaneously. The instant the Spirit Beasts formed, he felt the surging Essence inside him diminish by a quarter. He felt temporarily dazzled and a little dizzy.
“Seems like before the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation advanced to the fourth layer; it will be hard to control five Spirit Beasts at the same time,” Xiao Chen said as he composed himself.
There was no time to think; five Ice Apes would not be able to hold off the Scarlet Crown Snake for long. Xiao Chen jumped off the bow, heading rapidly for the Flowing Light Marigold Tree on the ground.
“Hu! Hu!” The wind whistled in Xiao Chen’s ears as he thought to himself continuously, Faster! Faster! Move a little faster!
Xiao Chen had never felt his fall to the ground take so long before.
In an instant, an Ice Ape was swallowed by the Scarlet Crown Snake. “Shua! Shua!” The Scarlet Crown Snake swung its tail. The huge force the tail was carrying smashed two Ice Apes into wood splinters.
Three more seconds before I land, Xiao Chen thought anxiously. If he could not land before the Ice Apes were all destroyed, he would be a sitting duck; he was not able to do anything in the air.
Rank 5 Spirit Beasts were nothing in front of the Scarlet Crown Snake. Even though it was severely injured, it was easily able to kill the Ice Apes in one strike.
The situation was currently very dangerous. In the time it took for a spark to fly, Xiao Chen made hand seals continuously. He roared loudly, “Rank 5 Ice Ape! Explode!”
“Boom! Boom!”
The two Rank 5 Ice Apes absorbed the surrounding ice attributed Spiritual Energy frantically. Motes of cold light appeared in the air immediately after Xiao Chen spoke.
“Ka Ca Ka Ca!” There were two crunching sounds, like ice shattering. The temperature of the air lowered by a few hundred degrees. The two Ice Ape turned into spots of cold light, covering the ground in a layer of frost.
The Scarlet Crown Snake’s huge body was instantly covered in cold Qi. Its huge body immediately transformed into an unmoving, frosty, ice mountain.
The two Ice Apes exhausted Xiao Chen’s energy when they self-destructed. He swallowed a Qi Returning Pill as he took opportunity to land firmly on the ground.
The glowing Flowing Light Flower was as resplendent as gold. As he drew nearer, a strong fragrance assaulted his nose. It was refreshing for Xiao Chen; it made his anxious heart feel a lot better.
Since I’m trying, I should play big. When Xiao Chen stood in front of the Flowing Light Flower, he grew ambitious. One Flowing Light Flower was nothing. What if he could bring away the entire Flowing Light Marigold Tree? Only by doing so would his risk be worth it.
Xiao Chen took out the Lunar Shadow Saber from the Universe Ring and chopped down the Flowing Light Marigold Tree. This was an Immortal Grade natural treasure; as long as it was not up rooted, it could grow again.
The glow of the Flowing Light Flower could be seen dissipating. Xiao Chen quickly placed it and the Lunar Shadow Saber in the Universe Ring.
“Ka ka ka …”
The ice sealing the Flowing Light Flower slowly started to crack. Xiao Chen turned his head and a violent wind blew, causing him to squint, as well as causing his hair and clothes to flutter.
Holy Beast Martial Spirit, Azure Dragon’s Dragon Qi, Fengyan Acupoint, Laogong Acupoint, Daling Acupoint, Neiguan Acupoint… open!
Xiao Chen could feel a dangerous aura; he did not have much time to think. He welcomed the violent wind and shouted. Six acupoints on his right arm instantly opened.
Six azure lights poured out and formed an Azure Dragon, winding around Xiao Chen’s arm. The feeling of having boundless energy fill him again, his entire right arm felt like it was going to explode.
“Bang!”
The Azure Dragon did not fly out. Instead, it clashed heavily with the snake tail flying at him. There was a huge force transmitted; Xiao Chen’s Qi and blood surged as he flew back in the sky.
That was equivalent to a full-powered strike of a peak Martial King. He was knocked flying. Xiao Chen felt that he was very lucky. He vomited a mouthful of blood and then calmed the surging Qi and blood.
“Shua!” With a thought from Xiao Chen, a flash of silver light came flying quickly, catching the falling Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen stood on the bow of the warship.
Before Xiao Chen could catch a breath, there was another gust of violent wind. The Scarlet Crown Snake’s huge tail came sweeping over, even faster than before. It struck the silver warship in an instant.
The huge force immediately threw off Xiao Chen. He was like a sandbag in the air, spinning continuously. He had no means of resisting.
“Ka ca ka ca…”
The silver warship started cracking continuously. After a moment, the warship shattered and turned into spots of silver light as it entered Xiao Chen’s right eye.
The Scarlet Crown Snake’s strike attack actually managed to shatter Xiao Chen’s Secret Treasure.
Xiao Chen did not have enough time to think about the change in current situation. After he landed, the huge snake tail smashed the ground continuously. It was filled with killing intent, not giving Xiao Chen the opportunity to catch his breath.
Xiao Chen ran forward without caring for his life; he moved several meters in an instant. The potential of his body completely stimulated.
Shockwaves continuously spread out from behind him. There were several times where the snake tail got above Xiao Chen’s head, but he managed to dodge the danger in time.
At this moment, Xiao Chen forgot all Movement Techniques, Martial Essence, or even Essence.
There was simply no time for Xiao Chen to circulate his Essence; he could only rely on the most primitive method, the strength of his physical body, running desperately.
The huge tail continued to chase after Xiao Chen. The surging shockwaves struck his back, almost knocking him forward several times. Xiao Chen managed to dodge the danger again.
This is no way to do this; there is not even enough time to circulate my Essence. What should I do! Xiao Chen was frantic as he thought anxiously.
Xiao Chen originally thought that after he executed the Azure Dragon Cloud Soaring Art, he would be able to easily flee. However, the current situation did not even give him enough time to circulate his Essence.
“I can’t keep running like this. I have to find a chance to catch a breath. Otherwise, it will chase me to death.”
How do I find an opportunity? The Scarlet Crown Snake is clearly in a berserk state. He had already used the Azure Dragon’s Qi once; he would not be able to use it again in the short run. If he only relied on the strength of his body, there would be no way to face off against it.
As Xiao Chen dashed forward quickly, he tried to think of a countermeasure. Since he could not clash head on it, he wanted to see if it was possible to borrow the opponent’s force and escape.
After that, he would execute the Azure Dragon Cloud Soaring Art, Roaming Dragon’s Nine Transformations and completely escape the Scarlet Crown Snake.
Borrowing the opponent’s force to further his motives, Xiao Chen never learned such skills before. He could only rely on his adaptability to find the right timing. In order to successfully borrow the opponent’s force, timing was crucial. If he could not find the right timing, the Scarlet Crown Snake would smash him to death.
After avoiding several attacks from the Scarlet Crown Snake, Xiao Chen carefully observed the direction of the wind, calculating the timing of the snake tail’s landing.
“Rumble…!” The huge tail slammed down again, causing the ground to tremble. Then, it pulled back quickly.
The Scarlet Crown Snake’s upper body stood upright long ago; its eyes were flickering with a cold light. Its bloody, forked tongue flicked in and out continuously as it watched Xiao Chen dodge again.
The Scarlet Crown Snake cried out in extreme rage. It twisted its snake belly and its tail created a wild wind and smashed down violently.
Xiao Chen felt the direction of the wind. This was the moment! He spun around without hesitating and tilted his body to the side. As the huge snake tail landed, he sent a palm strike at the side of the snake tail.
Xiao Chen did not strike out with a lot of strength. The instant he touched the snake tail, he hand slid down the side of the tail.
“Hu!”
Xiao Chen’s body flew towards the side to the right. He felt joy; he succeeded. Although a only small part of that force was not dissipated, it was still very horrifying.
However, it was within the range of what he could withstand. Xiao Chen smiled gently as he grabbed ahold of the opportunity. He immediately executed the high level technique of the Azure Dragon Cloud Soaring Art—Roaming Dragon’s Nine Transformations.
Instantly, nine images of himself appeared in the air. When the nine images merged together and landed, Xiao Chen had already fled far away.
“Pa Pa!”
When the Scarlet Crown Snake saw Xiao Chen fleeing from right under its nose, his huge snake tail smashed the ground heavily. Its huge body soared up into the air, covering the sky. It was, in no way, slow at all.
Xiao Chen turned around to take a look and saw a huge mouth above his head. A red forked tongue was shining with a cold light. The dark cave seemed like it was about to swallow Xiao Chen in the next moment.
A faint smile appeared on Xiao Chen’s face as he stopped. Instead of panicking, he was joyful. After chasing me for so long, you delivered yourself to me so I can make you suffer.
“Purple Thunder True Fire, Shoot!”
A fierce flame burned continuously in Xiao Chen’s right eye. After a moment, it turned into a flaming dragon, firing from his right eye at the Scarlet Crown Snake.
“Boom!” The flaming dragon instant wormed its way into the cave. The Scarlet Crown Snake’s body trembled, rolling around on the ground.
Xiao Chen ignored it and took advantage of this opportunity to rush towards the exit of this underground world. He knew this flame would not be able to kill it.
An hour later, Xiao Chen felt the exit to the underground world. When he arrived to the pitch-dark cave, he stepped in without hesitating.
When Xiao Chen stepped through it, he felt dazzled like the first time he did so. This time, Xiao Chen paid some attention to it. It was clear that when he felt that dazzling feeling, it felt like he stepped into another world.
When he turned his head, he saw an incredulous scene. There was nothing behind him. It was simply pitch-dark; nothing could be seen.
Xiao Chen was extremely stunned; his eyes opened wide and his mouth gaped open. He muttered, “How could it be? I clearly just walked out of that place. How could it go missing?”
Xiao Chen dashed forwards frantically; he did not dare believe what had happened. Before long, he walked into the side of the cave. Aside from dirt, there was nothing there.
“Could what I have been experiencing in the past month be fake?” Xiao Chen rubbed his forehead. He said bewilderedly, “Everything was just a dream?”
Xiao Chen only calmed down slowly after he took out the Flowing Light Marigold from the Universe Ring. His strength was still present and the Medial Grade Spirit Stones in his ring were still there.