Chapter 24: Burned to Ashes
CRACK!
Tree branches in the grove suddenly snapped and fell down to the ground.
A passing bird took a nosedive and slammed into the ground under the irresistible force of gravity.
With the man in blue at the center, a 50-meter circle formed that instantly became like a giant magnet, trapping all solid objects.
Even as Nie Qian backed up against the tree, the powerful gravitational force dragged her down toward the ground.
“Tenfold gravity!”
She looked over at Nie Tian with both shock and anxiety, secretly angered by his recklessness.
The blue-garbed man with the Mystic Amber Shield closed in on Nie Tian step by step, grinning the entire time. “What are you going to do now, punk?!”
Nie Tian had been able to move freely before, but because of the tenfold gravity, he was now unable to.
He frowned before he realized that a warm current was currently converging at his feet.
Plumes of heat from the animal bone he clasped in his hand were flowing along his meridians toward his feet.
The animal bone had been restored to its original state, but was now starting to heat up again.
As the animal bone became hot, Nie Tian’s confidence was somehow bolstered and the advancement of the man in blue did not fluster him at all.
Instead of rushing into action though, he calmly looked at the man and then clenched his hand down onto the animal bone, gripping it so hard that blue veins bulged out.
“Where the hell is my second brother?!” the man cried, forcibly swinging the Mystic Amber shield at Nie Tian’s head.
WHOOSH!
The Mystic Amber shield left his hand and flew, with great force, towards Nie Tian’s head, sailing through the air in a perfect arc.
An even stronger gravitational field emanated from that Mystic Amber shield, making the space around Nie Tian sink sharply.
“Little Tian!” Nie Qian shrieked.
Also at this moment, the animal bone in Nie Tian’s hand became as red as hot iron and unleashed an unruly flame power.
Nie Tian suddenly threw the animal bone in the air. “Go!”
When the animal bone whizzed out, the heat gathered around his feet burst out in spectacular fashion.
The terrifying gravity pulling from below suddenly became bearable. As his feet regained the ability to move, Nie Tian darted to the side and evaded the Mystic Amber shield
ROAR!
A raging howl, only audible to Nie Tian, seemed to have burst out from his own soul. He clearly saw the animal bone suddenly transform into a conflagration and swallow the man in blue.
The tenfold gravity that was able to restrain everything in the world was completely dispelled!
CLANK!
Without the steady support of its owner, the Mystic Amber shield flopped down on the ground behind Nie Tian.
The owner of the Mystic Amber shield was promptly consumed by the raging flames.
It only took a few seconds for the man to be devoured by the towering column of fire, vanishing without a trace.
Everything, including his clothes, body, and breath, was burned to ashes.
Within a very short time, all his belongings in this world had been wiped out, while the animal bone rapidly condensed its fiery flames and eventually returned to a dark-brown color.
Standing not far away, Nie Qian, who was previously in despair, stared in disbelief at what had happened.
She could not help but rapidly blink so as to get a better view of the the scene in front of her.
After several moments, she saw that Nie Tian was standing there tall and straight, whereas the malicious assassin had vanished without a trace.
She remained bewildered for a moment before gradually regaining her senses and murmuring, “Is that man, dead…? Burned to death? Scorched to ashes? ”
THUMP THUMP!
After the gravity returned to normal, Nie Tian ran up to the animal bone and crouched down to retrieve it.
“Oh, my precious,” he exclaimed as he happily stroked the animal bone.
Not until that moment did Nie Qian utterly awake from befuddlement and cry out in horror, “Watch out for that animal bone!”
Nie Tian looked up and held the animal bone up in the air. He said with a smile, “Auntie, it is my precious, how could it hurt me? ”
“Your precious? Can you … control it?!”
Nie Tian nodded his head. “Of course!”
After a pause, he pointed behind him and explained, “The second brother of that man was also burned to death; not even a drop of blood was left behind. Not until then did I come to understand why everybody was eager to obtain a spiritual tool. A powerful spiritual tool can turn the tables in battle!”
Previously, he was less interested in painstakingly pursuing a spiritual tool like a Qi warrior would.
That was because he was physically strong and his sturdy body enabled him to win fights with Nie Hong time and time again. Thus, he thought he only needed to focus on enhancing his physical strength.
In the past, he thought that a suitable spiritual tool would not play a crucial role in fighting.
However, the animal bone had helped him kill two people in a row when he was on the verge of death. Thus, his previous line of thinking did an about-face.
He suddenly realized that it was incredibly fortunate to have an extraordinary spiritual tool.
“Put it away!“ Nie Qian took a deep breath. The shock remained on her face while calmness had appeared again in her eyes. “It’s not safe here. I don’t know whether that bitch Yuan Qiuying has another card up her sleeve or not. We can take time to study the animal bone when we arrive back home. Now we have to leave!”
“Okay,” Nie Tian replied obediently.
“Are there any belongings of the two assassins left other than the Mystic Amber shield?” Nie Qian asked.
Nie Tian shook his head and answered, “No, everything was burned up and nothing was left.”
“How powerful that spiritual tool is!” Nie Qian exclaimed in shock. Then she mumbled pitifully, “What a pity that I’m in such a tight space with money. It would have been nice to find more loot to pawn.”
She rose to her feet and stuffed the Mystic Amber shield into her pocket before saying, “Let’s head home!”
“Sure, let’s go.”
Nie Tian, who had killed two men with the animal bone, was not rattled at all by his first killing, but in fact so delighted with it that he took out and played the bone from time to time on his way home.
Every time Nie Qian looked back and found him playing with the animal bone, she would tense up and subconsciously walk a few steps away from him.
In the eyes of Nie Qian, the animal bone could transform into a raging flame any time, which would unscrupulously consume all living things.
Before sunset, Nie Tian followed Nie Qian into the city and they soon returned to the Nie clan.
Back at home, Nie Qian exhorted Nie Tian not to use the animal bone on purpose, and went to Nie Donghai without resting, debriefing him on the what they had experienced in the mine and on their way home.
Hearing they met a mishap on their journey, Nie Donghai trembled with rage, and his eyes bristled with raging flames. “Yuan Qiuying. It is too presumptuous of her to try to kill you and Little Tian just because of a scuffle! I will absolutely pursue this matter till the end!”
Nie Qian shook her head and comforted him, “It doesn’t matter. The two assassins are dead anyway. After this incident, that woman will refrain from acting recklessly. Dad, you aren’t the head of the clan anymore. The mining disaster will plunge all of us into chaos in a short period of time. Let’s forget about Yuan Qiuying and focus on how to handle the Cloudsoaring sect.”
“How long will it be before we can return the mine to normal operation procedures?” Nie Donghai breathed.
“I do not know. ” Nie Qian forced a smile. “It was my fault. I would never have expected that Little Tian’s animal bone would be able to cause such a tremendous change in the mine. In my opinion, it’s impossible to resume mining for the next two months. This year, we definitely won’t be able to collect sufficient flamecloud gems for the Cloudsoaring sect.”
Nie Donghai also seemed to be somewhat restless. “Many people saw you and Little Tian in the mine. Your second uncle will have no choice but to shift all of the blame onto the two of you. Unfortunately, I am no longer the head of the Nie clan. For this matter, I will have to give him some sort of satisfactory explanation.”
“Dad, I’m so sorry for causing you trouble again.” Nie Qian dropped her head in guilt.
“To me, nothing is more important than the fact that Little Tian was able to increase his cultivation to the sixth level of Qi Refining in the mine!” Looking serious, Nie Donghai added, “The strange animal bone in his possession that was able to unleash such a staggering power is worth all these troubles. ”
“But that animal bone is really too domineering! I am afraid that Little Tian cannot control it…” Nie Qian seemed truly worried.
“I believe that he can!” Nie Donghai breathed.
Also at this time, Nie Tian was sitting straight up on the bed in his room, engrossed with the animal bone in his hand.
“Yee?!”