Chapter 14: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

Chapter 14: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

The second, third, fourth...

When the fifth Golden Scale Beast also leaped out, a shocking and absurd thought flashed through everyone's minds: How could there be so many Golden Scale Beasts? Had they stumbled into a nest of them?!

Among the five, one was indeed much larger than the other four, likely a mother beast with cubs.

The only saving grace was that Golden Scale Beasts were not social; only this one adult mother was present.

But now there was no time to dwell on it. Only one word remained in everyone's mind: flee.

Even a mere second-tier Golden Scale Beast could be taken on by a group, but five at once? Not even a Foundation Establishment cultivator could withstand that!

Everyone rushed out in a frenzy, with Zhang Yan abandoning even his magic tool.

On the other side, Shang Yunduo and Zhang Yu were still unaware of the situation in the cavern, had already entered the tunnel. As they fought, they wondered—was the cave really this deep? This long of a passage?

Why couldn't they see any light?

Suddenly, Shang Yunduo caught the scent of blood. "Stop! Something's wrong!"

Zhang Yu didn't believe him, thinking it was another trick. She lunged with her sword, but Shang Yunduo raised his blade to block. The two swords clashed, and the sparks illuminated the ground for an instant, revealing a twisted animal face that startled Zhang Yu. Even as a cultivator, she couldn't help but let out an "Ah!"

Shang Yunduo screamed in fright as well. He fumbled for his Glow Pearl, his heart still pounding wildly. What the hell is that? It scared him to death.

"A badger?" He moved the Glow Pearl closer to get a better look. After a moment, he suddenly recognized it. "No! That's my junior brother's Spirit Beast!"

Shang Yunduo rushed over. He set down the badger-like beast was already lifeless. He turned it over and saw a dart embedded in its back; the surrounding blood had turned black.

Shang Yunduo's heart sank.

Earlier, in the cavern, he hadn't seen Yan Jia or Wang Ming, nor had he found their bodies. He had assumed they had escaped. But now...

He set down the beast and took out the remaining three Glow Pearls from his storage pouch, tossing them ahead. Soon, he spotted another corpse—a human one.

"..." Shang Yunduo was stunned, a bit panicked.

Back in the forest, when they were ambushed by Shadow Foxes, it had been a group facing corpses and the foxes—plenty of noise and light. That was an accident. But now, in this silent cave, pitch-black all around, only a small area illuminated by the Glow Pearls, with just the two of them and the two corpses...

This had turned from an adventure into a horror film.

Shang Yunduo's hair stood on end.

Zhang Yu was much calmer. She walked directly over and used her sword to lift the corpse. "Do you know him?"

Shang Yunduo nodded. "I saw him earlier."

He remembered the man was at the sixth layer of Qi Refining. When they had been arguing about how to split the spirit stones upon entering the cave, this man had been hiding in a corner just like him.

Shang Yunduo didn't want to go further. He was pretty scared of ghosts; he felt like something in the shadows ahead was watching him.

But Yan Jia and Wang Ming might be ahead, and they might still be alive.

Sigh,

He struggled for two breaths.

Anyway, to get out, he had to go through here...

Shang Yunduo took a deep breath to steel himself, took out his last piece of defensive jade pendant from his storage pouch, and tucked it into his chest. "I'm going ahead. Are you coming?"

Zhang Yu didn't speak, but she drew her sword and walked beside him.

Shang Yunduo controlled the four Glow Pearls, holding his sword as he moved forward cautiously.

Now only the sounds of their footsteps echoed in the tunnel, along with the roars of Golden Scale Beasts from afar.

Hearing the Golden Scale Beasts actually made Shang Yunduo less afraid. Ghosts be damned—in this world, there were already Ghost Cultivators. Ghosts were things you could fight.

Soon, the smell of blood grew stronger. Zhang Yu frowned, disturbed. After they were both startled by two more corpses, Shang Yunduo began to get used to it. He noticed Zhang Yu's face had gone pale, so he stepped in front of her with his sword.

He felt a faint breeze; the cave entrance must be near.

But as the tunnel turned a corner, the Glow Pearls illuminated a pile of stones blocking the way, along with Yan Jia, Wang Ming, and another cultivator at the seventh layer of Qi Refining lying beside the stones.

Yan Jia had no breath left, his head slumped to one side, his chest pierced by a blade over two inches wide. Wang Ming was completely frozen solid; his Shuo Feng Banner was broken, the pole still in his hand while the banner lay on the ground stained with blood. His shoulders and neck bore wounds from darts.

Dead.

Shang Yunduo stood frozen, unable to snap out of it.

The ringing in his ears, which had faded, grew louder again, making his head ache.

"Hey! Hey!" Zhang Yu yelled.

Shang Yunduo turned to her, dazed.

Zhang Yu: "They're dead. Might as well see if those rocks can be moved."

Shang Yunduo nodded instinctively, looking at the blocked entrance. He couldn't quite put his feelings into words.

He just wanted to close his eyes, charge forward, and knock his head against the rocks.

Better yet, open his eyes and find himself lying on his bed in the dorm or at home, play a few games to shake off this nightmare, return to normal life, and go back to preparing those maddening resumes and interviews.

But now, even with his not-so-bright mind, he could clearly see: there was a third party involved. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. They were the oriole behind, blocking the exit, turning everyone inside into their prey.

Where were they? Outside? Or inside?

Zhang Yu saw him standing still and was about to step forward when Shang Yunduo suddenly thrust his sword toward her. Zhang Yu was startled, parried the strike, and pointed at him angrily: "What are you doing?!"

Shang Yunduo pulled back his sword, staring at the stone his sword tip had scraped. He was also a bit disoriented. He must have been too nervous. Just now, in a daze, he thought he saw something.

"It felt like someone was watching me from over there."

Zhang Yu raised her Lotus Lamp and shone it on the stone wall beside her. It was indeed just stone, bare, with a bit of moss on it. "If you want to ambush me, I'm ready. Stop making up such lame excuses!"

Shang Yunduo couldn't explain it either. He had clearly felt an unfriendly gaze. Normally he'd brush it off, but at a time like this, he trusted his sixth sense. Better safe than sorry.

He directed the Glow Pearls along the stone walls, shining them around and upward, then suddenly turned to shine them behind them.

No one else but him and Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu was baffled by his spooky behavior. Was someone really hiding here?

Thinking it over carefully—who had blocked the cave? Who had killed those people? They had fought their way here without seeing anyone else alive. Before she could think about it any more, a huge roar suddenly came from deeper in the cave. It didn't sound like it came from that Golden Scale Beast they had just seen.

Zhang Yu's expression changed. "Brother!"

She immediately forgot about Shang Yunduo and the assassin, stepping onto her sword and flying swiftly into the cave. Shang Yunduo stood frozen, at a loss.

He was alone now.

No.

Not alone.

Low-level cultivators couldn't hold their breath for long!

No matter how good the concealment technique, if breath and killing intent weren't hidden, exposure was inevitable.

Above, Sword Flight Art!

Shang Yunduo used the fastest move he knew.

The moment his sword left his hand, he spun sharply and raised his shield. A heavy chain blade struck the shield with a grating screech. He hadn't been mistaken—right where Zhang Yu had stood moments ago, someone was hiding!

Shang Yunduo staggered back two steps with his shield raised, catching his returning flying sword and knocking down three darts that followed.

Broad blade.

Darts.

So there were two of them!

The female cultivator wielding the chain blade stared in disbelief. "How did you detect me? At the Qi Refining stage, you shouldn't be able to see through my Mirage Lizard Gauze."

The fat man wielding darts also "peeled off" from the stone wall. The female cultivator grew even more frustrated—he was far more conspicuous than her, so why had Shang Yunduo noticed her first?

Shang Yunduo: "You were about to ambush me, weren't you?! Did you ambush my junior apprentice brother too?"

The female cultivator raised an eyebrow. She had indeed planned to ambush him, but before she could even draw her blade, this kid had spotted her. "Qi Refining Peak, truly troublesome. Fatty Hua, move!"

Shang Yunduo had no confidence in a one-versus-two fight. Even two Eighth Layer Qi Refining cultivators weren't confident they could defeat a Qi Refining Peak. The moment they clashed, none of them held back, putting all their strength into it.

On contact, blades and swords clashed, darts circled, and Shang Yunduo's fire bombs flew as if they cost nothing. Dozens of moves later, all three were panting, somewhat surprised.

Darts, poison needles, poison insects—the fat man oozed toxins from head to toe. If not for his Flame Control barely managing, and the jade pendant on him blocking the poison dust, he would have been poisoned to death several times.

The female cultivator's blade was fierce, but with triple defenses—shield, jade pendant, and armor—he managed to hold out.

The two were also astonished. Was this the Heavenly Spirit Root? His spiritual energy rivaled that of their boss, who was already at the Foundation Establishment stage. He had been using Flame Control for so long and still had spiritual energy left. And he was dressed like a tortoise, layer upon layer—they had barely gotten past the shield only to find another impenetrable armor inside.

Since he had armor, why use a shield? Wasn't that just extra burden?

Shang Yunduo had no idea how sturdy his armor actually was—it had already been cracked by the Golden Scale Beast; what if it was about to break?

One hand with a sword, one with a shield; he had to watch out for the blade ahead and poison from all directions. Shang Yunduo appeared calm on the surface, but inside he was panicking, gasping for breath, sweating all over.

In combat, cultivation was important, but experience was equally crucial. He had no experience in life-or-death fights; every move from the opponents was lethal, and one wrong step meant death. He didn't know any killing moves.

Or rather, the Singing Wind Sword Art could kill with every move—he just didn't dare.

And the opponents also realized: his repertoire of moves was limited, and he had almost no fighting experience.

"Heh..."

They wondered how these large sects trained their disciples. Here was a Qi Refining Peak warrior, like a child holding a treasure but unable to use it, clutching gold but not knowing how to spend it—so naive.

"Fatty Hua, the snake!"

The fat man winced in pain. He switched tactics with the female cultivator, taking the lead in attacking. He danced nimbly, fists and feet flying toward Shang Yunduo.

His fists were wrapped in some kind of artifact—torn cloth strips, it seemed—but he dared to catch Shang Yunduo's sword barehanded, forcing Shang Yunduo to retreat repeatedly. The female cultivator watched for an opening and struck with her blade. In panic, Shang Yunduo even used a move he hadn't fully learned: he leaped into the air, stepped on her blade, flipped backward, and struck with his sword again. Meanwhile, his left hand stayed busy, holding the shield and turning his body to block it securely, preventing the fat man from using poison. But the fat man had been waiting for him to focus solely on the shield and neglect attack. From his sleeve suddenly shot a large, colorful venomous snake, opening its mouth and spraying a stream of venom at Shang Yunduo's shield.

The golden copper shield was instantly covered with a layer of black qi. In moments, the once spiritual-energy-rich shield lost its potency. Startled, Shang Yunduo had no time to check the shield's damage. As he changed his stance, he brought the shield up again to block the blade, only to have it sliced in two by the female cultivator.

"Haha! Truly the golden-corrosive python!" the female cultivator laughed loudly. "This kid is doomed!"

The fat man reluctantly stuffed the snake back into his sleeve. The once fierce snake, its energy seemingly drained, became half-dead.

His snake was not a pure golden-corrosive python—it was bred from many snakes, capable of corroding all artifacts below spiritual treasures. Unfortunately, it could only be used once; whether it could be revived was uncertain.

To compensate for his snake, he had to kill Shang Yunduo today no matter what.

Without his shield, the two were invigorated, their moves sharper than before. Shang Yunduo was forced to switch from defense to offense, using attack in place of defense. He wielded the repeated Sword Art and Sword Flight Art faster and harder, but was still pushed back to the cave entrance with no room to retreat.

The fat man clasped his hands together and tightly grabbed Shang Yunduo's sword. The female cultivator swung her blade fiercely at his head. Shang Yunduo barely dodged sideways; the blade struck his shoulder, blocked by armor, but the impact shook his internal organs. The internal injury from the Golden Scale Beast flared up. Second strike, third strike...

The death-dealing female cultivator drew closer, her cold, frenzied eyes magnifying in his vision. He could see her pupils, as brilliant as flowers and as deep as the universe.

"I'm sorry..." Shang Yunduo's voice trembled. He took out from his storage pouch a beast-faced double-eared clay bell that he had put aside. The tiny clapper swayed, and the sound waves pierced directly into the brain. Shang Yunduo bit his tongue hard to stay conscious. The unsuspecting female cultivator and fat man both froze, their minds wandering. In that moment, the fat man's grip loosened. Shang Yunduo took the chance to thrust forward, piercing the fat man's obese chest.

He pulled out the sword, stabbed again, pulled out, slashed the throat. The female cultivator's blood sprayed all over his face.

She finally snapped out of the bell's daze, stared at Shang Yunduo in disbelief, then her chain blade clattered to the ground, and she fell.

Shang Yunduo's sword also clanged down. Blood dripped into his slightly open mouth. With disgust, he quickly wiped his sleeve over it. The sleeve turned red, and the metallic smell made him want to vomit. He staggered two steps, then his legs gave out, and he fell onto Yan Jia's corpse.

Shang Yunduo unexpectedly met Yan Jia's lifeless eyes again.

The pain-suppressed ringing exploded in his mind. Shang Yunduo clutched his head, on the verge of a breakdown.

Raised in modern civilization and convenience, he had played rough as a child, shouting and fighting in video games, but in reality, he had never even killed a fish. The cruelest thing he had done was step on an insect. And now, he had just killed two people with his own hands. The sensation of the blade entering flesh and blood spraying onto his face hadn't faded yet.

"Ugh—" Shang Yunduo rolled over, leaning on a stone, and vomited. Bruised blood, stomach acid. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw a pair of eyes that refused to close in death.

"Ha—" He gasped for air, his skull still ringing, until a distant roar from the Golden Scale Beast disrupted the bell's sound waves.

His emotions were still collapsing, but rationality urged him to get up and flee.

Shang Yunduo staggered to his feet, stepping through blood to stow the bell back into his storage pouch, picked up his sword, and after a moment's thought, frantically stripped the fat man's Mirage Lizard Gauze cloak that could grant invisibility.

Author's note:

Yunduo's cognition version 3.0: Ah, ahhh, ahhh!

Collapse level: 99%