Chapter 136: Life and Death Unpredictable

Chapter 136: Life and Death Uncertain

A dazzling white light flashed, and everything fell silent.

It was as if the world had been put on mute.

Shang Yunduo's last memory was the silent light swallowing him, and then he blacked out.

King Lingxi's self-detonation came so suddenly that almost none of the demon cultivators in the valley managed to dodge it in time. Even King Xuanying, who was slow to react and closest to King Lingxi, barely escaped, losing all his magical artifacts and getting blasted, covered in blood.

When the dust settled, the original mountain was gone, leaving a huge pit in its place. The pit was surrounded by rock dust scattered radially from the explosion.

Even the several Transformation stage cultivators felt a lingering fear.

None of them had expected King Lingxi to self-detonate.

"He wanted to take the whole clan down with him?!" King Xuanying, injured and disheveled, choked back the blood that was almost gushing from his throat, still in disbelief. Coming to his senses, he was almost furious, "I gave them a chance to live, yet he was ungrateful and wanted to blow me up too?!"

Elder Heiyuan, still trembling with palpitations, had a dark face, his entire arm behind his back faintly shaking.

He was no match for these old fellows who had long reached the Transformation stage; if he had been in King Xuanying's place, he might have ended up dying alongside the Spirit Rhinoceros Clan.

Fortunately, he knew he couldn't mess with these guys, so he stayed far enough away. This madman King Lingxi...

Tiger King also cursed under his breath, "All that work for nothing!"

He looked around and then shouted loudly, "Ah Hua! Are you alive?! Tiger clan members, who else is alive!!!"

Tiger King's voice, like thunder, echoed down from above the giant pit. Shang Yunduo, who had been unconscious, was jolted awake. His ears were still ringing and wasn't sure if the sound he heard was real, but he was certain the scene before him must be an illusion. Did a meteorite hit?!

How did such a huge pit appear?

He was less than two hundred meters from the edge of the pit. The surrounding mountains were all gone, trees were gone, not a blade of grass remained. Gravel was like powder, covering the area around the destroyed pit in a radial pattern. Shang Yunduo was covered in sand and stone, and when he took a breath, he almost choked.

What exactly had happened?

Yet amid all this destruction, the spiritual energy he had sensed before was still there!

Closer and more pronounced!

There was danger, there was killing intent!

The sense of crisis pricked at his nerves like needles. Ignoring the crushing pain all over his body, Shang Yunduo struggled to get up, coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, and shouted hoarsely toward Tiger King, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! I—I! Save me!!!"

His throat was clearly raw from the coughing, and fortunately, the area was so thoroughly destroyed and so quiet that Tiger King actually saw him.

Tiger King teleported to his side, picked up Shang Yunduo, who had failed twice to get up and fallen face-first into the dirt, shook the dust off him, and chuckled, "Heh, you're quite lucky, boy. You weren't in the pit... Eh?!"

He suddenly looked in the direction Shang Yunduo was staring warily.

Shang Yunduo thought to himself: If I had known it would blow up like this, I would have run even farther! He lied, his voice hoarse, "I was chasing a spir..."

Before he could finish, Tiger King threw him to the ground, "Wait here!"

With that, in a flash of lightning, he dashed off in that direction. "Demon King! He's here!"

He didn't need to say it; Flying Owl was just as fast, arriving almost at the same time. The two struck out together, as if striking at thin air, and then chased empty air, disappearing into the distance.

That spiritual energy had vanished.

Shang Yunduo lay down in relief.

"Hey? Hey, hey?!" King Xuanying watched their rapidly disappearing figures and complained, "Were we here to catch the Spirit Rhino or to kill King Hundun?! Blind man, you tell me!"

Elder Heiyuan, suddenly addressed, smiled and said, "I don't know."

"You don't know either?" King Xuanying was confused. "What exactly did King Hundun do to provoke that killer Flying Owl?" And that Flying Owl even enlisted Tiger King's help.

Seeing movement near the giant pit again, King Xuanying perked up and called out loudly, "Are there any Mystic Eagle Clan members still alive? Any Black Abyss Clan?"

Elder Heiyuan's gaze just swept over Shang Yunduo when King Xuanying called to him, "Blind man, where are you looking? Your young one is here."

"Hmm..." Elder Heiyuan responded, looking away from Shang Yunduo.

Such luck...

Fire Spirit Root. A pity, but their Black Abyss Clan couldn't afford to provoke these grumpy big cats for now.

There were indeed others as lucky as Shang Yunduo—some had chased the Spirit Rhino out of the valley, some had caught a Spirit Rhino and withdrawn early, and some thought the divine battle inside the valley was too dangerous and left early...

All in all, more than a dozen demon cultivators had survived.

But since they weren't too far away, they were all injured, half unconscious, their lives hanging in the balance.

Those deep inside the valley left not even corpses behind, turning to ash along with the mountain stones, plants, and demon beasts of the Spirit Rhinoceros Clan, leaving nothing.

King Xuanying only found one Black Abyss clan member on the edge who was either blown away by the explosion or unusually lucky—a Spirit Accumulation stage cultivator who had already shifted into his beast form, but half his body was destroyed, and it seemed he was beyond saving.

Shang Yunduo struggled to stand up, trembling as he looked around for Pei Jie.

With no reference points left, he couldn't discern the exact direction. He even wondered if he had lost his memory from the blast. He clearly remembered Pei Jie's aura approaching from this direction, but no matter how he searched, he couldn't find it.

He swept his spiritual sense around again and again, but found nothing. Even the two auras that had been chasing Pei Jie were gone.

Refusing to give up, he continued searching. He took out a wooden stick from his storage pouch, using it as both a crutch and a rake, turning over the ground around him as he walked. Suddenly, he sensed a faint aura. Shang Yunduo quickly ran over and dug, then spotted a patch of black. He pulled the person out—it was a Black Abyss clan elder at the Core Formation stage.

It was the one who had wanted to kill him earlier.

Why did it have to be him?

The other person was barely alive, breathing shallowly, his eyes unfocused as he looked at Shang Yunduo.

"..." Shang Yunduo turned him over to lie face up and continued searching around.

"Is anyone else alive? Is there..." His foot was suddenly grabbed.

Shang Yunduo quickly looked down—it was golden, a large claw!

"Elder?!" He immediately dropped the stick and started digging outward. Elder Juhu was buried especially deep, and Shang Yunduo himself had little strength left. He used all his might but couldn't pull him out.

Fortunately, Elder Juhu's injuries were slightly lighter. He said in a low voice, "Medicine..."

Shang Yunduo quickly took out a pill bottle. Not knowing which medicine was right for such severe injuries, he fed him a Baleful Blood Pill. After a while, Elder Juhu spat out a mouthful of blood and seemed to regain some strength.

He waved his hand for Shang Yunduo to step aside, grabbed the wooden stick that Shang Yunduo had thrown aside, and used it to support himself as he stood up. He saw the unconscious Black Abyss elder lying beside them and said in a low voice, "Why did you save him?"

Shang Yunduo: "Ah?"

He hadn't known who it was before pulling him out!

"Forget it." He'd already saved him, so no point regretting it.

Elder Juhu wanted to go over and check the situation, but he couldn't move an inch.

Having no choice, he sat back down, leaning on his stick.

It hurt so much.

It felt like every bone in his body had been shattered, and even after taking the elixir, the pain didn't ease.

Just standing for a moment had him drenched in sweat from the pain. Elder Juhu let out a heavy breath, looking ahead at the huge pit. Around them, besides the three of them, there was nothing left.

He glanced at Shang Yunduo and couldn't help but admire him inwardly—this kid was incredibly lucky!

Even he and the blind man from the Black Abyss Clan were barely clinging to life, yet this kid was still standing.

But seeing Shang Yunduo's legs trembling nonstop, he couldn't help but laugh.

Amazing that even in this state, he was still digging around nearby to save others.

"Can you still move?"

Shang Yunduo nodded.

He still hadn't found Pei Jie.

If the two people chasing Pei Jie were Elder Juhu and this elder from the Black Abyss Clan, then Pei Jie should be nearby. Why couldn't he find him?

His mind was a mess. On the one hand, he knew Pei Jie was more experienced and calm when dealing with danger than a Core Formation cultivator. On the other hand, he couldn't help but think that Pei Jie was only at the Foundation Establishment stage now.

Even Elder Juhu, who was close to the Transformation stage, was so severely injured, and Elder Heiyuan from the Black Abyss Clan, at Core Formation, was at death's door…

"Search his body and see if there's a Spirit Beast Pouch."

"Mm…"

"Mm?" Elder Juhu heard something off in his voice and looked up. "Why are you crying?"

"I…" Shang Yunduo couldn't hold back his tears; they started falling uncontrollably. "I… it hurts…"

"…" After a moment of silence, Elder Juhu said, "Forget it, then."

Shang Yunduo shook his head and slowly moved over. He crouched in front of Elder Heiyuan and took out everything from his waist and chest. The man didn't stir. Shang Yunduo found some elixirs and was about to feed one to him when he realized the elder was already dead.

Shang Yunduo froze in place.

He was alive just a moment ago, and now he's dead?

How could he die just like that?

"Wake up!" Shang Yunduo shook him violently, but the body, not yet cold or stiff, showed no sign of life.

"Kid?!"

Shang Yunduo looked at Elder Juhu with tearful eyes, his voice trembling. "He's dead…"

"So what if he's dead? Don't be scared—you didn't kill him."

Shang Yunduo nodded numbly, raised his hand to wipe his eyes, but instead rubbed sand into his eyes, making them redder.

Elder Juhu sighed. He wanted to come over and help deal with it, but he still couldn't get up.

He frowned and looked into the pit.

The Great King wasn't around, but the Black Abyss Clan's Transformation stage cultivator was. King Xuanying had some ties with the Great King, so he probably wouldn't let them die, but in the end, it's better to rely on yourself than on others.

He said softly, "Take his stuff and bury him!"

Hearing the urgency in his voice, Shang Yunduo nodded, stuffed everything into his robes, and hastily buried Elder Heiyuan in the sand right there.

When he returned, before he could even get close, Elder Juhu asked, "Do you have any Spirit Rhinos?"

Shang Yunduo was taken aback, then took out the Spirit Beast Pouch and glanced inside. "Yes."

Before he could hand it to him, Elder Juhu waved his hand. "No, you keep it. Give it to the Great King when he returns."

Shang Yunduo nodded, dazed.

Then Elder Juhu added, "If I die, give this to the Great King as well."

With that, he pulled out a storage pouch and handed it to Shang Yunduo.

Shang Yunduo's eyes widened. He took the pouch, then quickly took out his own elixirs and the ones he'd found on Elder Heiyuan, and offered them all to Elder Juhu. "You won't die. You definitely won't."

Elder Juhu gave a faint smile. He didn't refuse; he took the bottles, looked them over, and swallowed several pills in one go.

But his injuries were too severe. His core was shattered, and there was no hope for cultivation anymore. Even if he survived now, he wouldn't have many years left.

What a pity.

"Pfft—"

Seeing him spit out the pills he'd just swallowed, blood splattering his chest, Shang Yunduo quickly searched for more medicine. "This is medicine I bought from the humans—it can treat internal injuries. And this one is for the meridians…"

Shang Yunduo also took out a Gu Yuan Pill and fed it into Elder Juhu's mouth.

"Good medicine…" Elder Juhu swallowed. It immediately made him feel much better. "But it's no use to me."

Shang Yunduo held his best pills, completely unsure what to do.

When he started sobbing again, Elder Juhu laughed out loud. "You Fire Armor Clan is known for producing all sorts of weird, nasty temperaments, but how did you end up such a crybaby? Quit crying. Dying here, taking a Transformation stage cultivator down with me—that's a death with no regrets. Come, sit behind me."

Shang Yunduo nodded.

Elder Juhu shielded Shang Yunduo with his massive body. He stayed seated, staring at the giant pit, eyes wide open, watching.

"Is there any medicine that can kill the pain?"

Shang Yunduo shook his head.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "There's a kind of poisonous herb, mildly toxic…"

Under normal circumstances, it would be fine to take, but now he didn't know if Elder Juhu's body could handle the poison.

Elder Juhu said, "Give it to me."

Shang Yunduo took it out and handed it to him.

It turned out to be a whole flower plant.

Elder Juhu pulled off a flower with its stem and held it in his hand, then swallowed the rest of the plant in one gulp.

The clear, bitter grass juice flowed down his throat like ice, eased much of the pain throughout his body.

"If I die and the king hasn't returned yet, beware of those blind ones from the Black Abyss Clan, and don't trust King Xuanying either. Wait for the king to come back..."

"Mm."

"If the king returns... and I'm still alive... let him put me out of my misery..."

"..."

Shang Yunduo said nothing, and Elder Juhu could no longer hear whether he spoke. His eyesight grew dim, everything before him turned black—no stars, no moonlight, darker than the darkest night he had seen in more than three hundred years.

But he strained his eyes to look ahead.

As long as he remained standing, no one would dare come to kill the Little Tiger cultivator behind him or take his storage pouch. Their Tiger Clan would not have fallen from this battlefield.

Author's note:

Yun Duo: [sobbing][sobbing][sobbing]