nownovels Chapter 39 The mantis unawares the oriole behind, the fisherman reaps the benefits.
Chapter 39 The mantis unawares the oriole behind, the fisherman reaps the benefits.
Deep underground, violent roars, howls, and screams faintly echoed through the thick rock layers, shaking the mine tunnels and causing dust to fall like an earth dragon turning over.
Even from a great distance, Yang Jin could clearly feel that the extremely fierce and violent energy collision was rapidly diminishing and subsiding.
"It's over... Regardless of who won or lost, the battle should be over soon."
Yang Jin leaned against the rock wall at the end of the underground passage, his chest rising and falling slightly. Although the wound on his shoulder had been treated with medicine, it still stung.
He was completely focused, extending his perception to Atu through mental connection.
As instructed, Atu had already quietly infiltrated the vicinity of the core area of the cave, to an extremely hidden observation point that he had previously discovered, connected by a small natural crack.
At this moment, it is transmitting everything it "sees" and "perceives" to Yang Jin with perfect clarity.
The scene inside the cave was nothing short of hell.
The once spacious underground space is now filled with huge rubble, broken stalactites, charred marks, and... a large number of broken insect corpses and mutilated human bodies!
The Crimson Flame Centipede King's enormous body, as large as a small hill, lay across the center of the cave. Its once fiery red carapace was now dull and covered with deep, crisscrossing knife marks, fist marks, and scorched pits left by explosions. Several thick legs were broken off, and thick, dark green blood with a burnt smell gushed from the wounds, corroding the ground into small pits.
Its massive head drooped, saliva and blood flowed from its mouthparts, its compound eyes flickered weakly, and it emitted painful and feeble hisses, clearly at its last gasp and critically wounded.
The scene surrounding the centipede king was even more shocking.
Shi Gan, the master of the Rock Martial Arts School, had his granite-like body torn apart and fell under one of the giant claws of the Centipede King. He died with his eyes wide open, still clutching a broken giant stone hammer in his hand.
Liu Suifeng, the master of the Gale Martial Arts Academy, was impaled by several sharp, broken stalactites and pinned to a rock wall. His usual pair of short spikes lay broken on the ground, and his face showed extreme shock and resentment.
Scattered on the ground were numerous severed limbs and broken weapons and banners belonging to martial arts school disciples, almost covering the area near the centipede king's lair.
The strong smell of blood, burnt food, and insects mixed together was nauseating.
The only place where there was still movement was at the edge of the cave.
Liu Zhenwei, the master of the Iron Bone Martial Arts School, was disheveled, dressed in rags, and covered in blood. His left arm hung limply, seemingly broken, and he was barely able to stand, leaning on a cracked broadsword. His breath was extremely weak, his face was as pale as paper, and blood kept spilling from the corner of his mouth.
Not far from him, the vice master of the Gale Martial Arts Academy, who had miraculously survived, lay on the ground, barely alive, with a horrifying bloody hole in his chest gushing out blood foam. It was clear he was not going to make it.
Further out of the cave, hundreds of surviving fire centipedes, dragging their wounded bodies and hissing, slowly gathered towards the centipede king, subtly surrounding Liu Zhenwei.
Although these centipedes also suffered heavy casualties and lost unified command, their numbers remained considerable, and their ferocity was not diminished.
In the center of the cave, near the back of the centipede king's lair, a small pool, about ten feet in diameter, surrounded by natural earth vein jade, was emitting a soft and rich jade-white radiance.
The pool is not filled with clear water, but with incredibly pure nephrite from the earth veins, almost solidified into a liquid!
In the center of the chalcedony, a lotus flower, fiery red and crystal clear, with three lotus leaves and a bud about to bloom at the top, stands gracefully, exuding a breathtaking and magnificent vitality and fire-attribute energy—it is the century-old Earth Core Fire Lotus!
At this moment, whether it was the critically injured and dying Crimson Flame Centipede King, Liu Zhenwei who was barely standing with his eyes filled with resentment and greed, or the remaining centipedes, their gazes involuntarily fell on the Earth Vein Jade Marrow and the Earth Core Fire Lotus.
That was the goal they fought tooth and nail for, but it was also a forbidden zone that no one could easily touch at this moment.
The centipede king was unable to move. The remaining centipedes instinctively guarded the king and the nest, but they were also powerless to approach the turbulent jade marrow pool.
Liu Zhenwei was powerless to do anything about it. His injuries were too severe, his blood and energy were almost depleted, and he was also threatened by the remaining centipedes. He simply had no way to break through and pick them.
The situation has reached a strange stalemate.
And at that very moment—
"A-Tu, now!" Yang Jin roared in his heart and gave the order without hesitation!
A-Tu, lurking in the shadows, moved instantly like the most precise assassin!
Its dark brown body silently and swiftly burrowed through the well-discovered, extremely hidden natural crack in the rock strata below the chalcedony pool!
Its keen perception of the earth's vein energy allowed it to perfectly avoid the obstacles around the chalcedony pool.
Almost as soon as Liu Zhenwei and the Crimson Flame Centipede King were slow to react due to their injuries and exhaustion, Atuna's enhanced mandibles, gleaming with a dark metallic luster, suddenly emerged from a rock crevice at the edge of the Jade Marrow Pool!
There was no earth-shattering fanfare, only a greedy and efficient devouring!
Atu opened his round mouth, generating a powerful suction force, like a whale sucking in water, frantically absorbing the pure earth vein jade marrow in the pool!
At the same time, several slender and tough, tentacle-like organs differentiated from one side of its body, which shot out like lightning, precisely wrapped around the roots and seedpod of the Earth Core Fire Lotus, and pulled it off suddenly!
With a soft "click", the fire lotus, along with a small piece of jade supporting it, was lifted out of the pool!
All of this happened too fast and too secretly!
Both the severely injured Centipede King and Liu Zhenwei in the distance only saw the light in the Jade Marrow Pool suddenly dim, and the precious Fire Lotus suddenly disappeared!
The level of the chalcedony liquid in the pool also dropped significantly at a rate visible to the naked eye!
"No--!!!"
Liu Zhenwei's eyes were bloodshot, and he let out a fierce and extremely unwilling roar!
He mustered his last bit of strength and tried to rush over, but the remaining fire centipedes were startled by the commotion and immediately let out a threatening hiss, closing in on him and blocking his way.
He was already severely injured and exhausted, and he felt a fatal threat from the remaining centipedes.
The Crimson Flame Centipede King let out a desperate and furious hiss, its massive body trying to twist, but this only caused more serious injuries. More dark green blood gushed out, and its breath became even weaker. It could only watch helplessly as the treasure it had guarded for many years was stolen.
After succeeding, Atu did not linger in the fight, and even ignored the remaining jade marrow. He quickly shrank back into the crack and fled along the way he came, heading towards the secret passage where Yang Jin was at top speed!
Its enhanced stealth speed and concealment were put to the extreme at this moment, like a shadowy figure underground, disappearing into the intricate rock strata in the blink of an eye.
"Who is it?! Who is it?!... What is it! The fisherman reaps the benefits!!!" Liu Zhenwei was like a madman. He thought of the previous failed bait plan, Han Li's disappearance, and this precise and bizarre theft. His anger almost burst out of his throat!
Endless anger, resentment, unwillingness, and a hint of unbelievable fear almost overwhelmed him.
However, his injuries were too severe. He was threatened by the centipede on the outside and his internal organs were on the verge of rupture, making it impossible for him to pursue the enemy.
He knew he had lost, lost utterly!
Not only did they lose almost all of their elite troops and two major allies, but they also had their long-coveted treasure stolen by others on the way!
All his efforts were in vain, and he ended up seriously injured and on the verge of death!
"puff!"
Overwhelmed by rage, Liu Zhenwei coughed up another mouthful of blood, and his vision blurred.
He gave the Jade Marrow Pool and the Centipede King one last venomous look, then glanced at the remaining centipedes that had gathered around him, and a strong desire to retreat arose in his heart.
If we don't escape now, we might really be devoured by insects and become a laughing stock!
He gritted his teeth, pulled out a treasured pill talisman that shimmered with a faint golden light from his pocket, and swallowed it.
The elixir dissolved, dispersing into streams of warm energy, and returned to his pure blood and qi, giving him the strength to escape. Like an arrow released from a bow, he rushed towards a relatively safe exit of the cave, forcefully smashing through several centipedes blocking his way, and disappeared into the dark passage.
The Crimson Flame Centipede King let out an even weaker, more resentful cry. The light in its compound eyes finally dimmed completely, and its massive body twitched slightly before falling still.
The surviving centipedes surrounded their dead king, emitting low hisses, but they were no longer as ferocious as before, and seemed somewhat lost.
The underground cave has returned to a "peace" imbued with a heavy sense of bloodshed and death.
Meanwhile, in a secret passage several branches away from the underground cave, Yang Jin finally awaited the return of Atu.
Looking at the "Earth Core Fire Lotus" that Atu was holding in his mouth, which was still full of red light and vitality despite being hastily pulled up, and sensing the pure earth vein jade marrow energy in Atu's body that was full of energy and almost overflowing, Yang Jin's heart began to beat violently uncontrollably!
It worked!
At the critical moment when the three martial arts schools were locked in a fierce battle with the Centipede King, nearly resulting in mutual destruction, he, the "owler" hiding in the shadows, successfully seized the biggest and most valuable prize!
"This is no place to linger! Let's go!"
Yang Jin forcibly suppressed his overwhelming joy. He knew that Liu Zhenwei was not dead, and that something terrible had happened here, so he had to leave immediately.
He had Atu lead the way, and they quickly stealthily made their way towards the blacksmith's shop along the pre-planned, most concealed and safest escape route.
When Yang Jin, exhausted and wounded but carrying a priceless treasure that could drive the entire Qing Shi Town and even a wider region mad, quietly returned to the hidden entrance in the backyard of the blacksmith's shop, it was already broad daylight. However, Black Mountain Pass remained deathly silent, with only the occasional panicked shouts and wails of the martial arts school survivors coming from afar.
Chen Shan had been waiting in the dimly lit shed. When he saw Yang Jin return safely, especially when he saw the lotus flower with a faint red light in his hand, and when he sensed the powerful earth vein energy in A Tu's body, even with his composure and experience, his eyes couldn't help but burst with an unprecedentedly brilliant light!
"Good! Good! Good!"
Chen Shan said "good" three times in a row, his thin body trembling slightly with excitement.
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind! That old scoundrel Liu Zhenwei, despite all his scheming, ended up benefiting you! This Earth Core Fire Lotus, this essence of earth vein jade marrow... Hahaha, it's fate! Truly fate!"
He looked at Yang Jin, his eyes filled with relief, shock, and an indescribable expectation: "Kid, what you've gained this time is enough to change your life! Now, it's time to fully digest it and make it your own!"
Yang Jin nodded heavily, carefully placing the Earth Core Fire Lotus aside, feeling the immense energy drained from the fierce battle and tense escape, yet also incredibly exhilarated by the tremendous gains within his body.
He knew that he was about to undergo an unprecedented and epic transformation and advancement!
The grudges and storms of Black Mountain Pass will turn a new page with the crushing defeat of the three martial arts schools and its own rise.