The Immortal’s Poison

The dust and soil were rolling and hovering on the wasteland as if there were thousands of horses and soldiers that were rushing over sonorously. The few strange regions on the surroundings and Goddess Peak were shaking and rustling from the thundering footsteps!

Cone Nail heard Red Pot’s urgings. She did not even hesitate. Under Little Five’s support, she summoned Qin Zhui and spread her legs to run. They had already realized on their way that the big-mustached man’s wasteland was just the same as Desert Rebel Mountain and the Black and White Island. These were all the lands of evil suppression. Now that the big-mustached man was dead, the creatures that were dashing over were either his disciples or the evil creature that he was suppressing. There was no way they could deal with either of them.

The surviving cultivators were albeit puzzled, they were not foolish. At the sound of an uproar, they escorted the few of the top demon immortals that were severely injured as they descended the mountain rapidly.

A moment later, another group of people dashed out of the dust and soil. They stepped onto the Goddess Peak from the wasteland. The old demon rabbit turned around and looked afar as he was running. His gaze swept past the enemies that were chasing from the wasteland. The old demon rabbit was feeling slightly astonished in his heart, there was nothing peculiar about the enemies’ appearances but their number of people was truly not lacking… there was a total of three to four thousand people.

No one had expected that there were so many people hidden in the wasteland!

Cone Nail was also startled by a large number of pursuers, she gave a forced laugh as she asked Red Pot, “Who are all these people?”

Red Pot gave a ‘heh’, “They are the barbarians, the Landhoppers!”

Cone Nail’s face appeared a little puzzled, she felt like she had heard of the name ‘Landhopper’ before. Yet, she could not recall what that was. She squinted her eyes as she turned around and looked towards a large number of pursuers. Every person that was chasing from the wasteland appeared no different from any ordinary people at first glance. However, there was always something not right about them. One would be suddenly enlightened upon close examination, that these people’s eyes, all had multiple pupils! Those with fewer pupils had two to three pupils, while those with more pupils had seven or eight pupils. Nevertheless, there was not even an ounce of sinister or tyranny in these eyes. Their eyes were completely dull. A ghastly and unusual dullness!

Red Pot was gifted with strange endowments. Its eyesight was stronger than anybody else. The moment it arrived on the Goddess Peak it could identify the people who came running over, which was why it urged the crowd to run for their lives loudly.

The large troop of barbarians dashed out of the wasteland. They chased after the cultivators without any hesitation, their gazes were dull while their faces were expressionless. They did not cry or make any noise but their footsteps were beyond heavy. Every step they took would certainly result in the shattering of mountain rocks and blasting of the soil fragments. These barbarians that were known as the Landhoppers. Anyone of them could run and hurled out a streak of soil dragon behind his back. Moreover, there were thousands of them that were running together! The old demon rabbit did not doubt that if they were to run continuously on the Goddess Peak for a few days, the huge mountain would be forcefully stepped until it had collapsed.

Qin Zhui also saw the barbarians’ real appearances, his expression was revealing in slight defiance, “What is there to fear from a bunch of barbarians? Only their footsteps sound slightly heavier than usual!”

Red Pot shook its head in all apparent seriousness, “According to the legend of the ancient times, the bodies of the barbaric Landhoppers were tough and sturdy. They feared neither water nor fire. They possessed the power that was capable of collapsing hills and pushing mountains. They were inherently cunning and ruthless, they also helped the wicked to perpetuate wicked deeds. They worshipped the evil God and made trouble in the heaven and earth and finally, they evoked the wrath of the God that resulted in the divine punishment to befall on them. The Landhopper’s intelligence was seized, turning all of them into walking corpses and zombies, they did not even know how to struggle or resist even if they were tossed into a furnace.”

In the midst of pressings affairs Xiaowu managed to continue, “So the big-mustached man was trying to suppress this troop of barbaric Landhoppers in the wasteland?”

Before her voice died away, the little supreme leader Liu Zheng, who had been in charge of covering the rear, suddenly shouted loudly, “Taoism code, bounce the sword, execute the demon!” Immediately, the sword’s hum was heard loudly. The Kunlun sword formation appeared within the surging of cold radiance! Almost everyone was injured now, the little supreme leader Liu Zheng’s state of injuries was no less than the old demon rabbit and Rangjung but his combat power was still the strongest amongst them.

The two enlightened persons, Tian Shu and Tian Hua, sacrificed their life vitality, such that Liu Zheng and the sword formation could be interlinked. As long as there was still a portion of life vitality, he was still capable of summoning the sword formation with vast power.

Soon the barbaric Landhoppers were approaching closer and closer. The little supreme leader Liu Zheng suddenly turned around. He dispersed the Kunlun thousands of swords as he sacrificed himself to brace the enemies!

Chang Li gave a humph. Her footsteps were slowing down. Liu Zheng was one of her closest friends that she had left in this world! Red Pot hastily shouted loudly, “We cannot stop for even a moment. Everybody else can stop, except for the few of you! These Landhopper ran out in order to kill Chang Li and Cone Nail… and also Wen Leyang! Everybody else will be fine…”

The thousands of divine swords were blotting out the sky and covering the sun. The swords then separated into three streaks of vast sword dragons, each of the dragons roared in response and surged towards the ground with a loud bang!

Just as the sword formation was about to surge into the enemy’s formation, a few thousands of the barbaric Landhoppers that seemed to only know how to run suddenly dispersed off in an uproar. Just like a large army of startled frogs, some were waving their arms and legs, while some were leaping high into the air, some were crawling and creeping in a haste, while some were somersaulting. The barbarians appeared beyond messy without any sense of planning, yet no matter which posture they were displaying, every barbarian was using his hand, his leg, his shoulder his back and even his buttocks and his mouth to pull at the sword dragons mercilessly!

They were locked in a stalemate for a moment. Then, the sorrowful sword’s hum echoed through the edge of the sky, the three sword dragons were almost simultaneously torn apart and exploded into countless sharp blades. The formation was albeit lost, the long swords were still there. The swords were still turning and flying as they attacked towards the barbaric Landhoppers. The battle formation was a splendid sight when seen from afar. With thousands of long swords as graceful as dragons that coiled, curled, and entangled thousands of silent Landhoppers…

Yet, in the blink of an eye, the vast and mighty battleground suddenly changed! The barbarians’ fighting method had utterly no rhythm. It was hideous and shabby. Some were using their legs to stomp, some were using their bodies to roll, some were using their buttocks to sit… but every cultivator that was watching this fierce battle could not help but to squeeze out a cheer from the depth of their lungs!

No matter how hideous and ugly were the barbarians’ postures, they were almost swifter than the flying sword. No matter how twisted and curved were the barbarians’ bodies, they would never break. No matter how clumsy and silly were the barbarians’ movements, they would never let themselves be harmed even by a little! At that moment, thousands of Landhopper’s gaze still remained as dimmed as ever, they were still lifeless and dull. It seemed that they were only battling with their instincts.

The little supreme leader Liu Zheng did not even manage to pinch into the sword control gesture to reform his sword formation before almost half of the Kunlun divine swords were captured and snapped within the sorrowful sound of breaking! In a moment, the Kunlun sword formation was destroyed by half. It could no longer trap the enemies, as thousands of Landhopper began to converge again and continued to chase after Cone Nail and the rest.

The dust and soil were rolling again. More than forty percent of the Kunlun thousands of swords were destroyed in a flash, yet none of the Landhopper was injured. They dashed past Liu Zheng’s side with a loud bang. Liu Zheng closed his eyes. Even his sword formation was torn apart by the other party in a flash, then there was no need for him to resist anymore… yet a moment later, his footsteps felt lighter. By the time he opened his eyes, the Landhopper had dashed over accompanied by boundless dust and soil. Not even one barbarian that took one glance at him. Within the layered pupils of these barbarians, there were only the three figures, Cone Nail, Chang Li and Wen Leyang’s.

Liu Zheng was stunned for a long while then he suddenly squalled. He followed the dust storm afar and pursued. He appeared awe-inspiring and magnificent when seen from afar. It was as if he was chasing after three to four thousand barbaric Landhoppers that were running away in fear…

The little supreme leader Liu Zheng could not continue his life vitality. He watched helplessly as he was about to lose the Landhopper. He suddenly stopped moving, soon after he frowned, he hesitated for a moment before he turned around abruptly. He spread his legs and ran towards the wasteland that was guided in by the magic formation, which was already empty without a single person right now…

Even though Cone Nail, Qin Zhui and Xiaowu did not turn around, the battle between the Kunlun thousands of swords and thousands of barbarians were presented within their telegnosis ability. The few of them understood the other party’s actual power. They exchanged glances in unison. Qin Zhui glared at Red Pot and asked, “These barbarians were suppressed by the big-mustached man in the wasteland, they have struggled free from the trap now. Why are they still attempting to kill Cone Nail, Chang Li and Wen Leyang?”

Red Pot’s tone of speaking sounded slightly contemptuous. It answered in a speed that was not fast nor slow, “The barbaric Landhoppers that I have mentioned earlier were only walking corpses and zombies. There was no need to suppress them!” As it was saying that, the toad spoke faster, “Even though the Landhopper are not gifted with intelligence, their bodies are tough and full of power. Their lifespan is extremely long, they wander everywhere in the mortal world dully. Whether it is a cultivator or a demon devil ghost or a monster, everyone has taken fancy in the Landhopper’s strength. They want to dominate the barbarians for their own benefit. Hence, there was a specific magic spell that was created afterwards. It was known as hopper-growing!”

The Art of Hopper-growing was ghastly yet very complicated. Not only did it require training, it was also fused with Taoism magic, the condensation of primordial spirit, the refinement of recipe and forging of soul and all sorts of magic spells. In the cultivation world today, this magic art had since become a lost art but it had once prevailed in the ancient times. Whether it was a cultivator or a demon devil ghost or a monster, he would take pride in growing a few Landhopper’s as his loyal servants.

The ordinary Art of Hopper-growing, at most, would refine the Landhopper’s into slaves and servants. They could be instructed to carry out some simple heavy labor work, while the person with profound cultivation would be capable of refining the Landhopper into protective beasts that could battle with the enemy on behalf of the master. However, the Art of Hopper-growing was already at its perfection if one could refine a hundred of them.

As it was saying that, Red Pot’s voice suddenly grew sterner, “I have never heard before that someone is capable of refining thousands of Landhopper into a troop of great soldiers!”

Qin Zhui’s eyes were widened to its limit, yet he could only reveal half of his black eyeballs desperately, “So those Landhopper… are all grown by the big-mustached man, so they are here to seek revenge on behalf of their master?”

Red Pot nodded, “The Landhopper’s that are successfully refined will become beyond loyal, they also possess an ounce of primordial spirit that is interlinked to the master. There is the saying of Landhopper’s revenge ever since the beginning of time. The Landhopper will never let go of the enemy, who killed the master, regardless. We will never die or rest this time unless we can kill every single Landhopper, otherwise, they will still be chasing after you in the remotest corners of the world.

The Landhopper’s master was the big-mustached man. The split body of the Sword’s Resolve was only using the man’s corpse to resurrect his dead soul afterwards, so he was not considered the person who grew the hoppers. On top of the Goddess Peak, Wen Leyang, Chang Li and Cone Nail joined hand and killed the big-mustached man, provoking thousands of Landhoppers in pursuing them madly.

Qin Zhui pouted his lips and gave a forced laugh, “Then why are we still running, we ought to turn around and fight!”

Cone Nail’s eyes appeared slightly hesitated as well. Her own people were all severely injured, the few top demon immortals almost lost all of their combat power. She could not think of a force in the world that was capable of resisting these thousands of barbaric Landhoppers!

These Landhoppers were at their heels and there was no way to lose them, while there was nowhere else for them to go. Rather than running until they were exhausted then caught up by the barbarians, why not risked their lives for a battle right now.

Xiaowu shook her head strenuously, “The father is on the South Mountain of the Qinling Mountains. He is not too far away from here, as long as we can run there then perhaps there is still a chance for us to survive this!” Upon saying that, she did not waste time talking nonsense. She concentrated and only cared about running quickly. Mount Hua was supposed to be in the highest point of the Qinling Mountains. Its distance was truly not that far away but the mountain path was very treacherous and rough. Even for a profound cultivator, who was running from Mount Hua to the depth of Qinling Mounains, he would need to trudge through a series of the laborious path.

At this time, they had already escaped the Goddess Peak. Someone was always falling behind during that period. It was just as mentioned by Red Pot, the Landhopper completely disregarded the rest of the people, they were only engrossed in pursuing and killing Cone Nail and the few other people.

When they arrived at the foothill of the Goddess Peak, the Landhopper that were held up by Kunlun sword formation for a moment but they managed to catch up quickly. They were expressionless and shook the ground like thunder as before!

The old demon rabbit walked in quick strides to Cone Nail’s side. He bided softly, “My family’s grand master is entrusted to everyone here!” Upon saying that, he did not wait for their answer. He laughed aloud as he suddenly stopped walking, his speech sounded like the spring thunder, “Break the demon body!”

Fresh blood was spurting out of the old demon rabbit’s body. That was mixed with the sound of incantation chanting and the demonic wind that came sweeping all of a sudden. A thousand streaks of Buddha’s light appeared, four Buddha’s godly appearances condensed and enshrouded in the sky!

The small demon rabbit Shan Duan shook his huge sleeves vigorously. He turned around and walked to his master teacher’s side, his voice sounded clear and loud yet intense, “Buddha’s followers, guard the path!”

The little stutterer Hope Voice, the seats of honor from the Five supreme monasteries, dozens of surviving Temple of Great Mercy’s divine monks chanted the Buddhaghosa together that spread out from a steep spot at the foothill suddenly. Some were lying or sitting, some were standing upright or diagonally. They were either smiling silently or widened their eyes in rage. The form of Arhats gradually grew clearer while the vast and mighty Buddhist hymn surged skywards too!

Soon after, there was another muffled shout of ‘break the demon body’. The small demon rabbit bawled and spat out a puff of raging blood, the nine Arhats behind his body appeared ferociously. They bared their long teeth and sharp claws, as they hissed and roared at the Landhoppers that were approaching closer and closer…

The lama Rangjung squinted his bronze bell-like huge eyes. He stretched out his hand and patted on his head with the sound of a pop. He laughed aloud, “The monks have risked their lives. It is not appropriate for the lama to stand by and watch!” His fat and huge body swayed once before he scurried next to the old demon rabbit’s side like a puff of red cloud. While he was laughing, he stretched out his right hand and gently pinched in between the area between his brows as if he was picking a flower. At the gentle sound of a crack, Rangjung plucked off the lotus center pearl bone that he spent his entire life to cultivate in mindful training and refined.

Rangjung laughed in a wilder and wilder manner, his laughter was echoing sonorously and gradually enshrouded with boundless rage. After the appearance of Buddha’s protective Archan, Arhat and Rakshasa, the wrathful deities of the Tibetan Buddhism Sect’s mindful training appeared while laughing wildly!

All sorts of Buddhism supernatural powers gathered with a loud bang and finally greeted the ancient barbarians, the Landhoppers!

Layers upon layers of demon-slaying Buddhaghosa echoed behind their bodies. The Buddhism followers from the land of the east and highland risked their entire lifetime’s cultivation base, yet they were annihilated by the thick soil dragon, which was rolled up by the barbarians, in a flash. A layer of ghastly red glow appeared on Cone Nail’s face. She inhaled a long breath, clenched her teeth and refused to turn around to take a look as she brought along the people around her to dash wildly towards the depth of Qinling Mountains!

The Buddhism sect’s disciples that were led by the big and small demon rabbits and Rangjung failed to withstand longer than the little supreme leader Liu Zheng. The two parties were only entangled for a short while before the shocking Buddhism sect’s supernatural powers were torn into pieces by the Landhopper. The Buddhism followers that were already lingering with their last breaths finally tumbled over out of their futile effort. The old demon rabbit fell limply and weakly onto the ground as he watched helplessly as bare feet with heavy footsteps stepped past the side of his body. He exerted all his strength to stretch out a hand and grabbed. He did not care if he could only manage to grab one leg. Yet, he could only catch a handful of soil!

Fortunately, the Landhoppers were only pursuing the three enemies, who killed the big-mustached man. They only smashed their way through the cultivators that were blocking their paths but they did not kill the people. The monks and lamas were lying on the ground in a disordered manner, yet the barbarians did not even bother to take one glance.

The sound of footsteps shook vigorously again. The barbarians arrived. It was as if there was no other force in the world that was capable of stopping them from running wildly. Even if there was a boundless sea of fire, a flame waterfall of a thousand miles that separated them from the enemies, they would still dash over without any hesitation.

There were not many disciples from the One Word Palace. Nineteen panted loudly as she supported First Brother Xia to follow behind Cone Nail and the rest.

When the Great Guiding Formation had taken form, as they were afraid of offending Chang Li, the Seven Rainbow brothers from the World Sect had only dismissed their inferior while they stayed behind on the Goddess Peak and did not leave. They were also following behind Cone Nail’s back shabbily right now. One of the Rainbow fat men suddenly laughed strangely, “Surprisingly, One Word Palace’s people did not run away?”

They had all heard of Red Pot’s words, they understood that the Landhopper were only pursuing the few demon immortals and Wen Leyang. All these pursuit and escape were utterly unrelated to the others, but they still followed and ran.

Even though he was rather severely injured, First Brother Xia still laughed in a heroic manner, “One Word Palace is on good terms with the Wen family!”

At the same time Nineteen, who was supporting First Brother Xia, procured an iron whistle. A loud and sharp sound of whistle slashed through the mountain forest. After a moment, the shadows of human figures were flickering. A large troop of forces flashed past and leaped out from the mountain forest ahead!

The Rainbow brothers appeared scornful, they touched their cellphones in their pockets…

The approaching people were the disciples of One Word Palace, each of them had a strong and courageous expression. Their movements were swift and agile. Even though they came in great numbers, the way they converged themselves was indescribable. They gathered from three directions and firmly protected Cone Nail and the rest.

Nineteen and the sibling Bushuo and Buzuo were on very friendly terms. She laughed as she stuck out her tongue, “Father was feeling rather baffled when he received the invitation card, he felt that this meeting was organized rather strangely, so he brought along some people. When he arrived on Mount Hua he realized that it was organized by the two brilliant disciples of Wen Leyang, he hid the disciples at the foothill for them to wait.

First Brother Xia continued to speak, “The Kunlun Sect and the Great Mercy Temple stayed behind, how could the One Word Palace not follow suit! We would like to see if we are capable of blocking this group of barbarians for a little while longer!” Following that, he looked towards Bushuo and Buzuo, “All of you leave first, One Word Palace’s eight hundred disciples are here. We must try out the tricks of the ancient barbarians no matter what!”

Bushuo and Buzuo would absolutely never leave Wen Leyang even for half a footstep, they each saluted First Brother Xia with their hands folded, “The disciples of Wen Bucao remember One Word Palace’s kindness forever in our hearts!”

First Brother Xia burst out laughing, “Too long-winded! There is no need to sacrifice our lives when we fight the barbarians. This kindness must certainly be gifted!” Following that he suddenly raised his voice and shouted, “My sons, form the One Word Great Formation!”

One Word Palace’s disciples responded with a loud ‘yes’. Troops upon troops of their people cruised. They completely occupied the mountain forest within layers of circulation. Countless treasured weapons danced in the air, following the masters as they laid down a great formation. They were akin to a gigantic strange python that suddenly appeared amongst in between the Landhopper and the fugitives!

Nineteen did not stay behind and joined First Brother Xia in resisting the enemies but followed next to Wen Leyang and the rest as they continued to run away into the depth of the Qinling Mountains.

The barbarians still remained the same. They still did not utter a word. The moment they met with the blockage, they suddenly spread out their troop and turned into a huge stretch of pitch black crowd. They were in a hideous mess like grasshoppers as they blotted out the sky and covered up the earth and dashed forward…

Not long after that, the Rainbow brothers also started gathering their inferior. They were placed down the final barrier on behalf of Cone Nail, Chang Li and the rest.

Second Mother and little Chi Maojiu failed to catch up. Ji Fei and Shui Jing were left behind. In the end, even the siblings Bushuo and Buzuo fell head first onto the ground, they could not muster the strength to run anymore. Almost everyone dropped out but almost everyone was urging Xiaowu and Qin Zhui to run quickly with a hoarse voice before that person was exhausted.

The people who continued to escape from doom were only a few people that escaped after slaughtering the big-mustached man in the Golden Horn’s mountainside and Nineteen.

Liu Zheng, the Buddhism followers, One Word Palace, World Sect, the sharpest four gushes of forces in the cultivation world were blocking desperately. They managed to strive for some time for Cone Nail and the rest, such that they managed to run into the depth of the Qinling Mountains.

The unusual red glow on Cone Nail’s face was growing thicker and thicker. She turned from breathing naturally to panting loudly. The heavenly water spirit in her body could no longer be gathered together. It wrapped her messy life vitality as it continuously surged against her primordial spirit’s seal… the dead branches and winter trees that were just before her eyes were floating away in a ghastly manner, while the heavy floating clouds on the edge of the sky were surrounding by her side. Cone Nail’s life vitality was dispersing gradually, she could no longer withstand anymore in the end. She bawled and spat out a mouthful of blood as she spoke to her companions softly, “All of you go first…” Before her voice died away, her body suddenly felt lighter, Nineteen was already holding her gently. Her footsteps were light and swift as she followed behind Xiaowu firmly.

Red Pot croaked in a slight surprise manner, “This little girl’s cultivation base is quite remarkable!”

Nineteen laughed gracefully, “The senior has overpraised!”

At this moment, Chang Li suddenly opened her eyes, the color of her face was so feeble it made one sad in his heart. Her eyes were dimmed but that dash of charming in the depth of her gaze could never be wiped away regardless. She looked to the left and right in a slightly peculiar manner, “The big-mustached man is dead? So where are we running towards now?” Upon saying that, she inhaled a few breaths strenuously, she was trying to smoothen her breathing pattern with great effort. Her delicate and beautiful face was still bothered by agonizing pain. The corners of her mouth had already pouted impatiently, “This keeps coming and will never stop, we are running for nothing!”

Everyone cheered out in unison, Red Pot gave her a summary of the events that took place after she fainted joyously.

Chang Li’s expression did not show that she was surprised. She nodded and started sizing Nineteen up and down.

Cone Nail was attempting to gather her life vitality with great effort. Her gaze was exactly the same as Chang Li, she was looking at Nineteen too.

Chang Li gaze gradually turned from curious to astonished. Her expression turned into regret, she shook her head weakly and commented, “You should have accepted One Word Palace’s marriage proposal in the beginning! What a fine girl we have here!”

Qin Zhui staggered, almost tossing Wen Leyang away.

Cone Nail nodded in a beyond determined manner. She seemed to understand this baffling comment of Chang Li.

On the other hand, Chang Li diverted the topic, “If we still failed to escape in the end, then you shall bring along Wen Leyang and run away by yourselves!”

Nineteen’s expression remained the same, she chuckled, “Amongst our group, the person with the deepest cultivation base is Xiaowu. If there is an end, then it will be her who brings along Wen Leyang as they escape.” As she was saying that, she peered at Qin Zhui with a faint smile, “I shall stay behind with Qin Zhui at that time and cover the rear!”

The heaven and earth shattering-like sound of footsteps behind them started humming loudly once again. The Landhopper had already dashed past the final line of defense and gradually caught up to them. Xiaowu bit her lips, she utterly refused to turn around and take a glance. She brought along everyone as they shuttled back and forth in the depth of Qinling Mountains.

Cone Nail seemed to have suddenly recalled something. She stretched out her hand strenuously and pointed to Chang Li and spoke to Nineteen, “I have a favor to request from you, if we truly fail to run away when we run to the end, if I were to be left behind, then you must leave behind the demon cat as well.”

Chang Li burst out laughing, “You are too narrow-minded….” As she was speaking, under the leadership of Xiaowu, the crowd circled past a mountain ridge followed by emptiness before their eyes. A stretch of enormous yet empty and spacious valley that seemed to have descended from the heaven appeared before the crowd’s eyes without a sign.

Huge mountains surrounded the valley. The mountain valley was unusually flat, one after another gigantic black-colored scripts were written from the area underneath their feet all the way into the depth of the huge mountain. One after another bronze cauldrons that were about the size of houses were placed randomly mixed up in the area surrounding the scripts, enshrouded with cold and ghastly gloominess.

Xiaowu finally cheered, “We have arrived!” Soon after, she placed the demon that she had been lifting onto Nineteen’s back while her body swayed. The Weeping Staff in her hand continuously knocked onto the ground. The muffled knocking sounds were heard, gradually from soft to loud and finally seemed to turn into the thundering enormous shaking that echoed in layers within the boundless and empty mountain valley.

The Landhoppers’ footsteps approached closer and closer. The dust and soil that were raised from their footsteps had already floated with the cold wind and pinned onto the top of the crowd’s heads heavily!