Chapter Twenty-One: Mission Accomplished
A gentle breeze shrouded the entire battlefield, veiling hidden dangers beneath its calm. Three Wind Spirit Pearls spun in the air behind Liu Guang.
“Your spiritual intelligence has awakened. Within the boundaries of our human race, you cannot escape,” he declared coldly. “Born in our sect’s spiritual stone vein, you are the private property of our sect. Submit, or I will shatter your true form!”
With the weight of authority, Liu Guang stood suspended in midair, his gaze solemn as it bore down on the Stone Spirit.
A guttural roar of unwillingness erupted from the Stone Spirit as it manipulated the massive Stone Beast before launching a barrage of boulders toward Liu Guang.
Beyond the battle, Xu Chen stood atop the crown of a tree, observing the distant conflict. “Senior Brother Liu must be a spell cultivator, and judging by the scene, one who wields the element of wind,” he mused, noticing the battlefield littered with giant trees neatly severed by wind blades.
“Stubborn fool. Don’t blame me for what comes next!” Liu Guang formed a hand seal, gathering the wind’s spiritual power from heaven and earth. The three Wind Spirit Pearls behind him transformed into three enormous lances, spinning at a blinding speed.
The Stone Spirit Beast, still unwilling to yield, roared and charged once more.
The three wind lances shot forth in unison, and as they pierced the Stone Spirit Beast, they erupted into swirling storms of razor-sharp wind blades.
“Wind Jiao, bind!” Liu Guang intoned.
Within the tempest of blades, the phantom of a flood dragon appeared, coiling tightly around the Stone Spirit Beast.
Roaring madly, the Stone Spirit Beast struggled with everything it had, but could not break free from the dragon’s spectral grasp. Gradually, the layers of stone encasing its body were stripped away, revealing the essence within.
Not far off, Liu Guang was quickly forming another seal, but his hands could not stop trembling, and beads of sweat glistened on his brow.
Seeing this, Xu Chen hurried over. “Senior Brother, what can I do?”
A coil of rope, woven from countless threads of spiritual energy, appeared before Xu Chen.
“Watch my movement. When the time comes, bind the Stone Spirit with this rope within five breaths!” Liu Guang’s hands shifted through a complex sequence of seals.
Suddenly, the dragon phantom binding the Stone Spirit exploded with force.
“Now! Hurry!” Liu Guang collapsed to the ground.
Xu Chen dashed forward at once, wrapping the rope tightly around the Stone Spirit and securing it firmly.
“Whew,” Liu Guang exhaled deeply. “Capturing such a spirit of heaven and earth alive is truly exhausting!” He pulled a recovery elixir from his storage pouch and placed it between his lips.
“It’s done. With the binding rope upon him, he won’t be able to struggle at all.”
The Stone Spirit, now reverted to its true form—a spirit crystal the size of a millstone—radiated dense spiritual energy. Xu Chen inhaled deeply beside it, instantly feeling his blood and Qi surge within.
“Don’t breathe it in recklessly,” Liu Guang cautioned. “Your body can’t yet bear the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Take in too much and it will harm your meridians more than help.”
Perhaps because the most critical part of the mission was over, Liu Guang’s expression finally relaxed.
“Thank you for the advice, Senior Brother,” Xu Chen said quickly, stepping away from the Stone Spirit.
“Junior Brother Xu, you performed well. For this mission, you’ll be credited with the highest merit and receive a bonus of two hundred spirit coins,” Liu Guang said as he slowly got to his feet.
“Thank you, Senior Brother,” Xu Chen replied, a smile blooming on his face—ten months’ worth of rations secured.
“Senior Brother, what do we do with the Stone Spirit? Deliver it back to the sect?”
“I’ve already sent word. Someone will come to collect it soon. We just need to wait here.”
Before long, a streak of blue light appeared on the horizon, flying toward them.
A luxurious pink spirit vessel, thirty zhang in length, descended gracefully.
“You two have worked hard,” came an enchanting voice. Stepping down from the craft was a woman of the Three-Colored Fox Clan, voluptuous and draped in crimson robes.
“Greetings, Senior,” Liu Guang said, hastily bowing with Xu Chen.
“No need to be so formal. I’ll take this mischievous Stone Spirit off your hands.” With a graceful wave, two pouches of spirit stone fragments flew into Liu Guang and Xu Chen’s hands.
“Farewell, young men,” the fox woman said, boarding the vessel as the binding rope snapped off the Stone Spirit and returned to Liu Guang’s side. The Stone Spirit’s essence floated in the air, following the fox woman onto the splendid ship.
The two watched as the spirit vessel vanished into the sky.
“Senior Brother, these spirit stones…” Xu Chen hefted the pouch, surprised by its weight.
“If it’s given to you, take it. Just don’t go boasting about it afterwards,” Liu Guang replied.
“Let’s go. We’ll regroup with the others and return to the sect.”
With a wave, Liu Guang summoned a simple flying craft, three zhang long, before them. Xu Chen hadn’t thought much of it before, but after seeing the fox woman’s extravagant vessel, the difference was stark.
The two boarded the craft and soared toward another region.
“Spirit coins are limited, so I could only focus on magical treasures first,” Liu Guang remarked, a trace of envy in his eyes for the luxurious ship.
“Senior Brother, how many spirit coins did this vessel of yours cost?” Xu Chen asked curiously.
“This is the most basic model, not a single upgrade—thirteen thousand spirit coins.”
Hearing the price, Xu Chen mentally tallied his own savings and found them quite substantial.
“My flying vessel may be stripped down, but in a pinch, with my treasures, its speed can increase by fifty percent in an instant.”
“I’m in a good mood today, so let me give you a demonstration, Junior Brother Xu.”
With a sudden gesture, Liu Guang sent the three Wind Spirit Pearls to the stern, forming a triangular array. Like rocket thrusters, the pearls blasted forth gales of wind.
The vessel’s speed surged, and Xu Chen nearly went flying off.
“At this speed, it’s no worse than those that cost tens of thousands of spirit coins,” Liu Guang said.
“I can go even faster—watch closely!”
The vessel grew lighter, accelerating wildly once more.
“Amazing, Senior Brother!” Xu Chen exclaimed.
Five hours later, after collecting all the disciples who had participated in the mission, the flying vessel appeared outside the gates of Great Brook Sect.
Seeing the familiar mountain gates, Xu Chen felt as if he’d simply been out for a jaunt.
After reporting to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall and receiving his reward, Xu Chen flew back home.
By now, it was noon. Down by the little river outside the house, Niu Dali was bathing, his massive body sprawled in the water, glinting golden in the midday sun.
“Junior Brother Xu, you’re back! How did the mission go?” Niu Dali asked cheerfully.
“Mission accomplished,” Xu Chen replied.
“Excellent! Since you’re in high spirits, let’s spar a round!”
With a great leap from the river, Niu Dali shot out a cannon punch at Xu Chen.
“Hey! Senior Brother Niu, you’re ambushing me!” Xu Chen protested, bracing himself against the blow and retreating over a dozen steps before regaining his balance.
“Since you had the nerve to attack, Senior Brother, I won’t hold back either!”
Shaking off the impact, Xu Chen charged at Niu Dali, launching palm after palm imbued with surging blood and Qi, crashing against Niu Dali’s frame.
Though he couldn’t break through the defense, the multiple waves of force erupting inside felt like needles, making Niu Dali grimace in pain.
“All right, Junior Brother, I concede!” Niu Dali plopped down on the ground, baring his teeth as he rubbed the spots where Xu Chen had struck.
Watching Niu Dali’s expression, an idea flashed through Xu Chen’s mind.
“Senior Brother Niu, recover quickly. Let’s go another round,” he urged.
“Fine, but this time, no dodging. Let’s go strength against strength,” Niu Dali rumbled.
“Agreed!”