Chapter 834: Noob (1)

When she saw Li Xiaofei sitting cross-legged in meditation in front of the treehouse, Little Aunt’s heart stirred with a plan. Supported by the branches beneath her, she once again soared into the air.

She formed a hand seal with both hands, unleashing a flash of light that shot into the surrounding peach garden. The once-tranquil peach trees suddenly turned wild and violent.

The leaves of the trees on the outer edges withered and yellowed in an instant, as if spring had abruptly turned to late autumn. The yellow leaves fell, their moisture drained away. At the same time, thick mist rose, and soon a heavy downpour crashed from the sky. The raindrops carried a strange magical power that drowned the burning forest fires, forcing them to sputter and die.

The flaming Ruos screeched in agony as they collapsed, their flesh melting away. Even the crimson giant Ruo, wreathed in blazing light, began to weaken rapidly. Countless withered branches crept forth, wrapping around the crimson giant Ruo, coiling and strangling, as if determined to drag it alive underground to become blood-soaked fertilizer.

The crimson giant Ruo’s massive body exploded with a loud bang. The terrifying shockwave shredded everything within three to four hundred meters, smashing apart the precious peach trees and leaving deep craters in the ground.

Blood sprayed out, splattering the nearby peach trees. The blood sizzled as it soaked into the tree trunks. The pungent stench of blood spread quickly into the depths of the grove. This self-detonation had destroyed and polluted at least one-fifth of the peach forest.

The massive disturbance left Luo Ge, Tan Qingying, and the others visibly shaken. Even Little Aunt’s expression grew heavy. She had learned from scattered clues that one of the Mother of All Beasts’ greatest objectives in invading Heaven was to seize Doushuai Palace and the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

According to legend, the Eight Trigrams Furnace could refine anything. Not only could it concoct pills, but it could also forge divine weapons and even temper living beings. The imperial weapons of the Five Great Emperors had once been sanctified and strengthened within the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Now that they had learned that the Eight Trigrams Furnace was somehow linked to Li Xiaofei, the Ruos’ madness became understandable.

The current problem, however, was that if more creatures of the same caliber as the crimson giant Ruo existed within the horde, then even the Peach Garden might struggle to withstand their frenzied assault.

Just as that thought crossed Little Aunt’s mind, her expression suddenly changed. In the distance, three colossal figures, each over five hundred meters tall, appeared. They were three deep crimson giant Ruos, even taller than the one that had self-detonated earlier.

The violent aura they emitted was far more terrifying. These were higher-tier Ruos, and their bodies even carried faint traces of primal energy. It was very likely that they were sub-primal offspring, directly spawned by the Mother of All Beasts. This was serious trouble.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Little Aunt quickly performed a series of hand seals. A vibrant green Single-Dao seal shot into the peach forest, and the peach trees began to grow at an astonishing rate as if injected with a growth stimulant.

In the blink of an eye, trees that had once stood only a few hundred meters tall now soared to over a thousand meters, towering like verdant giants radiating fierce energy.

Their thrashing branches stretched out for kilometers, resembling black-green dragons ready to strike. The three ultra-high-stage Ruos wasted no time hesitating. The moment they arrived, they launched their attack against the peach forest.

They opened their mouths, spewing poisonous fire and venomous water... Some even ignited themselves once again, just like the crimson giant Ruo before them, engaging in a desperate, mutually destructive assault.

The giant peach trees fought back fiercely. A primal battle between ancient lifeforms erupted in an instant. Very soon, Little Aunt realized that the Peach Garden would not be able to hold out for long.

She could feel the aura of the Mother of All Beasts growing stronger and stronger from the bodies of those three sub-primal creatures. It was drawing closer.

***

"What is this place?" In another part of the ruins of Heaven, Song Yu and Lin Yi, their delicate bodies wounded and battered, stumbled into a winding white water pavilion corridor.

A swarm of low-tier Ruos surged behind them like a raging tide, madly giving chase. The footsteps of death drew ever closer.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

A streak of blood-red light shot past, piercing through dozens of Ruos. The red light swiftly returned to Song Yu's hand. It was an irregular shard of metal.

"Go!" Song Yu shouted.

Without a second thought, the two of them fled in a panic, scrambling away in utter disarray. Fortunately, the water pavilion corridor was narrow, allowing at most two Ruos to move side by side. Its winding path further slowed the horde’s pursuit. The two nearly lost their shoes in their desperation to flee.

At last, they reached a towering, majestic palace. Too panicked to think clearly, they rushed straight inside.

The Ruo swarm chased them to within ten meters of the palace steps, but then abruptly stopped. It was as if a roaring flood had been brought to an unnatural halt. The scene appeared eerie beyond belief.

If one looked a little higher, they would see a crooked, half-fallen plaque hanging above the palace entrance. A single deep claw mark was clearly visible on the plaque, marring two gold-embossed words, Lingxiao Hall.

***

Li Xiaofei suddenly opened his eyes and sprang to his feet. He only needed a single glance to immediately understand what was happening around him. He could clearly feel the destructive aura radiating from the three sub-primal giant Ruos even through several kilometers of the Peach Garden.

Boom.

A violent tremor shook the ground and a droplet of blood fell from above. Li Xiaofei reached out and caught it. The blood was a deep, vivid red.

Looking up, he saw Little Aunt, supported by the branches high above. Her delicate body swayed unsteadily as drops of blood trickled down from the hem of her dress.

Li Xiaofei instantly shot into the sky. There, he saw Tan Qingying standing behind Little Aunt, one hand pressed against Little Aunt’s back, the other resting on the tree branch.

Energy flowed steadily. The bloodstains and wounds on Little Aunt’s body quickly began to fade and heal.

"Little Aunt, are you alright?" Li Xiaofei called out anxiously.

"Thanks to Little Ying," Little Aunt exhaled deeply, her breath long and weary.

She brought her hands together before her chest, her white jade-like fingers weaving intricate seals like a blossoming lotus, creating one blurred afterimage after another.

Each completed hand seal detached from her fingers, transforming into a stream of light that shot into the peach trees ahead. The trees, imbued with her energy, grew rapidly, their branches swelling and sprouting sharp thorns. Some even tore free from the ground, roots and all, leaping forward and thrashing their limbs like tireless, fearless war beasts.

Yet even their fierce resistance could not stop the advance of the sub-primal giant Ruos. The creatures violently tore through the peach forest, slowly but steadily invading and pushing closer.

Li Xiaofei could clearly feel her aura weakening slightly with every flash of light and every new seal. She was now one with the peach garden. Each time a giant peach tree was destroyed, the resulting damage rebounded directly onto Little Aunt’s body. The unavoidable wounds were beginning to accumulate.

Tan Qingying had grown adept at channelling and transforming energy between life and death. It was thanks to Tan Qingying’s continuous efforts to transfer Little Aunt’s injuries into the giant tree beneath them that Little Aunt had been able to recover enough to hold on till now.

However, at this point, the central giant tree was already half-charred and was exuding a dense aura of death. Things could not continue like this.

"Little Aunt, rest for a while," Li Xiaofei said firmly.

He drew out his golden-patterned Soaring Dragon Spear, and leaped into the air. He transformed into a streak of light, charging straight toward one of the distant sub-primal giant Ruos.

Having completed the preliminary refinement of the energy of the peach trees, Li Xiaofei’s strength had skyrocketed. Now, he needed a battle to fully complete the breakthrough in his cultivation.

Kill!

The spear moved like a dragon. Executing the Zhao Clan’s spear technique, Li Xiaofei thrust his spear forward, crossing a distance of over a kilometer in an instant, and pierced through the shallow golden vertical pupil of the flame-spewing sub-primal Ruo.

Splurt.

Juices exploded outward. The flame-spewing Ruo’s eyeball was punctured on the spot. Without the slightest hesitation, Li Xiaofei withdrew the spear and thrust again.

Whoosh!

The long spear stabbed into its throat.

Splurt.

Blood gushed as the spear tore through the creature’s vulnerable spot. Li Xiaofei struck seven times in quick succession. Each strike hit a critical point on the flame-spewing sub-primal Ruo. Then, he swiftly retreated, pulling away to maintain distance.