Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Ghost Mountain Three Evils (Thanks to the reward from book friend ’Zi Zhu Qing Yang’!)
The hardness of the stone slab exceeded Shi Xiaole’s expectations.
At his full strength, he could only leave a sword hole one inch deep in the surface.
After spending several 2-hour periods, Shi Xiaole finally chiseled out a hole large enough for his eye to gaze through. With the help of the faint light, he saw a staircase extending downward under the hole.
"There is indeed something going on."
Who would have thought that there was still an undiscovered secret passage in Mingliu Villa, which was abandoned more than a decade ago?
With the direction set, the next steps became simple.
In the following days, Shi Xiaole stayed at the inn at night and chiseled the stone slab with his sword during the day. Watching the hole grow bigger and bigger, it was soon large enough for a person to pass through.
Meanwhile, at the gate of Emerald City, three men with a murderous aura walked in.
These three men were identical in stature and appearance.
The only difference was the obvious scar under the left eye of the man in the middle.
A soon as the three men walked into the city, their invisible aura scared the ordinary people away.
"Hey, aren’t these the Ghost Mountain Three Evils? What wind blew these three guys up?"
A middle-aged man in a roadside inn frowned, his face solemn.
The Ghost Mountain Three Evils were infamous in the Martial World of the Cloud Triangle, not for their virtuous reputation, but for their notorious and ruthless deeds.
Although the three brothers were not from the Devil Path, their actions were usually abnormal and they were brutal and ruthless, making them despised by many Righteous Path figures.
Nonetheless, it is undeniable that the Ghost Mountain Three Evils were indeed powerful. Over the years, they had killed no less than thirty martial arts masters, if not fifty.
"Where is that kid?"
The Ghost Mountain Three Evils came to a street corner, where a man in black with a hat was waiting for them.
"Based on our investigations, the boy has been wandering around Mingliu Villa these last few days."
The man in black, was one of the stewards of the Red Flower Pavilion.
Two days ago, as soon as the Red Flower Pavilion released the information, many people immediately took up the task. After much consideration, the Red Flower Pavilion chose the Ghost Mountain Three Evils.
The Ghost Mountain Three Evils, although their individual strength is not high and only have 4 levels of Qi Absorption, had once had an extraordinary encounter and obtained a joint attack Array System which could exert a magnified power.
According to the assessment of the Red Flower Pavilion, this was more than enough to kill Shi Xiaole.
Crucially, the compensation requested by the Ghost Mountain Three Evils was much lower than that of others.
"Mingliu Villa? Perfect, there aren’t many people there, it’s convenient for killing."
The youngest of the Three Evils chuckled.
"As usual, after the job is done, bring the kid’s head to the Red Flower Pavilion in Dark Alley. Someone will give you the reward."
Having said this, the man in black left.
...
Mingliu Villa.
"The size is about right."
Packing up his sword, Shi Xiaole looked at the hole on the ground. He was a bit excited, wondering what he might discover underneath.
Whoosh.
At this moment, he suddenly felt the hair on his back stand up. Without thinking, Shi Xiaole did his best to swiftly move to one side.
With a clanging sound.
A ghastly large knife stuck into the ground, shaking unstably.
If he hadn’t dodged fast enough, with the power of this knife, he could have been cut in half.
"Who are you guys?"
As Shin Xiaole looked at the three strange men slowly approaching, his face turned gloomy.
"The kid has a quick response. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to escape death today."
The youngest of the Three Evils picked up the knife on the ground, and said meaningfully.
They had certainly heard of Shi Xiaole’s name. But in the eyes of the Three Evils, he was nothing more than an outstanding newcomer.
If he hadn’t grown up yet, his death would hardly matter.
"Who sent you?"
Shi Xiaole asked, while reminiscing the events of the past few days in his head. He didn’t believe that unrelated people would want to kill him.
"Dead men have no right to ask so many questions. Be sensible and kill yourself. If you fall into our hands, you’ll suffer more than death."
The second oldest of the Three Evils spoke coldly, as if he was certain that Shi Xiaole was doomed to die.
Seeing Shi Xiaole gripping his sword and showing no sign of surrender, the oldest one impatiently said: "Let’s finish this job quickly, we have other business to attend to. Attack!"
The moment the words fell, the three men brandished their ghastly large knives and charged towards Shi Xiaole from three different directions with impeccable coordination.
Within the blink of an eye, Shi Xiaole charged toward the right, where the youngest of the Three Evils was.
Because relatively speaking, his aura was the weakest.
With both hands on his sword, the moment Shi Xiaole made his move, it was a flurry of life-or-death strikes.
Clang!
The swords clashed.
"Puff!"
The youngest of the Three Evils was shocked, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
He never expected that he would be injured by Shi Xiaole after just one confrontation. This was an absolute humiliation.
The other two, seeing this scene, were also shocked and angered, their knives storming towards Shi Xiaole from both sides.
Just as the old forces had faded and new ones were yet to form, Shi Xiaole, relying on the enduring Fuyang Qi Skill, mustered up the strength to leap into the air using the Golden Goose Skill.
"Want to run, no chance. Ghost Head Kill!"
The second oldest shouted, the dark blade light tearing through the void, giving an eerie and strange feeling.
"Bloody Chaos Kill."
Using his right hand to block Elder Two’s attack, Shi Xiaole charged toward Elder Three. With his sword running out of momentum, he drew his knife with his left hand and cleaved through.
Seeing a series of illusions, Elder Three’s knife came to a sudden halt. The next moment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain as a gash appeared on his chest.
Spurt.
Shi Xiaole also spat out a mouthful of blood, staggering out of the encirclement.
In terms of the cleverness of the moves, Bloody Chaos Kill is a notch above Ghost Head Kill, but his internal power is profoundly disadvantaged, resulting in mutual damage with Elder Three.
But this is all inevitable.
Shi Xiaole has to forcefully break through the blockade, for being surrounded would lead to a dead end under the attack of the trio.
"Can he get away?"
Elder One from the Ghost Mountain Three Evils smirked coldly and took a step, his agility matching Shi Xiaole’s.
Third-rate top-talent flying skill: Urgent Light Crossing.
"Ghost Head Dominance!"
Hovering in mid-air, Elder One furiously unleashed a killing blow at Shi Xiaole. The blade shone with a heavy black hue, reminiscent of ghostly fog wafting from hell, filling one with despair.
Surprisingly, its power was no less than the Destruction Fist cast by Uncle Wu.
It wasn’t because this blow had reached second-rate level, but because Elder One had deeper internal power, and Uncle Wu’s half-learnt Destruction Fist had not truly reached a second-rate fist technique level.
Sheathing his knife and without looking back, Shi Xiaole swung his sword behind him.
A glimmer of hope for survival.
Boom...
As his Qi exploded, it stirred up a gust of strong wind, which provided the moment Shi Xiaole needed to leap into a previously carved hole.
"Chase him!"
Going pale, Elder One swallowed down the sweet taste in his throat and roared angrily.
...
Running down the stairs, Shi Xiaole raced for his life, blood trickling from his mouth from time to time.
He was unable to resist the combined assault of the three experts, who had reached Qi Absorption Level Four, and sustained heavy injuries.
However, the fact that he was able to escape from their grasp was already an impressive feat.
The dark and gloomy tunnel seemed endless. But as martial artists, their sensory abilities were far superior to average people, so their movements weren’t affected.
Feeling the footsteps behind him closing in, Shi Xiaole’s heart began to race.
Elder One had also practiced a third-rate top-tier Flying Skill, which seemed to be more dedicated to speed than the Golden Goose Skill. If this carried on, he was bound to be caught.
Fifty meters.
Forty meters.
When the gap between both parties reduced to five meters, Elder One revealed a malicious smile and lifted his blade.
Even though Shi Xiaole’s previous move had put him at a slight disadvantage, the disparity in their cultivation levels was evident. A few more exchanges like that, and Shi Xiaole would eventually be exhausted to death.
Hisss...
An odd sound suddenly rang out from ahead in the tunnel.
Subsequently, Shi Xiaole and Elder One saw a hair-raising sight.
At the end of the tunnel, a wave pattern of diverse colors surged forth, accompanied by piercing hisses. Upon a closer look, it turned out to be an uncountable number of venomous snakes!
These venomous snakes, black, white, red, yellow, varying in thickness, writhing on the ground, spanning a thickness of about three inches and extending as far as the eye could see.
"Damn it."
Elder One cursed in shock, his body drenched in cold sweat. Without looking back, he fled, cursing his parents for not giving him an extra leg.
Shi Xiaole also hurriedly retreated, his heart filled with dread.
Strangely, after the hordes of venomous snakes advanced a certain distance, they suddenly stopped, only hissing at the two of them and did not move any further.
Before long, the other two members of the Ghost Mountain Three Evils also arrived, seeing this scene, their bodies trembled.
"Brat, if you dare, don’t come out. Old man will block you outside."
Elder One was unwilling to stay any longer, but he was also concerned that a fierce fight would provoke the venomous snakes, so he sneered menacingly at Shi Xiaole, leading his two brothers out of the tunnel.
Either way, it was a death sentence. If Shi Xiaole died in the snake pit, it would still be their merit, and it would save them a lot of energy.
Shi Xiaole stood in place, murderous intent bubbling in his heart.
Would he have fallen to such a state if it weren’t for Ghost Mountain’s three evils?
"First, I must find a way to hide."
If he went back, Shi Xiaole would only meet a dead end. With no other routes available, the only way seemed to be to continue forward.
Looking at the venomous snakes covering the ground, he took a deep breath and decided to take a desperate gamble.
"If I survive this catastrophe, I swear to cut you down in the days to come!"
Swallowing a Detoxification Pill, Shi Xiaole pushed his Fuyang Qi Skill to the limit. In one leap, he went into a horizontal position parallel to the ground, his feet stepping at the highest point on the side wall, he sprinted diagonally forward.
Hisss...
As if poking a wasp’s nest, countless venomous snakes on the ground leaped up in an instant, with several even spitting venom at Shi Xiaole.
At the critical moment of life and death, Shi Xiaole’s mind calmed down. Everything around him seemed to slow down.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
With a knife in his left hand and a sword in his right, he slashed furiously. The air filled with the stench of blood. Numerous venomous snakes were cut in two and fell from mid-air.
But there were just too many snakes. Every moment, more leaped up and venom rained down from all directions. Despite Shi Xiaole’s quick reactions, he was inevitably hit.
In the end, with the accumulated venom surpassing the Detoxification Pill’s limit, Shi Xiaole found his strength dwindling.
"Go to hell."
Operating the Wild Wind Blade Technique, he finally crossed the snake zone, and ran forward rapidly.
A quarter of an hour later, Shi Xiaole took half a bottle of Detoxification Pills, and his condition finally stabilized.
