Chapter 289: Chapter 233: The Subterranean Deep Pool
The situation was perilous, so Ling Xiao had no time to ponder Song Mingyue’s strange behavior. The monster in the water was so powerful its Spiritual Power was almost tangible. Ling Xiao’s own Spiritual Power couldn’t harm it; in fact, he was injured by the backlash. This alone showed just how terrifyingly strong the underwater creature was!
"Brother Ling... are we... are we going to die here?" Song Mingyue asked, her face pale.
"Maybe... not!"
Ling Xiao felt a powerful battle intent emanating from the Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword in his hand!
In truth, the stronger the opponent, the more ferocious the Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword’s battle intent became! This was because the blade had once been stained with the blood of an incomparably mighty Great Demon. And for a powerful existence like a Great Demon, dignity was inviolable!
That was why Ling Xiao felt a chill in his heart. Facing this powerful monster in the water, he had no confidence at all!
Pressure... An immense pressure suddenly bore down on them from above! The light from the Deep Sea Poison Dragon Eye grew ever brighter, like a lighthouse in the darkness!
Unfortunately, it wasn’t guiding lost ships, but... a terrifying... underwater monster!
Song Mingyue’s body instinctively pressed close to Ling Xiao. Even a grown man would be terrified in this situation, let alone a young woman like her. Ling Xiao calmly and cautiously used his Spiritual Power to sense the creature. It was about fifty-odd meters away, seemingly stationary, scrutinizing the two little things below, deciding what they were and whether they were worth making a move for.
’Just go away!’ Ling Xiao thought. ’The two of us can’t be your best choice for a meal!’
But things didn’t go as he wished. The creature began to swim in their direction! Just as Song Mingyue also sensed the danger and grew extremely tense, Ling Xiao suddenly shoved her away with great force, his voice low as he spoke.
"Brother Song, take care!"
Song Mingyue felt a force so powerful that she had no way to resist it.
"Ling Xiao!" Song Mingyue cried out in anguish. But in the water, her voice couldn’t travel at all! Besides, the deep pool was pitch-black; how could she see anything? The Deep Sea Poison Dragon Eye protected Song Mingyue, carrying her rapidly toward the surface!
Song Mingyue was an excellent swimmer, but when she tried to dive back down, her strength was no match for the water’s buoyancy. She couldn’t get back under. Powerless, she grew frantic, painfully tearing at her own hair as tears streamed uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.
"He actually gave the chance to live... to me!" Song Mingyue murmured. "Why? Why would he do that?"
WHOOSH!
Song Mingyue’s body shot out of the water. She took a long, deep breath, her body bobbing violently on the surface. It was pitch-black before her. Song Mingyue took a fire-starter from her Space Ring, flicked it open with a CLICK, and swam toward the nearby shore. A sliver of relief washed over her; she was lucky she hadn’t landed on the bank earlier. From such a height, even if the fall hadn’t killed her, she would have been severely injured.
But she had fallen into the water and, though uninjured, Ling Xiao’s fate was now unknown!
Suddenly, Song Mingyue reached up and peeled a layer of something off her face. Underneath, a face of exquisite beauty was revealed, though it was currently filled with sorrow.
Meanwhile, Ling Xiao stood at the bottom of the pool, his eyes closed, concentrating on sensing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi contained within the water.
Small whirlpools began to form in the water, one after another. They were countless streams of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi swarming toward Ling Xiao like a massive school of tadpoles. Ling Xiao gripped his sword with both hands, the Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword seeping an incomparably cold and fierce battle intent!
This caused the underwater monster to completely ignore the other little thing that had escaped, focusing all of its attention on Ling Xiao!
It was extremely curious. Where did this little thing come from? Why was it so small, yet able to emit an aura not much weaker than its own?
An eggshell-like barrier of Protective Spiritual Qi formed around Ling Xiao. A calm smile appeared on his face as he pointed his sword toward the monster in the depths. Slowly, the corners of his mouth curled into a sneer.
He said softly, "Floating... Light... Skimming... Shadow!"
As Ling Xiao spoke, the Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword suddenly erupted with a powerful light, instantly creating a vacuum at the bottom of the pool that forced all the surrounding water away. With his feet planted firmly on the ground, Ling Xiao shot a formidable blast of Sword Qi straight up toward the underwater monster!
With a WHOOSH, it was like hearing a clap of thunder in utter silence!
The water of the entire deep pool, struck by this incomparably powerful Sword Qi, began to roil as if it were a boiling pot. First, sheets of bubbles rose, followed by a thunderous BOOM. It was as if a massive explosion had occurred underwater! In that instant, all the water was blasted into the air!
Song Mingyue’s vision blurred; for a moment, she thought she saw Ling Xiao standing at the bottom of the pool. Immediately after, droplets of blasted water came crashing down from above like a torrential downpour, SPLASHING all around her. The underground pool sloshed violently, like a bowl of water that had been shaken hard, and it took a long time for the surface to calm.
In that brief moment, Ling Xiao had also seen the behemoth, over a hundred meters long! It resembled a grotesque fish with extremely rough skin. But the moment was too short and the light too dim for Ling Xiao to get a clear look before the water crashed back down.
The monster was sent flying several hundred meters by Ling Xiao’s ultimate attack! Within the long, narrow confines of the underground pool, it roared continuously as it tumbled into the distance.
As for Ling Xiao, having exhausted all the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in that single strike, he could no longer withstand the immense underwater pressure. He shot rapidly toward the surface. Suddenly, he tasted the thick tang of blood in his mouth. Ling Xiao was overjoyed. ’That thing is injured!’
Just as he was thinking this, Ling Xiao suddenly felt the surrounding water become bone-chillingly cold. He was horrified. ’Could it be that its injuries weren’t serious?’
Ling Xiao’s swimming speed was also extremely fast. Just as he felt the pressure decreasing and knew he was about to reach the surface, he was horrified to feel the water around him... rapidly turning to ice!
"Son of a bitch!"
Ling Xiao cursed under his breath. His body, like a nimble fish, shot through the surface of the water with a SWOOSH. As he emerged, he heard a series of creaking and cracking sounds from below his feet!
Without pausing in mid-air, Ling Xiao’s body flew toward the light of the fire-starter on the shore. Suddenly, he heard a cry of alarm.
"Ling Xiao, look out!"
’Huh? Why is that a woman’s voice?’ Ling Xiao thought. ’This Brother Song is really taking the joke too far!’ At the same time, his reaction was not the least bit slow. Even without Spiritual Power, the Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword was still incredibly deadly!
Suddenly, Ling Xiao felt a hot breath wash over him and heard an extremely ugly, low roar.
BOOM!
A tremendous force slammed violently into Ling Xiao. His body, like a lone leaf in the wind, was sent flying with a WHOOSH toward the cliff wall where Song Mingyue stood!
"No!"
Song Mingyue leaped up, trying to catch Ling Xiao, but she was simply swept along with his body, and they both hurtled toward the cliff wall together.
’What a shame,’ Song Mingyue thought. ’Even at the moment of my death... Ling Xiao will never know that Ming Yue is a woman!’ In this moment before death, a faint sense of regret unexpectedly filled her heart.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Spitting blood, Ling Xiao used the last shred of his remaining Spiritual Power to pull the "Avoiding Earth" Deep Sea Poison Dragon Eye from his ring. He finally lost consciousness just as the two of them made contact with the rock wall.
BANG!
The hard stone cliff wall was smashed open by Ling Xiao’s back, creating a huge hole. Then, their bodies were enveloped in a faint yellow light. Inertia carried them another ten-odd meters deeper into the rock before their momentum finally slowed. By this time, Ling Xiao had already fallen into a deep coma.
The death Song Mingyue expected did not arrive. Looking at the Deep Sea Poison Dragon Eye in Ling Xiao’s hand, a smile suddenly touched her lips. The effective space of the Avoiding Earth was not large; it was barely enough for her to sit up straight. Just then, Song Mingyue heard the monster’s ugly roar from outside. She instinctively looked out. It was pitch-black; she couldn’t see a thing. But the next moment... she couldn’t help but scream. The darkness she had just seen was actually the monster’s massive eye pressed against the hole!
Gritting her teeth, Song Mingyue suddenly took a small, delicate crossbow from her ring. She loaded a sharp bolt, its tip glinting with a faint blue light.
Aiming at the creature outside, she fired the crossbow bolt without a moment’s hesitation!
SWOOSH! The bolt struck the monster’s head, digging in deeply. But to the creature, the bolt was far too small, like a person being bitten by a mosquito. It shook its head nonchalantly and began to condense a ball of incredibly cold mist in its mouth, preparing to spit it into the cave.
Suddenly, it let out an earth-shattering roar, and its body collapsed with a loud CRASH onto the bank. At the critical moment, the poison on Song Mingyue’s bolt had taken effect!
Song Mingyue sighed in relief. She turned back to Ling Xiao and lit her fire-starter, only to find his face was as pale as gilt paper, with a sickly, waxy pallor.
Panicked, Song Mingyue didn’t know what to do. She remembered the Qi Replenishing Elixirs and various Healing Elixirs Ling Xiao had given her. He had hurriedly told her that most of these elixirs were mild; even if taken together, at worst their effects wouldn’t stack, but they wouldn’t cause any harm either.
At this thought, Song Mingyue shoved the four or five elixirs in her hand into Ling Xiao’s mouth, muttering, "Ling Xiao, you can’t die. You haven’t even seen the real me, this peerless beauty. You can’t die... you absolutely can’t die! Waaaah... If you die, how am I supposed to get out of here!"
"Brother Song... *cough, cough*... why are you... pretending to be a woman again?"
Ling Xiao weakly opened his eyes. After speaking, he froze completely, stunned.
Comments