Chapter 58
Qiao Wan almost vomited blood from the pressure.
Lying in the pile of rubble, Qiao Wan moved her fingers.
During this time, her body had been strengthened, but this pressure was like a giant stone pressing on her limbs, making it almost impossible for her to move. The Thunder Body Forging she had been doing day and night had become a joke.
More terrifying than the power of her limbs under this pressure was the deep fear and coldness that penetrated her bones.
From where Qiao Wan was, all she could see was the hem of the man's robe and the black boots beneath it.
Qiao Wan 's breathing suddenly became slow and heavy.
She had experienced Feng Wangyan 's pressure before, but compared to the person in front of her, she now understood what it meant to be outmatched.
In the face of absolute pressure, even standing up was difficult.
Qiao Wan supported herself on the temple altar, struggling to stand up. Her legs were trembling uncontrollably.
Not only were her legs trembling, but her teeth couldn't help but chatter.
The howling of wolves and the cries of foxes outside the temple seemed to have stopped in an instant, even the buzzing of insects in the grass had disappeared.
For tens of miles around, there was an almost heavy silence. In the temple, all that could be heard was the heavy sound of Qiao Wan 's breathing and the faint sound of blood dripping onto the ground.
The black bear knelt down in front of the man, trembling like a ball of black fur.
"Have you found it?"
"What did you find?" Qiao Wan looked at the man.
The Demon Emperor Jia Yin seemed to notice her gaze and looked back at her coldly, with a sneer.
"You shameless rat, hand it over."
Qiao Wan spat out blood.
Crushed by that oppressive force.
Pressured and scolded, she wiped the blood from the corner of her lips. Qiao Wan felt a mix of confusion, resentment, and anger.
The force was too overwhelming, crushing her years of cultivation like a fragile piece of paper, making her feel all her efforts were in vain.
"What do you mean by that?" Qiao Wan asked.
Jia Yin seemed to be angered by her ignorance, the aura of demons swirling around him, his eyes icy and indifferent.
"Bring me what you stole."
"Why did you dare to steal in the first place, but now refuse to admit it?"
His gaze fell on... the thunder disc at her feet?
Stolen...
Qiao Wan was stunned.
Suddenly, Feng Dai's face appeared in her mind, gentle and refined.
"If this taoist friend helps me find my storage pouch, I will greatly appreciate it."
And the thunder disc was his way of showing gratitude.
Yu Sanniang said that Feng Dai advised against her going south through the territory of the demons.
Now everything made sense. A thought flashed through Qiao Wan's mind like lightning.
Her heart sank, as if a bucket of ice-cold water was poured over her head.
She had been tricked.
Feng Dai had tricked her!!
He must have stolen the Demon Emperor's thunder disc, realized that it was useless to him, and decided to throw this hot potato onto her.
He actually dared to steal the Demon Emperor's thunder disc!!
Qiao Wan coughed up another mouthful of blood.
In this dilapidated temple, there were only her, Demon Emperor Jia Yin, and the black bear demon.
Under such terrifying pressure, Qiao Wan had no intention of conflicting with this formidable cultivator in front of her.
Wiping the bloodstains from the corner of her mouth, Qiao Wan tried to remain calm and respectful as she spoke, "Demon Emperor, you have misunderstood. I came across this thunder disc by chance, I didn't steal it."
"Please calm yourself, Demon Emperor. If this thunder disc truly belongs to you, I will return it to its rightful owner."
The man asked, "Where did you get this thunder disc?"
Without hesitation, Qiao Wan replied, "From a Confucian cultivator named Feng Dai."
Since Feng Dai had betrayed her, she had no qualms about selling him out.
Finally, Jia Yin's gaze fell upon Qiao Wan, "According to what you say, he is a Confucian cultivator. Why would he need a thunder disc?"
The man's eyes were deep and dark, like a bottomless, cold abyss, reflecting no glimmer of light.
Feeling the man's gaze on her, Qiao Wan's entire body went tense!
"In this world, cultivators practice various techniques. Although he is a Confucian cultivator, he might have another use for the stolen thunder disc."
Qiao Wan thought she had a good attitude and behaved very respectfully. But she didn't expect that Demon Emperor Jia Yin had no intention of letting her go.
Jia Yin said, "Your meridians are shattered, you want to take the path of body cultivation."
He rolled up his sleeves and raised his hand, ready to strike.
"Dirtying the Thunder Disc, you will die."
Qiao Wan felt very sad.
She thought, "This guy just wants to pick a fight, doesn't he?!"
The silence in the deserted temple was shattered in an instant.
Qiao Wan turned around and rushed straight towards the back of the statue.
The man took a step forward and quickly caught up. He struck the right rib of the statue with a palm strike.
When she saw the delicate eyebrows and eyes of the Buddha's head shattered into pieces, Qiao Wan broke out in a cold sweat.
At this moment, Demon Emperor Jia Yin had already caught up.
Qiao Wan gritted her teeth and swung her golden club, smashing it down.
Now, either he dies or she dies.
Qiao Wan felt that the chances of her dying were higher.
The man didn't move the curved knife in his hand, but instead channeled his luck into his palm.
The demonic energy surged and transformed into several black dragon shadows, heading straight for Qiao Wan!
Seeing the dragon shadows roaring towards her, Qiao Wan pushed off with her foot and used the "Subtle Steps" technique to leap onto the palm of the statue in the middle. She struck out with "Radiant Light"!
Since they were both going to die, there was no point in protecting her identity.
Jumping onto the palm of the statue,
The golden Buddha light met the overwhelming demonic energy, but the demonic energy clearly had the upper hand. The black dragon roared, opened its mouth, and completely swallowed the Buddha light.
The raging dragon energy flipped the roof of the deserted temple.
The moonlight suddenly poured down, coldly illuminating the scene.
Seeing this, Qiao Wan exerted force with her feet and rushed out of the temple, once again running for her life.
Last time, she was chased by Xie Xingzhi with a drawn sword for three streets, and this time it was the famous Demon Emperor chasing her.
In less than ten days since leaving the mountain, for someone like Qiao Wan, it was the first time she had suffered such humiliation.
Run!
Qiao Wan stumbled and ran desperately through the deep forest.
The five black dragon shadows relentlessly pursued her, causing the trees along the way to be uprooted by the demonic energy!
This was the dragon energy of the Demon Emperor.
The demonic energy filled the air, almost obscuring the sunlight, and the dark clouds blocked the moonlight, not letting any light through.
Several times, the dragon's jaws almost bit Qiao Wan's head.
She could only run while reciting mantras.
The faint hint of righteousness struggled out, helping her fend off some of the demonic energy.
Like a fluorescent light under rolling dark clouds, it appeared and disappeared, looking very weak and miserable.
Poetry! Poetry! Poetry!
What poetry...
What poetry could be useful?
What other poetry could be useful?
Qiao Wan's brain rapidly worked, she had never worked as hard as she did during the college entrance examination.
The more poetry she could think of, the more "qi" she could borrow.
Qiao Wan's eyebrows were cold, swift as a hawk, and she shouted loudly, "I will cut off the dragon's feet!"
"I will chew on dragon meat!"
"I will make it unable to return!"
"Unable to subdue the night!"
This is a poem called "Short Suffering" by the ghostly poet Li He.
As soon as the words fell, a mighty aura surged!
One white, one black, both intertwined and swirling in the air, stirring up intense winds, a gust after gust, ready to topple the trees!
Five dragon shadows tightly surrounded the pure white aura, biting tightly, with the dragon tails swinging wildly.
Bright white light rose up into the sky, unstoppable, suddenly breaking free from the dragon shadows, churning violently and overturning the dragon spirit in mid-air.
Jia Yin stopped in his tracks and glanced at Qiao Wan, a look of surprise crossing his face.
He didn't expect this thief in front of him to possess such ability.
But this ability... Jia Yin remained calm, it wasn't worth his attention.
With the righteous aura holding back the demonic dragon, Qiao Wan finally regained some breathing space.
Jia Yin's gaze remained unmoved, "Where did you steal this poem from?"
Qiao Wan smirked, not hiding the truth, "Someone named Li He."
Jia Yin's tone was indifferent, "It's a good poem, but it's not yours."
"You can't control it."
Qiao Wan was panting heavily.
Indeed, she couldn't control it.
Her meridians were tearing apart, even though her Confucian breathing techniques could heal her damaged meridians.
But Qiao Wan's current meridians were only enough for her to use this move once.
"Vermin thief." As if suddenly losing interest, Jia Yin pulled at his face, waving his robe sleeves, "Prepare to die."
The dragon shadows, entangled tightly with the white light, suddenly twisted and all rushed into the man's sleeve, followed closely by the roaring dragon spirit erupting once again.
Every bit of it hit Qiao Wan.
Bang!! A loud noise.
Qiao Wan's chest bones shattered, and she flew away like a kite with a broken string under the force of the dragon spirit.
Rumbling—
Trees all around were snapped in half by the dragon spirit, falling to the ground.
The dark dragon energy lingered, slowly dissipating into the night, finally revealing the figure of the girl who had just been enveloped in the dragon energy.
Qiao Wan lay on the ground, blood continuously flowing from all over her body, seeping into the earth beneath her, staining the fallen leaves a bloody red.
Red as autumn maple leaves.
A nearby pine tree swayed and crashed straight onto her spine.
The man walked up to her.
All she could see were his dark robe corners, embroidered with silver and white demonic patterns.
...
This is the world of cultivation, where humans, demons, and ghosts coexist,
Some can ride the sword and travel across the Eight Wilderness, some can defeat millions of soldiers with just one hand, their breath reaching the Milky Way, their wine spray like rivers, their ink strokes depicting mountains and rivers.
Move mountains and shift seas, command the wind and summon the rain, able to do anything.
There are towering mountains and vast waters, fairylands within the seas, everywhere stunning enough to astound people.
But it is also cruel enough to chill the hearts.
It is not like what is described in "Immortal Ascending Road," where there are treasures and adventures everywhere, a few kind words, a few friendly offerings, and one can become the shining star in others' eyes, relying on their purity and extraordinary nature, embracing the thigh of someone important, ascending to the pinnacle of life, and having a deep love story with their master, senior brothers, Demon Emperor, discussing the past and present, an unprecedented and ancient love.
It was simple, direct, survival of the fittest, with a huge gap between people.
This is the real world of cultivation.
Strength is everything, and the strong are respected.
Jia Yin paused, lowered his eyelashes, and rarely took a second look at Qiao Wan.
"A good look in the eyes."
She had courage.
It surprised him.
He even regretted throwing that punch.
Given time, maybe this girl in front of him could become a formidable opponent worth looking forward to.
But there were no "if" anymore.
Qiao Wan raised her fierce, bloodshot eyes, her face twisted in anger, and blood sprayed from her mouth and nose.
That punch.
Her entire body shattered.
