noffsinger Chapter 44 Bounty
Chapter 44 Bounty
Rocky Mountain, Azure Pool.
After parting ways with the Old Dragon King of Ten Thousand Saints, Xuan Yuan Water Centipede Venerable chased after him from Bibo Pool.
The water centipede demon paused all at once with its hundred pairs of fins, its massive body hovering above the pool.
He raised his head, his two pairs of compound eyes slowly turning in the darkness, his mouth open, capturing the remaining breath in the air.
Hmm? There are two?
A figure sped westward, its aura concealed, yet its speed was so great that its footwork left a trail that served as a guiding light for the water centipede demon. The scent of the crimson-haired youth it had encountered earlier in the rift valley lingered wherever it passed.
The other one drifted in the exact opposite direction, moving slowly and with its aura extremely faint and growing weaker. If it weren't for its keen senses through its mouthparts, it would have been almost completely ignored.
He hesitated for only a moment.
The aura heading west was the strongest and its intensity remained stable without any sign of weakening, indicating that the opponent was fleeing with all their might.
The aura from the other direction seemed very unstable, floating and uncertain, more like a clone or an illusion.
He immediately swung his tail tip, and with all his flippers working together, he chased after it headed due west.
He had chased for less than forty miles when he sensed something was wrong; the aura was becoming unstable.
The magical aura became increasingly intense, causing the water centipede demon to harbor suspicions and a sense of foreboding to rise within it.
Logically speaking, this person possesses profound magical power, so it's impossible for his aura to become unstable at such a short distance, and his speed to be decreasing. However, seeing that he was about to catch up, and with the mindset that he had already come this far, he could only grit his teeth and continue chasing.
He increased his speed, hundreds of flippers floated in the air and paddled, clouds and mist formed beneath his feet, carrying him at high speed.
The three-pronged venom sac at the tip of the tail contracts and gathers power, ready to unleash a venomous arrow at any moment.
They chased for dozens of miles, and the aura ahead was in complete disarray, darting left and right, up and down, like a kite with a broken string dancing wildly in the wind.
I could vaguely see a blurry figure flying swiftly through the clouds ahead, its long crimson hair fluttering in the wind—it was the outline of that person.
The water centipede suddenly opened its mouth, and a cold, emerald-green water arrow shot out from the sky.
The water arrow, formed from the frost centipede venom he had cultivated for hundreds of years mixed with his magical power, was as fast as lightning and pierced through the figure with unparalleled precision.
However, the expected bloodshed and screams did not occur. After being pierced by the water arrow, the figure swayed, then exploded into a cloud of water mist before completely dissipating.
Within the mist, only a faint trace of blood energy slowly drifted away. This blood energy carried the residual warmth of the true fire of the sun, clearly indicating that it was an incarnation that had been refined with someone's essence and blood.
The water centipede's two pairs of compound eyes widened simultaneously. Damn it! We've been tricked again!
He immediately tried to absorb the blood essence in order to find the person's whereabouts.
Unfortunately, the moment the water mist exploded, the remaining true fire energy of the sun burned away all the blood energy.
The water centipede raised its head and let out a sharp roar. At the same time, the three-pronged venom sacs at the tip of its tail exploded, spraying three streams of venom into the forest below. Wherever the venom passed, the grass and trees withered instantly, and even the rocks were corroded into three deep pits.
He suddenly turned around and chased after it in the opposite direction. But the other aura was much fainter and had long since dissipated. After chasing for dozens of miles, he completely lost sight of it, as if it had evaporated into thin air.
Left with no other choice, he had to slow down. Every five miles he flew, he would open his four-lobed mouth, revealing the dense array of fine teeth inside, and exhale a wisp of extremely fine, dark green poisonous mist from deep within his throat.
This poisonous mist is a variant of the centipede venom within its body, specifically used to track prey.
Even if the prey has completely concealed its presence, as long as it has come into contact with the residual venom of the centipede in the air, the two will react and release a strong odor that only it can perceive.
This is his unique tracking method, a kind of innate supernatural power that he rarely uses, because each use consumes 10% of the poison sacs in his body, requiring several years of recuperation to recover.
It pursued and explored along the way, releasing poisonous fog every five miles. Although the process was slow, it left almost no stone unturned, unless the person went underground or into deep water.
-
Bibo Pool, the main hall of the Dragon Palace.
The Old Dragon of Halloween sat in the main seat, his face ashen, his dragon-headed cane resting on the side of the chair, the emerald dragon pearl embedded in the head of the cane radiating a chilling aura.
Several demon kings, all his old friends, sat on either side of the hall. They had come over as soon as they received the message.
"Brother Wansheng, it's been many years. What brings you here today?"
One of the ape-faced demon kings, with a hairy face and a thunderous mouth, held a teacup, crossed his legs, and spoke in a leisurely tone, while his gaze swept back and forth across the old dragon's face.
The Old Dragon of Halloween didn't mince words, slamming his cane on the ground: "I've invited you all here today because I have a request."
He briefly recounted what had happened, saying that an ignorant and arrogant water demon in the early stages of transformation secretly followed the young girl Wan Sheng into the Azure Wave Pool, and stole the Azure Wave Pool's unique escape technique, the Nine Folds of the Azure Waves. After being discovered, he fled all the way from the bottom of the pool and disappeared without a trace.
As for the Xuanming Canglan Spear and the fact that it was stolen, not a word was mentioned.
After listening, the Ape-Faced Demon King toyed with his teacup, a playful look on his face: "I say, Old Dragon, can a water demon in the early stages of transformation really fool your eyes, Brother Wansheng? And even steal the Canglang Ninefold Technique? Brother, you're not joking, are you?"
The old dragon's expression darkened slightly: "Ape Demon King, are you doubting that I'm lying?"
"No, that's not true. It's just that this sounds a bit like a fantasy. It's one thing to sneak into your Bibo Pool, but to be able to learn your Bibo Pool's unique skills... that's not like cabbage, you can't just learn it whenever you want. It's really hard to believe if people say that."
After saying this, the Ape Demon King looked at the other demon kings present and said, "Lord Jinjie, Lord Donghe, what do you two think? Isn't this matter suspicious?"
On the left, a slender, ancient-looking old man in a green robe sat in the first seat. His hair and beard were as white as frost, and a green bamboo hairpin was tied on his head. Although he was a demon king, he did not have the slightest demonic aura. Instead, he exuded the refined elegance of a hermit in the mountains.
This demon is none other than the valiant and upright man of Thorn Ridge, who was also Teng San Niang's former cheap master. I never expected him to come here as well.
Its true form is an old bamboo that has cultivated on Thorn Ridge for countless years. It has a unique bamboo structure, a proud and aloof nature, and has been friends with the Old Dragon of Ten Thousand Saints for many years.
Jingjie Gong stroked his white beard and asked, "It is indeed hard to believe. Could it be that your Bibo Pool's unique skills were not taught orally, but rather that there were copies that were shown to others?"
"That's not the case. Such a unique skill is naturally passed down orally in secret. I don't know what kind of demonic magic that water demon knows. It's true that it was stolen from the little girl and learned the Ninefold Canglang Technique." The Old Dragon King of Ten Thousand Saints sighed.
"I believe in the old dragon." The white-haired youth who had been silent all along spoke up. He was none other than the last demon king present, Donghe Jun.
"Please be patient, everyone. Let's hear what the old dragon has to say about the water demon's origins."
The old Dragon King looked at Lord Donghe gratefully and said, "Although that water demon's cultivation was not high, it possessed a profound method of concealing its aura. The subtlety of its concealment caught even me off guard. I suspect it may have originated from above..."
As he spoke, he pointed to the top of the room.
"You mean the Heavenly Court?" The Ape Demon King's eyes widened.
"This king is merely speculating. The fact that a mere transformation could escape the divine sense of a Daoist who has returned to the void suggests that the technique of concealing one's aura must be extremely advanced."
The kings nodded slightly.
"He disguised himself as a servant of my daughter and slithered into the bottom of the pool, which I could not guard against. As for the Ninefold Canglang Technique, this technique is a unique escape method of my Bibo Pool. It would be an insult to my Wansheng lineage if any outsider could even learn a little bit of it."
"The reason I've invited you all here today is to request that you order a search within your respective jurisdictions. I will draw a portrait of this demon for you. Whoever finds or captures this demon will be richly rewarded. Whether it's the Azure Grass that bears fruit only once every five hundred years or a treasure from my treasury, you may choose one!"
"Oh?"
The demon kings present were all moved and looked at each other in dismay. This situation was rare, and it seemed that this water demon had indeed offended the old dragon king.
Given the status of Wansheng Old Dragon, there are very few things that would make him lower himself to ask for help, let alone just searching for a water demon in the Transformation stage, which is not a difficult task.
Jingjie Gong didn't ask any more questions, but simply cupped his hands in greeting: "Brother, rest assured, I will have my men keep watch within a radius of three hundred miles of Thorn Ridge."
Lord Donghe then asked, "Although we have a portrait, if that person changes their appearance, how will we find them? Besides the Ninefold Canglang Technique, does this demon possess any other signature supernatural abilities or spells?"
The Dragon King of Wansheng had a sudden thought and slapped his thigh: "Oh dear, it's all thanks to Lord Donghe's meticulousness; I almost forgot about this. That water demon used a water-based magic technique, but it contained the energy of true fire. My daughter was once injured by its true fire energy, and it burned her intensely."
"Oh? Such characteristics should make it easy to find. Water demons with magical powers that can carry true fire energy are rare."
"That being said, if this person is hiding, he will be difficult to find."
"Not bad, but now that we have a clue, I will certainly lend a hand." The Ape Demon King patted his chest.
"Then I thank the Ape Demon King in advance." The Old Dragon King of Ten Thousand Saints cupped his hands in thanks.
Upon hearing that this water demon possessed the aura of true fire, Lord Donghe seemed thoughtful but remained silent.
After the demon kings left the Azure Wave Pool, they each issued orders, sending their lesser demons to patrol and keep watch within their respective territories.
The order was passed down from the Demon King to the Demon General, and from the Demon General to the patrolling demons. Before long, all the mountains, big and small, within a radius of over a thousand miles knew that they were looking for a young Taoist with long crimson hair who could control water and was at the early stage of the Transformation Realm. If anyone found him, they were to report it immediately, and there would be a great reward.
The patrolling demons, sensing the danger, scattered into the mountain paths, each harboring their own imagination of a "generous reward." Every mountain ridge, every path, every stream, and every pine forest now had several pairs of eyes peering in.