Chapter 200 - 197: Greatly Increased Power
"Lad, you’ve got no way out," Elder Feng of the Quicksand Gang said gravely to Ye Xing. "I advise you to hand over the Eight Treasures Profound Spirit Pill now!"
"You have nowhere to run, kid! Hand over the Eight Treasures Profound Spirit Pill!"
"There’s only one way out for you: hand over the Eight Treasures Profound Spirit Pill!"
"Hand over the Eight Treasures Profound Spirit Pill or die!"
The other Martial Artists chimed in with fierce threats.
"Heh. The Eight Treasures Profound Spirit Pill is a Miracle Elixir. You want me to hand over something I’ve already got? Sigh, you’re all so naive," Ye Xing sneered.
"So you’re choosing death by not handing over the Eight Treasures Profound Spirit Pill?"
"With your paltry Martial Arts Fourth Realm Cultivation, any one of the hundreds of people here could crush you with ease."
"Exactly! If you want to keep the Eight Treasures Profound Spirit Pill, you should first ask yourself if you’ll live long enough to enjoy it."
"If you don’t hand over the Eight Treasures Profound Spirit Pill, you’re a dead man!"
The Martial Artists all bellowed.
"That’s not necessarily true! I’ve got a path right behind me," Ye Xing said, pursing his lips.
"A path behind you?"
"Haha, that’s a bottomless cliff!"
"This kid must be insane. Surely he doesn’t plan on jumping?"
"A fall from that height would turn anyone into a meat paste."
"There’s no way he’ll actually jump. He’s probably just bluffing. Who does he think he’s scaring?"
Some of the Martial Artists were disdainful, while others grew tense, afraid that if this young man in green actually jumped, all their efforts would be for nothing. Of course, most of them just sneered. They clearly didn’t believe the young man had the guts to jump. After all, when faced with death, most people would choose to struggle for survival. Shi Bolang, for example, had chosen to negotiate with them.
"Lad, listen to me," Elder Feng of the Quicksand Gang said in a low voice. "Hand over the Eight Treasures Profound Spirit Pill, and I can guarantee your life!"
"Guarantee my life? Heh, who do you think you are? Do I look like I need your protection?" Ye Xing scoffed. "You said you’d protect Shi Bolang, too. And in the end, didn’t I kill him with one strike? He was only at the Martial Arts Seventh Realm. Don’t make promises you can’t keep."
"Don’t push your luck, kid!" A cold glint flashed in Elder Feng’s eyes.
"Heh, I’m done wasting my breath on you. I’m outta here!" Ye Xing shot them a casual glance, then leaped. With a WHOOSH, he jumped straight off the cliff.
"Gods, he..."
"He really jumped!"
"Am I seeing things? That kid actually had a death wish!"
"It’s over! The Eight Treasures Profound Spirit Pill!"
The Martial Artists stared at one another in utter shock, clearly not expecting the young man in green to jump off the bottomless cliff so decisively and without a moment’s hesitation.
For a moment, a dead silence fell over the scene.
The Martial Artists were still stunned, until the cry of a bird pulled them from their thoughts.
An Iron-Winged Vulture swooped down, circling in the sky above the peak.
"Hahaha! I have a Flying Demon Beast! The Eight Treasures Profound Spirit Pill is mine!"
Along with this excited and triumphant laughter, a Martial Artist at the Martial Arts Sixth Realm leaped onto the Iron-Winged Vulture’s back. He then rode it in a dive down the face of the cliff.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!
The wind howled past his ears, a biting gale that made his robes flap and billow wildly as his body plummeted downwards.
’Heh, this skydiving thing is pretty thrilling!’ Ye Xing thought. With a parachute on his back, he hit the release.
Instantly, with a WHOOSH, the parachute deployed. The canopy filled with air, and his descent slowed dramatically, leaving him to drift on the wind.
The cliffs of Biluo Mountain were thousands of feet high, their base shrouded in mist. A fall from this height wouldn’t be over quickly. Ye Xing immediately took out the Jade Box.
The Jade Box was crafted from top-grade Warm Jade, its surface shimmering with a faint green light. As he opened it, a light, fragrant medicinal scent wafted out. It was a pleasant aroma that soothed both body and soul.
Inside, three pale green Elixir Pills lay nestled within the Warm Jade Box.
’This training expedition was definitely worth it. I got three Eight Treasures Profound Spirit Pills in one go!’ Ye Xing was thrilled. ’Sigh, this is taking forever. The faster I land, the sooner I can begin my Secluded Cultivation!’
Ye Xing couldn’t wait to reach the bottom of the cliff, take the Eight Treasures Profound Spirit Pills, and begin his Secluded Cultivation.
As he waited, itching with impatience, a bird’s cry suddenly pierced the air from above.
And then—
RIP!
A pair of black iron talons pierced the parachute canopy from above. With a single, vicious slash, the entire thing was torn apart.
Plunging downwards once more, Ye Xing looked up, his expression changing. An Iron-Winged Vulture was hovering in the sky above—it was the very same one that had just shredded his parachute.
A middle-aged man was standing on the Iron-Winged Vulture’s back. His face was flushed with excitement, and his burning gaze was fixed on Ye Xing. He looked like a hungry wolf that had spotted a lamb, or a hawk that had found a rabbit; his expression was one of sheer ecstasy.
"Hahaha! And they said a Level 4 Iron-Winged Vulture was useless! Look how useful it is now! Those idiots can only stand on the clifftop and fret while I’m the only one who could follow. It’s mine! The Eight Treasures Profound Spirit Pill is mine! Now, die, kid!" the middle-aged man from the Martial Arts Sixth Realm howled in excitement. A vicious light in his eyes, he rode the Iron-Winged Vulture as it dove toward Ye Xing.
WHOOSH!
The Iron-Winged Vulture flapped its wings, kicking up a fierce gale. Its razor-sharp iron talons, like steel hooks, reflected cold glints of light in the sun.
"Haha! Iron-Wing, kill that kid! We’ll grab his corpse and search it later!" the middle-aged man shouted from the Iron-Winged Vulture’s back, his gaze fixed on Ye Xing as if he were prey ready for the slaughter.
"Idiot," Ye Xing said, casting a cool glance at the man. He calmly pulled a handgun from his waist, aiming the black muzzle directly at the man’s Demon Beast partner, the Iron-Winged Vulture.
Then, he gently squeezed the trigger.
BANG!
A shot rang out. The bullet burst from the barrel, streaking like a flash of lightning toward the Iron-Winged Vulture’s head.
’What is that? Such a terrifying Hidden Weapon! That speed... how is it possible!’ The middle-aged man’s expression changed drastically. He scrambled to block it with his weapon, but it was too late.
SQUELCH!
With a soft sound, a few drops of crimson blood spattered. The bullet had gone straight through the Iron-Winged Vulture’s head.
Killed in a single shot. The Iron-Winged Vulture’s corpse, along with the middle-aged man on its back, plummeted toward the bottom of the cliff.
"Agh, Iron-Wing is dead! Damn it! You damned brat!" The middle-aged man’s face was pale as he stared at Ye Xing with venomous hatred.
’Tch. And here I thought it was some powerful Flying Demon Beast. A puny Iron-Winged Vulture dares to act so insolently? Back in the Lianyun Mountain Range, I lost count of how many of these I killed,’ Ye Xing sneered inwardly.
The Iron-Winged Vulture, a Fourth-level Demon Beast, was a fairly common type of Flying Demon Beast. But since it was a Flying Demon Beast, even the most common ones were extremely expensive. The price of a Level 4 Iron-Winged Vulture was comparable to that of a Level 6-7 Walking Beast-type Demon Beast. Faced with such a choice, most Martial Artists would opt to purchase the Level 6-7 Walking Beast-type Demon Beast, as it offered far more assistance in actual combat. A Level 4 Iron-Winged Vulture was ultimately too weak; in a fight, it could be easily killed by an opponent, making it useful only for escaping. Consequently, only a very small number of Martial Artists were willing to spend a fortune on a Flying Demon Beast partner. The middle-aged man with the Martial Arts Sixth Realm Cultivation was one of these few.
The Iron-Winged Vulture was a Fourth-level Demon Beast, and Ye Xing was a Martial Artist at the Martial Arts Fourth Realm. On paper, their strengths should have been comparable. However, the middle-aged man never imagined that his Demon Beast partner, the Iron-Winged Vulture, would be killed instantly by this young man in green.
"That speed was terrifying... What kind of Hidden Weapon was that? Kid, are... are you a disciple of the Tang Sect?" the middle-aged man stammered.
The Tang Sect was one of the foremost Top-level Sects in the Martial Arts world, specializing in all kinds of Hidden Weapons and contraptions. Their power was on par with the Cold Moon Palace; both stood at the very pinnacle of the martial world.
"I’m no disciple of the Tang Sect. This Hidden Weapon is called a handgun. You just squeeze the trigger, and a bullet shoots out. Killing people is a piece of cake," Ye Xing said with a smile, raising the gun again and aiming the black muzzle at the middle-aged man’s forehead.
The wind howled. At this moment, both of them were in freefall. The middle-aged man was flailing in mid-air, his body completely out of his control. He was a living target, a sitting duck.
"Don’t kill me! Please, don’t kill me! I’m begging you!" Cold sweat beaded on the middle-aged man’s forehead, his terrified eyes locked on the handgun in Ye Xing’s hand.
"Hm, alright," Ye Xing said after a moment’s thought, and put the handgun away.
The middle-aged man was utterly baffled. In his terror, he had desperately begged for his life, but he hadn’t actually held out much hope. He never expected this young man in green would actually spare him.
"You... you’re really not going to kill me?" The middle-aged man breathed a small sigh of relief, but his gaze on Ye Xing remained full of trepidation.
"Why would I kill you? It’d be a waste of a bullet. Besides, you’re going to fall to your death anyway," Ye Xing said, flashing a grin that revealed his sharp, white teeth.