Volume 2 Chapter 21

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Volume 2 Chapter 21: Transformation

"Senior Brother Xu, be careful!"

Just as Xu Qingfan swiftly leapt out of the "Sky Melting Curtain," he seemed to hear Xu Xiurong’s concerned voice from behind him, as if in a daze.

"Was she speaking to me?" Xu Qingfan wondered to himself after hearing Xu Xiurong’s words, but then shook his head in denial. "Martial Sister Xu and I barely exchange words; why would she speak to me? She was probably talking to Senior Brother Lv and Monk Brother, and I must have misheard."

The open space in the middle of the Barbarian village was vast, and everyone was in a secluded corner, about a few hundred feet away from the altar. Just in that brief pause, Bao Wei and the others had rushed far ahead towards the altar, pulling a considerable distance between them and Xu Qingfan.

Seeing Bao Wei and the others surge forward, Xu Qingfan quickly shook off his distracting thoughts to focus entirely on the impending tough battle. Simultaneously utilizing the "Art of Divine Action" and "Turtle, Elephant, Leopard," his speed reached its peak, and his body turned into afterimages, rapidly closing the gap with Shang Nianyao in front. Meanwhile, Lv Ziqing, who practiced wind-based techniques, kept up with Xu Qingfan, with less than ten feet separating them from the altar.

At that moment, Bao Wei had already darted atop the altar in the field, reaching out to seize the mystical orb on the wooden totem. His speed left the Barbarians, as well as the demon soldiers, unable to react. In fact, Xu Qingfan and the others moved so swiftly that they thought it was merely a gust of wind passing by.

Meanwhile, Naxiu was fiercely battling Xuan Xiu in the sky, with his body and the serpent formed from dark energy displaying terrifying offense and defense. Xuan Xiu’s gold-type techniques, though incredibly sharp, couldn’t pierce the dark mist surrounding Naxiu to harm his true form. Every time the serpent Naxiu transformed into spat a mist of darkness, Xuan Xiu would barely dodge, left flustered for a good while. Initially, Xuan Xiu thought of using the spiritual armor formed from his own Golden Spirit Qi to withstand the dark mist, but upon discovering its corrosive effect on Spirit Qi, he was taken aback and dared not come into contact with it. The serpent’s sharp fangs and tail, which turned into swift shadows, further troubled Xuan Xiu in both attack and defense, putting him at a disadvantage.

The holder of the mystical orb indeed had extraordinary powers; even though they had not fully obtained the orb’s strength, they could already suppress Xuan Xiu, who possessed Golden Core Stage cultivation, making him breathless. No wonder the entire cultivation world regarded the mystical orb as a grave threat.

Just as Naxiu was gaining the upper hand, he suddenly sensed a powerful being appear, racing towards the altar to seize the dark orb. He let out an earth-shattering roar and turned to rush back. However, Xuan Xiu, who had been defensively overwhelmed, suddenly unleashed his full strength in the form of thunder magic. Amidst the thunderous roars, countless lightning bolts descended from the sky, carrying a mighty yang energy that countered the dark aura around Naxiu. The lightning strikes shattered much of the black mist surrounding Naxiu. Xuan Xiu then transformed the lightning into a massive electric net, firmly blocking Naxiu’s path. Despite Naxiu’s furious roars and his serpent form thrashing within the net, he could not break through to return to the altar and protect the dark orb.

"Success!" Xu Qingfan and the others felt a surge of joy when they saw Bao Wei reach the altar, unhindered, and snatch the dark orb. They hadn’t expected their daring plan to succeed so easily.

As Xu Qingfan and the others secretly celebrated, something strange happened. Bao Wei, after seizing the dark orb, suddenly froze and didn’t flee as planned. Instead, he stood eerily still on the altar, in the same pose just before touching the orb. His face slowly filled with a sinister expression, while the orb emitted a deep bluish-purple light that began to seep into Bao Wei’s body.

"This is bad! The orb can autonomously corrupt anyone who touches it!" Lv Ziqing, who had rushed to the altar with Bao Wei, shouted in alarm upon seeing Bao Wei’s transformation. As he shouted, he swiftly brandished his fan-shaped magical tool, the "Wind Fan," and directed a gale towards Bao Wei’s wrist, hoping to break Bao Wei free from the orb’s control, disregarding any consequences for disobeying orders.

Just as the gale was about to strike Bao Wei’s wrist, the orb suddenly released a dense black mist that shielded Bao Wei, eventually engulfing his entire form. In an instant, Bao Wei was completely enveloped in the thick mist, and the gusts released by Lv Ziqing were wholly absorbed by the black mist, causing no disruption.

Seeing Bao Wei fail to possess the orb, only to fall under its control, Naxiu, trapped in the air, didn’t relax but grew more frantic, repeatedly charging against the electric net, roaring angrily. The net’s glow began to fade under his assault, appearing unstable. Meanwhile, Xuan Xiu, who controlled the net, was growing pale from Naxiu’s attacks, clearly unable to hold on much longer. As he saw Bao Wei on the altar being surrounded by the black mist, Xuan Xiu’s usually calm demeanor showed rare signs of urgency.

At that moment, Xu Qingfan arrived after Lv Ziqing, reaching the altar. His expression changed drastically at the sight of the strange scene, and he exclaimed, "The orb chooses its master!"

It turns out the orb was forged from countless vengeful souls and the world’s impurities. While it had gained a simple spiritual awareness, it also developed the mysterious ability to choose its own master. Once the orb had chosen a master, it would grant him immense power and alter his disposition. In a way, when someone gains the orb, it isn’t that they tame the orb for use, but the orb refines him as its master. Uniquely, except for its creator, the "Demon Ancestor," the orb remains loyal to no one. Should it sense a stronger presence, it readily abandons its current master to bind the stronger one. Truly a marvel of intrigue.

Clearly, the moment Bao Wei seized the orb, it judged him more formidable than its original master before corruption, and sought to "refine" Bao Wei as its new master. Focused solely on acquiring the orb, Bao Wei had little defense and, in his relaxed state after seizing the orb, became vulnerable, ultimately falling under its thrall!

At that moment, under Naxiu’s continuous roars, the countless Barbarian people and demon soldiers on the field finally came to their senses. The solemn silence of the ritual could no longer be maintained, and they all let out angry shouts, quickly charging towards the people on the altar with eyes red, intending to tear apart the outsiders who desecrated their sacred tribal relics.

Seeing this situation, Xu Qingfan turned to Shang Nianyao who arrived a step slower on the altar and said, "Brother Shang, you hold off those demon soldiers and Barbarian people, I’ll find a way to save Senior Bao."

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, although Shang Nianyao was also anxious upon seeing Bao Wei’s situation, he stopped his forward rush, silently turned around to face the countless demon soldiers and Barbarian people charging at the altar. He knew that at this moment, he could only rely on and trust the most knowledgeable among them, Xu Qingfan.

By then, the countless demon soldiers and Barbarian people on the open ground of the Barbarian village had charged close to the altar, mixed with many large mutated low-level demon beasts, overwhelming the scene. Seeing the dark mass of enemies rushing toward them, even the always composed Shang Nianyao couldn’t help but turn pale, but he still calmly made continuous signs with his ten fingers, and the ground before him began to shake violently under his control. Many lesser Barbarian people lost their balance and fell, disrupting the advancing formation. Next, dozens of thick stone walls suddenly rose from the ground, tearing the land apart, and eight Rock Golems emerged from the cracks, barely blocking the attacks of the demon soldiers and mutated demon beasts. However, the strength of those low-level mutated demon beasts was too formidable, and they were numerous, making it only a matter of time before the stone walls and Rock Golems might be breached.

Seeing such a situation, Shang Nianyao dared not pause even slightly; his ten fingers continued making signs without cease, and his hands turned into blurs with his rapid gestures. Under Shang Nianyao’s control, the charging demon soldiers and mutated demon beasts suddenly felt their bodies become unbearably heavy, causing their attacks to pause momentarily. Shang Nianyao finally managed to temporarily stop the onslaught of the demon soldiers.

However, in a brief period, Shang Nianyao had consecutively used four Taoist spells, "Earthquake Technique," "Stone Wall Technique," "Rock Golem," and "Earth Bind Technique," two of which were high-level intermediate Taoist spells. Even with Shang Nianyao’s cultivation, after using them all in one breath, his face turned slightly pale, and his internal Spirit Qi was severely depleted, but he managed to hold the defense for a while.

Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan and Lv Ziqing on the other side were even more distressed. Watching Bao Wei’s form completely shrouded in black mist, he had no means to help. Next to him, Lv Ziqing continuously waved his fan artifact, conjuring gusts of wind to attack the black mist around Bao Wei. Unfortunately, the black mist was extremely eerie; although the wind was mighty, it was completely engulfed and didn’t disperse at all.

Staring at the strange black mist before him, Xu Qingfan frowned deeply. He had tried to send Spirit Qi to probe the situation inside just now, but it was swallowed by the black mist emanating from the magic orb. Xu Qingfan then attempted to use the "Ruler of Wither and Flourish" to explore the black mist, only to find in shock that even this human-level middle-class artifact was losing control the instant it touched the mist, causing Xu Qingfan to break out in cold sweat as he hurriedly retrieved the artifact, filled with astonishment. The power of this "magic orb" was enormous, not only swallowing Spirit Qi but also corrupting artifacts. It’s unimaginable how powerful the nine magic orbs would be if they gathered together a thousand years ago.

While Xu Qingfan frowned in deep thought, a furious roar suddenly echoed across the sky. Xu Qingfan looked up to see that it was Naxiu, who was roaring in frustration because he couldn’t break through the electric web. The electric web, controlled with all his might by Xuan Xiu, still dimmed in glow, obviously reaching its limit under Naxiu’s constant assaults.

Seeing the scene, a sudden idea struck Xu Qingfan, and he whispered to Xuan Xiu, "Venerable Xuan Xiu, please release Naxiu first. Let him return to seize the magic pearl, otherwise Senior Bao Wei will be in danger."

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Xuan Xiu was slightly taken aback. He glanced at Bao Wei, who was surrounded by black mist on the altar, hesitated for a moment, and then relinquished control of the electric net.

Once freed from the electric net’s restraint, Naxiu roared, and the giant black serpent he had transformed into lunged fiercely at Bao Wei on the altar, ignoring the trouble Xuan Xiu had caused him.