Volume 3 Chapter 56

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Volume 3 Chapter 56: Cold

Feeling the terrifying cold rapidly spreading from his right leg to his upper body, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but be horrified.

He hadn’t expected that Nangong Qingshan, not only possessing a terrifying transformation and three bizarre and sneaky serpent tails, would also harbor such powerful coldness within. It was even three times stronger than the Ice Spirit Qi from Gong Qingya’s "Ice Technique" that Xu Qingfan had encountered before, and its strange qualities far surpassed it.

Under the erosion of the cold, Xu Qingfan’s right leg felt neither numb nor cold. Instead, it seemed as if he had lost the leg altogether: he couldn’t move it, nor could he feel any sensation at all.

With the power of this cold, if it reached Xu Qingfan’s chest, he wouldn’t be far from death.

Xu Qingfan was well aware of this fact, so he hurriedly used the Phoenix Spirit Qi within him to fend it off. The Phoenix Spirit Qi inherently contained a strong fire attribute, known as the nemesis of all cold in the world, and with Xu Qingfan’s effort, it temporarily held the cold at bay outside his right leg.

While the Phoenix Spirit Qi could restrain this cold, just as fire can drive away cold, cold can also extinguish fire. This cold, although slightly lacking in quality compared to the Phoenix Spirit Qi, was superior in quantity, seemingly endless, constantly battering and eroding the barrier formed by the Phoenix Spirit Qi.

Realizing this, Xu Qingfan didn’t hesitate any longer. Bearing the waves of cold emanating from his right leg, he bent down and grabbed it with both hands. Despite the risk of causing more damage, he forcefully pulled it free from the serpent tail it was impaled on.

As a result of extracting his leg with force, the already impaled right leg now bore a large wound. Through the wound, the veins, flesh, and bones inside were clearly visible, an unnerving sight to behold.

However, because the cold air just now was so intense, it seemed that all the blood in Xu Qingfan’s right leg had turned to icy blood, so although the wound before him was striking, not a single drop of blood flowed out.

Fortunately, Xu Qingfan’s leg had lost all feeling, otherwise the intense pain would surely have made him faint.

Seeing that, apart from his right leg, the rest of Xu Qingfan’s body was not affected by the cold, and he even pulled his right leg away from the snake tail, Nangong Qingshan was slightly taken aback. He hadn’t expected Xu Qingfan to still be able to move under the attack of his icy aura.

Noticing that Xu Qingfan was protected by the "Azure Dragon Arm Shield," making it difficult for the other two snake tails to hurt him, and given his vigilance to underground attacks after previous experiences, it seemed unlikely to succeed. So, Nangong Qingshan ceased his futile efforts. With a slight motion of his hands, the originally lengthy snake tails swiftly retracted from mid-air and underground and returned to a regular length, entwining behind Nangong Qingshan.

"Senior Brother Xu, you really surprise me; I didn’t expect you could resist my icy aura. As far as I know, only Spirit Qi of Nanming Li Fire level and above can counteract my icy aura. Yet you should only have the two qi of Wither and Flourish. How did you manage this?"

After retrieving the snake tails, Nangong Qingshan looked at Xu Qingfan, a puzzled expression in his eyes, and asked, frowning.

It seems Nangong Qingshan is unaware that Xu Qingfan possesses the Wutong branch and has initially cultivated Phoenix Spirit Qi within himself.

Xu Qingfan had no intention of replying; he silently channeled his energy to dispel the cold from his right leg. However, the amount of icy aura left by the snake tail in his leg was so substantial that it was difficult to eliminate it all at once.

Seeing that Xu Qingfan continued to ignore him, a trace of anger flickered in Nangong Qingshan’s eyes, and his tone became colder as he slowly said, "It seems I’ll have to teach you another lesson before you’ll answer my question."

Saying this, Nangong Qingshan slowly walked toward Xu Qingfan.

Earlier, because he extended his three snake tails too long, neither their power nor flexibility was fully utilized. Only at a distance of about ten feet can his snake tails reach maximum strength.

But just as Nangong Qingshan took his first step, Xu Qingfan placed his hands firmly on the ground, with the two forces of Wither and Flourish surging throughout his body. He looked up at Nangong Qingshan and said, "You were too careless."

As Xu Qingfan finished speaking, a brilliant red flower over ten feet tall suddenly appeared behind Nangong Qingshan. When its petals bloomed, countless tiny white teeth inside the flower became visible, rushing fiercely to bite Nangong Qingshan.

This was Xu Qingfan’s most powerful rare plant, the "Chomper," a presence that even ordinary demon beasts in the Southern Wasteland feared to approach.

At that moment, Nangong Qingshan also sensed danger approaching. He wanted to flee, but the Chomper appeared too suddenly, and it was too close to Nangong Qingshan. Just as Nangong Qingshan’s body reacted, the beautiful yet terrifying flower bit into him, swallowing him whole, one bite at a time, and the chilling sound of chewing began to echo.

Normally, the technique of planting extraordinary flora seeds made from various Spirit Qi under the enemy’s feet for a surprise attack takes Xu Qingfan a long time to execute successfully. It wouldn’t be possible to unleash it instantly as before.

However, when Xu Qingfan bent down to dispel the cold, he suddenly noticed the broken hole left by Nangong Qingshan’s snake tails piercing the ground during the attack.

Through this broken hole, Xu Qingfan could easily move the seeds he created to Nangong Qingshan’s back for a sudden strike without taking much time.

In this way, Nangong Qingshan, due to his carelessness, was easily ambushed by Xu Qingfan, using the same trick again, proving that what goes around comes around.

After Nangong Qingshan was devoured by Chomper, Xu Qingfan finally had a chance to catch his breath; he was quite exhausted from fending off Nangong Qingshan’s attacks.

But as he watched Nangong Qingshan being swallowed by Chomper, there was no relief on Xu Qingfan’s face; instead, he appeared even more serious. Although Chomper was making chewing sounds, there wasn’t a trace of blood flowing from its petals, showing that Nangong Qingshan hadn’t suffered significant harm. However, Chomper’s body was very tough, and Nangong Qingshan couldn’t break free immediately.

Xu Qingfan knew that with Nangong Qingshan’s strength, it was only a matter of time before he would break out from inside Chomper. So he furrowed his brows and began thinking of strategies to deal with Nangong Qingshan.

Judging from their earlier encounter, Nangong Qingshan’s strength should be somewhere between the late stage of the Lingji Stage and the early stage of the Fake Golden Core. Though formidable, if that was all, Xu Qingfan was confident he could fight him.

However, after Nangong Qingshan’s body changed, his power not only skyrocketed, but he also developed a variety of mysterious abilities. The three snake tails and the freezing ice aura were examples of this. Also, Xu Qingfan still couldn’t figure out how Nangong Qingshan left a decoy and escaped from the original spot during the initial ambush.

"Nangong Qingshan’s three snake tails are extremely sharp; he carries a powerful freezing aura, can mysteriously vanish leaving a decoy to confuse enemies, and with his original strength, he could even escape from a master at the early Fake Golden Core level," Xu Qingfan thought to himself.

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan paused, as the list of Nangong Qingshan’s strange abilities conjured a sense of familiarity in his heart, as if he had heard of them somewhere before.

A moment later, Xu Qingfan’s body trembled slightly as he finally recalled why he had that familiar feeling.

"’Xuwei Snake’! His abilities are exactly the same as those of the Xuwei Snake," Xu Qingfan murmured in disbelief.

"Beichuan has a snake, with three tails, sharp and hard to guard against, skilled in controlling icy winds, and its shed skin is difficult to harm. Only fears fire. It is one of the brightest stars, named ‘Xuwei.’ Along with the ‘Black Mysterious’ of the East Sea, the ‘Desert Sand’ of the Western Desert, and the ‘Jiushen’ of the Southern Wasteland, they are the four legendary snakes of the Shenzhou Continent. Although not demon beasts, their power is formidable, cunning, and toxic by nature; even demon beasts flee from them, needing an Earth-level opponent or above to stand a chance." —"Strange Tales of Mountains and Seas—Strange Beast Chapter"

It turns out that the "Xuwei Snake," one of the four legendary snakes of Shenzhou Continent, just like Nangong Qingshan, has three tails, exceptionally sharp and able to change length at will. Living long in Beichuan, its body harbors a great deal of icy cold energy, incredibly powerful.

The most famous trait of the Xuwei Snake is its ability to shed its skin. When in danger, it can shed its skin, which retains the original shape for a short period to confuse enemies. The moment it sheds, its potential bursts forth with lightning speed, surrounded by an unfathomable maze.

In this way, it not only uses its shed skin to deceive enemies but also vanishes swiftly into the distance to launch a surprise attack.

Countless Earth-level demon beasts and Condensed Core Stage cultivators have suffered greatly from this trick.

How similar is this tactic to the trick Nangong Qingshan used to evade Xu Qingfan’s attack earlier?

Thinking about Nangong Qingshan’s current snake-like appearance, Xu Qingfan finally understood the changes in him. It seems Nangong Qingshan’s master somehow merged Nangong Qingshan with the "Xuwei Snake"!

Although the "Hua Ling Art" Xu Qingfan practices also has the ability to merge with spiritual creatures, it can never match the formidable power of Nangong Qingshan’s fusion with the Xuwei Snake, and the resulting abilities are not as complete. Not to mention Nangong Qingshan’s ability to freely switch between human form and snake demon form.

It could be said that the methods used by the person who transformed Nangong Qingshan were even more mysterious than "The Spirit Technique."

"What kind of person is the master Nangong Qingshan mentioned, to have such incredible skills?" Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but wonder.

Just then, the sound of Chomper’s chewing suddenly paused, and its body began to tremble uncontrollably, as if something terrifying was happening inside it.

Then, a strong chill started to slowly emerge from within Chomper.

Within this chill, a layer of clear, transparent ice began to spread outward from Chomper, and the ice spread so quickly that in an instant, Chomper turned into an ice flower, reflecting mesmerizing bands of light under the sunlight.

Next, the ice flower shattered suddenly, breaking into pieces that flew several yards away, and amidst the swirling icy mist, Nangong Qingshan’s figure slowly emerged from Chomper’s broken remains.

"At first, I wanted to kill you swiftly, but now it seems I’ll have to deal with you more thoroughly," Nangong Qingshan said coldly, staring fiercely at Xu Qingfan.

Although Nangong Qingshan shattered Chomper’s body from within, it was clear from his appearance that he had also suffered damage. His clothes were scratched, and despite the tough blue scales, they showed signs of cracking, with blood seeping out, making him look rather disheveled and furious as he glared at Xu Qingfan, full of anger and murderous intent.

Xu Qingfan still didn’t respond to Nangong Qingshan, but a hint of confidence flashed in his eyes. Earlier, he was at a disadvantage because he didn’t know much about Nangong Qingshan, but now that he had discovered Nangong Qingshan’s weaknesses and had a strategy to counter him, he no longer had any misgivings.