NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42: Entering the Ashen Mountains
Transmigrated back into the body of her child self, can the mighty Celestial Bing Meilu survive in a Xianxia world all the while staving off the advances of arrogant young masters and wannabe protagonists alike?
Why is life so hard for the Icy Beauty?
Any corrections or criticisms are welcome, I hope you enjoy Chapter 42: Entering the Ashen Mountains
---
"Explain." Bing Meilu ordered.
"Well, I maybe got a little captured by the Redscale clan and forced to agree to get them a Peak Third Realm Drake Core in return for not being executed but more importantly... I managed to secure our permission to enter the Ashen Mountains for a hunt!" Xi Fu exclaimed, smiling optimistically. "I see this as an absolute win."
Bing Meilu nodded.
"I'll decide your punishment when we get back to the Port."
Xi Fu's smile slipped, and he shrugged. It was worth a try at least.
"We'll have to wait for some supplies to arrive. In the meantime, I am going to begin drilling you lot in the basis of dealing with Dragonkin."
Xi Fu and Li Ji both shivered in fear, flashbacks assaulting their minds. When Bing Meilu said 'drilling', she had a very specific, very tortuous process in mind. The girl turned, walking out of the store, followed by two. Waiting outside were the rest of the faction members. The nineteen-strong group marched out of Redscale city, finding a large clearing a good bit from civilization.
"The Ashen Mountain Range is home to an ancient volcano situated atop a nexus of burning Dragon Veins. The entire place is suffused with fiery Qi, perhaps more so than any other place in the Bird Talon Continent. Not only is the whole place filled with burning ash, magma and searing rock, but all the life there has heavily adapted to the environment, incorporating Fire Qi into their being. The plans, animals monsters, and even the insects know how to use Fire Qi. It's not a stretch to say basically everything in the mountains is a natural treasure. Even the actual ash and dirt is a sellable treasure with myriad uses."
"The most dangerous creatures within the mountains are the Dragonkin. The only beings truly worthy of being called dragons are True Dragons. Their bloodline however has spawned myriad branches, mutations and impurities. Nevertheless these, lesser dragons or 'dragonkin' still contain some of the might of a dragon. In the Ashen Mountains, in particular, we will encounter Red Drakes, large winged reptiles with four limbs. They can stand on their hindlimbs or on all four, Magma Wyrms who lack wings and swim in melted rock, Ash-wyverns, flying fiends who swoop down from above and use their Flame Poison to cook their prey alive..."
Bing Meilu lectured the group on what they could expect from the Ashen Mountains, including the environment, fire-qi-aligned creatures and dragonkin. Then, the drilling began in earnest, and it would not stop for five days.
---
Blasts of searing fire slammed into the many hearts' shield barrier. Immediately the Elemental Five acted, the flames swirling into their formation. The profound transformation of the Five Bones of the Origin God manifested. Following the pattern of the five phases, the flame became earth, then metal and finally water, before firing back as a pressurized jet.
"Not fast enough! The flame should never have hit the barrier. Again!"
Jiang Hu exhaled, firing another gout of fire at the barrier.
---
A mock stone dragon exploded from the earth. Immiedtly Li Ji's jade-qi sprang out, wrapping about the statue like chains of flexible metal.
"Too slow. You would die. Again!"
---
The Bing Meilu's Faithful Slaves Faction marched towards a massive gate at the back of Redscale City. The economic value of the Ashem Mountains was massive, and it was naturally protected with a formation barrier to keep out illegal poachers, hunters, foragers and the like. For those without the Redscale bloodline, the only way to enter was at this gate, manned by the branch of the Redsclane clan that created and maintained the formation, the Tang family. They walked towards a large gate, which was manned by one seemingly middle-aged cultivator, who seemed to be in Core Formation, his cheeks both containing a symmetrical patch of red scales.
'It should be Tang Hongyi's father who's manning the barrier right now? I don't think I know his name.'
"Good afternoon Senior Tang," Bing Meilu bowed politely. "My name is Bing Meilu, a survivor of the Moon crying Swan Palace and currently a lieutenant of the Sky Swallowing Gulper Armada."
The father of a man who would one day become a good acquaintance of hers opened his eyes, blinking at the sight of the girl. The Redscale clan was a close ally of the Moon-Crying Swan Palace, as both often had need of each other's treasures. Yin treasures could be useful to Yang cultivators and vice versa, so there was much trade between their prefectures.
"That's lucky, my old heart is warmed to hear some of you darlings survived," the Tang elder laughed, before wagging his eyebrows suggestively. "The usual deal then?"
There was an unspoken agreement between the disciples of the Palace and the Tang family. One-tenth of whatever they found while in the mountains or a flame attribute artifact of the same realm as the disciple. This was a high cost, but compared to the value of getting access to the sacred ground of the Redscale clan, it was unmistakably beneficial for both sides.
"Actually, we already have permission to enter, Senior. My compatriot here has found himself in trouble with the law. We'll be going on a third-realm Drake hunt to pay back his debts. However, as a sign of my goodwill, I can give you five percent, in hopes of maintaining a harmonious business relationship in the future."
The subtext was clear. Five percent now and Bing Meilu would be back for more in the future! The Tang elder stroked his beardless chin, nodding.
"It's wonderful to see those of the younger generation paying respect to our old traditions. Indeed, I hope for there to be much fruitful cooperation between us old allies."
'Indeed, to the countless generations of corruption and greed in the Tang family, without whom, I wouldn't even have been half as rich in my first life!' Bing Meilu nodded.
The Tang elder waved his hand, and the gate behind him shimmered, signifying he had opened it. The faction quickly made its way forward, stepping onto a long stone-paved road that led toward the huge gray mountains in the distance.
The outer circle strode to the front of the pack, their Qi manifesting the Manyheart Sheild Barrier in the form of a bubble that covered the entire faction. The Elemental Five spread out, forming a pentagram that surrounded the faction as well, a subtle image of the Five Bones of the Origin God appearing beneath their feet. The group marched forward toward the Ashen Mountains.
The moment they stepped into the mountains, Bing Meilu stepped toward Xi Fu. An aurora of blue-white Qi poured from her into his explosive collar. For the people of this world, it would be an extremely difficult thing to diffuse, especially with a Qi Condensation cultivation base.
That said, Bing Meilu had lived an eternal life as a Celestial mastering any art that caught her interest. To her, this so-called complex formation was literally child play.
'The rectangle goes into the square hole. The circle goes into the square hole. The trapezoid goes into the square hole. Hpmmh, were formations always this easy to sabotage?'
Xi Fu's eyes widened as the colour limply fell from his neck.
"Won't- Won't this get us in trouble with the Redscale clan?"
"Hah, they actually dared to put something like an explosive collar on my slave's neck without this lord's permission? Even waiting until we got into the mountains is already me showing them excessive face," Bing Meilu shook her head. "And there's no way I'm leaving a bomb next to my most valuable subordinates' neck in the middle of a place as unstable as the Ashen Mountains. Even the ambient flame Qi might set it off by accident."
'Wow, your most valuable slave? You really know how to make a guy feel appreciated, I can almost feel the tenderness dripping off you in waves!' Xi Fu thought. "And, wow those Redsclaes people really wanted me to fail. No wonder they were so confident I would fail if the fucking air can make the bomb on my neck go off! What a fucking scam. One day I'll give that interrogator a piece of my fucking mind!"
With that matter settled, Bing Meilu returned to the head of the march, leaving Xi Fu to socialize with his comrades.
"So, where did you even go?" Li Ji asked Xi Fu.
"If you have to know, I was actually visiting my daughter." Xi Fu sighed.
"Just asking brother," Li Ji held up his hands in surrender. "But... It's very strange to imagine you of all people as a father with a child..."
"Hah, imagine what it's like to actually be me." Xi Fu shook his head. "At least, my daughter seems to be doing fine. She named her Xiyi!"
"But how did you end up getting caught anyways?" the manager was curious.
"I don't know. There was a Core Formation guard that caught me and seemed to be calling my daughter, 'the young miss'."
"Young Miss? Are you sure you didn't just end up spying on the wrong child?"
"No, I'm sure. She looked almost exactly like Xue Xiang and was in the same house. She has to be my daughter."
"Why would a Core Formation be guarding your child and even calling them young master? Didn't you say that the lord you cucked was an unimportant branch member?"
"He was last I checked. Maybe something changed in the time since I left the city?" Xi Fu shrugged. "But I just can't believe that fat, lazy bastard of a man could have managed to improve his position that much!"
"So, what now?"
"I don't know..." Xi Fu sighed. "But I know for sure there's no goddamn way I'm letting my daughter be raised by that heartless failure of a man. He's probably planning on selling her off to secure an alliance like she's a glorified prostitute!"
"And how would you stop him?" Li Ji raised an eyebrow,
"I- I guess I'm going to have to get stronger. A lot stronger."
"Xi Fu? Training hard without being forced by Bing Meilu? I'll believe it when I see it," Li Ji ribbed.
However, Xi Fu steeled his eyes with determination. He wouldn't waste this training trip. Afterall... He might just soon need experience with killing fiery-scaled enemies...
Soon the ground was replaced by a dense mat of white-gray ash that shifted and crunched under their feet. The Flame Qi that suffused the air was drawn into the Five Bones of the Origin God, ready to be released as an attack or defence at any moment. The first creature to come to sniff out this new threat was a mindless first realm Ash-wyvern. It flew down towards the legion circling around, only to let loose a bone-chilling scream as a lance of Spear Qi shot into the sky, tearing open its wings and sending it crashing to the ground.
Moments later, Jiang Hu exploded forward, a mad look of hunger in his eyes. His entire body began to bubble and shift, flame and scales ripping out from under his skin as his unstable cultivation base surged in resonance with the coveted dragon blood it could feel.
"Xianwui In the Steel Dragon Slaughtering Arts, First Saber: Steel Slash Slays Serpent!"
Jiang Hu's saber unleashed and crashed down into the skull of the wyvern with explosive force, his blade glowing with the red-hot glow of Fire and Metal Qi in combination. The wyvern's head popped like a mushy grape that was stepped on by a fat man. The cultivator roared in desire, circulating his cultivation manual wildly. Thin streams of blood began to bubble up from the wyvern, slowly pouring into Jiang Hu, who gasped, his body quickly stabilizing. A wild, draconic aura erupted from his, bubbling just under the surface of his skin.
"Not enough- Not nearly enough. Must... have more!" he roared.
He had been on the cusp of his first watershed metamorphosis for a long time, needing only draconic blood to finally complete it and truly begin to cultivate the Redscale Drakes Metamorphosis. Even just the tiny bit of blood from a first-realm drake had already massively stabilized his body.
The wyvern was quickly butchered and stored into spatial rings, as the group began to climb up the massive mounds of ash that buried the stone of the mountains. Bing Meilu honestly did not even know what colour most of the rock was. They climbed higher, the featureless ash supporting their weight with seemingly supernatural stability. Once upon a plateau, they continued further.
In the distance a flying pack of wyverns hovered, dozens of dozens of first and second realm dragonkin circling in the sky like a cloud. Xi Fu raised his black-hafted spear and thrust, a lancing stream of spear qi firing up into the sky. it split and branched until hundreds and hundreds of attacks stabbed upwards at the Drakes. It was only in Foundation Establishment that true magical abilities of this scale could normally begin to be unleashed. Dozens of wyverns plummeted, pierced by the spear Qi.
The ones that survived spread out, letting loose bone-chilling screeches and cries. Huge clouds of smoky white ash erupted from their mouth, pouring down like a thick blanket of white fog. It seemed unassuming, blending in with the natural ash of the mountains. In reality, it was Flame Poison, one of the deadliest killers of the Ashem Mountains, and a lot of it.
Bing Meilu herself stepped forward, the seventy-two Dantians within her churning. Yin Qi gathered in her hand and she thrust her palm forward, a wave of icy qi sweeping forward. The Yin principle of convergence manifested, as the eerily clouds returned to the sky almost as if time itself had reversed.
Precision strikes of Spear Qi fired upwards, wyvern after wyvern shot down. Even Bing Meilu was somewhat impressed. Xi Fu seemed to be completely at ease ripping through the scales of even Dragonkin in the same realm as him. Within moments every one of the wyverns was dead, despite the vaunted strength of their scales.
'I've drilled them well. There was no hesitation.'
Jiang Hu pounced forward, ripping and tearing through the bodies of each of the wyverns, blood streaming out of them and into him. His red scales churned and grew, ripping through every inch of his skin until he was covered completely in scales, less like a man and more like the skin of a snake. Torrential, bestial roars tore from within the bag-like scale-thing that made up the sabre fighter's unstable body, followed by the sound of flesh and bone ripping and tearing.
'His first metamorphosis has begun. When Jiang Hu emerges, it will be like he's been born anew, into a new universe of power.'
The group set up camp, harvesting the wyvern bodies and guarding Jiang Hu while they grew more accustomed to the fiery aura of the Ashen Mountains. It did not take long for the first hunter to arrive, attracted by Jiang Hu's fiery scent. It began with the ground beneath their feet subtly vibrating. Bing Meilu had already informed them of what this meant. An Earth-digging Serpent.
Ideally, all the members would fly into the air, but one had to be at least in foundation establishment to fly using a magical art, and in Core Formation to fly unaided. Instead, the Five Bones of the Origin God began to glow, flame qi rapidly converting to earth Qi. The loose ash underneath their feet rapidly hardened into a platform that quickly floated upwards. Only moments too late, a huge worm-like maw ripped open from the ground, devouring the area where the Faction had been standing. Decisively, the floating platform slammed downwards, crushing the serpent's head into paste in a single weighty blow.
So far it seemed, they had yet to stumble onto any true threats or treasures. Even still, the tense environment, combat, and incredibly thick spiritual energy in the air were rapidly tempering the foundation of the faction members. She suspected by the time they left this mountain range, every single one would have reached the second realm.
It only took another day for Jiang Hu to emerge from his cocoon. The skin began to pulse and crunch with a wet sound. the ripping and crushing of skin was heard as something began to eat on the outer portion of scales from within. Soon Jiang Hu emerged, quickly devouring the outer skin that was once his old body.
He stood, tall and muscular, with pale skin supported by intravenous scales that seemed to subtly rotate. His hair had turned a fiery red colour, and horns grew out from his head. A fiery draconic aura surrounded him, similar to the Redscale clan, only far more pure and primordial. This was to be expected of a manual Bing Meilu had found in an Immortal Kingdom. Furthermore, his cultivation base had finally reached the seventh stage.
With their full fighting strength restored, the ground began to push even further into the mountains.