Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
The valley shook violently, with sand and stones flying everywhere.
After realizing he was no match for Chi You, Jiang Chi changed his strategy. Taking advantage of his smaller size and greater agility, he stopped confronting Chi You head-on and instead dodged around the boulders in the valley, launching surprise attacks later.
Having grown accustomed to the enormous beast-like body, his movements became increasingly agile. He constantly led Chi You in circles, and Chi You, whose attacks repeatedly missed, was enraged. He roared several times, raised his six arms high, and charged towards Jiang Chi.
While desperately dodging, Jiang Chi observed the surrounding terrain. Seeing that Chi You’s body had finally moved away from the valley exit, he was overjoyed, but his eyes became even calmer. He made a feint, using the wound on the back of his neck to buy himself a chance to escape.
Ignoring the pain in his body, Jiang Chi rushed forward without looking back as soon as he left the valley. Behind him, the maddened Chi You roared with earth-shattering power and chased after him with a force capable of shattering mountains and splitting rocks…
“Huh?”
Jiang Lan, who was lying in the cave eating fruit, suddenly sat up and pricked up his ears to listen to the sounds coming from outside.
What’s making that noise?
He listened intently for a while and vaguely heard two different roars, as well as a faint tremor from the ground.
Based on experience, it must be quite large.
As Jiang Lan thought about it, he couldn’t help but slurp it up. Then, out of habit, he reached out his paw and rummaged around in the ring, but found nothing. He belatedly realized that the small stones in the ring had been eaten this morning.
Hearing the growing noise outside, Jiang Lan rubbed his slightly deflated belly and nudged Ya Zi, who was still fast asleep. Ya Zi covered his ears with his paws and refused to get up.
Jiang Lan snorted twice in dissatisfaction, then flipped him over and poked at his stomach with his claws.
It’s so soft and comfortable.
Jiang Lan squinted his eyes happily.
Ya Zi, shocked and furious at being poked in the belly, roared and jumped up, cursing at Jiang Lan for a while.
Jiang Lan retorted a couple of times, but still thinking about finding food, so he pulled him along, indicating that he should come with him to find something to eat.
Ya Zi was displeased by the noise outside, and his intuition told him that it was best not to go out at this time.
But Jiang Lan’s stomach was empty, and he couldn’t help but smack his lips when he heard the roaring outside. Ignoring Ya Zi’s protests, he picked him up, tucked him under his arm, and trotted out the door, heading in the direction from which the roaring came…
Jiang Chi ran forward with his head down, listening to the sounds behind him, feeling Chi You’s heavy footsteps getting closer and closer.
He gasped for breath, feeling his strength nearing its limit. After leaving the valley, he felt his stamina draining away faster and faster. His wounds kept reopening from the rapid running, and crimson blood flowed all around him, fueling the growing excitement and frenzy of Chi You, who was chasing him, and making him move faster and faster.
A deafening crash of shattering rocks came from behind. Jiang Chi glanced back and saw that Chi You was only three or four steps away from him. He was exhausted and covered in blood. Even if he wanted to find a place to hide, he couldn’t hide the smell of blood on his body. Running away was out of the question, as Chi You was much faster and stronger than him.
Jiang Chi gritted his teeth, decisively stopped, turned around and assumed a fighting stance, letting out a low roar.
Chi You roared even louder and deeper, overwhelming him, and swung his giant axe down at him—
Jiang Lan and Ya Zi carefully concealed their presence and watched the battle from the forest.
His claws twitched excitedly as he smacked his lips at the two enormous beasts on the battlefield.
These two are so big, they’re sure to provide a good meal.
Ya Zi, who peeked out from under his armpit to watch the battle, focused his gaze on Jiang Chi, then looked at Jiang Lan with a hint of doubt in his eyes.
How can they look so alike?
He poked Jiang Lan’s belly with his claws, then pointed at Jiang Chi, who was fighting, and asked Jiang Lan with his eyes: “He looks just like you, is he your brother?”
“?”
Jiang Lan opened his eyes wide in confusion, stared at Jiang Chi for a while, and then decisively shook his head.
How is it similar?
Besides, he doesn’t have any brothers.
This is clearly a midnight snack!
Seeing his denial, Ya Zi stopped pursuing the matter and focused intently on the battlefield, preparing to reap the benefits after they were both severely weakened.
—The fighting on the battlefield was nearing its end.
Although Jiang Chi had given it his all, the gap in strength between him and Chi You couldn’t be bridged by risking his life. His abdomen was pierced by a long spear, and his pair of curved horns were broken off, blood flowing from the wounds and blurring his vision.
Jiang Chi swayed slightly, but he stubbornly refused to fall.
Chi You let out an excited roar, stretched out an arm, grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him up.
Jiang Chi strained to open his eyes wide, but his dark red pupils reflected only Chi You’s ferocious and terrifying bull head, and his own disheveled appearance.
He tried to struggle unwillingly, but he couldn’t muster any strength at all.
Chi You excitedly flapped his wings, his mouth wide open, ready to devour him whole—
Seeing this, Jiang Lan, who was secretly observing, narrowed his eyes and pounced on Chi You when he was off guard, tearing a piece of flesh from his back.
But the meat was different from what he had imagined. Jiang Lan swallowed it with a frown, and couldn’t help but spit it out twice.
It felt like I have eaten stones and dirt.
These aren’t tasty little stones; they’re real stones mixed with mud, which taste terrible.
Seeing Chi You throw Jiang Chi aside and turn around in a rage, Jiang Lan felt a little regretful.
It’s such a waste that it’s so big but doesn’t taste good.
Chi You was already swinging his arms and attacking him. Jiang Lan glanced at Jiang Chi, who was lying by the boulder, his life hanging in the balance, and sincerely hoped that this would taste better.
Unfortunately, before he could even taste it, Chi You had already swung his axe and spear at him.
Jiang Lan let out a low roar, and he and Ya Zi charged towards Chi You one after the other…
Jiang Chi vaguely heard the familiar roar of the Taotie. He opened his eyes with difficulty, but all he could see was blood— blood was flowing down his forehead, blurring his vision. He could only try his best to listen.
Amidst the rising and falling roars, he recognized the most familiar voice.
It’s Jiang Lan.
Jiang Lan was indeed trapped here as well.
He struggled to move, trying to call out to Jiang Lan to hurry up and tell him about the giant’s terror. However, despite his efforts, he couldn’t utter even the faintest sound. Only his chaotic mind became clearer with worry.
The battle lasted for an unknown amount of time; Jiang Chi could only hear roars and deafening sounds of mountains shattering and rocks splitting in the air.
Warm, fishy-smelling blood fell on him, and it was impossible to tell whose it was.
….
Outside the battlefield.
Tian Wu turned off the water mirror with some difficulty, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and said to the red-clad man beside him, “Everything is just as Your Majesty predicted. We can make our move once they have fought to a draw.”
The man in red stood with his hands behind his back, a proud smile on his face, and asked, “Have you already obtained the Nine Cauldrons?”
“We succeeded, but…” Tian Wu hesitated slightly when he mentioned the Nine Cauldrons. He was always cautious and would make sure he knew everything about his opponent before taking action.
Ever since the Nine Cauldrons were intercepted by the Demon Management Bureau, he had been ordering his subordinates to monitor the Demon Management Bureau’s movements.
As far as he knew, the spirit of the Nine Cauldrons had always stayed by Ying Long’s side, while the Nine Cauldrons itself had been sealed away by Ying Long in the Demon Management Bureau.
The Demon Management Bureau was heavily guarded by many ancient powerful demons, making its strength not to be underestimated. Even Tian Wu’s plan was only to infiltrate and steal the Nine Cauldrons, not to start a conflict and openly rob them.
While the elite forces of the Demon Management Bureau were searching for Jiang Chi’s whereabouts, he ordered his trusted subordinates to infiltrate the Bureau and steal the Nine Cauldrons. Although they made thorough preparations before taking action, Tian Wu was still prepared to forcibly seize the cauldrons if they failed. However, the infiltration plan went very smoothly, and his trusted subordinates delivered the Nine Cauldrons to Yunnan Province intact.
The operation went too smoothly, which aroused his suspicion, but he couldn’t think of anything suspicious at the moment.
Moreover, everything was now ready, just waiting for the best opportunity, and the Nine Cauldrons was indispensable for their plan.
Perhaps he was overthinking it.
Tian Wu swallowed his unfinished words, took out the Nine Cauldrons and presented them to the man in red, saying, “We are here to welcome Your Excellency’s triumphant return.”
The man in red concealed the nine cauldrons in his sleeve, his eyes flashing with sharp brilliance. He gazed at the faintly glowing sky: “Once I retrieve the remnant soul of Chi You, I will prepare to offer sacrifices to the heavens.” His ambition and aspirations were undisguised: “Thousands of years have passed; it’s time for this world to change. Xuanyuan and Zhuanxu betrayed humanity, causing our race to fall to this state. When the Path to Heaven reopens, I will make them know that only I am worthy to be the ruler of the Witch God Clan!”
Tian Wu bowed: “Naturally, only Your Excellency is worthy of it.”
“You wait here, I’ll be right back.” The man in red waved his sleeve, wielding an old short sword that cleaved through the air, and walked in with confidence and composure.
….
Jiang Lan and Ya Zi worked together to barely repel Chi You. Chi You had five of his six arms bitten off by Jiang Lan and Ya Zi, and his wings were also badly damaged. After a long standoff, he finally turned and left.
Chi You’s strength was far greater than he had imagined.
Jiang Lan’s old wounds hadn’t healed before he was hit by new ones, and to make matters worse, he was hungry, which made him very distressed.
Ya Zi was licking his wounds while cursing and complaining that Jiang Lan insisted on coming out.
His intuition had never been wrong!
Today they should have stayed in the cave and slept!
Jiang Lan knew he was in the wrong, so he muttered something under his breath but didn’t retaliate. Ignoring Ya Zi’s annoying grumbling, he patted his empty belly and turned his gaze to the remaining Jiang Chi.
The red beast lay pitifully beneath the boulder, only the slight rise and fall of its belly indicating that it was still alive.
Jiang Lan approached him with his paws, circled him twice, wanting to eat but hesitating.
Although he didn’t know why he hesitated, he was just very hesitant.
It even overwhelmed his burgeoning appetite.
He squatted down, kicked his ear with his hind paw in frustration, and muttered to himself in a conflicted tone: Eat, don’t eat, eat, don’t eat…
In his dazed state, Jiang Chi felt Jiang Lan squat down beside him, and he thought with relief that Jiang Lan had won.
He was completely exhausted, barely holding on due to his worry for Jiang Lan. Now that he knew Jiang Lan had won, he was about to lose his strength. He thought sadly that he didn’t have the strength to tell Jiang Lan anymore, but it was for the best. They wouldn’t know he was dead, so at least they wouldn’t be too heartbroken.
Jiang Lan struggled for a long time but couldn’t come to a conclusion.
Ya Zi, however, grew impatient and urged him, “I’m going back to sleep. If you want to eat, hurry up. If not, take it back as a reserve!”
Eat if you want, don’t eat if you don’t want to, why make such a fuss?!
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron or access advance chapters on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents • Next
