Chapter 21: 21 What are you doing?

Chapter 21: 21. What are you doing?

The wind howled, whistling through the trees and leaves. In the pitch-black forests of the distant mountains, it sounded as if women were laughing and crying.

This was no longer the Ning Family Villa in the old mountains, but a vital pass at the foot of Mount Manfeng.

The bonfire was still burning, but the red flames possessed a black tint—a strange, eerie black, as if the fire itself had been stained by the moonlight.

Ning Xuan stood up. With a slight flick of his nearly ten-foot-long Beast-Slaying Blade, he pushed aside the tent behind him.

The place that should have been his eldest brother's resting spot was empty.

He sheathed his blade, set aside his pity, and began to patrol the surroundings at a leisurely pace.

Without surprise, everyone had vanished.

The black moon hung high, and dawn was approaching. This place was a nightmare—a nightmare akin to an endless hell, a nightmare where a failed ritual refinement would result in death and the total dissipation of one's soul.

He casually pressed a finger to the center of his forehead, brewing killing intent.

Instantly, a line of information surfaced

【9 of 1】

Ning Xuan froze for a moment.

【9 of 1】meant that this time, his number of reincarnations was only nine—one fewer than last time.

'What caused this?'

He quickly cast the question from his mind. For him, there was no way to find an answer; any speculation was a waste of time and a meaningless delusion.

He murmured again: "Please, Heavenly Demon Talisman."

There was no response.

The "Mountain-Crushing Bear" Heavenly Demon Talisman was not summoned; it felt as if it had been cast into a bottomless sea.

He wasn't surprised by this.

He had already sensed it while attempting the invocation.

He could only summon one talisman at a time.

The process of refining a talisman was the process of slowly stripping and transferring the power of the Heavenly Demon onto oneself, which was itself a form of summoning.

Therefore, in the nightmare world, he could not summon any additional talismans.

However, it didn't matter.

Compared to his first entry into the nightmare, Ning Xuan was much more composed.

He began to search rapidly and skillfully for usable props or treasures.

He remembered that last time, the Storm Pear Blossom Needles and the rapid-fire crossbow had been of great help.

Soon, he had collected more items than last time, but there were no treasures used by Taoists, nor was there his eldest brother's Celestial Master Seal.

This wasn't strange. Although called a "Seal," the Celestial Master Seal was likely not a physical object, but a power condensed from within oneself.

Quickly, Ning Xuan laid out everything he had found, excluding soldiers' crossbows, shields, and spears, along with several powerful items.

One: The Four Generations Under One Roof.

This was a uniquely shaped throwing star, composed of one Great-Grandfather Dart, several Grandfather Darts, Father Darts, and Son Needles.

Once this star was thrown, any target it struck would immediately explode, splitting into many secondary darts. Those would strike and split into Father Darts, which would then strike and release a dense swarm of Son Needles.

If a shield-bearer faced this star, the first impact would hit the shield, but the second impact would release more darts that would bypass the shield to hit the warrior behind it.

If this star entered a human body... it would explode instantly inside, creating a massive amount of even more hidden weapons.

Ning Xuan had heard Master Zhang mention the "Four Generations Under One Roof." Master Zhang seemed to have an extremely deep impression of, or even a fear of, this star's cruelty, so he had spoken of it often, allowing Ning Xuan to recognize it.

Ning Xuan asked himself: if he encountered this star, he could certainly use his speed and reflexes to dodge it and prevent it from hitting. But if he were hit by it while inside a cage, it would likely be a narrow escape. The Yan-鸣 (Swallow-Chirp) Strength he had mastered was only a single force; it had not yet formed something like the "Protective Qi" found in the novels he had read before his transmigration.

Even if he relied on his physical constitution to endure it, if even a few fragments from the explosion hit his eyes, nose, or ears, it would be enough to severely wound him.

The "Four Generations Under One Roof" was a hidden weapon a level stronger than the previous "Storm Pear Blossom Needles," superior in both sophistication and striking power.

If Ning Xuan had possessed this when facing the Mountain-Crushing Bear Demon, he would only have needed to attempt to shoot it into the bear's eye... and he might have directly seized at least thirty percent of its power.

Two: Many Sons and Grandchildren.

This was a large black chest.

Ning Xuan hadn't heard of this from Master Zhang, but from the Eldest Young Master Liu of the Wealthy Merchant Guild during a banquet.

Young Master Liu had boasted, "My strength is as great as 'Many Sons and Grandchildren'."

Ning Xuan had asked curiously, "What do you mean, as great as 'Many Sons and Grandchildren'?"

Only then did Liu Shirong tell him that there was a strange, wicked, and lecherous man from the Western Regions who had created a terrifying mechanical hidden weapon. Once used, it would cause heaven and earth to collapse, unleashing a continuous explosion of various hidden weapons that would cover an entire village, leaving no survivors except the user. Even hiding in a house was useless, as the weapons included armor-piercing arrows with immense force capable of breaking through walls.

Ning Xuan had asked curiously, "That sounds more like 'Ending the Lineage,' so why call it 'Many Sons and Grandchildren'?"

Liu Shirong replied, "Because he was a lecher, so he gave it that name. It means an instant explosion of so many... you get it?"

Ning Xuan was speechless.

However, he had truly found "Many Sons and Grandchildren" today.

He weighed it.

Good heavens, this chest must weigh over two hundred pounds; carrying it on his back was like carrying a whole pig.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Though there were other items left, such as poisons, they were incomparable to the first two.

Ning Xuan strapped "Many Sons and Grandchildren" to his back, tucked "Four Generations Under One Roof" into his bosom, and took out the poison to meticulously coat his Beast-Slaying Blade.

Then, taking a deep breath, he began to measure the area of this nightmare.

He would not rely on mere experience.

Last time at the villa, the nightmare area was only as large as the villa itself; once crossed, one would return to the starting point.

This time, he would not take that for granted.

At the very least, he had to try.

Soon, he finished probing an area the size of a villa.

He continued to probe.

One mile...

Two miles...

Three miles...

He hadn't reached the end; he had not yet stepped over a "boundary."

Just as Ning Xuan intended to probe further, he suddenly realized it was dawn. This dawn arrived much, much earlier than the one at the villa.

The black moon vanished, and a pale, harsh sun exploded with light on the horizon, like a fireball casting a pale domain over the land.

In an instant, the dark forests and mountains turned a ghastly white.

Ning Xuan's entire body tensed, and his grip on the Beast-Slaying Blade tightened.

He stood in an open clearing, scanning his surroundings warily, preparing for a great battle.

He was no longer the person he once was; he would not timidly hide behind rockeries.

Suddenly, he felt something watching him.

He scanned the surroundings rapidly.

Nothing!

Then, a rumbling sound like thunder came from above his head.

"Little fellow, are you looking for me?"

Without even looking up, Ning Xuan directly activated the mechanism of "Many Sons and Grandchildren." Countless arrows began to fly with "whoosh whoosh whoosh" and "thud thud thud" sounds toward the heights and the surroundings.

Only then did he tilt his head back, his gaze following the sound.

*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!!*

Infinite sounds of impact rang out as the arrows fell back.

Hovering above him was a Bodhisattva with a hunched back, looking down upon him.

That Bodhisattva was ten zhang tall!

Its entire body glowed; its head featured snail-shell curls like green lotuses, its face was like a full moon, its brow had a white hair tuft, its lips held a greedy smile, and saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth.

The mechanism of "Many Sons and Grandchildren" was firing at the Bodhisattva, but it could not cause even a scratch, as if a torrential rain were falling but failing to wet the clothes.

The arrows simply scattered upon hitting the glowing surface of the Bodhisattva, plunging deep into the earth; even hard boulders were pierced through, demonstrating the immense power of these hidden weapons.

Without hesitation, Ning Xuan launched "Four Generations Under One Roof."

The vicious throwing star instantly struck the Bodhisattva's golden body, bounced, split into Grandfather Darts, bounced again, split into Father Darts, and was immediately followed by an endless stream of fine needles... like a swarm of leaping spiders.

The Golden Bodhisattva remained unmoved, looking down at him with interest, and then asked in a half-smiling voice: "What are you doing?"

Its massive hand slowly descended from the heavens.

Ning Xuan suddenly understood.

Mount Manfeng was preparing a banquet.

And he had stumbled right into the host.

Ning Xuan's heart throbbed violently, a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time.

However, he took a deep breath. Whether it was a mule or a horse, he would try it first.

He drew his poisoned Beast-Slaying Blade, looked at the massive hand gradually filling his vision, let out a roar, and the Swallow-Chirp rose as the blade light turned violent.

"Die!!"

The moment he struck the Bodhisattva's massive hand, Ning Xuan felt an agonizing pain throughout his body, as if a mortal had slammed into a solid pillar, causing him to lose consciousness instantly.

The massive hand casually picked him up, pinching him between two fingers. It gave him a shake, shaking off the Beast-Slaying Blade and the various poisons, and slowly lifted him higher.

The Bodhisattva opened its massive mouth.

*Snap.*

The fingers released him.

He fell.

He was jolted awake by intense pain.

He felt tiny, sharp teeth gnawing at his body, bite by bite, small morsel by small morsel.

He opened his eyes, only to find... he could see nothing.

His eyes were in excruciating pain.

That thing... had eaten his eyeballs first!!

"So bitter..."

"So bitter, hahahaha!"

"Hahahahahahaha!!"