Chapter 375

: The Opportunity To Live
Translator: TYZ Editor: TYZ/KLKL
The reason why Ai Hui had developed his fusion elemental energy was so he could enter the Grass Hall to find that notebook.
In his eyes, the person who created fusion elemental energy was a genius. Developing fusion elemental energy was equivalent to developing five elemental energies at once. This defied the current system of developing only one elemental energy at a time. A lot of theories and designs related to fusion elemental energy were eye-opening and marvellous.
Even though Ai Hui marvelled at fusion elemental energy, he did not spend much time or effort on studying it in depth.
Being heterogeneous might not be a good thing to an elementalist.
Ai Hui’s attention was mainly placed on swordsmanship. There was no limit to what he could learn from swordsmanship and he was just getting started on this path. The swordsmanship of today was not as prosperous and flourishing as it was in the past. As such, there were not many references or teachers that he could learn from and he had to learn a lot of things by himself. This required a lot more energy than for other more prominent fields, where one could just learn and copy slavishly.
As for Master’s [Treating The City As A Piece Of Cloth], how could he lose it? Using [Treating The City As A Piece Of Cloth], a powerful weapon in God-subduing Peak had been created. Similarly, the [Treating The City As A Piece Of Cloth] was deep and profound and there were a lot of areas that Ai Hui had yet to understand.
Ai Hui was fully aware that a person’s energy was limited. He knew that he himself wasn’t a genius and he did not want to waste too much time on developing fusion elemental energy.
Fusion elemental energy might be powerful, but it was not what he wanted to develop.
Hence, when a trace of fusion elemental energy suddenly appeared and pounced towards the trace of poisonous smoke, Ai Hui was shocked.
As the fusion elemental energy wrapped around the poisonous smoke, the latter, which was previously invisible, suddenly emitted a strong decaying aura of death.
Ai Hui seemed to have seen countless white skeletons rise from the decaying mud. Any living beings nearby lost their vitality rapidly and were reduced to grey ashes.
What kind of poison was this?
Ai Hui, who was very knowledgeable on the topic of poison, had his facial expression change drastically. He could immediately sense how dangerous and frightening this unknown poison was.
The trace of fusion elemental energy that wrapped around the poisonous smoke swiftly transformed into a cloud of bright, multi-colored mist. After this, the multi-colored mist engulfed the poisonous smoke.
Like a chameleon, the cloud of mist kept on changing its color, and was extremely beautiful.
The aura of death suddenly reduced sharply.
The multi-colored mist was like the natural enemy of the poisonous smoke.
Ai Hui widened his eyes and focused his attention completely. After a while, he seemed to come to a revelation.
The fusion elemental energy contained all five elements. It happened to form a cycle of five elements that grew and multiplied without an end.
Even though the mysterious poisonous smoke’s toxicity was overpowering, it was still part of the five elements. As long as it was part of the five elements, it would be affected by the fusion elemental energy’s cycle of five elements. When it entered the cycle of five elements, its elemental nature would be evoked and it would be broken down by whichever element it was typically restrained by.
No matter how deadly a poison was, once its elemental nature underwent changes, its physical nature would undergo changes too. When this happened, the poison’s toxicity would be removed.
Did that imply fusion elemental energy was the bane of all poisons?
Theoretically, this was true. Once something’s elemental nature underwent changes, its physical nature would undergo changes as well.
Ai Hui’s brain was operating vigorously. Without any hesitation, he quickly channeled his fusion elemental energy.
Suddenly, the amount of fusion elemental energy in his body increased sharply. Ai Hui felt his body become lighter. His previously unmovable body regained its mobility.
Ai Hui’s mind jolted. This method was effective!
The changes taking place within the lotus glow could not slip past Qing Feng’s eyes unnoticed. He saw Chu Zhaoyang’s body suddenly light up with a dazzling, multi-colored glow. As compared to the previously weak flames, this multi-colored glow was able to make Qing Feng feel extremely uncomfortable.
What was that?
Qing Feng felt bewildered and nervous. This was the first time that he’d felt this way.
His instincts told him that this multi-colored glow might cause harm to him.
Clink, clink, clink!
It sounded as if an ice chunk was being hit by numerous needles, striking fear into one’s heart. Qing Feng’s eyelids twitched as he stared at the green glowing ball. Densely-packed light spots suddenly appeared on the surface of the green glowing ball.
That was…
The needle-head sized light spots began to inflate and become coin-sized, multi-colored spots in an indescribably weird way.
The multi-colored spots were expanding at a visible speed. In the blink of an eye, the green glowing ball transformed into a multicolor-spotted glowing ball, resembling a huge soap bubble that was under the sun.
Pop!
The bubble popped and revealed an uninjured Chu Zhaoyang.
They made eye contact.
Qing Feng’s facial expression changed drastically. He suddenly realized that the distance between him and Chu Zhaoyang was…
Too close!
Damn it!
Previously, Chu Zhaoyang’s swordsmanship had left a deep impression on him. As such, he knew how dangerous it was to be so close to Chu Zhaoyang. Without any hesitation, Qing Feng made a hasty retreat.
A streak of sword gleam lit up.
When the retreating Qing Feng saw that the sword gleam was only palm-sized, he heaved a sigh of relief.
Eh? There was one more streak of sword gleam. No, there were two more…
Very soon, Qing Feng discovered that something was not right. The number of sword gleams was increasing rapidly. In the blink of an eye, a mass of sword gleams was formed. Like a school of fish, the mass of densely-packed sword gleams shot towards Qing Feng.
There was one more thing that caused him to tremble with fear. These fragmentary sword gleams had assembled together to form an unblockable, powerful force and it was locked on to him!
Qing Feng’s face paled. Damn it. What the hell was this thing?
The mass of sword gleams were getting closer to him. He felt more and more appalled. Even though these sword gleams were fragmentary, their aura had fused together well. The aura was solid in nature, biting cold and sharp and it was heading straight for his head.
In a moment of desperation, he couldn’t care less and plunged himself deep into the sloshy mud beneath the lotus leaves.
At the same time, the glow of the lotus leaves intensified and a screen of green-colored light appeared above the lotus leaves.
The mass of fragmentary sword gleams collided violently with the green-colored light screen.
Boom!
The sound of the collision resembled a thunderclap.
The front part of the mass of sword gleams exploded into countless fragments that rained torrentially all over the place. The green-colored light screen began to wobble, and then trembled violently. Finally, the light screen could no longer hold on and shattered.
The rear part of the mass of sword gleams plunged ferociously into the sloshy mud.
Boom!
The sloshy mud flew up high into the sky while the fragmented sword gleams rained down on the lotus leaves. Without protection from the green-colored light screen, the lotus leaves were extremely fragile. In an instant, they were punctured with countless holes and their stems were broken.
She Yu and Old Ling, who were engaged in a fierce battle with each other, were alarmed by what happened on the other side.
The sloshy mud that flew up in the sky came flying down like a rain of arrows and covered everything in mud.
Both of them stopped fighting at the same time and quickly pulled away from each other. They waved their hands to protect themselves from the torrential mud rain. The rain-like mud landed on the surrounding walls and made densely-packed popping sounds. Numerous honeycomb-like holes were created on the walls.
She Yu and Old Ling shifted their gazes in unison to the area where the explosion had just occurred.
The verdant green that filled the courtyard had disappeared. Broken branches and torn leaves were scattered everywhere. Sloshy mud was everywhere on the surface of the ground. A gigantic pit was formed in the center of the courtyard. Qing Feng stood in the middle of the pit, appearing extremely pathetic.
At this moment, incredulity and fear appeared on his face. He could not believe a fellow who had only just reached Two Elemental Realm could unleash such a powerful and frightening attack.
However, the fear and incredulity he felt soon turned into pain.
Only half of the lotus leaves were left in the badly damaged courtyard. When Qing Feng saw the leaves dispersed everywhere, he could only think of three words.
A heavy loss!
Approximately one-third of his nether lotus seeds had been completely destroyed and these nether lotus seeds were unrestorable. He only had three completely intact nether lotus seeds left! As for the remaining nether lotus seeds, they had to be thrown into the Well of Netherworld to be nourished and restored.
Agonizing pain spread throughout his body as an angry flush rose from Qing Feng’s neck all the way up to his head.
The nether lotus seeds were not easy to come by.
When Grandmaster Dai was young, after he obtained the first batch of nether lotus seeds from the depths of Wilderness, he painstakingly built the Well of Netherworld. Only after he’d built the well could the number of nether lotus seeds slowly increase.
If every nether lotus seed was converted into money, the amount of money yielded would be astronomical.
Any damaged nether lotus seed would make Qing Feng feel as if his heart was bleeding. The heavy loss that he suffered this time around made him felt as if he was being pierced by a sword. In this case, his heart was not bleeding but spouting out blood!

Gie! Gamn it! You fhall gie!

Qing Feng’s words were still unclear, yet filled with an intense killing intent.
He swayed his head as he tried to look for Chu Zhaoyang. He wanted to shred that bastard to smithereens.
However, even after he scanned through every nook and cranny of the courtyard, he still could not find Chu Zhaoyang.
With a pair of bloodied eyes, Qing Feng aggressively flew up into sky. He swept his eyes across the area and still could not find Chu Zhaoyang.
Qing Feng calmed down slightly. It was not possible for Chu Zhaoyang to escape in such a short period of time.
At this moment, Old Ling yelled anxiously,
Xiao Shuren! He is going to hold Xiao Shuren hostage!

Qing Feng’s facial expression changed slightly. His anger-filled mind calmed down abruptly.
Before he embarked on this mission, his master had exhorted him to bring the ancient treasure or Xiao Shuren back to him, no matter what.
Qing Feng clearly knew that all he had was owed to his master. His master’s interests were of paramount importance.
Until now, he still remembered the angelic voice that rang across his ears when his body was in anguish and his eyes were filled with blood.

Do you want to continue to live?

Henceforth, he had become the monster now, a grass-lotus puppet.
He did not like being a grass-lotus puppet. Very often, he felt that he was like a monster. His master told him that he could become a human again only if he found a suitable body.
Becoming a human again held an absolute temptation over him.
However, he must first fulfil his master’s interests. Whether he could become human once more or remained as a grass-lotus puppet, he must not defy his master’s orders.
His master had seldom reminded him of his mission with such solemness. As such, Qing Feng knew that he definitely had to complete this mission at all costs.
If he lost the nether lotus seeds, his master still could grant him more.
However, if he failed to complete the mission, he would fall out of favor with his master.
What was the point of having a useless grass-lotus puppet around?
All his anger disappeared without a trace in an instant. The cunning grass-lotus puppet had returned.
This time around, he had encountered a troublesome opponent.
After Ai Hui had unleashed the fragmentary sword gleams, his elemental energy was almost depleted completely. Therefore, he turned and ran without any hesitation. He did not even have the time to see what his attack had done.
He was completely uncertain about the power of [Fragmented Sword]. This was the first time he’d used [Fragmented Sword] in a real battle. He did not have much time to decide what to do. A slight hesitation could have caused him to lose the chance of making any moves at all.
The strength of the grass-lotus puppet was definitely at the level of a Master.
Ai Hui made a precise assessment of Qing Feng.
Ai Hui did not try to escape directly. The strength disparity between him and Qing Feng was too great, it was impossible for him to try to escape.
The cool-headed Ai Hui thought of a lifeline at this instant.
Xiao Shuren!
As long as he could hold Xiao Shuren hostage, Qing Feng would not dare to attack him for fear of injuring Xiao Shuren. Ai Hui could tell that Qing Feng was determined to capture Xiao Shuren alive.
Like a flying arrow, he flew into Xiao Shuren’s court.
Xiao Shuren was not shocked to see him. On the contrary, she was smiling at him.
Ai Hui was startled. However, there was no time for him to hesitate at this moment. He could hear Qing Feng’s roar coming from outside. Like a lithe bat, he landed behind Xiao Shuren and placed his Silverfold Plum on her throat.
Xiao Shuren did not resist him and looked smilingly at him.
Upon seeing this, a cold shiver went down Ai Hui’s spine.
Step by step, Qing Feng moved closer to the court. With a chilling voice, he said,
Let go of her and I shall spare your life…

Just as Ai Hui was about to open his mouth to speak, he suddenly sensed something and raised his head to look at the sky.