Chapter 15: If Life Were Only as It First Met (IX)
Xu Yourong sat down again, took out the Paulownia Bow and the Parasol Tree Arrows, lowered her head in silence, and spoke not a word.
Chen Changsheng stood behind her, surrounded by countless crystals.
Time passed slowly. The demonic beasts hidden in the grassland, due to their innate fear of her aura, hesitated to launch an attack.
That ethereal zither music did not turn violent to urge them on; instead, it grew calmer, as if soothing.
It soothed the hearts of the demonic beasts, making them shed their fear and muster enough courage.
The water surface among the wild grass suddenly trembled violently. The faint ripples from before merged in an instant, forming towering waves.
The waves surged over the pile of green grass, wetting the hem of her skirt that hung over her knees.
She lifted her head, opened her eyes, and gazed calmly into the depths of the lake. She drew the bow, nocked an arrow, and loosened her fingers slightly.
A soft *whoosh* rang out.
The Parasol Tree Arrow shot through the air, plunging deep into the water.
There was nothing in the water. What was this arrow shooting at? Was it shooting the water itself?
The next moment, the waves on the water surface truly vanished, and the surging spray ceased.
It was as if the water had been calmed by her single arrow.
Xu Yourong’s Parasol Tree Arrow had naturally not shot at the water or the waves, but at the demonic beast within the water that was trying to stir them up.
The clear water slowly turned red.
A corpse of a Flood Serpent floated up, lying across the grassy sea, as massive as a city wall.
A single Parasol Tree Arrow was embedded between its eyes, sunk deep to the fletching. Compared to the Flood Serpent’s enormous body, this arrow looked like a thin blade of grass.
Yet it was this arrow that had effortlessly killed the Flood Serpent.
This was not the end, but the beginning.
The next moment, the water surface shook violently. Countless splashes erupted everywhere, accompanied by heart-stopping furious roars. Dozens of enormous shadows burst out of the water and crashed down toward the pile of grass.
Each enormous shadow was a Flood Serpent.
Each Flood Serpent’s head seemed larger than the pile of grass where Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng sat.
Dozens of Flood Serpents burst from the water, blotting out the sky as they fell—how astonishing their momentum was.
In comparison, the girl holding the bow on the grass pile seemed utterly insignificant.
Flood Serpents were famous demonic beasts on the continent because their hides could be used to make the finest armor. From this, one could know that their defensive capabilities were formidable. Their seemingly smooth and soft skin was incredibly tough. Even ordinary weapons, or even cultivators at the Penetrating Obscurity Realm, would struggle to pierce it.
As intelligent beings like humans, demons, and the demon race ruled the Eastern Continent, most Flood Serpents now hid in remote mountains and secluded pools far from human traces. Yet their fearsome reputation remained. Who could have imagined that in this grassland within the Zhou Garden, there would be so many Flood Serpents—and these were only a part of the demonic beasts in the grassland?
No wonder, over the past few centuries, none of the Penetrating Obscurity Realm cultivators who entered this grassland had ever walked out alive.
Legend had it that Flood Serpents carried the bloodline of the Dragon Clan, but they were bound by the Dragon Clan’s prohibitions, their spirits forever unable to awaken, forcing them to live only in water. Perhaps for this reason, they harbored the deepest hatred and hostility toward the bloodlines of both Dragons and Phoenixes. This was likely why they attacked Xu Yourong first.
Dozens of Flood Serpents came, the entire sky seemed covered, and the light turned dim and murky.
Xu Yourong’s arrow quiver held only a dozen or so Parasol Tree Arrows. How could she deal with these powerful demonic beasts?
This was a problem, and she solved it quickly. Since she didn’t have enough arrows, she simply wouldn’t use them.
Watching the enormous shadows hurtling toward her with terrifying roars, her expression calm, she drew the bow again—but this time, there was no arrow on the string.
Her movements were still steady and concise, without any excess, wasting not a shred of true essence or energy.
Each time she drew the bow, it seemed like a perfect copy of the first draw, with no difference at all.
Except for where the Paulownia Bow was aimed.
*Zheng, zheng, zheng, zheng*—the bowstring was plucked like a zither string, ringing out, playing a monotonous yet forceful tune.
Countless white streaks left the bowstring, tearing through the air, landing on the bodies of those enormous Flood Serpents.
The Flood Serpents’ incredibly tough hides, which even Penetrating Obscurity Realm cultivators could not cut through, split open upon contact with those white streaks.
Those white streaks seemed like spatial cracks, possessing the power to tear through almost anything.
In an instant, the bodies of those dozens of giant Flood Serpents were covered in countless dense, bloody wounds. Serpent blood fell like a torrential rain. Within the gashes, one could see twisted, sinewy flesh and stark white bones—a scene of gruesome horror.
The dozens of Flood Serpents writhed in agony, their upper bodies twisting violently in the sky, their lower bodies churning up monstrous waves in the water.
Muddy waves crashed forward, followed by the most frenzied attacks from the wounded serpents.
Xu Yourong sat among the green grass, her expression serene, unafraid and undaunted, with no intention of dodging. She only quickened her drawing motion, her right hand turning into a blur, impossible to discern clearly.
*Zheng, zheng, zheng, zheng*—hundreds, even thousands of white streaks left the string, spreading out through the space around the grass pile.
The Flood Serpents couldn’t even get close to the grass pile before being sliced into boulder-sized chunks. With a series of *crackling* sounds, they were severed into countless pieces, falling like a meteor shower.
A continuous roar of thunder rang out. Countless serpent segments splashed up enormous waves. It was a long time before the water surface gradually calmed.
By then, the water was already stained red with serpent blood, now slowly turning black, exuding an unbearable stench like cheap, low-quality ink.
Dozens of giant Flood Serpents had blotted out the sky as they came. In her weakened state, she seemed unable to withstand them, destined to become food alongside the sleeping Chen Changsheng. Yet who could have imagined that this frail girl, merely drawing her bowstring with seeming casualness, would turn these terrifying beasts into a pile of meat chunks?
Of course, her seemingly casual draws of the Paulownia Bow actually consumed energy at a tremendous rate.
And still, this was not the end.
The ink-black water surface trembled again, producing more ripples. The waves crisscrossed everywhere, forming intricate, indescribable patterns.
Countless demonic beasts hidden in the grassland, urged on by that zither music, surged forward like a tide.
Xu Yourong glanced at Chen Changsheng. On her calm face appeared a hint of confusion and self-mockery.
The confusion was directed at Chen Changsheng. She had clearly deduced through the Fate Star Disk that this person’s lifespan was exhausted—why was he still alive at this moment? So much so that she couldn’t leave lightly. The confusion was also directed at herself. She clearly knew this youth from the Snow Mountain Sect would die, yet why couldn’t she abandon him? From last night until now, she could have ignored him at any time—why couldn’t she?
The self-mockery, of course, was aimed at herself. She recalled that when she was a child in the capital, the Empress often said she was too soft-hearted, and that was bad. Later, when she went to the Southern Streams Nunnery, the Saintess often said she was too hard-hearted, and that was also bad. So, was her heart soft or hard? Or perhaps this uncertainty and wavering was what Nanke called her petty nature?
Just as she was pondering these things, a sharp, piercing screech sounded from the gloomy sky over the grassland. She looked up and saw hundreds of demonic vultures flying toward them. This time, the sky was truly completely covered, leaving no gaps, darkening to an eerie degree. At the same time, it made her gaze grow even calmer, to the point of seeming indifferent.
(Hmm, there will be a third chapter today... but when it will be updated is unknown.)