Chapter 243: Coercion

Translator:

EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor:

EndlessFantasy Translation

Xiao Sha broke into laughter from the side and patted Fei Fei’s shoulder, “I think you’re mistaken! This old man has never set foot in Jianghu so why should he know your name!?” He then looked at the old man and said, “We’re both officers, us siblings. We’re specifically in charge of the matters regarding the cultivationworld! You have an astounding cultivation base, old man. Your quarrel on that side of the world has nothing to do with us but we must be able to understand one particular case. What’s with the dog-headed eagle!? If we can’t chase it down, we won’t be able to explain this to our superiors!”

Old Man Wu nodded, “Officers, please tell me what happened from the beginning.”

Xiao Sha did not hesitate as he immediately spoke and gesticulated. The gist was that after the dog-headed eagle had heavily wounded the old man, it had guarded the demon fetus’s rock tower and blocked Chang Li from rescuing the others. It also seems to have a grudge against Zhui Zi who had just arrived. Zhui Zi and Chang Li had not been on good terms to begin with and the three elites had fought each other. Just when it looks like the dog-headed eagle was about to be torn apart by these two beautiful ladies who had joined forces, a peerless sword immortal with the bearings of an erudite person suddenly made his move. He aimed his attack at Chang Li and Zhui Zi. Xiao Sha was uncertain as to what the outcome of the fight was but, in the end, some had run away while the others gave chase. Even Wen Leyang and Xiaowu had chased after them.

Fei Fei and Xiao Sha had seized this opportunity to rescue the old man.

This bunch of nonsense had been made up by the old demons and the truth and the lie had been blended seamlessly. Qian Ren had stubbornly protected his treasure while Chang Li eagerly wanted to rescue the victims. Zhui Zi had traveled more than a thousand kilometers to Mount Hua just to chase after the dog-headed eagle. The sword immortal who had appeared afterward was, of course, Tian Yin. Subjectively and objectively, Tian Yin would regard Chang Li and Zhui Zi as his nemesis so it was only natural for him to take Qian Ren’s side.

When the old demons had fabricated their story, they did not care whether Wu Dudu knew about the backgrounds and relations.h.i.+ps of Chang Li, Zhui Zi, Qian Ren, and Tian Yin. They had based it upon facts and used their relations.h.i.+ps as the standard. After they had inserted Tian Yin, who was the crucial element, the lie began to seem all the more plausible.

Old Man Wu had a frown on his face as he listened to Xiao Sha’s explanation. The muscles on his face would occasionally twitch from pain. Other than suspicion, the other expression which fell into Fei Fei’s eyes was a trace of killing intent which had appeared on the old man’s face after Tian Yin had entered the stage. There was also a slight befuddlement in his gaze.

Old Man Wu asked incredulously after Xiao Sha had finished his explanation, “When we had been engaged in our fierce battle, the two of you had been hiding nearby?”

Xiao Sha nodded with a smile, “That’s right…” Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly smacked his forehead, “How clumsy of me. Old man, please take a look at this!” He then fished out a small vial of yellow powder from his pocket and poured it into his palm before rubbing his palms together and applied it to his face. He then crawled on the ground as he continued with a smile, “Old man, can you use your telegnosis ability and see if I’m still human?”

A laugh escaped from Fei Fei’s pursed lips, she was amused by Xiao Sha’s words.

Every bit of Old Man Wu’s life vitality had turned into a bone-sc.r.a.ping steel knife now as it flowed everywhere within his body. If it had not been for his amazing composure, he would have died from the pain long ago. In short, he does not have any telegnosis ability left to determine whether Xiao Sha was telling the truth or not. However, Fei Fei did see that the old man’s suspicion had been reduced somewhat. Whether it was Jianghu or the mortal world, there were many unexplainable talents. If it was said that the arbiter of the sc.u.mbag He family has the ability to disguise his presence as a tree or a wild boar, the old man would have truly believed it.

When Qing Niao had led his disciples to make a scene in Wen family village some years ago, the Death Trademark’s Stalking Art had also managed to evade the cultivators’ telegnosis abilities.

Fei Fei continued after Xiao Sha had finished with his display, “You must know, old man, that no matter what dynasty or era, there would be officers like us who are in charge of the matters regarding the cultivation world.”

Wu Dudu nodded silently.

“The dog-headed eagle which had been sealed under Tu’er town’s mandala seal on the highlands has escaped. This issue is no small matter…” Fei Fei spoke the truth, “This time, however, we had encountered this monster by chance. We were originally charged to investigate that rock tower which had consumed the Mount Hua Scientific Exploration Team.”

Xiao Sha continued Fei Fei’s conversation, “About three days ago, this monster had arrived on Mount Hua. It must have something to do with the demon fetus…”

Even though the old man’s expression looks almost like it had been carved out of stone or cast in iron, he was unable to deceive Fei Fei. When he heard that the dog-headed eagle had arrived here a few days ago, a deep regret had grown wildly within him. He was also slowly becoming more trusting towards Fei Fei and Xiao Sha.

Xiao Sha had wanted to say something more but Old Man Wu cut him short with a shake of his head, “The demon fetus is of no importance, it won’t bring any harm for a million years so you’d do well not to worry about it. However, that’s not the case with the dog-headed eagle! He has broken through the seal and if we do not act cautiously, I’m afraid that a great calamity would befall us all!”

Fei Fei’s brows knitted together in a barely discernible manner. Old Man Wu had spoken earnestly.

Old Man Wu knows that his time was short so he spared no effort and quickened his speed of speaking, “Mount Hua was the old lair of the dog-headed eagle. My line of cultivators had secluded ourselves here for generations so that, in the event that the monster has broken out of its coc.o.o.n and returned to its old nest, we could kill it! However… Heh, I already knew that it had escaped its seal but I didn’t expect it to come here so soon!”

Qian Ren had not planned to return to Mount Hua so soon either, he had wanted to familiarize himself with his body first. Old Man Wu had not guessed wrongly but even if he had Wen Shulin’s help, he could never have foreseen that Qian Ren would get his hands on the ‘heavenly water spirit’ and return to Mount Hua ahead of time.

Fei Fei frowned. She then played dumb to the highest level possible, “The lady who had tried to dig up the demon fetus was not the dog-headed eagle so why had you guys attacked her?”

“It’s better to be safe than sorry. They had come to dig up the demon fetus so, naturally, they are also under suspicion. It’s a shame that I did not see through her demon body beforehand.” As Old Man Wu spoke, an extremely deep enmity gradually showed on his face, “I only realized that she was the cat demon the moment I had attacked her! She’s the cat demon!”

Old Man Wu suddenly sat upright with a whoosh. He bared his teeth and squeezed out eight words, “The perpetrator of evil, shall! Have! No! Descendants!”

The old man had overexerted himself. After he had cursed Chang Li, he then lost all his strength. His body slanted and he leaned against the wall of the rock cave as he made guttural panting sounds from his throat. Fei Fei asked him about Chang Li again but the old man only shook his head. He was unwilling to talk about this topic anymore.

Fei Fei winked at Xiao Sha. Xiao Sha then chuckled and returned the topic to the dog-headed eagle, “That dog-headed eagle can rain disaster on the world? I don’t think so… Besides, your reasoning is somewhat off. If you had wanted to prevent the dog-headed eagle from escaping, you should’ve gone and guarded the seal on the highland. Why are you on Mount Hua instead… Before any ordinary criminal escapes, we would’ve fought inside the prison first. We’ll only barricade the house after the criminal has escaped.”

After he had finished, Xiao Sha pondered for a while. He quickly added another question, “Who’s your ancestor? Is he related to King Gesar who had sealed the dog-headed eagle?”

Wu Dudu shook his head strenuously, “Once the dog-headed eagle had escaped, there were already signs of a great calamity so I can’t be wrong! On the highlands, there were a bunch of powerful cultivators who had kept guard on the dog-headed eagle to make sure that it didn’t escape. Heh! It’s too bad, it looks like they’ve failed!” The old man then took a few heavy breaths, “As for my ancestor, hehe, he who secludes himself for the common good would not trouble himself with a reputation. You wouldn’t know him even if I told you. Still… Don’t lump us in together with King Gesar. When the Wu family ancestor had turned back the powers of darkness and saved the world, that highland divine person had not even been born yet!”

Fei Fei and Xiao Sha exchanged a look. She then asked Old Man Wu, “After the dog-headed eagle had escaped the seal, we found the bodies of some cultivators between Tu’er and Lhasa…”

Old Man Wu declined to comment. He then shook his head and cut Fei Fei short, “Time is running out, the two of you, listen to me… There are many layers of seals under the dog-headed eagle which suppresses an abominably wicked person. He has now turned the seal into a flesh armor and his cultivation base is already almost perfect. As officers, how would you handle him?”

Xiao Sha muttered softly, “Missiles…”

Old Man Wu ignored him and took a deep breath. He then wanted to take something out of his pocket but he remembered that he no longer has any arms right now, “As long as the dog-headed eagle is alive, it will return to look for the demon fetus. I have a token in my pocket, go to… Mount Heng, to a place called the Great Drum Pit. If you take this token there, someone will receive you there. If you tell them all this, there would naturally be someone who would help you to kill the dog-headed eagle!”

Xiao Sha took the token from Old Man Wu’s pocket. It was a Dharmachakra Mudra made out of an unknown material. The inscriptions on the Mudra were not in the seal scripts but were complicated runes…

Fei Fei and Xiao Sha walked out of the cave in a single file. A flurry of movements then occurred before their eyes. Chang Li, Zhui Zi, Wen Leyang, Xiaowu, and Wen Shulin all jumped out from different directions as they hastily asked, “How did it go?”

There was a cliff near the cave’s entrance. A giant dog’s head was peeking out furtively from the bottom of the cliff.

When Old Man Wu had regained his consciousness, they had found a nearby cave and sent the old man with the Fei Fei siblings into it. Old man Wu had been consecutively attacked by the dog-headed eagle and Chang Li during the fierce battle so he was already a goner. He was also a person who had trained his mind since a young age so even if they were to use every form of torture available, it might not have any effect on a dying man.

Under the heavens, if it was coercion and Fei Fei, who knows how to read expressions, had claimed that she was second best, n.o.body would dare to claim to be the best…

Wen Leyang and the others put down their work at hand. The three demon immortals had lost all intentions of fighting. Even Wen Shulin finally regained consciousness. They all hid around the cave as they waited to hear the results with an itching heart that was hard to scratch.

Xiao Sha pointed at the cave and made an ending hand sign, “The old man is dead.” Xiao Sha was skilled in the Art of Jianghu while Fei Fei knows how to a.n.a.lyze thoughts and read emotions. Even a skilled cultivator would not be able to play dead in front of the duo.

Chang Li exclaimed and an unconcealable sorrow rose on her face, “I had wanted him to know your ident.i.ties before he died!”

A wave of gooseb.u.mps rolled across Xiao Sha’s forehead, he finally understood that this cat demon was not someone who should be crossed.

Fei Fei recounted the happenings inside the cave. Her memory was astounding and she repeated what the old man had said almost word-for-word. She then nodded confidently, “Old Man Wu had been wary at first but the things which he had said after that… Should be the truth, especially when he had mentioned the both of you. That hatred could not have been faked.” She pointed at Chang Li and the dog-headed eagle as she said this.

Chang Li smiled with embarra.s.sment, “I have many enemies… I can’t recall which family’s descendant he would be…”

Fei Fei looked at Wen Leyang and continued, “After we had parted at Lhasa, our leader thought that the bunch of unnamed cultivators who had been killed by Xiang Liu were fishy. He even contacted Master Rangjung to confirm it. According to the Tibetan cultivators, no such people had ever existed amongst them!”

Xiao Sha followed with a nod, “This corroborates with Old Man Wu’s words. That group of cultivators must’ve been from the same group as Old Man Wu. Old Man Wu had stayed behind and guarded Mount Hua whereas that group of people had stayed in the highlands to prevent the dog-headed eagle from escaping the seal.”

Qian Ren suddenly let out an extremely sorrowful and furious wail, “Kong Nu’er, good! Very good! Very good!”

Obviously, Fei Fei has no confidence in Wen Leyang’s intelligence. She moved closer and explained to him softly, “Whether it was Old Man Wu or the cultivators who had died gruesomely on the highlands, they had all been guarding against the dog-headed eagle. However, they were unrelated to King Gesar’s subordinates who had set up the Tibetan Buddism Sect’s mandala in Tu’er town.”

Wen Leyang nodded as he tried to prove that he was smart, “During that time, after Kong Nu’er had tricked Qian Ren, he must’ve kept an eye on him! When the golden monkey had finally been sealed under layers of spells in the Tu’er mandala, he had still felt uneasy. He then placed troops on the highlands and Mount Hua; the former would guard against the escape of the dog-headed eagle and they were ultimately killed by Tian Yin on their way to Tu’er town while the latter had stayed on Mount Hua but was killed by Qian Ren instead.”

After he had finished, Wen Leyang heaved a long sigh, “Aren’t Kong Nu’er’s subordinates a tad too powerful!?”

The cultivators who had been killed by Xiang Liu on the highlands could still activate a thunderous attack with their dying will and the power was not inferior to the Great Mercy Temple’s rabbit demon. At the same time, Wu Dudu on Mount Hua was even more powerful as there were not many who have the ability to fight one-one-one with Chang Li!

Xiao Sha took the token that was given to him by Wu Dudu before his death out from his pocket. He dangled it as he said, “There were other forces which Kong Nu’er had left behind. If we bring this to the Great Drum Pit on Mount Heng, we can still gather those forces. By the looks of it, he was confident that he could defeat Qian Ren!”

A million years ago, Qian Ren had been tricked by Kong Nu’er into a condition which was too unbearable to watch. After that, it was unknown whether Kong Nu’er was still within the mortal realm. However, he had still left some forces behind to deal with Qian Ren! Qian Ren felt angry and annoyed. He also felt that he could no longer keep this anger down anymore. The feathers on the dog-headed eagle ruffled as he raised his giant head and wanted to wail and vent his anger. Chang Li and Zhui Zi pointed at him almost simultaneously, “No howling! That’s too noisy!”

The shrill howl of the dog-headed eagle immediately turned into the squeaking of a toad which had been stepped on by a bull. Qian Ren puffed heavily twice before his breathing returned to normal. He then stared at the Dharmamudra token in Xiao Sha’s hands, “These sc.r.a.ps had originally belonged to Kong Nu’er. I never thought that they would have been turned into tokens for his subordinates. Veeery… Goooood.” Qian Ren had dragged out his last two words like a thin saw that slowly sc.r.a.ped itself from head to toe over a piece of wood, “I had initially wanted to look for Kong Nu’er, it looks like he had left me some clues.”

Fei Fei turned to look at the dog-headed eagle, “Who is this Kong Nu’er? Where had he gathered such great forces from?”

The dog-headed eagle’s head was too large so when it turned, the wind would howl through the mountains, “Before all this, I had only regarded him as an obscure cultivator but… Now that I think about it, when I had been tricked by him all those years ago, the cultivators under the heavens had coveted the sudden rise of Mount Hua’s Ending Cave. However, Kong Nu’er’s men had been able to sit firmly on the mountain. Not only that, he still had the energy to control the golden monkey in the western regions!”

Wen Leyang carefully considered the Kong Nu’er’s forces from back then. The golden monkey was a natural-born alien species; even King Gesar, who was regarded as a G.o.d which had descended from the heavens by the Tibetan people, had to sacrifice the lives of his guardians when he wanted to seal the golden monkey. G.o.d knows how many years ago, Kong Nu’er had been able to defend Mount Hua against the cultivators under the heavens as he firmly controlled the golden monkey with some of his strength.

What worried Wen Leyang the most was the deep hatred that Wu Dudu, who had died inside the cave, has towards Chang Li. If Chang Li had only begrudged Wu Dudu’s sect two thousand years ago, that would be manageable. However, if Chang Li had unintentionally crossed Kong Nu’er’s entire force… The consequence would not be any less serious than Xiang Liu escaping the Black and White Island.

What Wen Leyang could think of, Chang Li had already thought it through. She took the Dharmamudra token from Xiao Sha’s hand and looked at it closely. Her beautiful face was full of puzzlement. In the end, she could not understand what grudge she had with this Dharmamudra or Wu Dudu. She decided not to think about it and tossed the token back to Xiao Sha.

Xiao Sha had a mischievous idea. His small eyes narrowed into a line as he said loudly to the dog-headed eagle, “Do you want me to go to Mount Heng in your stead? I can draw the enemy to you. Chang Li and Zhui Zi are here as well, they can help you to fight the enemy.”

Chang Li and Zhui Zi smiled as they placed their hands behind their backs and said nothing. They only looked at the dog-headed eagle with interest.

However, the dog-headed eagle was clearly startled and shook its head hastily. Then, it seemed to feel that its sternness had diminished somewhat as it coughed, “I have to help Qin Zhui try out the Ending Vine these few days so I shouldn’t look for trouble. Once we’re done with Mount Hua, I’ll bring the Dharmamudra token to Mount Heng’s Great Drum Pit myself!”

Xiao Sha was slightly dejected while Guo Huan broke into laughter within the jade knife, “You’re just worried that the dog-headed eagle won’t die. When the enemy truly comes, I’m not sure who the two immortal ladies would fight for!”

Chang Li laughed. Suddenly, her body floated and flew backward. Her gaze towards the other two demon immortals was not that polite anymore. Zhui Zi and the dog-headed eagle quickly reacted as well as they readied their stances almost simultaneously. This trio has some unsettled business and although it might not escalate into a fight to the death, they wanted to fight to vent their anger.

Wen Leyang moved and acted quickly. He immediately followed Chang Li’s body as he firmly planted himself between the trio. He then waved his arms frantically but he did not know how to dissuade them. Everyone knows that, with Wen Leyang in the middle, this fight would not be easy. The two ladies relaxed their stances resentfully whereas Qian Ren sighed with relief. The thing he feared the most in his life was fighting with women.

Zhui Zi had suffered losses by Chang Li’s hands in this present life and in her previous life. She gritted her teeth with resentment as she said three soundless words to Chang Li, ‘wait and see’!

Chang Li did not even notice her. She was staring at the dog-headed eagle as she also mouthed ‘wait and see’ to it.

However, the dog-headed eagle said honestly to Zhui Zi, “I’ll return the small bowl to you after I’m done with the ‘heavenly water spirit’. It won’t take too long…”

They had gotten their testimony and were not fighting anymore. All that was left was to work. Qian Ren was also intelligent. He did not ask Chang Li and did not look at Zhui Zi as he spoke earnestly to Wen Leyang, “While I’m helping Qin Zhui to refine the Ending Vine, there’s this part where I have to gather my focus and utilize my energy to help him subdue the magic weapon. Initially, just myself would have been enough but now, with Kong Nu’er’s subordinates showing themselves…”

His voice has barely faded as Xiaowu, who was chewing some gum, interrupted pompously, “Use a protective spell then!”

Wen Leyang hesitated slightly as Guo Huan chuckled, “It’s alright even if we stay for a few more days. Partly because we have time on our hands and partly… Because this demon fetus is an Earth Elemental statue. Heh, although it should be impossible, I’m still not content with it.”

Wen Leyang was stunned. Guo Huan did not wait for him to ask again as he said, “We’ll know the truth once we dig deep enough, It’s all nonsense no matter how we guess!”

Zhui Zi hugged her arms and looked at her toes pitiably, “I still have to wait for him to return the small bowl to me.”

The group of cultivators returned to the demon fetus’s rock tower in no time. Zhui Zi then released a few cultivators from their icicle prison cell. These cultivators were Wu Dudu’s disciples but they had no knowledge of the dog-headed eagle, Kong Nu’er, or Chang Li. They had only followed their sect leader’s lead and came to fight the enemy. Under Fei Fei’s discerning eyes, they naturally had no way of lying but they could not extol any further information out of their mouths.

If it were up to Chang Li, Zhui Zi or Qian Ren, these people would have been killed. Wen Leyang, however, did not wish to see blood. In the end, the few demon immortals had listened to him. They then relieved these cultivators of their powers and sent them away with team leader Qu’s armed police. They were prosecuted on the charges of poaching. Strictly speaking, the cat demon and the dog-headed eagle were protected animals…

Qian Ren was indifferent to the fates of these small characters. He was only worried that they would somehow leak the information about this matter before he went to Mount Heng’s Great Drum Pit. Wen Leyang’s method was reliable and he agreed to it although the dog-headed eagle did not understand what they had meant by poaching.

Fei Fei and Xiao Sha did not leave either. They stayed on under the notion investigating the demon fetus thoroughly before they could explain this to their superiors.

The dog-headed eagle even asked Wen Leyang secretly, “Can we let those two come and help?” As he said this, he raised two feathers on his wing and pointed silently at the nearby Chang Li and Zhui Zi.

Before Wen Leyang could speak, Guo Huan replied with a laugh, “Don’t push your luck!”

Only the spiky peak of the rock tower had been revealed and n.o.body knows how deep it went underground. When they had resumed digging, there were only two workers; the dog-headed eagle and Wen Leyang. Xiaowu and Chang Li had gone on strike. Zhui Zi looked at Wen Leyang with a heartbroken expression before looking sorrowfully at her own nails instead. In the end, she sighed before picking Xiaowu up and sat down on one side…

Two days later, team leader Qu had brought honest-to-G.o.d armed policemen and remanded all of Wu Dudu’s subordinates, the cultivators who have had their powers forfeited. It was unknown whether Zhui Zi and Chang Li suddenly had a newfound kindness or they were bored to death as they had eventually jumped into the pit and joined in the digging.

The demon fetus felt that danger was approaching and it began to get riled up as it desperately scattered demon seeds.

The dog-headed eagle’s expression gradually turned from confident to puzzlement. Eventually, he got anxious. This demon fetus’s retaliation was too fierce and it completely exceeded his expectations. He was worried that Qin Zhui’s primordial base would not be able to withstand it.

Everyone dug with all their might and Qian Ren even more so. The dog-headed eagle’s body was so big, a flap of its wings would cause a gale to rise. The rock tower seemed to spiral out of the ground as if it was alive. Zhui Zi and Chang Li made full use of their demonic primordial energy. The former summoned a torrent of water which continuously cleared the dirt while the latter summoned demonic spirits and five ghosts to help take the soil away. Wen Leyang and Xiaowu could only look on enviously.

The dead monsters summoned by Xiaowu only knew how to fight and did not know how to dig or engage in archaeological studies. The intelligence of Wen Leyang’s Bone Snake was no better than Xiaowu’s summoned corpses. Wen Leyang had summoned the Bone Snake a few times but all it had done was to glare fiercely at the dog-headed eagle and circulate its Qi…