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8.94% Plundering the Heavens / Chapter 38: Python Toad

Bab 38: Python Toad

Editor: Nou

After Lyu’s death, using Fang Xing as toad bait had ceased to have meaning.

Even with the perfect lure, Hou Qing was not reckless enough to face the Python Toad by himself; it was, after all, a fourth-tier beast equivalent to cultivators in the fourth tier of Spirit Stage. In his original plan, they would use Fang Xing as bait to lure the Python Toad into their pre-arranged trap, and even then there would still be quite some risk in killing the toad with the third-tier Lyu and Qian and the second-tier Zhao working together.

Yet both Lyu and Zhao were now dead, while Qian was poisoned and had no more than a third of his strength length on top of a new hatred towards Hou Qing. There was no choice but to forfeit this talisman mission; thus to Hou Qing, Fang Xing was as good as dead.

But with a single phrase, Fang Xing had once again managed to trigger Hou Qing’s wrath, and so Hou Qing decided he would first torture the boy before sending him to his demise. Although Hou Qing was wildly furious, he never once let down his guard, and he held on to his [Qin’fen Sword] as he moved closer to Fang Xing with every footstep.

Fang Xing still maintained his smile, his right hand held onto his storage ring behind his head. Whether or not he’d be able to live would now depend upon this single blow!

Impending steps, murderous intent, frosty cold air...

RIBBIT

As both were about to deliver their final strike, an earthshaking sound abruptly came from the forest. As the sound faded, a dark silhouette the size of a small hill leapt up into the chilled air from the northwest. A terrifying shadow was cast over the entire Mount Miasma as it covered what little light there was from the moon.

Within a few breaths, the dark silhouette fell like a falling star towards the exact location Fang Xing and Hou Qing were standing.

Following a loud ‘bang’, winds whirled about in all directions while trees and branches broke off. Both Fang Xing and Hou Qing had to activate their Qi shields for protection before looking almost in unison towards where it had landed.

A toad one hundred feet tall squat itself upon the ground. Two blood-red eyes looked at them grimly.

‘Python Toad. Tier four beast. Mixed blood with Giant Serpent and Mutated Asiatic Toad. Can release toxic smog, has python-like armor that can only be damaged using spiritual weapons…’ Lines of information began to pour into Fang Xing’s brain as he opened his mouth, startled.

It was the sole tier four beast of the outer Mount Miasma and the target of Hou Qing’s current mission. Who would have thought that they didn’t even need to search for it, that it would choose to appear in front of them voluntarily?

“Must be Lyu….” Hou Qing immediately knew the reason for its visit. The night was the Python Toad’s hunting period, and Fang Xing had just so happened to kill Lyu by stabbing him several times around this exact time. To the toad, large quantities of fresh blood mixed with Qi was like a ready-made braised pork waiting to be gorged down.

The only thing he didn’t consider was how fast the toad had arrived, and that it would be at the exact moment he had been about to kill Fang Xing.

Both were stunned by the sheer size and fierceness of the Python Toad. Even at the peak of tier three, Hou Qing did not dare to move recklessly, and Fang Xing even more so as he sat stiffly on his tree branch.

No one dared to move in the face of such a powerful beast.

“Hrm?” At this moment, Fang Xing thought of something. Without any delay, he looked terrified and—as if he was about to sob—he gathered his courage and let out a cry, “Shixiong H— Hou! I beg you, pl— please take me away with you….”

The sound was as soft as a bee’s buzzing and he indeed looked as though he was extremely scared. The toad was not alarmed at the small sound at all.

Surprised, Hou Qing took notice Fang Xing’s expression: it was indeed that of an extremely terrified child, and he soon smiled. ‘The kid is still just a kid after all. He might be daring and cruel, but just the thought of becoming toad dinner has sent him shivering like that…. But then again, it’s normal that kids get scared by monsters.’

As Hou Qing was thinking to himself, he suddenly noticed that Fang Xing was frantically rubbing traces of blood off his body and clothes despite the danger of being seen by the toad. Fang Xing rubbed as he looked at the toad in terror, as if praying not to be seen.

‘Bloodstains….’ Hou Qing cursed at his own stupidity after realizing he had not reacted as quickly as the boy. Although the toad must have been attracted by Lyu’s blood, now that it was between him and Fang Xing, whoever had the least amount of blood on them was less likely to become the next target. With this, Hou Qing also began to rub the stains off from his face.

Hou Qing’s bloodstains were far greater than those on Fang Xing since he had killed the serpent not so long ago. Furthermore, all of that blood had already soaked into his robe; it was impossible to get rid of it all.

Smirking, Hou Qing gave a quiet exclamation, “Kid, I’ll teach you how to spell ‘misery’ today!” Then, he could be seen taking a small glazed vase from his waist sack before throwing it right at Fang Xing with a flick of his finger.

SWOOSH

The glazed vase that was aimed at Fang Xing’s head had caught the Python Toad’s attention. With a quick movement of his head, Fang Xing narrowly escaped the vase’s path. The vase hit the branch behind Fang Xing with a loud explosion and a thick layer of blood covered the branch and dyed the nearby leaves red. Fang Xing was also not spared by the splash.

It was a Valor Pill, used to feed and revitalize their Dragon Horses when they were tired during rushed journeys. These pills were made from the flesh and blood of low-tiered beasts mixed together with some scented panaceas, and it was considered a favorite item for many beasts. The shape of the pill was just like that of a meatball.

The Python Toad appeared to grow attracted by the smell, as the lantern-sized eyeballs locked on to Fang Xing.

At that exact moment, Hou Qing smiled as he shaped his mouth, as though to say ‘So long, kid!’ With two quiet steps, Hou Qing turned around before dashing off in the opposite direction at an incredible speed.

It was in situations like these that running away had a higher priority. In Hou Qing’s plans, the Valor Pill would have attracted the attention of the Python Toad towards Fang Xing and he would use the opportunity to run. Even if the toad was not fully satisfied after its first meal and came after him, Hou Qing still had five Dragon Horses inside his pockets; he could simply kill them and leave them for the toad to feast upon in order to earn him extra time for an escape.

Hou Qing had thought through his entire plan in a split second. He was confident that nothing could go wrong now.

However, something unexpected happened.

Just as he turned for the dash of his life, the Python Toad—which had appeared to be completely attracted to Fang Xing—immediately rolled its eyes in a different direction. With another ‘ribbit’, its mouth opened wide before it fired its silky red tongue towards a new target: Hou Qing.

Surprised, Hou Qing curled his body mid-air into a beautiful arc, dodging the attack by only a narrow margin; even Fang Xing could not help but praise Hou Qing’s evasive abilities. Fang Xing was certain that even if Hou Qing did not have any cultivation in him, he would still be a martial arts master. Regardless of whether it was his swordplay or his acrobatics, there was no doubt that he could make a name for himself in the mortal world.

However, no matter how great Hou Qing’s contortions were, it could not be as fast as the toad’s tongue. Although the fourth-tier beast appeared to be as large and round as a small hill, its tongue was conversely extremely nimble like that of a snake. Immediately after it failed the first attempt, a second attack was sent out before Hou Qing had even landed on the ground. Unfortunately, Hou Qing had yet to learn levitation and was unable to make a turn mid-air; without any other options, he waved his sword.

Tchhhh

The sword was intended to cut the toad tongue, but even a chop filled with his full strength only managed to indent its tongue with a very light wound. Even then, the toad became furious, and with the sound of another low-pitched roar, it kicked its hind legs and leapt right towards Hou Qing. At the same time, its wheel-barrel sized forelegs swept across the air in front of it, also slamming towards Hou Qing.

‘What did the brat do? Why is the toad attacking me?’ Hou Qing was completely terrified, as he could not understand what had gone wrong. How was it that he had ended up walking right into Fang Xing’s trick? Fang Xing clearly didn’t even do anything.

No matter how hard Hou Qing thought, he did not understand what Fang Xing had done to force him into such dire straits.

Fang Xing, on the other hand, was so pleased that even his eyebrows seemed to be smiling. He endured the sharp pains from trying to adjust his shattered left arm all while feeling a rush of excitement watching Hou Qing fighting for his life with the Python Toad. The feeling of the contrasting sensations of pain and joy: such was pleasure!

Perhaps Hou Qing would never have guessed that the only thing Fang Xing did was to hint for him to run away.

The first time Fang Xing had seen the Python Toad, his [Book of Revelation] had already told him the habits and characteristics of the beast, and one that had caught Fang Xing’s attention was that—unless its cultivation levels had reached high enough for it to transform itself into human form—there was a large flaw in its eyesight.

Python Toads were unable to see still objects whereas anything moving could be seen clearly and precisely even from afar. Thus, when it had been attracted to the location by Lyu’s corpse, he was able to see both Fang Xing and Hou Qing while leaping into the air, but as soon as it had landed the pair had frozen up in panic and temporarily left the toad’s view.

If it weren’t for this, how would Fang Xing find time to play out the chain of events to pretend to be terrified, wipe off the bloodstains, all followed by Hou Qing and his Valor Pill?

Originally, Hou Qing flicking the vase towards Fang Xing had indeed captured the toad’s attention and the strong scent of reeking blood then gave it a sense of direction. It was only when Hou Qing made the next move—the move Fang Xing had been waiting for—that he had made a huge mistake, and it had been to dash away with extreme speed.

As soon as Hou Qing had made that motion, the toad changed its target to him without delay.


Bab 39: Rampage of the Toad

Editor: Nou

SWOOSH

Hou Qing’s figure was like that of lightning as he dodged the second attack from the Python Toad. The tongue slammed into the tree behind him and pierced straight through the trunk, and when the tongue flew back into its mouth, the tree fell amidst rumbles and the sweep of broken branches and a violent gust of leaves.

In this moment, Hou Qing made a great leap. Borrowing the force from the falling tree, he landed on the Python Toad’s back.

TCHHHN

With a quick movement of his hands, Hou Qing nervously plunged his sword downwards towards the back of the toad. The movement was followed by a loud metallic noise, and fiery sparks could even be seen as the sword touched the toad’s skin. This [Qin’fen Sword] had been treasured by Hou Qing since his days before the Qing-Yun Sect, yet now it was split in half.

Before any feelings of heartache could show, the Python Toad unexpectedly shook his enormous body as splashes of toxic liquid oozed from its densely packed parotoid glands[1], and Hou Qing—reacting quickly to the change—jumped and hopped around to narrowly avoid the venomous fluid. Despite his efforts, a small amount had still managed to find its way onto the edge of his robe, immediately burning the edge of the clothing like a strong acid.

One of the best materials for cloth had become heavily damaged with just a single contact of this liquid.

As the poison splashed around, trees withered, rocks melted, and the land within forty yards of the toad turned into a flatland of toxic liquid. Even Fang Xing had almost been affected as he quickly jumped and hid behind the tree he was on. Once it had become safer, the air was filled with a revolting stench and the tree he had hidden behind had close to ten inches of its bark dissolved away from the toxins.

Still in the air, Hou Qing saw that no matter where he landed, he would inevitably step on the toxic substance. With a clear whistle, he placed his left foot atop his right before leaping another few feet higher just as a silver Flying Sword appeared beneath his feet. With a sweep of his sleeve, a deep red sword transformed itself into a ray of flame and was launched towards the back of the toad. In less than a full second, the skin of the toad curled up along both sides of the sword mark.

‘Looks like Flying Swords can still do some sort of damage to it.’ Though Hou Qing was slightly relieved, he knew that this was no time to make any careless mistakes. Besides, such a small wound would have not made an impact on the beast.

In his moment of desperation, Hou Qing turned his head to see Fang Xing still loitering around watching the entire scene with excitement. The expression of joy alone was enough to have Hou Qing gritting his teeth with hatred and contempt, so much so that he would have slit Fang Xing’s throat right that moment if it weren’t for the toad. Under the beast’s continuous attacks, it was hard to escape uninjured, let alone if he were to be distracted by the boy.

‘No, I have to leave now or this toad will kill me.’ Hou Qing had always been levelheaded regardless of how heated the situation may be, and he knew this was not the time to act in a fit of pique. The Python Toad was a tier four beast and its skills were also extremely dangerous; it was not something a third-tiered cultivator like him could handle alone.

Hou Qing’s Flying Sword could only last him so long in the air. Once he had exhausted his Qi, he would fall into either the pool of toxic liquid or the stomach of the beast; either way, the end result would be the same.

As Hou Qing continued to think of an escape plan, his upper body spared no time in commanding the deep red sword to continuously slash and stab the body of the toad. Even though these wounds would not be life-threatening to the beast, it did send it into a chaotic frenzy and caused it to release deep howls of discomfort. Hou Qing’s eyes never stopped scanning the surroundings as his sword bought him time, and in no time he had already found himself a path of escape.

At this precise moment, the toad let out a low-pitched howl and opened its mouth to release a toxic smog. The smog was a pale green in color and was aimed directly at Hou Qing like a sharp arrow.

Shocked, Hou Qing dodged to the side with his Flying Sword to flee the attack. The poison did not stop just there, however. The toad was in fact spewing an endless torrent of this fume until its body had even shriveled. Seeing this, Hou Qing felt a sense of curiosity that was quickly covered up by a sense of danger.

Something was not right.

“SH*T!” Hou Qing involuntarily let out a cry, immediately abandoning his deep red sword so that he could run away as quickly as possible.

But it was too late.

As the toad spat out the last remnants of the green fumes, it inhaled violently while opening its enormous mouth.

HUUUUUUFF

A tornado-like gust could be seen whirling within the Python Toad’s mouth that was akin to a black hole. Any branches and stone shards that remained had been sucked in at its first inhalation, and within its mouth its tongue whipped every last one of these back out.

It was drawing in breath with a specific target, and that target was none other than Hou Qing who had been flying in the air.

SWOOOSH

Within a short time frame, Hou Qing had already fled some ten yards away before the immense power of the suction pulled him back. In a moment of panic, he threw out a red metal chain—also a spirit weapon—at the largest tree nearby. The chain secured itself to the tree and his body was pulled horizontal as the suction from the toad continued.

CRACK

The metal chain was a decent spirit weapon, yet the formidable tugging force had brought it almost to its breaking point.

“Brother Toad, we’re supposed to be on the same side!” While Hou Qing’s chain desperately tried to prevent its owner from being sucked in by the Python Toad, a miserable shriek could be heard from the side. It had come from Fang Xing who had been watching all along; in a temporary moment of carelessness, he had been pulled in by the strong suction as well. As his tiny body flew upwards, he reacted quickly by stabbing his dagger deeply into the tree beside him, barely securing himself to it.

Yet both Fang Xing’s body weight and his cultivation level was less than Hou Qing’s; it didn’t seem as though he would last too much longer.

“Haha! I’ll make sure if we’re both going to die today, you’ll die before me!” Hou Qing let out a nasty laugh, as he had already given up on escaping his final destiny. Hou Qing opened his palm wide and ordered his Flying Sword to fly wildly within the gust towards Fang Xing, attempting to kill the boy before he himself died in the stomach of the toad.

Fang Xing had his dagger stabbed firmly inside the tree. It was difficult enough to secure his body, let alone evade the attack of Hou Qing’s Flying Sword. Soon, the sword would slice Fang Xing in half.

“Hou Qing your mom!” Fang Xing loudly cursed, biting his lips while drawing his dagger free from the wood.

Since Fang Xing had managed to secure himself only with the tree, pulling the dagger free meant that his body flew with a great speed right into the Python Toad’s mouth. Of course, Hou Qing’s sword had also missed him.

POW

Once Fang Xing had been sucked inside, he was almost knocked unconscious by its heavy tongue. It was fortunate that at crucial times like these, Fang Xing’s reaction speed would increase even more. Right now, he knew that it would be all over for him if he slid into the toad’s stomach, as the mucus inside its stomach would trap and suffocate its prey. Thus, Fang Xing bit his teeth tightly and—unable to see clearly—he took a blind stab at something in the hopes of securing himself before falling deeper inside.

Luck must have been on Fang Xing’s side; once he’d stabbed into something with the entire dagger until only its handle was visible, his fall was stopped. It was also at this exact time that the toad jumped in agony, the gust also stopping as a result. The toad could be seen scratching with its short forelegs powerlessly at its chest; it was in so much pain that the toad had almost been driven berserk.

Seeing the boy being swallowed by the toad had left Hou Qing delighted. To make it even better, the gust of terrifying suction had also stopped. With a sigh of relief, Hou Qing attempted to escape the sea of venom by flying on his Flying Sword.

What Hou Qing didn’t know was that while he was stopped in mid-air, the toad had not paid him any attention, but as soon as he sped up on his Flying Sword the creature had locked onto its target once more. The toad had been feeling extreme pain at a location it could not reach, and now that there was something it could spew its anger on, rather than use its tongue, it unexpectedly dashed towards Hou Qing without restraint.

Desperate for escape, Hou Qing did not expect the beast to come at him headfirst. Unable to dodge, he was immediately knocked over forty feet away and—before his body had even touched the ground—the toad had initiated its second attack with each of its four legs waving and striking in arbitrary motions. Trees and rocks fell in all directions, as though Mount Miasma itself was currently enduring an earthquake of significant scale.

‘Has this toad gone crazy?’ Hou Qing almost spat out blood after being slammed by the head of the beast.

Hou Qing had always been courageous. He knew that this was his moment of fleeting chance where he could still successfully complete his Duty Talisman mission.

After all, Zhao had died, Qian now held a hatred towards him and would need to go as well, Lyu had died, and the kid had also just died. In other words, the entire party that he had organized for this particular mission was now down to him alone.

If he were to return to the sect empty-handed now, the sect might no longer make important use of him, let alone reward him with the Ore Essence Powder necessary for the Poji Pellet. Even if he was successful in breaking through into the fourth tier somehow, no one was likely to befriend him in the inner court. To add salt to the wound, if he were to one day have great accomplishments within the sect, this single failure of a mission would forever be a stain on his path of cultivation.

If he was able to bring back a dead Python Toad, however, it might be a completely different story altogether. Regardless of the death toll, as long as he was able to complete the mission, he himself would be deemed successful.

‘From great danger comes great wealth. If I were to let go of this chance, I wouldn’t be who I am.’ From his pocket, Hou Qing grabbed a pellet before sending it down his throat, and if Fang Xing were present, he would know that this was exactly the same secondary Demon Pellet Hou Qing had tried to scam him with. Although the amount of Qi contained within the pellet was nowhere comparable to that of the primary one, it could still be consumed directly during battle to replenish used Qi within a short time frame.

Swallowing this pellet meant that Hou Qing was ready to fight the toad with his life.

NOTES

[1] Parotoid gland: The parotoid gland is an external skin gland on the back, neck, and shoulder of toads and some frogs and salamanders. It secretes a milky alkaloid substance to deter predators—or in this case—a toxic liquid (source: Wikipedia).


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