Chương 18: Earth-Furred Tiger.
The alliance between Li Yang and Mei Kongxu was sealed with nothing more than a handshake, it didn't even have any verbal confirmation or the like. But there was no need for something like that, their curiosity and desire for the truth pushed them together and it would be what kept them beside each other as they searched for any clues. Of course, the fact that neither actually disliked the other made the alliance all the more bearable.
The handshake didn't last for too long before both parties pulled their arms back, Li Yang clasping his hands and raising them above his head to stretch them. They had formed an alliance to learn of the origin behind the things they heard and saw, so Li Yang felt that it was only natural that they started working the moment they left this forest.
"Guess we'll have to head to the archives of the Deepsea King sect when we return, there's nothing in your sect's archives but who knows, maybe our sect has something that ties into what we've seen and heard."
He spoke casually while lowering his arms again, already moving on to a different train of thought as he started to ponder over what to do next. But that train of thought was halted as he caught a glimpse of Mei Kongxu's still calm and cold expression. There was a sliver of something else in her eyes now, an emotion that resembled awkward embarrassment. He nearly tilted his head, but then a thought struck him and he couldn't help but question her with an incredulous voice.
"You... You have checked the archives of your sect, right?"
He didn't think it possible that the seemingly rational and logical Mei Kongxu wouldn't have scoured the archives of her sect seeing as she had acquired far more tangible clues than him. But his question caused the awkward emotion flitting through her pupils to fluctuate slightly, Li Yang realizing that he had hit the nail on the head and bursting out laughing.
"HAHAHA, no fucking way?! You haven't checked?! You got clue words and everything, even the appearances of several people, but you never checked?! HAHAHA, oh, you put on that cool and composed expression, but you're a fucking dunce, aren't you? That's just rich."
Mei Kongxu's cool expression started to falter under Li Yang's thunderous laughter, a very faint shade of red starting to spread on her cheeks. Thinking back, she couldn't even remember the last time someone had just laughed at her straight to her face. But nonetheless, she quickly regained herself and fixed her expression with a dignified snort.
"With how many people to question in the sect, as well as my own cultivation to care for, how could I possibly find the time to search throughout the entirety of my sect's archives? Do you think that I've got as much free time to waste as you?"
Mei Kongxu tried to maintain a dignified image while smoothly firing off an excuse and even tossing out a jab at Li Yang to defend her pride. But sadly for her, none of that would work on Li Yang, mainly because there was one glaring flaw in the excuse and jab she used.
"Our cultivations are the exact same, so yeah, I do think that you've got that much time on your hands. Hence, you're a dunce and just plain forgot to check the archives. So that dignified expression you're trying to pull off? Yeah, might as well just ditch that."
Both of them had the same cultivation, having carved 4 runes of two laws. In fact, if she hadn't carved any runes for a third law as Li Yang had, then her cultivation would be considered somewhat lower than his. Mei Kongxu's expression twitched momentarily before she regained her cool, gesturing towards the surrounding forest by sweeping out her arm.
"Do you have a place you plan on going or can I just take the lead?"
The conversation wasn't exactly going her way so she decided to go for the best option available to her, change the topic and pretend as if nothing had happened. Li Yang snapped his fingers and formed finger-guns with both hands as he pointed at Mei Kongxu, nodding his head in an overly exaggerated manner.
"Nice, real smooth transition, you nailed it. But yeah, if you can take me to the fastest Demonic beast around then I think we can really start the fun here."
Since she wanted to change the topic then it was only fair that Li Yang acted like a gentleman and went along with it. Mei Kongxu had seen exactly what was inside the box that Li Yang was using to draw in everyone else so she knew exactly what this 'fun' would be. And since she knew the truth, she couldn't help but look at Li Yang while one of her eyebrows involuntarily rose.
"You're pretty messed up, you know that? Going through all that trouble just to piss off people by having them fight over that base thing. Do you have any idea what they'll do to you once the truth comes out?"
When the others found out what was really inside the box, while they would indeed look like utter fools, they would also be furious. And the target of their wrath would be right there in front of them, there was no telling how many of them would swarm Li Yang right there and then. But that was something Li Yang had been prepared for from the start, showing a bland smile that held the unmistakable flavour of arrogance.
"They're welcome to try, they wouldn't be the first ones who end up on their asses, and they certainly won't be the last. Besides, if they can't even see the humour in something like that, then they're too boring and dull for me to bother with what they think."
A dragon would not concern itself with the opinion of a snake, it wouldn't even care about the gratitude or anger of the snake, the snake simply wouldn't register in its mind. Li Yang was no dragon, that was a fact that was extremely clear to him, but that didn't stop part of a dragon's mindset from surfacing within him.
Mei Kongxu's eyebrow rose a fraction higher as she looked at Li Yang's bland smile, but she refrained from making any further comments and stood up, finally giving the people beneath her the chance to breathe easier. But she waved her hand just as they got to breathe properly, all four of the men getting swept up and flung away like sacks of potatoes.
The act looked simple, but it actually caught Li Yang's interest. She hadn't just used a forceful gust of Qi to blow them away, she had designated a distant spot as the centre and then covered the entire area with her law of twisting and practically formed a small tornado by twisting the air. But the power was perfectly controlled and contained, only the four men getting caught up in it dragged along towards the centre of the law that she had designated earlier.
She then drew back the law as they were dragged away, resulting in them getting flung away rather than getting twisted around the area she had designated. It was a utilization that Li Yang found rather clever, a few thoughts and ideas starting to pile up in his mind. But he didn't start to play around with the ideas straight away since Mei Kongxu dusted off her hands and turned around, heading deeper into the forest without uttering another word.
Her steps were quick and sure so Li Yang felt confident that she knew where to find the fastest Demonic beast around. She had probably spent a fair bit of time in this forest while training, it seemed like something that a person with her personality could do. They encountered the occasional Demonic beast as the hours passed, but none that could really halt their advance. That was, until Li Yang noticed something on the side of a tree and stopped, pointing towards a smaller mountain that was practically no more than an overgrown hill.
"Wait, I'm gonna go make a detour over there quickly."
Mei Kongxu followed Li Yang's pointing finger, her eyes rolling for a second as she went through what she knew of the area. And Li Yang was right, she was in fact very knowledgeable about this forest due to having spent a fair bit of time here, so she didn't even need to see the marks on the trees to know what he was gunning for.
"You've got an interest in the Earth-Furred Tiger's nest? Didn't expect a weak Demonic beast like that to actually draw your attention. It doesn't seem like it would be able to help with your...fun."
The Earth-Furred Tiger was a fairly low ranked species of Demonic beast, they could never transcend the Human Rune realm unless they evolved to the next step. Of course, if it was an Earth-Furred Tiger at the peak of the Human Rune realm then it would still be able to endanger them greatly, but she knew that the one living over by that hill was among the weakest they had here, barely at the Mortal Rune stage of the Human Rune realm. Li Yang shrugged his shoulders at her statement, a mystifying smile emerging on his face.
"It can't, but this isn't something that I'm trying to do for fun."
Li Yang started to head towards the small mountain without saying anything else, Mei Kongxu's somewhat curious gaze resting on him for a second before she followed along. They quickly made their way through the trees and reached the small mountain, which looked almost like a bloated dome covered in patches of earth and stone outcroppings.
They made their way around the mountain and reached the nest of the Earth-Furred Tiger, a cave dug into the base of the mountain. The occupant was evidently home and had noticed their arrival, a low and warning growling coming from within the cave while the beast moved forward and revealed itself.
The Earth-Furred Tiger was just that, a tiger with brown fur whose stripes were just a darker shade of brown. But what was special about this beast was its paws, which were covered in fur so thick that it looked as if it was sculpted from earth. This was the unique feature of the Earth-Furred Tiger, reinforced paws that it could use to either crush or cut up its enemies.
And as it evolved, this reinforced fur would strengthen and spread over the rest of its body. When it had evolved three times and become an Iron Tiger, the fur would have turned silvery-grey and cover its entire body, providing it with a tremendously powerful defensive ability.
But the two-metre-long Earth-Furred Tiger in front of him was far from that level, if it was to be compared with a human then it would only be equal to a person who had carved 3 runes. It wasn't even worthy of being considered a threat to Mei Kongxu and Li Yang, the latter of which was muttering to himself while stretching out his right arm.
"Was it something like...this?"
His Qi surged and gathered around his outstretched fist, forming an invisible dome that covered the area around him and the tiger. Gravity within the area suddenly changed, his fist becoming the new centre of gravity. The pull of gravity wasn't so strong that it tore up the earth or the trees that were deeply rooted into it, but as for the grass, loose rocks, various bugs, and Earth-Furred Tiger, they were all involuntarily dragged towards the new centre of gravity.
The sudden pull caught the Earth-Furred Tiger completely off guard so it wasn't able to dig its claws into the earth before it was yanked towards Li Yang. As for Li Yang, he drew back his arm and then smashed it forward again, his fist crashing into the skull of the approaching tiger. A soft cracking sound rang out, followed by a pained howl from the tiger, but Li Yang didn't intend to give it the time to form any sort of resistance.
He undid the changed gravity so that it returned to normal, after which he promptly increased its strength so that the beast was forced down into a lying position. He raised his foot and then brought it down in a heavy manner, taking advantage of the increased gravity to fully shatter the beast's neck and reaping its life.
The beast was weaker than him so the process was quick and easy, not even spilling a single drop of blood. But Mei Kongxu, who was standing and watching from the side, raised an eyebrow after having noticed something peculiar with Li Yang's actions.
"You're copying me again?"
The way he utilized his law of gravity just now was extremely similar to how she had just used her law of twisting earlier. It reminded her of their earlier battles, where Li Yang had utilized his law of gravity in a manner that was exceedingly similar to the law of twisting she had used on him. Li Yang didn't deny it, flashing a bashful smile while giving his hand a few shakes.
"What can I say, when a Fairy Sister shows off the goods, I can't help but get itchy."
Mei Kongxu's expression nearly cracked when she heard the suggestive way Li Yang spoke about it, but she had gotten somewhat used to him now so she managed to maintain her cool expression. Li Yang smirked faintly at the sight, his gaze quickly drifting towards the dead tiger in front of him.
He crouched down and drew a dagger from his interspatial ring, slitting open the neck of the tiger and causing its blood to spill forth. He quickly dipped his finger into the warm blood and started to use it like paint, drawing interconnecting lines on the earth. The crimson lines slowly started to surround the corpse of the tiger and Li Yang, forming an intricate net of watermelon-sized runes. It didn't take long for Mei Kongxu to realize what Li Yang was doing, a surprised expression flashing past her face.
"This... You're actually able to use arrays? Now that's a surprise, you certainly don't seem like the kind of guy who has the patience to study something like that."
He was clearly using the blood of the tiger to draw up a very simple array, one so simple that the only ingredient it needed was the blood of a Demonic beast. But even then, an array was not something that just anyone could draw up, each line used to form the various runes needed to be put in the proper place and had to be basically flawless, it required extensive studying and talent. Li Yang shrugged his shoulders and continued to draw up the array, his face carrying a rare serious expression.
"What can I say, I'm a bag of surprises. Well, even then, I can only use this Blood-Transferring Array, the supportive Wind Dancer Array, and the defensive Gale Shield Array. I'm a far cry from being proficient with them yet, much less other arrays, I still have much to learn."
The sudden humbleness caught Mei Kongxu completely off guard, she had expected Li Yang to brag to high heaven about his skills. But from the looks of things, it seemed like arrays were actually one of the things he viewed rather seriously. Personally, she found that it made for a nice change of pace compared to his usual personality. Li Yang continued to draw up the array, voluntarily taking the lead in talking.
"I like arrays, they're very similar to my martial arts. I focus on fast-paced close combat, every move I make has to count and achieve something, whether that is luring in the enemy, preparing my defence, or setting up for my next attack. Every un-planned movement is an opening, every wasted movement is one step closer to Naraka."
When you fought your enemy using just your own body, you couldn't afford to be careless, every move had to be thought through if you wanted to live to make your next move. It was tense and thrilling, a constant race to come up with the perfect plan for the situation. And just as his fighting style was like that, so too were arrays like that.
"And arrays are just the same, each line used to form the various runes has a purpose and achieves something, whether it be controlling the energy, altering its property, connecting it with the creator, or even just smoothening the flow of energy. Every line that is wasted or not perfected is a weakness, a glaring spot that the enemy can take advantage of. So when it comes to arrays or combat, it's like a puzzle, each piece has to slide into place perfectly to create the final, grander picture."
The bigger or stronger the array, the more lines and runes were required to complete it, the less room there was for error. The same was true for combat, the stronger the opponent, the more moves were needed to bring them down, the more thought needed to be put into every move. Mei Kongxu didn't comment on Li Yang's comparison, nodding her head somewhat appreciatively while making her comment, receiving a swift grin from Li Yang as a response.
"Huh, look at that, even you can actually be serious when you want to."
"Nothing wrong with being serious, you just can't let it turn you dull and boring like everyone else. My father and mother are serious, but I still respect them, I also respect many of the other elders, even if I make fun of them when I get the chance."
Li Yang finished the array as he grinned, using up almost all the blood within the tiger's body. He straightened his body again after he finished drawing up the array, using the dagger he had brought out to slice open both of his wrists. His blood immediately spilt forth and stained the array, which started glowing to life as his blood touched it.
As the array activated, both his own blood and the remaining blood within the tiger's corpse started to float upwards like small bubbles. The bubbles formed by his own blood just moved aimlessly through the air, but the bubbles formed by the tiger's blood rose up and sank into the cuts on his wrist, entering his body and causing his veins to writhe violently.
His muscles tensed up as every vein on his body bulged out, a reddish colour surfacing on his face as even the veins in his eyes started to throb. He grit his teeth to endure the soul-wrenching pain that made it feel as if each of his veins were on fire, more and more of the tiger's blood rising up and entering his body.
Slowly, even the blood that was used to draw the array started to rise up and enter his body. The array shrank little by little, Li Yang's veins bulging as he grit his teeth for nearly two hours. The last of the array vanished, Li Yang quickly taking out some medicinal paste from his interspatial ring and smearing it onto his wrists.
The paste immediately solidified and covered up the wounds, preventing him from bleeding out right there and then. He let out a long and drawn out breath once the process was over, just as the records had written, it was a process that was far from pleasant. A cold and wet towel smacked into his face just as he finished exhaling, the voice of Mei Kongxu questioning him somewhat curiously.
"So why did you settle on this one?"
Li Yang used the wet towel to wipe the sweat on his face, removing his shirt and then wiping his chest and back as well. He finished up by wiping away the blood on his wrists and the blood that had splashed on his feet, shrugging his shoulders while giving a casual explanation.
"Usefulness. You should know about the special property of this lineage of Demonic beasts, after all, your mother has the bloodline of an evolved one of these guys. It's perfect for me, and I can just upgrade it in the future, start small but aim for the sky. If you want to, I can transplant a bloodline into you."
The array he had just used had one single purpose, to transfer a Demonic beast bloodline into a human body, giving that human the ability to use the power of that bloodline. As for the property of the Earth-Furred Tiger, that would be the reinforcement of one's hands and feet, the reinforcement spreading to the rest of the body as you improve the grade of the bloodline.
The Earth-Furred Tiger was a very weak Demonic beast, but by adding its special property onto Li Yang's already strengthened hands and feet he would be able to unleash even greater powers. And since his hands and feet were his main weapons, having them become even stronger would also prevent them from getting injuries should he use them to block an opponent's weapon.
The bloodline would be too weak to be suitable when he was stronger, but that was an issue that was easily fixed by improving the bloodline by adding new bloodlines to it as he cultivated. It was certainly far easier than it was to change one's body cultivation technique, which in some instances would require you to abandon your entire body cultivation base to avoid having conflicting methods interrupting each other.
Mei Kongxu nodded her head understandingly upon hearing Li Yang's explanation, that reinforcement was indeed very suitable to the way he used his hands and feet in battle. But she shook her head in response to his offer, she was keenly aware of just what sort of Demonic beasts her sect reared.
"True, it does seem rather suited to you. And no thanks, I've already checked, the sect has no Demonic beast whose bloodline would be suited to me, we mostly have elemental ones, nothing that can supplement my laws."
Her laws were a bit specific so there was no Demonic beast in the sect that could supplement them, nor were there any beasts in the sect that could supplement her fighting style should she acquire their blood. Li Yang shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant manner, leaving it up to Mei Kongxu.
"Alright, you know what you've got better than I do. Anyway, I'm done here so we can move on unless you've got somewhere else to be."
She shook her head, the two resuming their journey as the first day came to an end. The dawn of the second day had just arrived when Mei Kongxu indicated that they had reached their target, a particularly thick tree that had several one-metre wide holes dug into its trunk.
A one-metre-long dark brown fox peeked out from one of the holes, baring its fangs at Li Yang and Mei Kongxu before it jumped out from the tree, its fur bristling as a warning. Mei Kongxu gestured towards the fox, her expression remaining the same as always as she tilted her head slightly.
"So, what are you planning now?"
Li Yang simply smiled mystifyingly at her, bringing out the burnt wooden box and holding it as if it was an extremely precious weapon. He then started to slowly approach the fox, his Qi surging forth in a threatening and intimidating manner. The fox immediately started to falter somewhat when faced with Li Yang's aura, which now contained a hint of a tiger's ferocity.
Its gaze flickered towards the box, a crafty light flashing through his beady pupils as it dashed forward. The fox was indeed fast, Li Yang guessing that he would need to rely on his law of speed if he wanted to catch up to the beast. The fox bit down on the box as it dashed past him, Li Yang pretending to lose his grip as the beast snatched the box. The fox dashed away, Li Yang drawing in a breath before bellowing out in the loudest voice he could muster.
"OY, DON'T YOU RUN OFF WITH THAT BOX, YOU FUCKING FOX!"
He infused his voice with Qi so that it boomed out like thunder, rustling the leaves of the closest trees and echoing far out into the distance. Faint rushing sounds immediately reached his ears as the people closest to them started to run through the forest, the loud shout from someone who spotted the fox reaching him shortly after. The shout and rushing sounds were like music to his ears, the corners of his mouth starting to curl up as he turned to Mei Kongxu.
"That'll draw a nice bit of attention don't you think? Now we'll have a nice little chase on our hands, culminating in one big scuffle to serve as the grand end. Can you imagine their expressions when they see the reward they get after going through all that work?"
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