Chapter 943
: Seeking Death!
"You? With your Qi Refining stage cultivation?"
"With my current Qi Refining stage cultivation level..."
Sun Wukong scratched his head, looking like he was saying, "Are you out of your mind?"
“Brother Chu Yang, I know you’re capable and smarter than most. But when it comes to fighting, being smart has little to do with it. With your level of cultivation, if you encounter a slightly stronger demon, they’ll smash you into a pulp with a single slap.”
Chu Yang said, "That's why I don't fight those who are really strong. I only fight those who are a bit stronger than me but not strong enough to kill me with one palm. Monkey King, you watch from the side. If I can't hold on, then you can step in."
Sun Wukong's eyebrows furrowed into a knot, clearly indicating his disapproval.
"You're risking your life to practice your skills."
Chu Yang looked at him earnestly: "Brother Monkey, when you were learning your skills under Patriarch Bodhi, didn't you go through the same thing? Just practicing without fighting will never teach you real kung fu."
Sun Wukong opened his mouth, but choked.
He thought for a moment, then rubbed the hair on his chin.
"You've got a point, kid."
He thought about it again and finally nodded.
"Alright, we'll see how it goes. If the monster that comes is too powerful, you'd better get out of my way. If its power is decent, I'll let you try. But I'm warning you upfront—if you're about to die, don't blame me for not stopping you."
Chu Yang smiled and said, "Don't worry, I haven't lived enough yet, I won't risk my life to show off."
Sun Wukong snorted and said nothing more.
The group continued their journey toward Huangfengling.
The closer you get to that mountain, the harsher the surrounding environment becomes.
The sandstorm intensified, and the sky changed from a hazy gray to a murky, yellowish-brown, as if someone had poured a basin of yellow dust soup from the heavens. The sun was completely obscured, and the surrounding light dimmed; although it was only afternoon, it already felt like dusk was approaching.
The cracks in the ground had deepened, and in some places they had even split open to a width of more than a foot, revealing a bottomless, dark abyss below. They had to carefully take a detour.
Occasionally, you can see some skeletons by the roadside—some are animal bones, while others, judging from their shape, are clearly human. The skeletons are half-buried in the yellow soil, smoothed and rounded by wind and sand, gleaming with a pale luster.
Pigsy became increasingly uncomfortable as he walked, gripping the rake on his shoulder tightly and wrinkling his nose.
“I don’t like this place,” he muttered. “The wind is giving me goosebumps.”
Tang Sanzang also tightened the collar of his cassock, chanted a few Buddhist prayers, and his face turned somewhat pale.
Chu Yang walked in the middle of the group, silently adjusting his breathing as he traveled.
Following the circulation route of the Taiyi Nourishing Qi Technique, he slowly circulated the spiritual energy in his body through his meridians for a complete cycle, ensuring that he was in the best possible condition.
After walking for about half an hour, Huangfeng Ridge was already in sight.
The mountain was much larger than it appeared from a distance. The entire mountain looked like a giant bone arching up from the ground, yellowish-brown in color, barren of vegetation, and its surface was covered with wind-eroded grooves and pits, making it look riddled with holes.
There are several dark cave entrances on the mountainside, varying in size. The largest one is more than two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) high. Claw marks and tooth marks are left on the rocks around the cave entrances, indicating that large wild beasts have been coming and going.
A strong, fishy smell wafted down from the mountain, mixed with the sand and dust, making people cough.
"This is it." Sun Wukong took the golden cudgel out of his ear and weighed it in his hand. "The demonic energy is coming from those caves. It's as thick as chimneys."
Tang Sanzang reined in the white dragon horse, hesitating whether to continue forward.
"Wukong, this place is so dangerous, shouldn't we take a detour?"
Sun Wukong shook his head: "Master, this mountain stretches for over a hundred li from east to west and is several tens of li wide from north to south. Taking a detour would add at least seven or eight days to the journey. Besides, I just checked, and both the north and south sides of the mountain are sheer cliffs; there's no path at all."
"The only way to get through is from the front."
Tang Sanzang sighed, "Then be careful and pass through quickly."
The group led the white dragon horse along a dirt road at the foot of the mountain.
That road could barely be called a road; it was just two shallow tire tracks worn into the yellow earth, crookedly leading to the other side of the mountain.
The mountain walls on both sides slope inward, like two doors about to close, squeezing the sliver of sky overhead into a narrow slit.
The wind became exceptionally fierce in this narrow passage, howling past them and whipping up handfuls of sand and dust that stung their faces like needles.
Pigsy covered his face with his sleeve and shouted, "What a lousy place! The sandstorm is so strong I can't even open my eyes!"
Sun Wukong walked at the front, his golden cudgel held horizontally in front of him, his eyes and ears scanning the surroundings.
Chu Yang followed closely behind Tang Sanzang, holding the horse's reins in one hand and resting the other on the short sword at his waist.
He bought the short sword from a blacksmith shop in Qingfeng Town. Although it wasn't a treasure, it was quite sharp. He then engraved several Qi-guiding patterns from the Taiyi Qi Cultivation Technique on the blade and infused it with spiritual energy, making it a barely usable magical weapon.
When he reached the narrowest part of the passage, Sun Wukong suddenly stopped.
"Don't move."
His voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable air of authority.
Everyone stopped.
The fishy, pungent smell in the air suddenly became extremely strong, as if something had just swept over their heads.
Chu Yang looked up.
A figure was crouching on a protruding rock at the top of the mountain wall.
The figure's silhouette was cut into a dark shadow by the dim light of the day—broad shoulders, strong limbs, and a long, thick tail swaying slowly behind it.
Two points of pale green light shone from the head of the silhouette.
It is a pair of eyes.
The eyes of animals.
"roar--"
A deep tiger's roar exploded overhead, causing rubble to fall from both sides of the passage.
The figure leaped off the rock and crashed into the dirt road in front of them like a meteorite.
With a loud bang, yellow dust flew everywhere, and a three-foot-deep crater was smashed into the ground.
After the dust settled, Chu Yang finally saw what the newcomer looked like.
That was a tiger demon.
Standing over ten feet tall and possessing a robust build, its body was covered in vibrant tiger stripes of alternating gold and black. It walked upright, its hind legs as thick as two stone pillars, its forelimbs as agile as human arms, and the sharp claws on its ten toes, each a full three inches long, gleaming coldly in the dim light.
Its head is a standard tiger's head—a clear "king" character on its forehead, two rows of sharp fangs protruding from its blood-red mouth, and a scarlet tongue swirling between its teeth, dripping thick saliva.
It wore a suit of armor made of animal hides, with a curved sword at its waist, the hilt of which was wrapped with black cloth strips, and the scabbard was engraved with rough patterns.
"Tiger Vanguard." Chu Yang silently recited the name in his heart.
Tiger Vanguard's green eyes swept over the group of people, finally settling on Tang Sanzang.
Its pupils contracted sharply, and its nostrils flared, as if it had smelled some incredibly delicious aroma.
"Tang Sanzang..." Its voice was low and hoarse, squeezed out from deep within its throat like two pebbles rubbing together, "The Tang Sanzang Your Majesty speaks of... is that you?"
Tang Sanzang's face turned pale, and he took two steps back. Sun Wukong stepped in front of Tang Sanzang, his golden cudgel pointing directly at Tiger Vanguard.
"What are you? State your name!"
Tiger Vanguard grinned, revealing a mouthful of fangs, and let out a piercing laugh.
"I am the vanguard officer under the Yellow Wind King of Yellow Wind Ridge! Known as Tiger Vanguard!"
It patted the animal hide armor on its chest, making a dull thud.
"You've trespassed on my king's territory, and you think you can leave alive? Dream on!"
It drew its curved sword from its waist, the blade arcing through the air with a sharp whistling sound.
"Leave Tang Sanzang here, the rest of you get out of here! Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Sun Wukong sneered and was about to swing his staff when Chu Yang suddenly spoke up.
"Brother Monkey, let me do it."
Sun Wukong paused for a moment and turned his head to look at him.
Chu Yang had already drawn the short sword from his waist.
The qi-guiding patterns engraved on the sword glowed with a faint blue light as spiritual energy was poured in, as if a thin layer of ice had solidified on the steel surface.
"This is it?" Sun Wukong looked Tiger Vanguard up and down, then narrowed his eyes.
His sharp eyes swept over Tiger Vanguard and quickly assessed his strength.
"His cultivation level isn't high, roughly equivalent to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. With your Qi Refining stage foundation, fighting him... is unlikely."
Chu Yang said, "We only fight when it's uncertain. What's the point of training if it's not uncertain?"
Sun Wukong remained silent for two breaths, then slung his golden cudgel over his shoulder and took a step back.
"Alright. You go ahead. I, Old Sun, will watch from the sidelines. If you can't hold on any longer, just say so. Don't push yourself."
Pigsy, growing anxious from behind, cried out, "Brother Monkey, are you crazy? Sending Brother Chu Yang to fight that tiger? He—"
"Shut up." Sun Wukong didn't even turn his head. "Protect Master."
Pigsy opened his mouth, glanced at the blue-glowing short sword in Chu Yang's hand, then at the enormous tiger demon in front of him, swallowed the words he was about to say, retreated to Tang Sanzang's side, and held the rake horizontally in front of him.
Tang Seng wanted to say something, but was stopped by a look from Chu Yang.
Chu Yang walked up to Tiger Vanguard and stood about three zhang away from it.
Tiger Vanguard tilted his head and looked him up and down, his green eyes full of disdain.
"You? You little brat?" It sneered, its tiger tail flicking impatiently behind it. "I thought it was some monkey who wanted to challenge me. Sending out a little thing like you? Who do you think you are?"
Chu Yang gripped the short sword tightly, sank his breath into his dantian, and guided the spiritual energy from his dantian into his limbs and bones according to the circulation route of the Taiyi Nourishing Qi Technique.
A warm current spread through his meridians, and his senses became exceptionally sharp—he could hear the sound of air entering and leaving Tiger Vanguard's lungs as it breathed, he could see his tiny reflection in its tiger eyes, and he could even smell a trace of rusty blood mixed with the strong fishy smell emanating from its body.
"Enough talk," Chu Yang said. "Come on."
Tiger Vanguard narrowed his green eyes.
"court death."
Its form suddenly disappeared.
It didn't really disappear, but it moved so fast that Chu Yang's eyes couldn't keep up with its movement.
A strong gust of wind rushed in from the right, carrying a pungent, fishy smell.
Chu Yang's body reacted before his mind could react—he instinctively rolled to the left, and the spot where he had just been standing was smashed by Tiger Vanguard's claw, sending shards of rock flying everywhere.
"So fast..." Chu Yang's heart skipped a beat.
Before he could even regain his footing, Tiger Vanguard's second strike had already arrived.
The scimitar slashed down from above, the wind from the blade sharp and carrying the heavy arm strength and inertia of Tiger Vanguard.
Chu Yang raised his sword to parry.
Ding--
The clanging of metal exploded in the passageway, causing rubble to tumble down from both sides.
A tremendous force traveled along the sword to Chu Yang's arm, instantly numbing his tiger's mouth. The residual force of the blow sent him sliding back five or six steps, his shoes carving two deep furrows in the yellow earth.
"I can't take it head-on," Chu Yang quickly assessed in his mind.
Tiger Vanguard's strength is at least five times that of him. In a head-on collision, he couldn't even withstand three moves.
To survive this battle, we cannot compete with Tiger Vanguard in terms of strength.
He has to compete on speed, agility, and intelligence.
Seeing that his first strike had failed, Tiger Vanguard snorted coldly and swept his curved blade horizontally.
This strike was faster and more powerful than the last. The blade sliced through the air, producing a buzzing vibration, like the fluttering of a giant bee's wings beside your ear.
Chu Yang did not parry again.
He lowered his body to its lowest point, almost sliding across the ground, as the curved blade whistled past three inches above his head, severing a few strands of hair from the back of his head.
As he slid past, his short sword slashed at Tiger Vanguard's shin.
The sword tip sliced through the edge of the animal hide armor, leaving a shallow bloodstain on Tiger Vanguard's calf.
Tiger Vanguard glanced down at the wound on his leg, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
"you--"
It never expected that this human with such low cultivation could actually injure it. Although it was just a superficial wound with little bleeding, the humiliation was enough to enrage it.
"court death!"
Tiger Vanguard was completely enraged. It gripped its scimitar tightly, and its entire body shot out like a fully drawn bow.
This time, it stopped testing the waters and went all out.
The scimitar transformed into a streak of cold light, unleashing three consecutive slashes from the left, center, and right. Each slash was accompanied by a whistling wind and a sharp sound of tearing through the air, and the three blade beams almost simultaneously covered all of Chu Yang's escape routes.
Chu Yang's pupils contracted sharply.
Before he could think, his spiritual energy surged wildly through his meridians, and with a sudden burst of power from his legs, he launched himself off the ground.
He twisted his body in mid-air, barely managing to pass through the gap between the three blades.
The first cut grazed his left shoulder, slicing open his sleeve and revealing a faint red mark underneath.
The second cut swept across his lower abdomen, severing a cloth bag hanging from his belt.
The third cut was the most dangerous; it almost grazed his cheek, the wind from the blade stinging his face, and a trickle of blood seeped from his cheekbone.
He stumbled upon landing, nearly falling, and barely managed to steady himself by bracing himself with his right hand on the ground. (End of Chapter)