Chapter 23: Breaking the Ice

The intense pain woke Ning Xuan up. He tried to open his eyes, but his eye sockets were in excruciating pain, and he couldn’t perform the action of opening his eyes no matter what.

His eyeballs had once again been eaten first by that demon.

It seemed that the demon would always eat his eyeballs first.

This time, Ning Xuan did not try to perceive what the demon was by “being gnawed at” again.

He decisively used his remaining strength, let out a muffled grunt, and his qi and blood rushed to his brain, instantly spraying out from his seven orifices.

The pain of sinking into the endless hell also dissipated.

Darkness…

Boundless darkness…

Ning Xuan felt the gentle night wind blowing through his hair.

[Three of Nine]…

He opened his eyes, stared blankly at the dense forest, the black moon, and the high mountains, sighed lightly, and then simply lay down on his back in a spread-eagle position, trying to relax as much as possible.

His nerves being constantly tense would destroy his will.

In this hellish nightmare, dying once was not terrible. What was terrible was the gradual collapse of his heart, the gradual despair, which would truly be an eternal damnation.

He swore that this time when he went back, he would definitely gather all the courtesans from the Zuihua Pavilion and the Chenxiang Pavilion, and then have them strip naked and drink and make merry with him. Then he would have the musicians play the pipa under the moon, wearing the thinnest, thinnest red gauze.

He swore that he would definitely eat the most luxurious and delicious food. Even if it meant running the legs of ten thousand-li horses to the ground, it had to be transported to him from thousands of li away on the same day.

He swore that he would definitely gather some people he found pleasing to the eye, and then gently ask them what their dreams were. If it was a good dream, he would immediately help them realize it. If it was not good, he would make them eat shit.

He had already suffered so much. He would absolutely not marry into that Hanzhou Ranch. Why should he be subservient to others? Why should he still suffer? Why couldn’t he laze around and do whatever he wanted?

“Hahaha…”

Thud.

Ning Xuan raised his hand and slapped his forehead, letting out a low laugh. Then he took a few deep breaths, and his eyes returned to their calm, ruthless, and decisive state.

Here, he had no one to rely on.

He could only rely on himself.

He had to rely on himself.

He had to think of every possible way to kill the opponent.

He… had recovered.

He began to think about the situation just now.

Originally, he was about to succeed. At least things were developing in a good direction, but the Bodhisattva suddenly recovered, and it recovered even stronger than before.

Why?

That “huff-ha” was a sound wave attack, similar to the “Lion’s Roar” technique in the martial world, but when performed by the Bodhisattva, it was terrifyingly powerful.

So, why didn’t the Bodhisattva use it at the beginning, but instead lay in the mountain gap looking for him?

So, “huff-ha” was a secret technique, and the Bodhisattva’s sudden recovery was also a secret technique.

Right?

After being hit by “huff-ha,” his whole body had almost completely collapsed, but he still maintained a trace of consciousness.

Thanks to his mother’s belief in Buddhism, he could also recognize the Bodhisattva’s actions before eating him.

Catching him with his palms up was the “meditation mudra.”

Lifting him up and flipping him over, then pressing him to the ground, was the “demon-subduing mudra.”

However, he did not feel any extra power in these two mudras.

In other words, these two mudras were just simple imitations of actions.

If it were a real Bodhisattva, it would not be possible for it to perform the starting moves of a divine power without any effect.

So, this once again proved that this was just a demon wearing a Bodhisattva’s skin.

Right?

Suddenly, two details flashed through Ning Xuan’s mind.

One, the pale white light.

Before the Bodhisattva used its secret technique to recover, a pale white light had exploded in front of his eyes.

That was the color of sunlight.

Why did the demon only appear during the day?

What about at night?

It wasn’t there on the first night.

What about the second night, was it still there?

Two, slow movements.

Compared to the Bodhisattva’s power, its movements were actually not fast, especially after being approached, they were even slower.

The Bodhisattva could actually be divided into “four power ranges.”

In terms of power, the Bodhisattva could make him completely collapse and lose all resistance with one palm and one roar.

In terms of speed, the Bodhisattva could only keep up with him. He was desperately fleeing, and the Bodhisattva could only desperately chase.

In close-range dodging and shifting, the Bodhisattva could be described as “clumsy,” otherwise it would not have been able to get into its mouth, enter its esophagus, and force out its secret technique.

In the Bodhisattva’s belly, the demon, which was very likely a mouse, was the last range. From the fact that it had subconsciously blinded him first both times, this demon was very likely afraid of being seen. Even when facing a food, it would eat the opponent’s eyeballs first.

Ning Xuan thought about it and then looked at the black moon in the sky.

He decided to do one thing.

A bold thing.

He took “Many Children and Grandchildren” and “Four Generations Under One Roof,” but he did not carry them on his back.

He collected the bottles and jars of poison, but he did not coat his saber blade with poison.

At the same time, he also collected some common medicines for “restoring qi and blood,” “relaxing muscles and activating blood,” and “regulating and recovering” that martial artists often carried. He stuffed these into his bosom.

Then, he plunged the Beast-Slaying Saber straight into the ground, like a flag fluttering in the wind before dawn.

After removing these external objects, he felt much lighter.

Then, he no longer explored the “nightmare boundary,” but sat cross-legged on the spot under the Beast-Slaying Saber, closing his eyes to rest.

As time passed, his state was climbing to its peak.

Finally…

The sky brightened.

Ning Xuan opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings.

He had already felt the prying gaze from above his head.

A rumbling sound like thunder came from above his head.

“Little fellow, are you looking for…”

Before the words fell, Ning Xuan slapped the ground with his palm, and his figure rose. His peripheral vision swept over the Bodhisattva above his head, which was hunched over, its gaze penetrating the forest and landing on him.

Then, he swept towards the Manfeng Mountain in the north like a gust of wind.

Without any burden, his speed was half a point faster than before, and his consumption was also slightly less.

The Bodhisattva smiled faintly and then chased after him.

An incense stick’s time passed…

Half an hour passed…

An hour passed…

A look of surprise appeared on the Bodhisattva’s face.

Two hours passed…

Ning Xuan began to take medicine.

Three hours passed…

The Bodhisattva said from behind, “Little fellow, you can really run.”

Ning Xuan did not answer, so as not to waste his strength.

He continued to run.

Another hour passed…

He felt that he had already crossed the entire Manfeng Mountain. The moment he stepped out of the mountain, he felt that he had finally hit a boundary.

And after crossing the boundary, he saw the Beast-Slaying Saber.

The Beast-Slaying Saber was still standing in its original place, and it let out a slight whimper in the strong afternoon wind.

Ning Xuan sat down cross-legged and began to quickly recover his stamina.

He remembered that when he was refining the Mountain-Crashing Bear before, that bear demon had not leaped into the “boundary” to chase him, but had sensed where he was and then returned the way it came.

He was looking forward to the Bodhisattva returning the way it came.

Ning Xuan waited for a short while. Seeing that the Bodhisattva had not crossed the boundary and come here directly, he quickly found a water tank in the military camp, soaked himself in it, took a cold shower, and then found some dry food and dried meat in the military camp and ate them in large mouthfuls.

He ate until he was seventy percent full, and then sat cross-legged by the Beast-Slaying Saber again.

The sky gradually darkened…

The pale sun slowly set in the west, blocked by the mountains, casting a cold and oppressive mountain shadow.

Ning Xuan’s stamina had almost recovered.

But the Bodhisattva had not yet arrived.

When he fought the Mountain-Crashing Bear demon before, the area was in a mountain villa, and Ning Xuan had never left that mountain villa, so the time had never dragged on for a day and a night.

But now, the second night was about to arrive.

He didn’t know if the Bodhisattva would disappear, or if it would… continue to come.

The sun disappeared.

The black moon rose.

Ning Xuan sat quietly.

His stamina had completely recovered.

After another two hours, he heard a rumbling sound in the distance.

Under the moonlight, the golden-bodied Bodhisattva was rushing over.

Ning Xuan smiled.

He slapped the ground and started running again.

He went around the golden-bodied Bodhisattva and went north again.

The golden-bodied Bodhisattva followed again.

After another four hours…

He crossed the “boundary” again and returned to the original place.

The Bodhisattva continued to come…

Ning Xuan continued to run.

He didn’t believe that the Bodhisattva could run forever without consumption.

In the third round…

The Bodhisattva finally stopped and no longer chased.

It began to recover.

The white light on its body began to dim.

In the sky, the black moon was just beginning to rise.

Ning Xuan took a deep breath and finally pulled out the Beast-Slaying Saber.

The young man’s black hair danced wildly. He carried “Many Children and Grandchildren” on his back, shouldered his long saber, came before the Bodhisattva, looked up at the giant, and said, “A mere little demon dares to wear a Bodhisattva’s skin?”

This sentence seemed to be very hurtful. The golden-bodied Bodhisattva, which was regulating its breath, opened its eyes in an instant and slapped at Ning Xuan.

Ning Xuan spun and dodged.

The golden-bodied Bodhisattva glanced at the burden on his body, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly got up and chased after him again.

Ning Xuan started running again.

This time, he only ran to the mountain gap where the waterfall was rushing, and drilled in as before.

Bang!

Bang!

The golden-bodied Bodhisattva pressed its hands on both sides, and its large face came over.

“Little fellow, this time, look…”

Boom!

Before the words fell, a roar was heard, and a ray of light was seen.

Ning Xuan carried the large iron box on his back, held the Beast-Slaying Saber, and in a posture that he had imagined a hundred thousand times, in a posture that would absolutely not make any mistakes, he rushed into the Bodhisattva’s large mouth with a violent force, and then went straight down the esophagus.

He skillfully threw out Four Generations Under One Roof to open the way.

He skillfully activated Many Children and Grandchildren, and then kicked hard, letting the large iron box shoot out hundreds of thousands of hidden weapons while falling rapidly.

He was behind, using the Swallow’s Cry Power, and slashed wildly with his saber.

Cough!

Cough cough!!

The Bodhisattva’s cough became more and more violent.

The wind in the esophagus also became more and more violent.

Many Children and Grandchildren formed a balance in mid-air and could not continue to fall.

Ning Xuan’s black hair twisted upwards like deep sea grass.

And many, many wounds appeared in the Bodhisattva’s esophagus.

The two sides began a tug-of-war in the esophagus.

Just then, a furious scream from the Bodhisattva’s internal organs suddenly came to Ning Xuan’s ears, and then a familiar pale white light exploded in front of his eyes.

This light was not intense.

But after it passed over the wounds, it still quickly healed them.

Ning Xuan was stunned.

‘No way?’

A strong sense of despair rose in his heart.

If he had already done this much, but it was still a cycle, then… what would he do next time?

A strange exhalation began to brew.

All the violent upward air currents in the esophagus stopped.

“Hmph~~~”

Although Ning Xuan was desperate, his reaction was extremely fast. He no longer went down, but stepped on the esophagus and flew up.

Just as he was about to reach the entrance of the esophagus, the loud noise erupted.

“Ha!!!”

Bang!

He was like a grain of rice being sprayed out of a huge mouth, sprayed into the air.

His peripheral vision swept over the golden-bodied Bodhisattva below.

Suddenly, he was stunned for a moment.

The ten-zhang-tall Bodhisattva had directly shrunk by a small circle and become eight zhang. At this time, it was staring at him with a pair of eyes that were angry to the extreme.

“Little fellow, I will slowly, slowly eat you, and make you regret coming to this world.”

Ning Xuan laughed wildly, and the despair in his heart was swept away.

The next moment, he suddenly exerted his strength, and before he had even landed, he had already killed himself.