Chapter Fifteen: The Devil's Shadow Appears

  The little stone looked down, but it was two or three hundred feet away from the ground, how could he see clearly? His eyes were tired and tears almost flowed out. Just as he was about to ask Qingxu what he wanted him to look at, a pure and gentle true energy entered his body, flowing through his entire body, and suddenly everything in front of him became clear and distinct. He heard Qingxu's voice beside his ear, "Almost forgot that your eyesight isn't enough to see from so far away, now it's okay, right?" The little stone nodded, knowing that he had used true energy to enhance his eyesight. He thought to himself, cultivating the Tao is really great, even though it's so far away, it looks like only two or three feet. Ah! What is this thing?! At this moment, a change occurred at the source of the Mongquan spring. The Mongquan was only about one square meter in size, and originally the water flowed out slowly from the spring eye without any urgency, with only a faint sound of flowing water. Now, there were "gurgling" sounds coming from the water, and something slowly floated to the surface.

  Xiao Shi Tou heard the cry and thought to himself, "Isn't this the sound of a toad croaking?" He had been searching for so long just to see a lame toad? Qing Xu's voice echoed in his ear again, "Look slowly, don't speak or you'll scare it away!" With such caution, how could he scare it from such a distance.

  Qingxu seemed to know what he was thinking, "This thing has been cultivated for two or three thousand years and has become a spirit. As soon as there is any wind blowing or grass moving within a few miles, it immediately returns to its nest at the bottom of the spring, hundreds of feet down. Okay, come out! Quick, take a look!" Two or three thousand years, Xiaoshi heard this and was greatly shocked. What kind of thing wasn't a toad? He hastily looked over and saw that this thing had become a spirit.

  Finally surfaced, let the little stone see the true face of Lushan. He didn't guess wrong that it was a toad, but it was a big one. The largest toad that Little Stone had ever seen was only slightly larger than his fist, but this one in front of him was squatting there, over two feet tall, and could be described in two words: "huge". It floated on the surface of the spring water, its belly

  A loud, clear "wa-wa-wa" cry echoed throughout the mountain. Its color was different from other toads, a bright green rather than a dull grassy green, and under the moonlight it seemed like a beautifully crafted jade artifact, radiating a semi-transparent glow, if not for its cries one would have thought it was a jade-colored gecko. Xiao Shi Tou gasped in surprise, and then discovered that this toad actually had three eyes, with an upright eye between its two normal eyes, shining brightly like a night pearl.

  The little stone looked at the huge toad, his mouth already agape. "This thing is called a three-eyed toad, it has been cultivating in the bottom of the Mengquan Spring for over 2,000 years. On the 15th of every month, it will come out to absorb the moon's essence and use the Taiyin energy to nourish its internal elixir. Today, it thinks there are no talented people on the mountain, so it dares to reveal its true form, otherwise, you can only hear its cries." Qingxu spoke again, his voice soft and fine, like he was whispering a secret, but the two were not very close, how did this voice transmit over? The little stone felt a bit envious, cultivating Taoism really has many benefits, now he would just nod in agreement.

  "Wow! What a big nerve!" Qing Xu exclaimed. Xiaoshi's eyes were fixed on the three-eyed toad, and it turned out that the three-eyed toad had opened its mouth and spat out a pearl the size of a chicken egg, shining with a brilliant light. Xiaoshi knew without Qing Xu telling him that this pearl was the three-eyed toad's internal elixir. But he didn't know that for any creature with an internal elixir, their internal elixir was the essence of their hard work and cultivation over thousands of years. They usually kept it inside their body and rarely took it out. Because once the internal elixir is damaged or stolen, a thousand years of cultivation would be wasted. Tonight, this three-eyed toad didn't know if it was because the moonlight was too beautiful or if there really was no one on the mountain, but for some reason, it spat out its internal elixir and directly absorbed the essence of the moon.

  The three-eyed toad placed the internal elixir in mid-air, and a small stone saw that a faint, almost imperceptible mist-like substance was being absorbed into the internal elixir. The internal elixir grew from the size of an egg to as large as a big watermelon, becoming increasingly bright. At this moment, if one looked up at the sky from Lanzhou City, there were actually two moons in the sky emitting the same light, with the two moons competing in brilliance and illuminating the earth.

  "This is what it means to absorb the Taiyin energy?" Xiaoshi muttered. Looking at the three-eyed toad, it seemed extremely pleased with itself, croaking loudly towards the sky, its three eyes wide open, and had already jumped onto the ground. Qingxu saw that it was so proud of itself that it had lost all sense of caution, shaking his head he said to Xiaoshi "It's too careless, if I weren't here tonight, someone with ill intentions would easily be able to snatch its internal elixir."

  The little stone looked at the toad with a defiant expression, feeling both angry and amused, thinking "What's so arrogant about being just a toad?"

  The three-eyed toad went crazy for a while, as if it was indulging in something. Its internal elixir had absorbed the moon's essence to its limit, and it opened its big mouth to suck back the internal elixir into its belly when suddenly an abnormal change occurred!

  Qingxu was the first to sense that something was amiss. The three-eyed toad's inner dan was about to be recalled, but he suddenly felt the sky darken. Originally, tonight's moon was supposed to be bright and cloudless, but now a black cloud had covered the moonlight, causing the world to lose its color. The three-eyed toad's inner dan's radiance had also dimmed, and it knew that something was terribly wrong. It desperately tried to recall its inner dan, but it had been controlled by some powerful force and refused to listen to its commands, instead flying upwards. The three-eyed toad couldn't let its inner dan be taken away so easily; after all, its nearly 3,000 years of cultivation weren't for nothing. Its three eyes bulged wide open, its four limbs exerted great force, and its belly swelled up like a drum as it used all its might. Xiaoshi still didn't know that something had changed and thought the toad was just playing another trick when he saw it suddenly change shape. He thought to himself, "This toad is addicted again, one trick after another!" Just then, Qingxu called out, "Little brother, don't move rashly! I'll go take a look!" His tone was extremely tense. Xiaoshi only then realized that the toad wasn't playing tricks but was desperately trying to recall its inner dan, which seemed to no longer be listening to its commands. Looking around, he found that Qingxu was no longer by his side. He looked up and saw Qingxu already in mid-air, flying towards a black cloud with an unknown sword emitting a blue glow in his hand. Xiaoshi muttered to himself, "What's going on? Is the cloud even trying to steal something?"

  The black cloud came in such a strange way, the inner elixir of the three-eyed toad was clearly controlled by the black cloud. The black cloud wouldn't snatch things on its own, there must be someone inside the cloud. This person is absolutely a master, able to cast spells and manipulate clouds over such a great distance to steal the inner elixir! Why have I been running into masters lately? Qingxu felt a bit helpless!

  The clearer the void, the closer to the black cloud, the more astonished he was. The aura emitted by the black cloud was something he had never encountered before, eerie, evil, and most importantly, there was a strong attractive force swirling around the black cloud, condensing an extremely powerful but unorthodox power or energy into the black cloud.

  "What kind of evil skill is this, that can actually absorb the ominous and malevolent energy between heaven and earth for its own use? Qingxu's face was shocked! The Qingming sword is already in hand, tonight cannot end well, just relying on the other person's evil skill, this inner elixir also cannot be taken away."

  However, Qingxu didn't wait for the person to make a move, and the swirling force around the black cloud suddenly expanded, enveloping him in an instant with a speed that was too fast to react.

  Qing Xuan's movements were not enough to defend against the black cloud, but after all, his cultivation was deep and his mind was not chaotic. The power of Tai Qing had already been raised, and the sword energy of Qing Ming protected his entire body. After stabilizing his body, he looked back carefully. There was someone inside the black cloud. To be precise, Qing Xuan saw a pair of eyes, blood-red eyes!

  His blood-red eyes met Qingxu's, and he felt his mind unsettled, his true energy scattered. The Taicheng Dao power and the Qingming sword energy that had been building up were unable to be unleashed! Qingxu was greatly shocked, not expecting the other person's spiritual strength to be so powerful. Just one glance at himself unknowingly made him fall into a trap, and what was most miserable was that he didn't even have the chance to counterattack now.

  I clearly know in my heart, but I am powerless. Qingxu slowly closed his eyes, so tired! I need to get a good sleep now!

  The blood-red eyes saw Qingxu closing his eyes, and seemed to let out a cold laugh. "The Kongtong Sect is nothing but this, Qingming Sword! Hmph!"

  At this moment, the Qingming sword's cyan light surged greatly, and the black cloud seemed to be shocked! The clear void that had been closed suddenly opened its eyes, and at the same time, the Qingming sword swung out straight, with a massive wave of sword energy rolling towards the black cloud!

  The dark cloud was caught off guard again by Qingxu's calculation, and it was indeed a swift retribution! However, he was no ordinary person. The sword energy of the Qingming Sword came at him with great force, but he didn't dodge or evade, and instead took the blow head-on! Qingxu took advantage of the momentum to break free and escape, exclaiming in his heart "What a narrow escape!"

  Just now, Qingxu's spirit had been captured. If it weren't for the timely awakening by Qingming Sword, the consequences would be unthinkable! No longer daring to be careless, Qingxu took a deep breath and Qingming Sword struck out again! Wave after wave of sword energy was like raging waves, crashing into the black cloud! There was no reaction, under such fierce attacks, the black cloud only continued to withstand it!

  The Qingxu Heart Path is no good, it's clear that his own sword energy was absorbed by the black cloud, and he didn't even get hurt! Looking again, San Yan Zhuan's internal elixir has been slowly sucked away by the black cloud. San Yan Zhuan has obviously exhausted all his strength, and as he watches his internal elixir being taken away, his loud cries are so mournful!

  Qingxu was also anxious, the black cloud was obviously not a righteous person, and the inner elixir obtained by him would definitely cause great chaos! No more thinking, only one last resort left!

  Xiao Shi Tou had already figured it out, Qing Xu couldn't defeat that black cloud. The toad's internal elixir was flying higher and higher, and it seemed like it was about to be snatched away. He himself was anxious but couldn't help, he had several magical artifacts on him but didn't know how to use any of them! Suddenly, he remembered Zhao Wuji "Zhao Gege! Zhao Gege!!" He called out several times, but Zhao Wuji still didn't respond. He thought to himself, could it be that he was still practicing and hadn't woken up yet? What bad timing! Xiao Shi Tou started blaming Zhao Wuji! Looking at Qing Xu again, things seemed to be taking a turn for the worse, his heart had risen to his throat!

  Qingxu divided the power of Taicheng into two, one yin and one yang, pouring it into the Qingming sword. The Qingming sword suddenly retracted its green light, and in an instant, two strands of sword energy, one green and one white, shot out from the Qingming sword. The two strands of sword energy entwined and grew thicker, eventually becoming as thick as a bucket, with the sword energy stretching over ten feet long, like two giant dragons opening their jaws and pouncing on the dark clouds!

  The black cloud was no longer as leisurely as it had been earlier, and it suddenly began to rotate rapidly, with the airflow emitting a hissing sound. The Qingming sword energy poured in straight away, and the black cloud came to an abrupt halt! After a brief pause, the black cloud exploded with a loud "boom" and dispersed in all directions. Just as the black cloud was dispersing, Qingxu saw the owner of the blood-colored eyes!

  That man was wrapped in a black cloak, revealing only a pair of eyes! Qing Yu was about to swing his sword again when he found that the black cloud that had just exploded was gathering together! And he was right in the center. He suddenly realized "I've fallen into a trap!" This person deliberately blew up the black cloud, just to lure him back in. This time, he's probably not going to escape!

  The ominous and murderous aura in the dark clouds tightly wrapped around Qing Yu, rendering him powerless to resist. Just as all hope seemed lost, the Qing Ming sword in his hand let out a soft hum, as if it had encountered an old friend it hadn't seen in ages, and was greeting them. You're here!

  Yes, he has arrived!

  Qing Xū was about to give up and close his eyes when he saw a crimson sword aura!

  Xiao Shi Tou saw Qing Xū being trapped by dark clouds again, and knew he was in trouble! At this time, a familiar warm current rose from his Dan Tian, instantly flowing through his four limbs and hundred bones! Zhao Wu Jin woke up!

  Without asking any more questions, Zhao Wuji felt that ominous aura! No need to say more, the little stone shouldn't be Zhao Wuji anymore!

  Zhao Wu Jin rode his sword upwards, a crimson red sword aura carrying scorching hot air currents, just like a gigantic fire dragon charging straight up.

  The bright moon has lost its luster, and the sky is filled with a deep red glow!

  Fire Dragon meets Black Cloud!

  A deafening explosion shook the sky, and the dark clouds burst open again. A low, extremely angry voice shouted "Zhao Wujin!"

  Then a black light fled south at an extremely fast speed! Disappeared without a trace.

  The smoke has dispersed, and the moon is bright with sparse stars.

  After everything returned to calmness, the three-eyed toad that had withdrawn its internal elixir jumped into the spring with a "plop" and never came out again!