Chapter 22: Entering Dangerous Territory

  Zhang Fei's face tightened as soon as he saw Shu Baixue, and his forehead was covered in sweat. He said: "Miss Shu... are you here to help us?"

  Shu Bai Xue's eyebrows furrowed, and Han Mei Xuefeng let out a startled cry as she stabbed forward, her target being Zhang Feiyang!

  Although it was expected, Zhang Fei Yang was still greatly shocked and didn't dare to think more, turning around to escape immediately.

  Shu Bai Xue closely pursued, the sword light chopped past, chopping onto Zhang Fei Yang's back, Zhang Fei Yang suddenly felt as if whipped, his spine aching greatly. Instantly, his spirit entered the Lian Yao furnace, a golden light emitted from the Lian Yao furnace, enveloping Zhang Fei Yang's body in its radiance. The sword light chopped again, under the illumination of the golden light, it didn't hurt that much anymore.

  Shu Bai Xue saw that Zhang Fei Yang's strength was not weak, and immediately became even more enraged, shouting: "You lecherous thief, don't run, take my sword!" If Han Mei Xue Feng pierced through, then the golden light would be ineffective.

  Zhang Fei didn't dare to stop, dodging around the trees and fleeing, not daring to slow down his pace. The two of them chased each other, soon disappearing into the dense forest in the valley.

  Huang Juan and Cao Wan were restrained by the green snake, unable to 'extract' themselves to help each other, and could only let Shu Baixue chase after Zhang Feiyang.

  Zhang Feiyang ran for a long time, panting and begging for mercy, wanting Shu Baixue to stop, but Shu Baixue was stubborn and only cursed "pervert" with her mouth, while the cold snow sword in her hand continued to flash out.

  Zhang Fei could only lower his head and run wildly, running until the sky was dark and the earth was dim, without distinguishing between north and south, and not knowing how long he had been running. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of him, and it suddenly became clear and open, and he actually entered a vast stone forest.

  This stone forest seems to be man-made, with no tall trees around, only stone pillars over two meters high standing in the midst of a "chaotic" pile of rocks. On top of the stone pillars, some macaques are chattering and calling out, scratching their ears and cheeks, curiously looking at Zhang Fei Yang and Shu Bai Xue below.

  The fire monkey is greyish yellow all over, has a big head and long tail, its mouth can spit out fire, it does not easily attack humans.

  Under the stone pillar, the gravel is relatively stable, and some green wild grass grows in the gaps. Apart from this, there are no other plants. This is what the child called "Huǒ Hóu Shí Lín" (Fire Monkey Stone Forest).

  "Ah! How did I end up here? Tongzi once warned that the fire monkeys in this place are very fierce!" Zhang Feiyang looked up at those fire monkeys, several of which saw the two enter their territory and began to bare their teeth and threaten them.

  "Pervert!"

  Shu Bai Xue's Cold Plum Snow Frost had already been placed on Zhang Fei Yang's neck, and with just one move, it could cut out blood.

  Zhang Fei Yang widened his eyes, staring at the cold plum frost and snow, swallowed hard, and trembled as he said: "Shu Niang...the previous matter was a misunderstanding, why must you keep chasing me relentlessly? That day, I was starving and only went to pick apples from the tree, but unexpectedly saw something that shouldn't be seen!"

  Shu Baixue angrily said: "You lecherous thief, still daring to quibble!"

  Zhang Fei Yang's face was bitter with a smile, saying: "What I said is true, there is not a bit of 'fake' or 'false' component, hope you forgive me..."

  "It's unforgivable!"

  Zhang Feiyang took a look at Shu Baixue and found that Shu Baixue's cheeks were already flushed red, with an angry face, but it seemed to have a more beautiful flavor. He was immediately moved in his heart, looked again, and then stared blankly, thinking how come Shu Baixue is so good-looking? A living fairy!

  Shu Baixue shook off the cold plum snow and accidentally touched Zhang Feiyang's neck, causing him to be startled in his heart. He also didn't dare look again.

  Zhang Feiyang said: "Shu Niang... I'm not guilty of a crime punishable by death, what do you want me to do to forgive me?!"

  "Shu Baixue angrily said: 'You saw something you shouldn't have seen, unless you pluck out your own eyes!'"

  Zhang Fei's face contorted in agony as he exclaimed, "No! Shu Niang... Shifu Jie... Xian Nu... Bodhisattva... Good Samaritan... you can call me whatever you want, just please don't dig out my eyes! In this world, I have no parents, no family, no wife, no girlfriend, not even a girl's hand to hold. Without eyes, how will I find a wife in the future?!"

  "You..." Shu Baixue heard and felt both angry and annoyed.

  Squeak

  The fire monkeys in the Fire Monkey Stone Forest suddenly became violent, they kept shouting and jumping on the stone pillars, several of them at the bottom also cried out and climbed up to the stone pillars, as if something had happened.

  Shu Bai Xue stared at those fire monkeys in surprise, feeling that they seemed to be making some kind of warning.

  Zhang Feiyang hastily shrunk his neck back, shaking off Han Meixue's frost, and with his tail between his legs, escaped into the Fire Monkey Stone Forest.

  "What?!"

  Shu Bai Xuejiao shouted, she didn't expect Zhang Feiyang to take the opportunity to escape and even ran into the Huohou Shilin. If those Huohou got angry, they wouldn't tear Zhang Feiyang apart, it would be strange! She immediately shouted: "You thief! Don't run away!" and also chased after him.

  "Shu Niang, I promise I won't dig out your eyes, just don't run away!" Zhang Feiyang shouted, his legs not daring to stop for a moment.

  "No! I've got my eyes on you!" The farther Zhang Fei ran, the angrier Shu Baixue became. In a fit of rage, her foot slipped and she fell onto the gravel, almost hitting her chin.

  Zhang Feiyang turned around and saw Shu Baixue's disheveled appearance. Even the most beautiful girl would look unattractive after falling down. Zhang Feiyang burst out laughing, saying: "Sister, are you okay? Why don't you stop chasing me and take a break?"

  Xue Bai Xue was so angry that she became furious, Zhang Fei Yang didn't say anything and it would have been fine, but once he spoke, her anger surged even more. Originally, Zhang Fei Yang had already seen her ugly side, now seeing it again, she suddenly felt that Zhang Fei Yang must be killed! With a wave of her arm, a sword light chopped down.

  Zhang Fei hastily retreated and had only run a few steps when he suddenly heard a loud roar that echoed through the valley.

  That roar was like a tiger's howl, shaking the ears and almost deafening, and it came from close range. Zhang Fei Yang and Shu Bai Xue were both stunned.

  Only a majestic and powerful demon beast emerged from the fire ape stone forest, walking slowly. The beast had the shape of a tiger and the body of an ox, with black and white fur that shone like steel needles. Its four limbs were its most striking feature, with many strange flower-like patterns growing naturally on them, giving off an aura of immense power. This was the king of demon beasts in the Purple Cloud Mountain Valley: the Qilin!

  Fierce and overbearing, except for hunting, they rarely leave their 'cave', the Fire Monkey Stone Forest is their territory. These fire monkeys are under the jurisdiction of the fierce beasts, and the abnormality of the fire monkeys just now was because this fierce beast had arrived!

  "My goodness! Is this a Xiezhi?! Seeing the real thing has scared me to death!" Zhang Feiyang didn't dare to be slow, and with one glance, he knew he was no match for the Xiezhi. He turned around and ran towards Shu Baixue.

  But Shu Baixue was very stubborn, and the sword was still pointing at Zhang Feiyang. She wasn't a match for him either, so she wanted to kill Zhang Feiyang first before escaping.

  Zhang Fei was suddenly attacked from both front and back, and his heart sank at once. Could it be that he would die in this Fire Monkey Stone Forest today?

  Roar

  How could the intruder let the person who broke into their territory escape? In the eyes of the wolf, these two were invaders. With a swift leap, it flew over Zhang Fei Yang's head and blocked the retreat of Zhang Fei Yang and Shu Bai Xue.

  Shu Bai Xue saw that Xiū Lí was right next to her, and immediately turned her slender body, transforming the cold plum blossom frost into a half-moon slash on Xiū Lí's body.

  This rhinoceros has been cultivating for a hundred years, its skin and hair are like steel. Although Xue Ling's total spiritual power reached 230, it was still not enough to exert the true power of Hanmei Frost Snow. This slash could not hurt the rhinoceros at all, but instead thoroughly enraged it.

  A giant claw swiped at Xue Bai's shoulder, sending him flying into a stone pillar. The fire monkeys on top of the pillars let out a chorus of mocking chirps, as if ridiculing him.

  Shu Bai Xue was heavily injured, but still grasped the Han Mei Xue Feng in her hand, and for her, no matter how painful it was, she would not let go of her own weapon.

  Zhang Fei looked at it and felt that something was wrong. Shu Baixue's face revealed a painful expression, and she was being forced step by step to get closer.

  In a critical moment, facing a strong enemy, Zhang Fei directly rushed over and struck the Qī Lín's head with his Shocking Demon Hammer.

  The bear let out a low growl, unharmed but feeling dizzy, which was the additional effect of the Shocking Demon Mallet. Although it couldn't hurt the bear, this dizziness effect turned out to be useful.

  The Qilin's head shook rapidly, and as soon as it recovered, it swiped a claw at Zhang Fei Yang, who hastily jumped back to avoid it. Then, using the basic sword techniques of the Xianjian Pavilion, "Xianhe Zhanchi" (Immortal Crane Spreads Its Wings), "E'yu Baitou" (Alligator Swishes Its Tail), and "Jinji Duli" (Golden Rooster Stands Alone), three moves were executed flawlessly, with a critical hit accurately landing on the Qilin's body. However, since what was held in hand wasn't a sword, the power of this basic sword technique weakened by half, rendering it ineffective.

  The ape's front paw lifted, and with a mighty force, it slapped Zhang Feiyang's body. Zhang Feiyang's body flew like a leaf, and he crashed into the stone pillar, provoking a burst of giggles from the fire monkeys.

  At this time, Shu Baixue launched a set of swordsmanship that Zhang Feiyang had never seen before, launching a fierce attack on the wolf. The swordsmanship was like rain, shining brightly, and it was the true transmission of the authentic disciple's swordsmanship that Shu Baixue's master had exceptionally taught her! Because Shu Baixue had high comprehension and good character, her master particularly liked her and intentionally cultivated her.

  But Shu Bainian was not a true disciple, and his spiritual power had not yet reached the point where he could fully grasp this sword technique. After fighting with Xie Wuji for a while, he began to feel overwhelmed, and received several heavy blows from Xie Wuji, gradually revealing many openings.

  Zhang Feiyang was severely injured by the swipe of Xī Líng's paw, and his shoulder still ached. He knew that even if he joined forces with Shu Baixue, they would not be able to defeat Xī Líng. Suddenly, he thought of Chengzi and shouted loudly: "Chengzi, Chengzi! Where did you run off to at this critical moment? Dammit, if you don't come out now, your master will be eaten by Xī Líng! Do you want to wait another few thousand years to find a new master?"

  The Heaven and Earth Wind Cloud Refining Cauldron, this divine artifact, if the master dies, cannot immediately find a new master. It must let the remaining 'essence' of the previous master in the artifact completely disappear before finding a new one. This process can be long or short, the more powerful the artifact is, the longer it takes. The Heaven and Earth Wind Cloud Refining Cauldron requires a thousand years to flush away the 'essence' of the previous master.

  It seems that Zhang Feiyang's words had an effect, as Chengzi's voice entered his mind, saying: "What the heck, why is your heart beating so loudly? I couldn't sleep. What are you yelling about? Didn't I come? What's wrong?"

  Tangerines can sense their owner's heartbeat. When their owner is in danger and their heartbeat becomes intense, they will wake up no matter what they are doing.

  "Can't you see for yourself?" Zhang Fei angrily retorted.