boyutpedia Chapter 139 Trial
Chapter 139 Trial
The entire cave suddenly changed!
The hot springs vanished, the ice walls vanished, the blue light vanished. In their place lay an endless snowfield. A howling wind howled, blizzards lashed like knives, and the temperature plummeted to minus fifty degrees Celsius! At the edge of the snowfield, a gigantic tiger, pure white, ten zhang long, and with wings on its back, roared to the sky, charging towards them…!
"This is..." Nie Lingfeng's pupils contracted.
"A projection of the Kunlun Mountain Guardian Beast—the Enlightened Beast." The Queen Mother of the West's voice drifted through the wind and snow. "Defeat it to prove you are qualified to protect her. Otherwise... you can stay in this illusion and play with it."
After she finished speaking, her illusory image completely vanished.
Only Nie Lingfeng, Chen Duo, and the roaring, charging beast remained...
"Damn it!" Nie Lingfeng cursed, drawing his Snow Drinking Blade. "What's this? Meeting the parents requires fighting monsters?!" (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Chen Duo had already stood up from the ground, the phoenix totem on her back still glowing faintly. She looked at the approaching Kaiming Beast with a calm expression, even... a hint of eagerness.
"I can help," she said.
"No need." Nie Lingfeng pulled her behind him. "You've just received the inheritance, so take your time to adjust. This big cat... I'll take care of it."
He gripped the Snow Drinking Blade tightly, a flash of three-colored light passing through his eyes.
The three parts of the original Qi are now circulating at full power!
Demon Heart Crossing - Domination Mode activated!
This time, he clearly felt the difference from before—the newly fused Qilin power within his body was gentle yet powerful, perfectly matching the Three-Part Return to Origin Qi and the Demon Heart Crossing, as if it were originally part of his power, flowing smoothly and without any stagnation.
"Come on," he grinned, a fierce fighting spirit gleaming in his eyes, "let me see just how powerful Kunlun's divine beast really is!"
The Enlightened Beast pounced forward and slammed down with its claw! The claw's force tore through the air, carrying the chill of ice and snow, as if even space itself was about to freeze!
Instead of retreating, Nie Lingfeng advanced, his Snow Drinking Blade meeting the giant claw with a single slash!
"clang--!!!"
The deafening clang of metal against metal shook the entire snowfield! Nie Lingfeng slid backward for more than ten feet, carving two deep furrows in the snow, but his hand holding the knife remained as steady as a rock.
The Enlightened Beast was also knocked back a few steps. It looked down at the faint white mark on its claw and a hint of surprise flashed in its eyes—this human could actually withstand a claw attack from it.
"That's it?" Nie Lingfeng shook his numb wrist and laughed. "Let's try again!"
He took the initiative! With his Wind God Legs leaving no trace on the snow and his figure as fast as lightning, he instantly circled around to the side of the Enlightened Beast and slashed at its ribs! The Enlightened Beast reacted extremely quickly, flapping its wings and creating a sudden gust of wind that made Nie Lingfeng's figure pause. Then, its tail swept across like a steel whip, aiming straight for his waist!
Nie Lingfeng lightly touched the ground with his toes, leaping into the air to avoid the sweeping tail, while simultaneously making a grasping motion with his left hand and a slight thought in his mind—
"Buzz!"
A golden-red flame appeared out of thin air and danced in his palm! The flame was different from the ones before; its color was purer, its temperature was more restrained, yet it emitted a heart-palpitating fluctuation.
"Try this—Qilin Fire: Heaven-Burning!"
With a push of his palm, a golden-red fireball roared out, growing larger in the wind until it became a fireball with a diameter of ten feet, hurtling towards the Enlightened Beast! Wherever it passed, the blizzard melted, the cold air dissipated, and even space itself was scorched and slightly distorted!
A look of seriousness finally appeared in the eyes of the Enlightened Beast. It opened its mouth and spewed out a solid stream of ice breath, which collided violently with the fireball!
"boom--!!!"
Ice and fire clashed, unleashing a deafening roar! Half of the snowfield turned into scorched earth, while the other half froze into a thick layer of ice! The surging air swept away the snow within a radius of a hundred feet!
Nie Lingfeng landed, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes. The power of the Qilin Fire was even stronger than he had expected! Moreover, he could control it with ease, as if it were an extension of his own arm, without the strain of needing to suppress it that he had experienced before.
"Again!"
He pounced again, this time without holding back.
The top ten martial arts masters unleash their full power!
Knife, spear, sword, halberd, staff, fist, palm, leg, claw, finger—ten weapons, ten artistic conceptions, all wielded effortlessly and unpredictably in his hands! The newly fused Qilin power is perfectly integrated into every move, causing his attack power to surge, and his speed, strength, and reaction to reach a new level.
The Enlightened Beast was forced into a retreat. Although it possessed immense strength and astonishing defense, it was ultimately just a projection with limited intelligence. Faced with Nie Lingfeng's unpredictable and rapidly increasing fighting style, it was simply no match for him. More than a dozen wounds quickly appeared on its body. Although not deep, the wounds were wreathed in three-colored vortexes and golden-red flames, constantly eroding its power.
"roar--!!!"
The Enlightened Beast was enraged. It roared to the sky, spread its wings, and its body was covered with dense ice and snow runes! The blizzard on the snowfield instantly intensified tenfold! Every snowflake was like a knife, every gust of wind was like a steel whip, the temperature plummeted to below zero hundred degrees Celsius, and even the air began to freeze!
"They're getting serious?" Nie Lingfeng raised an eyebrow, more pleased than surprised. "Perfect... I'll try out this new trick too."
He sheathed the Snow Drinking Blade and slowly drew circles with both hands in front of his chest.
The three-part Qi gathers, rotates, and merges in the palm of the hand...
This time, it's not a column of air, nor a cyclone.
It is... a ball.
A hazy, fist-sized sphere of chaos, its surface shimmering with golden-red patterns, seemingly capable of swallowing all light...
On the surface of the sphere, three-colored light intertwined and flowed with golden and red patterns, sometimes as swift as the wind, sometimes as ethereal as clouds, sometimes as cold as frost, and sometimes as intense as flames. At the center of the sphere, a dark red light appeared and disappeared—that was the power of the demonic heart, which was being governed, tamed, and... perfectly integrated into it.
"Three parts return to the origin..." Nie Lingfeng slowly spoke, his voice clear and distinct amidst the blizzard, "The primordial energy returns to the origin."
He pushed with both hands.
The Chaos Sphere slowly flew towards the Enlightened Beast.
It was slow and light, like a feather.
But the Enlightened Beast was on high alert! It tried to dodge, but its body seemed to be bound by an invisible force, unable to move! It tried to unleash ice breath to defend itself, but the ice breath was swallowed up by the Chaos Orb as soon as it left its mouth, without even making a splash.
The Chaos Orb gently touched the forehead of the Enlightened Beast.
then……
"Buzz".
There was no loud noise, no explosion.
The Enlightened Beast's massive body, like a sand sculpture, began to disintegrate and dissipate from its forehead, transforming into the most primal ice and snow energy, which was then completely devoured by the Chaos Sphere.
A few seconds later, the Enlightened Beast... disappeared.
The snowfields, storms, and low temperatures... also disappeared.
The cave, the hot spring, the blue light—they reappear.
Nie Lingfeng stood rooted to the spot, the chaotic sphere in his palm slowly dissipating. His face was somewhat pale, and his breathing was a little erratic—that last move had taken a heavy toll. But his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.
He did it.
The power of the Three-Part Returning Qi increases even further after it is fully integrated with the power of the Qilin.
The Demon Heart Crossing is now completely stable.
He had complete control over the Qilin Fire, as if it were his own arm.
"Clap clap clap..."
A round of applause rang out.
The illusory image of the Queen Mother of the West reappeared, even more transparent than before, its outline almost indistinguishable. She looked at Nie Lingfeng, her eyes filled with admiration.
"Not bad," she said. "The Qilin Marrow has been fully integrated, and her cultivation technique has also improved. I can rest assured entrusting my daughter to you."
She looked at Chen Duo, her eyes filled with reluctance: "Child, the inheritance has been given to you. How you use it, when you use it, is up to you. But remember... you are a descendant of the Queen Mother of the West, the last bloodline of Kunlun. Your destiny is destined to be extraordinary. But no matter how extraordinary your destiny, you must... live happily."
Chen Duo looked at her, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just nodded.
"I...will try my best."
"Good, good..." The Queen Mother of the West smiled, a satisfied smile. Her illusory image began to slowly dissipate, like morning mist meeting the sunlight.
Finally, I have a gift for you.
She raised her hand and pointed at the hot spring.
The warm jade at the bottom of the pool suddenly lit up! All the blue light converged and transformed into a jade pendant the size of a pigeon egg, entirely emerald green, with a phoenix phantom flowing inside. It slowly flew out and landed in Chen Duo's hand.
"This 'Warm Jade Heart of Yaochi' is something I forged with my last bit of strength," the Queen Mother of the West's voice grew softer and softer. "Wearing it close to your body will nourish your phoenix bloodline, and it can also... save your life in a critical moment."
She paused, looked at Nie Lingfeng, then at Chen Duo, and finally said:
"Be happy..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the phantom image vanished completely.
Inside the cave, only the gurgling sound of the hot spring water and the gentle blue light remained.
Chen Duo held the warm jade, feeling the smooth touch in her palm and the faint resonance deep within her blood, and remained silent for a long time.
Nie Lingfeng walked to her side and ruffled her hair.
"Are you alright?"
Chen Duo shook her head, looked up at him, and her emerald green eyes reflected his face, as well as... a complex emotion she had never felt before.
"Nie Lingfeng," she said softly, "it seems like I... have a family now."
Nie Lingfeng's heart softened, and he pulled her into his arms.
"You always have," he said. "Me, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, Chu Lan, Bao Bao, Old Master, Grandpa Lu... we are all your family."
Chen Duo buried her face in his chest and softly hummed in agreement.
After a long while, she finally looked up and handed him the warm jade: "Here you go."
Nie Lingfeng was taken aback: "Why are you giving this to me? This is your mother..."
"You protect me," Chen Duo said earnestly. "This... can help you."
Nie Lingfeng looked into her earnest eyes, smiled, took the warm jade, and hung it around his neck. The jade pendant was pressed against his chest, side by side with the Yin-Yang jade pendant. One was cold, the other hot; one was yin, the other yang, creating a strange sense of balance.
"Let's go," he said. "We should go back. Ali is still waiting outside; he's probably going crazy with worry."
"Um."
The two walked out of the cave, through the thick fog, and back to the entrance of the valley.
Ali was indeed as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. When he saw them come out, he almost cried: "Mr. Nie! Miss Chen! You're finally out! The energy fluctuations inside were so violent, I thought something had happened..."
"It's alright." Nie Lingfeng waved his hand. "The problem is solved. Those villagers must have accidentally entered an illusion and been affected by the formation. Now that the formation has been broken, they'll be fine."
"Really?" Ali exclaimed in surprise.
"Really." Nie Lingfeng nodded. "Go back and write a report. Just say... the abnormal reaction in Tianshan was caused by the natural dissipation of ancient relics, and it has now returned to normal."
"Yes! Thank you, Mr. Nie!" Ali bowed repeatedly, overwhelmed with emotion.
On the way back, Chen Duo remained quiet. She leaned against the car window, watching the snow-capped mountains rushing past outside, clutching the warm jade tightly in her hand, her eyes somewhat dazed.
Nie Lingfeng knew that she needed time to process everything that had happened today.
Background, heritage, mother, responsibility...
For a girl who is just beginning to learn how to live a "normal" life, these things are... too much.
But he will stay with her.
I stayed with her the whole time.
The car drove out of the Tianshan Mountains and headed towards Urumqi. Sunlight streamed through the car window, illuminating Chen Duo's face and giving her pale cheeks a warm glow.
She suddenly turned her head, looked at Nie Lingfeng, and asked very seriously:
"Nie Lingfeng, will I... become the Queen Mother of the West in the future?"
Nie Lingfeng was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Do you want to be one?"
Chen Duo thought for a moment and shook her head: "I don't know. But if it's about responsibility... I will try my best."
"Then don't think too much about it for now." Nie Lingfeng ruffled her hair. "Just be Chen Duo for now. Be a Chen Duo who knows how to go shopping, watch movies, eat ice cream, and be happy. Make a decision when you've thought it through."
Chen Duo looked at him for a long time, and then nodded very softly.
"Um."
She leaned back in her seat, closed her eyes, and a very faint but real smile played on her lips.
Outside the window, the snow-capped mountains recede into the distance.
And the new journey has just begun.
(๑ • ̀ ㅂ • ́) و✧