Chapter 222
Chapter 222
“Yes, Master!”
I acknowledged her and immediately complied.
Naturally, the damned fat bird Roundy did not dare disobey her either.
A faint white luminous mist and white ice crystals slowly approached each other from opposite sides.
Then a faint repelling force appeared.
The qi of a human practitioner and the demonic energy of a demon naturally repelled each other, even though Roundy and I were practitioner and household familiar–I could even borrow its power across a great distance!
But when we tried to merge them directly like this, they still resisted each other.
Of course, that resistance was already far weaker than the violent repulsion between ordinary practitioners and demons…
When my qi and Roundy’s demonic energy came within half a foot of each other, an invisible barrier seemed to block them.
They could not draw a fraction closer.
Master’s voice sounded simultaneously beside our ears.
“Ah-Zhong, stupid bird, open your minds completely. Do not resist. I will personally guide your powers and force them to merge. You must remember this sensation well.”
Then Master acted!
I saw her extend her fair hands and make a closing motion through the air, bringing them together from opposite sides.
In an instant,
I clearly felt an immense invisible force brutally pressing my qi and Roundy’s demonic energy together.
“As expected of Master! She can even force this?”
Thinking about it, that made sense…
No matter how resistant a spring was, a force beyond its limit could compress it into a ball.
When our energies finally touched and merged, an indescribably profound sensation rose from the depths of my soul!
It felt as though two powers now existed inside my body…
I could wield them simultaneously or shift between them.
Not only that, I could sense Roundy’s breathing, heartbeat, and every other condition of its body–and presumably, it could sense mine.
At that moment, we entered a wondrous state of synchronization!
“You have five seconds. Remember this feeling carefully. I will also teach you a combined household familiar technique. Practice it diligently from now on. Five, four, three…”
Master’s countdown ended.
She lowered her raised hands.
Whoosh!
My qi and Roundy’s demonic energy sprang apart again.
Intense exhaustion flooded every limb and bone.
It felt as though I had just fought an arcane battle.
The damned fat bird Roundy dropped straight onto its backside, cooing and crying,
“I’m exhausted! I’m exhausted!”
Master glanced at us and swept her sleeve again.
The dark void withdrew from all around us. We were still seated beside the dining table in the main room of her house.
The empty bowls and plates from our meal remained on the table, and delicate steam still curled from Master’s tea…
Everything that had just happened truly seemed like a dream!
I immediately gave Master a thumbs-up and exclaimed,
“My master truly possesses profound powers and peerless divine might! Such methods belong only in heaven–how often could mortals ever witness them? My worship of Master flows like an endless river…”
Smack!
A slap landed on my head.
I obediently quieted down.
I hugged my head in both hands.
Even flattery earned me a beating. How unfair!
The damned fat bird Roundy burst out laughing, then received a slap too.
“Why did you hit me?”
“You are Ah-Zhong’s household familiar, partners bound through life and death. When he was struck, you not only failed to comfort him but even mocked him.”
Master wore a solemn expression.
Roundy: “…”
I nearly burst out laughing.
My master truly was… Her hands clearly itched to hit someone, yet she could invent such a serious-sounding excuse.
I had to hand it to her.
“All right. You have experienced the sensation of merging your energies. Next, I will teach you a combined household familiar technique. Within these two days, you must practice it until you can perform it properly.”
I nodded and confidently thumped my chest.
“Don’t worry, Master! There won’t be any problem. Your disciple learns everything quickly.”
Master looked at me with a faint, ambiguous smile.
“Good. Confidence is valuable, Ah-Zhong. You and the stupid bird should go home and sleep. I will make further preparations for your training grounds. I have been preparing the place over the past few days. It is nearby on the rear mountain. After breakfast tomorrow, I will take you there.”
She waved, signaling that I could leave.
For some reason, Master’s expression gave me an ominous chill.
The next morning, when I stood before her so-called “training grounds,” I understood…
She had enclosed an enormous stretch of forest on the rear mountain and placed many wolves, venomous snakes, wild boars, and other fierce beasts inside!
How had she enclosed it?
Naturally, with Qimen Dunjia formations.
She had arranged stones around the forest to create a bewildering formation and a concealing formation.
Anyone who occasionally climbed the mountain would encounter something like an intensified ghost maze at the perimeter and could never enter the forest.
Likewise, because of the formations, the beasts inside could not leave.
It was like a cage!
Master explained calmly,
“I spent some time gathering the creatures in this forest from all around. This also lightens the burden on villagers living in the mountains within a hundred-li radius.”
“And to make them useful for training, I strengthened these beasts further. Otherwise, killing them would be too easy for you and the stupid bird, and the training would be ineffective.”
Hearing that, I nearly wept.
“Thank you, Master. You truly put so much thought into your disciple’s needs.”
She smiled and tousled my hair.
“Ah-Zhong, although I know you’re being sarcastic, I still have to say: you’re welcome, my good disciple. The two of you will train inside for these two days. I will explain things to your parents.”
What?!
We had to remain in this forest for the entire weekend?
Roundy and I immediately panicked a little.
But Master gave us no chance to keep complaining. She simply extended a hand and pushed forward.
An immense force struck my back and sent me flying. I crossed the formation’s boundary and landed inside the forest.
Roundy followed, crashing down beside me like a white furry cannonball.
It even landed headfirst with its feet in the air, leaving it slightly worse off than me.
Strangely enough,
it was clearly daytime, and the sunlight outside was brilliant.
The forest had looked normal from beyond the formation’s boundary, yet the moment we crossed it, the light dimmed and the surroundings felt eerie.
Master was truly formidable!
Her Qimen Dunjia arts could already affect such a vast area.
Master’s voice came from behind us.
“All right. Over these two days, do your best to kill every beast in the forest. I will come take you out after noon on Sunday.”
Then she left without looking back.
Roundy and I remained behind, staring at each other.
Only after a long moment did it stamp a foot fiercely, plant both wings on its waist, and shout,
“See, Wu boy? I told you, the prettier a woman is, the more vicious she is. Your master truly is extraordinarily beautiful, but she’s also truly ruthless. We–”
Awooo! Awooo!
Sudden howls interrupted Roundy.
Pairs of eerie green eyes appeared in the bushes before us. Then powerful wolves emerged one after another, baring their teeth.
At a glance, there were five or six.
My eyes widened.
“What the hell? The wolves we occasionally see in these mountains aren’t this large, are they?”
Indeed…
Although Wujia Village was extremely remote and wolf tracks occasionally appeared in the mountains, most of those wolves were skin and bones. A brave adult man carrying a hoe could handle one without much difficulty.
But these before us were absurd!
Not only were they several sizes larger than ordinary mountain wolves, their coats gleamed with health, and muscles bulged faintly beneath their fur.
They radiated a vicious aura.
I sucked in a sharp breath.
Roundy shouted,
“Your master is downright unscrupulous, Wu boy! She must’ve fed these wolves plenty of talisman water made with the extremely rare Soul-Burning Talisman.”
Soul-Burning Talisman?
What was that?
Even its name sounded high-level. I did not think I had reached the stage of learning to draw such a talisman.
“It’s like a stronger Enhancement Talisman, but one with enormous side effects. As the name suggests, it burns the user’s soul, greatly increasing or even doubling their strength for a short time. The price is that once the effect ends, they die immediately.”
I understood…
Burning a talisman and dissolving its ashes in water created talisman water. This allowed it to affect more targets, though with reduced potency.
Master must have fed these wolves talisman water made from Soul-Burning Talismans, making them powerful for a short time.
The wolves would probably die within a day or two as their souls were drained dry.
But the problem was… these wolves were consumable tools for training Roundy and me!
Master did not care whether they died two days later!
The point was that we now had to face the wolf pack’s attack.
Awooo!
The largest wolf, clearly the leader, howled and lunged at me.
It was astonishingly fast!
In that split second, I grabbed Roundy beside me and hurled it directly at the wolf’s head.
It was like throwing a white bomb.
“Wu boy, you bas–”
Bang!
Before Roundy could finish speaking in midair, its round, plump body slammed into the wolf’s nose and shattered it on the spot, sending blood streaming out.
The lead wolf howled in pain and immediately retreated.
Roundy’s round, fleshy, elastic body rebounded from the collision, and I caught it with the motion.
“You bastard, Wu boy!”
“Stop cursing, stop cursing. It happened too suddenly. Let’s hurry and work together against the pack. Without weapons, this is still rather dangerous.”
Practitioners were not immortals, after all. We were merely somewhat stronger than ordinary people, and fierce beasts were still troublesome.
Especially a wolf pack!
Fortunately, my internal martial arts had reached overt force. Otherwise, facing so many wolves enhanced with Soul-Burning Talisman water bare-handed would be pointless! I might as well shout, “Master, save me!” at once…
Awooo!
Another wolf lunged at me. This time I was prepared and did not need to use Roundy as a weapon. I dodged sideways, raised my leg with the motion, and drove a fierce roundhouse kick into the wolf’s waist.
Crack!
The kick shattered its spine.
It collapsed on the spot.
But two more wolves lunged simultaneously, one from my right and the other from behind!
Even if I immediately turned to defend by pivoting on my other heel and twisting through my waist and abdomen, I could handle only one. I was afraid I could not block the other…