Chapter 405
Chapter 405
Eventually, the previous Sword King used his charms to seduce the master of the Crimson Rock Daoist Palace, a Daoist priestess who had even renounced worldly ties, and slept with her, tricking her into giving him the two secret manuals of her palace. At the time, the previous Sword King had promised that he would amicably divorce his wife and marry the master of the Crimson Rock Daoist Palace.
The Palace Master even resigned from her position, intending to step down and live with the previous Sword King. Can you imagine the immense pressure she was under at the time? She was scorned by many, and the entire martial arts world cursed her for being shameless. She not only ruined the pristine reputation she had built but was also condemned as a venomous woman who had destroyed another's family. But once that trash, Li Qianqiu's father-in-law, obtained the secret manuals, his attitude changed completely.
He revealed his intentions in a very roundabout way.
"My love, no matter how I think about it, I cannot abandon my wife. Can't we just maintain our relationship as lovers? If our hearts remain true, must we really be together from dawn till dusk?"
The master of the Crimson Rock Daoist Palace hunted that scoundrel for over twenty years, intending to kill him, but she never succeeded and was even bedded by him several more times. Soon after the previous Sword King, that piece of trash, died, she too fell ill with grief and passed away. Before she died, the Palace Master grasped the hand of the new leader, Prajna, and begged her to avenge this humiliation. Knowing this, how could Sword King Li Qianqiu possibly be harsh with Grandmaster Prajna? He absolutely could not. His father-in-law had deceived her master, stealing not only her heart, her body, and her secret manuals, but also her dignity.
After exchanging several hundred blows, Grandmaster Prajna realized she was no match for Li Qianqiu and had no choice but to give up the fight. Prajna said angrily,
"Why don't you just kill me instead of putting on this arrogant act? Who are you trying to impress, dressing like a farmer when you're a grandmaster?"
Li Qianqiu said with regret.
"Sister Prajna, my extraordinary appearance is the act. This old farmer is my true self."
Prajna looked at him with even greater contempt. The previous Sword King of the South Sea had such a commanding presence and handsome features. In contrast, the Li Qianqiu before her always dressed like a peasant, disgracing the title of a grandmaster. He was unworthy of being the successor to her master's husband.
*Wait? Why did I just call that human trash my master's husband?*
Li Qianqiu asked.
"Sister Prajna, when will you finally stop?"
"When you are dead, perhaps?"
"I cannot die just yet. How about this? After Young Master Shen has treated my wife, I will personally go to the Daoist Palace on Crimson Rock Mountain. Then, whether you kill me or spare me will be entirely up to you, Sister Prajna."
While Li Qianqiu's side was engaged in a mock battle, Shen Lang's side was in a real one. The monk soldiers of the Great Calamity Temple fought with such fanaticism, employing tactics that aimed to take down their enemies with them. Even though Shen Lang's side had superior numbers, they were overwhelmed by the monks' ferocity, and casualties were mounting. Ascetic Kunan, in particular, who had once been so cunning and afraid of death, seemed to have been blessed by a divine power the moment he arrived at the Great Calamity Palace. He took on three masters by himself, his presence as imposing as ever. It was as if a spirit truly resided in the Great Calamity Palace, protecting its monk soldiers. Their momentum was so astonishing that the allied forces of Shen Lang and Aruna were on the verge of suffering a great loss.
Just then, with a deep, heavy roar like rolling thunder, the gunpowder exploded, triggering a massive avalanche. The heavens and the earth shook, as if the very mountains were splitting apart. Of course, the Great Calamity Palace was on the summit and was not hit by the avalanche, but the entire ground trembled violently. In an instant, a terrifying sound erupted as the mountains and land shook, as if an earth dragon were turning over in its sleep. And then, the remaining half of the Great Calamity Palace, which had been left standing, suddenly began to collapse.
Crash, crash, crash, crash.
The nearly intact half of the Great Calamity Palace was now completely reduced to ruins. At that moment, the monk soldiers of the Great Calamity Temple were stunned, and Ascetic Kunan was utterly dumbfounded.
*W-what is this? Could it be that the heavenly gods are truly enraged? Did our battle in the Great Calamity Palace today lead to such a dire situation? Heavens! Please, show us your will.*
In a flash, the morale of the Great Calamity Temple's monk soldiers plummeted. They wilted in an instant, like a balloon pricked and losing all its air. In contrast, the allied forces of Shen Lang and Aruna, their spirits soaring to the heavens, launched a frenzied counterattack.
The tide of battle turned in an instant, becoming a one-sided slaughter. The monk soldiers of the Great Calamity Temple met miserable deaths one after another. Their hearts filled with despair and fear, they had lost all will to fight. With their fighting spirit gone, their enemies cut them down in an instant, and the remaining monk soldiers scattered and fled.
***
Rumble.
The avalanche continued, sweeping over everything like a ferocious wave. The Great Snow Mountain still shook madly, and the avalanche only grew larger. However, the part of the avalanche that had wiped out King Aro-Tae's army had already passed. Thanks to his formidable martial arts, Aro-Tae's body had remained firmly planted on the ground as the snow cascaded down around him. And he was filled with an unparalleled fear, as if he were witnessing the end of the world. Faced with such a threat from nature, any person would be terrified, and this was even more true for a barbarian tribe like the Qiang; King Aro-Tae was no exception.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but finally, it was all over, and light returned to his eyes.
*Is the apocalypse over? Has the cataclysm of the heavens and earth ended? Does the Great Snow Mountain still exist? Do I, Aro-Tae, still exist?*
When he opened his eyes again, the scene before him had completely changed. The accumulated snow he had seen just moments ago was almost gone. This was the mountaintop, and all the snow had tumbled down to the base. The Great Snow Mountain, which had once been as beautiful as a palace built by immortals, was now stripped bare, revealing hideous, brown-colored rock. It was like a person whose clothes had been removed to reveal a withered, old body.
Where was Aro-Tae's army? The grand army of thirty to forty thousand was almost nowhere to be seen; most had been swept away by the wave of snow. Still, a few thousand remained. They had survived not because they were as strong as Aro-Tae, but because they had been incredibly lucky. When the avalanche hit, they had curled up as small as possible, and by chance, they had been swept down by the snow only to be caught by a large rock or fall into a pit, which saved their lives. But for those who survived, not an ounce of fighting spirit remained.
*The heavenly gods are enraged. The heavenly gods are angry.*
The several thousand Qiang soldiers immediately fell to their knees, kowtowing desperately.
"O heavenly gods, we were wrong. Please quell your anger!"
Just then, groups of monk soldiers came fleeing down the mountain like startled wild animals, Ascetic Kunan among them. Ascetic Kunan's entire worldview had shattered. He had always dreamed of returning to the Great Calamity Palace and restoring its former glory. But it seemed the heavenly gods did not welcome them, and now all Kunan could think of was leaving this place. He planned to find a quiet place to seek enlightenment and mend his broken spirit. Seeing the monk soldiers of the Great Calamity Temple flee, the Qiang warriors also began to scatter in all directions.
Suddenly, a voice echoed from the mountaintop.
"Where are you running? All of you, kneel and do not move."
The voice actually belonged to Big Dummy. But passed through a sheet-metal megaphone and amplified by the mountain echoes, it sounded quite convincing, like the voice of a heavenly god.
"The heavenly god speaks. The heavenly god is about to bestow his will upon us."
The several thousand Qiang soldiers who had survived by a stroke of luck all knelt on the ground in unison.
"Do you know why you have incurred the wrath of the heavenly gods?"
Following Shen Lang's instructions, Big Dummy strained his throat to produce the sound. Even so, his voice lacked a certain gravitas, but thankfully, the mountain echoes made it sound plausible enough.
"Aruna is the one true king of the Qiang. Aro-Tae is a false king. Yet you followed the false king and tried to kill the true king. That is why you angered the heavens, causing the mountains and the earth to split. Aro-Tae, I will give you one chance now. Fight Aruna in a duel to the death. The winner will be the true king of the Qiang, and the loser will die!"
Hearing those words, Aro-Tae was startled.
*Is the heavenly god giving me another chance?*
At that moment, Su Jianting rushed to Aro-Tae's side, bowed his head, and said urgently.
"My king, this is Shen Lang's plot. It's a trick of his. We must leave this place quickly, descend the mountain, and surround them at the base. Aruna and Shen Lang cannot survive on this mountain for long and will have to come down. We can kill them all then."
The voice from the mountaintop boomed once more.
"Aro-Tae, I am giving you another chance. Did you not wish to prove that you are the one true king of the Qiang? Come up here and fight Aruna. The victor will be the true king of the Qiang!"
At that instant, the gazes of the several thousand kneeling Qiang soldiers turned toward Aro-Tae. Their expressions were very clear.
*This is the will of the heavenly gods. Are you not going to go? If you retreat now, what right do you have to be the king of the Qiang? If you do not ascend the mountain, everyone will look down on you.*
Su Jianting raised his voice, shouting as if in agony.
"My king, you must not go. Absolutely not! This is Shen Lang's plot."
Of the three peerless beauties of the Su Clan, one was missing, leaving only Su Mo and Su Xiao. The two women rushed to Aro-Tae's side, each hugging one of his legs.
"My king, you must not go. This is definitely Shen Lang's plot. We must quickly descend the mountain, block the exit at the base, and kill Shen Lang, Aruna, and all the others."
The several thousand Qiang soldiers looked at the people of the Su Clan with disgust, then stared intently at Aro-Tae.
*If you don't go, you are not fit to be king!*
King Aro-Tae's hands trembled slightly as he spoke.
"My... my cigarettes?"
For the past few months, he had been inseparable from the cigarettes Shen Lang had given him. Smoking one before the deed made him endlessly ferocious, and smoking one after felt like becoming a living immortal. He smoked dozens a day, chain-smoking constantly. Moreover, these cigarettes were truly magical. One puff would excite him, making him feel as if he had the whole world in his grasp. But if he went even half a day without smoking, his energy would drain, his spirits would flag, and his limbs would weaken. Sometimes, he would even find himself crying and sniffling uncontrollably.
"Where are my cigarettes?"
King Aro-Tae asked again.
"W-we don't have... any right now."
A soldier beside him answered.
How could there be none? King Aro-Tae took his treasured cigarettes with him wherever he went. He would rather starve than go without a smoke. But the avalanche just now had sent a massive wall of snow crashing down, sweeping away all the supplies they had brought with them. Including the boxes of cigarettes.
Just then, the voice from the heavens echoed once more.
"Aro-Tae, will you not seize the chance I have given you? Do you wish to incur the wrath of the heavenly gods once more?"