Chapter 199: Qing Lin Strikes!
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
At this moment, Qing Lin stood gracefully on the shore, quietly staring at the calm surface of the lake, not letting a single movement within escape her notice.
"Swoosh—"
Just then, the sound of tearing wind rang out. Yao Ming's figure appeared behind Qing Lin. Anxiously, he said, "Mistress Qing Lin, the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan is attacking. For your safety, please, you should take shelter!"
"No. I will wait right here for Jiang Yun gege to come out!" Qing Lin slowly shook her head and spoke softly. Her pair of eyes never once left the surface of the Nine Serene Yellow Spring.
"This..." Hearing Qing Lin's reply, Yao Ming hesitated for a moment. But seeing the resolute, unwavering look in her eyes, he could not help but sigh. Turning around, he shot into the distance.
On a distant mountain peak stood over a dozen figures. Among them, an elder with an icy, cold expression watched Yao Ming descend and spoke in a deep voice, "Clan Leader, the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan is pushing us far too far! They brazenly declare they will annihilate our clan! If our clan does absolutely nothing in response, then in the days to come we will surely become a laughingstock. When that time comes, what clan or tribe would dare to attach themselves to us?"
As this elder's voice fell, several voices of agreement and support also rang out. Clearly, they had been stirred to fury by the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan's such arrogant, rampant actions.
"Elder Mo, this matter is far from simple. This time, the Clan Leader of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, Huang Tian, is personally leading the army here. That old bastard possesses the strength of a late-stage five-star Dou Sheng. Looking across our entire Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan—who could possibly match him?!" A gray-robed elder with a rather stiff, stern face also furrowed his brow and spoke.
Hearing this man's words, waves of startled exclamations immediately rang out from the crowd. It was clear that the strength of a five-star Dou Sheng was still something far, far beyond their reach.
"Clan Leader—what does that Lord say?" Amidst furrowed brows, someone spoke up and looked at Yao Ming.
The existence of Jiang Yun and Qing Lin was already no secret in the eyes of the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan's upper echelon. They knew their Clan Leader had latched onto a great, powerful backer, and that behind him, there were even faint traces and shadows of the Taixu Ancient Dragon.
Feeling the converging, gathering gazes upon him, Yao Ming spoke in a deep voice: "That Lord is currently at the bottom of the lake. If Huang Tian dares to come—this place shall be his burial ground!"
Hearing Yao Ming's words, quite a few people subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. With this assurance from Yao Ming, whether true or false—at the very least, the crowd's morale was greatly, immensely boosted.
One after another, they clenched their fists and rubbed their palms, preparing to teach the invading Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan a harsh, unforgettable lesson.
"Yao Ming—I've heard you've returned from the dead. This seat has yet to properly congratulate you!"
Suddenly, a calm, even voice, carrying and containing a formidable, powerful oppressive might, boomed like thunder, resounding and echoing beside the ear of every single member of the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan.
Hearing this voice, the expressions of those elders on the mountain peak all turned grave and solemn.
Yao Ming's gaze was dark and overcast. His figure moved, shooting up into the sky, his gaze turning toward the area outside the mountain range.
There in the sky, an enormous demonic phoenix beat its colossal wings, several hundred zhang wide. Atop the demonic phoenix's head stood a figure clad in purplish-gold robes, hands clasped behind his back. A pair of eyes—gleaming with gold and filled with boundless, incomparable majesty—were also cast directly toward him.
"Clan Leader Huang Tian—this doesn't exactly look like you've come to congratulate me!" Yao Ming gazed at Huang Tian and the several figures behind him and spoke in a deep, heavy voice.
Those three were the Supreme Elders of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan—the Three Heavenly Demon Phoenixes: Phoenix, Kun Phoenix, and Hawk Phoenix. They were respectively at the mid-stage of two-star Dou Sheng, the late-stage of one-star Dou Sheng, and the mid-stage of one-star Dou Sheng.
"Yao Ming—this seat won't waste words with you. The unusual phenomenon stirred up by the Nine Serene Yellow Spring half a month ago—you will honestly and truthfully confess and explain it. Otherwise..."
Huang Tian gazed indifferently at Yao Ming and spoke slowly, unhurriedly. As his words fell, a terrifying, dreadful aura erupted and spread forth from his body. The atmosphere between heaven and earth instantly became incomparably, immensely oppressive and stifling.
"Clan Leader Huang Tian—I urge and warn you. That is not something you can set your sights and covetous eyes upon. Otherwise, it will only bring annihilation and utter catastrophe down upon the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan. Do not bring ruin upon yourself!" Yao Ming's face was filled with solemn gravity as he stared seriously at Huang Tian.
Hearing Yao Ming's words, an icy, chilling cold surged within Huang Tian's golden pupils. "A joke! Within the Beast Domain—is there anything that I, Huang Tian, cannot obtain?!"
Hearing Huang Tian's icy, cold, fierce shout, Yao Ming's expression also slowly, gradually darkened and grew overcast. It seemed that today's matter absolutely could not be resolved peacefully or amicably.
"I'd like to see just what kind of tricks and secrets this place holds!"
Outside the earth vein, the moment Huang Tian's voice fell, he wasted not a single word of further nonsense. The surrounding space rippled and undulated. His figure shot forth directly and violently, charging straight toward the Nine Serene Yellow Spring deep within the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan's headquarters.
Seeing Huang Tian actually so brazenly, flagrantly attempt to force his way in—quite a few of the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan's elders had expressions of ashen, livid fury. Such an act was nothing short of slapping the face of their Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan right before the eyes of countless onlookers!
"Huang Tian—don't go too far! This is the territory of my Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan!" Yao Ming's figure flickered and appeared directly before Huang Tian, his expression dark and overcast, and roared in fury.
"Yao Ming—a mere one- or two-star Dou Sheng like you—do you truly intend to throw a mantis' arm before a chariot's wheel? As the leader of a clan—do you wish to place your entire clan in mortal danger?!" Huang Tian's expression was utterly cold and indifferent. His pair of golden pupils stared icily at Yao Ming and the many elders of the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan behind him.
"Huang Tian—there's no need to dress it up in such high-sounding, righteous, noble words! Today, don't even think about crossing past this point a single step!"
"Yellow Spring Palm!"
A cold, icy light flashed in Yao Ming's eyes. At a time like this, he could no longer afford to care about the enormous, colossal gap between himself and Huang Tian. With a cold, fierce shout, a single palm strike, carrying and saturated with terrifying, dreadful fierce wind, brought with it wave after wave of low, deep sonic booms as it blasted furiously toward Huang Tian.
"Overestimating your own strength! Not knowing your place!"
Seeing Yao Ming actually dare to strike and make a move, a look of mockery and ridicule flashed through Huang Tian's eyes. His expression also turned thoroughly, utterly ice-cold and sinister. His two long, slender fingers casually, carelessly flicked. A golden-feathered light shot forth violently, then collided with Yao Ming's sharp, fierce palm wind with lightning speed.
"Fizz!"
The two made contact. The sharp, fierce palm wind was—practically the moment it touched—utterly routed and collapsed. That golden-feathered light was like a divine weapon capable of slicing through iron as if it were mud. Not only did it effortlessly, easily tear through Yao Ming's sharp, fierce palm wind—it even left a wound and bloody gash, half an inch long, upon his palm, which was harder than metal and stone.
To actually be wounded the very instant they clashed—Yao Ming's expression also changed. At the site of the wound, golden energy spread and diffused rapidly like venomous poison, causing the muscles of that entire section of his palm to grow numb and unresponsive.
"For this King to kill you—it would be as easy as flipping over my own hand."
Huang Tian's figure appeared before Yao Ming like a phantom or specter. His cold, indifferent golden pupils swept a faint, casual, indifferent glance over him. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, Yao Ming felt an immense, colossal, mighty force slam into him. With a thunderous bang, he was directly, forcibly blasted and sent shooting downward, finally smashing ruthlessly into a mountain peak. Instantly, the mountain crumbled and the earth split.
"Clan Leader!"
Seeing that Yao Ming was not even a match for a single exchange with Huang Tian, the expressions of those Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan elders also changed. Then, a surge of violent, furious rage welled up in their hearts.
"Form the array!" A great, thunderous roar rang out from within the shattered rocks of the mountain peak.
"Yes!"
Hearing Yao Ming's command, all the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan elders responded in unified, ice-cold shouts. Then, the sound of tearing wind rang out in rapid succession. No fewer than nearly a hundred figures shot up into the sky, faintly, subtly radiating a trace of profound, wondrous mystery between one another.
"Coiling Serpent Grand Array!"
Pillar after pillar of light abruptly erupted and surged forth violently from within their bodies, finally connecting and interlinking with one another. In less than a single minute's time, in the sky above, a grand array a full thousand zhang wide had already appeared.
A black shadow flickered past. Yao Ming's figure shot swiftly into the very center of the grand array.
"The Coiling Serpent Grand Array?" In the sky above, Huang Tian furrowed his brow slightly. The name and reputation of this grand array—he had naturally heard of it before. Back then, relying on this grand array, the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan had surrounded and slain quite a number of exceedingly, exceptionally powerful experts.
Yet as his gaze fell upon Yao Ming at the very eye of the array, Huang Tian's voice was filled and saturated with utter contempt and disdain. "The grand array is not bad. What a pity—you are no longer the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan of the past."
"Heavenly Phoenix Ancient Array!"
As his voice fell, Huang Tian lightly waved his sleeve. Behind him, the many experts of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan also swiftly, rapidly dispersed and spread out into formation. Then, amidst a unified, thunderous, great roar, a heaven-startling, earth-shaking, piercing phoenix cry also resounded and echoed throughout this stretch of heaven and earth.
"Hiss—"
"Scree—"
Accompanied by two terrifying, dreadful, roaring hisses and cries, endless, boundless energy radiance twisted, warped, coalesced, and condensed within the two grand arrays. Moments later, a giant serpent, several thousand zhang wide, and an enormous phoenix, its sheer size in no way inferior to that giant serpent, slowly, gradually appeared within everyone's line of sight.
The giant serpent's entire body was pervaded and saturated with an ancient, primordial aura, appearing exceedingly, immensely powerful and formidable in its imposing might. The Ancient Heavenly Phoenix also beat its thousand-zhang giant wings and revealed itself in a sky-blotting, sun-covering manner. Its aura and presence were in no way inferior to the giant serpent's—on the contrary, it seemed even more dominant and superior.
The standoff and confrontation between the two clans also stirred and alarmed the experts of various clans within the earth vein. Gaze after gaze turned and looked over, followed instantly by sharply indrawn breaths of cold air. It was clear that the emergence of the two clans' clan-protecting grand arrays had far exceeded and surpassed everyone's expectations.
"Kill—!" At this moment, great, thunderous, furious roars from both clans rang out in the sky.
Everyone watched as the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan's heaven-reaching giant serpent—condensed and coalesced by the combined, collective strength of many elders—swung its enormous serpent tail with a single, sweeping lash. Instantly, that entire stretch of space uniformly, simultaneously, abruptly burst and exploded apart.
Faced with an attack of such terrifying, dreadful momentum and force, within the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, Huang Tian, who was presiding over and directing the grand array, merely arched and raised his brow slightly. From the sky above, a loud, resounding, piercing phoenix cry abruptly rang out. A pair of giant wings—seemingly condensed and forged from pure golden light—pierced through space and came crashing against that giant serpent.
"Bang!"
In the sky above, terrifying, dreadful waves of force and energy spread and diffused outward. The silhouette of the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix flickered and shimmered. In contrast, the silhouette of the giant serpent seemed to grow somewhat illusory and insubstantial. In the collision just now, the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan had—utterly without surprise—fallen into a clear, distinct disadvantage.
Seeing this, Huang Tian's figure flickered several times. Yet, under the countless, numerous watching gazes, he shot directly and straight toward Yao Ming—the Clan Leader of the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan.
"Bastard—!"
Seeing that even after bringing forth the strength of the entire clan, the other party still remained so utterly rampant, reckless, and unrestrained, Yao Ming was instantly overcome with great, furious rage. Yet the sheer, absolute gap in strength laid out before him filled his heart with a surging sense of utter powerlessness and helplessness.
"Demonic Phoenix Talon!" Huang Tian stared coldly and icily at Yao Ming within the array. A single talon—sufficient to shred and pulverize space itself—carried a fatal, deadly, lethal peril as it descended toward Yao Ming.
"Yao Ming was subdued and taken in by Jiang Yun gege. Without Jiang Yun gege's orders—Qing Lin cannot just stand by and watch him die right before her eyes!"
Just then, a soft, gentle, sweet voice echoed and reverberated beside everyone's ears. Clearly, the other party's voice was exceedingly gentle and tender—yet the crowd felt as if the very hairs on their bodies were standing on end.
"Roar—!"
In the next instant, a roaring, raging, hissing cry rang out. Above the Nine Serene Yellow Spring, a woman clad in green robes stood suspended in the empty air. Behind this woman, the phantom silhouette of a serpentine form—a full thousand zhang wide and possessing nine heads—flickered and shimmered, now visible, now hidden. Even as this woman spoke, it lunged and surged savagely in Huang Tian's direction.
"A Dou Sheng... an Ancient Heavenly Serpent?!"
Seeing that incoming phantom silhouette of the Ancient Heavenly Serpent, a flash of shock and astonishment shot through Huang Tian's eyes. The Ancient Heavenly Serpent was a primordial ferocious beast, equally renowned and famed alongside the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix. Both ought to have already faded and vanished into extinction along with the passage of history on the Dou Qi Continent.
The Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan was precisely the descendant and successor of the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix. On the current continent—how could there possibly still exist an Ancient Heavenly Serpent?!
With no time to ponder or consider further, Huang Tian reacted swiftly and rapidly. His mouth opened wide. Black qi surged forth violently. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a hideously fierce, malevolent, savage giant maw, a full hundred zhang wide, as if it intended to devour and swallow the Ancient Heavenly Serpent whole in a single gulp.
"Devouring Heaven and Earth!"
"Bang—!"
A deafening, thunderous crash. Terrifying, dreadful energy ripples spread and diffused outward. A green-clad figure was blasted and shaken by the immense, colossal force, staggering and reeling backward in rapid, continuous succession.
Huang Tian watched the hurtling, tumbling Qing Lin. A cold, mocking sneer emerged at the corner of his lips. "An Ancient Heavenly Serpent—so what? If it were a living, breathing Ancient Heavenly Serpent, I might still feel a sliver of awe and wariness. A mere soul form—you overestimate yourself and know not your place!"
"Kun Phoenix Blood Stomach!"
Black qi surged forth violently from within Huang Tian's body, swiftly, rapidly coalescing and forming above everyone's heads into a bizarre, strange, black form—a full several hundred zhang wide. At a single glance, it looked exactly like an enormous, colossal stomach organ.
At the top of that stomach, a great, gaping opening split wide—like a hideously fierce, malevolent, savage giant mouth—and shot swiftly, rapidly toward Qing Lin to bite and devour her.
"Yellow Spring Finger!" In the midst of being blasted backward, sensing Huang Tian's attack, Qing Lin steadied and stabilized her form. A single finger pointed outward. The energy within the space instantly erupted into violent, raging chaos. An enormous, deep-yellow finger materialized out of thin air, then rumbled and boomed as it tore through space, carrying a terrifying, dreadful, awe-inspiring momentum and force as it charged and slammed toward that giant mouth.
"Boom—!"
The giant mouth effortlessly, easily devoured and swallowed the Yellow Spring Finger completely and utterly. And at this very moment, Qing Lin also landed precisely and perfectly at the very center of the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan's grand array, taking the place and position that Yao Ming had held just moments ago.
Upon arriving within the array's center, Qing Lin's hands flew through a rapid, swift series of seals. Several dozen figures simultaneously flickered and materialized, appearing within the grand array.
At the same time, deep within the depths of her pupils, emerald-green flower petals quietly, silently bloomed and unfurled. On the forehead of every single expert of the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan present—without a single exception—a mark and seal appeared at the center of their brows.
"Heavenly Serpent—return to your post!"
Accompanied by a delicate, feminine, fierce shout, the giant python that the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan had summoned behind Qing Lin slowly, gradually dispersed and faded. Taking its place was the Ancient Heavenly Serpent behind Qing Lin—and it was growing even more solid, substantial, and tangible.
At this moment, looking down and surveying from the sky above, one could clearly see that, centered on Qing Lin, vein after vein of jade-green lines and patterns linked and connected the many experts of the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan in series. An endless, boundless, inexhaustible torrent of power surged and poured into the Ancient Heavenly Serpent's body.
"Jade-Green Snake Triple Flower Eyes!" Huang Tian had also, at this very moment, discovered the strangeness and abnormality within Qing Lin's eyes. He spoke with a grave, solemn voice. Then, looking at the surrounding crowd—including Yao Ming and the others of the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan—sudden, instant understanding dawned in his heart.
No wonder Yao Ming, in order to stop him, was willing to stake and risk the entire Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan without the slightest hesitation or regret. So it turned out they had long since been completely and utterly 'wiped out'!
"Jade-Green Snake Triple Flower Eyes—so what?!" After his initial shock, Huang Tian sneered coldly. With a great, thunderous roar, he bellowed: "Great Rending Demon Talon!"
Huang Tian's figure moved. Behind him, his colossal wings—a full several dozen zhang wide—unfurled and spread open.
With a single flicker and flash, he appeared directly above Qing Lin. An enormous, pitch-black, sharp, fierce talon abruptly pressed and clawed downward. Sharp, fierce, piercing wind completely sealed and locked down the space surrounding Qing Lin's body. Then, ruthlessly and ferociously, it clawed and grabbed straight toward the back of her head.
Huang Tian's speed made Qing Lin's gaze narrow and focus slightly. Yet she did not dodge or evade. Instead, her hand seals shifted. The Ancient Heavenly Serpent in the sky above let out a roaring, raging, hissing cry. Its nine heads, carrying and bearing nine different, distinct energy fluctuations, shot forth violently and surged toward Huang Tian.
"Boom—!"
In the sky above, Huang Tian's enormous, colossal talons smashed and bombarded ruthlessly against the nine heads of the Ancient Heavenly Serpent in their entirety. Violent, raging, ferocious energy fierce wind swept and rampaged madly, crazily in all directions. The surrounding space instantly burst and exploded with resounding, thunderous bangs.