Love & Redemption
Chapter 149: Volume 4 Hua Meng Sudden Split - 6 Spiritual Beast (4)

Chapter 149: Volume 4 Hua Meng Sudden Split Chapter 6 Spiritual Beast (4)

Xuanji watched helplessly as he was swallowed by the flames, terrified to her core. Ignoring the fierce fire, she rushed in to save him. In an instant, her hair, eyebrows, and clothes were all scorched, sizzling noisily, and her skin felt as if it were about to split apart, the pain was unbearable.

"Si Feng!" she called out, reaching to grab something, but she only grasped a molten object that immediately seared a patch of her palm upon contact. Ignoring the pain, she forcefully pulled it out—it was his treasure sword, both the scabbard and hilt had been melted.

She stood there, motionless. Tengshe sneered, "He died so easily."

Slowly, Xuanji turned to glare at him. Feeling uneasy under her stare, he coldly asked, "What?"

In a low voice, she said, "I’m just wondering if all the Immortals from Heaven are as arrogant and tyrannical as you? Killing and burning wherever you wish."

Shrugging his shoulders, Tengshe said indifferently, "I don’t care. After all, I’ll eventually compensate them with blessings. The presence of an Immortal in the human world should bring joy to mortals, right?"

In a low voice, Xuanji asked, "What kind of blessings can compensate for a life?"

Seeing her serious expression, Tengshe, impatient and irritable by nature, abruptly shouted, "Are you going to fight or not?! I’m about to start another fire!"

Xuanji shook her head and softly said, "Answer me."

If she had screamed or attacked recklessly, Tengshe might have been unafraid, but seeing her calm expression and icy tone, he felt somewhat apprehensive and reluctantly answered, "In their next reincarnation, I’ll let them be born into wealthy families. Any place in the human world where I’ve passed through will have three years of abundant harvests. Isn’t that a blessing?"

Gently, Xuanji said, "What about the relatives of those you killed? Just watching them die just like that? Suffering in grief for a lifetime?"

"Relatives?" Tengshe was clearly unfamiliar with the term, and after a moment, he recalled what it meant, then chuckled, "People can’t come back to life once dead, and ultimately, everyone will die. Does it matter whether they die sooner or later? Why fuss over such trivial matters with me? So, are you going to fight or not?"

Suddenly, she sharply exclaimed, "No! It’s not the same! As long as there is life, there is hope, and we can share many joyful years together! Who gave you the right to take that away? Who!"

Taken aback, Tengshe saw her resolutely draw Yu Sifeng’s treasure sword. Her palm had fused with the molten hilt, and it was unlikely she could remove it anytime soon. He chuckled, "After all this talk, you still want to fight! Wouldn’t it have been better to agree earlier? That’s not the Ding Kun Sword, so let’s see how you can conjure the Samadhi True Fire."

As if she hadn’t heard him, she twisted her wrist and formed a sword technique, lifting sparks from the surrounding raging fire with the tip of her blade. The sparks were bright red, flickering vigorously. Her fingers slowly glided over the sleek blade; each inch she touched instantly emitted a bright spark. Finally, the color of the dancing spark at the tip of the sword gradually faded, turning into a pale orange light.

The so-called Ding Kun means to stabilize the heavens and the earth. The heavens and the earth are in the heart, and whether Ding Kun is in hand or not, what difference does it make?

"Come here," she said softly, "Let’s see what you can do."

Just as Tengshe was about to release a sky full of fire to engulf her, he suddenly saw the flames around him intensify drastically, rising a hundred feet high, rolling and leaping. Then, a burst of golden light rapidly soared from the flames, crying clearly, turning in the air, and in the blink of an eye, it flew very high and far, leaving behind only a fleeting glitter of golden brilliance in his field of vision.

He yelped in surprise, caught off guard when his cheek suddenly stung as if it had been burnt. He was shocked and quickly leaped away, only to see that Xuanji’s sword-flower had reached him, with a spark on the tip of the sword— it was Samadhi True Fire, summoned using his own Tengshe’s Fire.

He immediately was spirited, his eyes gleaming, and exclaimed, "You have such skill! I like it!" The surrounding flames instantly gathered around, lifting him high. Gradually, more and more flames accumulated, enveloping his body in layers until he was no longer visible. That huge ball of flames suddenly emitted a clear scream; Fire Wings flared out, transforming into Tengshe’s original form.

The enormous Fire Wings slowly swayed; huge fireballs fell from the sky like rain, densely packed, and spread upon touching the ground, living-like, creeping towards the area where Xuanji stood. Suddenly, she was surrounded by a ring of fire two persons high, making it impossible to move.

Tengshe laughed heartily, "You like fire, I’ll give you more! Just afraid you can’t handle it!"

Xuanji coldly responded, "I’m afraid you can’t afford to!"

Her sword spun around, the Samadhi True Fire forcefully split the ring of fire in half. She moved swiftly, hooking the fire ring and softly commanded, "Swift! Merge!" Instantly, the fire ring recombined, clashing top and bottom, sparks flying out, turning into a bright orange Samadhi True Fire. Her treasure sword danced like a dragon playing with a phoenix, continually slicing through the fire ring, gradually turning it into a straight line. With a flick of her wrist, she flung it out, and the sparks transformed into a Fire Dragon, soaring upward with bared fangs and claws.

Tengshe raised his Fire Wings and transformed back into human form, carried by the flames from above, dodging the Fire Dragon while laughing mischievously, "Not much of a problem!" Behind him, his two Fire Wings still burned intensely, suddenly stretched long, falling from the sky, scorching deep black marks on the ground. The flames summoned by Tengshe, distinct from the flames on his body, especially those Fire Wings, were the essence of fire itself.

His visit to the Lower Realm was due to a fit of pique; Tengshe was known for his bad temper, and loving to act up was common knowledge in Heaven. Given the Heavenly Emperor indulged him, no one bothered to deal with him. His mischiefs in the human world were intended to stir trouble, to give the higher-ups a show, yet nobody paid him any attention, which inevitably bored him. Unexpectedly, he encountered the former War God General here; how could he resist flaunting himself?

To say he truly intended to kill her might not be accurate, but once he started fighting, there was no turning back. Normally, immortals are not permitted to kill at will, but such rules meant nothing to him. The reincarnation of mortals, like the lives of Immortals, is endless. A single lifetime in the eyes of mortals is but a short segment of their long cycle of reincarnation. Abruptly ending it and continuing to another cycle didn’t seem like a big deal to him. Besides, with his blessings, those people’s cycle of reincarnation would only be more fortunate owing to misfortunes.

Xuanji’s anger, he could neither comprehend nor cared to understand.

Intense winds swept by, her singed hair tips slightly fluttering, her eyes and eyebrows exuding a cold beauty. Suddenly feeling playful, he laughed, "I still don’t understand why you’re so angry. If you want me to understand, why not subdue me using your War God’s power?"

As he spoke, his Fire Wings had already reached her side, towering dozens of feet high, the ground beneath scorched and cracked open into two huge fissures with a hissing sound. The massive Fire Wings abruptly closed in, trapping her within. These Fire Wings, the essence of Tengshe’s Fire feared even by gods, he refused to believe she could counterattack.

Indeed, for a long while, there was no movement within the wings; presumably, this overconfident girl had been incinerated. Tengshe laughed loudly, spreading his Fire Wings, boastfully proclaiming, "The War God is nothing special after all!"

Suddenly, he heard her low voice from below, "Swift, merge!" A flash of sword light touched his wings. Tengshe was stunned, feeling an unprecedented severe pain on his wings. As her sword light flickered, his Fire Wings slowly turned a bright orange.

He screamed aloud, watching helplessly as his Fire Wings were transformed into Samadhi True Fire. The supporting flames below him also suddenly failed to hold, and he crashed headfirst to the ground, rolling, trembling like chaff, screaming as if he were being slaughtered, but utterly powerless.

"You brat! Stinking girl! One day, I’ll settle this score!" he screamed in agony while cursing loudly. However, his Fire Wings were enveloped by her Samadhi True Fire. Fire burning fire was beyond his wildest imagination. Unable to retract his Fire Wings, he only felt extreme pain that turned his face pale white. He almost wished he could end his own life with a sword to escape the torment.

Xuanji approached him with her sword, not bothering to exchange further words. She lifted Yu Sifeng’s treasure sword, its entirety transformed into Samadhi True Fire, fierce enough to burn even the heavens to ashes. She swung her sword down, ready to decapitate him. Suddenly, she heard someone behind her shout, "Don’t behead him! Just make a cut!"

Both turned around and saw Yu Sifeng, his body charred and his pants burned to tatters, standing awkwardly beside a scorched tree while covering his vital parts.

"You..." Xuanji froze completely, looking at him in disbelief.

Yu Sifeng urgently said, "Quick, use the sword to make a cut on him!"

At this point, Xuanji’s mind was in complete disarray, clueless about the whole situation and just mechanically made a cut on Tengshe’s face as told. Yu Sifeng then said, "Now make a cut on yourself and drip your blood into his wound!"

Xuanji, still dazed, did as instructed without hesitation, cutting her hand and grabbing Tengshe by the collar, ready to drop blood into the cut. Tengshe obviously knew what she was about to do and was so alarmed that his hair stood on end, shouting harshly, "You can’t do this! Insulting a Divine Beast like this, I will never forgive you!"

Although Xuanji didn’t understand the significance of her actions, Yu Sifeng was still alive, and he asked her to do this. She was more than willing to comply, even if it meant cutting off her own limbs.

Her blood dripped into the cut on his face, surprisingly not flowing out but slowly seeping in. Yu Sifeng whispered softly, "Say his name to seal the contract!"

She softly said, "Tengshe."

Tengshe, inwardly extremely reluctant, felt his own blood mingling internally, leaving him powerless to resist. Driven by his instincts as a Divine Beast, he bowed his head to the ground and said respectfully, "Tengshe greets his master, from now on, never to leave nor forsake, guarding the master for a lifetime."

"Huh?" Xuanji, utterly confused, turned back to look at Yu Sifeng. After searching for a while, he found only a charred piece of fabric on the ground, which he used to cover his important parts before coming over and saying, "He is now your spiritual beast, Xuanji."

A spiritual beast?! She exclaimed in shock, urgently saying, "I don’t want him as a spiritual beast! He... he tried to kill you... no! Si Feng, you’re still alive..."

Her mind was in chaos, and she couldn’t help but burst into tears, throwing herself into his arms, crying, "You’re not dead! You’re not dead! I thought you were dead! I just wanted to kill him and then kill myself!"

Yu Sifeng softly comforted her, finally calming her emotions, before saying, "Just now... I dodged quickly, only my clothes were burned, there’s no serious harm to my body. But it looks indecent, so it took me a while to come over."

Xuanji took a deep breath, muttering, "What does it matter, I don’t care at all, even if you were naked, I wouldn’t care... I was almost driven mad earlier."

You might not care, but I do care a lot... Yu Sifeng thought wryly to himself, patting her shoulder, then turned to look at Tengshe, who was pale with fear, and said softly, "Didn’t you always want a spiritual beast? Now you’ve captured the Divine Beast Tengshe, you should be happy. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Xuanji glared hatefully at Tengshe, angrily declaring, "I don’t want him as a spiritual beast!"

Tengshe, his Fire Wings finally freed from the Samadhi True Fire, cringed in pain. Hearing her disdain for him, his pride as a Divine Beast flared up, and he shouted, "I don’t want to be your stinking spiritual beast either! Do you think I wanted this?! It’s all because you sealed the contract!"

Xuanji urgently said, "Then cancel it, cancel it! I don’t want you!"

Enraged to the point of nearly fainting, Tengshe shouted, "Do you think a contract is child’s play?! It’s settled! I am a Divine Beast, a being of renown for generations, and now my reputation is ruined by your hands! I wish I could kill you right now!"

With a sudden burst of insight, Xuanji exclaimed, "If I killed him, would that end the contract?"

Tengshe shuddered instantly, looking at her in terror, knowing she would do as she said, and couldn’t help but curl up on the ground.

Yu Sifeng sighed, holding her back and chastising softly, "Don’t be capricious. Having Tengshe as a spiritual beast is the highest dream of many. Aren’t you trying to rescue Min Yan and Linglong? Why fuss over such trivial matters?"

At the mention of Zhong Min Yan and Linglong, Xuanji’s heart chilled, and she instantly fell silent. After a while, she reluctantly glared at Tengshe, who was still curled up on the ground, and said, "Then... I accept you begrudgingly. If you kill people randomly again, I will definitely kill you first!"

"Bah! Stinking girl! Keep dreaming!" Tengshe cursed. Suddenly, he fainted; it turned out his wing injury was still severe, and the thought of becoming her spiritual beast just out of spite during a playful visit from the Lower Realm was too much to swallow.

Once he fainted, the Fire Wings naturally retracted. Yu Sifeng picked him up from the ground, his bamboo hat falling off, revealing long, radiant silver hair that cascaded down. With him unconscious, he didn’t have the same fierce and brute demeanor, instead appearing quite a handsome young man.

"Xuanji, you should get along well with the spiritual beast, don’t fight."

Yu Sifeng removed the clothes from Tengshe’s body to wear them himself, then hefted him up like a sack of rice, took Xuanji’s hand, and led her out of the scorching hellish area.

A brush with death, flames consuming all around, and in the end, securing a Divine Beast Tengshe as a spiritual beast, this deal wasn’t too bad.

Feeling quite satisfied, Yu Sifeng was about to leave when suddenly Xuanji exclaimed, "Si Feng! You said only by beheading could one obtain a spiritual beast! I... do I need to get decapitated?"

Beheading... what? He was taken aback, then burst into laughter. No matter how Xuanji asked, he just kept laughing, unable to speak any further. (To be continued. For more details, please log onto www.qidian.com. More Chapters available, support the author, support genuine reading!)