Chapter 22

The blue-flame bird, with flames swirling around its tail feathers, soared high into the clouds, whistling as it chased after the large snake with scaly bone wings ahead.

Squatting on the back of the blue-flame bird were two figures, Ji Yichuan and the woman in black. The woman in black stared at the winged snake fleeing at high speed ahead and said, "Yichuan, this winged snake is a great demon of the late innate stage, much stronger than this blue bird. Even though the blue bird is skilled at flying, it’s hard to catch up with it."

"Flower Aunt, leave it to me." Ji Yichuan's face was cold, and a silver bow suddenly appeared in his hand, while an arrow appeared in his right hand.

Swish—

The bow was fully drawn, and Ji Yichuan coldly stared at the winged snake flying ahead.

Whoosh! The arrow instantly turned into a streak of light, shooting towards the fleeing winged snake. At such a short distance, with the terrifying speed of the arrow shot by Ji Yichuan, and the winged snake being so large, how could it possibly dodge?

In terms of archery skills, Ji Yichuan might be slightly inferior to Meng Yu.

However, most of the Ji clan men were skilled in archery. Ji Yichuan's arrow... in terms of speed and power, far surpassed Meng Yu!

Bang!

The arrow pierced into the body of the winged snake, exploding instantly, creating a huge blood hole. A deep wound, visible to the bone, appeared on the snake's body. It seemed that another arrow would be enough to sever the snake's body. In fact, Ji Yichuan's arrow was aimed at the bone wings. However, the winged snake also knew... once its scaly bone wings were injured, it would be unable to escape. Therefore, it chose to use its body to block the arrow.

Sssss~ The snake's muscles congealed, and the blood stopped flowing.

The winged snake frantically fled.

"Ji Yichuan, your Ji clan killed my son, do you not allow me to seek revenge?" The winged snake roared back.

"Beast, accept your fate and die quickly. Otherwise, you will regret it." Ji Yichuan squatted on the back of the blue-flame bird and drew the silver bow again.

The winged snake desperately dodged.

Bang!

Another arrow exploded on the winged snake's body, causing it to howl in pain, its heart filled with anxiety: "Ji Yichuan is the strongest in the Ji clan's Western Manor, but how could he be so strong? A sword light from a distance of two li could severely wound me. Now, even a random arrow can hurt me. Even a great demon of the innate stage can at most suppress me, not casually trample me like this!"

The winged snake's courage had been completely shattered by the previous sword light.

A sword light flying two li could severely wound it.

If it were a close-range strike, wouldn't it be instantly killed?

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Ji Yichuan shot arrows one by one, and the winged snake, gritting its teeth, could only use its body to block them. Fortunately, it was hundreds of meters long, and despite the numerous holes in its massive body, its strong vitality allowed it to continue flying at high speed.

A moment later, a vast lake appeared on the broad land below.

"Whoosh!" The winged snake immediately dove down.

"It's the Winged Snake Lake." Ji Yichuan and the woman in black both changed their expressions.

The Winged Snake Lake, a hundred miles long and wide, stretched endlessly, and it was the lair of the winged snake.

Swish~

The massive winged snake dived from the sky into the lake, causing only a few ripples before disappearing.

The blue-flame bird hovered above the Winged Snake Lake.

"Yichuan, what should we do?" the woman in black asked.

"Escape?" Ji Yichuan stood on the back of the blue-flame bird, looking down at the vast lake, and said coldly, "Hiding in the water, thinking I can't do anything to you? Flower Aunt, please lend me the blue-flame bird for a while. Please return to the Western Manor immediately... and bring my spirit beast, the black snake, over."

"Alright." The woman in black nodded.

Whoosh!

The woman in black immediately stepped on the lake surface, leaving a trail of light and quickly disappearing into the distance.

...

At the bottom of the Winged Snake Lake.

The massive winged snake coiled there, occasionally extending its tongue to lick the huge wound on its body. Its strong vitality was rapidly healing the wound, and the muscles were visibly regenerating.

"Ji Yichuan." The winged snake's vertical pupils were filled with resentment, "How could he be so strong? Ji Lie, the second strongest in the Ji clan's Western Manor, only had the upper hand in our battle years ago... and this Ji Yichuan, if he gets close, could probably kill me with one sword strike. How could the gap be so large?"

The winged snake had been confident in its ability to escape. As a great demon of the late innate stage, even if it encountered a terrifying being of the innate stage, it would at most be at a disadvantage but still have the ability to escape. As long as it wasn't surrounded by a group of innate beings, it would be fine.

But Ji Yichuan's sword strike had terrified it.

"Roar~~"

"Screech!"

The demons in the Winged Snake Lake let out piercing cries, and the sound alarmed the winged snake at the bottom of the lake. It could understand the cries of its subordinates.

"Is a great demon coming?" The winged snake was alarmed, "Yes, among the great demons tamed by the Ji clan's Western Manor, one is a water demon."

Some demons are birds, skilled at flying.

Some demons are aquatic, stronger in water.

For non-aquatic demons, their strength would sharply decrease in water. For example, Ji Yichuan... in water, his speed would be less than one-tenth of what it is on land. However, the winged snake's speed in water was even faster than on land. Even if Ji Yichuan used his sword techniques, the water would greatly reduce their power.

Of course, even if the power of Ji Yichuan's sword techniques was greatly reduced, he could still kill the winged snake! But in the water, he couldn't catch up to the winged snake, making even the most powerful sword techniques useless.

...

"Brother Hei, you go and find the winged snake." Ji Yichuan stood on the lake's surface, not sinking at all, "Although it is stronger than you, it is now severely wounded. You only need to hold it in place and prevent it from escaping. I will come immediately to kill it."

"Leave it to me." The black snake emerged from the lake and then submerged again, beginning to search the Winged Snake Lake.

The small demons in the lake scattered in fear, screaming.

"Blue-flame bird." Ji Yichuan looked up at the blue-flame bird, "Stay above and watch. If the winged snake escapes the lake, chase it immediately."

"Alright." The blue-flame bird let out a gentle sound and quickly ascended.

Ji Yichuan's face was stern, holding a green long sword as he walked on the lake's surface, which felt like solid ground to him. Each step left a faint ripple. His cold gaze swept the surroundings, as if he could see through the water to the bottom.

******

Ji clan's Western Manor.

It was already dark, and the Ji clan's Western Manor, which had been noisy due to the winged snake's attack, had quieted down.

"Father." Ji Wuyu, with dozens of braids, knelt and said after finishing his drink from a beast-head cup, "The great winged snake has fled back to its lair. The Winged Snake Lake is vast and deep. With only the black snake chasing it, if it hides, even though Ji Yichuan is strong, it will be difficult for him to kill the great winged snake."

Ji Lie nodded but frowned, not touching the food and drink in front of him, clearly troubled.

"Father?" Ji Wuyu looked at his father in confusion.

Ji Lie frowned and sighed deeply, "A sword light flying two li could still severely wound the great winged snake. The power of that sword strike has almost surpassed the limits of innate beings."

"Father, do you mean?" Ji Wuyu was alarmed, "A Purple Mansion cultivator?"

Ji Lie shook his head, "It's hard to say! If Ji Yichuan had opened the Purple Mansion, he should be able to ride a magical treasure and fly, and wouldn't have let the great winged snake escape. But if he hasn't opened the Purple Mansion... the power of that sword strike is also excessively strong. That's why I'm puzzled."

"Also!"

"I saw Ji Ning with a severed arm at the time. How could he be unharmed when we arrived, with dust and smoke everywhere?" Ji Lie frowned.

Many innate beings had seen Ji Ning standing in the ruins with a severed arm.

"Ji Yichuan's son, Ji Ning, must have cultivated a divine and demonic body-strengthening technique." Ji Wuyu nodded, "And he must have reached a very high level to reattach his arm. But I'm more puzzled... how could Ji Ning survive the winged snake's attack on the Dragon Castle?"

"I don't understand either." Ji Lie sighed, "He must have been lucky."

Why could Ji Ning survive?

Perhaps the great winged snake knew Ji Ning's identity and didn't dare to kill him.

Perhaps Ji Ning's divine and demonic body-strengthening technique made him strong enough to survive by chance.

Perhaps Ji Ning had a life-saving treasure given by his parents.

The strong of the Ji clan's Western Manor could only speculate, but none of them could imagine that at just ten years old, Ji Ning had already reached the 'Heaven and Earth Unity' in his body techniques.

...

Ji Ning was practicing the Wind Shadow Step in his training ground. In the vast training ground, a blurry figure moved at high speed, and then, whoosh! whoosh! whoosh! dozens of Ji Nings appeared out of nowhere.

"Ning'er." A voice came.

Ji Ning suddenly stopped.

"Mother." Ji Ning greeted her.

Wei Chixue walked over, looking at her son with joy. After the attack by the great winged snake, she had been busy with the funeral and memorial services for the dead clan members and black-armored guards. Ji Ning had already quietly told his mother that he had reached the 'Heaven and Earth Unity' in his body techniques. Of course, he only told his mother!

At just ten years old, reaching 'Heaven and Earth Unity' in body techniques was extremely rare, even for someone who had wandered through many places in the Great Xia Dynasty. In fact, since Ji Ning had been practicing the 'Wind Shadow Step' since childhood, he had already reached the 'micro' level two years ago. The experience of life and death, sensing the heavens and earth, made reaching 'Heaven and Earth Unity' a natural progression.

"Ning'er." Wei Chixue looked at her son, "You have reached 'Heaven and Earth Unity' in your body techniques. The next step is to achieve 'Heaven and Earth Unity' in your sword techniques. Do not slack off."

"Yes, Mother." Ji Ning nodded.

Achieving 'Heaven and Earth Unity' in body techniques means unity with the heavens and earth.

Achieving 'Heaven and Earth Unity' in sword techniques means unity of the person, the sword, and the heavens and earth, which is naturally much more difficult.

"Mother." Ji Ning asked, "When will Father return?"

"Your father went to kill the great demon. Once he kills the winged snake, he will return." Wei Chixue said.

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{Piaotian Literature}