Chapter 143: Chapter 140: What Joy in Life, What Fear in Death?

Outside the Martial Arts Arena, as a furious shout erupted, Niu the Sixth was already crouched, ready to charge.

The moment Niu the Sixth took a step, a streak of white light shot through the air toward him.

Someone outside the Martial Arts Arena had thrown a Plain Circle Bracelet. The bracelet trailed a streak of white light, spinning and rapidly expanding as it flew, about to ensnare Niu the Sixth.

Standing nearby, Song Ciwan made a hand sign. The Black Insects on the ground instantly swarmed into the air, their wings buzzing. Like a dark cloud, they met the bracelet head-on.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The Black Insects swarmed around the bracelet, their impacts bringing it to a dead stop.

Black Insects were constantly knocked from the air, falling dead to the ground, but even more rose from Feng Chuncai’s body to join the interception.

Feng Chuncai was completely lifeless, his body now nothing more than nourishment for the Black Insects.

The flesh and blood of an Innate Second Transformation Opening Realm Martial Artist had allowed this swarm of Black Insects to undergo a new transformation!

Dense waves of Black Insects surged forward, and Niu the Sixth was no longer hindered by the bracelet.

He strode forward and rushed to the Cyan Flower Bottle. With all his might, he threw his entire body against it, pushing.

CRASH!

The Cyan Flower Bottle toppled over.

"Niuniu!" Niu the Sixth screamed.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The Cyan Flower Bottle rolled several times across the ground, but contrary to expectations, it didn’t shatter.

Inside the bottle, the two girls’ faces were deathly pale, the violent shaking forcing tears to stream from their eyes.

The Cyan Flower Bottle hadn’t shattered. Instead, the ones suffering were the people trapped inside!

From outside the Martial Arts Arena, a furious, exasperated voice rang out. "Idiot! How dare you treat the Xinglin Beauty Spring this way? It’s about to mature! The bottle and the person inside have fused into one. If the bottle shatters, the person dies! If the person dies, the bottle cracks! You fool! This is a sacrilegious waste!"

A large group of people stormed into the Martial Arts Arena. The leader, a man in a crane-feathered robe, had blood splattered across his face, a testament to some unknown prior struggle.

He strode forward, his body a blur of lightning as he instantly charged toward Niu the Sixth.

But upon hearing the words "if the bottle shatters, the person dies," Niu the Sixth scrambled to his feet. "Then we’ll die together!" he roared. "What’s the point of living if it’s only to suffer like this? Niuniu, Papa’s taking you with me!"

As he spoke, Niu the Sixth charged toward the Cyan Flower Bottle on the ground again.

He tore the rattle from his waist with one hand and raised his other, clenched into a fist, high in the air.

SMASH! SMASH! SMASH! SMASH!

Niu the Sixth brought his bare fist down, smashing it viciously against the Cyan Flower Bottle.

Soon, his fist was bruised and bleeding from the impacts.

As his blood touched the bottle, the previously undamaged Cyan Flower Bottle suddenly let out a faint cracking sound.

That single crack was like the flick of a switch. With a series of SMASHES and CRACKS, Niu the Sixth’s punches grew more frantic, and visible fissures began to spread across the Cyan Flower Bottle...

Meanwhile, the Crane-robed Youth blasted through the swarm of Black Insects blocking his path. "You worthless peasant, you’re courting death!" he snarled.

He drew a Soft Whip from his waist. With a sharp snap, it went rigid, thrusting toward Niu the Sixth like a steel spear.

Standing nearby, Song Ciwan directed them with a hand sign. The scattered swarm of Black Insects instantly surged forward again, densely covering the Soft Whip.

The Black Insects swirled like a gathering storm cloud, while another part of the swarm descended directly upon the Crane-robed Youth himself.

The Crane-robed Youth was forced to a halt.

In that brief delay, Niu the Sixth landed more than a dozen blows on the Cyan Flower Bottle.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

More and more blood flowed from his fist, gradually coating the entire surface of the bottle.

CRACK!

The Cyan Flower Bottle shattered.

In that instant, from the Martial Arts Arena all the way to Wangjiang Peak, countless gazes fixed upon the shattered Cyan Flower Bottle.

’Now that the Cyan Flower Bottle has shattered, will the girls inside really die?’

Some onlookers wore expressions of pity, while others let out a sudden sigh.

Song Ciwan had one hand raised, a Ganlin Spell already gathered at her fingertip, prepared to heal the girls in the bottle at a moment’s notice.

But the sight that greeted her after the Cyan Flower Bottle shattered stunned even Song Ciwan for a moment.

As the bottle shattered, the first thing to erupt was a great wave of blood. It shot skyward before splashing down on Niu the Sixth, who was closest.

"AHHH!" With a bloodcurdling scream, Niu the Sixth clutched his face and rolled aside.

A sizzling sound of corrosion rose from his body!

’The blood is highly toxic!’

Song Ciwan flicked a finger, and the Ganlin Spell fell upon Niu the Sixth like a fine mist. But it passed right through him, splashing onto the ground and dissipating without a trace.

—Of course. Song Ciwan and Niu the Sixth were not in the same reality. The Ganlin Spell she cast could have no effect on him whatsoever.

From within the fragments of the Cyan Flower Bottle, after the initial burst of blood, a flesh-colored Snake Tail suddenly whipped high into the air. Trailing a foul, bloody mist, it lashed out violently at the Crane-robed Youth who was still battling the Black Insects.

It was the two girls from the bottle. They were pressed tightly back-to-back, but their lower bodies were no longer human. Somehow, they had merged into a single Snake Tail!

The conjoined girls’ eyes remained vacant, and as always, no sound escaped their lips. Their porcelain-white faces were devoid of expression, save for the pearlescent tears of blood that dripped unceasingly from the corners of their eyes.

The Crane-robed Youth was suddenly struck by their Snake Tail. "Bastards!" he roared. "The Beauty Bottle is ruined! All of you will die for this!"

"Guards! Someone get over here! Help me!"

CRACK!

Bound and gnawed by Black Insects as the Snake Tail lashed and chopped at him, the Crane-robed Youth was knocked to the ground, rolling once.

He too was splattered with some of the blood from the Beauty Bottle, and sizzling sounds erupted wherever it touched his skin.

But his constitution was clearly far superior to Niu the Sixth’s. Despite the multi-pronged assault, he managed to flip back to his feet in an instant.

He threw aside the Soft Whip, now completely covered in Black Insects. Clapping his palms together with a great shout, his Qi Blood surged throughout his body.

The dense Qi Blood erupted into a raging inferno, incinerating all the Black Insects clinging to him.

SSSSSS!

Charred Black Insects fell away continuously, but at the same time, more rose from Feng Chuncai’s corpse.

Feng Chuncai’s corpse grew steadily more desiccated, its flesh and blood draining away, leaving behind withered bones...

Meanwhile, the Snake Tail, as it swept toward the Crane-robed Youth again, was suddenly thrown backward.

Ahhh—

The two conjoined girls let out a silent scream of agony. Their snow-white necks arched back, and blood tears gushed from their empty eye sockets. The flames had spread to their Snake Tail, causing the flesh to crack and split, sending fresh blood pouring down.

’If the bottle shatters, the person dies!’

Perhaps what the Crane-robed Youth had said wasn’t a lie.

Niu the Sixth, collapsed on the ground, cried out in a trembling, agonized voice, "Niuniu!"

Hearing his cry, Song Ciwan immediately changed her hand sign. She cast the Ganlin Spell again, and a patch of healing rain materialized from the clouds, instantly descending upon the conjoined girls’ Snake Tail.

She didn’t know if the Ganlin Spell would work this time, but she had to try.