Chapter 19: Crimson Flame Flying Crow Gourd
In the sky, the great sun hung high, and the battle seemed to have reached a fever pitch.
The Five Poison Emissaries formed a large array, with black smoke billowing, and even Sword Vajra Ge Canhong, fighting one against two, was in a precarious situation.
Especially with the three venomous insects—toad, centipede, and wall gecko—assisting in the sky, the situation quickly deteriorated as one side gained and the other lost.
Wang Xijing, clad in a purple robe, saw two people approaching from the foot of the mountain, and as if sensing something, a hint of joy appeared on his face.
The fiery auspicious cloud ganoderma-stemmed jade ruyi in his hand glowed intensely with fire, forcing back the old woman beside him, and he shouted down, “Quickly throw the item up!”
Everyone looked surprised, but only Ye Yang's heart pounded. Without hesitation, he threw the bag Bai Zizhen had given him into the sky.
The bag, no bigger than a fist and bulging, seemed to contain something.
As soon as Ye Yang threw it, countless red lights burst forth, followed by rising flames. The bag was burned to ashes by the flames and dispersed with the wind, and a rusty, mottled red-skinned gourd suddenly appeared in the air.
As soon as the red-skinned gourd appeared, the surrounding temperature rose by a notch, and it was even able to draw power from the sun in the sky, instantly thinning the surrounding poisonous smoke significantly.
“Oh no, it’s the Flying Heaven Gate’s Zhenmai Treasure—the Crimson Flame Flying Crow Gourd!”
The Five Poison Emissaries exclaimed in unison, abandoning everyone and rushing down to snatch the red-skinned gourd.
But Wang Xijing gestured with both hands, and countless raindrop-like flames appeared around him. The red-skinned gourd merely flashed and landed in his hand.
Ye Yang quickly recovered, disregarding the shock in his heart, and pulled Wang Huan to run.
He knew that the Five Poison Sect Emissaries in the sky had discovered their presence, and these people were all experts in the Martial Person Realm.
Crushing them would be no harder than crushing an ant.
Running all the way, Ye Yang still couldn't suppress the shock in his heart.
It was well known that the Flying Heaven Gate only had two Zhenmai Treasures, and this Crimson Flame Flying Crow was one of them.
It was crafted by the second generation’s first ancestor using a peculiar gourd from the mountains as its base, and after being nurtured and perfected by over ten generations of Flying Heaven Gate members, it reached the level of a Zhenmai Treasure.
The other was a half-complete Zhenmai Treasure Art—the Transformation Vein Mysterious Heaven Devil Classic.
One should know that even the Black Sun Shining Day Sword, which Sword Vajra had spent his entire life's fortune to forge, was merely a High Grade Magical Artifact.
As for the jade ruyi in Fire Vajra Wang Xijing’s hand, it was only a Medium Grade Magical Artifact.
Although the Loose Cultivator Wang Sandao cultivated both saber and sword, his ox-bone broadsword and green-edged white dragon sword were merely Low Grade Magical Artifacts.
A Magical Artifact requires patience and the grinding of a dozen or so Materials to be successfully developed. Above Magical Artifacts are Spiritual Artifacts that have successfully nurtured a spirit.
Only those with nascent sentience and immense power can be called Zhenmai Treasures.
This item, it could be said, was one of the Flying Heaven Gate’s most precious possessions, and that would be no exaggeration.
Walking along, thinking that he had been carrying such a valuable item, Ye Yang couldn't help but feel a surge of fear. If anything had gone wrong, wouldn't he have been a sinner of the Sect?
Ye Yang, however, did not know that the high-level Cultivators of the Flying Heaven Gate had long been secretly watched and were unable to act.
Therefore, they could only entrust such a treasure to reliable Disciples to bring down the mountain.
He was not the only Disciple dispatched down the mountain this time; all others were decoys, and only his late departure was the true move.
The detour to the Zhang family was a deliberate ruse for outsiders.
It was just that the journey had been full of twists and turns, and he had even encountered something strange, but fortunately, the mission was completed to Perfection.
In the sky, Wang Xijing held the Crimson Flame Flying Crow Gourd, his strength greatly increased. He did not cultivate the Flying Heaven Gate’s Transformation Vein Mysterious Heaven Devil Classic and Zhu Chan Swallowing Moon Spirit Art.
Instead, he had another Opportunity and had diligently cultivated a Listening Rain Heavenly Fire Skill for many years. His fire arts were astonishing. Now, holding the Zhenmai Treasure, he borrowed its power and shouted, “Fire come!”
Then, from the sky, golden fire from the great sun surged forth, burning half the sky red, while the black wind howled fiercely, mixed with sabers, spears, swords, and halberds, sweeping in like an overwhelming tide.
Subsequently, countless, dense, and varying sizes of fire crows and fireballs poured down, engulfing the entire mountain peak and raging furiously.
In a short while, waves of burning stench like scorched insects wafted over. Even the Five Poison Emissaries, despite forming an array, were screaming continuously from the flames.
Ge Canhong sneered at the sight. Countless black sword auras swarmed out, directly piercing the Wall Gecko Envoy in green robes. The Wall Gecko Envoy screamed and died instantly.
Then, his sword aura shifted again, and countless blood holes were poked into the head of the giant green wall gecko beside the Wall Gecko Envoy. It fell from the sky to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Although the green wall gecko beast had tenacious vitality and was still twitching, it clearly wouldn't survive.
“The Sect’s Heaven Worship Ceremony is imminent. This Wall Gecko exotic beast contains strange poison, its bones and blood are abundant, and it has been fed Heaven And Earth Treasure by the Five Poison Sect for a lifetime. It is one of the excellent ceremonial items for the sacrifice.”
Ge Canhong flew down halfway and tapped the poisonous wall gecko’s head with the Black Sun Shining Day Sword in his hand, hearing a clang of steel colliding.
“Retreat!”
“Retreat!”
“Retreat!”
“Retreat!”
The remaining four Poison Emissaries, seeing the immediate reversal of the offensive and defensive situation, immediately fled. Wang Xijing turned the gourd in his hand, silently chanted three times, and then shouted, “Bugs come!”
The nearest poisonous toad was sucked into the gourd’s belly and instantly turned to ashes.
Although the Toad Envoy’s poisonous toad died, he didn't even glance at it, despite the pain in his heart, and instead fled even faster.
Wang Xijing and Wang Sandao also flew down from the clouds and exchanged glances with Ge Canhong on the ground, laughing heartily. But before they could laugh for long, Wang Sandao began to cry loudly.
His decades of accumulated wealth in this Shaoyang Cave had now turned to ash after a great battle. Two of his three Disciples had died, and his wife, children, and all other relatives had been massacred, leaving only a few old and disabled servants.
Wang Xijing and Ge Canhong comforted Wang Sandao for a few moments, and only then did Wang Sandao stop his tears, though he was still sobbing incessantly.
Ye Yang and Wang Huan quickly came out and bowed to the three.
Wang Xijing, holding the Crimson Flame Flying Crow Gourd, said with a half-smile, “You’ve worked hard. Thank you for bringing the gourd; you’ve truly helped us a great deal.”
Ye Yang quickly waved his hand, “This is all the Senior Martial Uncles’ credit. I merely ran errands; how can I say it was hard work? The ones truly fighting on the front lines are the Senior Martial Uncles.”
Wang Xijing smiled and said nothing, thinking that this young man certainly knew how to speak.
Ge Canhong, with his hand on his sword, also nodded to Ye Yang, revealing a slight smile.
He was naturally cold and not fond of talking much; for him to smile at Ye Yang now was quite rare.
Wang Xijing put away the Crimson Flame Flying Crow Gourd and looked at Ye Yang.
“Your Senior Martial Uncle Ge and I have discussed it. This time, you brought the Crimson Flame Flying Crow Gourd, and despite the dangers along the way, there were no mishaps. Within our authority, we have decided to add an additional two hundred Sect contribution points to your reward.”
Ye Yang was overjoyed upon hearing this. Two hundred Sect contribution points might not sound like much, but they were incredibly valuable.
This mission was originally only worth fifty contribution points, but now with the increased danger, it had directly risen to two hundred. His heart was filled with excitement.
His father had died fighting for the Flying Heaven Gate back then, and the Sect’s compensation for his descendants was only a little over nine hundred contribution points.
Over the years, the contribution points he had accumulated in the Sect were only a little over three hundred.
Theoretically, one Sect contribution point could be exchanged for five Spirit Stones, but Sect contribution points could be exchanged for Spiritual Artifacts and Dao Arts within the Sect, which was far beyond what Spirit Stones could compare to.
Many times, Sect contribution points were also an important metric for job promotions, position transfers, and the exchange of Cultivation Technique permissions.
After speaking, Ge Canhong and Wang Xijing said no more. Wang Huan stepped out from behind Ye Yang and called out to Wang Sandao, “Master.”