Chương 153: War God — Chapter 153 - Yan Zhaoxue: Senior, Could You… Hold Me?

"Why don't you go out first?" Wang Xian shifted slightly, creating a gap between them.

"Senior, you go out first..." Yan Zhaoxue turned her head aside and murmured. Wang Xian didn't waste time. He was about to climb out of the pit when he felt Yan Zhaoxue shudder beside him, her body suddenly pressing close. His head was level with her waist at that moment. When she pressed forward, his entire head went blank against her lower abdomen. Yan Zhaoxue let out a soft, startled cry.

"Hm?" Wang Xian barely managed a muffled sound.

"There's a bug..."

"I think... there's a Nine Nether Dark Bug hiding nearby. I think it crawled inside my clothes..." Yan Zhaoxue couldn't stop twisting. Wang Xian frowned slightly. Honestly, he hadn't detected any Nine Nether Dark Bug in the pit. They should all be eggs. Wang Xian quickly pressed both hands against Yan Zhaoxue's slender but powerful waist. Her body jolted and she stopped moving. Only then could he speak:"I'll pull you out first..." No choice. Wang Xian gripped Yan Zhaoxue's waist and pulled her out of the pit.

Once out, Yan Zhaoxue hurriedly began stripping off her clothes.

"Wait!" But as soon as she removed her outer garment, revealing the brown combat vest underneath, Wang Xian immediately stopped her:"Don't rush. Nine Nether Dark Bugs are sensitive to Malevolent Qi..."

"Once it burrows into someone's body, just taking off clothes won't make it come out..."

"Let me try."

"Where did it burrow in?" Yan Zhaoxue lowered her head, her voice barely audible:"I think... I think it was at the Tanzhong acupoint..."

"?" Wang Xian froze. That bug sure knows where to burrow. The Tanzhong acupoint sits at the very center of the chest. He fell silent for a moment.

"Are you sure it's a Nine Nether Dark Bug?" Wang Xian asked.

"You're certain you didn't see wrong?" Yan Zhaoxue nodded, her expression anxious:"Yes. And it disappeared instantly..." Wang Xian pondered. He hadn't detected any Nine Nether Dark Bug. That left only one possibility. This Nine Nether Dark Bug had already reached C-rank strength. The Nine Nether Dark Bug isn't a highly aggressive beast. Its strength lies in hiding within the void, emitting only faint insect chirps. Once it burrows into the void, it becomes extremely hard to sense.

If it burrows into a human body, it will disrupt the body's energy field and cause the body to continuously absorb Malevolent Qi on its own, far more troublesome than that single wisp of Malevolent Qi from before. Even worse, if it follows the meridians to find the martial artist's talent power and devours the talent itself, then it would be far more troublesome.

"I'm afraid your talent attracted it." Wang Xian thought aloud.

"The Dragon Mark Divine Spine is a martial talent related to dragon-kind. The Nine Nether Dark Bugs here were born from absorbing the power of the Cloud Demon Dragon's remains."

"That's exactly why they gathered beneath you back at Dragon Head Cliff..."

"Then what do we do?" Yan Zhaoxue seemed to think of something and bit her lip slightly.

"Senior, can you extract it from my meridians like last time?"

"It's not that simple..." Wang Xian shook his head.

"Last time it was only a wisp of Malevolent Qi, which I could draw out easily... but Nine Nether Dark Bugs excel at spatial power. The moment my Malevolent Qi touches it, it will flee to another location..."

"Follow me." Wang Xian led Yan Zhaoxue to the bottom of the bone structure, beside the massive coffin. Then he slowly drew the Demon Blade. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The Demon Blade now bore not only the previous White Tiger Weapon Soul, but also an additional Black Tortoise Weapon Soul, gleaming brightly. He shook it lightly. The Black Tortoise Weapon Soul suddenly blazed.

The next second, a surge of watery light emerged from the surface of the Demon Blade. The watery light enveloped it as if reshaping the demon edge. Before long, the Demon Blade transformed into a pitch-black, ancient-style long spear.

"The Black Tortoise Weapon Soul of the Six Yao Armament, Kan-water hexagram, Weapon Form Transformation!" Yan Zhaoxue stared at the demon spear.

"Senior, you've already cultivated the second Yao?"

"Yes..." She looked at the beast corpses and seemed to understand. The Six Yao Armament is extremely difficult to cultivate precisely because it demands not only extremely high material quality, but each Yao requires slaying beasts and using their blood to forge and awaken the Weapon Soul.

"Mm."

"In a moment I'll channel the Cloud Demon Dragon's dragon qi into you." Wang Xian said slowly.

"Once you take it into your Conception Vessel, the Nine Nether Dark Bug will be intimidated by the Cloud Demon Dragon's dragon qi. At that point, I'll use Malevolent Qi to lure it out." Yan Zhaoxue nodded. Wang Xian drew the transformed demon spear and thrust it directly into the spear socket outside the coffin. In that instant, the coffin trembled violently. A muffled, deep roar came from within. Wang Xian paid it no mind. He merely sensed the changes in the demon spear carefully.

Before long, surges of majestic dragon qi mixed with pure Spirit Malevolence flowed continuously from the spear shaft. Wang Xian first filtered it through his own divine meridians, absorbing every last trace of Spirit Malevolence.

"Get ready!" Wang Xian barked. Yan Zhaoxue's expression focused. She puffed out her chest slightly, then used both hands to tear open a huge gap in the center of her clothing at the chest. The snow-white garment draped over the heavenly mountain was torn open, causing the two great peaks on the mountain to tremble violently, swaying with an arc that seemed ready to trigger an avalanche. Wang Xian pressed his fingertip to the center. Yan Zhaoxue's whole body jolted.

She felt as if the Dragon Mark Divine Spine on her back also let out a joyful dragon cry, relishing these surges of pure dragon qi. At the same time, Wang Xian condensed a wisp of Malevolent Qi at his fingertip and controlled it with exquisite precision to enter the Tanzhong acupoint. As expected, he discovered a Nine Nether Dark Bug the size of a grain of rice. Don't let its small size fool you.

"There really is one..." Wang Xian thought. The Nine Nether Dark Bug isn't that strong. Its abilities are just special. It can also emit chirps that disrupt the body's energy flow. In large numbers, the frequency of the chirps can expand rapidly. At this moment, as the Cloud Demon Dragon's dragon qi entered the meridians, the Nine Nether Dark Bug didn't dare move even a fraction. This was the residual dragon qi of a true Z-rank beast.

Even though after so many years it had become extremely faint, it still carried a trace of the Cloud Demon Dragon's presence. It instantly paralyzed this Nine Nether Dark Bug with fear. Wang Xian's control over Malevolent Qi had long been exquisitely unparalleled. Instantly condensing the Malevolence into a palm, he grabbed the Nine Nether Dark Bug and pulled it out. Then he crushed it in one grip, leaving only antennae and remnants.

"Senior..." At this moment, Yan Zhaoxue let out rapid, panting breaths in a daze. Her eyes seemed somewhat unfocused. Seeing this, Wang Xian immediately understood. She had definitely been eroded by the residual will of the Cloud Demon Dragon within the dragon qi. Having never encountered a Z-rank beast before, she clearly couldn't withstand the Cloud Demon Dragon's will. Don't assume that after so many years, the residual will within the dragon was less than one ten-thousandth of the Cloud Demon Dragon's original.

It was still absolutely not something the will of a fourth-realm martial artist could resist.

"Zhaoxue!" Wang Xian shouted, his eyes staring directly at Yan Zhaoxue as if he could enter her inner world.

"Wake up! If you can't hold on, we'll both die here!" Hearing that "Zhaoxue," her body jolted, and a trace of clarity seemed to return to her eyes. However, as the dragon qi continued to pour in, her eyes sometimes went unfocused, sometimes regained focus. Wang Xian frowned deeply. Not everyone had experiences like his own. He didn't fear the will within the residual aura of such a Z-rank beast. But Yan Zhaoxue wasn't him. Yan Zhaoxue clutched her head with both hands, seemingly in extreme pain.

She looked at the senior before her and murmured:"Senior... could you... hold me?"

"I... I can barely hold on..." Wang Xian didn't hesitate. He hooked both hands around her shoulders and pulled her into his embrace. Yan Zhaoxue's hands dug firmly into Wang Xian's back. Wang Xian felt a tight pressure in his chest. But he had no time to care. His fingertip slowly channeled dragon qi through the acupoints on Yan Zhaoxue's back. Before long, on her back, the Dragon Mark Divine Spine blazed with dazzling light, as if madly absorbing every last bit of this residual life force from the Z-rank beast.

In his arms, Yan Zhaoxue's breathing calmed considerably. But within her consciousness, she was still locked in a tangled struggle against the Cloud Demon Dragon's will. Suddenly, she let out a muffled groan and unconsciously bit down on Wang Xian's shoulder. Her pupils faintly took on the shape of dragon eyes. Wang Xian stroked her back, smoothing down the demonic dragon might that was about to manifest. Until a certain moment, Yan Zhaoxue let out a low cry. Like a clear, bright dragon cry.

The Dragon Mark Divine Spine on her back seemed to sprout a pair of wings. The divine spine extended into Yan Zhaoxue's bones, merging into a single whole.

"Her talent evolved..." Wang Xian was slightly stunned. As expected. Being able to endure this trial was also a stroke of fortune for Yan Zhaoxue. The Dragon Mark Divine Spine, originally a King-tier Talent, had now fully grown throughout Yan Zhaoxue's entire skeleton, merging into one with it. Calling it Dragon Mark Divine Spine was no longer quite fitting. Dragon Mark Divine Bones was more appropriate. Before, it was only a single spinal bone.

Now, not only did she have a pair of illusory wings, but all the other bones in her body possessed the talent's power. She was only one step away from a Taboo-tier Talent. This was the pinnacle of King-tier Talent. Gradually, Yan Zhaoxue calmed down.

"Senior... I'm fine now." Yan Zhaoxue said softly. Wang Xian nodded. He released his hands and picked up the demon spear again.

"I'm going to open the coffin now. We've absorbed quite a bit of the Cloud Demon Dragon's dragon qi, but its remains definitely still have around B-rank strength."

"How much of your power has recovered?"

"One hundred percent!" Yan Zhaoxue took a deep breath, feeling the abundant power within her body and the even stronger talent.

"Then it's up to you next. This is the final step." Wang Xian smiled slightly.

"After we destroy the Cloud Demon Dragon's remains, we can get out!" Yan Zhaoxue paused and made a sound of assent. But out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the bite marks on her senior's shoulder, and for no reason, her face flushed red. At this very moment, suddenly, she felt a faint reluctance. She actually wished the Cloud Demon Dragon's remains could be a bit stronger, so this moment could last a little longer.

And in the next instant, Wang Xian flicked the demon spear in his hand, connecting it with the aura of the Wuji Divine Weapon's broken blade inside. In a flash, he flipped open the coffin lid. ➤ Next: Battle Against the Dragon Skull Remains!