Feng Shui Chapter 110: The Barbarian Girl

The opportunity that Tong Nuonuo had been waiting for came at just the right moment, and quite cleverly. The Bat Monkey King was in mid-move, leaping from one tree to another, with no branches nearby to support him, completely exposed while suspended in midair. Although his cultivation was solidly at the Golden Core stage, he had only trained through the intelligence granted after awakening his spiritual wisdom, he possessed no specific martial techniques, nor the ability to float or glide in the air. So when Tong Nuonuo suddenly launched a spiritual power orb at him, there was simply no way for him to dodge.

With a muffled boom, the light orb exploded on the Bat Monkey King’s body, tearing a deep, bone-exposing hole through flesh and muscle.

The Bat Monkey King let out a bloodcurdling scream and fell awkwardly toward the ground, half dodging and half stumbling. The huge wound in his chest was grievous but not instantly fatal. As a demon cultivator, as long as his demon core remained intact, he still had a chance to turn the tide.

The injury completely enraged the Bat Monkey King, driving him into a frenzy. Roaring wildly, the Bat Monkey swarm pressed on, attacking not only Chen Xiao and the other two but also splitting off a portion to assault Tong Nuonuo. The Bat Monkey King, fueled by hatred toward the Dao cultivator who had wounded him so severely, became even more vicious.

The mechanical tube was the very one Tong Nuonuo had given to Du Rong earlier when he was incapacitated by burns, but Du Rong had never gotten the chance to use it. Previously, its lethality was limited to merely scratching the fur of fierce beasts, but after obtaining a large quantity of materials at the City Lord’s Mansion, Tong Nuonuo had upgraded it. Because it was a one-time-use item, she rarely deployed it, each use meant losing one tube. This time, she had pinned high hopes on it, hoping to kill the Bat Monkey King outright. Instead, it only tore a huge hole in his chest.

Tong Nuonuo frowned tightly, disappointed with the result. But there was no time to dwell on it. She dropped the mechanical tube and grabbed a round, purplish-red bomb. She channeled her true energy to activate it, then hurled it forcefully.

Boom! A tremendous explosion surged with spiritual energy, sending dozens of unlucky black-tailed bat monkeys, who had tried to flee, flying skyward.

Seeing Tong Nuonuo unleash such a powerful weapon, the Bat Monkey King immediately identified her as the greatest threat among their enemies. Baring his blood-stained teeth, though it was unclear if the blood was human or his own, his fierce eyes gleamed. He raised his head and let out a sharp, piercing scream that echoed far and wide, repeated again and again.

Brother Li’s face went pale. “Damn it! He’s summoning reinforcements!”

Another companion’s expression turned even grimmer. “Summoning more? We’re barely handling this group. If another wave comes…” There was no hope left for survival.

Chen Xiao silently calculated the time. His mechanical hand-arrow could only be used for about fifteen minutes before its spiritual core needed replacement. But glancing at the worsening situation and the two Golden Core cultivators struggling to hold their ground, he realized he could not afford to wait for backup or find time to swap out the core. The mechanical hand-arrow would soon be useless—it was time to switch to using the lightning talismans.

Chen Xiao felt a twinge of regret. Why hadn’t he conserved more energy before and drawn extra copies of the enhanced lightning talismans?

Wait… enhanced?

Suddenly, Chen Xiao remembered the various potent potions he had purchased from Li and Zhou. Their effects could make fierce beasts writhe in agony; dealing with ordinary black-tailed bat monkeys would be no problem at all.

Determined, Chen Xiao turned to his two companions. “My mechanical hand-arrow’s spiritual core is almost spent and must be replaced. Please be careful not to accidentally hit any of our own bat monkeys.”

Brother Li had thought Chen Xiao’s mechanical device was a great defensive tool, so hearing it was about to run out of power threw him off. One companion was heavily injured; the other severely drained. Neither was confident they could hold the defense much longer.

Brother Li didn’t say anything discouraging. Instead, he spoke firmly to Chen Xiao, “Alright, we’ll do our best. Dao friend, hurry.”

Not long after, the mechanical hand-arrow fired its last volley of spiritual needles, then emitted several empty shush sounds as it cycled and retracted automatically.

Chen Xiao deftly flicked his wrist, clipped the mechanism back onto his waist, and quickly drew a small, delicate thin-bodied porcelain bottle from the mechanism’s box. With a flick of his hand, he tossed it out.

His brief pause gave a nearby bat monkey the chance to charge. Chen Xiao’s porcelain bottle traced a graceful arc and struck a black-tailed bat monkey squarely on the forehead. A crisp smack sounded, and the liquid inside—mixed with a peculiar medicinal powder—splattered onto several others close by. Within moments, those bat monkeys were overcome by an unbearable itch. They abandoned any attempt to follow the Bat Monkey King’s orders to attack, instead standing still and scratching furiously at their itching bodies.

Li and Zhou’s concoction was potent. Soon the affected bat monkeys writhed in agony, screaming and thrashing wildly. What’s worse, anyone who accidentally touched even a bit of the medicine would suffer an infernal itch just as tormenting.

Before long, that entire cluster of black-tailed bat monkeys collapsed.

Seeing the medicine working so well, Chen Xiao’s spirits lifted. He kept throwing out more of Li and Zhou’s powerful potions. Fearing the wind might blow the medicine onto their own side, Chen Xiao avoided tossing them upwind. Still, even this partial coverage eased the pressure on the other two, allowing them to kill off the bat monkeys that had breached the defenses. Meanwhile, Chen Xiao took the chance to swap out his spiritual core.

At last, they had safely navigated through the immediate crisis. But before they could catch their breath, reinforcements summoned by the Bat Monkey King—bat monkeys scattered elsewhere—arrived. The sparse white spirit fruit forest on the other side was suddenly swarmed by a dark mass, and the three of them felt despair creeping in.

One heavily wounded companion’s lips trembled as he forced out, “We have to retreat.” He looked at Brother Li almost pleadingly.

The two had stayed here hoping to recover a dropped bee flute nearby, but it was clear now that was impossible. If they stayed any longer, they would die.

Brother Li was reluctant but saw no choice and agreed to withdraw. To retreat, they first needed to regroup with Tong Nuonuo. Unfortunately, the Bat Monkey King’s attention was fully focused on her, placing him squarely between the two groups. Between them stood not only the Bat Monkey King but also a sizable number of bat monkeys.

Just as the new wave of bat monkeys was about to arrive, the three found themselves trapped, unable to move forward or back. At this crucial moment, a small figure suddenly darted across the treetops.

Chen Xiao barely had time to register the movement before Brother Li shouted, “Help—” and the severely injured Golden Core cultivator muttered quietly, “It’s that barbarian girl.”

The petite figure stood high above. She was truly small, barely more than about four feet tall, but her form was delicate and well-proportioned. Thanks to her light body and cultivation, she balanced effortlessly on branches no thicker than a finger. Hearing Brother Li’s call, she hesitated briefly, then tapped lightly along the treetops, hopping closer.

Only then did Chen Xiao clearly see her face, a little girl of about eight or nine, with a heart-shaped face and exquisitely cute features. Seeing her so young, Chen Xiao’s heart sank. What could such a little girl possibly do?