strokinit Chapter 68 The Nascent Soul Falls, the Arhats Hesitate
Chapter 68 The Nascent Soul Falls, the Arhats Hesitate
"We've reached that beast's lair. Everyone, prepare to attack!"
Li Xiaobo led everyone onto the deck.
Directly ahead, the dark water suddenly swelled up.
A round hill arches upwards, rising higher and higher.
Soon, water flowed down from the top of the hill in all directions, revealing a pair of corners underneath.
Its horns are black, forked, and covered with algae and silt.
Immediately afterwards, the dragon's head surfaced.
It is much larger than a bull's head and has yellowish-brown scales.
However, these scales are sparse, dull in color, and lack any luster.
Chen Yu observed carefully, and all the signs indicated that this dragon was indeed quite old.
Its eyes were grayish-white, with cloudy pupils and faintly visible reddish vertical pupils.
River water trickled down from the scaly crevices around its eyes.
Drip, drip, every drop that falls on the water's surface makes a clear sound.
On the deck, Li Xiaobo looked at the dragon, his face covered in a fine layer of sweat from nervousness.
Master Zi Mei remained silent, quietly putting away his whisk, and then slowly taking down the Seven Star Sword from his back.
Master Dehua stood beside him, his expression not looking too good.
It's not quite what he imagined; this thing seems a bit big.
He had heard before that a high monk in the temple had once slain a dragon, but that was just a legend and didn't feel real.
Seeing a living dragon with his own eyes, he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.
Despite the shock, Master Dehua remained quite confident.
He believed that he was at least 80% confident, if not 100%.
This wasn't because of his exceptional martial arts skills, but because he possessed a powerful weapon.
"Master Li, do not panic! Watch me slay this demon for you!"
Master Dehua picked up his precious crescent shovel, saying he was about to make a move, but his feet didn't budge an inch.
Everyone's attention was drawn to him.
Chen Yu looked at the crescent-shaped shovel; its crescent-shaped blade was so thin it was translucent.
The inner curve is like a hook, and the outer curve is like an axe. Both sides are sharpened, and it can be swung without distinguishing between the front and back.
"It's sharp, but unfortunately it hasn't seen much blood, so it lacks killing intent and isn't suitable for use."
After reading it, Chen Yu gave his usual evaluation.
Li Xiaobo wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and walked over to Master Dehua, saying, "Master, don't be hasty, let's test it first!"
After saying that, he turned to the side of the ship and continued to give orders.
"Archers, prepare your crossbows!"
On the deck near the ship's side, three rows of crossbowmen stood ready.
The ten men in the front row, each holding a crossbow, knelt on one knee behind the gun emplacement panel on the starboard side, already aiming at the dragon's head.
The ten men in the middle row, standing on crossbows, were observing the location of the dragon's belly.
The rear row consists of three-bow ballistae mounted on fixed ballista platforms on either side of the command platform.
Each ballista requires five operators: two to set the crossbow, one to load the arrow, and two to draw the string using a winch.
The ballista is composed of three composite crossbows connected in parallel. The sandalwood crossbow body is five feet long and inlaid with iron bearings, allowing it to rotate thirty degrees to the left and right.
At this moment, the ballista platform tilted with the ship, and the crossbowman braced his body against the crossbow and struck the trigger mechanism with a hammer.
"First round, crossbow, fire!"
At the command, ten crossbows fired simultaneously, the sound of their mechanisms striking each other like a sudden downpour.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
The crossbow bolt whistled through the air, shooting at a fifteen-degree angle towards the sparse area of the dragon's head.
"Ding ding ding ding!"
Several crossbow bolts hit the dragon, but only sparks flew off its scales before being deflected at an angle.
"Second round, draw the crossbows, fire!"
"Puff puff puff puff!"
The crossbow bolts pierced the water, creating a series of bubbles on the surface.
The old dragon reacted quickly this time, instantly diving into deeper waters, causing all the crossbow bolts to miss their mark.
"Third round, ballista, fire!"
The ballista fired whistling arrows, which were twelve feet long. The arrowheads were hollow, and when they flew, the air flowed through the holes, producing a piercing whistle to intimidate the enemy.
At that moment, all three ballistae fired simultaneously.
"Whoosh whoosh!"
The whistling arrow tore through the water curtain, emitting a ghostly wail, and shot straight at the dragon in a horizontal trajectory.
The first few arrows all went astray.
Only one arrow pierced through the river, grazed the dragon's horns, and aimed straight for the dragon's neck.
"clang!"
The whistling arrow struck the reverse scale and shattered into pieces.
Fragments flew everywhere, creating a mist.
Three rounds of crossbow bolts fired in quick succession, but failed to cause any damage.
The dragon seemed to be enraged, raising its head to surface and its turbid vertical pupils contracting violently.
Immediately afterwards, it took a deep breath of river water and sprayed it violently at the passenger ship.
"laugh!"
The water column, dark brown in color and mixed with mud and slime, swept across the foredeck with overwhelming force.
The front row of crossbowmen was the first to suffer.
Before the dozen or so crossbowmen could even react, they were pierced through by the water pressure.
His body was riddled with large holes, and blood was splattered all over the ground.
The water jets continued their momentum, even sweeping the crossbowmen behind them into the water.
"Aaaaaah!"
"Help me, I don't want to die!"
A chorus of wails filled the air, leaving Li Xiaobo in a state of utter confusion.
"Big brother, what should we do now?"
Li Xiaochuan asked, his face filled with terror and his voice trembling.
At the critical moment, Li Xiaobo forced himself to remain calm.
Continue to direct the attack according to the pre-rehearsed plan.
"Oil crew! Board the ship!"
After receiving the order, ten burly henchmen carried the bronze cauldron and ran along the port side rope net towards the dragon.
The copper cauldron was filled with raging oil mixed with sulfur, realgar, lime, and other substances. Anything that stuck to it would ignite, and the fire would not be extinguished by water.
Unfortunately, the dragon did not give them the chance to ignite it.
The dragon's tail swept across the water, creating a giant wave.
The ship rocked violently, the henchmen lost their footing, and the copper cauldrons slipped from their hands, splashing a slippery black swamp onto the starboard deck.
With a loud "boom," flames immediately ignited.
The fire spread rapidly along the sloping deck toward the port side.
The river water and flames met at the crack, and a cloud of white steam rose up, obscuring the sky.
The dragon continued to swing its tail, constantly ramming the ship's hull, causing it to shake more and more violently.
"Stop fighting it!"
"Drop anchor! Drop anchor now!"
Four servants in blue robes rushed toward the anchor winch.
The iron chain was as thick as a child's arm and was wound seven times around the winch.
The winch has an oak shaft and ironwood spokes, and it takes four servants working together to move it.
With each rotation, the anchor chain tightens by one notch with a "click".
The four-pronged iron anchor had just been thrown into the water and had not yet sunk to the bottom of the river.
The dragon's tail suddenly lashed back from underwater.
The violent force swept towards the port side anchor chain outlet.
The reverse scales at the tip of its tail curled back like knives, slicing through the air with a piercing shriek!
"boom!"
The dragon's tail struck the port side plank, precisely through the watertight hole through which the anchor chain passed.
The already cracked planks burst open with a roar, and the anchor chain, losing its support, shot outwards like a runaway python.
The winch handles in the hands of the four servants suddenly spun out of control, and the powerful centrifugal force threw them directly from the side of the ship into the river.
The situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and Li Xiaobo was completely out of options.
"Masters! The demonic dragon is powerful, we... how should we deal with it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Master Zi Mei slowly drew his Seven Star Sword.
"Master Li, please be patient and let me warm up my muscles and bones."
He made a sword gesture with his left hand, then lowered his right wrist, and began practicing swordsmanship in the air.
The first move is a horizontal thrust: thrust out, retract, and then thrust out again.
As the ship swayed, so did his swordplay.
Master Dehua was sharpening a crescent-shaped shovel beside him, glancing at him after each sharpening.
Master Zi Mei ignored the dragon before him.
He simply drew a semicircle from left to right with the sword, flipped his wrist, and then drew it back from right to left.
The movements were very slow, like paddling in water.
Li Xiaobo and Li Xiaochuan looked at each other, wondering what he was really up to.
After finishing one set of sword techniques, Master Zimei changed direction and began practicing it a second time.
Just then, the bow of the ship suddenly jerked upwards.
The dragon rose up from the water.
The entire dragon stood upright in mid-air, reaching a height of three zhang (approximately 10 meters), completely blocking the view from the bow of the ship.
Its vertical pupils slowly contracted, fixing their gaze on the people on the deck.
While everyone's attention was drawn to the dragon.
Suddenly, Master Dehua had a flash of inspiration. He placed the crescent shovel on the gunwale, stood up, and quietly circled around to the back of Master Zimei.
Master Zi Mei was still practicing his sword, and he was practicing the Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg.
Master Dehua suddenly kicked him in the buttocks.
"Bang!"
Master Zi Mei lost his balance and instantly flipped over the side of the boat, sword and all, into the river, splashing water three feet high.
"Holy shit! Who's the scoundrel?"
Before Master Zi Mei could even utter a curse, the dragon's pupils locked onto him.
On the deck, Master Dehua shouted repeatedly:
"Master Zi Mei has finally made his move! Everyone, cheer him on!"
Li Xiaochuan was the first to react, and the fear on his face instantly turned into joy.
"Excellent! Master Zi Mei is indeed highly skilled and daring, actually venturing into the water all by himself!"
Yuan Zidu also glanced sideways slightly: "As expected of a Nascent Soul expert! With Senior Zi Mei here, we have nothing to worry about!"
"Senior Brother Yuan, isn't Daoist Zi Mei a Nascent Soul stage expert? Why does he have to personally go into the water for hand-to-hand combat? Can't he just use his flying sword to slay the demon?"
He Renqing asked hesitantly.
After a moment's thought, Yuan Zidu quickly gave his answer.
"Senior Zi Mei could have easily killed this demon by teleporting with his sword, but he chose to engage in close combat... I guess he was telling us younger generations in the most dangerous way that those who cultivate the Dao must be willing to risk their lives and throw their swords at the enemy."
"I see, what a spirit you have, senior!"
He Renqing agreed wholeheartedly and nodded emphatically.
Looking at the ferocious-looking dragon in front of him.
Master Zi Mei's legs were starting to feel weak.
He's just a charlatan; his martial arts level is only at the beginner level of Skin Refining, and his so-called Nascent Soul stage is all self-promotion.
Because of her large belly, she claimed to be a nascent soul cultivator.
It's all just fat.
He dared to come this time because the fishing gang had given him so much, and because he simply didn't believe that there were any dragons in the world.
Before seeing the real dragon, he always thought Li Xiaochuan was exaggerating and deliberately trying to scare people.
Who would have thought that it was all true?
The mythical dragon actually appeared before his eyes.
He had originally planned to stall for time by wielding his sword, but that wouldn't work now.
Master Zi Mei was so frightened that he dared not move and simply floated quietly on the water.
Those on deck, however, were completely baffled.
"Did you see that?" Yuan Zidu said in a low voice, "The dragon locked onto you with its oppressive aura, but you didn't even flinch."
"What nonsense are you talking about? The soul of a Nascent Soul cultivator is so strong that the pressure of a mere water dragon is probably not even able to penetrate your protective spiritual light."
Li Xiaochuan said excitedly.
The dragon suddenly opened its mouth, and a gust of foul wind carrying water arrows blasted towards the passenger ship.
On the deck, everyone took another step back in unison.
A ray of sunlight pierced through the sky, illuminating the gemstones inlaid on Master Zimei's Seven Star Sword with dazzling brilliance.
The crowd was too far away to see clearly and assumed that his sword strike had caused the flash of cold light.
Yuan Zidu sang eloquently: "Before the sword is drawn, its light is already cold; when one takes half a step back, the dragon's courage trembles."
"Senior is about to draw his sword!"
Li Xiaochuan was so excited that his fingers were trembling.
Master Dehua clasped his hands together, his eyes reddening.
"Since my master passed away, I have never seen any powerful figure face a demon beast with such composure."
"When ordinary swordsmen encounter a great demon, which one doesn't panic and rush to run away? Senior Purple Eyebrows' demeanor is truly one of remaining calm even when Mount Tai collapses before him."
"So this is the Nascent Soul stage..."
He Renqing murmured, his voice carrying an almost religious quality.
Before he could finish speaking, the dragon suddenly extended its claws.
"Pfft!"
Master Zi Mei was unable to dodge in time, and his chest was pierced through.
Fresh blood gushed out like a spring.
In his dying moments, his face was filled with regret.
I regret that I was greedy for money.
He regretted exaggerating his abilities.
I regret that I was too arrogant.
With a powerful grab, the dragon tore him to pieces.
In less than ten breaths, Master Zi Mei had become a cold, lifeless corpse.
"What... what happened? Senior Brother Yuan, is Master Zi Mei dead?"
He Renqing hesitated for a moment before asking the question.
Silence reigned on the deck.
It wasn't until the blood had turned the river red that everyone came to their senses.
"Oh no! A Nascent Soul cultivator has fallen!"
Master Dehua shouted loudly.
"Master Zi Mei has been killed! What should we do now?"
Watching helplessly as the Nascent Soul expert he had hired at great expense died under the claws of the dragon was too much for Li Xiaochuan to accept, and he was so frightened that he burst into tears.
"It's over, it's all over!"
As the head of the hall, Li Xiaobo remained relatively calm, though his crotch was a little wet, but he was not frightened to tears.
He took a deep breath and said tremblingly, "Master Dehua, the only way now is for you to take action."
"Of all those present, only you, who have attained the Arhatship, are stronger than Master Zi Mei. Please, swiftly slay the dragon and save everyone's lives!"
"Yes, we have no choice but to ask a mage for help!"
"Non-Buddhist teachers are unacceptable!"
"As an Arhat, I am confident I can subdue that wicked dragon!"
Everyone stared intently at Master Dehua, eager for him to make a move.
Master Dehua simply clasped his hands together and kept repeating "Amitabha Buddha," showing no intention of moving at all.
Others may not know his background, but he knows it very well.
Although he was the head of the martial arts monks at Hongye Temple, he didn't get the position through real skill, but rather through boasting and using connections.
The true level of martial arts is only at the minor stage of skin refinement.
Faced with such a dangerous situation, no matter what, we must not make a move.
Seeing that Master Zimei died so quickly, Master Dehua made a clear judgment about himself.
Although his crescent shovel was very sharp, it was no match for this demonic dragon.
Once they make a move, their true skill level will be immediately revealed.
Even if they didn't die under the dragon's claws, they would be beaten to death by the deceived members of the fishing gang.
Let's delay as long as we can!
Master Dehua was extremely thick-skinned, and remained unmoved despite repeated requests from the crowd.
Li Xiaobo had no choice but to turn to the two demon slayers.
"Mr. Yuan? Mr. He? It's extremely urgent, it's time to take action!"
Yuan Zidu and He Renqing kept their heads down and didn't reply.
"Sigh, you were all heroes when you were taking the money, but how come you all turned into cowards when it really matters!"
Li Xiaobo was filled with despair and didn't even have the energy to curse.
The dragon is so terrifying, let alone saving the fishing gang brothers, I'll probably lose my life here today.
"Master Li, have you forgotten about me?"
Amidst a gloomy atmosphere, Chen Yu slowly stood up.
He observed for a long time and finally saw through the dragon's true nature.