262 The Invisible Wing

This was the first time, ever since Chen Changsheng and the Black Dragon hadgotten to know each other, that the Black Dragon had agreed to help withoutfirst negotiating some benefit. This was because that demon had stirred somerather unhappy memories. That giant iron pot made her feel especially annoyed,and when that demon woman brought up that man who had eaten dragons, it madeher even more annoyed. The Black Dragon left Chen Changsheng's hand, turning into a shadow that wasinvisible to the naked eye. It surged towards the center of the lake, thennoiselessly dived down like a falling leaf. It easily followed that tunnelwhich reversed the sky and earth and returned to the chilly pool by the cliff.Bursting through the water, it flew towards the gardens. With her current level of strength, she was incapable of influencing thisbattle. Chen Changsheng had given her the task of warning others and searchingfor assistance. In Chen Changsheng's opinion, it would have been good if shewere simply able to find those seniors from the various sects that were at theupper level of Ethereal Opening, but she did not think this way. She knew verywell just who amongst the human cultivators in these gardens was the strongest.The world within the Garden of Zhou was vast, but her luck was good. It was notmuch time before she found that solitary young lady dressed in white, walkingon a cliff. It was just that, for some reason, she felt a little cold andafraid when she saw the bow and arrow on that young lady's body.  At this moment, Teng Xiaoming arched his brows and glanced off into thedistance. As the twenty-fourth Demon General, he was incredibly strong.Although the Black Dragon had left like lightning and without a sound, he hadstill managed to sense some movement. However, that Black Dragon was truly toofast, so fast that he had barely seen anything. "Since Liang Xiaoxiao and Qi Jian are also people you want to kill, then Iunderstand now." Chen Changsheng said to Liu Wan'er. When he had previouslyused the Cloud-Piercing Arrow, the husband and wife pair had not elicited asingle reaction, which he felt to be somewhat odd. Now, it seemed that thisdemon couple had purposefully ignored his call for help as to bring LiangXiaoxiao and Qi Jian over so that they could kill them all together. Liu Wan'er looked at him and smiled, "If we can use the shortest amount oftime to resolve all our problems, then that's for the best." Chen Changsheng looked at that dying demon woman whose throat had been piercedby Zhexiu and still felt he had some misgivings that were impossible to resolve. "I really don't understand where you two get the confidence from, thinkingthat you can win two against four." Zhexiu expressionlessly said, "If this was outside the Garden of Zhou,, Iwould have definitely used this opportunity to escape considering the fiercereputation of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth Demon Generals. But since youused some sort of method to forcefully suppress your cultivation and enter theGarden of Zhou, then you can only use that cultivation to fight. At the verymost, your power is still limited to that of the upper level of EtherealOpening." Liu Wan'er calmly looked at him and said, "Self-confidence is the foundationof the strong." "But did you know? Chen Changsheng is like me, neither of us are one forwords." Zhexiu suddenly said. Liu Wan'er arched her brows, then asked inquisitively, "This isn't somethingthat's easy to see." Zhexiu said, "You and him speaking so much, as well as this conversation I'mhaving with you; in reality we share the same goal as you......we're all justbuying time." Liu Wan'er’s brows went up even higher. "Why?" "What you said is very correct. Self-confidence is the foundation of thestrong." Zhexiu continued, "Chen Changsheng is very confident that he is much strongerthan the Chen Changsheng you have imagined. Coincidentally, I happen to thinkthe same way about myself." At this moment, a cold and proud voice rang out from the forest. "Not bad, I also happen to think this way." With these words, two youths dressed in plain sword uniforms walked out of thewoods. The disciples of Mount Li had finally arrived. They had already prepared for battle. Their bodies were cloaked in swordintent. They faced that Demon General couple, with their fresh and cool sword Qi thatwas dazzling to the eye. A bit farther off into the forest, a clothed figure could faintly be seen.Zhuang Huanyu was probably going to arrive soon as well. A huge change had just occurred in this scene. Five young human geniuses against two demon experts; no matter from whatangle, it seemed like a worthy fight.Moreover, the odds of success were ratherhigh. As Zhexiu had said, regardless of how tyrannical this Demon General couplewere outside of the Garden of Zhou, the greatest strength they could use insideof the Garden of Zhou was that of the upper level of Ethereal Opening. However, Chen Changsheng was still confused by one thing. Why were they stillso confident? Liu Wan'er's expression remained as gentle as ever, unlike the fearsome foethat Liang Xiaoxiao and Qi Jian had thought they were confronting at all.Looking at Chen Changsheng, she said, "Even if we must battle, we should atleast exchange hostages first." She held the life of the female disciple from a secluded sect in the east inher hands. The demon woman's life rested in Zhexiu's fingertips. "You are the Principal of the Orthodox Academy. You're so young, even I thinkthat the Pope is just messing around…" Liu Wan'er looked at him and chuckled, "But you're still a member of the LiPalace. Presumably, you won't watch a fellow human die in front of you. TheLongevity Sect is an orthodox sect of a profound school. Although they say thatMount Li is good at killing, that doesn't mean that you two can just watch asyour fellow human dies. Wofu Zhexiu is a wolf cub who only needs to eat meat tolive, but none of you can do that." After she was finished with her words, Zhexiu glanced at Chen Changsheng. In the snowy plains, he was a wolf youth who had given respect to no one. WhatLi Palace, what Mount Li? It all had nothing to do with him, so long as hecould live and kill his enemies. However, after his journey to the capital, hehad fixed his position. Within the Garden of Zhou, he was Chen Changsheng'sbodyguard. Chen Changsheng glanced at Qi Jian, and Qi Jian glanced at Liang Xiaoxiao. "Exchange." Chen Changsheng and Liang Xiaoxiao simultaneously said. Qi Jian nodded his head, indicating that this was how it should be. Zhexiusaid nothing. Liu Wan'er lightly waved her sleeve, and by some mysterious means, that girlin Teng Xiaoming's basket whose right hand had been cut off awoke. Suddenly awakening, the first thing she felt was pain. The girl's face suddenly became deathly pale. Two lines of tears fell from hereyes, but she bit down on her teeth. Besides an initial groan, she actually didnot make another sound. Seeing this scene, even Zhexiu was moved, as if he felt some pity andadmiration. Qi Jian quickly took off his outer garment and threw it over so that she coulduse it to cover herself. Only then did the girl realize that she was naked. After the momentary shock,she looked hatefully into Liu Wan'er's eyes. Liu Wan'er smiled, but paid her no attention otherwise. "Please don't be confused." Liang Xiaoxiao then gave a most concise summary ofthe current situation. "Many thanks to my fellow Daoists for their assistance." The girl gave a slight bow of appreciation. Wearing a slightly tight robe overone's naked body, who would not have felt somewhat embarrassed? With her purewhite legs pressed against the sandy beach, who would not have felt somewhathelpless? However, her pretty face showed no sign of panic. She was like somenoble daughter, still wearing the clothes she wore inside the house. The admiration in Zhexiu's eyes increase. Qi Jian glanced over at him, then gave a mental snort. That disciple from a secluded sect in the east who was like a noble daughterbegan to walk towards Chen Changsheng. Liu Wan'er and her husband made no attempt to stop her. It was hard to walk on the lakeshore. Moreover, she had just lost her hand andbled a lot of blood. This was her weakest moment, but she walked very steadily.She most likely did not want to add any new variables to the situation. After a while, she arrived in front of Chen Changsheng and the others. Qi Jian took two steps forward and offered an arm in support. On that beautiful face appeared a strand of shame and defiance. Qi Jian realized what he was doing, then with some mumbling, withdrew his handand stood to the side. Chen Changsheng nodded at Zhexiu. Zhexiu withdrew his sharp claws and grabbed the shoulder of that demon woman,preparing to return her to the demon couple. A change. A change that was absolutely going to happen. A change that several people had been waiting in silence to happen for a longtime. In this moment, it finally happened. The first place to change was at Zhexiu's location. Just as he was about totoss the demon woman into the air, that dying demon woman who had seemed readyto drop dead at any moment suddenly opened her eyes. Her two legs chopped towards Zhexiu's throat like two swords suffused with acold light. Blood was still flowing from the hole in her throat, and it still dripped fromher severed wrist. From the time she had been suppressed, she had not said a single word.Everyone had thought that she had no more strength to fight. No one had imagined that she was waiting for that instant in which Zhexiuremoved his claws from her throat. The next change occurred in front of Qi Jian. Just as he was mumbling and turning his body, the shame on that femaledisciple from a secluded sect from the east disappeared, and there was onlyindifference. A frigid sword pierced through her robe. Carrying a terrifying Qi, it wasthrust toward Qi Jian's throat. The robe was originally Qi Jian's. She had exploited Qi Jian's kindheartedness and courtesy. The changes had begun, but naturally this was not all. Qi Jian did not turn around. He seemed totally unprepared, about to die underthis woman's sneak attack, but then a bright sword glow emerged. The Mount Li Relic Sword. Fair and honest, but absolutely not gentle. It carried an austere aura. Although he was small and thin, Qi Jian's sword carried a massive Qi. How could the crafty sneak attack overcome Qi Jian's accumulated power, hisheartless and shameless sword? Qi Jian's Mount Li Relic Sword flew towards the sword in the woman's hand,whistling through the air. With a swish, a line of blood appeared on her neck. If that woman's movement techniques had not been so strange, and if Qi Jian'sbattle experience was not so sparse, then perhaps his sword would have beheadedthat woman. Even Qi Jian had prepared for a sneak attack, so there was no need to discussabout whether Zhexiu had. As that demon woman's two legs chopped towards him like swords, Zhexiu's handswere already waiting for them in the air. Several muffled squelches resounded like a knife chopping onto a rotten,wooden board. Zhexiu's ten fingers had all buried themselves into that demon woman's ankles,causing blood to spurt out. The demon woman gave a miserable cry of anger. Zhexiu's expression was indifferent. He extracted his fingers, then his bodyvanished. His two hands fell from the air, prepared to tear this woman topieces. Just at this moment, Teng Xiaoming put down his carrying pole, removed the tworopes that kept the baskets tied to the pole, and swung them around. As if they were alive, the two ropes wrapped around the two women. With a whoosh, those two women were narrowly pulled out of the range of QiJian and Zhexiu's attacks. That woman who had been feigning as a disciple of a secluded sect in the eastmaintained her indifferent and dignified expression, like a noble daughter.Only this time, half her chest was stained with blood, making her seem quitemiserable. The demon woman was even more miserable. From the time where she was combingher hair on the rock, she had suffered injury after injury. She could no longerhold on and directly collapsed onto the ground. With a shashing, Chen Changsheng's dagger was sheathed. Liang Xiaoxiao’s sword had been unsheathed and rested in his hand. The previous sneak attack and counterattack had happened too fast. Althoughthey had prepared, they still did not have time to unsheathe their weapons. It must be said that Teng Xiaoming was truly worthy of his title as thetwenty-fourth Demon General. In terms of foresight, knowledge, experience, andstrength, he was far above the humans present. The lakeshore once again grew quiet. That demon woman sat gasping for breath on the ground, not caring that she wasstark naked. She stared hatefully at Chen Changsheng and the others, saying, "Iwon't accept this." The woman wearing Qi Jian's robe arched her brows, an annoyed expressionappearing on her face. "Don't mind this stupid thing. How did you see throughme?" The demon woman angrily replied, "Are you calling me a stupid thing?" The woman shook her head, as if she was unwilling to pay her any attention.Looking at Qi Jian, she asked, "How did you know that I would attack you?" Qi Jian glanced at Zhexiu and said, "I didn't know, he told me." The woman turned towards Zhexiu and arched her brows. "Then how did you seethat I was Nanke?" Hearing the name Nanke, Zhexiu's expression became very grave. Observing herin silence, he confirmed once more and shook his head, "You're not Nanke......Isaid before, if you were Nanke, then none of this would be necessary. You coulddirectly come out and kill us, no need for any of these troublesome andannoying plans." The woman creased her brow, "Then how did you see through it? I don't have anydemon horns, and my blood is red." That demon woman's ability to recover was truly frightening. After sufferingsuch severe injuries, she only needed to sit for a few moments before standingup once more. Her face was filled with anger as she said, "Right! So what if myblood is green, I spent a few days making a new haircut and cut off too much,so I couldn't completely hide my demon horns. It's nothing if you saw mymistake. But what about this girl? Her blood is clearly red with no horns to beseen, so how could you tell that she was one of us?" Chen Changsheng and the others all turned to Zhexiu, not knowing how he hadseen through it. After a long period of silence, Zhexiu replied, "You did it too purposefully,as if you wanted us to see that her blood was red." Zhexiu referred to how the Demon General couple had, without a word, cut offthat woman's hand.  Liu Wan'er glanced over at the woman and smiled. "See, I told you that yourway of doing things was more than necessary." The woman gave Zhexiu a bewildered look. "Just this reason? No other evidence?" When life and death are on the line, a single reason is enough." Zhexiuimpassively replied. The woman grew even more annoyed at those words. She thought that she hadspent so much time painstakingly developing this stratagem, but why was theplan completely useless against these humans? She thought to herself. The demon woman looked at her and jeered, "See, I said that your head wasn'tthat bright, yet every day you stubbornly insist that I'm the stupid one." The woman expressionlessly said, "If you weren't the stupid one, then youwouldn't have snuck away to make a futile attempt at one person killing two." Chen Changsheng and the others all felt very strange. That demon woman was extremely enchanting. Her entire body presented a matureand charming view. The other woman's expression was dignified, and herappearance was beautiful. She seemed like a noble daughter that had beenstrictly raised since childhood. Yet when these two teased and bickered witheach other, they seemed very similar, almost like they were the same person. Qi Jian felt even stranger. This was his first time seeing demons and hisfirst time fighting with them. He realized that these demons also knew how tobicker and quarrel, just like his fellow sisters and brothers back in the sect.However, he soon realized, after sobering up, that this way of thinking was fartoo dangerous. What had caused him to sober up was the transformation of these two women. Their hands which had been chopped off suddenly grew back. It was not anything frightening as regrowing flesh and bone, but instead, attheir wrists appeared a translucent, light-green hand. Moreover, the seemingly spiritual hand was gradually becoming real. Chen Changsheng was truly amazed. Although the recovery abilities of the demonbody were truly great, no one other than the pure-blooded imperial clan couldregenerate limbs. Not to mention the fact that this clearly was not a unique demon art forregenerating limbs. Zhexiu finally thought of something, and his face suddenly paled. These two demon women indeed were not Nanke, they were.......Nanke's two wings. "Have you two played enough?" Liu Wan'er looked at the two women and saidhelplessly, "If you two weren't competing with each other on every littlething, we probably could have finished everything that we need to do today along time ago. Be careful, or when the Lady comes back from killing the truephoenix and discovers what you've done, she'll give you three years ofpunishment. Then we'll see what you do." At these words, fear appeared on the two demon women's faces and they said nomore. Liu Wan'er turned to Chen Changsheng and gave an apologetic smile, then said,"Do it." Her black hair floated in the air and her sleeves madly moved about. There was no sneak attack this time, only the use of strength to fight.However, it gave Chen Changsheng and the others a massive pressure instead. Qi Jian grasped his sword, and his expression was cold and without fear. Zhexiu remained expressionless. With his metallic and sharp claws, he onceagain attacked the demon woman. The Qi at the lake shore was thrown into chaos, with sword Qi and demon Qimixing together. Chen Changsheng looked at Liu Wan'er, and his expression was grave. Liang Xiaoxiao stared at Teng Xiaoming. His face was slightly pale. In terms of cultivation, the two of them were higher than Zhexiu and Qi Jian,so it was only right for their opponents to be the two Demon Generals. In this battle, these young cultivators could still fight back. If they couldfight, it meant that a loss was not guaranteed. Maybe the Black Dragon could even bring back an expert to help? This was Chen Changsheng's plan, but he was wrong in one matter. When Liu Wan'er had said "Do it", it actually was not aimed at him, but atsomeone else. Amidst the flying sand and stones, a sword approached Zhexiu from behind. The sword was very powerful and very insidious. No matter how vigilant Zhexiu was, he would never have imagined that a swordwould pierce him from behind. With a squelch, that sword pierced his waist. Blood began to spurt out. In these few breaths of time, the demon woman flew over to his side. Her hands glowed a dim green, then pierced his shoulder. Her black hair scattered like needles that pierced towards his eyes. At the brink of death, Zhexiu gave an extremely ruthless howl.