CH 109

Chapter 109 : Since It’s a Hopeless Game

Su Yang and Gu Feidi stepped into the door of the White Witch Tower side by side, their internal strength silently circulating as they remained on the alert and cautious.

The White Witch Tower was the domain of Eluo Ghost Tent’s Great Witch and witches. Rumour had it that not only were there Gu breeders bearing the Gu poison standing guard, there were also an abundance of curses invoked by the witches. Even if the people there weren’t proficient in martial arts, there were numerous ways to deal with uninvited guests who arbitrarily barged in.

Su Yang didn’t dare be negligent and instantly circulated Half Withered Red, hoping to prevent a surprise onslaught of the Gu poison.

But the condition within the White Witch Tower wholly surpassed their expectations.

The interior of this tower didn’t resemble it’s layered exterior. The whole body was hollow and you could see straight to the top of the tower while standing at the base. An extremely long spiral staircase curled along the walls all the way up to its highest point.

The walls of the tower were painted full of frescos. There were doors and windows cut into the sections at intervals. Apparently, there were a number of rooms concealed between the inner and outer walls.

But there were no witches or Gu breeders here.

The entire tower was exceedingly spacious and silent at the moment. If it wasn’t for the roaring snowstorm outside, one would definitely be able to hear a pin drop in there.

A pure white wolfskin blanket had been spread from the door all the way to the circular platform at the base of the tower. A person in a white fur cloak was sitting cross-legged atop the platform.

The person’s back was facing the door, with a bone staff resting across his legs. His head inclined a little, as if he’d heard Su Yang’s and Gu Feidi’s footsteps.

“Both of you are here at last.” The voice was gloomy and chilly with a hint of mockery, “My nephew, who’s been lucky enough to have fled a few years ago, indeed he didn’t come with you?”

Su Yang instinctively sensed his blood run cold before he’d even reacted to the meaning of this sentence.

Gu Feidi held his breath, subconsciously tightened his hold on the hilt and said in a low voice: “……Eluojue?”

The man gave a light snort, “Is This King’s name to be used so flippantly by this ignorant youth?”

As he finished speaking, he turned around and relaxedly hung a leg down the edge of the seat. His entire body was filled with flaws and he appeared to show complete disregard for the two of them.

Su Yang moved forward a little with the intention to pull Gu Feidi halfway behind him. Gu Feidi patted him on the shoulder, motioning that it was alright and then tugged him back to his side.

Eluojue’s gaze fell upon Su Yang’s face and an indistinct yet complicated radiance abruptly erupted from his eyes.

At this time, Su Yang was still wearing a white veil around his head and face, exposing only a pair of eyes. And those eyes, with the exception of the red mole at the end, looked exactly the same as Eluojin’s.

Eluojue stared fixedly at Su Yang, curled up the corners of his mouth and gave a light laugh.

“Jin’er, indeed……you’d still return to my side some other way……”

His voice was extremely low, but it transmitted over loud and clear into Su Yang’s and Gu Feidi’s ears. Gu Feidi instinctively grabbed Su Yang by the hand and hauled him to stand behind him.

Eluojue’s gaze suddenly fell upon their clasped hands, the corners of his eyes twitched twice and he released a cold snort from his nose.

“Interfering punk!”

He grunted and promptly got up from the platform seat without warning, twirled the bone staff in his hand and abruptly struck at Gu Feidi’s face.

Gu Feidi lifted his sword to block him. Who’d have thought that Eluojue’s internal strength would be so impressive. Gu Feidi exhausted all his strength, but was still slammed by his explosive power and staggered a couple of steps backwards before he could stabilize his body.

Su Yang gave it no thought, drew out his sword and charged at Eluojue. He set about with his Drunk Slashing Red Plums’ extremely powerful assault moves to seal off all Eluojue’s escape routes.

But Eluojue didn’t retreat. With a flick of his wrist, the other end of the bone staff passed beneath him, pummelling Su Yang’s shoulder with amazing accuracy.

The shoulder is essential to the power of the arm. Eluojue’s strike impeded Su Yang’s ability to instantly deliver any continuing follow up moves, so he had no choice but fall back and begin again.

Just then, Gu Feidi also raised his sword again, stepped forward to synchronise with Su Yang’s sword moves and attacked Eluojue together.

Eluojue narrowed his eyes somewhat, clenched his teeth and smiled: “It’s indeed a dual-sword symmetry……Ho, my Jin’er, how can you be in congruence with others!”

Before he’d even finished speaking, the bone staff in his hand was like half a spirited snake, darting between Su Yang and Gu Feidi at an extremely crafty angle, shifting left and right to thoroughly upset both their unified momentums.

In a moment, Eluojue stretched the bone staff to pound Su Yang’s chest with a domineering yet non-violent internal strength, forcing him to move backwards. He assertively injected himself between the two, turned to Gu Feidi and displayed a strange smile.

Gu Feidi’s pupils widened as he subconsciously manoeuvred his full internal strength and raised his sword to withstand Eluojue’s next strike.

After all, Eluojue was much older and his years of immersion in martial arts were longer than Gu Feidi had been alive. His internal strength was much stronger than Gu Feidi’s. Having received his unrestrained strike, Gu Feidi was only able to endure for a second, before being heavily impacted and crashing into the columns of the White Witch Tower’s spiral steps.

Right then, Su Yang activated his Prized Flower Steps, waved his sword and charged ahead, aiming the blade directly at the center of Eluojue’s back!

Eluojue seemed to have eyes at the back of his head and he backhandedly swung his bone staff, whipping it at Su Yang’s knee socket.

Su Yang’s footwork rotated slightly and he avoid this attack, blocking in between Eluojue and Gu Feidi.

“You’re even protecting him……” The way Eluojue looked at Su Yang abruptly changed and his tone became somewhat chillier, “It’s alright to protect him, I can choose not to kill him……If you’re willing to remain in Eluo and be my companion, I’ll allow him to leave…I’ll even dispatch the Black Feather Army to escort him all the way back to the Central Plains. How about that?” 

Upon hearing those words, Su Yang’s scalp began to tingle.

He tightened his grip on the Lord Friend sword, clenched his teeth and yelled: “IN YOUR DREAMS!”

At the same time, he turned his wrist and struck Eluojue with a sudden ‘Drunk Penglai’ blow.

Gu Feidi also leapt up and raised the Long Cherished Heart sword to synchronise with the unyielding Lord Friend thin sword to execute the ‘Dream Roving Clouds’ move.

Both their internal strengths were aligned, their momentums were in harmony, their sword moves inspired each other and revealed an unbeatable and imposing energy.

Yet, Eluojue still scornfully sneered when confronting their moves and switched the bone staff over to forcibly bear down their joint strike.

“Not to be underestimated.” He smiled, “If you’re given another ten years time, no, perhaps five years is sufficient ……You’ll be unstoppable when you combine forces.”

After speaking, he swung his bone staff to receive Su Yang’s and Gu Feidi’s synchronised blow, retreated a little and sighed: “……unfortunately.”

Eluojue drove his internal strength and intense, blazing flames shot out along the bone staff with a loud blast. It bypassed Su Yang and slammed heavily onto Gu Feidi’s chest.

Although Gu Feidi had clearly altered his defense manoeuvres in response, he was still pressured to fall back a distance. He bent over and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Su Yang moved in front to shield Gu Feidi, staring fixedly at Eluojue in case he abruptly turned violent.

Eluojue smiled as he looked at Su Yang and gradually withdrew his power. He propped the bone staff in the crook of his arm, as if he wouldn’t attack anymore.

“You desire White Firework Gu for the sake of getting twice the results with half the effort while practicing extreme Yang techniques?” His gaze wandered over from Su Yang to Gu Feidi and emitted a bitter laugh, “Your idea has merit, but it’s a pity. You overreach.”

“White Firework Gu……” Gu Feidi hesitated for a moment and said unbelievably, “……is in your possession?”

Su Yang was stunned, but he didn’t dare turn to look at Gu Feidi. He carefully observed Eluojue as he asked: “……Didn’t they say that it was in the body of the Great Witch?”

Eluojue gave a light laugh, gazed softly at Su Yang and actually responded: “Who said that Eluo Ghost Tent’s king can’t simultaneously be the Great Witch?”

Su Yang was at a loss for words. This answer was truly indisputable.

Eluojue looked at Su Yang and smiled: “Without the aid of Eluo Ghost Tent’s royal bloodline, he can forget about containing the White Firework Gu in his body and will die from it. With him possessing this Fire Gu, you will inevitably be bound to him and you won’t be able to leave at any time……You’re still willing to help him and entrap yourself? I think it’s better to kill him off earlier, so as not to have unexpected troubles in the future……”

As he spoke, Eluojue’s expression changed in an instant. The gentle countenance was suddenly replaced by fierceness as his eyes glared at Gu Feidi.

The bone staff dropped into his hand and he leapt up suddenly. He dismissed Su Yang’s incomplete defense, then attacked Gu Feidi’s body with a killing strike.

Gu Feidi retreated swiftly using his light footwork, but was unable to shake off  Eluojue’s assault. He watched helplessly as he was about to suffer a serious injury from that strike.

In response, Su Yang clenched his teeth and pushed his Prized Flower Steps to its limit to nip in at the final moment of the killing strike. He stretched out his arms and blocked in front of Gu Feidi.

The bone staff was wrapped in an intense internal force, smashing brutally onto Su Yang’s chest like a plunging meteorite.

All three people present heard a very distinct cracking sound just then.

In an instant, both Gu Feidi and Su Yang couldn’t withstand the massive force. They overlapped each other and slammed heavily against the tower wall.

“Shixiong!” Gu Feidi swallowed a mouthful of blood and called out anxiously, “Shixiong! Are you hurt?”

Su Yang sank into Gu Feidi’s arms, silently swallowed the blood dripping out from his mouth, raised his hand to touch his chest and shook his head.

He wasn’t severely injured.

But, the piece of phoenix agate given to him by Shizun had been shattered by Eluojue.

The Cold Pond Ice Spirit which had been inhibited for a long time gradually began to awaken. The chill that hadn’t been felt for a long time flowed into the Su Yang meridians once more, spreading into his limbs and bones within a few breaths.

Gu Feidi noticed Su Yang’s strangeness right away and subconsciously tightened his hold, transferred his internal strength into Su Yang’s body and called out in a trembling voice: “……Xiao Xiao!”

Eluojue gave a bitter laugh, raised the bone staff and launched another attack at the two of them.

Gu Feidi clenched his teeth as he hugged Su Yang with one hand and lifted the Long Cherished Sword with the other, attempting to ward off the deadly bone staff with all his strength.

Su Yang’s eyes closed a little and the corners of his mouth twitched suddenly. He drove the Half Withered Red, combining it with the Cold Pond Ice Spirit to flood out an extremely cold internal force and using the most desperate and deadly move of Drunk Slashing Red Plums———‘Drunk Daylily’!

Eluojue raised his eyebrows and had no choice but to recall his attack. With the assistance of the White Firework Gu in his body, he was able to endure and obstruct Su Yang’s Lord Friend sword.

Su Yang’s sword fell upon Eluojue’s bone staff and he could no longer advance.

He raised his eyelids and stole an indifferent glance at Eluojue. Then he slowly closed his eyes and a layer of frost began to develop over them.

Ultimately, he couldn’t withstand it and toppled over……

Gu Feidi almost went crazy.

He drove all his internal strength into Su Yang’s body, but it didn’t have any effect.

He didn’t care about Eluojue. All he wanted was to drag Su Yang into his arms and warm him up again……

But a tremendous force burst out from Eluojue’s bone staff and slammed Gu Feidi back to the wall.

Eluojue pulled the frozen Su Yang into his arms. He looked down at his tightly closed eyes and the face that was about to be frozen over.

“Jin’er……” It was as if he had entered a fanatical state and he spoke softly, “……Don’t die.”

The heat of the White Firework Gu streamed out from his body to envelop Su Yang’s entire body and slowly melted the frost on his face.

Eluojue held Su Yang lovingly and said: “……I see, your body bears an extremely cold matter and you need me to warm you up……is that it?”

In the midst of these intimate and tender-sounding words, Su Yang gradually opened his eyes and looked at the face that was within his reach.

Then, his eyebrows twitched slightly and the corners of his eyes curled a little……At last, he revealed an incomparably charming smile at Eluojue.

A child-like surprise erupted from Eluojue’s eyes and even his tone changed: “Jin’er, I’ll acquire it for you——” 

His voice abruptly ceased.

After a long pause, Eluojue’s gaze slowly shifted away from Su Yang’s face and onto his own chest.

Su Yang’s palm was pressed against Eluojue’s chest, as if he was softly caressing it.

Only both of them knew what kind of internal force was contained in this palm that was enough to cause a severe injury.

A trickle of blood dripped out from the gap between Eluojue’s lips. He gripped Su Yang’s wrist, tugged the corners of his lips and let out a bitter laugh.

“You actually……want to kill me…”

In that short sentence, the tenderness in the voice had already disappeared. It was now as chilly as a snowstorm and infinitely filled with killing intent.

Eluojue looked at Su Yang in his arms with an incomparably cold look. He swiftly flipped Su Yang’s arm behind his back and rammed him heavily onto the ground.

“……Since it’s a hopeless game, then I……don’t have to keep you!”