NABC Chapter 16 Burning Body
Chapter 16 Burning Body
Zhao Kun's Iron Bone Fist, a killing move brimming with the blood and qi of the Flesh Refining Realm and capable of splitting stone tablets, tore through the air with a muffled whistling sound, and struck Yang Jin's chest directly!
There is no way to avoid it, and there is nowhere to retreat!
At the critical moment of life and death, a ferocious light, like that of a wild beast, burst forth in Yang Jin's eyes.
Instead of retreating, he faced the wind of the punch and pushed his entire body's stone skin to its limit, causing his blood and qi to surge wildly. At the same time, instead of blocking, he threw his short axe at Zhao Kun's face with all his might!
With lightning speed, his right hand slammed down hard on a slightly dark-colored protruding rock on the rock wall beside him!
What he was slapping was a weak point in the rock strata that he had accidentally discovered when he and Atu were exploring the mineral veins and searching for the essence of the earth veins!
The structure there was abnormal and was once marked by Atu as "dangerous and prone to collapse".
After several days of exploration, Yang Jin had already thoroughly understood the terrain and potential dangers in the vicinity. This was his prepared counterattack in a desperate situation!
"Die!"
Zhao Kun grinned maliciously, completely ignoring the flying short axe. He easily dodged it by turning his head, his iron fist continuing its momentum!
However, just as his fist was about to touch Yang Jin's chest—
"BOOM!!!"
The rock that Yang Jin struck with his right palm, along with the surrounding rock ceiling, seemed to have lost its last support and collapsed suddenly!
Rocks of varying sizes, mixed with a lot of mud and dust, cascaded down like a waterfall, completely enveloping Zhao Kun!
This landslide was not large in scale, but it was extremely sudden and precise!
Zhao Kun's expression changed drastically!
He never expected that this young man would have such a treacherous trick up his sleeve even in dire straits!
The martial artist at the Flesh Refining Realm reacted extremely quickly. He forcefully withdrew most of his punching power, his blood and qi surged, and he raised both palms, unleashing a burst of pale white energy in an attempt to shake off the falling rocks.
Most of the rubble was sent flying by his powerful palm strike, but the collapse was too close and too sudden, and several larger rocks still crashed down hard!
"Snap!"
A sickeningly crisp sound!
A rock with sharp edges, about the size of a millstone, slammed heavily into Zhao Kun's right arm as he hurriedly tried to block!
The protective qi and blood were broken, and the sound of bones breaking could be clearly heard!
"ah--!"
Zhao Kun let out a miserable howl filled with pain and anger as his right arm bent at an odd angle, clearly broken!
Blood instantly stained his sleeves.
As Yang Jin struck the rock, he used the recoil to roll rapidly to the side and backward, shouting hoarsely, "A-Tu!"
A-Tu, which had been lurking in the shadows of the rubble, suddenly burst out from the other side like the most loyal executor, and slammed its hardest head into the base of another rock pillar at the edge of the landslide area, which had already been quietly corroded by its acid!
"boom--!"
A secondary collapse has occurred!
More dust and gravel rolled down, further engulfing the already severely injured Zhao Kun, completely blocking his pursuit route, and dividing the mine tunnel into two sections.
"Cough cough... You little bastard! I'll tear you to pieces!"
From within the smoke and dust came Zhao Kun's frantic and painful roar, as well as the sound of him frantically slapping the rocks and trying to break free.
Ignoring the dull pain in his chest from the blows and the churning of his blood, Yang Jin knew that the landslide wouldn't hold Zhao Kun for long, especially against a flesh-refining realm martial artist in a fit of rage.
He must get away immediately!
He turned and tried to escape towards the deeper branch of the mine tunnel that he had planned to take.
However, a sudden change occurred!
The pungent smell of blood, the violent tremors of fighting, and the continuous roar of collapses... in this closed and deep underground mine tunnel, it was like a boulder being thrown, disturbing some slumbering and terrifying beings.
"Rustle, rustle... soft rustle..."
A chilling, dense grinding sound surged forth like a tide from the darkness deeper within the mine tunnels!
The sound grew closer and louder, as if countless tiny feet were crawling on the rocks!
Yang Jin and A Tu simultaneously felt a tremor of fear originating from their very life instincts!
The ground-walking marmoset's senses were frantically alerting, and Atu even conveyed an expression of extreme terror—it felt like encountering a natural enemy!
The next moment, a crimson "tide" surged out from several branch passages!
That wasn't water at all, but countless fist-sized, dark red, ember-red centipedes with compound eyes that shimmered with a ghostly green light and mouthparts like sharp scissors!
They were clearly social underground predators, drawn by the blood and tremors, and swarmed in frantically!
Hundreds and thousands of them, densely packed, left white marks on the rocks with their sharp feet, and emitted a pungent stench!
Indiscriminate attacks! Any living thing is their target!
"Oh no!"
Yang Jin was terrified and no longer cared about Zhao Kun, so he turned and fled!
Zhao Kun, who had just barely managed to free himself from the rubble and was about to chase after Yang Jin with a ferocious expression, was the first to be overwhelmed by the crimson swarm of insects!
"What is that?! Get away! Ah—!"
Zhao Kun's roar instantly turned into an extremely shrill scream!
His protective qi and blood, which were at the Body Refining Realm, rapidly dimmed under the frenzied attacks of these Earth Fire Centipedes. One of his arms was severed, and his mobility was restricted.
The swarm of insects covered him, their sharp mouthparts tearing at his flesh, their carapaces scraping together with a teeth-grinding sound.
He frantically swung his left palm, unleashing a burst of energy that killed a group of centipedes, but more centipedes followed suit!
The screams quickly faded, replaced by a chilling "crunch" sound of flesh being gnawed and bones being crushed...
Yang Jin didn't dare to look back at all. He pushed his speed to the limit, his blood and qi surging beneath the stone skin, and ran wildly toward a fork in the road that he remembered was on higher ground.
Atu followed closely behind, and his speed was not slow either.
After the swarm of insects engulfed Zhao Kun, it did not stop. Like a red torrent of death, it spread towards the direction Yang Jin had fled!
They seem to be unusually sensitive to the scent of living things.
"Up! Run to a drier place!"
Based on his memory and A-Tu's perception, Yang Jin desperately fled towards the upper part of the mine tunnel, where the air was relatively dry and the sound of flowing water could be faintly heard.
Fire centipedes prefer warm and humid conditions, so perhaps dry areas can keep them out.
However, the insect swarm is relentlessly pursuing them, and the distance is shrinking!
Just as Yang Jin was about to be caught up, a steep downhill slope appeared ahead, and at the end of the slope came the sound of rushing water—it was an underground river!
The river water is icy cold, but perhaps that's where life lies!
Behind them lies a deadly swarm of insects, and ahead lies an unknown dark river. There is no choice!
"Jump!"
Without hesitation, Yang Jin leaped down the slope and plunged headfirst into the darkness from which the sound of water came!
Atu also curled up and rolled down.
Pfft!Pfft!
The icy river water swallowed him instantly, and the biting cold almost suffocated him.
The water flow is rapid and its direction is difficult to discern.
He struggled desperately to the surface to catch his breath, only to be swept away by a powerful undercurrent and carried downstream into the endless darkness.
Atu seemed to be tightly wrapped around his legs.
Above the riverbank, the crimson swarm of insects lingered for a moment, hissing reluctantly, before gradually receding and disappearing back into the darkness deep within the mine tunnel.
All that remained was a stark white skeleton, devoured clean and with hardly a shred of cloth left, along with a broken arm bone, silently demonstrating the tragic end of a martial artist in the Flesh Refining Realm.
……
I don't know how much time passed, it felt like a century.
Yang Jin floated in the icy river, his consciousness blurred, holding his breath only with the instinct to survive, drifting with the current.
The stone skin protected him from being cut by sharp rocks in the water, but the cold and lack of oxygen continued to erode his life.
Finally, a faint glimmer of light appeared ahead, and the water flow became calmer.
He was swept into an underground lake, which was connected to a mountain stream.
Using the last bit of daylight, he mustered his last strength and struggled to climb onto a rocky beach by the lake.
Soaked to the bone, icy cold, with sharp pain in my chest, a wave of exhaustion washed over me.
He coughed up several mouthfuls of icy lake water, his vision blurred, and he finally couldn't hold on any longer and fainted.
Atu loosened its grip on his lap and collapsed wearily to the side, but it seemed to recover more quickly, vigilantly guarding its master's side.
……
When Yang Jin regained some consciousness, he felt his body being moved. He was lying on a dry straw mat, covered with a worn but thick quilt, and his chest was simply bandaged, with a cool sensation from the herbs.
The warmth of the fire dispelled some of the chill.
He struggled to open his eyes, and his blurry vision gradually cleared.
A haggard-looking woman with red and swollen eyes was carefully wiping the dirt and bloodstains off his face with a rag dipped in warm water.
She is Widow Li from the east end of the village.
Yang Jin recognized her; the original owner of this body remembered this kind and timid woman.
"You...you're awake?" Widow Li was startled to see him open his eyes, then lowered her voice, her tone trembling with tears, "Child, what...how did you get like this? And you rushed out of that mountain stream...please don't make a sound, the village...the village is still...Uncle Shi is still here..."
Before she could finish speaking, tears streamed down her face, her eyes filled with fear and helplessness.
Yang Jin's heart sank. He tried to sit up, but the movement aggravated his injuries, and he let out a muffled groan.
He asked hoarsely, "Aunt Li... what happened in the village? How is Grandpa Shi...?"
He had a bad feeling.
Widow Li's tears flowed even more fiercely. She covered her mouth, afraid of crying out loud, and after a long while, she said in a trembling voice, "Uncle Shi... he... he's gone!"
"What?!"
Yang Jin was struck dumb, his eyes widening in shock. Despite his weakness, an uncontrollable chilling killing intent rose from his eyes.
"Yesterday, that Zhao instructor from the Sun family went down into the mine looking for you, but he never came out. The Sun family got anxious and interrogated Uncle Shi, but Uncle Shi wouldn't say anything... That damned Sun Yaozu... he led a group of men and beat Uncle Shi... to death!" Widow Li sobbed uncontrollably. "They... they also said that Uncle Shi was protecting evil spirits and deserved to die, so they... they hung his body on the old locust tree at the village entrance... and made those beasts like Ma Liu watch over it, forbidding them to collect the body... saying they wanted to... to display it for three days..."
Every word was like a red-hot knife, piercing Yang Jin's heart!
Master Shi… the old man who gave him two coarse grain cakes when he was in his most desperate moment, took him in and treated him when he was seriously injured, silently covered up his traces, and treated the son of his old friend as his own… was actually beaten to death by Sun Yaozu! His body was left exposed at the village entrance!
Boundless rage and murderous intent erupted in his chest like a volcano!
It instantly overwhelmed the pain of the injury and the weakness in his body!
Sun Yaozu! The Sun family! Ma Liu!
This enmity is irreconcilable! It will never end!
"Cough...cough cough!"
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, but his eyes turned as cold and icy as ice.
He struggled to get out of bed.
"Child, don't move! You're badly injured! The Sun family is powerful, and they also have people from the martial arts school. You can't fight them!" Widow Li hurriedly pressed him down.
"Aunt Li... thank you for saving me." Yang Jin's voice was hoarse, yet unusually calm, eerily calm. "Give me some food, I need... strength."
He knew he was in a very bad state, but some things couldn't wait.
Just as Widow Li was wiping away her tears and turning to get her last remaining food rations, the dilapidated wooden door was gently pushed open a crack.
A little girl, about seven or eight years old, with a sallow, thin face and yellowish pigtails, timidly peeked in.
She clutched a small cloth bag tightly in her hand. When she saw Yang Jin wake up, her eyes lit up for a moment, but were quickly replaced by fear.
She was the maid of the carpenter next door, named Ya Ya.
"Aunt Li... Mother asked me to bring this over..." Ya Ya said softly as she walked in and placed the cloth bundle by the bed.
Inside were two eggs still warm from body heat, and a palm-sized, hard multigrain pancake.
"Mother said to give this to this older brother... to nourish his body."
Widow Li wiped away her tears and choked out, "Yaya, be good... thank your mother for Aunt Li."
Her family's only two laying hens were taken away by Ma Liu the day before yesterday.
Ya Ya nodded, but did not leave immediately.
She stared at Yang Jin, who lay on the bed, his face pale but burning with a terrifying flame, and whispered, "Brother...did you come down from the mountain? Are you...very powerful?"
Yang Jin looked at her but did not answer.
Ya Ya continued, "Aunt Li and I were washing clothes by the lake when we saw you floating in the water... Aunt Li is kind-hearted and pulled you back... Brother, you must get better soon."
She suddenly clenched her small fists, her eyes filled with a stubbornness and hatred beyond her years. "Ma Liu... and those bad people, they stole my dad's timber, beat him, and even stole Aunt Li's chickens... Brother, when you get better, can you drive those bad people away?"
The childish words struck Yang Jin's heart like a heavy hammer.
The villagers of Heishan'ao, including Shi Gong, Widow Li, and Ya Ya's family, all struggled to survive under the oppressive power of the Sun family.
He reached out and trembled as he touched Ya Ya's dry, yellow hair, his voice hoarse but unusually firm: "Yes."
Ya Ya's eyes lit up, she nodded vigorously, and then, as if she had completed some important task, she turned and ran out.
Yang Jin took a deep breath and looked at Widow Li: "Aunt Li, give me some food, and... do you have an axe?"
Widow Li was startled: "Child, you really want to... no way!"
"Give me."
Yang Jin's tone left no room for doubt, and his gaze reminded Widow Li of a lone wolf in the mountains that became even more ferocious after being injured.
Trembling, she took out her old wood-chopping axe from the corner of the wall. It was heavier and had a duller blade than the one used by Master Shi.
Yang Jin took the axe; its weight only intensified his killing intent.
He peeled the egg, wolfed down the bread, and then gulped down several mouthfuls of cold water.
After eating, combined with the powerful recovery ability of the Stone Skin Physique, a trace of strength began to surge from deep within the body.
He knew his internal injuries hadn't healed, but he couldn't wait any longer.
He closed his eyes, concentrated his mind, and called out to Atu through a faint but tenacious spiritual connection.
He could sense that Atu was underground not far away, somewhat frightened but otherwise unharmed, and was approaching him.
A moment later, the ground in the corner arched slightly, and Atuna's dark brown front end cautiously emerged, the file teeth around its mouth opening and closing, conveying a sense of worry and closeness.
Upon seeing the grotesque creature from the subterranean earth, Widow Li and Ya Ya were so frightened they almost collapsed.
"Don't be afraid, it won't hurt you."
Yang Jin said in a low voice, struggling to get out of bed.
With every movement, a tearing pain shot through his chest, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.
He moved his hands and feet, feeling the power mixed with excruciating pain and murderous intent.
"Aunt Li, close the door tightly. No matter what noise you hear, don't come out."
"Yaya, tell your parents that no matter who asks, you've never seen me before."
Yang Jin picked up the axe and looked out the window.
As dusk approached and twilight descended, it was the perfect time to commit murder...
He nodded to Widow Li, took one last look at the dilapidated hut that had given him a moment of warmth and salvation, and then walked towards the edge of the village.
Atu followed closely behind, roughly covering the entrance to the hole with his body.
The mountains and forests were silent, and twilight was falling.
Yang Jin's figure moved like a ghost, using the terrain as cover, and crept towards the old locust tree at the village entrance.
With every step, the wound in my chest ached, but nothing compared to the burning rage and grief in my heart.
Stone Master, wait for me.
Blood debts must be repaid in blood!