CHAPTER 23: CHAPTER 23: NINE-HEADED YING

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

After being swallowed by the vortex, Gu Qingqing and the others fell into a strange space.

A full moon hovered in the sky, its moonlight spilling onto the ground, casting a silver glow over the massive lake before them.

What lay before them was a vast, boundless lake, the surface appearing very calm, only illuminated by the moonlight, yet the entire space was so silent that it felt unreal.

Gu Qingqing was guarded behind by Mu Chen and Jun Wu, while Zhuo Tingqiu and his guards had already fainted, lying sprawled out on the ground, temporarily unable to awaken.

"Something’s not right here." Mu Chen looked around, frowning as he spoke.

Jun Wu’s cultivation was still relatively low, so his perception was limited. Hearing Mu Chen’s words, he instinctively frowned.

Standing behind the two, Gu Qingqing clutched their sleeves, her eyes fixed on the lake’s surface. For some reason, she felt as though something beneath the lake was watching them. With this in mind, she tugged at Mu Chen and Jun Wu’s sleeves and pointed at the lake when they looked over.

"Little Qingqing is suggesting there’s something wrong with the lake?" Mu Chen followed Gu Qingqing’s gesture and looked at the lake, asking softly.

Gu Qingqing nodded and used gestures to convey her impressions to Mu Chen and Jun Wu.

The two exchanged glances, their gaze falling back on the lake surface, expressions full of vigilance.

At this moment, ripples suddenly appeared on the lake, and soon, the water in the center of the lake began to churn as if something was rising from the depths.

Mu Chen and Jun Wu quickly led Gu Qingqing backward while carefully watching the lake surface. Mu Chen had already taken hold of the Red Flame Spear, and Jun Wu also drew his weapon, a Heavy Sword.

"Splash!"

A sound came from the lake, and soon, something emerged from the water, suspended in mid-air.

As the three looked up and saw the creature in the air clearly, Gu Qingqing gasped, while Mu Chen and Jun Wu’s expressions grew serious.

What appeared in the air was a huge monster with nine heads.

"Jiu Ying!" Mu Chen said flatly, calling out the name of the creature.

Jiu Ying was a fierce beast with nine heads, named because its cry resembled the wailing of a baby. In a low-level plane like the Xuantian Continent, the appearance of a Jiu Ying was entirely unexpected, yet it had appeared, and they were right in front of it!

As Mu Chen and the others were troubled by the appearance of Jiu Ying, the creature also noticed them, its nine heads turning to look at them with greedy eyes.

"Heh heh, after all these years, I can finally have a feast." Its voice indeed resembled a baby’s cry, especially with the nine heads speaking simultaneously, making it extremely unsettling.

After speaking, the head on the left suddenly opened its mouth and spewed a jet of water, heading straight for Mu Chen and the others.

Mu Chen was already on guard against Jiu Ying. As the water jet burst forth, he immediately stepped forward with the Red Flame Spear. The Gun God rotated, forming a wall of spear shadows in front of him. The water jet hit the wall, deflecting it, while the wall of spear shadows gradually dissipated.

"Petty tricks!" Seeing its attack blocked, Jiu Ying was somewhat surprised but quickly snorted coldly. The head on the right opened its mouth and sprayed a pillar of fire.

"Red Flame Net, rise!" Mu Chen commanded, wielding the Red Flame Spear. As his voice fell, a net woven from flames formed in front of him.

The fire pillar collided with the net, just like with the water pillar earlier, both gradually canceling each other out and disappearing.

"Red Flame Triple Strike!" This time, Mu Chen didn’t give Jiu Ying a chance to act, seizing the initiative to attack.

His figure vanished from mid-air, reappearing above Jiu Ying’s head. The Red Flame Spear thrust forward, a spear light flying towards one of Jiu Ying’s heads. Before Jiu Ying could react, his figure disappeared again, reappearing behind Jiu Ying, thrusting the spear at another head. Following this, his figure vanished once more, appearing at Jiu Ying’s side, delivering another spear strike before disappearing again.

Jiu Ying, thrown into disarray by Mu Chen’s triple strike, had its exposed body above the water become slightly injured. This minor injury only infuriated Jiu Ying, who had just seemed certain of victory.

It roared, the sound waves sending huge waves across the lake as it rose further from the water, its nine heads opening their mouths simultaneously, unleashing water and fire as its body lunged towards Mu Chen.

Mu Chen had anticipated the difficulty of dealing with Jiu Ying but hadn’t expected his triple strike to inflict so little damage. His brows furrowed, his expression solemn.

However, when he appeared behind Jiu Ying earlier, he noticed that its body seemed bound by something. Its upper half was above water, but its lower half remained submerged and seemed to have some wounds.

As he pondered ways to deal with Jiu Ying, he fended off its attacks.

With both water and fire pillars approaching simultaneously, to protect Gu Qingqing and Jun Wu behind him, he could only face them head-on!

The Red Flame Spear spun rapidly in his hand, forming a fire wall taller than before. As the water and fire pillars struck the fire wall, Mu Chen was pushed back, taking two steps back, increasing his output of Spiritual Power.

As the water and fire pillars faded, Jiu Ying was already upon him, its nine heads opening wide, attempting to swallow Mu Chen whole.

Mu Chen quickly swallowed an elixir to replenish his lost Spiritual Power while using the Red Flame Spear to knock Jiu Ying’s heads away. Jiu Ying was incredibly quick and strong, with thick skin that was difficult to penetrate, leaving Mu Chen struggling to cope.

Gu Qingqing and Jun Wu held hands, watching nervously as Mu Chen narrowly evaded Jiu Ying’s attacks, sweating for him.

The rapid depletion of Spiritual Power slightly slowed Mu Chen’s speed, unable to avoid Jiu Ying’s heads, his chest took a hit, causing him to spit blood. He swallowed another handful of elixirs and continued fighting with Jiu Ying.

Fortunately, as he guessed, Jiu Ying was indeed bound by something at the lower half, unable to leave the lake. Otherwise, Mu Chen might truly not have managed to fight Jiu Ying.

In this small space, Mu Chen no longer suppressed his cultivation, and although Jiu Ying was a fierce beast, it wasn’t weak even when restrained. Their battle churned the lake water, awakening the fainted Zhuo Tingqiu and others, who were extremely shocked when they saw Jiu Ying battling Mu Chen.

Of course, what surprised them the most was that they thought Mu Chen was already impressive for managing to suppress a fifth-tier Fiery Flame Leopard, but they didn’t expect him to stand firm against such a fierce beast!

"My god, what level of cultivation must he have to be that powerful?" Watching the battle in mid-air, Zhuo Tingqiu’s blood surged, realizing once more his own weakness.