38 Chapter 38 Peerless Ox
The next day, the trio continued on their way out of the Verdant Forest. Unfortunately they were farther in than they had previously conceived, meaning they had to travel quite a bit to make it out.
At around midday they took a break to eat a bit and allow Black Flash to get some well deserved rest. "We should be out of here by tomorrow morning at worst." Mo Xiaowen remarked, while munching on some jerky.
"Ya, well I wouldn't know anyway." Old Ox chuckled lightly as he too ate some jerky. He was in a much better mood compared to yesterday, it seemed as though his luck had turned back around. "Lets get going, I can't sleep well lately." He sighed before the two mounted Black Flash and rode off.
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"Leader, targets Old Ox and Mo Xiaowen of the Demonic Cliff Sect have been spotted." A black robed man reported, as he saluted a similarly dark robed man in front of him.
"Good work, we've already missed Chen Fang so this mission is of the utmost importance." The leader declared, the group of 9 black robed individuals then rushed further into the forest.
---
"Clip-Clop! Clip-Clop! Clip-Clop!"
Black Flash raced through the forest, at a speed an ordinary mortal could barely even perceive, but the horse soon came a to a stop. The path ahead was blockaded by a number of felled trees. To make matters worse 9 black robed figures appeared out of nowhere.
"Surrender your lives or you'll meet a fate worse than death." One of the figures roared brandishing his blade towards the three. Unfortunately right now Old Ox was asleep, leaving Mo Xiaowen and Black Flash to face the 9 robed figures alone.
"Counter offer, I give you guys some Gold Coins and you leave. In exchange I don't wake up this oaf behind me." Mo Xiaowen proposed as he reached behind him to retrieve some gold. Seeing this the bandits were stumped.
Was this kid too naive or too stupid? Lets say they did want Gold Coins, they'd have all his Gold Coins after killing him. That wasn't even taking into account the fact that they didn't want the Gold Coins in the first place.
After a few seconds of fiddling, Mo Xiaowen finally found what he was searching for. 'Got it.' With that thought the boy moved his hand swiftly, lightly cutting Old Ox.
"Huh? Enemies!?" Old Ox woke up and understood the situation almost instantly. He then grabbed his axe before hopping off Black Flash. "Who dares fight this Mighty Ox?"
Seeing this the black Robed figures were visibly irritated. It seemed they had underestimated the kid. Had they just attacked immediately they wouldn't have to deal with Old Ox as well.
"Kill!" The leader roared, the other 8 figures then dashed towards them. 5 heading for Old Ox while the other 3 went for Mo Xiaowen.
The three figures slashed their blades towards Mo Xiaowen at a frightening speed. Seeing this Mo Xiaowen dismounted Black Flash before using Punch of the Mantis Shrimp. Three Blades against one fist, the result seemed obvious, but the fist managed to overcome the attacks.
"Seems we've underestimate this kid, permission to use second limit?" A robed figure asked the leader. "Granted." He replied, the three robed figures then charged at Mo Xiaowen once again, this time with much more power than before.
Realising that he was no match for the combined attacks, Mo Xiaowen used Fish in Water to avoid the three attacks. And he was lucky that he did. Each attack created a large three meter long, one meter deep cut in the ground.
'I am not match for them.' With that thought Mo Xiaowen looked at Old Ox, it seemed that he was their only hope.
At this moment Old Ox had yet to clash with his 5 opponents. He simply held his axe up high as they circled around him. Unlike Mo Xiaowen, they had a level of caution when dealing with Old Ox.
This stalemate didn't last long. Old Ox's muscled bulged before he swept his axe down.
"BOOM!!!"
"WOOSH!!!"
"CRACK!!"
Ground trembling, air quaking, the axe never made contact with the ground but the air pressure alone left a large crevice. But the attack completely missed, not hitting a single enemy. 'For a second I thought he was aiming for me.' The leader thought, but then he realised something.
Looking behind him, the blockade of trees had been shattered by that single slash. To have such power at the Body Tempering Realm was unheard of. Which only meant one thing. The leader's face paled, before he gulped down in resignation.
The rest of the robed figures were also looking towards him at this moment, and had seen the destruction. before they could even come to a decision an axe swung in decapitating one of them.
"Are you a bunch of buffoons!? Well the stupider you are the better it is for me!" Old Ox roared before charging at another robed figure.
"All limits off! Capture Mo Xiaowen!" The leader roared before charging into the fray. A yellow murky brown aura then erupted from each of them.
In an instant the three figures contending with Mo Xiaowen slashed their blades towards the boy this time aiming for his non vitals. Their speed was so great that Mo Xiaowen could barely react. With all he had, he twisted his body barely avoiding the attacks.
"Haa, haa, Qi Gathering...." Mo Xiaowen muttered as he wiped his forehead.
"Heh, you can feel honoured to die at our hands." One of them mocked, before he could even make another sound, an axe cut towards his neck.
"CLING! SPLAT!"
The axe barely stopped when colliding against the qi barrier around the figure's neck before decapitating him. "How dare you threaten my junior!?" Old Ox spat before slashing his axe at the other two figures.
Mo Xiaowen was shocked, Old Ox had managed to arrive even before the robed figures. Was this Senior Brother of his really only in the Body Tempering Realm?
Clashing against the two blades, the axe sent them flying. "Leave, I can handle this." Old Ox commanded, before turning around and facing the incoming 5 attacks.
'What do I do?! I am no help here, but I can't just leave him alone.....damn it! Why am I so weak.' Mo Xiaowen thought in helplessness before dashing straight towards Black Flash. The horse also seemed reluctant to go, but the boy quickly forced it to run away.
"You better survive! Just run away if you can't win!" Mo Xiaowen shouted as he raced away with Black Flash.
On the other hand the leader was furious. 'Fuck! I shouldn't have charged in.' Unfortunately there was no medicine for regret. Black Flash ran at full speed through the gap made in the blockade without looking back.
Now the 7 figures were fighting against Old Ox. "Its been a while since I fought Qi Gathering Realm cultivators. Let me guess, you're all 1st Stage except you who's 2nd Stage." Old Ox chuckled pointing his axe at the leader.
This was an accurate evaluation of their strengths, which put them on guard. According to the information Old Ox was an abnormality. He was stuck in the Body Tempering Realm for unknown reasons but able to contend against Qi Gathering Realm cultivators.
But even the information provided failed to mention the extent of his abilities. 'I really screwed up, had we attacked immediately we may have already won.' The leader was extremely annoyed, now that Mo Xiaowen had fled their only option was to contend against this monster.
"Well, this will be a good fight." Old Ox declared, all of a sudden his body began steaming. 'Good luck Xiaowen, I know you'll go far in life.' He thought his eyes drifting off towards the blockade.
"KILL!" The leader roared, it seemed as though every time they hesitated things devolved further. He wasn't now going to allow Old Ox to transform.
Seven attacks, all empowered by Qi hurtled towards Old Ox. In one motion he swung his axe turning a full 360 degrees. The figures were pushed back, while Old Ox charged forward, continuing his offensive.
He slashed his axe horizontally aiming for a specific figure. But they weren't all useless. As Old Ox went for one of them, the other 6 aimed at his back. The axe cut into the figure dividing him into two.
"Schink, schink, schink."
"Puchi, puchi, puchi."
Old Ox took three slashes and three stabs to the back in exchange for the life. "Hehehe." But rather than look distraught or irritated, he merely laughed, a feral aura seeping out of his body.
Clash after clash, Old Ox seemed unstoppable as he pushed back the remaining 5 figures. With one lucky attack he managed to take out 2 more of them, leaving three of them alive including the leader.
"This guy, he's a monster." One of them exhaled, having lost all hope. Even their leader was completely out of it. How could someone be so strong at the Body Tempering Realm? It made no sense whatsoever.
'.....Doesn't he look much smaller than before, and the steam, it seems to be less.' The leader noted, as he came to a conclusion. Old Ox was using a secret technique to contend with them. That was the only thing that made sense.
Realising this his hope was reignited. "Look at him, he can't last much longer! KILL!" He roared before charging ahead. Hearing this the other two charged with him, in a desperate last ditch attempt.
'Seems they've noticed...I guess this is it.' Covered in blood, some from his enemies, some from he himself, Old Ox lifted his axe. The figures closed in on Old Ox, as they had done many times before.
Just as their blades were about to reach him, Old Ox's body emitted more steam than it ever had before, his axe slashed down sundering the ground.
Instantly the three lost their footing, but that wasn't the end. Old Ox slashed his axe one more time splitting them into two. The leader, who was at death's door used the last bit of his qi to propel his blade into Old Ox's chest, giving a final blow to the titan of a man.
"Haa, haa, haaa. Seems I've won." Old Ox muttered, dropping his axe to the ground. He then fell on his butt, and ripped off a piece of his robe with what little strength he had remaining. Compared to before his figure was that of a frail skeleton.
Using his blood Old Ox began to write on the piece of robe he ripped off. 'T-That should be enough.' The man thought tiredly, before looking towards the blockade.
A boy atop a black horse was riding towards him. "Good bye Xiaowen." He muttered as his vision blurred, before beginning his final rest.
