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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 11 Gu Diao Mountain Valley
The Azure Blaze Lizard opened its massive jaws and lunged forward. Cang Da exerted all his strength to drive his sharp claws into the gaping mouth of the Azure Blaze Lizard. The creature writhed in pain, letting out muffled cries as it struggled to fight back. However, Cang Da's claws had already penetrated deep into its mouth, giving him the upper hand. With a sudden pull, he yanked out the Azure Blaze Lizard's tongue.
Dirty blood gushed from its mouth, and after a frenzied spasm, the Azure Blaze Lizard lay motionless on the ground.
Cang Da didn't bother to check if it was dead; he quickly turned and ran away.
But unexpectedly, he encountered another Azure Blaze Lizard. These creatures were truly bothersome, but this one was different—it was already covered in wounds and appeared terrified. It had a deep gash on its head that looked like it had been cut by a sharp weapon, and a chunk of flesh was missing from its right shoulder. Despite its severe injuries, Cang Da was astonished and curious about what kind of weapon could slice through the thick skin of an Azure Blaze Lizard.
Cang Da knew that even though this Azure Blaze Lizard was injured and frightened, he still couldn't let his guard down. He steeled himself for another confrontation.
The Azure Blaze Lizard let out a low growl, tensing its muscles.
Just as it leaped towards Cang Da, Ji Zichen suddenly descended from above, slicing the creature in half with her sword. Cang Da stared in shock at Ji Zichen's Demon-Slaying Sword. "What a sharp blade!"
At that moment, he understood why the Azure Blaze Lizard had seemed so fearful—it had been fleeing for its life. They had merely crossed paths by chance. Soon after, several more Azure Blaze Lizards emerged from the ground, and Ji Zichen began assisting Cang Da in dealing with the new arrivals.
Together, Ji Zichen and Cang Da managed to slay three of the Azure Blaze Lizards, leaving one remaining that let out a desperate scream.
"Brother Ji!"
Lin Chuyu rode in from another side, rushing towards Ji Zichen and Cang Da. Her face showed both fear and concern as she pulled on the reins to stop her horse.
Ji Zichen exclaimed urgently to Lin Chuyu, "Didn't I tell you to leave first? Why did you follow me?"
Lin Chuyu gritted her teeth and replied, "I couldn't bear to leave you."
Cang Da looked at Ji Zichen with gratitude. "You came back for me; now I owe you another favor."
"You don't owe me anything," Ji Zichen said with a glance at the panting Cang Da. "We need to go quickly; it will be troublesome if others come after us."
Zangda nodded slightly.
Not far away, a horn suddenly sounded, this time it was almost within reach. Ji Zichen even felt the sound of the horn blowing past his scalp.
The Pursuers were truly close this time. At that moment, several rockets shot toward them, their tips ablaze with black fire. When the black fire rockets hit the surrounding grass and trees, they immediately withered and died.
"Abysmal Fire!" Ji Zichen murmured. He knew what this black fire was, and his expression darkened. "They really want to kill us!"
Lin Chuyu's face was serious as she urged Ji Zichen to mount quickly and told Zangda to hurry as well. "We killed the Azure Blaze Lizard they brought; they must be furious. We should leave here as soon as possible."
Ji Zichen hesitated for a moment. "But this kind of black fire isn't something just anyone can create. Could there be an Abyss Guardian in the village?"
As he thought of this, his mind suddenly cleared. "That's right, there must be an Abyss Guardian in the village; otherwise, how would they know how to train the Azure Blaze Lizard? How could Xia Lian and the others be involved with the Abyss Guardian?"
"Abyss Guardian?" Zangda seemed to have heard of them too. "Guards from the Underworld? If you want to stay behind to deal with the Abyss Guardian and Azure Blaze Lizard, I'm willing to accompany you."
Ji Zichen shook his head. Seeing the morning mist dissipate, the scenery in the distance became clear. He mounted his horse and tightly gripped the reins; he needed to escape quickly from the pursuit of the Abyss Guardian and Azure Blaze Lizard.
"We don't need to worry about them; let's go," Ji Zichen urged, spurring his horse into a gallop.
Behind them, the attention of the Azure Blaze Lizard was soon drawn by a new sound from a Demon Beast, as a group of Green Demon Eagles circled above. Where there were corpses, it was inevitable that Green Demon Eagles would be attracted.
Although Ji Zichen wasn't particularly fond of Green Demon Eagles, their appearance at this moment would likely slow down the Pursuers' pace, giving them more time to escape further.
With the Pursuers closing in so tightly, Ji Zichen dared not stop for rest. They traveled south for several days until they finally exited the range of the Opening of the Zhou Wasteland.
Zangda led the way southwest. After several days of trekking through dense mountains, they finally reached Gu Diao Mountain Valley. For the Guzhao Clan, Gu Diao Mountain Valley was a Sanctuary; it had crystal-clear rivers where Ji Zichen rode across streams filled with flowing stones and gravel that shimmered under the sunlight.
The stones in the stream sparkled like gems, while fish frolicked freely in the water.
After crossing the stream and climbing over hills, what unfolded before Ji Zichen's eyes was a vast grassland filled with lush green pasture that swayed like waves in the wind. However, there were no carefree herders riding horses and shouting loudly to drive their flocks; as they entered the grassland, countless tracks of wild beasts could be faintly seen on the ground.
Ji Zichen knew that these were not the benign tracks of sheep, cattle, or horses; perhaps the owners of these footprints were rather ferocious beasts. However, they were quite fortunate, as no other wild animals had been seen in the grassland.
As they walked across the prairie, a mountain range loomed like a city wall. After walking for a while to the left, an entrance appeared before them.
This entrance was half natural and half man-made. Above the entrance stood a giant stone statue depicting the beast head resembling Gu Diao. Ji Zichen was astonished at first sight and thought to himself, "Could it be that Gu Diao also uses tools? If so, are they not similar to humans?"
The Gu Diao beast head was carved so vividly that it seemed to be alive, with bared fangs and claws, its eyes wide open like bronze bells, exuding an intimidating presence without any anger.
Zang Da noticed Ji Zichen's confusion and said, "This statue was made by a good friend of the Saint King. Three hundred years ago, the Saint King often traveled just like I do now; it's just that he hasn't left the valley for many years."
Ji Zichen nodded. "I suppose this good friend was also human?"
Zang Da replied, "Yes, he accompanied the Saint King until his old age in the valley, but that was three hundred years ago."
Upon entering the passageway, they found themselves in two narrow gorges. The gorges soared over ten zhang high. At that moment, seven dark figures appeared above them. A voice echoed from above, "Halt! This is Gu Diao Sanctuary! Intruders will be killed without mercy!"
Ji Zichen pulled his horse to a stop, while Zang Da stepped forward and shouted, "I am Zang Da!"
The shadowy figures above fell silent for a moment as if assessing Zang Da. After a brief pause, another voice spoke up, "Zang Da, it is indeed you. Why have you brought two humans back to the valley?"
Zang Da replied, "They are my saviors. I believe the Saint King would also be willing to meet them."
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