Volume Two, The Weapon Codex Chapter 138: Earth Escape to Avoid Thunderous Might

Waving his figure in vigilance, Zhuge Zeng emerged and rescued the injured disciples from the tunnel one by one. The blood puppets temporarily acted as porters, pushing away the rubble in the tunnel and crawling out with difficulty.

Just in time, he witnessed Su Mu's head severed and lopped off by a young swordsman he had never seen before. While it felt exhilarating in his heart, a faint sense of shared sorrow for a fallen peer was inevitable.

The azure-eyed Heaven-Swallowing Python whipped its body around, its massive pupils reflecting the metallic puppet. Immediately following, an iron spear grew progressively larger in its vision, while lake water condensed into dozens of water lances, binding the python's body mid-air.

The Martial Sovereign's movements were fluid and continuous, bearing no resemblance to a metallic puppet at all. Under the onslaught of the iron spear, the Heaven-Swallowing Python was battered with countless holes and wailed repeatedly. Its hard scales were pierced by the spear tip into gruesome cavities, leaking dark green blood.

Thunderbolts cleaved down from the sky, stirring up towering waves. The wrath of the heavens summoned divine thunder that struck the heart of the lake island, scattering the heroes and forcing them to flee in all directions. How could the might of thunder be withstood head-on? Even with a magical artifact in hand, Hua Shaoqing could hardly remain standing in place to take a few strikes of lightning.

Liu Xiaoyi's arms were completely numb. The joy of having just slain his enemy vanished instantly, leaving him entirely at a loss as to what he should do.

Suddenly, his ankles were grabbed by something, and the next moment, his entire body plunged into the soil, hurtling away into the distance at high speed.

His waist was embraced, and against his back, two soft, rounded mounds rose and fell. Liu Xiaoyi immediately realized who was carrying him away to safety.

The sounds at his ear gradually faded. He had only been fortunate enough to catch the beginning of the battle between the Martial Sovereign puppet and the Heaven-Swallowing Python, missing the rest, which left him with a slight sense of regret.

When he was finally pulled out from a crevice between some rocks, the sun was already hanging high in the sky. They had been tunneling away for such a long time! The one who pulled him up was a grime-covered little figure, bringing a warm smile to Liu Xiaoyi's face.

Shangguan Baozi rebuked him with exasperation, "What are you smiling at? You almost got struck to death by lightning, and you can still laugh!"

At that moment of extreme peril, she had unhesitatingly used earth-escape arts to rescue Liu Xiaoyi. Now, harboring a strong sense of having survived a catastrophe, the two sat shoulder-to-shoulder leaning against an old tree, panting heavily.

Around them, birds and insects chirped to welcome the arrival of summer. Summer in the Great Wilderness was unexpectedly scorching; even mountain springs would dry up for a period, and large, sturdy wild beasts would migrate to places with water sources to endure the grueling heat.

Liu Xiaoyi wanted to wipe his face with his hand, but remembering his unresponsive arms, he could only shake his head and give up.

"Let me wipe it for you. Look at you, you look just like you went down a coal mine in the mountains. If a hunter came by, they'd laugh their heads off. Don't move, don't move."

Shangguan Baozi seemed to enjoy this peaceful atmosphere. Although she was rather heavy-handed, using her sleeve to scrub Liu Xiaoyi's dirty face, she managed to get him somewhat clean.

Not daring to waste time recovering his strength, and fearing they had not run far enough yet, Liu Xiaoyi quickly stood up and started walking down the mountain slope. "Let's leave this place quickly. In case that python chases us through the tunnel, I won't be able to save you."

Shangguan Baozi stuck out her tongue, playfully skipping from side to side while deliberately shaking her arms. "Big Brother, what about your arms? The soul seals placed by those two women aren't easy to undo. I do know someone in the Weapon Tomb who understands soul arts, but that person has a bizarre temperament and is hard to communicate with."

As she spoke, a rumbling sound came from her stomach, causing a blush to bloom across her pretty face.

"Let's find a place to settle down first, figure out where we are, and then we need to return to Earth Mound City." Liu Xiaoyi's mind was preoccupied with the safety of his friends, so his pace quickened again. With her short legs, Shangguan Baozi held her breath and hurried to keep up, occasionally having to break into a trot.

Near the edge of the mountain slope lay a small town inhabited by a few dozen households. Aside from hunting in the mountains, the residents spent their days farming crops around the hillside. Life was bitterly hard, and very few young people chose to settle here.

Over time, it came to be called South Mountain Village. The local folk customs were honest and simple, and they were very friendly to visiting outsiders. Especially around noon today, two young travelers had arrived to tour the village, spending money generously and looking very much like scions of some great family.

Seated inside the only restaurant in South Mountain Village, Liu Xiaoyi—dressed in brand-new clothes—and his companion were anxiously waiting for their food to arrive.

Shangguan Baozi had gone without food for almost a whole day once again, leaving her—someone with an appetite far exceeding ordinary people—dizzy and lightheaded from hunger.

"Big Brother, it's a good thing all your money is kept in the cosmos pouch. Otherwise, with all that panic, if it had fallen into the water, I'd be starving!" With no food served yet, they had quenched their thirst entirely by drinking a full pot of plain water.

The accountant held a silver ingot with a silly grin, and the back kitchen was putting in extra effort as well. Most people who came in to eat here were regular patrons, and visitors to South Mountain Village were a rare sight indeed.

Soon, dishes of food were served plate by plate. Liu Xiaoyi smiled wryly and said, "Baozi, I have to trouble you with something else. Look at my arms; I can't move them." His two arms dangled with the sway of his body, completely numb. The sealing technique of the puppet magic was far too tyrannical; Liu Xiaoyi had tried using various abilities to force open the blocked meridians, but all of it had been in vain.

The meridians growing within his body seemed fast asleep, unresponsive no matter how he called upon them, rendering him unable to even hold a pair of chopsticks.

Shangguan Baozi straightened her posture, put on a motherly expression, and picked up the chopsticks with a grin. She picked up a piece of food and shoved it into Liu Xiaoyi's mouth, teasing playfully, "Aah, open wide, I'll feed you!"

Seeing this, a diner at the neighboring table joked, "Youth is truly wonderful. Young sweethearts eating while flirting makes even the food taste better. Old man, why don't you feed me too?"

The elderly man opposite him let out a resentful huff, aggressively shoveled down a couple of mouthfuls of rice, and lowered his head in silence.

People advanced in age inevitably indulged in idle gossip. By the end of the meal, Shangguan Baozi's chubby little face was as red as a monkey's backside. At fourteen or fifteen years of age, she was right in the restless flush of youth, her emotional state more winding and complicated than a mountain trail.

When they had eaten their fill and walked out to the main street, Shangguan Baozi, usually so fond of talking, fell somewhat silent.

Feeling a bit gloomy, Liu Xiaoyi consoled her, "How old are you anyway? What is that little head of yours thinking about?"

Shangguan Baozi puffed out her chest, thrusting her slightly rounded bodice toward Liu Xiaoyi, and said proudly, "How am I little? Back in my hometown, people my age are already getting ready for marriage!"

In peasant families, marriages were arranged relatively early. To support a family and carry on the family line, families would select suitable matches for their daughters early on, and as soon as they turned sixteen, a red sedan chair would carry the bride across the threshold.

Just as Liu Xiaoyi was about to retort and lecture her, he heard the sound of a handbell ringing from the end of the street, accompanied by a chant that was half-spoken and half-sung, rapidly approaching with footsteps: "Lord Zhuang takes a leisurely stroll, heading out the west city gate; I see him there, riding a donkey while others ride horses!"