The Transcendent Immortal Chapter 249 Provocation

Xiao Chen looked around and found another forested knoll not far away. He drew back another 200 feet and looked at the six fireb.a.l.l.s bobbing gently around his palm. In a throwing motion, he swung his arm, casting all six of the fireb.a.l.l.s at his target. The fireb.a.l.l.s intertwined in one, shooting straight like a comet together.

The fiery comet consisting of six fireb.a.l.l.s first circled around its mark, reducing everything in its path to cinders before splitting back into six fiery little suns. Xiao Chen could already feel the heat from where he stood. But the fireb.a.l.l.s merely surrounded the little hill; they did not explode. Realizing this, Xiao Chen muttered a spell; a variation he saw from the manual. Immediately the fireb.a.l.l.s converged upon the forested knoll.

First, there was a huge noise like a clap of thunder, then the ground trembled beneath him. A disastrous explosion ensued and the forested knoll was utterly devoured within its wrathful force. A huge mushroom of smoke rose from the hill, reaching high up the sky as a huge shockwave rippled from the center towards him.

Astonished at the incoming force, Xiao Chen somersaulted into the air and flew for 600 meters before he landed. He looked back. Everywhere around the hilly forest just now had been utterly laid waste, with gesticulating tendrils of steam and smoke clambering up into the air from the blackened soil of the ground.

Xiao Chen looked at his handiwork, dazed at the devastation he had wrought. The force of the explosion was as powerful as a full-powered blow of a warrior of the Nascent Soul Realm. He would have to practice caution whenever this spell was used, lest he should risk wounding his own allies or friends.

He tried and tested a few other combinations and discovered that odd numbers of fireb.a.l.l.s yielded powerful incinerating effects, while even numbers of fireb.a.l.l.s produced explosive force.

He had done enough damage to the lands around him, but there was still one more test he wished to try: the use of nine fireb.a.l.l.s in unison. He drew his sword and rode upon it to find another hill. He looked down from the sky and took in the scenic view of the beautiful lush forests around the hill, grimacing of what might become of it after the test.

He did not land this time, opting to perform his spell directly from the air. He had to be careful, since he did not know how powerful the force would be if all nine fireb.a.l.l.s were used together.

Readying himself, he cast forth the nine fireb.a.l.l.s. With another spell, the fireb.a.l.l.s threw themselves into the tip of the forested hill and a ma.s.sive firestorm erupted like a volcano. The inferno grew into a colossal beast of flame, engulfing everything around it, leaving only destruction in its wake.

Xiao Chen felt his stomach in a knot and felt a heatwave coming. He immediately flew up to a safe alt.i.tude and watched from above the c.u.mulative results of the monstrous inferno that continued gorging on everything on the hill. There was nothing but fire as if this was the very coming of h.e.l.l upon Earth, more so, with the acrid odor of burning wood that filled his nostrils.

It took some time until the torments of the fiery inferno began to subside; the fire died down quickly and the entire hill was bare and black, the only salient spot of black that stood out upon miles and miles of lush, green woodland.

A strong breeze blew by, buffeting the fumes and steam from the wake of destruction left by the inferno. The top of the hill was gone and Xiao Chen could not help feeling the slow trickle of a bead of sweat rolling down his head. The full power of this magical formation was simply too catastrophic to be wielded carelessly. Not even dirt, stone or rock could within stand the force of the fires of h.e.l.l, never mind ordinary warriors of the Core Forming Realm.

Xiao Chen steered his sword down to the ground. With this new addition to his entire repertoire of skills, he would not have to overly rely on the others. The Dragon's Wrath was powerful, but its cost was too high for it to be efficient. The same could be said for the two strings of the f.u.xi Zither, which he could only use twice or, at most, thrice during a single battle. His powers would have been utterly spent by the time he had used them.

The Devil's Three Turns was his single most destructive magic. It allows its user the power to defeat any enemy at the level of the Nascent Soul Realm or even anyone fresh into the levels of the Nirvana Realm. But it was a double-edged blade; he could only use this particular magic only at the gravest of time, otherwise, he would have to risk losing his own life. Similarly, he would also avoid using the Heaven's Talisman technique for fear of being corrupted more and more frequently.

With a long and heavy breath, he reflected quietly. He needed to strengthen himself as soon as possible. The coming of the Annihilation Era would open the doors to more powerful foes ahead, otherwise, he would only become "fodder for the strong", as Fengxi once told him. He began wondering if there might come such time when warriors of the Nascent Soul Realm would be mere lambs for slaughter.

"What a tragic era I've returned into," he grimaced to himself.

He sat down and rested on his back in the stiff pulpous gra.s.s while waiting for his True Energy to replenish. He got up once he was ready and prepared to fly back to Tianyuan City. He had been on constant vigilance since Li Muxue and the others had arrived at the capital of the Middle Continent, continually worrying about their safety and wellbeing. "One of the tolls of having too many emotional attachments, I guess," he frowned to himself.

He sighed and leaped up on his sword, streaking through the sky in a bolt of light towards the City.

With more and more people arriving each day for the grand tournament of the Immortal's Sword a.s.sembly, the city officials had announced a decree to outlaw flying on swords over the city. Hence, Xiao Chen had to spend another two hours riding a carriage back to his lodgings. Before entering the alley, he noticed ominous plumes of black smoke snaking up the sky. The moment he came near, he realized that it was his lodging house that has been razed! Outside the courtyard and the rubbles of the destroyed house were mobs of inquisitive pedestrians and bystanders. But they were held back by a troop of Constables of the League who demarcated the scene with barricades.

"XIAN'ER!"

Xian Chen bellowed with fright. With a powerful stomp from the carriage, he propelled himself into the air, nearly causing the carriage to overturn. Panicking, the horse drawing the carriage whinnied hysterically before bucking wildly, tossing the driver of the carriage off its back.

Xiao Chen shoved two Constables aside who tried to bar his way. He would have gotten into a fight with the Constables if not for Murong Xian'er's voice from behind. "Brother Xiao Chen! Here I am!"

He jerked his head backward and saw his sister fine and well. Feeling slightly consoled, he asked frantically, "What about Muxue and Senior Sister Luo?"

"We're fine too," two voices answered him as Li Muxue and Luo Shangyan emerged from the crowd, though they two have suffered light bruises and cuts.

"Is there anyone else who is wounded? What happened here? Who's responsible for all this?" A boiling rage churned within him. This was only the second day since he and his friends reached Tianyuan City, and yet, they were already in danger of being attacked. Struggling against his anger, he swore, "I must find out who did this and kill him!"

He peered around and saw everyone from the Jade Qing Sect were still well. A girl walked to him and Xiao Chen recognized her as one of the Hidden Fragrance Wafting Under the Moon. "Where's Qingluan? How are the rest of your sisters?"

"Chief Qingluan has led the rest of us in pursuit of the perpetrator. I must apologize for my inability to protect everyone, Young Master," the girl reported, sounding distressed.

Xiao Chen calmed her down with a wave of his hand. One of the Constables came over. "Our apologies for such a mishap, Master Xiao. Rest a.s.sured that investigations are already underway. I'm sure we'll be able to provide a satisfactory explanation."

"You'd better do!" Xiao Chen hissed spitefully at him, his eyes flas.h.i.+ng with a blaze of anger.

"All right, all right," Li Muxue tugged at his arm and said, "There's no need for such anger. Everyone is fine."

"I'm sorry..." Xiao Chen growled, suppressing his rage. He was filled with anxiety and concern for his friends and loved ones. The attack had taken place when he was out testing his new skill. It was fortunate that the attack was not in the night or the perpetrators had struck more forcefully, otherwise, he would not have forgiven himself for any losses.

"Did anyone have a glimpse of the enemy?"

Li Muxue shook her head. "I was meditating in my room when I felt the room collapsing on me. Luckily Qingluan and the others realized something was wrong and they came in to quickly erect a defensive barrier to s.h.i.+eld us..."

"Wait here. I'm going in for a look," Xiao Chen told her, and he leaped into the courtyard of the compound.

There was nothing left in the aftermath of the attack but debris and rubble. It was a total disaster that the lodging house was completely destroyed by fire, as evidenced by the still-burning wood and splinters. It must have been a very powerful fire-based magic used by a conjurer at least at the level of the peak Core Forming Realm.

Moreover, the conjurer had been able to sneak in quietly to work his magic and escape without being injured. But why did the a.s.sailant attacked in the day but not under the cover of the night?

There would only be a single reason: this was a provocation; a challenge! The perpetrator had not meant to kill anyone needlessly, but to flush him out for a duel!

"I believe I know whose work this is," he muttered to himself. He walked out and turned to the direction of the spot where he met the young man from the Fallen Immortals Sect this morning.

"Where are you going? Did you find a lead?" Luo Shangyan asked anxiously as he brushed past.

Xiao Chen smiled benignly. He shook his head. "Nope. We'll move to the stronghold of the Daoist League later. It should be safer to stay there."

He would remain quiet, at least for now! He did not fear anyone, not especially the Fallen Immortals Sect. But he could not risk taking action and put his friends and loved ones into the way of more harm. Knowing the best course of option would be to remain wary until their safety was ensured, Xiao Chen elected to lie low for now. There was no need to respond to the provocations of the rabid hounds of the Fallen Immortals Sect until he was ready.

But that was only if Xiao Chen could remain indifferent to their incessant provocations.