Chapter 1959: Unkillable Monster

Chapter 1959: Unkillable Monster
Zu An found some traces of darkened blood on a nearby severed tree branch. Someone had gotten injured. There were no corpses at the scene, so there were no confirmed casualties for the time being.
Even human-eating ferocious beasts would at least leave behind bones, but there are no such traces to be found in the vicinity. What could they be hiding from? Is it the same purple thing the little animals are frightened of?
Zu An tried to control the little animals again, but there weren’t many in the vicinity, and all of them were agitated, making them hard to control. He looked at the thick white fog around him and harrumphed. He flew into the air, took out a formation disc, and swiftly fiddled with it. Then, he took out dozens of formation flags and scattered them in the surroundings amid flashes of golden light. Soon, he finished constructing a Wind Convergence Formation.
The air in the forest began to flow, thinning the white fog. Zu An unleashed his divine sense once more. It was still hindered by the fog, but he was able to spread it across a wider area now.
His recent bankruptcy wasn't just due to him squandering money on pill refinement, but formation discs and formation flags too.
The seven cultivation skills in the Baopu Sutra are extremely money-consuming. I wonder how Immortal Ruler Baopu amassed so much money.
He combed his surroundings with his divine sense as if he were using a powerful radar. It was a dumb method, but it worked due to his powerful cultivation. Any other grandmaster would have been blinded by the white fog.
Suddenly, he sensed a slight ki ripple coming from the northeast. Someone was fighting there. He quickly flew over and soon arrived at the scene.
To his delight, he spotted a delicate lady standing under a tree. She wore a green dress that could calm anyone down, and the exquisite medicine pouch on her waist only added to her cuteness.
It was Ji Xiaoxi!
She was the same as Zu An remembered her. She had an adorable appearance, and her chubby cheeks evoked a desire to pinch them. She was surrounded by a group of injured young men and women, who appeared to be protecting her. All of them were looking at the enemy with frightened eyes.
It was a ghostly apparition cloaked in purple flames, that laughed chillingly while drifting around them. From time to time, it attempted to breach their defense line. The group tried to fight back, but their attacks didn’t work on the ghostly apparition. Its purple flames simply flickered, showing no signs of injury at all.
“Our attacks don’t work on him!” they screamed in despair.
The only thing stopping the purple flame ghost was the golden light barrier maintained by the middle-aged man standing at the forefront. However, the barrier was dimming so swiftly that it wouldn’t last for more than a few seconds.
Zu An narrowed his eyes, thinking, The ki ripple I felt earlier was from the middle-aged man unleashing that barrier. It’s probably his trump card. However, the purple flame ghost is too powerful. At this rate, they won’t last long.
Could this purple flame ghost be the entity the little animals were afraid of?
“I can’t hold on anymore! You have to run, Miss Ji! I’ll stall this monster. Run in different directions, so the monster can’t capture us all in a single swoop!” the middle-aged man bellowed.
“I still have some recovery medicine here! Take it!” Ji Xiaoxi cried, refusing to run. Instead, she took out a couple of pills and handed them over.
“I won’t make it in time…” the middle-aged man murmured as the golden light finally shattered, despair flashing through his eyes. He spewed blood before collapsing to the ground.
He mustered his last shreds of strength and lunged forward to stop the purple flame ghost, but it was too fast and instantly sidestepped him to attack the others. They were filled with despair. Their attacks were ineffective against the purple flame ghost, and there was no time for them to escape. The only fate awaiting them was to be slaughtered.
Just then, a white surge of light descended from the sky. The purple flame ghost’s fire was quickly extinguished, and it froze into an ice sculpture.
The group rubbed their eyes. The powerful monster who plunged us into despair is gone, just like that? What happened?
“Xiaoxi, are you alright?” a voice called out. It was only then that the crowd noticed another person standing among them. Startled, they quickly pointed their weapons at him. They only heaved a sigh of relief when they saw that it was a suave young man.
JI Xiaoxi’s eyes widened in surprise and delight at the sight of the man. She cried, “Big brother Zu?!”
Zu An patted her head and said, “I'm late. You must have been frightened.”
The others were taken aback. They knew Ji Xiaoxi was covered in poison from head to toe. There had been a rascal who wanted to take advantage of her, but as soon as his hand nicked her body, he screamed bloody murder. And yet, this man dared to directly touch her with his bare hand…
To their surprise, nothing happened. Ji Xiaoxi made no attempt to stop him either; if anything, she seemed comfortable with it. A few of the men present felt their hearts shattering. It was hard not to fall in love with Ji Xiaoxi when she was so adorable, kind, and gentle.
Ji Xiaoxi suddenly remembered the middle-aged man. She quickly lifted her skirt to rush over to his side. She took out a couple of pills and anxiously urged him, “Big brother Sun, eat this!”
The middle-aged man was bleeding from his eyes and nose, and his breathing had turned faint. However, he shook his head and said, “Miss Ji, don’t waste your medicine on me. I’m already on my last breath after using my ultimate move.”
Ji Xiaoxi quickly inspected his condition. Moments later, she said through tears, “Big brother Sun, you wouldn’t have ended up in such a state if not to save me…”
The middle-aged man chuckled and said, “I, Sun Hai, would have been long dead if you hadn’t saved me back then. I’d say it has been worthwhile. I was able to live so many more years and even repay my debt to you.”
His hearty attitude further saddened Ji Xiaoxi. The other young men and women felt downcast too. They had fought together for so long that a bond had been forged among them.
Just then, Zu An said, “Calm down. You aren’t going to die.” He walked up to the middle-aged man to feel his pulse.
“Big brother Zu…” Ji Xiaoxi murmured, perplexed. With her skills, she could tell that Sun Hai was too severely injured to be saved.
Zu An didn’t reply. He placed his hand on Sun Hai’s back and infused a surge of pure ki into the man. Sun Hai’s previously pale complexion swiftly regained a healthy glow. His eyes widened in shock, as he could sense vitality returning to his body.
Moments later, Zu An retracted his palm. He turned to Ji Xiaoxi and said, “I've stabilized his condition. The rest is up to you.”
Ji Xiaoxi checked Sun Hai’s pulse, and her face lit up in delight. She cried out, “Big brother Sun, there’s hope for you!”
She took out a couple of pills and fed them to Sun Hai. Following that, she took out a silver needle to direct the medicinal energy via acupuncture. Soon, Sun Hai’s face turned red, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
The others exclaimed in shock, “Big brother Sun?!”
Ji Xiaoxi wiped away her perspiration and explained with a sweet smile, “Don’t worry, he’s just spitting out the clotted blood in his body. He should be able to recover with some rest.”
Sun Hai clasped his fist and said, “Miss Ji, I never thought you’d save my life once more.”
Ji Xiaoxi pursed her lips, replying, “I wasn’t the one who saved you this time. It was big brother Zu.”
Sun Hai slapped his forehead annd said, “Look at how forgetful I am. Young master, thank you for saving my life. I’m impressed by your ability.” He was shocked by Zu An’s immense ki that felt as vast as the sea. In comparison, his was nothing more than a droplet of water. He couldn’t imagine how someone as young as Zu An could have reached such a high cultivation level.
Just then, one of the young women asked, “Could you be… Sir Libationer?”
Zu An was stunned. Most people in the capital would address me as 'regent'. The only ones who would address me as the libationer are…
He looked at their clothes and asked, “You’re students of the academy?”
“It really is Sir Libationer!” the students exclaimed, feeling as excited as fans meeting their idol. They quickly explained the situation, saying, “We received a mission from the academy to eradicate monsters here.”
While the imperial court dispatched soldiers to eliminate powerful beasts residing on the mountain every year, they were bound to miss some. Thus, the academy occasionally dispatched students to clear the beasts on the mountain too. The beasts remaining on the mountain tended not to be too strong, which made them good for training the students. Who could have thought they would bump into this kind of monster?
Ji Xiaoxi blinked in surprise. She knew these young men and women were proud people, so it was unlikely for them to lie about such a thing. Big brother Zu is incredible. He actually became the libationer! Right! Wasn’t my father going to pay respects to the new libationer? I wonder how he’ll react upon meeting big brother Zu.
“Ah, so it’s Sir Libationer!” Sun Hai remarked, nodding in realization.
There was no internet in this world, so news didn’t spread fast. Other than the major powers, who had eyes around to keep abreast of the latest happenings, most civilians were unaware of the events that had transpired in recent days.
Zu An nodded in acknowledgment before turning his attention to the ice sculpture. The others did the same too.
“What’s this monster? I don’t think it’s recorded in the academy’s ‘Encyclopedia of Monsters’. Have you seen it before?”
“I haven’t seen it before. None of our attacks worked on it. Could it be a fiend?”
Zu An shook his head and answered, “That's because it's impervious to physical attacks. It isn’t a fiend.”
He had been the regent of the Fiends for a while, but he had never met such a being before. In particular, its purple flame felt disconcerting, as if it were an anomaly of the world.
Just then, the ice sculpture cracked. A purple light whizzed out and charged toward Zu An. It was the purple flame ghost! The others didn’t have time to react at all. They could only scream out of sheer instinct.
However, the purple light quickly dimmed. A hand firmly held the purple flame ghost by its neck, not loosening despite its thrashing.
Still, Zu An was startled, remarking, “Hm? Is it capable of reviving?”
He was certain that the purple flame ghost had already died, but it suddenly came back to life. What in the world is this monster?