Volume 13 Chapter 3: It'll Land Because I Said It Will
The medicinal theory of cultivators is completely different from the medicinal theory of ordinary people.
In this world, there are many people who can make poisons. Some ores, some medicinal herbs, the inside of some poisonous beasts' bodies, all of these carry poison. With just some simple extraction methods, they could already make poison that can kill ordinary people.
However, the bodies of cultivators are stronger than the bodies of ordinary people, soul force even more so able to flush out the toxins within one's body. Most poisons in this world could only exhaust a bit of a cultivator's soul force, not posing much of a threat to them at all.
That was why in this world, poisons that cultivators couldn't expel from their bodies, or poisons one couldn't remove from their bodies fast enough were actually extremely rare. The only ones able to make such a thing were Green Luan Academy and Purgatory Mountain, these places, as well as a few existences like Gongsun Quan[1].
Moreover, most of these poisons, even if they can poison cultivators to death, they will definitely have unique smells and colors, often just smeared on blades. Those who could make poison that was even hard for a Sacred Expert to detect could only be Green Luan Academy.
There was enough reason for Green Luan Academy coming after the Divine Elephant Army. What Fan Shaohuang couldn't figure out was how Green Luan Academy could discover the Divine Elephant Army's provision source so quickly.
However, he still understood extremely clearly that he still underestimated Green Luan Academy.
Right now, the only choice left for him and the Divine Elephant Army was to run.
Apart from essential army equipment, all of the other weight, including the provisions that had been poisoned, were all left behind in Sanskrit Passage.
Everyone in the Divine Elephant Army, all of the mature Divine Elephants and those little elephants who still hadn't matured yet, all of them followed right behind the giant leader elephant Fan Shaohuang was riding on, pouring into the endless yellow sands. They made their way through the long and narrow inclined slope, stepping into the yellow sands.
The instant the white elephants began to enter the level and endless desert, Fan Shaohuang raised his head. He saw an expanse of yellow radiance fly out from the white clouds in the sky.
...
Flying on the Divine Wooden Flying Crane, Lin Xi had a solemn expression on his face as his three fingers pulled three black strings.
The crazy winds in the sky suddenly calmed. The instant his soul force poured into the three black strings, surrounding vital energy was sucked out and guided over, becoming a streak of black arrow light.
All of Fan Shaohuang's Divine Elephant Army soldiers saw that an expanse of dark night silently appeared in the sky and then rapidly descended.
A dark night silently descended, sweeping through the Divine Elephant Army like a hurricane. Many of the Divine Elephant Army soldiers released cries of horror, to the extent where they even howled in despair. A Divine Elephant Army soldier released a fierce roar, the White Divine Elephant beneath him fiercely bowing down.
In that instant, this Divine Elephant Army soldier's soul force quickly gathered into his own backbone. His body suddenly straightened, many of the gaps between his golden armor plates opening and closing. His vertebra and the armor on his back became a pillar, perfectly transmitting the power of the divine elephant beneath him into his hands, striking upwards.
An explosive pa noise sounded! The bones in this Divine Elephant Army soldier's arms and backbone cracked, the tightly fitted golden armor covering his back also instantly displacing, digging into his flesh. He released an unwilling bitter howl, falling from the elephant's back to his death.
The white elephant beneath him also released an unwilling howl, a blast of pink foam spraying out from its mouth.
In that instant, a hint of grief appeared in Fan Shaohuang's eyes. He realized that Green Luan Academy wanted some people in this world to feel reverence, while at this moment, the Divine Elephant Army became a stepping stone for Green Luan Academy to establish this reverence.
"Sandstorm!"
When the body of that Divine Elephant Army soldier whose vertebrae shattered just landed on the sand covered ground, he shouted out this word.
This was a military order only the Divine Elephant Army understood.
"Hu... huh..."
All of the Divine Elephant Army soldiers released orderly and strange cries.
Under this type of sound, all of the White Divine Elephants under their bodies, even those elephants that were originally loading elephants and reserve elephants, apart from a small few young elephants, all began to use the greatest speeds to run. Moreover, when they began to run, whenever a step landed on the ground, their giant soles deliberately stirred up the yellow sand.
All of the Divine Elephant Army soldiers brandished the golden staffs in their hands.
These golden staffs were all brandished in a uniform manner, stirring up strong winds.
Endless yellow sand surged up from the ground, blowing outwards, into the sky. There was actually truly a sandstorm that was formed in the air.
...
Within the world covering sandstorm.
A white golden-armored divine elephant came to a rumbling collapse.
There was no external power that struck this white golden armored divine elephant, it just couldn't endure the poison corrosion within its body any longer. Only it itself understood clearly that its stomach and intestines' tissues were already rotting in large amounts, becoming pink bloody foam... and then shot out from its mouth and nose.
When he saw that the pink bloody foam rushed out like a spring, continuously spraying out from this White Divine Elephant's trunk, Fan Shaohuang knew that this White Divine Elephant was already finished.
Right at this time, an expanse of darkness silently descended upon his head.
Fan Shaohuang raised his hands.
He didn't try to turn his own body into a pillar like the other soldiers, instead forming a magical seal in each hand.
The soul force that rushed out from his fingertips instantly crisscrossed, streak after streak of golden threads forming in front of his fingers. An expanse of faint golden buddhist light vaguely took form.
An explosive pa sounded.
His body only trembled a bit. The black night completely disappeared, while the body of the White Divine Elephant beneath him shook slightly, a mouthful of bloody foam gushing out from its mouth.
In this instant, Fan Shaohuang couldn't understand why the archer could still accurately hit him even while clearly being obstructed by the sandstorm, but he knew that he already had to pay the price for his own incorrect decision.
"Scatter and run!"
"However many can escape, that is how many will survive!"
He lowered his hands, placing them on the body of the white elephant beneath him, at the same time issuing this order.
When he issued this type of order, he turned around, looking at a Divine Elephant Army officer who followed him closely. With a voice only the two of them could hear, he ordered, "Fan Mingning, do not follow me, leave first... Remember, do not get revenge, this is an order!"
The expression of that Divine Elephant Army officer instantly changed greatly. However, without waiting for him to say anything, Fan Shaohuang only gave him a cold look. "Don't tell me you wish to defy orders?"
That Divine Elephant Army officer's entire body trembled. He released a cry of grief, and then slapped the white elephant beneath him, disappearing into the surging sands.
...
On the Divine Wooden Flying Crane, Lin Xi moved the three black bowstrings again. A dark night descended upon the surging yellow sand once again, rushing towards Fan Shaohuang again.
This type of 'sandstorm' the Divine Elephant Army stirred up was naturally extremely powerful in this type of desert. This type of sandstorm could provide cover for the Divine Elephant Army while attacking and retreating, preventing them from being locked on to by some powerful military equipment. One could very well imagine that in the yellow sands, the Divine Elephant Army might be completely unmatched when faced with the current Jadefall City region's army.
However, this type of tactic was instead useless against Lin Xi.
Even though the amount of time Big Black was in his possession was extremely short, he previously always underwent the Three Fingered Control Method[2] Together with the tutoring of his own unique ability, before his ten halt ability was completely used up, he could ensure the precision of every single one of Big Black's shots.
Moreover, Big Black's power was also tied to the amount of soul force imputed, and then it would release a corresponding amount of power. It was completely like a magnifying device for soul force. For an archery master, they could observe the strength of the opponent, and then not waste the slightest bit of excess soul force.
He already noticed that Fan Shaohuang was this Divine Elephant Army's leader. The arrow aimed at Fan Shaohuang just now, even though it was easily neutralized by Fan Shaohuang, it seemed to carry Big Black's power. There was no way he was a match for a Sacred Expert like Fan Shaohuang, but right now, he was in the air.
Even if the other party was a Sacred Expert, he couldn't pose any threat against him. Fan Shaohuang could only face and endure Big Black's power.
An army with a Sacred Expert and an army that didn't have a Sacred Expert were definitely entirely different.
An army with a Sacred Expert, even if they faced an army of cultivators with a Sacred Expert leading them, still had a chance of seizing the advantage. However, if they didn't have a Sacred Expert, the battle situation would be the reverse.
That was why even if some of the divine elephants could survive under this pursuit, once this Divine Elephant Army Sacred Expert was killed, the Divine Elephant Army would thus completely lose its invisible might, its strength dropping by another grade.
...
This type of battle naturally didn't have any benevolence to speak of.
Letting this type of opponent go might lead to the death of countless Yunqin people.
That was why the soul force in Lin Xi's body poured out endlessly.
Of the 'two bowls of water' within him, the first arrow that he fired at Fan Shaohuang completely emptied 'one bowl', while this arrow wasn't stingy at all either, completely pouring into Big Black.
Fan Shaohuang sensed this strike descending, moreover making another prompt reaction.
His hands formed a seal, golden wisps appearing on his hand, releasing buddha light. A light golden lake took form above his body.
All of the black light that rushed towards this light golden lake was first completely crushed into extremely small granules by the great power, and then melted into this expanse of buddha light.
His body only shook slightly, his complexion becoming a bit more pale.
However, the four legs of the White Divine Elephant beneath him kneeled on the ground. Following a cry, his White Divine Elephant released a blast of pink bloody foam from its trunk, pouring out continuously. Its body swayed, wishing to preserve balance, but because of the pain and twitching of its body, it came to a crashing collapse like a giant wall.
Fan Shaohuang stood on the yellow world of sand, standing next to the White Divine Elephant whose internal organs were starting to die.
Right now, he already fell behind all of the fleeing White Divine Elephants, his figure slowly visible within the sandstorm. The fluttering yellow sand covered his hair, scattering down along his face.
Lin Xi handed the Big Black in his hands to Bian Linghan next to him.
"Your power is greater than mine, just use it all in one go." He looked at Bian Linghan, calmly saying this.
Bian Linghan's brows furrowed, saying with a low voice, "I fear I won't hit him."
"Just shoot." Lin Xi smiled, saying, "Trust me."
Will it really land just because you say it will?
Bian Linghan didn't even have any confidence herself. Lin Xi's guarantee in her place didn't seem to make any sense, yet Bian Linghan already experienced too many unreasonable things at Lin Xi's side, so even though her brows were still furrowed, she didn't say anything else, reaching out her hands and touching the three bowstrings.
1. Wenren Cangyue's subordinate who was able to make powerful poisons and medicines B9C37
2. Most suitable way for handling a bow for Windstalkers B2C5