Maiden Galaxy

Chen Mo was injured. When Zhongli Sanmei saw those arrows that had barely penetrated his body, her expression changed.

"Quickly put This King down."

"Stop struggling." Chen Mo hissed. He was afraid that if he relaxed, all of his consciousness would completely disappear, for he had no strength.

Sensing Chen Mo's intentions, a rarely seen gentle expression appeared in Zhongli Sanmei's eyes. The woman slowly closed her eyes, saying nothing.

Continuing to make haste, he dashed through the Azure Dragon Mountain's deep forests and jagged cliffs. Fortunately, the deepest reaches of Azure Dragon Mountain did not have overly powerful Demon Beasts. Without incident along the way, Chen Mo finally spotted a mountain cavern. According to Zhongli Sanmei's instructions, the treasure chest ought to be inside.

And inside the cave, he saw a swarm of snakes.

Chen Mo gripped his staff in one hand and hugged Zhongli Mo in the other as he madly rushed forth.

Upon reaching the cave depths, the snakes suddenly receded like a tide. Chen Mo reduced his pace, a kind of terrifying presence pervading the air. The subconscious sense of danger made his whole body throb.

Chen Mo quietly tiptoed forwards, very quickly spotting a wide pool. At the center of this pool was a towering rock upon which sat a treasure chest. This chest billowed with black qi, rolling in all directions. Chen Mo could sense that this black qi was something else entirely.

"Earthly Fiend Star Energy." Zhongli Sanmei's eyes shone, her expression unable to contain her delight.

"Earthly Fiend Star Energy?" Chen Mo looked at that chest from faraway. This was a treasure chest belonging to the Earthly Fiend level then. Legend said that Star Generals could absorb the Earthly Fiend Star Energy surrounding it for refinement. Although this merely Earthly Fiend level chest was a bit lacking, it was fortunately found in the end.

Chen Mo was elated and was about to charge forth.

But he was called back by Zhongli Sanmei. "No sudden movements. There is a Demon Beast around the chest."

"En?' Chen Mo looked carefully before drawing in a sharp breath.

Coiled around the pond surrounding the Earthly Fiend Treasure Chest was a dark and swarthy body. Its scales were like armor, glossy as a mirror. At first glance, he was unable to see it in the water's surface. Those scales were enormous, and the body itself was naturally as large as a truck.

It was a gigantic snake.

This black snake was coiled in the chest's surroundings. It had been absorbing little by little the Earthly Fiend Star Energy that the chest emitted. Clearly, it borrowed the chest's Star Energy to cultivate. In the entire world, wild beasts that could cultivate Star Energy were limited only to Demon Beasts.

This Demon Beast could not be compared to the Rank One Demon Beast Serpent-Tailed Fox-Faced Monkeys from earlier. That type of monkey at most had somewhat of a Demon Beast's form, but it did not have a Demon Beast's qi. It was not enough to make a person feel fear. But even with half of the giant snake's body hidden beneath the water, what lay before them emitted a thoroughly oppressing chill.

It was able to scare a person senseless.

Rank Two Demon Beast!!

A Rank Two Demon Beast had a frightening Demon Qi. Just seeing this Demon Qi was enough to make a Qi And Blood Warrior's legs quake. Although Chen Mo was not yet terrified to such a degree, he could also sense that the scene before him was a complete impasse. With their current circumstances, rashly alarming the Rank Two Demon Beast Black Python that was in the middle of cultivating bode very ill for them.

Chen Mo had just taken a step when the giant snake body in the pool abruptly shifted.

The two of them did not even dare breathe too forcefully. Chen Mo cautiously withdrew from this cavern.

"This will be difficult. With a Rank Two Demon Beast guarding the chest, it won't be easy to take." Chen Mo was frustrated.

Zhongli Sanmei tightly bit her lip, for she was very depressed. To think that she, who was once a Heavenly Spirit level Star General, one of Her Excellency Hegemon Xiang Yu's Five Great Generals, now surprisingly had her hands tied about a trifling Rank Two Demon Beast. If it was not for her lacking the strength, she would have wanted to slam her head against the wall to death right now.

She feared that this King Of Extinguished Ashes had lost all face in this youth's eyes, her prestige at an all-time low.

Since when did This King care about what a boy thought, Zhongli Sanmei resentfully glanced at Chen Mo, then shut her eyes.

Chen Mo did not notice her change. The King Of Extinguished Ashes herself was overthinking this. To him, whatever prestige and fame a Star General had was more a kind of curio or something to appreciate. He would never say anything about an all-time low.

"I have a solution." Chen Mo's eyes widened as he whispered.

"?" Zhongli Sanmei was very curious how Chen Mo could have a way to face the Rank Two Demon Beast. This beast was not like the average warrior. A Demon Beast's powers were not necessarily blockable just by refining copper muscles and iron bones.

"I'll go draw the Demon Beast out. In the meantime, you absorb the Star Energy and refine it for recovery." Chen Mo said: "If you have Star Energy, can you dispel the poison in your body?"

Zhongli Sanmei nodded with certainty. It was nothing more than ordinary snake venom. So long as she recovered to Earthly Star Realm, that would be enough to heal herself. But as for Chen Mo's idea to be bait, the King Of Extinguished Ashes nevertheless fell silent. In normal times, she would not care for anyone else's opinion, especially a man's.

But as arrogant as she was, she nevertheless was a person who cared about friendships, otherwise, she would not have been one of Her Excellency Xiang Yu's loyal and devoted Five Great Heavenly Kings. In the end, Han Xin had no choice but to seal her. Through their contact over the past few days, Zhongli Sanmei already believed that Chen Mo genuinely wanted to help her.

If he truly had been plotting against her, she would have died several times already on the road. On this trip, she had been touched, hugged, and carried by Chen Mo. The woman's heart greatly softened all of a sudden. In all her life, she had never had such a peculiar experience, so for the first time, she had a kind of genuine longing – she did not want to let him die.

"What, why aren't you saying anything." Chen Mo said.

"Do you seriously want to die for This King?" Zhongli Sanmei squeezed out an ice-cold sentence.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not so magnanimous as to die for you. I have my own values, you just need to move quickly." Chen Mo laughed.

"This King understands." Zhongli Sanmei nodded. Her temperament was naturally forthright. Those disorderly thoughts in her mind made her very fidgety, so she simply stopped pondering upon them.

"If This King averts this calamity, Chen Mo, we will henceforth be brothers." Zhongli Sanmei resolutely promised.

"You're a woman. More like we'll be brother and sister." Chen Mo retorted.

"This King…" Zhongli Sanmei also wanted to counter, but Chen Mo abruptly stopped her. "Enough talking, you hide for now."

As he said this, he alone warped out of the cave.

Outside the cave, a man was just approaching down the mountain. He was Lu Kezhou.

Lu Kezhou looked at Chen Mo's ragged appearance, there as a bit of contempt in his eyes. For a mere Qi And Blood Eight Turns warrior to repeatedly show off in front of him, he wondered if the bastard was crazy.

Chen Mo held Northern Dipper and pounded the ground, a very rhythmic pattern. The snowflakes on the ground were shaken up by the force.

"Finally stopped running?" Lu Kezhou swept his gaze over the surroundings. Whatever trick this brat wanted to play was fundamentally unable to escape his Divine Hawk Eyesight.

"Your Servant has no choice but to say, your courage as the Chang'an Mansion's young master is admirable, to go so far as to throw away your life to provide shelter to a Star General. I have to say, you truly are the pinnacle of stupidity." Lu Kezhou saw there was no Starfall here, so he knew the Star General had not died yet, his heart greatly calmed by this.

Once again, he looked at Chen Mo as if he was looking at fish on the chopping board. Lu Kezhou showed a mocking grin.

"I really want to know why you would do such a thing." Lu Kezhou asked.

"Because you people are trash without the qualifications to kill a Star General. How's this for a reason?" Chen Mo smiled and replied.

"Trash?" Lu Kezhou laughed. How interesting, this was the first time anyone called a Three Flowers Overhead like him a piece of trash.

"You probably do not know who I am. Your Servant is Lu Kezhou, one of the Heavenly Bow Sect's Ten Great Disciples." Lu Kezhou was overbearing: "However, you are right. In Your Servant's eyes, you Qi And Blood Nine Turns warriors are indeed no different from trash."

"Three Flowers Overhead, Heavenly Bow Sect, no wonder your archery is as troublesome as a pack rats. I might as well tell you the facts. There's an Earthly Fiend Treasure Chest inside the cave. Zhongli Sanmei is currently absorbing its Star Energy to recover. If you're really as skilled as you say, then shoot an arrow and let me witness it." Chen Mo showed a taunting grin.

"Earthly Fiend Chest?"

Lu Kezhou's expression sunk. His smile faded then blossomed once more.

"I see now, no wonder that woman is so determined to go deeper into the mountains." Lu Kezhou apparently understood. "It seems Your Servant will reap an enormous harvest today."

Chen Mo shrugged, continuing to use Northern Dipper to pound the ground, "clang, clang, clang, clang," incessantly as if he was forging iron. Lu Kezhou feared the situation was about to change. If the Star General truly recovered her Star Energy, even a little would become very troublesome. Not wanting to waste another breath, he took out his bow and arrow. 

Just at this moment, Chen Mo leapt over like a berserk beast.

He raised Northern Dipper.

Smashing it down.

"But you won't have a chance to fire an arrow."

Lu Kezhou was disdainful. His qi and blood was indestructible, and he was completely unafraid of the arrogance of Chen Mo's Northern Dipper. He face the attack head-on. The man stepped back, pulling on his bowstring.

Bang, bang, bang.

Three crisp sounds.

Three arrows were fired before Chen Mo. Their powerful might shook Northern Dipper, with Chen Mo nearly unable to keep his grip, but this was nothing more than Lu Kezhou's plan. What he was more concerned about was that Star General hidden inside the cave. If it truly was as Chen Mo said, this Star General was recovering her Star Energy. That was dangerous for him.

Lu Kezhou promptly decided to use three rapid fire arrows to repel Chen Mo for the time being, exposing a gap. He then tuned his vision like a hawk's, staring closely at Chen Mo as he brought out and nocked a golden arrow. This arrow was pure gold, its feathers unfolding neatly, the shaft like water, a graceful line. Unexpectedly, there were two glittering Stars around it; it was a Star Weapon-level arrow.

This arrow was the "Taiyi Golden Arrow" that Lu Kezhou created using all of his family's resources. Due to it being forged of Taiyi Golden Essence, it was able to display formidable might when paired with his archery. Even a warrior that had blossomed the Second Flower of Three Flowers Overhead could not necessarily ward it off.

Practically all warriors at Three Flowers Overhead level possessed a Star Weapon that kept with them at all times. Most of these acted as trump cards. As they continued to cultivate, they also ascended these Star Weapons to bolster their own strength.

All of his energy was concentrated on this arrow.

He activated the Heavenly Bow Sect's soul technique.

He gently grasped the arrow.

Bang.

A golden light drew a dazzling trajectory, like a ray of sunlight piercing through the trees, melting the snowy landscape and illuminating the mountain river. In the end, this light flew straight at Chen Mo.

This arrow's power was enough to rip apart a Qi And Blood Warrior's defenses.

Chen Mo seemed to have already anticipated this. He wielded the Northern Dipper in his hands like a shield, but the Taiyi Golden Arrow was honestly too strong. The arrow's impact made Chen Mo vomit blood on the spot. His hands loosened, dropping Northern Dipper. The Taiyi Golden Arrow flew past, shooting into the cavern.

The golden light disappeared into the cave, seemingly filling it with the brilliance of gold. After a while, it disappeared.

"Die, you brat." Lu Kezhou shouted.