#230 - Put me down! (4000 words, two in one)

“Drip, drip.”

In a cave of unknown depth within Three Stone Peak, water droplets fell one by one from the stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling.

The stalactites hanging upside down from the cave ceiling were very, very high, and the water droplets shattered into fragments upon hitting the ground.

On the cold ground, Xu Xuenuo's eyebrows twitched slightly, and her curved and upturned eyelashes fluttered gently. In her daze, Xu Xuenuo didn't feel the hard ground beneath her, but rather something that felt like a human body.

Xu Xuenuo's consciousness gradually returned, and she suddenly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Xu Ming's face.

Xu Xuenuo realized she was lying on Xu Ming's body.

Xu Xuenuo was startled and quickly tried to feel for Xu Ming's breath.

Feeling the air from Xu Ming's nostrils on her fingers, Xu Xuenuo's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, gradually calmed down.

“Wake up, hey, Xu Ming, wake up, wake up.”

Xu Xuenuo gently patted Xu Ming's cheek, trying to wake him up.

After seven or eight breaths, Xu Ming's brow furrowed slightly, and Xu Xuenuo's eyes suddenly lit up.

Xu Ming slowly opened his eyes, seeing the incredibly delighted girl lying on top of him.

It was as if in her eyes, he had almost died.

“You're finally awake! I thought you were dead,” Xu Xuenuo said, uttering such unlucky words right away.

Xu Ming smiled, “Dying isn't that easy. But, Miss Jiang, would you mind getting off me?”

“Ah?”

Only then did Xu Xuenuo realize that she had been lying on Xu Ming all along, and she quickly moved off him.

Xu Ming sat up, propping himself up with his arms, and shook his head, looking around.

The surroundings weren't the kind of darkness where you couldn't see your own fingers. You could clearly see everything around you, but you didn't know where the surrounding light was coming from.

“Where is this?” Xu Xuenuo asked a question that was almost nonsense.

“Who knows?” Out of politeness, Xu Ming still answered her, “What does your Natal Sword say?”

This girl had said that her Natal Sword could sense a certain existence. The reason he came to this place was because his Natal Sword led her here.

Xu Xuenuo shook her head, “It's completely silent now. I just tried to call it, but it's like it's asleep.”

“…” Xu Ming stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then stood up, “Let's go. Since we don't know where this is, let's just walk around.”

Xu Xuenuo nodded and followed behind Xu Ming.

The two walked forward aimlessly. This place was very spacious, like a small plain, making it easy to get lost.

However, for Xu Xuenuo and Xu Ming, they didn't know the way in the first place, so there was no question of getting lost.

This place was eerily quiet. Apart from the occasional sound of water droplets falling on the ground, there was no other sound.

You wouldn't doubt for a moment that something might suddenly jump out from the darkness.

“Roar!”

Xu Xuenuo and Xu Ming didn't know how long they had been walking.

Suddenly, a beastly roar came from ahead.

Xu Ming and Xu Xuenuo were both shocked.

Immediately afterwards, another beastly roar came.

The two realized that these roars were very chaotic, as if there was a mixed group of magical beasts ahead.

In addition, they also heard the sound of stones breaking, colliding sounds, and so on…

Xu Ming and Xu Xuenuo exchanged glances.

Although the two didn't say anything, they finally decided to go over and take a look.

Xu Xuenuo and Xu Ming each held a long sword in their hands, cautiously approaching step by step.

Soon, they saw in the wide open space ahead, a giant scorpion covered in spikes and a red giant dog with three heads fighting each other.

A giant python with skin like rock and a chicken that was three meters tall were fighting each other.

A magical beast that looked like a water buffalo but had an elephant's trunk was being devoured by a swarm of green ants.

Starting from the outermost layer of skin to the flesh, in less than ten breaths, only a white skeleton remained of the water buffalo.

One strange and unnamed magical beast after another was constantly fighting.

If a pair of fighting magical beasts involved another pair of fighting magical beasts, then all four magical beasts would fight together.

In short, the front was a scene of chaos.

Xu Ming didn't even know what they were fighting for.

Anyway, as far as his eyes could see, he didn't see any natural treasures.

If these magical beasts were singled out, Xu Ming and Xu Xuenuo would indeed have the confidence to knock them down.

But with so many magical beasts gathered together, Xu Ming and Xu Xuenuo were worried that they would enrage them, and they were afraid that they would be trampled to death by these magical beasts.

But Xu Ming was unwilling to leave just like that.

Such an abnormal place must mean that something exists.

Or rather, as long as they passed through this group of beasts and walked forward, there must be something there.

These magical beasts couldn't have appeared here for no reason.

“Grab my hand,” Xu Xuenuo said to Xu Ming beside her.

“What?” Xu Ming wondered if he had heard wrong.

Xu Xuenuo rolled her eyes at Xu Ming, “Don't you want to go over there? Grab my hand, I have a way.”

Xu Ming glanced at the girl's pair of delicate and tender hands, feeling a little awkward.

But then he thought, if the girl doesn't care, why should I, a grown man, care?

Xu Ming reached out and shook hands with her.

That soft, boneless feeling was indeed very smooth, but Xu Ming could feel some slightly hard calluses on the girl's palm. These calluses were produced when the girl practiced her sword.

Xu Xuenuo felt Xu Ming's hand, took a deep breath, calmed her mind, and at the same time, condensed spiritual power on the long sword and waved it forward heavily!

In an instant, violent sword energy rushed towards the front.

Xu Ming was startled in his heart.

Wait, if you strike with this sword, wouldn't this group of magical beasts rush towards us?

This is the method you were talking about?

Xu Ming was already a little regretful in his heart. He felt that he shouldn't have believed her.

But the next moment, Xu Ming knew he was wrong.

The girl's sword energy didn't attack those magical beasts.

These sword energies were only tearing apart the space in front.

These sword energies were like a storm trapped in a bottle, only able to roll and move around endlessly.

“Boom!”

The space in front of Xu Ming was shattered into a ball.

Xu Xuenuo pulled Xu Ming and took a step forward.

Xu Ming felt his body gradually becoming illusory. This was a mysterious feeling, as if he was about to enter another different space.

Soon, Xu Ming knew his feeling was right.

Xu Ming really entered another space.

In this space, the sky and the earth were connected together. Everything around was a vast expanse of white, as if nothing existed in this space, as clean as the newly fallen snow in the sky.

“Sword Domain!”

In Xu Ming's heart, these two words suddenly popped up.

Sword cultivators have Natal Swords.

Each sword cultivator's Natal Sword has special abilities.

Some sword cultivator's Natal Sword can resonate with flowers and plants.

Some Natal Swords can condense blocks of ice with just sword energy, and even freeze hundreds of miles of land.

There are also Natal Swords that are like marbles. This sword can be broken into hundreds of pieces. Every time the sword cultivator flicks one, a long sword bursts out, with extremely strong lethality!

When the Natal Sword awakens its divine power, and takes a step forward, as you understand sword energy, sword intent, and sword path, you will gradually form your own sword domain.

Each sword cultivator's sword domain is the culmination of this sword cultivator's sword energy, sword intent, and sword path, representing all of this sword cultivator's understanding of "sword."

Most sword domains are outwardly expanding.

Dragging the enemy into your own sword domain to fight is the most common operation.

The appearance of the sword domain is connected to the abilities of the Natal Sword.

But!

This girl's sword domain! It was actually internal!

Her sword domain actually formed a small world!

This was something Xu Ming had never heard of!

Xu Xuenuo pulled Xu Ming's hand and continued to walk forward. Xu Ming felt that he was wandering in the gap between the girl's sword domain and the real world.

Those magical beasts didn't notice them.

At this time, Xu Ming knew how this girl came in.

She probably used a similar method.

She first created a gap in the formation. As long as there was this gap, it was enough. She could wander in the gap between the two worlds, making her body seem to exist and not exist, and then enter Three Stone Peak through the formation gap.

This is not something that sword techniques can do.

Anyway, Xu Ming felt that there was no such sword technique.

Only this girl's Natal Sword can do this.

The sword that killed the black bear before should also be due to the girl's use of her Natal Sword's divine power.

It can only be said that the girl's Natal Sword's talent involves the level of space.

Anyway, in all the novels, anime, and movies that Xu Ming watched in his previous life, any ability that can involve the level of space is very BUG!

In fact, this is not the most surprising thing for Xu Ming.

Under normal circumstances, a sword cultivator who can form his own sword domain must be at least in the Nascent Soul Realm.

But this girl's realm should only be in the Dragon Gate Realm, right?

A cultivator in the Dragon Gate Realm opens a sword domain…

What kind of genius is this?

“Wait…”

Suddenly, a figure of a little girl appeared in Xu Ming's mind.

If we're talking about swordplay geniuses, she would definitely be the one.

Although it's been almost ten years since I last saw her, I still hear about her from time to time.

“Could she be…”

Xu Ming looked at the girl's profile, feeling doubtful.

But Xu Ming also felt that the possibility was unlikely.

If she really was Xue Nuo, then why wouldn't she tell me her real name?

Logically speaking, shouldn't she be more excited after not seeing each other for so many years?

Even if she wasn't that excited, she shouldn't be deceiving me and making up a random name, right?

If she really is Xue Nuo, Xu Ming really couldn't figure out what reason she would have to lie to him.

Just as Xu Ming was guessing the other party's identity, he felt that the girl's steps were becoming more and more unsteady.

A lot of fine sweat broke out on her forehead, and her breathing became heavier and heavier.

Along with that, Xu Ming and Xu Xue Nuo's bodies couldn't stay in that almost-there-but-not-there state. Once, Xu Xue Nuo and Xu Ming directly broke away from the spatial gap and stood under an elephant-like beast covered in long hair.

If the girl hadn't activated her sword realm again in time, they would have almost been noticed by that elephant-like magical beast.

Xu Ming guessed that it might be because this technique consumed a lot of stamina and spiritual power. After Xu Xue Nuo brought him along, the consumption doubled.

Not to mention that this place of magical beast melee was really too big.

Xu Ming felt that he had walked forward for about two miles, and there were still magical beasts fighting.

“Are you running out of energy? Let go of me, leave this place first, and I'll find a way myself,” Xu Ming said to Xu Xue Nuo.

“No!” Xu Xue Nuo directly refused Xu Ming, “If I leave you here, these magical beasts will definitely notice you. You will surely die. Don't worry about me, I'm still okay, no problem.”

“This can't go on, the two of us will…”

“Puff!”

Before Xu Ming could finish speaking, Xu Xue Nuo directly spat out a mouthful of blood.

This was a side effect of Xu Xue Nuo overdrawing her spiritual power.

Xu Xue Nuo could no longer maintain her sword realm.

In an instant, the technique applied to the two of them disappeared completely.

Xu Ming and Xu Xue Nuo appeared in the middle of the magical beast horde.

A giant wolf covered in black flames noticed these two outsiders, Xu Ming and Xu Xue Nuo, and pounced towards them.

Xu Ming originally wanted to kill this black flame giant wolf with a single sword strike, but he was afraid that the blood would attract the attention of other magical beasts, so Xu Ming stunned the black flame giant wolf.

But no matter how much Xu Ming restrained himself, the commotion he caused was definitely not small.

More and more magical beasts noticed Xu Ming.

Logically speaking, even if magical beasts discovered outsiders, they would not rashly launch an attack. More often than not, they would observe for a while, not to mention that many magical beasts were fighting each other.

But these magical beasts were like a bull seeing a red cloth, all rushing towards Xu Ming.

Xu Ming no longer restrained himself, and with one sword strike, he cut a giant rock snake into two sections, then directly picked up Xu Xue Nuo and ran forward quickly!

Magical beasts kept intercepting Xu Ming. Xu Ming didn't engage in a prolonged battle. He would kill if he could, repel if he couldn't, and dodge if he couldn't repel.

As long as he wasn't swallowed up by the beast tide, it would be fine.

Moreover, Xu Ming didn't believe it!

That these magical beasts would chase him until the end of time!

But there were too many magical beasts.

The commotion Xu Ming caused was too great, and the magical beasts in front also noticed Xu Ming and began to intercept him.

“Get lost!”

Xu Ming put away his long sword and punched forward.

The huge force of the fist blasted all the magical beasts in front into minced meat, and the scene was extremely bloody.

Some magical beasts kept gnawing on the corpses of the magical beasts killed by Xu Ming.

But more magical beasts were not moved at all. They just wanted to kill Xu Ming!

“With you carrying me, neither of us will be able to leave!” Xu Xue Nuo said weakly on Xu Ming's back, “Put me down!”