Chapter 290 - Moon Cone Nail
Chapter 290: Moon Cone Nail
Wen Leyang never thought that Red Pot would be in the village. He had wanted to walk over and pinch it, but he never thought that Red pot would see the annihilating cauldron and suicide bow in his hands. It squalled with a ‘gu’ and leaped in front of him from afar. Its bulging eyes were filled with puzzlement, “Young lad, these… are my treasures, right? Why are they in your hands?”
Wen Leyang secretly thought that that was his line.
As it said this, Red Pot added with a mumble, “Don’t tell me that under the heavens… there are duplicates?”
Little supreme leader Liu Zheng chuckled from the side, “It’s not only these two!”
Red Pot opened its mouth wide and looked at Liu Zheng, “How many more?”
Cone Nail and Chang Li had sharp minds. They recognized that these were Red Pot’s belongings and they knew what kind of thunder magic the cauldron could conjure. They exchanged a glance and walked over, shoulder to shoulder.
Not only could the annihilating thunder magic be conjured by the thunder cauldron, it could also be activated by a cultivator’s spell. If they had not seen this cauldron, Chang Li and Cone Nail would not have suspected the toad.
Liu Zheng smiled easily, as if he was taunting Red Pot on purpose, “Don’t you know what kind of items you’re missing? Why do you need to ask me?”
Ji Fei had already heard the second half of the battle on Jilong mountain from Wen Leyang. He quickly tried to ingratiate himself with them. He moved closer behind the two lady demons and told them everything.
Ji Fei’s voice was extremely soft, but he could not fool Red Pot’s ears. Perhaps he did not have any intention of fooling him in the first place. Red Pot’s eyes bulged bigger and bigger. Even Wen Leyang could not help but blink for him.
Red Pot seemed to have woken up from a dream only after the old monk had finished. It never had any expressions, but by merely listening to its tone… His heartbreak was heavier than his shock. He squalled which almost sounded like a roar, “Annihilating Thunder Cauldron? Divine bow Suicide? And Southern Dipper Astrolabe?”
As it howled angrily, its body quickly expanded. Wen Leyang had quick reflexes. With a muffled bang, he stepped firmly on Red Pot.
Chang Li muttered an ‘oh no’. She reached out to pull Wen Leyang away and chuckled, “I’m not worried even if it went against the heavens. Let’s see what it wants to do.”
Fei Fei also made her way into the crowd and said to Wen Leyang in a low voice, “I can’t seem to understand the toad’s expression, but judging by his voice… he’s telling the truth.”
Cone Nail, on the other hand, cast a sound-proofing protective circle and pleaded to the others sympathetically, “Let’s all get away. If we’re all gathered here, it’s hard to breathe…” Her pitiful looks could not fool anyone anymore. Other than the few core personages, the others hastily stepped back. They made small talk, but from the sides of their eyes, they could not help but glance at Red Pot…
Wen Leyang removed his foot. From a high vantage point, Red Pot seemed to have gotten much fatter.
Red Pot cursed as it burned with rage. Then, it’s body expanded again. The cuckooing squall was ceaseless. Then, the people around it gave waves and waves of cheers. They discussed in low voices.
“Heaven-Patching Needle, Heaven-Sewing Thread?”
“Scarlet Doll!”
“Disappearing Straw Rain Cape!”
“Come and Go Bottle Gourd!”
“Nine Yin White Bone Claw…” (Author’s note: Haha, the final one does not count!)
Red Pot spilled every single one of its properties from its belly. The cultivators who had ties with the Wen family were men of great experiences. The last time the toad was vomiting, Wen Leyang was in a life and death situation; nobody paid it too much attention.
This time, they finally had a good look. An unbelievable number of immortal tools and precious treasures which were famous since primordial times and had long been lost, were stashed inside the toad’s stomach!
In no time, a pile of cats-and-dogs appeared on an empty ground in the Wen family village. An array of treasures the others could only dream about were like junk piled on top of one another.
If it were not for the group of peerless elites who suppressed the crowd, all hell would have broken loose on Nine Peaks Mountain. Any sect that picked up a random treasure from this pile could go back, rest on their laurels and look down on the world.
After Red Pot finished vomiting, it walked in a circle around its treasures. Then, it opened its mouth and swallowed them back down one after another. The two demon ladies hugged their shoulders and did not stop it. They giggled as they saw it keeping busy.
Old monk Ji Fei gulped as he looked on. He smiled shame-facedly at the two demon immortals, “These are all good stuff…”
Chang Li pressed her lips together and shook her head, “If the toad is still one of our own, then it would not be wise to act against it.”
However, Cone Nail sighed, “Besides, we don’t have anywhere to store these treasures. Let it keep them first before we do”
Chang Li’s lips were still pressed together. She nodded forcefully.
Only after Red Pot swallowed the final treasure did it lift its head with puzzled eyes, “These… are mine. How did they end up in the hands of Jilong Sect?” As it said this, it rested its chin on the ground. It pressed its own head with its two forelimbs and made a strange pose. After a while, it laughed bitterly twice, “I can’t prove myself innocent no matter what I do now.”
Fei Fei gloomily sighed and said to Wen Leyang again, “It’s still speaking the truth.”
Red Pot rolled its eyes helplessly. It seemed to not understand what was happening as well. It truly looked innocent.
In these few years, these demon immortals were on good terms. The immortal grass was only found by Cone Nail under Red Pot’s instructions. Or else, with Chang Li and Hanba’s grave wounds back then, they could never have been healed in decades. Cone Nail squatted down. She looked at the despairing Red Pot and asked softly, “Can someone else steal your treasures without you knowing?”
Red Pot did not have a neck. When it shook its head, its hind also shook as well, “Impossible. The space in my stomach is a natural-born talent. Unless I wanted to spit something out myself, or else, even if you opened me up, you can’t possibly steal my treasures.”
Cone Nail shook her head with a smile, “Then I’ll have to be disrespectful…”
The toad gave an ‘ah’. It leaped and broke into a sprint! It thought that Cone Nail had wanted to kill it. These great demons do not think twice about killing someone in the first place. During that time, it suspected that Xiang Liu was somehow connected to its own subduction; it was too lazy to ask questions and simply swallowed the true soul. With Red Pot’s current abilities, it could never hope to escape from Cone Nail. Cone Nail tapped her finger lightly. Red Pot who was leaping with all its might was frozen in an icicle in the blink of an eye.
Red Pot’s gaze was incomparably complicated. Its eyes bulged as they looked towards Cone Nail, as if they had something to say.
Wen Leyang had returned ahead of schedule. Cone Nail was in a good mood lately. She released her spell with a smile. She extended two spring onion-like fingers and pinched it, “What do you want to say?”
The toad let out a deep laugh, “This is not disrespectful, being frozen doesn’t count as being disrespectful…”
Cone Nail gave half a cough. She did not know whether to laugh or cry as she froze Red Pot in an icicle again. Then, she turned and looked at the others, “What do you all say?”
Fei Fei smiled, “First, let’s talk about all that Red Pot has done all these years.”
Xiao Sha nodded with all apparent seriousness and uttered a professional jargon, “Right, behavior analysis!”
Mumu and little Chi Maojiu were silent. They moved forward at the same time.
Ever since the group of demon immortals had recovered, Chang Li, Cone Nail, and Hanba never seemed to have left Nine Peaks Mountain. Red Pot and little supreme leader Liu Zheng were outside, but every two to three months, they would return to Nine Peaks Mountain and stayed for some time before they left again. It was unknown what the two of them were investigating.
Even an ordinary student could see that these demon immortals were waiting for or scheming something. They simply decided to make Nine Peaks Mountain their base. However, if they were not willing to say it themselves, the people of the Wen family had no way of asking.
Now that Fei Fei and Xiao Sha had mentioned Red Pot’s actions for these few years, the group of Tuo Xie descendants opened up their ears.
Cone Nail pointed at Mumu, little Chi Maojiu, and the others who seemed unmoved and smiled at Chang Li, “The dolls are getting serious!”
Chang Li smiled as well. She had no airs of a Grand Master grandmother. She hugged Mumu’s shoulder, “Of course, ever since Wen Leyang returned, they got their support back and would not settle for just an onlooker’s part!” As she said this, she took Red Pot who had been frozen into a chunk from Cone Nail’s hand. She tossed it up and down as she turned around and walked towards the village head’s house.
The group of core Tuo Xie sect disciples, Fei Fei and Xiao Sha hastened their footsteps and followed behind the two demon immortals.
Ji Fei and Shui Jing pondered for a while. They were itching with curiosity, but when they thought about Chang Li’s powerful methods amidst her smiles, about Cone Nail’s killing techniques amidst her pitiable looks, in the end, they did not follow.
After they entered the village head’s house, Chang Li extended two fingers towards Grand Elder Wen, “There are two enemies. One of them is the nine-headed monster who has wreaked havoc since the beginning of Chaos and has seven souls left; the other is the sword immortal who has an unfathomable cultivation base, who should be long dead but still lingers on in this world.”
Cone Nail continued Chang Li’s words from the side, “Even if we killed the great enemy, we might not be able to discover Tuo Xie’s whereabouts. At the end of the day, this matter might not necessarily have anything to do with you Tuo Xie descendants.” After she finished, she paused for a brief moment. Then, she looked at Grand Elder Wen and opened her mouth again, “Don’t trouble yourselves with this anymore!”
Of the people of the Tuo Xie sect present, Grand Elder Wen was the most senior, that was why the two demon immortals talked to him the moment they entered.
Grand Elder Wen laughed easily, “The life of one wicked soul and one true soul had been lost on Wen Leyang’s hands. After the nine-headed monster breaks free, it would look for him to get its revenge sooner or later. Anyone who bears the surname Wen is a representative of Nine Peaks Mountain in front of outsiders! Only, Wen Leyang is slightly different. When he’s outside, he represents Crow Ridge and Seven Maidens Mountain as well.”
Mumu laughed as she hugged Wen Leyang’s arm, “I’m a Crow Ridge inner disciple, I’m also his wife.”
Little Chi Maojiu also wanted to hug Wen Leyang’s arm, but after pondering for a while, he thought that it was a bit too much. He smiled shamefully, “Wen Leyang had saved the entire Miao stockade village many years ago, he is my brother.”
The two juniors had good eyes for value. Grand Elder Wen smiled into a flower, “As for Kong Nuer, if Wen Leyang wants to assist in that himself, we’re only beating the drums to encourage him at best.”
Chang Li had not sat down, the others were also still standing. Fourth Elder Wen was like a cold shadow as he stood silently behind Grand Elder Wen and talked slowly, “The enemy is a rock, but we’re no egg.”
Cone Nail had wanted to say something but Chang Li waved her hand impatiently, “I’m only trying to persuade you guys, but you’re making this into a recognizing relatives session…” As she said this, her beautiful lips could not help but curve at an attractive angle. She found a chair and sat down. She toyed around with the ice chunk Red Pot in her hand, “Ask whatever you want!”
Grand Elder Wen had waited for those exact words from the demon immortals for a long time. His old face was full of smiles as he immediately asked, “Some of you seniors were busy down the mountain, some of you stayed on Nine Peaks Mountain, what were you guys doing?”
Cone Nail smiled lightly, “Firstly, we’re all lonely souls and wild ghosts, we don’t have a place to call home and Hanba’s Corpse-forming Land is too unlucky, we simply decided to stay on Nine Peaks Mountain. Once we have discovered any clue about the enemy, we will go down the mountain together. Secondly, we were afraid that the Heaven cone nail descendants would find trouble on Nine Peaks Mountain.”
Mumu was slightly shocked, “The Heaven cone nail descendants did not have the immortal grass, they should need at least decades before they can recover, right? Besides, they still have demonic Prohibitions on their bodies!”
During the battle on Goddess Peak, a total of six sects of Haven cone nail descendants appeared. In the end, the descendants of the earth cone nail, sun cone nail, and Chaos cone nail died tragically. The star cone nail Grandmother Shudou, metal element Sir Rust and fire cone nail descendant immortal aunt Re had escaped and rose to the heavens.
Cone Nail shook her head, “The heaven cone nail descendants also have the immortal grass, because… the moon cone nail’s arbiter has appeared!”
When she said this, everyone was shocked.
Four years ago, after Wen Leyang’s wedding, he was led to Shiwan Mountains by Hanba and had been imprisoned by the ghost formation while Cone Nail, under Red Pot’s directions, had gone alone to Lingnan’s source of a hundred miasma in search of the centipede grass…
Cone Nail had just started speaking when little supreme leader, Liu Zheng, could not help but scoffed from the side, “Give me the remaining immortal grass first, I’ve been waiting for half a day already!”
Cone Nail gave an ‘eh’. She smiled apologetically. She grabbed the little supreme leader and led him into her house to treat his wounds with the immortal grass. Cone Nail left and everyone turned towards Chang Li. They hoped that she would continue. However, the cat demon pouted, “I’m too lazy to talk about it. Let Cone Nail talk about it when she returns.”
The group of people exchanged glances; nobody dared to talk nonsense. Mumu took a carrot out from her pocket and pushed it into Wen Leyang’s hands.
Luckily, Cone Nail returned after a short while. She nodded towards Wen Leyang first, “Liu Zheng’s fine. He’ll be healed in no time.” Then, she continued to recount the past.
Cone Nail did not spend too much time before she found the centipede grass at Lingnan, but the immortal grass was magical. If she was not careful, the magical grass would escape when she plucked it. The gist was that Cone Nail had gone through a lot of trouble before she finally trapped the immortal grass in a magic circle. At this moment, a group of people suddenly barged into Cone Nail’s telegnosis ability!
What kind of person was Cone Nail? Once she discovered that someone had gotten near her, she would kill them without the slightest hesitation. However, the other party’s cultivation base was also quite profound, especially the three leaders. Their combined magical powers were not inferior to that of a peerless demon immortal.
The two parties fought greatly at the land of Lingnan. Cone Nail was not worried about the small fry, but she could not shake the three leaders no matter what she did. A long time had already passed by now. If she did not go harvest the immortal soon, the centipede grass would break free of the magic circle and escape. If she let it escape now, it would be hopeless to think that it would show itself for another thousand years.
The two parties had no choice but to stop fighting. They made a deal that they would each get half of the centipede grass. In the end, the two parties worked together and each got half a centipede grass.
Wen Leyang’s heart was ridden with waves of worry. Although Cone Nail spoke nonchalantly, anyone could imagine how perilous the situation was, working with three enemies with peerless cultivation bases to harvest the immortal grass. She had to guard against the enemy while getting her hands on the immortal grass, all this while preparing an escape route for herself… Currently, there were quite a number of powerful people on Nine Peaks Mountain, but the one who could accomplish such a feat was none other than the brave but careful, skillful and patient Cone Nail.
If the one who went was Chang Li, with her demonic madness, the results would have most likely ended in mutual defeat.
As she said this, Cone Nail heaved a sigh, “Although the enemies did not say where they came from in the end, I have regained my memories. These people’s method of practices could not fool me. They are the arbiters of the moon cone nail! Amongst the group of Heaven’s cone nail elites who followed Kong Nuer, the Mingsha Mountain’s Moon Sect elites were the strongest force there was. They were divided into four sects within their sect. This time, the three leaders who came to fight for the immortal grass, one of them was fat while the other two were skinny. They were Full Moon, First Quarter Moon, and Last Quarter Moon!”
The others said nothing. They waited for Cone Nail to continue. Foolish uncle Wen Nine was too anxious to wait and questioned closely, “What’s the other sect?”
At this moment, Grand Elder Wen suddenly broke into a smile. Then, the other three elders also laughed coldly and in a low voice. Soon, slight surprise also appeared on the faces of First Uncle, Wen Leyang and the others. They all broke into laughter.
Little Chi Maojiu was creeped out by the laughing Wen family. He stared at Mumu, perplexed.
Mumu was also amused. The foolish uncle who did not know how to count could calculate that four subtracted by three was one.
Cone Nail looked at everyone with a shocked expression. Her dark black eyes were filled with innocence…
The four sects of the Moon Sect were led by New Moon. The other three sects were Full Moon, First Quarter Moon and Last Quarter Moon. The one who was refined into the moon-attribute Heaven’s cone nail was the New Moon leader then.
Cone Nail also admitted after she returned. If the New Moon elites had also showed up, she might not even escape with her life, let alone harvest the immortal grass.
However, although they only had half an immortal grass, it was more than enough to heal the few demon immortals. They had quite a few leaves left. They were kept inside the ice body by Cone Nail’s magic. She had just taken some out to heal Liu Zheng.
Ever since the demon-subduing great formation was formed on Black and White Island and immortal master teacher Kong Nuer lived in seclusion, the few families of the Heaven’s cone nail descendants had kept in touch with each other. However, a few thousand years ago, they had lost any news from the moon cone nail descendants. Even Bao Ri, Shudou, and the others thought that the moon cone nail had died off. Of course, Cone Nail, Chang Li, and the others did not expect them to show themselves again.
Recently, Wen Leyang’s mind was clear. He pondered on Cone Nail’s train of thought, “The moon cone nail descendants showed up to fight over the immortal grass to save the other Heaven’s cone nail descendants?”
Cone Nail nodded, “That sounds about right. It is unknown why the moon cone nail had lost contact with the other sects, but they are of the same roots. If the other sects were in trouble, the people of the Moon Sect could not sit idly by as long as they were still alive.”
Wen Leyang looked at Chang Li again, “But there’s still the demonic Prohibitions on Shudou, Sir Rust and the others. If that wasn’t released, what good would it do them even if they regained their powers?” Old man Bao Ri became highly conceited when he saw the big mustache man on Goddess Peak. As a result, he utilized his life vitality and died tragically under Chang Li’s demonic Prohibition.
At last Chang Li was willing to talk, “The demonic Prohibition which I have set, Cone Nail, Hanba or Guo Huan in his prime could’ve broken it.”
The Prohibition set down by Chang Li was not something that could only be released by herself. As long as it was a great demon who was as strong as or stronger than her, they could break the Prohibition.
However, the one who releases the Prohibition must be a demon as well. If it was the sword immortal, even if he had a cultivation base that reached the heavens, it was impossible for him to release the Prohibition.
Wen Leyang gave half an ‘ah’ with great shock, “This means that… among Kong Nuer’s subordinates or the friends of the Heaven’s cone nail descendants, there are powerful demon immortals as well?”
Cone Nail gave a non-committal smile, “That’s hard to say. That’s why these few years, Fifth Brother, Chang Li and I dared not leave Nine Peaks Mountain for even half a step. You had made quite a name for yourself on Mount Hua; it’s not difficult for the enemy to come to find trouble. We’re more at ease if we stayed on guard here.”
Chang Li’s pouted lips were high, as if Wen Leyang had wronged her greatly, robbing her of four months’ worth of playtime under the mountain. Cone Nail’s face was full of disdain. She threw Chang Li a side glance, “You’ve waited for two thousand years in a cave just because of a sentence from Pickle Jar. This was only four years, it’s nothing.”
Chang Li did not seem to have heard Cone Nail’s words, she mumbled softly, “Please grow up quickly, young ones. Combine the three arts after accomplishing the Faulty Punch. In a few dozen years, we won’t need to protect Nine Peaks Mountain anymore.”
Chang Li’s wronged expression was indeed peerlessly beautiful. Cone Nail also broke into laughter, “The three of us monsters stayed on Nine Peaks Mountain. Besides that, Liu Zheng knew the Sword-Controlling Art. He could traverse thousands of miles easily. That’s why we had him investigate about the hiding places of those Heaven’s cone nail descendants and find Qian Ren and Qin Zhui while he’s at it.”
Wen Leyang sighed with a bitter smile. Liu Zheng had told him before, that he could not find the golden monkey and his apprentice in these few years.
Cone Nail took the ice chunk from Chang Li’s hand, “We’ve finished talking about the other matters, now it’s time to talk about Red Pot!”
Everyone was invigorated as they had come to investigate ‘Red Pot’s case’ in the first place.