Maiden Galaxy

The mural's colors were very vivid and vibrant, using a large amount of red and black to portray a battle scene. The first painting was of a dragon soaring through the clouds and mist, bearing a treasure chest on its back. Behind it was a group of people giving chase. The second picture suddenly depicted a great army and black bugs. A woman in red had been outlined with a few brushstrokes, appearing lifelike.

The red-clothed woman held a polearm with a spiraling blade, conducting battle with a seemingly fantastical weapon.

The combination of red and black was originally very unpleasant to the eyes. The red-clothed woman was like a bloodstain, as if the legacy of a thousand years of bloodshed. The black bug monsters were a frightening shade. 

Both sides were locked in battle, black crossing red, giving rise to a kind of extremely heroic scene.

The following pictures all pertained to scenes of the battle. A lot of time had already passed, but Chen Mo was still able to discern what exactly had happened. That dragon was slain, the chest tumbling off its back. Countless people all fought and scrambled over it.

Then, the situation suddenly changed. Black bugs appeared as did countless soldiers.

The red army fought the black army. In the middle of the black army, a black, demonic shadow appeared. Although the design of the mural was unable to completely reveal it, Chen Mo was still able to sense that black-clothed woman was of utmost importance, for after she appeared, the red-clothed army fell into terror.

The shadowy woman was like a god descended, commanding divine soldiers in battle. The final scene showed that she defeated the red army. It was unclear if the woman leading the army in red had lived or perished, for there were no more pictures.

The drawings came to a spontaneous end, giving them the sense of a cliffhanger.

"What an incredible mural. I wonder who left it behind." Chen Mo exclaimed in admiration. With a few brief pictures, he was brought into that era, that age when the Star Duels were underway. He wondered just what was happening with both armies. Could it be that was the Purple Rose Star Emperor's Maiden Mountain Army?

"Why would such a thing be here?" Ting Nanyuan was more concerned with this.

Generally speaking, only tombs and mausoleums required murals to tell those who came after of the events that transpired before, but this did not seem to be the same. "Isn't this simple. The mural depicts a decisive victory. This is definitely a record the victors left behind to commemorate it. This should be a battle between Star Generals." Chen Mo muttered.

"A duel between Star Generals." The Wuyang Princess gasped. Heavenly Spirit and Earthly Fiend Star Generals were the pursuit of everyone in the Star Fields. Those girls represented the determination of Star World, a formidable honor. The emergence of each Star General moved everyone everywhere.

A battle of Star Generals.

One would practically not dare to imagine how intensely wretched such a sight would be.

Seeing the black and red pictures on the wall, the Wuyang Princess' heart had an indescribable sorrow and some indignation. A Star General, if she could also bear¹ a Star Name and become a Star General, how splendid would that be.

"Do you think this place actually has a treasure chest?" Chen Mo suddenly asked.

"There was a gu array before, and there is also the Azure Dragon Footpath. This ought to be true. Why do you ask such a thing?" Ting Nanyuan was solemn. There was every indication that this place was once the battleground of Star Generals. It ought to be hiding something.

Chen Mo did not answer. This red and black mural gave him a bad feeling.

"If there is actually a treasure chest, a fight will be unavoidable. But This Princess does not wish to vie over it with you…How about you take it first and leave one item for This Princess? Afterwards, Prince Yang's Mansion absolutely will not mistreat you." Ting Nanyuan was a bit hesitant. She was still somewhat afraid of Chen Mo. In a one versus four, even when he was not Qi And Blood Nine Turns, he proved to be a difficult opponent. If it were possible, the Wuyang Princess still hoped for a solution everyone would be happy with.

"Don't get your hopes up too early. Let's worry about that after we go in. I think the treasure chest in the mural has already been taken. Perhaps it is long gone, how could it be here for us." Chen Mo coldly said.

Ting Nanyuan was taken aback, silent.

After entering this main hall, they passed through another corridor, arriving at an enormous open lounge. When the two of them stepped in, a thick white mist suddenly pervaded them from out of thin air, as if clouds surrounded them. Instantly, their vision was somewhat obscured.

"Another array. Watch yourself." Chen Mo warned.

Ting Nanyuan took a deep breath.

Very quickly, the mist became thicker and thicker. It was practically impossible to see the road ahead.

They took several steps forward. Suddenly, there was an air-shattering noise. Chen Mo threw out his palm, unleashing a gust that drove away a portion of the mist. He struck a figure.

Chen Mo felt his palm sink in. Lifting his head to look, he was astonished to see a stone soldier.

There were heavy, thudding footsteps.

Another dozen stone soldiers walked out of the mist. Their hands held every kind of weapon and were completely emotionless. Under his palm strike, Chen Mo's qi and blood surged, barely avoiding having his fist crushed.

Immediately after, the other stone soldiers came thick and fast with their weapons and killing intent.

Chen Mo brandished Northern Dipper. Northern Dipper's power had weight and ample brute force. With a single swing of the staff, a stone soldier was smashed to smithereens.

Bang, bang, bang, blades cut against the staff, sending sparks everywhere.

Chen Mo continuously stepped around, his staff in hand, formidably moving about. Soldier after stone soldier was crushed to dust under his attacks. These stone soldiers became dust that disappeared after being disintegrated, and then from the mist pounced more and more stone soldiers. They were without feeling, without willpower, even without spirit. The were merely battle puppets through and through, but each and every one of them advanced dauntlessly towards the two of them.

The stone soldiers weighed six to seven hundred catties and were like forts. Fortunately, Chen Mo's strength was brutish, the Northern Dipper even more tyrannical. Several hundred stone soldiers were turned to dust under Chen Mo's staff.

On the other hand, the Wuyang Princess Ting Nanyuan was somewhat suffering. The girl's body was weak in of itself. Although her Dark Yang Finger technique was exquisite, immediately disintegrating a stone soldier with a single touch, each usage of the Dark Yang Finger consumed her qi and blood.

Ting Nanyuan's figure warped, using a body technique to rush into the mist.

Her fingers pointed, as if plucking a string.

A dozen red strings emerged from the girl's fingertips, her killing intent concentrated like substance. A clear, seemingly tuning sound rang in succession. Thirty to forty stone soldiers in front of her immediately had their heads pulled off by the red strings, disintegrating them

After using several "Blood String Zither Sound,"² Ting Nanyuan was exhausted.

The stone soldiers emerged unceasingly from the mist, attacking them endlessly, not giving the two of them the slightest bit of room to breathe. No matter how many thousands they killed, the stone soldiers in front of them did not diminish in the slightest.

Bang, bang, bang.

There was suddenly the sound of a pipa in the air.

Rapid and powerful, like an incoming army of cavalry.

When Chen Mo heard this, his expression changed.

Not good.

This is Ambush From Ten Sides!

Bang.

The Ting Nanyuan that killed a hundred stone soldiers in succession finally had a gap breached in her defenses. A stone soldier's sword sliced into her chest, gouging a bloody hole. Then, a dozen more stone soldiers raised their spears and stabbed one after another.

There was a loud noise.

The stone soldiers were sent flying. At the critical moment, Chen Mo once again rescued Ting Nanyuan.

"Don't you have a Star Weapon?" Chen Mo inquired. When even that guy Li Xiaxi had a Two Star Star Weapon, he did not believe that the daughter of the Prince of Yang lacked one.

"This Princess had Fated Marriage, so…" Ting Nanyuan bit her lip, feeling wronged.

"You idiot." Chen Mo was speechless. He waved his staff, shattering several dozen more stone soldiers.

"…" Ting Nanyuan glared at him. This was the first time ever that a man cursed her as being stupid. How was she supposed to know that she would encounter this kind of danger in Azure Dragon Town. She originally only came to sightsee the landscape of the Jade Dragon Ruined Sun.

"This is Ambush From Ten Sides. Killing them won't stop this, stay close to me." Chen Mo said.

Ting Nanyuan grunted, gulping when she looked at the humongous staff Chen Mo wielded in his hands. But they had only taken several steps when the twangs of strings came from the mist.

Shit, arrows.

Chen Mo's expression changed.

Several dozen arrows pierced through the fog, ripping apart the air as they shot towards the two of them. Chen Mo waved his staff, sweeping aside a portion of them. Behind him came a groan. He turned back to see that Ting Nanyuan had been struck by an arrow.

The endlessly appearing stone soldiers were pressing in on the both of them, their space becoming smaller and smaller. From time to time, arrows would fly at them. Chen Mo saw there was no choice. He retracted the staff and used Xun Lower Broken.

Under his palm strike, the mist was blown away. The wind from his palm was intense, attacking in all directions. Xun Lower Broken's characteristic feature was to completely envelop all surrounding targets in a single strike, leaving no gap.

In the blink of an eye, more than a hundred statues were disintegrated by his usage of Xun Lower Broken, even splintering those arrows.

"Let's go now!" An opportunity appeared, and Chen Mo shouted.

Ting Nanyuan ran several steps but was out of strength. Chen Mo grabbed the girl. "What are you doing…" Ting Nanyuan wanted to resist, but Chen Mo already put her under his arm, carrying her like a sandbag. And his hand this time was firmly wrapped around the girl's twin peaks. The breasts beneath her underwear were squashed flat under the man's powerful arms.

Chen Mo ran with all his might, his other hand bringing out Northern Dipper once again, sweeping aside anything and everything that got in his way.

Ting Nanyuan felt ashamed enough to die, but she honestly did not have the strength to struggle free. She could only let Chen Mo use such an embarrassing posture to carry her.³

…

Li Xiaxi and Qing Yu did not know how long they had been running. Only when the song finally vanished far behind them did they halt.

"Why are there so many arrays in this place." Li Xiaxi ingested a "Marrow And Bone Pill." For a high ranking aristocrat like himself, Eighth Grade bottles of Marrow And Bone Pills were prepared as necessity, for they could allow a speedy recovery of qi and blood after such an enormous expenditure.

Qing Yu, on the other hand, sat cross-legged, slowly recovering his energy.

When Li Xiaxi saw this, he threw over a Marrow And Bone Pill. "Take it."

Qing Yu was stunned.

"When we encounter that man later, I will need to work together with you." Li Xiaxi said.

Qing Yu wasted no breath ingesting the Marrow And Blood Pill. After taking it into his bloodstream, his marrow let out a burst of blood and qi, flooding the empty meridians in his body. This was much faster than recovery through rest and meditation. Qing Yu inwardly sighed. As expected, of a high-ranking noble. To be able to bring Eighth Grade medicine wherever he went, this was the advantage of being a duke's son.

Li Xiaxi narrowed his eyes, saying: "Are you willing to serve the Duke of Wei? I see that you have reached the bottleneck of Qi And Blood Nine Turns. If my family helps you, breaking through to Three Flowers Overhead will not be a problem."

"Qing Yu is naturally willing to follow the Duke of Wei!" Qing Yu said without hesitation.

"However, I heard your Azure Dragon Town noble families all serve the Lord Chang'an, the Chen Family."

"The young duke jests. Lord Chang'an has never even set foot in Chuan Province, and that Chen Mo is also a cripple. Why would the Qing Family ever obey this trash's orders." Qing Yu was stern.

"Well said. That trash young master honestly is not worth a mention. There will be benefits for you after you serve this mansion. We shall soon see your sincerity." Li Xiaxi said profoundly.

Qing Yu knew he was referring to the Heavenly Spirit Earthly Fiend Treasure Chest. Although the treasure chest was good, compared to the background of the Duke of Wei, this was not worth a mention. Qing Yu nevertheless understood the balance of pros and cons.

The Li Xiaxi who had obtained his promise was quite satisfied and gave Qing Yu another Marrow And Blood Pill. The two of them walked for another while. The road afterwards was peaceful and safe the entire way, without the obstruction of any more arrays. Very quickly, an enormous stone door appeared in front of them.

Is this the end of the Azure Dragon Footpath?

Li Xiaxi's eyes were filled with joy.

1. Again, this word is in the context of a pregnancy. ↩
2. 血線琴音 ↩
3. Not even a princess carry, just an unceremonious manner. ↩