Chapter 386 - 386: Qian Brothers Batto!

Cultivation was all about seeking immortality and living longer lives.

But there are always cultivators who lay their lives on the line for one reason or another.

Life is just so unpredictable sometimes.

None of the Qian brothers expected an old timer, who never made any name for himself, to be so desperate to go all out here.

But what happened next shocked them even more!

After a heated outburst that didn't last that long, Sha Niu seemed to visibly grow even older as if most of his vitality withered away.

At this point, most cultivators would look for ways to save their own lives—either by surrendering or using threats.

But this desperate dog did neither.

Instead, the ruthless man recklessly rushed up to Qian Bage like a cornered beast!

The swarm of insects reacted immediately and caved in like an avalanche to devour the fresh prey that delivered itself over.

But facing death, the old man grinned like a savage then… exploded—BOOM!

Raging flames devoured the fighters like a miniature supernova!

Most of the Qian brothers shot to their feet in an instant!

"Xiao Ba!!!"

Even Bubai was shocked. Self destruction?! That's crazy!

Usually such a last resort was used against enemies in a certain-death situation!

Why did this Sha Niu pull such a stunt here?!

Could it be... there was some blood feud with the Qian Clan?

But as quickly as it came, that thought got snuffed out by what the designated exposition guy said next.

"As far as I know, there has been no life-and-death feud, or any grudges as a matter of fact, between our Qian Clan and those surnamed Sha. Neither in our generation nor our father's generation."

What Qian Fusha said only ignited the anger of his brothers even more.

"Then why is this old geezer going so far?!"

"The hell should I know! That old coot must be mad, that's what!"

"If anything happens to Xiao Ba, I'll make sure to hunt down that old geezer's nine generations and grind them to dust!"

"Choi! Don't say such inauspicious words! Nothing will happen to Xiao Ba! He'll be fine!"

The Qian brothers tried to comfort themselves, but all of them watched on with worry pooling in their eyes.

When the last of the flames and smoke thinned out, all they saw was a scorched-black ball that got charred so bad that it crusted.

"That is… the fourth stance of our clan's Thousand-Changes Gu Barrier Art?"

"But even that can't completely block..."

The Qian brothers fell silent, praying in their hearts.

A breath later, a crack appeared on the crust and a beetle dug out from the hardened shell.

Then a second crack appeared, followed by a third...

More and more bugs crawled out from all over and chunks of the crusty shell eventually collapsed, revealing the gasping shorty holed up inside.

The Qian brothers collectively sighed in relief.

"Good. Good. It's good that Xiao Ba is fine."

"Phew~ I just knew that cowardly rascal will never take shortcuts when it comes to mastering life-saving means."

"Yeah. Fortunately."

But they were happy too soon.

When Qian Bage finally broke out from the shell, he only staggered a few steps forward before vomiting out a mouthful of blood!

This caused all the brother's hearts to plunge like stones into a cold lake.

Qian Fusha immediately ordered. "Sidi, Wudi, go. Bring him back."

"On it!"

"With us here, see who dares lay a finger on Xiao Ba!"

The two brothers rushed out like the wind, leaving Bubai awkwardly sitting there with the silently brooding man.

Suddenly, Bubai felt a pair of hands kneading his shoulders. He glanced back to see the thorny rose standing there and giving him that teasing but-not-really smile.

Oh right, almost forgot this walking trouble was still here.

But this time she wasn't trying to cause trouble.

Instead, a sound transmission passed over a reminder.

"Tsk. You better don't ignore my words. I would avoid this mess if I were you."

"That…" Before Bubai could muster any full reply, Qian Fusha seemed to notice and glanced over with a hardened face that cracked just enough to be polite.

"Apologies Xiao Bai. Something out of the unexpected happened. I hope you won't mind and make yourself comfortable."

"Of course, of course. Ahaha..." Bubai forced out a nervous laugh.

Clearly, this man wanted him to stay.

But it's no biggie. He never planned on leaving anyways.

If he really planned to run away at the first sign of trouble, he wouldn't have come here in the first place!

Besides, he's got plenty of trouble piled on his plate and he isn't afraid of a little more.

So Bubai shot the thorny rose a helpless look.

Miss Hong clicked her tongue unhappily, pounded his shoulder one last time, and backed off.

Wow, bad service!

Eh… whatever. Just ignore this bad-tempered woman. He'll properly punish her when he gets ba—Ahem. Ahem!

No, no, don't think like that! Don't go setting flags! Don't want any accidents!

Alas… accidents rarely waited for permission while some matters were no accident, just like the next announcement.

"The following match, we have Khan Tu challenging... Qian Zhongta!"

That notice immediately soured the frown on Qian Fusha's grim face.

Another challenge. Another cannon fodder throwaway. And once again, their Qian Clan.

If anybody says there's no problem here, it's a lie!

But nobody pointed out the obvious. Only... the mood got more gloomy.

The gloomy silence dragged on until the door slammed open.

"...I just wanted to teach that old fossil a little lesson! Who could've expected him to be so desperate and burned so much of my babies! Makes me angry just thinking about it, ou!"

"Alright, alright! Xiao Ba, quit whining. Hurry up and recover as much as possible."

Qian Feifu half-supported, half-dragged the pale-faced Qian Bage over to a corner.

After spreading a magic carpet for cushion, Qian Bage plopped down while grumbling unhappily. "What a loss… a blood loss..."

Feeling a strange gaze landing on him, Qian Bage looked over and met Bubai's stare.

Qian Bage immediately squeezed out a cheeky grin. "Ouu~ is Brother Bai worried about me? Don't worry, don't worry, I'm totally fine, ou!"

Anyone can tell you're not fine at all. Bubai rolled his eyes. "I never said anything."

Qian Bage clutched his chest as if his heart got stabbed. "Ouu! That hurts!"

"Hurt your head!" Qian Feifu smacked his younger brother on the back of the head and stuffed a pill bottle into his hands. "Quit yapping around! Meditate and recover! Now."

"Ou."

Qian Bage obediently uncorked the bottle and poured out what Bubai recognizes to be a serenity dewdrop – something used to accelerate True Qi refinement.

Not everybody possessed a cheat that can auto-refine True Qi for them on the fly.

For the average foundation realm cultivators, coupling this moonlight dew with staples like spirit beans was the quickest way to restore True Qi.

After the noisy one finally quieted down and entered meditation, Qian Feifu quickly set up a basic noise-cancellation formation around his brother then returned to his seat.

As soon as he plopped himself down, he set his focus onto the arena outside.

There, his more muscular brother now squared off against another less muscular middle-aged man who looked like he'd been dragged out from a pigsty.

"Aye… what a drag. These no-name, barefooted barbarians really aren't afraid of death, are they?"

"He's just a talentless trash that has been stuck in the early-stages for over a hundred years! Where did this blind stray get the confidence to challenge us?"

"Does he think Lao Si's muscles are just for decoration? That our Qian Clan is easy to bully?"

Qian Fusha sighed. "The barefooted aren't afraid of those who wear shoes. Men with nothing to lose can do anything. This is normal. But…"

The man's solemn face only got more serious.

"I'm just afraid it's not a coincidence that they lined up one after another…"

Indeed. How could it be?

What are the chances a clan get challenged back-to-back by random inner sect disciples who has no background? Can it still be called a coincidence?

Still, coincidence or not...

Once a challenge comes, the battle must be fought, even if there's a conspiracy behind!