chsdbacks Chapter 267 Chen Duo's Transformation
Chapter 267 Chen Duo's Transformation
Nie Lingfeng felt as if the space around him had twisted and fluctuated very slightly, yet in an incredibly strange way.
The next moment, the black shadows that were rushing towards him from all directions suddenly froze! Their frantic howls, the spraying black liquid, the invisible mental shocks, and even their very existence seemed to be paused, frozen in mid-air! Time and space within the entire bamboo building seemed to freeze for an extremely brief and incomprehensible moment!
Immediately afterwards—
"The chaotic clapper".
Wang Ye's voice, so casual and seemingly just uttering three words, echoed softly in the stagnant space.
"Buzz—!!!"
An indescribable, unobservable, yet undeniably real, strange fluctuation, seemingly capable of shaking the very foundations of all existence, silently swept across the entire bamboo building, centered on Wang Ye's compartment, and over the "frozen" shadows!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no dazzling bursts of energy.
Those "frozen," densely packed, twisted black shadows that almost filled the space vanished without warning, like pencil marks erased by an eraser, or like ice and snow melting rapidly under the sun, as the three words "Luan Jin Tuo" lingered in the air!
It's not burning, it's not purification, but rather the very existence itself being "denied," "stripped away," and "reset to zero"!
In just one breath.
Inside the bamboo house, apart from the still-burning dark golden flames surrounding Nie Lingfeng, Chen Duo's warm golden-red fire ring, and the precarious bamboo structure itself, there was nothing else. No corpses, no ashes, no lingering stench. Those seemingly endless shadows, along with all the malice, stench, and mental pollution they brought, had vanished cleanly and utterly, as if they had never existed.
silence.
A deathly silence descended once more upon the dilapidated bamboo house. Only the mournful howl of the night wind whistling through the holes and the faint roars of beasts echoing from the distant mountains and forests.
Nie Lingfeng slowly extinguished the flames on his body, his chest rising and falling slightly, but his eyes held an undisguised shock as he looked at the curtain next door. This wasn't the first time he'd witnessed Wang Ye's "Chaotic Golden Clapper," but each time he saw it, he still felt a deep-seated awe for a power at the "level of rules." This wasn't simply a matter of powerful "strength," but rather involved a higher level of interference with "existence" and "time"! Just how unbelievable was this lazy fellow's strength?
"All done." Wang Ye's voice came again, heavy with sleepiness, and he even yawned. "It was so noisy. Now I can finally get a good night's sleep, right? Old Nie, remember to keep watch. I'm going to sleep."
After he finished speaking, even breathing, as if they had truly fallen asleep, immediately filled the cubicle.
Nie Lingfeng: "..."
He took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and turned to look at Chen Duo. The golden-red fire ring surrounding Chen Duo, after the enemy disappeared, slowly receded and subsided, eventually transforming into a warm halo that enveloped her petite body before gradually merging completely into her and vanishing. She was still clutching her doll, curled up in the corner, her breathing steady and long, as if the astonishing burst and purification of flames had truly been merely an unconscious, instinctive dream reaction.
But Nie Lingfeng could sense that the core of the Phoenix True Fire within Chen Duo's body, after that burst of energy and the sustained defense, not only hadn't weakened, but seemed to have become more condensed and active, and its compatibility with her body and soul seemed to have increased slightly. The fragment of the "Nirvana Feather" jade pendant she wore close to her body was also slightly warm, radiating a gentle resonance.
This sudden attack, though dangerous, seemed to be another tempering and stimulation of Chen Duo's bloodline power.
Nie Lingfeng walked to Chen Duo's side and carefully checked her condition. Only after confirming that she was alright did he truly breathe a sigh of relief. He sat down beside her and began to regulate his breathing again to recover from the exhaustion of the battle, while also becoming more vigilant in sensing the movements around him.
Outside the bamboo house, the night remained thick. The town was deathly silent, as if the thrilling battle that had just taken place had never happened. The old man at the repair shop was also completely still.
But Nie Lingfeng knew things were far from simple. The appearance of these corrupted dark creatures here, and their targeted attacks (especially against Chen Duo), suggested a hidden hand was at play. Were they sent by the "Blood Buddha"? Or had the "Council's" eyes in this area detected their presence? Or perhaps… the inherent malice of northern Myanmar itself was welcoming these uninvited guests?
In any case, this place is not safe to stay any longer. We must set off immediately at daybreak.
Nothing unusual happened in the latter half of the night.
As the first rays of pale sunlight struggled to pierce the thick morning mist of the northern Myanmar mountains and spilled into the cracks of the dilapidated bamboo house, Wang also opened his eyes on time (or rather, when he thought it was time to wake up), yawning and stretching, and strolled over from next door.
"Good morning, Lao Nie. Little Chen Duo is still asleep? Young people can really sleep." He looked quite energetic, as if last night's thrilling attack and the feat of casually "wiping out" dozens of monsters were really just a simple matter of turning over in bed for him.
Nie Lingfeng finished his meditation, looked at him, and said in a deep voice, "What do you think of what happened last night?"
"How can we tell?" Wang Ye scratched his messy hair, looking like he hadn't woken up yet. "We'll just look with our eyes. What else can we look at? A bunch of brainless pollutants, cannon fodder among cannon fodder. They probably smelled the 'delicious' scent on Xiao Chenduo and were attracted here. Or maybe the soil in this lousy place is just naturally polluted, making it easy for these kinds of things to grow. But..."
He paused, a glint of clarity flashing in his seemingly sleepy eyes: "So many of them, appearing in such a concentrated manner, and right when we arrived... I don't believe no one 'arranged' it. That old man at the repair shop probably isn't clean either. But, they're small fry, not worth the trouble. Getting out of this unlucky place is the best course of action."
As soon as he finished speaking, as if to confirm his words, the old man from the repair shop came from outside the cubicle in a cautious voice, tinged with obsequiousness and a hint of barely concealed fear (he was speaking Burmese, but Nie Lingfeng could roughly understand it): "Gentlemen... did you sleep well last night? Didn't... didn't hear anything, did you? Breakfast, a simple breakfast, is ready..."
Wang grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth, and replied in broken Burmese, "Slept well, slept through the night. What noise? What noise? Are the rats fighting? It's alright, we're not afraid of rats. No need for breakfast, let's get going."
There was a moment of silence outside, followed by the old man's hesitant reply and the sound of footsteps receding into the distance.
Nie Lingfeng gently woke Chen Duo. Chen Duo opened her eyes groggily, her emerald eyes still hazy from just waking up. She rubbed her eyes, looked at Nie Lingfeng, then at Wang Ye, and asked softly, "Is it dawn? Are we leaving?" She seemed completely unaware of everything that had happened to her last night, or the fierce battle, as if she had just taken a nap.
"Yes, it's dawn, time to set off," Nie Lingfeng said gently, tidying her hair that had sticked up a little from sleeping.
The three packed their things (there wasn't much, actually) and left the cubicle. The bamboo house still smelled musty, but the traces and smells of last night's battle had been completely cleaned up by Wang Ye's "Chaotic Golden Tuan". As they passed the repair shop, the old man kept his head down, not daring to look at them, and silently placed the keys to his beat-up pickup truck on the greasy counter.
Wang Ye picked up the keys, whistled, and got into the car first. Nie Lingfeng and Chen Duo also got into the back seat.
The old pickup truck groaned again, as if it might stop breathing at any moment, and trembled as it drove away from the eerie town, returning to the seemingly endless, dusty dirt road in the mountains of northern Myanmar.
In the morning light, the town rapidly shrank behind them, eventually disappearing behind the rolling hills.
But Nie Lingfeng knew that last night's attack was just the beginning.
The real test, the deeper conspiracy and danger, await them in Hpakant, in that abandoned mine controlled by the "Blood Buddha".
He glanced at Chen Duo beside him, who was gazing absently at the morning mist outside the window, and then at Wang Ye in the driver's seat, who was humming an off-key tune again, seemingly indifferent to everything.
He took a deep breath, and his eyes regained their firmness and sharpness.
The road ahead is still long.
The battle is far from over.
The next day, the beat-up pickup truck chugged along the bumpy, rugged dirt roads of northern Myanmar, like an old ox about to fall apart. Outside the window, the morning mist gradually evaporated under the rising sun, revealing rolling, dark green mountains that looked as if they had been carelessly kneaded, and villages dotting the landscape with simple bamboo houses and barren fields. The air was hot and dusty, a mixture of the stale smells of rubber, engine oil, and tropical vegetation.
Wang Ye remained in the driver's seat, one hand on the steering wheel, the other supporting his chin, his eyelids drooping as if they would close completely at any moment, making intimate contact with the steering wheel. But somehow, in his hands, this beat-up car, though wobbly and unsteady, always managed to narrowly avoid potholes and loose rocks, maintaining a speed that, while seemingly slow, was actually quite fast for the road conditions.
"Hey Lao Nie," Wang Ye yawned loudly, tears welling in his eyes, complaining in a muffled voice, "how much longer does this damn road go? My butt's about to be shaken to pieces. If I'd known it would be this bad, I should have had Chairman Zhao send a helicopter to airdrop right to the entrance of that 'Hpakant Mine,' that would have been so much easier."
Nie Lingfeng, sitting in the back seat, was meditating with his eyes closed. He didn't even lift his eyelids when he heard this: "A helicopter? Do you think you're not a big enough target? Do you want to tell 'Blood Buddha' and 'Council' that we're here and welcome them to attack? Besides, where would you get a helicopter in this remote and impoverished place?"
Chen Duo, clutching a panda plush toy, sat quietly next to Nie Lingfeng. Her emerald eyes gazed out the window at the unfamiliar, desolate mountain scenery rushing past. Her face was expressionless, but a closer look revealed a lingering, barely perceptible tension deep within her eyes, a result of the strange attack she had experienced the previous night. Hearing Wang Ye's complaint, she turned her head and whispered, "Brother Wang Ye, riding in a car is faster than walking, and much more comfortable than walking through the rainforest. It's just... the smell isn't very pleasant." She was referring to the lingering, strange, mixed odor inside the car. (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)
"Listen to that, little Chen Duo really knows how to talk." Wang Ye glanced at Chen Duo in the rearview mirror again, a lazy smile playing on his lips. "She knows how to appreciate the hardships adults face. Unlike some people who just want to reap the benefits without even offering a word of comfort."
Nie Lingfeng ignored him. He knew Wang was all talk and no action; when it came to real trouble, he was more reliable than anyone else. He focused more on sensing his surroundings. The closer they got to the Hpakant region, the more pronounced the subtle, unsettling "field" in the air became. It wasn't the malevolent aura of those low-level pollutants from the previous night, but a heavier, more somber, oppressive feeling, carrying the scent of iron and blood—a unique characteristic of armed-controlled areas. The villages they passed became increasingly sparse, the population thinning out. The few farmers they occasionally saw working in the fields were always in a hurry, their eyes wary, avoiding any eye contact with their vehicles.
Clearly, they have entered the core area of the "Blood Buddha" influence, or at least the outer perimeter of the restricted zone.
"Be careful, we're almost there." Nie Lingfeng opened his eyes, his sharp gaze sweeping towards the bend in the road ahead. It was a treacherous pass, with steep slopes on both sides, covered with dense shrubs and rocks, making it an excellent spot for an ambush.
"I know, I saw it a while ago." Wang Ye replied lazily, but the car did not slow down at all, maintaining its unhurried pace as it drove towards the pass.
Just as the beat-up pickup truck was about to enter the narrow pass—
"Boom—!!!"
Above the pass ahead, near the right-hand hillside, a deafening roar of tumbling rocks erupted! A dozen or so boulders, some the size of washbasins and even larger, mixed with mud and broken shrubs, rained down on the road below like a mudslide! Judging by the force, if hit, this beat-up pickup truck would instantly be reduced to a pile of scrap metal!