My Home's Ancient Well Connects to the Martial Arts World

Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Iron-Winged Vulture

The Lianyun Mountain Range was an enormous Demon Beast Mountain Range. Towering ancient trees formed a lush, green canopy that stretched for tens of millions of miles, spanning two provinces and seven major cities. The Lianyun Mountain Range was divided into an outer region and an inner region. The outer region had very few Demon Beasts, consisting mostly of ordinary animals. Of course, besides the animals, the area was dotted with strongholds, home to numerous bandits and robbers. While the outer region of the Lianyun Mountain Range had its share of highwaymen, it was only truly dangerous for ordinary people. For Martial Artists, the threat was not significant. After all, most of the bandits were in the Body Refining Stage; there weren’t many true Martial Artists among them.

Compared to the outer region, the truly dangerous part was the inner region. The inner region was teeming with Demon Beasts—tigers, leopards, wolves, eagles, snakes, and so on. All sorts of birds and beasts roamed, making it incredibly perilous. Many Martial Artists at the Qi Gathering Stage had to tread with extreme caution upon entering, while those at the First to Third Realm of the Qi Cultivation Stage dared not venture deep inside at all.

The continuous mountains were covered in verdant ancient trees. A great wind swept through, sending leaves flying wildly, resembling a green ocean with undulating waves. From time to time, terrifying beast roars echoed through the mountains, audible even from thousands of feet up in the air.

After entering the heart of the Lianyun Mountain Range, the Wind-Chasing White Crane’s speed surged again, clearly wanting to fly away from this area as quickly as possible.

The wind howled by their ears, and strong gusts billowed around them.

Suddenly, a series of strange cries came from ahead. The sounds, faint at first, grew closer, thin yet piercing. The four of them couldn’t help but look up. In the distance, small black dots appeared—a dense swarm of at least a hundred, rapidly approaching.

”Not good, it’s Iron-Winged Vultures! Prepare for battle!” Tantai Mengxue’s expression shifted slightly as she retrieved a White Jade Guqin from her Qiankun Bag.

Xia Girl and little Chunyu also quickly drew the longswords from their waists, shielding Ye Xing between them. Their pretty faces were tense as they stared ahead, as if facing a great enemy.

As for Ye Xing, he just stood awkwardly between the three beauties, big and small, unsure of what to do for a moment. ’Draw my sword? What damn sword would I draw!’ he thought. Iron-Winged Vultures were Fourth-level Demon Beasts, incredibly ferocious. Their feathers were as black as iron, and a single slice from one of their wings could cut a Little Martial Artist like him, who hadn’t even reached the Second Realm, in half.

At that moment, Ye Xing’s desire to pursue the Martial Dao burned hotter than ever before.

”SCREE!” ”SCREEE SCREEE SCREEE!”

Accompanied by sharp cries, the Iron-Winged Vultures swarmed toward them, a black mass blotting out the sky as they swooped down to attack the group on the Wind-Chasing White Crane’s back. Their sharp talons, like steel hooks, glinted with a metallic sheen in the sunlight.

Just then, the Wind-Chasing White Crane abruptly flapped its wings, stirring up a violent gale. The blast sent the surrounding Iron-Winged Vultures tumbling, allowing the crane to evade the main flock. However, a dozen or so of the closest vultures still lunged forward.

”CLANG!” ”CLING CLANG!”

”CLANG CLANG CLANG!”

Xia Girl and little Chunyu, one on the left and one on the right, hastily swung their longswords to block the Iron-Winged Vultures’ attacks. Sword flashes flickered as their blades struck the vultures’ wings and talons, unexpectedly producing a series of ”CLINK CLANK” sounds, like metal striking metal.

At the front, Tantai Mengxue held the Guqin with one arm and played with the other, her slender, jade-like fingers lightly plucking the strings. As beautiful notes rang out, terrifying sound waves erupted from her fingertips, roaring forward.

”BOOM!” ”BANG BANG BANG!”

”BANG BANG!”

In an instant, six or seven Iron-Winged Vultures were struck by the sound waves. Their wings were injured, and they wobbled as they plummeted from the sky.

”SCREE!” ”SCREE SCREE!”

However, the surrounding Iron-Winged Vultures seemed to have been provoked, and they attacked the four of them with even greater frenzy. There were over a hundred vultures in total, and their assault was ferocious and terrifying.

The Wind-Chasing White Crane continuously flapped its wings, using its superior speed to shake off the pursuing vultures. As a result, even though there were over a hundred Iron-Winged Vultures, the group only had to face the assault of ten to twenty at any given time.

”CLANG!” ”SQUELCH!”

”CLING CLANG!” ”CLANG CLANG CLANG!”

The red-skirted Xia Girl and the green-skirted maid, little Chunyu, swung their swords repeatedly, struggling to fend off the vultures attacking from both sides. The Iron-Winged Vultures’ wings and talons were as hard as iron, completely unafraid of clashing with their longswords. Of course, Xia Girl and little Chunyu’s Sword Skills were quite agile, and they occasionally managed to bypass the iron wings to strike a vulture’s body. Blood would instantly splatter across the sky, and two or three vultures, wounded, would fall from high above.

But the sheer number of Iron-Winged Vultures was overwhelming; three to five were attacking from each side almost simultaneously. The two young women were Sweating Profusely, their swords a blur as they struggled to defend. Xia Girl was faring slightly better. After all, she was a Martial Artist at the Martial Arts Fifth Realm, in the Qi Gathering Middle Stage. Facing five Iron-Winged Vultures at once was pressuring, but not an overwhelming problem. The green-skirted little maid, however, was in a bit more trouble. Little Chunyu’s Cultivation was only at the Martial Arts Fourth Realm, in the Early-stage of Qi Gathering. Dealing with three Fourth-level Demon Beast Iron-Winged Vultures was proving to be a great strain.

’I wanted to save my bullets, but it looks like this little Chunyu girl is about to be overwhelmed,’ Ye Xing thought, his gaze shifting. He quickly pulled a pistol from his waistband and quietly aimed at one of the Iron-Winged Vultures.

”BANG!”

A gunshot suddenly rang out. The bullet pierced right through a vital spot on the Iron-Winged Vulture’s head, and blood splattered across the sky. The vulture died instantly, its body plummeting from above.

The sound immediately drew the surprised gazes of the three women.

”Whoa, what a powerful Hidden Weapon! It killed a Fourth-level Demon Beast Iron-Winged Vulture in one hit?” Xia Girl exclaimed in shock. ”You scoundrel, what kind of Hidden Weapon is that? How is it so strong?”

”Thank you, Brother Ye!” little Chunyu said quickly. With one less Iron-Winged Vulture, only two remained to attack her, and the little maid’s pressure was greatly reduced.

”Haha, you’re welcome! Now focus on the enemy!” Ye Xing laughed. He held the pistol, scanning his surroundings and firing a shot wherever a crisis arose to support the three of them.

This pistol was, of course, the one he had swiped from the thugs when he rescued his little cousin. How could Ye Xing pass up such a good weapon? He just rarely used it to conserve ammunition. He hadn’t even fired a single shot when the men from Black Tiger Stronghold attacked his residence.

The Guqin’s music flowed endlessly, its sound waves vibrating through the air, accompanied by gunshots and the ”CLING CLANG” of battle.

After about ten minutes, the Wind-Chasing White Crane finally broke through the Iron-Winged Vultures’ encirclement. The vultures pursued them relentlessly from behind. However, their speed was ultimately no match for the Wind-Chasing White Crane. As the distance between them grew, it wasn’t long before the crane left them far behind.

”Whew, we finally shook off those feathered beasts,” Xia Girl said, plopping down on the Wind-Chasing White Crane’s back feathers to rest.

”I’m exhausted!” little Chunyu said, taking out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her small face.

Tantai Mengxue stored the White Jade Guqin in her Qiankun Bag and mused, ”Among Fourth-level Demon Beasts, the Iron-Winged Vulture’s Attack Power is considered very high, and they are quite difficult to deal with. It’s a good thing there were only about a hundred in that flock today. We should be safe now. In a little while, we should be leaving the heartland of the Lianyun Mountain Range.”

After a pause, Tantai Mengxue looked at Ye Xing, her beautiful eyes filled with immense curiosity. ”Ye Xing, was that Hidden Weapon you just used from the Tang Sect?”

”Hehe, nope. This is a pistol. What do you think of its power? Impressive, right?” Ye Xing said, a little smugly.

”Mm!” Tantai Mengxue nodded. ”Its power might even exceed the Tang Sect’s Hidden Weapon, the ’Poison Dragon Needle’.”

Ye Xing’s eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, ”Mengxue, what level of Martial Artist do you think I could deal with using this pistol?”

”Your Cultivation is at the First Realm, so you could probably deal with Martial Artists at the Second and Third Realms. If a Martial Artist at the Fourth Realm knew about your Hidden Weapon’s power in advance, they would likely dodge before you could even aim.” Tantai Mengxue’s beautiful eyes grew thoughtful, and she said with a serious expression, ”However, your Hidden Weapon fires incredibly fast. If you were to aim secretly from the shadows, you could even threaten Martial Artists at the Eighth and Ninth Realms!”

...

The vast sky stretched for miles, the scorching sun blazed, and a few white clouds drifted upon it.

The wind howled past their ears, and their sleeves flapped noisily.

The Wind-Chasing White Crane’s speed was incredible. Its wings generated a gale that propelled it forward, and a hundred miles passed in a flash. After flying for about another hour, an immense city appeared below them. Looking down from high in the sky, they could vaguely make out magnificent pavilions and buildings. Judging by its scale, the city was probably more than ten times larger than Phoenix Town.

”Ye Xing, we’ve reached Sunset City! I’ll have Little White take you down!” Tantai Mengxue said, gently patting the Wind-Chasing White Crane’s back feathers.

The Wind-Chasing White Crane cried out and gave a human-like nod. It then began to glide down toward the city below, its wings beating gently.