activa-t Chapter 40, Part 2: The Birth of the Golden Gourd
Chapter 40, Part 2: The Birth of the Golden Gourd
rustle.
With the moon high in the sky and its silvery light like a waterfall, it's the perfect time for cultivation.
Under the bright moonlight, the seven small golden gourds hanging under the wooden frame diligently cultivated the Heaven-Mending Marrow.
The melons gradually became enveloped in a layer of precious light. As the cultivation deepened, the light rose and fell, like breathing. With each breath, a wisp of moonlight was absorbed into the melons, transforming into nutrients to nourish their growth.
A faint fragrance gradually filled the air.
In the woods outside the wooden wall, pairs of eerie lights shone in the darkness.
One by one, stone tigers leaped out from among the branches and leaves, landing silently on the wooden wall. The lead stone tiger stared intently at the seven small golden gourds under the wooden frame, which shimmered with a faint, sweet fragrance, its pupils revealing a greedy glint.
They crouched quietly on the wooden wall, motionless, as if waiting for something.
"ha--"
Suddenly, the lead stone tiger let out a low roar, its body moving like lightning as it leaped down from the wall and into the enclosure. The other stone tigers followed closely behind, jumping down the wooden wall one by one and rushing towards the seven small golden gourds under the wooden frame.
Almost simultaneously, the seven little golden gourds awoke from their cultivation.
Sensing the movement, the fifth small golden gourd emitted two beams of light, followed by an invisible wave that rippled outwards towards the other small golden gourds. Wherever the wave passed, the precious light on the other six golden gourds immediately subsided, replaced by a layer of solidified, clear light.
Xi'er, who was sleeping in the room, suddenly opened her eyes.
She seemed to sense something—not a sound, not a vibration, but a kind of unseen connection, as if something had touched a chord in her heart. She sat up in bed, silently got out, pushed open the door, and went out.
The moonlight shone on her small figure, and her long hair swayed gently in the night breeze.
Xi'er looked at the stone tiger rushing towards her from a distance. Her small face showed no fear, but rather a composure beyond her years.
Cai Xuan, who was awakened by the noise, went outside. He was about to ask Xi'er what was going on when he suddenly saw a group of stone tigers charging fiercely. He quickly turned around and went back into the house to get his spear.
"ha--"
A stone tiger leaped up from the first floor, moving so fast that it left only a blur!
Cai Xuan thrust his spear straight forward, the tip whistling through the air. But just as it was about to strike, Shi Hu nimbly spun around, dodging the spear's attack. He pushed off the ground with his four paws, using the momentum to change his angle, and opened his blood-red maw to bite at Cai Xuan's throat!
Cai Xuan's pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly withdrew his spear and returned to defense.
But Shi Hu was too fast, so fast that he didn't have time to retract his spear and parry.
Just as the stone tiger's fangs were about to touch its throat, a small, white fist came from the side!
"Bang!"
Shi Hu's head exploded instantly, and his body flew out like a rag being thrown out, crashing heavily to the ground with a dull thud. After twitching a few times, he remained motionless.
Xi'er withdrew her fist, turned to Cai Xuan and said, "Brother, go back inside and don't interfere with what we're doing."
"I'm in the way..."
Cai Xuan stared at himself with wide eyes, about to speak, but Xi'er pushed him into the room and closed the door.
Cai Xuan was utterly speechless. He had come to help, hadn't he? How had he become an obstacle? He had initially wanted to push open the door and go out to argue with her, but remembering what had just happened, he immediately calmed down. It would be better to observe from inside and wait until they were at a loss before going out to turn the tide.
Feeling that this was a good idea, Cai Xuan quietly peeked through the crack in the door.
"Hahaha!"
Three more stone tigers leaped onto the platform from different directions. They were clearly prepared; one roared and pounced on Xi'er from the front, another circled around to the side to feign an attack, and the third charged directly at the little golden melon under the wooden frame.
Xi'er raised her fist and charged at the stone tiger that was rushing towards her from the front. The wind from her fist howled, and her momentum was like a rainbow.
However, this stone tiger was more agile than she had imagined. Just as her fist was about to strike, the stone tiger suddenly bent its body like a bent bow, narrowly avoiding the punch. Then, it leaped up with its four paws on the ground and turned to pounce on Xi'er's back.
Xi'er's punch missed its mark, and she leaned forward, unable to turn around in time.
Another stone tiger seized the opportunity to pounce from the side, opening its mouth wide, its fangs aimed directly at Xi'er's waist and ribs.
Under the wooden frame, the second, third, fourth, and sixth golden gourds were simultaneously released.
The second golden melon shot out a bolt of lightning, striking the stone tiger that lunged at Xi'er's back; the third golden melon spat out a jet of water, sweeping towards the stone tiger on the side; the fourth golden melon spewed out a burst of flames, blocking the stone tiger's retreat from the front; the sixth golden melon shot out a beam of eerie light, silently striking another stone tiger lurking in the distance.
But the stone tiger was just too fast.
Just as the lightning was about to strike, the stone tiger suddenly twisted its body, dodging the attack, only losing a patch of fur.
The water jet was meant to wrap around the stone tiger's body, but because the tiger was running too fast, it only managed to wrap around its tail. The flames did force back the stone tiger in front of them, but another stone tiger that quietly approached from a blind spot under the wooden frame almost bit them.
Fortunately, at the last moment, the little golden gourds tilted their bodies and narrowly avoided the gaping maw.
The eerie light of the sixth golden gourd struck its target, and the stone tiger immediately fell to the ground, lifeless. But the remaining stone tigers continued their frenzied attack, one after another.
Xi'er turned to give chase, but Shi Hu didn't confront her directly. Instead, he used his speed advantage to dodge and weave across the platform, looking for an opening. Although the golden gourds were incredibly powerful, their vines limited their attack range to a certain area near the wooden frame, preventing them from pursuing her too far.
Shi Hu seemed to have seen this, so he avoided the attack range of the golden gourds and only fought on the periphery, targeting the weak points in their defenses.
Dangers occurred frequently in a short period of time.
Seeing the situation was turning against them, the second golden gourd shone brightly, announcing, "Sisters, I'm going out!"
A firm voice came from the melon, and then the second golden melon broke free from the vine!
As the melon landed, it emitted endless precious light, and the eight-colored clouds shone brightly.
This radiant light was even more intense and dazzling than when Xi'er was born, carrying a thunderous aura that shook the heavens. Within the boundless light, the melon rind shattered into countless points of light, like fireflies dancing in the night sky. A figure slowly rose from the multicolored light, growing taller against the wind. In the blink of an eye, she had grown into a girl of about ten years old, standing on the platform.
She looks somewhat similar to Xi'er, both having black eyes and black hair, but their temperaments are completely different.
Xi'er was like a little tiger ready to pounce at any moment, cute yet fierce; while this girl seemed a bit aloof, with a sharp aura between her brows, like a sword that had just been drawn from its sheath.
The strangest thing was that there was a vertical line between her eyebrows, like a tightly closed eye, with faint lightning flashing within it.