Chapter Eighty-five: Verdant Grass by the Riverside

Though the Azure Queen did not understand what Leixiang was doing, she did not disturb him.

After collecting the fragments of the Mountain-Opening Seal, Leixiang soared toward the endless heights of the mountains and stopped atop a slightly lower peak. He sent a message, “Azure Queen, lead everyone away quickly. I am about to cast a spell to move the mountain.”

“Are you sure you can handle this?”

Faced with the Azure Queen’s skepticism, Leixiang smiled faintly and replied, “Have you ever heard of the principle of leverage? Haha, hurry and retreat.” Once the group had scattered to a safe distance, Leixiang pointed at the Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff. The spiritual staff’s end once again elongated toward him.

When the Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff extended over thirty yards, surpassing the height of the smaller peak, Leixiang acted. His body grew taller, reaching over ten feet, as he summoned all his strength, raising his art of divine force to its utmost. In secret, he connected with the forces of Huang Qingyang and Zhu Chi in his spiritual sea, and their combined might poured into him. Borrowing this power, Leixiang pressed down with all his might.

Just once.

A series of thunderous sounds followed. The Azure Queen and her companions were stunned as a towering mountain vanished before their eyes, and the hill that Leixiang had used as a fulcrum shrank to a third of its former height, now just a low mound. Before them lay a broad swath nearly a hundred yards wide—Leixiang had truly moved a mountain. “Hurry across!”

At the Azure Queen’s call, Leixiang shrank the Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff to the size of a sewing needle, tucked it into his chest, and followed them in.

After three days of flight, the group halted at the Azure Queen’s signal. Beneath their feet was an emerald-green pool, its banks lush with verdant growth and blooming flowers—a true paradise hidden within the endless mountains. With a gesture, the Azure Queen signaled everyone to descend quietly and hide behind a stand of green camphor. In a low voice, she said, “This is the Verdant Fu Pool. The rare Loofah Aloes grows here, but it is guarded by a ferocious beast named Fu Bo. This creature is extremely savage; it once devoured an elder of my clan. Even I am no match for it, so I’ve invited you all here to help. Now I’ll assign your roles.”

Realizing this was the crucial moment of the treasure hunt, everyone held their breath and listened intently.

“Littlefoot Jadeflesh, you will play the Phoenix Zither. Mu Qingchun, you will sing in their tongue. Zhuang Yang, you will dance to attract Fu Bo’s attention. Elder Blazingfire, you and I will attack from both flanks to further distract it. Leixiang, you must hide until I give the signal—then strike Fu Bo down with your Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff. Does everyone understand?”

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It was only now that Leixiang understood why the Azure Queen had brought Mu Qingchun, Zhuang Yang, and Jadeflesh: she intended them to perform a masterpiece together. Yet Fu Bo was a monster—could even a celestial beast appreciate art? Was it some higher form of life?

He soon found out. Littlefoot Jadeflesh set up the jade zither, removed shoes and socks, and leapt upon it; her pale toes plucked the strings. As Mu Qingchun parted her lips, a song of incomprehensible words yet heartbreaking beauty flowed out. Zhuang Yang tore open her skirt and, with her barrel-like waist, twisted in rhythm with the music and song. Then a giant green head surfaced from the water.

Leixiang was astonished—not only by the trio’s performance but by Fu Bo itself. Its head was the size of a house, covered in dense green hair, brows, and beard, obscuring nose and mouth, leaving only two bright red eyes shining out—what a bizarre creature!

Fu Bo’s attention was wholly on the trio's music and dance. Concealed by the invisibility charm, Leixiang quietly drew out the Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff, watching the Azure Queen and Elder Blazingfire, who seemed equally enthralled by the performance, making no move to attack.

Fu Bo’s green brows and beard began to quiver and then bristled upward. Its eyes turned blood-red. At that moment, the Azure Queen acted—her jade fingers flicked rapidly, sending countless white pellets flying to encircle Fu Bo’s head. The instant these beads touched water, they melted, and the surface of the Verdant Fu Pool was soon covered with a layer of white grains. With a pop, they burst open, each releasing a green sprout that rapidly grew in the wind, until the lake’s surface was blanketed in tender grass.

What sorcery was this?

Not only Fu Bo, but even Leixiang was baffled. The Azure Queen sneered, her lips moving in a deep chant, then cried out, “Green grass by the riverbank!” The grass grew even more wildly, completely covering Fu Bo’s massive head, and many blades twined tightly around it. The blood-red faded from Fu Bo’s eyes, replaced by a chilling gleam.

With a splash, a green behemoth leapt from the water, standing sixty yards away. The grass on its head was torn away, yet the Azure Queen showed no surprise; she waved her hand, commanding the grass to grow madly and wrap around Fu Bo again, while her other hand scattered more seeds. Soon, the rampant grass surrounded Fu Bo once more.

Layer upon layer, Fu Bo was tightly bound. His eyes now blazed with cold light. With a gusting breath, the grass around him was blown askew and turned a deep green, coated in frost. “Why aren’t you attacking?” the Azure Queen shouted. At her signal, Elder Blazingfire acted, ten streams of flame shooting from his fingers and igniting the grass in a roaring blaze, filling the air with the stench of burning.

Fu Bo howled angrily, suddenly shooting out a green tongue dozens of yards long, wrapping it thrice around himself and dispelling all the grass and flames. Then, as he tried to dive back into the water, the Azure Queen and the others realized he was fleeing and unleashed their power, the Queen shouting toward Leixiang’s hiding place, “Strike now!”

Leixiang had no choice but to enlarge the Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff and sweep it horizontally—like an autumn gale scattering leaves, it struck with a crash. Fu Bo was hit, his massive body sent flying onto the shore. “Stop him!” At the Queen’s command, Zhuang Yang leapt forward, her massive fist smashing at Fu Bo, while Elder Blazingfire’s flames surged, engulfing both Fu Bo and Zhuang Yang.

Enraged, Fu Bo roared skyward, batting Zhuang Yang aside with a fan-sized hand. He spewed icy breath, freezing the plump Zhuang Yang solid, then grabbed her, swinging her like a spiked club to clear a path. The Azure Queen’s green vines chased after, but Fu Bo froze them with icy breath, then smashed through the fire circle with Zhuang Yang and leapt clear—only to find Leixiang’s Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff waiting for him.

Fu Bo had nowhere to dodge and could only meet the blow with his right arm. With a crack, Leixiang was forced back several steps, but Fu Bo used the momentum to leap back into the water. Watching the spreading ripples, Elder Blazingfire howled in frustration, and the Azure Queen’s face fell. “The plan was solid, yet he escaped—and we lost Zhuang Yang for nothing…”

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Staring at the gradually calming lake, the Azure Queen gritted her teeth and barked, “Jadeflesh, switch to finger strikes; Qingchun, use the Azure Roar.” Mu Qingchun nodded decisively, but a hint of hesitation flashed in Littlefoot Jadeflesh’s eyes before she complied. Her frail figure spun in midair, one leg tucked up in a crane stance, then she floated above the zither and, with all five toes of her curled foot, fiercely swept the strings. A deep humming sounded in everyone’s ears, then all fell silent—Leixiang worried he’d been deafened. Even Mu Qingchun’s Azure Roar was inaudible; only her mouth moved. Suddenly, water burst upward—Fu Bo was forced to surface again.

This time, Elder Blazingfire did not hold back. He raised his hand, casting three glowing rings around Fu Bo, which instantly ignited in blazing flame as he uttered his incantation. The Azure Queen waved her hand, uprooting all the grass, which coalesced in the air into a massive green whip dozens of yards long. With a crack, she lashed it across Fu Bo’s body.

Fu Bo’s agonized howl changed pitch—his body was ablaze in several places. In desperation, he spat out a green orb, and at its emergence, the temperature dropped by dozens of degrees. Even the flames on the three rings flickered and died. The Queen’s grass whip struck again, but Fu Bo, unable to move his hands, shot a jet of green water at the orb, which spun rapidly, absorbing the foul fluid, then gleamed with emerald light as it spun around the whip. When it stopped, the grass whip was shredded to pieces.

After spitting out the orb, Fu Bo’s green fur dulled, some patches even turning grayish yellow. Desperate, he sent the green orb hurtling toward the Azure Queen. Enraged, Elder Blazingfire rolled on the ground, his body igniting in fierce flames, and crashed into the orb with a thunderous bang. Though his flames shrank by a third, he held the orb at bay. The Azure Queen seized her moment, and the scattered grass whirled in the wind, forming a massive grass ball that smashed down upon Fu Bo.

Without a sound, Fu Bo was trapped inside the grass ball. The Queen’s hands spun like a windmill, and from within came faint cracking noises, mingled with Fu Bo’s roars and howls. A blue light flashed in Leixiang’s eyes, and he finally saw inside: the tender grass had become serrated, mercilessly slicing into Fu Bo’s flesh. Seizing his chance, Leixiang aimed the Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff, which, needle-thin, extended limitlessly and pierced Fu Bo’s chest.

A tiny needle might be nothing to a creature dozens of yards tall, but when Leixiang unleashed his will, everything changed. The spiritual staff thickened, pressing into Fu Bo’s flesh, and as it grew to the width of a barrel, Fu Bo’s heart was crushed.

A heart-rending scream burst from Fu Bo’s mouth. When Leixiang withdrew the Nine-Treasure Lotus Staff, Fu Bo’s massive body collapsed. Without Fu Bo to control it, the green orb was instantly engulfed by Elder Blazingfire’s flames, sizzling and smoking until it vanished in the blink of an eye.

Mu Qingchun clapped her hands and cheered, “We finally did it! Now we can refine the Elixir of Eternal Youth!” But her joy quickly faded, replaced by a deep, soul-shaking fear.