When Earth Awakened, I Became a Sword Saintess

Chapter 195 : The Punishment of Rain Concubine

195: The Punishment of Rain Concubine

Over three hundred archers and crossbowmen, all wearing uniform bronze armor and of strong build, formed two phalanxes in the grotto. They fired as one!

The Li Su military archers were stronger than the common soldiers, with an average strength between the Late-Stage of Spirit-Seeking Realm and the Early-Stage of Purple Domain Realm, and they were especially skilled in the way of the bow and crossbow.

Over three hundred fierce arrows, imbued with powerful Primordial Energy and secret arts, flew toward Yuyin. A single arrow might not be a threat to her, but so many arrows concentrated on one person was extremely dangerous.

However, these several hundred arrows struck the water-colored flower lantern enveloping Yuyin and were repelled with a series of sharp cracks, like a torrential downpour. The water curtain was undamaged, with only violent ripples. The arrows fell to the ground. Not a single one could penetrate. They couldn’t even interrupt Yuyin from receiving the inheritance, let alone harm her.

The golden-armored general’s face twitched. "This is a rain of arrows capable of killing even a Late-Stage of Void Truth Realm powerhouse in a single volley. And it can’t even shake this water lantern?"

Whoosh!

General Mo drew his thick, heavy, red-gold bronze mace and pointed it at Yuyin, commanding, "Attack!"

Several hundred bronze-armored soldiers formed up, wielding long spears and broadswords. Their Primordial Energy erupted as they attacked Yuyin. At the very front were several adjutants, all at the Late-Stage of Void Truth Realm.

Seeing this, the powerhouses from the various sects also swarmed forward, attacking Yuyin together.

"Everyone, let’s go! Kill this Xia woman!"

"No, just break her water lantern. Take her alive!"

"Take her alive! Let her know our power!"

For a moment, hundreds of powerhouses and soldiers charged into the grotto, attacking Yuyin. In the air, countless arrows, spells, and flying swords all targeted the water lantern shield.

At that moment, the mechanical guards that had been slumbering around the grotto also moved, attacking the Li Su powerhouses and soldiers. A chaotic battle erupted between the two sides.

"Hmph, hmph," General Mo sneered. "These tomb guardians are fine for dealing with ordinary grave robbers, but before my army, they will be trampled to pieces."

General Mo was right. Unlike the sect powerhouses who fought individually, the large number of soldiers formed a military phalanx, charging together with immense power. The tomb guards could not hold them back. Even if they could kill the soldiers at the front, they were quickly overwhelmed by the main force, drowned in a sea of blades and trampled underfoot, shattered by chaotic strikes.

These mechanical statues alone could not possibly withstand the fierce assault of several hundred soldiers and several hundred powerhouses.

Just then, the entire grotto began to shake.

"Hee hee hee hee!" the proud, arrogant female laughter echoed. "You insects! How dare you disrupt my inheritance?"

Rumble, rumble! The earth moved and the mountains shook.

Deep within the grotto, rocks shattered everywhere. Four massive columns of water shot into the sky, transforming into four giant water serpents, each several meters thick and hundreds of meters long. These four serpents, formed of raging currents, charged into the army and the powerhouses, sweeping through them like a scythe!

The four great serpents rampaged, kicking up towering waves that instantly scattered the military formations. Soldiers were sent flying, crashing against the rocky walls. The mountains shattered, and the soldiers were smashed into bloody pulp.

Some of the weaker soldiers and powerhouses were swept directly into the deep chasm within the grotto, disappearing into an unknown place, their cries vanishing along with them.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two of the giant serpents swung their tails, sweeping away two entire phalanxes of archers and crossbowmen. Many Spirit-Seeking Realm soldiers were instantly torn apart by the terrifying impact.

The powerhouses also suffered terribly. They were swept up by the giant water serpents, crushed, and collided with one another. The number of dead and injured from friendly fire was countless.

In just a few breaths, the powerhouses and soldiers who had charged into the grotto were brutally slaughtered, leaving a scene of utter devastation, with more than half dead or wounded.

General Mo’s face contorted. He roared, his golden Primordial Energy erupting. He stepped into the air, the power of his Perfection Stage Void Truth Realm causing the very air to tremble. He raised his red-gold mace and smashed it down toward the massive head of one of the water serpents. The mace formed a colossal, dozens-of-meters-long phantom shadow, striking down like a great pillar.

Splash!

The serpent’s head exploded, sending up a sky-high spray of water.

However, the mountain springs from all around converged again, easily forming another two-headed water serpent.

Bang!

A serpent’s tail swept across the cavern, striking General Mo heavily.

The mighty, Perfection Stage Void Truth Realm, golden-armored general was also sent flying, spitting a mouthful of blood. He crashed against the cavern wall, causing rocks to shatter.

General Mo’s heavy body fell to the ground.

"General!"

The soldiers rushed to his side.

"Withdraw… from this grotto… This, this is the wrath of an ancient demon goddess. It is not something we can… handle," General Mo said, his mouth full of blood, raising a trembling hand.

"The general has given an order! Withdraw!"

"Withdraw from the grotto!"

Attacks like arrows and spells could not harm Yuyin, who was protected by the water lantern shield. The remaining powerhouses and soldiers fled in a panic. A few soldiers dragged the general, who couldn’t get up, out of the grotto.

General Mo was helped to his feet by his soldiers. He looked at the devastated grotto, his heart still pounding with fear.

"In the blink of an eye, I lost several hundred soldiers… The ancient demon goddess Rain Concubine is truly not comparable to the powerhouses of our era…"

"General, what about the Xia woman?" an adjutant asked.

"What can we do? Rain Concubine’s will protects her. What can we possibly do? Guard the entrance. She can receive the inheritance, but she will not leave this place alive!" General Mo said viciously, wiping the blood from his mouth.

Behind General Mo, there were still two or three thousand soldiers. The grotto was, after all, a limited space. The army, arranged in a long column, could not enter. Though over a hundred powerhouses were dead or wounded, the majority had escaped, and their fighting strength was still considerable.

This force of Li Su soldiers and powerhouses waited at the entrance, watching as Yuyin finished receiving the entire inheritance.

Yuyin opened her eyes. All she could see was a curtain of water.

Yuyin had already memorized the entire inheritance of Rain Concubine, but it was not something that could be fully comprehended in a single day or night. It would require her to slowly ponder and enlighten herself in the days to come.

But even now, her understanding of the Way of Water, especially the Way of Rain, had become far more profound.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The water lantern enveloping Yuyin transformed into countless raindrops and fell.

"Prepare to move!" General Mo’s eyes widened. He placed all the blame for his injuries on Yuyin. If only Rain Concubine’s will didn’t intervene, he could easily capture Yuyin and make her suffer all manner of torturous punishments.

However, Yuyin, along with the raindrops, fell into the pool. The stone at the bottom of the pool, carved with words, cracked open, revealing a secret passage below.

"I still have half of my inheritance. You must get it as well. Do not let it fall into the hands of those I dislike. At that time, you will be the master of this ancient tomb," the proud, arrogant female voice spoke directly into Yuyin’s consciousness.

Yuyin was swept into the secret passage along with the rushing current. She vanished before the very eyes of the Li Su powerhouses. By the time General Mo sensed something was wrong and led his soldiers to charge over, all that remained was a pool with its water drained away. At the bottom of the pool was a tunnel of unfathomable depth, leading to an unknown destination.

"Damn it!" He smashed a few of the snake-bodied women statues by the pool with his mace. He looked at the secret passage. The ancient tomb was too bizarre, and Rain Concubine’s lingering obsession was too terrifying. He didn’t dare to chase into it recklessly.

General Mo ordered an adjutant to lead a team of elite soldiers to pursue the secret passage, while the others were to return with him.

"This tomb only has two passages. The other one is being taken by Bai Ruowei and the Jingyuan School. Since there was only an inheritance here, and it has been stolen by that Xia woman, the treasures must be on the other side. We will go to the other side as well. Let’s secure the treasures first," General Mo said to his subordinates and the other powerhouses. He would only need to leave a detachment of soldiers to guard the entrance to the tomb. That would ensure Yuyin could not escape. After getting the treasures, they could capture her at their leisure.

At that moment, Yuyin was being swept through the secret passage by the rushing current. She did not resist. Since this was Senior Rain Concubine’s intentional arrangement, it was best to go with the flow. Yuyin simply circulated her Primordial Energy, influencing the water around her to form a layer of crystalline liquid outside her body, like a suit of armor, to prevent her from being injured by the rocks in the passage. Her current affinity, comprehension, and control over the Way of Water had all improved by leaps and bounds.

Yuyin had always had an inexplicable affinity with water. In the past, she had inexplicably loved to stand in the rain, to dance with her sword in the downpour, to feel her clothes get soaked. Now, having received the inheritance of Rain, this must be fate.

A moment later, Yuyin was swept out of the secret passage by the rushing current. She left the water, flipping in the air to regain her balance.

Splash! She landed in a spray of water.

Yuyin found herself in a spacious cavern.

She stood up. Her white dress was soaked. To her surprise, despite all the friction and impacts, it hadn’t been torn or snagged.

"It’s just… my shoes…" Yuyin’s shoes must have been left behind in the other cavern. There was no time to worry about that now. She reached into her dress, pulled up the strap of her bra that had been knocked loose by the impact, and lifted her long skirt to tighten the white string-tie panties that had come a little undone. At the same time, she extended her consciousness to perceive her surroundings.

Not far away in the cavern, she felt tremors and strong fluctuations of battle.

"That’s the aura of the Ghost Princess and the male Ghosts! And others… a large number of alien powerhouses!"

So, the other side of the cavern was the way to the inheritance. But how could Yuyin possibly go get the inheritance for herself while leaving the Ghost Princess behind?

Without hesitation, she rushed toward the source of the fighting.

She hadn’t gone far when she saw that the Ghost Princess and her party were surrounded.

They were locked in fierce combat with a large number of cultivators who were chasing them from behind. Between Yuyin and the Ghost Princess’s group were also many mechanical guards. The Ghost Princess’s party was being attacked from both front and back.

"Everyone, get out of the way!" Yuyin charged through the mechanical guards without hesitation. She saw the Ghost Princess, stepping through the air, locked in combat with a woman in fluttering white robes, wearing a smoke-blue dress underneath.

Around them, the male Ghosts were also fighting fiercely with cultivators who leaped and weaved between the stone stalagmites and giant boulders. Sword light flew everywhere, spells danced through the air, and blinding magical explosions flashed from time to time.

The Li Su woman in white held a slender, snow-bladed sword with a purple crystal hilt. As she wielded it, it seemed as if soul-burying petals were scattering.

"What a powerful sword style!" Even Yuyin was greatly shocked.

The Li Su woman in white, her white-stockinged jade feet tapping lightly in the air, left behind a ripple. Several flashes of white lightning crackled from her sword.

Crack!

A blinding explosion of lightning erupted. The Ghost Princess was struck by the sword and sent flying, crashing heavily against a giant boulder and rolling to the ground.

"Ah!" the Ghost Princess cried out in anguish, her clothes torn. She trembled, struggling to support herself on her knees, clutching her lower abdomen. Her golden eyes glared defiantly at the woman in white.

The woman in white floated in the air, her feathered sleeves fluttering. She struck again with her sword, and a bolt of bright white current shot from its tip toward the Ghost Princess.

"Ghost Princess!"

A fragrant wind and a jade-like shadow flew over. Yuyin swooped in, embracing the Ghost Princess and pulling her away, dodging the bolt of white lightning from the sword.