Five times. Twenty times. Forty Times. Zhang Feng tortured the Silver Poison Basilisk nearly 50 times. The Serpent trembled with fear. Its eyes showed despair as it gave a low, pitiful hiss. It truly regretted eating the Pagoda. If it knew that such a thing would happen then it would not have even stayed close to such a thing. The Serpent, exhausted from pain, breathed heavily. All its internal organs had been turned into stretched wires and sheets. Some of them even turned into paste. It begged for death yet it didn't arrive. Only pain came. In endless torrents.
Actually, Zhang Feng wanted to torture it only for a bit before killing the Serpent but what Zhang Feng saw made his eyes turn red with anger. Zhang Feng saw a dismembered corpse of a small girl in the Serpent's body. All her limbs were separated from her body. The girl looked about 7 years of age. Zhang Feng then decided that he won't give this bastard an easy death.
The Silver Poison Basilisk tossed and turned as it writhed in pain. It was bleeding from its nose, mouth and eyes. "Now let me send you to the road," said Zhang Feng coldly. Saying that Zhang Feng once again enlarged the Pagoda and didn't stop it from shrinking. The Serpent looked listless as it saw the Pagoda increasing in size once again. It had long accustomed to that incident. It gritted its teeth as it got ready to face another round of torture. But it noticed that the Pagoda continued to grow. Suddenly it dawned to the Silver Poison Snake that it was about to die. A look of happiness and terror appeared on its face. Happiness because it was finally getting free from the pain and Terror because it was dying. The bulge continued to swell till it reached its limit.
Bam! The body of the Serpent exploded into countless pieces. A Pagoda emerged out from the belly of Serpent. A white light flashed as Zhang Feng appeared from the Sky Pagoda. He collected the Fangs and the Venom Sac of the Snake. He gave one last look at the Snake's corpse before leaving.
Zhang Feng soon reached the outskirts of the forest the next day. He saw many people coming and going out of the forest. He had heard that some cultivators enter the forest for training while some enter to hunt monsters to earn their living. The spoils of their war are either auctioned off if they are of high grade and precious or are sold at an auction house for standard prices. Zhang Feng went ahead and saw the city gate. The gate was huge. The city walls were extremely tall. It reminded him of the walls of an anime he had seen in his last life called 'Attack on Titan'. "Tall...." muttered Zhang Feng unconsciously after seeing them. "Haha, is this little brother's first time away from home?", Said a middle-aged man standing near Zhang Feng. Zhang Feng nodded in response. " Looking at little brother's age, would brother be the child of Zhong Family? I mean you must have come to the forest for the experience." " Zhong Family? No." Zhang Feng said looking puzzled. " Are you a casual practitioner then?" asked the man. " No...Yes, you can call it that way." replied Zhang Feng after hesitation. He was a member of the Xiao Family. But now that Xiao Family is destroyed, Zhang Feng can be said to be a casual cultivator. "Oh..." muttered the man looking disappointed. The man thought that Zhang Feng must be a young master or a young member of the Zhong Family from his temperament and looks. So he wanted to establish a good connection with him. However, Zhang Feng said that he was a casual cultivator which made his interest in Zhang Feng low.
By looking at the man's expression Zhang Feng understood his thoughts and politely excused himself. Soon Zhang Feng entered the Market. His temperament and looks earned him a lot of glances and calls from shopkeepers and passersby. Zhang Feng soon learned that this was not Blue Sky County. He had unknowingly arrived in Matterhorn City. This City was almost as big as a county and was located at the foot of Matterhorn Mountain. It had the same name as a mountain on Earth. Zhang Feng had heard that name in his previous life. "I didn't expect that such a coincidence would occur." mutter Zhang Feng. Zhang Feng then decided to go to the Auction house to sell the materials he had gathered in the last 2 years in the forest. Zhang Feng soon arrived at the Auction House by asking for some directions. " Gentlemen's Paradise" muttered Zhang Feng as he read the name of the Auction House. The name was written in bold letters on a huge plaque that was hung on the building. The letters were written in a bold and free style. Only looking closely Zhang Feng found that the letters seemed to be written from a gold paint.
"Extravagant enough." thought Zhang Feng as he entered the building. The security guard stopped him and asked for a permit pass. "I am here for the first time," said Zhang Feng. "Then the entry fee is 10 Silver." replied the guard. Zhang Feng gave the guard the silver and entered the Auction House. He saw an open room and went in there. Looking around he saw a maid coming towards him. The maid said," Good morning Sir! How may I help you?" greeted the maid politely. "I want to sell some things," answered Zhang Feng. "Oh, then, please come this way." said the maid as she led the way to another room. They soon arrived and the maid said, "Sir, can you please show what you are selling? asked the maid politely. " Sure," answered Zhang Feng as he took out the spoils from his storage ring. The maid's eyes gleamed brightly after seeing Zhang Feng's storage ring. The next scene made the maid's eyes go round in shock. Zhang Feng took out huge quantities of horns, animal skins, pelts, bones and fur. "Wa-Wait a second please, Esteemed Sir! I need to call my superior for such a big deal." saying that she hurried off the find that person.
Soon a beautiful, mature lady entered the room. She had a willow waist and jade-like skin. Her appearance was naturally beautiful. She had long silky hair and a good bust. In short, she was a stunner. "Is this the person you were talking about?" asked the woman. "Yes, Madam. This Sir has brought all those things." said the maid pointing towards the heap of things Zhang Feng had taken out. The woman curiously studied Zhang Feng. Most men, even teenage boys would drool over and get lost at her appearance and forget to speak. But Zhang Feng's eye showed perfect clarity. They were without any emotion and excitement. She secretly doubted her appearance in her heart. These things are yours and you wish to sell them right?" asked the woman. "Yes" replied Zhang Feng curtly.
Then the woman began to assess the things that Zhang Feng had brought. After a while, she sighed and said," It will be 40 low-grade spirit stones and some hundred gold. Do want to trade for it? Although the quantity is huge but most of the materials are from monsters of Qi Refining Realm. So the price will be low. Still, I am giving you a little more so that next you should come to our Auction House only." said the beautiful woman. "Ok, I see." replied Zhang Feng. The woman seemed to be amused by Zhang Feng's short replies.
"Are these all hunted by you?" asked the woman. Zhang Feng shook his head in reply. Zhang Feng had stabilized his aura at the 6th Level of Qi Refining. This was one of the functions that Zhang Feng had discovered from the Chaos Bead. He felt the woman checking his cultivation quietly. Her face showed a confused look. " Then how did you find so many things?" inquired the lady curiously. "I found them on a corpse," replied Zhang Feng. "Oh, that makes sense."
Many cultivators die frequently in the forest while hunting. So it natural to find corpses and looting them. But she still felt that Zhang Feng was very lucky to find so much of loot.
Zhang Feng then took out the fangs, skin and Venom Sac of the Silver Poison Basilisk. "How much can I get for these?" asked Zhang Feng. The woman's pretty face showed a look of astonishment. "This is the Fang of the Silver Poison Basilisk. And these are the Venom Sac and Skin. How did you get your hands on these? Judging by the look of the materials, the monster was at least in Mid True Energy Realm."
"I found it dead. It had probably fought some other animal and succumbed to the injuries," replied Zhang Feng. If he had told her that he had crossed hands against the Serpent and killed it, she would consider Zhang Feng as a mentally handicapped person. "You are quite lucky to get these. These are extremely rare and fetch a good price at an auction. Would you like to auction them here?" asked the woman. "Yes, that would be good," answered Zhang Feng.
"Well, the next auction is next week, so you can stay at an inn for the next few days." said the woman. "Oh, how rude of me, I didn't get to introduce myself. My name is Lin Qin." said the woman with a smile.
"Zhang Feng," replied Zhang Feng. "Nice to meet you, Master Zhang. I hope that we can cooperate well in future." smiled Lin Qin sweetly. "Sure. I feel the same too," said Zhang Feng.
"Xiao'er please send our guest off," said Lin Qin as she motioned the maid. "Yes, Madam. Sir, this way." "Later then." nodded Zhang Feng as he went out.
"What an interesting young lad. Even though I could see his cultivation, I couldn't see through him. Mysterious huh?" smiled Lin Qin. "I look forward to seeing him again."
Zhang Feng left the 'Gentlemen's Paradise' and looked for an inn. He soon arrived at an inn. "I need a room," asked Zhang Feng. "Sure. You, take this guest to a room." said the innkeeper as he gestured a servant.
Zhang Feng settled down in a room. The room was simple. It had a jade bed for cultivation. A bath shower. There was a special hot bath downstairs but it was public. Zhang Feng took a bath and wore new clothes he had bought from the market. He then cultivated till the next morning.
The next day Zhang Feng came down to have breakfast and heard something which perked his interest. "Have you heard that people from Clear Sword Sect are coming to select disciples in Matterhorn City? " said a man.
Hey guys! I have decided to add quotes to add quotes at the end of each chapter just for....well fun maybe. I don't know guys. Maybe you might feel influenced or enlightened after seeing some of them. Who knows, it might change your life, your opinion and way of thinking. That's what life is about. It's about change. About adapting. Also I might earn some good deeds by the time I die.
Ciao.
"Behind every strong person is a story that gave them no choice."