Chapter 2871 — Finding Zhang Naipao
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Yet though Zhang Naipao was insane, some instinct deep within him still fought back whenever man or beast attacked. Lucky for him, he did not unleash any martial technique; instead, he began circulating the mental formulae of the Thorn Divine Art.
Had he lashed out with martial techniques at random, they might well have done no good—or he might have been killed by a spirit beast in an instant, like Dongfang Bushu, before he could even unleash them.
But the Thorn Divine Art was different. It was a passive counterattack art. When a spirit beast struck him, a counterattack of two hundred and forty percent arose of its own accord!
The spirit beasts were no fools. After attacking Zhang Naipao and taking a massive blow in return, they would strike once or twice, sense something was wrong, and stop. Though they had badly wounded Zhang Naipao, they did not press the attack. What was more, they spread word to the sonic flying spirit beasts of how dangerous Zhang Naipao was, warning any other beast that came across him to be on guard and not attack this strange cultivator, lest they injure themselves.
And so Zhang Naipao escaped catastrophe by sheer luck. Wounded as he was, he could not run; he simply sat on the ground, cackling like a madman, while the spirit beasts passing nearby, all forewarned, treated him as so much air and left him there to live or die as he would.
When the Thunder Pig found Zhang Naipao, it had not expected to see him sitting there in a vacant stupor. Yet observing his injuries, and watching a while to see that the other spirit beasts paid him no mind, it found the sight rather curious!
The Thunder Pig had been in the Five Evils Mountains all along. That place was forbidden ground for spirit beasts, and the sonic flying spirit beasts naturally did not fly near it, so the Thunder Pig had never received the warning.
Originally the Thunder Pig had worried that even if it found Zhang Naipao, it would not be easy to bring Wei Zhao and Tianchan to him. Zhang Naipao was a living man, after all, and a mad one at that—his position was never fixed. The pig had wondered whether it ought to shadow him, wait until he tired himself out and rested for the night, and only then go back for Wei Zhao. But now, it seemed, that would not be necessary.
Once it had fixed Zhang Naipao's location in its mind, the Thunder Pig hurried back to Wei Zhao in the Five Evils Mountains as fast as it could!
Seeing the Thunder Pig return so quickly, both Wei Zhao and Tianchan were astonished!
"Little thing, did you find Zhang Naipao?" Tianchan had all but given up hope of finding Zhang Naipao, yet the Thunder Pig had actually done it? Her real purpose in coming here had been to find Wei Zhao; Zhang Naipao was merely a pretext to placate Ancestor Xuanchen. But now, it seemed, there was an unexpected gain.
"Squeak, squeak!" The Thunder Pig nodded smugly. Not only had it found Zhang Naipao, it had also discovered an important pattern in the movements of spirit beasts!