The Founder of Diabolism - Chapter 53

Chapter 53 Courage-
Part Three
The 'islet' moved quickly toward the shore.
The approach of the foreign beast brought
upon them formless tension. Aside from a few
—Lan Wang)i. Jin ZiXuan. Jiang Cheng, and
Wen ZhuLiu—everyone else kept on staggering
backward. Just as everyone thought that the
underwater creature would flip out any
moment, it halted.
The dormant beast had been awakened
because Wei WuXian jumped onto its back.
Now, Wei WuXian didn't dare move rashly. He
remained where he was and waited.
Above the dark water that surrounded the
'islet' were a few maple leaves of an unusually
bright shade of red. slowly floating by.
Below the leaves, within the depths of the
pool, was something that looked like a pair of
glowing bronze mirrors.
The bronze mirrors grew larger and larger,
nearer and nearer. Wei WuXian exclaimed
under his breath. Dragging Wen Chao, he
stepped back just as the surface below his foot
shook and suddenly began to rise. The 'islet'
rose into the air. The large, coal-black head of
a beast, atop it the couple of maple leaves,
soared out of the water!

Under the screams varying in pitch, the beast
slowly turned its head around, staring with its
massive eyes the two humans on its back.
The round head of the beast appeared rather
strange, similar to both a turtle's and a snake's.
Simply looking at its head, it'd be more like a
gigantic snake, but looking at its body, which
had largely risen out of the water already, it
seemed more like a...
Wei WuXian,"... What a large... tortoise..."
This wasn't the average tortoise.
If the tortoise were to crash onto the Lotus
Pier’s training ground, its shell alone could fill
up the entire martial arts field. Even three burly
men wouldn't be able to put their arms around
its dark crown. Much less, the average tortoise
couldn't extend out of its shell a snake's long,
winding head, within it a full mouth of yellow,
criss-crossed fangs, let alone grow four sharp
claws that seemed quite agile.
Wei WuXian met the pair of large, golden
eyes. Its pupil was just a slit, its thickness
shifting, as though its eyes were switching in
and out of focus, not completely able to tell
what exactly was on its back.
It seemed like that the beast had the eyesight
of a snake as well—not too good. As long as
they didn't move, maybe it wouldn't be able to
notice.
Suddenly, two streams of water vapor shot out
of its hole-like nostrils.

The maple leaves that had been floating in the
water just happened to be near its nose. It
spurted out the air likely because they were
itching it. Wei WuXian was still motionless,
standing as if he was a statue. However, the
slight movement scared the life out of Wen
Chao.
Wen Chao knew that the beast craved
slaughter more than anything. Seeing that it
suddenly shot vapor from its nose, he thought
that it was about to go into a rage.
Disregarding the sword by his neck, he
screamed toward Wen ZhuLiu, who was at the
shore, "Why aren’t you helping me yet?! Help
me now! What are you waiting for?!”
jiang Cheng cursed through clenched teeth.
"That idiot!"
Among the two strange things before its eyes,
one suddenly started twitching like a worm
and let out ear-piercing sounds. The beast was
provoked at once. Its snake-like head pulled
back quickly before immediately springing up.
Its yellow and black fangs parted wide as it
lunged for its back!
Wei WuXian flicked his arm. Wen Chao’s
sword flew with the speed of an arrow toward
where the heart of the beast should be.

However, as it was covered in black scales, the
head of the beast was as hard as armor. As
though it had hit a piece of iron, the blade of
the sword sent off a trail of sparks with a clang
before it plummeted into the water. The beast
seemed to hesitate. Its large eyeballs turned
down to look at the slender object that glowed
even when it was underwater. Crabbing the
opportunity. Wei WuXian pushed down with
his legs and lept into the air along with Wen
Chao. onto one of the other islets, thinking to
himself. Please don ’t tell me that this one is a
huge tortoise as well!
Suddenly, he heard Jiang Cheng call out.
"Watch your back! The Core-melting Hand is
coming!"

Wei WuXian spun around only to see a pair of
large hands loom over him without a sound.
Involuntarily, he struck out to fend against
Wen ZhuLiu’s attack. He could feel a power
come from Wen ZhuLiu, unusually forceful and
dark, as though something was about to be
sucked out of his arm. Wei WuXian
instinctively took his hand back, while Wen
ZhuLiu used the chance to snatch Wen Chao
away, landing back on the shore. Wei WuXian
cursed under his breath and followed them to
the shore. All of the Wen Sect's disciples took
down the bows that had been on their backs
and retreated as they aimed at the beast.
Arrows shot through the air as though they
were rain, clinking as they hit the beast's scales
and its shell. Sparks flew everywhere.
Although the battle appeared to be quite
intense, in reality, there was no use. Not a
single arrow had proven a fatal hit. They did
nothing more than scratch the beast's itches.
The large head waved left and right. The skin
outside of its shells seemed to be black rocks,
filled with lumps. Even if arrows hit. they
couldn’t go any deeper.

Wei WuXian watched one of the Wen Sect's
disciples pant as he set an arrow onto his bow.
Struggling to draw the bow, he just couldn’t
pull it all the way back. Finally unable to
tolerate it, Wei WuXian grabbed the bow and
kicked the disciple to the side. Three arrows
were left in the quiver. He set them onto the
bow all at once, drew the string to the fullest,
and aimed. The string of the bow squeaked by
his ear. Just as he was about to let go, a cry
suddenly came from behind him.
The cry was full of fear. Turning around. Wei
WuXian saw Wang Lingjiao give orders to
three servants. Two of them brutishly held
MianMian in place, clenching her face, while
the other raised the branding iron in his hand
and thrusted it toward her face!
The tip of the iron was so heated that it sizzled
and shone with red light. Wei WuXian was
some distance away from them. Seeing what
was happening, he immediately shifted the
direction of the arrows and let go of the string.
The three arrows shot out at once and hit each
of the three people. Without making a noise,
they fell backward onto the ground. Yet. before
the bowstring even ceased to vibrate, Wang
Lingjiao suddenly grabbed the iron that had
fallen as well. Gripping MianMian's hair, she
again shoved it toward her face!

Even though Wang Lingjiao's level of
cultivation was extremely low, her move was
both swift and cruel. If she really did it, even if
MianMian could keep her eye. her face would
be completely ruined. A woman like her. even
under such dangerous circumstances where
people were prepared to flee at a moment's
notice, still kept her persistent thoughts of
harming others!
All of the other disciples were setting up their
arrows, handling the beast with all of their
attention. Nobody was near these two. There
were no more arrows on Wei WuXian and
there wasn't enough time to grab someone
else's. Under the urgency of these
circumstances, he rushed over, one hand
striking away the arm that Wang Lingjiao
grabbed MianMian's hair with and the other
landing forcefully at her chest.
Having undertaken the strike. Wang Lingjiao
heaved up a mouthful of blood and flew
backward.
However, the tip of the iron had already
pressed onto Wei WuXian's chest.
Wei WuXian caught the odor of clothing and
skin being scorched, along with the horrifying
scent of cooked meat. Below his collarbone,
near his heart, came a pain that drowned out
everything else.
He gritted his teeth, but still couldn’t hold back
the aching roar, finally letting it out of his
throat.

His strike wasn’t in the least soft. Wang
Lingjiao flew out. blood spurting everywhere,
and wailed as soon as she hit the ground. Jiang
Cheng's palm went toward the crown of her
head. Wen Chao screeched. "MianMian!
MianMian! Quick, get MianMian back here!”
Wen ZhuLiu frowned slightly. He didn't say
anything as he hurried over, fended off Jiang
Cheng, and carried Wang Lingjiao back,
tossing her at Wen Chao's feet. Wang Lingjiao
threw herself into his arms, still retching blood
as she bawled her eyes out. Jiang Cheng
chased over to fight Wen ZhuLiu. Wen Chao
saw that his eyes were bloodshot and had on a
terrifying expression. The rest of the disciples
had also been excited, and there was still a
gigantic beast inside the pool, the front-left
claw of which had already stepped onto the
shore. Wen Chao finally began to fear.
"Retreat, retreat. Retreat right now!”
Those who served him had been holding it up
with much effort, waiting for him to give
orders of retreat since a long time ago. Hearing
those words, they hopped onto their swords
and flew away at once. Wen Chao's sword
was thrown by Wei WuXian into the water, so
he grabbed someone else's and leapt onto the
sword with Wang Lingjiao in his arms. With a
whoosh, they disappeared within the blink of
an eye. All of the disciples and servants
followed closely behind him. Jin ZiXuan
shouted, "Stop fighting! Let's go!”

The disciples had never intended to continue
the fight anyway, especially against the beast
that was like a mountain of boulders. But,
dashing along, as they arrived at where the
hole was, they found the vine that they had
used to climb down in a pile on the ground like
a dead snake.
Jin ZiXuan fumed. "Those dog-thieves! They
cut off the vine!”
Without the vine, they had now way of
climbing up the steep dirt wall. The hole was a
little more than thirty feet above their heads,
its white light hurting the eye. Not long
afterward, half of the light had withered, as
though the tiangou had taken a bite out of the
moon.
Somebody cried. "They’re blocking up the
entrance!"
Just as he had finished speaking, the rest of the
white light had been blocked up as well.
Deep underground, all that was left was a
couple of burning torches, igniting the young,
hesitant faces. Nobody could say anything.
A while later, Jin ZiXuan’s cursing broke the
dead silence, "That hell of a couple can really
do such things, can’t they?"
One of the boys murmured, "It’s alright even if
we can’t get out... My father and mother will
come find me. If they hear of this, they'll
definitely search for me here."

A few of the people agreed. Immediately after,
somebody replied in a quivering voice, "They
must think that we’re still undergoing
indoctrination at Qishan. How could they
possibly search for us... Besides, after the Wen
Sect's people ran away, they definitely won't
tell the truth. They’ll definitely make up some
excuse... And we can only stay down here...”
"We can only wait down here in the cave...
without any food... along with a beast...”
As Jiang Cheng slowly walked over, propping
Wei WuXian up, they happened to hear the
'without any food’ part of the conversation.
Wei WuXian, "Jiang Cheng, there's a piece of
cooked meat here. You want to eat it?”
Jiang Cheng, “Get lost! You really haven't
learned your lesson, have you? Just what
situation do you think we're in? You don’t know
how much I want to sew your lips together."
Lan WangJi’s light-colored eyes landed on
them. Immediately after, they landed on
MianMian. who followed behind them, at a
loss as to what to do. Tears stained her face as
she continued to sob. hands clenching her
robe as she said I’m sorry I'm sorry I’m sorry’
over and over again. Wei WuXian plugged his
ears, "Hey, stop crying, alright? I'm the one
who was burned, not you. Don't tell me that
you want me to cheer you up? How about you
cheer me up? Okay, enough. Jiang Cheng, stop
carrying me. It’s not like my leg is broken."

The girls circled around MianMian and began
to sniffle together.
Lan Wangji's gaze returned as he turned
around to leave.
Jiang Cheng. "Young Master Lan, where are you
going? The beast is still waiting in the pool.”
Lan Wangji, "Return to the pool. There is a way
to leave."
After the boys had heard that there was a way
to leave, even the crying stopped. Wei
WuXian, “What is it?”
Lan Wangji, "There are leaves within the pool."
Although the sentence sounded rather strange.
Wei WuXian understood at once.
Atop the dark pool that the beast dwelled in,
there were indeed a few leaves. But. inside of
the cave, there were neither maple trees nor
the trace of any human activity and. near the
entrance, there was only a banyan tree. The
maple leaves, however, were as red as fire,
flaunting how fresh they were. When they
came up the mountain, they had also seen the
sight of leaves drifting along water in a creek.
Jiang Cheng had realized as well. "At the
bottom of the pool, it's likely that there's a hole
connected with water from the outside. That
would've brought in the maple leaves in the
forest creek.”

The sound was especially exaggerated within
the dead silence of the underground. The head
of the beast slid out of its shell at once. Its thin
pupils reflected the eagerly burning torch.
Instinctively attracted to things that gave light
and heat, it slowly extended its neck out.
Behind it, Jiang Cheng noiselessly dove into the
water.
The YunmengJiang Sect settled near water. The
swimming abilities of its disciples were all
exceptional. The moment that Jiang Cheng had
dived, the ripples disappeared immediately.
The surface of the water didn’t even do so
much as to crease. Everyone stared at the
water, glancing at the beast at times. Seeing
that the large, black head had always been
hesitantly circling around the torch, debating
between approaching or not. everyone’s
hearts tightened.
Suddenly, as though having finally decided to
get a taste of what this really was. it moved its
nose close. Yet, it was slightly scorched by the
searing flames.
The neck of the beast shrunk away at once.
Two streams of water vapour shot out with
rage from its nostrils, putting the torch out.
At this point in time, Jiang Cheng just
happened to have swum out of the water and
took in a deep breath. Sensing that its territory
had been intruded, it shook its head and
plunged toward Jiang Cheng.

Noticing the situation at hand. Wei WuXian bit
his finger and drew something illegible on his
palm. Rushing out of the hole they hid in, he
slapped his palm onto the ground. As his he
removed his hand, a fire as tall a person
sprouted from the ground!
Surprised, the beast turned around and looked
over. Jiang Cheng used the opportunity to
climb ashore, shouting, "There's a hole at the
bottom, not too small!"
Wei WuXian. "How small is not too small?"
Jiang Cheng, "About half a dozen can pass at a
time!”
Wei WuXian shouted, "Everyone, listen up.
Follow Jiang Cheng and swim into the
underwater hole. Those who aren't injured
watch out for those who are, those who can
swim watch out for those who can't. Haifa
dozen can pass at a time, so nobody rush.
Now. go!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the flame that
had sprouted slowly died down. He backed off
ten-or-so steps into another direction, then hit
the ground with his palm again, letting out
another bout of fire. The beast's golden eyes
appeared reddish through the light of the
flames. Burning mad. it waved its limbs and
climbed toward the fire, dragging above it its
mountain of a body.
Jiang Cheng raged, "What are you doing?!"

Wei WuXian, "What are you doing?! Get them
down there!"
He had already successfully lured the beast
out of the water and onto the shore. If they
didn't leave now. what were they waiting for?
Jiang Cheng clenched his teeth. "Everyone,
come here. Those who can swim alone, stand
on the left; those who can't, stand on the
right!”
Wei WuXian was inspecting the area of the
cave as he backed away with the fires.
Suddenly, pain burst through his arm. Looking
down, he saw that he had been shot by an
arrow. It turned out that the Lan Sect disciple
that Lan Wangji had glared at picked up one of
the bows the Wen Sect had left and shot at the
beast. However, perhaps realizing how
fearsomely agile it was. his hand had slipped
and the arrow had lost its aim. landing on Wei
WuXian instead. Wei WuXian had no time to
pull it out, hitting the ground with his palm
again. He only cursed after the flame had
appeared, "Back off!! Don't cause me any
trouble!"
The disciple had originally wanted to hit the
beast's vital spot with just one shot, so that he
could save some of the face that he had lost.
However, he never expected it to turn out like
this. Face paler than ever, he threw himself into
the water and fled as fast as he could. Jiang
Cheng hurried Wei WuXian. "Get over here!”
Wei WuXian. “I will!"

Jiang Cheng still had three disciples who
couldn’t swim beside him. This could be
considered the last batch. He knew that they
weren’t able to wait and had to dive into the
water without Wei WuXian. Wei WuXian only
realized after he had pulled the arrow out of
his arm, Oh no!
The scent of blood had provoked the beast. Its
neck suddenly grew in length faster than ever
and its fangs had opened wide!
Before Wei WuXian could think of what to do
next, his body tilted as somebody shoved him
to the side.
Lan Wangji had pushed him out of the way.
With this opportunity, the jaws of the beast
had closed, biting down on his leg.
Wei WuXian’s right leg hurt from simply
watching the scene. Lan Wangji's face was still
expressionless. He had only frowned slightly.
Afterward, he was immediately dragged away!

Judging from the size and the bite strength of
the beast, it could easily be able to sever a
person from the waist into two pieces.
Fortunately, it seemed that it didn't like to eat
broken ones. After it had bitten someone, it
would shrink into its shell, no matter if the
person was dead or alive, so that it could
savor it slowly. Or else, if its jaw had just used
some strength, Lan Wangji’s leg would’ve
been broken already. Its shell was extremely
hard, impenetrable by any blade. If it dragged
Lan Wangji inside, then he’d most likely never
come out again!
Wei WuXian broke into a sprint. Just as the
head was about to shrink inside, he threw
himself over, clinging to one of the teeth on its
upper jaw.
His strength could never have been able to
compete with such a monster's. Yet, under the
life-or-death situation, superhuman strength
had exploded within him. His feet were
propped up against the shell of the beast while
his hands clung onto the fang no matter what.
Like a prick of some kind, he used his body to
block its path, preventing it from shrinking
inside, from getting the chance to enjoy the
delicacy.
Lan Wangji didn’t expect that he could catch
up even under such circumstances. He was
utterly shocked.

Wei WuXian was afraid that the beast might
break out. either eating them alive or biting off
Lan Wangji's leg. His right hand continued to
grab onto the upper fang while his left hand
clenched onto a lower fang. His hands pushing
in opposite directions at the same time, he
forced strength into his arms as though his life
depended on it, the vein at his forehead
protruding so much that it seemed to be on
the verge of bursting. His face was blood-red.
The two rows of fangs were already deep into
Lan Wangji's blood and bones. Yet, its jaws
really were being slowly forced open!
Its jaws ceased to be able to clench its prey.
Lan Wangji fell into the pool. Seeing that he
was safe now, the almost deity-like strength of
Wei WuXian disappeared at once. Unable to
hold the beast's jaws in place any longer, he
suddenly let go. The jutting fangs from both
rows bit down on each other, creating an echo
as loud as the fissure of a boulder!
Wei WuXian had fallen into the water as well,
landing beside Lan Wangji. With just a flip, he
had positioned himself and, holding Lan
Wangji in one hand, he swam with the other.
In an instance, he had travelled a few feet
forward, creating a long, sweeping wave
within the pool. Rolling onto the shore, he
threw Lan Wangji onto his back and began to
run at once.
Lan Wangji blurted out, "You?"

Wei WuXian. "It's me! You’re pleasantly
surprised?"
Hovering on his back, Lan Wangji's voice
possessed the rare emotional fluctuation,
"How could this be pleasant?! Let me down!”
Wei WuXian’s mouth refused to rest even as
he was running for his life, “If I let you down
just because you say so, doesn’t that really
make me lose face?"
The roar of the beast that had come from
behind them vibrated within their ears and
their chests. Both felt blood rush up their
throats. Wei WuXian hurried to shut his mouth
so that he could focus on running away. In
prevention of the beast catching up with fury,
he purposely chose to duck into thin holes that
the turtle shell couldn't pass through. Without
having any rest, he didn't even know how long
he had run. He had finally slowed, after unable
to hear anymore sounds.
His guard lowering, as soon as his speed
decreased, Wei WuXian could smell the scent
of blood. Feeling behind him backhandedly, his
right hand was covered in a wet crimson.
Wei WuXian, Oh no, Lan Zhan's injury will
worsen again.

Translator's Notes

Heart: In China, it is often assumed that the
heart is seven inches down a snake's neck.
Here, the Chinese noun ''seven inches" is used