Drilling a Hole

Kuntu did not know what was going on and did not dare meet it head-on rashly. He could only leap aside, landing beside Yang Chan.

The white figure crashed onto the bed, crushing it beneath its feet. It turned and faced Bada, who was closest, opening its blood-drenched maw and letting out a savage roar.

"Roar..."

Bada's pupils instantly dilated. He finally made out the figure's rough appearance: its entire body was covered in snow-white fur, humanoid yet not quite human, its features blurred beyond recognition.

"Human ghoul—it's a human ghoul..." he cried out in terror.

Before his words had even faded, he scrambled away from Kuntu and Yang Chan.

Yang Chan had not been terribly frightened at first, but seeing him flee stirred thoughts of retreat in her as well. Before she could leave, however, Kuntu seized her arm.

"What are you afraid of? Have you forgotten what we came here for?" Kuntu roared at her.

Only then did Yang Chan come to her senses. They had come here precisely to find and kill the human ghoul.

"Hmph, it's all that coward Bada's fault. He made me jump too." Yang Chan spat a curse and steadied herself.

Yuan Ming, who had transformed into a white ape with the Furring Technique, saw that they had not been frightened off. He sighed inwardly, but did not retreat in the slightest. He leaped up again, clasped his fists together, and smashed them toward the ground.

Boom!

The temple floor shook violently. The ground beneath Yang Chan and Kuntu immediately cracked apart, sending countless fragments flying.

The cracks on a damaged stone pillar near them widened, and with a boom, it shattered. Half the roof collapsed along with it, tiles and dust pouring down in torrents.

Yang Chan and Kuntu hurriedly retreated, backing all the way out of the temple.

Within the dust, Yuan Ming picked up Chen Wan, whose jade-like body lay sprawled across the ground. He roughly straightened her clothes, then sprang upward toward the roof.

That punch had not been because he possessed enough brute strength to smash half the temple apart with one blow. Rather, he had used the Wood Thorn Technique to strike the already rotten stone pillar, creating that intimidating scene.

Seeing his chance to escape, Yuan Ming naturally did not dare delay.

His body had only just burst through the roof, and he had barely felt the rain falling against him when he suddenly noticed a shadow spreading overhead, blocking the rain.

Yuan Ming looked up and saw a pair of ghostly green "lanterns" light up in the night. Around that dim green glow, diamond-shaped dark-red scales emerged one after another.

Before he could see clearly, a hiss rang out. The shadow plunged rapidly downward, revealing an enormous python head. Its blood-drenched maw opened wide as it bit down at Yuan Ming.

"Yang Chan's spirit beast." Yuan Ming paused in midair and threw a punch upward.

With a muffled bang, the fiery red python's head was knocked backward, while Yuan Ming fell from the air.

The moment the two landed, Bada's shout carried from afar through the curtain of rain outside. "Captain Kuntu, Wubao is dead! That beast slave called Yuan Ming is gone!"

Kuntu immediately understood.

"We've been tricked! That isn't some human ghoul inside—it's that furred beast slave!" he roared, immediately slapping the Spirit Beast Bag at his waist.

A streak of green light flew out, and a towering azure wolf roughly twenty feet long appeared.

Without waiting for Kuntu's command, the mane around the azure wolf's neck bristled, its muscles tensed, and a faint gleam flashed through its dark-red eyes. It opened its jaws toward the already ruined temple and released an earth-shaking roar.

"Roar..."

As the roar rose, a gale spewed from the azure wolf's mouth. Countless wind blades glowing green shredded the rain curtain, forming visible whirlwinds that crashed into the ruined temple.

Amid rolling thunderous blasts, broken stones and tiles exploded in every direction, smashing into the temple.

Feeling that violent force, Yuan Ming could only dart aside and hide behind the strange statue's flank.

The violent wind blades swept past and slammed directly into the still-standing wall behind him, blasting a huge gap through the crumbling stone wall.

Yuan Ming looked toward the breach in the wall behind him. Just as he was about to escape through it, he saw two ghostly green lights racing toward him through the darkness outside.

Once Bada learned that there was no human ghoul inside, only a furred beast slave, all fear immediately left him. He summoned his own spirit beast.

The Black-haired Boar, its bristles standing on end and its body wreathed in black light, charged straight at Yuan Ming on all fours. A faint gleam shimmered on its two sharp tusks, as though they had been coated with poison.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming slammed one palm against the ground. Dharma power surged from his dantian and poured into the earth.

The Wood Thorn Technique was immediately activated.

Two yards in front of him, earth and stone burst apart. Three green wooden thorns as thick as ox legs slanted up from the ground, stabbing toward the charging Black-haired Boar like chevaux-de-frise.

Bang!

The Black-haired Boar crashed straight into the thick green thorns. Blood sprayed from its body, yet it also smashed the wooden thorns to pieces, scattering them completely.

Its speed only slowed slightly, and it continued charging forward.

Yuan Ming's heart sank. He hurriedly rolled to the side to evade it.

These Registered Disciples' spirit beasts looked no different from the savage beasts he hunted on ordinary days, but their true combat strength was as far apart as heaven and earth. They were not something he could deal with easily at all.

Not to mention their masters, every one of whom was a bona fide Jade Luo Cave disciple, able to learn all manner of sect cultivation arts and secret techniques.

Regret welled up in Yuan Ming's heart. He should not have acted in a moment of hot-headedness and nearly driven himself into a dead end. At the very least, he should have waited for a more suitable opportunity.

Boom!

The rampaging Black-haired Boar slammed into the strangely shaped statue of the ferocious god. The clay statue collapsed like crumbling earth and falling tiles, and even the pedestal beneath it was sent flying.

The violent impact left even the Black-haired Boar somewhat dizzy. It shook its head, found its bearings, and charged at Yuan Ming again.

Above him, the red fire python also opened its bloody jaws and dived down at him.

Surrounded on all sides, Yuan Ming's eyes darted about as he searched for a way out. Then he suddenly noticed that beneath the statue the Black-haired Boar had smashed apart, there was a pitch-black hole.

His thoughts spun swiftly, and he immediately made his decision.

He dispelled the Furring Technique, cradled Chen Wan in both arms, and rushed forward. Dodging the fire python's attack, he ran straight at the Black-haired Boar.

Just as they were about to collide, his body suddenly lowered. Taking advantage of his smaller frame, he slid beneath the Black-haired Boar and went straight through, arriving beside the hole.

Yuan Ming leaned over and peered into the opening. It was utterly dark within, with gusts of cold, eerie wind blowing out. There was no way to tell how deep it went.

"You dog slave, why haven't you surrendered?" Kuntu's voice rang out at that moment.

He had charged inside as well, accompanied by his azure wolf spirit beast.

Yuan Ming had no time to think further. He picked up Chen Wan and leaped straight into the hole.

After falling some thirty or forty feet, he landed on a slope and began sliding rapidly downward.

Seeing this, Kuntu immediately pursued him. He came to the opening and checked its size, then shouted to Yang Chan, "Quick! Send your fire python in! We have to kill them today. Otherwise, when we return to the sect, we'll be finished."

Yang Chan's face was taut. Without wasting words, she immediately commanded the fire python to burrow into the cave.

Unless the few of them risked chasing after him personally, the fire python was the only spirit beast that could enter this cave.

The fire python plunged headfirst into the cave, flicking its tongue and writhing rapidly as it chased downward.

The cave was far from level, with jutting rocks everywhere. Yuan Ming crashed about within it, his body already covered in wounds, yet he did not dare slow down in the slightest.

At that moment, he suddenly heard sounds coming from behind him, and a sense of foreboding immediately rose in his heart.

Then a hiss sounded from behind. The fire python had caught up, opening its bloody jaws wide. A stream of fire surged out from within, transforming into a wave of flames that filled the entire cave as it rushed toward him.

Yuan Ming felt the temperature around him abruptly soar. His heart chilled, and he could only activate the Wood Thorn Technique at once, causing three thick wooden thorns to rise from the ground behind him in an attempt to block the flames.

Blazing scarlet fire passed through the gaps between the wooden thorns and sprayed violently onward. The flames still licked across his back, and the intense burning pain nearly stopped his breath.

Bang

The sound of the wooden thorns snapping came from behind him. The fire python continued its pursuit without pause. In an instant, that blood-drenched maw was already close at hand.

Feeling the scorching heat pouring from within it, Yuan Ming gripped his longsword tightly in one hand, preparing for a final stand.

At that moment, he suddenly felt the delicate body in his arms stir. Chen Wan seemed to be waking up.

"Hey! If you don't want to die, hurry up and think of something!" Yuan Ming shouted.

Chen Wan's mind was muddled, her eyes unfocused and hazy. When she saw the scene behind them, her pupils contracted slightly. Instinctively, she felt around inside her sleeve and threw something into that blood-drenched maw.

Whoosh!

A walnut-sized metal pellet flew out. The hollow flame pattern engraved on it glowed faintly, as though sparks flickered within. It flashed through the air and disappeared into the fire python's mouth.

The next instant, Chen Wan curled herself into Yuan Ming's arms.

Before Yuan Ming could react, a thunderous boom erupted behind him.

A mass of blazing fire exploded violently behind him, blowing the fire python's head into pieces. A scorching wave of flame slammed into Yuan Ming's back, driving him downward as though he were flying.

The fiery blast from behind surged wildly toward both ends of the cave. The powerful impact continued to tremble, and the cave collapsed section by section in an instant.

Falling earth and stone sealed the cave. Mud, rocks, and clods became a rolling torrent, chasing after Yuan Ming and Chen Wan.

The powerful impact mixed with the explosion's roar, producing its strongest resonant shock within the enclosed space. The instant that force struck Yuan Ming, his sea of consciousness shook, darkness fell before his eyes, and he fainted.

Chen Wan in his arms fared no better. She too lost consciousness amid the violent shock...