Mountain Wraith

Boom!

They fell about twenty feet.

The long whip in Cao Man's hand snapped taut, leaving her suspended in midair instead of falling.

Su Ti had already driven in a piton and hung securely from the cliff, his other hand tightly gripping the end of Cao Man's whip.

"Climb up, now."

Holding Cao Man's whip, Su Ti warned her.

Cao Man took several deep, gasping breaths and nodded. Her strength was not especially great, but it was more than enough to support her own weight. Grabbing the whip, she climbed a few times and reached Su Ti's side.

After clipping her safety rope onto the piton Su Ti had driven into the rock wall, Cao Man finally let out a breath of relief.

Just then, Lao Li and Xu Lao's first safety rope also came loose from above.

Fortunately, they had already secured climbing pitons in the rock face and tied on a second safety rope, so they did not plunge off the cliff.

"Dongzi, what the hell happened up there?!"

Xu Lao roared upward, fury in his voice. Anyone who had nearly been wiped out would not be happy.

But the moment the words left his mouth, a shrill scream rang out, and a blood-soaked human figure fell from above the cliff.

Clinging to the rock wall, everyone watched helplessly as the person plummeted into the forest below, ending with a heavy bang.

Su Ti's eyes flickered. His five senses were the sharpest among them, and he could clearly see that the person who had fallen was Dongzi.

As Dongzi passed them, Su Ti even saw deep, bone-revealing gashes covering his body. Both eyes had been clawed out, one ear torn off, and his face was twisted with agony and despair.

As Dongzi crashed down the cliff, baboon-like cries echoed from the rock wall above.

A group of black-furred creatures, draped in flesh-colored pelts around their waists and resembling gibbons, poked their heads over the cliff and looked down.

The sight of them made everyone's pupils contract. Xu Lao even screamed.

"Mountain Wraiths!"

At the sound of that name, information about them immediately surfaced in Su Ti's mind.

He had not wasted his time these past days. Following Xu Lao, he had learned much about tomb robbing and Evil Spirits.

Although Mountain Wraiths had the word "wraith" in their name, they were unquestionably a type of monster.

They were called wraiths only because they were terrifyingly intelligent.

They lived in groups and possessed intelligence comparable to twelve- or thirteen-year-old humans. Unlike Yu, which could only move about at night, Mountain Wraiths could roam both day and night.

They loved eating human brains and peeling off human skin to wear around their waists. In mountain villages of the past, Mountain Wraiths often abducted children and youths, becoming the monsters parents invoked at night to frighten children into sleeping.

But in modern times, as humanity conquered nature, such monsters had become rare. Even Xu Lao had never encountered one during his tomb-robbing career.

Seeing Xu Lao and the others below, the Mountain Wraiths excitedly beat their chests and made baboon-like cries.

Bone ornaments clattered all over their bodies, all made from human skeletons.

Living deep in the mountains and forests, they survived on the yin energy of this Yin Meridian and had not fed on humans in a long time.

But that did not mean they were not hungry.

Evil Spirits possessed an instinctive hostility toward humans. Humans were their finest food, without equal.

With excited roars, the Mountain Wraiths leaped from the cliff wall. Their hands and feet clung to the stone as they raced toward Xu Lao and the others with terrifying speed.

Xu Lao and the others instantly turned pale.

Mountain Wraiths were unlike monkeys. Just as the "mountain" in their name implied, they were exceptionally skilled climbers.

Their fingers were powerful, their feet as nimble as their hands. Not only could they pierce human skulls, they could also dig deep into rock, moving across near-vertical cliffs as though walking on level ground.

Each Mountain Wraith possessed a physique roughly equal to a human Tongli Stage martial artist. There were seven or eight in front of them already, and more were still pouring in behind!

"Get down!"

Su Ti roared and immediately began rappelling.

Though he was at the Inner Refinement Fourth Layer, he had no intention of fighting these Mountain Wraiths on an almost vertical cliff.

It had nothing to do with cultivation level, but with the martial arts he had learned and the limits of human physiology. Human martial artists relied on force rising from the ground, on generating power from stable footing. There was not even a point to brace against on this cliff face. At most, he could use twenty or thirty percent of his strength here! The loss was enormous!

The cliff was the Mountain Wraiths' home ground!

Xu Lao and the others thought the same. They did not even consider fighting back, gripping their ropes and descending as fast as they could.

The group scrambled downward, nearly falling at full speed.

They had to reach level ground before the Mountain Wraiths caught them if they wanted any chance to fight. Reaching the bottom of the cliff was impossible; there was not enough time. The tomb entrance was their only hope.

Yet even so, the Mountain Wraiths quickly caught up.

The foremost Mountain Wraith thrust out a claw at Lao Li, who was at the rear, aiming for his head.

Its black claws gleamed with cold sharpness, extending over an inch. Dongzi's blood and flesh still clung to them.

If that strike landed, Lao Li's entire scalp would likely be torn off. He might even be skull-opened on the spot!

At the critical moment, Lao Li pulled out the entrenching shovel from his back and swung it at the Mountain Wraith's claws. With a loud clang, the shovel was knocked straight off the cliff.

Though his shovel had been sent flying, Lao Li took the chance to rappel down quickly and escape the Mountain Wraith's claws.

But once Lao Li escaped, Xu Lao behind him suffered.

Because he had become the slowest one.

A huge hand reached for Xu Lao's face, making his expression change drastically.

Though he was quite old, his body was still reasonably sturdy, but he was only an ordinary man. How could he contend with these monsters?! He could not even withstand one blow!

Crack!

Just then, a long whip flew over and wrapped around the Mountain Wraith's claw.

Cao Man yanked with all her strength, her face flushing crimson, but she could not pull the Mountain Wraith down.

In terms of strength, even at the Tongli Stage, Cao Man was still a woman and could not compare to these Mountain Wraiths. Moreover, she was suspended vertically from the cliff by a single safety rope and could not exert any force at all!

Instead, the Mountain Wraith dug one hand into the rock wall and pulled upward on the whip with the other. Cao Man's body was instantly dragged upward several inches!

The Mountain Wraith bared a vicious grin. Just as Cao Man thought she was done for, a large hand suddenly seized the whip and yanked hard. With a sharp swish, the section of rock the Mountain Wraith had gripped broke away. Accompanied by a shrill scream, it fell straight off the cliff!

Su Ti had acted.

He looked down at the distance. They were still about sixty feet from the opened tomb entrance, but without someone holding back the Mountain Wraiths, they could never cover those sixty feet.

"You go down first. Leave this to me."

As soon as he spoke, Su Ti swung one hand. The Single Python Whip erupted, a black blur lashing out and smashing into a Mountain Wraith, blocking it from attacking Xu Lao.

Unfortunately, suspended in midair, he could not generate much force. The strike only caused a minor injury and instead drew that Mountain Wraith's fury.

"Go! Take my safety rope with you!"

Cao Man instantly understood. She grabbed Su Ti's first broken safety rope hanging below and rapidly climbed down. Xu Lao and Lao Li did not hesitate either, descending at top speed during the time Su Ti had bought them.

Su Ti alone remained where he was, coldly staring at the Mountain Wraiths above.

These creatures were extremely intelligent. When Su Ti and the others had made camp, they had had plenty of chances to ambush them, yet they had not acted. They had waited until Su Ti's group began rappelling down the cliff before attacking, intending to exploit the terrain and catch them off guard.

Since these Mountain Wraiths were so clever, now that they held the advantage, they naturally would not allow prey already in their grasp to escape!

Seeing the others retreat, they let out baboon-like shrieks and raced across the cliff face toward Su Ti.

Boom!

In an instant, three claws lunged at Su Ti!

Su Ti had no room to dodge. He raised his King Python Hand to block one claw, but the other two seized his neck and chest.

Screech!

The sound of nails scraping metal rang out. The two Mountain Wraiths were also surprised. Their claws had not disemboweled him. They had not even broken through this human's defenses.

What they did not know was that several red marks had already appeared on Su Ti's skin, and bleeding had begun beneath it.

Their strength is even greater than a Tongli Stage martial artist's, and their nails are hard as iron. They have more natural advantages than humans too, as if they were born practicing combat arts. Even my Copper Skin Skill, which I've mastered to completion, is having trouble stopping them.

Su Ti sensed trouble. But even at a disadvantage, merely taking blows without returning them was not his style. He suddenly reached out with his right hand and grabbed a Mountain Wraith by the shoulder. The veins in his left hand bulged as the King Python Hand activated, digging into the mountain rock.

Flooded by the vitality and blood of the Inner Refinement Fourth Layer, the tendons in both his arms twisted like tangled roots. His left hand's sharp fingers slammed into the cliff wall with a crack, creating a point of leverage.

Then he violently pulled with his right hand. Amid the Mountain Wraith's scream, he tore it from the rock wall and began wildly swinging and smashing it against the cliff.

After several blows, every bone in the Mountain Wraith's body had shattered, and its skull had split open.

A stream of cool energy flowed into Su Ti's body.

Energy: 260% → 290%!

A full thirty percent increase in energy. These Mountain Wraiths provided Su Ti with even more experience than the Yu!

Su Ti's gaze immediately changed. He looked at the Mountain Wraiths as if they were walking bundles of experience. If not for the wrong time and place, he would have wanted to fight them all at once!

Seeing Su Ti kill another companion, the Mountain Wraiths all shrieked in rage and charged at him together.

During that brief delay, the larger group behind them had caught up as well. Excluding the three Su Ti had killed, there were still more than a dozen Mountain Wraiths packed densely together!

They descended along the rock wall, surging toward Su Ti from every direction!

Claws reached out from all sides, grabbing for Su Ti's eyes, neck, armpits, abdomen, even his groin.

At the same time, some of the cleverer ones began gnawing through the second safety rope wedged into the climbing pitons above Su Ti.

Faced with so many attacks, Su Ti might have had a way to deal with them on level ground, but on this cliff wall, he truly had no options.

He could only protect his vital points, curl into a ball, and unleash the Scaled Python Armor and Copper Skin Skill with all his strength to endure the attacks.

For a time, clanging sounds filled the air. Though the Mountain Wraiths could not immediately tear through Su Ti's skin under the double protection of Scaled Python Armor and Copper Skin Skill, their attacks still inflicted many internal injuries and left broad swaths of blood-red marks across his body.

As a technique that explosively activated the vitality and blood of every part of the body, Scaled Python Armor consumed an enormous amount of energy and could not be maintained for long. With Su Ti's current physical strength, three seconds was its limit.

After three seconds, the Scaled Python Armor vanished. The Mountain Wraiths' attacks did even greater damage, beginning to tear his skin and break through his Copper Skin Skill!

Just then, Cao Man shouted from below.

"Jump! Hurry, jump!"

By then, the Mountain Wraiths had already severed the safety rope above. Su Ti was only holding himself in midair by gripping the rock with both hands. Hearing Cao Man, he released his grip without hesitation and jumped down the cliff!

Su Ti's leap carried him directly out of the Mountain Wraiths' encirclement, but he also plummeted heavily down the cliff!

He fell nearly a hundred feet straight down before his waist jerked to a halt. Cao Man and the others had caught the first broken safety rope.

Because of the free fall, Su Ti had dropped below the tomb entrance. Using both hands, he frantically climbed the rope and finally rushed into the tomb before the Mountain Wraiths arrived!

The tomb was not small. Its entrance alone was over eleven feet wide and nearly ten feet tall, almost the height of a full story. When Su Ti rushed in, Cao Man and the others were lying on the ground, gripping the rope.

They had been in too much of a hurry to secure the rope and could only hold it with their hands.

Luckily, Su Ti was not particularly heavy, and all three of them had gripped the rope with their full strength against the acceleration of his free fall. Otherwise, the impact of his jump would have dragged them all over the edge.

But the good news did not last long. Less than two seconds after Su Ti crawled into the cave, the Mountain Wraiths' shrieks rang out.

Several black, long-haired arms reached into the cave. The next second, Mountain Wraith bodies crawled inside as well.

"They're here!"

"Good!"

The two cries rang out almost simultaneously. Lao Li's voice carried fear and panic, while Su Ti's was filled with anger and excitement.

Su Ti grabbed a Mountain Wraith that had just crawled into the cave. Before it could react, he yanked it over and slammed its head into the hard mountain rock. With a booming crash, its body shattered into pieces.

His hand covered in blood, Su Ti revealed a savage grin.

After taking a beating on that cliff wall for so long, it was finally his turn!