While Qi Yun Sect's main peak was thrown into turmoil over the death of Gu Duozhi, first on the Earth Ranking, and True Disciples were sent out in all directions, Ye Zhen had already arrived at Qingniu Mountain, only a hundred li from Wuan Commandery.
Dusk was approaching, but Ye Zhen was in no hurry to continue on his way. Instead, he was fighting a Three-Eyed Demonic Wolf.
The Three-Eyed Demonic Wolf was a Human-tier Mid Grade Monster Beast. It had a ferocious nature, immense strength, and incredible speed. Most importantly, the third eye on its forehead could fire a streak of blue light. Those struck by it would suffer grave injuries even if they did not die.
Yet with his exceedingly nimble Snake-Wandering Steps, Ye Zhen dealt with the Three-Eyed Demonic Wolf with effortless ease.
Suddenly, the Three-Eyed Demonic Wolf pounced like a tiger. Layer upon layer of blue light flashed over its forepaws as it lunged viciously at Ye Zhen.
Watching it pounce, Ye Zhen did not rush to dodge. When the wolf drew close, he sidestepped, flashed to its flank, and then threw a savage punch.
Inch Step Collapse Fist!
Bang!
Ye Zhen's fist smashed viciously into the Three-Eyed Demonic Wolf's abdomen. A visible ripple spread from its belly, and while its body was still in midair, it let out a mournful howl. Trembling all over, it fell to the ground, chunks of internal organs already spraying from its gaping maw.
After killing the Three-Eyed Demonic Wolf with one punch, Ye Zhen thoughtfully focused on the Mirage Dragon Pearl at his chest. He placed his hand on the wolf's head and waited quietly.
To Ye Zhen's disappointment, the scene he had hoped for did not appear. No matter how he urged the Mirage Dragon Pearl, the Three-Eyed Demonic Wolf's corpse showed no change at all.
"Still not working?"
This Three-Eyed Demonic Wolf was already the fifth Monster Beast Ye Zhen had killed along the way. Yet not a single one had produced the outcome he hoped for—not one had been drained of all its essence, qi, and spirit by the Mirage Dragon Pearl like the Phantom Snake King.
Ye Zhen had been hoping for this because he had long harbored an idea.
Back on the rear mountain, Ye Zhen had borrowed Fairy Caiyi's power to kill that Phantom Snake King. Afterward, the Mirage Dragon Pearl underwent a mysterious change and drained away all the Phantom Snake King's blood essence, qi, and spirit. Not only had it greatly advanced Ye Zhen's cultivation, but it had also left behind a phantom of the Phantom Snake King within the Mirage Dragon Pearl First Layer Space.
Because of that Phantom Snake King phantom, Ye Zhen possessed astonishing talent when cultivating snake-type martial techniques. He only needed to practice them a few times to reach the pinnacle.
Thus, Ye Zhen had always wondered: if he killed other Monster Beasts and the Mirage Dragon Pearl absorbed their blood essence, qi, and spirit as well, then not only would his cultivation soar, but learning martial techniques of that beast type would also become extremely easy.
Because of this idea, Ye Zhen had constantly searched for Monster Beasts on his journey home. Whenever he had the chance, he killed them, wanting to verify his conjecture.
But the Three-Eyed Demonic Wolf was already the fifth Monster Beast Ye Zhen had personally slain. Still, no matter how he urged it, the Mirage Dragon Pearl dormant in his chest remained utterly motionless.
"It seems the Mirage Dragon Pearl's secrets are not as simple as I imagined!" With a soft sigh, Ye Zhen took out his blade and began dressing the Three-Eyed Demonic Wolf. The hide and even the teeth of a Monster Beast were extremely valuable.
Sure enough, after all the killing along the way, the bundle on Ye Zhen's back was already half a person tall. He intended to sell it all once he reached Wuan Commandery.
"Mountain Crossing Wind is here..."
"Kill..."
"Help..."
Suddenly, Ye Zhen's ears perked up. Faint cries for help and sounds of slaughter drifted through the wind.
His gaze sharpened. Ye Zhen stopped what he was doing, listened to the wind to identify the direction, then leaped onto his Silver-Horned Horse and spurred it toward the source of the cries.
There was a band of bandits in Qingniu Mountain called Mountain Crossing Wind. A year and a half ago, when Ye Zhen's father had brought Ye Zhen through Qingniu Mountain, he had waited at the foot of the mountain for two full days, gathering a party of nearly two hundred people before daring to cross together.
Even a party of two hundred made Mountain Crossing Wind somewhat wary, but the bandits had still laid down their terms: every person had to pay ten taels of silver as toll money before they could pass safely.
From that time onward, Ye Zhen had deeply hated Mountain Crossing Wind. He had not expected that more than a year later, the authorities still had not wiped out Mountain Crossing Wind from Qingniu Mountain!
Half a quarter-hour later, following the sounds, Ye Zhen arrived at a forest halfway up the mountain. The incomparably bloody sight before him immediately made his eyes fly wide open, and the blood qi throughout his body surged uncontrollably.
Clearly, this was a merchant caravan crossing Qingniu Mountain, along with common people attached to the caravan, hoping to follow behind it and cross the mountain safely.
But now, more than half of those ordinary people lay in pools of blood. The caravan's guards and porters had suffered grievous casualties as well. Only four martial artists who appeared to be at Blood Refining Stage Four or Five remained, protecting an old man dressed like a merchant amid the bandits' encirclement.
As for the other common people, if they were even slightly too slow to dodge, the bandits would decapitate them with a single slash. The forest was filled with severed limbs and broken arms.
In that brief instant, the heads of two women and children had already shot into the air.
"Stop!"
With an enraged roar, Ye Zhen, his hot blood boiling, shot forward like an arrow. Without a moment's thought, he unleashed every scrap of his strength without holding anything back.
In the blink of an eye, Ye Zhen used Snake Springing Grass three times in succession, crossing a distance of one hundred and twenty meters. With a slicing motion of his palm, he reached a bandit who was raising his blade to chop at a farmer. The bandit only saw a blur before Ye Zhen appeared in front of him. Before he could cry out, Ye Zhen had shattered his throat, and his body crumpled backward.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Within the forest, Ye Zhen moved like a ghostly shadow. Every palm strike shattered a bandit's throat; every punch caved in a bandit's chest; every slap crushed a bandit's head like a rotten watermelon.
For a time, Ye Zhen charged through them as though entering an empty realm. Beneath his hands, not one enemy could withstand even half an exchange.
"Third Boss, look! A tough one has come from over there!" The miserable deaths of so many bandits caught the attention of those elite bandits besieging the caravan guards.
"A tough one? Where? Leave him to me!" The Bearded Third Boss roared with absolute confidence, his long spear pointing toward Ye Zhen.
The instant the Third Boss's spear pointed at Ye Zhen, he shuddered violently. "Pure azure True Essence? My mother, a True Essence Realm expert?"
With a startled cry, the Third Boss threw down his spear and turned to flee. The only trace of pale blue True Essence he possessed was poured entirely into his legs.
But since Ye Zhen had already noticed him, how could he let him escape alive?
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Ye Zhen repeatedly used Snake Springing Grass without sparing his stamina. In an instant, he caught up to the fleeing Third Boss and threw a punch, sending his body flying more than ten meters away.
After twitching once, the Third Boss breathed his last.
Seeing the Third Boss die miserably, the few remaining bandits cried out and scattered in all directions like wolves and pigs in flight.
Yet Ye Zhen did not let a single one of those fleeing bandits go, even though he had to use Snake Springing Grass regardless of the cost.
When the final bandit present was pierced through the heart by a long blade Ye Zhen had casually picked up, Ye Zhen slowly crouched down. He placed his hand upon a small head whose face had not yet fully grown in, then gently closed the child's eyes, which had remained open in death. Ye Zhen's expression had turned icy to the extreme.
It was the head of a boy not yet ten years old, his hair still tied in a topknot. But now his head and body were separated. His innocent eyes were wide with terror.
Even children who posed no threat were slaughtered. These bandits deserved nothing less than death!
"Thank you, young hero, for saving our lives!"
"Thank you, young hero!"
Once the bandits were dead, the survivors immediately began thanking Ye Zhen. The sounds of heads knocking against the ground came without end, but there were even more cries for help.
"Young hero, please save my wife! We were only just married, but she was forcibly taken away by those cursed Mountain Crossing Wind bandits."
"Young hero, save my wife! Our child is only five. How can we go on without her..."
"Young hero, please avenge my father! Please!" A tear-streaked youth kept kowtowing to Ye Zhen.
As everyone knelt in a mass, the old merchant-like man who had just been protected by the caravan guards scrambled and crawled to Ye Zhen. He threw himself at Ye Zhen's leg and began howling.
"Young hero, save my daughter! My poor girl is only sixteen, in the bloom of youth. If she is taken into a bandit den, how will she live from now on?"
"Young hero, I'll pay ten thousand gold—no, half the Gui Family's fortune! As long as you save my daughter, it will all be yours! My poor child was born to me in my old age..."
"Enough!"
Ye Zhen's furious shout stunned the crying crowd into silence. In truth, even if these people had not begged him, Ye Zhen, his anger already blazing to the heavens, would have charged into the bandit stronghold anyway.
But they were making too much noise. Ye Zhen had to get a direction from them first.
"Which direction is Mountain Crossing Wind's stronghold?"
"Follow this narrow path straight ahead. Once you cross the ridge, you'll reach their stronghold. This old man has paid them toll money before, so I know the way," the old man said urgently.
"How many people does Mountain Crossing Wind have? Who is their strongest expert?" Ye Zhen did not act immediately, instead questioning them carefully. He could not charge recklessly into the bandits' nest.
"There are around one or two hundred martial artists, but Mountain Crossing Wind's First Boss, Hu Hai, is said to have reached the True Essence Realm. Over the past year, the authorities have launched three campaigns against them, all of which failed. I heard that during the most recent one, even the Commandery Guard Captain was injured!" said a caravan guard.
Even the Commandery Guard Captain had been injured?
Ye Zhen's heart abruptly tightened. Anyone who could injure the Commandery Guard Captain and withstand three government campaigns could not be underestimated.
Seeing Ye Zhen grow cautious, the merchant He Bancheng hastily said, "Young hero, don't listen to his nonsense. The commandery soldiers failed in all three campaigns only because Mountain Crossing Wind's den is located on a ridge called Half-Step Many, which is easy to defend and hard to attack.
"Oh, right, young hero, you must be extremely careful when crossing Half-Step Many Ridge! Half-Step Many Ridge is only one meter wide. If crossbows fire in volleys from the stronghold gate opposite, it will be very difficult to evade them."
"Half-Step Many?"
"Wait here!"
With a cold snort, Ye Zhen headed toward Mountain Crossing Wind's stronghold. As he passed the Bearded Third Boss whom he had killed with one punch, he paused slightly, picked up the Third Boss's corpse, and continued toward the bandit den.
*************
P.S. Young men, do you want to be heroes alongside Ye Zhen and wipe out all the bandits?
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