Blood-Induced Frenzy, Desperate Charge (Part 2)

The gap Yu Yuanchen had forcibly torn open with Purple Lightning Thunder Claw was like a boulder dropped into a boiling Beast Tide, briefly parting the surging waves. The three of them did not hesitate in the slightest. Pushing their speed to the limit, they charged forward through that fleeting passage.

Tang Chen took the lead, his Clear Sky Hammer whistling through the air. He no longer pursued single lethal strikes, instead turning his attacks into an unceasing barrage of savage Hammer Shadows. He no longer deliberately targeted vital points. With the most tyrannical force, he sent every Soul Beast that dared approach or block his path—regardless of size or cultivation—flying and reeling! Like a crazed Fierce Beast, he forcibly plowed a bloody path through the torrent of Soul Beasts. Shattered bones and flesh splattered beneath his hammer, staining his robes red, yet his eyes only grew brighter. Battle intent burned like fire within them, as though the endless slaughter further awakened the savagery buried deep in his bones.

Yu Yuanchen followed closely behind Tang Chen's flank, and his role was crucial. Tang Chen was responsible for clearing the way ahead, while he handled threats lunging from the sides and rear. His attacks were precise and efficient. His dragonized right arm became claw or finger, Purple-Gold lightning flashing like Death's scythe. One moment, a condensed lightning finger pierced the skull of a Shadow Blade Leopard attempting a sneak attack; the next, a backhanded claw disemboweled an Iron Backed Grey Wolf charging from the flank. At times, he stamped his foot fiercely, unleashing a ring-shaped burst of Thunder Power centered on himself that shocked the surrounding smaller Soul Beasts into numb rigidity. His Electric Field Perception was fully unleashed, like a precise radar constantly scanning every threat within three hundred and sixty degrees. He always reacted a fraction of a second in advance, snuffing out danger before it could take shape. Sweat had already appeared on his brow. The continuous high-intensity perception and precise control consumed an enormous amount of Spiritual Power.

Qian Daoliu, meanwhile, danced gracefully and lethally through the low air. He did not blindly unleash large-scale Soul Skills, instead concentrating his power at a single point. The sacred aura brought by his Six-winged Angel Martial Soul naturally suppressed evil and frenzied creatures to a certain extent, and he made precise use of this advantage, cutting into the battlefield like a scalpel. Whenever an especially troublesome Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast tried to organize an effective encirclement, or a Soul Beast proficient in long-range attacks prepared to unleash a skill, his Angel Sacred Sword would appear in time. A condensed golden sword light either pierced the throat of a Corrupt Lizard spewing poisonous mist, severed the wings of a Wind Breaking Eagle accumulating power, or precisely struck a Mountain Shaking Rhinoceros in the eye, forcing it to howl in pain and veer away. His presence greatly disrupted the Beast Tide's offensive rhythm, creating a relatively stable environment for the two below to attack.

The three of them advanced through the raging tide in this manner. Tang Chen was the unstoppable spearhead; Yu Yuanchen was the sharp, lethal flank guard and path-clearer; Qian Daoliu was the aerial support controlling the entire field and delivering precise kills. They had no time to communicate and rarely even exchanged glances. All their coordination relied on instantaneous judgments of the changing battlefield and the faint trust and tacit understanding that had only just begun to take root between them.

However, the Beast Tide was far more terrifying than they had imagined. There were simply too many of them, seemingly without end. The moment one batch fell, more immediately filled the gap. Though the trio's advance was not slow, their Soul Power drained away as swiftly as floodwaters released from a broken dam.

At this rate... we won't last until we break out of the encirclement! Yu Yuanchen's heart chilled. More than half his Soul Power had already been consumed, while waves of stabbing pain came from his Spiritual Power. Tang Chen's breathing grew heavier, and his Clear Sky Hammer swings had lost some of their initial savagery, gaining a hint of heaviness. Even the holy radiance surrounding Qian Daoliu in the air seemed to have dimmed slightly.

Even worse, in Yu Yuanchen's perception, the several powerful auras that had originally lingered behind them were rapidly approaching! One of them was particularly striking, carrying a palpitating heat and sense of destruction!

"Careful! Something big is coming from the rear right!" Yu Yuanchen warned urgently.

Before his words had faded, a sharp, ear-piercing cry that seemed capable of tearing apart the soul came from behind them to the right! Along with it came a scorching Blast Wave sweeping toward them!

A giant bird with a wingspan exceeding ten meters came diving down at astonishing speed, its entire body engulfed in dark-red flames, like a Demon God flying out of hell! Its curved, hook-like beak gleamed with metallic coldness, while its talons were wreathed in unsettling dark-red fire!

"It's a Hellfire Kite with more than fifty thousand years of cultivation!" Qian Daoliu's voice was graver than ever before. "The scent of blood and slaughter has completely enraged it!"

This Hellfire Kite was clearly one of the true overlords of this region! Its arrival sent the already chaotic and frenzied Beast Tide into an even greater uproar. Many Soul Beasts even instinctively avoided the path of its dive!

"Tang Chen! Hold the front! Qian Daoliu, interfere with it! Create an opening for me!" At this critical moment, Yu Yuanchen's mind was exceptionally calm, and he made his decision in an instant. He knew that they had to quickly deal with or severely injure the Hellfire Kite. Otherwise, if it entangled them, the three of them would never escape!

"Leave it to me!" Tang Chen roared. No longer holding back, the Sixth Soul Ring around him—that deep black radiance—bloomed once again! "Sixth Soul Skill, Clear Sky Formation!"

Ignoring the Soul Beasts harassing him from all around, he activated a strange circular formation centered on himself. Countless fine black runes instantly surfaced across the ground! Within the formation's range, gravity seemed to multiply several times over, and even the air became incomparably viscous! A powerful binding and suppressive force erupted forth. This force was not directed at the Hellfire Kite, but instead restrained the densest part of the Beast Tide! Then, with another fierce strike of Earthquake Mountain, he smashed down, intending to clear enough space and time for Yu Yuanchen!

"Rumble—!"

Black hammer light exploded among the beasts like a bomb, instantly clearing a vast area as severed limbs and mangled remains flew everywhere! Tang Chen himself was shaken until blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, yet he planted himself firmly in place, creating a temporary safe zone for the other two behind him.

Almost at the same time, Qian Daoliu moved. The six wings behind him erupted with dazzling holy light, propelling his speed to the limit. Like a golden meteor rising against the current, he actively met the diving Hellfire Kite!

"Sacred Imprisonment!"

With his Angel Sacred Sword pointed forward, countless golden chains formed from sacred energy appeared out of thin air, coiling toward the Hellfire Kite's wings and talons like spiritual serpents! He was not trying to defeat it, but to restrict its movements as much as possible and create the perfect opportunity for Yu Yuanchen's accumulated strike!

"Screech—!"

The Hellfire Kite let out an enraged shriek, its dark-red flames surging as it tried to melt those troublesome sacred chains. The chains hissed in the flames and rapidly dimmed, clearly unable to restrain it for long. Qian Daoliu's face turned pale. Maintaining such a powerful control-type Soul Skill was an enormous burden on him as well.

And in that instant of lightning and fire, Yu Yuanchen moved!

He drew a deep breath. The strand of Thunder God Power within his body was fully activated, wildly merging and compressing with his surging Bloodline Power and Purple Lightning Soul Power, which had been pushed close to its limit! His entire dragonized right arm instantly swelled by a full circle. Blinding Purple-Gold lightning burst from between its scales, and the true form of the Thunder Dragon Claw had never been so clear and solidified!

Without holding anything back, he poured every bit of power he could currently mobilize into this claw! A terrifying aura that seemed capable of tearing apart the heavens and crushing all things rose from his body! He had long known that he lacked an exceptionally powerful offensive Soul Skill. Back when he was still in the family, he had consulted the elders and learned that the clan possessed an unfinished Self-Created Soul Skill passed down by an ancestor. Its principle was to use the First Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw, as a foundation, compressing Thunder Power onto the Dragon Claw before generating high-frequency vibrating lightning force. This gave the Soul Skill penetrating power, allowing the lightning force to bore through gaps in scales or armor and attack an enemy's internal organs. However, it was too difficult to learn. It required extremely powerful control over the Lightning Attribute; those with low cultivation did not meet the requirements and could not learn it, while those with high cultivation would already have their own offensive Soul Skills and would have no need to learn it. Thus, aside from the ancestor who had created this Soul Skill, no one had mastered it to this day.

Yet he had been quite interested in it, and he met the conditions to learn it. He had occasionally studied and practiced it, and by now, he had basically mastered the Soul Skill.

He stomped down fiercely, and the ground exploded beneath him. His body shot upward like an Arrow Leaving the Bow. Rather than charging straight into the sky, he calculated the instant when the Hellfire Kite was briefly restrained by Qian Daoliu and its diving trajectory was fixed, then launched himself upward at an almost vertical angle!

"Thunder! Dragon! Shatter! Sky!"

Accompanied by a low roar like an ancient Dragon Roar, Yu Yuanchen's Purple-Gold Thunder Dragon Claw, containing all his essence, energy, and spirit, struck with unstoppable resolve at the Hellfire Kite's comparatively vulnerable—abdomen!

At that moment, time seemed to freeze.

The Hellfire Kite sensed the lethal threat and released a shriek mingling terror and fury. It struggled desperately, dark-red flames madly burning the golden chains as a thick barrier of fire formed around its body.

Qian Daoliu grunted, a thread of golden blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but his gaze remained firm as he desperately maintained the imprisonment.

Tang Chen swung his Giant Hammer, knocking back the Soul Beasts that took the opportunity to pounce again, fiercely guarding the area from which Yu Yuanchen had leaped.

"Pfft—!"

There was no earthshaking explosion, only a faint but teeth-grating sound, like a sharp blade piercing leather.

The Purple-Gold Thunder Dragon Claw struggled to tear open the fire barrier, only to be barely stopped by feathers that appeared soft. But that did not matter—

The next moment, the Thunder Power, violent to the extreme and carrying that unique shattering effect, ignored the feathers, penetrated deep into the Hellfire Kite's body, and erupted explosively!

"Screech—!!!"

The Hellfire Kite let out a heart-rending shriek. Its massive body convulsed and rolled violently through the air, dark-red blood spraying from its beak like lava, mixed with charred fragments of internal organs! The flames around its body instantly dimmed and flickered unsteadily.

Seizing the chance, Qian Daoliu withdrew Sacred Imprisonment and landed back on the ground with a slight stagger.

Yu Yuanchen also fell from exhaustion, only to be caught by Tang Chen. His face was pale as paper, and his right arm trembled slightly. That strike had nearly drained most of his remaining Soul Power and Spiritual Power.

The once-arrogant Hellfire Kite struggled in the air for several breaths before finally trailing black smoke and falling crookedly into the distance like a kite with a snapped string. With the Life Force of a fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast, it probably would not die, but its injuries were undoubtedly severe.

With its leader heavily injured, the surging Beast Tide fell into a momentary state of stagnation and confusion. Fear appeared in the eyes of many Soul Beasts.

"Move! Now!" Yu Yuanchen forced himself to draw a breath and shouted hoarsely.

Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu knew that the chance could not be missed. They immediately supported Yu Yuanchen and charged forward at full speed along the bloody path Tang Chen had previously blasted open with Sky Breaker!

The crisis seemed to have been partially resolved for the moment. But all three had paid a considerable price. Their Soul Power was on the verge of running dry, and they were wounded. Deep within the Savage Beast Hills, unknown dangers still lurked.