Kill!

Three fresh corpses, three wounded men, and Shi Yan stood inside the stone cave.

Shi Yan stepped into the cave. He did nothing, yet he felt an endless stream of vital essence surging from the three fresh corpses. It poured into the seven hundred and twenty acupoints in his body, making them throb with a faint pain.

Naturally, Shi Yan activated "Rampage." His muscles shriveled, and his already thin body suddenly grew even thinner.

A cold, murderous, evil aura swiftly spread from the white mist swirling around his body, filling the entire cave.

Those evil auras seemed to possess a strange power that bewitched the mind.

The three living Martial Artists involuntarily inhaled some of the misty white air. A resentful urge to kill suddenly welled up from the depths of their hearts.

"Brat! I'll skin you alive!"

The leader barked coldly. A bizarre gray-green poppy suddenly bloomed in his palm. It had been condensed entirely from essence, and looked so lifelike that it visibly swelled in his hand.

In an instant, the gray-green poppy grew as large as a palm-leaf fan. Chilling glints gleamed from its pistil, while a hazy green light spread outward.

With a casual wave, he sent the fan-sized poppy flying from his palm.

The flower looked like a savage, blood-red maw. It lunged straight for Shi Yan's head, viciously snapping as though to swallow his skull into its center.

"Ha!"

Shi Yan let out a low roar. The wisps of negative energy that had just entered his acupoints instantly condensed and streamed out through every pore in his body, forming three ghostly figures before him.

The ghosts floated in front of him, eerie and terrifying, their eyes filled with an endless hatred for the world.

"Second Brother! Fourth! Six!"

The skinny young man stared blankly at the ghosts hovering before Shi Yan, his face stricken with horror. He couldn't help but cry out in terror.

The three ghostly figures looked exactly like the three fresh corpses on the ground!

The leader's expression changed, and he involuntarily retreated a step. But the bizarre poppy did not withdraw. It continued toward Shi Yan's head, snapping down viciously.

"Break!"

Shi Yan punched. Wisps of white mist coiled and condensed, and all kinds of negative energy gathered like trickling streams, forming a pale-white serpent that abruptly bored into the center of the poppy.

Bang!

The poppy burst apart. Chilling glints suddenly shot in every direction like splendid fireworks, bizarre and uncanny.

"Look out!"

The leader cried out and hurried forward to shield the other two. Strange lights flickered in his palm; he swept his arms in front of him, and somehow caught every icy glint that came flying toward them.

Shi Yan's expression was cold. With a thought, his body petrified in the dim cave, turning dark brown and hard as iron.

A dozen icy glints crackled against him, but his petrified body blocked them all. Only wisps of frigid energy seeped through his petrified muscles and into his body.

The icy energy raced through him, but his petrified muscles dissipated most of its force.

In an instant, Shi Yan's hands and feet returned to normal. He couldn't feel even the slightest trace of cold.

"Ding Yan!"

Di Ya Lan rushed in. At a glance, she saw Shi Yan facing three Martial Artists alone and cried out in alarm, asking anxiously, "Are you all right?"

"Use 'Blue Demon Flame' to hold off the leader. I'll kill the two Innate Realm Martial Artists first!"

Shi Yan gave the order indifferently. Then, with a thought, the three ghosts hovering before him suddenly pounced toward the three men in the cave like hungry wolves.

The cave was so small that it could barely hold them all. No one could dodge an attack by shifting position; they could only take it head-on.

The three men inside the cave looked terrified when they saw the ghosts pouncing at them.

People were instinctively afraid of the unknown.

Especially when, just a minute ago, these three ghosts had been their brothers!

They tried to retreat, only to find their backs pressed against the rock wall. There was nowhere left to go.

"Don't be afraid!"

The leader shrieked. He forcibly kneaded the icy glints he had caught against his chest into a ball, turning them into a ring of crystalline silver light that he raised in front of the three of them.

Shi Yan gave a cold snort and willed the ghosts forward again.

The three ghosts stopped abruptly in front of the men. Separated from them by the silver barrier, they clawed and snapped as if tearing their prey apart. Their eyes brimmed with boundless resentment, fixed on the three men.

All kinds of negative energy seemed to gather in the ghosts' eyes. Through their gaze, it surged straight into the men's minds.

As that negative energy struck them, the three men suddenly felt as if they were in the depths of hell. Countless fierce ghosts seemed to pounce at them, trying to drag them into the endless abyss, where they would never be reincarnated.

Their expressions went blank, and looks of utter terror appeared on all three faces.

"Sister Lan! Melt the icy barrier!" Shi Yan roared.

Di Ya Lan's body trembled. Without a moment's hesitation, she released the "Blue Demon Flame" she had long been building up. It turned into a nimble firebird and plunged into the silver barrier.

Sss!

The silver barrier melted under the scorching heat. The barrier, condensed from the man's essence, was clearly no match for Di Ya Lan's "Blue Demon Flame" Martial Soul. A fist-sized hole suddenly split open.

The three ghosts slipped through the opening like wisps of smoke. They divided into three and entered the men's bodies.

Shi Yan lunged forward.

Essence poured madly into his arm. As he thrust it forward, the air itself made a dull, explosive sound like a mountain collapsing!

Mist coiling around his iron fist condensed into a clotted mass, turning into a layer of pale-white liquid that covered his hand. His emaciated arm looked hideous and terrifying, like a demon's claw.

Pfft!

Shi Yan's hand shot forward like a sword and pierced the chest of the skinny man who had once harassed Mu Yu Die. His fist punched through the man's body and slammed into the rock wall, which answered with a dull rumble.

"You're asking for death, brat!"

The leader had Human Position Realm cultivation. He actually awoke from the nightmare just then. Seeing another of his brothers die on the spot, he couldn't help but roar in fury. A brilliant silver light flared in his palm, and he slammed it into Shi Yan's chest.

A force like a landslide and tsunami, wrapped in icy air, erupted against Shi Yan's chest.

Thud, thud, thud!

Shi Yan staggered back three steps before managing to steady himself.

He had taken the full force of a Human Position Realm expert's strike. His chest ached faintly, but after a quick check, he found that his body was completely unharmed.

Apart from the icy air that had stiffened his chest, he had suffered no injuries at all.

The second stage of the "Petrifying Martial Soul" was truly formidable!

Laughing wildly inside, Shi Yan circulated his essence rapidly through the meridians in his chest. As the essence flowed through them like a warm current, the stiffness quickly faded.

Di Ya Lan charged forward with her dagger and was already fighting the leader. The firebird formed from her "Blue Demon Flame" became her strongest ally. Together, they attacked him, not only neutralizing all the icy power he condensed but also gaining the upper hand against his mysterious Martial Skill.

"Are you two all right?"

Mu Yu Die came in, covering her nose. The stench of blood in the cave was so strong that she almost threw up as soon as she entered.

"Pile up the corpses!"

Shi Yan ordered with a frown. Before Mu Yu Die could answer, he charged forward again like a vengeful ghost, reaching the other Innate Realm Martial Artist, who was still trapped in the nightmare.

"Fifth!"

The leader's expression changed dramatically, and he screamed in desperation.

He couldn't believe that Shi Yan, with only Innate Realm cultivation, had not only survived his full-force strike but still had the strength to fight!

He was a Second Heaven Human Position Realm expert!

"Big Brother..."

At his cry, Fifth suddenly awoke and instinctively called out.

He only managed to say that much...

The next instant, his voice cut off. His back slammed heavily into the rock wall, and blood poured from his seven orifices.

Relying entirely on the terrifying momentum he gained after activating "Rampage," Shi Yan drove forward like a moving mountain and smashed the man against the wall, crushing every bone in his body and killing him.

"Fifth!"

The leader cried out in anguish, watching helplessly as his brothers were killed one by one. For the first time, he regretted his choices.

He regretted provoking Shi Yan, the bringer of death. He regretted coming to the Gloomy Forest.

"Miss Mu! Pile up the corpses!"

Shi Yan turned and glared at the panicked Mu Yu Die. He said coldly, "If you don't want to die, hurry up!"

Mu Yu Die's body trembled beneath Shi Yan's icy, sharp gaze. She no longer had the luxury of being disgusted by the bloodied corpses. She had no choice but to crouch down and start tidying them, moving the shattered remains into a corner and stacking them up one by one.

"Ding Yan! Help!"

Di Ya Lan cried out. "This guy has abundant essence. I can't take him down quickly!"

More and more beasts were gathering outside the cave, and their roars rose and fell without pause. It looked like the valley would soon be filled with beasts. Di Ya Lan knew time was precious; they had to take down the leader as soon as possible.

"Coming!"

Shi Yan charged over, then suddenly stepped in front of Di Ya Lan, facing the leader head-on.

Bang!

Silver light burst from the leader's hand, and he landed another fierce blow on Shi Yan's chest.

"Heh heh!"

Shi Yan gave a savage laugh. Relying on the second stage of his "Petrifying Martial Soul," he took the blow head-on once more, forcing the leader back against the rock wall with no way to retreat.

The firebird formed from "Blue Demon Flame" seized the opening and flew over from the side, landing on the leader's shoulder.

Flames coiled around his shoulder like vines. The smell of charred flesh rose from it at once. The fire grew more and more powerful, winding from his shoulder toward his waist and belly, burning his vital parts.

"Ah!"

The leader screamed in agony and wildly struck at Shi Yan, trying to break through him and escape the cave.

"You forced your way in, and now you want to leave? Heh heh, too late!"

Shi Yan raised the "Dark Light Shield" and activated the "Petrifying Martial Soul." He coldly endured the leader's barrage. His thin frame was like rock that had stood for ten thousand years, unmoving in wind and rain.

Di Ya Lan shifted to one side and thrust her dagger forward, piercing the leader's leg.

"Let me live! I have a treasure I stole from the cave of the 'Thunder Wing Silver Wolf.' If you spare me, I'll give it all to you! Please!" The leader howled through clenched teeth, begging Shi Yan's people to show mercy.

"I want the treasure! And I want your life too!"

Shi Yan grinned coldly. Wisps of pale-white mist suddenly wrapped around the man. As he screamed in terror, Shi Yan thrust a finger through his throat.

The light in the leader's eyes quickly faded. His body, still pressed against the rock wall, slowly slid downward.

Shi Yan didn't spare him another glance. He turned and glared at Mu Yu Die, then gave a low, cold snort. "What a nuisance. You still haven't finished."

Mu Yu Die was forcing herself to stack the corpses, but she was squeamish. It was already hard enough for her to do this much; expecting her to work quickly was out of the question.

Shi Yan snorted and said nothing more. Frowning, he stacked the corpses one by one with his blood-covered hands, like a pile of bodies in a game of leapfrog. He said coldly, "The beasts are gathering in the valley. Whether we live or die is up to fate."