Killing Intent

Killing Intent

Bi Fan didn't hesitate. He mounted the Evil Fire Snake Lion and hurried straight toward the center of the killing intent's eruption.

Lately, Bi Fan had found it hard to find any opponents. This was the perfect chance to take a look.

On the way, Bi Fan altered his appearance to avoid being recognized by the North Xu Palace disciples and causing unnecessary trouble.

It wasn't that Bi Fan feared the North Xu Palace disciples; he simply didn't want anything to delay his investigation into the cause of the killing intent's eruption.

He had a feeling that the center of the eruption was no ordinary place.

"Could the Demon Domain really be an Ancient Battlefield?" The thought shocked Bi Fan.

In ancient times, powerful experts had been everywhere. Countless spirit artifacts possessed tremendous power, and there had even been immortal artifacts.

If this place really was an Ancient Battlefield, then even picking up a fragment of an immortal artifact would be an extraordinary stroke of luck.

Now, the various great worlds had fallen into decline. Experts of the Immortal Spirit Realm had all but vanished, and immortal artifacts had disappeared with them. Only a handful of super sects still possessed immortal artifacts to safeguard their fortunes.

The more excited he became, the faster Bi Fan urged the Evil Fire Snake Lion onward.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion was just as curious about the killing intent and ran with all its might.

Along the way, they saw many human youths and Magic Beasts racing toward the center of the eruption.

No one was stopping to fight. Reaching their destination as quickly as possible was the way to go.

Watching the figures hurry past, Bi Fan felt a little overwhelmed.

In particular, he had seen no shortage of Magic Beasts at or above the Valiance Realm along the way. Only then did he realize that he hadn't encountered any powerful Magic Beasts because he'd been traveling through too narrow an area—or perhaps the powerful ones had been hiding.

Now that those hidden Magic Beasts had been stirred up, a fierce battle was sure to follow.

Bi Fan was thrilled. At last, he wouldn't have to go to the trouble of searching for opponents.

He had encountered quite a few powerful humans, but very few people like him were riding Magic Beasts. And the Evil Fire Snake Lion was so powerful that Bi Fan was stealing the show.

Bi Fan and the Evil Fire Snake Lion swept by like a gust of wind, drawing the attention of human experts and Magic Beasts wherever they went.

The center of the killing intent's eruption lay deep in the outer reaches of the Demon Domain, close to the second layer.

With the Evil Fire Snake Lion carrying him, Bi Fan reached his destination in no time.

The moment he arrived, the sight before him left him stunned.

Every towering tree in sight had withered, and the plants across a vast stretch of land had all turned a scorched yellow.

The killing intent here was extremely strong, though not as violent as it had been at the moment of the eruption.

Quite a few humans and Magic Beasts had reached the area, but no one was willing to enter the killing intent's central zone first.

Even the towering trees had withered in an instant. That showed just how terrifying the killing intent was, and nobody wanted to take the risk.

No one knew what had happened, how the killing intent had appeared, or where it had come from.

Everyone was filled with questions, but they held back their curiosity and waited for someone to test the waters.

As soon as he arrived, Bi Fan felt the Two-Colored Strange Lotus inside him stir restlessly. The black lotus in particular seemed extremely excited.

Urged on by the Two-Colored Strange Lotus, Bi Fan actually jumped down from the Evil Fire Snake Lion and walked toward the area shrouded in killing intent.

At that moment, he was no longer in control of himself. It was as if the Two-Colored Strange Lotus were leading him forward, and he couldn't control his body.

"Gluttonous Sable, Fire Lion, wait outside for me. Whatever you do, don't come in." Bi Fan bit his tongue, briefly clearing his head, and quickly gave them his orders.

As soon as he entered the area shrouded in killing intent, Bi Fan clearly felt it eating away at his body. He couldn't let Dragon Sable and the Evil Fire Snake Lion risk entering.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion was about to follow him in, but at Bi Fan's command, it quickly backed away.

Dragon Sable tried to go in several times, but it was terrified of the killing intent and didn't dare take a single step inside. It was so anxious that it darted back and forth.

Step by step, Bi Fan slowly made his way toward the center of the killing intent.

Every Magic Beast and human expert stared at him, relieved that someone had finally volunteered to scout ahead.

When Bi Fan had gone twenty meters in without anything unusual happening, some humans and Magic Beasts finally lost patience and boldly entered the area shrouded in killing intent.

"Ah..." Cries of agony rang out. The killing intent assaulted the minds of the humans and Magic Beasts who had entered, leaving them in such torment that they nearly went mad. Terrified, they hurriedly retreated.

Six human experts even suffered Qi Deviation on the spot. They danced around like maniacs before collapsing dead.

Those who hadn't entered all sucked in a sharp breath, grateful they'd stayed back.

The Magic Beasts were frightened too. They retreated one after another, putting more distance between themselves and the killing intent.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion and Dragon Sable were both clever enough to realize that if these humans and Magic Beasts couldn't take their frustration out on Bi Fan, they might come after them instead. So the moment the screams rang out, they quickly moved away and hid.

"Damn it, what's with that guy? He's gone almost thirty meters in, and nothing's happened to him!" one human roared angrily.

"Exactly! We have to think of something. Otherwise, he'll get all the benefits!"

The people outside were growing anxious. The Magic Beasts, on the other hand, had settled down. They weren't interested in magic treasures.

Since Bi Fan had gone so far in without any trouble, he gradually relaxed.

The Two-Colored Strange Lotus had led him here, so it surely wouldn't let anything happen to him.

When he had gone thirty meters in, the killing intent was extremely dense. Bi Fan could feel it invading his body, and it was trying to invade his mind as well.

The black lotus finally stirred. Wisps of black energy rose from it, absorbing all the killing intent.

The killing intent formed a vortex around Bi Fan, surging toward him in a frenzy.

But the killing intent was invisible and intangible. The people and Magic Beasts outside couldn't see it; only Bi Fan could sense it.

The Two-Colored Strange Lotus frantically absorbed both killing intent and spiritual energy. The black lotus mainly absorbed the killing intent, while the white lotus took in the spiritual energy. Both did so at astonishing speed.

Bi Fan could clearly feel the spiritual energy and killing intent around him growing thinner. He hurried deeper, leaving some killing intent outside to keep the people and Magic Beasts at bay.

Without the killing intent to hold them back, the people and Magic Beasts outside could rush in, and a fierce battle would be unavoidable.

That was the last thing Bi Fan wanted. Seeing how eagerly the Two-Colored Strange Lotus was absorbing the killing intent and spiritual energy, giving it more time was obviously best.

When the people outside saw Bi Fan continue farther in, they were utterly shocked and stared at him as if he were a monster.

"That's incredible! He's treating the killing intent like it isn't even there!" someone exclaimed.

"He must have some treasure that can ward off the killing intent. Otherwise, he'd have suffered Qi Deviation long ago," a human expert said, unconvinced.

"Who knows where the center of the killing intent is? There must be treasures there. We can't just wait around!"

"Who's got pills to calm the mind and steady the spirit? I'll pay a high price!" someone shouted.

Those who had such pills were immediately reminded of their value. They took them at once and headed into the area of killing intent.

Perhaps the killing intent had grown thinner, or perhaps the pills had worked. Those who had taken them slowly made it more than ten meters in without anything happening.

"Hey, do any of you have more pills? I'll pay a high price!" Those outside who didn't have pills to calm the mind and steady the spirit grew anxious.

"I'll pay a hundred crystals for each one. Whoever has them, I'll buy them all!"

"A hundred crystals is nothing! I'll stake my entire fortune for one pill. If you've got one, hurry over!"

Quite a few people outside really did have pills to calm the mind and steady the spirit. They were just too timid to enter the area of killing intent.

Now was their chance to make a fortune, and of course they wouldn't let it pass. If they had no hope of finding a treasure, making some extra crystals was a decent alternative.

"I've got a pill to calm the mind and steady the spirit. Come get it quickly—the highest bidder wins!" A human pulled out a pill and shouted.

At once, a crowd surrounded him, bidding one after another. The pill changed hands in no time.

The same thing was happening in many places, and the area was bustling with activity.

The Magic Beasts gathered off to one side without making a sound, as if they were waiting for the right moment.

The humans who obtained pills immediately took them, then charged into the area of killing intent.

Bi Fan went deeper and deeper, until he disappeared from the crowd's sight. He had already gone at least several hundred meters in.

The farther he went, the denser the killing intent and spiritual energy became. The Two-Colored Strange Lotus was busier than ever, greedily absorbing both.

With nothing else to do, Bi Fan looked within himself and saw that the Two-Colored Strange Lotus had grown even more lustrous.

A tiny bulge had begun to appear at the center of its petals, like a lotus pod just poking its head out. Strangely, the flower wasn't withering; it was becoming more and more vibrant.

Bi Fan was filled with curiosity. He really wanted to see what other changes the Two-Colored Strange Lotus would undergo.

By now, every step forward was incredibly difficult, mainly because the pressure kept growing stronger.

Bi Fan had to take one step, stop to rest, and wait for the Two-Colored Strange Lotus to absorb most of the killing intent and spiritual energy around him before moving on.

He still hadn't seen the source of the killing intent and had no idea how far away it was.

Quite a few people outside had entered the area of killing intent. As they went deeper and the killing intent grew stronger, many of the shrewder ones began to withdraw, while others were unwilling to give up and kept going.

Those who had paid a high price for pills to calm the mind and steady the spirit were especially reluctant to give up so easily.

Ten meters... fifteen meters... twenty meters...

Those who hadn't gone in watched tensely, even more nervous than if they were the ones going in themselves.

"Go into Qi Deviation, all of you!" quite a few people silently prayed.

When a human expert reached twenty-five meters, he suddenly went berserk. He screamed wildly, tearing at his clothes and hair.

"Damn, he's suffering Qi Deviation!" Those still inside the area of killing intent immediately stopped, deeply frustrated.

Now that someone else had suffered Qi Deviation, who would dare keep pushing forward?

One man had spent his entire fortune to get a single pill. Unwilling to give up, he took a few more steps.

The lesson of those who came before was a warning to those who came after.

He didn't escape either. He suffered Qi Deviation and died.

This time, nobody hesitated. Everyone who had gone in retreated, and those who had been about to enter stopped in their tracks.

Those who had chosen to sell their pills were overjoyed, secretly chuckling to themselves.

"What was up with that guy earlier? He's a freak. He wasn't afraid of the killing intent at all."

"Let's see how things go. If it comes to it, we'll report this to the higher-ups right away and see what they decide."

"Remember what that guy looks like. If he comes out alive, we have to find a way to intercept him."

They all wanted to see how Bi Fan was doing, but he had already gone too far. They couldn't see him at all.