Beast Tide Out of Control, Someone Secretly Moves the Mountain

The beast tide came with terrifying speed.

First, the ground trembled.

Then, trees deep in the mountains fell in swaths.

Immediately after, the roars of soul beasts pressed in from every direction like a black tide, surging madly toward Broken Cliff.

Ironclad Rhinoceroses, Crimson Striped Leopards, Ghost-faced Apes, Fire Poison Lizards...

All kinds of soul beasts had been alarmed by some force and charged toward Broken Cliff as if they had lost their minds.

This was not a natural stampede.

Di Yao saw it at a glance.

A normal beast tide would avoid the territory of the Corona Golden Eagle King.

This was, after all, the domain of avian soul beasts.

Yet now, these ground-dwelling soul beasts seemed to have been forcibly driven here.

Dugu Bo's face darkened as Poison Mist rose around him.

"Someone disturbed the mountain's earth veins and drove the beast herds this way."

Hu Liena's face turned slightly pale.

She had just forcibly taken control of the situation and expended a tremendous amount of Soul Power. Faced with the beast tide now, she had to grit her teeth just to stay on her feet.

"Tang Hao?"

Her voice tightened.

Di Yao looked into the depths of the mountains.

There was no sign of anyone there.

Only an extremely faint yet heavy Hammer Intent that made his chest feel stifled.

It was very much like that instant last night.

Di Yao's gaze turned icy.

"He doesn't dare show himself."

Dugu Bo sneered. "If the Clear Sky Douluo is really hiding nearby, you still want to provoke him?"

Di Yao raised a hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"I'm not provoking him."

He watched the beast tide, his voice calm. "I'm confirming it."

Hu Liena understood.

If Tang Hao dared to face them head-on, he should have made his move already.

But he had only pushed the beast tide toward them.

That meant he did not want to expose himself, or he did not want to face Chrysanthemum Douluo and Dugu Bo at the same time.

Since he did not dare confront them directly, there was still room to maneuver.

Di Yao turned to look at the Corona Golden Eagle King.

One of the Golden Eagle King's wings had been severed. It was dragging its battered body toward its nest.

It had sensed the beast tide as well.

But compared to the beast tide, it wanted to survive more.

Di Yao's eyes went cold.

"My soul ring—who gave you permission to leave?"

Just as he was about to move, Hu Liena reached out and caught his sleeve.

Her movement was very light.

Di Yao lowered his head and looked at her.

Hu Liena's face was pale, and her breathing had yet to steady, but she forced herself to meet his eyes. "If you charge in now, with both the beast tide and the Golden Eagle King bearing down on you, you won't be able to hold out."

Di Yao did not immediately shake off her hand.

Hu Liena gritted her teeth, lowering her voice. "Don't treat everything like it's yours alone to settle."

Di Yao looked at her for a moment.

That did not sound like something Hu Liena would have said before.

At least, it did not sound like the Spirit Hall Saintess who had initially done nothing but stomp her feet in anger whenever he provoked her.

Di Yao looked away, his voice still even. "Then let's settle the accounts first."

His Second Soul Ring lit up beneath his feet.

The dark-gold pressure of the Ten Thousand Demon Edict spread out.

The beast tide was too vast.

With Di Yao's current strength, it was impossible for him to control every soul beast.

But low-level soul beasts were the easiest to influence.

And control was not what he wanted.

He only needed to change their direction.

Just a slight shift, for a moment.

As the dark-gold pressure descended, the movements of the low-level soul beasts at the very front of the beast tide fell into disarray.

They had been charging straight at Broken Cliff, but Di Yao forcibly diverted them toward the forest on the right.

Dugu Bo saw his intent, and his eyes flickered.

Figures were moving through the forest on the right.

The Black Market Soul Hunting Group.

They had come too.

This group was clearly more cautious and stronger than the people who had scouted the valley earlier.

They had not approached too closely. Instead, they had hidden along the outskirts of the beast tide, waiting for Di Yao and the Corona Golden Eagle King to both suffer before taking advantage of the chaos.

But they never could have expected the beast tide to suddenly turn toward them.

"What's going on?!"

A black-clad soul master's face changed drastically. "Why is the beast tide charging at us?!"

"Retreat! Move!"

But it was already too late.

The first wave of Crimson Striped Leopards pounced into the Black Market Soul Hunting Group's formation.

Screams erupted at once.

The Black Market soul masters released their martial souls to defend themselves, but more and more beasts poured in. They could not hold them back at all.

Hu Liena watched the scene, and her eyes shook slightly.

She understood.

Tang Hao wanted to use the beast tide to kill Di Yao.

But Di Yao had turned around and used the beast tide to swallow the Black Market first.

Even Dugu Bo could not help glancing at Di Yao.

"Kid, you really refuse to take even the slightest loss."

Di Yao's voice was cold. "Why refuse interest delivered to my door?"

He could not control the entire beast tide.

But he could divert the beasts at the front once.

Once was enough to make the Black Market Soul Hunting Group suffer badly.

Within the forest, the Black Market Soul Hunting Group descended into total chaos.

Some were torn apart by soul beasts.

Some panicked and fired Soul-Breaking Crossbows, wounding their own companions.

Others roared in fury, "Didn't they say that brat had just absorbed an Immortal Herb and was already crippled?!"

Di Yao heard that.

His eyes suddenly turned frigid.

Crippled?

In other words, these people really did know when he had absorbed the Immortal Herb and gone hunting for his Third Soul Ring.

It was no coincidence.

Someone had provided them with intelligence.

Di Yao's figure flashed as he stepped on flames and shot toward the Black Market Soul Hunting Group.

Hu Liena's expression changed. "Di Yao!"

Dugu Bo raised a hand, and Poison Mist swept up, blocking several soul beasts lunging at Di Yao.

He cursed under his breath. "Troublesome."

But his hands did not stop.

Di Yao rushed into the edge of the chaos.

A Black Market squad leader had just escaped a beast's jaws when he looked up and saw Di Yao standing before him.

The blood instantly drained from his face.

"You—"

Before he could finish, Di Yao had already seized his throat and slammed his entire body against a tree trunk.

The Great Sun Golden Flame did not erupt. It merely lit as a thin line at Di Yao's fingertips.

It burned against the man's skin.

The Black Market squad leader convulsed in agony, his eyes bulging, yet he could not make a sound.

Di Yao's voice was very soft.

"Who gave you the information?"

The man's face was full of terror, his lips trembling. "I... I don't know... We were only following orders..."

Di Yao's fingers tightened slightly.

The line of fire burned into his flesh.

The man finally broke down and rasped, "The Iron Hammer Order! It was people from the Iron Hammer Order! They said you had just taken an Immortal Herb, that something would definitely go wrong with your Third Soul Ring, and told us to follow behind the beast tide and collect your corpse!"

The Iron Hammer Order.

Di Yao's eyes turned cold.

"Where are they?"

"I don't know! I really don't know! They never show themselves. They only give us items, information, and money!"

Di Yao released him.

The man collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

He thought he had survived.

The next moment, Hu Liena's short blade swept across from behind him.

Blood splashed.

The Black Market squad leader clutched his throat and fell.

Hu Liena stood beside Di Yao. Her face was pale, but her eyes were hard.

"He told us enough."

Di Yao glanced at her.

"You still have enough Soul Power?"

Hu Liena gritted her teeth. "Killing trash like this doesn't take much."

Di Yao said nothing. He merely took a small Iron Tablet from the man's robes.

The hammer pattern on it was clearer than the one from before.

But it was still not the official emblem of the Clear Sky Sect.

It looked more like some kind of token used by an outer branch.

Clear Sky Remnants.

Or people who did dirty work for Clear Sky.

Di Yao put away the Iron Tablet.

The beast tide was still crashing forward.

The Corona Golden Eagle King had already crawled to the edge of its nest.

The charred wound where its wing had been severed was absorbing sunlight and slowly repairing itself.

Dugu Bo's voice came from behind him. "Kid! If you don't make your move now, that beast will recover!"

Di Yao looked up.

Beneath the sunlight, the Golden Eagle King's eyes still brimmed with madness and venom.

It seemed to know that Di Yao was its true enemy.

Di Yao looked at Hu Liena.

Hu Liena was breathing heavily, but she voluntarily released his sleeve and stepped aside.

"Go."

Di Yao said no more.

Flames exploded beneath his feet.

He charged directly toward the nest.

The beast tide pressed in from the side.

Dugu Bo swept his Poison Mist across the area, forcing back large numbers of soul beasts.

Yue Guan finally raised a hand as well. Golden petals flashed through the air, carving open a brief path.

His voice was faint and eerie. "Little one, I've opened the way for you. Don't waste it."

Di Yao stepped into the passage.

Atop Broken Cliff, the Corona Golden Eagle King let out one final shriek.

Dragging its broken wing, the Sun Crown pattern on its forehead blazed brightly.

All the remaining avian soul beasts lunged at Di Yao.

Dark gold light ignited in Di Yao's eyes.

The First Soul Ring lit up.

Great Sun Golden Flame transformed into chains of fire.

The Second Soul Ring lit up.

The Ten Thousand Demon Edict suppressed the beasts' souls.

He advanced step by step.

The birds lunged, only to be lashed away by the fire chains.

Feather blades rained down, only to be burned to pieces by the golden flames.

The Golden Eagle King opened its beak and unleashed its final pillar of Sun Crown fire.

Di Yao did not dodge.

He charged straight into the fire pillar, thrust his right hand through the flames, and seized the Sun Crown pattern on the Golden Eagle King's forehead.

Great Sun Golden Flame erupted from his palm.

"It's over."

The Golden Eagle King struggled madly.

Its claws tore open Di Yao's shoulder, spraying blood.

Di Yao's expression did not change.

Flames poured in.

The ferocity in the Golden Eagle King's eyes gradually faded.

Its massive body crashed to the ground.

A deep-purple soul ring slowly rose.

It was so purple it was nearly black.

Heavy as a dark sun on the verge of falling.

Hu Liena watched from afar, and her expression changed.

Dugu Bo fell silent as well.

This soul ring was even closer to ten thousand years than they had imagined.

Di Yao stood before the soul ring, blood still flowing from his shoulder, his chest barely rising and falling.

Hu Liena could not help shouting, "Di Yao, tend to your wounds first!"

Di Yao did not turn around.

He stared at the soul ring.

Dark Gold Firelight burned quietly in his eyes.

"No."

His voice was not loud, yet everyone heard it.

"I'll absorb it now."

Hu Liena's face went pale.

"Do you really not care about your life?"

Di Yao sat down cross-legged.

The deep purple, nearly black soul ring slowly descended toward him.

His voice was calm, as though he were stating something already decided.

"I'll worry about my life after the soul ring."