A Brutal Slaughter

Chapter 40: A Brutal Slaughter

Jiang Yue's face darkened until it looked ready to drip with water. He barked coldly, "You little bastard! If you stop now, I'll let bygones be bygones and spare your worthless life! If you keep refusing to see reason, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

"Heh. Do you take me for a three-year-old child? You'd better worry about yourself!"

Chen Lin sneered again and again, his expression cruel and merciless. He charged at the woman without the slightest hesitation, speaking with ruthless resolve. "I'll kill her, then I'll kill you! You're dying today!"

"Senior Brother Jiang Yue!"

As Chen Lin drew ever closer and she felt death closing in, Lan Xin retreated and cried out in despair.

"Fine! Fine! You little bastard, you brought this on yourself!"

Jiang Yue suddenly calmed down. Though fury still burned in his eyes as he stood inside the Illusion Formation, his voice was as cold as the abyss of the Nine Hells, brimming with bone-deep murderous intent. "Using this will severely deplete my soul power. It'll take months to recover. But if that's what it takes to kill you, I have no choice but to use this secret soul art."

Hearing this, Chen Lin felt a faint sense of unease. But he didn't stop—instead, he sped up and charged at the retreating woman!

"You little bastard! Just wait for your death!"

Jiang Yue gave a cold, cruel smile and closed his eyes.

"Hum—"

Suddenly, Chen Lin's expression changed. He felt an invisible force spread outward from Jiang Yue, rippling over the area like a stone dropped into still water!

"Thousand-Mile Soul Lock!"

His soul reached out, its vision reflecting the starry sky!

The rocky hills, the spreading ghost mist, the hidden ghosts and Yin Corpses, the desperate Lan Xin retreating, the cold and merciless Chen Lin, Situ Kong and the others standing nearby, dumbstruck as they watched it all... Every trace of them appeared in Jiang Yue's mind as though captured in a slowed-down scene, vivid and clear, with nowhere to hide!

"Not good! That's a secret soul art! He's imprinted a soul mark on a chosen target. You'll be exposed to him wherever you go, and as long as you're within range, he'll be able to find you!"

Situ Kong's expression suddenly changed. He shouted toward Chen Lin, "Chen Lin, judging by the look of him, he must have only just entered the Sea-Opening Realm and hasn't had time to learn any divine arts. Otherwise, if he used one, you'd be doomed! Your only chance is to close in and fight him hand-to-hand!"

Chen Lin's pounding stride faltered. He felt a strange force sweep across his body, as if someone were peering at him. At the same time, a sensation of being locked onto rose from deep within him.

Situ Kong had also sensed that his soul was locked onto. He understood the situation well enough: once the enraged Jiang Yue killed Chen Lin, his pent-up fury would surely fall on Situ Kong. If Jiang Yue didn't die, Situ Kong wouldn't escape death either!

Nearby, Liu Han and Han Shuitong also wore troubled expressions. They, too, felt their souls being locked onto. A glint flashed in Han Shuitong's eyes, but she didn't move. Liu Han's fingers twitched, as though he wanted to act, but after hesitating for a moment, he chose to wait and see as well.

"You little bastard! Let's see where you can run!"

Jiang Yue abruptly opened his eyes, silver light flashing in them. He gave a savage grin, then shot forward like a silver arrow, vanishing from where he stood as he raced after Chen Lin!

He had instantly escaped the Illusion Formation's influence!

As Jiang Yue charged toward Chen Lin, he began to reveal his true form!

A ferocious, fearsome rhino head bore a single silver horn. Dark green scales covered his body, and rows of armor plates glinted menacingly. Dozens of black bone spikes crisscrossed along his back, while his thick limbs ended in hooked claws like those of a flood dragon, sharp enough to pierce metal and split stone!

He was a strange Rhino Demon!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

His four limbs stamped the ground, making it tremble as Jiang Yue smashed through every obstacle in his path and charged forward! Rocks burst apart, the ghost mist shook violently, and everything in his wake was left in ruins!

"Bwooo!"

The Rhino Demon let out a savage roar. Chen Lin was still far away, yet he felt as if his head were exploding. His soul seemed to have been struck by a massive bell, and his blood and qi churned violently. He couldn't help but stop in his tracks.

Seeing this, Lan Xin was overjoyed. Without hesitation, she ran toward Jiang Yue, charging in his direction. She gave Chen Lin a venomous sneer. "You lowly little beast! Let's see how much longer you can swagger. I'll personally skin you alive in a moment!"

As the Rhino Demon charged at Chen Lin, streaks of silvery-white Sword Qi burst from his horn, shooting toward Chen Lin as fast as thunder!

"Swish!"

Suddenly, a whip blurred into countless afterimages and lashed toward Jiang Yue's true form, binding the enraged Jiang Yue fast.

Situ Kong had boldly stepped in!

Knowing this wouldn't hold Jiang Yue for long, Situ Kong's expression turned fierce. He slapped the Storage Bag at his waist, and a blood-red pill appeared in his palm. He swallowed it without hesitation. At once, the pallor on his face from battling the Yin Corpse gave way to a strange flush, and he began to reveal his true form.

The gigantic Fox Demon opened his eyes and threw back his head with a long howl.

Countless points of starlight became a cage, trapping the Rhino Demon in place!

The Rhino Demon roared furiously.

At the first breath, the Starlight Cage began to crumble!

"Brother Chen!"

Situ Kong trembled all over in agony and shouted.

His flesh had been torn open by the silvery-white Sword Qi. The pain snapped Chen Lin back to his senses. Seeing Jiang Yue trapped in the cage, he knew this was his only chance. His whole body thundered with the sound of heavenly lightning as he charged toward Jiang Yue like a shooting star chasing the moon!

At the second breath!

Blood tears streamed from Situ Kong's eyes, and his white fur began to fall away. It seemed he was paying for this with his very life.

At the third breath!

Situ Kong cried out and crumpled, collapsing to one side. The Starlight Cage shattered instantly.

At the same moment, Chen Lin finally reached Jiang Yue!

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

In an instant, Chen Lin's death-god sickles slashed fiercely, and the ear-splitting clash of metal rang all around them! The Rhino Demon that Jiang Yue had become let out a pained howl. His hard scales cracked apart, green scales flaked off in flashes, and his flesh was left bloody and mangled. His thick hind legs stamped backward, and the pain forced him to take a step back!

"What a powerful body!"

An incredulous look flashed through Jiang Yue's eyes. He hadn't seen Chen Lin display his formidable physique when he killed the Yin Corpse, and he had suffered a crushing disadvantage in their very first clash!

"You little bastard, you think your powerful body is enough to fight me? You overestimate yourself! I'll show you the greatest difference between the Sea-Opening Realm and the Xiantian Realm: the overwhelming power of the soul! I can destroy your soul in an instant!"

The Rhino Demon spoke in a human voice. At the same time, an invisible force born of his soul burst from his head and surged toward Chen Lin.

Chen Lin felt a pinprick in his mind. It hurt, but he came to his senses almost at once.

"That's all?"

Chen Lin's two sickles slashed down again with brutal force!

"How is this possible? How can your soul power be so strong?!"

Now Jiang Yue was truly horrified!

How could he have known that Chen Lin's soul was a freakish fusion of two ferocious beast souls? Add the Nine-Nine Extreme Transformation and the Soul-Devouring Soul-Refining Scripture, and Chen Lin's soul power was beyond anything Jiang Yue could imagine!

But Jiang Yue was still a Sea-Opening Realm demon. After his brief shock, he fearlessly met Chen Lin head-on. His body was just as powerful, and he could even condense divine Sword Qi. Silvery-white Sword Qi slashed through the air from every direction. At such close range, Chen Lin let out one muffled cry after another as the Sword Qi pierced his body, but his gaze stayed cold and he refused to retreat!

"Splurt!"

At close range, the Sword Qi was even more vicious. Chen Lin barely dodged one slash, but a sudden pain struck his right ribs as the Rhino Demon's right claw tore away a chunk of flesh!

The Rhino Demon's Sword Qi came like a string of arrows, crashing into the wound on Chen Lin's body. Blood gushed out, but at the same time Jiang Yue let out a pained whimper. Chen Lin's sickle had plunged deep into his back, and an incredibly powerful suction surged from the wound. It was his innate ability, Blood Absorption Healing!

The two demons fought like mad, but Jiang Yue was, without question, a Sea-Opening Realm Demon Cultivator. Under the double pressure of his Sword Qi and powerful body, Chen Lin's wounds multiplied, and his twisting, flailing movements gradually slowed.

Before long, Chen Lin was at the end of his rope, on the verge of death!

At last, the Rhino Demon's massive dark green claw pierced Chen Lin's abdomen like an iron hook and burst out the other side. Chen Lin could endure no more. He spat out a great mouthful of blood, fell to the ground, and convulsed. He could no longer stand.

But Jiang Yue was in no better shape. He, too, was nearing his limit. One of his ox eyes looked as if it would burst; his scales were shattered, and half his body had withered strangely from Chen Lin's Blood Absorption Healing. Green scales flaked off in flashes, and several bone spikes along his back had broken.

"Heh... you little bastard... I have to admit, you're strong... but it's all over now..."

Jiang Yue stared fixedly at Chen Lin, who lay nearby on the ground, on the brink of death. His expression turned cruel as he grinned, though a deep trace of apprehension still lingered in his smile.

Cruel, brutal, bloodthirsty, and utterly relentless!

The way Chen Lin had fought without fear of death had sent a chill through even Jiang Yue.

This demon was a madman!

"It's over..."

Nearby, Situ Kong gave a bitter smile.

"Heh... heh..."

Suddenly, Chen Lin struggled to his feet, blood pouring from his mouth as if he were about to cough up his internal organs. The ground beneath him was soaked crimson, and his whole body looked as though he'd been dragged from a pool of blood. Chen Lin now seemed like a blood-soaked demon god from hell!

"Yeah... it's all over."

Chen Lin sneered. With difficulty, he slapped the Storage Bag at his waist. A small bean, shaped like a silkworm bean, lay quietly in his palm.

A Senzu Bean from the world of Dragon Ball!