Demon Bei

Lu Hao looked at his shoulder and saw blood flowing from the wound, staining the clothes around it red.

On the other side, Cao Ling and Xue Yong faced Amuer and five other Dog Rong men.

After several exchanges, Cao Ling's long staff was knocked from his hands by Amuer's curved saber. Immediately afterward, Amuer kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Xue Yong already had a wound in his chest and could only bring out seventy or eighty percent of his strength. A Dog Rong man smashed the back of his head with a saber hilt, knocking him to the ground.

Two Dog Rong men held curved sabers to Cao Ling and Xue Yong's necks.

Seeing that Cao Ling and Xue Yong had been subdued, Amuer joined Zhou Zhenbei and Lu Hao's battle. He and Zhou Zhenbei pincered Lu Hao from front and back.

After several more exchanges, another bone-deep wound appeared on Lu Hao's back and left arm.

The Blood Essence and Blood Baleful Intent within Lu Hao were already nearly exhausted.

He could feel that if he exchanged a few more moves with Zhou Zhenbei and the other man, his strength would run dry.

He reached into his robe with his right hand and drew out the wolf leader's egg-sized Demon Core. Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Hao threw back his head and swallowed it.

Instinctively, Lu Hao drove his Blood Essence and Blood Baleful Intent into the Demon Core. The hard core instantly melted into liquid and flowed into his stomach.

The instant the Demon Core entered his belly, a violent force of Blood Baleful Intent exploded within him. Lu Hao felt as though he had fallen into an icy abyss.

A layer of black blood baleful aura surfaced over Lu Hao's skin, while a phosphorescent green gleam rose in his eyes.

Lu Hao dropped onto all fours, his back arched.

He kicked off with both feet and pounced at Zhou Zhenbei.

Zhou Zhenbei swung his saber at Lu Hao.

But Lu Hao was incredibly fast. His hand blade, wrapped in the mingled force of violet-black Blood Baleful Intent and Blood Essence, slashed into Zhou Zhenbei's ribs.

Pain shot through Zhou Zhenbei. The enormous impact forced him back four or five steps before he could steady himself.

Behind Lu Hao, Amuer tried to strike. Lu Hao countered with a Black Tiger Whirl, his hand blade chopping into Amuer's arm. Amuer's curved saber flew from his grasp, and he was hurled more than ten feet away.

The three fought for dozens of exchanges. Though facing two opponents alone, Lu Hao did not fall the slightest bit behind.

Yet Lu Hao's consciousness was fading bit by bit. He only felt his mind growing increasingly muddled.

The last thread of reason told him that in just a few breaths, he would completely lose himself to madness. By then, if the Blood Baleful Intent within the wolf leader's Demon Core ran out, his strength would also be exhausted. If that happened, Zhou Zhenbei would surely kill him.

The moment Zhou Zhenbei twisted aside to evade, Lu Hao sprang out of the cave. Picking a direction at random, he charged away at full speed.

When Zhou Zhenbei and Amuer chased out of the cave, they saw Lu Hao running on all fours, yet moving as swiftly as a demon beast. Before long, he vanished from their sight.

Zhou Zhenbei's face turned livid when he saw Lu Hao escape.

He had never expected Lu Hao to choose, at the critical moment, to swallow a demon beast's Demon Core whole and suddenly increase his strength. Though Lu Hao had not reached the level of a Lower-Grade Dark Force Martial Artist, he was still a notch stronger than Zhou Zhenbei. If Zhou Zhenbei and Amuer had not joined forces, he might already have been defeated by Lu Hao.

The two returned to the cave in frustration.

When Amuer saw Xue Yong and Cao Ling, he asked Zhou Zhenbei, "What should we do with these two Jin people?"

Zhou Zhenbei pondered for a moment. "The Black Tiger Gang is one of Bluestone County's three major gangs, and this Xue Yong is the Black Tiger Gang's deputy leader."

Zhou Zhenbei pointed at Xue Yong.

"Make each of them swallow a Heart-Eating Pill. We'll use the two of them for our purposes."

Though Xue Yong and Cao Ling did not know what the Heart-Eating Pill was, they could tell from its name alone that it was no good. They immediately struggled with all their might.

Two Dog Rong men stepped forward and bound the pair's hands behind their backs. Then they forced open their mouths and stuffed a peanut-sized pill into each of them.

Xue Yong cursed angrily at Zhou Zhenbei, "Zhou Zhenbei, you traitor working for the Dog Rong Kingdom! Aren't you afraid the authorities will catch you and chop off your head?"

Zhou Zhenbei stared at Xue Yong and let out a cold laugh.

"Hmph! Your Jin Kingdom's officials are rotten through with corruption. All they care about is rising in rank and getting rich; they do not care in the least about the sufferings of the common people. Much less would they risk their lives to capture people from our Dog Rong Kingdom."

"In all of Bluestone County, only the thousand Jin soldiers stationed east of the city pose any threat to us. But they are far beyond the central district, and they have never gotten along with the local authorities."

"Take them away!" Zhou Zhenbei looked at the two Dog Rong men. "We'll continue searching for Zhi Chupei. Pay closer attention to the marks Zhao Qingyang left behind."

Upon hearing Zhi Chupei's name, Amuer and the other Dog Rong men either licked their lips or swallowed, their Adam's apples bobbing, before breaking into lewd chuckles. Clearly, they had thought of something that excited them.

One Dog Rong man at the side said, "Actually, the maid beside Zhi Chupei isn't bad either! When she walks, the waves before her surge and roll."

The Dog Rong men burst into another round of raucous laughter.

Xue Yong's brows knitted tightly when he heard Zhi Chupei's name.

"Zhou Zhenbei, Zhi Chupei is the county magistrate's daughter. Are you planning to lay hands on the magistrate?"

Amuer kicked Xue Yong in the waist. Xue Yong staggered and fell to the ground.

Amuer spat at Xue Yong. "Damn Jin man! If Lord Dark Fang hadn't given orders earlier, I would have slaughtered you long ago!"

Xue Yong was secretly shocked. He had not expected Zhou Zhenbei to be a Dark Fang of the Dog Rong Kingdom's Fangzhang Office, one of that organization's minor leaders.

"I suggest you worry instead about how you'll beg us for the antidote once the Heart-Eating Pill takes effect!"

After saying that, Amuer broke into wild laughter with the Dog Rong men beside him.

"But if you're interested, once we find that little wench Zhi Chupei, you can watch from the side while we have our fun!"

After leaving the cave and racing for a li, Lu Hao completely lost his mind.

The crazed Lu Hao then began sprinting wildly through Green Ox Mountain. Along the way, he encountered quite a few First-Order Demon Beasts. Demon beasts had keen senses, and they detected that Lu Hao's strength stood at the peak of the First Order. One after another, they gave way, and none took the initiative to provoke him.

Only after running madly for an hour did Lu Hao finally regain his reason. By then, the Blood Baleful Intent and Blood Essence within him had also been utterly drained.

Lu Hao let out a hoarse, piercing howl. His legs gave way, and he collapsed limply to the ground. At that moment, he did not even have the strength to bend a finger, and could only lie there weakly.

Then he heard a faint sound drawing closer from afar.

Turning his head toward the sound, he saw seven or eight Demon Wolves slowly approaching him.

Behind the Demon Wolves followed an enormous Demon Bei. It was at least twice the size of the Demon Wolves. Its body was low and stout, its limbs short, and the fur on its back black and glossy.

Lu Hao sensed that the Demon Bei's aura was several points stronger than Zhou Zhenbei's. It should be a Second-Order Demon Beast comparable to a human Dark Force Martial Artist.

He had not expected that, despite Green Ox Mountain being so vast and despite having run so far, he could still be found by this pack of Demon Wolves.

Lu Hao wanted to stand, but his entire body remained weak and powerless.