Demonic Beast Rampage, Fu Shi's Death

The ground loosened and parted into a passage. A handsome youth climbed out, spread his arms in the sunlight, and stretched.

After three days of rest underground, his wounds had mostly healed.

He checked his Storage Ring. Apart from the black robe he was wearing, he had no clothes left. He would have to buy a few outfits once he got back. Yes, several more. Fighting was far too hard on clothes.

During his meditation, Yang Xiao had noticed that no demonic beasts ever came near the pool. This place was very likely the white-robed woman's private bathing pool, and the beasts dared not approach.

He took out White Scale. He now had two choices: exchange it for the white-robed woman's help and fight their way out together.

Or he could wait here for the demonic beast rampage. Since no beasts came near the pool, he could wait until the rampage began, follow behind them, and fight his way out to meet Butcher. Once he saw Butcher, neither the Heavenly Master Palace nor the Earth Master Hall would dare touch him.

After some thought, Yang Xiao put White Scale back into his Storage Ring. The white-robed woman was a demonic Immortal. Using her against the Heavenly Master Palace and the Earth Master Hall would be a terrible waste.

He set up a pot, lit a fire, filled it with water from the pool, and took a Redfire Bull carcass from his Storage Ring to make demonic beast soup.

He could use this time to cultivate diligently. He certainly had no shortage of cultivation resources now.

All right, his real motive was to stay beside the pool and hope to catch another glimpse of the white-robed woman. Just a glimpse. Nothing more.

Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, he laid out over a thousand earth vein crystals and set up a small Spirit-Gathering Formation.

He examined his spirit sea. He had never noticed before, but after this battle, Yang Xiao realized that his spirit sea had previously been somewhat insubstantial. Only after the battle had it become solid.

The earth vein crystals gradually turned from yellow to white, and his spirit sea slowly expanded. When it reached a hundred thousand li, the crystals dissolved into wisps of white smoke and vanished into the air.

Yang Xiao emerged from meditation. Now that his spirit sea had reached a hundred thousand li, it had become somewhat insubstantial again.

He felt as though he could unleash his full strength, but in reality, he could only bring out ninety percent. This would only disappear once his spirit sea solidified. He needed a major battle.

He glanced at the pool. Throughout his cultivation, he had kept a sliver of his attention on it, but the white-robed woman he had hoped for had never come. He felt a little disappointed.

Yang Xiao shouted, "Fairy Sister, I'm leaving! I'll come back to see you when I have time!"

First, he would leave a good impression. Perhaps after a few visits, the white-robed woman would notice him, and they would become friends. Then Yang Xiao would have another fighter at his disposal.

Pah! Was that any way to make use of Fairy Sister? What a waste.

He headed out and arrived at the place where Huangfu Qi had died. A gleam of white light on the ground caught his eye.

Yang Xiao smiled. After killing Huangfu Qi, the white-robed woman had actually left his Storage Ring behind, giving Yang Xiao a windfall. Huangfu Qi's saber was also embedded in a small hill. It was a supreme-grade Spirit Artifact.

He picked up the Storage Ring, climbed the hill, and pulled at the saber. Hm. Yang Xiao applied more strength. His first attempt had failed to budge it.

After considerable effort, he pulled the saber free and put it into his Storage Ring.

He knew no saber techniques, so the weapon would be wasted in his hands. Once he returned to Slaughter Heaven City, he would visit the Perching Phoenix Pavilion and see whether he could trade it for a suitable Spirit Artifact, preferably something like gauntlets.

Not long after leaving the pool, Yang Xiao noticed something amiss. The nearby demonic beasts were agitated. Some solitary beasts were running in the same direction. Moments later, the beasts that lived in groups began moving as well, dragging their entire families along toward the same destination.

The demonic beast rampage has begun, Yang Xiao thought.

Judging by the time, he had been in the Ten Thousand Peaks Forest for almost a month. The rampage was due to begin.

The next moment, Yang Xiao brightened. If the demonic beast rampage had started, didn't that mean he could go home?

Roar!

A giant ape fifty or sixty zhang tall threw back its head and roared. It pushed off with both feet, shattering a small hill, and raced toward the garrison.

Yang Xiao drew a sharp breath. This was a Golden-Backed Stone Ape in the living spirit realm. These apes mostly moved at night, so its appearance in broad daylight further confirmed his guess.

Suddenly, a Blackwater Mystic Serpent over a hundred zhang long burst out of the ground, swallowed several demonic beasts, and followed the Golden-Backed Stone Ape.

A small hill in the distance shook and revealed its full form. It was actually a Mountain Turtle. It lumbered along on four legs, shaking the ground as it followed closely behind.

One living spirit realm demonic beast after another appeared, let out a roar, and set off toward the garrison.

Yang Xiao hid behind them, trembling. Without Dragon Horn, he was no match for a living spirit realm demonic beast.

He counted six living spirit realm beasts in all. After hiding for a long while, he only dared emerge once every beast had left.

Flying into the air, he saw thousands upon thousands of demonic beasts converging on the garrison from every direction.

Only now did he truly feel how terrifying a demonic beast rampage was. This time, it seemed that every beast in the Ten Thousand Peaks Forest had come out.

He glanced back toward the white-robed woman's location. Fortunately, she had not come out. Otherwise, whether Slaughter Heaven City could hold would be another question entirely.

Trailing far behind the demonic beast army, Yang Xiao dared not reveal his aura, afraid the beasts would notice him, wheel back, and swallow him whole.

Along the way, he saw many cultivators who had failed to retreat in time die in the beasts' jaws, further strengthening his determination to cling to life.

Half a day later, a dense mass of demonic beasts gathered before the garrison. They looked terrifying, but ninety percent of them were only in the qi gathering realm.

He could fight a whole pack of beasts like that.

Above the beasts stood a middle-aged man with his hands behind his back. He wore a beast-hide coat and had crimson eyes and golden hair. Not a single demonic beast dared come within ten zhang of him.

A shape-shifting demonic beast. The thought surfaced in Yang Xiao's mind. This man was a shape-shifting demonic beast, an existence on the same level as the white-robed woman, though his aura was not as powerful as hers.

Opposite the demonic beast army, Butcher flew into the sky and faced the crimson-eyed, golden-haired man from afar.

"Lion King, you come every year. Is it really that entertaining? Why not take your army back this year, and we can leave each other in peace?"

Butcher had called the middle-aged man Lion King. He was probably a lion demonic beast.

Lion King sneered. "Every year, humans enter the Ten Thousand Peaks Forest to hunt demonic beasts. Hand over those hunters, and I will withdraw my army."

Yang Xiao shook his head. Demonic beasts were indispensable resources for cultivators. Asking cultivators not to hunt them was like asking ordinary people not to eat meat... wishful dreaming.

Sure enough, after another few exchanges, anger began creeping into their words.

Butcher flew back to his camp first and swept his hand through the air. Hundreds of Earth Masters stepped forward and drew upon the power of the earth veins. An azure barrier enveloped the human army.

On the demonic beasts' side, Lion King let out a mighty roar.

"Kill!"

Close-combat beasts charged into the barrier. At the same time, thousands upon thousands of fireballs, water missiles, and streaks of spiritual light shot toward it.

"Heavenly Masters, advance!"

Butcher's voice thundered across a hundred li. Hundreds of Heavenly Masters stepped forward from the human army.

Dark clouds immediately gathered overhead, and torrential rain poured down on the demonic beast army.

Lightning flashed across the sky. Over a hundred black thunderbolts struck, leaving hundreds of beast corpses behind.

"Lion King, fight me above the clouds." Butcher drew the Pig-Slaughtering Saber from his waist and flew toward the cloud tops.

Lion King sneered, transformed into a golden-maned lion, and soared after him.

By the time nearly a tenth of the demonic beasts had died, the barrier formed by the Earth Masters shattered. Thousands upon thousands of cultivators brought out their Spirit Artifacts and charged.

He saw Lord Pinghui fighting two living spirit realm demonic beasts alone.

Feng Su and Gongsun Tuo flew forward, each engaging a living spirit realm beast.

The beasts still had a Blackwater Mystic Serpent and a Mountain Turtle with no opponents. A Pig-Slaughtering Personal Guard clad in red robes and armor hurled his spear at the Blackwater Mystic Serpent, then drew his pig-slaughtering saber and charged.

Another living spirit realm cultivator.

Yang Xiao frowned. Slaughter Heaven City had somewhat more sea condensation realm cultivators, allowing its lower-level forces to barely hold their own against the beasts, but no one could deal with the remaining living spirit realm Mountain Turtle.

If this continued, Slaughter Heaven City's forces would inevitably lose.

Slaughter Heaven City had originally had another living spirit realm expert, but he had died at the white-robed woman's hands.

Yang Xiao took out the supreme-grade Spirit Artifact saber. Since Huangfu Qi had died because of him, he would fill that gap.

With the Thousand-Spirit Spider Rope circling his body, Yang Xiao charged forward. Wherever he passed, every demonic beast within ten meters dissolved into black liquid.

Halfway there, a soul seed realm azure ox fixed its eyes on him. Its four legs drove against the ground, its horns shone with azure light, and it lowered its head to charge.

Yang Xiao gripped the saber. Before, he had needed every trick at his disposal to deal with a soul seed realm demonic beast. Now that he had a supreme-grade Spirit Artifact, it was much easier.

The Thousand-Spirit Spider Rope slithered like a snake, leaving a black mark across the ground. It coiled around the azure ox's four legs and released its poison. The ox bellowed, its movement arrested.

Suddenly, Yang Xiao slashed down from midair. A blade of light flew out and struck the azure ox's head.

Landing on the ground, he swept his right hand over the azure ox, making its corpse disappear, then continued charging toward the Mountain Turtle.

The Mountain Turtle was enormous and possessed the strength to topple mountains and split seas, but its weaknesses were equally obvious: slow movement and poor agility.

Well, that was only compared to beasts of the same level. In fact, the Mountain Turtle was a little faster than Yang Xiao. Its agility was merely a tiny bit worse.

Exploiting that weakness, Yang Xiao used Shrinking Earth to Inches around it, constantly changing positions and occasionally striking its great shell with his saber.

Before Yang Xiao arrived, two soul seed realm experts had already tried to stop the Mountain Turtle's slaughter. One was Elder Fu Shi of the Earth Master Hall. He used the same method as Yang Xiao, but his attacks were too weak to inflict much damage.

The other was a sword-wielding rogue cultivator. He was quite young, but his movement techniques lacked agility. After being injured by the Mountain Turtle once, he only dared fire Sword Qi from a distance.

"Yang Xiao, you actually dare show yourself before me!" At the sight of him, Fu Shi's beard fluttered with rage. He waved his hand, sending a stone palm crashing toward him.

"Fu Shi!" Yang Xiao said coldly, a chill gleaming in his eyes. Spiritual light flickered along the unnamed supreme-grade Spirit Artifact saber in his hand.

"Look at the situation! You're still fighting among yourselves? If we don't get rid of the Mountain Turtle, we'll all die!" The sword-wielding rogue cultivator was rammed by the Mountain Turtle and sent flying dozens of meters. Blood stained the corner of his mouth as he roared at them.

Both snorted coldly and turned their attention back to the Mountain Turtle.

Its shell was too hard. Even a supreme-grade Spirit Artifact could only leave a shallow mark. Hacking at it head-on would not work.

Whenever Yang Xiao tried to slash at the Mountain Turtle's limbs, it withdrew its feet into its shell in time.

Yang Xiao scanned his surroundings. Almost everyone was fighting demonic beasts. No one had time to pay attention to them.

He actually had a method, but it was far too risky. It required peak demonic will, and using it here would surely draw notice.

Just then, the Mountain Turtle crushed dozens of cultivators underfoot. Blood mixed with minced flesh splashed onto Yang Xiao's face.

The smell of blood seared his mind. Yang Xiao did not know what would happen if his peak demonic will was discovered, but he knew that if he did not kill the Mountain Turtle, over a million residents of Slaughter Heaven City would die in the beasts' jaws.

Black mist spread in every direction. Hundreds of streams of spiritual energy gathered inside Yang Xiao, instantly replenishing the magical power he had just spent.

His scarlet eyes pierced the black mist and settled on the Mountain Turtle.

Seeing his transformation, Fu Shi frowned deeply. "I seem to have heard of this somewhere. Damn it, this looks like the peak demonic will recorded in the ancient texts."

Yang Xiao glanced at Fu Shi. Old man, you're dead.

Earth's Right Hand!

A mountain shattered, transforming into a right palm that struck toward the Mountain Turtle.

"Aaaah!"

Veins bulged all over Yang Xiao's body. The Mountain Turtle was too large. Even Earth's Right Hand could only lift it twenty meters off the ground.

With the surrounding cultivators and demonic beasts replenishing his magical power, the endless stream instantly filled his spirit sea.

The Thundercloud Fan appeared in his hand. He traced formations toward the sky, sending one Nine Thunder Formation after another soaring upward. Layer upon layer of black clouds pressed down, leaving everyone on the battlefield struggling to breathe.

"Come out!"

Yang Xiao roared, and thunderbolts struck into the five large openings in the Mountain Turtle's shell.

Roar!

After dozens of thunderbolts struck, the Mountain Turtle finally could no longer endure it and thrust its head out.

Now! Yang Xiao flipped his right hand. The Thundercloud Fan vanished, and the saber appeared. All his magical power surged into the blade.

Yang Xiao leaped into the air and slashed, shearing away nearly half the Mountain Turtle's head.

Boom!

A golden meteor streaked across the sky and slammed into the ground, leaving an enormous crater.

"Retreat!"

Covered in wounds, Lion King flew out of the crater and roared.

The Mountain Turtle glanced at him. Only one eye remained on its earthen-yellow face, its gaze cold and filled with murderous intent. It gave a low, unwilling growl, then turned and fled deeper into the Ten Thousand Peaks Forest.

Shhk!

A blade pierced flesh. Fu Shi turned to look back, and a familiar voice sounded beside his ear.

"You know too much."

Yang Xiao pulled out the saber. Everyone's attention was on Lion King at that moment, and no one noticed what had happened.

But Fu Shi's death did not put Yang Xiao at ease. There were too many people on the battlefield. He did not know whether anyone had noticed him, or whether they knew about peak demonic will as Fu Shi had.

"Elder Fu Shi!" A disciple of the Earth Master Hall spotted Fu Shi's fallen corpse and cried out.

"What happened?" Gongsun Tuo came over to Fu Shi's body, his expression dark.

He first noticed Fu Shi's saber wound, then turned his gaze toward Yang Xiao and said icily, "You killed Fu Shi."

Yang Xiao curled his lip and ignored Gongsun Tuo entirely, because he had seen Butcher return.

Butcher glanced at Fu Shi's corpse, exchanged a look with Yang Xiao, and stood beside him. "Gongsun Tuo, don't make wild accusations without evidence. Who here can prove that my nephew killed Fu Shi?"

In an instant, the entire battlefield fell silent. Everyone's attention had been drawn to Lion King, and Yang Xiao had also chosen a blind spot. No one had seen it.

Besides, with Butcher openly standing beside him now, even anyone who had seen it would not dare oppose him.

"Sky Marquis. What a fine Sky Marquis you are! I, Gongsun Tuo, will certainly impeach you before the Holy Ancestor," Gongsun Tuo said. "Disciples of the Earth Master Hall, return to the city."

Watching Gongsun Tuo lead the Earth Master Hall's disciples away, Yang Xiao's eyes filled with killing intent. His feud with the Earth Master Hall was already beyond resolution. One day, either he would destroy the Earth Master Hall, or the Earth Master Hall would be destroyed by him.