The dozens of blood-red figures hurtled toward them, whipping up a sky full of blood-reeking wind. In the blink of an eye, they reached Ye Chen and the others and surrounded them.
They came in all shapes and forms. Some were humanoid, but dark red scales covered their skin, and their fingertips were sharp as hooks. Others were half-human, half-beast, with exposed fangs and drool that dripped onto the ground, corroding it with sizzling white smoke. Several had entirely bestial forms, resembling ravenous wolves, but with bone spurs jutting from their backs and bloodthirsty flames dancing in their eyes. All of them exuded thick Blood Fiend Qi. Their cultivation varied, ranging from the equivalent of the Golden Core Realm to the Nascent Soul Realm. Their leader, a hunched, scaled humanoid holding a bone staff, had an aura that reached the early stage of spirit transformation.
"Hiss—fresh blood to feast on! And such pure spiritual qi!" The spirit transformation cultivator extended his forked tongue and licked his lips, his scarlet eyes fixed on Ye Chen and the others. His greed all but spilled from his eyes when he sensed their pure auras, so utterly out of place on this wasteland. "Seize them! Offering them to the elder will earn us great merit!"
"Roar!"
The surrounding monsters roared in excitement. As though looking at fish on a chopping block, they swarmed forward! There seemed to be no method to their attacks; they lunged on instinct alone, their claws and fangs wreathed in filthy blood-red light carrying corrosive, chaotic power.
"Form up! Five Elements Rotation!" Ye Yun commanded coldly. He did not grow careless merely because most of their enemies had lower cultivation. In unfamiliar surroundings, any underestimation could prove fatal.
The ten followers moved instantly, crossing past one another to take up intricate positions. Ye Yun held the center, his Sword Qi representing metal. Shi Meng guarded one flank, his earthen-yellow halo heavy as a mountain. Emerald light flowed around Ye Ling, its flourishing vitality providing support through the wood element. The young woman skilled in formations laid down lines of spiritual patterns with a wave of her hand, drawing water and fire into an interwoven current. Mo Yu roamed the perimeter, his shadow power spilling like mercury across the ground to disrupt their opponents' senses.
A simple yet efficient five-element battle formation took shape in an instant. Radiance flowed through it, linking everyone's auras into a single whole, ready for both attack and defense.
The first few Golden Core Realm beasts crashed into the five-element halo as though slamming into an iron plate. They let out piercing screams as their Blood Fiend Qi was instantly purified, their bodies crumbling and dispersing beneath the pure power of the five elements!
"Oh? You have a few tricks!" A flicker of surprise crossed the scaled spirit transformation cultivator's eyes before he grinned viciously. "What good will a formation do? Here in the Blood-Baleful Wasteland, the Blood Wolf Tribe reigns supreme! Bone-Eroding Blood Rain!"
He brandished his bone staff, and a filthy blood cloud instantly gathered overhead. Blood-red raindrops poured down, bringing an overpowering stench. The rain was fiercely corrosive, hissing as it struck the ground and melting even the rocks.
“A paltry trick.” Ye Ling chuckled and formed hand seals. Emerald light blazed, and the phantom of an enormous Spirit Plant appeared behind her, radiating pure life energy. Its branches and leaves spread into a vast canopy. As the blood rain struck it, that immense vitality swiftly neutralized and purified the rain, turning it into wisps of pale smoke that drifted away.
"What?!" The scaled humanoid blanched in shock. The divine ability that had made his name had been undone so easily?
"My turn." Ye Yun spoke without emotion. Holding two fingers together like a sword, he slashed through the air toward the scaled humanoid.
"Shing—!"
A pale golden streak of Sword Qi, condensed to the utmost and seemingly capable of slicing through the void, screamed forth! Wherever it passed, the violent spiritual qi was forcibly pushed aside. Even the tiny spatial fissures gave way before it!
The scaled humanoid felt a deadly sharpness lock onto him in an instant. Frightened nearly out of his soul, he hurriedly held his bone staff across his body and spat out a mouthful of blood essence, forming a thick blood-red shield.
"Crack!"
The pale golden Sword Qi tore through the blood-red shield as easily as paper, cleaving the seemingly extraordinary bone staff and the scaled humanoid behind it in two! Its momentum undiminished, it also shredded several monsters behind him that failed to dodge in time!
Such terrifying power from a single sword strike!
The remaining monsters were utterly terrified. The Blood Fiend Qi they depended on for survival might as well not have existed before these opponents. Even their strongest leader had been killed in a single move! Howling in terror, they turned to scatter and flee.
"Trying to leave?" Shi Meng laughed heartily and stepped forward, making the ground quake. His fists shone with a metallic sheen, like a pair of heavy hammers, as he struck to either side.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
His punches blasted the air apart. Several monsters that were too slow to escape exploded into blood mist before they could even scream.
Mo Yu's figure flickered among the fleeing monsters. Each time he appeared, another monster fell soundlessly, a thin line of blood marking its throat.
In just ten breaths, the dozens of ferocious Blood Wolf Tribe members had been reduced to a single trembling, hyena-like beast, pinned to the ground by a streak of Ye Yun's Sword Qi and unable to move.
The battle had begun quickly and ended even faster.
Ye Chen had stood where he was from beginning to end without making a move. Watching his followers finish the fight cleanly and efficiently, he gave a slight nod. Though this world's environment was harsh and its laws suppressed them, the foundations and strength of the Ye Clan's descendants were still far beyond those of these natives, who were little more than wild monsters.
"Young master, we left one alive." Ye Yun sheathed his sword and pointed at the hyena-like beast pinned by his Sword Qi.
Ye Chen walked up to the beast. Sensing his restrained yet even more unfathomable aura, it trembled all over and let out pitiful whimpers.
"Search its soul," Ye Chen said flatly. This was the most direct and effective way to learn about an unfamiliar world as quickly as possible. Though somewhat cruel, it troubled him little when dealing with hostile natives that regarded them as food.
A young man who had remained quiet throughout, his gaze deep and unreadable, stepped out from the group. His name was Ye You, and he specialized in soul arts. He walked up to the hyena-like beast, a dim dark glow rising in his eyes and piercing straight into its terrified gaze.
The hyena-like beast convulsed violently, letting out agonized howls. Moments later, its eyes lost focus, foam spilled from its mouth, and it fell unconscious.
Ye You closed his eyes to digest what he had learned for a moment. Then he opened them and bowed to Ye Chen. "Young master, this beast had little intelligence, and its memories were jumbled, but I obtained some basic information."
"Speak."
"This world calls itself the 'Primordial World.' We are currently on the outskirts of a region known as the 'Blood-Baleful Wasteland.' Resources are scarce, and baleful qi is thick. Small factions like the Blood Wolf Tribe dominate the area, waging war against one another over limited resources and living prey."
"The Primordial World..." Ye Chen silently committed the name to memory.
Ye You continued, "The names of this world's cultivation realms differ from ours, but they roughly correspond. Qi Refining, foundation establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, spirit transformation... Beyond those, its memories vaguely referred to 'void insight,' 'mahayana,' and 'tribulation transcendence.' As for higher beings, this beast's level was too low for it to have any clear understanding."
"Void insight, mahayana, tribulation transcendence..." Ye Chen pondered. It seemed this world's upper limit corresponded to at least the Immortal Venerable level.
"Furthermore," Ye You said, his tone growing graver, "from this beast's fragmented, chaotic memories, I could sense that every living being in this world exists in a state of extreme 'hunger.' The spiritual qi is violent and difficult to absorb, and resources are desperately scarce. Most of them cultivate by devouring the blood, qi, and soul power of other living beings. Even killing their own kind is commonplace. The entire world is ruled by the strong devouring the weak. It is utterly brutal."
Everyone's expression grew solemn at his words. A world whose resources had dried up and whose Dao Path had been severed, driving every cultivator into a mad struggle against their peers and into devouring one another? That was far more chilling than a world that was simply powerful.
"One more thing," Ye You added. "They seem especially sensitive to, and hungry for, 'pure' spiritual qi and life energy. The spatial disturbance of our arrival, along with our own pure auras, probably shone like a beacon in the darkness, drawing them here."
Ye Chen nodded. That explained why they had been attacked as soon as they landed.
He glanced at the unconscious beast on the ground and flicked a finger. A wisp of purple qi entered its body, instantly reducing it to drifting ash.
"The Primordial World... the Blood-Baleful Wasteland..." Ye Chen gazed across the dim, oppressive landscape, his eyes fathomless.
This place was more brutal than he had imagined, and also more... interesting.
He sensed strange fluctuations coming from the torn page against his chest, as though it were faintly resisting this place's decaying laws.
"Let's go." Ye Chen turned, choosing a direction opposite to the one the monsters had come from. "Since we're here, we ought to see just what makes this 'Primordial World' different."
Gathering themselves, the group followed Ye Chen cautiously deeper into the wasteland. Establishing their might in this first battle had not made them lower their guard. Instead, it had given them a deeper understanding of this unfamiliar world.
The road ahead was destined to be anything but smooth.
Before you continue