Tonight was moonless. Dark clouds had somehow blanketed the entire night sky. Though lightning flashed between the clouds and thunder rumbled, not a single drop of rain fell. Instead, the air was oppressively hot.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Within the dense Primeval Forest, Bai He seemed to have become a streak of silver light as he darted swiftly through the trees. Behind him, figures pursued relentlessly.
"Bai He, I know it's you. Stop now and come back with your elder sister!"
"That Lu Jun—I actually hated him too. You did the right thing by killing him. Elder Sister was truly happy about it!"
"Come, return with Elder Sister. Once we're back, Elder Sister will bring you into our Undying Saint Sect..."
Not far behind, a figure dressed in white gauze lightly tapped her jade feet against the branches, leaping gracefully between the tall, dense trees like a startled swan.
Sultry, bewitching sounds came from all directions, endlessly echoing in Bai He's ears and making his head swim.
He was certain this was some kind of Sound Attack Secret Technique!
But it did not affect him too greatly. In his dragonized state, not only had his combat strength soared and his six senses become incredibly sharp, allowing him to see through the night as though it were day, but he had also inherited some of the temperament and habits of the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon, the target of his dragonization.
Violent, cold-blooded, savage!
It could be said that his personality had changed greatly in his dragonized state.
Before transforming, he had been the type to plan before acting, fond of playing the pig to eat the tiger. But after dragonizing, he had become the sort who took life and death lightly and fought anyone who refused to submit.
His fighting style had also become exceptionally brutal and violent. He would casually rip out hearts and tear open livers, even flashing chilling smiles. His former self would never have been capable of such things.
Though he could not block out the demonic sounds ringing in his ears, whenever Bai He felt his mind growing muddled, the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon Soul within him would automatically unleash a dense, baleful aura to rouse him, preventing Liu Yue's Sound Attack Secret Technique from affecting him.
The night was deep, and visibility in the dense forest was nearly zero.
Although his night vision allowed Bai He to move through the darkness like a fish through water, compared to Liu Yue, he was still relying purely on physical strength to travel through the forest, whereas Liu Yue used true qi to lighten her body as she leaped between the trees.
Judging by the way they expended their stamina, Bai He would certainly be the first to run out of strength.
Moreover, traveling across the ground meant he would inevitably encounter obstacles and waste time avoiding them. Leaping among the trees, however, presented almost no obstacles. If this continued, Bai He would definitely be caught.
"No! I have to think of a way!"
Watching Liu Yue draw ever closer behind him, Bai He calmly considered a solution.
Right now, he was like a Lone Wolf being hunted by a hunter. The hunter held a rifle and drove hunting hounds after him without respite. He feared neither the hunter nor the hounds, but when the two worked together, he could only keep fleeing out of concern for both.
If he killed the hounds, he would suffer a head-on blow from the hunter. But if he wanted to kill the hunter, he first had to deal with the hounds at the hunter's side. No matter which he killed first, there would be no good outcome. It was infuriating.
Thunder rumbled through the night sky, while the roars of unknown beasts occasionally rang out around them.
Hearing the howls reverberating through the forest, an idea suddenly came to Bai He.
He remembered that this Primeval Forest contained more than just ancient vicious dragons. There were also no small number of brutal and powerful Primordial Mythical Beasts.
Had it not been for the battle between the Eight-Armed Evil Dragon and the ancient tyrannosaurus not long ago, which had caused many Beast Kings occupying the outskirts of the forest either to die or quietly hide away to recover from their injuries, Liu Yue and the others would never have reached the Small Lake where Bai He was so easily.
If he wanted to break this deadlock now, he undoubtedly had to set his sights on those powerful Primordial Mythical Beasts.
"Lead those parasites clinging to me into the territory of a Beast King that rules this forest. If both its territory and dignity are violated, surely the Beast King won't forgive these people so easily, will it?" A cold smile curled across Bai He's lips.
After swiftly choosing his first "victim," Bai He, who had been racing forward, abruptly stopped.
Using his immense forward momentum, Bai He twisted his body sideways. Swinging the blade-sharp bone spurs on his arms, he sliced through several massive ancient trees in rapid succession—swish, swish, swish—before fleeing in another direction.
One towering ancient tree after another slowly scraped through the surrounding woods before crashing to the ground with a thud. Though they delayed Liu Yue and the sailors pursuing him by less than five seconds, that was already enough to create a chasm between life and death.
In his dragonized state, even the pitch-black night was as bright as day to Bai He. Not long after changing direction, a huge figure appeared before him.
Not far away, a Three-Eyed Divine Wolf standing five meters tall was crouched in a clearing amid the trees. Its fur was golden, and golden light flickered in and out as its eyes opened and closed.
Bai He swept past the Three-Eyed Divine Wolf like a gust of wind, deliberately blasting a dense wave of baleful aura straight into the divine wolf's face.
Bai He left, but the Three-Eyed Divine Wolf shuddered beneath the impact of that aura and snapped awake from its light slumber.
Seeing the silver figure vanish at the edge of its vision, the Three-Eyed Divine Wolf let out an enraged howl. It had actually been provoked, and now it was furious!
Not long after Bai He departed, Liu Yue and the sailors caught up. By then, the Three-Eyed Divine Wolf's rage had already reached the heavens. These weak, lowly creatures actually dared provoke it! It would show them the fury of a Beast King.
With an angry howl, the Three-Eyed Divine Wolf directly opened its third eye. This was its innate divine ability!
A beam of golden light shot from the God Eye toward Liu Yue, who was leaping through the treetops.
But Liu Yue was ultimately a highly skilled martial artist. Just as the golden light was about to strike her, she twisted and flipped through the air, dodging it and landing on another tree.
The sailors on the ground, however, were not so fortunate. On the ground, they were practically living targets.
The enraged Three-Eyed Divine Wolf fired dozens of Golden Divine Lights in succession from its third God Eye. The divine lights moved with astonishing speed, and before anyone could react, they instantly took the lives of nearly ten sailors charging at the front. Only a few highly skilled sailor leaders and veteran sailors escaped disaster.
But it was not over yet. Aside from their formidable innate divine abilities, Primordial Mythical Beasts were terrifying because of their powerful bodies.
The Three-Eyed Divine Wolf roared and charged straight at the sailors. Its sharp wolf claws lopped off an entire row of heads. Only after suffering enormous casualties did the sailors escape under Liu Yue's cover, but by then, more than half of them had been killed or wounded.
After continuing the chase for some time, Bai He led them into another Beast King's territory. This one belonged to a Four-Armed Demon Ape.
The Four-Armed Demon Ape was pitch-black all over, but the fur atop its head was crimson like blood. In its fury, it frantically pounded its chest, its fur standing upright like steel needles. As it roared, its four thick arms displayed boundless strength, tearing several unfortunate men in half and spraying blood everywhere!
Unfortunately, unlike the Three-Eyed Divine Wolf, the Four-Armed Demon Ape had no means of long-range attack. Though its combat strength was astounding, the range of its close-range attacks was ultimately limited, so it failed to inflict massive casualties on the sailors.
As for whether it could kill someone like Liu Yue, Bai He had not even considered it. Although these Beast Kings were immensely powerful, it was still difficult for them to kill an agile martial artist unless that martial artist chose to fight to the death.
Another Beast King's territory.
A silver-white horned giant python, dozens of meters long and covered in cold, dense scales, was coiled around a thousand-year-old tree resting. After Bai He disturbed it, it swept its tail out and smashed the bones of several pursuing sailors to pieces.
After suffering more casualties, Liu Yue and the others entered another Beast King's territory. Here lurked a Golden Divine Centipede nearly five meters long...
Waves crashed against the shore, and sea winds blew in gusts. Before them lay a cliff.
Bai He stopped. Looking out at the boundless sea before him, his expression turned grave.
Behind him came the sound of approaching footsteps. Bai He drew a deep breath and slowly walked to the cliff's edge. Should he jump or not?
Before you continue