Trouble

When Black Mountain and Red Wind opened their blood-red eyes, Si Chen's heart sank.

These two great beasts were the only friends in this unfamiliar world who could put him at ease.

He didn't want anything to happen to them, much less hurt them with his own hands.

Red Bean let out sharp, frantic cries from his shoulder, wings beating urgently, as though trying to wake them with those calls.

But it was useless. Black Mountain and Red Wind no longer recognized the boy and little bird before them.

The great hall had descended into utter hell.

The humans and demons who had soaked in the blood pool had gone completely mad, biting and attacking one another like wild beasts, blood and severed limbs flying everywhere.

Humans and demons who had lost their minds kept roaring and lunging at Si Chen, but he easily evaded their haphazard attacks with Thunderbolt Flash.

Yet his gaze remained firmly fixed on Black Mountain and Red Wind.

Black Mountain reared up on his enormous hindquarters and let out a deafening roar, his heavy bear paw slamming down with a gust of blood-reeking wind!

"Boom!"

A red-eyed cultivator who failed to dodge didn't even have time to scream. Like a smashed watermelon, he instantly became a puddle of mangled flesh.

On the other side, Red Wind crouched low, every muscle taut as he prepared to pounce, then shot forward as a deadly crimson blur.

"Riiip!"

His sharp claws tore through another unlucky victim's chest as easily as slicing tofu.

Si Chen remembered Black Mountain boasting that the two of them had only recently advanced to third-tier demon beasts, roughly equivalent to human cultivators at the Nascent Soul early stage. Thanks to their thick hides and tough flesh, they could even trade blows with someone at the Nascent Soul middle stage in a real fight.

Now, it seemed that had been no empty boast.

They had completely lost their minds and could only charge around on bodily instinct. Their attacks lacked variety, and their strength was greatly diminished compared to when they were lucid.

Even so, they were still far beyond what those Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators could withstand.

Their involvement sent the already chaotic scene spiraling further out of control.

"Run! Those two big beasts have gone mad too!"

"They're third-tier demon beasts!"

The cultivators who still retained their sanity were scared out of their souls. They scrambled and stumbled toward the passage they had entered through, cursing their parents for not giving them another pair of legs.

The number of people still standing in the hall dwindled rapidly, some dying, others fleeing.

As their numbers plummeted, the red-eyed madmen soon set their sights on the only living creature still moving nimbly through the hall: Si Chen.

Naturally, Si Chen wasn't about to sit and wait for death.

He swept both hands repeatedly, sending dazzling Thunderbolt Spears screaming outward, while Thunderbolt Flash carried him flickering through the hall like a butterfly weaving among flowers.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Lightning burst again and again, sending flesh and blood flying.

He didn't care whether any of them lived or died, apart from his two friends.

But Si Chen's heart sank little by little.

After Black Mountain and Red Wind finished clearing out the "small fry" around them, he saw both pairs of scarlet beast eyes slowly turn toward him.

"Roar!"

Black Mountain charged over with a roar, his enormous paw crashing down and smashing a deep crater into the spot where Si Chen had just stood. Broken stones sprayed everywhere.

Si Chen had only just dodged with Thunderbolt Flash and had yet to steady himself when Red Wind's sharp claws came whistling toward him!

He could only use Thunderbolt Flash to dodge again, while the other maddened humans and demons closed in around him.

There were simply too many of them.

Si Chen's spiritual power was draining rapidly under the onslaught, especially since he had to evade Black Mountain and Red Wind, two genuine third-tier demon beasts.

Their speed and physical strength were formidable beyond measure. In their current madness, they were utterly fearless of death, every strike carrying tremendous force.

He didn't want to hurt Black Mountain or Red Wind, and fighting with his hands and feet bound by that restraint immediately multiplied the pressure on him.

I have to bring them back to their senses.

He darted about, dodging as his thoughts raced. Evading forever was no solution, and hurting them was the last thing he wanted.

What could dispel the violence inside them?

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning-the Yi Wood Eternal Spring Art!

This cultivation art contained tremendous vitality, balanced and gentle above all else, like spring rain nourishing all things.

Over the past two years on the Mountain of Ten Thousand Silences, he had cultivated day and night, absorbing vast quantities of plant essence and storing it within his body...

Perhaps... this power could cleanse the madness brought on by the blood pool?

Then I'll try it!

Si Chen drew a deep breath and deliberately guided the warm, gentle energy within him. Emerald radiance slowly seeped out of his body.

That peaceful vitality was utterly at odds with the bloodshed and savagery filling the hall.

Spotting an opening, he activated Thunderbolt Flash again, becoming a zigzagging streak of lightning that threaded through the frenzied crowd as he charged straight toward Black Mountain.

Black Mountain swung his paw down again. Si Chen twisted aside to avoid the sharp claw tips, while a layer of soft emerald radiance spread over his right fist!

"Black Mountain! Wake up!"

He planted his fist against Black Mountain's furry forehead.

The punch did no damage to Black Mountain's powerful body, but vitality trickled along Si Chen's fist like a gentle stream, attempting to flow into Black Mountain's chaotic sea of consciousness.

"Hum..."

Black Mountain's body visibly paused.

An exceedingly brief flicker of struggle and confusion crossed those crimson bear eyes, and even the savage aura around him seemed to fade a little!

It worked!

Si Chen's spirits lifted, and he was just about to increase the flow of vitality.

At that critical moment-

"You little bastard, die!"

A roar filled with bone-deep hatred came from the passage entrance!

It was followed by a silent slash as swift as lightning!

Lü Ci! They've caught up!

Si Chen had focused all his attention on saving Black Mountain, leaving him half a beat too slow to react to the sword strike.

He instantly twisted his body, but the Sword Qi still grazed his arm!

"Riiip!"

His sleeve was sliced open in an instant, and a wound appeared on his arm, blood immediately welling out.

Si Chen didn't even glance at it. The vitality of the Yi Wood Eternal Spring Art circulated on its own, and the flesh around the wound immediately began to writhe.

Within just a few breaths, the terrible wound had stopped bleeding and healed.

But that interruption alone had cost him his best chance.

The trace of clarity that had just appeared in Black Mountain's eyes vanished completely, replaced by even more frenzied brutality!

He reared up, unleashed an even more terrifying roar, and lunged at Si Chen once again!

At the entrance to the great hall, Lü Ci, the two Core Formation elders whose wounds had yet to heal but whose eyes brimmed with malice, and Young Master Fang and his gray-robed guardian had all arrived.

Before him stood dear friends driven into a mindless frenzy; behind him stood enemies who hated him to the bone, their killing intent boiling.

Yet Si Chen's expression remained unruffled.