"Brother Zhou, there's no need for that."
Han Xuanji glanced at Zhou Yuan, seemingly unintentionally.
He also noticed that when Zhou Yuan said this, his eyes met Zhou Yuan's briefly, and there was something indescribable in Zhou Yuan's eyes.
Han Xuanji was somewhat puzzled. After all, although he held the title of a disciple of a Holy Lord, he was not particularly outstanding in the Nine Mysteries Saint Realm or the Ten Directions Sacred Domain.
You think highly of him?
Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice, "I, Zhou, am not one to fear death. I have taken a liking to Brother Han at first sight, how could I possibly abandon you like this?"
Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of the people present became somewhat strange.
Does that mean they are cowards who are afraid of death?
They only met once, yet they acted like brothers who would die for each other.
Zhou Yuan, on the other hand, was completely open and honest, ignoring the strange looks from the others. He thought to himself that he had said those words by some strange impulse, and it was difficult to take them back now.
Strangely enough, he the Unseen a feeling that he should befriend Han Xuanji, so he subconsciously asked Han Xuanji to join his team before, and this time he trusted her and was willing to lend her a hand.
"Alright, thank you very much for your help, Brother Zhou."
Han Xuanji withdrew his gaze and said nothing more.
He did have some guts; knowing the danger, he still dared to stay, a courage that surpassed many others present.
Chen Luo frowned and remained silent; he naturally didn't want to stay and wait to die.
However, Chen Fei, who was beside him, suddenly tugged at his sleeve and whispered a few words.
Then the tall and imposing man stood to the side of Zhou Yuan and Han Xuanji, his actions clearly indicating that he also intended to stay.
Chen Luo glanced down at his younger brother, then at Han Xuanji, and finally sighed, silently standing next to Zhou Yuan.
The Chen brothers also stayed.
Wei Feng and Liu Yi hesitated for even longer.
Wei Feng's gaze darted back and forth between Han Xuanji and the Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf several times before he finally shook his head, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards Han Xuanji, and spoke with a hint of bitterness that even he himself didn't realize:
"Brother Han, Brother Lan, please forgive my meager abilities; I cannot be of much help, so I will not hold you back."
After saying that, he grabbed Liu Yi, who was still hesitating, and turned to leave.
Liu Yi was dragged several dozen feet away. She looked back, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn't speak.
After the two left, Wei Feng remained silent until he reached a hillside far from the Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf before stopping.
He looked back at the valley, his expression shifting from lingering fear to relief, and then from relief to a vague, inexplicable resentment.
"This Han Xuanji is also an arrogant and ignorant person."
He leaned against a dead tree, arms crossed, his voice tinged with barely suppressed resentment.
"I thought Lan Miao was all talk and no action, but I didn't expect Han Xuanji to be even crazier than him."
"How dare he confront such Variant? Does he think he's Chi Yuan or Li Fu? Just because he's a disciple of the Holy Lord doesn't mean he's so great. Once you enter this Sacred Domain, everyone starts from scratch!"
The more he spoke, the more self-righteous he became, as if this would convince himself that his decision to leave was the right one.
"You can't reason with those damned devils. We're right to leave; why should we go and die with them?"
Liu Yi didn't reply, but just stood to the side with her eyes lowered.
She knew that everything Wei Feng said was true; a normal person would choose to retreat in this situation, and staying would be unwise.
But she couldn't help but raise her eyes and look at the valley bathed in a mixture of silver moonlight and golden aura.
Something feels off.
The instant she looked up, a Sword-Ray tore through the sky.
Han Xuanji made her move.
After persuading everyone to divide the tasks, he wasted no more time.
Holding the Azure Heaven Sword in his hand, a pale blue light flowed across its blade. It was a divine weapon that had burst forth from the Azure Sky Python, its spiritual light a fusion of Mystic Heaven spiritual power and the sword's inherent characteristics.
The Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf seemed particularly wary of Han Xuanji. When it saw him approach alone, its deep blue wolf eyes narrowed slightly, and it crouched down, adopting a defensive posture.
The scene of Han Xuanji saving someone from its claws had made the human remember the speed of this human.
But it is ultimately the top predator in this Sacred Domain; vigilance is not the same as fear.
With a low growl, it launched the first attack, its massive body lunging out like a silver lightning bolt. Its gaping maw unleashed a chilling breath mixed with countless tiny ice blades, sweeping towards Han Xuanji like a storm.
At the same time, it stomped its four claws on the ground and its body transformed into a silver-white afterimage as it disappeared.
This Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf is not only extremely fast and powerful, but it can also unleash the power of the extremely Yin Moon Essence, making it incredibly formidable.
However, Han Xuanji had already anticipated how the opponent would attack.
With a golden flash beneath his feet, his figure advanced instead of retreating, directly passing through the weakest point of the icy breath. The Azure Heaven Sword drew an arc in mid-air, precisely striking the left foreleg joint of the Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf.
The moment the sword touched the silver wolf fur, a wisp of corrosive blue smoke hissed out, and a foot-long wound was cut into the hard wolf skin. Silver wolf blood gushed out, and when it fell to the ground, it froze the rocks, creating spiderweb-like cracks.
The Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf let out a roar of pain, its massive body twisting violently in mid-air as its claws lashed out once more.
Han Xuanji was no longer where he had been. His figure slid away like a ghost along the edge of the wolf's claws, and with a backhand flick of his Azure Heaven Sword, he added another wound to the wolf's belly.
Having been struck twice, the Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf finally abandoned all its contempt.
It let out a low whimper, then suddenly raised its head and let out a long and desolate wolf howl.
The wolf's howl contained a strange power. Wherever the sound waves passed, Lan Miao and the others felt a jolt in their hearts and had to use their internal energy to protect their minds.
This is actually the innate divine Divine Ability of the Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf, the Soul-Devouring Wolf Howl.
The previous nine-person team was thrown off balance by this move, their formation was disrupted, and they were defeated one by one.
Lan Miao had also suffered a great loss before.
However, Han Xuanji didn't even frown.
The Saint Soul Physique grants him a soul strength ten times that of cultivators of the same level, and also a powerful trait that makes him immune to all soul attacks below the Saint Realm.
To him, the wolf's howl was nothing more than a slightly noisy gust of wind.
Not only was he unaffected, but at the moment Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf raised its head and howled, its defense was at its most relaxed, he stomped his foot and his whole body transformed into a golden light that rose from the ground.
His figure appeared directly above the Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf, the Azure Heaven Sword held high above his head.
The light on the sword suddenly receded, replaced by a deep and brilliant Sword Intent.
The Sword Intent was not violent, but it carried a sharpness that could penetrate everything, as if it were not aimed at flesh, but at the stars.
The third move of the Starfall Nine Swords is Falling Star.
A silver Sword-Ray shot out from the tip of the sword, slicing through the night sky like a falling meteor, and accurately struck the crescent-shaped horn on the head of the Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf.
That crescent-shaped horn is the core of the Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf's power, condensing all the essence it has absorbed from countless years of moonlight, and its hardness is comparable to that of a divine weapon.
However, this hardness was insufficient in the face of the silver Sword-Ray. The Sword-Ray cut into the root of the unicorn, and the corrosive power and sharp Sword Qi erupted at the same time. With a crisp cracking sound, the crescent unicorn was severed at the root, spun in the air and flew dozens of feet away, and stuck into the ground, splashing up a circle of frost-white shock wave.
The Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf let out an extremely mournful howl, its silvery-white fur dimmed at a visible speed, and the self-healing light at its wounds also went out.
This single horn is its Achilles' heel; if the horn is severed, its power is effectively halved.
"Now!"
Han Xuanji shouted loudly.
Lan Miao was the first to react, and her longsword slashed out suddenly. A mighty sword light slammed into the side of the Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf, exploding a large patch of flesh and blood.
Zhou Yuan, Chen Luo, and Chen Fei also attacked simultaneously, their sword flashes pouring down like a torrential rain on the Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf.
Having lost its horn Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf's defenses were greatly reduced. It was forced to retreat repeatedly by this attack, its wounds increasing, and its silvery-white wolf blood stained the entire ground a frosty white.
They were about to defeat this top-tier Variant.
On a distant hillside, Wei Feng stared in disbelief at the scene.
His face was ashen, and his lips moved several times before he managed to squeeze out a few broken words:
"He... he's so amazing, why didn't he do this sooner..."