A Brutal Slaughter

A terrifying beast roar shook the mountains and forests. Many Spirit Beasts revealed fearful expressions upon hearing it, then quickly fled this mountainous region.

Within a patch of dead forest, an enormous earth-yellow bear roughly four to five meters tall threw back its head and roared. It then rose onto its hind legs and slammed its massive paws heavily onto the ground before it. The earth split and the mountains trembled at once.

Before those bear paws came down, a tiny figure flashed past the giant bear. A streak of black light from the figure's hand left a shallow wound on its body.

Roar!

The giant bear let out another furious roar.

Though the opponent's attacks could not inflict a fatal wound upon it, the human darted about before it like a little bug, occasionally adding another wound to its body. This enraged the giant bear beyond measure.

Liu Bai dodged the giant bear's attack again, and his expression was far from pleasant.

This Earth Splitting Bear was among the strongest of the low-grade Spirit Beasts. Even late Spirit Movement Realm cultivators would find it difficult to pierce its defenses. Furthermore, it had an explosive temperament and could easily enter a berserk state. Once berserk, an Earth Splitting Bear was comparable to a mid-grade Spirit Beast.

Looking at the Earth Splitting Bear, whose eyes were gradually turning bloodshot, Liu Bai knew he could not drag this out any longer.

"Senluo Death Seal!"

With an angry shout in his heart, black radiance flickered over Liu Bai's right hand. A black death seal brimming with explosive energy emerged in his palm.

The next instant, a flash of crimson spiritual light passed over his feet. Accompanied by a soft explosive pop, he had already appeared on the Earth Splitting Bear's back. He viciously pressed the death seal in his right hand onto its enormous head.

Boom!

A violent explosion rang out. Even with thick fur protecting it, the Earth Splitting Bear's massive head was blasted open, flesh torn apart beneath the berserk power of the Senluo Death Seal.

Moreover, the powerful blast made the Earth Splitting Bear stagger forward uncontrollably. Seizing the chance, Liu Bai twisted through the air and drove the dagger in his left hand straight into one of its eyes.

ROAR!!!

After suffering consecutive heavy injuries, the Earth Splitting Bear finally went berserk. A layer of earth-yellow light suddenly erupted around its body, directly throwing Liu Bai off its back.

The berserk Earth Splitting Bear's attack and defense had both risen sharply. It would not be easy to hurt it again.

Borrowing that force, Liu Bai leaped back dozens of meters. He then made use of the blind spot created by its lost eye and hid behind a huge boulder.

The berserk Earth Splitting Bear had lost its reason. Its heart now held only destruction, and more destruction...

In an instant, all the rocks, grass, and trees within a hundred meters of it suffered disaster. Terrifying brute force, accompanied by earth-yellow spiritual energy, wreaked havoc without restraint, utterly destroying everything within a hundred-meter radius and leaving behind only shattered earth and stone.

Liu Bai cautiously poked his head out from behind cover. Seeing the berserk bear's terrifying destructive power, he could not help clicking his tongue. If he had failed to dodge, he would probably have been pounded into meat paste by now.

However, the Earth Splitting Bear's berserk state did not last long. Once it faded, it would also leave behind an extended period of weakness. That would be Liu Bai's best chance to strike and kill it.

Before long, the earth-yellow spiritual energy around the Earth Splitting Bear began to weaken, and its previously violent aura became listless. Combined with its already severe injuries, it no longer posed any threat.

Only then did Liu Bai slowly emerge from behind the boulder. He did not rush closer, instead stopping over twenty meters away. Then he threw the dagger in his hand directly at it, piercing the Earth Splitting Bear's throat.

At the moment of death, the Earth Splitting Bear let out one final mournful cry. Staring at that despicable fellow in the distance who refused to come near, it finally swallowed its last breath unwillingly.

"These Spirit Beasts really aren't simple. They even know how to play dead and ambush people..."

Even low-grade Spirit Beasts possessed intelligence not much inferior to humans. Treating them as ordinary wild animals during battle would lead to heavy losses.

The bear's skull had been blown open, and even its Spirit Beast Core was exposed. Clearly, this Earth Splitting Bear could not have been more dead. After Liu Bai collected its Spirit Beast Core, he immediately left the area.

This was already the seventh low-grade Spirit Beast he had killed today. These Spirit Beasts varied in strength. The weak ones, like the Wind Fox, were merely initial-stage low-grade Spirit Beasts, while strong ones like the Earth Splitting Bear stood at the very peak among low-grade Spirit Beasts.

Even among low-grade Spirit Beasts, the Experience Points they provided differed according to their strength. The weaker ones gave only forty or fifty points, while the stronger ones gave over a hundred. By now, Liu Bai had accumulated more than twelve hundred Experience Points.

This was only the first day of cultivation in the Northern Spirit Plains. There were still several days left. It seemed reaching the Spirit Wheel Realm would not be difficult; he just did not know how far he could advance.

As Liu Bai continued searching for prey, he encountered quite a few Northern Spirit Academy students. However, these people appeared to be having a rough time. Many were dirty and bedraggled, and it was clear from their conversations that they had encountered Spirit Beasts and lost the fight...

That was hardly surprising. After all, many of them were experiencing this sort of thing for the first time and naturally needed time to adapt. The first few days of each cultivation trip were mostly meant to help the students adjust to the environment. Only the final days were when they truly competed for rankings.

While searching, Liu Bai suddenly stopped. Standing atop a large tree, he looked toward a certain direction.

"What a strong smell of blood..."

Such a dense bloody scent meant there had surely been numerous casualties. He just did not know whether the dead were humans or Spirit Beasts...

After considering it, Liu Bai decided to take a look. If he found an opportunity to gain some benefit, he certainly would not mind.

Following the scent, Liu Bai soon arrived at a valley.

The valley entrance was not large and was rather narrow. Dense branches extended from both sides of the entrance, while piled-up rocks concealed the valley so that it was barely visible. It truly would not have been easy to find this place amidst the mountains and forests.

The bloody scent was coming from this valley...

After confirming this, Liu Bai did not rashly enter the valley.

No matter what was happening inside, barging in headfirst would not be a wise decision. After thinking for a moment, Liu Bai searched the surrounding area and discovered that although the valley was enclosed by mountains, it was not impossible to traverse.

Finding a concealed spot, Liu Bai gripped his dagger in his left hand while the fingers of his Kirin Arm formed blades in his right. Alternating between them, he repeatedly drove them into the hard rock and climbed the mountain step by step.

After climbing to the mountaintop and crossing the ridge, Liu Bai soon heard angry shouts mixed with waves of wolf howls.

The stench of blood soared into the sky from within the valley. This was clearly the den of some wolf pack, though someone had apparently discovered it and now slaughtered their way inside.

Liu Bai slowly advanced, then swiftly hid behind a protruding rock and quietly looked down into the valley below.

In the valley, more than a dozen Blood Fiends wielding sabers and spears were fighting a pack of giant wolves with crimson fur. Behind those men lay the corpses of over a dozen giant wolves, along with four or five scattered human bodies. Clearly, this brutal battle had been going on for some time.

"Crimson Flame Wolves?" Liu Bai's eyes lit up.

It seemed this valley was the den of this Crimson Flame Wolf pack. Judging from their numbers alone, there were definitely more than thirty of them, making this an exceptionally large pack. Ordinarily, even large adventuring groups would likely be unwilling to provoke them.

He had not expected someone to choose to forcibly attack a wolf den. Could there be some treasure within the valley?

It was not difficult to guess. These people appeared to belong to an adventuring group, and unless there was something sufficiently enticing, who would provoke a wolf pack for no reason?

With that thought, Liu Bai looked ahead.

At the very front of the group stood a two-meter-tall Blood Fiend clad in iron armor. Blood Fiend was wielding a massive battle saber as he fought a terrifying giant wolf over five meters tall that spewed flames.

A wide area had been cleared around the man and wolf. Whether members of the adventuring group or the Blaze Wolves, all deliberately avoided that battlefield.

"A mid-grade Spirit Beast, the Crimson Flame Wolf King!"

Liu Bai was startled. Sure enough, such a large Crimson Flame Wolf pack would inevitably produce a mid-grade wolf king. But Liu Bai had not expected the wolf king to be so powerful. It was likely already at the mid stage of the mid-grade.

Since that burly man could fight the wolf king to a standstill, his cultivation had to be at least mid Spirit Wheel Realm.

"Huh, something's wrong..."

Liu Bai soon noticed the problem.

Although the Crimson Flame Wolves appeared fierce, their attacks were remarkably weak, as if they were drunk. Their attacks often lacked both accuracy and power, allowing those people to evade them with ease.

Neither their speed nor their strength was anywhere near what Crimson Flame Wolves should possess...

"It seems these people didn't directly force their way in. They used some method to weaken the wolf pack's fighting strength."

No wonder such a large wolf pack had been driven back step by step by a group of people in its own den. It had been set up in advance—most likely poisoned or struck by some similar method.

"Tsk, tsk. They went to such great lengths. Whatever is in there must be truly enticing..."

A faint smile curved Liu Bai's lips as he decided to play the oriole for a while.

Though these people had used a method beforehand, it clearly had not greatly affected the wolf king. Instead, seeing its kin continuously slaughtered had ignited the wolf king's ferocity. Flames surged across its entire body as it launched a savage assault on the burly man.

The burly man was immediately alarmed. He gritted his teeth and roared, "Lu Ling, leave the Crimson Flame Wolves to the others. Come help me kill this wolf king!"

Clearly, the people below were the Blood Fiend Adventuring Group from before, and the burly man was their leader, Blood Fiend. The Lu Ling he called out to was the vice leader who had inspected the corpses back then...

The erupting Crimson Flame Wolf King was not so easy to deal with. Not even Blood Fiend, a mid Spirit Wheel Realm expert, could handle it alone!

Hearing the call, Lu Ling, who had been leading the other members in slaughtering the Crimson Flame Wolf pack, immediately turned to the others and said, "Hold the wolf pack back for now. Once the leader and I kill the wolf king, we'll come deal with these beasts!"

As he spoke, cyan spiritual light instantly rose from the slender Spirit Sword in his hand. The next moment, he charged directly toward the wolf king.

"Another Spirit Wheel Realm cultivator!" Liu Bai's expression changed. He had not expected this adventuring group to be so strong, with two Spirit Wheel Realm experts!

In that case, he would have to be even more careful. If he was prepared, he could still deal with an initial Spirit Wheel Realm opponent. But if there was one more, he could only flee.

"I hope this Crimson Flame Wolf King can put up a good fight!"

It was as if the Crimson Flame Wolf King had heard Liu Bai's inner voice, for it truly erupted.

Enduring Lu Ling's sharp sword strike head-on, the wolf king rammed its head directly into Blood Fiend's chest. As it sent him flying, it clamped its jaws around his arm and tore it off with a savage swing of its head.

"Ah!!"

With a scream, Blood Fiend's aura weakened noticeably. Then, gritting his teeth through the intense pain, he mobilized his spiritual energy to seal the severed arm and prevent himself from losing too much blood.

At the same time, Lu Ling's sword had landed on the wolf king's back.

Sshk!

The Crimson Flame Wolf King's metal-hard back was split open by that strike. Blood immediately gushed forth like a fountain.

Roar!

The intense pain from its back made the Crimson Flame Wolf King roar furiously. It forcibly turned around and swiped a paw at Lu Ming behind it. Berserk spiritual energy swept out, and Lu Ming immediately spat blood as he flew backward.

"Die, beast!"

Blood Fiend, having lost an arm, leaped into the air. With an enraged roar, he slashed out with his saber, pouring all the spiritual energy in his body into it. A blood-colored Blade Light more than three meters long appeared upon the blade as it furiously cleaved down at the Crimson Flame Wolf King's head.

"Blood Fiend Slaughtering Saber!"

This was Blood Fiend's famous ultimate technique, and also his strongest move.

Taking advantage of the giant wolf's injured back, which hindered its movements, his saber struck with both speed and ruthlessness, chopping directly into the wolf king's neck.

Sshk!

With a single strike, he split halfway through the wolf king's neck. Yet the blade became lodged in its bones...

Blood Fiend was horrified. He immediately released the saber, stomped his foot, and prepared to retreat.

But the severely wounded wolf king launched a final desperate counterattack, biting down on half of his lower leg. The flames in its mouth instantly burned that half-leg into charcoal.

No one from the Blood Fiend Adventuring Group had expected the two sides, which had seemed evenly matched, to suddenly end up like this!

Although the Crimson Flame Wolf King clearly would not live much longer, their leader was practically crippled and their vice leader had also been injured. This could not even be called a costly victory—it was mutual destruction!