Unorthodox arts

The mountains and forests were dark and gloomy, the night was deep.

Five figures wielded various Law Technique, swiftly traversing the mountain forest. A compass in their hands shimmered with a hazy magical light, guiding their way.

"It's not far ahead."

Seeing the arrow on the Tracking Compass becoming increasingly solid, Chu Tiankuang's lips curled into a smile.

Who Human Origin Champion?

He's just a country bumpkin who learned a trick to hide and got a bargain.

Once you break through this little trick of hiding your true intentions, where can you possibly escape to?

However, just as they stepped into a relatively open clearing in the woods, something unexpected happened!

Call--!

A dense, suffocating gray-black mist suddenly surged out from all directions without warning, spreading rapidly like a living thing.

In an instant, it swallowed up the entire open space along with the surrounding trees!

The fog was icy cold, interspersed with a sickeningly subtle grinding sound and a faint, eerie chuckle, relentlessly eroding the five senses.

"Watch out! It's Yin Baleful Intent Corpse Qi! He's practiced the [Skull Incantation]!"

One person gave a low shout as a reminder, trying to circulate their True Qi to dispel the thick fog, only to find that the fog was incredibly viscous and their True Qi could not push it away quickly.

"What's going on? The Yin Baleful Intent Corpse Qi of the [Skull Incantation] shouldn't be this heavy. Is it some other Law Technique?!"

Deep within the dense fog, Qi Yun's gaze was focused, his hands constantly shifting between Method Formula.

Three pale white skulls circled around him, cawing and continuously spewing deadly corpse mist that obscured the battlefield.

"Be careful, don't let him ambush you."

Despite being enveloped in thick fog, Chu Tiankuang and his four companions remained calm.

Of the five of them, four were all at the Qi Refining Third Layer of Qi Refining.

Chu Tiankuang, who was in the lead, also succeeded in attracting the fusion of the two energies of heaven and earth, just like Qi Yun, and cultivated to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

This is also why he dared to be the first to chase after Qi Yun and assassinate him!

However, before he could finish speaking—

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A heavy, rapid thud suddenly came from the thick fog directly ahead.

Each step sent tremors through the ground, carrying with it an unstoppable, ferocious momentum!

The next moment.

A robust figure, about the size of a calf, burst through the thick fog and pounced out fiercely.

It was a ferocious wolfhound cast entirely in bronze, its massive jaws agape, revealing menacing sharp teeth, as it lunged forward with a roar.

"What is that?!" A disciple from the Outer Mansion hastily produced a small tortoise-shell shield, its magical light flashing.

Boom!

The bronze wolfhound neither dodged nor avoided, but instead rammed its hard head into the object.

Buzz--

The tortoise-shell shield immediately burst forth with a blinding light, withstanding the impact of the bronze wolfhound, while its surface rippled continuously.

What incredible strength!

The Outer Mansion sect disciple wielding the tortoise-shell shield paled; blocking this attack had cost him a considerable amount of his True Qi.

"It's a puppet! He knows puppetry?"

Mistaking the bronze wolfhound for a mechanical puppet, Chu Tiankuang's lips twitched.

Illusionary invisibility, the Skull Incantation, and this mechanical puppet technique... Just how many unorthodox Law Technique has Qi Yun learned?

Can't members of the Holy Sect learn something good?!

Before he could recover from his surprise, the heavy, unsettling sound of running footsteps rang out simultaneously from three other directions.

Approaching rapidly from afar!

Besides?!

The thick fog parted, and a three-headed bronze wolfhound appeared.

In an instant, four bronze wolfhounds occupied four positions, their crimson eyes, filled with pure bloodlust, fixed on Chu Tiankuang and his group of five, making their scalps tingle!

"How..."

The five surrounded men had barely uttered two words when the four bronze wolfhounds launched their attack!

A wolfhound lunged at Chu Tiankuang head-on, its massive bronze claws slamming down with a piercing shriek that tore through the air.

The other one crouched low and charged forward, its target the lower body of a disciple on the left, attempting to bite his legs.

The third head leaped into the air and pounced from the upper right, blocking any space to dodge.

The last one, like a ghost, circled around to the back and silently opened its mouth to bite the last disciple on the back of the neck.

The offensive was relentless and unending!

The fierce attack of the bronze wolfhounds left Chu Tiankuang and his group no room for discussion or planning.

"Do a few beasts think they can turn the world upside down?!" Chu Tiankuang furiously, drawing his long sword and slashing at the wolfhound's claws as it charged at him.

Clang!

Sparks flew everywhere!

A piercing clang of metal clashing rang out!

Chu Tiankuang's powerful strike failed to completely sever the wolf's claws, leaving only a deep cut.

On the other side, the disciple on the left, in a panic, pushed his tortoise-shell shield Law Artifact to its limit, barely managing to block the bite aimed at his lower body.

However, the light emanating from the tortoise shell was flashing violently, clearly indicating that it was barely holding on.

The disciple on the upper right quickly chanted incantations, releasing several Sword Qi that struck the charging wolfhound's breastplate, sending sparks flying and barely managing to repel the bronze wolfhound.

The disciple at the very back was in the most danger, only reacting when the gust of wind hit the back of his head, barely managing to twist his body and dodge the bite.

The battle instantly intensified!

The four bronze wolfhounds seemed oblivious to pain and fear, their attacks like a storm. Every pounce, bite, and claw strike was powerful and heavy, forcing the four men into a frantic struggle and putting them in grave danger.

Chu Tiankuang's forehead was already covered in sweat, and his jaw was clenched.

It's not that they can't defeat these bronze wolfhounds.

These creatures attacked with the intent to inflict injury upon injury, even at the cost of their lives, forcing them to retreat and defend.

We can't exactly fight these puppets to the death.

However, the more Chu Tiankuang and his group held onto this idea, the more passive their situation became. The four bronze wolfhounds attacked relentlessly, causing injuries to all of them.

The continuous loss of blood and physical strength also led to the depletion of True Qi.

"This Qi Yun is incredibly cunning. We haven't even seen his face yet. If this drags on any longer, we'll be worn down to death."

Or, let's take a step back first.

Slightly out of breath, one person approached Chu Tiankuang and whispered words of advice.

"But..."

Chu Tiankuang looked unwilling upon hearing this. As one of the best in the Second Outer Prefecture, he had reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer in just over a year after entering the palace.

This speed is top-notch even within the entire Outer Mansion.

He was absolutely certain of success in this assassination attempt on Qi Yun.

But after such a fierce battle... they didn't even get to see the person in question.

"Walk!"

Squeezing out the word through gritted teeth, Chu Tiankuang and his four companions immediately joined forces to break through the encirclement of the four bronze wolfhounds and fled swiftly in the direction they had come from.

As he sped forward, looking back, Chu Tiankuang was surprised to find that the group of puppets hadn't caught up.

Not chasing?

Suppressing their doubts, Chu Tiankuang and his group of five ran for dozens of miles in one go, but the thick fog in front of them was so thick that they couldn't see their own hands in front of their faces, as if it would never end.

"Why haven't we gotten out of this thick fog yet? This area is ridiculously vast." Looking around, the Yin Sha fog not only hadn't dissipated but had become even denser, and Chu Tiankuang and his companions vaguely sensed something was wrong.

"I don't think the fog is too widespread."

As if remembering something, the Outer Mansion who had just advised Chu Tiankuang looked grim and swallowed hard.

"But this fog has been following us the whole time!"

That Qi Yun...

They're trying to starve us to death!

Before he finished speaking, it seemed as if he wanted to confirm that his guess was correct.

That familiar, heavy thumping sound came again.

In the thick fog, four pairs of eerie, crimson eyes stared at them from hundreds of meters away.

It's getting restless!