Volume 4: Slaying the Demon
Chapter 25: The Bleeding Night
Countless pairs of fierce, glowing green eyes fixed intently on the crowd from the wilderness. A heavy, pungent scent of blood permeated the entire area.
"Awooo..." The wolves began to howl and wail, their cries rising and falling one after another. In a short time, the entire plain was filled with the sound of "woo woo" calls.
Everyone present was a master, either at the King level or the Quasi-King level. Yet, facing tens of thousands of vicious wolves, they couldn't help but change their expressions. These twenty-plus experts could be considered a formidable force anywhere in the martial world, capable of sweeping through almost anything. But confronted by this dense, black mass of wolves covering the plain, they had no choice but to resort to the best of the Thirty-Six Stratagems – retreat.
No one knew who shouted first: "Dugu Baitian, you bastard, I @#$%&*..." After cursing, he turned and fled. The rest surged like a swarm of bees towards the side that wasn't yet surrounded by the wolf pack. At this moment, every master pushed their lightness skill to its limit.
Ever since arriving here, Dugu Baitian had been secretly circulating his Undying Demon Art and Stealing Heaven, Seizing the Sun techniques. The essence energy and moonlight scattered between heaven and earth were gradually gathered into his body. The abundant energy made him feel as if he were about to explode. When he saw the first person move, he immediately activated his Divine Void Steps. Like a streak of flowing light, he instantly appeared in front of that person, blocking his way.
The person blocked was a young Quasi-King level expert. Faced with Dugu Baitian, who had appeared before him like a ghost, he was truly startled, retreating over a dozen steps in succession. Alone, he dared not face this terrifying madman. "Are you crazy? Why are you stopping me? The wolves! Wolves!" the young man yelled anxiously. It was clear at a glance that this youth had little experience in major confrontations, his face full of panic.
By now, the group behind had also rushed over. Simultaneously, the wolf pack roared and howled, advancing and gradually closing in on the crowd.
A white-haired King level expert said, "Dugu Baitian, step aside quickly! Let's set our grievances aside for now."
Other experts drew their blades and swords, charging forward. In this life-or-death moment, everyone wanted to break out of the wolf encirclement as soon as possible.
Dugu Baitian sneered, "I've been hunted every day, yet none of you ever showed me any mercy. Now that your own lives are threatened, you want me to forget our enmity and step aside? Hmph! Hehe..." He raised the Tear-Blood Divine Sword in his hand. The blade, bearing the immense, unparalleled essence energy of heaven and earth, emitted a dazzling radiance.
Two Quasi-King level experts at the front said, "Senior, why waste words with him? Can he really stop us? He's seeking death! Isn't this better? We can conveniently eliminate this demon right now." The two raised their long swords and slashed at Dugu Baitian. Two streams of Innate Sword Qi shot through the air.
Dugu Baitian also swiftly swung his sword. A massive purple-red light sword surged forth. How could the hastily launched sword strikes of two Quasi-King experts compare to Dugu Baitian's powerful blow, accumulated over a long period by gathering the essence of heaven and earth? In an instant, the purple-red light sword shattered the two Innate Sword Qi beams. Its momentum unabated, the light sword continued fiercely towards the front. All the experts were greatly shocked. Those near the two young Quasi-King experts hurriedly swung their swords to disperse the light sword. The two Quasi-King experts turned pale.
By now, the wolf pack had pounced. The experts, while slashing at the wolves, rushed towards Dugu Baitian because the area behind him had the fewest wolves gathered.
The Tear-Blood Divine Sword in Dugu Baitian's hand began to emit a blinding, intense light again. All the gathered essence energy of heaven and earth was channeled into the sword body. Infused with immense power, the Tear-Blood Divine Sword trembled slightly, emitting a "whining" whistle, as if thirsting for blood.
"War Heaven, Destroy World Slash!" Dugu Baitian roared.
The wolves that had been leaping towards him from behind halted in fear. The experts charging at the front keenly sensed the danger and swiftly retreated.
A massive purple-red light sword shot straight up. The dazzling radiance illuminated the night sky. The world-shaking sword strike, containing boundless essence energy of heaven and earth, let out a deafening "rumbling" sound, like a thunderbolt from the highest heavens cleaving through the night sky, sweeping towards the experts ahead. Those at the front, unable to retreat further, hastily cleared a wave of pouncing wolves and then quickly swung their swords. The vast essence energy of heaven and earth transformed into indestructible Innate Sword Qi, which collided with the hastily released Innate Sword Qi from the experts.
"BOOM!"
Instantly, dust and sand flew up, obscuring the sky. The scene from Dugu Baitian's confrontation with the three masked assassists reappeared, only this time the three assassins were replaced by other experts. Within a radius of several dozen zhang, smoke and mist filled the air. The thick smell of blood was nauseating.
This time, Dugu Baitian had reserved some strength for himself. The moment the two sword energies collided, he activated his Divine Void Steps and swiftly rushed out through the gap in the wolf pack.
When the dust settled, the area within a several dozen zhang radius had turned into desert. The wolves caught in the center were utterly annihilated, leaving no trace. The few experts who had hastily received the sword strike looked extremely pale.
Countless wolf corpses lay at the edge of the desert. The heavy, pungent smell of blood emanated from these dismembered wolf bodies.
Someone shouted, "Could it be that he really has been to the Demon Domain...?"
But there was no time for them to ponder further.
"Awooo..." The outer wolves were enraged. The thick smell of blood further stimulated their ferocity. Countless vicious wolves lunged at the experts trapped in the center. Dozens of streams of Innate Sword Qi immediately surged within the area. Peerless sword energy danced wildly, bringing up sprays of blood rain. Wolves fell in heaps, their endless howls filling the air.
Dugu Baitian watched the fierce battle from afar, safely outside the wolf pack, and slightly frowned. He didn't care about the lives of others, but if Crystal and Li Shi died within the wolf pack, he would feel guilty towards them. At a time when all the heroes under heaven wanted to capture and execute him, these two had shown him mercy and let him go. He had been deeply moved at the time. But he also knew that these two would ultimately stand on the side of the righteous path. One day, they would inevitably face him in a life-and-death struggle.
Dugu Baitian glanced towards the battlefield again and couldn't help but laugh. Several young Quasi-King level experts were desperately shielding Li Shi and Crystal. Furthermore, other young women also had several young Quasi-King experts protecting them.
He couldn't help but sigh. The charm of these women is truly boundless, that even in such a situation, there are still people willing to play the protector. However, he also believed that it wouldn't be long before these young men changed their approach. When they realized their strength was nearly exhausted, they would surely start conserving their energy to ensure their own escape.
"Given the skill level of these people, the vast majority should be able to break out in the end. However, escaping unscathed probably won't be easy. With those fools protecting Crystal and Li Shi, they likely won't waste much energy. In the end, they probably won't be in any real danger."
Just then, a few wolves on the periphery spotted Dugu Baitian in the distance and charged towards him. Seeing this was bad, he activated his Divine Void Steps, turned, and fled, disappearing without a trace in an instant.
Once he reached a safe place, Dugu Baitian began to laugh maniacally. "Haha... Truly, the wicked have their own tormentors! Fighting with a pack of beasts, haha..."
"Hmm, wait. It's autumn now, and there's dry grass everywhere. If those bastards start a fire, wouldn't the wolf pack disperse? Ah! These bastards are really lucky. But they're probably too caught up in the killing to think of that method right now. I'd better use this time to quickly recover my strength." He began to sit in meditation and regulate his breathing to restore his own power. Fortunately, everyone had struck hastily this time, and no one had clashed with him head-on, otherwise he would have been seriously injured again.
After circulating his energy nine times, his strength was fully restored.
Dugu Baitian stealthily made his way back to the location of the wolf pack. Looking from afar, he saw flames soaring into the sky. The wolf pack scattered and fled in all directions. The smoke drifting over carried a pungent, bloody smell.
The wolf pack was finally driven away. From within the flames emerged over twenty staggering figures. Everyone was covered in blood – whether it was their own or from the wolves they had slain was unclear.
"Dammit, none of those bastards died? They're really lucky!"
Then, Bu Yusu's shrill voice was heard: "I hate this Dugu Baitian to death! When we catch him in the future, we must cut him into eight pieces... So much wolf blood, it's disgusting, ugh..." She bent over, vomiting incessantly.
"Dammit, wanting to kill me? And here I am still figuring out how to capture you."
Another sharp voice shouted: "XXX Dugu Baitian, wolf-hearted and dog-lunged, ungrateful and unjust, XXXXX... You stinking rat, I should have stepped on you sooner... XXXXX..." This was a tall, slender man – the "dead rabbit" in Dugu Baitian's eyes.
Dugu Baitian, hiding in the shadows, muttered quietly, "You 'dead rabbit', cursing so viciously. Why didn't the wolf pack completely turn you into a 'rabbie lord'?"
Then, the Heartbroken Man said, "Brother Hua, you said Dugu Baitian is ungrateful. What favor did you do for him?"
"Piss off, you Heartbroken Man! Go break your mother's head! Why didn't I hear you ask a single question when we were dealing with the wolves? You only knew to hover around Crystal and Li Shi, not even willing to help me once. And you, you, you... all you bastards, none of you came to help me, only knowing how to flatter and fawn over so-and-so. A bunch of lechers, a bunch of scoundrels..." Hua Yunfei ranted like a shrew, loudly berating the young Quasi-King level experts. Those guys, perhaps feeling very "apprehensive" towards him, actually didn't dare to utter a word. The older generation King level experts also pretended not to see or hear.
Watching the "dead rabbit" from afar, Dugu Baitian shivered involuntarily. "This is practically the 'pinnacle' among men! Just looking at him gives me goosebumps. He was really born in the wrong body! If not for seeing your Adam's apple, I'd have mistaken you for a woman. You'd better be a woman in your next life."
"Dugu Baitian, you turtle-egg bastard, I @#$%&*..."
"You perverted 'dead rabbit', just wait and see." Dugu Baitian slowly retreated into the darkness. "The reason these guys are stopping me from heading west is because they're afraid I'll reach the so-called 'Demon Domain'. What kind of place is that?"