Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After getting to the shore and seeing Wutian leaving, the Mud Beast stuck out its head and looked at him, drooling, basically telling him, “Did you forget our deal? Where is my food?”
Wutian shook his head and threw the half corpse of the Fire Scorpion to it. The Mud Beast’s eyes lit up and roared excitedly for a few times before taking the corpse and disappearing back into the wetland.
“Wutian, probably I should call you Son of Heaven now. You have got to look after me from now on, my brother!” Han Tian pouted, looking enigmatic.
“Caw, caw!”
Little Tian jumped onto his shoulder. Its skin glinted like Mithril while it gritted its silverish steel teeth as if it was going to eat him alive.
Wutian chuckled. “Let’s go. If we found any treasure again, it is going to be yours. I’m not going to fight with you.”
Only then Little Tian calmed down, waving its claws, basically meaning a promise was a promise, and he must not lie to it again; otherwise, it would have his guts for garters.
The three mocked each other as they headed toward the valley of the demonic wolves. That way was the only exit to the outside world.
A few hours later, the place was still in destruction, not much changed. There was still a smell of tragedy in the air as if telling of the brutal battle happening here not long ago. The bubbling lava was still eroding the hillsides in the surrounding. This place was getting bigger and bigger.
“I will surely visit the mountain peak next time,” said Han Tian.
The three of them left the place and entered the valley of the demonic wolves. The wolf pack was staring at them menacingly, but they all stepped aside and did not attack them. They were not stupid. After the earlier battle, they knew that these three guys were no slouch. They had better not provoke them.
“In this day and age, one must have a powerful backing to deter everything else and do whatever one likes!”
What a night it had been. It felt like a dream. Han Tian was talented, and a direct disciple of the Yan Clan Master. He was rebellious and carefree, never putting effort into cultivation. But at this moment, he understood the importance of strength. He planned in his mind that after this mission was over; he was going to practice cultivation closed-door.
The three were light on their feet. In just a while, they had come to the earlier mound. Now, looking back, they felt a bit emotional.
“Let go. The Zhaos have probably swung into action. We need to go back as quickly as we can.” Wutian was worried about Shishi. He faded into a bolt of lightning and disappeared as he lunged forward.
After attaining the Ninety-nine Ultimate Realm, his speed had also increased multiple folds. Compared to the Thundergale Panther, he was still a tad quicker. He could travel a hundred feet in a matter of a breath.
With the help of the Power of Wind, Han Tian was no slouch either. He shot forward like an arrow and quickly caught up with Wutian.
They inevitably bumped into some demonic beasts that attacked them, but they were quickly smashed by Wutian with flesh and blood splattering all over the place.
A giant rock as large as a hill was standing in the way. Wutian struck out his right hand, and the rock shattered with a boom.
An ancient tree towering into the clouds, with its trunk so large that even the three of them combined could not completely wrap around, blocked their way. Wutian struck out his palm, and the tree trunk shattered. It fell and crashed down on many other trees.
In the Ninety-nine Ultimate Realm, each strike of his hand could easily produce a ten of thousands of pounds of force. He was as if a primordial bull, nothing could stand in his way. He was unstoppable.
In less than an hour, the three had completed half the journey.
“Pervert….” Han Tian babbled.
Something pierced through the air from all directions. The three frowned and were displeased. They dodged and their reactions were not slow at all.
Glinting arrows traveled at high speed, piercing through the trunk of an ancient tree, and disappeared into the forest.
“Come out and show your face!” Han Tian shouted in anger. He flipped aside as an arrow missed him by just a bit and hit the giant black rock behind him. Sparks flying from the impact. The rock broke apart and its shrapnel hit a few giant trees and cut them in half.
There was no response, but only more arrows. They were powerful and quick. Trees fell and debris from the bushes flew around.
“Heck!” Wutian hissed. He extended his left hand and caught a few arrows by the heads. The arrowheads were made of black iron, as thin as the wing of the cicada but strong and sharp. They were crushed into powder in his hand with little effort.
“What?” A surprised voice came from a deeper part of the forest.
Just then, Han Tian pointed with his finger and a golden light burst out, cutting a few arrows in half. The surface of the cut was smooth as a mirror. The powerful golden light shot out like a bolt of lightning, and then a voice cried out in agony.
“Shoot! These three guys were full-blooded. They make great tonics.” It was an extremely grim voice.
As soon as the voice trailed off, arrows pierced through the air as if meteorites rained down from the sky.
If it were other people in such a situation, they would have surely been killed on the spot. But it was Wutian and his mates they were talking about here.
“You have got a serious death wish!” Han Tian was furious not because he was ambushed, but because he was being belittled. How could the person expect to kill him with just a few arrows? That person must be kidding.
With the three of them at the center, the Power of Metal burst out of his body and spread out like a tsunami in all directions, sweeping everything down in its path.
After attaining the Omega stage, Han Tian’s strength had leveled up. The Power of Metal was fast and powerful, even unstoppable. It crushed everything into ashes. Before the arrows had even approached, they broke into pieces like fragile twigs.
A series of screams rose as blood was splattered.
“Trying to ambush me with arrows? You are insulting me!” Han Tian let out an evil smile. Rocks, trees, bushes, and everything within a thousand feet in radius vanished. The place instantly became an open space, and now they could see far and wide.
A dozen bodies lay on the ground, mutilated. Blood oozing out of them dyed the ground red. The Power of Metal had killed them all in just the blink of an eye.
But there was one survivor. His clothes were tattered, his face bloody. He was almost breathing his last, and fear, as well as hate, filled his eyes.
“Why stare at me like that? Haven’t you seen someone as handsome as me before?”
Han Tian strode up to that man, picked up a stick from the ground, and struck the man. “You had better say something. Who orders you to do this? Tell me, or I will let this stick do the talking.”
“Puke!” The man spat out a mouthful of saliva and blood, along with a few broken teeth. A hideous smile was on his mutilated face.
“I will see how tight-lipped you could get!” Han Tian let out an evil smile as he swung the stick and broke the man’s arm. The man screamed in pain but still said nothing.
Han Tian grinned, then struck down with the stick, this time even more forceful. He broke the man’s hands and legs, then his ribs. But the man still said not a word.
“Well, since you are not talking. Goodbye!” Han Tian got really furious and smashed the man’s head with blood and brain splattering on the ground.
As if still feeling not enough, Han Tian gave the man’s body a kick. “What are you looking at, Wutian?” he then asked curiously.
“Didn’t you notice this mist is strange?” Wutian frowned as a thin blanket of white fog drifted in the air. If not looking carefully, it was hard to spot that. He scanned around and sniffed. “Did you smell that? Blood. Just a tinge.”
Han Tian looked around and took a deep breath. “It is, in fact. But it doesn’t come from any specific direction. As for the mist, it looks familiar, but I can’t recall what it is.”
He looked down and scratched his head, then looked up again. “It is a Roofie mist. I am sure.”
“Roofie Mist?” Wutian was puzzled.
“Roofie mist is made from an herb called Roofie grass. It has a powerful sedative effect. Once inhaled, it would neutralize a person’s cultivation and the person would be defenseless like a walking dead. Only the great cultivators in the Meridian’s Growth period are immune,” said Han Tian.
“But it doesn’t seem to affect us?”
“That’s something puzzling me.”
Han Tian’s brows were knitted together. “I guess, probably because we have consumed the divine liquid from the giant egg. There is no antidote for this mist. Those who are affected could only rely on their Essence elixir or when the divine liquid essence becomes stronger, only then they could cleanse their body of the Roofie Mist.”
Wutian squinted. He still remembered when he arrived last night. There was no Roofie Mist here, and this faint blood stink did not smell like the demonic beast’s blood. It smelled more like human blood. Could it be that last night’s incident had attracted people to come here, and they were killed by the demonic beasts?
It did not sound right. If it was the demonic beasts that killed them, there surely would be bodies left. But there was nobody here. Not even a drop of blood. The only explanation was that there had been an ambush.
After figuring out this point, Wutian now knew that it must be these people who released the Roofie Mist to kill those who came into this place. Such a ruthless action seemed to suggest that they were trying to cover up something, or hiding something.
“I know who they are, Wutian. Come over here.” Right then, Han Tian called out.
Wutian came out of his thoughts and went over. Han Tian had opened up the outer garment of a body, on which was a red emblem, the size of a palm, with flames engravings on it.
Han Tian pulled the emblem down from the body and flipped it around. Sure enough, there was an engraved word: Fire.
“The Fire Cloud Clan!” The two looked at each other and a name came to mind instantaneously.
Han Tian ran around and came back not long after with a dozen emblems. They were all the same: Red.
“Only the core disciples carry these red emblems. Wutian, I think I know where the Fire Cloud Clan is smuggling the recruits.”
Wutian chimed in. “That was why they had gone to such great lengths to silence people. They didn’t want people to find out!”
“The Fire Cloud Clan thinks this place is dangerous, and no one would dare to come here. So they have chosen to people-smuggle here. Little did they expect the Primordial Scorpion would create such a noise. Now, I am starting to believe what the Stele of Soul’s Incarceration said: Every effect has a cause. If not for us creating havoc here, things would have not seen the day of light.”
“That means Huoshi must be here, too!” Wutian’s eyes grave, his voice frosty and reeking of murderous intent.
“Calm down, Wutian. Elder Wu is powerful. I am afraid he is a great cultivator in the Meridian’s Growth period. The three of us combined are still no match for him. We had better find out the exact venue, then inform the elders. By then, Huoshi will not be able to get away.”
Wutian nodded. He was a smart man. Smart men cherished their lives. He would not act recklessly unless he had confidence.
“There is a subtle connection between these emblems. They could lead us to Huoshi.” Han Tian closed his eyes. As a glow appeared on his palm, the emblems emitted a faint frequency. It was very weak and hard to perceive.
Han Tian opened his eyes and pointed north. “That direction. Let’s go.”
The three faded in shadows and disappeared into the dense forest.