Chapter 45: Two More Beasts, Qin Xiao in Peril

Many disciples had escaped the encirclement during the commotion Qin Xiao caused.

But even more had died under the Demon Beasts’ attacks.

“What’s wrong? Seeing those disciples die so miserably has scared you into standing still?”

Fan Hongfei looked at Ling Wushuang with a mocking expression.

“I, Ling Wushuang, swear I will make you pay for this!”

Ling Wushuang was no fool. He had come to hold the enemy back. Since the enemy was not attacking and everyone who could escape had escaped, it was time for him to withdraw too.

“Oh? You sound as if you think you’ll get out alive.”

Fan Hongfei asked with a smile.

“I admit you’re strong, but I’m not that easy to kill.”

With that, Ling Wushuang activated his Dharma Treasure. His figure slowly faded until it vanished.

This was his last resort for staying alive: a High Grade Dharma Treasure that could teleport him instantly, regardless of his surroundings. Without a specially set destination, where he landed was unpredictable—entirely random. But that was enough to save his life.

“Impressive. With a treasure like that, no wonder you were so confident.”

Fan Hongfei could not help admiring it, but remained unperturbed.

“Children, the hunt has begun.”

He signaled to the giant ape, which roared at the other Demon Beasts.

The beasts went wild at once and scattered. They were not fleeing in fear; they were spreading out to hunt.

Once the beasts had dispersed, Fan Hongfei directed the ape toward the disciples’ bodies. It began to eat.

Some disciples were still alive, but the ape did not care. It ate them alive. Living or dead, they were nothing but food to it.

Demon Beast cultivation was simple. They could not practice cultivation techniques and could only absorb energy naturally, so growing stronger took time.

The fastest way was to eat cultivators and turn their Spiritual Qi into their own. That was why beasts were always so eager to attack cultivators.

The giant ape ate the bodies of over a hundred Golden Core cultivators before belching in satisfaction and sitting down to digest them.

In less than an hour, the giant ape finished digesting, and its aura grew stronger. Fan Hongfei suddenly felt his cultivation surge as well. His aura rose until he reached early Soul Formation.

“Hahaha! I’ve reached Soul Formation too! Devouring powerful cultivators really is the way to go. What a speed of advancement!” This chapter is updated first at nоvelping.com.

Fan Hongfei laughed wildly. With his Yellow Spirit Root, he would probably never have reached Soul Formation in his lifetime. Yet here he was, at Soul Formation after a mere three hundred years.

“This technique was practically made for me.”

Fan Hongfei felt that fate had treated him well. Finding such a technique on the second layer was surely heaven’s will, giving him hope of revenge.

Once cultivation had stabilized, the giant ape ate the remaining bodies and set off in one direction.

During that hour, many disciples had not escaped far before the Demon Beasts caught up and killed them. But the beasts dared not eat the bodies. They had to leave them for the giant ape, or it would eat them instead.

Qin Xiao had escaped, but his luck was terrible. He had fled straight toward the entrance to the third layer, where Fan Hongfei had left Nascent Soul beasts on guard.

They sensed him as soon as he entered their range. By the time Qin Xiao noticed them, he was already very close.

“Damn! What did I do to deserve this? I’ve run straight into their jaws!”

Two huge Demon Beasts were staring at him. Qin Xiao wanted to curse, but escaping came first.

Not giving those two Demon Beasts a chance to react, Qin Xiao turned and ran.

Only after running for some time did he breathe a sigh of relief. The two beasts had not pursued him.

Those two Nascent Soul beasts had stayed put, but the beasts hunting him had caught up.

Two Golden Core beasts now blocked his path.

“Two late Golden Core beasts. All right, I might just manage.”

Qin Xiao now had no way to retreat and could only fight head-on.

One was a Dark Night Wind Wolf, the other a Blazing Flame Savage Bull. One was incredibly fast, the other immensely strong. Qin Xiao was far from confident.

Before he could think further, the Dark Night Wind Wolf attacked. It was so fast that even an early Nascent Soul cultivator might fail to dodge it.

Qin Xiao certainly could not dodge. As its claw swept toward his head, he hastily activated the Heart-Protecting Turtle Shell and raised a shield in time. It blocked the attack, but the impact still sent him flying.

The Dark Night Wind Wolf was puzzled. Its claw had struck, but it had felt nothing break, and there was no blood on its claw.

“Damn! You really can’t judge beasts by a cultivator’s standards. This wolf is supposed to be fast, yet it’s this strong too! If I’d known I’d be fighting like this, I wouldn’t have eaten breakfast.”

Qin Xiao struggled to his feet. The impact had almost made him bring up his breakfast.

When Qin Xiao stood up again, the Dark Night Wind Wolf pounced once more. This time, instead of knocking him away, it pinned him to the ground with a paw and opened its enormous maw to bite him.

Fortunately, the Heart-Protecting Turtle Shell’s shield kept its jaws at bay. New chapters come out on NovelPing first.

Qin Xiao hurriedly drew his Top Grade Spirit Weapon. While the wolf was momentarily stunned, he thrust it into the beast’s mouth with all his strength.

Whatever the beast, its mouth was a weak spot. No matter how tough its hide, the inside of its mouth was poorly protected.

Feeling his weapon strike home, Qin Xiao twisted it wildly without a second thought. Damn you! Let’s see how you like the pain!

The wolf had never expected a mortal to fight back. Its mouth was torn to shreds, and blood gushed out, drenching Qin Xiao.

As the wounded wolf’s hold slackened, Qin Xiao scrambled up and ran clear.

Fortunately, beneath his disciple robe he wore a Low Grade Spirit Weapon garment bought from the Heavenly Clothes Pavilion. The wolf’s blood corroded his outer robe; Dark Night Wind Wolf blood was poisonous too.

Qin Xiao quickly took out a Spirit Stone. Using its Spiritual Qi, he activated the garment’s self-cleaning function, and all the bloodstains vanished.

With the wolf crazed by pain, the Blazing Flame Savage Bull finally moved. Demon Beasts might have limited intelligence, but at this level they had some awareness. It too had realized Qin Xiao possessed a powerful protective treasure.

But the Blazing Flame Savage Bull refused to believe the shield could stop it. Other beasts might be helpless against it, but the bull was known for strength. Against absolute power, a shield was still just a shield.

The bull charged quickly too. Fortunately, the wolf’s earlier blow had knocked Qin Xiao some distance away, giving him just enough room to dodge.

He dodged, but the bull snapped the huge tree he had been leaning against. Unable to stop, it also smashed the boulder behind it.

“Lucky I dodged.”

Seeing the broken tree and shattered rock, Qin Xiao was thankful he had dodged. That blow would have crippled him, if it did not kill him outright.

Stones in this secret realm were much harder than those outside. That boulder looked like some sort of ore, which would make it harder still. Yet the bull had smashed it to pieces.

Having missed, the bull quickly turned and charged Qin Xiao again. This time it was too close for him to dodge.

He raised his arms in front of him as best he could. He had to take the blow.

The bull’s impact shattered his shield after only a moment. The remaining force struck Qin Xiao squarely.

Fortunately, he still had a little luck left. The horn hit the Heart-Protecting Turtle Shell on his chest instead of piercing his body. It hurled him into a pile of shattered rock some distance away.

“I’m going to die.”

The shield had absorbed most of the force, but even what remained had nearly killed him. Now he lay unable to move, feeling as if every bone in his body had broken.

“Well, I can only accept my fate. Holding out this long with second-layer Body Refinement wasn’t bad.”

Qin Xiao helplessly closed his eyes.