Volume 1, Chapter 36 – Beast Tide

Traveling by artifact in this region and running into aerial demonic beasts was something Shi Feng had long anticipated. The fact that they hadn’t met any in the past half month could only be called good luck.

“Li——”

With its wings damaged, the Goldenflame Condor seemed enraged. Its piercing cry shook the sky as it flipped over, folded its wings, and dove at Shi Feng like a golden bolt of lightning, carrying a thunderous momentum!

“Vile beast! You think I’m afraid of you?!”

Shi Feng reversed his grip on the blade and, instead of retreating, stomped heavily on the ground and shot into the air like a springing arrow. The wind whipped his black combat clothes so hard they snapped and cracked, and the earth around him rolled like water, throwing up waves of dirt!

At the same time, the blade in his hand swelled in the wind to over four zhang long, and a surge of blade qi shot out from its edge, extending more than ten zhang. A massive arc of crimson blade light cleaved upward from below, hacking fiercely toward the Goldenflame Condor!

“Boom——”

“Li… li!”

A deafening bang, mixed with several cries of pain.

Golden feathers rained down from the sky like a storm. A massive figure was blasted backward, tumbling several times in midair before just barely managing to steady itself.

The Goldenflame Condor had lost all of its earlier majesty. A red-black gash ran from its left talon all the way up to its neck, nearly a foot deep; one could almost glimpse its organs within.

Its left talon had nearly been severed by that strike, and the feathers around the wound were withered and blackened, devoid of their previous luster.

Once it steadied itself, a very human-like terror flickered in the condor’s pale-gold eyes. It beat its wings frantically and fled toward the distant horizon.

Trying to run?

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Shi Feng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a feral grin tugging at his lips. He lifted his right arm, and the Innate true qi in his body surged into the blade like ten thousand streams flowing into the sea.

The already enormous blade swelled again until it was nearly ten zhang long.

“Die!”

With a harsh shout, Shi Feng spun and hurled the blade. Waves of qi rolled outward, and the giant weapon shot forward like a loosed arrow, tearing through the air to appear behind the Goldenflame Condor almost in the blink of an eye.

“Hss——”

The enormous blade pierced straight through the Goldenflame Condor and, without slowing, nailed it into the side of a cliff.

“Li——”

The condor let out a long, wretched scream, its wings beating uncontrollably as it tried to break free. But no matter how it struggled, it was all in vain.

As its blood poured out, the Goldenflame Condor’s strength slowly drained away. In the end, it stopped moving entirely.

Shi Feng called the blade back. The condor’s massive body lost its support and plunged into the ravine below, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. All that remained on the cliff face was a large, dark-red smear of blood, with a few golden feathers stuck in it.

Shi Feng coughed twice and swallowed back the fresh blood surging up his throat. That brief exchange had left him with no light injuries.

The Goldenflame Condor was massive; meeting it head-on wasn’t the best strategy. But it was the fastest way to end things. With the surroundings unknown, lingering even a little longer might draw in more danger.

After calming the surging blood in his body and the nearly boiling Innate true qi, Shi Feng was just about to rise into the air on his blade to search for Shi Lan when he saw her sprinting toward him, feet flying, face full of panic as she shouted:

“Run!”

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Shi Feng froze, then turned his gaze toward the plains dozens of li behind her. A cloud of dust blotted out the sky, while strands of demonic qi wove together into an inky-black demon cloud that almost covered the heavens entirely!

“A beast tide……”

Shi Feng’s heart jolted. He nearly lost his grip on the blade in his hand.

At this distance from a beast tide, there was practically no chance of survival.

If he died, that was one thing—but what about Shi Lan?

An inexplicable terror clutched his heart, making his mind stall for a moment.

“What are you spacing out for? Run!”

In just a few breaths, Shi Lan had darted up to him. Seeing him standing there like an idiot, she grabbed his arm and dragged him into a mad dash.

Pulled along for two steps, Shi Feng suddenly snapped back to himself. He flung out the blade, letting it expand to over a zhang in length, then leaped onto it with Shi Lan in tow.

Shi Feng didn’t bother suppressing his injuries. The Innate true qi he had just calmed exploded once more, pouring wildly into the blade beneath their feet!

A crimson streak of light shot into the sky. Only one thought remained in Shi Feng’s mind now: Faster. Faster!

“Bang——”

The crimson streak slammed into an invisible wall and dropped out of the sky.

“Urgh……”

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Shi Feng hit the ground and rolled several times, clutching his chest as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. The massive impact only piled new damage on top of his already serious internal injuries.

Shi Lan shook her head to clear the dizziness from the fall, then scrambled to Shi Feng’s side and helped him up.

“How is it? How bad are you hurt?”

Shi Feng shook his head, but his eyes were already filled with dead gray despair.

That enormous demon cloud closed in fast, but when it was about a li from where the two stood, it stopped.

The dust that had been blotting out the sky slowly dispersed, revealing one ferocious giant beast after another.

“Thundercloud Tiger……”

“Bloodrage Lion……”

“Vajra Demon Ape……”

Looking at the demonic beasts he recognized and those he didn’t, a bitter smile tugged at Shi Feng’s lips. His gaze shifted to the center of the herd.

At the heart of that mass of savage beasts stood an ornate, gold-and-jade carriage. A human girl who looked seventeen or eighteen sat within.

She wore white, with delicate features and waterfall-like black hair. She lounged there lazily, playing with the long, snow-white tail extending from behind her. As her eyelids rose and fell, they revealed a pair of emerald vertical pupils, utterly devoid of emotion.

A herd of massive demonic beasts, and at their center, a human girl who looked seventeen or eighteen.

The contrast between beast and beauty hit the eye like a hammer.

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“So it really is a shapeshifted demon king……”

Shi Feng’s voice was dry. That invisible wall they’d hit before had been a barrier formed by space itself solidifying—a technique only a peerless demon king who had grasped the mysteries of space could use.

The girl’s figure vanished from the carriage in an instant and, almost at the same time, appeared beside Shi Lan and Shi Feng.

Just as the two were about to react, the space around them seemed to condense into something solid, crushing down on their bodies. They couldn’t move a single finger.

“Humans……”

The girl grabbed Shi Lan’s arm and pushed back her sleeve, revealing a pale wrist. She leaned in and inhaled lightly, then stuck out her tongue for a gentle lick.

Shi Lan felt a stab of pain in her arm. The girl’s tongue seemed to be covered in barbs, scraping away a thin layer of flesh in an instant.

Savoring the taste in her mouth, the girl’s eyes lit up. She licked her lips. “So fragrant……”

Watching this scene unfold, Shi Feng’s eyes nearly split with rage.

The girl extended her tongue to lick once more, scraping away another strip of flesh, then pressed her hand down on Shi Lan’s shoulder.

Shi Lan felt her vision blur. When she came back to herself, she was already standing atop that carriage in the middle of the beast horde.

Shi Feng, who should have been right beside her, now stood silently a li away.