Chapter 445 - 278: Exterminating Evil, Breaking the Stalemate (Part 2)

Chapter 445: Chapter 278: Exterminating Evil, Breaking the Stalemate (Part 2)

He cleared away the bodies and placed them in his storage space.

Yu Fei activated the waymarker he had left at the rest stop, and his entire body vanished.

The entire process was incredibly swift, finished in under three seconds, leaving behind the personal belongings of the Great Wilderness Sect members.

Dice and playing cards, half-eaten Spirit Fruits, and beast legs they were holding all fell to the ground. It was as if the men had been pulled into some unknown space in an instant, vanishing without a trace.

Yu Fei had done a clean job this time. There was no residual aura or blood left at the scene.

Inside the Hidden Tiger Gang’s headquarters, Muhuu was discussing the details with Zhang Song when his expression suddenly changed. Astonishment filled Zhang Song’s eyes as well.

After the last incident, they had grown anxious and had both used a Secret Technique to preserve a trace of their subordinates’ auras. Just moments ago, those preserved auras had vanished, and they hadn’t even received a single message.

A chill ran down their spines, but they didn’t dare go to the scene to investigate.

Zhang Song’s voice trembled as he asked, "Muhuu... your... your people ran into trouble, too!"

Muhuu gritted his teeth. "What kind of question is that? Our people were together. Of course they did!"

After a long silence, Muhuu said hesitantly, "Let’s go... We should investigate, shouldn’t we?"

Seeing Zhang Song still hesitate, Muhuu said calmly, "Even if there really is some... unknown entity, it should be long gone by now. We’ll go together. Otherwise, we won’t be able to answer to the Sect Leader!"

"Let’s go!"

The two of them dawdled, not using any Body Techniques. They moved like ordinary people out for a stroll, slowly making their way to the entrance of the secret chamber where the Great Wilderness Sect disciples had been hiding.

They exchanged a glance, condensed their True Essence, then struck simultaneously, bursting through the door, fully prepared for a major battle.

But once inside, they found nothing.

Hot tea in the cups, a lit fire in the hearth, gnawed beast legs strewn across the floor, dice scattered on the table.

The two of them instantly deduced what had happened: their thirty-some disciples, all at the Gang Qi realm, had vanished abruptly without leaving a single clue.

"This..."

Zhang Song couldn’t help but shudder as he spoke. In all his years, he had never witnessed anything so bizarre.

’Even if I were the one to kill them, I’d have to leave some kind of mark on the scene! What the hell was this? Ghosts?’

Muhuu gripped his sword tightly. "Zhang Song, this place is dangerous. We need to find a way to leave Celestial Rock City, and fast!"

"But it’s the middle of the Green Sea Qi Tide. We..."

Muhuu looked at Zhang Song, his tone firm. "We’re Grandmasters. Our True Essence is immense. As long as we don’t refine the external vital energy, it won’t be a major issue. Besides, you and I have the blessing of the Desolate God. Even if we do end up refining a bit of it, it shouldn’t be a big deal!"

After a moment of thought, Zhang Song agreed.

The bizarre situation in Celestial Rock City had truly terrified them. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

In the dead of night, Yu Fei sensed the two Grandmasters fleeing like startled birds, their movements hurried and panicked.

’These two are unbelievably timid!’

He had been monitoring the two of them because they were too dangerous, but their reaction was completely unexpected.

He hadn’t expected that his attempt to avoid trouble—by taking the bodies to hide his tracks—would end up terrifying them.

He couldn’t really blame them. Spatial abilities were exceptionally rare in this world. The few who possessed such power could only do so after reaching the Martial Saint realm, and even then, they could barely use it with the aid of a domain.

None were as effortless and powerful as Yu Fei’s.

Yu Fei stopped paying attention to them. It was a good thing those treacherous schemers were gone. At least, from what he’d observed, most people were uniting in the face of the Green Sea Qi Tide, without any ill intentions.

Whatever conflicts they had in normal times, in the face of a life-and-death crisis, the people of Celestial Rock City were more or less working together.

Shi Lan was inwardly surprised. She couldn’t understand what had gotten into those two old dogs from the Hidden Tiger Gang, making them risk the Green Sea Qi Tide just to leave.

But with them gone, Celestial Rock City’s defenses were significantly weakened.

In previous years, it was rare for 7th-rank Desolate Beasts to attack the city, but they still had to be on guard.

Left with no other choice, she contacted the two remaining Grandmasters to sound out their intentions. She didn’t expect them to fight to the death for Celestial Rock City—to live or die with the city—but they should at least stay until the situation became truly hopeless before leaving.

’I hope it doesn’t come to that.’

「Time passed.」

As more Desolate Beasts were driven toward the outskirts, defending Celestial Rock City became increasingly difficult.

Large numbers of 6th-rank Desolate Beasts assaulted the walls, and the city’s defenses were stretched thin. Left with no choice, Shi Lan and the other two Grandmasters had to intervene ahead of schedule to break the siege.

Killing a few 6th-rank Desolate Beasts wouldn’t deplete their strength.

However, from Yu Fei’s perspective, things were becoming complicated.

He detected 7th-rank Desolate Beasts appearing on the outskirts of Celestial Rock City. They weren’t attacking, but seemed to be waiting for something.

The three Grandmasters’ long-range senses weren’t very strong, so they remained unaware.

By the fourth day of the beast tide, three 7th-rank Desolate Beasts had gathered together. This was a dangerous number. While a Grandmaster was stronger than a 7th-rank Desolate Beast, that was only in a one-on-one fight. Now, with three beasts, their numbers were equal to the Grandmasters.

A few more, and the scales of power would tip. Celestial Rock City could very well be overrun by the Desolate Beasts.

A single misstep could mean death for all three Grandmasters.

’Yu Fei could use his waymarkers to escape, but Celestial Rock City would be in grave danger.’

Something like this had happened once before in the long annals of history. A city had been breached by Desolate Beasts, its flame extinguished, and an entire city of Martial Artists wiped out.

When night fell, Zhuang Yan arranged for Yu Fei to rest. He immediately changed into a different set of clothes, activated his Silent Shadow Body under the cover of darkness, and slipped out.

Yu Fei had tested it before. The All Things Return to Origin Scripture was profoundly mystical. The strange worldly energy of the Green Sea Qi Tide couldn’t affect him. The distorting power it contained was rendered harmless as it was processed by his Returning Ruins Spiritual Source.

Following the direction his senses indicated, Yu Fei snuck over. He planned to prematurely expose the threat of the three Desolate Beasts, forcing Shi Lan and the other Grandmasters to notice them. For now, the situation was still manageable. If he waited any longer, things would get much more complicated.

During the Green Sea Qi Tide, Desolate Beasts became extremely agitated, and the 7th-rank ones were no exception.

This dulled their senses, allowing Yu Fei to approach them without difficulty.

After a moment of observation, he saw that all three 7th-rank Desolate Beasts were terrestrial. One was enormous, like a magnified yak; another was a wolf-like beast with gleaming silver fur; and the last was a bizarre creature Yu Fei had never seen before.

It had a pointed snout, sharp teeth, and six claws, looking utterly ferocious.

’To provoke the beasts and expose their presence, I’ll use an old trick,’ Yu Fei thought.

Of the three beasts, the only one whose sex Yu Fei could identify was the wolf—it was male. He suppressed his Inner Qi fluctuations and carefully began to trace the runes for the Fallen God Finger.

Three minutes later, he was ready. After a slight adjustment to his angle, he aimed for the silver wolf’s exposed ’family jewels’ and fired.

These beasts weren’t some groggy housecats. At the critical moment, the silver wolf sensed the danger and managed to shift just enough to avoid a fatal blow. The chilling beam of destructive light went off-target, severing its tail and, incidentally, performing a bit of impromptu colorectal surgery.

A bloodcurdling howl pierced the darkness, audible even to the Grandmasters far away in Celestial Rock City. Their hearts clenched. A 7th-rank Desolate Beast had indeed arrived.

They immediately went on high alert, but none of them could understand why the beast’s cry sounded more like a miserable shriek.

In the distant darkness, Yu Fei was running for his life. The three beasts had been startled by his sudden appearance, which was immediately followed by the silver wolf’s tragic misfortune. Enraged, the three 7th-rank Desolate Beasts now pursued him relentlessly.

Yu Fei wasn’t as fast as them, but by using the Fog Pine Stone waymarkers he’d left along his path, he could still manage to lure them toward Celestial Rock City.

Desolate Beasts were naturally agitated during the Green Sea Qi Tide. It was only thanks to the slightly more rational silver wolf’s calming influence that these three had gathered to coordinate their plans.

But after Yu Fei grievously wounded the silver wolf, all rationality was lost, and they united to kill him.

Before long, Yu Fei could see the city walls. He left behind a faint trace of his aura, then used a waymarker to teleport back to his stone resting chamber, from where he could observe the situation with his senses.

Of the three Desolate Beasts, the ox-like one was the fastest and the first to be spotted. Shi Lan and the other two Grandmasters immediately moved to intercept it.