Chapter 1787 - Siege of Immortal Beasts
Liu Wuxie's foremost priority was finding a concealed place to hide, ensuring that even approaching immortal beasts could not locate him. The powerful sense of unease warning him made it clear that tonight would not pass peacefully, especially with the full moon looming far larger than usual.
Liu Wuxie's blatant disregard infuriated the mercenaries. Years spent living on the brink of death had cultivated their ruthless dispositions, and after roaming the Dragon Burial Mountain Range for so long, killing others and plundering their possessions had become commonplace.
Some mercenaries entered the mountain range merely to gather resources they could sell, while others specialized in ambushing rogue cultivators.
Without hesitation, the older mercenary swung his blade and unleashed a blade ray toward Liu Wuxie.
If Liu Wuxie failed to evade it, the blade ray would instantly tear him apart. Yet while halfway up the tree, he had no room to dodge and could only leap downward.
He landed steadily upon the ground after dropping more than a dozen meters. The blade ray sailed past him and struck the tree trunk, carving a deep gash from which sap poured freely.
"You're all courting death!" Liu Wuxie declared as his icy gaze swept across the six mercenaries. Had they left him alone, he would never have targeted them, yet they had tried to kill him.
Meanwhile, surprise flickered across the mercenaries' faces when they saw Liu Wuxie evade the attack. The earlier blade ray possessed power comparable to the pinnacle of the True Immortal Realm. They wondered how a high immortal like Liu Wuxie had escaped its fatal edge.
Even the old man and the two youths watched in bewilderment after witnessing Liu Wuxie evade the strike.
The six mercenaries quickly broke into savage grins, regarding Liu Wuxie as though he were helpless prey.
Little Six sneered. "Brat, come over here and kowtow to our boss!" All traces of his earlier fear had vanished upon discovering Liu Wuxie.
"Leave now while I still have no desire to kill anyone. Otherwise, don't blame me for showing no mercy," Liu Wuxie warned as his gaze swept across the group. The murderous intent emanating from him left all six mercenaries deeply unsettled.
Darkness had swallowed the sky as a veil of crimson sand cast an eerie glow over the Dragon Burial Mountain Range.
Far within the Dragon Burial Mountain Range, an even more terrifying blood aura surged into the heavens, making the moon appear increasingly sinister. As the crimson radiance descended, humans and immortals alike became inexplicably agitated, and even Liu Wuxie could not escape its influence.
"You dare tell us to get lost?!" the mercenary leader retorted, signaling Little Six.
Little Six charged without hesitation and swung his blade downward, releasing a blade ray that hurtled toward Liu Wuxie's back.
"Die!" he shouted.
His attack carried an overwhelming aura, and a sinister presence was infused into every strike. Their weapons had clearly taken the lives of countless innocent people, whose lingering resentment clung to the blades and refused to dissipate.
"Grandfather, should we intervene?" the young man asked as he rose, no longer able to endure watching.
"Let's wait and observe for now," the old man replied, gesturing to the young man to stay put.
They naturally hoped Liu Wuxie would survive. In reality, however, his chances of withstanding Little Six's assault appeared slim, leaving him with little chance of victory.
The Bloodthirst Blade materialized in Liu Wuxie's hand, its crimson marking flowing rapidly as it devoured the crimson miasma permeating the atmosphere.
"Since you're courting death, I'll grant your wish!" Liu Wuxie's voice reverberated through the air as he disappeared.
Little Six's attack missed and crashed into the ground with a thunderous rumble.
The sounds of battle naturally alerted the distant immortal beasts, which immediately began rushing toward them.
Liu Wuxie knew that he had to finish the battle swiftly and return to the tree before the immortal beasts arrived. Unless those immortal beasts could fly, they would have no means of climbing the tree.
The instant he unleashed Instant Flash, boundless blade force erupted and engulfed everything within a radius of several hundred meters.
"What?!"
The young man in the distance shot to his feet, stunned by the blade force Liu Wuxie had unleashed. Even the young woman stared in speechless shock.
They had cultivated the sword art for decades, yet they had only just touched the threshold of sword force.
Liu Wuxie was merely a High Immortal, but he had already comprehended such formidable blade force. They could scarcely imagine how terrifying he would become once he reached the Profound Immortal Realm.
Suppressed beneath the blade force, Little Six struggled to move even an inch. The blade pierced through space and appeared before him with thunderous momentum.
In the following instant, Little Six's head soared into the air. Liu Wuxie had already decapitated him before the other five mercenaries could even comprehend what had happened.
Everything transpired with such blinding speed that the battle ended before they could process what they had witnessed.
Although Liu Wuxie had not achieved another breakthrough over the past few days, his combat strength had surged dramatically. Every day, he devoted some time to practicing his blade technique.
The Heavenly Crest Divine Blade Art encompassed everything, and Liu Wuxie had long since perfected Instant Flash. Whenever he struck, his blade's trajectory could already blend seamlessly into the shadows.
"Little Six!" The older mercenary rushed forward and cradled Little Six's corpse, his anguished shout drawing even more immortal beasts toward them.
Seizing that opening, Liu Wuxie left an afterimage behind and took the initiative to charge.
"Attack him together!" the leader commanded, and the remaining mercenaries immediately rushed toward Liu Wuxie.
Those at the high levels of the True Immortal Realm could no longer threaten Liu Wuxie. Although Instant Flash possessed few variations, every strike sent chills through all who witnessed it, including the three observers in the distance.
"What a bizarre blade technique!" The young man exclaimed, rubbing his palms together, unable to suppress his desire to move closer and examine it more carefully.
Like a falling meteor, the blade carved afterimages through the air and swept toward the five mercenaries. Liu Wuxie held nothing back, unleashing his strongest attack from the outset.
The mercenaries naturally could not rival Liu Wuxie's combat strength. A thin wound silently appeared across each of their throats before blood spilled from their necks. Even as death claimed them, they could not comprehend how such a harmless-looking man had become so terrifying.
As the corpses toppled one after another, Liu Wuxie summoned the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron and refined all six bodies, swiftly collecting their interspatial rings.
This was clearly not the first time Liu Wuxie had done something like this. Watching from afar, the young man and woman exchanged glances, each seeing the shock reflected in the other's eyes. Even they could not have killed with such clean and decisive efficiency.
"How strange. Where did those six corpses go?" the young man asked, swiftly noticing their disappearance after recovering from his shock.
The black hole had manifested upon the ground rather than in the sky, preventing them from noticing it. Moreover, Liu Wuxie's attack had completely captured their attention.
Setting cultivation aside, even they would have little chance of withstanding that attack head-on. After mentally simulating the clash, they concluded that without releasing their cultivation at the Profound Immortal Realm, neither of them would be able to evade that strike.
Liu Wuxie swiftly rushed toward the tree as the heavy sounds of crashing vegetation reached his ears, and several immortal beasts came into view.
A Heavenly Yin Wingwolf sprang forward and blocked Liu Wuxie's path. The Dragon Burial Mountain Range teemed with Heavenly Yin Wingwolves, and Liu Wuxie had already killed several during his journey.
More immortal beasts emerged from the other directions, all drawn by the pervasive scent of blood.
"Out of my way!" The Bloodthirst Blade descended from above and condensed into a powerful blade ray. After all, the Instant Blade did not work particularly well against Heavenly Yin Wingwolves.
A deafening explosion erupted as the strike sent the Heavenly Yin Wolf flying. The pain only enraged it further, and it kicked off the ground before leaping to the foot of the tree ahead of Liu Wuxie.
More Heavenly Yin Wingwolves emerged, their numbers swelling beyond a dozen in the blink of an eye. Every one of them possessed considerable cultivation, with several having reached the first- and second-level Spirit Immortal Realm.
Confronted by such a formidable formation, Liu Wuxie tightened his grip on the Bloodthirst Blade as his right hand slipped inside his clothes. He understood that if no other choice remained, he could only resort to the mysterious flag.
"Grandfather, let's help him. If this continues, the Heavenly Yin Wingwolves will kill him," the young woman finally urged.
"There's no hurry," the old man replied calmly, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.
The Heavenly Yin Wingwolves advanced, encircling Liu Wuxie.
He activated Ghost Pupil and surveyed his surroundings, causing even the flow of space to slow before his vision. Through Ghost Pupil, he could perceive every individual strand of their fur. He could even distinguish precisely which muscles remained relaxed and which had tensed in preparation to strike.
One Heavenly Yin Wingwolf shot into the air and pounced with astonishing speed, its massive frame swiftly filling Liu Wuxie's field of view.
Liu Wuxie did not attempt to evade and instead stood perfectly still. The attacking Heavenly Yin Wingwolf possessed strength comparable to the Quasi-Spirit Immortal Realm, making it vastly more powerful than the mercenaries he had just fought.
Liu Wuxie gripped the Bloodthirst Blade and executed a drawblade technique.
The Heavenly Yin Wingwolf rapidly closed the distance, crossing several dozen meters in the blink of an eye before appearing directly in front of Liu Wuxie.
"What is he doing? Why hasn't he attacked?" the young woman asked, anxiously stomping her foot.
When the Heavenly Yin Wingwolf came within a meter of Liu Wuxie, the Bloodthirst Blade descended in a crimson flash. To Liu Wuxie's surprise, the crimson mark actually flew out from the blade.
Concealed within the blade ray, the crimson mark effortlessly penetrated the Heavenly Yin Wingwolf's defenses and burrowed into its body. The blade ray appeared and disappeared within the same fleeting moment.
As the pouncing Heavenly Yin Wingwolf crashed to the ground, the young man and woman nearly went mad with frustration, utterly unable to comprehend what had just occurred.
Even the young man could no longer contain his emotions as he exclaimed, "How could a High Immortal possibly tear through the Heavenly Yin Wingwolf's defenses?"
When the two of them had been at the ninth-level High Immortal Realm, they could only fight cautiously whenever they encountered Heavenly Yin Wingwolves. Neither would have dared to confront one as directly as Liu Wuxie had.
After slaying the Heavenly Yin Wingwolf, Liu Wuxie did not linger over his victory. He sprang toward the tree and scrambled upward with both hands and feet like an ape.
Only then did the remaining Heavenly Yin Wingwolves react, lunging toward him in unison.
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