Isn't This a Game? Why Are You All Cultivating for Real!

Chapter 138: Chapter 138: Even Third-Rank Demon Beasts

"This way..."

Two furtive figures kept their distance from the demon beasts in the dead of night.

They were the players Honghuang and An Xiu.

Honghuang and An Xiu were both disciples from the second batch to enter, but they had high combat power.

Upon joining, they immediately chose to go fight on the First Mountain, and they were among the first ten to reach the Qi Refining Middle Stage.

The two had stumbled upon this game by pure chance. In real life, they loved adventure and excitement, never expecting that they would one day be able to live an alternate life within a game.

During the demon beast invasion, they were the first to discover the beasts were gathering in packs and had followed them back.

Now, seeing that someone was holding the line at Wang’an County, their thoughts aligned with Song Jiulai’s: they would trace the invasion to its source.

Honghuang and An Xiu were already stuck at the peak of the Qi Refining Middle Stage, just one step away from the Late Stage. They figured this was their chance.

That was why they were fighting so aggressively.

In any case, besides the points they used for daily expenses, they had both saved up a safety net of points—enough for the System to "recycle" them.

This ensured they could escape in a life-threatening crisis.

They were already skilled at concealing their auras from a suitable distance. Honghuang and An Xiu followed the demon beast horde and soon discovered the final group.

"Just as I guessed. There really are Third-rank Demon Beasts."

When they saw the pack of Second-tier Demon Beasts, they had speculated whether there would be any Third-rank ones.

Turns out they were right.

The group at the rear had Third Rank beasts.

The good news was, Third Rank was the highest they saw.

Besides two Nine Netherworld Spiders, the kind Song Jiulai had seen before, there were also two Black Blood Lions and Devil Rabbits.

"Something’s not right..."

An Xiu narrowed his eyes and suddenly said, "Why do I feel like something is off?"

If they kept their distance, the Third-rank Demon Beasts wouldn’t necessarily be able to detect their auras, but as An Xiu approached the area, he felt that something was wrong.

There was an indescribable, bone-chilling cold.

It was probably related to the fact that the entire path was teeming with demon beasts.

Demon beasts fought each other to the death; it was incredible that these beasts could gather together without fighting.

Anyone could guess that there had to be something even bigger behind it all.

Honghuang also stopped in his tracks.

The area was a vast mountain forest, but the Third Rank demon beasts were gathered at an open-air waterfall, standing by the edge of a pool.

The once clean and clear water, now polluted by their auras, emanated a sinister green vapor and gurgled with unsettling bubbles.

One glance was enough to know it was appallingly toxic.

System: "Run!"

WHOOSH!

The instant the System’s warning came, Honghuang and An Xiu bolted without a second thought.

But Honghuang subconsciously glanced back.

Only then did he see it. In the opposite direction of the Third-rank Demon Beasts, a massive skeletal deer, wreathed in black energy, was staring coldly in their direction.

It had no eyeballs, yet he could feel immense killing intent radiating from its empty sockets.

A Fourth-rank Demon Beast, the Yin Sha Deer.

Honghuang’s scalp went numb with terror.

A Fourth-rank Demon Beast was completely beyond their ability to handle. Fortunately, the Yin Sha Deer had no intention of chasing them.

However, their escape had triggered the Third-rank Demon Beasts.

The two Nine Netherworld Spiders scuttled on their eight legs and gave chase.

"Damn it!"

They could take on ordinary Third-rank Demon Beasts, but Nine Netherworld Spiders were a whole different story.

After all, even Song Jiulai had to team up with others in the Secret Realm just to fight one of these things.

They reported the news to the System, which was then responsible for notifying everyone else.

It also informed Song Jiulai.

"I’ve spotted it. One Fourth-rank Demon Beast, a Yin Sha Deer. I don’t see any others."

Song Jiulai was already moving at high speed, currently approaching the First Mountain. "Are you sure there’s no one else?"

"I haven’t seen anyone for now," the System said. "But I can’t rule it out."

A Fourth-rank Demon Beast shouldn’t have the intelligence to control so many other demon beasts.

If it did, it wouldn’t be just a Fourth Rank.

System: "I suspect it’s highly likely to be that Demon Cultivator."

Demon Cultivators and demon beasts share the same origin, so many Demon Cultivators can control demon beasts.

But this ability also depends on talent. Some can control one or two at most, while others can control a large horde—as long as they aren’t too high-level.

That Demon Cultivator is confirmed to be at the Golden Core Stage, so it’s not too surprising that he can control a Fourth-rank Demon Beast.

Song Jiulai wanted to jump up in frustration. "Damn it! If it’s really the Demon Cultivator who wiped out the Spirit Fox Sect, he could destroy us himself if he wanted to! He’s at the Golden Core Stage! With the Feique Sect’s ancestor gone, who can stop him?"

"Not necessarily," the System said. "The Feique Sect surely has some tricks up its sleeve. If he showed up in person, the Feique Sect’s Adepts might return immediately. Besides, the Sect Tokens haven’t been used..."

The System couldn’t analyze a more logical possibility. "Perhaps he’s testing you."

Song Jiulai was on the verge of a breakdown. "Why are we so unlucky? Why did he have to pick Wang’an County first?"

She had only said it casually back then.

"This is just one possibility. It might not be the Demon Cultivator. We haven’t even seen the person, how can we lock onto an enemy out of thin air?"

Song Jiulai: "Then who do you think did it?"

System: "..."

’Talk about putting the System on the spot.’

Still, it proposed a possibility: "Maybe Mother Nature is throwing a fit. The Longevity Sect has killed too many demon beasts lately, and she couldn’t stand it anymore, so she organized a retaliatory strike."

Song Jiulai: "..."

’That was even more absurd than the Demon Cultivator showing up at their doorstep.’

The demon beasts in the Demon Cave Valley alone outnumbered the entire population of the Yunzhou Continent.

If not for the Major Sects surrounding the Demon Cave Valley and jointly suppressing it, the demon beasts from the valley would have emerged and wiped out all the Cultivators long ago.

Song Jiulai checked in remotely, "What’s the battle situation like now?"

The System observed for a moment. "It’s holding. They’re all First-rank Demon Beasts, so the disciples can handle it. The Feique Sect has Late Stage disciples there too. This wave isn’t a huge problem. It all depends on when the Second-tier Demon Beasts make their move. If they can hold out until the rest of the Feique Sect disciples return, it shouldn’t be a major issue."

"The key is that Fourth-rank Demon Beast. The scale of this invasion should be considered small."

This wasn’t just the System spouting nonsense.

Song Jiulai knew it herself.

If there was only one Fourth-rank Demon Beast and just a handful of Third-rank ones, then the scale of this invasion was indeed very small.

The kind that wouldn’t even make it into the official records.

But an invasion of this scale, if it caught the Cultivators off guard and they couldn’t get back in time, could still wipe out half a county seat without any issue.

’If I could just kill that Fourth-rank Yin Sha Deer... it isn’t impossible to try. Back in my Late-stage Qi Refinement days, I could easily beat Third-stage Demon Beasts. Now that I’m at Foundation Establishment, what’s the big deal about fighting a Fourth Rank?! According to standard combat power metrics, the Yin Sha Deer should be a match for someone at the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment.’

Speak of the devil.

Honghuang and An Xiu were being furiously chased by the Third-rank Demon Beasts.

They were running for their lives, barely managing to keep pace with the beasts thanks to their head start and familiarity with the area around Wang’an County.

But they only lasted about ten minutes.

"Damn it all, did we dig up its ancestors’ graves or something?!"

These two Nine Netherworld Spiders had been chasing them relentlessly without letting up.

Having never seen anything like it, Honghuang and An Xiu found it hard to believe. During their training excursions, whenever they provoked a demon beast they couldn’t beat, the beast would simply stop chasing once they ran far enough away.

This was because the higher-level a demon beast was, the more territorial it would be; entering another’s territory could easily lead to a fight with other demon beasts.

Demon beasts also knew how to weigh pros and cons.

But these two Nine Netherworld Spiders weren’t like that at all!