"Mr. Chen? Which Mr. Chen? You don't mean that green-horned, snot-nosed little kid, right?"
"He thinks he could beat the horde? Not even a naïve fool would believe a stupid statement of that sort!"
"Yeah! Even the Temple Guardians were defeated! What can an outsider do?"
"I'm thinking he must have taken the opportunity to escape! If he dare face the Beast Horde, I will eat shit in front of a live audience!"
The people raised their doubts and questions.
After all, in their eyes, Chen Xiaobei was simply a young stranger. Surely, he must be the weakest one among them. How could he fight the terrifying Beast Horde?
"Everyone, shut up!" Wenren Muyue barked. "I have already entrusted all my hope on Mr. Chen! If you don't believe me, then your legs are attached to your own bodies, aren't they? So, you can run if you want! Otherwise, stop all your nonsense!"
As she spoke, Wenren Muyue's Ethereal Force began to move, and a pure white light lit up from behind her like a halo, shining all around her.
The Ethereal force frightened everyone till they spoke no more, and dared not breathe another word.
Their impression of Wenren Muyue was that she was a gentle, genial and demure lady. This was the first time they had ever experienced such a frightening force from her.
With a proclamation like that, the others could only shut up and wait.
After all, these people were all low cultivation weaklings. Attempting to make a run for it and getting to the safe zone would be an impossible task for them.
to wait – this was their only way out!
Of course, right now, the whole group had only stayed because they were fearful of Wenren Muyue. Deep down, they were doubting the kid named Chen. Could he really save them?
"Look! Look over there! The sky is a blood red color! The Beast Horde seemed to have stopped running!" Dong Xiaowu suddenly exclaimed.
Everyone turned their eyes toward the direction Dong Xiaowu had pointed at.
What they saw was exactly as Dong Xiaowei had described.
There, Chen Xiaobei was standing before the Beast Horde, and hovering behind him was a piece of painting about a few meters long.
The painting was emitting a bright, bloody crimson light all over the place, and raising a bone-chilling gale.
Upon a closer look, a red flame was dancing on the painting, and tens of thousands of skeletal warhorses, and the evil spirits of soldiers charged out from the gates of hell. Their murderous intent was so strong that even the heavens could feel them.
It felt as if they were going to kill all living beings and turn the whole forest into a living hell!
The hundreds of Demonic Beasts sucked in a cold breath of air when they saw the painting.
The Demonic Beasts who previously had no problem killing people were suddenly filled with fear!
It was like hell itself had descended on them, and the apocalypse had arrived. Hopelessness and despair began to fill them, so much so that they trembled violently.
"Answer me honestly!" Chen Xiaobei was speaking in Zoolinguics. "Why have you come here?"
"What happened? Why are our feet bounded? What is with this red glow?"
Hundreds of Demonic Beasts stood stunned on the ground.
They thought that as long as the averted their eyes from the frightening painting, they would be fine, but just as they were trying to move, they realized that all four of their legs were lashed to the ground by a red flame. No matter how hard they pulled, they could seem to even move half a step.
The Demonic Beasts began to panic. Every single one of them were shackled to the ground!
"This is Blood God's Deity-Killing painting!" Chen Xiaobei stood before the Beast Horde and said, "Even though you are all of different strengths, this formation could kill any elites whose strength are lesser than that of a demigod! Now that you are trapped by the formation, you have all lost the licence to ask questions! You'll either answer my question or die!"
The horde of beasts looked up at Chen Xiaobei with horror.
"You know how to speak Zoolingualism!" The Crystal-Armor Rhinoceros said, "Don't waste your time! We are all Tyrant Dragon King's most loyal servants. We will never give up his highness' grand masterplan even at the cost of our own lives!"
"Tyrant Dragon King? Shocking plan?" Chen Xiaobei felt a deep premonition in his bones.
"If you want to kill us, then just go ahead and do it already! There's no need for so much talk!" The Crystal-Armor Rhinoceros roared. "Right now, if you don't kill me, I will kill you once the formation is broken!"
"Oh, you are quite the ballsy one!" Chen Xiaobei narrowed his eyes at the beast. "Do you really think I can't kill you?"
The rhinoceros laughed. "Hmph! Don't think I don't know that your Blood God's Deity-Killing painting is a Spiritual Instrument! The fact that it could control so many of us Demonic Beasts would mean that it's a Nine-star Spiritual Instrument. Its Special Ability has already been maxed out! How are you going to kill me?"
The other Demonic Beasts breathed a sigh of relief at this statement.
"He's right! Spiritual Instruments' Special Abilities have a limit! This is just a confinement type Spiritual Instrument. It can only hold us here, but it cannot kill us!"
"I've seen a similar Nine-star Spiritual Instrument before! With such a large scale, and such a strong Special Ability, it's definitely at its maximum capacity! There's no way it has any juice left to kill us!"
"Stupid rugrat! Come up and get up close to us now if you dare. See if I'll swallow you in one gulp!"
"You snot-nosed bugger! Come over here! If you don't have the balls, we'll just hang out here then! When the Spiritual Instrument's energy has been completely drained, then you should get ready for your funeral!"
The Demonic Beasts scoffed, thinking that they had put a damper on Chen Xiaobei's plans.
"Hey kid, why aren't you talking?" The Crystal-Armor Rhinoceros chuckled. "We already know what your trump card is! Don't even dream of killing us with a Nine-star Spiritual Instrument!"
"If that's not possible with a Nine-star Spiritual Instrument, what about a Divine Instrument?" Chen Xiaobei grinned.
"Divine Instrument? What a joke! There are only three Divine Instruments in the entire Northern Wilderness Starfield, and they are all with the Northern Wilderness Temple!" The rhinoceros scoffed and continued, "And here you are claiming that you have a Divine Instrument?! I'm going to tell you that I have God Instrument and Sacred Instrument!"
"Heh." Chen Xiaobei smiled, a murderous look in his eyes. "There are four Divine Instruments in the entire Northern Wilderness Starfield. You guys are lucky enough to see one of them!"
Not only were the Demonic Beasts not threatened at all, they even amplified the mockery.
"Oh, look at you still trying to pass off your lie! Do you think you are Overlord of the Northern Wilderness?"
"Maybe you do have a Divine Instrument! But not even a retard will believe this stupid lie!"
"If this really is a Divine Instrument, go ahead and just kill us! We will never reveal our Tyrant Dragon King's plans to you!"
"That's right! Go ahead and kill us! If you can't of that, then shut the fuck up!"
Divine Instruments were forged with Divine Items. Their existence were beyond one's imagination.
It was no surprise that the Demonic Beasts did not believe that Chen Xiaobei had a Divine Instrument. No one in the entire Northern Wilderness would believe him etiher!
"Survival is a struggle! Death, on the other hand, is easy and a relief! I'll be letting you off the hook lightly!"
Chen Xiaobei shrugged.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
At once, 48 blood red shadows shot out of the painting like arrows.
"Wh… What… is that? How is it that the painting still has extra energy? That's more than what a Nine-star Spiritual Instrument is capable of! What is happening?"
All of the Demonic Beasts began to scream in panic.
"H…How…" The Crystal-Armor Rhinoceros stared ahead, its body shaking violently. "That's more than the limit of a Nine-star Spiritual Instrument! It means that the painting really is a Divine Instrument!"
48 identical-looking evil spirits was charging towards the Beast Horde!
The evil spirits were all fierce-looking, their two-meter tall bodies were wrapped in a blood red floating robe, emitting a strong murderous intent. It was as if they were going to eliminate all beings, and turn the entire universe into an endless sea of blood.
Behold, the 48 Blood God Illusions!
Zing!
The first Blood God had already reached the beasts, swinging its sharp claws at the Crystal Armor Rhinoceros like lightning. The Blood God drew out a blood red arc, that resembled a grim reaper's sickle which harvested lives!
Rrrrrip!
The claws ripped opened the belly of the rhinoceros whose health was 300,000 strong! Its insides spilled over to the floor, and blood came gushing out like a rushing river!
Bam!
The rhinoceros who was so smug a second ago, fell stiffly to the ground, the whites of its eyes showing! He was clueless even at its death!
It was not a peaceful death!
"My god! Rhino General is dead! The evil spirits killed him! How could such frightening evil spirits exist in this world?"
"Divine Instrument! This is the strength of a Divine Instrument! It's too scary! There's no way we can fight back!"
"Look! The evil spirits are sucking blood! It's absorbed all of the general's blood essence!"
"My god! That's too scary! Have mercy! Have mercy!"
The rest of the Demonic Beasts were thunderstruck!
The Divine Instrument had ripped their battle morale to shreds, so much so they began to beg for mercy!
Unfortunately, once the Blood God's started killing, they would not stop until they had annihilated every single enemy.
No matter how they begged and cried out, the only ending for them was death!
Zing! Zing! Zing!
The 48 Blood Gods began killing the Demonic Beasts like wolves among a flock of sheep!
The Demonic Beasts were not weak, and there were many of them. Unfortunately, under the shackle of the Blood God's Deity-Killing painting, they were like sacrificial lambs!
Their only destiny was death!
"Ah… Ouch… Please don't kill me… Mercy… Mercy!"
With the voice of desperation echoing in the air, hundreds of Demonic Beasts were killed without any mercy.
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
48 Blood God Illusions were drifting all over the place, reaping every single Demonic Beasts they passed. All the crowd could see were crimson shadows flashing though the Demonic Beasts. Like tearing a piece of paper, they were killed with only one strike. Also, their blood essences were absorbed into the Blood God Illusions' robes.
With all the blood essence that they absorbed, they could use it to form a Blood Shield to block all kind of Pure Yang attribute damage! Once they were equipped with the Blood Shield, they would then have no weaknesses. Anyone that had a cultivation lower than a demigod would never be able to break it.
If Chen Xioabei managed to gather 10,000 evil spirits with 150,000 combat power, the formation would become powerful enough to kill any demigod with ease. Considering that all those Demonic Beasts that stood in their path were no more powerful than a demigod, they were all massacred within three minutes!
"Store!"
Chen Xiaobei then summoned back the Blood God's Deity Killing painting into his palm.
Looking at all the Demonic Beast's bodies on the floor, Chen Xiaobei was filled with excitement.
"With all these bodies, I think I will get the first place in this Elite Hunting Competition and I will be able to cure Wenren Muyue! All their body parts would bring me a great deal of fortune as well!"
There were at least a few hundred Beast Cores lying on the ground right now and these were considered high-tier Beast Cores. Including Crystal Armor Rhinoceros, Chen Xiaobei could get his hands on eight pieces of Diamond-tier Beast Cores! All these Cores could give Chen Xiaobei a huge boost of power! Unfortunately, Chen Xiaobei did not have enough lifespan to use his Dark Power for now. In other words, he would not be able to convert all these Beast Cores to combat power.
Besides, the Demonic Beasts Essence that resided in his body still could give him 140,400 combat power and health. With that being said, all these Beast Cores were not much of use to him right now. Finally, Chen Xiaobei decided to sell all these Beast Cotes to get more Spiritual Stones. After all, Spiritual Stones was the only currency that could be used in the Northern Wilderness Starfield!
"Store!"
Immediately, Chen Xiaobei stored everything from the battlefield and returned to the crowd.
"Mr. Chen is back… Mr. Chen is safe…"
"Mr. Chen is the best… Mr. Chen is almighty… Mr. Chen is the coolest of all!"
Though they were hundreds of meters from them, they could already see the crimson light flooding the area where Chen Xiaobei was at and they knew that they Beast Horde had been eliminated. Chen Xiaobei was the one to give thanks to in this incident. All of a sudden, the praises that were poured unto him were hundred times better than the Ximen Dingjun. It was most ironic that the very people that praised Chen Xiaobei right now were the same people who had mocked him not too long ago.
At the same time, Wenren Muyue and the rest of them approached Chen Xiaobei as well.
"Mr. Chen! What did you do? How did you defeat the entire Beast Horde?! This is truly unbelievable!" said Qin Luoshu in a shocked manner.
"I didn't do much actually. This Beast Horde was not as powerful as I think it is!"
"Oh my god! 11 Temple Guardians are dead! How can you say that the Beast Horde is not powerful?! I would have scolded anyone else for being arrogant if they said something like this to me! But… Mr. Chen, you are unharmed! I'm truly impressed by what you did back there!" said Wei Ruilong.
Chen Xiaobei responded with only a smile on his face. The truth was that he actually did not do much. All he did was toss the painting into the sky. All those Demonic Beasts were no match to his Divine Item!
"Mr. Chen! Are you some kind of god-king? Not only do you have good knowledge about Sumukhwa, but you also have good healing skills to heal all kind of illnesses as well! And now, you've revealed to us that you possess such immense strength! I will let my father know about it when I get back later! Also, I will ask him to give you a powerful position as well!" said Dong Xiaowu.
"What do you mean by that? Does that mean I can become a real Silver Plume Noble?"
"Of course! My father had always appreciated those who possessed great talents, and you are a rare prodigy! Of course, you can get a seat in the Silver Plume Noble's society!" said Dong Xiaowu in an excited manner.
"Then, can I bring my family and friends to the Northern Wilderness Starfield?"
"I'm not too sure about that! Every year, there are limited places for people to bring anybody here! If you can get it, you can bring whoever you want here!"
"Alright. Sounds good to me. I will think about it."
Upon hearing that, everyone was bewildered. If others were to know that they were about to become a noble, they would rejoice with joy. To their surprise, Chen Xiaobei told Dong Xiaowu that he was going to think about it first. However, none of them dared to say single word about it.
"Alright… Feel free to think it over first… The door of Silver Plume City will always open for you!"
Immediately, everyone felt jealous of him.
"Mr. Chen… I would like to apologize to you! I was doubting your strength just now! I even thought that Muyue was brainwashed by you! Now, I finally know that you are some powerful covert elite! Muyue is right about you!" said Miao Yiyue.
"Master Miao, you don't have to give yourself a hard time! Due to personal reasons, I have had to hide my strength. It's not your fault."
"Mr. Chen… Thank you for forgiving me!"
Miao Yiyue put his hands together to show his gratitude to Chen Xiaobei.
"Ms. Wenren… Why are you staring at me…? Do you have something that you want to tell me?"
"All I want to say is… Thank you!" said Wenren Muyue.
Immediately, others started to give thanks to Chen Xiaobei as well.
"Thank you Mr. Chen for saving our lives… Thank you Mr. Chen for saving our lives…"
Most of the people there were Lu Changwei's friends.
Lu Changwei though, was useless at this critical moment, and the Chen Xiaobei they had been against the entire time, stepped up to the plate and saved them from a desperate crisis.
Any person with a conscience would thank Chen Xiaobei from the bottom of their hearts for saving them.
From this moment onwards, even though Lu Changwei still held onto a grudge, most of the people no longer saw Chen Xiaobei as the enemy.
In other words, if they still had animosity towards Chen Xiaobei, then that would mean that they were ungrateful beings that were lesser than animals.
Of course, at this very moment, no one had dared express hostility towards Chen Xiaobei. Even if they wished to plot against him, they would have to do it clandestinely.
"Alright! Everyone! Enough nonsense!" Chen Xiaobei raised his arm. "This wave of Beast Horde has been defeated but the Demonic Beasts seemed to have a bigger plan in mind! We'd better return to the safe zone!"
Of course, everyone agreed to this suggestion.
The area outside the safe zone was just too dangerous. They could not stay there any longer.
They paid no attention to Ximen Dingjun and Old Meng.
After all, Old Meng's cultivation was equivalent to a demigod. If it was within his capability, he could rescue Ximen Dingjun. But if it wasn't and even if the people wanted to help, they could do nothing.
The people began to move in the direction of the safe zone.
The old Overgrown Forest Capital City.
A raven with feathers as dark as night and as big as an eagle glided into the giant stone pyramid.
"Who let you in? Where is General Spriceros?"
In the darkness, a stern voice spoke, causing the whole place to tremble.
"I'm here to report… report on… General Spiriceros's current condition … he… he…" it seemed that it was the black raven's first time inside the pyramid. It was so frightened by the Tyrant Dragon King's presence that it was stuttering, barely able to speak.
"What nonsense! Can't you speak properly?" Tyrant Dragon King boomed impatiently. "You don't need to tell me! I know that General Spiriceros has won! He's my favorite, and most trusted lieutenant. All these years, he has been able to execute all the tasks I've given him perfectly! I don't have to worry about anything when he's in charge!"
Tyrant Dragon King sounded very confident. He clearly regarded the Crystal-Armor Rhinoceros highly, and trusted him.
The Tyrant Dragon King believed that his favorite lieutenant was able to take care of this business flawlessly, and get the item that he wanted.
"No, General Spiriceros, he… did not win… He…" The raven was beginning to sweat; its heart feeling like it was going to explode.
"Did not win? How is that possible?" Tyrant Dragon King roared. "Tell me everything or prepare to die!"
"Ye… yes, yes." The raven took in a deep breath. "General Spiriceros, he… he's dead! He and the 466 Demonic Beasts he had with him are gone!"
"What?!" The Tyrant Dragon King's sudden anger shook the ground and the stones began to shift; it was as if the pyramid was going to crumble.
"Don't be mad, your honor." The raven wished it could fly far away now but its feet was glued to the ground, shivering in terror.
"Don't be mad?" The Tyrant Dragon King's tone was frosty. "Those puny humans have trampled all over me! Am I not supposed to be angry? Should I wait for them to walk all over me and shit on my head?!"
"Your grace, you mean…" the raven began.
"Broadcast my orders! To my right and to my left! 108 army generals! Gather all of their respective subordinates! I want all of them assembled within one hour!"
"Every…one assemble?" The raven's jaw dropped open. "Your grace, what are you going to do?"
"500 years of hibernation and the Northern Wilderness Temple seemed to have forgotten that I exist! Those humans organize some Elite Hunting Competition every year, right? This year, I want to join the hunt as well! A million Demonic Beasts will hunt down the humans! Just thinking about it make me happy!"
"One… one… million Demonic Beasts hunting humans…." The raven swallowed. Its feathers soaked in nervous sweat.
Only the young nobles of the planets in Northern Wilderness Starfield were able to join Elite Hunting Competition.
For example, it was ussually the young governors of each Capital City, and also the heirs of aristocratic families. There were also many heirs from many other mid-tier families!
Behind all these heirs, there were also other important young members who followed the lead of those forces.
Dong Xiaowu, for example, had brought in the most outstanding young men, and Wenren Muyue and Miao Yiyue brought their own blood relatives!
The people who had joined the Elite Hunting Competition could be said to be the crème de la crème of the Northern Wilderness Starfield's future generation! It could be even said that they were the future of the Northern Wilderness Starfield!
And the Tyrant Dragon King was about to begin a counter-hunt on the humans!
If they succeed, all these families would lose all of their heirs and important young members within a short amount of time! It would be a disaster! The entire Northern Wilderness Starfield would have no peace!
In the long term, the Northern Wilderness Starfield would have a massive void in human resource that would last for at least 20 to 30 years! There would be a huge deficit in manpower and resources! Once could only imagine what would happen to the Starfield!
The Tyrant Dragon King's move would shake the entire foundation of Northern Wilderness Starfield, and topple their entire structure!
On the other side, Chen Xiaobei was leading the whole group into the safe zone.
Because the Demonic Beasts were under orders to assemble, the group did not meet any obstructions along the way. They arrived in the safe zone just before sunset.
"Phew!" Dong Xiaowu exhaled loudly. "We are finally safe! After today, we only have two days left! After we take the championship title, we can all return to Silver Plume!"
"It's all thanks to Mr. Chen that we are able to return unharmed!" Qin Luo smiled. "Once we get the prize, Muyue's illness can be cured completely! In the future, our inner city will be even more exciting!"
"Yeah! Those who have survived a catastrophe are bound to have good fortune later on! Muyue will recover completely!" Wei Ruolong grinned.
"Muyue! Congratulations!"
Miao Yiyue and Wenren Muyue shared a very close-knit relationship. His words were scarce, because the emotions he was feeling were very complicated.
Right now, even though everyone believed that the storm had passed and they were safe, Wenren Muyue and Chen Xiaobei were still unable to relax.
"Lady Wenren, did you notice something unusual as well?" Chen Xiaobei asked.
"Yeah!" Wenren Muyue nodded, an obvious anxiety in her voice. "Something is not right. We didn't meet a single high-ranked Demonic Beast on our way back! Now that we are back in the safe zone, there is not a single low-ranked Demonic Beast to be seen! That's very strange!"
"Huh!"
Everyone was shocked by her statement.
When things become unusual in an unconventional manner, there usually must be something going on!
Had Wenren Muyue not mentioned it, the others would not have noticed that they did not meet a single Demonic Beast on their way back.
This was extremely out of the ordinary. There must be a huge conspiracy behind all this!
"So what should we do now?" Dong Xiaowu asked nervously.
They had just escaped from the jaws of the lion, and they were only too familiar with how frightening the Demonic Beasts were. Everyone looked at Wenren Muyue, their stomachs tied in a knot.
Wenren Muyue said nothing but looked at Chen Xiaobei. She was clearly handing the stage over to Chen Xiaobei.
Chen Xiaobei took the cue, and said, "The Demonic Beasts are no less intelligent than us! The disappearance of the Demonic Beasts could only mean that they had gathered somewhere, and are cooking up a big conspiracy! I suggest that everyone get to the portals and return to Silver Plume Planet immediately!"
"Alright! Alright! We'll all listen Mr. Chen, and leave this hell of a place! We do not want to stay here another second longer!"
The group nodded eagerly.
If it was not for Chen Xiaobei, they would have already become the Demonic Beasts' dinner. There was also a high chance that, right now, this was what they called by the calm before the storm. When Chen Xiaobei said leave, everyone was in complete agreement. None of them wanted to stay.
"What about the other people?" Wenren Muyue asked. "There are at least one million people on Overgrown Forest planet! Are we going to just let them fall into the Demonic Beasts' ploy?"
"We'll notify the people on our way back to the portals! Those who believe us can follow us. But there's nothing I can do about those who don't!" Chen Xiaobei said. "There is a high chance that no one will believe us!"
"I…" Wenren Muyue was taken aback for a moment. When she recovered from the shock, she said firmly, "It looks like that will have to do! Let's do our best to advice everyone to leave with us! I'm afraid that a terrifying event is about unfold in front of us!"
After that, the hundreds of Silver Plume people split up, and made their way through the safe zone, informing everyone they met about the impending danger, so that the people from the other planets were also forewarned.
But it was just as Chen Xiaobei had thought.
When the young people from the other planets heard their warning, they laughed it off. No one believed them!
"What a joke! The Elite Hunting Competition takes place every year. There's never been any problems so far! We only have three more days before the competition ends! We cannot withdraw prematurely, can we?"
"Exactly! We are in the safe zone! The Temple guards are watching over the whole area! There won't be any accidents!"
"You know what I think? You guys are deliberately spreading false news to trick us so that Silver Plume planet can win all of the awards! We will never fall for that!"
"How dare you guys spread false rumors! I will report you to the Temple Elder in charge!"
The Elite Competition promised high-value rewards. Those who managed to garner good rankings would be known all over Northern Wilderness!
Most of the people came here in pursuit of status and fame.
The Demonic Beasts had disappeared since the afternoon, and many of them had actually noticed it.
Blinded by the temptation of fame and greed though, they had forgotten about danger. None of them bothered to take the time to figure out about the problem. Not only did the young people from the other planets not believe the Silver Plume citizens, they even accused them of playing dirty tricks to take all the fame to themselves.
"Mr. Chen is right!" Miao Yiyue said. "We want to save people but no one believes us! Let's go! Let's get back to Silver Plume! The people who refuse to believe Mr. Chen will just have to suffer the consequences later!"
"Don't sat that!" Wenren Muyue furrowed her brows. "There is saying that if one part hurts, the other parts suffer with it too! All these people are the future of the Northern Wilderness Starfield! If something happens to them, we won't be able to survive for long either!"
"Muyue is right!" Dong Xiaowu said. "There are at least 10,000 people here who are from our Silver Plume planet alone! Excluding us, there are over 9,000 people scattered all over this place! If something happens to them, Silver Plume will turn into a mess!"
Qin Luo frowned. "I know, but we've already done our part and warned them! If they don't believe us, should we going to tie them up and force them to the portal instead?"
"Human beings will die for riches, just as birds will for food! Who would be willing to give up when they are so close to success?" Wei Ruilong exhaled, dispirited.
"How about this eh? You guys retreat first!" Wenren Muyue said. "I will stay and continue to warn the people! Saving a lives is more important than anything else! If we can save one person, then we'll take that one person!"
"Muyue! Don't waste your energy!" Miao Yiyue said. "We've already warned them on our way here! We've practically lost our voices trying to persuade them but the people just threw cold water on us!"
Wenren Muyue turned a deaf ear and walked up to a group of youngsters from other planets.
"Mr. Chen! Please advise Muyue! She'll listen to you!" Miao Yiyue felt helpless.
"I don't plan to advise her!" Chen Xiaobei shook his head. "Saving lives is more important! Perhaps I should try and save all these people!"
The group was surprised to hear this.
"Mr. Chen, are you kidding? Even though you are unusually strong, how can you possibly save all these people on your own? It would be impossible even for a deity!"
"With effort, one can achieve anything! If I don't try, I would never know!" Chen Xiaobei said. "You guys can all return to Silver Plume. I will stay back and observe the situation!"
"What…" The group was flabbergasted. "Mr. Chen, you're the one who suggested we withdraw and return to Silver Plume. Why aren't you leaving with us then?"
"Because I need to save people… to collect merits!" Chen Xiaobei said calm and firm as a rock.
He still remembered what Acheron said about Lu Bu wanting to save Diao Chan! The best way to do it was to help her become an Earth God! And that would have required 10, 000,000,000 merit points!
If he could save all one million people, Chen Xiaobei would be able to earn a lot of merit points!
Who knows, he might even be able to save Diao Chan and win over Lu Bu!
The good and bad aside, Chen Xiaobei valued loyalty and friendship too much to cross swords till the death with Lu Bu.
Above all that, Lu Bu had been blackmailed by Shen Gongpao. If he fought with Chen Xiaobei, Shen Gongpao would reap the benefits! Chen Xiaobei was not about to let the asshole get what he wanted!
That was why Chen Xiaobei wanted to save all these one million young people!
What Chen Xiaobei wanted was camaraderie!
"Stay away from me, you bunch of disgusting jerks!"
Suddenly, a commotion broke out from Wenren Muyue was standing.
The group of youngsters had her hedge in in their little circle.
"Little lady! I thought you want us to believe you? Just come to bed with us tonight and we will go wherever you want to go tomorrow!"
Dozens of youngsters from different starfields flirted with Wenren Muyue and had their eyes glued on Wenren Muyue's voluptuous body. They really wanted to push her down on the floor and get dirty with her.
BAM!
Suddenly, Chen Xiaobei landed a kick on what seemed like the leader of the youngsters. As usual, blood started gushing right out from his mouth.
"You… How dare you kick me?! The participants of the Elite Hunting Competition are not allowed to fight each other! I will let the Temple Elder know about it. You are so dead!!"
Knowing that Chen Xiaobei's cultivation was more powerful than them, none of them dare to lift a finger on him. All they could do was to use the name of Temple Elder to strike fear in Chen Xiaobei.
"Friends! I'm Dong Xiaowu, the young lord of Silver Plume City! The girl that you guys had just bullied is the sole daughter of Temple Elder, Wenren Jinghao! Telling this incident to the other Temple Elders will do us no good!" said Dong Xiaowu.
Upon hearing the name, Dong Xiaowu and all the youngsters were left in fear.
"We… We are not messing with Ms. Wenren on purpose… Just now, someone came and asked us to retreat… And we felt really frustrated about it… Then, Ms. Wenren came and told us the same thing again… That was why we had let our emotions get the better of us!"
"Ah! A misunderstanding! Fine! Let's forget about it! I hope you guys will not tell others about my friend beating you up!"
Though they were not pleased with how things ended, they had no choice but to accept this outcome. After all, they were powerless.
"Better not hold grudges! I would advise you to retreat now! It's all for your own good!" said Miao Yiyue.
"Whatever man! You guys spread some fake news on purpose! And now you are telling me that you are doing this for own good?! Do you really think that we are stupid enough to believe what you said?! Your face would have been slapped by someone if there was no one powerful at your backs!" said the head of the youngster.
Immediately, Wenren Muyue glared at the group of youngsters. Judging from the anger that they had in their eyes, it seemed like they had the exact same thought with their leader.
"What should we do to make everyone to believe what we have to tell them?" asked Wenren Muyue in a worried manner.
Dong Xiaowu, Miao Yiyue, and the rest of the people shook their heads. Clearly, they did not know what to do about it as well.
"I think I will have to make them experience it for themselves so that they would learn a lesson from it! Only the evil plan of the Demonic Beasts is good enough to wake everybody up from their dream! Blood and death are the price they'll have to pay to learn their lesson!"
"Stop acting like you know everything! Do you really think that you are a god?! Why do we have to listen to you?! Why don't you just say that everyone here is going to die later?!"
"Judging by the current situation, I don't think I'm powerful enough to stop those Demonic Beasts! With that being said, 99% of the people will die if they don't start running for their lives right now!"
"Please! Continue to make up some stories to put fear in us! Look at you! You are just an immature kid! And you dare to tell us something like this! Demonic Beast?! Where the hell are the Demonic Beasts then?! Oh, how I hope a Demonic Beast comes to kill me right now!"
"Bro… Brother…"
Suddenly, all those youngsters pointed at their leader's back in a fearful manner.
"What happened? What's with the pale look?"
The leader then turned around to take a look.
"Oh my god… Beast… Beast Horde!!!"
Countless of Demonic Beasts surrounded them and charging at them from ten meters away.
"You have one bad mouth! I thought you just called out the Demonic Beast to kill you?! Please don't show your cowardice to me!"
"Help… Help me please… It's all my fault… I will not do this again…"
The youngster's leader quickly ran back into the crowd. With his current cultivation, he could deal with one or two low-tier Demonic Beast. However, he now faced a large amount of Demonic Beasts. And there were quite a number of high-tier Demonic Beasts in the horde as well. Asking him to fight them was no different from asking him to kill himself.
"Mr. Chen! What should we do now?" asked the crowd in a nervous manner.
"I have already said that I'm not powerful enough to defeat all of them! From what I can see, we are left with only one option! We have to run back to our base as fast as possible!"
The attack range of the Blood God Deity-Killing painting was only 300 meters. Now, the entire area was surrounded by Demonic Beats. In other words, the painting could only protect Chen Xiaobei and a small number of people.
"Run! Don't think anymore! Run for your life!"
Immediately, Chen Xiaobei shouted out as loud as he could to make sure that everyone had started to run back to the base. At the same time, the other youngsters who were staying at the safe zone finally realized that they were surrounded by Demonic Beasts. They now knew that the people from Silver Plume Planet was actually telling them the truth.
In the end, they all ran towards the portals like there was no tomorrow.
Rumble!
A loud noise could be heard from the base. Even the ground was shaking!
"Shit! The Demonic Beasts went ahead and destroyed our base!" shouted Chen Xiaobei.
"No way… There's a demigod tier Temple Elder and hundreds of Temple Guards guarding the place! How is it possible that the Demonic Beasts managed to destroy the base?!" asked Wei Ruilong.
"It's possible! There are three demigod tier Demonic Beasts here! Clearly, this is the Dragon King's evil plan!"
"What Dragon King? What evil plan?"
The crowd was puzzled by the statement.
"I'm not too sure as well! What I know right now is every single Demonic Beast from Overgrown Forest Planet has come to attack us! That includes three demigod tier Demonic Beast Kings!"
"What?! How's that even possible?! The portals are destroyed! We can't escape now and the cavalry will not be able to come to our rescue us as well! We are so dead this time!"
"Seems like this is how we meet our end eh?"
Chen Xiaobei nodded his head and replied in desolation.
The Demonic Beast had already launched a full-scale attack.
Screams of horror filled the place.
"Ah! Help! Help!"
The young people with powerful backgrounds were able to defend themselves but only by the skin of their teeth. Those who with mediocre backgrounds, however, became targets of torment, unable to withstand a single blow!
Had their numbers been more than the Demonic Beasts, they could have hunted and killed the beasts. But right now, Demonic Beasts outnumbered human.
The result was as expected.
Amidst the screams, someone had their throats ripped apart, while others had their stomachs torn open. Some people even lost chunks of flesh. They had become food for the Demonic Beasts.
Every single second, someone would die. Limbs hacked off, bones broken, and crimson blood flowing like a swollen river after a rainy day. The safe zone was now a horror show – a Shura Batttlefield!
Fortunately, after every kill, the Demonic Beasts would stop for a moment, search the bodies for their storage bracelets, before continuing with the attack.
With that being said, this short duration of the search should not be underestimated!
Many people were able to steal away when the Demonic Beasts were taking a break.
Had the Demonic Beasts not stopped, but killed ceaselessly, all one million would all have been dead in a short time!
"Mr. Chen, what should we do now? We can't keep running like that!" Dong Xiaowu asked, his voice thickened with fear.
"The Demonic Beasts must be looking for something important!" Chen Xiaobei said as he ran. "The Demonic Beast showed up when we arrived at the Overgrown Forest treasury. It was only after I took down the first wave of Beast Horde that they turned out in full strength and attacked at full force!"
Wenren Muyue gasped at the sudden realization, "That means the Demonic Beasts must be searching for something inside the Overgrown Forest treasury!"
"The treasury? But it was empty! There was nothing there!" Miao Yiyue scratched his head.
"I need to find out what the Demonic Beasts are looking for! That's the only way to end this!" Chen Xiaobei immediately decided on a plan.
"Where would find the time to do that?" Wei Ruilong's nerves were frazzled. "The Demonic Beasts are closing in. We will have nowhere to run to soon enough!"
Chen Xiaobei did not answer.
With the portals destroyed, the Northern Wilderness Temple search and rescue task force would not be able to arrive quickly enough.
The whole nest of Demonic Beasts were definitely much stronger than these under 30 year old human beings.
It was only a matter of time before all one million of them were completely wiped out!
Even Chen Xiaobei could not figure out a way to salvage the situation.
When they saw that their mainstay Chen Xiaobei did not know what to do, everyone's faces fell, and they were filled with despair.
Death was now already within reach! Every one of them were about to become carcasses and skeletons on the ground. None of them would be lucky enough to escape this fate!
"Come with me! I know a place where you can hide!"
Just then, a melodious yet tough female voice said.
It belonged to a masked girl dressed in tight-fitting Ninja costume. She was waving at Chen Xiaobei, signalling for him to follow!
Even though her face was hidden behind the mask, Chen Xiaobei recognized her immediately.
It was her eye-catching, long, slender legs that gave her away!
He calves were tight and supple, and her thighs were smooth and full, giving her the perfect curves!
These two flawless pins could trump every other pair of legs under the sky!
It was these pair of legs that Chen Xiaobei recognized and knew that she was none other than the assassin he met not long ago, Linghu Shuang!
This girl had donned on a mask to avoid being recognized by Lu Changwei and Zhu Dachang.
She was willing to risk being identified for the sake of saving Chen Xiaobei.
It would seem that she was a person who placed importance on the spirit of loyalty.
"Everyone, come! Follow!" Chen Xiaobei waved to the people behind him, and then ran to catch up with Linghu Shuang. He made sure to lower his voice when he asked, "What are you doing here?"
"The Elite Hunting Competition is a public event!" Linghu Shuang also spoke hushly. "I cannot miss this chance to kill Lu Changwei!"
Chen Xiaobei looked at her, eyebrows raised. "What is it between you and Lu Changwei? What are your grievances that you came here to kill him!"
"It's a long story! What's more important now is to run for our lives!" Linghu Shuang shook her head. "Tell your people to shout aloud so that the others can also escape with us!"
"Everyone?" Chen Xiaobei gasped. "Are you saying that this hiding place you were talking about can accommodate 1 million people?"
"It's a large canyon! It can fit everyone! There's only one exit and entrance! Easy to guard and difficult to attack!" Linghu Shuang explained briefly.
"A canyon?" Chen Xiaobei's eyes lit up. "Sister! What a marvellous idea! I will have a 50% chance to win this fight if everyone enters the canyon!"
"Win the fight? You? Stop kidding, alright?" Linghu Shuang did not believe that Chen Xiaobei had the ability to do that. "I'm leading everyone to the canyon so that my Sifu can come to rescue them! Enough nonsense! Hurry up and give them the instructions!"
"Er, alright!" Chen Xiaobei had no time to explain his plan.
He quickly did as Linghu Shuang told him, and made sure that everyone behind him was running and screaming at the same time, gathering those who were nearby them.
Right now, everyone was waist deep in despair. When they heard that there was place to hide, they all followed without a second's hesitation.
Very quickly, the group grew in size, from a few hundred to ten thousand. In the end there were at least tens of thousands of people following Chen Xiaobei and Linghu Shuang.
"Did you see that? The entrance into the canyon is in front!" Longhu Xiang pointed ahead of them. "Everyone, hurry up! We are almost there! Once we get in, we can secure the entrance, and we'll all survive!"
The whole group's morale was raised at once, as if they had just spotted the dawn of hope.
"Oh no!" Linghu Shuang suddenly screamed. "There's Demonic Beasts in front! A lot of Demonic Beasts! Stop! Everyone stop!"
No one slowed nor stopped, but they kept charging forward. Suddenly a large group of Demonic Beasts came out form the forest and blocked the entrance into the canyon!
"We cannot stop!" Chen Xiaobei called out. "If we stop now, the people behind will get hurt!"
"If we don't stop, what do you plan to do? Are you going to fight with the Demonic Beasts at the front?" Linghu Shuang frowned. "But there are Diamond-rank Demonic Beasts among! If we fight them face to face, the first to die would be us!"
"Listen to me! Don't stop! Continue to charge!" Chen Xiaobei focused his attention in front, putting more energy into his legs and moved ahead of the group.
"You! Do you want to die?" Linghu Shuang screamed.
She wanted to reach out and stop him but it was too late.
"Don't worry! Mr. Chen has the ability to deal with the Beast Horde in front!" Wenren Muyue caught up with them, and was running next to Linghu Shuang.
"How is that possible? Even if Mr. Chen is Diamond-ranked, humans could never win a fight against Demonic Beasts of the same rank!"
Linghu Shuang's brows were knitted together, and worry was written all over her face.
"What is your relationship with Mr. Chen? Why are you so concerned for him?"
There was complicated mixture of emotion in Wenren Muyue's eyes.
"Mr. Chen is my savior! Of course, I do not wish to see anything bad happen to him!" Linghu Shuang said.
"That's it? There's nothing else between the two of you? You seemed to chatting very amiably with each other just now!" Wenren Muyue asked.
"Anything else?" Linghu Shuang paused for a moment, and then broke into laughter. "Sister! Are you jealous? Mr. Chen and I have only met once! After he saved me, we did not contact each other at all! It's not what you think! We don't share that kind of relationship!"
"I… Who said I was jealous? I was just asking." Wenren Muyue blushed into a red tomato as she tried to explain herself. But even she did not sound convincing to herself.
Could she really have fallen for Chen Xiaobei? Why else would she be suspicious of Linghu Shuang for his sake? If that was not jealousy, then what was it?
"Sister! There's no need to pretend! I'm not a child! I can tell what's going on with you!" Linghu Shuang smiled. "You and Mr. Chen are a perfect match! I can see through your heart!"
"What is it?" Wenren Muyue asked, surprised.
"Mr. Chen is good looking, honorable and compassionate! But more importantly, he is a very strong and capable man who does great things! A man like this… even if he's willing to commit to a relationship, his personality and charm would still attract countless ladies to his side! If you get all worked up because of me, I'm afraid you'll be spending the rest of your life with the green-eyed monster!"
"You silly little girl! That's just nonsense!" Wenren Muyue's lips twitched.
She was not sure if she really was jealous. But the way Linghu Shuang talked about her was as if Wenren Muyue was going to be with Chen Xiaobei for the rest of her life.
"My god! Look! Look in front!" Linghu Shuang suddenly shouted.
A few hundred meters ahead, blood red light showered the whole area, changing even the color of the sky! It was as if the gates to hell had opened, and reapers were charging out from it to reap all the living souls.
Wenren Muyue lifted her eyes, no longer surprised. "That's Mr. Chen. We should continue moving forward! That Beast Horde is already destroyed!"
"Destroyed? Is Mr. Chen really that strong?" Linghu Shuang gasped.
She knew that Chen Xiaobei had some special abilities but she never thought that would have an ability this great!
The blood red light was obviously the Blood God's Deity-Killing painting.
There were only a few Demonic Beasts blocking the entrance into the canyon. When the whole group of people arrive there, the fight, as Wenren Muyue had said, had already ended. All of the Demonic Beasts were destroyed, and none were spared!
Linghu Shuang found herself marveling at her new knowledge of Chen Xiaobei.
With the danger resolved, Chen Xaiobei began to collect the bodies of the Demonic Beasts and their Cores. If he decided to sell them, even Gu Congwen would not be able to afford them all if he emptied his pockets!
After that, the whole group slowly settled into the canyon.
It was very spacious as Linghu Shuang had said, with enough room to house one million people.
The Demonic Beasts inside the canyon were also slaughtered, so the canyon was the safest place they could be in.
"Next, what we have to do is to guard the entrance!" Linghu Shuang stood next to Chen Xiaobei. "We only need to hold out for three days until my sifu can rush over to rescue everyone!"
"Three days? Are you kidding?" Chen Xiaobei looked at her like she was being incredulous. "I'm afraid we won't even be able to hold on for three hours!"
"All the portals are broken. The fastest my sifu can get here is three days!" Linghu Shuang frowned. "If it was not for saving all of you, I could have hidden for three days on my own without a problem!"
"I know. All this is thanks to you that we are even able to get here! You are a good, loyal friend! But there's no way we can hide in here for three days! Look outside! The rest of the Demonic Beasts will probably get here in less than three minutes!"
Looking out from inside the canyon, clouds of dust kicked into the air as the ground trembled. Needless to say, the one million Demonic Beasts were charging towards them.
If they could not defend the entrance, all the people inside the canyon would be trapped like sardines in a can with no place to run.
"Use that move you just did! It's so powerful! Why worry about these Demonic Beasts?" Linghu Shuang said.
"To tell you the truth, the Blood God's Deity-Killing painting is my strongest trump card. It can kill any enemy with a cultivation less than a demigod! When the three demigod level Demonic Beasts arrives, my trump card will be completely useless!"
Linghu Shuang said nothing. Her beautiful eyes pondering. "I have an idea! Come with me!"
The lass grabbed Chen Xaiobei's hand and ran to the entrance of the canyon.
When Wenren Muyue saw this, she could taste a bitterness in her mouth, like when she saw Chen Xiaobei and Linghu Shuang chatting merrily.
Could that really be envy?
At the entrance of the canyon.
Chen Xiaobei blurted, "Girl! What idea is it that you have! Tell me now! The Demonic Beasts are arriving soon!"
"Let me tell you a story!" Linghu Shuang said.
Chen Xiaobei wiped the sweat off his brow. "Hey grandma! Do you think I'm in the mood to listen to a story right now?"
"My idea is within the story!" Linghu Shuang said calmly.
"Fine, fine, fine! Go ahead and tell it now!" Chen Xiaobei said, his voice thick with panic.
"About 1800 years ago, there was a one of a kind kickass Military Advisor called Zhuge Liang! He had an enemy called Sima Yi…" Linghu Shuang had only just began her story when she was cut off.
"Are you talking about the Empty Fort Strategy?" Chen Xiaobei asked.
"My god! You know this story?! My Sifu told me the story! Most people don't know this story!" Linghu Shuang stared at Chen Xiaobei.
Chen Xiaobei raised an eyebrow at her. "I am a Chinese! Back in China, even toddlers in kindergartens know this story!"
"Wow! You are a Chinese?! I really admire Chinese people!" Linghu Shuang's mouth formed an 'O'.
"There's no need to get so excited about this small little thing! Are you trying to ask me to use the Empty Fort Strategy?"
Swoosh!
Chen Xiaobei withdrew all the Demonic Beasts' corpses that were stored inside his Infinite Space Ring. In total, there were about 1,000 of it. Due to their huge size, the entire entrance of the canyon was completely filled up when Chen Xiaobei lined them up together.
Broken body parts were everywhere and their blood had colored the ground red. No doubt, it was a terrifying scene to look at.
Swish!
After Chen Xiaobei injected Spiritual Qi into the paining, he tossed the Blood God's Deity-Killing painting into the sky once again. Immediately, crimson light flooded the area. 48 Blood God Illusions were summoned to Chen Xiaobei. Instead of doing any killing, they hovered above the Demonic Beasts' bodies. They looked like angels of death that had just massacred all those living beings.
"Mr. Chen! You are really smart! This is exactly what I want you to do!"
Though Linghu Shuang was still young, she was not afraid of what she saw at all. Instead, she put on a smile to praise Chen Xiaobei.
"I can understand what you are trying to do here. Are you sure this plan will work?"
"Do you remember what Zhuge Liang did? He managed to secure the entire city with no soldiers! There were only some old and weak servants who were left inside the city. However, the enemies did now know that! They suspected a huge ambush would happen. In the end, they all decided that they were going to make a full retreat. And he did exactly what you are doing right now! Your painting is not powerful enough to kill those three demigod tier Demonic Beast Kings but, they have no idea about this at all!"
"When the Demonic Beasts arrive here later, they will definitely freak out when they see all the bodies on the ground! And the reason why Sima Yi fell to Zhuge Liang was because he was overthinking the entire thing! In the end, he missed the golden opportunity to take down an empty city! Demonic Beasts are actually as smart as humans! As long as we manage to put in fear in them, they will never dare to attack us! All we need to do right now is to make sure that we can guard this place for three days! Then, all of us will be saved after that!"
Linghu Shuang lifted her chin and said in a confident manner.
"It seems like this is the only way to keep us alive now! Later, let me play Zhuge Liang's role and you can play the servant role! We must make sure that we can never show fear on our face! If not, the entire plan will be ruined!"
"Why do you get the play Zhuge Liang? I'm the one that figured out this plan!"
"I'm just saying… Compared to Zhuge Liang's circumstance, our current situation is way more dangerous than his! A small mistake and millions will die!"
"Okay… I understand now… I will not do anything that could trouble you!"
"Oh right… Who is your Sifu? Is he really powerful enough to save all of us?"
"It's not appropriate for me to tell you who my Sifu is, but I can tell you that my Sifu is equal in a fight with the overlord of Northern Wilderness Temple! Saving us should be a simple task to him!"
"As powerful as the overlord of Northern Wilderness Temple? This is going to be awesome! That being said, your Sifu can definitely save all of us here!"
"Of course!"
"There's one thing I can't figure out though. If your Sifu is that powerful, why would he send you to kill Lu Changwei? Asking you to kill him is such a dangerous task!"
"That was my mission given by Sifu! It's a test! I would not be worthy to be a disciple of his if I fail to complete it!"
"A mission? Why Lu Changwei?"
"Lu Family has done many dirty deeds, and Lu Changwei is the worst amongst them! Even if my Sifu didn't assign me to this mission, I would have still killed Lu Changwei myself! In the future, I will figure out something to destroy their entire family!"
"Destroy their entire family?"
Chen Xiaobei had the same goal in mind as well since he wanted to avenge Demonic Fox. He never thought that he would meet someone with the same goals. If this girl was not 18 years-old, Chen Xiaobei would have guessed that she was indeed, the reincarnated Demonic Fox.
"You are right! I want to destroy their family! 500 years ago, if it wasn't for the ancestor of Lu Family making something up and talking bad behind us, the Overgrown Forest noble would still survive until now!"
"Overgrown Forest noble? You are one of their descendants?"
"This…"
Out of anger, Linghu Shuang accidentally spilled her secret to Chen Xiaobei.
"Brother Chen. You have saved my life. I'm not going to lie to you! I'm the descendant of the Overgrown Forest' noble! 500 years ago, the Overgrown Forest noble had a conflict with the ancestor of Lu Family! That old bastard spreaded fake news about us wanting to separate from the ruling of the temple, and the overlord believed him! At that time, Overgrown Forest Planet was the most powerful planet in the Northern Wilderness Starfield! Though we had no intention to betray the temple, the overlord had grown suspicious of us!"
"After the old bastard from Lu Family ranhis mouth and badmouthed us, the Temple Overlord finally decided to annihilate all of us! I'm going to tell you something that you may find it hard to believe! The three demigod tier Demonic Beasts were actually caught by the Northern Wilderness Temple Overlord from other starfields! It is evident that the Beast Horde that destroyed my race was orchestrated by the overlord and Lu Family! Their hands are stained with blood!
"During that time, when they found out that there were still tens of thousands of Overgrown Forest' people living at other planets, Lu Family went ahead and killed all the survivors! 500 years had passed and they had no intention to stop their plans anytime soon! My father, mother, and brother were killed by Lu Changwei's man! That's why I must kill Lu Changwei no matter what!"
Linghu Shuang's eyes reddened after she finished telling the story to Chen Xiaobei. It was absolutely cruel for a girl that was in her teens to go through all these incidents.
"I believe what you say! I have already known that the Demonic Beasts are tools that were used by the temple to control all the planets around them! You should stay calm for now. Killing Lu Changwei is easier than squashing an ant! He's not worthy enough to distract us right now!"
"You are right! We need to focus on staying here for three days and three nights! We need to protect millions of lives!"
"Of right! Since you are the descendant of Overgrown Forest race, any idea why the Demonic Beasts would give everything they had to locate the hidden treasure of Overgrown Forest?"
"The Demonic Beasts must find something?" Linghu Shuang blinked. "If I'm not mistaken, the Demonic Beasts must be looking for Nine Twists Thousand Hearts Herb!"
"Nine Twists Thousand Hearts Herb? What is that?" Chen Xiaobei asked.
"The Northern Wilderness Temple have been using Demonic Beasts to create balance in all the planets. This goes back way beyond 500 years! The only reason the Demonic Beasts were cooperating is because the Temple had put a curse on the Demonic Beast king!" Linghu Shuang said. "Some of the Overgrown Forest nobles knew this, so they did researches on how to break the curse! This Nine Twists Thousand Hearts Herb must be the antidote!"
"No wonder there were no accidents during the Elite Hunting Competitions! The strongest Demonic Beast is on the Temple's leash!" Chen Xiaobei exclaimed. "No wonder the Demonic Beasts are burning their bridges with the Northern Wilderness Temple and attacking humans! They were just looking for the antidote to the curse!"
"Based on what you're saying, the Overgrown Forest hidden treasure has been discovered? Who has the treasure?" Linghu Shuang asked.
"I do!" Chen Xiaobei lowered his voice.
"You…" Linghu Shuang began, but Chen Xiaobei reached a hand out and covered her mouth.
"You're the only person I told this to! You cannot tell anyone else!" Chen Xiaobei said.
"Mm," Linghu Shuang nodded.
Chen Xiaobei released his hand. "It looks like the Demonic Beasts are certain that the Nine Twists Thousand Hearts Herb are inside this canyon! They will kill everyone, and take their storage bracelets until they find the Nine Twists Thousand Hearts Herb!"
"That's not a problem! We have the Empty Fort Strategy. The Demonic Beasts would not dare to enter this place even if they want to kill us all!"
"Let's hope so…" Chen Xaiobei had a feeling that it was not going to be that simple.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
As they were talking, a row of dark grey, giant beasts stood in a line more than 10 miles long.
A million Demonic Beasts! The whole nest!
The line stretched out like a river, fierce and foreboding as if it was going to swallow the heavens and the earth!
Although they were still a few hundred meters away, Chen Xiaoabei could make out the silhouettes of three mammoth beings.
For the sake of getting the antidote, all the Demonic Beasts on this planet had all turned out, holding nothing back!
The Beast Horde was getting closer.
About 10 meters away from the blood red light of the Blood God's Deity-Killing painting, the largest Beast King, the one in the center, suddenly let out a thundering roar.
Roar!!!
"Oh, god… This is scary…" Linghu Shuang inhaled sharply.
The Demonic Beast King's roar shook her until her heart was thumping loudly against her chest, and cold sweat began to trickle down her back. She felt a little suffocated.
"Don't be afraid! Our Empty Fort Strategy is working!" Chen Xiaobei was unusually brave, and while he too was shaken, he was not about to break down like Linghu Shuang.
"Re… Really?" Linghu Shuang sounded uncertain.
A moment ago, she was brimming with confidence. But when the one million Demonic Beasts appear before her eyes, Linghu Shuang was suddenly aware of how frightening they were!
"Of course!" Chen Xiaobei understood Zoolinguistics, so he knew that the roar was an order for the Beast Horde to stop.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
The massive Beast Horde stopped advancing.
The dust in the air settled, parting like a curtain and revealing the true form of the scary Demonic Beasts!
On both sides of the Beast Horde were regular Demonic Beasts ranging from Patinated Bronze to Diamond-rank. As long as they were able-bodied, they were at the scene. Seemingly, they would not retreat until they got what they want.
The Demonic Beasts' size ranged from few meters to ten meters plus! They could be actually considered extremely huge.
However!
As compared to the three Demonic Beast Kings that stood in the middle, all the other Demonic Beasts were insignificantly small! On their left stood a hundred meters long giant python! Its scales were in a dark purple hue and there was a crown on top of its head. At first glance, it actually looked like a Jiao that was about to transform into a dragon! But, the Jiao was a Divine Beast. This python right here was not divine tiered just yet.
On the right side stood a 50 meter tall ape! The muscles on its body could be seen clearly. And there was black fur all over its body. From the first glance, it looked exactly like King Kong from the movies!
Finally, the most terrifying Demonic Beast King was standing in the middle of them. Its height was hundreds of meters tall and its tail's length was at least ten meters! Its giant head looked exactly like the head of a lizard with two sharp fangs hanging out! And its legs were as thick as a tree trunk! However, its hands were shorter than Chen Xiaobei expected. Lastly, there were rock-like scales covering its entire body. Looking at the beast, Chen Xiaobei thought that he was looking at a dinosaur!
A T-Rex!
"Are you the Tyrant Dragon King?!" asked Chen Xiaobei in Zoolinguistics.
At that moment, Linghu Shuang was shaking uncontrollably in fear. Before she could realize it, her hands were holding onto Chen Xiaobei's arm. That made her feel safer.
"Huh? This little pygmy knows how to speak our language?" The Tyrant Dragon King looked down at Chen Xiaobei.
His voice was rough and gruff like sandpaper and it carried a powerful aura. One could feel that a giant mountain was about to crush on them!
Si…
Linghu Shuang took in a deep breath and her heart almost jumped out from her chest.
Immediately, she hugged Chen Xiaobei's arm even tighter. Chen Xiaobei could feel a pair of soft mountains pressing on his arm. However, he knew that this was not the time to have dirty thoughts. Though he had been though a lot of things, his heart was still beating vigorously. He had to use all his strength to put on a calmed look. It was at that moment when Chen Xiaobei realized that he was still not powerful enough.
"Hey, pygmy! Why aren't you talking?" The Tyrant Dragon King asked impatiently.
While the Tyrant Dragon King talked, more and more terrifying aura emanated from it.
"You are the pygmy here! Your whole family is made up of pygmies!" Chen Xiaobei shouted.
All one million of the Demonic Beasts began to howl in unison
"My goodness! Is this kid insane? Where did he get the balls to call our Tyrant Dragon King an pygmy?"
"Do you really have to ask? This kid knows that he's about to die, that's why he let his tongue run loose!"
"That's right! Our Tyrant Dragon King is above all! This kid is dead meat!"
"Your grace! Please give the order! I am willing to kill this midget for you!"
"Me too!"
"Me too!"
"Kill him! Kill him!"
The Demonic Beasts began to chant, fuelled by their anger.
The Tyrant Dragon King was their absolute leader. By and large, none of them would dare offend their King!
And here was this idiot of a human scolding their king!
Not only was he was crossing the Tyrant Dragon King's life, but he also managed to incur the wrath of all the other Demonic Beasts!
All the Tyrant Dragon King needed to do was give the order and the Demonic Beasts would charge forward and tear Chen Xiaobei to shreds!
"Shut up, every one of you!" The Tyrant Dragon King's roar silenced all the beasts.
The other Demonic Beasts became like little chicks, lying prostate on the ground, holding their breath.
The Tyrant Dragon King commanded his subjects to keep quiet because it feared the blood red light which was before Chen Xiaobei.
Chen Xiaobei against one million Demonic Beasts! This was exactly like the time Zhuge Liang went up against Sima Yi!
This was gamble of life and death!
With Chen Xiaobei pretending to let the Tyrant Dragon King have it, it was not unlike the time when Zhuge Liang sat above the city gates, calmly playing the guqing. They had the same effect.
Had Zhuge Liang showed even a trace of year, Sima Yi would have charged into the city!
Similarly, if Chen Xiaobei had not retorted, the Tyrant Dragon King would have charged forward.
It was because Chen Xiaobei withstood the pressure and retaliated, that the Tyrant Dragon King believed Chen Xiaobei had an edge over it.
And that edge was the area covered in blood red light!
The powerful Tyrant Dragon King dared not approach it.
So far, Chen Xiaobei and Linghu Shuang's Empty Fort Strategy was working smoothly!
But as for whether or not they could hold the beasts off for three days three nights, would have to depend on how this matter developed.
"Pygmy!" The Tyrant Dragon King stared down hard at Chen Xiaobei. "Do you know who you're talking to? I can kill you with just a thought!"
On the surface, the Tyrant Dragon King was simply talking, but in reality, it was hurling an invisible oppressive force at Chen Xiaobei!
What a frightening force!
Chen Xiaobei's heart seized; feeling as if a giant mountain was pressing down on his chest, and smothering him!
Linghu Shuang was trembling even more intensely. Had she not been holding on to Chen Xiaobei's arm, she would have fallen to the ground unconscious.
This oppressive force was petrifying!
Prior to this, Chen Xiaobei had never feared any oppressive force. He had never even thought much of it.
But right now, Chen Xiaobei had experienced the essence of an oppressive force!
Putting it simply, an oppressive force was very similar to the Force of Nature. Both were used to exert pressure on the enemies.
However, the Force of Nature could only exert pressure on the enemies bodies, while oppressive force could exert force on enemies state of mind.
The strength of a person's oppressive force had nothing to do with the person's age or cultivation, but was connected to a person's state of mind.
That was to say, only through experiencing enough adversity, would their oppressive force get really powerful! Then would it be able to crush others' state of mind.
"Do I look frightened to you? You want to kill me with only your oppressive force? Why don't you give it a try?"
Chen Xiaobei did not show any fear but challenged his enemy head on!
Right now, Chen Xiaobei had to be strong. If he showed any fear at all, everything he had done so far would be wasted! The 1 million young people behind him would die!
That was why Chen Xiaobei had to maintain a clam state of mind. Even if it would kill him, he had to resist the Tyrant Dragon King's oppressive force.
"You don't believe me?" Tyrant Dragon King roared. "Then let me show you! Then you'll know the difference between a pygmy like you and a king like me!" The Tyrant Dragon King channelled all of its oppressive force and unleashed them on Chen Xiaobei!
"Huh?"
Chen Xiaobei's pupils contracted. At that instant, his breathing ceased and his heart stopped beating. Seemingly, the Tyrant Dragon King's oppressive force had managed to bring an unimaginable pressure on Chen Xiaobei. With the pressure, Chen Xiaobei could not help but start to visualize his state of mind being cracked open by the Tyrant Dragon King forcefully! And it was on the verge of being crushed completely!
Chen Xiaobei felt as if he had reached his limit. His state of mind could collapse at any moment.
Once that happened, Chen Xiaobei's willpower would cave in completely, and reveal his deep-seated fear of the Tyrant Dragon King!
Then Chen Xiaobei would become like those Demonic Beasts, lying prostrate on the ground, holding his breath and paralyzed out of terror!
It would be impossible then, to protect the others!
Luckily, Chen Xiaobei's state of mind was stronger than the average person. If Linghu Shuang was the only person at the receiving end of this oppressive force, her mind would have been crushed and she would have lost her sanity or literally be frightened to her death.
"I have to hang on! I have to hang on! If I fall, blood will be spilled and the people behind me will all perish! On top of that, my friends and family are still confined in the secret space. If I fall, who would be the one to bring them a better future?"
"Hang on! I have to!"
Chen Xiaobei gritted his teeth, forcing himself to defend his state of mind.
"Hey pygmy!" The Tyrant Dragon King said with contempt in his voice. "Don't waste your energy! Instead of trying so hard to resist me, why don't you just get down on your knees and beg for mercy? If you can find the Nine Twist Thousand Hearts Herb for me, not only will I have mercy on your life, but I will also reward you!"
"You want me to kneel?! Dream on!"
It was difficult for Chen Xiaobei to speak but he was very firm.
The phrase 'beg for mercy' was never in Chen Xiaobei's dictionary!
"Prepare to die because of your stubbornness!"
Chen Xiaobei rejected the Tyrant Dragon King's generosity, making the King of Demonic Beasts feel greatly challenged. It then continued to unleash his oppressive force on Chen Xiaobei.
Suddenly, Chen Xiaobei could feel his chest completely suffocated and he could not help but throw up a mouthful of fresh blood.
"Huh," Chen Xiaobei wiped away the blood with the back of his hand. "I thought that I could hold off the whole thing solely on my state of mind and acting skills. I guess it didn't work."
Though the oppressive force would only put pressure on his state of mind, his enemy was of the same rank as a demigod – two whole ranks above Chen Xiaobei! On top of that, this was an ancient Demonic Beast King which had been around for thousands of years! Chen Xiaobei had underestimated its oppressive force.
His heartbeat, blood flow, and brainwaves were all greatly impacted.
A little bit more and his breathing and blood vessels would be a mess. They would start clashing, blocking, causing massive internal damages, and maybe even death!
The Tyrant Dragon King's claim that he could kill Chen Xiaobei with just a thought was not an exaggeration. He really could do it!
"Pygmy! You really are a stubborn one! I want to see how much longer you can persevere." The Tyrant Dragon King had a smug look on its face. "Of course, my offer still stands! As long you go down on your knees and beg for mercy, and promise to get Nine Twists Thousand Hearts Herb for me, I will spare your petty and sorry life!"
"I will not repeat the same thing twice! I don't mind dying of good cause!"
Chen Xiaobei's glare was icy, and he was having difficulty talking. But he was exuding some really powerful aura.
He had always been facetious and uninhibited! Even if he was standing before the Primordial Lord of Heaven, he would never admit defeat and beg for mercy!
Who was this demigod ranked Tyrant Dragon King to tell Chen Xiaobei to do that?!
Chen Xiaobei had already completely disregarded death. He would rather die than surrender!
As he did that, Chen Xiaobei's state of mind was suddenly injected with an invisible strength!
It had nothing to do with cultivation but it had everything to do with one's state of mind.
What would a person who did not fear death be afraid of?
How strong would a fearless person's state of mind be?
"Huh?"
Chen Xiaobei's dark eyes were brimming with terrifying murderous intent!
Arrogant!
Dominating!
Courageous!
This was the essence of 'Strip-the-King'! The moment Chen Xiaobei disregarded his life, his state of mind started to fuse with his murderous intent!
"Get the hell out of here!"
With his awoken form, Chen Xiaobei then let out a loud roar. He was still visualizing the Tyrant Dragon King Slaying his state of mind.
Suddenly, a black saber materialized from out of nowhere!
The saber whizzed through the air!
The aura of an ancient dragon king swept through all his enemies.
"Ho… How is that possible?"
The Tyrant Dragon King's eyes widened. The baleful look in its giant eye was suddenly blotted with a hint of shock.
Zing!
The black saber slashed downwards at Chen Xiaobei's will.
It was as sharp as a dragon's teeth, and unstoppable!
It could sever the Tyrant Dragon King who tore Chen Xiaobei's state of mind into two, killing it once and for all.
Chen Xiaobei's state of mind began to calm down to what it was, leaving only the black saber to hover in the air.
The Tyrant Dragon King inhaled sharply. Its pupils shrunk, and its heart was thumping wildly inside its chest. It even looked a little freaked out.
It had thought that it could kill Chen Xiaobei with its oppressive force alone. But it did not in a million years dream that Chen Xiaobei could use his oppressive force to counter Tyrant Dragon King's state of mind.
The frightening black saber rested just above its head. All Chen Xiaobei had to do was move it using willpower, and the saber would slice his head off.
"You stupid creature! And you dare say that you could kill me with your will!"
With his state of mind steadied, and eyes radiating with vigor, Chen Xiaobei shouted at the Tyrant Dragon King.
"I…" The Tyrant Dragon King's heart became constricted, and it was too stunned to speak.
Even though he was a hair away from getting killed at the beginning, Chen Xiaobei had won this battle of the oppressive force.
Chen Xiaobei's roar left the other Demonic Beasts in dismay, as if they had just been rudely woken up from a dream.
The Tyrant Dragon King they all worshipped and adored, whose oppressive force was so formidable they dared not even so much breathe in the presence of, was overpowered by the little pygmy Chen Xiaobei!
This was an unpleasant revelation for them, disrupting everything they had believed, and causing them to question their lives.
No matter how hard they cracked their heads, they could not figure out who in the world Chen Xiaobei was.
Could it be that this puny little human was actually as strong as their Tyrant Dragon King?
The more they thought about it, the more frightened they became of Chen Xiaobei.
The army of Demonic Beasts who had come forth with such a great momentum suddenly lost all their fighting spirit, with the timid ones even beginning to retreat.
The Tyrant Dragon King's fiery arrogance was extinguished, and shriveled into meek cowardice. It watched Chen Xiaobei with careful eyes, trying to read Chen Xiaobei's identity and background.
The Empty Fort Strategy worked, and when combined with Chen Xiaobei's oppressive force, the whole situation was under control.
Even if Chen Xiaobei invited the Demonic Beasts to attack, they would not dare make another move.
Next, what they had to do was wait for Linghu Shuang's Sifu to save them.
"Hey, kid. Wake up. It's alright now." Chen Xaiobei patted Linghu Shuang's face.
This girl was still a state of shock.
Fortunately, the Tyrant Dragon King had only targeted Chen Xiaobei, or this girl would be dead, or at the very least, severely injured.
Linghu Shuang sucked in a breath of cold breath of air, wrapping her arms around Chen Xiaobei's neck, mumbling, "So scary…I'm scared… I'm scared…"
"Oh, my goodness." Chen Xiaobei gasped. Linghu Shuang's chest did not look big but now that their bodies were so close together, he found out it was actually pretty chunky. Chen Xiaobei even found himself short of breath.
The Tyrant Dragon King had been left terror-stricken, and Chen Xiaobei got to enjoy the softness of a woman.
This lovey-dovey scene was enough to tell the one million Demonic Beasts – 'You are no threat to me, Chen Xiaobei, at all! If you have the balls, come on and try me!'.
While the situation outside the canyon was being taken care of, Chen Xiaobei was unaware of the changes that was happening inside the canyon!
"Everyone! Please stay calm! I'm Lu Changwei, young lord of South Town's Lu Family on the Silver Plume Planet! I have a way to save everyone here!"
Inside the canyon, Lu Changwei was standing on top of a tree as he shouted at everyone. He had just taken a lot of medicine. After resting for a while, all his injuries were almost recovered. Though there were a lot scars on him, it did not affect his movement and speech.
"Save us from here? How's that even possible?"
"Master Lu! Stop joking around with us! There are millions of Demonic Beasts outside! There is no way we can defeat all of them!"
"Not only that! There are three demigod tier Demonic Beast Kings standing outside as well! We will be so dead if we charge at them right now!"
Seemingly, the terrifying strength of Demonic Beasts had already been planted deep inside everyone's heart. There were millions of people inside the canyon but none of them were willing to believe Lu Changwei.
"Everyone! Please listen to what I have to say first! I believe that everyone has heard of the legendary formation, Yin Aqua King Slaying Battle Formation, right? All of you just need to follow my instructions and construct a million-people formation! I believe that the formation will be powerful enough to defeat those three demigod tier Demonic Beast Kings! After that, all we need to do is to kill the rest of the Demonic Beasts.
Everyone was shocked after hearing out Lu Changwei.
"I have heard of the legendary formation before! This formation can gather all of our strengths to unleash a series of powerful attacks on our enemies!"
"We have millions of people here. All of our combat power are different but we have a good amount of people here! If we manage to form the Yin Aqua King Slaying Battle Formation, I think we will be powerful enough to go against those Demonic Beasts!"
"What are we waiting for?! Let's do this!"
At that moment, everyone had managed to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Every single one of them were filled with excitement.
"Don't do it! Mr. Chen has already gone outside top stabilize the situation! All of you here will mess up his plan if you act upon it without informing him first!" said Wenren Muyue.
"Woman like you can never see the bigger picture here! That Chen guy has managed to temporarily stabilize the situation! Can he promise that the whole thing would not lose control? We are defenseless if the Demonic Beasts charge into the canyon! We will all be dead if we don't do something about it!" said Lu Changwei.
Everyone chose to side with Lu Changwei after listening to him.
"Master Lu is right! All Mr. Chen did was stabilize the situation! Still, we are not powerful enough to defeat all of them! We will all be dead if the whole thing somehow loses control!"
"That's right! There's no way that he can defend that place forever! In order to live longer, we have to strike first! And I don't think that Chen kid is reliable!"
"Right! Right! Right! Master Lu is still the reliable one here! That kid is just an outsider! He won't be able to hold on any longer!"
Earlier, they were all grateful of Chen Xiaobei because he managed to stop all the Demonic Beasts from coming into the canyon. Now, they all chose to side with Lu Changwei after listening to his plan.
"Everyone! Calm down! Think about it! If it wasn't for Mr. Chen, we will not be able to enter this canyon! Mr. Chen is no ordinary person! Only he can save all of us here! We have to believe in him! Do not mess up his plan!" shouted Wenren Muyue.
"Everyone! Don't believe in this idiotic woman! She has been brainwashed by that kid! She is always on that kid's side. She will never care for our safety!" said Lu Changwei.
Clearly, Lu Changwei was trying to steer everyone away from Wenren Muyue. All of them were more willing to believe Lu Changwei since he gave them hope.
"Ms. Wenren. We are really grateful that Mr. Chen and you brought us here to this canyon! You can choose not to participate in the fight but you have no right to stop us from surviving!" said some of the more polite people.
"Stupid woman! Get lost! Don't even try to affect Master Lu from setting up the formation! You will get a good beating from me if you refuse to listen to me!" said some of the ruder ones.
After hearing all those comments, Wenren Muyue knew that there was nothing she could do to talk them out of it.
"Stop her! Don't let her get out from this canyon before we finish constructing the formation! I'm not worried that the Chen kid will know about it! I'm afraid that the Demonic Beasts will charge into the canyon once they know my plan!" shouted Lu Changwei.
Immediately, a couple of young nobles with Ethereal cultivation tried to stop Wenren Muyue from leaving the canyon. It was evident that Wenren Muyue was not powerful enough to push them aside to leave this place.
After that, Lu Changwei started to construct his million-people formation.
Outside the canyon.
"Brother Chen! You are so powerful! That dragon's aura is way more powerful than Sifu! I thought that you will not be able to hold on any longer! To my surprise, you did it!"
Linghu Shuang slowly regained her calm and let go of Chen Xiaobei's neck. Still, she was holding tightly to his arm.
"That's why I told you earlier that I wanted to play Zhu Gelaing and you, my servant! Does it make sense to you now?"
"Damn it! I'm actually a very brave girl! You are not allowed to laugh at me!"
"When compared to other ladies, you are actually very brave!" said Chen Xiaobei with a smile.
"Hehe! Bro Chen! You are go good! I think my Sifu will like you a lot when he sees you later!"
"It's too early for us to feel happy about it! Your Sifu can only reach here in three days time! I'm not sure we can hold on until then!"
"Of course we can! My strategy and your aura have managed to hold them off! I believe that if nothing bad happens in these three days, we would be able to survive this whole thing!"
"The only thing I'm worried right now is unpredictable changes!"
"No… No… Let's not scare ourselves! Three days will be over soon!"
Rumble…
A loud noise could be heard right after they finished talking.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Chen Xiaobei, Linghu Shuang, and all the Demonic Beasts turned around and looked at the entrance of the canyon. They all could see a giant aqua sword being unleashed from it. The length of the sword was at least hundreds of meters and it pierced right to the heavens. Its body also reflected light that shone on it. Seemingly, it had borrowed the power of water from Mother Nature. It looked like it was going to destroy everything in its path.
"Wh… What is that? What a scary sword! That's a demigod level strength!"
Linghu Shuang gawked at the giant sword, feeling as small as a mouse.
"This is the Yin Aqua King Slaying Battle Formation!" Chen Xiaobei snarled. "That idiot Lu Changwei is stirring up trouble! He wants to spoil my plans!"
Chen Xiaobei had spent all his effort and energy to stabilize the situation outside of the canyon; to prevent the Demonic Beasts from attacking.
This state of security had to last them three days so that they could escape this danger.
But Lu Changwei had put his foot out, disrupting the peace, causing the situation that was supposedly controllable to get out of hand.
"Hey, the Chen guy! Step aside!" Lu Changwei walked out.
A dense Water Ethereal Force cloaked his whole body, looking like an Aqua God that had just managed to synchronize himself perfectly with the water element. Every step that he took brought the Force of Water with him.
The hundred meter long giant sword floated above his head, ready to attack at his will!
"Lu Changwei! I'm warning you! Don't do anything stupid!" Chen Xiaobei barked. "The situation now is hanging on a thread! One misstep will tip the scales! I assure you that you won't be able to handle the consequences!"
"What a joke! I am controlling the Yin Aqua King Slaying Battle Formation formed by one million people! This sword is strong enough to kill any Demonic Beast! I can bear whatever consequence!" Lu Changwei said bitterly. "You, on the other hand… if you don't get the hell out of my way, you'll have to bear the consequences on your own!"
Behind him, the crowd jeered.
"Hey, Chen! Sod off! Don't try to stop our Master Lu from slaughtering the Demonic Beast!"
"Hey you, Chen dude! Don't be a dumbass! With Master Wei leading us to destroy the Demonic Beasts, that means that you won't have to die!"
"F*ck off! Or we won't be so polite!"
Clearly, Lu Changwei arranged for the idiots with the worst characters to stand in the front line to put pressure on Chen Xiaobei.
"Lu Changwei! You really are a despicable bastard! And those ungrateful assholes behind him! Did all of you feed your hearts to the dogs?" Linghu Shuang scolded. "Earlier on, you were all like dogs which were about to be massacred, scared out of your wits! If it was not for Bro Chen deterring the Tyrant Dragon King, you would all be dead!"
"You stupid bitch! You are in no position to speak here!" Lu Changwei's said with contempt. "Only power can change the outcome! I have enough strength to kill all those enemies and free us from here! What can the Chen guy do? Why should we stay here and wait for death to come?"
The ungrateful bunch began to shout.
"We support Master Lu! Only he can save us!"
"That's right! Support Master Wei! Fuck off, Chen!"
"Go away or we'll sacrifice you!"
"Step aside or die!"
The roar of threats got Linghu Shuang all the more bent out of shape.
Chen Xiaobei, on the other hand, was the calm one. He looked at the people jeering at him. "This is my final statement: If you follow Lu Changwei, it will not end well for you!"
He then grabbed Linghu Shuang's little hand, ready to leave.
Knowing him, he was not going to stay and have his good intentions thrown back at him.
Since the group had no need of him anymore, Chen Xiaobei could leave without a worry. They could sabotage themselves on their own.
To Chen Xiaobei, it was a very straightforward situation: leave the canyon with his friends with the Returning Bracelet. If it were not for the one million people in the canyon, Chen Xiaobei would have already left.
The place he had marked with the Returning Bracelet was the secret space. Chen Xiaobei could not possibly bring all these 1 million people to his friend's and family's private hideout.
Chen Xiaobei was very disappointed with these people, and was ready to bring only the friends he trusted away with him!
But Lu Changwei suddenly flipped out.
"Motherfucker! You little piece of shit! How dare you curse us? I will kill you now!"
Lu Changwei had been itching to kill Chen Xiaobei since the beginning. If Chen Xiaobei had stepped aside like he was told, Lu Changwei would not have any excuse to act on his hatred.
Not only did some of the ungrateful brats advice Lu Changwei against it, they even began to holler.
"That's right! Kill the brat! We were kind enough to want to kill the Demonic Beast and save his ass but he cursed us!"
"This brat is heartless! Kill him!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The cries to kill Chen Xiaobei rose, as if Chen Xiaobei was not human but a Demonic Beast.
When the Demonic Beasts saw this, they began to laugh hysterically.
"Those humans look like they are fighting amongst themselves!" a dark purple giant python said.
"Human beings are like that! Always fighting amongst themselves over the smallest matters!" A black giant ape said. "You honor, should we take this opportunity to attack?"
The Tyrant Dragon King shook its head. "No! We don't have to do anything! We'll just stay here and watch! I want to see how capable this Chen guy is!"
"I think that this kid is actually not that strong. The painting's the one that's strong!" the mantis said.
"The bugger that just came out is pretty strong too! That giant aqua sword is at demigod level!" The black ape said, "Once they fight, it would be a struggle between chaos and calmness, no matter who wins, we would benefit from their dispute!"
"That's right! That's exactly right!" The Tyrant Dragon King laughed.
Zing!
Lu Changwei actually made the first move, and made the giant aqua sword swing down at Chen Xiaobei.
"We're dead… We're really dead this time…" Linghu Shuang's pupils shrunk, and her heart froze inside her chest.
The sword was coming down at a demigod's speed! At the distance where they standing, there was no way Chen Xiaobei could dodge it nor fight back.
"Hey, brat! Go to hell! Hahaha!" Lu Changwei burst out laughing; his hope of killing Chen Xiaobei finally coming true.
But Chen Xiaobei was completely unfazed. He withdrew the Blood God's Deity-Killing painting in one hand, and pulled Linghu Shuang into his embrace with the other.
Even as the giant aqua sword was right before his eyes, Chen Xiaobei was calm as he caressed Linghu Shuang's head and said to her in a gentle voice, "Silly girl, don't be afraid!"
Rumble! Rumble!
The giant sword fell down directly above Chen Xiaobei's head.
The crushing force came down and split the ground open, ripping a 10 meter wide and few hundred meter long ditch.
Chen Xiaobei and Linghu Shuang's bodies had fallen into the ditch. No one saw what happened to them.
"You little twat! You're finally dead! Haha! So, you think you could fight me, Lu Changwei? Maybe in your next life! Wahahaha!"
Lu Changwei was high as a kite.
"Wow! How powerful! Is that the strength of a demigod? How scary!"
"Master Lu really didn't lie to us. We can destroy all of the Demonic Beasts with this combat formation!"
"Master Lu is strong and matchless! Master Lu is great and awesome!"
The people at the front lines cheered joyously as if they had already won.
The Demonic Beasts who had been observing them were completely flabbergasted.
"Wait… what? That Chen guy is so weak?! He didn't eve get a chance to counterattack! He died just like that!" the dark purple giant python said.
"That doesn't make sense at all! Why didn't he use the blood-red painting? Isn't that his lifesaver?" The giant ape scratched its head.
"We were all fooled by that kid!" The Tyrant Dragon King said. "He may have been weak, and that painting was just a common weapon. He acted like he was really powerful, and made us weak in our knees till he was able to stop our army from attacking!"
"That means we fell for his trick?" The python said. "That kid has one hell of a courage! If we had charged, he would have died already!"
"He has the guts and the brains! Because of that, he managed to act like he could overpower all of us here! That's why we fell for his trick!" said the ape.
The Tyrant Dragon King nodded. "That Chen kid was talented. Unfortunately the people he saved are useless! Pathetic!"
"So, what should we do now?" The python asked.
"Do you have to ask?" The ape answered. "That giant aqua sword must be the human's final trump card! After that, we just need to attack all of them together, destroy it, and defeat the humans!"
"No!" The Tyrant Dragon King shook its head. "We don't have to do anything! The humans will be defeated on their own!"
"What? How is that even possible? If we don't fight, how are they going to be defeated?"
Both the ape and the python looked at their king quizzically.
"I have a plan!"
The Tyrant Dragon King smiled; a knowing look in eyes.
Inside the canyon.
Due to the fact that the entrance of the canyon was narrow, most people could not see what was happening outside.
The ones behind could only find out by word of mouth from the people in front, that thr deafening sound they heard earlier was Lu Changwei killing Chen Xiaobei.
"How could it be? How could Lu Changwei kill the person who saved us?"
"Lu Changwei has crossed the line! Without the time Mr. Chen bought us, how were we supposed to make the formation?"
"Alright! Alright! Enough nonsense! Dead people cannot come back to life! Even though Lu Changwei is an asshole, we still have to rely on him to survive!"
"That's right! Everyone hold the formation! Don't get distracted!"
Except for the ungrateful bastards in the front line, the people behind had a sense of right and wrong, and were grateful to Chen Xiaobei. They were also pissed at Lu Changwei.
Still, they were in a precarious situation where Lu Changwei was their only hope.
No matter how much they despised him, they still had to transfer their force into the combat formation for Lu Changwei to use.
At the back end of the formation, Miao Yiyue shot Wenren Muyue a worried look.
"Muyue, are you alright?"
When they heard about Chen Xiaobei's death, Dong Xiaowu and the others started mourning.
But Wenren Muyue remained still, not crying nor making a fuss, but was even more resolute than ever.
"I'm fine!" Wenren Muyue's eyes were cold, and her words were laced with indignance.
"Muyue! Don't frighten us! You have never had this murderous intent before. What are you thinking about? Please don't do anything rash!"
Miao Yiyue was surprised to see the genteel and dignified Wenren Muyue suddenly filled with such frightening murderous intent. That was not the Wenren Muyue he knew!
"Don't worry, I won't!" Wenren Muyue said coldly. "I will live well! I will use whatever time I have left in my life to take my revenge on Lu Changwei! On all of the Lu Family!"
"…"
Miao Yiyue and the others were completely speechless.
They did not expect Chen Xiaobei's death to affect Wenren Muyue so much that it changed her personality. It was like she became a completely different person!
Rumble! Rumble!
There was a sudden movement outside the canyon.
The giant aqua sword was reformed again.
Lu Changwei was about to launch an attack at the Demonic Beasts!
"It looks like Lu Changwei is going to win for sure!" Wei Ruilong frowned.
"He's borrowing the power of one million people. So, what if he wins?" Qin Luo scoffed.
Dong Xiaowu had his palms folded into fists. "If Lu Changwei wins, he will become a Northern Wilderness Starfield hero because he would have saved the future of the whole starfield!"
All at once, their faces fell.
The one million people in danger were all nobles from the planets in Northern Wilderness. They were the future of Northern Wilderness Starfield!
If Lu Changwei saved them, it would mean that he saved the heirs of tens of thousands of powerful noble families!
These nobles would then owe Lu Changwei their lives.
In the years to come, these young people would become the head of their families, and they would pay great respect to Lu Changwei.
Then, with the people's heart turned to Lu Changwei, everyone in the Northern Wilderness Starfield, even the Temple Overlord, would have to give way to him!
This was supposed to be Chen Xiaobei's win.
Not only did Lu Changwei kill Chen Xiaobei, he even took away this exultant victory!
Disgusting! Despicable! Deplorable!
Having Lu Changwei controlling the Yin Aqua King Slaying Battle Formation meant that he had the lives of the one million in his hands. If he wins, all of Northern Wilderness Starfield would only remember him.
Chen Xiaobei would be quickly forgotten, and no one would remember this outsider.
That was the reality! The cold, hard reality!
Kill!
Standing outside the canyon, Lu Changwei let out a ground-shaking warcry.
The road to fame and success and to have his name known for generations to come now all depended on this sword!