Chapter 97

"Let you go, it's too late." Giving the enemy a chance to live is like digging an unknown grave for oneself. Lu Shaoyou knew this well, and his eyes turned cold.

"Hiss..."

The large man took a slight step back. In that instant, despite his injuries, he quickly got up and ran backward, the desire to survive bursting forth.

"Die." Lu Shaoyou gave a faint command. True Qi trembled under his feet. With a single step, a crack appeared on the ground, and his figure darted forward like a hunting eagle, cutting through the wind and charging straight at the large man.

"I'll fight you to the death." Sensing the wind of the attack from behind, the large man, with no other choice, turned around and unleashed a faint protective aura around his body. A punch struck out, but its power seemed weak, as he was heavily injured. It was already difficult for him to muster a single punch.

Lu Shaoyou's expression darkened, and he unleashed a similar punch. Flames emerged from his punch, carrying a powerful force that rippled through the air, a technique known as the Starry Flame Fist.

"Bang!"

The two punches collided, and the large man let out a惨叫, the pain spreading up his arm, causing him to stagger back again.

At this moment, Lu Shaoyou transformed his punch into a palm strike. As soon as his figure landed on the ground, he used the momentum to leap forward again. His palm easily penetrated the large man's protective aura and struck his forehead.

"Devour."

Under the palm, a powerful force began to devour. The large man tried to struggle, but in an instant, he let out a惨叫, his body convulsing. The true qi within his body flowed out uncontrollably, and his soul was stripped away from his mind. The pain was beyond imagination.

Half an hour later, the large man had become a dried corpse. Lu Shaoyou smiled in satisfaction. The true qi of this large man was much stronger than Zhao Da's. After absorbing it, the benefits he would gain would certainly be substantial. Breaking through to the Sixth Rank Warrior would be easy, but the extent to which his true qi would increase was unknown.

While using the Yin-Yang Spirit Martial Technique to devour the large man's true qi, Lu Shaoyou also tried the Soul Search technique from the Heavenly Spirit Record. Although it was difficult to use and it was his first time, he still managed to obtain a lot of information from the large man's mind. Both men were part of the Fierce Wolf Mercenary Group and had been in the Fog Capital Mountains for a month. However, since it was his first time using the Soul Search technique, he did not discover much more. Nevertheless, the magical nature of the Soul Search technique delighted Lu Shaoyou.

"Xiao Long, someone is coming, let's go quickly." While probing the surroundings, Lu Shaoyou sensed that people were approaching, and there were quite a few of them. He quickly searched the two bodies but only found a spatial bag on the large man. The other man had nothing on him.

"Hiss."

Xiao Long flicked his tongue and leaped onto Lu Shaoyou's shoulder. The man and the snake quickly disappeared from the spot, not even having time to deal with the corpses.

Less than ten seconds after Lu Shaoyou left, six figures appeared from behind the hill, all dressed in the same attire as the dead large man.

"Third Brother, look." One of the men shouted in shock, seeing the two dried corpses on the ground.

One of the corpses was shriveled, as if it had shrunk, with sunken eyes. The other had a blood hole in his neck and bulging eyes. Their faces still showed their identities.

"It's Pockmark and Iron Ball. How could this happen?" The six men examined the bodies, all shocked and even terrified. This method of death was too terrifying.

"Was it an ambush? Who did this?" one of the men asked angrily.

"Pockmark was likely killed by a beast, his blood devoured. Iron Ball's death is strange; there are no blood holes on his body, but it was probably also a beast. Both were Fifth Rank Warriors. To kill them so quickly, it must have been two Second Rank beasts or one Third Rank beast." The leader, a lean man with a cunning look, examined the bodies and quickly searched them.

Suddenly, the leader's expression changed. "Where are the items? Where are Pockmark's items?"

"It wasn't a beast, it was a human. This is bad. Zhang Wu, go inform the First and Second Brothers that Pockmark is in trouble. The others, follow me. The person who did this should be nearby." The lean man said.

"Yes, Third Brother." One of the men quickly moved to the left, while the lean man led the remaining four to search the area.

After these men disappeared, not far away, Lu Shaoyou leaped down from a towering tree, his expression slightly dark. It was safer to leave this place quickly, and he moved swiftly to the southeast.

Killing these two men, it was fortunate that the lean man thought it was a beast. Lu Shaoyou was worried about exposing the Yin-Yang Spirit Martial Technique, so he hurriedly left the scene.

Lu Shaoyou did not know that shortly after he left, more members of the Fierce Wolf Mercenary Group arrived and examined the two bodies again.

"Damn it, Iron Ball was killed by a human, there are wounds on his body. This wasn't a beast. Pockmark was killed by a beast. This is at least a combination of one human and one beast, possibly a small team with a beast." A fat man with a bulky build, weighing about 300 pounds and standing about 1.9 meters tall, said loudly. Despite his size, his expression was not good.

"Big Brother, could it be a Spirit Practitioner?" one of the men asked.

"It's probably not. Iron Ball was killed by a heavy blow, but the body is strange. Pockmark had no other wounds except on his neck. The beast that killed him was fast and small, possibly at the Third Rank level." The fat man said, squatting down to examine the bodies carefully.

"Big Brother, what should we do now?"

"Notify the Second and Third Brothers. Search for everyone nearby, don't let anyone escape. I want to see who dares to provoke our Fierce Wolf Mercenary Group. We must retrieve the treasure map." The fat man's eyes glowed with fierce determination.

The mountains stretched endlessly, and it was unknown how wide they were. Lu Shaoyou, standing in the mountains, saw only a sea of undulating forests. From a high vantage point, the mountains rising above the clouds looked like islands floating in the sky, with wave after wave of peaks.

In the distance, several peaks could be seen, black and boundless, their cliffs towering to the sky. The endless forest sea looked like the waves of a great flood.

On the way, he was cautious. As night fell, the mountains exuded a eerie and chilling atmosphere.

After nightfall, Lu Shaoyou found a valley, confirmed there was no danger, and sat down to meditate. After absorbing the large man's true qi, he needed to refine it to make it his own.

After a short while, a faint yellow glow enveloped Lu Shaoyou's body, looking quite strange in the dim night.

Lu Shaoyou did not let his guard down, instructing Xiao Long to keep watch. In the Fog Capital Mountains, he could not afford to be careless.

The true qi he absorbed transformed into energy and was refined into pure true qi, entering his dantian. As the true qi flowed in, Lu Shaoyou felt his dantian expanding.

Before long, his dantian was fully expanded, and his meridians were filled with true qi, causing them to ache.

"Suppress." Lu Shaoyou focused, compressing the true qi into his dantian. As more refined true qi flowed in, the true qi in his dantian could no longer bear the pressure and exploded within his body.

A muffled sound echoed within Lu Shaoyou's body, and a powerful aura filled the small valley, rapidly rising.

As the true qi continued to flow, Lu Shaoyou's dantian expanded again, and his meridians were impacted, stretching a bit more.

At this moment, Lu Shaoyou finally broke through to the Sixth Rank Warrior. His cultivation had been at the peak of the Fifth Rank Warrior for a long time. Breaking through now was a natural progression. Lu Shaoyou was not surprised; everything was as he had expected. Breaking through to the Sixth Rank Warrior, his strength increased, which made him happy. His current strength was still too low, and strength was what he most desired.

"Roar..."

Outside the valley, a low, deep roar echoed, and two red dots appeared in the darkness, a fierce aura slowly approaching.

"Hisss."

Xiao Long coiled on a tree above Lu Shaoyou's head, making a low hissing sound.

"Breath..." Lu Shaoyou exhaled a breath, the glow around his body fading, and he quickly opened his eyes. In the darkness, a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

"There's a beast." Lu Shaoyou focused his gaze, and although it was dark, his current cultivation allowed him to see things within a dozen meters clearly.

"A Second Rank Earth Elemental Beast, the Earth Howling Wolf." Lu Shaoyou looked at the entrance of the valley, where a giant wolf, about one meter tall and two meters long, stood. He felt a sense of gravity, as this was his first encounter with a beast. Beasts were known to be difficult to deal with, with formidable defenses. A Second Rank Beast could even be a challenge for a Ninth Rank Warrior.

"Ao..." The Earth Howling Wolf's eyes glowed red, pacing back and forth outside the valley, glancing at Xiao Long on the tree behind Lu Shaoyou, seemingly afraid and not daring to approach.

"Hisss."

Xiao Long leaped from the tree onto Lu Shaoyou's shoulder, looking at the Earth Howling Wolf with a fierce gaze, not showing any fear. A strange aura spread, making the Earth Howling Wolf feel无形中有些惧怕.

"Xiao Long is really powerful; the Earth Howling Wolf is being suppressed." Lu Shaoyou could see that under Xiao Long's aura, the Earth Howling Wolf did not dare to approach. The Spirit Emperor Beast was indeed formidable, and Lu Shaoyou was even more curious about Xiao Long's identity. Unfortunately, there was no information about the Spirit Emperor Beast in the jade slips from Uncle Nan and the Holy Hand Spirit Venerable.

"Ao..."

The Earth Howling Wolf let out a low roar and began to retreat.

"Here, it's this Earth Howling Wolf. Let's attack together." At this moment, several figures appeared, and a woman's voice called out, "Don't let the Earth Howling Wolf escape."

Lu Shaoyou's heart sank. He had wanted to test his skills against the Earth Howling Wolf to see how strong a Second Rank Beast was, but it seemed others were also hunting it.

"Xiao Long." Lu Shaoyou called softly, and Xiao Long understood, quickly crawling into Lu Shaoyou's sleeve.

"Ao ao..."

The Earth Howling Wolf roared, its massive body leaping forward, its fierce aura growing. It immediately engaged in battle with the several figures.

Lu Shaoyou watched the battle between the Earth Howling Wolf and the four figures outside the valley. There were three men and one woman, each enveloped in true qi, wielding weapons and fighting the Earth Howling Wolf.

The auras of the four were not weak. Among them, the auras of one man and one woman were only slightly weaker than Lu Shuang's. Lu Shaoyou felt they were likely First Rank Warriors.

The man was dressed in fine clothing, with a noble demeanor, about 23 or 24 years old, long hair flowing over his shoulders, and a silver-white long sword in his hand. The sword's aura cut through the air, trapping the Earth Howling Wolf in a web of sword shadows.

The woman wore a light blue outfit, exuding a sense of heroism, with a well-proportioned figure, appearing to be about 20 years old, radiant even in the darkness. Her eyes sparkled, and she wielded a blue long sword, with a dagger at her waist.

The other two were also around 22 or 23 years old, but their cultivation was slightly weaker, one being an Eighth Rank Warrior and the other a Ninth Rank Warrior, which was still quite good.

These four were likely a small team that had come to the Fog Capital Mountains to seek treasure. Such small teams were not uncommon in the Fog Capital Mountains, and having two Warrior Practitioners among them was quite good.

"Ao..."

In the battle outside the valley, the Earth Howling Wolf roared, its massive body suddenly swinging its tail and clawing at the Eighth Rank Warrior.

"Step aside." The Eighth Rank Warrior called out, holding a weapon that looked like a hook, about one meter long, with several sharp hooks. He slashed at the Earth Howling Wolf.

The Earth Howling Wolf was enveloped in a faint yellow glow. Facing the Eighth Rank Warrior's attack, it twisted its body and swept its tail, creating a sharp wind.

"This beast is quite strong, everyone be careful." The woman called out, her body enveloped in a true qi aura, emitting a hot red aura. Her blue long sword carried a flame, and she struck the Earth Howling Wolf with a sword shadow.

"Ao ao..."

The Earth Howling Wolf roared, its massive body dodging the Eighth Rank Warrior's attack but unable to avoid the woman's attack. A shallow sword mark appeared on its back, and blood seeped out.

"Such strong defenses." Lu Shaoyou watched the Earth Howling Wolf take a hit from the sword, amazed. The woman was a First Rank Warrior, and the power of her sword strike was formidable. The Earth Howling Wolf only suffered a minor injury, showing its incredible defenses. No wonder beasts were said to be difficult to deal with.

"Bang..."

A moment later, the Earth Howling Wolf was hit by the Seventh Rank Warrior's palm, and its massive body staggered backward.

"Boom!" At this moment, the finely dressed young man appeared beside the Earth Howling Wolf, sheathing his sword and forming a hand seal. A palm strike carrying a fierce force struck the Earth Howling Wolf's body.

"Bang!"

With a muffled sound, the Earth Howling Wolf was instantly thrown back. A First Rank Warrior's palm strike was much stronger than a Seventh Rank Warrior's, and the Earth Howling Wolf's body crashed heavily to the ground.

"Ao ao"

The Earth Howling Wolf roared, its eyes glaring at the four people in front of it, filled with rage. Its body trembled, and its sharp fangs glinted.

"Ao..."

The Earth Howling Wolf roared again, its four legs stomping the ground, a massive force spreading out. Cracks appeared on the ground, and the Earth Howling Wolf's body leaped into the air, its front paws clawing at the finely dressed young man like a hunting eagle.

"Step back," the young man called out, forming a hand seal. At the same time, his true qi trembled, distorting the space in front of him. A punch struck out, cutting through the air with a sharp wind, attacking the Earth Howling Wolf.

The Earth Howling Wolf, being a Second Rank Beast, had already developed intelligence. Although its intelligence was not high, it was not much different from a human's. Sensing the opponent's strength, it did not dare to resist and twisted its massive body, changing direction in the air and retreating.

"Beast, come here." At this moment, the woman in the outfit shouted, forming a series of strange hand seals. A strange light seal appeared in her hand, resembling a rune or a scripture.

The light seal emitted a strange aura, and Lu Shaoyou immediately felt Xiao Long's aura on his arm become agitated.

Lu Shaoyou calmed Xiao Long, and after a moment, Xiao Long returned to normal. The woman then stepped forward, appearing in front of the Earth Howling Wolf, raising the strange light seal and striking it at the Earth Howling Wolf's head.