Chapter 47

In the turmoil within the Qiyun Sect due to the death of the top-ranked Gu Duozhi, Ye Zhen had already arrived at the Green Ox Mountain, which was only a hundred miles away from Wuan County.

As the sky was about to darken, Ye Zhen was not in a hurry to travel, but was instead battling a three-eyed demon wolf.

The three-eyed demon wolf was a mid-rank human-grade demon beast, known for its ferocity, immense strength, and incredible speed. Most importantly, it could shoot a beam of green light from its third eye on its forehead, which could severely injure or even kill its target.

However, with his extremely agile Snake Glide Step, Ye Zhen handled the three-eyed demon wolf with ease.

Suddenly, the three-eyed demon wolf pounced, its front paws glowing with layers of green light, and it lunged at Ye Zhen with great ferocity.

Seeing the three-eyed demon wolf pounce, Ye Zhen did not rush to dodge. When the wolf was close, Ye Zhen sidestepped, moved to its side, and then delivered a powerful punch.

Inch Step Collapse Fist!

Bang!

Ye Zhen's fist struck the three-eyed demon wolf's abdomen, and a visible ripple spread from the wolf's belly. The wolf, still in mid-air, let out a mournful cry, its body trembling as it fell to the ground, and pieces of its internal organs spewed from its open mouth.

After killing the three-eyed demon wolf with one punch, Ye Zhen thoughtfully focused on the Spirit Dragon Pearl on his chest, placed his hand on the wolf's head, and waited quietly.

To Ye Zhen's disappointment, the expected scene did not occur. No matter how he activated the Spirit Dragon Pearl, the three-eyed demon wolf's corpse showed no change.

"Still no success?"

This three-eyed demon wolf was the fifth demon beast Ye Zhen had killed on his journey. However, none of the demon beasts had responded as he had hoped—none had been drained of all their essence and spirit like the Phantom Snake King.

Ye Zhen had such high hopes because he had an idea that had been in his mind for a long time.

Back in the mountains, with the help of Fairy Caiyi, Ye Zhen had killed the Phantom Snake King. Afterward, the Spirit Dragon Pearl underwent a mysterious transformation, absorbing all the blood, essence, and spirit of the Phantom Snake King. This not only greatly advanced Ye Zhen's cultivation but also left a shadow of the Phantom Snake King in the first layer of the Spirit Dragon Pearl's space.

Because of this shadow, Ye Zhen's talent in snake-based martial techniques was astonishing. He could easily reach the pinnacle of these techniques with just a few practices.

Therefore, Ye Zhen had been thinking that if he killed other demon beasts and the Spirit Dragon Pearl absorbed their essence and spirit, his cultivation would soar, and learning the martial techniques of those beasts would become much easier.

With this idea in mind, during his journey home, Ye Zhen had been actively seeking out demon beasts, killing them whenever he had the chance, to test his hypothesis.

However, this three-eyed demon wolf was the fifth demon beast he had personally killed, yet no matter how he activated the Spirit Dragon Pearl, it remained motionless.

"It seems the secret of the Spirit Dragon Pearl is not as simple as I thought!" With a sigh, Ye Zhen began to skin the three-eyed demon wolf. The fur, even the teeth, of this demon beast were extremely valuable.

Indeed, the bundle on Ye Zhen's back was already as tall as a person, and he planned to take it to Wuan County to sell.

"Mountain Wind is coming......"

"Kill......"

"Help......"

Suddenly, Ye Zhen's ears perked up. In the wind, he heard faint cries for help and shouts.

Pausing, Ye Zhen stopped his work, listened to the wind to determine the direction, and then quickly mounted his silver-horned horse, urging it to gallop toward the source of the cries.

The Green Ox Mountain was home to a band of robbers called the Mountain Wind. A year and a half ago, Ye Zhen's father had waited for two days at the foot of the Green Ox Mountain to gather a group of nearly two hundred people before daring to cross the mountain.

Even with a group of two hundred people, the Mountain Wind had some reservations, but they still demanded ten taels of silver per person as a toll for safe passage.

Since then, Ye Zhen had harbored a deep hatred for the Mountain Wind. He was surprised that after more than a year, the government had still not eradicated the Mountain Wind on the Green Ox Mountain.

After half an hour, Ye Zhen followed the sounds to a grove halfway up the mountain. The extremely bloody scene before him made his eyes widen in anger, and his blood boiled.

Clearly, this was a merchant caravan crossing the Green Ox Mountain, along with some ordinary people who had attached themselves to the caravan for safety.

However, at this moment, most of the ordinary people were lying in pools of blood, and the caravan's guards and porters were suffering heavy casualties. Only four martial artists, who appeared to be at the fourth or fifth level of Blood Cultivation, were still fighting off the bandits, protecting an old merchant.

As for the other ordinary people, if they failed to dodge in time, they would be beheaded by the bandits. The grove was filled with severed limbs.

In an instant, two more heads of women and children flew into the air.

"Stop!"

With a roar, Ye Zhen, his blood boiling, charged forward without hesitation, unleashing his full strength.

In the blink of an eye, Ye Zhen used the Snake Spring Grass technique three times, covering a distance of 120 meters. He sliced his hand, and a bandit who was about to cut down a farmer saw a blur, and before he could cry out, his throat was shattered by Ye Zhen, and he fell to the ground.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In the grove, Ye Zhen's figure moved like a ghost. Each time he sliced his hand, a bandit's throat was shattered. Each time he punched, a bandit's chest caved in. Each time he slapped, a bandit's head was smashed like a watermelon.

For a moment, Ye Zhen was invincible, and none of his opponents could stand up to him.

"Third Leader, look, there's a tough one coming from that direction!" The numerous deaths of the bandits caught the attention of the elite bandits surrounding the caravan's guards.

"Tough one? Where? Let me handle it!" The third leader, with a full beard, roared confidently, pointing his spear at Ye Zhen.

The moment the third leader's spear pointed at Ye Zhen, he shuddered. "Pure green true essence? My God, a True Essence Realm practitioner?"

With a cry, the third leader dropped his spear and ran, channeling his faint green true essence into his legs.

However, Ye Zhen, who had noticed him, would not let him escape alive!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ye Zhen, without sparing his energy, continuously used the Snake Spring Grass technique, catching up to the fleeing third leader in an instant. With a punch, he sent the third leader flying over ten meters away.

The third leader twitched and then died.

The third leader's death caused the remaining bandits to cry out in alarm and scatter in all directions.

However, Ye Zhen did not let any of them escape, even using the Snake Spring Grass technique without restraint.

When the last bandit was impaled through the heart by a long sword Ye Zhen had picked up, Ye Zhen slowly knelt down, placed his hand on the head of a young boy, and gently closed his wide-open eyes. Ye Zhen's expression was extremely cold.

This was the head of a boy not yet ten years old, with a topknot, but now his body was separated from his head, and his innocent eyes were wide open with fear.

Killing even harmless children, these bandits deserved to die!

"Thank you, young hero, for saving us!"

"Thank you, young hero!"

As the bandits died, the survivors immediately thanked Ye Zhen, bowing their heads to the ground. However, more were crying for help.

"Young hero, please save my newly married wife. She was just taken by these bandits."

"Young hero, please save my wife. My child is only five years old. How can we live without her?"

"Young hero, please avenge my father. Please!"

The people knelt in a group, and the old merchant who had been protected by the caravan's guards crawled to Ye Zhen, grabbed his leg, and wailed,

"Young hero, please save my daughter. She is only sixteen years old. If she is taken to the bandits' den, how can she live?"

"Young hero, I will give you ten thousand gold, no, half of my wealth, if you can save my daughter. I had her in my old age..."

"Enough!"

Ye Zhen's angry shout silenced the crying crowd. Even if they had not begged him, Ye Zhen, with his burning anger, would have attacked the bandits' den.

However, these people were too noisy, and Ye Zhen needed to ask for directions.

"Which direction is the Mountain Wind's den?"

"Follow this path straight ahead, over the mountain ridge, and you will reach their den. I have paid them a toll before, so I recognize it," the old man said urgently.

"How many people are in the Mountain Wind? Who is the strongest?"

The old man did not rush to act, carefully asking, "There are about one or two hundred martial artists. However, the leader of the Mountain Wind, Hu Hai, is said to have reached the True Essence Realm. In the past year, the army has attacked three times, all in vain. The most recent attack even injured the county's military commander!"

The county's military commander was injured?

Hearing this, Ye Zhen's heart suddenly tightened. If the Mountain Wind could injure the county's military commander and withstand three attacks, they were not to be underestimated.

Seeing Ye Zhen's cautious demeanor, the merchant, He Bancheng, said urgently, "Young hero, don't listen to him. The reason the army's three attacks failed is that the Mountain Wind's den is on a mountain ridge called Half Step, which is easy to defend but hard to attack.

By the way, young hero, be extremely careful when you pass the Half Step mountain ridge! It is only one meter wide, and if the bandits shoot arrows from the opposite side, it is very hard to avoid."

"Half Step?"

"You wait here!"

With a cold snort, Ye Zhen headed toward the Mountain Wind's den. Passing the third leader, whom he had killed with a punch, Ye Zhen paused, picked up the third leader's body, and continued toward the bandits' den.

*************

PS: Young heroes, do you want to follow Ye Zhen and become a hero, eradicating the bandits?

Do you want to?

Throw your recommendation votes!

What? The bandits have treasures?

Hmph, they have treasures, but we have the Three Rivers votes!

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