Chapter 1772: A Life Forbidden Zone Forged Through Killing
In the span of seven days, Xing Cheng had grown even fatter!
Her massive insect body had reached a diameter of 18 kilometers!
Wherever Xing Cheng passed, all beasts fled in fear!
Zhong Yingxue and the others sat atop Xing Cheng, heading straight for Jiangcheng, their eyes heavy with exhaustion.
During this time, Zhong Yingxue had led Xing Cheng and the others in supporting cities everywhere, witnessing too many partings between life and death!
To the point where they had become somewhat numb to it!
Fortunately, Xia Yao knew how to adjust herself, always clowning around to lighten the mood. Otherwise, the mountain-like mental pressure might have crushed everyone.
Xia Yao wagged her wolf tail, looking somewhat excited.
(งᵒ̌╰╯ᵒ̌)ง "Finally going to see Xiao Nan. I wonder how he's doing."
Platelet snickered: (•́.̫•̀) "You just want to show off your Starlight Three peak level to him, right?"
Xia Yao chuckled, her eyes full of anticipation.
In the end, Xia Yao had managed to absorb the spirit bead of that Howling Moon Wolf King. It had made her vomit blood from the strain, and she only got through it thanks to a recovery-type spiritual art.
Her level had forcefully shot up to Starlight Three, nearly reaching Four Stars but falling just short.
Her spiritual art was also quite cooperative, allowing her to absorb the Wolf King's Howling Moon spiritual art.
She couldn't wait to show off to Xiao Nan and also to see if her parents were doing well.
Zhong Yingxue also fondly stroked Xia Yao's white fur, happier than anyone that Yao Yao had grown stronger.
Just then, Platelet sniffed and furrowed her brow:
(•̌～•̑) "Such a strong smell of blood!"
Not only she smelled it; everyone caught the metallic stench of blood.
Gao Xingyu pointed toward Jiangcheng with a horrified expression.
☚(°Д°;) "Wha... what the hell is that?"
Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing. Their pupils contracted sharply.
They saw thick, blood-red fog surrounding Jiangcheng, unmoved by the wind, with large shadows lurking within the blood mist.
Qin Shou looked like he had been completely drained:
(›´﹏`‹) "Jiang... Jiangcheng isn't in trouble, is it?"
Mo Tian gave Qin Shou a slap on the back of his head: "Ptoo! Don't jinx it! Keep your mouth shut!"
Zhong Yingxue's expression was serious: "Let's go! Check it out!"
The group couldn't help but dismount Xing Cheng and rush into the blood mist.
The surroundings were deathly silent. The ground was stained the color of blood, and grabbing a handful of soil could wring out bloody water.
Everywhere on the ground lay enormous beast carcasses, their wounds vicious, all killed in a single blow.
Going further in, the carcasses became denser, even forming a carpet of corpses.
The group's scalps tingled, for within this blood mist, there was not a single sound of a beast's roar, terrifyingly quiet.
As they walked, Mo Tian's expression froze:
=͟͟͞͞(꒪﹏꒪‧̣̥̇) "Is... is this the corpse of a Dao Heaven Beast?"
In the sea of corpses, a hundred-meter-long Mountain-Cloaking Crocodile had been chopped to pieces, its head cut into four segments.
Zhong Yingxue's eyelids twitched at the sight of the vicious wounds.
"These wounds were made by Xiao Nan's Rift-Saw Blade!"
Goosebumps shot from everyone's tailbones to the tops of their heads.
A Dao Heaven Beast killed by Jiangnan in a living slaughter? And the spirit bead hadn't even been taken?
Xia Yao's pretty face turned pale: (☍﹏⁰。) "Hey hey hey, did Xiao Nan do all this?"
He had actually killed his way into creating a life forbidden zone surrounding Jiangcheng?
As they continued forward, everyone was utterly shocked.
Their view was blocked by a thousand-meter-high wall of beast carcasses, covered in layers of snow.
They could no longer even see the buildings of Jiangcheng.
Everyone was horrified, their scalps tingling. They climbed the mountain of corpses in one breath, looking down from the height, each face filled with shock.
They saw that the entire city of Jiangcheng was surrounded by a wall of carcasses a thousand meters high.
Inside, millions of citizens who hadn't been able to evacuate gathered in the city center, unharmed.
The river that ran through Jiangcheng had been stained bright red with blood.
Ye Xinghe said in shock: (°△°|||) "Nan Shen killed for seven straight days? Forged this mountain of corpses and sea of blood, forged a life forbidden zone?"
"One person, one city, held for seven days, with not a single spirit beast able to breach Nan Shen's defense? Holy crap!"
He could only use "holy crap" to describe it. Just how strong could a single person's energy be?
Xia Yao finally understood what Yang Jian meant when he said Xiao Nan had gone too crazy.
The citizens in the city had managed to survive these seven days through self-sufficiency, with a few Dragon Abyss Dark Night members maintaining order in the city.
Zhong Yingxue was filled with anxiety, because searching every corner, she couldn't find a trace of Jiangnan.
She suddenly sensed fluctuations of battle to the north and quickly led everyone to investigate.
They found Mountain Cat, Liu Mang, Chen Chen, An Ning, and the others fighting a small beast tide, along with a hundred or so Pupil Race members.
Everyone looked like they couldn't be more disheveled.
With Xing Cheng's arrival, the beast tide naturally resolved.
Liu Mang collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, feeling like his hands and feet weren't his own.
● "Reinforcements finally here? I'm so exhausted!"
Chen Chen and An Ning were shocked by Xing Cheng's enormous size, their mouths hanging open.
Mountain Cat also took a moment to catch her breath, her arm propped on her knee trembling, wiping the blood from her face with tired eyes.
"Go... find Xiao Nan!"
Xia Yao's heart was in her throat.
(๑ŏ﹏ŏ) "Where's Xiao Nan? What happened to him?"
Liu Mang laughed bitterly: "Nan Shen killed himself lost. He didn't know how many waves of beast tides he had repelled, killing in circles. On the third day he was still there, but the beast tides no longer dared to advance."
"But Nan Shen kept on killing! He was too fast, charged far ahead, and we couldn't even catch a glimpse of him. Now even my perception range can't sense him."
Everyone looked at each other. Killing until you lose yourself—how was that even possible?
Lan closed her eyes to sense, looking anxious, and after a moment pointed north:
(#ớ﹏ờ)☛ "Over there! There's spatial fluctuation over there!"
Zhong Yingxue was extremely worried and quickly had Lan lead the way.
The entire path was covered in beast carcasses, without a single living creature in sight.
Just then, Liu Mang's eyes widened sharply.
"Watch out! It's..."
Before he could finish speaking, a blood-red figure burst through the mist, appearing before the group in a single charge.
His eyes were as crimson as a blood moon, and a rolling tide of killing intent bore down like the sky collapsing, blood clouds pressing on the city as if to crush everyone to death.
The Blood-Drinking Halberd in his hand was raised high, and he slashed violently down at Zhong Yingxue.
"Die!"
The word "die" seemed to come from the depths of the nine nether hells.
At that moment, everyone present froze, unable to move, their faces as white as paper.
The killing intent was almost tangible, its powerful pressure leaving everyone breathless.
It was as if a bright red death stamp had appeared in the sky.
Qin Shou and his two brothers' legs gave way, and they fell to their knees.
Xia Yao, Mo Tian, and the others had tears in their eyes, scared into sitting down on the ground with a thud, instinctively clamping their legs together.
Mountain Cat's eyes were wide with fury: "Xiao Nan's gone mad with killing! Dodge! Get away!"
After sustained high-intensity combat, mental fatigue had drowned Jiangnan's will, leaving only one thought driving him to keep moving.
That thought was to slaughter every life in sight until he could no longer move, even becoming instinct.
Zhong Yingxue did not dodge. She only looked with heartache at this figure like a blood-red monster.
Even though the killing intent made her unable to breathe, and her body trembled uncontrollably, her instincts screamed at her.
Telling her to dodge! Or she would die!
But Zhong Yingxue did not, because she did not believe that Xiao Nan would harm her, not even a little.
Because he was her treasure! And the same would be true in reverse.
Mo Tian even closed her eyes in fear.
(ﾉ)﹏(ヾ)
A strong wind howled, blowing the stray hairs on Zhong Yingxue's forehead.
The edge of the Blood-Drinking Halberd stopped abruptly in front of Zhong Yingxue's forehead. From extreme motion to extreme stillness, Jiangnan's body also froze.
Zhong Yingxue stepped forward, pulled Jiangnan into her arms, and held him tightly, ignoring the blood and grime covering him.
She rested her chin on Jiangnan's shoulder, closed her eyes, and whispered softly in his ear.
"It's okay, it's okay. Good Xiao Nan, no more fighting. You can stop now."
Zhong Yingxue could feel the still-tense muscles in Jiangnan's body.
"Jiangcheng is safe. No one died. You did very well, really well. You can rest now, good boy, good boy."
The gentle whisper echoed with affection and heartache, like soothing a child. Her hand gently patted Jiangnan's back, offering the warmest comfort.
At that moment, the red in Jiangnan's eyes finally faded, and he withdrew from that terrifying killing state.
The goal that had driven Jiangnan to keep fighting was gone. In an instant, it was as if all strength had been drained from him.
He leaned weakly into Zhong Yingxue's embrace, and the Blood-Drinking Halberd clattered to the ground.
The blade of the halberd had been nicked and chipped, jagged like a saw.
Just one look sent a chill down the spine. This halberd had killed countless spirit beasts.
Jiangnan, holding onto consciousness with great effort, murmured:
"The spirit beads haven't been taken yet. Help me take them. That's all small money... money..."
Then he fell into a deep sleep. His hair was covered in clotted blood, matted together, and his body reeked of blood.
Liu Mang nearly spat a mouthful of old blood. He was so exhausted, and he was still worried about not having dug out the spirit beads?
Xia Yao sighed in relief: (︶ε︶٥) "Phew. Normal, normal. This is the normal Xiao Nan. Nothing wrong with his mind."
Lan immediately pulled out a red cloth strip and tied it around her head, her eyes full of energy.
(๑･᷅～･᷄)و
She saluted the sleeping Jiangnan with a solemn expression.
∠(｀～´*) "Don't worry, Brother Jiangnan! Leave the cleanup of the battlefield to me. I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"
Then she vanished in a flash.
Zhong Yingxue hoisted Jiangnan onto her back. This body, exhausted to its limits, thin and gaunt, had carried the lifeline of the people of Jiangcheng.
"Let's go! Back to Jiangcheng."
She had only taken two steps when she found that everyone else was still slumped in place, not moving.
Zhong Yingxue turned back in confusion:
(•︠～•︡) "Why aren't you moving?"
Xia Yao and Mo Tian exchanged a glance, their faces reddening, then untied their shirts and tied them around their waists as skirts.
(⌒ㅂ⌒;) "Ah, um... our pants... our pants are dirty. We need to cover them."
(٥˘﹏˘) "Yeah, yeah. Even though this is wartime, as little fairies, we still need to pay attention to cleanliness."
Zhong Yingxue: (≖‸≖٥)...
Qin Shou wiped his nose:
(‧̣̥̇͡°ก͡°) "This damn weather! So damn hot! Got my crotch full of sweat! How ridiculous is that?"
Qi Yu sighed: (◞‸◟) "Others get their backs soaked with sweat. I can't have my crotch soaked with sweat. This really needs treatment."
Ye Xinghe began to speechless: (￢_￢) "Isn't your sweat volume a bit too high? And it's so yellow. Recently been having internal heat, huh?"
Qin Shou glared: (•̀へ•́ꐦ) "You didn't get your crotch full of sweat? How dare you say that about us?"
Ye Xinghe sweat dropped, then sneered:
(๑︶ٹ︶) "At least I don't have internal heat. I'm healthy!"
Liu Mang sneered disdainfully and immediately stood up and walked away with big strides.
ง●ว "It's just wetting my pants. What's so shameful about that? A real man sheds blood and urine, not tears!"
Shame? My face is already so black that there's no face left to lose, okay?
But Nan Shen's killing momentum earlier was too insane.
I've never been this terrified even facing a Transcendent-level being. It truly felt like I was going to die. Exposed to that killing momentum, I couldn't even control my body.
Liu Mang never wanted to experience that feeling again.
Just how many spirit beasts did Nan Shen kill, dammit!