Chapter 174: Storm Raging Eagle
"Killing people not only decisively, but without changing expression... Have you killed many people before?"
Xiao Xiannü's voice came from nowhere, sounding in Yun Che's ears. Yun Che's steps paused slightly as he replied, "I have indeed killed many people... You won't dislike me for this, will you?"
"The people you kill are all evil, and you actively save those who are not evil. I have no reason to dislike you. On the contrary, I dislike those who are indecisive, who spare evil people in the name of kindness and righteousness."
Remembering the way Xiao Xiannü had killed that night, Yun Che couldn't help but shudder. Burning with Phoenix Flame would at least leave some charred remains, but the old man who died at Xiao Xiannü's hands that night had died without even a trace left...
Yun Che quickened his pace and continued deeper into the Death Wasteland.
The deeper he went, the fewer people he encountered. By the time he neared the edge of the Spirit Xuan Beast territory, there were no longer any cultivators to be seen. At the same time, as he advanced step by step, the Xuan Beasts he encountered were of higher levels and increasingly dense, gradually making him feel strained.
Boom, boom, boom, boom...
A series of explosive sounds—over a dozen Iron Armor Lizards were knocked flying by a single sword sweep from Yun Che, their armored defenses shattered. Yun Che had just sheathed his sword when another dozen Iron Armor Lizards emerged from the surroundings, surrounding him with spine-chilling sounds of burrowing.
Each of these Iron Armor Lizards had strength equivalent to a True Xuan Realm Level 8 Xuan adept.
The giant tails of the Iron Armor Lizards swept horizontally like steel whips. Yun Che leaped up, but before he reached his highest point, he reversed physics with "Star God Remnant Shadow" and plunged downward, shooting out Phoenix Flame that directly knocked over the nearest Iron Armor Lizard.
Flame seemed to be the bane of these Iron Armor Lizards. The one hit by the Phoenix Flame let out a prolonged, agonized screech as its life force rapidly diminished. Yun Che's eyes sharpened, and he charged like lightning directly into the group of Iron Armor Lizards, his entire body blazing with Phoenix Flame, the giant sword in his hand transforming into a tumbling, dancing crimson fire dragon. With each swing of the heavy sword, flames shot out in all directions, gradually igniting a large area of flame domain that quickly melted the armor of the Iron Armor Lizards...
Within a few dozen breaths, Yun Che weaved back and forth through the group twice, annihilating even the newly emerged Iron Armor Lizards completely.
"Huff..."
Yun Che planted his heavy sword on the ground and let out a long breath. After a brief rest, he resolutely moved forward and stepped into the Spirit Xuan Beast's domain.
Crossing a low hill, seven Iron-Backed Gray Wolves, their bodies exuding a violent aura, came into view. The Iron-Backed Gray Wolves had extremely sensitive olfactory senses, catching the scent of a living human almost immediately. Seven pairs of grayish-blue wolf eyes locked onto Yun Che's position at essentially the same time, then they howled and charged forward.
Seven Iron-Backed Gray Wolves, each with strength equivalent to a Spirit Xuan Realm Level 1 Xuan adept—this was undoubtedly the most formidable lineup Yun Che had faced so far.
Yun Che showed no intention of retreating. He drew his heavy sword from his back and was about to meet them when he suddenly heard echoing howls from all around. Then, dozens of pale blue shadows emerged from every direction, all rushing toward him.
All Iron-Backed Gray Wolves.
"Damn..." Yun Che's hands gripping the sword trembled, and cold sweat instantly broke out. Almost without thinking, he turned and ran—it was a joke. He could easily take down one, and seven or eight he could barely handle to the point of wiping them out, possibly with some injury, but more than ten, and he wouldn't stand a chance. So many... he could only flee.
Only after stepping out of the Spirit Xuan Beast's territory did the sound of wolves behind him gradually fade. Yun Che leaned against a withered, thick tree and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Why are the Xuan Beasts in this Death Wasteland so densely packed?" Mo Li suddenly spoke up.
"I heard that from a long, long time ago, this place was the territory of Xuan Beasts. Otherwise, it wouldn't be called the paradise of Xuan Beasts," Yun Che replied.
"Dense Xuan Beasts, rejecting outsiders, lingering without dispersing—there must be a reason. The Xuan Beasts in the Myriad Beast Mountain Range are also extremely numerous and intensely xenophobic. The reason is obvious: it's because of the presence of Phoenix aura at the center of the mountain range. As Xuan Beasts, they would have an innate fear and reverence for this kind of divine beast aura. That Phoenix aura becomes like a faith in their hearts, causing myriad beasts to gather. When humans step into their sacred ground, they naturally attack with all their might."
"But the Xuan Beasts here are even more numerous and more violently xenophobic than those in the Myriad Beast Mountain Range. Could it be that there is also a divine beast aura similar to the Phoenix at the center of this Death Wasteland?"
Yun Che didn't take Mo Li's words too seriously. He calmed his mind, mentally prepared himself, then directly dragged his sword and charged back into the Spirit Xuan Beast territory.
This time, the Iron-Backed Gray Wolves had scattered. Before they could start howling, he teleported in with a single step and struck a heavy blow from ten paces away...
"Heavenly Wolf Strike!"
Among all the profound arts Yun Che possessed, Heavenly Wolf Strike consumed the most power and also had the greatest destructive force. It was a card he had kept deeply hidden, only ever used once in front of Ling Jie. When this sword strike was unleashed, its momentum could be described as earth-shattering. The flat, hard ground was instantly gouged open into a furrow nearly twenty zhang long. Along the path of the furrow, the bodies of six Iron-Backed Gray Wolves were forcibly torn into twelve pieces.
With one move, Yun Che had expended nearly a third of his profound energy, but instead of retreating, he charged forward into the rapidly gathering pack of Iron-Backed Gray Wolves, swinging his heavy sword with extreme ferocity, bringing forth waves of wolf howls and flying specks of blood scattered across the sky...
An hour later, Yun Che's position was five li away. He sat on the ground, carefully sprinkling medicinal powder onto the wounds of various sizes on his body. The longest wound stretched from his left chest all the way to his right ribs, deep enough to see the bone.
Behind him, dozens of Iron-Backed Gray Wolf carcasses lay evenly scattered across those five li, every wolf corpse battered and mangled.
After applying the medicine, Yun Che sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. The Great Dao Pagoda Art activated, and the external wounds on his body began to heal visibly, bit by bit.
He knew very well that the current area was already the limit he could reach. If he went further and encountered groups of Xuan Beasts with strength comparable to Spirit Xuan Realm Level 2 Xuan adepts, the only thing he could do would be to run.
After all his wounds had fully healed, large wolf howls once again sounded around Yun Che. He opened his eyes, didn't bother changing clothes, simply tore off the ragged garments he was wearing, grabbed his heavy sword, and coldly looked at the dozen or so Iron-Backed Gray Wolves that had once again appeared around him from who knows when.
One Iron-Backed Gray Wolf was not scary; what was scary was their coordinated attacks and endless numbers.
Two days and two nights passed, and Yun Che had been fighting here for that entire time. Countless Iron-Backed Gray Wolves had died under his sword, but the wolves here seemed inexhaustible. Every time he finished killing all the wolves and sat down to heal, within a quarter of an hour at most, another large group of Iron-Backed Gray Wolves would appear in his sight.
These two days and nights of constant, perilous combat had also helped stabilize the profound force growth that had been accelerated by the medicinal pills.
Just as Yun Che was considering whether to go deeper, a piercing eagle cry rang out from the sky above.
Yun Che instinctively looked up. In the eastern sky, a massive black eagle was gliding in at low altitude. Even from such a distance, Yun Che could clearly see its razor-sharp eagle eyes and the cold gleam reflected off its talons.
And this giant eagle—Yun Che had seen it before. He blurted out its name...
"Storm Raging Eagle!"
Because of the Storm Raging Eagle, the New Moon City branch of the Xiao Sect kept one. That day, it was Xiao Zaihe riding that Storm Raging Eagle who had chased him and Lan Xueruo on the Giant Snow Eagle, ultimately forcing them to fall into the Myriad Beast Mountain Range.
Among Xuan Beasts, the Storm Raging Eagle's strength was equivalent to a Spirit Xuan Realm Level 2 Xuan adept. But its greatest asset was not its offensive power; it was its astonishing aerial capabilities. In terms of both flight speed and altitude, few beasts in the Spirit Xuan Realm, or even the Earth Xuan and Heavenly Xuan realms, could rival it.
When Yun Che spotted the Storm Raging Eagle, it was in a gliding state, moving slowly. However, just as it flew into the airspace diagonally above Yun Che, its massive body suddenly tilted and then plummeted downward, its two fearsome talons reaching straight for him.
Yun Che hadn't expected it to suddenly attack him. He reacted instantly, lifting his heavy sword and sending a violent sword energy to meet it...
But just as he swung his sword, he noticed that the Storm Raging Eagle's talons didn't seem aimed at him, but rather at a spot slightly to his left. He glanced left and saw a bloody Iron-Backed Gray Wolf carcass, and he immediately understood—it was trying to grab the wolf carcass!
But Yun Che had already swung his sword and couldn't pull it back. The heavy sword's storm slammed fiercely into the Storm Raging Eagle, sending it tumbling through the air several times... and completely drawing its hatred.
The Storm Raging Eagle let out a long cry. Its furious eagle eyes locked onto Yun Che. Slapping its wings, it stirred up a whirlwind that enveloped Yun Che completely, and it itself dove down like lightning, talons aimed straight for his chest.
The incoming wind blades sliced open Yun Che's clothes, leaving cuts, but couldn't cut his skin. Yun Che neither dodged nor avoided. Facing the storm, he struck out with his sword... However, he still underestimated the Storm Raging Eagle's speed. Coupled with the pressure from the storm, by the time his sword struck, the eagle's talons were already near his chest, the gleaming claws even piercing into his clothes...
Bang!!!
The Overlord Giant Sword slammed heavily into the Storm Raging Eagle's massive body, sending it flying through the air with a piercing shriek, tumbling rapidly for dozens of rotations before barely managing to regain its balance just as it was about to hit the ground.
This vicious blow was enough to instill fear in the Storm Raging Eagle. It wobbled in the air for a long time before finally recovering its equilibrium, but it no longer dared to attack Yun Che and flew off into the distance.
"Hmph, you know what's good for you. Otherwise, I'd have given you a taste of fire," Yun Che muttered, pulling at the fabric on his chest and looking at the four holes torn by the eagle's talons. He quietly thought to himself, That was close.
His clothes were now truly ragged, and with so much wolf blood staining them, the smell was pungent—impossible to continue wearing. So he quickly tore off all the tattered clothes on his body and changed into a fresh set...
The moment he finished changing, his expression suddenly shifted. He reached up like lightning and pressed his hand against his neck, his face turning even uglier.
Because, the pendant he had worn around his neck since childhood was gone.