Chapter 304: Hunter and Wolf

Flash floods and heavy rain, thunder and mountains shaking.

The endless loud noises echoed in the narrow mountains, overlapping each other, surging like a rushing sea tide. In the noise, even speaking to each other required shouting.

But in that instant, everything clearly welcomed a momentary dead silence.

It was as if the ears suddenly couldn't hear any sound again.

In the moment of confusion and trance, the sound of breathing, heartbeat, the echo of blood flowing through the brain, everything became so clear.

Then, it was as if it sprouted from the deepest part of the heart—shrill wailing!!.

It was as if all the pain and disaster in his memories were reappearing in this moment, exploding in a chain reaction; all the sorrow, wasted time, and torment he had seen in his life, every unbearable experience and past he didn't want to look back on, rose up once more, surging, colliding, and boiling against each other, until finally... despair manifested!

Accompanied by the roar of the corpse evil spirit phantom, infinite spiritual quality poison descended from the sky with the storm and gale, outlining traces of ripples and flashes like hallucinations in the darkness.

Instantly emptied one-third of the reserves in the spiritual quality cage, erupting with a bang.

Resentment, hatred, hunger, killing intent, greed, resentment, the spiritual quality frenzy full of countless negative emotions whistled past, agitated in the narrow mountain col, and drummed back and forth. Like a living thing, squirming, twisting, splitting, drilling into all souls and consciousness, eroding, penetrating, and expanding through every pore.

It was like a snake in the darkness suddenly pouncing, gnawing at the prey, injecting venom full of sin-tainted pollution, and in an instant, it made one face after another that had fallen into a daze twist into a strange appearance.

Uncontrollably, screaming out loud!

Wailing like a plague, spreading at a speed that made the scalp tingle, covering everyone on the hillsides on both sides, and then, muffled sounds were endless.

Brain marrow boiling, soul bursting!

Amidst the wailing, blood oozed from those twisted facial features.

Even more vivid was the spiritual quality flame spraying from the head, mixed with countless muddy colors.

Dark green, scarlet, dark yellow, pitch black, pale, the mottled colors were intertwined, spraying out and rising with the out-of-control spiritual quality.

Fleeting.

It was simply like a gloomy and strange fireworks party!

The originally murderous and malicious ambush suddenly collapsed in the wailing, and one figure after another crawling in the mud quickly lost its sound, as if it were an empty shell.

People who hadn't lost consciousness were still wailing and squirming, instinctively calling for help, screaming, but no one responded, and they couldn't even get up, just like cerebral palsy patients, squirming in vain. When their fingers contracted instinctively, pulling the trigger, firing in vain, until the gun machine collided in vain, making empty echoes.

Explosives were detonated in spasms and squirming, flames rose suddenly, mud rolled, giant stones roared, and fell.

The originally quiet mountains suddenly collapsed, but no one cared.

Even if there were lucky ones who survived this wave of violent impact because of their own resistance or the protective equipment on their bodies, they were now unable to take care of themselves under the erosion of pollution, and in the severe injury, they were captured by evil thoughts and began to kill each other.

Even forgetting their own skills and weapons, just like beasts, relying on claws and teeth, gnawing at each other, venting the fear and madness in their hearts.

It was like a hell on earth.

Such a scene was hard for even the Chosen Ones who woke up from the trance to accept, screaming in horror, looking around blankly, instinctively wanting to escape.

Then, they heard the roar descending from the sky.

Loud noise!

Amidst the flashing electric light, the steel monster leaped, crossed a distance of hundreds of meters, and descended from the sky!

Steel claws trampled the earth, limbs unfolded, giant axes, hammers, chainsaws, and machine guns swept across, Panying unsheathed, blood light rushed, and began to harvest without any mercy.

And on the mountain top, Ji Jue slowly retracted his palm.

Letting the gale whistle, but supported by mercury limbs, he was as stable as a mountain,

Rainwater splashed, falling on the burning red ring, sizzling.

The originally vivid colors seemed to fade away, quickly dimming, just like pouring out all the spiritual swill in the heart in the wave just now, waiting for the next injection and purification.

This indiscriminate wailing bombing was even more terrifying than ordinary Heart Pivot Chosen Ones.

After all, Heart Pivot is also human; everyone, even if they are vicious and want to retaliate against society, won't be like Ji Jue, insanely stuffing so much fierce material into their own soul.

The mutation induced by sin-tainted alchemy, the polluted spiritual quality containing the essence of many great sins, combined with the purification and extraction of fluid alchemy and the guidance and assistance of blessings, was simply like a super-large high-purity dirty bomb, indiscriminately poisoning everything, inducing distortion and madness. Those who died were done, and those who lived were also left with endless troubles.

If it weren't for the Little Niu Ma harvesting in time, this round of wailing could have catalyzed a few sin-tainted ones...

But it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if they are sin-tainted ones.

Pedantic people fall into the portal view and narrow concepts, but Ji Jue, who has an open pattern, doesn't care about the distinction between Upper Goods and Great Sins.

The life of a sin-tainted one is also a life! How can there be a distinction between heavy and light?

No, to a certain extent, it's even better to use...

His fingers flicked twice, in the storm, threads of silver light appeared, fell, and condensed into a faint mist, spreading silently. Under the blockade of solid alchemy, the spiritual quality and pollution scattered in the air were quickly integrated into the mercury steam, solidified into gray-black sand.

Soon, the squirming mercury spider crawled over, and the solidified black sand was collected again.

The spiritual quality containing many pollution and negative emotions, after the purification of fluid alchemy, can be recycled, and the pollution impurities separated can be filled into the Poison Heart ring again, and then the next round of catalysis can be carried out...

After living a hard life, you have to be careful when doing anything.

You know, the truth of "save one piece, earn two pieces" is that waste is truly shameful.

Ji Jue hates wasting materials the most; even a piece of waste in the workshop must be thrown into the furnace to be rebuilt and recycled.

It's just that, at this moment, An Ning looked sideways at the smile on the corner of Ji Jue's mouth, and her expression became more and more complicated: you say that a good person, how can he become more and more strange after getting involved with a craftsman...

Embers harm people!

"Roar!!!"

In the interval of thunder and loud noises, a furious roar suddenly erupted from the mountain valley, a huge figure tore through the car body, suddenly leaped, collided with the Little Niu Ma, knocked the Little Niu Ma that was raging and harvesting instantly, rolled in mid-air, and landed!

"Big brother, save, save me..."

In the mud, the Chosen One who escaped from Panying by luck called out with joy and tears, and immediately after, he saw "Big Brother" slowly turn his head.

A pair of strange green and scarlet eyes stared straight at him.

On the beast-like face covered with pitch-black mane, the appearance of the former bearded man still remained, but the strange green eyes full of bloodshot had turned into vertical pupils, overflowing with pure hunger and tyranny.

Without thinking, he opened his bloody mouth, bit off the subordinate's head, wantonly devoured the flesh and blood, the distorted body expanded again, and the claws were sharp.

And in the car body he broke open, it was already bloody...

In the trauma and pollution of the soul, the leader's suppressed beast nature completely erupted, fell into madness, and had long since devoured all the confidants and subordinates beside him!

"... Is this White Deer distortion?" Ji Jue was curious.

Before this, he had already seen patients with severe blood thirst, and the plague virus like blood thirst was born from the sin-tainted distortion of the White Deer Chosen One.

It can be said that if there were no blood thirst, Ji Jue might not have been able to embark on the road of the Chosen One so smoothly; at this moment, seeing such a scene again, he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion.

The symptom of Ember distortion is

"At best, they are nothing more than ghouls; they are still far from being true wolves."

An Ning looked down with contempt: "Brother Ji Jue, not everyone can become three times stronger by turning dark... This kind of trash, even if left alone, won't amount to anything."

The Twelve Virtues are each different, and each has its own unique qualities. At the same time, the purer the power, the more extreme it is, and the easier it is to influence the Chosen in return. If one cannot maintain their self and cannot control such power, they are sooner or later destined to be devoured by it.

Who knows how many people have been bewitched by power or attracted by the Great Sin, throwing themselves into the vortex without a shred of reason? Yet the harshness and chaos of the Great Sin are even greater than the Virtues... The seemingly generous gifts and offerings are merely raising herds of fat pigs to serve as sustenance, supplying the truly good material to swallow and digest.

A fall without a choice is certainly sad, but to actively throw oneself into the Sin while harboring childish thoughts and naive fantasies is truly seeking one's own death.

The beast-like, man-eating, blood-drinking monster before them cannot even retain its self; its consciousness was twisted and ravaged into a mess the moment it was tainted by the Sin. Even if left alone, it would only perish in endless hunger.

It is still an unknown distance away from being a true wolf. But since it has been seen, as a hunter, it is naturally impossible to turn a blind eye.

An Ning sighed.

Her fingers flicked.

Amidst the overwhelming curtain of rain, a piercing hole suddenly appeared. A faint light flashed by, and in an instant, the beast-like ghoul wailed and fell to the ground, a gaping hole appearing in its chest.

At the wound, amidst the writhing flesh, it actually began to try to grow again.

It was just a pity that no matter how it grew and recovered, it could not fill the wound pierced by the faint light. Fresh blood gushed out continuously, and the mutation expanded rapidly amidst the growth of flesh. In a flash, it alienated into a bizarre freak composed of countless writhing claws and teeth, hissing, roaring, and rolling.

There was no way to stop the death that had already arrived.

Under the annihilation of that wisp of flying light, it rapidly withered and shriveled. Finally, it bled to death. Accompanied by the shriveling and withering of many limbs, all that remained in place was a mutated skeleton, resembling both man and beast.

It was just that...

The moment the ghoul withered and died, An Ning's originally indifferent expression suddenly stalled.

In the gale, she turned her head abruptly, looking around, her gaze sweeping inch by inch between the mudslide and the flood.

Not a single detail missed, not a single content overlooked!

The subtle smile and lightness of the past vanished in an instant.

A cold light appeared in her eyes.

A wolf!

There is the scent of a wolf...

It is not a smell or a trace; it is better described as a hunter's instinct!

Starting from the An family's upper-level invocation, the intuition imprinted in the soul through countless training and the honing of skills was triggered.

The moment the ghoul died, a certain hungry disturbance came from the shadows.

A hidden appetite emerged with the death of the prey. Even though it was suppressed and disguised by layers, that gaze, no matter how flickering and soft, triggered an instinctive vigilance the moment it landed on the hunter.

The wolf is here!

When? Where did it start? No, it might have been lurking in the surroundings from the very beginning, following silently step by step...

But was that momentary leak of aura really an accident?

In the long wait and vigilance, An Ning gradually realized.

In the chaotic wilderness, there are no fixed roles; the identities of hunter and prey are constantly changing. Even a hunter can have a slip-up and end up buried in a wolf's maw.

The fleeting appearance of the aura at this moment might even have been intentional.

Deliberately leaving footprints in the mud to trigger the hunter's vigilance, consuming the opponent's energy, tormenting them day and night, until at some moment of negligence, striking a ruthless blow to kill instantly!

Perhaps the Bai Lu Sin in the shadows at this moment is also sneering with contempt, gazing from afar at the hunter's appearance of facing a formidable enemy, staying put, and waiting for a good opportunity.

And before that...

While Ji Jue was directing numerous mechanical creations to quickly clean up the battlefield and collect materials, the threat descended from the sky once again!

An Ning suddenly bent over and, without warning, swept her leg to trip Ji Jue!

Caught off guard, Ji Jue was startled and fell backward.

Even the mercury limbs supporting his body did not react at all. Upon realizing the attack came from An Ning, they contracted like they had been electrocuted, letting An Ning trip him, pulling him along as they leaped and sprinted over the mud and mountain rocks.

Only then did he feel the evil wind whistling past.

Right above their heads, in the pitch-black clouds above the torrential rain, a black dot faintly appeared, aiming at the enemy on the ground. The loud noise from tens of kilometers away was swallowed by the rain, but the "bullet" arrived in an instant, piercing the air!

"Found you!"

In the mental channel built by the blessed creation, an excited voice rang out.

In the clouds of lightning and thunder, the vortex-type Chosen with wings on his back soared through the storm, relying on his unimaginable vision and sensing to lock onto Ji Jue's position.

Then, he raised his hands.

Bang!

His ten fingers exploded instantly, and sharp fingers fell from his palms, piercing through the air toward the ground.

As they fell and flew out, they exceeded the speed of sound, setting off a loud explosion.

Amidst the scorching friction of the air, they rapidly turned into spiral-shaped bone spikes.

The one in the lead brushed past Ji Jue and pierced into a giant rock on the mountaintop, exploding instantly. A virulent poison that corroded and disintegrated all living things spread, hissing amidst the washing of the rain.

And the subsequent finger-bullets soaring in mid-air actually adjusted their direction faintly, and under the control of the main body, locked onto An Ning, who was sprinting while falling.

Soon, they were blasted apart by the faint light thrown out!

Amidst thousands of lines of rain, a hidden faint light rose against gravity. The moment it was detected, it was already close at hand!

Bang!

The soaring vortex-type Chosen's expression changed abruptly. His giant wings contracted and closed, rapidly hardening like iron to become a shield. Under the bombardment of a wisp of weak faint light, his two wings actually exploded with a bang. However, a phantom of a shield immediately appeared out of thin air, completely deflecting the shattered faint light.

Blocked!

Soon, with the writhing of flesh, his giant wings grew back, along with the ten fingers he had lost.

At this moment, in the dark clouds, the vortex-type Chosen moved and soared rapidly, his raised hands firing finger-bullets again. The speed became faster and faster, and in the end, the rate of fire was enough to rival a machine gun!

The lightning passing by illuminated the uniform on his body; he was clearly a contestant from the Northern Territory.

"That's a feint, don't worry about—"

Amidst the turning and galloping, Ji Jue, being dragged by An Ning, waved his hand. Mercury gushed out, dancing in the sky, and rapidly turned into layers of iron curtains, defending against the virulent finger-bullets.

The sound of shattering was incessant.

The silver light exploded and re-aggregated continuously, struggling to hold on.

And before that, Ji Jue's pupils had already lit up, his inner fire exploding, his perception spreading, transcending from his closed-off body, instantly overlooking everything in all directions, seeing through everything!

—Fragrant Mirror!

At this moment, under the reflection and observation of the Fragrant Mirror, the raindrops in all directions seemed to have completely stalled, revealing faint phantoms of spiritual quality... I don't know when, but the torrential rain had actually been incorporated into someone else's control!

The moment Ji Jue noticed it, the countless raindrops changed abruptly, closing in from all sides, enveloping them. A bone-chilling cold rose out of thin air, spreading and filling everything, as if to completely freeze the entire world.

Entropy-type? Or Tian Tian Yuan?!

It doesn't matter...

Following the countless spiritual quality flows between heaven and earth, Ji Jue had locked onto the core of all changes and control in an instant.

Found it!

Little Niu Ma roared suddenly.

The steel monster sprinted, galloped, and accelerated instantly. Scorching light gushed out from the machinery on its back, pushing its massive body to near-flight.

In a snap of the fingers, it smashed through countless intercepting curtains of rain and frost, leaped into the air, and then, like a meteorite, fell toward the rolling torrent between the mountain crevices below!

In mid-air, the Sword of Panying reversed from its steel claws, blood light rising and surging, descending from the sky.

It pierced into the rushing turbid current below!

Boom!

The infinitely gathered rain and frost suddenly dissipated, the trap and cage collapsed, completely losing control.

In the turbid mountain flood, a miserable hiss came!

(End of chapter)