Chapter 91

Watching the giant gorilla swing its massive hammer again toward him, Ding Huan wanted to stay and kill it.

This place was wide open; with Wind Blade Technique and Wind Riding Technique, he might still be able to kill this Level Nine beast.

But Ding Huan knew clearly he couldn't do that.

Killing the giant gorilla wasn't something that could be done in an instant, and the endless beasts here wouldn't give him a chance to escape.

Moreover, there was another beast somewhere hidden here—possibly stronger than a Level Nine beast.

Ding Huan unleashed another dozen Wind Blades, then kicked the log he'd intercepted; as the log flew toward the sea, Ding Huan also leapt into the sea.

"Boom!" Almost the moment Ding Huan left the shore, the massive hammer smashed into the spot where he'd just stood.

But the giant gorilla hated Ding Huan with a vengeance—it instantly seized the hammer and hurled it.

This beast clearly had immense combat experience; it didn't strike Ding Huan directly, but slammed the hammer onto the path ahead of him.

No matter how strong Ding Huan's Air Riding Technique was, his true energy couldn't sustain such extreme consumption.

As he was about to crash into the hammer himself, Ding Huan forcibly twisted his body and lunged back toward the shore.

Even though Ding Huan reacted quickly enough, the hammer still grazed his waist, nearly knocking him into the sea.

That damn gorilla, Ding Huan roared in fury.

Won't even let him leave?

Ding Huan slashed out his Starlight Blade, followed by a hundred Wind Blades locking the giant gorilla's space.

Since he couldn't escape, he'd fight—Ding Huan charged after his Starlight Blade toward the giant gorilla.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" Seeing Ding Huan so brazen, how could the giant gorilla bear it? With furious roars, it lunged at Ding Huan.

Almost the instant the giant gorilla and Ding Huan met, Ding Huan flashed aside, slipping past its flank; at the same moment, he flung a fireball into the gorilla's gaping mouth.

Ding Huan promptly retracted his Starlight Blade, then changed its direction and stabbed it down again from behind the giant gorilla's back.

The giant gorilla had swung one fist at the back of Ding Huan's Starlight Blade and reached with its other claw toward Ding Huan's throat—but Ding Huan retracted the blade in time, so the gorilla struck air and grabbed air.

Those hundred Wind Blades inflicted negligible damage on the giant gorilla.

Boom! The fireball exploded inside the giant gorilla's throat, blasting a bloody hole from within outward.

From the giant gorilla swinging the hammer to block Ding Huan's escape, to Ding Huan returning to attack, to the gorilla countering with its fist and claw, to Ding Huan dodging sideways and shoving the fireball into its mouth, retracting the Starlight Blade—all happened in an instant.

The giant gorilla let out a piercing, agonized roar.

Ding Huan's Starlight Blade pierced deep into the giant gorilla's body from its back.

At this moment, Ding Huan didn't hold back—he pulled the Starlight Blade downward.

The gorilla's horrific scream made one's teeth ache just hearing it.

Overwhelmed by this terrifying wound, the giant gorilla dared not linger for even half a breath—it fled wildly, trailing a spray of blood.

The other beasts finally surged en masse toward Ding Huan.

Ding Huan charged again toward the sea surface, gliding like a skier across the water for a stretch, then landing precisely in the center of the log.

Immediately, true energy surged beneath his feet; the log became like a small boat, carrying Ding Huan away in an instant.

He knew the giant gorilla wouldn't die; if it returned and held him even briefly, he'd be dead—he'd flee first.

Watching Ding Huan escape again, the other beasts roared furiously on the shore.

…

The three people hiding far away within the steel fortress fell silent upon hearing the giant gorilla's roar.

Wei Datai didn't even bother raising his telescope to watch further.

"He's probably dead," Wei Datai finally sighed after a long silence.

They had seen that giant gorilla before—it was an absolute behemoth.

They'd heard this global beast tide was sparked by a dragon beast, but in their eyes, the giant gorilla's power was certainly no less than that dragon's.

If Ding Huan had been cornered against the human corridor's city wall by that giant gorilla, he'd have had no chance of survival.

"Sigh…" Han Qi sighed.

In fact, she still greatly admired Ding Huan—he'd trained several formidable disciples.

She'd originally planned to visit Master Ding Huan during the next vacation period; she never expected to meet him here—and now this was their final encounter.

…

Ding Huan had no intention of drifting too far from shore; this was the Atlantic, and if he went too far, his current strength wouldn't let him survive the return to land.

But the moment Ding Huan thought this, a blade shot up from the seabed, straight toward his throat.

True Energy Arrow Ray?

Ding Huan's heart leapt in alarm—he leapt upward instantly; the arrow ray skimmed barely beneath his soles.

So strong—a beast capable of firing such an arrow ray must be at least Level Four or Five.

Ding Huan grew uneasy; if underwater beasts capable of firing such arrow rays lurked in the sea, he was in serious trouble.

Before Ding Huan even landed, another dozen arrow rays shot toward him.

Then, over a hundred fish, their backs lined with protruding blade-like spines, leapt from the water and charged at Ding Huan in unison.

Ding Huan's scalp prickled—he frantically unleashed wave after wave of Wind Blades, certain this was the fastest he'd ever cast them.

He had spiritual sense; without it, in this place, he wouldn't even have the ability to retaliate.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Streams of blood sprayed into the air, splattering across the sea.

At the same moment, Ding Huan felt pain across his body—he was certain at least six arrow rays had struck him, one piercing clean through.

His spiritual sense was still too weak—it couldn't block so many arrow rays, nor could he kill so many blade-fish in one go.

This time alone, Ding Huan had killed at least thirty to forty of these blade-backed fish.

And because of Ding Huan's slaughter, this stretch of sea went mad.

All kinds of fish gathered over.

When Ding Huan saw another hundred-plus blade fish leap out of the sea and the endless arrow-like rays spraying toward him, he knew that if he didn't leave, he was done for.

This wasn't the shore. If it were the shore, he'd have plenty of ways to handle it. Here he only had one log; if that log was destroyed, he wouldn't even have a place to set his feet.

Right now these fish hadn't thought of it, but if he lingered here, these creatures would sooner or later think to gnaw on the log.

The moment Ding Huan's feet landed on the log, the true yuan beneath his soles surged wildly, the log split the seawater apart, and he fled like an arrow leaving the bowstring.

Another several hundred arrow-rays shot over. Ding Huan's Star Sky Blade kept slashing out, yet he still couldn't block that many.

"Puff, puff!" Arrow-rays slammed into Ding Huan's body one after another, constantly drawing sprays of blood from him.

Yet Ding Huan couldn't stop, nor dared he let his attention wander too much.

He had to concentrate all his energy on his feet—at the very least, he had to break out of this school of blade fish.

This school of blade fish was simply too terrifying.

Even though Ding Huan had a powerful recovery ability, as more and more arrow-rays struck him, he too felt extreme weakness.

If the large pack on his back hadn't blocked part of the arrow-rays for him, his injuries would have been even more severe.

Fortunately Ding Huan's strategy was correct. Enduring his wounds, he finally broke out of the encirclement of those terrifying fierce fish.

At this moment Ding Huan had completely lost his bearings. Even though he tried his best to avoid the vital spots, the excessive blood loss still left his head dizzy and heavy.

Ding Huan knew perfectly well in his heart that on this great sea, the moment he passed out, it was as good as death.

Since he'd lost his bearings anyway, Ding Huan drove the log beneath his feet like a madman while charging forward.

Until he saw a faintly visible small reef island. How could Ding Huan still care whether the island was dangerous? Without the slightest hesitation, he steered the log charging toward the small island.

Almost the instant Ding Huan charged to the edge of the small island, he blacked out.

Ding Huan's last conscious thought was that he was done for—he hadn't even set foot on the small island, but he truly couldn't hold on any longer.

Excessive blood loss, injuries too severe, and on top of that he'd been wildly channeling true yuan the whole time. If he hadn't fused with an injury-recovery gene, he would have long since perished in the fishes' bellies.

But now there wasn't much difference either—just a matter of sooner or later.

……

The first thing Ding Huan saw when he opened his eyes was a piece of reef stone washed by the sea god-knows-how-many times. A faint glimmer of light fell in, giving him an extreme sense of quiet.

If it weren't for the sound of waves slapping the reef outside, he would have thought everything before had been a dream.

Not dead?

Ding Huan leaped up.

His extremely powerful recovery gene let him heal very quickly.

"You're actually healed?" A slightly hoarse woman's voice came over, and Ding Huan saw a young woman wearing hemp clothing.

The woman's hair was somewhat disheveled, and her face was covered by a strip of grey cloth.

Her figure was very good—slender, yet not frail.

Her eyes were very bright, yet carried a faint melancholy. Her neck was covered in scars. Although her clothes hid the rest, Ding Huan could guess that this woman had endured great torment.

"You saved me?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Ding Huan sensed something was off. He stared wide-eyed at the woman before him: "You're not from Earth?"

Then Ding Huan was certain—he didn't even need to ask. This woman before him was absolutely not from Earth, because what she'd just spoken was Cang Yu language.

Cang Yu script and Cang Yu language were the universal languages of the universe, except for planets like Earth that hadn't yet taken part in cosmic activities.

All planets that had taken part in cosmic activities used this language.

The woman too stared wide-eyed. Her speaking Cang Yu just now had been a subconscious act.

She had never imagined that on Earth there would be someone who could understand Cang Yu.

"You're also from another planet?" The woman's voice trembled, her eyes filled with longing and excitement.

Billions of people lived on Earth. Even in the era of fierce beasts, though the number of people surviving here had shrunk enormously, there were still billions.

Living on an Earth with so many people, she was very lonely.

Because she was an outsider, a fugitive who, after being caught, had been subjected to torture for a confession.

Ding Huan calmed down. He shook his head: "No, I'm an Earthling. I've left Earth before, so I know Cang Yu script."

Hearing that Ding Huan was still an Earthling, the excitement in the woman's eyes faded somewhat.

"Thank you for saving me. If it weren't for you, I would surely have been killed by the fish long ago." Ding Huan thanked the woman with extreme sincerity.

The woman shook her head. "I saw you collapsed at the edge of this reef island, so I brought you back. In fact, we're still going to die—just a bit later. I didn't touch your pack; it's right there."

Following where the woman pointed, Ding Huan indeed saw his pack.

"My name is Ding Huan, and you?" Ding Huan could tell this woman didn't seem to be a gene cultivator, but she should have practiced something like ancient martial arts—otherwise, she couldn't have survived here.

"My name is Qi Qi Xinyue." The woman answered.

"There's no one here, so why do you keep covering your face?" Ding Huan was somewhat puzzled. On this desolate reef island, what was there to hide?

Qi Qi Xinyue hesitated for a moment, then pulled off her veil.

Ding Huan looked at the woman before him, and deep inside he felt as if something had been wrenched.

What kind of face was this? Apart from the eyes, which were still bright, the entire face was covered in cut upon cut of scars. Streaks of red scar tissue spread across her face, like twisted centipedes.

The exquisitely proportioned features convinced Ding Huan that, before being cut, this had been an absolute beauty.

"Who did this? Why would they treat you like this?" Though Ding Huan was asking, his heart was filled with fury.

It wasn't just because Qi Qi Xinyue had saved him that he completely sided with her.

Ding Huan had been through god-knows-how-many killings and seen god-knows-how-many people.

The moment he saw Qi Qi Xinyue, he knew she wasn't an evil person, because he felt not the slightest trace of killing intent on her.

She must have been hiding here struggling to survive. Even so, upon encountering the uncertain factor of himself, she still reached out to save him.

"I came to Earth seven years ago, and then I was caught by them…"

Qi Xinyue had only said one sentence, and Ding Huan was already staring at her in astonishment, "So you're the one from the alien spaceship that fell to Earth seven years ago?"