Chapter 133

Dawn barely broke, but Kaishan Town remained shrouded in the fear and sorrow left by last night's beast tide.

The air was thick with a faint scent of blood and char.

Chen Mu, Shen Ge, and Pang Yunrui stood at the town's entrance, gazing at the still restless depths of Shenshan Forest.

"Ordinary beast tides never reach this scale, let alone act this mad—there must be a reason," Shen Ge said, brow furrowed, voice solemn.

Pang Yunrui gripped his short halberd behind his back and growled, "Something demonic must've stirred in the mountains, scaring those beasts out! If we don't figure it out, this town is done for!"

Chen Mu's gaze sharpened as he stared into the forest's depths. "As long as the root isn't removed, the troubles will never end."

"Then let's go into the mountains!"

The three were in agreement. No more delay—they moved as three wisps of smoke, darting into the dense woods.

Inside the forest, it was deadlier silent than they'd imagined.

The usual bird calls and beast roars had vanished, replaced by an unsettling stillness—only the rustle of wind through leaves, and a faint, grating "crackling" sound.

The deeper they went, the stronger the sense of dread grew.

Scattered white bones began to appear on the ground—mostly from medium and small beasts like mountain foxes and wild deer, their skeletons bearing clear gnaw marks, stripped unnervingly clean of flesh.

"What the hell did this?" Pang Yunrui prodded a skeleton with his halberd tip, frowning.

Shen Ge crouched, examining the ground, pinching a bit of soil between his fingers and sniffing it. His face changed slightly. "There's a faint stench of poison—definitely not ordinary beasts."

Chen Mu activated his "Listen to the Wind" skill, listening intently. Suddenly, he raised a hand to signal silence and whispered, "Movement over there."

"Go!"

The three moved silently, parting thick underbrush. The sight before them made even their seasoned nerves draw a sharp breath.

Ahead, in a relatively open patch of forest, dozens of massive scorpions, each the size of a wolf-dog, were devouring the freshly dead carcasses of wild boars.

Their bodies were dark brown, shells gleaming with oily sheen, tails arched high, their venomous stingers glowing with a chilling blue light that sent shivers down the spine!

Their massive pincers tore through hide and flesh with a grating "crackling" sound.

Looking around, similar scorpions were everywhere—likely over a hundred!

Wherever they passed, not a blade of grass remained—only a carpet of bleached bones.

"Sss… what kind of scorpions are these?" Shen Ge gasped. "No wonder the beasts fled in panic—these venomous scorpions aren't just deadly, they hunt in packs! Ordinary beasts stand no chance!"

"Damn it, if this many scorpions storm down the mountain, not a single soul in town will survive!" Pang Yunrui felt his scalp tighten.

Chen Mu growled low. The Zhan Sha Dao was half-drawn, its edge glinting coldly. "We can't let them reach the foothills. We wipe them all out."

"Kill!"

Shen Ge struck first. His sword carved a cold arc; sword qi surged like wind and snow, instantly shredding three venomous scorpions!

Pang Yunrui roared and charged into the scorpion horde like a tank, his twin halberds whirling, wind howling—each strike shattered a scorpion's shell, spraying ichor everywhere!

Chen Mu moved fastest, his blade sharpest.

The Zhan Sha Dao became streaks of death-light, precisely slicing through gaps and joints in the scorpions' shells—each flash of steel severed one cleanly in two!

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

……

Cards were collected.

Without pausing to check them, Chen Mu flashed between scorpions, his blade falling like rain.

His swordplay now held no flourish—only pure efficiency, pure slaughter.

Though these wolf-dog-sized venomous scorpions were fierce and deadly, they stood no match against the three's full-force annihilation.

In moments, over half the scorpions lay dead, their stinking blood and venom blackening the earth.

Yet just as the remaining scorpions began retreating, about to be wiped clean, a piercing, furious, bestial screech erupted from the deepest part of the forest!

The scream pierced through eardrums, stabbing straight into the soul.

Then the ground trembled slightly—as if some colossal beast was charging toward them at high speed.

"Boom—!"

Trees were violently smashed aside as a massive black shadow burst forth, moving like a living mountain.

It was a scorpion—enormous beyond imagination!

Its body was as large as a house.

Its shell was no longer dark brown, but a metallic, glossy black, covered in grotesque spines and strange patterns.

Its twin giant pincers resembled colossal black guillotines, opening and closing with terrifying force.

Most chilling was its raised tail-stinger—thick as an adult's thigh, its tip glowing a bone-chilling deep blue. Merely looking at it froze the blood and made every hair stand on end.

The aura it radiated was vast and savage—equal to that of a Foundation Establishment peak cultivator.

Scorpion King!

This Scorpion King, enraged by the mass death of its brood, its crimson compound eyes locked onto Chen Mu and the other two, still slaughtering.

Especially Chen Mu—the one wielding the Zhan Sha Dao, radiating the fiercest killing intent.

"Watch out—this Scorpion King is strong!" Shen Ge warned, voice solemn.

"A beast king rivaling Foundation Establishment peak…" Pang Yunrui felt crushing pressure, gripping his halberds tighter.

Chen Mu's gaze was as sharp as a blade, fearless—he stepped forward, Zhan Sha Dao pointed straight at the colossal Scorpion King, coldly declaring, "Perfect. Let's finish it all at once!"

"Roar~!!"

The Scorpion King let out a deafening roar, its massive body lunging forward like a runaway war chariot, one giant pincer descending with the force to crush everything, aimed straight at Chen Mu's head!

A gale slammed into their faces, pressure like a mountain.

"All together!"

Shen Ge shouted, shifting his sword stance—waves of sword qi surged like a blizzard, targeting the Scorpion King's compound eyes and joints, trying to disrupt its movement.

Pang Yunrui roared and charged out from the side, pouring his full strength into his twin halberds and smashing them viciously at the base of the Scorpion King's other pincer, trying to share the pressure on Chen Mu.

Facing the mountain-like descending giant pincer, Chen Mu advanced instead of retreating.

The Duan Tianhe true qi surged within him, the Five Elements Spirit Transformation Art activated in an instant, and blazing flames rose along the Slaughter Blade.

"Slash!"

He let out a low growl, his body moving with the blade, transforming into a flaming meteor as he charged fearlessly to meet that terrifying house-sized giant pincer!

Boom~!!

The flaming blade qi collided viciously with the black giant pincer, producing a deafening roar.

The blast wave rolled outward, sending all the surrounding trees and rubble flying.

Chen Mu, Pang Yunrui, and Shen Ge — the three struck with everything they had, engaging in a fierce life-and-death struggle against the peak-Profound-Beast Scorpion King in this stretch of mountain forest!