Chapter 198

The evil fire in Wu Tie's heart surged upward.

Wa Yao.

This damned traitor.

She fled, and that was that, yet she actually colluded with the so-called Chosen Ones, spying on the entire Wa Valley.

Moreover, the one she colluded with was this Taotie Guo… the so-called Soul Clan, the so-called Taotie Clan, all gave Wu Tie an immense sense of threat.

Furthermore, Taotie Guo's terrifying physical strength made Wu Tie feel a deep unease.

Wu Tie possessing such great physical strength ultimately stems from his continually mutating bones.

Setting aside his mutated bones, even if he cultivates the Primordial Classic, at the normal cultivation speed, the physical strength he could now possess would be at most one-third of what he has now.

Yet Taotie Guo's strength is astonishingly formidable: upon entering the Life Pond Realm, he possesses 30 billion jin of physical strength; without his mutated bones, Wu Tie's pure brute force would be no match for Taotie Guo.

Thus, the Taotie Clan behind Taotie Guo is an enormous colossus; their inheritance must be ancient, powerful, and relatively complete. Such an enemy, Wa Yao actually intends to lure him into Wa Valley!

Wa Yao deserves death.

Taotie Guo deserves death even more.

Look at how he just devoured those Golden Dead Spirit cultivators—over a thousand cultivators instantly turned into mummies. If such a thing happened in Wa Valley… Wu Tie's hairs stood on end, and a killing intent blazed like fire in his heart.

Immediately afterward, a thin layer of dark, deep flame began to emerge from Wu Tie's entire left arm.

Wu Tie's left arm trembled, excited, involuntarily emitting a click-click sound of bone joints rubbing. Every bone in Wu Tie's left arm cheered, greedily craving the long spear in Taotie Guo's hand.

Wu Tie's fire-spewing gaze fell upon the Taotie Divine Spear thrusting at him from ahead.

A divine weapon forged from the bones of a Taotie divine beast?

Wu Tie recalled the two dragon horns of the flood dragon in the secret realm where Old Iron hid; he also recalled the black bone door in the Shi Family's mine shaft, devoured by his finger bones.

"Your spear is excellent." A trickle of saliva seeped from the corner of Wu Tie's mouth; he gave a hiss and sucked it back, then carefully, White Tiger Split traced a perfect arc, striking the Taotie Divine Spear at the waist.

With a tremendous boom, the Taotie Divine Spear bent into a huge arc, then violently recoiled back.

Wu Tie carefully did not use the spearhead of White Tiger Split, shaped like a long sword, to chop the Taotie Divine Spear. He firmly believed this was a fine meal, and he must treat it with great respect.

White Tiger Split is too sharp; Wu Tie also did not know whether the Taotie Divine Spear could withstand his edge.

If he were to cut this divine spear in half, that would be disrespect to the food.

"My spear is beyond your imagination." Taotie Guo laughed arrogantly, glanced askance at White Tiger Split, and said calmly: "Your spear is not bad either; clashing head-on with my Taotie Divine Spear, it didn't shatter, showing the material is not bad…"

As he spoke, Taotie Guo wielded his spear like the wind; a pitch-black Taotie Divine Spear swept up vast sheets of soft cold light, like a dark cloud descending upon Wu Tie.

Wu Tie simply used White Tiger Split to sweep horizontally again and over, each time tracing arcs of varying size, blocking each of Taotie Guo's thrusts several meters away.

His defensive moves were simple yet extremely effective; no matter how Taotie Guo varied his spear techniques, he could never break through Wu Tie's defensive circle.

In the snap of a finger, the two spears collided hundreds of times, just as their earlier hard clash of strength had done; the violent tremors wore the palms of both men to ragged flesh, with large amounts of blood flowing down the spear shafts and splattering everywhere as the spears were wildly swung.

On the shattered ground, blood speckled; Taotie Guo, unable to prevail after prolonged attack, grew somewhat vexed and restless.

Proud as Taotie Guo, he never imagined that Wu Tie, whose cultivation was far lower than his, would be so troublesome.

His terrifying brute force aside, his bones were unimaginably tough; moreover, he happened to have a quite decent spear, and his spear technique was steady and resonant, making even one who had trained in spear arts since childhood unable to breach his defense.

"Damn it." Taotie Guo shouted angrily, casually tossing his Taotie Long Spear into the air; the pitch-black long spear turned into a black qi that autonomously circled Wu Tie, thrusting and striking, and in the snap of a finger stabbed him thousands of times.

Meanwhile, Taotie Guo abruptly retreated over a hundred meters, producing from his sleeve nine pitch-black three-foot bone daggers forged from Taotie bone; gritting his teeth, he smeared each blade with his finger, dyeing them red with his own blood.

Holding the bone daggers in both hands, Taotie Guo let the Taotie Divine Spear attack on its own, narrowed his eyes, and began to chant an incantation.

These nine bone daggers are a set of magical artifacts, activated by the Taotie Clan's secret method, with Taotie Guo's own bloodline power as a primer, allowing them to borrow a trace of the ferocious might of the primordial Taotie divine beast.

Taotie Guo has used this set of magical blades to slay several times opponents whose cultivation surpassed his and whose backgrounds were not inferior to his.

He firmly believed that, no matter how formidable Wu Tie might be, once this set of magical blades appeared, combined with the Taotie Divine Spear, Wu Tie was surely doomed.

Deprived of Taotie Guo's wielding, the Taotie Long Spear remained fearsomely mighty, yet in its operation it inevitably lost a hint of agility, becoming predictable.

Wu Tie suddenly relaxed his spear stance, opening a gap, allowing the Taotie Divine Spear to thrust straight at his chest.

Taotie Guo sensed something, and abruptly lifted his head to look at Wu Tie.

The Taotie Divine Spear turned into a black qi, instantly arriving before Wu Tie's chest.

Taotie Guo and Wa Yao's faces broke into faint smiles; they were about to laugh out loud when they saw Wu Tie raise his left hand, faintly blazing with fire, and swing it heavily, striking the Taotie Divine Spear.

Boom! With a tremendous roar, dozens of stone stalactites on the vault above the ground where the Golden Dead Spirits reside suffered massive shockwave impacts, snapping off at the base and plummeting downward.

The Taotie Divine Spear was shattered by Wu Tie's single hand, exploding into countless finest particles that drifted away.

An extremely rich black spiritual light, as thick as a water jar and visible only to Wu Tie, spewed from the Taotie Divine Spear, continuously pouring into his left hand. The finger bones of his left hand began to heat up, glow, and then emitted wisp after wisp of dark, deep flame.

Wu Tie's entire left arm burned, erupting with terrifying heat.

Thereafter, a flood-like surge of heat rushed into Wu Tie's entire skeleton, gradually depositing deep within. All his bones began to emit high temperature, scorching his flesh and blood, and Wu Tie instantly broke out in a sweat like rain.

The Tree of Abundance sensed the mutation within Wu Tie's body; it slowly writhed, and vast heaven-earth primal energy gathered from the void, directly merging into his body, into his bones and flesh.

Previously, Wu Tie's multiple bone mutations had not allowed him to absorb much heaven-earth primal energy for assistance.

But now, with the Tree of Abundance, Wu Tie's entire skeleton was like a desert dried for countless years suddenly submerged in a vast ocean, greedily beginning to devour the surrounding heaven-earth primal energy.

Heaven-earth primal energy turned into a trickling clear spring that merged into Wu Tie's bones; his entire skeleton instantly grew hotter, yet all the flames retracted into his bones, wholeheartedly tempering them, making his bone color deeper and denser.

Wu Tie suddenly sensed something.

Previously, his multiple bone mutations caused dark, deep flames to burn him until his skin split and flesh tore, because his bones lacked nourishment.

Due to the lack of nourishment, the force tempering his bones involuntarily leaked out, imposing extra strain on his body.

But this time, with the Tree of Abundance…

Wu Tie gasped heavily, sweat pouring like rain; hot steam rose tens of meters above his head, as if dozens of large steamers were opened simultaneously, and white mist almost condensed into a cloud above him.

"Gluttonous bird……" Wu Tie could clearly feel his whole body's bones strengthening.

As these bones grew stronger, the tendons and meridians attached to them also continually strengthened. And this strengthening of his physique allowed his physical strength to increase at a terrifying speed.

His whole body was emitting the squeak-squeak of muscles tensing and spasming, his bones were violently colliding, and his interior continually gave out ding-ding crisp sounds.

"Gluttonous bird…… the knives in your hand…… not bad." Wu Tie looked at the Gluttonous bird, grinning with bared teeth.

His whole body's bones were scorching hot, so hot that his five viscera and six bowels felt as if they were being fried in an oil pot.

But we need to be faithful, not add extra. Let's translate each line precisely.

We'll need to parse Chinese lines.

His bones burned hot, the heat making his inner organs feel as if they were being deep‑fried in oil.

Literal: Whole body bones scorching hot, scorching him such that his five viscera and six bowels all felt like being in an oil pot (i. e., being fried). So translation: "His whole body's bones were scorching hot, so hot that his five viscera and six bowels felt as if they were in an oil pot." We'll keep concise.

This scorching brought an unprecedented pleasure, feeling solid and abundant, making every cell of Wu Tie's body rejoice.

This scorching brought an unprecedented pleasure, feeling solid and abundant, making every cell of Wu Tie's body cheer and leap.

Even within his Heavenly Lock Pagoda, the countless ultrafine light strands were incessantly dissected, split, and torn apart at an unprecedented pace, then transformed into tiny motes of hazy light that continually fused into his entire body.

Even in his Heavenly Lock Pagoda, the countless ultrafine light strands were constantly being dissected, separated, and torn apart at an unprecedented speed, then turned into specks of hazy light that continually merged into his whole body.

In a single second, myriad light strands continually shattered, and Wu Tie's magical power surged upward without cease.

Literal: In one second, tens of thousands of light strands continually burst open, Wu Tie's mana cultivation also continually soared. So: "In one second, tens of thousands of light strands continually burst open, and Wu Tie's mana cultivation continually soared."

Thanks to the worldly energy drawn in by the Bountiful Harvest Tree, his bone transformations, the fortification of his flesh and organs, and even the growth of his magical power proceeded smoothly, with no obstacles.

Literal: With the primordial energy absorbed by the Bountiful Tree supporting it, whether the bone's mutation, the strengthening of flesh and organs, or even the increase in mana, all went smoothly, without any shortage. So: "Supported by the primordial energy absorbed from the Bountiful Tree, the bone's mutation, the strengthening of flesh and organs, and even the increase in mana all proceeded smoothly, without any shortage."

He paid no heed to the gravely wounded Sun Zuo collapsed nearby, his body exhaling steam as he advanced step by step toward the Taotie Ya.

Literal: Wu Tie even didn't have time to care for the seriously injured Sun Zuo who had fallen to the ground; his whole body emitted heat, step by step approaching Taotie Ya. So: "Wu Tie didn't even have time to attend to the seriously injured Sun Zuo who had collapsed; his whole body exhaled heat as he stepped closer to Taotie Ya."

At that instant, Wu Tie was like a vicious, ravenous wolf, and the Taotie Ya had been reduced to a helpless little chick.

Literal: At this moment, Wu Tie was like a ferocious, greedy evil wolf, while Taotie Ya became a poor little chick. So: "At this moment, Wu Tie was like a ferocious, greedy evil wolf, while Taotie Ya had become a poor little chick."

The Taotie Ya shuddered as Wu Tie's aura washed over him, an inexplicable fear gripping him, like a savage beast confronting an unrivaled apex predator at the summit of the food chain.

Literal: Taotie Ya's heart palpitated from fear due to the aura emanating from Wu Tie; he inexplicably felt fear toward Wu Tie... This feeling was like a fierce beast encountering an unparalleled ferocious beast at the top of the food chain... So: "Taotie Ya's heart palpitated from the aura emanating from Wu Tie, and he inexplicably felt fear toward Wu Tie—this feeling was like a fierce beast encountering an unparalleled ferocious beast at the top of the food chain."

He felt as if he had turned into prey, into mere food.

Literal: Taotie Ya had the illusion that he had become prey, become food. So: "Taotie Ya felt as if he had become prey, become food."

He swiftly shook his head to shake off the odd sensation.

Literal: He quickly shook his head, dispelling this strange feeling. So: "He quickly shook his head to dispel this strange feeling."

The Taotie clan is a famous great clan of the Soul Race, its ferocity renowned far and wide, its power shaking the eight directions; only the Taotie ever devours others' essence, energy, and blood—who could ever regard the Taotie as food?

Literal: The Taotie Clan is a renowned great clan among the Soul Race, its ferocious might far-reaching, shaking all directions; traditionally only the Taotie Clan devours others' essence, qi, and blood—who could treat the Taotie Clan as food? So: "The Taotie Clan is a renowned great clan among the Soul Race, its ferocious might far-reaching, shaking all directions; traditionally only the Taotie Clan devours others' essence, qi, and blood—who could treat the Taotie Clan as food?"

Regarding the Taotie Divine Spear's sudden collapse…

Literal: As for the Taotie Divine Spear's sudden collapse…… So: "As for the Taotie Divine Spear's sudden collapse……"

Taotie Ya clenched his teeth and shouted at Wu Tie: "You definitely have something odd… what treasure did you use to destroy my divine spear?"

Literal: Taotie Ya gritted his teeth and roared at Wu Tie: "You indeed have something strange on you... What treasure did you use to destroy my divine spear?" So: "Taotie Ya gritted his teeth and roared at Wu Tie: 'You indeed have something strange on you... What treasure did you use to destroy my divine spear?'"

Taotie Ya gazed at Wu Tie, his face filled with greed.

Literal: Taotie Ya looked at Wu Tie with a greedy expression. So: "Taotie Ya looked at Wu Tie with greed."

His Taotie Divine Spear was immensely powerful and extraordinarily sturdy—no ordinary ancient weapon could leave even a scratch on it, making it virtually indestructible.

Literal: His Taotie Divine Spear's power is extremely strong, its firmness extraordinary; ordinary ancient weapons cannot leave even a trace on it, it can be called indestructible. So: "His Taotie Divine Spear is immensely powerful and extraordinarily sturdy; ordinary ancient weapons cannot leave even a mark on it, it is virtually indestructible."

In the blink of an eye, the Taotie Divine Spear reduced to ash; the only explanation was that Wu Tie had gained control of a tremendously destructive, explosively powerful primeval treasure.

Literal: In the snap of a finger, the Taotie Divine Spear turned to ashes; only one possibility—Wu Tie mastered some kind of treasure with immense lethality and tremendous explosive power, a primeval strange treasure. So: "In the snap of a finger, the Taotie Divine Spear turned to ashes; the only possibility was that Wu Tie had mastered some kind of treasure with immense lethality and tremendous explosive power—a primeval strange treasure."

That treasure ought to be yours, Taotie Ya!

Literal: This treasure should belong to him, Taotie Ya! So: "This treasure should belong to him, Taotie Ya!"

"My lord, he surely possesses a strange treasure!" Wa Yue, standing at the side, screamed at the top of her voice.

Literal: "Your Highness, he definitely possesses a strange treasure!" Wa Yao, standing nearby, screamed at the top of her lungs. So: "'Your Highness, he definitely possesses a strange treasure!' Wa Yao, standing nearby, screamed at the top of her lungs."

Taotie Ya bared his teeth in a smile, nine magical knives shot skyward, nine strands of black qi coiled in the air, then a flash of blood light erupted from the black qi, and a ferocious, hideous giant beast's head slowly emerged from the black‑red mist.

Literal: Taotie Ya bared his teeth in a grin, nine Dharma Blades shot up into the sky, nine strands of black Qi swirled in the air for a moment, then a streak of Blood Light sprayed from the black Qi, and a ferocious, ugly giant beast's head slowly emerged from the black Qi and Blood Light. So: "Taotie Ya bared his teeth in a grin, nine Dharma Blades shot up into the sky, nine strands of black Qi swirled in the air, then a streak of Blood Light sprayed from the black Qi, and a ferocious, ugly giant beast's head slowly emerged from the black Qi and Blood Light."

The nine magical knives snapped together, and the massive beast's head surged downward to crush Wu Tie.

Literal: The nine Dharma Blades closed inward, the gigantic beast's head swiftly pressed down upon Wu Tie. So: "The nine Dharma Blades closed inward, and the gigantic beast's head swiftly pressed down upon Wu Tie."

Even though the beast's head was still a dozen meters from Wu Tie, the rock under his feet had already been pulverized layer by layer, blasted into countless dust that spread outward; in an instant, a massive crater a hundred meters wide and several hundred meters deep formed beneath him.

Literal: The beast's head was still several meters away from Wu Tie's body, but the rock layers under his feet had already been shattered layer by layer, exploding into countless dust that scattered in all directions; in the blink of an eye, a huge pit hundreds of meters in diameter and deep several hundred meters appeared under his feet. So: "The beast's head was still several meters away from Wu Tie's body, but the rock layers under his feet had already been shattered layer by layer, exploding into countless dust that scattered in all directions; in the blink of an eye, a huge pit hundreds of meters in diameter and deep several hundred meters appeared under his feet."

The beast's head lunged onto Wu Tie's head, gaping wide, and swallowed him whole in a single bite.

Literal: The beast's head lunged onto Wu Tie's head, opened its huge mouth, and swallowed him whole in one bite. So: "The beast's head lunged onto Wu Tie's head, opened its huge mouth, and swallowed him whole in one bite."

Taotie Ya burst into laughter.

Literal: Taotie Ya let out a loud laugh. So: "Taotie Ya let out a loud laugh."

Wa Yue turned her body with graceful elegance, executing a beautiful dance motion.

Literal: Wa Yao gracefully turned her body, making a very beautiful dance move. So: "Wa Yao gracefully turned her body, making a very beautiful dance move."

Wu Tie jerked his left hand up, his five fingers spewing gloomy dark light in a sweep. Nine sharp cracks rang out as his palm smashed the nine magical knives to pieces, and nine thick strands of black spiritual light—each as thick as a water tank and coiling like dragons—howled into his left hand.

Literal: Wu Tie fiercely raised his left hand, his five fingers spewing forth gloomy dark light as he swept outward; hearing a series of nine 'pa' explosions, the nine Dharma Blades were shattered by his palm into powder, nine thick black spiritual lights as thick as water tanks, like dragons, roared into his left hand. So: "Wu Tie fiercely raised his left hand, his five fingers spewing gloomy dark light as he swept outward; hearing a series of nine 'pa' explosions, the nine Dharma Blades were shattered by his palm into powder, nine thick black spiritual lights as thick as water tanks, like dragons, roared into his left hand."

His whole left arm had turned into something like that broken bone shard, and the mutation began to creep from his shoulder blade up toward his neck and skull. A dim, eerie light swiftly blanketed his cervical vertebrae and skull…

Literal: Wu Tie's entire left arm had become like that broken bone fragment; now the scope of the mutation began extending from his scapula toward his neck and skull. The dim, gloomy light quickly covered his cervical vertebrae, his skull…… So: "Wu Tie's entire left arm had become like that broken bone fragment; now the scope of the mutation began extending from his scapula toward his neck and skull. The dim, gloomy light quickly covered his cervical vertebrae, his skull……"

Wu Tie's complexion darkened slightly, as if each pore were sucking in outside light and heat.

Literal: Wu Tie's facial skin turned somewhat dark, as if every pore were devouring external light and heat. So: "Wu Tie's facial skin turned somewhat dark, as if every pore were devouring external light and heat."

His skull heated up, making his brain feel scorching, but the heat was not unpleasant—Wu Tie felt better than ever, sensing his brain's functions rapidly sharpening and all his abilities surging.

Literal: His skull felt hot, making his brain feel scorching, but this heat was not unpleasant; Wu Tie felt unprecedentedly good, feeling his brain's functions rapidly improving, all aspects of function rapidly increasing. So: "His skull felt hot, making his brain feel scorching, but this heat was not unpleasant; Wu Tie felt unprecedentedly good, feeling his brain's functions rapidly improving, all aspects of function rapidly increasing."

He exhaled a burst of hot air, Wu Tie's fist smashed the surrounding black mist and blood vapor, and in one step he stood before Taotie Ya.

Literal: He opened his mouth and exhaled a mouthful of hot air; Wu Tie punched and shattered the nearby black cloud of blood Qi, and in one step reached Taotie Ya's front. So: "He exhaled a mouthful of hot air; Wu Tie punched and shattered the nearby black cloud of blood Qi, and in one step reached Taotie Ya's front."

Taotie Ya gaped at the suddenly close Wu Tie, his heart convulsing violently as his divine spear and nine magical knives were shattered one after another; he then opened his mouth and spat a mouthful of blood onto Wu Tie's chest.

Literal: Taotie Ya stared dumbfounded at the nearby Wu Tie, his heart undergoing violent spasms; the Taotie Divine Spear and nine Dharma Blades were destroyed in succession, and Taotie Ya suddenly opened his mouth, spitting a mouthful of blood onto Wu Tie's chest. So: "Taotie Ya stared dumbfounded at the nearby Wu Tie, his heart undergoing violent spasms; the Taotie Divine Spear and nine Dharma Blades were destroyed in succession, and Taotie Ya suddenly opened his mouth, spitting a mouthful of blood onto Wu Tie's chest."

"Filthy!" Wu Tie grunted, driving the spear shaft into Taotie Ya's shoulder.

Literal: "Filthy!" Wu Tie snorted coldly, and the spear shaft slammed onto Taotie Ya's shoulder. So: "'Filthy!' Wu Tie snorted coldly, and the spear shaft slammed onto Taotie Ya's shoulder."

Taotie Ya cried out in agony as Wu Tie's spear blow sent him to one knee.

Literal: Taotie Ya let out a miserable howl, being smashed by Wu Tie's spear onto one knee. So: "Taotie Ya let out a miserable howl, being smashed by Wu Tie's spear onto one knee."

The ground shuddered violently, blown out into a roughly circular crater a hundred meters across.

Literal: The ground violently trembled, and was forcibly blasted into a circular depression about a hundred meters in diameter. So: "The ground violently trembled, and was forcibly blasted into a circular depression about a hundred meters in diameter."

Wu Tie's strength kept climbing; his physical might was now on par with Taotie Ya's and still surging upward.

Literal: Wu Tie's strength was continually increasing; now his physical strength was no weaker than Taotie Ya's, and still rapidly increasing. So: "Wu Tie's strength was continually increasing; now his physical strength was no weaker than Taotie Ya's, and still rapidly increasing."

He pinned Taotie Ya down with his long spear, leaving him unable to rise despite his frantic struggles.

Literal: He firmly pressed down Taotie Ya with his long spear; no matter how Taotie Ya struggled, he could never straighten his body. So: "He firmly pressed down Taotie Ya with his long spear; no matter how Taotie Ya struggled, he could never straighten his body."

"Hey, Taotie Ya, Third Prince… do you still have any treasures forged from Taotie bones?"

Literal: "Hey, Taotie Ya, Third Prince... do you still have any treasures made from Taotie bones?" So: "'Hey, Taotie Ya, Third Prince... do you still have any treasures made from Taotie bones?'"

Wu Tie smirked: "Give me however much you have… if you have none, I'll break every bone in your body."

Literal: Wu Tie grinned: "However much there is, I want it all... if not, I'll break all your bones." So: "Wu Tie grinned: 'However much there is, I want it all... if not, I'll break all your bones.'"

Taotie Ya's face blackened with anger as he braced his hands on the ground, frantically trying to stand, but the crushing weight on his shoulder grew stronger, leaving him unable to rise and instead forcing him to stoop lower.

Literal: Taotie Ya's face darkened with anger; he braced both hands on the ground, frantically struggling to rise, but the pressure from Wu Tie on his shoulder grew stronger, gradually making him unable to stand, instead bending his waist downward. So: "Taotie Ya's face darkened with anger; he braced both hands on the ground, frantically struggling to rise, but the pressure from Wu Tie on his shoulder grew stronger, gradually making him unable to stand, instead bending his waist downward."

At her side, Wa Yue screamed hoarsely, constantly urging Taotie Ya on.

Literal: Wa Yao beside him screamed hoarsely, continually cheering Taotie Ya on. So: "Wa Yao beside him screamed hoarsely, continually cheering Taotie Ya on."

Yet Taotie Ya could not manage to stand.

Literal: But Taotie Ya simply could not stand up. So: "But Taotie Ya simply could not stand up."

At the same time, more than a hundred li from the Golden Dead Spirits' encampment, the caravan led by Shi Fei, Tie Da Jian, and companions found itself surrounded by Taotie Ya's minions.

Literal: At the same time, over a hundred li away from the Golden Dead Spirit's garrison, the caravan formed by Shi Fei, Tie Da Jian, etc., was surrounded by Taotie Ya's underlings. So: "At the same time, over a hundred li away from the Golden Dead Spirit's garrison, the caravan formed by Shi Fei, Tie Da Jian, and others was surrounded by Taotie Ya's underlings."

Three thousand elite troops silently surrounded the caravan; these Glutton Clan warriors smiled coldly, just like a pack of hungry wolves seeing a flock of lambs.