Chapter 13: Third-Tier Demon Wolf

A quarter of an hour passed in a flash, and there was no movement inside whatsoever.

Xu Chen began to feel restless and unable to endure it; he stood up and walked to the cave entrance to peer inside, but it was pitch black and he could see nothing. His Divine Sense could only penetrate seven or eight zhang before he could see nothing clearly, so he could only continue to wait anxiously.

After about another quarter of an hour, a faint, indistinct roar suddenly came from the depths of the fissure, followed by a booming tremor that billowed out along with the Black Wind.

"Oh no, it seems Jiu Shixiong and the others have encountered danger!"

Xu Chen's expression changed drastically, but the sound and the tremor vanished quickly, and there was no further movement.

What if the senior brothers and sisters cannot get out?

Xu Chen had never experienced such a thing and was suddenly at a loss. He waited for about another half-quarter of an hour, and still there was no movement. Just as he was preparing to temporarily retreat from Black Wind Ridge to go out and see if the Third Elder had arrived, he had just turned around when he heard a deafening wolf howl behind him. He turned around in a panic to see a giant wolf, half a man's height, stepping through the air on all four paws like a gale, charging straight toward the fissure.

The giant wolf exuded a terrifying aura, but its condition looked somewhat eerie; its body seemed to be rotting, with many places festering and bleeding, and there was even a large hole rotting in its head where the bones seemed visible.

"Bad, this is a Third-Tier Demon Wolf!"

Feeling the violent aura released by the Demon Beast, Xu Chen's face turned deathly pale.

The Demon Wolf also seemed not to have expected to see a person here; it suddenly stopped several zhang away, but after a moment, it let out a roar and pounced.

Xu Chen did not hesitate in the slightest and turned to rush into the fissure, while the Demon Wolf also followed, wrapped in Black Mist like a gale, and charged in.

Xu Chen could not fathom why a Third-Tier Demon Wolf would run to Black Wind Ridge.

This place was four or five hundred li away from the Taiyuan Sect, and there were several territories of Demon Beasts and Spirit Beasts in between.

However, there was no time for him to think too much now. To survive, his only option was to flee deeper into the fissure and use the influence of the Black Mist and the complex terrain to potentially shake off the Demon Wolf's pursuit.

Moreover, he had bet correctly: this Black Mist affected cultivators, and it affected the Demon Wolf just the same—perhaps even more so. After rushing dozens of zhang into the fissure, which sloped downward like a labyrinth, it was pitch black before his eyes and he could see nothing. Only his Divine Sense could still perceive a distance of two or three zhang, but it was equally blurred, only vaguely distinguishing rocks and holes in the fissure.

However, the Demon Wolf also seemed to have lost its perception of him. After a few deafening wolf howls behind him, it seemed to slowly chase off in another direction.

"Hoo!"

Xu Chen leaned against a rock, clutching his chest and panting heavily.

A Third-Tier Demon Wolf could only be dealt with by cultivators at the True Essence Late Stage, and to kill one, only those at the Danyuan Realm had the means.

This cave was already treacherous, and with a Third-Tier Demon Wolf having run in, he feared Jiu Shixiong and the others would be in even greater danger.

Thinking of this, Xu Chen became even more anxious, but he still had self-awareness; he had to get out as soon as possible and ideally call the Third Elder to help.

As it turned out, the more anxious he was, the more chaotic things became. Xu Chen walked outward in the pitch-black fissure, relying on his Divine Sense, which was no wider than three zhang, to vaguely sense the terrain. The further he walked, the more he realized something was wrong, because he had walked at least fifty zhang, and not only did he not see an exit, but the surrounding terrain became increasingly complex. His Divine Sense range was also constantly shrinking, and in the end, he was blocked on all sides, with irregular holes of all sizes everywhere, like a honeycomb, and he had completely lost his sense of direction.

"No, I'm lost; I can't keep walking around blindly!"

Although Xu Chen's cultivation was not deep, he had after all been practicing for five years and could control his emotions relatively well, so he quickly calmed down. He then quietly pressed his ear against the rock to listen carefully, and sure enough, he heard a slight vibration from one direction, so he walked in the direction from which the sound came.

Although there might be danger where there was movement, it was also highly likely he could rendezvous with Jiu Shixiong and the others; otherwise, if he were trapped alone in this complex cave, no one would even know where he died.

Walking and stopping like this, listening carefully, about two sticks of incense later, a louder impact sound appeared not far to the side. He was overjoyed and hurriedly squeezed forward along a narrow crevice. However, just as he emerged from a hole, a terrifying wolf howl suddenly rang in his ears, and he felt as if he had been rammed by a thousand-jin wild boar. Accompanied by a sharp, tearing pain in his back, he flew out, then slammed heavily into the rock and tumbled down.

"Awoo~"

Dazed and dizzy, a foul-smelling gale and a fierce Divine Sense pressure descended like Mount Tai. Xu Chen used all his strength to roll away. With a loud bang and flying rock fragments, a terrifying giant wolf figure landed beside him, its pair of copper-bell-sized eyes flashing with a scarlet light in the Black Mist.

"Awoo~"

The Demon Wolf, having missed its strike, roared and raised its giant claws to grab at Xu Chen again. Xu Chen felt as if his body were being torn apart, but he used his last bit of strength to pull his Flying Sword from his sleeve pouch.

With a clear ring, this first-grade Flying Sword suddenly grew several feet, bringing with it a pale green light as it met the wolf's claw.

"Clack~"

"Boom!"

"Clang~"

The wolf's claw slammed heavily onto the Flying Sword. Amidst the bursting green light, a few drops of bloody scent splashed onto Xu Chen's face.

The Flying Sword hit the rock wall and fell, its radiance immediately collapsing. Relying on the moment of the flashing spiritual light, Xu Chen saw clearly that the Demon Wolf's front claw was also injured, and the condition of this Demon Wolf was even more eerie; black mist was seeping out from the rotting parts all over its body, and even the breath sprayed from its mouth and nose was black.

However, he had no mood or time to analyze what had happened to the Demon Wolf; he struggled and lunged toward the Flying Sword that had fallen to the ground.

The omnipresent Black Mist severely interfered with his Divine Sense, causing his already weak control over Magic Spells to almost lose its effect; the Flying Sword could only be activated if held in his hand. However, the Demon Wolf had failed two consecutive strikes and had injured its front claw, making it even more irritable and ferocious. Before Xu Chen could grab the Flying Sword, it pounced again, opening its bloody maw, its sharp Fangs biting down toward Xu Chen's head.

My life is over!

Xu Chen wailed internally, but his desire to survive was not completely extinguished. He reached into his waist pouch and grabbed a handful of things, and without caring about the effect, he activated them with a Soul Impact. Several colorful Paper Talismans flashed with a faint radiance, and immediately wind, rain, thunder, and mist were released, but these lights dissipated in a flash under the wolf's claw.

And amidst the shattered light of the Magic Spell, Xu Chen felt one of the blue lights suddenly enlarge in his Divine Sense like a scorching sun, instantly igniting his Soul, the intense pain causing him to let out a scream.

And the Demon Wolf, which was pouncing down, actually let out an even more violent scream at the same time. Its huge body slammed heavily into the rock wall, and then with a thud, it fell onto Xu Chen's stomach like a thousand-jin boulder. At the same time, its sharp wolf claws twitched and raked; Xu Chen's Daoist robe was like nothing, and the flesh and skin of his entire chest and abdomen were instantly shredded.

However, the tearing pain of his body was far from the agony of his Soul.

At this moment, Xu Chen felt himself completely enveloped by blue light; he was like someone placed in boiling molten iron, his Soul rapidly disintegrating and annihilating.

He could distinguish this blue light; it was the Jade Bead he had found in that strange pile of excrement.

He had never dared to use his Divine Sense to examine this Jade Bead before, let alone inject True Essence to test it. After all, this thing was highly toxic and could harm the Soul; it was best not to recklessly verify such unknown things.

But now, in order to survive, he had completely forgotten he even had this thing. He had not expected that after being activated by the chaotic connection of his Divine Sense and the injection of True Essence, it would be so terrifying as to be able to incinerate his Soul.

This pain came extremely violently. In the blink of an eye, Xu Chen could almost no longer feel his own existence. The entire world had been shrouded in blinding blue light, and then he could no longer feel pain, nor did he have any consciousness; there was only light, endless blue light piercing his Soul.

At this moment, in the cave where the Black Mist was churning, a completely dark blue Jade Bead rose into the air from Xu Chen's hand, slowly hovering at the position of his brow, emitting a brilliant light.

The churning Black Mist dissolved like ice and snow under the illumination of the blue light, then turned into wisps of white mist that merged into Xu Chen's body, and the wounds all over Xu Chen's body were actually healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Above the Demon Wolf's head, it was as if an invisible giant hand was tearing, pulling a phantom of the Demon Wolf out of its body, which was then absorbed by the blue Jade Bead. The Demon Wolf completely lost its vitality, and the radiance of the Jade Bead slowly receded, finally merging into Xu Chen's brow.

The entire cave returned to pitch black and dead silence.