Chapter 116: Saving a Life

A loud “bang” echoed.

At a height of several zhang above the ground, the yellow-haired woman’s circular disc suddenly shattered on its own, and the white light shield it had released flickered and vanished instantly.

From behind the black mist, the man wielding the giant bone bow let out a joyous cry and raised his hand to fire another arrow.

The thick bone arrow flashed away, piercing straight through the giant crane’s body, causing it to let out a mournful cry before plummeting downward, carrying the yellow-haired woman toward the forest below.

The yellow-haired woman moved swiftly, gliding off the crane’s back and landing atop a thick tree branch; she looked up at the two rolling clouds of black mist chasing her, said nothing, and leapt from the tree, vanishing without a trace.

Moments later, the two clouds of black mist scattered in midair, revealing two male disciples of the Black Soul Sect—one fat, one thin.

The fat disciple was covered in flab, his eyes tiny but filled with murderous intent; he gripped a massive bone bow and carried a huge quiver on his back, packed tightly with countless bone arrows.

The thin disciple was short and gaunt, yet he held aloft a bone shield taller than his own head by a full head’s length.

“What fools they are—without their spirit bird, where can they run? Brother, it’s your turn.” The fat disciple stared down at the dense forest and sneered at his companion.

The thin disciple merely nodded, pulled a pale yellow leather pouch from his robe, tossed it forward, and then made a single finger seal.

“Hummm.”

A swarm of yellow venomous bees flew out of the pouch—each as large as a finger, numbering over a hundred—and the moment they emerged, they swarmed downward like a net cast over the forest.

Moments later, a sudden explosion erupted from somewhere in the forest; several large trees burst into flames and collapsed one after another.

“Over there!”

The fat disciple, overjoyed, leapt without hesitation toward the spot on the ground; the thin disciple, meanwhile, raised a finger seal and followed closely behind, letting out a strange, piercing cry.

The other bees also hummed as they converged toward the explosion site.

There, amid the fallen trees, the yellow-haired woman clutched a finger seal, desperately maintaining a thin, pale blue light shield to fend off the dense swarm of bees.

In her other hand, she gripped a crimson brush, occasionally slashing the air to release a faint flame blade—but her cultivation energy was nearly spent; the flame blade vanished almost instantly upon reaching the bees, unable to harm them in the slightest.

“Hah! This girl’s out of energy. Come on, brother, let’s take her together—don’t let her kill herself. This is the one the Shadow Demon Lord specifically ordered us to capture.” The fat disciple burst into laughter, landed nearby, slung his bone bow over his back, and strode toward the yellow-haired woman.

Behind him, the thin disciple ceased his piercing cry, landed on the other side of the woman, and slowly advanced.

The yellow-haired woman used her last reserves of energy to sustain the blue shield before her; her face showed no expression, but internally she calculated the distance between her and the two men—six zhang, five zhang, four zhang…

“Wait—this girl’s up to something. Kill her first!” The fat disciple’s tiny eyes flickered with suspicion; he suddenly halted his steps, reached down to his body, seized his giant bone bow again, and fired three bone arrows in rapid succession at the woman.

On the other side, the thin disciple, upon hearing this, instantly shifted his bone shield.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!” Sharp blades sprang out along its edges.

The thin disciple gripped the shield tightly with both hands, spun his body in a swift circle, and hurled it with all his might toward the woman’s position.

At the same moment, the yellow-haired woman turned to the fat disciple and suddenly crushed a hidden object in her hand; a flash of light and shadow formed a massive black-and-blue tortoise-shell phantom before her.

The three bone arrows struck it hard and shattered into fragments, yet the tortoise-shell phantom remained utterly unmoved.

Behind the woman, the bone shield came screaming through the air.

Beneath her feet, the ground suddenly cracked open; a towering figure shot upward from the earth, drew a deep breath, and as his body swelled in size, he slapped the bone shield with one massive palm.

A thunderous “Boom!”

The giant bone shield immediately dented inward, leaving a colossal handprint before shattering into pieces.

The towering figure dropped to all fours, like a beast springing forward; his body twisted grotesquely through the air two or three times, crossing six or seven zhang in an instant, rushing toward the thin disciple with a gust of foul wind.

The thin Black Soul Sect disciple gasped in shock; he tried to fly upward, but it was too late—he could only frantically shake his sleeve, sending out a talisman that, upon catching the wind, transformed into a pale golden light shield.

“Sssss!”

The small giant’s massive body pounced like a tiger, grabbing and tearing at the shield with both hands.

The seemingly sturdy pale golden shield twisted and deformed under the terrifying finger strength, emitting a piercing shriek.

The thin disciple turned pale with terror, pulled out another white talisman with one hand—but before he could activate it, the small giant suddenly swung another palm toward his ear; his five fingers blurred and twisted, growing even larger.

“Crack!”

The thin Black Soul Sect disciple felt a thunderclap beside his ear; the golden shield shattered instantly, followed by a roaring wind, and his vision spun wildly.

Amid a gurgling sound, he vaguely saw a familiar headless body, then his eyes went black and he lost all sensation.

The swarm of bees surrounding the yellow-haired woman scattered in panic.

Wang Yu wiped the splattered blood from his hands, turned, and looked toward the fat Black Soul Sect disciple.

The fat disciple, seeing his companion swiftly obliterated by this sudden monster, didn’t hesitate—he leapt into the air and fled as a rolling cloud of black mist.

Wang Yu grunted, flipped his hand, and a long bone spear appeared in his grip; he drew another deep breath, his arm thickened noticeably, and strands of golden mist curled around him.

With a piercing shriek, the bone spear became a white streak and vanished.

The fleeing fat disciple had just pulled out several colorful defensive talismans, preparing to slap them onto his body, when suddenly a gust of wind swept behind him, his chest grew hot—and the bone spear pierced straight through his body.

He screamed in agony, falling from the sky like a startled bird—but before his body even hit the ground, several bone swords and knives shot forth, slicing him cleanly into seven or eight pieces that tumbled down.

Wang Yu finally exhaled slowly; the surrounding white mist surged outward, and his body shrank rapidly back to normal size.

“No wonder you’re the Wang brother who can withstand a second-rank Strength Adept’s strike! Your breathing technique has reached the stage of absorbing the lethal essence into your body, exhaling breath like blades, hasn’t it?”

Xi Men Mei looked at the ‘Wang brother’ before her—whom she’d seen only days ago—and smiled lightly. “I’ve met several Strength Adepts in our sect who’ve mastered the second layer of this breathing technique, but aside from Qi Yinxiao’s younger brother, I’ve never seen anyone stronger than you.”

“Sister Xi Men, how did you find me? I went underground several zhang deep using an Earth-Digging Talisman to avoid detection by the demonic sects—I only meant to rest and recover my strength, yet you spotted me at a glance.” Wang Yu stared at the yellow-haired woman and asked slowly.

(Today I spent most of the time traveling and handling affairs—only one chapter today. Don’t wait for a second.)