Chapter 212

Wang Yu moved continuously between the trees, sometimes using hands and feet to leap like a wild wolf, sometimes swinging by a single arm like a nimble monkey.

Suddenly he halted, glanced toward the forest ahead with awareness, pinched a finger seal, and white clouds surfaced over his body before he vanished from the branches.

Not long after, hurried footsteps echoed from the forest ahead.

A woman in brocade robes bearing the Sunset Palace emblem staggered out of the dense woods; behind her, a foul wind surged, and something terrifyingly monstrous chased relentlessly.

The woman appeared no older than eighteen or nineteen, with delicate features and a fragile beauty; as soon as she burst from the trees, she sniffed the air, sensed something, and cried out in delight to all sides:

"Is there any senior brother from the other three sects here? I am Chu Zhen'er of the Sunset Sect, pursued by several fierce demon snakes. I beg this senior brother to save me—I stole a thousand-year Cloud Grass, which aids Foundation Establishment, from their nest, and I offer it to you as thanks for your life-saving grace."

As she spoke, she swiftly pulled a jade box from her bosom, opened it, and hurled it onto the ground nearby.

Inside the jade box lay a small, misty emerald grass, unmistakably extraordinary.

At that moment, a hissing cry came from the forest behind, and three strange snakes, each seven or eight feet long, shot forth.

One was entirely black, with a triangular head.

One was entirely crimson, with a ring of fiery red fur around its neck.

The last was speckled green and green, yet bore two identical flat heads.

The woman turned back, her face pale; she flipped her hand, revealing a crimson jade ruyi, waved it urgently, and a red light shield flared to life, enclosing her.

At once, the three strange snakes attacked in unison.

The black snake opened its mouth and spat forth clouds of black poison mist.

The red snake shrieked, its body engulfed in roaring flames; with a whip of its tail, torrents of fire surged outward.

The two-headed snake shook both heads, its body instantly swelling twice its size, then lunged forward as a dark shadow.

"Bang!" "Bang!" resounded loudly.

The black poison mist and flames were blocked by the crimson shield before the woman, but the two-headed snake's heads gnawed incessantly, making the shield squeal under the pressure and leaving trails of green venom.

Seeing this, the woman turned pale; she poured more power into the jade ruyi while throwing several talismans that turned into ice spikes—but they shattered against the snakes' hides, dissolving into bursts of cold mist, utterly useless.

As the woman teetered on the brink of death, a figure silently materialized near the black snake; a pale blue-red flash darted past, and the black snake's head shot skyward.

The nearby red snake shrieked, transforming into a crimson flame-shadow and lunging straight at the figure.

The figure murmured softly, "Drawblade Technique," and in the next instant, the figure and the flame-shadow crossed paths—the red snake's other head flew free.

The figure was none other than Wang Yu, finally revealed; he had slain two snakes in one move, his speed so swift it left the woman in the crimson shield momentarily stunned.

Before the woman could react, Wang Yu sheathed his long blade at his waist, bent slightly, stomped the ground with one foot, and shot forward like a crossbow bolt toward the two-headed snake.

After another low cry of "Drawblade Technique," Wang Yu appeared instantly before the woman; the pale blue-red blade-light flared again, slicing like lightning toward the two snake heads.

The two-headed serpent sensed danger and, ignoring all else, opened both mouths and lunged fiercely at the blade-light.

"Crack."

To Wang Yu's surprise, the blue-red blade-light dimmed—its edge was firmly clamped between the serpent's jaws; its once-speckled green body rapidly shifted color, turning a gleaming metallic silver.

At nearly the same moment, the woman within the shield suddenly smiled; the crimson light around her collapsed and vanished, and the crimson ruyi in her hand glowed with twelve faint red spirit runes, instantly transforming into a crimson rope that flashed once and bound Wang Yu tightly.

She pinched a seal, chanted a spell, and the crimson rope burst into roaring flames, completely engulfing Wang Yu.

"This must be a Sunset Sect artifact—you stole it after killing its owner, didn't you? If the original wielder used it, I might have hesitated. But you, a demonic witch, cannot make this fire harm me."

Wang Yu's cold voice emerged from the roaring flames; blue-red spirit runes surfaced along the blade's surface, then—"Puh!" "Puh!"—two sounds.

The blue-red blade, previously clamped between the two serpent heads, blurred once, then violently wrenched free of their fangs and surged forward.

The two silver serpent heads vanished above the midline as the blade flashed past; their massive bodies collapsed to the ground, blood pooling thickly beneath.

Simultaneously, Wang Yu's leg lashed out like a gust of wind, slamming hard into the woman's abdomen, like a steel pillar sweeping through.

"Boom!"

The woman was kicked backward like a cannonball, flying six or seven zhang before crashing into a towering tree.

The tree shuddered violently; the woman slid down its trunk, limp and slumped, head hanging, as if a single kick had knocked her unconscious.

Wang Yu frowned slightly—something felt off about that kick.

Realizing this, he suddenly drew a deep breath; his arm wielding the blade swelled visibly, then he hurled the blue-red blade with all his strength toward the tree ahead.

"Whoosh!"

The blade became a streak of blue-red light, spearing straight toward the woman's chest.

The woman, who had been motionless, suddenly erupted with three layers of pale green light shields.

The blue-red blade pierced through the first two shields with "Puh!" "Puh!" but was stopped cold by the third, then bounced away.

Wang Yu's expression darkened; he reached out with one hand, activating his "Point Gold Technique."

The blue-red blade spun once, drawn back by the technique, and returned to his grasp; he asked coldly:

"Witch, state your name—are you a true disciple of the Demon Luo Sect or the Joy Palace?"