A group of red shadows, like a raging flood, swept through the forest. The heavy stench of blood directly made the low-level magical beasts that were out foraging too frightened to come closer, and they could only watch with fear from a distance as the crowd of people raced past. Not long after the red crowd passed, another black shadow leaped out from the trees, stopping on a tree trunk, and looked up to see the red figures dashing forward, frowning, he muttered, “If we keep dragging this on, Fan Lao might catch up…”
After a brief moment of thought, Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and said to himself, “If there’s no chance for me to make a move, I’ll have to do it forcefully.”
With that, he tapped the branch with the tip of his foot, and his body drifted down, continuing to tail the group in front.
The two groups, vastly different in numbers, rushed through the forest, separated by no more than a hundred meters. Tightly trailing the group in front, Xiao Yan silently counted the time. After a few minutes, he could no longer hold back. He stepped hard on the branch, and just as his speed was about to surge, he suddenly noticed that Fan Ling’s group had stopped. His heart skipped a beat, and he slowed down, quietly climbing onto a branch, cautiously approaching.
In a clearing in the forest, Fan Ling waved his hand, halting the group. He looked at one of the Blood Guards who had been sent to scout, and coldly asked, “There’s movement ahead?”
“Young Sect Leader, in the direction of the mountain path, there are signs of people. It seems to be the Black Skeleton Tomb,” the Blood Guard reported, kneeling on one knee.
“Black Skeleton Tomb?” Fan Ling’s expression changed slightly. “We’ve been intercepted? How did they know our movements?”
“Young Sect Leader, it doesn’t look like they are lying in wait for us. They seem to be searching for a secluded mountain path to return to the Skeleton City…” the experienced Blood Guard hesitated and said.
“Oh? Huh! They got the ground-level fighting technique and are now secretly returning to the Skeleton City. This is quite fitting for those guys…” Fan Ling’s eyes narrowed, thinking of the ‘Three Thousand Thunder Movement’ that he craved. A flicker of uncontrollable heat crossed his gaze as he scanned the surroundings and asked, “How many of them are there?”
“Exactly ten.”
“Is that Grey Skeleton among them?” Fan Ling quickly followed up.
The Grey Skeleton he mentioned was the middle-aged man in grey robes who had competed with him for the ‘Three Thousand Thunder Movement’ at the auction yesterday.
“Yes, according to my judgment, they should have two Dou Spirit experts and Dou Masters, while the rest are Dou Shis,” the Blood Guard said in a deep voice.
“Two Dou Spirits, two Great Dou Masters, huh…” Fan Ling murmured to himself. After a long while, a glint of greed and a wicked smile flashed in his narrowed eyes. Waving his hand, he coldly said, “Speed up and catch up to the Black Skeleton Tomb. We didn’t plan to attack them, but since they chose to take this remote mountain path, they can’t blame us for being ruthless.”
“Young Sect Leader, the Master said our most important task now is to escort the Yin Yang Mystic Dragon Pill back to the Twilight City. If we cause any more trouble, it might be very disadvantageous for us,” the old man beside Fan Ling hurriedly advised.
“Elder Luo, don’t worry. In terms of both numbers and overall strength, they are far inferior to us. For a ground-level fighting technique, it’s worth the risk,” Fan Ling said indifferently, waving his hand.
“Well…” Elder Luo hesitated, exchanged a glance with the other elder, and then, seeing Fan Ling’s resolute face, could only nod helplessly.
“Have the two elders detain the Dou Spirit experts, and I’ll lead the Blood Guards to deal with the rest of the Black Skeleton Tomb. Just like when we surrounded and killed the Heavenly Snake Manor, not a single person must escape!” Fan Ling said coldly, decisive and without hesitation, though somewhat overly greedy.
With Fan Ling’s words, the Blood Guards all nodded silently, making no other sounds.
Satisfied, Fan Ling waved his hand and led the way into the forest.
Not long after Fan Ling and the others disappeared, Xiao Yan appeared on a tree trunk, looking at the place where they had vanished. A strange smile appeared on his face, and he murmured, “Greed will never be sated. Seeing something good, you want to snatch it… But this time, you’re destined to be the one being snatched from.”
With a light smile, Xiao Yan floated down from the tree and turned into a dark shadow, rushing into the forest.
Xiao Yan’s figure flitted through the forest, and after nearly ten minutes, he suddenly slowed down, hiding behind a tree, and turned his head slightly to observe.
At a spot just a few dozen meters away, several Blood Guards, reeking of blood, formed a circle, surrounding a few people in black robes with skull emblems. The mess on the ground and the injuries on their bodies clearly showed that a fierce battle had taken place recently.
Not far from this battle, two smaller fights were ongoing, four figures crossing paths, their sharp weapons clashing with ferocious force. Occasionally, when the weapons missed, the nearby boulders or trees were cut in half, indicating the deadly seriousness of the fight, with no intention of sparring.
“They’ve started fighting, huh…” Xiao Yan glanced at the messy ground and then at the two small battles. One of the figures, a middle-aged man in grey robes, was none other than the man from the Black Skeleton Tomb at the auction yesterday.
“The Black Skeleton Tomb people aren’t as tough as those from the Heavenly Snake Manor…” As Xiao Yan mumbled, the Blood Guards, reeking of blood, launched another attack. The stench of blood was almost unbearable, and under the dozens of gleaming blood knives, eight of the Black Skeleton Tomb members, except for the two Great Dou Masters, were hacked to death, a truly gruesome sight.
“Whoosh!” A black arrow suddenly shot out, carrying a strong smell of blood, and struck the throat of one of the Great Dou Masters. The force of the arrow caused it to pierce through the back of the throat, finally nailing itself to a tree trunk, its tail quivering violently.
Xiao Yan followed the direction of the arrow and saw that it was Fan Ling, wielding a longbow. After killing one Great Dou Master, he aimed at the other.
Seeing Fan Ling’s arrow, the Great Dou Master’s face changed dramatically. His dou qi surged, and in an instant, a rough dou qi armor formed on his body. From the look of this dou qi armor, the Great Dou Master’s strength was probably around two or three stars.
“Heh, do you think you can block my Blood Erosion Arrow with this broken dou qi armor?” Seeing the Great Dou Master’s action, Fan Ling sneered. Drawing his bow to full, he let go, and the blood energy-encased arrow shot out like a flash of blood, colliding fiercely with the dou qi armor. An unpleasant grinding sound filled the air.
The grinding sound didn’t last long, stopping abruptly as the blood-colored arrow corroded a small hole in the dou qi armor, piercing the Great Dou Master’s throat.
Watching the fallen Great Dou Master, Fan Ling felt a pang of regret. These Blood Guards were not easy to train… “At least I have the Three Thousand Thunder Movement as compensation,” he thought, feeling a bit better. Turning to the two Dou Spirit experts, who were pinned down by the two elders, he said coldly, “Moerhan, hand over the ‘Three Thousand Thunder Movement,’ and I’ll leave your body intact.”
Avoiding the attack from the opponent, the middle-aged man, called Moerhan, rasped, “Fan Ling, you will regret this!”
Smiling coldly, Fan Ling adjusted his bow and arrow, aiming at the other Dou Spirit expert. At the moment when the arrowhead was filled with blood energy, his pupils contracted, and he found the opening created by the pressure from his side. Releasing the arrow, it shot out, and in an instant, the arrow pierced the Dou Spirit expert’s chest.
“We die together!” The Black Skeleton Tomb Dou Spirit expert was fierce. Despite being severely injured by Fan Ling’s arrow, he threw aside his weapon and, with a scream, grabbed the other with his remaining arm. “Bone Burst!”
“Senior Han, retreat quickly!” Seeing the strange purple color on the Black Skeleton Tomb expert’s face, Fan Ling shouted urgently.
“Boom!” As Fan Ling’s shout fell, the Dou Spirit expert exploded, the powerful blast lifting nearly half a foot of soil off the ground. The Blood Clan Dou Spirit expert was left with torn clothes and severe injuries, his face pale as if he would faint.
“Damn it!” Seeing Senior Han, who had lost his combat ability, Fan Ling cursed. Waving his hand, he coldly ordered, “Blood Guards, kill Moerhan!”
“Yes!” With the order, the remaining twenty Blood Guards, their blood-stained blades raised, moved to encircle and kill Moerhan.
The slaughter and counter-slaughter were ruthlessly carried out on this empty ground!
With a Dou Spirit expert holding the line in front and dozens of powerful Blood Guards attacking from all sides, Moerhan, despite his desperate resistance, was soon forced into a mistake by Elder Luo. Though he managed to injure Elder Luo, a heavy blow rendered him unconscious.
Elder Luo, clutching his chest, took a few deep breaths, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Looking at the remaining dozen or so Blood Guards and the severely injured Elder Han, he shook his head with a bitter smile. He hadn’t expected the Black Skeleton Tomb to be so fierce.
Seeing Moerhan finally unconscious, Fan Ling, who had been holding the bowstring, breathed a sigh of relief. Throwing the bow aside, he strode forward, seizing a blade from a Blood Guard, and savagely cut Moerhan’s neck, finishing him off.
Tapping Moerhan’s finger, he picked up the storage ring, rummaging through it until a wild joy spread across his face. In his hand, a silver scroll appeared, ancient and refined.
“Haha, Three Thousand Thunder Movement, damn it, it’s finally mine. Once I master it, even a Dou King won’t be able to do anything to me! Haha!”
Clutching the scroll, Fan Ling laughed crazily.
Just as Fan Ling was laughing, a sudden suction force appeared, and the silver scroll flew out, landing in a slender hand.
“Hehe, thank Young Sect Leader Fan Ling for your hard work, but it’s better if I keep it safe,” a black-robed figure appeared on a tree trunk, the silver scroll reflecting the sunlight, shining faintly in his hand.
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