Chapter 1338: Destination

On the battlefield, Xie Fan was the most efficient at slaying Hunyuan lifeforms.

This also provoked the fury of some Venomous Ying Dragons.

“Pfft, pfft, pfft…” Over ten Divine Emperor Perfection-level Venomous Ying Dragons began surrounding Xie Fan, their venomous spikes occasionally shooting out from their bodies, relentlessly stabbing toward him.

Xie Fan didn’t even bother dodging. The overwhelming gravitational field generated by his immensely dense body distorted the spikes, drastically slowing them down. By the time they struck his flesh, they couldn’t even pierce his skin! The reason City Lord “Fengyun Yiyi” regarded Xie Fan as his right-hand man was precisely because he was the most capable in their team at enduring all enemies.

A siege by Divine Emperor Perfection-level Hunyuan lifeforms? Xie Fan didn’t even bat an eye. With his Dao comprehension and mastery over his body, these Venomous Ying Dragons couldn’t even injure him!

Though unharmed, he was momentarily pinned down.

“Die, die!” Xie Fan leisurely fought while keeping an eye on Dongbo Xueying’s situation.

“What? Damn Youya!” Xie Fan’s expression suddenly darkened.

Dongbo Xueying’s situation was indeed dire.

With only a Divine Emperor mid-stage physical body, he ranked among the weakest of the cultivators present.

One against seven? Three Divine Emperor Perfection-level Venomous Ying Dragons and four Divine Emperor late-stage ones—but the greatest threat was the venomous spikes they occasionally shot out. Dongbo Xueying didn’t dare take those head-on. Wielding a spear, he executed various techniques, desperately deflecting the spikes and fending off the dragons.

“Not good.”

Without the spikes, he could have held his ground against the dragons alone.

But with the venomous spikes raining down, he had to divert most of his focus to blocking them. Dongbo Xueying found himself overwhelmed, barely managing to defend. Suddenly, all seven dragons shot spikes at once, startling him.

“Whoosh—” A black silk ribbon floating nearby abruptly coiled around him, sweeping away the incoming spikes.

“So strong!” Dongbo Xueying was both shocked and relieved. He knew the power of those spikes—to effortlessly deflect them all spoke volumes about the might of that black-and-white silk ribbon.

With this domain-like technique, Daoist Youya’s status rivaled even Xie Fan’s.

—

Dongbo Xueying struggled through the perilous battle.

Thud.

Occasionally, a dragon’s claw would slam into him. The layered void barriers he erected were useless, and the strike ultimately landed on his body. Black flames erupted upon impact, sending him flying and coughing blood.

Daoist Youya clearly didn’t intervene at every moment.

For non-lethal attacks, he allowed Dongbo Xueying to suffer. Only at the most critical moments would he lend a hand. Earlier, when Dongbo Xueying was barely holding on and suddenly faced a barrage of spikes, he should have been struck by at least a few—enough venom to be far deadlier than a hundred claw strikes.

The Venomous Ying Dragons’ spikes were what the cultivators of Chiyun City feared most.

—

Fighting while retreating.

Dongbo Xueying’s group moved swiftly, and as the Divine Emperor mid-stage and late-stage Venomous Ying Dragons fell one after another, the resistance weakened. The hunting party finally shook off the dragons and fled at high speed.

“Twenty-one Divine Emperor mid-stage and eighty late-stage Venomous Ying Dragons slain,” Dongbo Xueying mused. “Pity, not a single Perfection-level among them.”

In terms of value,

the slain dragons combined weren’t worth a single Perfection-level kill.

A Perfection-level carcass could yield enough meat to be worth roughly ten thousand times that of a mid-stage and two to three hundred times that of a late-stage. The exact ratio varied by species.

It couldn’t be helped.

Even Xie Fan, when hunting a Divine Emperor Perfection-level Hunyuan lifeform, had to consider the species—only those with weaker survival abilities could be slain one-on-one with enough time.

In a group battle, once a Perfection-level was severely injured, it would retreat immediately, making kills extremely difficult.

This was also why Dongbo Xueying’s “Flame lineage” Hunyuan lifeform corpse—though rare and precious in the Sacred World—only fetched him six Perfection-level carcasses and a million portions of food through the treasure exchange. Even so, many cultivators were envious. Xie Fan wanted him dead not just for pride but also for those six Perfection-level corpses.

—

“Brother Youya, thank you.” As the group resumed their stealthy flight, Dongbo Xueying transmitted his gratitude to Daoist Youya.

The Daoist glanced at him and replied, “Brother Feixue, no need for thanks. I only helped where I could. If the situation worsens, my priority will always be protecting my longtime comrades.”

“I understand.” Dongbo Xueying knew that in terms of bonds and duty,

Daoist Youya had to prioritize his own team. For an outsider like him, receiving any aid at all was already a boon.

They flew on…

Soon, a full day had passed since leaving Chiyun City. Though they encountered dangers, none matched the Venomous Ying Dragon swarm.

From day to night, then night to day.

“Whoosh, whoosh—” Snowflakes swirled, blanketing the endless wilderness.

Dongbo Xueying’s team moved stealthily through the storm.

“Everyone, according to our scouts, there are thirty-two Mo Wu Chaos Serpents ahead, fifteen of which are Divine Emperor Perfection-level,” Daoist Youya transmitted. “The main purpose of this hunt is to slay at least one Perfection-level Mo Wu Chaos Serpent. Their numbers are few, so the threat is minimal. Once we succeed, we retreat immediately!”

“Only thirty-two?”

“This’ll be easy.”

“Fifteen Perfection-levels against nearly fifty of us?”

The group collectively relaxed.

Mo Wu Chaos Serpents were among the nobler bloodlines of Hunyuan lifeforms. Individually, they were far more troublesome than Venomous Ying Dragons—the most formidable foes they’d encountered so far.

But their numbers were pitiful!

In terms of threat level, they were less dangerous than the dragon swarm.

“Will it really go this smoothly?” Xie Fan frowned. The journey had taken over a day, yet the only real threat had been the dragons. Even the Mo Wu Chaos Serpents numbered just thirty-two. Had there been a hundred or more, Dongbo Xueying would have surely perished. But now, Xie Fan had no immediate recourse.

He didn’t dare attack Dongbo Xueying directly within the team—doing so would violate Chiyun City’s unspoken rules.

Hunts were perilous enough without infighting.

Who would ever invite him again?

“Let’s move.”

The team advanced swiftly.

The Mo Wu Chaos Serpents sensed them and charged in fury.

“Hmm?” The gray-robed scout’s expression shifted. “Youya, other Mo Wu Chaos Serpents in the distance have been alerted. The nearest group—sixty-nine of them—are rushing here. We must finish quickly. The longer we delay, the more will gather.”

Mo Wu Chaos Serpents, being of noble blood, were rarer.

Though not as numerous as the hundred-thousand-strong Ant Dragons, given half an hour, their numbers could swell to seven or eight hundred—enough to annihilate the entire team.

And other nearby Hunyuan lifeforms would join the fray.

“Monitor the surroundings closely. If things turn dire, we flee at once,” Daoist Youya instructed the gray-robed scout and the cold-faced golden-armored man.

“Understood.” The two were responsible for reconnaissance.

Whoosh.

Finally, the team clashed with the Mo Wu Chaos Serpents.

These serpents had a head at each end of their bodies—no tail, or rather, their heads served as tails. Their sinuous forms shimmered translucently, while their twin heads were pure menace.

“Kill!” The cultivators surged forward.

“Devour these intruders!” The serpents hissed, their auras eerie as they flickered in and out of the void, lunging at Dongbo Xueying’s group.

“Stick to the plan.” Daoist Youya’s transmission was icy. The usually amiable cultivator now burned with killing intent—this hunt would not fail.