The wolf howl, close at hand, carried an overwhelming pressure and furious rage, like a solid sonic hammer, ruthlessly striking Xu Zhengyang's chest! The cold bizarre rock he leaned against trembled slightly, and the sweet, cloying blood within could no longer be suppressed. With a "wow," he spat it into the foul-smelling mud before him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The heavy footsteps rumbled like muffled thunder, each landing causing violent undulations in the thick layer of humus beneath. The dense, grey-green miasma was violently torn and pushed aside by an invisible giant hand, surging wildly to both sides! A massive, suffocating shadow crushed its way out from the depths of the miasma!
It was an unimaginably huge wolf!
Its size was several times that of the dead Fiendish Wolf King, its shoulder height nearly a zhang, like a moving black mountain! Its entire body was covered in dense, pitch-black fur as fine as steel needles, reflecting a cold, metallic sheen in the dim light. Most terrifying was its broad, rock-like back, which was covered not with dark red armor, but with a single, thick, ferocious, obsidian-like bone plate! The back plate was covered in rugged spikes and twisted dark red natural patterns, emitting a fierce aura that chilled the soul!
Its head was enormous, with bone-white fangs like curved scythes exposed outside its lips, dripping with thick, highly corrosive saliva. Its eerie green beast eyes, as large as millstones, burned with cold, ancient cruelty and rage in their depths! Merely standing there, the pressure of a superior being emanating from its bloodline made the two severely injured and dying fiendish wolves whimper in fear, instinctively curling their bodies.
Black-backed Wolf King! A true Foundation Establishment Stage Demonic Beast!
Xu Zhengyang's pupils contracted to pinpricks! His body turned ice-cold! Foundation Establishment Stage! This was absolutely not something a Qi Refining Cultivator could contend with! The mere demonic pressure emanating from it made the spiritual energy in his body churn sluggishly and with difficulty. The burning sensation of the miasma poison in his chest intensified instantly, and the cold backlash of the Myriad Souls Banner behind him, which had been stirring restlessly, became even more violent!
The Wolf King's enormous eerie green beast eyes, like two cold searchlights, instantly swept across the messy battlefield – the tragically dead Fiendish Wolf King, the injured wolves howling with their intestines spilling out, and another fiendish wolf writhing and struggling, its face a mess of tears and snot from the Hundred Filth Powder. Finally, those cold eyes, like two poisoned ice blades, fixed themselves on Xu Zhengyang, who was leaning against the bizarre rock, covered in blood!
"Aow—!!!"
A roar filled with the pain of losing a child and boundless killing intent erupted from the Wolf King's giant mouth, like a cave! The sound waves, like solid shockwaves, carried a foul wind and dense demonic energy, crashing violently into Xu Zhengyang! He was like a small boat hit by a huge wave, groaning and spitting out another mouthful of blood. His body hit the bizarre rock behind him hard, and the hard rock surface cracked like a spiderweb!
The Wolf King moved! Its mountain-like massive body moved with unimaginable speed! It wasn't running, but exploding across the ground like black lightning! Wherever it passed, the mud splashed, and giant fern leaves were torn apart like paper! A suffocating, pungent wind, carrying corrosive demonic energy capable of etching metal and dissolving bone, instantly engulfed Xu Zhengyang!
It didn't use any flashy divine abilities, merely raising its forelegs, covered in black bone armor, like colossal pillars reaching for the sky! The tips of its claws flashed with a cold, eerie light, carrying terrifying power that tore through space. Simple, brutal, but absolutely fatal, it slammed down towards Xu Zhengyang's head!
Before the claws even arrived, the terrifying pressure and gale had completely evacuated the air around Xu Zhengyang! The mud beneath him collapsed under the pressure! The bizarre rock behind him groaned under the unbearable load! The shadow of death had never been so solid and cold, cutting off all life!
In Xu Zhengyang's eyes, the giant wolf claw obscured his vision, occupying his entire field of view! Time seemed to stretch and freeze in that moment. The miasma poison in his chest burned like fire under the stimulation of the demonic pressure. The resentful roars from the Myriad Souls Banner in his sea of consciousness were almost tearing his spirit soul apart. The severe pain in his arms tore at every nerve.
Cannot die!
Jade Embryo Ganoderma! Xiù'ér! The unborn child!
These three thoughts, like three thunderbolts, instantly pierced the darkness of despair! The instinct for survival and the heavy responsibility squeezed out the last ounce of strength in his body! At the critical moment when the wolf claw was about to crush his skull, Xu Zhengyang's blood-stained right hand, like a ghost claw reaching from hell, suddenly pulled out the deep yellow "Earth Evasion Talisman" from his embrace! The remaining spiritual energy in his fingertips, carrying all his essence, spirit, and mind, poured into it desperately!
"Escape!"
A hoarse, distorted low growl, like the cry of a soul!
"Buzz—!"
The deep yellow Earth Evasion Talisman suddenly erupted with a dazzling yellow light! Countless profound and heavy runes instantly materialized and flowed, as if brought to life! A powerful, dense, peculiar force carrying the pulse of the earth, like ripples, instantly enveloped Xu Zhengyang's entire body!
At the very instant this yellow light appeared—
Boom!!!
The Wolf King's giant claw, capable of splitting mountains and cracking rocks, carrying destructive power, slammed down heavily!
The earth shook violently! Centered on the point where the claw landed, the humus within a radius of several zhang exploded upwards like a lake surface hit by a giant stone! Countless foul-smelling black mud, shattered bones, and remnants of giant ferns mixed with poisonous fungal spores, like volcanic ash erupting, rushed towards the miasma-filled dim sky! A terrifying pit, several zhang deep, was left in its place, the hard rock at the bottom cracked all over!
However, the bottom of the pit was empty!
Only the violent demonic energy and scattered filth remained!
"Roar—!!!"
The Black-backed Wolf King let out a roar of extreme anger and shock! Its huge eerie green beast eyes instantly locked onto a spot at the edge of the giant pit! The ground there, a very faint, almost imperceptible earth-yellow spiritual light flashed like a ripple and quickly burrowed deep underground! It was the residual aura of the Earth Escape Technique!
Cunning human! Daring to escape from under its nose!
The Wolf King's rage reached its peak! It raised its huge head sharply, and facing the ground where the spiritual light had disappeared, it opened its abyss-like giant mouth! Deep within its throat, a vortex of dense, lava-like dark red demonic energy instantly formed! A destructive energy fluctuation madly condensed!
"Aow—woo—!!!"
Accompanied by a terrifying roar that shook the entire Black Miasma Valley, a column of demonic energy as thick as a bucket, dark red as blood, emitting a strong smell of sulfur and blood, spewed out from the Wolf King's mouth like a breath from hell! Wherever the light column passed, the air let out a piercing shriek, and the dense miasma was instantly vaporized and annihilated! The ground was like a hot iron plow, and the hard rock instantly melted into red magma, leaving behind a terrifying
gully, unfathomably deep, its edges charred and smoking!
The column of demonic energy struck the ground where the earth-yellow spiritual light had disappeared with the speed of lightning!
Boom—!!!
The earth cracked and tore as if it were tofu! A huge charred pit, over ten zhang in diameter and unfathomably deep, instantly formed! The rock at the edge of the pit had melted into glass by the high temperature, glowing red and hot, emitting scorching heat waves! The violent shockwave, mixed with molten rock fragments and destructive dark red demonic energy, swept out in all directions like a tsunami!
Scores of zhang away, several large black bizarre rocks were hit by the shockwave, collapsing and shattering like sandcastles!The fiendish wolf tormented by the Hundred Filth Powder and the injured wolf with its intestines spilling out didn't even have time to scream before being instantly torn into bloody mist and minced meat by this destructive aftershock!
The entire depression, as if bombarded by an extraterrestrial meteorite, had completely turned into a purgatory of lava and scorched earth!
The Wolf King's huge head slowly turned, its eerie green beast eyes fixed on the unfathomably deep charred pit, its nostrils exhaling two streams of hot white air. Its massive spiritual sense, like an invisible tide, frantically swept every inch of magma and every crack in the depths of the pit, trying to capture that faint trace of human aura.
However, apart from the residual destructive demonic energy and the scorched smell of the earth, there was nothing else. The spiritual light of the earth escape seemed to have been completely erased by this destructive blow.
A human-like confusion and even deeper rage flashed in the Wolf King's huge beast eyes. Its massive body stood on the lava and scorched earth, like a demon god crawling out of hell. Its eerie green pupils scanned the dead depression, letting out low roars filled with unwillingness, their sound waves echoing in the miasma-filled valley bottom, lingering for a long time.
...
Cold. Darkness. Suffocation.
An unimaginably huge pressure squeezed from all directions, as if trying to crush its body into powder! Soil, rocks, and the smell of scalding lava mixed with a strong smell of blood and miasma poison, frantically poured into its nose and mouth!
Xu Zhengyang felt like a pebble thrown into a deep-sea vortex, being swept by a violent and chaotic force, tumbling and crashing madly in the dark, viscous depths of the earth! Each impact brought pain that felt like cracking bones. The powerful yellow light activated by the Earth Evasion Talisman flickered violently like a candle in a strong wind, emitting a mournful cry of being overwhelmed, desperately resisting the terrifying shock from the destructive demonic energy from above and the heavy pressure from the surrounding earth!
"Pfft!" He spat out another mouthful of blood, which was instantly absorbed by the thick soil. In his sea of consciousness, the backlash of the Myriad Souls Banner stabbed his soul like ice picks, intertwining with the physical pain, almost making him faint. The burning sensation of the miasma poison became even more intense in the confined underground space, each breath feeling like swallowing flames and blades.
He gritted his teeth tightly, the pain on his tongue bringing a moment of clarity. His blood-stained right hand, like a drowning man grasping the last straw, tightly clenched the rapidly dimming Earth Evasion Talisman! He could clearly feel the spiritual energy contained within the talisman rapidly depleting, and the protective yellow light could shatter at any moment! Once the talisman's power was exhausted, he would instantly be crushed into meat paste by the terrifying earth pressure!
Cannot stop! Must escape! Escape from the Wolf King's spiritual sense range!
Xu Zhengyang, relying on the last bit of will, forcibly gathered the remaining spiritual energy in his body, which was like a candle in the wind, and desperately injected it into the talisman! He guided this violent and chaotic earth vein force, heading deeper and further underground, away from the depression, fleeing for his life!
Each forced activation was like carving another knife into his drained body! His meridians felt like tearing, and the backlash of the Myriad Souls Banner became even more violent, the cold resentment almost freezing his thoughts. But only one thought burned madly in his mind: Jade Embryo Ganoderma! Xiù'ér! The child!
Rumblin... The dull vibrations from above were like death knells, the aftershocks of the Wolf King's destructive breath striking the earth! Even through the thick rock layers, the terrifying impact force was transmitted down, making his internal organs feel like they were shifting! The protective yellow light fluctuated violently, dimming a little more!
He didn't know how long he had tumbled and crashed in the dark, suffocating underground, it felt like a century. Finally, the destructive vibrations from above gradually weakened and receded. The Earth Evasion Talisman held tightly in Xu Zhengyang's hand also dimmed to its extreme, the last trace of spiritual energy dissipating like a flickering flame.
Buzz...
The faint yellow light, like broken bubbles, annihilated silently.
Almost at the same moment the protective yellow light disappeared!
Pfft!
A powerful, irresistible force violently "spat" him out of the earth vein's chaotic flow! His body was flung out like a tattered sack, hitting the cold, slippery rock wall heavily, and then rolling onto the ground!
"Urgh..." Xu Zhengyang curled up on the cold ground, groaning in pain. His bones felt like they were falling apart, not a single part was pain-free. The wounds on his right and left arms burst open again, blood gushing out, dyeing the cold rock beneath him red. His chest felt like it had been hit by a giant hammer, and each breath caused tearing pain, mixed with the burning sensation of the dense miasma poison. In his sea of consciousness, the backlash of the Myriad Souls Banner, without the suppression of the Earth Evasion Talisman's power, was like a wild horse with a broken rein, cold resentment and death qi frantically attacking his spirit soul, causing dizziness and bone-chilling cold.
He struggled to open his heavy eyelids. His vision was blurred, stars dancing before his eyes. After a while, he could barely make out his surroundings.
This was a narrow, low underground cave. The cave walls were wet, covered with slippery moss, and water droplets constantly dripped from the stalactites overhead, making a monotonous and hollow "drip... drip..." sound. The air was extremely foul, filled with a strong, mixed smell of rock dust, moldy moss, and... a certain indescribable fishy, foul odor. The light was extremely dim, only coming from the filtered sunlight through the rents in the rock walls, further dimmed by the miasma, barely allowing one to make out the outlines of nearby objects.
He struggled to sit up, but it pulled at the wound on his left arm, causing a piercing pain that made his vision black out, nearly causing him to faint again. Looking down, the wound where the fiendish wolf's fangs had torn his left arm had flesh and skin turned over, exposing bone, and the edges of the wound were an ominous purplish-black, clearly suffering from the double erosion of demonic and miasma poison, numb with a burning pain.
His right arm was slightly better, but also bloody and torn, with several claw marks deep enough to expose bone, the flesh turned over, blood soaking through his torn sleeve.
Even more serious was his condition. His spiritual energy was almost depleted, his meridians were damaged in multiple places due to excessive strain, like a dry, cracked riverbed. The miasma poison in his chest was like a bone maggot, spreading to his limbs with every heartbeat, causing continuous burning pain and weakness. In his sea of consciousness, the backlash of the Myriad Souls Banner was like a maggot clinging to his bones, cold death qi and resentment continuously eroding his sanity, causing waves of chilly dizziness and auditory hallucinations.
Xu Zhengyang breathed with difficulty, each inhalation accompanied by burning pain in his lungs and a sweetish taste. He forced himself to maintain the last shred of clarity, and with trembling hands, reached for his embrace with his relatively intact right hand.
His hand met something wet and cold. It was blood, his own blood. He fumbled, and his fingertips finally touched a cold, hard object – it was the small jade bottle containing the "Spirit Solidifying Pill." The surface of the jade bottle was stained with blood and mud, but it felt cold to the touch, clearly undamaged during the desperate escape. He grasped it like a drowning man reaching for a life pres an, Poured out one Spirit Solidifying Pill, and trembling, put it into his mouth. The pill dissolved upon entering his mouth, and a warm medicinal power, mixed with a strong bloody scent, instantly spread out, like trickling streams, laboriously flowing into his nearly depleted meridians. This medicinal power was not abundant, even a little weak and mixed, but for him, who was at the end of his rope, it was like timely rain after a long drought!
He immediately circulated the most basic cycle of the "Withered Wood Meets Spring Formula," carefully guiding this faint medicinal power, like tending to a candle flame in the wind, to move laboriously within his damaged meridians, nourishing his dry dantian, and attempting to dispel the lingering chill of the miasma poison that had invaded his internal organs.
Wherever the medicinal power went, it brought a faint warmth, slightly alleviating the bone-chilling cold and severe pain. However, it was like a drop in the ocean! The medicinal power of one Spirit Solidifying Pill was too weak for his current serious injuries, miasma poison erosion, and the violent backlash of the Myriad Souls Banner in his sea of consciousness! That bit of warmth was like a stone thrown into an ice lake, instantly swallowed by the boundless cold.
The physical pain and weakness did not lessen much. The wound on his left arm was still numb and burning, and the blood flowing out became darker in color. The burning sensation of the miasma poison was like a maggot clinging to his bones, penetrating his marrow with every breath. The cold resentment in his sea of consciousness was like countless ice needles, constantly stabbing, causing unbearable dizziness and hallucinations – as if countless resentful voices were roaring in his ears, and countless cold hands were trying to drag him into the abyss!
"Urgh..." Xu Zhengyang curled up in pain, cold sweat mixed with blood flowing down his forehead. He gritted his teeth tightly, resisting the urge to faint. Cannot sleep! Once he fainted, the backlash of the Myriad Souls Banner would instantly devour his spirit soul, and the miasma poison would completely cut off his life!
He trembled, reaching for the jade bottle again. Inside, only two dark red pills remained.
Cannot eat anymore! This Spirit Solidifying Pill contained his own vital blood, and its medicinal properties were already potent. In his current physical condition, taking another pill would likely cause his meridians to completely collapse! This was saved for Xiù'ér in case of emergency...
Xiù'ér... the child in her womb...
Xu Zhengyang's blood-stained fingers tightly clenched the cold jade bottle, his knuckles turning white from the force. He suddenly raised his head, a look of almost frenzied determination erupting in his bloodshot eyes! That look surpassed the physical pain, overcame the erosion of the miasma poison, and even temporarily suppressed the cold resentment of the Myriad Souls Banner!
He trembled, tightly fastened the stopper of the jade bottle, and carefully, as if holding a rare treasure, hid it back inside his clothes. Then, he struggled, using all his strength, dragging his almost useless left arm and his severely painful right arm, little by little, with immense difficulty, to a relatively dry spot in the corner of the cave, leaning against the rock wall.
After doing all this, he had almost exhausted the slight strength he had just accumulated. Leaning against the cold rock wall, he panted heavily, each breath like a worn-out bellows.
Must treat the wound! Otherwise, blood loss and infection alone could kill him! Not to mention the demonic and miasma poison!
Xu Zhengyang's gaze arduously swept over his tattered Daoist robe. The sleeve of his left arm was almost torn to shreds, and the sleeve of his right arm was also tattered. He gritted his teeth, used the thumb and index finger of his right hand to tremble and pinch the torn cuff of his left sleeve, and tore it off with a sudden pull!
Chiral! The already tattered fabric split with a sound. Enduring the severe pain, he used his teeth in conjunction with his relatively intact right hand to tie the torn cloth tightly above the wound on his left arm, trying to slow the blood flow. The cloth was instantly soaked with dark red blood.
Then, he tore off another slightly longer strip of cloth, preparing to bandage the wound on his right arm. Just then, his blood-stained right hand accidentally touched something hard at his waist.
It was that leather pouch! The bag containing the beast-repelling "Hundred Filth Powder"!
Xu Zhengyang's movements suddenly stopped! A thought flashed lightning-fast through his confused mind!
Hundred Filth Powder! Its smell was fishy and toxic, with a remarkable effect on demonic beasts' sense of smell... That Black-backed Wolf King's spiritual sense must be extremely sharp! Although this place was temporarily safe, who could guarantee that beast wouldn't track him down by the smell of blood and lingering aura! The scent must be masked! Buy time!
A cruel glint flashed in his eyes, and he unhesitatingly pulled down the small bag from his waist. The mouth of the bag was already soaked with blood. He trembled and untied the drawstring, and a pungent, nauseatingly fishy and foul odor instantly spread out!
Xu Zhengyang held his breath, enduring the urge to vomit, and used his right hand to grab a large handful of the gray-white Hundred Filth Powder! Without looking, he directly pressed this foul-smelling powder fiercely into the gruesome wound on his left arm, which was deep enough to expose bone and was flowing with purplish-black blood!
"Urgh—!!!"
Unspeakable pain! Like a red-hot iron pressed deeply into the wound! Or like thousands of poisonous needles piercing simultaneously! The severe stimulation far exceeded the burning pain of the demonic and miasma poison! Xu Zhengyang's entire body trembled violently, and he let out a suppressed, beast-like roar! Veins bulged on his forehead, and cold sweat poured down like a waterfall! His vision went black, almost causing him to faint on the spot!
But he gritted his teeth tightly, his teeth sinking deeply into his lower lip, blood flowing down the corner of his mouth! He endured this inhuman pain and forcibly rubbed the foul powder deep into the wound! The severe stimulation brought unimaginable pain, but it also brought an unexpected effect – the numb burning pain in the wound was temporarily suppressed by this stronger stimulation! The rate of bleeding seemed to have slowed down slightly!
This pain was both torture and temporary numbness!
After finishing this, Xu Zhengyang was like someone just pulled out of water, his body drenched in cold sweat and blood. Leaning against the cold rock wall, he panted heavily, each breath carrying a strong smell of blood and foul odor. He trembled and smeared the remaining Hundred Filth Powder haphazardly onto the wound on his right arm and other places on his body stained with blood.
The suffocatingly strong foul odor instantly enveloped him, completely masking the original smell of blood. This smell was deadly poison to demonic beasts, and a great torment to himself. But his eyes held only cold determination.
Finally, he laboriously raised his right hand. His fingers, stained with blood and foul powder, trembled as they reached into his embrace. This time, he did not pull out the jade bottle, but the Golden Thread Fern he had snatched at the brink of life and death, stained with mud and blood!
In the dim, gloomy light, the faint golden patterns on the edges of the leaves of this spiritual herb appeared even weaker, but they possessed a tenacious vitality. Xu Zhengyang carefully used his blood-stained fingertips to gently brush away the mud and blood clots clinging to the stem, revealing its green stem and leaves with faint spiritual light. He tightly clenched it in his hand. The faint but pure herbal spiritual energy, carrying a fresh vitality, streamed from his palm, weakly resisting the strong foul odor all around, the erosion of the miasma poison, and the cold death qi of the Myriad Souls Banner. Although weak, it was like the only trace of light in the darkness, bringing an indescribable comfort and... hope.
Xu Zhengyang leaned against the cold, slippery rock wall and slowly closed his heavy eyelids. He did not fall asleep, but forced himself into a shallow state of meditation, half-awake and half-asleep, detached from self and surroundings. The most basic breathing technique of the "Withered Wood Meets Spring Formula" circulated laboriously and intermittently within his body, like a dying old man trying to grasp every trace of the remaining Spirit Solidifying Pill's medicinal power in his meridians, nourishing his broken body, and resisting the internal and external attacks of poison and backlash.
He was like a piece of dead wood sunk into a mire, retracting all vitality, his breath weak to the extreme, almost blending into this dark, damp cave filled with the smell of decay. Only the faint spiritual light emanating from the Golden Thread Fern in his hand, and the faint but never-extinguished heartbeat in his chest, proved that within this broken shell, a flame of immortality still burned.
Outside the cave, the miasma churned silently. In the depths of Black Miasma Valley, the enraged Wolf King's unwilling roars seemed to still echo, fading from near to far, finally being swallowed by boundless silence.
In the dark cave, only the monotonous "drip... drip..." of water droplets and his faint, almost inaudible breaths remained.