As Tang Chen crushed the jade pendant, a massive surge of black fog erupted from his palm and shot straight into the sky, quickly transforming into a thick, swirling mass of dark mist.
From within the mist, a blood-stained claw stepped out first...
Then, an extremely ferocious demonic beast appeared before the trembling gaze of everyone present.
The beast possessed a pair of crimson eyes and a massive, hulking body resembling a black panther, with the face of a starving wolf. A mane of pinkish, coarse fur along its spine flicked like burning flames, and its tail lashed continuously against the void, shattering space into layers of fractures.
"Roar—!"
Chimei threw its head back and let out a furious roar.
A terrifying sonic wave rippled outward, causing the vast expanse of the void between heaven and earth to warp and twist.
The sheer, ultimate evil and overwhelming power it radiated far surpassed anything the cultivators of this lower realm could ever hope to match.
To contend with such a fierce and demonic beast, one had to be at least an Upper Realm powerhouse who had cultivated a Dao seed.
The sudden appearance of Chimei shocked everyone on the scene!
Its formidable aura was enough to suppress every single supreme expert in this world with a dimensionality-reducing blow.
"Hahahaha! This is the fate of making an enemy of the Tang Sect!"
"Lin Hao, no matter how strong your talent is, so what? Not even my father could tame Chimei. Let's see how you deal with this!"
With a hideous and intensely crazed expression, Tang Chen roared continuously, venting the jealousy and hatred he harbored toward Lin Hao in his heart.
Little did he know that his laughter would directly infuriate Chimei. With a single angry roar, the shockwave blasted him into vomiting blood as he plummeted downward.
Thud!
Tang Chen crashed heavily into the ground, smashing a deep crater and coughing up mouthfuls of blood.
Judging by the look of it, Chimei was not under his control at all; otherwise, he would not have waited until he was driven to a desperate corner before daring to release this fiend.
...
Why would a beast-slave of the Asura lineage end up in his hands?
Lin Hao was filled with questions at this moment.
At that moment, Xiao Qi's voice sounded once again: "The Asura Clan is immensely powerful and has infiltrated all the heavens and myriad realms in order to discover Path-Seekers from other God Clans. Perhaps the Tang Sect is backed by the Asura Clan."
Lin Hao: "..."
No wonder Tang Chen had said he didn't want this matter to be exposed.
It turned out the Tang Sect was merely a puppet faction after all.
"Furthermore, Chimei's bloodline rivals that of a demi-god in the beast realm. You must mentally prepare yourself," Xiao Qi reminded him again.
Right now, Lin Hao could not afford to worry about all that. He was destined to face the Path-Seeker of the Asura God Clan in the future anyway, so he might as well take this opportunity to test the depths of this beast-slave first.
Without a word, Lin Hao directly raised the Path-Seeker sword high above his head.
Yet this very action instantly drew Chimei's attention.
Before the billions of startling sword intents could manifest, Chimei transformed into a streak of light and charged fiercely toward him.
Seeing this, Lin Hao had no choice but to abandon gathering his strength, instantly flashing into the high air.
As if it had discovered that he was the Path-Seeker of the Rakshasa God Clan, Chimei ignored all the many people gathered in the square and locked its sights entirely on Lin Hao, pursuing him relentlessly.
"Oh no, at this rate, Senior Brother won't be able to execute that Blue Lotus Blos—" Ye Ling watched in extreme anxiety.
Clenching his fists, Ye Liuyun suddenly leaped into the air and swept a sword strike toward Chimei!
The astonishing sword qi pierced through the heavens and earth, striking Chimei in the blink of an eye.
Yet with a soft "puff", it vanished into nothingness.
It felt no different than a mere tickle, completely incapable of inflicting any real damage on Chimei—or so it felt...
With a flush of deep embarrassment on his aged face, Ye Liuyun finally came to the sober realization that a demonic beast of this caliber was already far beyond anything he could hope to injure.
The situation plunged into utter despair.
Facing the savage and violent Chimei, Lin Hao dared not meet it head-on, reduced instead to dodging blindly.
The strange footwork he employed was ghostly and unpredictable, shifting in endless variations. Such advanced footwork was truly a feast for the eyes of the Northern Wasteland cultivators present, but the problem was that even with such movement techniques, he was still walking a razor-thin line of life and death under Chimei's relentless pursuit.
Put simply.
Chimei could afford to make countless mistakes.
Lin Hao could not afford to make even a single one.
Because a single mistake would cost him his life!
"Roar!"
Finding its relentless pursuit fruitless, Chimei suddenly let out an angry bellow.
Black chains surged out from its back, turning into blurred dark lines that began to seal off Lin Hao's escape routes from all directions.
As the dark lines struck, they emitted a sharp, piercing whistle through the air. Moreover, Lin Hao could clearly see abstruse red runes flickering along those black chains; driven by these taboo runes, their terrifying power was utterly outrageous!
Faced with these chains piercing through the void, Lin Hao pushed his footwork to its absolute limit, but he was still inevitably struck square in the chest by one of the chains. The horrifying force sent Lin Hao flying backward as he spat a mouthful of blood on the spot.
"Senior Brother!"
At that moment, Ye Ling went frantic, desperate to rush forward, but fortunately Ye Liuyun grabbed her just in time.
Watching as Chimei pursued Lin Hao toward the spot where he was falling, its terrifying, blood-red claws poised to impale his chest.
Just as everyone thought Lin Hao was undoubtedly dead.
Lin Hao's figure suddenly paused mid-air, and with a single sword strike, he slashed directly across Chimei's face.
"Roar!!!"
Furious, Chimei raised its claw and batted Lin Hao straight down.
This single blow directly shattered Lin Hao's arm!
Chimei was simply too strong.
Strong beyond all imagination.
It was merely a beast-slave of the Asura God Clan, yet it was absurdly powerful. Falling like a kite with a snapped string, Lin Hao's eyes betrayed boundless shock.
Yet out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Tang Chen preparing to flee with Mei Shiyun and the other...
"Trying to run!"
"Even if I die, I'll drag you down with me as cushions!"
Consumed by raging fury, Lin Hao hurled the Path-Seeker sword in his hand directly at them.
However, severely injured and with his spiritual energy withered, Tang Chen reacted in time, grabbed Mei Shishi's hand by reflex, and retreated backward.
Thud!
The wooden sword stabbed into the ground right in front of him, almost leaving him without any descendants.
A chill crept up his spine, and daring not to linger in the fight any longer, Tang Chen grabbed Mei Shishi and fled into the distance.
"Brother Tang Chen, don't leave me behind!" Mei Shiyun cried out in panic.
Yet how could Tang Chen dare to turn back to rescue her now?
Fleeing for his life was paramount!
Lin Hao had gone completely berserk in his killings; if they didn't run now, they would truly perish here!
Watching her elder sister's retreating figure grow distant while she was held tightly in his embrace, Mei Shishi could only bury her head and weep in silence.
"Bastard!"
"I gave my all to marry you, yet you abandon me to flee for your life in a crisis, completely disregarding whether I live or die!"
"Men really are all worthless scum, utterly lacking any sense of responsibility!"
"I, Mei Shiyun, must be blind to have misjudged people time and time again. Damn it, the whole world is full of scumbags!"
Hearing Mei Shiyun's hysterical shrieks, Lin Hao steadied his footing once again just as he neared the ground.
"Are you out of your mind..."
What do you mean, *all* men are scumbags?
You chose the wrong person yourself, yet you curse every man under the sun. Why don't you look in a mirror and see what kind of creature you are?
Women really are utterly unreasonable.
Lin Hao shook his head.
Fortunately, his Dao heart remained firm, and he only wished to grow stronger.
He would never let a woman slow down the speed of his sword-drawing!
"Human, you actually aren't dead yet!"
At that moment, Chimei actually spoke in human language.
It left Lin Hao dumbfounded.
Well, well, well. No wonder it hadn't given him the chance to execute the Blue Lotus Sword Technique—so this creature possessed an intelligence no less than that of a human...