Below, several hundred elite experts of the Wild Di Kingdom stood silent, each raising their spirit weapons. In an instant, hundreds of gleaming saber pills soared into the air, unleashing waves of saber light like a tidal surge toward the nostrils of the Bat God statues.
The divine arts users joined forces to form a battle formation; their combined strike was so powerful, it was truly awe-inspiring!
Back when Libationer Barrett fought alone against eight hundred steppe troops on the grasslands, his Absolute Wall of Heaven and Earth divine art was shattered several times. But that was only because their ranks included several steppe experts at the Heaven-Man and Life-and-Death realms.
This time, though the experts brought by Ben Coates were all divine arts users, the strongest among them were still those four Witch Kings who had reached the Heaven-Man and Life-and-Death realms. Since these Witch Kings hadn’t acted, the spectacle, while grand, still couldn’t compare to the battle against Libationer Barrett.
From the nostrils of the two Bat God statues, the two White Bat Demons hurriedly flew out, each opening its mouth to unleash waves of circular sound. Their divine art was a soundwave technique, yet strangely, when the sound reached the ear, it was completely silent.
The countless curved sabers in the sky were struck by the soundwaves and crashed down with a clatter. Below, hundreds of elite troops were blasted by the silent waves, instantly thrown from their horses in chaos.
Suddenly, one Wild Di soldier’s head began to swell larger and larger, then burst with a pop. Then came a series of muffled explosions—one after another, the soldiers’ heads expanded and exploded, spraying blood and brain matter everywhere. It was a horrifying sight.
The two White Bat Demons swooped down from above, charging into the ranks of the army, their mouths continuously releasing silent soundwaves.
Suddenly, a Witch King snorted coldly, pulled out a white banner, and shook it at the two White Bat Demons. Instantly, their souls wavered, and they plummeted from the sky, falling into the midst of the troops.
The other soldiers felt the crushing pressure in their heads vanish all at once. They hurriedly controlled their saber pills, sending countless curved blades slashing down toward where the two White Bat Demons had fallen. The clang of blades rang out endlessly!
After the rain of blades, everyone recalled their curved sabers. The saber pills spun rapidly in the air, and each curved blade flew back at speed, merging into its respective pill.
Where the two White Bat Demons had fallen, countless curved blades had carved out a massive pit, even pulverizing the stones to dust.
Two divine arts users from the Wild Di Kingdom stepped forward, about to check if the White Bat Demons were dead. Suddenly, smoke and dust billowed from the pit—those two bats burst out, their fleshy wings vibrating, and in a flash appeared above the two arts users’ heads, moving too fast for anyone to react. They snatched the two up and sped away.
Another Witch King, seeing this, quickly shook his shoulders. Golden light burst from his back, transforming into two golden wings. He took flight, chasing after the two White Bat Demons.
The Witch King transformed, his head turning into that of a bird, his body human, with six arms wielding vajra clubs. He smashed the clubs at the two White Bat Demons with a thunderous roar. Carrying the two divine arts users, the bats slowed, letting the Witch King catch up. Forced to abandon their captives, their speed surged again, leaving the Witch King behind.
The Witch King’s yuanqi formed a giant hand, catching the two divine arts users. But both had already been drained of all their blood, dead by unnatural means.
The two White Bat Demons escaped, each perching atop a large tree. Their mouths opened wide, unleashing more silent soundwaves that sent their pursuers tumbling from their horses in chaos.
A Witch King raised a mirror, offering it up in sacrifice so it hovered in midair. Its light shone on the two White Bat Demons, and they instantly fell from the trees.
Whoosh—
Blades rained down, slashing toward the spot where the two White Bat Demons had fallen. One Witch King’s body shimmered, transforming into a golden giant with an elephant’s head and a human body. He lifted a boulder the size of a small mountain and smashed it down where the bats had landed.
Yet another Witch King revealed his Primordial Spirit behind him; his yuanqi formed a giant palm that slammed down, shattering the boulder to powder. The ground shook, and trees all around flew into the air!
"They must be dead now, right?"
Before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, the army rushed forward. But before they could reach the spot, the two White Bat Demons rose again, wobbling as they flew into the forest—still not dead.
A Witch King shook his white banner again, striking at the souls of the bats. The two White Bat Demons tumbled down once more, and another rain of blades followed, countless attacks pouring down.
When the barrage ended, the two White Bat Demons rose yet again. Though their movements were shaky, they still refused to die.
"Impressive," someone remarked.
Ben Coates couldn’t help but marvel. These two White Bat Demons were truly thick-skinned— even the steppe’s most famous spirit weapons, the saber pills, couldn’t harm them. The only ones who managed to hurt them were Witch Kings from Loulan Golden Palace.
The White Bat Demons withstood repeated attacks from several Witch Kings and refused to die, which genuinely surprised him.
"Dragon-Qilin, do you still think you could take on those two bats?" Quinn Shepherd called out to his mount as they walked deeper into the forest, grinning.
Dragon-Qilin snorted, "They're tough, but didn't they still get beaten until they were picking their teeth off the ground?"
The soldiers of the Wild Di Kingdom charged into the forested ravine, chasing after the two White Bat Demons. The bats were badly wounded, sometimes flying, sometimes falling into the woods.
The divine arts users from Wild Di Kingdom spread out to search. Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the forest. One alert arts user activated his saber pill, which spun rapidly as tiny curved blades flew out, circling around it and shifting in size.
The rustling suddenly stopped, but the arts user didn’t relax. He crept forward cautiously, as more and more tiny curved blades appeared, their glow flickering.
He entered an orchard, where the trees were laden with fruit—each a fist-sized red apple.
Carefully, the arts user entered the orchard. Then, he heard rustling behind him. He spun around, but saw nothing—yet the sound now came from ahead.
He jerked his head to look forward, but still saw nothing. The sound returned behind him.
He stayed sharp, showing no emotion. A curved blade quietly appeared before him, growing larger and shining like a mirror, reflecting the scene behind him.
Behind him, the apples on the trees were turning around. Their backs revealed faces—noses, eyes, mouths—all grinning at him with eerie smiles.
The arts user shuddered in terror. Every curved blade shot out from his saber pill, slashing at the apples in all directions!
Crash—
The red apples suddenly flew from the trees, leaves swirling as countless apples hurtled toward him. The arts user was indeed formidable—his blades poured down like torrential rain, slicing countless apples in half and covering the ground in split fruit, filling the air with fragrance.
But one apple rolled across the ground, dodging the blades, and bit into his leg.
A numbness spread through his leg, then his whole side lost feeling. He tried to slash the apple off his leg, but his head went numb too, and all his curved blades clattered to the ground.
The other apples flew up and returned to the trees, each turning to look at the fallen arts user, grinning eerily.
Paralyzed, his heart pounded wildly. His face itched terribly—then he saw another face growing out of his own.
The new face squeezed out of his own, complete with nose and mouth. It gasped for breath and grinned, saying, "Got you! Got you!"
The face twisted and grew outward. Soon, another head was attached to his neck, then an upper body, crawling forward.
Agonizing pain tore through him. He tried to scream but no sound came. The apple-turned-human crawled out, dragging his body, moving rapidly. More bodies began to grow from within him.
At last, the two figures separated. The one that had grown from inside him looked exactly like him, but was naked. It picked up a curved blade from the ground and stabbed him in the chest, then stripped off his clothes and put them on.
"Heh heh, I’m free—"
The apple-man grabbed the saber pill and hopped away. The other apples twisted their faces, gazing at him with envy.
Shrill screams echoed through the forest. The Wild Di Kingdom arts users who entered Nethergloom Ravine faced all sorts of bizarre, perilous dangers.
Some encountered strange bugs—half-transparent, like jade, darting nimbly through the air. With a whine, they burrowed into the arts users’ nostrils and took up residence in their brains, controlling their bodies to attack others.
There were also leeches hiding among the dewdrops on the leaves, tiny beyond belief. When an arts user walked by, a dewdrop fell on him; at first, he felt nothing, only that his body grew heavier and his head grew dizzy.
On his back, a giant leech clung, squirming and sucking blood. Soon, the leech sprouted a face and limbs, still clinging to him—looking exactly like him, as if he were carrying another person.
The arts user’s vital essence was drained dry, and he collapsed dead. The leech-man ran off, jubilant.
In an instant, the once-peaceful forest was filled with murderous intent. With the Wild Di Kingdom army’s invasion, these dangers were triggered, and the invaders died one after another!
Wild Di Kingdom’s arts users were powerful, but in this forest, no amount of skill could guarantee safety!
Quinn Shepherd walked through the forest, on high alert. He used the Bodhi Bhasha Divine Body to shield himself and Dragon-Qilin, and so far, they remained safe.
Just then, he saw a monk sitting beneath a tree. The monk sat cross-legged, long dead, yet his body had not decayed. The tree behind him was a Bodhi tree, its jeweled branches shimmering with light—clearly a transformed treasure.
"This eminent monk’s Bodhi Bhasha Divine Body was stronger than mine, but he still died. Even the Grand Buddha Mahayana Scripture couldn’t protect him from the dangers here!"
Quinn Shepherd shuddered and immediately dispersed his Bodhi Bhasha Divine Body. He spread his hands before him, fingertips crossed, and drew a gentle line—one hand raised to the sky, the other pressed to the earth!
First Dao Sword Form: A single point pierces the vast flow, yin and yang cycle endlessly within the dual modes!
His yuanqi threads transformed into swords in both hands, unleashing a complex web of calculations. The sword light became two Taiji diagrams—one above, one below—shielding him and Dragon-Qilin at the center.
The sword light flashed again and again, the Taiji diagrams spun, yin and yang shifting back and forth. From the edges of the diagrams, streams of sword light hung down.
"Not so dumb for an ox," someone remarked.
The Bodhi tree rustled. Two White Bat Demons hung upside down from the canopy, covered in wounds. One coughed blood and spat, its breath weak: "That bald donkey came here more than ten years ago, relying on Buddhist blessings to barge in, but was killed by tree worms."
"Tree worms?" Quinn Shepherd was taken aback.
"They’re a kind of tree seed—living, wriggling worms that lurk underground. When they sense someone, they crawl in through the anus, rooting themselves in muscle. This bald donkey’s muscles have been eaten away, leaving only his skin. The tree worms have already taken root and sprouted inside him."
The other White Bat Demon extended a claw and sliced the monk’s scalp. Instantly, vibrant green burst through his skull, sprouting into a tiny tree crown.
"That’s a tree worm—though it’s nearly grown into a tree now."
The smarter White Bat Demon blinked and said, "Ox, we’re wounded. If you can protect us, we’ll show you the way and help you avoid danger here!"
Quinn Shepherd smiled, "Friends, I’m actually an apothecary—skilled in healing. How about I treat your wounds, and once you’re better, you protect me?"
The two White Bat Demons exchanged glances and landed from the Bodhi tree, surprised. "Ox-headed Doctor? Does your family have doctors? Aren’t you all supposed to snort fire and burn things wherever you go?"
Quinn Shepherd snorted, sending out two jets of fire. "So, what do you think of my proposal?"
"Deal!"
The two White Bat Demons agreed readily, thinking, "Once the Ox-headed Doctor heals us, we can always turn on him later!"
Quinn Shepherd’s eyes gleamed, thinking, "While treating their wounds, I’ll slip them some poison—then they’ll have no choice but to protect me!"
[End of chapter. Please click next page to continue reading!]