Chapter 121: The Burly Man in Animal Hides
Chapter 121: The Brawny Man in Beast Hide
"You’re the stupid pig, kid! You little brat! Have you no respect for your elders!" Xue Yong roared. He was rather obtuse and didn’t notice anything amiss.
Ye Xing, Hong Hai, and Ma Feng, however, wore grave expressions. For this youth to appear in the tree so silently, he was clearly no simple character. His cultivation had to be at least higher than that of Ma Feng, who was at the Martial Arts Fourth Realm.
"I am Ye Xing. May I ask for your name, little brother?" Ye Xing stepped forward and cupped his hands.
"Oh, you’re Ye Xing!" the youth exclaimed in surprise.
"Uh, what’s wrong? Do you know me?" Ye Xing asked, puzzled.
"Nope, but your name is a lot like mine. I’m more impressive than you, though. Your name only has two characters, but my name has four! I’m Sikong Xingxing!" the youth said proudly.
"..." Ye Xing was speechless. ’Since when does a longer name make you stronger? What kind of logic is that?’ Ahem. While it was true that this mysterious youth’s cultivation was higher than his own, ’what the hell does that have to do with the length of a name? What a brat.’
"From your tone, it sounds like you know the origin of this Heaven and Earth Spiritual Treasure. Would you mind telling us about it?" Ye Xing asked casually, his gaze flickering.
"But of course! There’s very little in this world that I, Sikong Xingxing, don’t know. Since your name is so much like mine, I’ll let you in on it," said the youth, Sikong Xingxing. "This Thousand-Year-Old Banyan Tree isn’t actually a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Treasure in the truest sense. The real treasure is called the Thunder Heart Spring Wood, and it’s located right in the center of the banyan’s main trunk—probably right where you were about to stab your sword. The entire tree has such immense Life Force precisely because of the Thunder Heart Spring Wood. Right now, it’s still gestating. In a few days, that process will be complete. At that time, the entire Thousand-Year-Old Banyan Tree will rapidly wither away. All of its Life Force, and even the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, will be drawn inward and absorbed into the Thunder Heart Spring Wood. This Heaven and Earth Spiritual Treasure definitely contains Wood Attribute Heaven and Earth Laws. Whoever manages to get and completely refine it will inherit the Thunder Heart Spring Wood’s terrifying Recovery Power and become practically unkillable, like a cockroach."
"That’s very detailed and useful information about the Thunder Heart Spring Wood. Are you sure you should be telling us so easily?" Ye Xing said, his eyes glinting.
"So what if I told you? Heh heh, it’s not that I look down on you lot, but a bunch of Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals like you trying to get the Thunder Heart Spring Wood? That’s just a fool’s dream!" the young Sikong Xingxing said with a sneer.
"If we can’t get it, what makes you think you can, little brother?" Ma Feng interjected. "As far as this old man knows, whenever a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Treasure appears, it’s fought over relentlessly, and most of them ultimately fall into the hands of Innate Realm experts. If this Thunder Heart Spring Wood really needs several days to finish gestating, then I imagine a large number of experts from our Red Sun Province will have enough time to get here."
"That’s true, I can’t get it either. But there’s always a sliver of hope, right? And even if I can’t get it, I can still watch the show. It’ll be fun," Sikong Xingxing replied, a blade of foxtail grass dangling from his lips as he maintained a carefree air.
As they were chatting, the sound of footsteps suddenly drifted up from the base of the mountain. RUSTLE... RUSTLE... It was the sound of boots on fallen leaves. The sounds grew more frequent, and it was clear a large group was heading their way.
...
The Lianyun Mountain Range was an enormous Demon Beast Mountain Range situated between Phoenix Town and Sunset City. Within it, ancient trees soared into a lush, green canopy that stretched for tens of millions of li, spanning two provinces and seven major cities. The Lianyun Mountain Range was divided into an outer and an inner region. The outer region had very few Demon Beasts, populated mostly by ordinary wild animals. Of course, besides the wildlife, the area was also dotted with mountain strongholds and home to many bandits and robbers. Though dangerous for ordinary people, the threat to Martial Artists wasn’t considered significant. After all, most bandits were only at the Body Refining Stage; there were not many true Martial Artists among them.
Compared to the outer region, the inner region was the truly dangerous part. It was teeming with Demon Beasts—tigers, leopards, wolves, eagles, snakes, and all manner of other creatures—making it an incredibly perilous place. Many Martial Artists at the Qi Gathering Stage had to tread with extreme caution when entering, and those at the First to Third Realm of the Qi Cultivation Stage wouldn’t even dare venture deep inside.
The rolling mountains were covered in verdant ancient woods. When a strong wind blew, it sent fallen leaves into a frenzy, and the forest canopy rippled like a great green ocean. Terrifying roars of beasts would occasionally echo through the mountains, audible even from dozens of li away.
At night, the moon hung like a Curved Saber, casting its cold light upon the rugged mountain ranges.
At that moment, deep within the inner region of the Lianyun Mountain Range.
"AWOO!" "AWOO!" "AWOOOO!"
"AWOOOO!"
Pairs of baleful, glowing green eyes appeared in the woods. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Cyan Wolves were surrounding a certain spot in the forest.
In the center of the circle of Cyan Wolves stood a brawny, middle-aged man. He was clad in beast hides, his face covered by a full, dark beard. Beneath thick hair, a thick beard, and thick eyebrows, his eyes were narrowed to slits, sharp as iron blades and glinting with a startling, fierce light.
’Damn it, why are there so many Cyan Wolves!’ The beast-hide-clad man glanced around and realized he was completely surrounded by hundreds of them.
"AWOO!" "AWOOOO!"
Among the pack, a Cyan Wolf King, clearly the largest of them all, let out a long howl. The next moment, hundreds of howling Cyan Wolves transformed into cyan blurs and charged toward the man in beast hides.
"Courting death!" the man in beast hides bellowed. A terrifying aura, as imposing as a mountain, erupted from him. He swung a massive fist and smashed it toward the foremost Cyan Wolf.
"BANG!"
A tremendous sound rang out as the man’s Iron Fist, like a collapsing mountain, smashed into the Cyan Wolf’s forehead.
Terrifying Power burst forth.
"BOOM!" "SPLAT!"
The Cyan Wolf’s hard skull instantly exploded like a watermelon under the blow, sending blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.
"A pack of beasts! You dare provoke your grandpa? Son of a bitch! I’m going to enjoy slaughtering you all tonight!" The man in beast hides swung his fists, whipping up a fierce wind around him.
"BOOM!" "BANG! BANG! BANG!"
"SPLAT!" "BOOM!"
The man’s strength was immense, and the power of his Iron Fist was terrifying. Each punch claimed the life of a Cyan Wolf. In just a few moments, dozens of the beasts lay dead at his hands.
Blood and brains coated the ground, where the corpses of the Cyan Wolf Demon Beasts lay in heaps. The scene was utterly gory and violent.
"Haha, this is great! So damn satisfying!" the man in beast hides roared, caught up in the thrill of the slaughter.
Suddenly—
"BZZZ!"
A strange fluctuation emanated from the sky. Though it was very faint by the time it reached this area, it still caused the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to churn and surge.