Chapter 82: A Wolf in Front and a Tiger at the Back
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Out of the thirteen people, one of them was at the first stage of Purple Mansion Realm, five of them were at the ninth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm, and the rest of them were at the eighth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm.
Jiang Yi would not have been afraid if it was a battle between two people. His level of cultivation stage was just too low, and he did not have enough essence force to handle thirteen people. If he decided to release the Exploding Essence Palm continuously, his body would become so weak and frail that he could only wait for death.
He channeled a wisp of black essence forces to the bottom of his feet, increasing his speed to that of a das.h.i.+ng wind—comparable to a martial artist who was at the ninth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm. However, even with the aid of the black essence forces, the people behind him seemed to be catching up with him.
What should I do now?
Jiang Yi looked stern and unrelenting, but he was desperately anxious on the inside. He tried to think of ways to escape from the situation while he dashed for his life. In the end, he realized that he had no other choice—apart from risking his life to fight or die!
The other party had the ability to lure away Qian w.a.n.guan and Mentor Zhao, or perhaps Qian w.a.n.guan and Mentor Zhao were actually in cahoots with them? The fact that they dared to kill people on the grounds of Mt. Spirit Beast College meant that Jiang Yi had nowhere to escape. The most he could do was to delay the fight so that he could perhaps receive some help from the college’s reinforcement.
He decided that the battle was unavoidable; Jiang Yi scanned the surroundings to look for the most suitable battlefield as he sped on. He needed some external help for he would definitely become a cold and lifeless corpse in less than fifteen minutes if he just relied on his own strength.
There is a cave upfront!
He saw that there was a cave right in front of him. The cave was pitch-black, and it was unknown how deep it was or what kind of demonic beasts could be lurking within it. He would never have dared to trespa.s.s the cave on normal days, but he couldn’t care less at that moment and dashed straight into the cave.
“Swis.h.!.+”
The thirteen people behind him entered the cave and chased after him without hesitation. All of them had their face masked, and in their eyes prevailed a sense of mockery. They thought that Jiang Yi was fl.u.s.tered. He just fled into any path he could without choosing carefully, burning his own boat.
“Tsk Tsk!”
All thirteen of them had just dashed into the cave before hearing dozens of objects abruptly piercing through the air from around the corner. The Purple Mansion Realm martial artist leading the group exclaimed in realization, “Hidden weapons, retreat!”
It was natural for them to choose to retreat as it was dimly lit inside the cave, and they would be attacked by the hidden weapons just after they went past the first corner. However, it was a narrow cave which only allowed three people to pa.s.s at a time. Five or six people had already gone past the corner at that moment, while the rest of them were still unaware of the situation and das.h.i.+ng forward. The people in front were retreating, but the people at the back were still das.h.i.+ng forward blindly. It was needless to say that they collided into each other, resulting in hectic chaos.
“Pong, Pong, Pong…!”
However, they managed to retreat fast enough, and a hidden weapon landed on a slab of stone, creating a soft noise. The Purple Mansion Realm martial artist used the faint light to check out the hidden weapon. He was enraged when he realized that it was actually not a hidden weapon—but a normal rock.
“Chase!”
Once again, he led the team and dashed on furiously. Another air-piercing sound echoed through the cave as they pa.s.sed the corner, and a whole lot of “hidden weapons” came showering down upon them.
Again with this?
The martial artist of the first stage of Purple Mansion Realm scoffed coldly and charged on like while releasing their fist and palm shadows, with the three other people in the front.
“Pong, Pong, Pong…!”
Indeed, unsurprisingly, it was still rocks that were shooting towards them. The rocks were easily deflected by the martial artists who continued to dash forward violently.
The cave was long and narrow, with twists and turns at every corner. It was not long before they encountered another turn, and it was even more dimly lit inside. However, all of them could vaguely see the Jiang Yi’s silhouette entering the corner.
“Swis.h.!.+”
The whole group of people darted towards the direction and reached the corner. What welcomed them was yet another sound piercing hidden weapon shot towards them.
Is he running out of ideas…?
The eyes of the martial artist, who was at the first stage of Purple Mansion Realm, were filled with mockery, but he did not manage to finish his sentence before stopping abruptly. He realized that accompanying the rocks was a short, green-colored sword shooting towards them. The short sword was not circulating any essence force initially, but it was fully infused with essence forces just when it was merely three feet away from him. A bright, green light glowed and transformed into flurry shadows of swords, entrapping the three people in the front.
“Overflow Rain Sword!”
A cold shout rang through the air. At the moment when the glow from the Green Destiny Sword blinded the scene, it lit up Jiang Yi as well. His eyes were cold as stone—indifferent with not a tint of emotion to be found. In this pitched dark cave, they looked extra intimidating.
“Hmph! Hidden Tiger Palm!”
The martial artist of the first stage of the Purple Mansion Realm was afraid of retreating as it might trigger yet another chaos because there was a large group of people behind him. Red glows radiated out from his palms, and essence forces—which resembled red dragons—were swirling on the surface of his palms. With that, he sent a ferocious palm strike on Jiang Yi’s left shoulder. His strength was formidable, and his speed of attack was ferociously fast. He thought that he could send Jiang Yi flying out of the cave before Jiang Yi managed to strike the sword on him.
“Exploding Essence Palm!”
A faint smile slipped out from the corner of Jiang Yi’s mouth. The glow from the Green Destiny Sword suddenly faded away, and the other palm hidden inside the sleeve shot out of the blue and clashed with his opponent’s palm.
“Boom!”
An alarming explosion thundered through the air and sent the cave shaking violently. Countless of rocks fell, and the blast of the explosion caused excruciating pain in everyone’s eardrums. The ma.s.sive impact of the strong shock wave sent the people standing in front flying off their feet. As it was a narrow cave, there was a rippling effect which caused the people at the back to get knocked off as well.
“Pfff…”
Jiang Yi’s body was also blasted off by the force, and he vomited a mouthful of fresh blood. His left hand could not stop trembling, and blood could be seen bleeding out from his hukou acupoint faintly. If he had not released the Exploding Essence Palm to counteract the full power strike of the Purple Mansion Realm martial artist, his entire arm would have been gone.
“Boom-boom!”
The cave was still shaking: rocks were still falling with no means to stop, almost blocking the cave. Jiang Yi scanned through the scene before his eyes and saw the martial artist of the first stage of the Purple Mansion Realm. His entire arm was blasted into a bloodied mess, and the two people near him also suffered from serious injuries. Jiang Yi let out a breath of relief. The Purple Mansion Realm martial artist was his greatest threat; he wouldn’t be able to escape death if the Purple Mansion Realm martial artist was not deeply injured.
“Exploding Essence Palm!”
When he stood up, an essence force flashed from within his palm, releasing yet another Exploding Essence Palm. He aimed at the wall of stone and slammed down on it forcefully. He did not release all the strength this time around, but the power was sufficient enough to send the cave shaking violently again. The rocks came cras.h.i.+ng down and completely blocked out the cave.
“Swis.h.!.+”
He quickly took out a recuperation elixir and swallowed it down before das.h.i.+ng into the inner part of the cave. Although he had sealed and blocked off the cave, that group of martial artists could easily drill out a route using their abilities. He had to find the way out as soon as possible, or he would surely die.
G.o.ddammit!
However, he was soon sent into despair after barely running for more than ten feet. A b.l.o.o.d.y stench surged towards him, and a wave of s.h.i.+vers engulfed him.
A demonic beast!
It was a tier-one demonic beast whose power was at its peak—definitely comparable to that of the tentacled monster!
A wolf in the front and a tiger at the back!
Jiang Yi was very weak and frail at that moment. It would be extremely difficult to take down and kill the demonic beast. Once the martial artists unblocked the cave, it would not be a beautiful ending.
I’ll just do it!
He turned around without any hesitation and dashed towards the original route. He gathered a wisp of black essence forces to his eyes and gave himself incredibly un.o.bstructed vision which allowed him to see the whole of the cave with extreme clearness.
“Boom!”
Explosive blasts could be heard from the blocked cave. It was obvious that the martial artists had begun unblocking the cave. Jiang Yi turned his head and stole a glance at the ma.s.sive python behind him, and his eyes flashed with a trace of sinister intent.
He darted towards the pile of rocks and circulated the essence force on the Green Destiny Sword. It acted like a sharp awl, stirring up and creating a small indent in the pile of rocks. He burrowed through the pile of rocks like a pangolin and brandished his sword at the surrounding fallen rocks which caused them to crumble down and bury him alive.
With the wolf at the front and tiger at the back, he won’t be able to win the fight. He could only put his life at stake and gamble that the martial artists would attract the attention of the demonic beast. If the demonic beast still ended up locking him as its target to attack, then he would have to resign to his fate.