Before this aura was conjured into the world, a heart-riveting scene played out.
Long Chen was exhausted. The continuous running from Huangfu Jinwei had led to his astral force being thoroughly consumed. While he had lasted for hours, in the end, his cultivation base was merely at the World Sea and his cultivation efforts had been too short. Without sufficient time, even with the Imperial Heaven Qi Method, a merged Astral Soul, and the support of Wu Yu, his Astral Core was a millimeter in size. While massive in its own right, it was still dependent on what it was being used for.
Beside him were three female cultivators. Hong Ru and Xiao Bing, two Earthly Elite disciples of the Myriad Monarch Sect. They were absolute beauties with their own unique charm, one fiery and radiant like the sun and the other chilly and forceful like a blizzard. Their looks were top-tier, and they even belonged to top-tier clans supported by high-ranking elders.
The last was a beastwoman. She was a disciple of an independent cultivator. Her cultivation base wasn't inferior to the other two girls, at the Second Stage of the Astral Core Realm, but her aura was definitely not as robust as the other two. She was quiet as she observed the situation, a hint of vigilance within her eyes as she regarded Huangfu Jinwei.
Hong Ru was the one with an energetic and explosive personality. When she saw Long Chen in desperate straits being chased by Huangfu Jinwei, she yelled at the other party. "What do you think you're doing?!" She loudly questioned fearlessly as she stared at Huangfu Jinwei with a fiery gaze.
Unlike Hong Ru, Xiao Bing wasn't as fiery, but her eyes were icy and cold as she saw Long Chen's current state. A flash of rage flickered within her eyes as she glared at Huangfu Jinwei. While she didn't speak, her expression spoke volumes.
Huangfu Jinwei was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected to meet these two in his chase against Long Chen. This was a very vast planet, and the trials took place all over. While they were traveling for several hours, they hadn't gotten too far from their initial location. The coincidence caused him pause.
Long Chen didn't relax. He withdrew a sixth-grade pill and immediately popped it into his mouth. This pill was meant to replenish his depleted astral force. He tried his hardest to refine it with the quickest speed. He remained vigilant, but he was also calmer now. He tried to find the three Shadow Moon Wolves, but they seemed to be in hiding. This caused him to become calmer and assured about Huangfu Jinwei's restraint.
Huangfu Jinwei would surely hesitate with these two here. They weren't nobodies and had clans backing them. High-level members of the clan were likely watching them now, and any action against them would surely be met with consequence.
However, he overestimated Huangfu Jinwei's fear towards these clans and underestimated his hatred towards Long Chen. Even more with the display of their apparent disgust and the core of his immense hatred before him. Being shielded by them only stoked the flames of rage within his heart, and his eyes revealed a bloodshot look after his hesitation had ended.
"Ru'er, Bing'er, just step aside. This is between him and me," despite his mentality teetering on the brink of collapse, he still attempted to speak cordially and plead with the two women. If it wasn't for his decades of memories attempting to woo, wow, and please them, he might've not done this.
Xiao Bing's eyes grew colder. Her eyes revealed a flash of disgust. She obviously disliked Huangfu Jinwei's attempt at being so familiar with them, and her stance remained unchanged. In fact, she stepped forward and directly unleashed her Sky Pressure. She wasn't doing this to gear for a fight, as she didn't think it would come to that, but to express her side. After all, fighting was prohibited in the Trial of Beasts.
Hong Ru, however, had a looser and more ferocious mouth on her. "Don't call me that, you piece of trash! You're fellow disciples and yet you do this? Aren't you embarrassed? He's only at the World Sea Phase while you're at the Soul Idol Phase, is this supposed to be fair? Is this a 'between him and me'?!" She called him out on his bullying without any filter. She too unleashed her Sky Pressure.
But her words ignited a trigger in Huangfu Jinwei's mind. His mental image of these two girls shattered, as it was replaced with images of Long Chen and them. They laughed. They kissed. They shared a bed.
At the end, they tormented him with mocking gazes and laughed at him. Humiliating him for his efforts for the past decades, taunting him for being forced to wear a green hat. Those images seared into his mind and those bloodshot eyes became more prominent. Each crimson line became thick and pumping.
"You cheating sluts!" He felt used. All those days, those times of assistance to their factions, those expensive gifts, and more. They all crumbled into his mind and set his world ablaze. At this point, he didn't hear anything else that Long Chen, Hong Ru, or the other girl had said. While they had spoken, they just seemed like jeering laughs in his ears.
"AHHHH! KILL THEM ALL! ALL OF THEM!!!" His Sky Pressure exploded, canceling out the others in a non-confrontational manner. While he couldn't act against them directly, he could weaken their ability with interference. This would be considered an unintentional effect of unleashing one's Sky Pressure. If it was considered acting against others, the two girls would've been eliminated by now.
His roar shook the four. They hadn't expected him to go from his startled and pleading expression into erupting with murderous rage.
"As if!" Hong Ru shouted.
Long Chen's face paled instantly. It seemed they didn't know about the rules regarding beasts. Well, he hadn't either. "He can control three Shadow Moon Wolves!" He cried out, but it was too late. The wolves took orders from Huangfu Jinwei, their souls forcefully restrained and their wills controlled. A single order and they acted without hesitation.
They exited from Huangfu Jinwei's shadow. Shadow Moon Wolves had unique bloodline powers linked with the Dao of Shadows. They could merge in foreign shadows and vanish from senses, even shift between shadows. They hunted at night, essentially becoming shadows in the night. Unlike darkness, they became reflections of the world and had no substance in their shadow forms. They were assassins in its purest form.
When the three ten-meter tall wolves emerged with snarling maws and vicious eyes, the three girls were immediately startled. The wolves didn't hesitate and acted. They chose a target and swarmed, twisting into dark shadows that flickered.
Hong Ru, Xiao Bing, and the other girl gasped. The speed of these wolves was insanely fast! They couldn't react. Fortunately, Long Chen had regained a trace of astral force and immediately executed his movement art. In a flash, he brought the two beauties away.
As for the other girl…
A blood-curdling scream filled with fear and despair penetrated the air. The smell of blood tainted the air as the wolves pounced, each focused on ripping a limb from the beastwoman. They pressed her to the ground and viciously bit and pulled at her body. She struggled, her astral force and spiritual force attempted to resist, but the sheer strength of the wolves surpassed her hasty attempts.
Despite their sizes, they were very thorough in eating into her. In the end of this bloody and stomach-churning event, one of the wolves opened their maws and directly snapped it against her soft neck.
A horrific, mind-crushing crunch of bone brought silence to the world.
It was over.
It swallowed her head with a gush of blood, brain matter, and bits of white bone squeezing out of its teeth.
The two girls' faces had become as ashen as physically possible. It had happened so quickly, but they saw it all. "She…" Hong Ru felt her stomach churn as the rest of the girl's body was split and fought over by the wolves. They seemed to have turned into brainless bloodthirsty creatures that ate flesh. It was a brutal sight.
Long Chen's breathing was labored and strained. He didn't have much astral force left, and the three wolves were beyond the two girls' capabilities. If he departed by himself, he might have a straw chance at survival, but taking the two would only cause them to fall into the jaws of these beasts.
"HAHAHAHA! YES!" Huangfu Jinwei had seemingly gone insane, his eyes exuded the essence of delightful murder. The very thought of seeing these adulterous trio meet the same fate had nearly caused him orgasmic levels of pleasure. But it was just a thought, it would be best to witness it with his own two eyes.
He pointed at the three of them, his smile malicious and maniacal, "Kill them!" His voice wasn't as loud, but it contained a chilling to the bone feeling to it. The wolves stopped their wrestling, their silver eyes moved to the trio. They spread out, their forms ready to pounce.
"We...stop! Huangfu Jinwei, stop!" Hong Ru cried. She didn't know why Huangfu Jinwei had lost his mind and cared not about the consequences or how he gained control of three Silver Starred Beasts, but she was truly terrified.
Xiao Bing was also scared, but she withdrew an icy-blue longsword at this dangerous moment. It emitted a frightening frost as she readied to protect herself. She wasn't as direct and ignorant as Hong Ru. She knew why Huangfu Jinwei started to act like this, or at least a bit of the whole reason. If she was to die today, she wouldn't do so without fighting.
"Senior!" Long Chen called out to Wu Yu. They were in desperate straits. But Wu Yu was momentarily silent. When he did respond, it caused Long Chen to be confused.
"It's best that you and the other two activate your jade tablets. You'll lose this opportunity, but retain your lives," was his advice. This wasn't his opponent dominating him from his cultivation base. If it was entirely unfair, then Wu Yu would intervene. But Huangfu Jinwei had prepared and spent months gaining what he had. If Long Chen had been smarter, would he be at this disadvantage?
Wu Yu had created this trial. If he intervened, wouldn't that sully its purpose? To him, Long Chen's failure just meant he needed more tempering.
Unfortunately, Long Chen didn't think the same. He was obstinate. This was his only chance to fight Wei Wuyin fairly, as well as to obtain top-tier benefits by claiming first place. He shouted to the two, "Use your jade tablets! Leave!"
His words snapped the two out of their thoughts, and Huangfu Jinwei was startled. His expression became urgent as he urged the spiritual spell and sent orders to kill! Kill faster! Act faster! The Shadow Moon Wolves did not disappoint. They flashed like fleeting shadows and unified their assault onto Xiao Bing.
「Slicing Blizzard Art: Storm of Frost」
Xiao Bing was startled, but she expected this somewhat. Her ice force bloomed from her sword as she stabbed towards the shadows. A conical-shaped torrential blizzard was conjured before her that froze even the air and objects it touched. Within this blizzard was slicing sword light.
Long Chen acted on impulse. He grabbed Hong Ru and hastily retreated. He couldn't grab Xiao Bing as frost had emerged around her, protecting her in an icy ward. If he touched that, he could experience frosty feedback that could infect his already tiny traces of astral force.
Hong Ru exclaimed, clutching onto Long Chen as she closed her eyes in fear.
Xiao Bing's fearless efforts were admirable but met little success. The Shadow Moon Wolves erupted with a coat of flashing shadows that blocked the blizzard. It couldn't even affect their movements as they pierced through and chomped towards her.
She was shocked. How could these beasts be so powerful?! She tried to retreat with a movement art, her sword waving as she constantly released raging ice force to fend off their attacks. Fortunately, she escaped their concerted strike with her life intact, retreating to Long Chen's side. Unfortunately, her sword-wielding arm and sword had been ripped apart at the shoulder.
She didn't scream nor utter a single sound of pain. Her eyes were chilly and cold, but her aura noticeably dropped. Without her right arm, her combat strength had dropped several levels. She didn't hesitate to activate her jade tablet and the spatial formation within. Her eyes flashed with the images of icy hell as they reflected Huangfu Jinwei's figure.
While she didn't speak, her eyes said everything.
In a flash, she was encased by spatial energies, an area of twenty meters was pushed away by a formless barrier and she shot upwards.
Hong Ru withdrew her jade tablet, her eyes looked towards Huangfu Jinwei as she spat viciously, "I'll kill you! Just you wait, Huangfu Jinwei! Just you wait!" Her words were piercing and filled with enmity.
Long Chen felt relieved at her display. He stepped away from Hong Ru so as to not be affected by the pushing force of the jade tablet. It was a defensive function to ensure that those who activated the formation on time would survive with a near guarantee chance. But his action had caused Hong Ru to wait as well.
This caused an abrupt, unexpected, and sad moment to occur.
From her shadow, a silver moon's image was reflected in it. Her body felt cold, as if an immense and dreadful power had seized her mind. Her sea of consciousness had a silver moon in it, and its light reflected a shadow that enveloped it all. Frozen, she couldn't even activate her jade tablet.
Long Chen was confused in this decisive moment. Why had Hong Ru stopped? Was she waiting for him to get further away. He could see her gaze on him, still as water. Was...something wrong?
"Her mind!" Wu Yu shouted from the ring, but it was too late.
A shadow had emerged from the silver moon and with a gaping jaw of crimson blood, hovered over Hong Ru ready to snap on that delicate torso of hers.
"NO!"
A splash of blood painted the world!
