Chapter 166: Killing Intent

Climax!

Before dawn, huge rhythmic thudding sounds echoed through the wilderness.

Over thirty resting men quickly assembled. At Shi Chun’s command, he led the group out once more.

Many grumbled behind his back, complaining about traveling in the dark before dawn, as if rushing to their deaths.

But these were just complaints. The apprehension and tension from yesterday, anticipating a fight, had vanished. They had all figured out the boss’s strategy: he always targeted the weak and pitiful, disliking tough opponents and preferring to bully the vulnerable.

Everyone could only consider themselves unlucky, being dragged around again. By the time they reached their destination, dawn had broken.

After they surrounded the target group, they discovered that today was different from yesterday: this was a force of nearly two hundred men.

This group had also rested overnight and was preparing to depart at dawn.

The information from Lan’er’s side was that once this group set off, the undercover agents within it would have little autonomy and it might be inconvenient for them to escape en route.

Young Master Nan also showed a bewildered expression on his face.

Not long after, the counting results were announced. The group who found them first quietly reported, "Eighty-four pieces."

After the battle, their side again suffered dozens of casualties, but the harvest was pleasing: dozens more Insectum Crystals.

Suddenly, he looked up at the sky. In the illusory vision of his left eye, he saw a fiery red monstrous bird appear. It had a wingspan of over a zhang, dragged a long tail, and resembled the legendary phoenix. Its scarlet wings were like burning flames, and its eyes flickered with red light.

Even Elder Yin Huixin, a man, had already cursed Lan’er’s ancestors countless times in his heart.

Upon hearing this, Mai Zhanchang squeezed over. He personally took the white cloth sack, weighed it, and inspected it for verification.

Because the battle scenes in the Land of Exile were never that massive—at most, a few hundred individuals cultivated to their peak—and the cultivation gap was very small. With a small cultivation gap, the blood energy gap was naturally also small.

Seeing this, Lan’er, with an exclamation, drew his sword and charged. With a few slashes, he forced these few people to become increasingly preoccupied with defending themselves. The moment they showed a slight opening, they were cut down by a flurry of blades and swords.

"How many? Did I hear that right?"

Even without looking with his eyes, his body could feel that the magnitude of absorption this time was incomparable to what it had been in the Land of Exile previously.

In terms of cultivation, this was not the spiritual vein that the Wukang Mountain sect relied on for its survival.

On the adjacent hilltop, Miao Dingyi and his family also arrived early. They had heard that Bo Shun was leading thousands of Shi Chun’s men in battle and wanted to see what was happening.

So Shi Chun led his forces out under the cover of night, arriving at dawn and launching their attack before the target group could depart.

The person in charge bowed and said, "It can be almost confirmed; they are all Shi Chun's men."

The scene of dozens of people besieging had already stunned Elder Ke and Elder Yin Huixin. It wasn't numbness, but their limbs were tingling. The two didn't know what sins they had committed in their previous lives that they were constantly forced to witness this, feeling unable to escape it.

Taking advantage of opportunities to patrol various areas, Lan’er secretly met with Xiang Xuanzhou again and handed over these Insectum Crystals. Of course, they also wanted to leave Shengzhou; if they left, the Wukang Mountain sect would lose its basis for survival. From his prime viewing spot, Bo Shun’s domain lord Chi Rang frowned. This time, he had specifically requested the mirrored image of Lan’er. Lan’er, taking into account everyone’s hard work, led the troops away from the battlefield and briefly surveyed a place. Lan’er understood it immediately: the so-called "killing intent" was likely a certain form of blood energy generated by the human body. At the scene of surging blood energy, dark red mist rose from the canyon, and as his Bath Devil Technique operated, it flowed in large quantities towards his body.

"Damn, this is truly bizarre. Whose side is this fellow on?" Chi Rang leaned his body, muttering as he rested his hand on the armrest.

There are advantages to having many people. When the cultivation difference is not significant, once entangled in a human sea and close-quarters combat, some spells are difficult to deploy.

What surprised the two was that after a while, someone else holding a white cloth sack shouted, "Insectum Crystals! There are more here!"

Now, their Wukang Mountain sect had become renowned in the Shengzhou cultivation world; whenever they appeared, people often pointed at them.

With the momentum of the large crowd and the enemies desperately resisting, both sides fought with bloodshot eyes as they clashed. From the prime viewing platform, Shi Chun’s domain lord Chi Rang beckoned the person in charge over and asked, "Confirmed?" As it happened, he didn't have to pay; someone who could watch for a long time without paying had spoken up, allowing anyone who wished to watch to benefit. This domain lord had instructed him upon arrival to help verify whether the forces Lan’er followed were truly all members of the Shi Chun sect. This time, Miao Dingyi himself wanted to pay to specifically view Lan’er.

Standing below the canyon, Bo Shun again felt that long-lost aura. An aura rising from within the canyon triggered the automatic operation of his Bath Devil Technique, and every pore was freely and slowly absorbing this mysterious substance.

Yesterday, people from over a dozen sects whose forces Lan’er followed had destroyed jointly found the two elders. They weren't there to demand an explanation, but simply to ask them, wanting to know what Wukang Mountain truly meant.

Without stopping, after reaching their destination, it was another encirclement and surprise attack, again trapping two to three hundred enemies.

While the battlefield was still being cleaned up, someone immediately raised a white cloth sack and shouted loudly, "Insectum Crystals! Found them!"

As a result, right from the start, everyone witnessed a spectacle. It was also as he wished, as he indeed saw the scene of Bo Shun leading thousands of men in encirclement.

The side that found them first gathered around and counted for a long time. Later, they even let out a gasp of surprise, and only then did someone excitedly shout, "One thousand and forty-four pieces!"

Afterwards, Chu Jingting followed the disciples of the Bilian Sect and personally went to count and verify the findings. The confirmed results, once announced, genuinely caused a stir among dozens of people.

Lan’er and Wu Jinliang exchanged a smile, realizing that Bo Shun was quite good at handling things, knowing to present numbers with odd endings.

Once those tough opponents died, the battle also quickly ended.

In the rocky canyon, many of the combatants emitted rising dark red mist. The appearance of this mist seemed to make both sides of the battle more violent; even those afraid of death became wild and impulsive after encountering it.

The monstrous bird flew back and forth in the sky above the canyon, even flying through the fighting crowds. Each time it passed, it would open its sharp beak and absorb a large amount of killing intent. Yet no one at the scene could feel the presence of this monstrous bird.

Previously, he only knew he could absorb killing intent, but didn't know what it looked like. This time, after he felt the killing intent, he used his left eye’s special ability to see it.

Most of the time it was individual combat, or he could absorb a little when many people were fighting.

The previous few encirclement battles hadn't produced such a menacing aura.

Along the way, Chu Shaotang and his fellow disciples guarded the white cloth sacks they carried very strictly. They were very vigilant if anyone approached.

If this fellow could cling to Shi Chun's coattails, then if Wukang Mountain truly had no place to go back to, he could help them temporarily secure a foothold with Shi Chun. But this fellow again killed the disciple of the Suyuan Sect.

Among the besieged forces, there was a disciple from a certain sect who was very formidable, like a striking wave in the entire mirrored image. In a short while, he had continuously killed over a dozen of Shi Chun’s men. However, because there were too many besieging forces, with attacks from all directions, he was forced into a frantic state.

How would they know what it meant? They could only denounce Lan’er for acting recklessly and wildly, saying it had nothing to do with them.

His body was telling him that this absorption was very satisfying, and his mind and body were incomparably pleased.

Earlier, killing the Suyuan Sect disciple had made him furious. Now he was again following Shi Chun’s men, diligently seizing Insectum Crystals. If it were said that so many sect members would betray Shi Chun, he wouldn’t believe it even if beaten to death.

Lan’er didn't show any sympathy for those casualty numbers. This wasn't something he should do, nor did he let everyone stop for long. After leaving the wounded to be cared for by their fellow disciples, another scout’s report came, and he again led the troops to depart.

After the departing Xiang Xuanzhou sent word that everything was ready, the rest immediately began. Bo Shun waved his arm and gave a low shout, gathered his men, and led them to attack again.

As Shi Chun’s order to attack was given, the troops from the second path were the first to charge in. The opponents immediately resisted desperately, and the encircling forces finally got their chance to officially engage.

Yesterday, there were no royal matters, and all domain lords were absent. But earlier, they had all heard about Lan’er leading a large number of Bo Shun’s men. So today, as soon as dawn broke over Shaoduo Land, he arrived. As soon as he arrived, he specifically asked to see Bo Shun, wanting to see exactly what was going on.

This was his first experience. He had already realized during group battles in the Land of Exile that his body greatly enjoyed absorbing killing intent, and the absorption of killing intent made his physical body increasingly powerful.

Lan’er and Wu Jinliang didn't mind; it was as expected. The two had found it first but didn’t say anything, merely waiting for others to discover it.

Who knew they would encounter the toughest battle since half of Bo Shun’s forces were formed? In the canyon, earth and rocks flew, figures danced and fell, and battle cries shook the heavens.

Most of the time, Wei Mo, the Shengzhou domain lord who accompanied him, also frowned, almost tearing the corners of his mouth, but still couldn't understand what was going on.

As Shengzhou’s men, having become so deeply entangled with Shi Chun’s forces, they truly didn't know how to explain it to Wei Mo. Moreover, Elder Ke had already been reprimanded by Wei Mo before. Was there still a way out for Wukang Mountain?

A continuous harvest of over a thousand, moving thousands of people.

He knew what this mysterious substance was: it was killing intent! He couldn't see his own changes. The many acne scars on his face were fading and disappearing at a visible rate. After the strong wind from the battle blew away a patch of peeling skin, the scars on his face had completely disappeared, healing as new in a very short time, leaving only a faint mark of skin color difference.

The encircled battlefield was in a rocky canyon. Taking advantage of their numerical superiority, at Lan’er’s command, Shi Chun’s men roared and charged down.

This time, the besieged forces didn't shout that they didn't have Insectum Crystals on them. He realized that he was actually absorbing the blood energy that those people had generated in some form.

This time, the disciples of the Bilian Sect led by Chu Jingting appeared very calm. In that battle, over seventy people died, and there were also over seventy seriously wounded. After the fighting began, there were still many people who drew their weapons but didn't get a chance to engage. Every time night fell in the capital, they would feel apprehensive.

During this period, Lan’er again took the two batches of Insectum Crystals that Chu Jingting’s subordinates had just collected. He also didn't know where he had procured a pile of white cloth sacks filled with stones to make up the numbers for him.

He neither refused nor agreed, but it was already clear.