Chapter 129: 裂山兽

Jiang Fan's expression changed. He immediately took Chen Siling and went out to meet the other disciples.

Half a day later, Ding Wanping had successfully inherited the position of Young Master. He had not only changed into a brand-new brocade robe, but the Ding family had also equipped him with a medium-grade magical artifact. Most importantly, Ding Tianxiang and several young, powerful members of the clan accompanied him like bodyguards.

Seeing Jiang Fan emerge, Ding Wanping smugly announced, "Allow me to introduce my attendants." Then he added, "I'm bringing my attendants along to exterminate the demonic beasts. All merit points will be counted as mine, no problem, right?"

The other disciples were resentful. "Why?" they thought. They were all fighting solo, but Ding Wanping had brought an entire group, including Ding Tianxiang, whose cultivation had reached the eighth level of Foundation Establishment. Apart from the Demon King, any other demonic beast would surely be slaughtered by them. They had traveled thousands of miles, only to find themselves unable to even get a sip of soup; Ding Wanping would take all the meat. However, this was the Ding family's territory. Even if they disagreed, there was nothing they could do. Who was to blame for them not having attendants?

Jiang Fan said expressionlessly, "As you wish." Demonic beasts possess various innate abilities; without understanding these, it might not be easy to kill them.

Ding Wanping scoffed, "Such a tough mouth! I wonder if you'll be as tough when you're trying to snatch kills from demonic beasts."

Boom— Suddenly, a tremendous roar echoed from the East City Gate. It was clear that demonic beasts were attacking the city! All the disciples immediately followed.

Ding Wanping commanded, "Ding Tianxiang, get me the first kill! I can't let that Jiang guy get ahead of me!"

A flicker of resentment crossed Ding Tianxiang's eyes. Once, this waste of a person, whom he had never even acknowledged, could now command him. Yet, remembering Master Qin's favor toward him, he gritted his teeth, circulated his spiritual energy, and swiftly rushed forward.

Soon, everyone arrived and was astonished to see the city wall, which had been significantly dented. This wall, built from stone and solid as a fortress, had been struck by an unknown demonic beast, leaving a ten-foot deep indentation. The sheer force of the impact sent shivers down everyone's spines. If someone were to be hit squarely, their intestines would surely be ripped apart, and internal organs shattered, resulting in a gruesome death.

"Everyone, be careful!" Ding Wanping muttered with a grave expression. The demonic beast was much stronger than he had expected.

Indeed. As he scanned the scene, he saw Ding Tianxiang struggling to contend with a gigantic creature covered in earthy yellow scales, resembling a hippopotamus. Unlike a hippopotamus, its eyes were crimson, and its mouth was filled with menacing, wolf-like teeth, both upper and lower. Its nose was rounded and as black as ink, occasionally emitting an eerie red glow. Ding Tianxiang, despite his cultivation reaching the eighth level of Foundation Establishment and his techniques possessing immense power, could only leave streaks of blood on the beast's body. Far from slaying it, he only enraged the creature further. This left Ding Tianxiang, who had arrived first, unable to deliver a decisive blow.

Ding Wanping was astonished. "What kind of demonic beast is this?" he exclaimed. The disciples present, along with the accompanying young powerhouses of the Ding family, all looked bewildered. Indeed, no one recognized the demonic beast before them.

Jiang Fan was also surprised. "There's actually this kind of demonic beast in Hundred Beasts Mountain?" he wondered. This was a rare anomaly among demonic beasts, known as the Mountain-Splitting Beast. Its scales were an exceptionally hard, top-grade material for defensive magical artifacts, making it incredibly difficult for ordinary artifacts and techniques to penetrate. Without understanding its weakness, even several levels higher in cultivation would be useless. Yet, this type of demonic beast was uncommon even in distant beast tides, and one was surprisingly hidden in Hundred Beasts Mountain.

As he pondered the Mountain-Splitting Beast's weakness, he decisively drew his black sword and leaped down the city wall.

Seeing Jiang Fan move, Ding Wanping grew anxious and ordered the remaining Ding family members to join the battle.

The Mountain-Splitting Beast was already struggling to rampage under Ding Tianxiang's suppression. With several more young powerhouses from the Ding family joining the fray, it was immediately bombarded and found itself unable to resist. This thoroughly ignited the Mountain-Splitting Beast's ferocity. As it shook off its attackers, it let out a sky-shattering roar, and its pitch-black nose immediately pulsed with an intense blood-red glow, like a burning hot iron.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Fan's eyelids twitched, and he shouted, "Everyone, get out of the way!" He quickly executed his movement technique and leaped to a safer distance.

Ding Tianxiang also sensed the danger and immediately flashed away without a word. The other young powerhouses from the Ding family likewise perceived the danger and quickly scattered.

The Mountain-Splitting Beast fixated on Ding Tianxiang and roared as it charged. With the city wall at his back, Ding Tianxiang had nowhere to escape. At that critical moment, a Qingyun Sect disciple threw down a rope ladder. Ding Tianxiang seized it and leaped up, narrowly evading the Mountain-Splitting Beast's charge.

Boom— A deafening crash. The city wall was once again slammed, leaving another ten-foot deep indentation! If Ding Tianxiang had been hit squarely just now, his fate would have been grim. He wiped away cold sweat, a look of narrow escape etched on his face.

But Jiang Fan warned again, "Be careful! It's not over yet!"

The Mountain-Splitting Beast suddenly raised its head, and its blood-red nostrils arched towards Ding Tianxiang. A materialized, blood-red ripple swiftly surged toward Ding Tianxiang!

Ding Tianxiang's face paled with fright. Even before the ripple struck, he felt the immense danger contained within it. If hit, his body would surely be shattered by the ripple's force!

In this critical moment, he made a ruthless decision. He forcefully yanked the rope ladder. The Qingyun Sect disciple holding the ladder above was caught off guard and thrown down. Ding Tianxiang, meanwhile, used the momentum to leap upward, successfully grabbing the edge of the city wall and flipping back onto its top.

However, the Qingyun Sect disciple who was thrown down screamed as he plummeted, unfortunately falling directly into the path of the blood-red ripple. This sight sent the Qingyun Sect disciples into a furious uproar. They had kindly rescued Ding Tianxiang, only to have him sacrifice their companion as a shield? Yet, in a mere flash, they had no time to save their comrade! All they could do was listen to his helpless screams.

Jiang Fan's expression also changed drastically. He never imagined Ding Tianxiang could be so despicable! Without hesitation, he immediately executed his movement technique, running along the city wall as if scaling a vertical surface. Just as the blood-red ripple surged past, he managed to catch the Qingyun Sect disciple in time, then narrowly dodged the incoming wave by brushing past its very edge.

Boom— The ripple finally struck the edge of the city wall, directly shattering a gap several tens of feet long. Many of the disciples on the city wall turned pale with fright.

"C-can we really handle this demonic beast?" someone stammered. "We should quickly notify the Ding family's powerful cultivators and ask them to act!" Some were already backing down. Even Ding Tianxiang no longer dared to attack rashly, stating, "This beast is beyond our ability to handle. Quickly notify the powerful cultivators from the three great families!" As for the disciples left outside the city, they could only pray for themselves.

After its consecutive attacks failed, the Mountain-Splitting Beast became enraged, its pair of blood-red eyes glaring fiercely at Jiang Fan. It pawed the earth with its four hooves, adopting an attacking stance.

Jiang Fan set down the rescued Qingyun Sect disciple and urged, "Go quickly!" With that, he gripped his black sword, holding his breath and concentrating. The Mountain-Splitting Beast, though formidable and invulnerable to conventional weapons, had a glaring weakness.

Rumble— The Mountain-Splitting Beast suddenly sprang forward like a projectile. Its nose once again emitted a blood-red light. The many disciples who had witnessed the terror of its nose felt their hearts leap to their throats. They shouted, "Get out of the way! Quickly, get out of the way!" and "Run, Junior Brother Jiang!" However, Jiang Fan did not dodge. Instead, he fixed his gaze on its rapidly charging, blood-red nose—which was about to unleash its innate ability—and, fully activating his movement technique, charged directly toward it!