Chapter 1044: Solving

The Lei clan was overly arrogant. They had deliberately set an ambush, using Grey Lion to kill Sixth Uncle, and now they even dared to send scouts to investigate the situation outside the tribe. What's more, this individual was completely unrestrained, speaking presumptuously and gloating, mistakenly believing Sixth Uncle was dead, and openly mocking them.

This was truly intolerable. Someone had secretly hunted down a tribal elder, and then had the audacity to mock and humiliate them afterward. This was a blood feud.

Ji Haishan leaped to his feet, covering dozens of meters in a single bound, and quickly caught up with the man.

"What do you want?!" the Lei clan member demanded.

"I'll cripple you!" Ji Haishan's fist, as large as a washbasin, shot forward, creating a whirlwind of sand and stones with a sound like thunder.

If they allowed themselves to be openly humiliated without retaliation, what honor would the Ji clan have left?

"Ji Haishan, what are you doing? Are you trying to bully my Lei clan, do you think we have no one? You're provoking inter-tribal conflict without reason, disregarding the agreements between tribes. You will be punished for this!"

From a distance, a loud roar echoed as a gaunt, scarred middle-aged man arrived. It was Lei Jiao, the Lei clan's hunting captain whom Ji Haishan had encountered when bringing Chu Feng back to the tribe – the very man Chu Feng had urinated on. His movements were incredibly swift. He leaped, covering dozens of meters in an instant, quickly closing in and charging towards Ji Haishan, ready to engage in combat.

However, Ji Haishan's earlier strike had already produced a result: the disrespectful individual was sent flying, their bones cracking and breaking in more than a dozen places. They coughed up large mouthfuls of blood, completely collapsing and rendered useless.

Lei Jiao and Ji Haishan clashed. Both were powerful, and they immediately engaged in a fierce battle. In the distance, a large group of Lei clan members was rapidly closing in.

Lei Jiao shouted, "Don't be afraid! This time, the Ji clan attacked us first. If they don't provide a satisfactory explanation, we can even breach their stockade today without issue. They are in the wrong; we are justified. The agreements between tribes cannot restrain us!"

"Exactly! Ji clan, are you seeking death by daring to stir up inter-tribal conflict? If this dispute reaches the higher authorities, prepare for the great tribes from the depths of the plains to come and wipe out your clan!"

"Kill these Ji clan members! They were the ones who initiated this!"

Once the group charged forward, they were all extremely ferocious, wielding broadswords, long spears, and other weapons, radiating a chilling killing intent as they aimed for deadly blows. Naturally, a group from the Ji clan immediately surged forward to meet them. They would never allow Ji Haishan to suffer. Every single person's face was livid with rage; the Lei clan was truly going too far today. They had attempted to harm a Ji clan elder, then came to provoke them, and finally turned the tables and blamed them, which was utterly infuriating.

Upon contact, blood immediately splattered. Both sides sustained injuries, and each struck with ruthless determination.

Chu Feng's breathing grew ragged; this group of bastards was truly despicable. He pondered for a moment, then decided against using the jade token Wintergreen had given him. Instead, he directly began to activate the energy field within the tribe. He had, after all, recently buried a considerable number of lodestones around the tribal grounds. With a slight activation, the ground began to glow as if molten iron were flowing beneath it, and lines of light quickly extended outward beyond the tribe.

"Ah!"

Lei Jiao cried out loudly, his feet on the ground throbbing with excruciating pain. An unknown energy had just pierced the soles of his feet from beneath, causing him to stumble, his feet now covered in blood. As his body reeled, Ji Haishan's White Tiger Fist roared like a tiger, erupting with a surge of white light that sent Lei Jiao flying backward, coughing up blood profusely. Elsewhere, glowing runes also ignited, as the field's energy surged, causing the Lei clan members to cry out in alarm.

In an instant, the tide of battle completely turned. The young warriors of the Ji clan showed no mercy, striking hard. Some of their opponents were stunned into vomiting blood, while others were cut deep into their flesh by sharp blades. For a moment, the scene was quite bloody.

"Don't kill them!" an elder suddenly shouted.

"This was a serious matter. A simple conflict or brawl would be acceptable as long as no lives were lost, but killing them all would signify an all-out war between the two tribes, with immense consequences."

"Elder, wouldn't it be just to kill them? They dared to harm Sixth Uncle; they're practically begging for death!" a young man retorted angrily.

The elder replied, "You must understand that we are merely a small tribe. We are bound by the agreements between tribes, and the Lei clan is no different. They wouldn't dare to truly mobilize their entire tribe to attack us; they can only resort to underhanded tactics. Otherwise, they would face accusations from the great tribes of the plains, leading to the utter destruction of their own clan." There are strict regulations preventing tribal annexation or large-scale warfare. Whichever tribe dares to initiate such chaos will face annihilation.

"Ji Haishan, you just wait!" Lei Jiao and the others muttered, supporting each other as they limped away, their faces contorted with hatred.

"This is too infuriating! They tried to kill Sixth Uncle, and yet we're forced to swallow our anger. Furthermore, it's almost certain that Fourth Master didn't die by accident either. This is a monumental feud!" a young warrior roared.

"This matter is far from over. I will report it to the high priest and others, and inform the great tribes above. The Lei clan has broken the rules and must be severely punished."

Someone grumbled indignantly, "What severe punishment? In the end, it will surely amount to nothing more than empty threats. The Lei clan has individuals who have broken free from these mountains and ventured deep into the plains, becoming masters. Everyone will have to show them some deference."

"No matter," a tribal elder whispered, "we have a divine temple on the back mountain. When that immortal returns, we will fear no one." The divine temple, however, had been in ruins for countless years. It was only a few years ago, with the arrival of Wintergreen and her two servants, that the place had begun to regain its vitality. Nevertheless, they had maintained a very low profile. Aside from Ji Haishan and a few others, no one from the outside tribes knew they were masters.

A group of people gathered around Sixth Uncle, finding him stable and his severed leg perfectly reattached. At the same time, someone asked Chu Feng about the glowing runes on the ground.

"Sister Wintergreen gave me divine lodestones, which I buried in the village. They can form an energy field," Chu Feng replied, shifting the credit to Wintergreen and her companions.

That night, the bonfire in front of the tribe flickered. After dinner, the Ji clan members gathered to discuss the day's events, still simmering with anger at the Lei clan's excessive bullying. Chu Feng was packing his belongings, preparing to set out and teach the Lei clan a lesson.

However, at that very moment, he sensed something was amiss. The sky above darkened, instantly obscuring the stars and moon, casting vast shadows, accompanied by the sound of rapidly beating wings.

"Ah..."

Many people looked up and cried out in alarm, frightening some of the children. It was a vast swarm of bats, each two or three meters long and entirely silver-white. They were incredibly ferocious, so numerous that they seemed to blot out the sky, tens of thousands of them, diving towards the Ji clan tribe.

"Silver bats! So many of them! Oh my heavens, is this another trick by the Lei clan? Are they trying to annihilate my Ji clan tribe?" someone cried out.

These silver bats were fierce beasts. While not considered exceptionally powerful individually, their overwhelming numbers, combined with a few hidden Bat Kings among them, made them extremely formidable. The air itself trembled as tens of thousands of bats opened their mouths, unleashing silver ripples that converged into a wave, crashing down like a surging ocean, threatening to obliterate the Ji clan tribe. This was the silver bats' sonic attack, and this energy was incredibly formidable.

Chu Feng frowned. So many fierce beasts had gathered, and they were even employing their innate secret techniques. Had he not already buried the lodestones and established the energy field, a bloody catastrophe would have certainly ensued, and the Ji clan might have been massacred once more. Chu Feng called Ji Haishan and several elders, and in front of them, explained how to activate the lodestones and trigger the energy field within the tribe.

With a resounding boom, a dazzling light surged upward, composed of symbols that formed a luminous barrier, obscuring the sky. At that moment, all the crashing silver ripples were completely repelled, and entire swaths of bats slammed into the light barrier, screaming as they instantly disintegrated into blood. Moments ago, the men, women, and children of the tribe had been trembling with fear, believing their demise was imminent. The sight before them, however, left them stunned. It was blocked? Not only was it blocked, but they watched as entire swaths of fierce beasts were annihilated, continuously plummeting from the sky. Piles of dead bodies slid down the light barrier and piled up outside the tribe. With every attack, thousands of silver bats were either killed or wounded; it was nothing short of suicidal.

Eventually, tens of thousands of bats scattered, fleeing into the night sky.

Then, Chu Feng moved. He quietly left the tribe and vanished into the night, as agile and silent as a leopard, preparing to hunt. He pursued in the direction taken by the fleeing Bat Kings, running swiftly across the ground. If anyone was controlling the bats, they would certainly be controlling the Bat Kings.

"Found them!"

Soon after, he spotted several Bat Kings descending in the distance. On a large, bluish rock, a few individuals with graying hair, clearly elderly, were seated cross-legged.

"Damn it, we actually failed!"

"That must be an energy field. Why does the Ji clan possess one?"

These elders were all very powerful, each at the Golden Body level, holding positions as elders within the Lei clan. The rumors were true: someone from the Lei clan had obtained a fragment of the Myriad Beast Scripture, and it wasn't just one person practicing it, but several elders who were collectively studying it. It was precisely these elders who had been controlling the fierce beasts to secretly harm the Ji clan's elders.

"Huh, there's an extra child!"

They were astonished to see Chu Feng running towards them. They found it puzzling that a child would be so daring as to appear in this location.

"You old bastards, all of you get down here! I'm here to deal with you!" Chu Feng roared. He held a jade token in one hand and a gleaming long saber taller than himself in the other, charging forward with a clear intent to kill.

"Crush him!" an elder muttered. Unfortunately for him, he had met his match. Chu Feng's jade token glowed, and black runes bloomed. Yin fish swam in the void, blocking the elder's attack. Trapped within the dark light, the elder found himself unable to move. Though small in stature, Chu Feng's movements were remarkably agile. In the instant he leaped, his long saber slashed through the air. The elder's head fell to the ground. He had been killed, his eyes wide in disbelief even in death.

"We've encountered a monstrous talent! Attack him together and kill him!" an elder cried out. Some advanced, but others instinctively tried to flee.

"None of you are getting away!" Chu Feng retorted.

It was a massacre. The jade token glowed, immobilizing everyone in the area. This was the immortal's jade token from the divine temple, temporarily lent to Chu Feng by Wintergreen, and its power was truly unimaginable. In the blink of an eye, several heads fell to the ground. They had been utterly paralyzed, waiting to be slain!

Chu Feng turned without lingering, tossing the bodies to the silver bats soaring in the night sky. In moments, the bodies were dismembered and completely devoured.

Before long, Chu Feng arrived outside the Lei clan's settlement and waited, observing how many people would eventually come out searching for the missing elders. A full hour passed before the Lei clan realized something was wrong. The fact that several elders had not returned made the clan uneasy, and they finally dispatched a search party.

Upon seeing Lei Jiao and seven other individuals, Chu Feng's expression turned serious. He quietly pursued them, realizing they were on their way to rendezvous with the elders and were already growing concerned about what might have happened.

"Lei Jiao, get over here!" Chu Feng's voice emerged from the darkness as he intercepted them in the mountain forest.

"You demon, you little brat, you actually showed up here?" Lei Jiao's eyes glinted with a cold menace.

"I'll send you on your way!" Chu Feng declared, striking decisively.

"You!" As Lei Jiao moved to attack, he suddenly found himself unable to move. Terror gripped his heart, but there was nothing he could do. He was instantly decapitated! The other individuals were subsequently beheaded as well. The silver bats swooped down, dismembering and devouring their bodies.

Chu Feng calmly departed, returning to the tribe without continuing his killings. Over the next two days, a palpable fear gripped the Lei clan. The loss of more than a dozen masters sent shivers down their spines!

Five days later, Wintergreen returned. Her first words upon seeing Chu Feng were, "It's time to enter the Dragon's Den!"