Chapter 26: The Wolf Dies, a Strongman Arrives at the Door

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: The Wolf Dies, a Strongman Arrives at the Door

Seeing how effective it was, a vicious glint appeared in Li Changsheng’s eyes. He commanded a dozen or so Red-winged Blood Bamboos to fly into the Blood Wolf’s open mouth.

The Blood Wolf felt the foreign objects in its mouth and immediately snapped its jaws shut, trying to crush the vermin inside.

But by the time it closed its mouth, several of the more than a dozen Red-winged Blood Bamboos had already flown down its esophagus. The rest aimed their mouthparts directly at the tender wall of its mouth and burrowed in.

AWOO...

The injection of potent blood poison, combined with the intense pain, drove the Blood Wolf into a frenzy. It chewed violently, and several Blood-winged Red Bamboos were instantly crushed into pulp.

A moment of clarity returned to the Blood Wolf’s eyes. It shot the wooden cabin a venomous glare. Ignoring the excruciating pain wracking its body and the poison in its veins, it mustered its final ounce of strength, scrambled to its feet, and pushed off with its hind legs, leaping into the air.

「Inside the cabin.」

The tension on Li Changsheng’s face was gone, replaced by a faint hint of excitement.

He could tell that this Wolf Demon was at the end of its rope, on the verge of death.

’Trying to run?’

Seeing the Wolf Demon leap over the courtyard fence, Li Changsheng’s thoughts stirred.

The insects in the Blood Wolf’s esophagus dug their six legs firmly into its stomach wall. The patterns on their bodies glowed with a spiritual light as they aimed their mouthparts at the flesh before them and plunged them in fiercely.

The stomach wall was nowhere near as tough as its hide. The moment the potent blood poison was injected, it dissolved a chunk of flesh.

The sensation was like having its flesh carved out with a small knife while it was still alive.

It had barely taken two steps past the fence when the Blood Wolf’s body suddenly went rigid. AWOO... It let out a horrific, agonized howl.

The pain from within and without shattered the Blood Wolf’s last shred of sanity. It began to roll on the ground, thrashing wildly and destroying everything around it.

Li Changsheng pushed open the door and walked over to Xiaohua. He checked the wound on its neck and, seeing that the bleeding had stopped, felt a sense of relief.

Watching the Blood Wolf struggle frantically, Li Changsheng frowned slightly.

Although the Blood Wolf was just an empty shell of its former self, it was, after all, a demon of the Vein Condensation Realm. Its life force was incredibly tenacious.

In just that short time, over a dozen Red-winged Blood Bamboos had already died.

Li Changsheng had no intention of losing half his Red-winged Blood Bamboos to this one beast. His gaze shifted to Xiaohua, who was standing nearby.

"Go!"

Li Changsheng slapped Xiaohua on its flank, channeling a stream of Spiritual Power into it.

AWOO... Xiaohua let out a cry as the Spiritual Qi in its body activated. In an instant, its thick, dark fur transformed into a set of impenetrable black scales, and its twin tusks gleamed with a sharp light.

"Charge it!"

Li Changsheng pointed at the Blood Wolf and bellowed the command.

Staring at the wildly thrashing Blood Wolf, Xiaohua’s eyes became bloodshot.

AWOO... Xiaohua lowered its head slightly, aimed its tusks toward the Blood Wolf, and charged straight at it.

BOOM...

The bamboo fence splintered into pieces. Xiaohua charged forward with heavy steps, like an armored truck, and barreled straight toward the Blood Wolf.

The instant before Xiaohua crashed into the Blood Wolf, the swarm of Red-winged Blood Bamboos scattered into the air.

BANG...

Xiaohua’s fluorescent tusks flashed, like two cleavers. They instantly tore through the Blood Wolf’s skin and muscle, plunging deep into its body before viciously hooking upward.

AWOO... The Blood Wolf let out a piercing shriek as it was thrown heavily to the ground. It convulsed a few times, and the light in its eyes faded.

The sharp tusks had nearly cut the Blood Wolf in half at the waist. Blood surged out as if it were free, flowing in torrents.

But Xiaohua was relentless. It ran over, raised a hoof, and stomped down hard on the Blood Wolf’s waist.

CRACK...

The Blood Wolf suddenly lifted its head and tried to bite Xiaohua’s leg, but halfway through the motion, its head slammed back to the ground. All signs of life were gone.

Blood slowly oozed out, seeping into the dirt.

Xiaohua’s Spiritual Qi was exhausted. The steel-like armor on its body transformed back into dark bristles.

Li Changsheng walked over, fed Xiaohua a Spirit Stone, and began to examine the Blood Wolf, paying special attention to the three-leafed, crimson-gold plant on its back.

After the Blood Wolf’s death, the plant didn’t wither. Instead, it began to emit a faint glow in the darkness.

Moreover, looking at its tip, it seemed to have once borne a fruit.

’This is a treasure...’

Li Changsheng didn’t know what it was, but he knew that any plant capable of growing on a Vein Condensation Realm Wolf Demon was bound to be no ordinary thing.

However, the moment he touched the plant, he suddenly felt a current of heat shoot from his palm into his body. The plant then turned to ash and vanished.

The Blood Wolf’s withered corpse instantly collapsed, releasing a putrid stench.

Li Changsheng stared blankly at this development, unable to process it for a moment.

Suddenly, his face turned deathly pale. He ordered the swarm and Xiaohua to stand guard, then immediately sat cross-legged and began to circulate the Spirit Guiding Technique, trying to expel the current of heat.

But by then, the heat had already flowed into his Spirit Veins. A heart-piercing pain flooded his mind.

It felt as though steel knives were being plunged into his body.

"Urk..."

Li Changsheng’s face twisted in agony. The pain made it impossible to concentrate, and the Spiritual Power he had gathered instantly dissipated.

The current of heat, however, did not stop. It flowed through one Spirit Vein after another, gradually staining the once-colorless veins a faint, crimson-gold.

Wave after wave of pain, like a tidal surge, washed over him until he finally succumbed and passed out, collapsing on the ground.

Time passed slowly. Xiaohua lay protectively beside Li Changsheng, and the swarm of Blood-winged Red Bamboos circled slowly around him.

「The night grew hazy.」

A thousand meters from the beast pen, two figures—one tall, one short and wiry—moved through the undergrowth, making their way toward the enclosure.

Halfway there, their steps grew slower, and their voices dropped to an inaudible whisper.

The two of them didn’t stop until they could see the beast pen in the moonlight.

Ma Wu looked at the closed wooden gate of the beast pen. He touched his chest, an unreadable expression flashing in his eyes.

Wang Li shot him a sidelong glance, the corners of his mouth curling up. "Looks like someone really has taken over this beast pen," he said slowly.

Ma Wu glanced around and said in a low voice, "Senior Brother Wang, we should move quickly. The longer we wait, the more can go wrong."

"The longer we wait, the more can go wrong..." Wang Li mused. "You’re right. This has gone on long enough."

As he spoke, Wang Li drew the Bone-Chopping Knife tucked into the back of his waistband. He crouched low and slowly crept toward the beast pen.

An irrepressible look of glee appeared in Ma Wu’s eyes. He took a deep breath and followed behind him.

As they neared the beast pen, Ma Wu’s nose twitched. He stopped in his tracks, his expression turning grim.

Hearing the lack of movement behind him, Wang Li turned his head and shot him a questioning look.

Ma Wu whispered, "I smell blood..."

Wang Li’s expression flickered. He said nothing, but his movements became even more cautious.

Ma Wu was equally careful. He slipped a hand inside his robes as he silently followed.

When the two reached the front of the pen, they heard movement inside.

’There really is someone!’

They exchanged a look, each seeing the delight in the other’s eyes.

Wang Li gave Ma Wu a meaningful look. Ma Wu nodded, closed his eyes, and began sniffing the air, his nostrils flaring repeatedly.

「A moment later.」

Ma Wu opened his eyes, a look of complete confusion on his face.

Wang Li leaned in and whispered, "What is it?"

Ma Wu pointed toward the back of the beast pen. "The person isn’t in the cabin," he said with a frown. "They’re over there!"

The two of them were at the entrance to the pen, just one corner away from its rear.

Wang Li nodded. He turned, tightened his grip on his knife, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.

Watching Wang Li’s back, Ma Wu’s expression shifted subtly.

’As long as I can activate the Jade Talisman and get it to land on him, I can kill him!’

’This is the perfect opportunity.’