Chapter 78: A Self-Righteous Assumption

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: A Self-Righteous Assumption

Qu Lingce and his group would never have imagined it. Even after explaining their purpose and guaranteeing they wouldn’t harm a single Profound Beast on Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, the horde of beasts showed no sign of retreating. Instead, they grew even more frantic.

At first, to prove they had no hostile intentions, they held back their Power and didn’t use lethal force.

But the Profound Beasts paid them no mind, attacking with a ferocity that suggested they were fighting to the death. The five Divine Separation Realm experts found themselves stretched thin.

Finally, after a little over a quarter-hour, one of them was gored by a water buffalo-like Profound Beast. In a fit of rage, he lopped off the beast’s head with a single slash of his Sword.

The situation took another sharp turn for the worse. The sight of blood made the other Profound Beasts even more furious.

Moreover, the Level 3 and Level 4 Profound Beasts began to fall back, replaced by dozens of Level 5 and Level 6 Profound Beasts.

Originally, the five Divine Separation Realm experts had no problem defending themselves against the tide of Level 3 and Level 4 beasts. But now, with more and more Level 5 and Level 6 Profound Beasts joining the attack...

If they didn’t use their true abilities, they would struggle just to stay alive.

And as the number of Profound Beasts grew, even using their full power would mire them in a swamp from which it would be difficult to escape.

"There are too many High Tier Profound Beasts! This can’t go on. We need to break through to one side and get past the forbidden line!" Dong Congzhang shouted to the others while brandishing his Sword, fighting off several Profound Beasts around him.

The five of them had already been separated by the beast tide. The closest two were over a hundred feet apart.

A distance of over a hundred feet would normally be nothing for Divine Separation Realm experts—a single step would cover it. But now, it was incredibly difficult for the five of them to even regroup.

In their youth, they had also come to Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain for training, but when had they ever witnessed such a frenzied beast tide?

The five of them tried to break out in the same direction. Still reluctant to use deadly force under the beast tide’s assault, they soon found themselves all wounded.

One must understand that a Level 5 Profound Beast already possessed the Combat Power of a Soul Emergence Realm Cultivator. Furthermore, the Profound Beasts were on their home turf in Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, blocking off every escape route, both in the air and on the ground.

This was probably the toughest battle the five of them had ever fought in their lives.

Trying to break out while separated seemed impossible, so the five tacitly agreed to converge on one point first.

Just getting together took them nearly half an hour. By the end of it, all five were in a sorry state, their clothes tattered and stained with blood—some their own, some from the Profound Beasts.

Once regrouped, they began their breakout toward the forbidden line.

This fight lasted for another half-hour. Left with no choice but to defend themselves, they ended up killing several Level 5 Profound Beasts before finally breaking through.

Although they broke through, because they had killed several Level 5 Profound Beasts, the beast tide pursued them relentlessly. It not only drove them beyond the forbidden line but also attacked the disciples training nearby, killing more than half of them.

The beast horde only relented after chasing the few Divine Separation Realm experts and all the training disciples completely out of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain.

After leaving Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, the five men were as dejected as defeated roosters.

The training disciples were all still shaken and terrified.

Who among them could have imagined that crossing the forbidden line would provoke such a frenzied pursuit and retaliation from the Profound Beasts?

Previously, when they trained outside the forbidden zone of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, most of the Profound Beasts they encountered were Level 2 or had just formed their Inner Core. They were few in number; encountering one or two Level 3 Profound Beasts was considered a great stroke of luck.

It had reached the point where they had almost forgotten how fierce the Profound Beasts of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain could be.

"If even we ended up like this, I imagine Chu Fan and that girl have slim chances of survival. What a pity," one of the elderly Divine Separation Realm experts sighed.

"Just in case, why don’t we stand guard here for a while longer?" Dong Congzhang suggested.

"Alright. The Spiritual Qi here is quite abundant. We can just treat it as a place to recuperate," said Qu Lingce.

Deep in the jungle, Chu Fan was weak from Spiritual Power exhaustion. Although he didn’t witness the great battle firsthand, the sounds and commotion were enough to leave him utterly shocked.

’Thankfully, Yun Xi and I haven’t encountered a single Profound Beast on our journey, not even an aggressive venomous snake.’

They pressed on relentlessly, heading deeper into the jungle until the sun set and darkness fell over the entire forest.

They had to stop.

Night in the jungle was the most dangerous time.

And here, on Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, a shelter wouldn’t be of much use, but it was better than nothing.

Working together, the two cleared a patch of flat ground and built a small lean-to out of dead branches and leaves, just big enough for the two of them. They lit a bonfire in front of it and sat down inside to rest.

Snakes, insects, rats, and ants are naturally afraid of fire.

They lit the bonfire to ward off such creatures. As for whether the light would attract Profound Beasts in the dark, they had no choice.

If they were unlucky enough to run into a High Tier Profound Beast, it would be able to find them even without a bonfire.

They were utterly exhausted that day, not just physically but mentally as well.

The psychological pressure of being constantly on the run was immense, and after encountering enemies, they still had to figure out how to deal with them.

So, huddled together, the two of them quickly fell asleep. Of course, they didn’t dare to sleep too soundly.

Yun Xi had many questions she wanted to ask, but she didn’t have the energy.

The night passed without incident.

When Chu Fan woke up, he couldn’t help but wonder. ’Did the Profound Beasts sense the Scroll’s presence, and that’s why they didn’t attack us?’

’Otherwise, there’s no explanation. Yesterday, so many Profound Beasts were attacking the five pursuing Divine Separation Realm experts. It’s impossible that they spotted those five but not me and Yun Xi.’

"Are you hungry? I’ll go find something to eat," Yun Xi said to Chu Fan as she stood up after waking.

"Let’s go. We’ll head deeper in together. We’ll eat whatever we can find."

Upon hearing this, Yun Xi looked astonished. "We’re going even deeper?"

"After yesterday’s battle... for those old bastards, I have too many secrets. They’ll never let me go easily. Compared to them, the Profound Beasts of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain are far more straightforward. Once I recover in half a month, we’ll leave Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain in a different direction."

At this point, Chu Fan pointed to a mountain peak ahead. "How about we go to the top of that mountain? We’ll have to stay here for at least half a month. Besides, I feel like I might break through to the Nascent Soul Realm soon, which might take a little more time."

Of course, Yun Xi had no objection to Chu Fan’s suggestion.

However, they hadn’t gone far when three Level 3 Profound Beasts appeared within the range of Chu Fan’s spiritual senses. Before Chu Fan could react, the Profound Beasts were right in front of them.

The three leopard-like Profound Beasts were quite large. From head to tail, they were over ten feet long, and their backs stood nearly five feet high from the ground.

The three Profound Leopards stood twenty feet in front of Chu Fan and Yun Xi, their front limbs slightly bent and their rear legs tensed to spring. Their gazes were fixed on the pair, clearly ready to attack.

If it were just one Level 3 Profound Beast, Yun Xi might have had a chance to defeat it. But against three, it was clearly impossible.

"Hold on, don’t attack just yet. I wish to see your current King of Ten Thousand Beasts," Chu Fan said loudly, deliberately adopting a non-defensive posture.