Chapter 117: Atrocity in the strange cave!

The loud roar from the cave still reverberated against their skin.

Lin Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly. The twin white tiger tattoos across his back itched.

"Everyone, hold formation and stay close," Xue Hongzhao commanded in a low voice. His voice was steady, but the tension lingering heavily across the area.

The strike unit slowly moved forward into the cave. Their boots clanked calmly against the damp floor.

The deeper they went, the more suffocating the area became. The stone walls were jagged with horrific claw marks, some are so deep and some are faint.

"Lin Yuan..." Chen Ming gulped, placing hand on Lin Yuan.

"What?"

"Please tell me we’re turning around right now," Chen Ming nodded, clicking his tongue.

"No," Lin Yuan sneered, looking sideways to him.

"Why the hell not?!"

Lin Yuan didn’t even answer. Chen Ming’s face twitched, holding back a full of frantic curses.

Then, a large boulder swirled through the darkness ahead with immense speed.

"Down!" a senior elder yelled, frantically crouched down.

Everyone broke apart instantly. The boulder smashed into the wall behind them.

The jagged stone fragments blasted in every direction, cratering the walls.

"What the hell is that?!" an elder shouted, unsheathing his blade.

Before anyone could stand again, another massive boulder came through the shadows. After that, another two boulders also blasted from the darkness.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The narrow cave rattled as if collapsing. The disciples tumbled through the ground; elders leaned against the stone walls to evade the rushing boulders. One elder’s shoulder was grazed by it, tearing through cloth and bruising his skin into fresh crimson.

"What kind of brute is through those?!"

No one knew the answer. Whatever was waiting in the cave was watching them and it may also have intelligence.

Lin Yuan’s eyes turned pale, and soon a fifth boulder came rushing straight for his skull.

Lin Yuan’s male white tiger burst out in an instant.

The tiger thrusted its strong paw sideways, pushing the boulder off course and smashing it into stones against the rock cliff.

"I will rip its heart out..." Lin Yuan stared straight into the dark cave ahead.

"You are angry now?" Bai Ning looked at him, nodding her head slightly.

"We’re walking into its slaughtering ground," Lin Yuan gave a calm nod. "We cannot be calm!"

"Look who is saying that with a calm face," Bai Ning muttered.

Whoosh!

After they moved slightly forward, evading the boulders the cave opened into a large space.

Everyone stopped immediately. The ground was fully paved with bones and rotten flesh.

There are hundreds of piles of left skeletons, shattered ape skulls, and ribcages of large, unidentifiable mountain beasts lingered across the floor. The stench of stagnant blood, bile, and ancient rot choked the air.

"What in the heavens..." Chen Ming stopped suddenly, his face frowning slightly.

Nobody dared to make a sound.

And sitting in the center of the area, there was an enormous, rumbling beast.

It was only slightly taller than the Rank 4 mutated commander they had slaughtered earlier, but the strength of its aura was leagues apart.

Its body was grotesque. The muscles are swollen and rotten, bulging under the patches of ashy fur. Its strong arms were strangely long, with thick veins throbbing and moving under its pale skin like worms. Its heavy shoulders bent forward, its jagged claws scraping against the stone floor.

Its face was a nightmare scarred from flesh.

Its mouth stretched wide, showing jagged, yellowed fangs protruding at different angles. One eye was a milky white orb and the other raged with an intelligent golden flame.

Its bloated stomach heaving in slow, deliberate rhythms.

Huuuu... Haaaa...

Flanking it on both sides stood five Rank 4 mutated commanders. Each one emanated a terrifying pressure that made the elders’ apertures tremble.

Lin Yuan’s heart dropped, seeing them.

’Rank 4?’ Lin Yuan analysed, stroking his chin. ’The aura they are emanating was truly more powerful than Rank 4!’

These five weren’t ordinary mutated commanders. Their raw power can rival a rank 5 beast. And the rank 5 beast sat upon the bones can rival a rank 6 beast.

Lin Yuan’s eyes squinted in anger. The monster slowly tilted its head up, its lips curling back into a horrific sneer.

Then, a voice lingered out from the monster’s groans. "...You insects shouldn’t have crawled into my den..."

The disciples froze, feeling the voice in their consciousness. The sound hadn’t come from its throat.

It instantly appeared inside their sea of consciousness, rattling their skull in pain.

"Filthy... little... scouts..."

Chen Ming clenched his hands, his body trembling under the mental pressure. "W-What the hell is that?!"

Even Xue Hongzhao’s knuckles turned white around his black bow. The creature’s golden eyes flicked across the group, savoring their fear. Its grin widened to its ears.

"Now..." The mountain of rotten muscle slowly rose to its feet, the ground groaning under its weight. "I will chew through every last drop of your spiritual apertures!"

Its mental scream tore through their minds like a blade. "What a delicious harvest!"

The five Rank 4 commanders rushed forward simultaneously.

"Be careful!!" Xue Hongzhao roared, moving aside.

The Phoenix burst out into reality behind the sect master in a wave of golden-crimson flame.

Whoosh!

A vortex of fire crept across the cavern floor. One mutated commander lunged straight through the wall of flames, its blackened body blistering as it tried to punch.

Xue Hongzhao raised his bow to parry, the impact sending him sliding back six paces through the bones.

His eyes widened in utter disbelief. ’This brute’s physical strength is stronger than before!’

A second commander jumped from above, its claws tearing downward at his blind spot.

Xue Hongzhao spasmed on pure instinct. The claws gouged a deep trench into the stone wall behind him. "Vile beasts!"

Meanwhile, Lin Yuan found himself in the crosshairs.

The Rank 5 Alpha itself lunged forward with loud thuds.

Lin Yuan’s male white tiger slammed into the rank 5 beast mid-air. The shockwave blew the surrounding bones into a storm of splinters.

Lin Yuan’s legs left the ground, flying ten meters before he ducked, tumbled, and dug his palms into the stone to halt his momentum. ’Damn it!’

His arms were numb. The force of that clash had nearly cracked his arm bones. The Rank 5 beast landed heavily, sneering down at him. "Hehehe..."

Lin Yuan pushed himself to his feet, breathing cold air as the white tiger moved at his flank.

To the left, Chen Ming was desperately dodging two commanders at once, his Wind-Falcon shrieking as it pierced their eyes with wind blades.

"Lin Yuan!"

"I’m occupied, Chen Ming!"

"These fucking monkey bastards trying to take my head off!"

"I can see that!" Lin Yuan groaned under his breath.

One commander slammed a massive fist straight for Chen Ming’s chest.

Chen Ming crossed his hands, using his beast’s wind barrier to blunt the impact, but his knees buckled and hit the stone.

"Why are these commanders so strong...?!"

Lin Yuan’s eyes glinted with emerald essence. "Because their apertures have been artificially refined with another energy!"

A shadow flickered in Lin Yuan’s vision. He ducked low, and a jagged claw passed a bit above.

The white tiger lunged upward from below. Its fangs dug deep into the commander’s shoulder, tearing through blackened muscle.

The beast groaned in rage, but refused to drop. Instead, its second pair of arms reached out, clenching the white tiger’s leg tightly.

"Let go of my beast, trash," Lin Yuan sneered, his face twitching.

And his beast essence shot out from his dantian. A strong palm strike struck the commander’s chest, blasting its grip loose and pushing it backward.

Bai Ning and her fox lunged into the opening. "Glacial Binding!"

Crack!

The frost raced across the floor, freezing the commander’s legs in jagged glacial ice.

Bai Ning didn’t hesitate, her fox whipped its three spectral tails forward like silver spears.

The beast smashed into the ground, spitting blood. Before she could take the advantage, a second commander dropped from the dark behind her.

Bai Ning turned, her eyes widening as the lethal blow descended.

"Bai Ning, stay down!"

Lin Yuan’s white tiger clashed with the strike mid-air. The shockwave scattered the mist between them.

"Thanks," Bai Ning muttered, tumbling to her feet.

"Don’t mention it," Lin Yuan nodded, adjusting his sleeves.

"Be careful, Lin Yuan!"

"Yeah, I am aware of it."

"Then stop fighting like a madman!"

"Go tell that to the monkeys," Lin Yuan pointed toward the snarling beasts.

The cave descended into a cacophony of roars.

The flames, frost, claws, fists, and beast essence rippled in every corner of the vast area.

One elder was slammed expeditiously into a pillar, coughing blood. Another elder’s bear beast took a brutal strike across its flank.

Chen Ming’s Wind-Falcon was bleeding from a damaged wing. Even Xue Hongzhao was being steadily pushed back toward the entrance.

The Rank 5 beast was a walking catastrophe. Every crushing blow it unleashed carried enough force to rival a peak cultivator. The Phoenix’s divine fire scorched its body, but the monster simply ignored the burns, punching clean through the flames with berserk movement.

Xue Hongzhao was blasted backward, his legs carving trenches in the ground.

"Sect master!"

"Hold your defense!" Xue Hongzhao roared, spitting a mouthful of blood. His eyes burned with lethal resolve. "Phoenix, consume the heavens!"

The flames rumbled again, drowning the beast in an ocean of fire.

Across the chamber, Lin Yuan spotted a critical opening.

"Bai Ning, left side!"

Her response was instantaneous. "Freeze!"

A burst of concentrated frost locked the commander’s left knee in ice. Its forward momentum blocked.

The male white tiger moved behind its blind spot, its sharp claws severed the muscles of the beast’s neck. The commander stumbled forward with a gasp.

Lin Yuan stepped into its guard, his beast essence wrapping around his fists like a hammer. The attack cratered the creature’s skull inward.

The Rank 4 commander spasmed once and stopped.

"One down!" Chen Ming yelled, parrying a back strike.

"Keep your eyes forward!" Lin Yuan beamed, clicking his tongue.

Chen Ming ducked under a slashing claw, his wind infused hands slicing the beast’s muscles.

Lin Yuan closed the distance instantly, coordinating with Bai Ning’s fox to crush the beast’s neck under a combined strike of ice and tiger claws.

The second commander collapsed, and silence lingered in the air for half a second.

Two commanders had been slaughtered, but three mutated Rank 4 beasts still stood with lethal fangs.

And the Rank 5 beast covered in Phoenix flames. It looked down at the two dead commanders lying in the bones. Its golden eye narrowed furiously. "Don’t get cocky, human brats...!"

The cave walls groaned under the powerful spiritual pressure. Everyone froze, petrified. The Rank 5 beast slowly curled its massive, blackened fists.

Its aura rushed outward vehemently. The mutated beast essence pushed the disciples and elders backward, forcing them to cover their faces.

Chen Ming’s legs trenched five yards back. Bai Ning’s fox gritted its teeth, trembling against the sheer weight of the aura.

Even Xue Hongzhao’s expression turned pale. The Rank 5 beast slowly lowered its massive head, suppressing its manic rage.

Then, it turned its back slightly, facing the dark area behind an altar. And it spoke to someone waiting in the shadows.

"Master..." A chill colder than Bai Ning’s frost crawled down every human spine. The beast’s telepathic voice had turned terrifying. "Shall I unleash my true power... and crush these noisy worms into meat pulp?"

Lin Yuan’s eyes frowned in disdain. Chen Ming went as pale as a corpse. Bai Ning gasped in agony. The elders slowly backed away, their hands trembling slightly.

Even Xue Hongzhao, the Divine Beast Realm cultivator and sect master of Red Talon Hall faltered suddenly, his fists clenching tightly against his bow.

’Master?’ Lin Yuan thought, taking a step backward. ’A mutated Rank 5 beast... was calling someone "Master"?’

Then, from the darkness, a faint sound of footsteps echoed across the cave. Lin Yuan’s white tiger tattoos burned with agony against his spine.