Chapter 158: Secondary Alienated Beast King

Zhao Kuo let out a low roar, knowing that a fight to the death was his only option today. Channeling all his strength, he swung his short axe and hurled it at Lu Yan.

Simultaneously, he kicked out toward Lu Yan’s thigh.

Mid-kick, a small, pitch-black dagger suddenly snapped out from the tip of his boot, gleaming with a razor-sharp luster.

Lu Yan repeated his previous trick. Seizing the opening, he brought the Crimson Blood Saber down upon the flat of the axe blade. The short axe spun backward, slicing through the air toward Zhao Kuo, while the Crimson Blood Saber smoothly continued downward to hack at Zhao Kuo’s thigh.

The movement was as fluid as flowing water, without the slightest hesitation. His saber technique was nothing short of art.

The unity of man and martial art in two top-tier saber techniques, combined with the rich practical experience Lu Yan had gained from numerous fierce battles, allowed him to wield his saber entirely according to his will.

Zhao Kuo was startled. Catching the flying short axe, he pushed off the ground with his toe and rapidly retreated, no longer daring to press his attack against Lu Yan.

Yet Lu Yan clung to him like a shadow. As Zhao Kuo retreated, Lu Yan advanced, bringing the Crimson Blood Saber down toward Zhao Kuo’s neck.

Zhao Kuo rapidly shifted positions several times, but failed to shake Lu Yan off. A trace of despair surfaced in his eyes.

His primary focus was on footwork and agile body movement, allowing him to travel at extreme speeds. Even against opponents in the top ten or top five of the Martial Marquis Rankings, he could maneuver and stall using his speed, making it exceedingly difficult for them to kill him.

However, his greatest fear was an adversary whose movement was even swifter and whose physical power far surpassed his own.

Lu Yan was precisely such an opponent—his absolute nemesis.

Left with no other choice, Zhao Kuo swung his short axe to parry, though he no longer dared to employ the "Floating Snow of the Terraced Towers" technique to throw the weapon.

Clang!

The short axe collided with the Crimson Blood Saber. Zhao Kuo suffered a violent shock, his three strands of bone-force trembling in unison as though on the verge of being shattered.

He staggered backward, his entire arm numb.

Swish!

The Crimson Blood Saber struck again, aiming once more for his neck.

Zhao Kuo had no choice but to raise his short axe to block.

A rapid succession of metallic clashes echoed through the air. With every impact, Zhao Kuo was forced back several steps. After the sixth collision, a sharp pain tore through the webbing of his thumb and forefinger, blood streaming down as he lost his grip entirely, the short axe flying from his hand.

"Lu Ren..."

With bloodshot eyes and a distorted expression, Zhao Kuo let out a cry of bitter frustration.

Splitch!

A flash of saber light severed Zhao Kuo’s head. It spun through the air, eyes still wide open in fury and unyielding resentment.

Glancing left and right to confirm there was no one around, Lu Yan dragged the corpses of Zhao Yong'an and Zhao Kuo and tossed them before a pack of wolf-like exotic beasts.

Ordinary wild beasts would cower before the lingering aura of a Martial Marquis's corpse, but exotic beasts felt no such fear.

On the contrary, the flesh and blood of martial artists were considered supreme delicacies by certain exotic beasts.

With low growls, several exotic beasts lunged forward, tearing the two corpses apart to devour them.

Lu Yan stepped forward to extinguish the Phoenix Incense, packed it away, and leaped away from the scene.

Given how loudly Zhao Kuo had shouted right before his death, he couldn't be certain if anyone nearby had heard.

Still, it hardly mattered.

The identity of Lu Ren had truly been used for the last time. Once he left Mount Kunwu, he would never use the name Lu Ren to deal with the Zhao clan again.

Lu Yan resumed his search for a patch of crimson-red soil.

Since the Phoenix Incense was not yet fully burned, it certainly shouldn't go to waste.

After searching for another few hours, Lu Yan's luck took a favorable turn when he stumbled upon an alienated beast.

Though it was only a tier-one alienated beast, he had no intention of letting it go. Once killed, it yielded ten catties of alienated nine-jointed heart meat.

Even though Lu Yan was not lacking in heart meat—having already stored over a dozen catties at home which he didn't currently need—

this item commanded a hefty price. A single catty was worth well over ten thousand taels, and there were times when money alone couldn't buy it.

It truly lived up to its reputation as a tier-three blood vein.

However, Lu Yan's good fortune seemed to have run out. For the remainder of the day, he found nothing of note, save for a few spiritual herbs of mediocre value.

As various powerful clans carried out carpet-style looting, the remaining valuable treasures grew scarcer by the day.

Deep within a secluded forest on Mount Kunwu.

Three figures converged, standing roughly a dozen meters apart in a triangular formation, sizing each other up with a hint of surprise.

One of them was none other than Li Wenxuan.

"Who would have thought that the renowned Li family twins, a future candidate for head of the Li family, would also tread the path of martial spirits?"

A middle-aged man with pitch-black hair and snow-white eyebrows stared at Li Wenxuan with a faint smile.

"Why single me out? The top martial marquis of the Bai family, born with a congenital martial physique and ranked on the Martial Marquis List, has likewise walked the path of the martial spirit," Li Wenxuan replied indifferently.

"There's no need for idle chatter. Let's discuss the matter at hand," another person intervened.

The voice was clear and crisp, resembling that of a young girl, yet the speaker's appearance was clearly aged—snow-white hair, ravines of wrinkles, and barely any teeth left in her mouth.

Yet neither Li Wenxuan nor the Bai family martial marquis dared to underestimate this individual.

This old crone hailed from the Ouyang clan of Da'an Commandery and was over a hundred years old. Wise and seasoned through long years of survival, who could guess what realm she had reached in her martial arts cultivation?

Anyone capable of entering Mount Kunwu was far from ordinary.

"Walls have ears. We should draw closer to speak," Li Wenxuan suggested cautiously.

The other two nodded. The trio closed the distance and began to converse in low tones.

"The time specified by the Spirit Cult is tomorrow at the Hour of Chou. At that moment, they will use demons to lure away the tier-three beast king of Mount Kunwu, allowing us to enter the Sea of Vermilion Jade Flowers, locate the exotic beasts implanted with immortal bones, and slay them to seize those bones," the old crone whispered.

Both Li Wenxuan and the Bai family martial marquis nodded; the intelligence they had received matched this completely.

Furthermore, if they acquired more than two immortal bones, they were permitted to keep one for themselves, which would prove immensely beneficial to those walking the path of martial spirits.

The immortal power contained within the bones could help suppress the martial spirit and prevent malignant mutation.

In essence, they could inherit the legacy of the martial spirit, experience soaring advancements in cultivation, prolong their lifespans, and enhance their vitality without suffering the curse of mutation.

The path of martial spirits offered countless advantages, but everyone feared the threat of malignant mutation.

"Shall we act together?" the Bai family martial marquis asked.

The old crone nodded, but Li Wenxuan shook his head slightly, saying, "I have always preferred to walk alone. I will act by myself."

"As you wish."

Neither the old crone nor the Bai family martial marquis cared.

In truth, operating individually suited them better, as a larger group only increased the risk of exposure.

"Fellow daoists, there is a favor I wish to ask of you. Once it is accomplished, your rewards will be substantial," Li Wenxuan said.

"What is it? Let's hear it. If it can be done, I will agree. If not, you can find someone else more capable," the old crone replied, her voice youthful yet profoundly eerie when paired with her withered face.

"It is quite simple. I need you to help me kill someone: Li Wenxin of the Li family," Li Wenxuan stated slowly.

The old crone and the Bai family martial marquis exchanged glances of sudden realization.

"Given your current strength, killing Li Wenxin should not be difficult. Why do you need us to step in?" the old crone asked.

Li Wenxuan shook his head slightly. "If I resort to the methods of the martial spirit, slaying Li Wenxin would indeed be effortless. However, matters concerning martial spirits must never be exposed. Every time I use them, the risk of exposure increases. Therefore, I avoid using them whenever possible, and without drawing upon martial spirit techniques, I lack the absolute certainty to kill him.

"Thus, I require your assistance. With your capabilities, and without resorting to martial spirits, killing Li Wenxin should hardly be a challenge."

Regardless of what secret arts the old crone possessed, the Bai family martial marquis was a genuine powerhouse on the Martial Marquis List, ranked twelfth and commanding three strands of bone-force.

"Very well. Such a trivial matter; this old woman agrees," the old crone said.

The Bai family martial marquis nodded in agreement as well.

Having spent another few hours, Lu Yan finally discovered a patch of ground where the soil appeared deeply crimson.

"I hope to lure out another phoenix blood worm. I'm not greedy; capturing three to five of them this time will suffice."

Lu Yan muttered under his breath, thrusting the stick of Phoenix Incense into the crimson soil. He took out a fire starter, ignited it, and retreated to wait behind a boulder roughly five meters tall.

Time ticked away second by second, yet no sign of a phoenix blood worm materialized.

Five or six miles away from Lu Yan's position, seven figures were engaged in a fierce battle against an exotic beast.

The beast resembled a wild boar of colossal proportions, over five meters long and one and a half meters tall, weighing at least several thousand catties. Its two tusks stretched a meter in length, resembling a pair of curved sabers.

Bristling along its spine were rows of razor-sharp bone spikes.

This was a tier-two alienated beast king.

Generally, tier-two beast kings possessed the strength of a martial marquis, with the stronger ones reaching the third or fourth tier of the Marquis realm.

Once a tier-two beast king underwent alienation, its combat prowess would skyrocket, approaching the might of a grandmaster.

Yet approaching was not the same as truly being a grandmaster.

Under the joint assault of seven top-tier martial marquises, the tier-two alienated beast king was covered in wounds, blood flowing freely from its torn hide.

The beast roared, blood aura billowing as its muscles convulsed violently. Suddenly, the bone spikes along its back erupted outward like a volley of deadly arrows.

Startled, the group quickly retreated to dodge or swung their weapons to parry.

Yet this volley was the desperate, final struggle of the tier-two alienated beast king, and its force was terrifying. One of them lowered their guard for a fraction of a second and was impaled by a bone spike, flying twenty meters away to pin against the trunk of a large tree.

Seizing this opening, the beast king broke through the encirclement and bolted into a mad run.

The remaining six experts gave chase without hesitation.

One of them, skilled in archery, loosed arrow after arrow as he pursued.

Splitch!

An arrow struck the tier-two alienated beast king squarely in the thigh, burying itself up to the fletching. The beast staggered, nearly collapsing, but fought through the pain to pull itself up and resume its frantic sprint.

Its pursuers continued their ranged attacks. Soon, five or six arrows protruded from the beast king's body, compounding the injuries on an already battered frame and causing its vital aura to wane steadily.

Without realizing it, the distance between the six top-tier martial marquises began to stretch as subtle caution crept into their behavior.

At first, because the tier-two alienated beast king possessed overwhelming strength, they had no choice but to cooperate in its encirclement.

Now, however, the beast king was at death's door.

A tier-two alienated beast king would only yield a single heart-pearl.

That heart-pearl could be refined into a single serving of ink-jade heart broth, which greatly increased the chances of breaking through to the grandmaster realm.

It was a treasure of priceless worth.

Yet how could a single heart-pearl be divided among them?

When the time came, the six of them would inevitably turn on one another, making mutual suspicion only natural.

Chasing and fleeing, they covered five or six miles in the blink of an eye.

"Hm? What is that?"

Atop the boulder, Lu Yan, who had been intently watching the patch of crimson soil, suddenly felt the ground tremble. Turning his head to look, his heart skipped a beat.

The massive boar running ahead appeared to be a tier-two alienated beast king!

A tier-two alienated beast king could produce a heart-pearl—an asset comparable in value to a phoenix blood worm.

"I failed to lure out a phoenix blood worm, but instead drew in a tier-two alienated beast king? I've never heard of Phoenix Incense attracting tier-two beast kings."

Lu Yan muttered to himself internally.

Realization dawned quickly, however; with six people in hot pursuit behind it, the beast had likely stumbled here purely by coincidence.

Since it had arrived at his doorstep, there was no reason to let the opportunity slip away.

Lu Yan leaped down from the boulder.