Chapter 162: Battle Against the Beast King

While a dark shadow emerged from the old woman's body, the martial marquis of the Bai family also rose to his feet.

His body was likewise shrouded in black mist, emitting a continuous cracking sound. The bones shattered moments earlier by the crimson giant ape's fist were rapidly shifting and healing.

Simultaneously, a dark shadow manifested from him as well.

It was discernible that the shadow emerging from the old woman resembled a giant insect, much like a praying mantis.

As for the shadow materializing from the Bai family's martial marquis, it took the form of a wolf, yet it possessed two heads.

Roar!

Upon seeing their forms, the giant ape let out an even more thunderous roar that shook the surrounding dozens of miles.

Ahead, Lu Yan was sprinting in search of Daoist food when he suddenly heard the ape's roar, causing his heart to skip a beat and a chill to run through his entire body.

"Such a roar—could it be a tier-three fierce beast king? This is bad, I need to get out of here immediately."

Daring not to dwell on Daoist food any longer, Lu Yan turned and bolted toward the outer perimeter, racing past the Crimson Jade Sea of Flowers and dashing all the way out of Mount Kunwu.

It was not only Lu Yan who heard the giant ape's roar; many others within a radius of dozens of miles inside Mount Kunwu heard it as well, their expressions shifting drastically.

"This sound is like thunder, with fury like fire and a terrifying might. Could it be a tier-three fierce beast king?"

"Has someone provoked a tier-three beast king? Otherwise, how could this be?"

"Will a tier-three beast king massacre us? Should we retreat first?"

"Probably not. The grandmasters of the major noble families have an agreement with the tier-three beast kings: grandmasters do not step foot into Mount Kunwu, but the tier-three beast kings of Mount Kunwu cannot make a move against us either. Perhaps someone ignored the warnings, entered the territory of the Crimson Jade Sea of Flowers, and angered the tier-three beast king."

Many people murmured in discussion.

Those who were more cowardly began retreating toward the outer perimeter; if the tier-three beast king went on a killing spree, they could flee Mount Kunwu at any moment, where grandmasters were stationed to receive them.

Those with greater courage did not retreat, but they heightened their vigilance.

The crimson giant ape sprang forward, lunging at the old woman with its crimson fists smashing down fiercely.

As the fist momentum descended, sand flew and stones rolled.

The old woman attempted to evade using her movement technique, but she could not dodge it at all; the giant ape's speed far surpassed hers, leaving her with no choice but to take the blow head-on.

Her body was enveloped in black mist, radiating a dense, icy aura. Her arms underwent a violent transformation, turning into blades akin to a mantis's claws as she slashed them toward the giant ape.

Moreover, the mantis shadow manifesting over her body lunged forward as well.

Bang!

The old woman, along with the mantis shadow, was sent flying by the giant ape's blow.

However, a wound also appeared on the giant ape's chest.

It had been slashed by the mantis shadow; even the giant ape's diamond-hard physique had failed to defend against the attack of the mantis shadow.

Injured, the giant ape grew even more enraged, roaring into the air as massive amounts of earthly blood Qi from the surrounding area converged upon it.

The giant ape's already robust and stalwart frame swelled once more, its body seeming to be covered in a layer of crimson battle armor, its aura becoming even more terrifying.

Bang!

With a single leap, the giant ape vaulted fifty meters into the air, looking down from above as it brought its massive foot crashing heavily toward the old woman.

"Join forces! Team up to deal with him!"

The old woman shrieked in terror.

Bang!

The next moment, she was pinned beneath the giant ape's foot, her body blasted into powder. No matter how formidable a martial spirit's vitality might be, it was impossible to recover from this.

Only the mantis shadow remained undissipated, attempting to flee into the distance.

Yet it was caught by the giant ape, and vat-sized fists rained down upon it in rapid succession.

Boom, boom, boom...

A massive crater was smashed into the ground, and under this fierce and violent onslaught, the mantis shadow was completely pulverized into nothingness.

The Bai family's martial marquis was scared out of his wits; daring not to strike back, he turned and ran.

Yet before he had run far, a massive paw descended, slamming him deep into the mud.

The owner of this paw was a snow-white fierce tiger.

It stood a full three meters tall, with a body nearly ten meters long.

Another tier-three fierce beast king.

This tier-three beast king had clearly arrived upon hearing the giant ape's roar, cutting off the Bai family's martial marquis right in his tracks.

Bang! Bang!

The white tiger beast king brought its paws down in succession, launching over a dozen relentless attacks that brutally beat the Bai family's martial marquis into a pulp of flesh and blood, scattering even the two-headed wolf shadow on his body into wisps of smoke.

Roar, roar!

The crimson blood giant ape roared toward the white tiger beast king, seemingly recounting what had transpired.

The white tiger beast king glanced at the carcass of the leopard beast and let out an enraged roar of its own.

Immediately afterward, the two tier-three beast kings charged together toward the exterior of the Crimson Jade Sea of Flowers, locking onto the human martial cultivators.

"Not good, the tier-three beast kings are coming!"

Someone's expression twisted wildly as they turned and fled.

Yet how could they possibly match the speed of a tier-three beast king?

The crimson blood giant ape covered the distance in a few bounds, catching up to a human martial cultivator and smashing a fist straight down.

This human martial cultivator possessed considerable strength, second only to those on the Martial Marquis Rankings, yet he failed to block even a single move before his body was blasted apart by the giant ape.

The giant ape then rummaged through the pile of flesh and blood searching for something, but finding nothing after a moment, it roared angrily and charged forward once more.

Meanwhile, the white tiger beast king sprinted in a different direction.

Blazing with fury, the two beast kings unleashed an aura that swept through the mountain forest like a tidal wave.

"Run! The tier-three beast kings have gone mad!"

"Go quickly and summon the grandmasters!"

Everyone in this area broke into a frantic sprint, dashing toward the outside.

Yet no matter how fast they were, could they outrun a tier-three beast king?

Furthermore, this was deep within the blood ley lines.

Before long, both tier-three beast kings had caught up to various human martial cultivators.

Among them, the crimson giant ape caught up to two human martial cultivators and swung its fists to attack.

Both of these human martial cultivators possessed extremely formidable strength, ranking very high on the Martial Marquis Rankings.

One of them had forged three strands of bone power, while the other had forged four strands of bone power.

Facing the crimson blood giant ape, the two chose to join forces, unleashing their full strength to deliver their ultimate strikes.

With two loud bangs, the martial marquis who had forged three strands of bone power was sent flying sixty to seventy meters away, snapping several large trees in half before spitting a mouthful of blood with a pale face.

The martial marquis who had forged four strands of bone power fared slightly better, but he was likewise knocked back dozens of meters, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"The tier-three beast king is bolstered by the earthly blood Qi within the blood ley lines; the gap between us is simply too vast. Let's scatter and flee."

The martial marquis who had forged four strands of bone power turned and fled in another direction.

Meanwhile, the martial marquis who had forged three strands of bone power barely suppressed his injuries and bolted away for dear life as well.

Roar!

The giant ape roared, locking its sights on the martial marquis with four strands of bone power and chasing after him with large strides.

Though the speed of that four-strand bone power martial marquis was hardly slow, he was still a fraction inferior within the blood ley lines. Before running even a few miles, he was overtaken and forced to turn around and counterattack.

However, the disparity in power between the two sides was too great; with a single punch, the man was sent hurtling back dozens of meters, vomiting a mouthful of blood.

Yet borrowing the momentum of that punch, he widened the distance between himself and the giant ape, resuming his frantic sprint.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he spotted three or four figures ahead, likewise dashing wildly toward the edge of Mount Kunwu.

He rapidly closed in on these individuals while shouting at the top of his lungs, "Join forces to fight the tier-three beast king, or we'll all die!"

"Lin Feng, I'll greet your ancestors!"

One of the men ahead cursed furiously.

Had he not chased after them, the giant ape wouldn't have noticed them at all.

Yet Lin Feng remained unfazed, charging madly toward the group.

At that moment, the giant ape caught up once more, bringing a fist crashing down toward Lin Feng.

Not seeking to counterattack but only to preserve his life, Lin Feng used his weapon to deflect the blow. Though the impact caused him to cough up a mouthful of blood, he successfully leveraged the strike to vault backward over a hundred meters, closing in on the four people ahead.

"Lin Feng, you won't die a good death!"

"Damn the Lin family!"

Those individuals cursed angrily, but with no other choice, they had no option except to join forces to fight the crimson blood giant ape.

However, the gap between these people and the giant ape was far too vast. Almost every punch sent someone flying, spewing blood and suffering severe injuries.

One of the weaker ones was beaten to death on the spot.

The giant ape grabbed the body of the slain person and inspected it, but failing to find what it was looking for, it let out an angry roar and lunged at the remaining survivors.

Lin Feng and the others bolted while the giant ape was searching the body.

"The tier-three beast king seems to be looking for something?"

"Whoever took the tier-three beast king's possession, hand it over quickly! Are you trying to get us all killed?"

The group cursed as they ran for their lives.

Yet the giant ape quickly caught up to them once more.

"It's over, are we going to die here today?"

As these thoughts flashed through their minds, they suddenly caught sight of a stalwart figure standing ahead.

The man was bare-chested, his entire body covered in black scales, and he wielded a spiked club thicker than a man's waist, resembling a demon god.

"Zhao Dongyang! It's Zhao Dongyang!"

"Ranked third on the Martial Marquis Rankings, Zhao Dongyang!"

The group was overjoyed.

"The ones with the fastest movement techniques, go outside and notify the grandmasters! The rest of you, follow me to hold off this tier-three beast king!"

Zhao Dongyang spoke, immediately springing into motion. With a single bound, he swung his spiked club down toward the giant ape, colliding directly with its massive fist.

It was like two towering mountains crashing into each other, erupting into a violent roar.

Swish!

Following the impact, Zhao Dongyang retreated rapidly, tumbling back more than twenty meters before steadying his footing. His face was slightly pale, but he had not vomited blood.

Meanwhile, the giant ape's advance was successfully halted.

"He blocked it! Zhao Dongyang blocked the giant ape's attack! Five strands of bone power—he truly lives up to his reputation."

"Fierce beasts don't understand martial arts and rely purely on brute strength. With five strands of bone power coupled with profound martial arts, Zhao Dongyang can stall for a while."

"Let's coordinate with Zhao Dongyang and hold out until the grandmasters arrive; then we'll be safe."

The group rapidly exchanged a few words, deployed their movement techniques, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Zhao Dongyang.

Roar!

The giant ape roared and lunged at them.

Zhao Dongyang swung his spiked club to meet the charge, while Lin Feng provided auxiliary support from the flank, and the others interfered with bows and arrows or weapons.

For a time, they managed to barely hold their ground against the giant ape, though they remained entirely on the defensive; if this dragged on, defeat was certain.

On the other side, the white tiger beast king was likewise pursuing human martial cultivators.

Fortunately, in this direction, the number of human martial cultivators was smaller. Having been more cautious earlier, they had heard the beast king's roar and retreated to the outer perimeter ahead of time, leaving only one or two individuals in the inner zone.

Consequently, those two had terrible luck, being overtaken by the white tiger beast and slapped to death in two strikes.

By the time the white tiger beast king reached the outer zone, everyone else had nearly run out of Mount Kunwu.

Among them was Lu Yan.

"It's catching up fast. Good thing I slipped away early, otherwise being targeted by a tier-three beast king would spell huge trouble."

Striding forward with paces spanning a hundred meters, Lu Yan was rapidly approaching the edge of Mount Kunwu.

Behind him, the white tiger beast king pursued relentlessly.

At that moment, two figures swiftly raced out from outside Mount Kunwu, as swift as the wind, crossing hundreds of meters with every stride.

The grandmasters had arrived.

Leaping past the crowd, the two grandmasters struck simultaneously, intercepting and blocking the white tiger beast king.