Chapter 026: Azure Ox Town

The three demonized black wolves ahead lunged at Xiao Yang as he made his move. It was futile. Xiao Yang unleashed his Phantom Step at the minor mastery level; his speed was so swift that his body left behind trails of shadow, dazzling the eye and far surpassing the demonized black wolves. At Xiao Yang’s speed, it would take at least five wolves attacking simultaneously to pose any real threat. Now, with just three coming at him, he evaded their attacks effortlessly, moving with the ease granted by Phantom Step. Each strike of his sword drew blood.

Soon enough, three wolf heads fell to the ground in succession. All five demonized black wolves lay dead. Xiao Yang picked up five beast crystals and continued his journey through Blackwind Forest. These wolves, equivalent to ordinary first-rank martial artists, were no match for Xiao Yang, who wielded a refined iron sword; he slew them one by one. Xiao Yang searched the forest methodically, traversing every corner, relentlessly hunting demonized black wolves.

With every kill, a stream of energy poured into his body, giving a slight boost to his inner strength and physical resilience. Though minor, the cumulative effect over time became quite significant. Additionally, each slain wolf left behind a beast crystal, a precious resource for cultivation in the real world, and Xiao Yang gathered them all into his pack. He planned to save them for later, to use after leaving the dimensional world.

Time ticked by, minute after minute. As Xiao Yang pressed deeper, advancing north and fighting his way out of Blackwind Forest, he checked his character screen—22 hours, 18 minutes, and 44 seconds had passed. Nearly a full day. This time, Xiao Yang’s bank card held over 1.1 million yuan, enough to sustain his stay in the dimensional world for seven days, leaving him with ample time.

He opened his pack and examined his haul: 245 beast crystals. In the course of nearly one day, Xiao Yang had slain 235 demonized black wolves. With so many beast crystals, even if he cultivated using the Five Elements Qi Control Technique and absorbed five crystals per night, he could only use about 150 in a month—the surplus was more than he could consume. Of course, Xiao Yang would never complain about having too much; any excess could be stored for future use, given to Xu Ruqing for cultivation, or sold for a handsome price.

After consulting the map and confirming his direction, Xiao Yang walked for about ten minutes before reaching the main road leading to Green Ox Town.

He followed the road northward. After about half an hour, he saw many houses in the distance—Green Ox Town finally appeared within sight. Xiao Yang’s spirits lifted slightly, curious about the situation in Green Ox Town. Was it like Gai Family Village, overrun by demonized humans, or would there be normal NPC humans?

Striding forward, Xiao Yang soon drew near Green Ox Town. The township was sizable; houses stretched endlessly, much larger than Gai Family Village, with a population of at least ten thousand. The entire town was enclosed by a crude wall, and from Xiao Yang’s vantage, there was only one entrance.

At the entryway, two armed warriors stood guard on each side, giving Green Ox Town a somber, martial air. The four warriors appeared perfectly normal—Xiao Yang saw no sign of “demonized creature” above their heads.

He approached. One of the guards challenged him, “Young man, where have you come from?”

The other three warriors eyed him cautiously, faces wary.

“I’m from Gai Family Village,” Xiao Yang replied.

The guard’s expression changed in surprise. “Gai Family Village? I’ve heard the people there have already been demonized—even the beasts of Blackwind Forest are possessed. How did you make it here?”

Xiao Yang looked at the guard and said, “I fought my way through. I’m heading to Yunchuan City. This Green Ox Town—may I pass?”

The dimensional world was so immersive that those demonized humans resembled humanoid monsters from a game; Xiao Yang treated them as mobs and dispatched them without hesitation. But these normal humans were simply too ordinary—he couldn’t regard them as game monsters; it felt like he had stepped into another world, and these people were kin.

Thus, confronted by the four warriors, Xiao Yang refrained from violence and patiently communicated.

The lead guard exchanged glances with his companions. Seeing that Xiao Yang was alone and posed no threat, they all nodded.

“Go ahead,” the lead guard said.

Xiao Yang nodded, smiled at the four guards, and entered the town.

Inside, the atmosphere was equally tense. Few people moved through the streets; most households kept their doors tightly shut.

Xiao Yang wondered whether the town market had any carriages available. According to the map, the distance from Green Ox Town to Yunchuan City was even greater than from Gai Family Village to Blackwind Forest; even walking briskly, it would take him over an hour.

If he could find a carriage, it would save much time.

He had not yet reached the town center when, suddenly, fierce cries of battle erupted from far behind him. At the same time, the sound of gongs and metal striking filled the air. The entire town became lively; grown men armed themselves and rushed toward the entrance.

Soon, the thunder of hooves echoed ahead. A middle-aged warrior riding a black steed galloped past, followed by a squad of warriors in uniform, wielding gleaming long knives, charging like an army toward the south entrance.

Where the streets had been sparse, now, at the sound of battle, people retreated indoors, and the roads grew even quieter.

Xiao Yang quickly stepped aside, moving to the edge of the street as the middle-aged warrior thundered past on horseback, the warriors behind him running swiftly, exuding murderous intent.

Xiao Yang considered and decided to follow. After all, he was a “player”—death meant resurrection—and he had just entered Green Ox Town and encountered this event; it might be a triggered “story quest,” so he could not afford to miss it.

When Xiao Yang returned to the town’s entrance, the battle was already raging. The crude wall had collapsed along a long section, and many mounted warriors had stormed inside. Though their attire varied, all wore white cloth bands around their heads and wielded identical sabers, slaying anyone they saw.

These cavalry numbered in the hundreds, forming a formidable force. The adult men of Green Ox Town, though armed, were no match. Only the warriors in uniform could hold their ground.

However, those warriors were few—just about a hundred. The middle-aged horseman from earlier was a skilled fighter, but the bandits had their own experts; two of them engaged him in a fierce duel, their strength formidable, having broken through the Qi Sense realm, launching frenzied attacks on the uniformed warriors.

Clearly, only these warriors could withstand the bandits’ assault. If they fell, the bandits could sweep through Green Ox Town unopposed, slaughtering at will; the entire town would be doomed.