Chapter Twenty-One: The Unknown Creature

After the earlier two had lured them out, the three hot-headed mountain wraiths were already seething with fury. The black mist around them churned violently, a sign of rising anger, with flashes of chilling, icy light and those sinister, blood-red eyes gleaming in the darkness. Wherever they passed, the air grew colder, as if plunged into an ice cellar.

The two who lured out the mountain wraiths were clearly experienced, dodging the wraiths’ obsidian claws with practiced ease while racing forward for their lives. Though it looked perilous, in truth, it wasn’t as dangerous as it appeared.

The distance quickly closed. As they neared the encirclement, one of them decisively vaulted over a small rise, landing nimbly and leaving the wraiths for the others to handle.

The waiting group moved in at once, blades raised, intercepting the charging wraiths and splitting the battlefield into three fronts. Two against each group—this was Steward Li’s prior strategy.

Yu Ge was not to be outdone. Drawing a mountain wraith aside, he spun his long blade in a flourish and attacked decisively.

Clang!

His refined steel blade struck the wraith’s vulnerable neck. The creature’s massive body shuddered, forced back several steps by the blow, then let out an even more enraged roar.

Feeling the unusual jolt in his grip, Yu Ge glanced at his wrist with a slight frown. The impact had made him acutely aware of the transformation in his body—his strength and speed had more than doubled.

Yet he realized that the damage he dealt was still limited; not as great as he’d imagined.

The black mist around the wraith dissipated, revealing a body as dark as iron. On its vine-like neck, only a faint cut was visible—about an inch deep, oozing ink-black slime. The injury was far less than what his Demon-Slaying Blade had dealt before.

Even so, Sun Gangfeng beside him was wide-eyed, finding this young man even fiercer than he’d expected.

He was soon to witness an even more astonishing sight: the invincible mountain wraith, body hard as iron, was being forced back step by step by the young man’s unrelenting assault.

Sheer strength was completely suppressed.

What should have taken two was now handled single-handedly by the young man before him.

Sun Gangfeng was baffled. Both were body refiners—why was he so different?

With a hiss, the silver blade sliced through the air, drawing a bright arc and tearing into the wraith’s corded neck with a screech.

In the next instant, a great head tumbled into the underbrush at their feet, its unwilling, blood-red eyes rolling several times.

Six strikes!

Yu Ge silently counted, coming to this conclusion. This was about the same as before, but then, he had only relied on his initial-stage Qilin Arm and the Demon-Slaying Blade.

His strength now was incomparable to before, yet the damage was nearly the same—a testament to the vast difference between weapons.

Now he understood why Zhao Ziming had said the Demon-Slaying Blade was standard equipment for a demon slayer.

Ignoring Sun Gangfeng, who was busy digging for nether pearls, Yu Ge’s mind sank inward, connecting with the largest star at the center of his astral chart.

Achievement Unlocked: Mountain Wraith Hunter

Objective: In a world overrun by monsters, how can one not take upon themselves the task of slaying demons? Slay the mountain wraith ten times. Progress: 1/10.

Reward: Unknown.

Seeing this, Yu Ge couldn’t help but grumble inwardly. Ten mountain wraiths—if not for the Hundred Remedies Hall team, he might not finish this anytime soon. Tracking them alone would be a laborious task.

With Yu Ge’s battle done, the others quickly finished off the remaining two wraiths as well. With prior experience, the two who lured the wraiths grew ever more adept, venturing deeper into the shadowy forest. Each time they emerged, more howling mountain wraiths followed in pursuit.

With agile dodges and deft movement, Yu Ge’s sword danced, growing more skillful with every encounter. Soon, the hillside was littered with mountain wraith corpses.

Four more fell, and Yu Ge was quite satisfied with the progress.

At last, the two swiftest runners entered and emerged again, but found no more wraiths in pursuit.

Clearly, this small shadowy valley could produce no more than eight or nine mountain wraiths—its absolute limit.

Steward Li and Lin Maozhi knew this well, and once confirmed, decisively ended the mission.

They had been cautious on the way in, but far more relaxed on the return journey.

After gathering their spoils, the group left the valley.

Just before leaving, Yu Ge felt a strange premonition and looked back toward the dim gorge behind them.

What he saw made him freeze.

Atop the lush, verdant summit, on a broad stone, stood a towering figure shrouded in red.

The entire red shadow had hollow, sunken eyes and a withered face like a dried corpse, its body nothing but skin and bones. As Yu Ge gazed up, he realized the creature was staring back at him.

Its eye sockets were empty, darkness swirling like ghostly fire within.

For a few seconds, Yu Ge’s body went rigid. Staring into those abyssal eyes, he felt as if he’d fallen into a bottomless pit—a chill spreading instantly from his tailbone to every limb.

In a flash, his hands and feet turned to ice.

It was the primal terror of prey confronted by its natural predator—a suppression etched into the very order of life, making the heart instinctively quake.

“What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”

Sun Gangfeng, noticing Yu Ge’s strange reaction, asked.

“Yes, did you just—huh?” Yu Ge turned stiffly, only to find that the oppressive figure had vanished in the blink of an eye.

The summit was now empty, as if nothing had ever been there.

Gradually, sensation returned to his limbs.

“What is it?” Sun Gangfeng followed Yu Ge’s gaze, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

“Is there a creature in these woods, skin flushed red, with hollow eyes dark as ghostly fire?” Yu Ge pondered, searching his memory, but found nothing resembling what he’d just seen, so he turned to ask Sun Gangfeng.

However, Lin Maozhi, standing to the side, shook his head. “You must be mistaken. All the mountain wraiths here have black bodies and red eyes—nothing like what you described.”

Hearing this, Yu Ge’s expression grew increasingly grave.

The Hundred Remedies Hall had clearly chosen this spot after careful scouting, discovering this shadowy valley where mountain wraiths multiplied.

If even they hadn’t seen such a creature, then its origin must be extraordinary—perhaps from the deeper reaches of the Great Wushan Mountains.

An unknown being, radiating such danger—there were still countless perilous things in this world, and the thought filled him with nervous anticipation.

Yet that tension was instantly shattered by Lin Maozhi.

“Brother Sun, care to buy some medicine? Our Hundred Remedies Hall has a new Rejuvenation Pill—just a tiny one, and you’ll feel the effects for two hours straight.”

As they walked, Lin Maozhi sidled over, his round face gleaming with mischief, hawking his family’s wares with animated eyebrows and a lively expression.