Huang Ying and his group fled from the intertwined trees as fast as they could, but the suffocating pressure coming from the overlord atop the tree continued to bear down on them no matter how fast they ran. Ming Chang was the one running in the lead, her brows slowly furrowing as she realized that the layout and size of this part of the forest had actually changed quite a bit compared to the information she had received from her Senior Brother.
There was a chance that her Senior Brother had lied to her, but another thought also struck her, could it be that the beasts had actually made the forest grow and change to suit their own needs? If that was really the case, whether or not this direction would still lead them to a somewhat safer place was questionable. But just as Ming Chang's thoughts were starting to race as she tried to figure out how they should proceed, the voice of Huang Ying came from behind her.
"To the right. We should head to the right for a few more kilometers."
Ming Chang glanced over her shoulder, her gaze landing on the calm yet rather excited expression of Huang Ying. His black eyes were as clear as the night sky, not an ounce of doubt or worry present in them as he looked directly at Ming Chang. Gazing into those eyes, Ming Chang couldn't help but feel a wave of ease wash over her.
She hadn't known Huang Ying for long, but not once during their short time together had his eyes wavered, not when he was brought to what should be certain death by the Dragonfire Eagle, not when he plunged the intertwined tree into chaos, and not even when the overlord atop the tree started to unleash its pressure. He grinned like a mad-man from time to time, insanity even flashed past his pupils at times, but not once had his calmness been shaken, not once had his determination to live wavered. They were currently in a part of the forest that Huang Ying should never have entered, his strength was so low that there was no way for him to usually get to this spot. But even so, Ming Chang chose to trust in those night sky-like eyes, resolutely nodding her head.
"You heard the boss, to the right we go!"
The rest of the group also nodded their heads, letting out low shouts as if they were a trained army squadron. In truth, the reason Huang Ying had everyone turn to the right was due to the advice from Li Jun. He might not necessarily be familiar with this part of the forest, but his perception could stretch out far further than Huang Ying's, allowing him to find things that they might miss otherwise. With the entire group turning and fleeing to the right, the voice of Li Jun once again resounded within Huang Ying's head.
"A Demonic beast has wandered here from the outskirts, you should encounter it within a few breaths of time. It isn't too terribly strong so you should kill and devour it, its got the earth element so eating it will be useful to your own law of earth."
Huang Ying gave a faint nod of his head but didn't give a proper response, continuing to flee alongside the others, who slowed their own speed slightly so that Huang Ying didn't end up too far away from them. And sure enough, a Demonic beast did indeed enter Huang Ying's perception after just a handful of breaths of time.
The beast looked like a three-meter long lion, its mane a deep earthen color rather than the majestic golden that a normal lion would have. The lion had only reached the 8th Mortal Step so it was indeed a bit too weak to reside here, where almost every beast had reached the Nine Stairs of Ascension. It had probably wandered deeper into the forest to avoid the stampede going on further out, either hoping to avoid getting dragged into it or to look for a lucky chance here in the deeper parts of the forest.
The eyes of the beast landed on Huang Ying's group the moment the two parties crossed paths, its amber eyes blazing to life with a fierce desire to battle. Huang Ying's eyes locked onto the light brown lion, his thoughts moving for a short second before he came to a decision. The most logical course of action here would be to let Ming Chang or one of the others kill the beast swiftly and then devour it.
But Huang Ying didn't want that, the thought of having someone else do all the work while he just sat back and reaped the rewards made him uncomfortable. He made a simple resolution when he died and was reborn through the law of devouring, he would live his life as he pleased. And the thought of sitting back and just being handed what he wanted made him uncomfortable, the things he wanted he would acquire with his own hands, he would acquire them with his own strength and determination. With these thoughts running through his mind, he kicked off the ground and dashed forward at full speed, assembling his spear as he left behind a few words.
"This one is mine."
Han De and the others were slightly taken aback by Huang Ying's statement, the thought of stopping him crossing their minds for a quick second. He was only at the 6th Mortal Step so just facing a Demonic beast at the 6th Mortal Step should be hard for him, Demonic beasts were often stronger than cultivators of the same realm after all. But remembering the strange things he had accomplished so far, the others in the group held back and didn't stop him, allowing the man and beast to collide.
The lion let out a rumbling roar as Huang Ying reached its front, the earth in front of it fragmenting and shooting towards Huang Ying as if a bomb had exploded beneath the surface. Huang Ying's eyes burned with a quiet fire as he looked at the shards flying at him, his mouth opening and letting out a deep breath as he fully emptied his lungs. A sharp light flashed through his pupils as his steps slowed, clashing with the wall of shards as if he was taking a leisurely stroll.
The shards mercilessly crashed into Huang Ying and shredded his skin, his blood splattering through the air. But the wounds left behind by the shards were far shallower than Xun Zhi and the others thought they would be, they could just barely be considered flesh wounds. It was only after taking a bit of a closer look that they realized that the flow of air around Huang Ying was a bit strange, it violently shifted just above his skin, forming a thin barrier that turned away everything that touched it.
The earthen shards were pushed aside like leaves in the wind when they got close to him, but Huang Ying was only just now testing out this idea of his so he wasn't able to control the power output properly. As a result, most of the shards managed to pierce through the thin barrier and slash his skin before they were tossed aside. Had it not been for his greatly strengthened body, the shards might have dug all the way to his bones. But even so, the corners of his mouth turned up, he was more than pleased with the result. Like this, he walked through the wall of shards with his blood-stained body, Ming Chang and the others only able to mutter quietly in disbelief.
"He really is a fucking madman."
Battles, especially battles against Demonic beasts, were practically always life-and-death affairs, one had to put their everything into them to come out on top. And yet here Huang Ying was, battling against a Demonic beast that should be stronger than him and still choosing to use it as a chance to test out his moves, as if it was nothing more than a training exercise.
The eyes of the lion sharpened somewhat as it looked at the bloodstained Huang Ying that had walked through the wall of shards and arrived in front of it. Huang Ying didn't give the lion any time to react, raising his two-headed spear and slamming it down with all his might, aiming to split the skull of the beast in half with a single stroke. But as his spear approached the beast, the earth beneath the lion trembled somewhat and then moved up along its legs and body, forming a thin shell around its entire body.
Huang Ying's spear collided with the thin shell and to his surprise, his spear actually started to slide down along the earth. The thin shell of earth was actually moving constantly, simulating the violent flow of wind that Huang Ying had used to push away the earthen fragments just a short second ago. The light within Huang Ying's eyes grew even brighter when he saw the action of the beast, it had judged that his skill was appropriate as a defensive measure and copied him!
But wanting to block Huang Ying's attack with just that was nothing more than a pipe-dream, Huang Ying's body was so strong that he guessed it was approaching the same level of strength as a Demonic beast at the 6th Mortal Earth. The earthen layer covering the beast's body cracked and shattered under the immense force contained in Huang Ying's spear, the sharp edge of the tip slicing through the side of the lion's head and severing its right ear and a bit of the flesh behind it.
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The lion roared in pain when its flesh was cut off, but it didn't miss the chance to swipe out with one of its paws, aiming to crush Huang Ying's waist. Even if the attack didn't crush his waist, it would force him to step back, giving the lion time to gather its thoughts for a bit. But the lion was still underestimating Huang Ying, it had yet to realize that it was fighting a truly mad beast.
Facing the incoming swipe, Huang Ying copied the beast and had the earth beneath him rise up and form a thin barrier on his body, reinforcing the barrier by applying the same wind barrier as earlier. Ever since he reached the 6th Mortal Earth, his ability to control his elements had greatly improved, now that he had to chance to practice a bit with them he could finally start to absorb the myriad of combat-based memories he had devoured within this forest, his control growing more and more fluid as time passed.
The paw smashed through Huang Ying's barriers and crashed into his waist, a spurt of blood shooting out from his mouth. But his feet remained stable and his body didn't budge, his lips curling into a grin that revealed his bloody teeth. He let go of his spear and grabbed onto the paw that had smashed into him with both arms. The veins on his arms and back bulged and writhed as he exerted all his force and gave his body a slight twist, tossing the lion over his shoulder and slamming it onto the ground with its back first.
The claws of the lion were still stuck in his waist when he tossed it over his shoulder so they tore through his tough skin and left behind deep gashes that gushed forth blood, adding on to his already bloodstained appearance. All the air within the lion's chest was knocked out when it smashed into the ground, a bit of blood splattering out from within its open maw. But it still reacted quickly, the earth beneath its back shifting and roiling, quickly spinning the lion back onto its feet and dragging it a few steps away from Huang Ying.
This action caused its paw, which was still in Huang Ying's hands, to twist and distort as it broke. But it managed to get away from Huang Ying's grasp, which was all that mattered to it right now. The earth beneath the twisted paw rose up into several jagged pieces that stabbed into the broken paw, supporting it so that the lion could still stand properly and move somewhat decently. The lion groaned in pain, but not once did its eyes leave Huang Ying, a familiar blazing light burning within them. Seeing this light, the corners of Huang Ying's mouth curved up slightly as he picked up his spear and took up a stance again.
"Heh, that's a look I recognize. You want to fight and grow stronger, don't you? You know that there's a good risk that you'll die here, but you still came here in pursuit of strength, in pursuit of a good fight. Lion, do you have a name or something I can call you? I, Huang Ying, have seen your determination and guts, and they have earned my respect."
The light within the lion's eyes was the same as the light within his own, it was a light that Huang Ying was exceedingly familiar with. He now also understood why the beast had wandered into the deeper parts of the forest, even though it should know that this area was dangerous. It was just like him, it wanted to fight and grow stronger, it wanted to walk to the end of its path with its own strength, with its own feet.
Demonic beasts were smarter than they looked, even a relatively weak Demonic beast was often smart enough to understand human speech. As such, the lion understood what Huang Ying was trying to say, it was just that responding was a bit hard for it, especially since most Demonic beasts simply didn't have names. The lion scanned the area around it for a bit before seemingly thinking of something, its lips curling back to reveal its sharp fangs. It allowed its tongue to run over one of its canine teeth, the sharpest fangs it possessed. This was enough to let Huang Ying understand what the lion meant, his own lips curling up into his usual grin as he nodded his head.
"Alright, Fang it is! Now then, we don't have too much time so what do you say we finish this quickly?"
Neither Huang Ying nor the lion, Fang, needed to make a sound of confirmation, Huang Ying ending his sentence was the only signal they needed. Both of them charged forward at the same time, the earth beneath Fang gliding up his body and gathering on his head into the shape of three large horns that stood in a triangle formation.
Huang Ying fearlessly charged at Fang and raised his spear high, bringing it down like a meteor the moment the two got within range of each other. The spear smashed into the horn serving as the top of the triangle, nearly blinding sparks scattering through the air before a soft cracking sound echoed throughout the area.
The topmost horn split down the middle and fell apart, Huang Ying's spear colliding with the skull of Fang and causing blood to gush forth when the sharp edge sliced through Fang's thick fur and skin. But shattering the horn had drained most of the strength behind the attack so the spear wasn't able to slice deeply enough to kill Fang, allowing him to continue charging like a rampant bull.
But just as his horns were about to reach him, Huang Ying's grin grew a touch fiercer. His spear split at the middle and turned into its two parts, Huang Ying abandoning the frontmost part that had dug slightly into Fang's skull. He tightly grasped the other half with his right hand, his left hand shooting out and grasping onto the rightmost one of the two remaining horns.
He kicked off the ground and jumped sideways, resembling a monkey as he used the horn to swing himself around the head of Fang. He easily dodged the attack as he swung himself around Fang, landing on the right side of his body and mounting his back. The blade-like section of his spear stabbed out the moment he landed on Fang, piercing directly through his throat from the side.
Blood gushed out from Fang's throat and mouth, his legs giving out under him and causing him to collapse to the ground. Huang Ying jumped off of Fang's back as he started to fall over, somewhat unsteadily landing on his feet at Fang's side. Blood continued to gush forth from Fang's wounds, his amber eyes not leaving Huang Ying for even a second, an unyielding light still blazing within them. He still didn't give up, even with death's gentle caress stroking his cheek, he wanted to continue fighting, he wanted to continue growing.
Huang Ying looked down at the collapsed Fang, his body bending slightly as he grabbed onto Fang's neck and dragged him over to Ming Chang and the others. The people in the group couldn't help but look at Huang Ying as if he was a freak, this way of fighting was truly a bit too insane. But Huang Ying simply ignored their stares, using his chin to gesture towards the direction they had originally been running.
"We should hurry. The beast atop the trees will descend soon so we have to head to the 'safe' spot as quickly as possible."
They wanted to question why he was dragging the still living Fang with him, but the intensity of the pressure bearing down on them made them keep their mouths shut, the group quickly continuing to move. Lang Zan helped Huang Ying carry Fang, Xun Zhi covering up the large gash in Huang Ying's side with a thick layer of viscous water.
It didn't take the group long to reach the place that Li Jun had pointed Huang Ying towards, a ten-meter tall hill that had two caves that were about two-meter wide dug into it. The caves continued into the darkness, curving slightly downwards and into the earth. Ming Chang and the others didn't even need to question what this hill was, they could already see a few half-meter large ants crawling around the two caves.
They didn't doubt that hidden within the earth beneath their feet was an extensive network of tunnels and caves dug out by these ants, there was probably an entire hive sprawling out beneath them. The others quickly understood what Huang Ying was thinking by bringing them here, the brown-haired and pink-eyed Guo Shui letting out a soft laugh.
"Aye, hiding out beneath the ground seems like a good enough plan, those uppity bastards shouldn't bother trying to delve into an ant hive just because they're a bit prissy."
Guo Shui charged forward the moment she finished talking, the wind around her spinning into small tornadoes that formed into thin needles that shot out and pierced into the brains of the closest ants. The ants were numerous but individually weak, it took Guo Shui less than half a minute to clear out the 12 ants gathered around the hill. She pat her hands as if to dust them off, standing by the side of one of the cave entrances and performing an overly exaggerated bow while speaking in the best servile voice she could muster.
"Please, may the good lords step ahead."
Ming Chang and the others could only roll their eyes in the face of her performance, stepping past her and into the cave. But Huang Ying lagged a bit behind, walking over to the ant corpses while dragging the still living Fang with him. Muddy tendrils stretched out from his shadow and latched onto the corpses, tearing at them like snakes fighting over food.
His own wounds were quickly healed so Huang Ying grabbed onto the two parts of his spear and pulled them out of Fang's body, causing even more blood to gush forth. But before too much blood could be spilled, another tentacle stretched out from Huang Ying's body and connected to Fang, transferring some of the energy he devoured from the ants to him.
Fang's wounds were swiftly restored, his eyes containing unmistakable shock, and a touch of wariness, as he looked at Huang Ying. But Huang Ying's eyes remained as clear as the sky as he looked at Fang, the corners of his lips curling into a challenging smile.
"I originally intended to eat you, but I'll let you live as a sign of respect for your determination and guts. Survive, overcome, and grow ever stronger. You can currently find me at the Fierce Flame academy, but in the future you should also be able to find me at the Three Volcanoes Academy or the Nine Suns Academy. Find me when you've grown stronger and more confident, show me what lies at the end of your determination."
Fang couldn't help but stare deeply into Huang Ying's eyes, but within that darkness, he saw nothing but an all-encompassing desire to fight and to grow stronger. He continued to look for a handful of seconds before throwing his head back, unleashing a thunderous roar that rocked the area. He then cast one last look at Huang Ying before dashing away, evacuating the area. With Fang leaving, Huang Ying ignored the dumbfounded questions coming from Li Jun and stepped into the cave, following Ming Chang and the others deeper into the ant hive.