51: Attacked on the way

Wheels rolled over the muddy dirt road, making a dull, monotonous rumbling sound.

The heavy breaths of the horned horses puffed out two white plumes in the deepening twilight, and their hooves occasionally kicked up pebbles, sparking a few points of light, which were immediately extinguished by the mud and water stirred up by the wheels.

This official road, which clung to the outer edge of the Monster Mountain Range and led to Black Rock City, seemed exceptionally vast and desolate in the pre-rain humid air.

Mo Yuhan sat alone outside the carriage, driving the horses, his fingertips unconsciously tapping a rhythm of some alchemy hand seals on his knees.

A faint herbal scent, unique to the incense of the Mittel Auction House, still lingered in the carriage, interweaving with the smell of earth and decaying leaves wafting in from outside the window.

He had sent the coachman back more than half a day ago; his intuition was sharply ringing, telling him this road would not be peaceful.

He did not believe the Jia Lie Family would refrain from acting against him.

A corner of the carriage curtain was lifted by the wind, revealing the increasingly gloomy sky outside.

The vast, dark silhouette of the Monster Mountain Range resembled a lurking behemoth, casting a suffocating shadow.

The wind in the forest began to quicken, carrying a bone-chilling coldness, stirring up dead leaves and dust.

They’re here!

“Hee-haw—!”

The horned horse pulling the carriage bore the brunt, letting out a desperate, mournful whinny.

The sound, as if struck by an invisible giant hammer, abruptly ceased.

Its massive body suddenly pitched forward, its heavy head crashing into the mud, its neck twisted at a grotesque angle.

The tremendous inertia carried the carriage forward in a fierce rush, the axle groaning under the strain.

Mo Yuhan’s reaction was instantaneous.

Just as the horned horse collapsed and the carriage tilted out of control, he had already shot out from the side of the open curtain, like a fallen leaf caught by a strong wind.

His toes touched the edge of the tilting carriage wall, and his body deftly flipped in the air, landing steadily on the muddy road.

Cold mud splashed onto his trousers.

Almost simultaneously with his landing, several sharp whistling sounds tore through the air.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Arrows shimmering with Dou Qi light, and flying stones imbued with wind blades, like the fangs of venomous snakes, shot out from the shadows of the dense forest on both sides, aiming directly at the spot where he had just landed and the tumbling carriage.

Wood splinters flew, the carriage was instantly riddled with holes like a sieve, then disintegrated with a crash, splinters of wood and debris scattering in the muddy water.

Before the dust and splinters could settle, over a dozen figures, like Gui Mei, rushed out from the forest.

These individuals were at least Dou Zhe cultivation; they were silent, like a well-trained wolf pack, instantly fanning out to form a semicircle encirclement, completely blocking Mo Yuhan’s retreat routes to the rear of the official road and the open areas on both sides.

A chilling killing intent, mixed with the dampness before the rain, pressed heavily upon Mo Yuhan.

Following closely, three more oppressive figures slowly walked out from the darkest part of the forest.

Powerful Dou Qi fluctuations spread out like a tangible tide, oppressing the surrounding air, causing even the ordinary Dou Zhe guards to gasp for breath.

The leader was none other than Jia Lie Bi.

His face was so grim it could drip water, and the dark green Dou Qi veil of a Five-Star Great Dou Shi faintly flickered around his body like burning poisonous flames; with every step he took, the muddy water beneath his feet was pushed away and evaporated by an invisible force.

He stared at Mo Yuhan, his gaze like he was looking at a dead man, cold and cruel.

To his left was a gaunt, sinister-eyed Elder, a Three-Star Great Dou Shi whose light green Dou Qi was equally condensed, like the flickering tongue of a venomous snake, sending shivers down one’s spine.

To his right was an exceptionally tall and burly Elder with a full beard, who was none other than Second Elder Jia Liejie.

“Jia Lie old dog, truly a grand gesture, to send three Great Dou Shi, and so many Dou Shi and Dou Zhe just to deal with one Dou Zhe like me.”

Mo Yuhan’s heart sank slightly.

He hadn’t expected Jia Lie Bi to go completely insane this time, bringing out all his elite forces.

“Little bastard!”

Jia Lie Bi’s voice was like rolling thunder, filled with bitter resentment, “Today, I will crush every bone in your body, one by one!”

As the last word left his lips, Jia Liejie, having received Jia Lie Bi’s command, charged out, a burst of mud exploding beneath his feet; his burly frame surprisingly erupted with astonishing speed, like a raging wild ox, rushing straight towards Mo Yuhan.

Jia Liejie’s Dou Qi surged wildly into the refined iron long spear in his hand, the spear shaft instantly covered in a dense blue light.

“Overlapping Waves!”

As his furious roar subsided, the blue light intensified.

Within the long spear, surging energy instantly erupted, transforming into layer upon layer of overwhelming blue energy giant waves.

The giant waves rolled and surged skyward, carrying an irresistible, heavy pressure, as if to engulf and shatter the entire space.

As the waves churned, a subtle gleam suddenly intensified within the crests of the waves—a tangible spear-light, condensed from Jia Liejie’s lifelong cultivation, like a deadly venomous dragon lurking deep within the furious waves, using the perfect concealment of the giant waves to tear through the air and thrust directly at Mo Yuhan’s head.

Before the spear arrived, the layered, continuous energy pressure had already locked onto Mo Yuhan.

This “Overlapping Waves” brought not just a simple impact, but an all-encompassing suppression and the perfect concealment of a fatal blow.

Mo Yuhan forced his Dou Qi, Xuan Huang Flame instantly surged from his body, Flame Armor Guardian condensed again, and at the same time, Phoenix Flight Step was activated to its limit, attempting to break free from the energy giant wave’s lock.

However, Jia Liejie had a profound and masterful understanding of this technique; the coverage of the giant waves far exceeded imagination, and the spear-light hidden at the core of the waves was extremely cunning and vicious.

“Rip!”

Mo Yuhan narrowly avoided the vital spot on his head.

Just as Jia Liejie made his move, Jia Lie Bi, who had been lurking like a venomous snake, observing with cold eyes, finally moved.

The moment Mo Yuhan evaded the pincer attack and slid sideways, a fierce glint erupted in Jia Lie Bi’s eyes; he did not charge forward wildly like Jia Liejie, but merely stood in place, his right hand forming a blade with his fingers, and made a distant sweeping motion towards the direction Mo Yuhan was rapidly moving.

The action seemed effortless, yet it contained the Five-Star Great Dou Shi’s exquisite and subtle control over Dou Qi.

“Rending Wind Slash!”

A dark green Dou Qi ribbon, like a guillotine descending from the heavens, silently tore through the air, instantly traversing dozens of steps, and slashed towards Mo Yuhan’s back.

This ribbon was condensed to the extreme, its edges shimmering with a heart-stopping sharpness, and its speed was too fast for the eye to follow; wherever it passed, even the falling raindrops were neatly split in two.

This was a pure wind blade, cutting through everything.

Mo Yuhan’s senses screamed a frantic warning, and the hairs on his back stood on end! The shadow of death was even heavier than before.

He forcibly twisted his body, the Xuan Huang Flame Armor on his body erupted with an even more dazzling light, attempting to withstand this unavoidable blow head-on.

At the same time, he unhesitatingly activated his three spirit rings.

“Xuan Huang Lion Flame Crash!”

The Xuan Huang Flame Lion armor covering his body suddenly erupted with fierce propulsion.

He no longer dodged, but instead, using the defense of the Flame Armor Guardian and the instant burst granted by his Spirit Ability, his body transformed into a meteor burning with a dark Xuan Huang Flame, not retreating but advancing; by a hair’s breadth, he narrowly allowed the terrifying Rending Wind Slash ribbon to graze past his back.

The ribbon missed, landing on the muddy ground, silently cutting a terrifying, bottomlesscrack several feet long.

And Mo Yuhan, using the momentum of the “Xuan Huang Lion Flame Crash” charge, was not targeting Jia Lie Bi, nor the two Elders, but—those Dou Shi and Dou Zhe who had formed the encirclement on the periphery and were waiting in strict formation.

He had to break through this ironclad siege; his only chance of survival lay in the Monster Mountain Range behind him.

“Stop him!”

Jia Lie Bi’s attack missed, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, immediately turning into deeper anger and cold killing intent, as he shouted sharply.

Mo Yuhan’s charging target was precisely several Dou Shi whose positions in the encirclement were relatively close.

They clearly hadn’t expected Mo Yuhan, after enduring the family head’s terrifying attack, to dare to advance instead of retreat, charging directly at them.

In a hurry, the three of them only had time to unleash their respective Dou Qi, attempting to form a temporary defensive line.