152: Chapter 152 Second-Order Monster

Ruan Xiao spoke as he raised his hand to press against his chest, his face still tinged with a lingering, sickly dark-blue hue.

Clearly, although the potent poison had been suppressed, it had not been completely eradicated.

His gaze swept over the scattered corpses of the Disciples on the ground and the residual demonic aura. His tone grew increasingly sinister: "These Disciples all died under the claws of a wolf demon, and the aura matches that of the Iron Azure Wolf King."

"This means the wolf king is preparing to Breakthrough to the Middle Stage of the second order, and that second-order moonlight spirit stone is indeed about to appear!"

Ruan Xiao's words left Ye Jing greatly shocked. He hadn't expected that the Iron Azure Wolf King in Dayu Mountain was actually a Second-Order Demonic Beast!

A Second-Order Demonic Beast was comparable to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, not to mention that Yao Beasts were generally stronger than Cultivators. It was no wonder the Lingxiao Sect had dispatched three Foundation Establishment experts to Dayu Mountain.

Thinking of this, Ye Jing felt fortunate that he had been cautious and hadn't rushed to find the Iron Azure Wolf King immediately. Otherwise, with his cultivation level, it would have been no different from seeking death.

"Tao Yue, Ruan Xiao, now is not the time for such arguments." At this moment, the old Cultivator spoke up. His voice was steady and carried a hint of authority.

"The Demonic Qi here is mixed with a faint trace of a living person's Spiritual Qi. Someone may have been here."

Tao Yue adjusted her bright red robe, her elegant brows furrowing slightly. Her gaze fell upon the corpses of the Disciples not far away, which had been gnawed into a mangled state, and a flash of disgust and coldness crossed her eyes.

"Elder Huang is right. The Storage Pouches on the Disciples sent to search the first-order mineral veins of Dayu Mountain have all been taken. I'm afraid someone is indeed here. To be safe, why don't we first use our Divine Sense to investigate?"

Huang Shanyin stroked his beard and nodded with a solemn expression.

He was the one with the deepest cultivation among the three. The Divine Sense of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator far exceeded that of a Qi Refining Cultivator, enough to cover several miles of the surrounding forest.

Spiritual Qi circulated around his body as strands of Divine Sense spread out like a tide, sweeping through every thicket and every rock crevice.

Having had prior experience resisting the Divine Sense of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Ye Jing patted Hei Feng. Hei Feng immediately used its Divine Ability, and the ripples on its horn spread out, blocking this probe.

The surrounding Poisonous Variant Bees also rose and flapped their wings, disrupting the Divine Sense.

Huang Shanyin searched for a moment, and his heart relaxed slightly as he said, "There is nothing in the mountains besides those Mortals. Let us hurry and find the Iron Azure Wolf King to seize the moonlight spirit stone!"

Hearing Huang Shanyin say this, Tao Yue and Ruan Xiao could only agree for now, and they flew toward the mountains together, riding their Spiritual Artifacts.

It wasn't until the light of the three Lingxiao Sect members' Spiritual Qi completely vanished into the depths of the forest that Ye Jing slowly breathed a sigh of relief, his back already covered in a layer of sweat.

He lowered his head and stroked Hei Feng's head. "Thanks to your Divine Ability, otherwise we really wouldn't have been able to block their detection."

Hei Feng rubbed against his palm and let out a low whimper from its throat. The ripples on its horn had already faded; clearly, blocking the Divine Sense of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator just now had cost it some strength.

Among the bushes, the Poisonous Variant Bees flew back and circled around Ye Jing twice, as if reporting that there were no anomalies in the vicinity.

Ye Jing waved his hand to signal the bee swarm to be silent. He looked toward the deep mountains, a flash of hesitation and determination crossing his eyes.

"A second-order wolf king, a moonlight spirit stone, and three Foundation Establishment Cultivators... the things hidden in Dayu Mountain are far more incredible than I imagined. Since I've stumbled upon this, there's no reason to leave empty-handed. I'll follow them and see."

However, Ye Jing didn't dare to be careless. He let Hei Feng lead the way. Currently, Ye Jing had no techniques to hide himself, so he could only rely on Hei Feng and the Poisonous Variant Bees for alertness and concealment.

He divided the Poisonous Variant Bees into two groups: one in front to scout the path and one at the rear to stay on guard. The entire group moved through the dense forest like ghosts, always maintaining a safe distance of several miles from the three Lingxiao Sect members.

The further they went into the heart of the mountains, the more intense the surrounding demonic aura became.

Along the way, Ye Jing saw several torn-apart livestock carcasses and even human torsos.

It seemed this direction was indeed the work of the Iron Azure Wolf King.

After about the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, the faint sound of Spiritual Qi collisions came from ahead, mixed with the violent roars of the wolf king, shaking the surrounding trees until they trembled.

Ye Jing immediately signaled the team to stop. Using an ancient tree for cover, he poked his head out to look ahead.

In the clearing of jagged rocks ahead, three figures were engaged in a fierce battle with a massive creature—it was the three from the Lingxiao Sect and the Iron Azure Wolf King.

That wolf king was far more terrifying than A-Da had described. Its body was more than five times the size of an ordinary wolf, and its deep blue fur was as dense as dark iron, glinting coldly under the dappled light and shadows.

The white crescent iron patch on its forehead was actually emitting a faint silver glow at this moment. Its amber eyes were as red as blood, and its body was shrouded in black demonic power. Every swipe of its claws carried the sound of breaking air, gouging deep furrows into the ground.

"This Yao Beast truly possesses the power of the second-order Middle Stage! Its demonic power is far more violent than expected!"

Huang Shanyin held a whisk, his Spiritual Qi surging. The whisk lashed out with countless silver threads, which converged like a giant net toward the wolf king in an attempt to bind its movements.

But the Iron Azure Wolf King roared and spat out a blast of astral wind mixed with iron filings and silver light, tearing the silver threads to shreds. The astral wind continued toward Huang Shanyin with undiminished force.

Tao Yue's figure was agile as she wove through the area in her bright red robe. With the opening and closing of the red fan in her hand, several sharp blades of Spiritual Qi slashed toward the wolf king's limbs, trying to pin down its movements.

"Senior Brother Ruan, quickly attack the iron patch on its forehead! That is its weakness!" she shouted to Ruan Xiao while dodging the wolf king's claw strikes.

Ruan Xiao unsheathed his longsword and thrust it toward the wolf king's head. He was filled with suppressed rage; he wanted to take down the wolf king to seize the spirit mine, but even more, he wanted to use this to vent his resentment from being blindsided by Ye Jing. His Moves were executed with extreme sharpness.

However, the Iron Azure Wolf King had already sensed the danger. Its head jerked to the side, avoiding the sword's attack, and its massive tail swept out, carrying immense demonic power as it lashed toward Ruan Xiao.

Unable to dodge in time, Ruan Xiao was hit hard in the chest by the tail. He was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, coughing up a mouthful of blood as the dark-blue hue on his face intensified.

"Senior Brother Ruan!" Tao Yue cried out in alarm. She wanted to step forward to support him, but the wolf king took the opportunity to swipe at her, forcing her to dodge hastily, though its claw still grazed her shoulder.

With a "clang," Tao Yue was knocked back by the impact, but Ye Jing, watching from the shadows, saw everything clearly.

Even though this female Cultivator had taken a direct hit from the wolf king's fierce attack, she was completely unharmed; she had merely been thrown back by the powerful force.

Could it be that this female Cultivator has some powerful defensive method?

Seeing this, Huang Shanyin grew anxious and immediately took a golden Talisman from his robe. The Talisman flew into the air and instantly transformed into a large Golden Bell that protected them inside.

The Iron Azure Wolf King roared and repeatedly slammed into the Golden Bell, but aside from causing a few minor ripples, it couldn't stir the slightest wave.

This left Ye Jing stunned. What was this object? It was so powerful and clearly didn't look like an ordinary Talisman.

However, the wolf king continued to show its might, and even the surrounding Iron Azure Wolves stepped forward to join the frantic siege, surrounding the Golden Bell so tightly that not even water could leak through.

The resulting astral winds almost tore up the ground for ten miles around.

Ye Jing couldn't help but marvel inwardly. A Second-Order Demonic Beast was indeed formidable; even if it was only at the Early Stage of the second order, it could completely suppress three Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

If not for Huang Shanyin's deep cultivation and the powerful Talisman he carried, those two would likely have perished already.

Ye Jing's gaze swept across the battlefield. He saw that all the Iron Azure Wolves were gathered here, but there was no sign of the moonlight spirit stone.

Thus, he immediately commanded the Poisonous Variant Bees: "While they are still entangled with the wolf king, we will go find that moonlight spirit stone right now!"