154: Chapter 154 Chase and Escape

Roars echoed continuously outside the mountain forest.

Just as Ye Jing chiseled away most of the black iron ore and was about to extract the moonlight spirit stone, a violent roar that shook the entire forest erupted from outside the cave.

This sound was more terrifying than any before it; clearly, something had gone wrong on the Iron Azure Wolf King's end.

Ye Jing's heart tightened, and his hand movements suddenly accelerated.

Judging by the commotion, the Iron Azure Wolf King was likely backed into a corner, either forced to unleash a stronger surge of demonic power for a counterattack, or the three Cultivators were currently slaying it.

Regardless of the scenario, once the balance of their battle was broken, whether it was the three from the Lingxiao Sect or the Wolf King, they would undoubtedly seek out the nest immediately. At that point, escaping would be as difficult as reaching the heavens.

"Faster!" Ye Jing grunted under his breath, pouring spiritual energy from his body into the black iron pickaxe. A faint spiritual light flickered at its tip.

With a sudden, forceful strike, a crisp "crack" rang out. The final section of black iron ore connecting the moonlight spirit stone snapped.

Ye Jing quickly tucked it into the Storage Pouch meant for Ores. Without time to inspect it closely, he swept up the surrounding fragments of shattered black iron ore and shoved them into the Storage Pouch as well.

Then, he immediately bolted toward the cave entrance.

"Hei Feng! Let's go!" Ye Jing didn't have time to think; he mounted Hei Feng and fled in a hurry.

At that moment, the Iron Azure Wolf King, its mouth filled with blood and its life flickering out, sensed that the aura of the moonlight spirit stone had vanished and let out a thunderous roar.

Violent astral winds swept out following its roar, and the demon-locking needles embedded in its body were blasted out in all directions.

They were instantly ground to pieces by the astral winds.

With her Magical Artifact destroyed, Tao Yue immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, her spiritual energy falling into complete disarray.

This caused Huang Shanyin and Ruan Xiao's techniques to fall apart as well, allowing the Iron Azure Wolf King to break free directly.

The Wolf King dashed toward the cave, letting out series of roars.

"What happened?!" Ruan Xiao was bewildered.

Seeing the Wolf King charge forward with reckless abandon, Huang Shanyin immediately shouted, "Something likely happened at the wolf's den!"

At this point, Huang Shanyin's eyes widened to their limit, and his aged voice became shrill: "The moonlight spirit stone!"

He was the first to lunge forward, his horsetail whisk swinging as spiritual energy wrapped around the fierce winds, pursuing the direction the Iron Azure Wolf King had fled.

"We cannot let the moonlight spirit stone fall into the Wolf King's hands, and we certainly can't let someone else intercept it!"

Huang Shanyin's tone was grave. The violent demonic power the Wolf King had just unleashed far exceeded expectations; it had clearly sensed a problem with the moonlight spirit stone to be leaving in such a desperate hurry.

When the Iron Azure Wolf King reached its cave, it saw its kin lying dead on the ground, and even that dense lunar essence within the cave was now so faint it was barely detectable.

It howled in fury, then caught the fleeting scent of a human and another Yao Beast in the air. It immediately turned its head and gave chase.

Meanwhile, Ye Jing was galloping through the dense forest on Hei Feng.

Hei Feng was exerting its full speed, weaving through the trees.

Ye Jing could already hear the Iron Azure Wolf King's howls drawing closer and closer.

It seemed the Wolf King had discovered he had stolen its moonlight spirit stone and was tracking his scent.

"Faster!" Ye Jing urged in a low voice, reaching out to pat Hei Feng's back.

Hei Feng let out a whimper and strained its limbs, its speed increasing slightly, yet the Iron Azure Wolf King's aura remained like a shadow following him.

The explosive power of a Second-Order Demonic Beast far surpassed that of Hei Feng, who was only at the Middle Stage of the first order. Fleeing like this, they would be caught sooner or later.

What alarmed Ye Jing even more was that, besides the aura of the second-order Wolf King, the spiritual energy fluctuations of three Foundation Establishment Cultivators were also coming from behind.

Clearly, the three from the Lingxiao Sect had also caught up. With unknown forests ahead and a second-order Wolf King plus three Foundation Establishment Cultivators pincer-attacking from behind, he was truly in a desperate situation.

Ye Jing spotted a steep cliff face ahead. The cliff was as sharp as if it had been shorn off, covered in thick shrubs. Hidden among them was a narrow stone crevice, barely wide enough for one person to pass through.

Behind that crevice seemed to be a deeper valley.

"It looks like this is the only way!" Ye Jing made a split-second decision. He hopped off Hei Feng and squeezed into the rock wall, bringing Hei Feng in with him.

They had only traveled about ten yards when the Iron Azure Wolf's violent roar echoed from behind.

It had clearly reached the entrance of the crevice.

This was followed by the loud sound of shattering rock. The Wolf King was actually using its head to ram the cliff wall, attempting to smash the crevice open. The entire cliff face vibrated violently, and rubble rained down continuously.

Ye Jing continued to retreat further inside. He could see light filtering through from behind the rock wall. As long as he shook off the Iron Azure Wolf King, those three Foundation Establishment Cultivators hadn't seen him yet, so he could still escape easily.

"The Wolf King really is here!" Huang Shanyin's voice followed immediately. Three figures swept into the valley, surrounding the Wolf King in a triangular formation.

Tao Yue's face was pale, with blood staining the corners of her mouth. Clearly, the backlash from her destroyed Magical Artifact had not yet subsided, but the gaze she fixed on the Wolf King was still sharp with determination.

Ruan Xiao was using his sword to besiege the Wolf King, attempting to finish off the beast crouched at the cave entrance.

The Iron Azure Wolf King had no heart for the fight. Its eyes were locked onto the direction where Ye Jing was hiding, and a low growl rumbled in its throat.

Seeing this, Huang Shanyin swung his whisk. The whisk transformed into a long whip that lashed toward the Wolf King's hind legs as he barked, "Vile beast, don't you dare run!"

Faced with the relentless pursuit of the three Cultivators, and with Ye Jing getting further and further away from it within the rock passage...

Finally, the Iron Azure Wolf King flew into a rage and charged viciously at the three Foundation Establishment Cultivators, attacking them frantically.

On the other side, Ye Jing emerged from the rock wall. Below was a cliff, but he could summon the Poisonous Variant Bee Queen to fly him away from the area.

Meanwhile, the three Cultivators joined forces to finally kill the second-order demonic wolf.

"This beast... why was it so crazed!" Tao Yue panted, struggling to stand.

Ruan Xiao and Huang Shanyin were also drained of spiritual energy. Huang Shanyin looked at the rock wall that had been clawed and cracked by the Iron Azure Wolf King.

His heart sank: "Not good! The Wolf King's insistence on entering that crevice was definitely for a reason. I fear something was hidden behind it, or someone else moved its belongings!"

Tao Yue and Ruan Xiao were jolted by the realization. Huang Shanyin had already activated his Spiritual Artifact and was flying rapidly ahead.

When the three arrived at the Iron Azure Wolf's nest, they saw the ground littered with wolf corpses and the moonlight spirit stone that had long since vanished.

Huang Shanyin's face instantly darkened: "A rat actually managed to sneak in!"

To the side, Ruan Xiao saw the dead bees on the ground. He picked one up to inspect it and immediately roared in fury: "It's him!"

Hearing this, Tao Yue hurried forward and asked: "Senior Brother Ruan, do you know who stole the moonlight spirit stone?"

Ruan Xiao gritted his teeth and shouted: "Of course I know! This person is the black-robed man who suddenly controlled Yao Beasts to attack me last time. These red poisonous bees are his handiwork! He actually took advantage of our struggle with the Iron Azure Wolf King to steal the moonlight spirit stone!"

"What?!"

Tao Yue was shocked, her eyes widening: "This person is actually so bold!"

Huang Shanyin's expression was also extremely unsightly. He had heard from Ruan Xiao that the person who attacked him was merely a Qi Refining Cultivator, and now he had committed theft right under their noses!

This was practically trampling on the dignity of Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

"This... then Senior Brother Ruan, what should we do? This moonlight spirit stone was meant to be presented to the Sect Master. If it's gone just like that, I'm afraid it will be hard to explain!"

Tao Yue said anxiously. They were all Foundation Establishment Cultivators; having been outmaneuvered by a Qi Refining junior, not only would they become laughingstocks, but the Sect Master would also punish them severely!