277: Chapter 277 Shifting the Blame East

The Purple Bamboo Forest was deep and silent. Ye Tian stopped in his tracks, his muscles tensing instantly. He slowly raised his head, looking toward the dense dark purple shadows above.

The Dragon Ape’s warning still rang in his ears. Countless pairs of glowing eyes hidden within the bamboo shadows were silently locked onto him, carrying a cold, prying sensation.

The moment he was targeted, Ye Tian felt a chill crawl up his spine. These were definitely not friendly!

Furthermore, their numbers were immense, covering almost the entire airspace of the bamboo forest.

"They are 'Iron-beaked Purple Shadow Bats,' a type of pack-dwelling Vicious Beast. They are bloodthirsty, their teeth and claws carry paralytic toxins, and they love to hide in the shadows for sneak attacks."

"Individually, they aren't strong, roughly between the Late Stage of the Ningyuan Realm and the first or second level of the True Martial Realm, but their numbers..."

The Dragon Ape’s urgent transmission echoed in Ye Tian’s mind, filled with gravity. "This bamboo forest is their nest! Master, we’ve stumbled right into it!"

Ye Tian’s heart sank.

When it rains, it pours!

With pursuers behind and a Vicious Beast nest ahead, he was trapped.

In his current state, dealing with a few might be fine, but facing hundreds or even more Iron-beaked Purple Shadow Bats, charging through would only result in being sucked dry!

Moreover, once a battle broke out here, the commotion would surely attract Ah Fu and the people from the Shadow Calamity Tower!

He had to leave immediately!

But how?

Retreat?

There might be Wind Patrol Guards behind him.

Move forward?

The bat swarm had already been alerted.

Force his way through?

Once the bat swarm attacked, his heavily injured body would find it hard to resist.

Ye Tian’s gaze swept across his surroundings.

These "Iron-boned Purple Bamboos" were hard in texture. Their arrangement seemed chaotic but vaguely followed a certain pattern.

The fragment held tightly in his hand didn't point behind the bat swarm, but rather toward the front-left. There, the bamboo forest seemed even denser and the light dimmer, but the path guided by the fragment appeared to be in that area.

Could it be... the area guarded or gathered by this bat swarm was exactly the direction the fragment was pointing?

"Little Dragon, can you sense roughly which direction the 'King' or the core nest of this bat swarm is?" Ye Tian asked quickly via transmission.

To catch the bandits, first catch their leader—or... shift the trouble elsewhere!

The Dragon Ape focused its senses for a moment. Although it was injured, its Yao Beast instincts and Huahai Realm perception remained, especially its sensitivity to the aura of such pack-dwelling Vicious Beasts.

It quickly transmitted: "To the front-left, about three hundred yards away, there's a particularly dense aura of cold and blood, along with a not-weak wave of demonic power. It's at least at the ninth level of the True Martial Realm or even stronger. It should be the Bat King."

"Wait... that Bat King's aura seems a bit strange. It fluctuates in strength, almost as if... it's in a weakened state from laying eggs or molting?"

The Bat King was in a weakened state?

Ye Tian’s eyes lit up!

An opportunity!

But it could also be a greater danger, as the guarding bat swarm would be even more frenzied.

"Master, the auras of those people from the Wanren Sword Pavilion are to the southeast, about ten miles away, moving this way. Their speed isn't fast, as if they are searching."

"Another group is to the southwest, much closer, about seven or eight miles away, moving toward the people from the Wanren Sword Pavilion!"

The Dragon Ape continued to report the situation it perceived, its tone carrying a hint of confusion. "This aura is very strong, much stronger than Ah Fu, and... it's filled with a pure, tyrannical killing intent. It's very dangerous!"

Another powerful aura approaching the Wanren Sword Pavilion people?

Thoughts whirled in Ye Tian’s mind.

Friend or foe?

Regardless, the intervention of a powerful third-party force would inevitably cause chaos!

This might be his chance!

Since there were wolves in front and tigers behind, with a bat swarm blocking the middle, why not create even greater chaos? He could take the opportunity to pass through the area guarded by the bat swarm and head toward the direction guided by the fragment!

Since that was the Bat King's nest, there might be other passages or something the bat swarm feared, allowing him to temporarily escape pursuit.

"Little Dragon, we'll quietly move toward the front-left, toward the Bat King's nest."

"If we're discovered, I'll create a commotion to lure the bat swarm toward the southeast—the position of those people from the Wanren Sword Pavilion."

"Then we'll take the chance to rush through!"

Ye Tian quickly explained the plan.

"Understood!" the Dragon Ape replied, shrinking its body even further until its aura almost completely vanished.

Ye Tian took a deep breath, executing the light-body movement technique from the Taixu Star-Shift Steps while simultaneously circulating the aura-concealing method from the Illusory Sea Heart Sutra. His entire being seemed to merge with the shadows cast by the bamboo as he sneaked toward the front-left.

He didn't dare move too fast, taking every step with extreme caution to avoid the dry bamboo leaves on the ground.

Above him, those crimson points of light shifted slightly with his movements, remaining locked onto him. However, they didn't attack immediately, seemingly observing or waiting for an order.

Fifty yards... a hundred yards... two hundred yards... He drew closer and closer to the Bat King's nest, and the cold, bloody scent in the air grew stronger.

Ye Tian could even hear faint "squeaking" sounds and the fluttering of wings from that direction. Clearly, even more Purple Shadow Bats were gathered there.

Just as Ye Tian was less than a hundred yards from the nest and could vaguely see a mound over three yards in diameter covered by countless purple-black vines amidst the bamboo forest...

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Several sounds of objects piercing the air suddenly erupted from behind and to the side of Ye Tian!

They weren't attacking him, but were several cyan-gray wind blades. They spun and sliced through several Iron-boned Purple Bamboos, also startling the bat swarm above!

It was the Wind Patrol Guards!

They had searched their way here!

And they seemed to have noticed something unusual, using wind blades to test the area!

"Screech!!!"

The bat swarm, which had only been monitoring, was instantly enraged!

In an instant, countless black shadows bolted from the bamboo shadows!

They were bats with dark purple bodies, crimson eyes, and beaks as sharp as iron awls!

There were so many of them that they almost blotted out the sky above the bamboo forest, forming a scalp-numbing "black cloud"!

The bat swarm split into two groups. One larger group, about seventy to eighty percent, charged madly toward the direction the wind blades came from—the location of Ah Fu and the Wind Patrol Guards!

The other smaller group, about twenty to thirty percent, shrieked as they lunged toward Ye Tian’s position!

Clearly, in their simple consciousness, both sets of intruders were enemies, but the Wind Patrol Guards' active attack had drawn more hatred.

"Oh no! It's Iron-beaked Purple Shadow Bats! There are too many! Form a formation! Wind Spirit Wall!"

Ah Fu’s startled and angry shout came from the distance.

The battle erupted instantly!

The group of bats lunging at Ye Tian also numbered in the hundreds!

"I've been waiting for this!"

A fierce glint flashed in Ye Tian’s eyes. Instead of retreating, he exerted force through his feet and lunged toward the Bat King's nest!

At the same time, he flicked his left hand, activating several Explosive Flame Talismans he had purchased at the Huihai Market. They turned into large fireballs and smashed into the oncoming bat swarm!

"Boom! Boom!"

The fireballs exploded. The scorching flames and shockwaves turned the dozens of Purple Shadow Bats in the lead into charcoal or left them dazed, but even more bats flew through the flames and continued to lunge!

Ye Tian had already drawn his liuguang sword with his right hand. The sword light transformed into a curtain of azure light, protecting his body and slicing through any bats that came close.

But his injuries were too severe and his true essence was insufficient. The sword light was far less swift than before. Soon, several bloody gashes were clawed into his body, and the numbness from the toxins began to spread.

The Dragon Ape on his shoulder was anxious and tried to act several times, but was stopped by Ye Tian’s gaze!

Exposing themselves now would invite an even greater disaster!

"Charge through!"

Ye Tian gritted his teeth, ignoring everything as he endured the bat swarm's lunges and rushed toward the entrance of the massive nest!

He was gambling that near the Bat King's nest, ordinary Purple Shadow Bats wouldn't dare to get too close, or that there would be another passage there!

The short distance of a hundred yards became incredibly long under the frenzied attacks of hundreds of Purple Shadow Bats.

More than a dozen new wounds appeared on Ye Tian’s body, dripping with blood. The toxins made his movements increasingly sluggish.

It looked as though he was about to be completely submerged by the bat swarm.