17: Qingmeng was robbed

The morning mist, thick like condensed milk, slowly drifted through the valleys of Qingmeng Mountain. A team of fifteen people walked over fallen leaves, the crisp crunch of dry branches under their boots exceptionally clear in the silent forest. The crowns of towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, allowing only fragmented golden patches of sunlight to filter through the gaps, landing on Lin Yang's shoulder wound and radiating a faint warmth.

"Everyone, stay alert!" Fifth Elder Lin Tianjiang's voice carried an almost imperceptible tremor, his long saber gleaming coldly in the mist. "After three hundred li into this forest, even Vicious Beasts in the Gang Qi Realm are not uncommon. Anyone who dares to be negligent and loses their life won't have anyone to collect their corpse!"

His words were mainly directed at Lin Yang. Ever since the ceremony, this Fifth Elder had been wary of Lin Yang, and now he would occasionally glance at the young man at the end of the team, as if worried he would hold them back.

Lin Yang, however, paid no mind. The chaos star core gently vibrated in his Sea of Consciousness, greedily absorbing the thin Spiritual Qi permeating the forest. To him, this perilous Qingmeng Mountain was not a dangerous place, but a natural Cultivation ground — those Vicious Beasts lurking in the shadows were merely mobile "demon core supplements."

Within the team, Lin Dongliu clutched his still unhealed chest, his gaze toward Lin Yang as venomous as a snake. Several of his followers whispered amongst themselves, their voices extremely low, but they could not escape Lin Yang's keen hearing.

"Once we enter the mountain, find an opportunity..."

"Don't worry, Fifth Elder knows what he's doing."

A cold sneer played on Lin Yang's lips as he tightened his grip on the Kindling Knife at his waist. These people hadn't given up yet; it was time to let them experience true despair.

On the evening of the fifth day, the team set up camp in a sheltered mountain hollow. The bonfire crackled, roasting wild game that sizzled with oil. Lin Dongliu deliberately threw a charred wolf leg in front of Lin Yang, the splattering oil landing on his boot.

"Useless trash, this is all you deserve to eat."

Lin Yang ignored him, munching on his dry rations. He noticed Shen Shuanghua sitting at the other end of the fire, her light purple ruqun dress stained with some grass, head bowed as she wiped a jade hairpin, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding squalor.

Late at night, the mountain wind suddenly turned violent, bringing icy raindrops that pelted the tents. Lin Yang's eyes snapped open, the chaos star core emitting an urgent hum — danger was approaching!

"Owooo—"

A wolf's howl exploded like thunder, making the tent poles creak. The next moment, a fishy smell scent enveloped by the gale assailed them, and the canvas tent was violently ripped away, revealing a monstrous black shadow outside.

The bonfire swayed violently in the strong wind, illuminating the Vicious Beast's appearance — it was as large as a buffalo, covered in blood-red fur, each strand bristling like a steel needle. Most terrifying were the three tails swaying behind it, each tip glowing with a dark luster, clearly imbued with potent venom. Dozens of ordinary blood wolves followed the Blood Wolf.

"A Three-Tailed Blood Wolf! It's a Xiantian Realm Vicious Beast!" Lin Tianjiang's face instantly turned pale, his long saber almost slipping from his hand. Such a Vicious Beast was a overlord-level existence even in Qingmeng Mountain; its fur could withstand ordinary Protective Aura, and its three tails could tear through iron armor.

To everyone's surprise, the Three-Tailed Blood Wolf ignored Lin Tianjiang, who was close by, its crimson beast eyes fixed on Lin Yang, emitting a threatening growl from its throat, as if it harbored an irreconcilable hatred for him.

"It's targeting you!" Lin Tianjiang urgently shouted, swinging his saber, a light green Protective Aura condensing on the blade. "Move quickly!"

Lin Yang, however, advanced instead of retreating, the five elements True Essence within him boiling. "Thunder Blast Kill!" he roared, seven Fist Shadows, accompanied by the explosive roar of intertwining water and fire, fiercely slammed into the Blood Wolf's face.

"Bang!"

The Fist Shadows collided with the Blood Wolf's head, emitting a crisp clang of metal. Lin Yang felt a tremendous force from his fist, his arm instantly numb, but the Blood Wolf merely shook its head, roughly pushing aside the Fist Shadows, and opened its massive, fanged maw, spraying Lin Yang's face with foul-smelling saliva.

"Seeking death!" Lin Yang flipped to avoid the Blood Wolf's pounce, his left fist condensing Earth Element True Essence to smash into the wolf's abdomen, but his right palm was swept by the tip of its tail, instantly bringing a searing pain, and his clothes were immediately soaked with blood.

Just then, Lin Dongliu suddenly shrieked, "Lin Yang! For the sake of the Family, you must sacrifice yourself!" He shouted high-sounding slogans, but his feet were already running backward as if greased. Seeing this, his followers also imitated him, scrambling and crawling to escape into the depths of the dense forest.

Lin Tianjiang's saber paused in mid-air. He looked at the fleeing clansmen, then at Lin Yang, who was entangled with the Blood Wolf, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. When the Blood Wolf's second tail snapped an ancient tree as thick as a man's embrace, the Fifth Elder finally gritted his teeth and also turned to flee, chasing after the others.

"Pfft!"

Two Lin Family members who couldn't escape in time were struck by the wolves' tails, their bodies instantly torn in half, blood splattering the fallen leaves red. The pack of wolves then chased after the fleeing Lin Family members.

In an instant, only Lin Yang and the ferociously enraged Three-Tailed Blood Wolf remained in the mountain hollow.

"You want me dead? It won't be that easy!"

A ruthless glint flashed in Lin Yang's eyes. His left arm had been broken by a wolf claw, bone fragments piercing through his skin, yet his gaze was even fiercer than the Blood Wolf's. In his Sea of Consciousness, the chaos star core spun wildly at an unprecedented speed, intricate black patterns appearing on its surface.

"Heaven Devourer!"

He let out a low roar, ignoring the excruciating pain in his right arm, and slammed his right palm onto the Blood Wolf's abdomen. The chaos star core erupted with terrifying suction. Lin Yang could even feel countless pure demonic energies surging into his body through his palm. That power was violent and scorching, yet it was forcibly suppressed and refined by the Star Core.

"Oww—"

The Three-Tailed Blood Wolf let out a shriek so desperate it sounded inhuman. It twisted its body frantically, trying to break free, but found its demonic energy draining away at a visible rate. Its originally sleek, shiny red fur rapidly withered, its bulging muscles atrophied at an eerie speed, its three tails drooped limply, and the ferocity in its eyes gradually replaced by fear.

Lin Yang held down the struggling Blood Wolf, allowing the violent demonic energy to surge through his Meridians. Excruciating pain emanated from the broken bone in his left arm, yet it was also enveloped by a warm current, healing at a slow but steady pace.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the buffalo-sized Three-Tailed Blood Wolf completely withered, eventually turning into a pool of foul-smelling bloody water that seeped into the soil through Lin Yang's fingers, thoroughly devoured by the chaos star core.

Lin Yang staggered to his feet, his left arm now barely movable, the broken bones healing rapidly. He panted heavily, looking in the direction where everyone had fled, a cold arc forming on his lips — he wouldn't let any of them go.

Meanwhile, on a nearby treetop, Shen Shuanghua's white robes gently fluttered in the night wind. She watched the blood-soaked figure in the mountain hollow, twirling a jade hairpin between her fingers, and softly murmured to herself, "The chaos star core... it is indeed on him. No wonder even the Blood Wolf King, with a trace of ancient Vicious Beast Bloodline Power, could sense your aura."

Her gaze swept over the half-piece of tianluo molybdenum gold at Lin Yang's waist, a complex glint flashing in her eyes. Then, her figure swayed, and she vanished into the depths of the dense forest like willow catkins, as if she had never been there.

The mountain wind was still violent. Lin Yang looked at the dark forest, tightening his grip on the Kindling Knife in his hand. The trial of Qingmeng Mountain truly began at this moment.