260: Chapter 260 Demon Attack, Fog Disperses

At the summit of a solitary Peak, the night wind was biting.

A few withered pines leaned against the cliff edge, their branches like iron, casting mottled shadows under the cold moon.

Chen Ran stood with his hands behind his back, his wide robes flapping loudly in the wind.

His gaze lowered, overlooking the undulating mountain ranges below.

Sect Leader Fang Tianxing stood respectfully several yards away, his back hunched, his breathing kept extremely shallow.

This Sect Head of the Demon Sound Sect was, at this moment in front of Chen Ran, as docile as a domestic dog.

Although Chen Ran did not deliberately release any pressure, that profound aura of convergence with heaven and earth, naturally exuding after his recent Breakthrough to the Innate Realm, still made Sect Leader Fang Tianxing feel waves of palpitations.

That feeling was like an ant looking up at a Dragon, unable to muster the slightest thought of resistance.

"Speak."

Chen Ran spoke indifferently. His voice was not loud, yet it clearly pierced through the howling mountain wind and fell into the ears of Sect Leader Fang Tianxing.

Sect Leader Fang Tianxing trembled, hurriedly took two steps forward, and performed a deep Daoist salute.

"Reporting to you, my Lord, since the time you left, your subordinate has, as instructed, dispatched all the elites of the Sect to gather information everywhere."

He paused and swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"Just three days ago, a major event occurred."

"The Blood Boil Sect has been annihilated."

Chen Ran's expression did not change.

He had heard a little about the Blood Boil Sect.

It was a major Sect of the Demonic Path entrenched in the neighboring state, acting ruthlessly with a deep foundation.

Its Sect Master was a Peak Return to Truth Realm expert, only a step away from being a top-tier Innate expert.

Such a Sect could not possibly have perished without a sound.

"Who did it?" Chen Ran asked in a flat tone.

Although he was in the capital, he had secretly kept the Demon Sound Sect gathering clues about potential anomalies in the Jianghu.

Since Sect Leader Fang Tianxing was reporting in person now, it was likely that some anomaly had truly appeared.

Sect Leader Fang Tianxing took a deep breath and lowered his voice:

"Replying to you, my Lord, outsiders all believe it was a joint encirclement by famous Righteous Path Sects, or perhaps the Imperial Court acting in secret. But at the time the incident occurred, I happened to be preparing to visit them with several other Sect Masters of the Demonic Path."

A trace of fear flashed in his eyes, as if recalling some extremely terrifying scene.

"When we arrived, the entire mountain where the Blood Boil Sect was located had been almost leveled to the ground."

"In the depths of the ruins, your subordinate saw a massive claw mark, dozens of yards long, that had torn the main hall of the Blood Boil Sect directly in half."

"The Sect Master of the Blood Boil Sect had his skull crushed by a single claw, and the Disciples under him died even more miserably, their vital blood completely drained, turning them into withered corpses."

"My Lord, that was absolutely not something human power could achieve. The Blood Boil Sect was attacked and killed by a Yao Beast!"

Chen Ran finally turned around, his gaze falling on Sect Leader Fang Tianxing.

"A Yao Beast?"

"Yes." Sect Leader Fang Tianxing nodded firmly. "Your subordinate was fortunate enough to witness a Great Yao emerging many years ago. The Demonic Qi remaining at the ruins of the Blood Boil Sect was ten times more terrifying than what I saw back then."

"At the very least, it is a Second-Rank Great Yao!"

Hearing this, Chen Ran narrowed his eyes slightly.

A so-called Second-Rank Great Yao has strength comparable to a human Martial Artist at the Innate Realm.

Some even more powerful ancient Yao species could even barely match the Grandmaster Realm.

It is not easy for a Yao Beast to cultivate, and gaining sentience is even more difficult.

Once reaching the Second-Rank level, a Great Yao's intelligence is no less than that of a child.

Under normal circumstances, they would never easily set foot in the gathering places of human Martial Artists.

What exactly did the Blood Boil Sect have that was worth a Second-Rank Great Yao risking encirclement by human Grandmasters to forcefully annihilate the Sect?

However, Chen Ran did not care about these reasons at all anymore. What he cared about more now was what exactly that Yao Beast was, and whether it possessed any Innate talents.

"Where is that Yao Beast now?" Chen Ran asked.

Sect Leader Fang Tianxing shook his head: "Its whereabouts are unknown. After it annihilated the Blood Boil Sect, it completely vanished without a trace. I heard that the Demon-Slaying Squad has already sent people to investigate this matter."

"My Lord, the appearance of a Second-Rank Great Yao is no small matter." Sect Leader Fang Tianxing asked cautiously, "Our Demon Sound Sect is not too far from the Blood Boil Sect. Do we need to recall our dispatched Disciples and seal the mountain to avoid disaster?"

Chen Ran's expression was indifferent: "No need."

"A mere Yao Beast cannot turn the world upside down."

Sect Leader Fang Tianxing felt a shiver in his heart and hurriedly bowed to accept the order: "Your subordinate obeys!"

He raised his head, intending to express a few more words of loyalty, but discovered the figure in front of him had already become illusory.

A breeze blew past.

Chen Ran's figure dissipated on the spot like a reflection of the moon in water, leaving not a trace of his aura behind.

Sect Leader Fang Tianxing stared blankly at the empty cliffside, the awe in his heart growing even stronger.

"The Lord's cultivation is truly unfathomable..."

He bowed deeply once more before turning to leave.

...

Deep in the vast mountain range.

The grayish-white mist that had been dense for several days finally showed signs of dissipating under the blowing of the morning breeze.

The surrounding ancient trees towered, their branches twisted, looming in and out of the thinning mist like silent ghostly shadows.

Captain Xia An sat atop the Phantom Soul Mirage, with chains emitting golden light beneath him, binding this Yao creature tightly.

"Senior Brother, the mist seems to be clearing."

From a distance came the joyful shout of Junior Sister, but Captain Xia An's brows did not relax; on the contrary, they furrowed even tighter.

It took a full three days for the mist in this mountain forest to completely dissipate.

"I fear many people will be hurt this time."

Captain Xia An murmured softly, leaped down, and looked toward the area where the mist was thinner, at the same time shouting to the pink-haired woman not far away:

"Let's go, it's time to move on."

A few moments later, the mist had mostly dissipated, and the field of vision suddenly broadened.

In Captain Xia An's perception, a few figures stumbled out from the remaining mist.

Captain Xia An walked quickly to meet them, his gaze sweeping over the group, his heart suddenly sinking.

When entering the mountain, there were over ten of them.

Now, only a mere eight remained.

"Where are the others?"