8: Chapter 8: Encountering Huo Ling'er! Beauty and the Beast

"Meat... more meat."

With the Ten Heavenly Passages successfully opened, the violent black baleful aura around Wang Teng's body lingered without dissipating, his nine tails swaying gently behind him like a peacock spreading its feathers.

With every step he took, the soil beneath his feet was instantly corroded into charred black by the death energy of the Nine-Nether Ao.

The rationality that belonged to him as a transmigrator was locked in a tug-of-war with the bloodthirsty instincts of the Nine-Nether Ao.

Right now, he was in urgent need of high-quality essence blood to consolidate the Ten Heavenly Passages he had just opened.

Passing through a swamp filled with dense fog, waves of rich medicinal fragrance suddenly drifted from ahead.

Wang Teng lowered his body, pushing aside the bushes several meters high like a ghost, but he hadn't expected what he would find.

What met his eyes was not some hideous giant beast, but a picturesque scene.

In front of a spirit mushroom shimmering with crimson light stood a young girl.

She was dressed in a small fire-red skirt, her raven-black hair cascading down to her waist like a waterfall, and her skin was as delicate and translucent as ivory.

Her large eyes were incredibly lively, and at this moment, she was concentrating on digging up the spirit mushroom in the soil, with a few crystal-clear beads of sweat hanging on her small face.

Princess Huo Linger.

The pearl of the Fire Kingdom, and also a heaven-favored daughter of immense nobility within the Eight Regions of the Lower Realm.

However, when Princess Huo Linger subconsciously turned her head to check if the surroundings were safe, her movements froze.

Less than ten zhang away from her, a monster resembling a demonic god from hell was staring fixedly at her.

What kind of creature was that?

It resembled a giant wolf but was covered in black-gold scales, and three heavy-pupiled blood-red eyes flickered with greedy, fierce light in the shadows.

The most terrifying thing was the thick, lingering scent of blood on its body—belonging to the Feiyi and White Tiger—which had almost solidified into a red mist.

"Ah—!"

A terrified scream pierced the tranquility of the mountain forest.

Princess Huo Linger's pretty face instantly turned deathly pale, and the jade shovel in her hand fell to the ground.

Her whole body slumped into the grass, her delicate frame trembling uncontrollably.

In her field of vision, Wang Teng's nine swaying bone tails were practically the tentacles of the Grim Reaper.

"What kind of vile beast is this! How dare you disturb Her Highness the Princess!"

Following several furious shouts, four figures instantly rushed out from the dense forest in the distance.

They were the "Sealers" specifically arranged by the Fire Emperor to protect Princess Huo Linger.

Although their cultivation was suppressed to the Heavenly Passage Realm within Baiduan Mountain, they were originally long-established senior experts.

Their mastery of runes and combat experience were far beyond what the younger generation could compare to.

"Princess, retreat quickly!"

A Sealer holding a crimson spear, his body wreathed in scorching Fire Dao runes, took a step to stand across in front of Princess Huo Linger.

When he saw Wang Teng's appearance clearly, his pupils shrank abruptly:

"Resembling a giant wolf, head with ox horns, nine tails and a dragon head... This is... the Nine-Nether Ao recorded in ancient texts?!"

The Sealer's voice was trembling, but it was filled even more with a frenzied killing intent:

"If this kind of fierce beast is allowed to grow up, it will surely be a great disaster! Form the array, kill it, and take its true blood to offer to His Majesty!"

"Just by relying on you few old geezers?"

A harsh, mocking sound emitted from Wang Teng's throat.

Although he had not yet perfectly mastered the human language, the disdain on his face was undisguised.

"Insolent! Die!"

The spear-wielding Sealer made the first move. The crimson spear in his hand thrust out violently.

A giant Li Fire Divine Bird manifested in the void, lunging toward Wang Teng with an aura capable of burning mountains and boiling seas.

At the same time, the other three Sealers also launched their attacks.

One offered up a golden bell; the bell's toll was melodious, and the sound waves surged like tides to assault Wang Teng's soul;

One conjured a sky full of rain of fire, sealing off all of Wang Teng's retreat paths;

The last one lurked in the shadows, holding a black poisoned dagger, ready to launch a fatal blow at any moment.

"Boom—!"

Facing the encirclement, Wang Teng didn't even move a step.

The void behind him suddenly shook violently, and ten ink-black Heavenly Passages bloomed simultaneously in an instant!

At that moment, the fire elements within a radius of a thousand meters were forcibly suppressed by these pitch-black Heavenly Passages, and the originally raging flames instantly dimmed.

"Ten... Ten Heavenly Passages?!"

The four Sealers exclaimed in unison, their eyes filled with disbelief.

In their knowledge, it was already a legend for a human to open nine Heavenly Passages, yet this fierce beast had actually opened the perfect Ten Heavenly Passages?

"Heavenly Passage—Nirvana!"

Wang Teng roared, and the Ten Heavenly Passages spun crazily, forming a terrifying gravitational vortex.

The charging Li Fire Divine Bird hadn't even gotten close before it was directly torn apart by an invisible giant force, turning into sky-filling firelight and being swallowed by the black holes.

"Clang!"

The golden bell was struck violently by two of the tails behind Wang Teng.

That treasure, capable of shattering the physical bodies of archaic descendants, actually shattered into dozens of pieces like ceramic.

"Pfft—"

The Sealer who had offered the bell suffered a backlash, spewing a mouthful of blood.

"Old geezers, your essence blood might be a bit bitter, but it has the advantage of being plentiful!"

Wang Teng turned into a bolt of black lightning, instantly appearing before the spear-wielding Sealer.

His giant claws, covered in black-gold scales, slammed down with the power to split mountains and crack rocks.

"Vermilion Bird Divine Wall!"

In his panic, the Sealer desperately activated his origin runes, condensing a crimson shield in front of him.

"Crack!"

With the empowerment of the Ten Heavenly Passages, Wang Teng's strength had reached an unimaginable extreme.

The shield didn't even last a second under the giant claws before it shattered with a boom.

Wang Teng's sharp claws continued downward, directly ripping five bloody gashes into the Sealer's chest, deep enough to expose his internal organs.

"Ah! My cultivation... he is absorbing my vital energy!"

"Princess, run! We cannot handle this fierce beast!"

"No!"

The battlefield was in a mess.

Four Sealers: two seriously injured, one lightly injured, and the assassin lurking in the shadows was too scared to even show himself.

Wang Teng stood on the charred earth, his nine tails dancing wildly behind him.

Every dragon-shaped head was exhaling grey underworld mist.

He turned his head, his heavy pupils locking onto Princess Huo Linger, who was hiding behind a tree.

Watching her usually imposing guards being swatted away like flies by this monster, Princess Huo Linger was already on the verge of a breakdown.

"You... don't come over!"

Trembling, she pulled out an amulet flickering with the aura of divine fire from her bosom; this was the trump card the Fire Emperor had left for her.

"I am the Princess of the Fire Kingdom. If you kill me, my Royal Father will definitely flatten this Baiduan Mountain!"

Wang Teng approached step by step, his massive shadow completely enveloping the petite Princess Huo Linger.

He lowered his head, and his hot, blood-scented breath sprayed onto Princess Huo Linger's face.

Looking at this face as exquisite as a porcelain doll, a wicked thought suddenly arose in Wang Teng's heart.

"Princess of the Fire Kingdom?"

Wang Teng suddenly spoke, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper grinding.

"I've discovered... keeping a slave who knows how to gather herbs seems not bad."

"You... what did you say?"

Princess Huo Linger was stunned; this peerless fierce beast was actually talking?

"Kneel, or die."

The nine Heavenly Passages behind Wang Teng vibrated slightly, and a pressure like a great mountain pressed directly onto Princess Huo Linger.

Just as Wang Teng was preparing to snatch away this delicate princess and turn her into his "personal herb gatherer."

A familiar, milky shout suddenly came from the distant horizon:

"Let go of that chubby girl! That's who I saw first!"