Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dazzling, radiant light engulfed Ling Hu completely, its unmatched force causing the very air to tremble.
Whoosh!
But at that moment, a figure wreathed in surging protective primal energy burst out from the light, streaking like lightning towards a member of the guard team.
Ling Hu’s beast claw extended, piercing straight into the chest of a ninth-rank Heavenly Martial guard. Then, his entire body passed through the guard’s form.
“Bang!” With a loud explosion, the guard’s body shattered apart. Yet not a drop of blood flowed— in that instant, the blood-drenched beast claw had already sucked the guard dry.
What burst apart was merely flesh, a gruesome sight that turned some stomachs.
“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”…
Ling Hu moved like lightning, just as with the first guard, passing through one member of the City Lord’s Mansion guard team after another. They didn’t even have time to scream before their bodies exploded and they perished.
“Kill!” Peng Du and Master Yuling, their faces etched with horror, charged forward in a frenzy.
If Ling Hu kept devouring like this, he’d only grow stronger—eventually, even they wouldn’t be able to resist him.
Boom!
The two attacked simultaneously, their overwhelming palm force and spiritual energy crashing towards the ground. But Ling Hu was too fast, already darting to another spot, targeting yet another victim.
Though they’d tried to limit the scope of their strikes, they still turned several nearby people into pulp. A resounding crash followed, and a massive shockwave erupted from the ground, flinging those nearby backwards.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the end, Ling Hu didn’t just devour the blood of the City Lord’s Mansion forces—he began consuming strangers too.
Bound by the array’s restraints, these people couldn’t evade Ling Hu’s attacks, helplessly pierced one by one by his beast claw.
“We absolutely can’t let him consume enough blood, or none of us will escape!”
Master Yuling’s expression grew tense. He flicked a black bead from his hand, sending it hovering above the black blood pool. With a surge of spiritual energy, the bead shattered, transforming into a dark light that plunged into the pool.
“Hiss! Hiss!” The array activated, and the ground began to shake. The blood pool slowly receded into the floor, and the various ancient beast statues standing in the hall sank back into the ground.
At the same time, the binding force enveloping everyone weakened layer by layer. Within moments, it vanished entirely.
“Run!” At that instant, cries of panic rang out as figures scattered in all directions.
The beastman was too terrifying—capable of matching a Martial King and devouring blood at will. Those in the hall had no means of self-defence.
The scene descended into chaos, the auction building crumbling under the onslaught of impacts.
“The initial beast transformation is the most powerful and ferocious. After some time passes, subsequent transformations won’t carry this level of strength. Let’s go now and deal with him later!” Master Yuling said unwillingly, watching the frenzied, bloodthirsty Ling Hu.
At this point, the beast-transformed Ling Hu possessed power equal to or greater than theirs. Staying here was futile.
Peng Du clenched his fists, grinding his teeth. This power was supposed to be his, yet now he had to flee and abandon it.
“This debt will be settled eventually!” Peng Du’s body trembled with rage, but reason prevailed. He turned and flew outward alongside Master Yuling.
They intended to slip away amid the chaos!
“Think you can leave that easily?”
By now, Lin Xiao had regained his primal energy, his inner strength surging like a boiling tide.
Simultaneously, a wave of spiritual energy propelled his body forward, intercepting Master Yuling.
This man posed a threat far greater than Peng Du.
“Everyone, don’t let the mastermind behind this murderous scheme escape!”
A thunderous shout erupted from Lin Xiao’s mouth. A chaotic primal energy fist beam shot from his hand, streaking towards Master Yuling.
“Kill!” Not everyone was a coward. Lin Xiao’s cry snapped many out of their daze—they’d nearly died at the hands of these two.
Especially the three major factions—Kongyuan Valley, Buzhou Mountain, and Sanyuan Sect—whose valley-master-level Martial Kings had been slain by them.
More crucially, they all believed the real Junzang Map and key were in Peng Du’s possession.
Obtaining the Junzang key and map could be their ticket to rising power.
Fuelled by vengeance and desire, a mob with bloodshot eyes charged recklessly to block the pair.
“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!”…
Blades and sword beams flashed, barring their path. This was the combined might of dozens, even hundreds, of Heavenly Martial cultivators—among them high-tier ones like Huang Yuan and Qianlong. Together, their strength was formidable.
“Damn brat!” The two glared at Lin Xiao with murderous fury, wishing they could tear him apart on the spot.
Without this kid, today’s situation wouldn’t have spiralled like this.
But faced with countless attacks, they had no choice but to retreat and counter.
Boom! Boom!
Rolling shockwaves erupted from the clashing forces, flinging nearby people backwards.
After all, they were a Martial King and a fourth-rank spirit controller. No longer needing to protect the City Lord’s Mansion forces, they fought unrestrained, managing to dodge and block the incoming assaults.
Yet breaking through the crowd proved exceedingly difficult.
“Let’s see how much spiritual energy you have left!” Lin Xiao drew his longsword, his thunder primal energy surging. With a mighty swing, a thunderous roar resounded.
Boom!
Countless bolts of lightning erupted from his sword, shooting towards Master Yuling. The wild power within them seemed to pierce the air, making it boil, the blinding light stinging the eyes.
Master Yuling’s expression hardened. He hadn’t expected this youth to possess not only mid-tier third-rank spiritual energy but also such potent primal energy.
And it was of the thunder attribute, no less.
Whoosh!
A spiritual imprint shot from his brow, growing larger as it met the thunderous lightning.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Shockwaves burst forth as the imprint and lightning dissolved into air, vanishing.
The thunder’s power matched that of fourth-rank primary spiritual energy.
Master Yuling’s face grew solemn. As Lin Xiao had guessed, his mental spiritual energy was nearly depleted by the beast-refining ancient array. His earlier clash with Ling Hu had been a desperate push.
If he remained trapped, he might not hold out much longer.
“Kid, I’ll remember you!” Master Yuling tossed a pill into his mouth, and his spiritual energy surged rapidly.
“Spiritual Speed Burst!” he shouted, his body transforming into a streak of light, slipping through a gap in the crowd and fleeing into the distance.
Lin Xiao was stunned. He hadn’t expected Master Yuling’s speed to skyrocket after consuming the pill—likely some secret technique.
At that pace, pursuit would be futile.
Spirit controllers indeed had remarkable tricks up their sleeves.
“He got away!” Lin Xiao cursed under his breath, unwilling to let it go. A spirit controller capable of refining Beast Transformation Pills was no saint.
At that moment, Peng Du swiftly pulled out a pill of his own, swallowing it whole. His power surged, and he unleashed a mountain-crushing palm strike, breaking through the encirclement and charging outward.
“He can leave, but you can’t!”
Seeing this, Lin Xiao’s brow arched. Summoning a massive wave of spiritual energy, he gave chase.
