Chapter 46: High-Level Monster Beast’s Lock

The ground was soaked in blood. The sun hid behind clouds in the sky, making everything gloomy. Heavy snowflakes, as big as goose feathers, fell once more from above. A snowflake landed on Xu Ziyan’s forehead, turning to ice water and refreshing her mind.

“Snow!”

Xu Ziyan felt a sudden thought. She quickly pulled out a talisman brush and talisman paper from her storage pouch. Calming herself, she made a beast luring talisman in an instant.

Xu Ziyan held the beast luring talisman, watching the Xu Clan disciples suffer losses below. A look of firmness flashed in her eyes. She tore a small corner of the beast luring talisman. Her figure shot upward suddenly, flying towards the group of monster beasts.

The scent of the beast luring talisman leaked out. All the monster beasts in Tongyou Valley paused, then their eyes lit up with madness.

Xu Ziyan’s figure swept past like wind over the heads of the monster beasts. Every Xu Clan disciple looked up at her shadow, unsure what she planned to do. Seeing Xu Ziyan rush towards him, Xu Haobo felt a shock. He shouted at Xu Ziyan:

“What are you doing here? Retreat, now!”

“Second Uncle, I came to lure the monster beasts away!”

Just as she spoke, Xu Ziyan’s figure was over the four-armed ape. She raised her sword and chopped hard at the ape’s head. Then, she lightly tapped the ape’s head and shot away like an arrow from a bow straight into the howling blizzard.

“This…”

A strange thought hit Xu Haobo’s mind: “That can lure the monster beasts away? It’s way too simple!”

But to all the Xu Clan disciples’ astonishment, every monster beast turned together. They ignored the disciples around them and chased fiercely after Xu Ziyan’s shadow. In barely a moment, all the monster beasts vanished. Only over five hundred Xu Clan disciples stood dazed at the mouth of Tongyou Valley.

“Xu Ziyan!”

On the fortifications, Xu Lin had just woken up and saw the scene. His eyes went red as he cried out in grief. His body swayed, and he fell unconscious again.

Xu Haobo slowly landed from the air, his face full of sorrow. Staring at the remaining disciples, he said solemnly:

“Xu Clan disciples, remember this. Today, an outer hall disciple saved you all. Her name is Xu Ziyan!”

Everyone’s eyes reddened. People like Xu Li choked with tears. In the hearts of those Xu Clan disciples who survived that near-death moment, Xu Ziyan’s image was deeply carved. From deep inside, they felt a strong sense of respect.

For a while, Tongyou Valley fell into silence. They all believed Xu Ziyan couldn’t live. With thousands of monster beasts chasing, how could just one disciple survive? Pain and awe spread through every heart. Xu Haobo was the first to snap from the sadness. He turned to a few brothers and said:

“Send someone to Changri Valley, Luofeng Ridge, and the imperial highway. Also, send a messenger back to Zhongdu City to report to the family head.”

Once Xu Ziyan vanished from everyone’s sight, she blended into the snow force. Her figure disappeared suddenly into the air. Only the scent of the beast luring talisman remained, speeding deep into the Cangmang Mountain Range. That left the monster beasts behind for now.

But Xu Ziyan controlled her speed consciously in the blizzard. If she wanted to lose the monster beasts, it would be easy with her grasp of the snow force. However, she feared that without the beast luring talisman’s scent, the monster beasts would return to Tongyou Valley. So she steered her speed to lure the beasts chasing her from behind.

Yet, she didn’t expect this. As she went deeper into the Cangmang Mountain Range, middle-level monster beasts not in the beast tide smelled the beast luring talisman and joined the chase. In the end, even high-level monster beasts got involved.

Zhongdu City.

Li Wanpeng, Xu Haoran, Xiao Rugui, and Wu Meng each guarded a side of the city walls. Above the walls, chaos had broken out. A few monster beasts had fought their way up, especially the flying demon beasts—they were impossible to stop.

At the east city, a flying demon beast landed on the wall. Its head had just lifted halfway when Xu Haoran’s flying sword flashed out of nowhere, hitting straight for its brow.

“Clang!”

The flying sword pierced the monster beast’s brow. The beast trembled and toppled from the wall.

At the south city, Li Wanpeng wasn’t using a sword but a short club his height. Leaping up, he swung the club and smashed the skull of one monster beast with a bang. Without pausing, his short club created a blur of shadows, striking like a storm at the surrounding beasts. They fell one after another without a chance to cry out, dead instantly.

At the west city, Xiao Rugui wielded a fiery red spear. He pulled it with both hands, yanking the tip from the throat of a huge monster beast. Blood gushed from the corpse. Then, he spun the spear tip around. The whole spear slammed like a leopard’s tail at another beast nearby. A clear cracking sound of bone came as he crushed its skull.

At the north city, Wu Meng’s sword moved fast and sharp, striking a dazzling figure. His form was hard to predict, and the blade cast many illusions. Each stab hit right in the monsters’ brows.

The four clans fought fiercely, but there were too many monster beasts. They were tightly surrounded. Other disciples weren’t as good though. They kept falling under the monster beasts’ assaults.

Flying demon beasts were rare, though, so only a few climbed up. Most monsters were held back below the wall by the clans’ disciples. Finally, the four family heads pushed hard and cleared the beasts from the top.

“Kill!”

With the beasts off the walls, Xu Haoran, Li Wanpeng, Xiao Rugui, and Wu Meng shouted in unison. Humans spirits soared. Talismans flew like a storm towards the beasts below. With booming sounds, they pushed back the monsters’ advance.

※※※

Four figures flew on sword flight from Tongyou Valley. One flew to Changri Valley, one to Luofeng Ridge, one to the imperial highway, and one straight to Zhongdu City.

※※※

On the path deep into the Cangmang Mountain Range, Xu Ziyan left traces of the beast luring talisman’s scent. A huge crowd of monster beasts followed her trail, growing larger. High-level beasts joined the chase. Some released their spiritual power, trying to lock onto the smell of the beast luring talisman racing through the air.