boyutpedia Chapter 85: Shifting the Blame East
Chapter 85: Shifting the Blame East
Without further delay, Lin Yan moved like a gray arrow released from a bow, shooting swiftly towards the direction of the golden flame aura deep within the valley. His [Swiftness] talent was subtly activated, his speed increasing dramatically, leaving faint afterimages amidst the dim light and jagged rocks.
The deeper they ventured, the more rugged the terrain became, and the thicker the miasma grew, like layers of gray gauze obscuring their vision. The sweet, cloying stench in the air began to mingle with an increasingly distinct, pungent odor of demonic beasts. The strangely shaped rocks on either side grew increasingly grotesque, like crouching behemoths, and from the shadows, glints of eerie green light flashed—these were low-level demonic beasts drawn by the scent of living beings.
Lin Yan activated his full spiritual senses, his dark gray-black Devouring Spirit True Essence flowing through his meridians, taking in every subtle movement around him. He didn't engage with the scattered demonic beasts he encountered along the way; with his Swiftness, his figure moved like a ghost, always narrowly avoiding their claws and fangs before they could reach him. At the same time, the packet of "Boiling Blood Powder" in his hand had been opened. He picked up a small amount of dark red powder with his fingertips and, while speeding along, skillfully and imperceptibly sprinkled it into the crevices of rocks and among the branches of bushes he passed.
The powder is as fine as dust, almost imperceptible when it falls into the environment. However, its strange, sweet, and fishy smell spreads quietly, like a pebble thrown into still water.
At first, there were only a few hesitant, restless growls behind him. Gradually, the growls became rapid and violent, merging into a single sound. Lin Yan didn't need to turn around to sense that more and more auras, attracted and stimulated by the scent of the "Boiling Blood Powder," were emerging from their hiding places, becoming excited and aggressive. A pack of beasts was forming.
He dared not pause for the slightest, pushing his speed to the limit as he approached the core of the golden flame aura.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the scenery ahead suddenly changed.
A relatively open valley appeared before them. The ground was no longer littered with rocks, but covered with a thick layer of grayish-white bone dust and withered moss, accumulated over countless years, soft and silent underfoot. In the center of the valley stood a stone platform, about three zhang high, naturally formed from huge, dark blue rocks. At the top of the platform, a dazzling golden flame burned quietly.
No, that's not fire.
As Lin Yan drew closer, he could see clearly. It was a fox demon nearly ten feet long, its entire body covered in magnificent crimson-gold fur. It crouched atop the highest point of the stone platform, its posture elegant, its long tail flowing behind it like a cloud. Its crimson-gold fur wasn't static; it moved without wind, tiny golden sparks constantly escaping from the tips, drifting and rising, converging into a golden flame that enveloped its entire body, illuminating the dim valley. The fox demon's eyes were pure emerald green, like two bottomless ancient springs, now indifferently gazing down at the uninvited guest who had intruded into its territory.
Golden Flame Demon Fox.
It merely squatted there, not deliberately radiating any pressure, yet the unique, heavy aura of a Core Formation Realm demon beast, as heavy as a collapsing mountain, permeated the entire valley. The air was slightly distorted due to the high temperature, and inhaling it caused a burning sensation in the mouth and nose. Lin Yan could even clearly feel the hairs on his body curling slightly under this high temperature and pressure.
It is it.
Lin Yan took a deep breath, suppressing the instinctive tremor in his heart. He stopped and stood at the edge of the bone-powder ground, facing the demon fox on the stone platform.
The fox demon's emerald eyes shifted, landing on Lin Yan. Its gaze was cold and indifferent, like a god looking down upon an ant, devoid of any emotion. It seemed somewhat surprised by Lin Yan's appearance, but more so by a displeasure at being disturbed.
It's now!
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Yan unleashed his full [Swiftness] talent! He transformed into a blurry gray shadow, not retreating, but charging forward with a resolute momentum! His target was the Golden Flame Demon Fox on the stone platform!
This sudden action clearly enraged the ruler of the territory. The fox demon's eyes flashed with a bright green light, and it let out a low but extremely penetrating hiss. It didn't even get up; it simply raised one of its front paws and gently swung it in the direction Lin Yan was charging from.
"call--!"
In an instant, golden flames appeared out of thin air! These were no ordinary flames, but a viscous, liquid-like, serpentine, and terrifyingly hot golden stream of fire! Dozens of golden streams of fire intertwined into a net, engulfing Lin Yan and sealing off all his escape routes. Even before the flames arrived, the terrifying heat caused the air around Lin Yan to crackle and pop, instantly charring the ground to a crisp!
A matter of life and death!
Lin Yan's pupils contracted, and all his muscles tensed to the limit. Just as the golden fire net was about to hit him, his forward momentum was abruptly stopped without warning. His feet plowed two deep furrows in the bone-powdered ground, and his body leaned backward at an almost illogical angle. At the same time, he braced himself with his left hand on the ground, and his whole body spun sideways like a top as he flew backward!
"Sizzle!" Despite reacting at his limit, the edge of a golden streak of fire still grazed his right shoulder. The simple protective runes on the Demon Suppression Division's standard leather armor instantly dimmed and charred, and a burning pain shot through the skin beneath the armor, as if it had been branded with a hot iron.
Lin Yan grunted, using the momentum to roll away and create distance. His right shoulder was already torn and charred, a searing pain and numbness emanating from it. But his eyes remained calm. His left hand swiftly pulled out the last packet of "Boiling Blood Powder" from his robes. With a slight release of true energy from his fingertips, he shattered the oil-paper packet into pieces. The dark red powder inside, mixed with a wisp of his own essence and blood, was then hurled like a shower of petals towards the center of the golden flame on the stone platform—the face of the Golden Flame Demon Fox!
The turn of events was swift and sudden; from the initial charge to the ferocious spraying of medicine, it all happened in the blink of an eye. The Golden Flame Fox clearly hadn't expected that this tiny human, after dodging its attack, wouldn't flee in panic but would instead dare to provoke it! The emerald light in its eyes finally turned to rage, and it opened its mouth to spew even more intense demonic fire, intending to burn the oblivious insect to ashes.
However, the cloud of dark red powder was already right in front of them.
The fox demon instinctively closed its eyes, shook its head, and its body erupted in golden flames, attempting to incinerate and disperse the powder. Most of the "Boiling Blood Powder" did indeed vaporize instantly under the terrifying heat, but a small portion of the medicinal essence, mixed with Lin Yan's blood essence and containing the power to stimulate the demon beast's berserk instincts, had already penetrated the barrier of the golden flames, clinging to the fur on its nose. A few even landed on its snout, which was slightly open in anger!
"Awooo—!!!"
A deafening scream suddenly erupted! This scream was no longer cold and indifferent, but filled with extreme rage, pain, and... madness!
The Golden Flame Fox suddenly stood up from the stone platform, its massive body stretching out, its long, crimson-gold fur standing on end, and golden flames erupting from its body like a volcanic eruption, scorching a hole in the miasma above the entire valley! Its emerald eyes were now covered with a terrifying blood-red hue, fixedly locked on the human below who had injured it and defiled it with something strange!
Become!
Lin Yan's heart skipped a beat; he knew the most dangerous moment had arrived. Without hesitation, he turned and fled! He activated [Swiftness] to an unprecedented degree, flying desperately back the way he had come—towards Liu Xiong's camp!
Behind him, the Golden Flame Fox went completely berserk! The potency of the "Boiling Blood Powder," mixed with its rage at being provoked by an ant, caused it to lose most of its reason. It leaped off the stone platform, its four paws landing on the ground, crushing countless bones, transforming into a golden fire meteor that scorched the sky and boiled the sea, chasing wildly in the direction Lin Yan had fled! Along its path, golden flames splashed wantonly, rocks melted, and shrubs turned to ashes, illuminating the dim valley as if it were daytime.
Even more terrifying, as the fox demon king pursued in a rage, the low-level demonic beasts in the valley, already stirred by the scent of the "Boiling Blood Powder" scattered along the way, surged out from their hiding places as if receiving a supreme command, joining the torrent of pursuit. Howls of wolves, roars of leopards, hisses of snakes, cries of birds… countless beastly roars mingled with the thunderous sound of hooves, converging into a terrifying sonic wave that destroyed everything, following closely behind the golden fire meteor as it swept towards the valley entrance!
Lin Yan pushed his speed to the limit, the wind whistling in his ears like the wailing of ghosts, the heatwave rolling behind him like being in an oven. He could clearly feel the golden figure rapidly closing the distance, the scorching air almost licking his back. Along the way, demonic beasts, either startled or stimulated by the residual aura of "Boiling Blood Powder," constantly pounced from the flanks to intercept him. He could only rely on the superhuman reflexes and agility granted by [Swiftness] to dodge, block, and even endure some non-fatal attacks in the blink of an eye, without stopping.
The wound on his right shoulder kept tearing open during the high-speed movement, blood soaking through the tattered leather armor, sending shivers down his spine. His old wound on his left arm also began to throb. His lungs felt like they were on fire, each breath carrying the metallic taste of blood. But his eyes remained sharp as knives, fixed intently on the distance ahead—there lay the valley entrance, Liu Xiong's camp, and his only chance of survival!
Faster! Faster!
……
Outside the valley entrance, twilight had been completely replaced by night.
The campfires on the high slopes on both sides blazed, illuminating the figures of the patrolling soldiers. Liu Xiong had returned to the largest tent in the middle, and by candlelight, he was flipping through a thin booklet—a copy of his secret records of his interactions with certain figures in the capital. His expression was calm, and he occasionally picked up a sip of the warm tea beside him, as if he were simply waiting for a hunt whose outcome he already knew.
Outside the tent, one could faintly hear the soldiers' laughter and chatter, mixed with the soft clash of weapons and the whistling of the mountain wind through the wooden fence.
Suddenly, the tranquility of the camp was shattered by a series of hurried and panicked footsteps, accompanied by shrill shouts.
"Captain! Captain! Something terrible has happened! Help—!"
Liu Xiong frowned, put down the booklet, and got up to leave the tent.
Five figures scrambled up from outside the camp fence—it was Scarface and his four men. They were all disheveled, their clothes tattered, their bodies and faces covered in mud and bits of grass, and a strange, unsettling, sweet, fishy odor emanated from them. Their faces were etched with extreme terror, as if they had just crawled out of hell.
"What happened?" A sense of foreboding rose in Liu Xiong's heart, and he asked in a deep voice, "Where's Lin Yan? Did he complete the mission?"
Scarface gasped for breath, his face contorted with fear. "Lin... Lin Yan was prepared! We... we were ambushed! They stole our medicine... they even... they sprinkled the medicine on us! Captain, quick, let us in! Something's chasing us!"
Before he finished speaking, some soldiers with keen senses of smell in the camp, as well as several mastiffs tied to the corners of the camp for guard duty, began to stir restlessly. The mastiffs let out low, threatening growls, bared their teeth at Scarface and his five men, and struggled desperately to get away from the scent emanating from them.
Liu Xiong's face suddenly darkened. He was incredibly shrewd and instantly understood—Lin Yan had not only seen through his plan, but had also turned the tables on him, using the "Boiling Blood Powder" on the five scarred men! This powder had a strong attraction to demonic beasts, and if the five scarred men fled back to their camp, wouldn't they be bringing trouble upon themselves?
"You bastards!" Liu Xiong roared, his eyes flashing with murderous intent. "Who let you come back?! Get out of here!"
His reaction was undeniably quick, but it was already too late.
"Awooo—!!!"
"roar--!!!"
"Hiss—!!!"
From the deep crevice at the valley entrance, a deafening roar, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing, suddenly erupted! The roars, layer upon layer, were filled with rage, hunger, and a bloodthirsty desire, like a flood bursting its banks, instantly shattering the tranquility of the night!
Then, the earth began to tremble! At first, it was a slight tremor, but it quickly became clear and intense, like countless heavy drumsticks striking the ground at the same time!
The flames of all the campfires in the camp began to flicker violently, reflecting on faces that quickly went from blank to horrified.
"Monsters! It's a monster tide!"
"My God! How can there be so many?!"
"Prepare for battle! Quickly! Block the valley entrance!"