Chapter 124: The Scarlet Territory (3)

  Suddenly, a hideous face appeared over the opening of the crack—right above Xu Mo. Fortunately, Xu Mo was eight to nine feet below the ground. But what made Xu Mo shiver was not that sight, but the strange, continuous panting of the beast. Also, more shadows had started to appear over the crack, making the light from the moon become overshadowed, causing Xu Mo, inside the fissure path, to become invisible in the darkness.

  Just how many were there? Xu Mo thought inwardly, goosebumps appearing on his skin as he felt his back become cold and a shiver run down his spine.

  They would not be able to come down and reach me, right?

  Go away. I am not tasty. Go! Xu Mo screamed inwardly, but he closed his eyes and prayed.

  "Blood."

  Xu Mo heard a mature male voice from above, where the sniffing sounds had been coming from just moments ago.

  Do they mean to say they are attracted to the smell of blood? Xu Mo tried to understand what the spiritual beast meant from that one word the beast had just uttered.

  Mere Spiritual Beasts. If I had my peak strength, I would have shown them whether their fangs were bigger or my fist.

  Growl—The beasts let out an angry growl.

  Ah... Sorry, sorry, do not mind me. This mere mortal's meat is not tasty. I believe there must be more delicious meat. It seems like they can even hear my inner thoughts. How frightening.

  Xu Mo remembered that he had felt a metallic taste inside his mouth earlier, meaning the blood these beasts were attracted to must be his. Xu Mo moved his pupils down to his robe, which was stained with dried blood. He had ignored it before, thinking it was merely the reflection from the blood-red moon in the sky.

  He did not even know how many there were on the ground above him, but by listening to the faint sniffing and the sound of paws hitting the ground, a rough estimate would be thirty to forty spiritual-stage beasts.

  "There seems to be a treasure there. Look, just how many spiritual-stage beasts are gathered around that specific spot."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Xu Mo heard a loud male voice. For a moment, hope appeared in his heart, but then he became frightened because human cultivators were not so righteous either. From the many records in the Technique Pavilion’s History Section, Xu Mo knew that most people died at the hands of their fellow cultivators, not in the mouths of beasts.

  The first place, however, was held by women, who were said to be the harbingers of destruction. It was written that if someone looked invincible and seemed to have no vulnerabilities, then send him a kingdom-toppling beauty—or, if two people had sworn brotherhood, make them like a common woman—and then see them fight worse than animals and kill one another just to be with that woman.

  Thud—

  Sounds of fighting appeared, and Xu Mo knew, from the diverted attention of the spiritual beasts, that their numbers were lessening.

  Crawl—Crawl—

  Xu Mo knew he had to switch places or he might be killed. He started moving his body and used Qi Reinforcement to cover his vital parts while trying to be as silent as he could, crawling through the fissure's path.

  As far as the eye could see, there was no end to this path.

  "Phew... That was the last one, right?" said one of the men who had slaughtered a large number of spiritual beasts gathered above the ground where Xu Mo had been moments ago.

  "Senior Brother, you are awesome! Able to take down so many spiritual-stage beasts alone within a few minutes. I believe only the disciples of the Holy Sect could equal you in strength."

  "Quick, check for treasures before more beasts are attracted to this place," the person called Senior Brother instructed his teammates.

  Looks like I have to pretend to be dead, thought Xu Mo when he heard footsteps getting close. And they were not just one or two—it seemed like six or seven people. If they found out that he was alive and weak, they might kill him here and try to steal his treasures.

  Wait? Treasures!

  Xu Mo hurriedly touched the cursed weapon tied to his waist belt, gifted to him by the Sect Master.

  Threadspike Capsule. My life depends on you. Xu Mo knew he only had one chance—to take out the majority of them at the same time.

  Xu Mo channeled the maximum amount of Qi he could conjure without dying into the Threadspike Capsule. He was locked tight between the stones. He would have to throw it into the air just when they lowered their guard.

  One, two, THREE!!

  At the count of three, Xu Mo threw the Threadspike Capsule into the air... and the fine, sharp wire in the form of thread that had been wrapped around the thumb-sized capsule immediately unfurled mid-air—like a spider's nest exploding outward.

  Silent. Blindingly fast.

  The threads shimmered faintly, invisible to the naked eye unless caught by a flicker of light. Then came the sound—not of an explosion, but of air being sliced apart, as if reality itself had been torn into strands.

  Several of the approaching disciples froze mid-step. They didn’t even have time to scream. The threads pierced through flesh, wrapped around limbs, and yanked bodies off balance—a storm of death spun from silk and blood.

  By the time the capsule clattered to the ground and fell back onto Xu Mo's stomach, the chaos had already bloomed.