Shua!
Li Yao’s left arm shrank rapidly at a visible speed. A cluster of red brilliance rushed out of the super crystal at the center of his palm toward a Mirage Falcon that he had locked onto since long ago at a speed more than five times the speed of sound!
The Mirage Falcons were in their most vulnerable state when they launched the ‘Fiery Shooting Stars’. Their necks that were extended to the maximum ruined their streamlined body, making them unable to keep cruising at a supersonic speed. The demonic energy that they released continuously made them even more obvious targets than they should have been, too!
Li Yao chose the perfect moment to attack, which was when the marrow crystals inside the craws of the Mirage Falcons were about to enter the most heated state. A hundred billion cells were obliterated and turned into the purest energy, which congregated into the cluster of red brilliance through the reflections and refractions of the super crystal. The attack hit the head of the Mirage Falcon precisely, leading to a chain reaction in the marrow crystals inside its crawl and detonating the next wave of the ‘Fiery Shooting Stars’!
“Not good!”
Every feather on the face of the young master of the Feather Clan stood up, making his head three times as large. He shrieked loudly and aborted the attack of the Fiery Shooting Stars in time, soaring up with the Mirage Falcon!
However, not all his teammates were as adept at reining a biochemical beast as he was.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
After a series of thunderous explosions, the sky immediately turned into a surging ocean of flames, which raised tides hundreds of meters high. Most of the Mirage Falcons were consumed. A storm of fiery drops rained down and covered dozens of square kilometers nearby!
However, other than Li Yao, there were a lot of hunters of the demon race who were chasing after him, too.
For a moment, the fire was burning furiously, and screams were echoing nonstop. The forest had turned into a living inferno where countless demons were struggling miserably in the intense flames. They were riddled with holes by the scorching, shooting magma and turned into burnt, black bones while they were shuddering in pain!
Although the young master of the Feather Clan soared up to the sky one step in advance, he was still lightheaded because of the blast. It was not until three seconds later that he finally came back to himself despite his expertise as a demon emperor.
When he watched the troop of Mirage Falcons, which had been what he was most proud of, screaming and shrieking in the flames, turning into roasted, bare turkeys, every feather that was standing up on his face turned into the reddest color imaginable.
“B*tch! You filthy b*tch, Jin Xinyue!
“Who is this monster that you have found? Who is he exactly?”
Right now, the ‘monster’, according to the young master of the Feather Clan, was fleeing quickly inside the forest. The fire and the magma became his best cover.
Under the scourge of the overwhelming Fiery Shooting Stars, most of the hunters of the demon race were killed or wounded. It would take them at least half a day before they could regroup again.
Li Yao felt that his head was dizzy, and golden swirls were popping up in front of his eyes. Although his left arm had regained its normal appearance, it was still dangling down from his shoulder limply..
He even vaguely felt as if his entire right left was now soaked in scorching magma and about to be melted. It was about to be ignited and would be burning from inside to outside.
The deepest strength of the cells is truly dreadful, drastic, and unsteady!
Li Yao was very clear that it was a lucky incident. He had inherited part of the abilities of the Blood Stripe Virus, whose natural instincts were to control and modify genes. It was why he could manage, however unstably, the ‘primeval cells’ that were just activated.
If it were a different Cultivator, even if they were in the Nascent Soul Stage, unlocking the strength of genes so recklessly would have destroyed their cells and turned them into a pool of pus. When the mitochondria provided excessive energy, it was also possible that their body would burn.
Li Yao quickly thought of something. He had read in many ancient training notes that a lot of high-level Cultivators were killed in weird flames that started burning from the inside of their body without a good reason.
At first, it was believed that those Cultivators were assassinated by their enemies, or they were poisoned in a special way.
However, such cases had happened in various sects of various Sectors over thousands of years. The cause of death was always the same, but there was no trace of poison at all despite the scrutiny. It then became one of the greatest mysteries for the ancient Cultivators known as ‘Spontaneous Human Combustion’.
Maybe, those ancient Cultivators discovered the secrets of genes and cells by accident, too. But they did not know the usage and activated the dangerous recessive genes in their ignorance, which made the mitochondria overload and released such a huge amount of energy that their body could not bear, causing them to be burnt in the end.
After my experience, it is safe to say that triggering the strength of cells for combat is too unstable and dangerous!
Cultivators fight their battles with spiritual energy, magical equipment, and other useful tools. Their combat ability might vary, but such a way of fighting is safe and stable. Even if they become mentally deranged, their cells would never collapse, nor would they get themselves burnt into ashes.
Li Yao pondered the advantages and disadvantages of the two different ways of fighting while he rushed almost a hundred kilometers away. He took three turns to make sure that he had no pursuers before he finally reached the top of the waterfall in the southwest.
With the Child-Mother Ring, he soon determined Jin Xinyue’s location.
Jin Xinyue was lying on a giant rock on the top of the waterfall. Her body was covered in wounds, but not much blood was flowing out of her veins, a sign that she had already lost too much of her blood.
It seemed that she had experienced a fierce battle, too.
Li Yao peered over the edge and looked at the bottom of the waterfall.
The waterfall was several hundred meters high. Its bottom was covered in fog, which blocked Li Yao’s vision.
Not far away, the water congregated into a zigzagging river that led to the deepest part of the forest.
Li Yao thought quickly for his escape.
Jumping off the cliff seemed to be the best route of escape right now. However, if he were one of the hunters, he would certainly not let go of such an obvious route. The long river below the waterfall would certainly be searched and heavily guarded.
After a moment, Li Yao made up his mind. Li Yao jumped off the waterfall carrying Jin Xinyue, but he charged into the waterfall after falling down dozens of meters.
Crack!
Li Yao’s hand pierced deep into the rocks like a claw, supporting him in the middle of the water against the rushing water current. He then retrieved a small drill of mystic rays from his Cosmos Ring.
The drill of mystic rays was his favorite. A few years ago, he had been training in Yan Xinjian’s secret residence below the surface of Spider Den. In the end, he had dug his way out of the underground with a special drill of mystic rays.
He had held onto the drill of mystic rays. It was one of the main weapons of the new Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit and had played an important role in the battle to annihilate Xiao Xuance. He did not expect that it would come in handy today again.
Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!
Li Yao dug out a narrow pathway in the hard rocks behind the waterfall.
The rocks there were all solid quartzites and basalts. Although the Insect Clan claimed to be the dominators of the underground world, they mostly lived in relatively soft soil or natural caves. It was impossible for them to live in suffocating rocks.
The drill of mystic rays was designed to explore the underground world, and Li Yao was quite familiar with the job. Very soon, he had dug the pathway deep down into the underground.
Naturally, he did not forget to dig a few additional turns behind him. But he estimated that the enemy would not discover the entrance behind the waterfall easily. Even if they did, the outmost part of the pathway had been sealed by him.
After they moved deep below the ground, they encountered a series of natural caves. However, Li Yao and Jin Xinyue, who had only just woken up, did not dare linger. For one day and one night, they kept running at the highest speed deep inside the Hundred Desolation Mountain. It was not until the dawn of the third day that they stopped to catch their breath and discuss the current situation.
“The Nether Spring Kingdom, the Kingdom of Lion Butchers and the Gold Crow Kingdom.”
Li Yao scratched his chin. “Three of the four superpowers of the Blood Demon Sector have joined hands to chase after you. Why?”
“Not three. All of them.” Jin Xinyue was extremely feeble due to the loss of blood. Her face was pale, and she replied dutifully, “I was assaulted by the Iron Crocodile Warriors of the Sea Dominator Kingdom on the top of the waterfall. Although I managed to kill all of them, I was heavily wounded and passed out in the end. Therefore, the Sea Dominator Kingdom is part of the scheme, too.”
Li Yao glanced at her. “Being hunted by the four most powerful kingdoms of the Blood Demon Sector, you are rather calm.”
Jin Xinyue smiled bitterly. “As the saintess of the Pantheon of Demons, I’ve seen too many of such schemes. Before, I cooperated with the assassins of the Nether Spring Kingdom, the Sea Dominator Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Lion Butchers to exterminate certain people that should not exist any longer, too. Now, it is my turn to be exterminated. What’s there to be surprised at?
“However…”
Her eyes suddenly shuddered, and a guilty expression appeared on her face before she said softly, “My death is insignificant, but I accidentally dragged Elder into this disaster. It has absolutely nothing to do with Elder, but I’ve even put Elder into the crosshairs of the four superpowers of the Blood Demon Sector at the same time. I really feel…”
“I’m going to stop you there,” Li Yao said coldly, “If there is no way out, I can always tie you up, throw you to them, and get away myself. I don’t think that they will be so persistent in chasing after an expert who has the capability of a demon emperor after they get what they want. So, there is no need to feel guilty.”
Jin Xinyue was dumbfounded. She had to swallow the remaining part of her speech.
Li Yao smiled and continued. “However, before I tie you up and throw you to them, there is something that I’m rather curious about. Why are the four kingdoms, including the Gold Crow Kingdom, trying to kill you?
“Logically, you know a great secret of the Nether Spring Kingdom. There is no reason for your father, Jin Tuyi, to abandon you.”
Jin Xinyue smiled helplessly and said, “There are many possibilities. For example, when Elder Nether Spring saw that his secret was about to be exposed, he confessed it to my father and made a deal with my father by trading something for the secret and me, who knew the secret.”
“Oh?” Li Yao narrowed his eyes. “Does Elder Nether Spring have anything that is worth trading for his daughter?”
“He does,” Jin Xinyue said calmly, as if she were telling somebody else’s story. “The Red Tide Plan is one of them.”
“The Red Tide Plan?”
Li Yao naturally would not let go of such a good opportunity to collect the secrets of the Blood Demon Sector.