Volume Two: The Map of the Nine Provinces Revealed, Entering the Spirit Ruins — Chapter 137: Strange Changes

The purple-furred Moon Wolf regarded Chen Yu with wary eyes. It could sense the aura of Dharma runes emanating from Chen Yu’s longsword, confirming beyond doubt that it was a Dharma artifact. Despite its formidable physical strength, the wolf was only at the First Origin Realm and dared not risk testing the sharpness of such a weapon.

The Moon Wolf let out a low growl and instinctively retreated half a step.

Chen Yu sneered, offering no words of banter. He lunged forward, sword in hand. This time, cowed by the lethality of the Dharma artifact, the wolf dared not clash with him directly.

Seeing this, Chen Yu seized the opportunity. Pressing his advantage, he unleashed the "Supreme Clumsiness Sword Technique." Though the sword moves appeared simple and archaic, they contained a hundred subtle variations. The Moon Wolf tried to dodge, only to realize that Chen Yu’s presence had locked onto it; every path of retreat was met with awaiting sword energy.

"Ah..."

The Moon Wolf suddenly shrieked in terror, but a surge of furious rage temporarily eclipsed its fear, driving it to launch a desperate counterattack. Chen Yu remained cold and detached, his blade surging with murderous intent. "Brave, aren't you?"

*Squelch.* They collided, the sheer force of the impact sending both reeling. Chen Yu’s arm went numb, but one of the wolf's paws had been severed clean off.

"Ah... detestable, detestable human!" Stung by pain, the already enraged wolf became even more savage and frantic. Under its guttural roar, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth rushed into its body. A terrifying aura gathered in its throat—the Moon Wolf’s signature breath attack.

Chen Yu’s expression tightened; he knew he could not allow this to be unleashed. He turned into a streak of golden light, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. With a cold, merciless thrust, he struck: "Mountain-Shaking, Earth-Quaking, Golden Light of Wind and Rain!"

The sword transformed into a beam of light, piercing the wolf’s lower jaw and exiting through the top of its skull in a single moment. Chen Yu hoisted the beast up, half its body dangling from his blade.

The wolf’s front claw scraped the air uselessly, as if trying to grasp at something. But in the end, as Chen Yu’s sword energy erupted within it, the creature perished in unwilling agony.

Chen Yu exerted his strength and decapitated the beast. Reaching out, he fished the wolf’s demon core from its remains and tucked it away. He left the carcass behind; the flesh of a frenzied Moon Wolf was foul, sour, and reeking—hardly fit for consumption.

What had seemed a fierce and tense battle concluded with startling speed. Once the wolf was slain, Chen Yu retracted his sword and stood aside, showing no intention of intervening further.

"Chen Yu, why don't you come and help!" Xiao Xiang, struggling on the other side, shouted in a fit of exasperated rage. Even Liu Yue'er looked at Chen Yu with anxiety, hoping he would step in so she wouldn't have to waste her precious yellow talismans.

However, Chen Yu merely glanced at them before remaining still, watching the wolf’s corpse on the ground with a thoughtful expression.

The two remaining wolves, seeing their companion killed so easily, grew even more terrified. They were already considering flight, knowing that even if Chen Yu did not act, once Liu Yue'er completed her preparations, they would surely meet the same fate.

*Awooo...* The two wolves roared in fury, their terrifying momentum and force knocking Zhu Yi and Xiao Xiang back.

"Are you still not going to help?" Xiao Xiang shouted again.

Liu Yue'er frowned. Seeing Chen Yu remained unmoved, she realized she had to rely on herself. A seed of resentment and hatred toward Chen Yu took root in her heart.

"Liu Yue'er, can you still handle this?" Seeing the wolves preparing to flee, Zhu Yi hurriedly cried out.

Liu Yue'er gritted her teeth and roared in frustration, "Dragon-Binding Cage Formation!"

A flurry of paper talismans flew from her hands, rapidly forming a formation. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth converged, evolving into a colossal cage of lightning and fire that descended upon the two fleeing wolves.

*Awooo...* The trapped wolves shrieked in terror, roaring, "Break it!"

Two blasts of wolf breath erupted—monstrous gales of wind. But instead of shattering the cage, the wind only caused the lightning and fire to intensify. Simultaneously, six serpents of lightning and fire emerged from the top of the cage, lunging at the wolves.

*Awooo...* The terrifying collision of lightning and fire left the wolves wailing in agony, their hides scorched black in patch after patch.

"Ah... open... open, break it open!" The wolves struggled viciously, but it was all in vain.

Liu Yue'er said in a low voice, "You cannot escape. My Dragon-Binding Cage Formation has power comparable to the Yin-Yang Realm. You have only a path to death."

"You bastards, you hateful humans... kill... kill... ha! Do you think you can obtain the treasure just by killing us? What a joke... a joke... ha! You will soon be joining us, ha..." Before dying, the resentful wolves mocked Liu Yue'er and her companions with wanton abandon.

"Hmph, trying to scare us with empty threats? Did you think we’d be frightened? Ignorant fools," Xiao Xiang scoffed disdainfully at the dead wolves.

Liu Yue'er and Zhu Yi were somewhat worried, though they didn't take the words to heart. Chen Yu, however, was more cautious, as if he had caught the scent of a conspiracy.

"Kid, why didn't you help earlier?" Once the wolves were dealt with, Xiao Xiang immediately confronted Chen Yu.

Chen Yu looked at him calmly. "I only agreed to hold off one wolf. As for the rest, what does that have to do with me?"

Chen Yu’s words were logical, leaving Liu Yue'er with no room to argue. However, she hated that his lack of assistance had cost her several talismans, so she remained silent, watching from the sidelines. As for Zhu Yi, she was practically hoping the two men would come to blows.

Xiao Xiang was incensed by Chen Yu’s retort. He glared at him with icy eyes and said, "Kid, you're quite arrogant."

Chen Yu raised an eyebrow. Although he was three realms lower than his opponent, with the backing of his Dharma artifact, he had no reason to fear. He replied indifferently, "I have the capital to be arrogant."

"You're courting death..." Xiao Xiang was bursting with rage. He wanted to strike, but upon seeing the artifact in Chen Yu’s hand, he felt both wariness and greed. Finally, he took a deep breath and said bitterly, "Kid, I hope you can stay this arrogant all the way to the end."

Chen Yu sensed Xiao Xiang’s murderous intent, but he did not move first—not out of fear, but because he was worried about the strange nature of Crescent Peak. He felt as though something was about to happen.

Just as he was thinking this, the full moon in the sky seemed to turn a deeper shade of red, as if it were about to weep drops of blood. The sight was deeply unsettling.

Liu Yue'er and the others noticed the anomaly as well, and panic began to well up within them.

"What is going on? What exactly is happening here at Crescent Peak? I have never heard of such a thing!" The three remaining cultivators couldn't help but cry out.

In an instant, a sinister and terrifying aura surged forth from the depths of Crescent Peak.