Supreme of the Heavenly Realm
Chapter 146 - 143: Alarming

Chapter 146: Chapter 143: Alarming

Boom!

Just as Ye Xuan was deep in thought, suddenly, the underground space shook violently, and large cracks began to appear on the rock walls above, as if on the verge of collapse. Ye Xuan cursed silently and hurriedly made his way toward the tunnel he had come through.

The battle between the two Third Rank Demon Beasts was too fierce. It was possible that the tunnel would collapse soon, so Ye Xuan dared not delay any longer. There was only one passage, and it was extremely narrow; if it really did collapse, escaping would become difficult.

With this thought in mind, Ye Xuan quickly gathered the dozen or so brocade boxes containing the Ice Spirit Crystals. Then, without further delay, he turned and sped along the path he had taken. Having already familiarized himself with the route once, Ye Xuan managed to reduce his escape time considerably. In just about ten minutes, he was out of the cave.

He shot out of the cave entrance and landed on a tree branch. Ye Xuan looked up and saw that the creek had nearly been destroyed beyond recognition. The originally flat ground was now full of large pits and hollows. Boulders that had broken off from the mountainside were scattered everywhere, the water flow was cut off, and many trees in the forest on both sides were destroyed, lying across and blocking half of the creek’s pathway.

"Tsk, tsk..."

Ye Xuan couldn’t help but click his tongue. He then shifted his gaze to the Flood Dragon hovering in mid-air. The beast was not entirely unscathed; several claw marks were faintly visible on its body. However, given the Flood Dragon’s immense size, these injuries seemed somewhat trivial.

"Where’s the Abyssal Dragon Ape?"

Ye Xuan looked around casually and did not spot the Abyssal Dragon Ape, prompting him to ask involuntarily.

"Over there."

The Flood Dragon glanced lazily at a huge pit below, and Ye Xuan’s gaze followed suit. Immediately, his face couldn’t hide a look of astonishment.

In the giant pit before him, the Abyssal Dragon Ape was utterly silent. Half of its massive head was missing, and white brain matter was oozing out. The most eye-catching sight was the human-head-sized hole in its chest and abdomen. Clearly, the inner core had been taken.

Seeing this, Ye Xuan was filled with emotion. A Third Rank Demon Beast was supposed to be the dominant overlord of the demon beasts in the back mountain of Heavenly Martial Hall. Unfortunately, it had encountered a Transforming Demon King like the Flood Dragon and had ended up in this miserable state.

"However, this fellow was truly ferocious..."

Ye Xuan thought to himself that if it weren’t for the remaining Martial Arts Primordial Spirit that had suppressed it, he might have long become a wretched ghost under the Flood Dragon’s claws.

The law of the jungle, the survival of the fittest, has always been an iron rule of this world. It’s just more directly demonstrated among demon beasts.

"No good, someone’s coming, let’s go!"

While Ye Xuan was still reflecting, the Flood Dragon’s expression suddenly changed dramatically in mid-air. It then wrapped up Ye Xuan without waiting for a response, its massive body piercing through the void as it rapidly swept towards the depths of the mountain range, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.

In the creek, only the enormous body of the Abyssal Dragon Ape was left lying in the pit, emitting an increasingly strong scent of blood...

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just a moment after Ye Xuan and the dragon had left, two Gale Eagles appeared in the sky above the creek. On their backs, there were two middle-aged men. One of them was dressed in a red robe and emitted a aura of Yang Gang; he was none other than the Yang Hall’s Hall Master, Murong Yun.

The other man, whose aura was by no means weaker than Murong Yun’s, was dressed in a black robe with a stern face. He was the Hall Master of Qian Hall, one of the four major halls of Heavenly Martial Hall, Zhang Wuchen.

Two men leapt off the back of the Gale Eagle, landing in the ravaged creek bed, then after surveying the area, their gaze settled on the body of the abyss dragon ape in the huge crater.

Seeing this scene before them, both their expressions quickly became solemn.

This abyss dragon ape, they had both seen it before. They had discovered it when it was advancing, but since this Demon Beast hadn’t committed any grave offenses, they had agreed to let it live in the rear mountain with the condition that it could not harm the disciples of the Heavenly Martial Hall.

Unexpectedly, this Third Rank Demon Beast had now been killed by someone.

"Who could possibly have killed this abyss dragon ape?"

Zhang Wuchen’s eyebrows furrowed deeply. To kill a Third Rank, Early Stage Demon Beast, one had to possess at least the cultivation of a Second Grade Martial Sect Master, possibly even higher. Within the Heavenly Martial Hall, no one would idle around and deliberately come to the rear mountain to slay this abyss dragon ape.

"Looking at the signs of battle around, there must have been a fierce fight recently. But from these marks, it doesn’t seem like the doing of someone from our Heavenly Martial Hall, but more like... an even more powerful Demon Beast."

Murong Yun carefully observed the surroundings and reached a conclusion, but his complexion became even more grave.

"You mean to say, another Third Rank Demon Beast has sneaked into our rear mountain?"

Zhang Wuchen’s pupils slightly constricted. He knew that Murong Yun’s speculation was likely correct. If that was the case, trouble was indeed serious because they couldn’t determine the strength of the intruding Demon Beast or understand its intentions.

Such a mysterious and powerful Demon Beast hiding in the rear mountain was undeniably like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.

"This matter must be reported to the Grand Hall Master. We must re-examine the Heavenly Martial Mountain Range. Before that, all disciples are prohibited from entering the rear mountain."

Looking at the massive body of the dragon ape before them, they both realized the severity of the situation. If word of this got out, it would likely throw the entire Heavenly Martial Hall into a state of panic.

The higher-ups of their organization had to convene a meeting and respond urgently.

...

However, the instigator of this incident, Ye Xuan, had already successfully escaped to a place of safety. He was unaware that such a commotion had caused the whole Heavenly Martial Hall to be shaken, at least making the high-ranking members of the hall extremely tense.

A massive incident like this, happening in their backyard, was like a fire that needed to be extinguished swiftly. They needed to find the person responsible for starting it. Fortunately, Murong Yun and his companion hadn’t discovered Ye Xuan, or else the situation would have been much worse.

But this incident had also startled Ye Xuan into a cold sweat. Although without direct witnesses, the matter wouldn’t be suspected to be his doing, the event would certainly raise the Heavenly Martial Hall’s guard, and the Flood Dragon likely couldn’t appear freely anymore.

If discovered, the consequences were unimaginable.

With a bit of luck on his side, Ye Xuan returned to the mountain where he resided.

His venture to the rear mountain this time had not been in vain; he had obtained a sufficient amount of Underworld Ice Spirit Crystals, enough to attempt breaking through to the realm he failed to reach last time — the Half-step Martial Sect Master Realm.

Next would be to go into seclusion and fully concentrate on breaking through, when it was time to solidify the inner core. The Half-step Martial Sect Master Realm was now within reach, tantalizingly close.