Chapter Six: Tragedy Under the Moonlit Night

What kind of cultivation method was this, for heaven's sake? It directly plundered fire elements from the world itself. If anyone were to acquire such a technique, their future would be limitless—provided, of course, they could cultivate it themselves. Yet, most of these domineering arts could only be practiced by those with matching bloodlines, and the threat of hidden guardians discouraged any rash attempts at theft. Otherwise, the mercenary captain would have already considered seizing the method for himself. Still, this only strengthened his suspicion that Yun Yufeng was a direct descendant from one of the great clans, and he hoped to establish even the slightest connection.

Yun Yufeng, however, was oblivious to what Captain Kuang was thinking. He simply continued to circulate the Purple Extreme Emperor’s Heart Technique, deeply aware of how powerless he currently was. He couldn’t help but wonder if the former wastrel who inhabited this body had his brain made of mush, wasting his days in idleness.

As he sensed the still feeble battle energy in his meridians gradually shift from purple to a shade of reddish purple, he was nearly stunned—this had never occurred in the memories he’d inherited. If not for the complete absence of discomfort, he might have stopped the technique altogether.

He could feel something unknown from the surrounding air entering his body during cultivation—a faint, fiery sensation. Was it fire elements? But he was a spiritualist, not a fire-attribute mageling. How could he possibly absorb fire elements?

Still, since this was a family-inherited technique, and no one had ever suffered ill effects from practicing it, perhaps phenomena like this occurred after reaching a certain level. After some thought, he simply attributed it to the nature of the technique itself.

What Yun Yufeng didn’t know was that even if someone else tried, they couldn’t draw elements directly from heaven and earth. This was a benefit gained from the fusion of his soul with the chaotic energy flows in that mysterious passage. Upon his possession of this body, not only was his physique transformed, greatly enhancing his affinity with fire and other elemental forces—though his innate fire affinity far outstripped the rest—but those chaotic currents also tempered his soul. Otherwise, the shock of merging memories would have made him fall from the tree and die from the pain. In fact, the chaotic energy even suppressed a trace of grey-black energy that fused into him at the moment of his arrival, forcing it to shrink into a corner of his dantian.

On the Purple Star Continent, countless cultivation methods, whether high or low, could only absorb the undifferentiated energy from the world. None could directly seize elements to strengthen themselves. Only a handful of top-tier techniques would cause battle energy in the meridians to take on a distinctive color.

Generally, energy absorbed from the world remained colorless in one’s meridians, only resonating with a specific element when performing combat skills aligned with one’s natural affinity. For instance, a practitioner with a fire attribute would display the frenzy and heat of fire in their battle energy during attacks.

By directly drawing fire elements into his body and storing them in his dantian, Yun Yufeng’s attacks would become even more violent and powerful.

Tiny sparks of fire element were separated from the air and absorbed into Yun Yufeng’s body, strengthening the thin stream of energy within him. His hands, forming cultivation seals, gradually took on a misty layer of purple vapor.

He frowned. Looking inward, he found that his body seemed to absorb something else, something he couldn’t identify—a faint, almost imperceptible trace of grey-black matter that vanished into the dantian and did not join the circulation of battle energy in his meridians.

It seemed he could only investigate further once he returned to Weishan Town. For now, he would proceed with caution and hope this mutation brought no trouble. In this perilous forest, every ounce of strength counted; there was no room for negligence. Even knowing there was a problem, he could only carry on for now.

The bright moon hung high, casting its silver light across the vast land and draping the endless forest in a shroud of white. The night was not so dark after all.

Quietly, pairs of emerald eyes suddenly appeared at the edge of the black forest in the distance, glowing like little lanterns suspended in the night.

They were Shadow Wolves—fourth-rank pack-dwelling magical beasts, highly aggressive and relentless in combat, never stopping until one side perished. Under the leadership of a fifth-rank Shadow Wolf King, they flourished in the fifth-rank region like fish in water.

Their numbers were so overwhelming that even peak fifth-rank magical beasts—those with one foot in the sixth rank—would avoid them. Once caught in a life-or-death struggle with the pack, even the strongest faced the risk of annihilation.

Encounters with pack-beasts were disastrous at any rank, but Shadow Wolves were especially notorious for their ferocity. Their numbers grew, their eyes reflecting the moonlight, transforming the landscape into a sea of green.

Two mercenaries on watch turned to look, their gazes sharpening as their faces went pale in an instant.

“Captain... Captain, wake up! Shadow Wolves—there are so many Shadow Wolves!”

With a whoosh, all the tent flaps were flung open. The mercenaries were well trained; at the first alarm, weapons in hand, every one of them emerged from their tents. Yun Yufeng also slowly opened his eyes, a flash of purple light vanishing in the darkness as he sprang to his feet.

Suddenly, a piercing wolf howl echoed from the distance. All the Shadow Wolves surged toward the mercenaries like a tidal wave of green, howling and rolling forward.

“All men, up the mountain! Find defensible terrain and prepare for battle! If we can’t repel this wave, we won’t survive. Move!” Captain Kuang led the charge uphill.

The mercenaries, all just entering fifth rank, could outpace the wolves for a short time, but their stamina couldn’t match these beasts, who excelled at guerrilla warfare. Any attempt to flee into the forest would be certain death; their only chance lay in beating back the wolves.

Captain Kuang’s experience was evident—he instantly judged that their only hope was to make a stand on the barren rocky hill.

At last, on a narrow stretch halfway up the slope, the mercenaries were overtaken by the wolves, and brutal close-quarters combat erupted. Sheer cliffs surrounded them, with only a single narrow path to hold. Behind the path, an outcropping of rock jutted into the air like an eagle’s wing. Shadow Wolves fell one after another, but just as quickly more replaced them, accompanied by flashes of green wind blades.

Wind Blade was the Shadow Wolf’s innate skill—each adult could unleash dozens of them. Though each blade was only as strong as a third-rank spell, sheer numbers made up for their lack of power. Dozens, even hundreds, of Shadow Wolves could fill the air with wind blades, impossible to dodge, leaving only armor or combat energy for defense.

For pack-beasts, overwhelming barrages of low-level magic could still be devastating. Many powerful mercenaries perished in an instant, their protective energy shattered by such concentrated attacks.

Yun Yufeng was left at the rear by Captain Kuang, furthest from the wolves. He watched his companions locked in bloody combat, and an urge to join the fray surged within him. The fear and revulsion the previous owner of his body once felt at the sight of mangled limbs and flying blood were gone, replaced by a deep bloodlust. He struggled to calm himself—at his current strength, charging forward would only mean being shredded by a wind blade.

A piercing wolf howl signaled a renewed, even more ferocious assault. The Shadow Wolf King stood atop a high rock, commanding the pack to throw themselves at the mercenaries without pause.

Suddenly, the rear ranks of the wolves halted. Dozens at the front kept charging ahead, while those stopped opened their jaws, forming pale green wind blades in their mouths, glowing sharply in the moonlight.

With a howl, the Wolf King gave the order to attack. In an instant, a green storm swept down the mountain path.

“Take cover!” Captain Kuang’s urgent shout rang out. Mercenaries scrambled behind rocks for protection. The air was filled with the explosive thuds of wind blades striking the stone, leaving long gashes and a haze of pulverized rock dust.

A mercenary, hidden behind a rock, was bitten by a charging wolf—the dust had blinded him, and he couldn’t dodge in time. His lower leg was torn off in an instant.

“Xiao Kai!” a nearby comrade cried out in anguish, slaying the attacking wolf with a swing of his weapon—only for another to leap in its place.

The bottleneck advantage was quickly lost. They could not retreat; behind them lay a sheer cliff. Any further step back would mean utter slaughter.

Gradually, the mercenaries’ eyes reddened, their gazes becoming wild, like blood-filled rabbit eyes, spurred on by the scent of blood. Their attacks grew frantic, no longer coordinated, as they fought like madmen. Though Yun Yufeng had not joined the melee, his own eyes brimmed with bloodshot veins, his face twisted with savagery.

Suddenly, his sheathed longsword vanished, replaced by a blade as clear and pristine as autumn water. With a single stroke, a fourth-rank Shadow Wolf was cleaved in two, its flesh and bone offering no resistance. The cut was clean, head severed from neck.

“Kill!” Yun Yufeng charged as though possessed. Yet, even with a treasured sword in hand, his lack of strength and agility remained a fatal weakness. A wolf pounced straight at him—he had no time to dodge. He heard the crunch of fangs sinking into bone.

Agony exploded in his shoulder, nearly making him faint. The wolf’s forepaws slammed into his chest, sending him flying toward the precipice. Blood gushed from his shoulder—a chunk of flesh had been torn clean away.

The searing pain jolted Yun Yufeng from his frenzy. He managed a bitter smile—he’d barely set foot in this world, hadn’t even made it out of the forest, and now it seemed he’d die on a cliff. What a tragic fate—barely a few days in, and he was about to die a second time.

His body tumbled toward the edge. As he fell, the air at the brink rippled like the surface of a pond struck by a stone.

Yun Yufeng plunged into the ripples and vanished without a sound, leaving behind the mercenaries and wolves locked in their mortal struggle atop the cliff, neither side willing to yield.