#392 - Facing the Seven Beast Kings Alone
The black mountain loomed, shrouded in mist, its upper half completely obscured, swallowed by the clouds.
Refining Soul Mountain, it instilled a suffocating sense of oppression.
Jun Wuxie activated his Primordial True Eye to observe carefully.
The entire black mountain was incredibly steep, with jagged rocks dotting its surface, and it was covered in terrifying domains.
Those domains filled him with dread, concealing unparalleled killing intent.
Only a winding, ancient mountain path remained untouched by the domains.
The path was over ten meters wide, constructed from irregular, varying-sized bluestone steps, covered in moss and the dust of ages.
On both sides of the mountain path were invisible barriers.
Jun Wuxie was slightly surprised.
Aside from this path, the entire Refining Soul Mountain was fraught with danger, truly a forbidden zone.
Yet, this only path leading up the mountain was flanked by barriers.
Such barriers were clearly meant to protect those ascending, preventing them from straying off the path and triggering the domains' devastating power.
Who had placed these barriers along the path?
Jun Wuxie stared for a moment, then turned to look in the direction he had come from.
The vast earth stretched endlessly, with distant mountains rising and falling, enveloped in mist.
If he left Mu Xuelan at the foot of the mountain while he went to retrieve the Spirit Marrow Liquid, she would surely be killed by the pursuing Beast Kings.
For the sake of safety, his only option now was to bring her up the mountain; it seemed to be the only choice.
With that thought, he took out the only Soul-Protecting Talisman he had and placed it on Mu Xuelan's forehead.
"Little thief, what are you doing?" Mu Xuelan struggled a few times, saying, "Are you going to take me up the mountain?"
"Or would you prefer to be left at the foot of the mountain, to be swallowed by the Beast Kings who might come after us?"
Ignoring her struggles, Jun Wuxie pressed the Soul-Protecting Talisman onto her forehead.
The Soul-Protecting Talisman flashed, rapidly shrinking and burrowing into her brow, hovering in her sea of consciousness, protecting her soul.
"You…"
Mu Xuelan's heart trembled slightly.
Jun Wuxie began to climb the mountain, moving extremely fast.
The moment he stepped onto the mountain path, he felt a mysterious power surging from all directions, constantly drilling into his mind.
This power was extremely sharp, like countless needles stabbing into his sea of spiritual consciousness.
He quickly erected a mental defense in his sea of consciousness, forcibly blocking it out.
Gradually, his pace slowed.
The higher he climbed, the further he advanced, the greater the resistance he encountered, as if he were pushing against an invisible giant wall.
At the same time, the mysterious power from all directions continued to intensify, pushing the mental defense he had constructed in his sea of consciousness almost to its breaking point.
When he passed the halfway point of the mountain, his sea of consciousness defense finally gave way, shattering with a boom, causing his brain to buzz.
His heart tightened, and he immediately gathered his spirit, condensing the power of his soul.
In an instant, the all-pervasive mysterious power flooded into his sea of consciousness, attacking his soul like a rain of arrows.
Intense, needle-like soul pain rapidly assaulted his brain, causing his body to tremble slightly.
Looking up, he saw that there were still thousands of meters to the summit.
He was only halfway up the mountain, having climbed only half the distance.
The remaining path would be incredibly difficult!
"No difficulty can stop me. I must obtain the Spirit Marrow Liquid; too many people need it to be saved!"
Jun Wuxie thought silently, his pace becoming even more determined, treading on the bluestone steps covered in moss and the dust of ages, one step at a time, constantly climbing upwards.
He gritted his teeth, his body ramrod straight, his eyes resolute, fine beads of sweat beading on his forehead, and the black hair at his temples soaked with sweat.
His soul felt as if it were constantly being pricked by sharp needles; the intense pain caused his body to tremble slightly, and a ridge bulged out on his face.
But his steps remained firm, moving towards the higher steps.
As the altitude increased, even Mu Xuelan, whose soul was protected by the Soul-Protecting Talisman, felt a terrifying sensation of her soul being torn apart.
Her soul did not feel pain because the Soul-Protecting Talisman was blocking it, but the feeling of being torn apart was incredibly clear in her heart.
Aside from the pain, she had a very clear perception of other sensations.
Her pale lips trembled slightly, and her weak, beautiful eyes gazed downwards at Jun Wuxie's sweat-covered face, the ridge bulging on his face, his teeth clenched and chattering, but his eyes always firm and resolute.
At this moment, her heart trembled uncontrollably.
She couldn't imagine what kind of intense pain he was enduring at this moment without the Soul-Protecting Talisman.
The pain of a soul being torn apart was a pain that surpassed the limits of human endurance, far more terrifying than the pain of the flesh!
"Roar!"
Just then, a earth-shattering roar of beasts came from the foot of the mountain, causing the mist on the mountain to flow as if blown by a strong wind.
Jun Wuxie's advancing foot abruptly stopped in mid-air, and he looked up, the scenery on the summit, free of mist, was already clearly visible.
There was a large stone, shaped like a head.
Drops of clear liquid emitting soul power dripped into a two-foot square stone trough below.
Spirit Marrow Liquid!
That was the Spirit Marrow Liquid!
It was just ahead, only a few hundred meters away from him!
He looked down at Mu Xuelan in his arms and said, "Does your soul feel any pain?"
As he spoke, large beads of sweat gathered along his masculine and handsome face, dripping from his chin onto Mu Xuelan's crystalline skin, dripping onto her pale lips.
Mu Xuelan's red lips trembled slightly, with a hint of saltiness.
"I'm fine."
Her voice was less cold and hard than before.
"You wait for me here."
He put Mu Xuelan down and leaned her against the stone steps.
Then, with a leap, he jumped down hundreds of meters, standing like a majestic mountain on the steps.
"Jun Wuxie! In the City of Buried Corpses, you used the corpse chaos to escape, allowing you to survive. Now, let's see how you escape from our grasp!"
A cold voice from a Holy Land powerhouse came from the foot of the mountain.
"Pretentious! Without True Energy, the Holy Lands are nothing in my eyes! If you want to kill me, you'll have to see if you have the ability. I'm right here; come at me!"
Jun Wuxie's green robes fluttered, standing halfway up the mountain, his thick black hair flying in the wind.
"Boy named Jun, you are the most arrogant person this old man has ever seen!"
The four Holy Land experts gnashed their teeth in anger.
"Little human martial artist, you boast of your powerful body, thinking that in this world of forbidden laws, no one can do anything to you?" The Purple Flame Lion King's massive body gradually shrank, stepping onto the mountain path and heading upwards: "In the eyes of us eleventh-level Beast Kings, what is your body worth?"
"Then come and try!"
Flames of battle burned in Jun Wuxie's eyes.
He knew there was no other choice today; there was no retreat.
Only by killing the enemy could he obtain the Spirit Marrow Liquid and leave alive.
He and these Beast Kings, as well as the four Holy Land experts, could only have one side survive; it was either you die or I perish!
"Hahaha, it's been many years since I've seen such an arrogant human." The Tyrant Bear King laughed wildly and began to climb the mountain.
Following closely behind, the Zang Hou King, the Hua Snake King, the Vajra Ape King, the Golden Eagle King, and the Blazing Sun Bird King all stepped onto the ancient path up the mountain.
They had all shrunk their bodies many times over.
This path was only ten meters wide, and with their normal massive bodies, they simply couldn't pass.
But even with their bodies shrunk, they were still over ten meters tall, occupying most of the mountain path.
The four Holy Land experts from Holy Gate and Sky Opening Sword Sect walked at the very back.
They had witnessed Jun Wuxie's strength and knew that without being able to use True Energy, relying solely on their bodies, the four of them working together would not be able to gain an advantage against Jun Wuxie.
Therefore, they entrusted the task of capturing Jun Wuxie alive to the Beast Kings, and reached an agreement with them, promising many conditions and benefits.
The figures of the seven Beast Kings quickly appeared in sight.
Jun Wuxie stood halfway up the mountain, unmoving, coldly staring at them, the golden blood energy in his body boiling, his fighting spirit soaring.
Hundreds of meters behind him, Mu Xuelan stared blankly at his back.
The wound on his back was terrifyingly hideous, the flesh torn open, the width of the gap large enough to fit a palm.
It was such a back, such a young man, standing alone on the mountain path, facing the seven Beast Kings and four Holy Land experts!
At this moment.
She suddenly felt that she didn't understand him at all.
In the Secret Realm of the Passion Tribulation, those absurd and painful experiences had caused endless hatred to arise in her heart.
At that time, she found everything about him annoying and repulsive.
But along the way, everything this young man had done had gradually eliminated her prejudice and reduced the hatred in her heart.
That scarred back seemed to suddenly become somewhat tall and majestic.
Like a mountain, an unshakeable mountain, standing in front of her, blocking all enemies, protecting her safety.
Since birth, for decades, from True Disciple to Saintess, and then to Pavilion Master.
She had always used her own strength to protect the sect and protect others.
She had never thought that one day she would become the object of someone else's protection.
At this moment, she inexplicably had this feeling in her heart, the feeling that she also needed to be protected.
"Human, give up struggling, and perhaps you won't suffer so much."
The other Beast Kings stopped, but the Purple Flame Lion King continued upwards.
This path could not accommodate two Beast Kings attacking together.
They could only fight Jun Wuxie one-on-one.
Of course, for the Beast Kings, they disdained to join forces to deal with a young human martial artist.
"You talk too much!"
Jun Wuxie responded coldly.
Golden blood energy swirled around him, like a boiling ocean.
The Primordial Disassembly had already begun to circulate, with the Blood-into-Demon Art ready to be cast at any moment.
"You seek death! Then this king will suppress you!"
The Violet Flame Lion King suddenly accelerated, purple blood energy surging to the sky. Its massive body leaped high, pouncing towards Jun Wuxie.
At the same time, it suddenly swung its claws.
Those blade-like claws, several feet long, gleamed with a cold light, tearing several black rifts in space. In an instant, they arrived above Jun Wuxie, covering his entire being.
