Chapter 124 Fierce
The Blood Wolf Thieves, after entering the Julong Cave, had explored its location at the first opportunity, so they also took advantage of the terrain.
Han Zheng and his people spread out to search, but Chou Jingxiao also divided his forces, allowing the Blood Wolf Thieves to pick them off one by one.
Chou Jingxiao was very confident in the elite of his Blood Wolf Thieves.
Grouped together, the hundreds fighting were at a disadvantage in numbers and did not hold an upper hand.
But once spread out, those Blood Wolf Thieves who had survived the Smell Fragrance Sect's slaughter and who had walked out alive from the Tiancang Mountain Range, were more than capable of taking on three adversaries of the same level with ease.
At this time, Han Zheng casually chose a cave to enter.
But he only took a few steps before stopping.
With a flick of his hand, he sent a surge of Inner Strength crashing to the ground, from where an arrow suddenly shot out, heading straight for where the force struck.
Han Zheng examined the trap and found it to be the simplest of kind.
However, the placement of the arrow was ingenious, aimed at about the height of an adult's throat.
Moreover, the arrow was not an ordinary one, but a specially made Armor Piercing Arrow, exceptionally sharp.
Innate Martial Artists couldn't always protect themselves with a shield of True Qi.
If caught off guard, a hit could severely injure an Innate Martial Artist with weaker physical body cultivation, if not kill them.
He examined the cave carefully; it seemed to be a grand hall that once housed a divine shrine, with traces of year-round incense at the ceiling.
But now many divine shrines were empty, leaving only cluttered rubble strewn about.
Besides the entrance that Han Zheng came through, the cave had three other passages leading into the depths of Julong Cave in unknown directions.
Moreover, there were numerous footprints at each entrance, making it impossible to distinguish any trail to follow.
Han Zheng then randomly chose another cave to explore, which predictably turned up empty.
After walking through three caves in succession, he realized the enormity of Julong Cave.
Although the Demon Cleansing Bureau's members were scattered, they could still sense their colleagues in the caves beside them upon entering.
But after walking through three caves, not to mention the Demon Cleansing Bureau's people, Han Zheng couldn't even sense anyone from the Pang Family or the Xuanyang Martial Sect.
It felt as if he was the only one in this vast Julong Cave.
It was a mystery which quirky power had chosen to build their sect here in ancient times.
The new disciples would either get lost or be on their way to getting lost.
Just as Han Zheng stepped into the fourth cave, he abruptly came to a halt.
Inside, a body clad in Xuan Armor lay.
It wasn't Silver Patterned Armor but ordinary Xuan Armor, probably of an Innate Transcendence Late Stage Cultivation.
Han Zheng walked over to examine the wound on the body and frowned slightly.
There were no signs of struggle, the person was killed instantly with a throat slice, an extremely ruthless act.
Any Xuanjia Guard from the Demon Cleansing Bureau has gone through numerous missions and honed their skills in life-and-death situations.
Especially those brought by Wen Tingyun this time, almost all were elites from the Kui Character Camp.
It wasn't strange for a Xuanjia Guard to die at the hands of the Blood Wolf Thieves, but what was strange was that he didn't put up even the slightest bit of resistance.
These Blood Wolf Thieves were indeed troublesome.
Just then, a chilling murderous intent suddenly enveloped Han Zheng.
A pitch-black figure plummeted from the sky, even the blade in their hand was stained black.
By the time Han Zheng sensed the murderous intent, the blade was less than a foot away from him!
But accompanied by a thunderous roar, the blade missed its mark and instead struck the ground, tearing a huge gash in it.
Ruined!
The ambushing Blood Wolf Thief was startled, and before he could react, a mighty surge of force erupted behind him!
The Blood Wolf Thief turned to strike with his blade, but the dark long sword in his hand was shattered by the overwhelming force of his opponent.
Han Zheng's Qi Blood Essence and Force exploded around him as he executed the Dragon Elephant Prison, exhibiting unparalleled divine power.
At the same time, he formed the Vajra Ming King Seal with his hand, and under the might of the Vajra Ming King, the opponent's bones shattered completely, and he was blasted away.
That was still Han Zheng holding back thirty percent of his power, otherwise the opponent would have been completely turned into minced meat by that seal.
With Han Zheng's current strength, facing a martial artist in the Innate Transcendence Realm Late Stage was almost like a situation of overwhelming dominance with a single move.
With a shift in stance, Han Zheng directly grabbed the neck of the Blood Wolf Thief and hoisted him up.
The opponent had a sinister and fierce appearance, and even now with all his bones smashed, he was still desperately struggling.
"Still daring to guard a corpse, you're quite brave."
Han Zheng, expressionless, looked at the Blood Wolf Thief, "What exactly did you snatch from the Smell Fragrance Sect? How many people are there now? And the strength of the main force, where is it located?
I advise you to obediently confess everything; otherwise, you might die a very miserable death."
The Blood Wolf Thief sneered back, "You want to know, huh? I'll tell, I'll tell everything."
The moment his words fell, a shrill scream suddenly came from within the Blood Wolf Thief's belly, he violently opened his mouth, and a large stream of innards mixed with blood shot towards Han Zheng like arrows!
In that instant, the Blood Wolf Thief had actually gathered his inner strength, shredded his own organs and mixed them with his Qi Blood Essence to launch a sneak attack on Han Zheng!
The vigorous Demonic Qi cultivated by the Great Black Heaven Demon Technique instantly converged in front of Han Zheng, blocking these bloody arrows in a moment.
At the same time, Han Zheng directly swung the enemy's head into the stone wall, along with an explosive sound, the opponent's head burst like a watermelon.
[Slain an Innate Transcendence Realm Late Stage martial artist, obtained 300 Qi Blood Essences.]
Han Zheng frowned slightly.
The ferocity of this Blood Wolf Thief was somewhat beyond his expectations.
No wonder they were called Blood Wolf Thieves, truly possessing a ferocity to tear off a piece of flesh, even in death.
He had wanted to capture a live one for interrogation regarding the intelligence on these Blood Wolf Thieves, but now it seemed that capturing a live one wasn't going to be so easy.
Moreover, the combat strength of these Blood Wolf Thieves turned out to be extremely astonishing; just now, that fellow's combat power in the Innate Transcendence Realm Late Stage could even be said to be stronger than the same-tier martial artists from the Demon Cleansing Bureau.
Especially his way of fighting, purely for the sake of killing, simple and direct, exceedingly swift.
Han Zheng continued to delve deeper into the cave, passing through five or six caves, and discovered three more corpses.
One from the Demon Cleansing Bureau and two others who, judging by their clothes, seemed to be from the Xuanyang Martial Sect.
Only the martial artist from the Demon Cleansing Bureau showed signs of resistance, while the two from the Xuanyang Martial Sect were both slain with a single fatal blow.
This time, however, there was no one guarding the corpses, and Han Zheng had more or less figured out what these Blood Wolf Thieves were trying to do.
They had arrived at Julong Cave earlier than Han Zheng and his group, and during their time here, they must have roughly understood the lay of the land.
So they simply spread out and by taking advantage of the geographical benefits, they set out to kill the forces from the Demon Cleansing Bureau, Pang Family, and Xuanyang Martial Sect, breaking through by dispersing their forces.
This band of Blood Wolf Thieves was indeed strong, but their numbers were probably only around a hundred.
If over a hundred people gathered together, individual strength would not have such a large advantage, and instead, it would be easier to get routed.
The leader of the Blood Wolf Thieves, "Ghost-faced Wolf" Chou Jingxiao, was indeed a character, very clear-headed.
Han Zheng progressed further, stepping into the largest cave he had encountered.
This was the very cave where Chou Jingxiao and the majority of the Blood Wolf Thieves had been holding out.
Even the bonfire they used for cooking meat had not yet been extinguished.
Han Zheng walked over to inspect and likewise saw the tragic state of the three female bodies tortured by the Blood Wolf Thieves, wretched to the extreme.
Casually picking up a large rock, he covered their bodies. Just then, a piercing shriek suddenly came from behind Han Zheng.
Han Zheng spun around abruptly, with turbulent Demonic Qi gathering in his hand, he made a fierce grab, directly seizing an arrow with a blood-red Armor Piercing Arrowhead in his hand.
The one-eyed giant, Old Blind, who had been scolded by Chou Jingxiao before, was now holding a bullhorn bow, looking incredulously with his one eye at Han Zheng who had managed to catch his arrow with his bare hand.
Although he had only one eye, he was a sharpshooter among the Blood Wolf Thieves, capable of hitting the target from a hundred paces away and penetrating heavy armor.
And yet, this lackey of the Demon Cleansing Bureau had just caught his arrow with his hand, undoubtedly a tough nut to crack.
Without another word, Old Blind decisively turned and fled.
But behind him, a chilling sound of wind and thunder furiously roared to life!