Chapter 77: Chapter 77: The Demon Moon Ascends

Boom!

The demonic follower shrieked and fell, his body bursting apart.

Hong Yuan dashed forward, his fist armor gleaming coldly, and hammered a punch savagely onto the follower’s head.

One punch to smash the skull!

“Hmph, a mere Middle Stage Yin Realm demonic follower dares think to devour me?”

Hong Yuan dropped from above, looking at the corpse with a cold sneer.

Tap~~

Footsteps sounded abruptly.

Hong Yuan whirled around with lightning speed, his expression startled: “Qian people?”

In an instant, his face turned playful.

The Barbarian Race royal courts were not without Qian people; in fact, compared to inside the tribes, they were quite numerous.

Most of them were slaves!

But it was rare for a Qian person to set foot here.

At least, this was his first time.

“Kid, whose slave are you? A mere True Void Realm dares run around this place.”

Hong Yuan’s face was hostile; if this was just some household’s slave, he’d kill him without a thought.

Xu Yang said coolly: “I came to ask you something.”

“Answer straight. Save yourself some pain.”

For a moment Hong Yuan was stupefied, then burst out in laughter.

But the next second, his laughter died in his throat.

Xu Yang didn’t waste words—he vanished from where he stood.

“Such speed!”

Hong Yuan’s expression changed drastically. He only saw a flicker; then, a surge of mighty force crashed toward him.

Instinctively, he threw a punch to block.

Boom!

The thunderous sound exploded across a hundred-zhang radius.

Hong Yuan screamed as he fell from the sky.

Swish!

The gleaming Demon Dragon Saber pressed straight across Hong Yuan’s neck, its blade cold as ice and bone-chilling.

The dragon seal on the saber writhed restlessly, unleashing a terrifying aura of ferocity that turned Hong Yuan’s face white as death; he trembled in panic and terror.

Under this murderous pressure, he felt as if reality faded away, himself plunged into a pit of demons!

“Speak your mind, I’ll listen.” Hong Yuan choked and swallowed hard.

Xu Yang looked down from above, eyes cold: “Tell me about the demonic followers, corpse puppets, and such here.”

Hong Yuan was stunned—You came here and don’t know?

The hunt arena’s secrets were known top to bottom in the royal court.

But with death breathing down his neck, he couldn’t afford to hesitate, so he sputtered quickly: “I’ll tell! I know everything, just ask…”

Soon after.

Hong Yuan’s words matched Xu Yang’s rough guesses.

Yet, this hunt arena was far more alarming than expected.

Demonic followers—those thrown into this place for grave crimes, fiends, or Qian people—are subjected to spiritual erosion until they go mad and turn demon.

Of course, some who already became possessed by practicing forbidden cultivation techniques from outside are simply cast in here; as time goes on, they only become crueller!

As for corpse puppets, they’re people who died here and whose bodies are taken over by strange insect beasts known as ’corpse worms,’ devouring flesh and reassembling human shape—staggering like the living dead, hunting Martial Artists in these wilds.

Both creatures are terrifying.

Especially those of the fourth tier of Heaven-Earth Order, with names in the Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding ranks—they’re the apex among monsters.

Beyond these, some strange spirit bodies and insect beasts lurk here too.

A land rife with danger—yet also a matchless arena for trial!

For Barbarian Race prodigies, slaying a named fourth-tier demonic follower is a badge of glory.

And the rewards are most tempting.

Those Blood Crystals—special spirit ore within the barbarian lands—are saturated with purest essence qi, used to elevate bloodlines and Barbarian Marks.

For a Martial Artist at Yin Realm, one hundred Earth Tier Blood Crystals are a giant fortune; consuming them means one’s bloodline and marks surge forward, battle strength soaring!

“Anything else?”

“Where does this place’s spiritual erosion come from?”

Xu Yang pressed further.

“Yes!”

Hong Yuan nodded frantically, glancing instinctively at the gloomy sky: “At the heart of the hunt arena lies a devil moon, shrouded in absolute Yin force. It heavily threatens a Martial Artist’s spirit and will.”

“Come nightfall, devil moon climbs into the sky and the unseen erosion intensifies sharply; most Martial Artists flee the venue as soon as night arrives; even those at Yang Realm can only last six or seven days here at most.”

“Meanwhile, demon followers and monsters, as time passes, become ever more terrifying.”

Devil moon?

Xu Yang instinctively looked to the sky—murky and gray, clearly not yet night.

This thing piqued his interest.

He must take heed!

Others could leave; he had to remain here for a full month.

Spiritual erosion?

Xu Yang’s pupils contracted—Was this Tuoba Hongyu’s aim…?

He felt some speculation, but dared not be certain!

But, in the end, it didn’t really matter.

Slash!

With a swipe, he ripped open Hong Yuan’s throat.

Xu Yang curled his palm and seized the man’s Storage Ring.

One careless glance—there wasn’t much of anything inside.

Aside from odds and ends, just a few dozen pills.

Normally he only took supreme or super-grade; these were beneath his notice.

However, five Blood Crystals did catch Xu Yang’s eye.

He pulled them out, quietly feeling them for a moment—just as Hong Yuan had said.

Without bloodline or Barbarian Marks, he could only use them to temper his flesh!

Still, these Earth Tier Blood Crystals felt feeble.

After his previous bloodline baptism and super-grade Blood Beast Elixir, his physical body had reached an extraordinary level.

As Dog bounded over, Xu Yang casually tossed him the pills and Blood Crystals.

“Night devilm moon is likely the greatest threat here.”

“Although my spiritual power isn’t lacking, it’s still at Yin Realm tier.”

Xu Yang gazed at the sky, for now unable to judge just how dreadful the devil moon truly was.

He’d have to wait until night fell and experience it personally before he could know for sure.

“Besides, I’ve got few pills left.”

Xu Yang sighed inwardly—they would only last him a few days.

“Dog, let’s go.”

Xu Yang called out, then sped off into the distance with Dog beside him.

A tea’s time later, he reached a remote area—no one in sight, deathly still.

Xu Yang sat cross-legged, summoning the Celestial Refining Divine Tripod.

With a thought, the tripod rumbled; a mighty suction overflowed from it.

Vmm!!

Strands of gray-black absolute Yin qi flooded into the Divine Tripod.

In the crucible, they were refined into purest essence qi!

“The Yin qi here is still rather thin.”

Xu Yang muttered absently.

It’s thin mostly because he lingered at the arena’s edge; deeper inside, it must grow denser still.

With the Divine Tripod, he need not fear overconsumption.

“Ah, right—I’ve still got Helan Ying’s severed arm.”

The arm of a Myriad Phenomena Realm powerhouse.

Xu Yang’s spirit flashed to alertness; he glanced at Dog, who was lying beside him, visibly uncomfortable with the place, then took out the severed arm from the tripod and held it out to Dog.

“Here—have a bite.”

Dog stared wide-eyed at the arm, a trace of fear in its gaze.

Yip yip~~

Its voice sounded uncannily like it was swearing.

Xu Yang’s mouth twitched: “Don’t want it? Fine.”

As his words faded, Dog suddenly lunged and bit off a chunk from the edge of the arm.

Only the size of a fingernail.

Dog let out a low growl, collapsed on the ground, its body shuddering, then closed its eyes as a thick aura of spiritual light glowed across its form.

Xu Yang’s eyes turned grim, sensing carefully, then breathing with relief.

Just that tiny piece contained tremendous power.

Yet Dog’s state showed no danger; it only needed time to digest it.

“Constant refining—it should eventually be absorbed.”

“In critical moments, this could prove lifesaving.”

Xu Yang glanced at the severed arm, then tossed it back into the tripod.

Suddenly—

A chilling force surged in from all directions, making Xu Yang shiver involuntarily.

He instantly felt the Yin qi between heaven and earth growing heavier, glanced up subconsciously—above, a pale crescent moon began to materialize from the darkness, slowly growing clearer.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep