Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Azure Moon Wolf (Wishing everyone great fortune in the Year of the Sheep)

After two hours within the formation, the Heavenly Flame Incineration Technique was now thoroughly mastered, etched deeply into Liu Junhuai’s mind. Unlike the method of using celestial sense to control Ah Zi and unleash fire, this technique relied on true energy to summon fire through martial moves, its power far greater, its range broader. The flames could burn bone and marrow, undying through wind and rain; once perfected, they could form a sea of fire stretching for miles.

Much like the Five Elements Chaotic Blade, the Heavenly Flame Incineration Technique had no fixed tiers, its strength shifting with the practitioner’s cultivation. With the blessing of the Heavenly Lotus Heartfire, Liu Junhuai’s power became limitless.

As the three-year trial neared its end, only through countless battles could his skills and tactics evolve. Liu Junhuai prepared to venture deep into Beast Mountain, to hone all his abilities, forging his aura and soul through endless bloodshed, thereby tempering his will.

The more remote the place, the denser the demonic aura. Thus, Liu Junhuai pressed toward the deepest reaches of Beast Mountain.

Like elsewhere, the beast domain had restrictions against flight. Liu Junhuai sped through tangled forests and wild undergrowth, his celestial sense sweeping over dozens of miles. He ignored the scattered low-level beasts.

He halted beneath a hillside where a clear stream flowed, its sandy bed visible beneath the water.

Surrounded by lush greenery and ancient cypresses, the mountains stood guard, wind occasionally stirring the pines into waves of sound.

Finding a sheltered spot, Liu Junhuai sat cross-legged, forming hand seals and silently circulating his cultivation, awaiting the arrival of a pack of Fangtooth Dragons ten miles away.

These Fangtooth Dragons were fourth and fifth tier beasts, thickly armored, resembling crocodiles—brutal and powerful. Their primary attacks came from their formidable bodies and sharp, giant teeth.

Liu Junhuai had chosen them as his main targets to refine his offensive techniques. The smallest weighed over a hundred pounds, the largest five or six hundred, making them ideal to test his methods for breaking solid defenses and immense force.

Half an hour later, a thunderous rumbling heralded their arrival. Dust rising, a dozen Fangtooth Dragons burst from the haze.

Liu Junhuai withdrew his celestial sense that had been provoking them, grasped the Five Elements Chaotic Blade, and stood to meet the foremost beast, weighing nearly three hundred pounds.

Unconcerned by the wind whipped up by their charge, which tugged at his hair, Liu Junhuai slashed the blade straight at the dragon, sidestepping to evade its violent impact.

With a resounding clang, the blade struck as if hitting solid rock—sparks danced, the dragon’s back proving incredibly resistant.

In the blink of an eye, the others surrounded him, their nostrils atop their heads exhaling a foul stench that made his stomach churn.

Two Fangtooth Dragons lunged from the pack, their crocodilian jaws opening wide, countless sharp teeth gleaming coldly.

Liu Junhuai leapt into the air, his blade drawing a fierce arc downward, targeting the back of a dragon armored with bony scales.

A harsh grinding sounded, as if teeth sawing through iron, but his strike left only a white mark.

Before he landed, a tail as thick as a tree trunk swept toward his legs.

He kicked backward, arching his back to narrowly dodge the blow. The Shadow Blade appeared in his hand, stabbing toward the dragon’s abdomen.

With a dull thud, the Shadow Blade sank two inches deep. Retracting the weapon, he drew forth a spray of blood.

The wounded Fangtooth Dragon, enraged by the pain, violently rammed him, sending Liu Junhuai flying several yards.

Before he could rise, three or four dragons rushed him, jaws snapping. In desperation, Liu Junhuai unleashed the Shattered Blade, infusing it with true energy to strike multiple points at once.

Roars erupted as blood sprayed from their mouths, dozens of teeth flying everywhere.

Seizing the moment, Liu Junhuai rolled to his feet. Seeing his attack succeed, he pressed on, the Shattered Blade erupting again and again, its explosive true energy scattering the nearby dragons.

He vaulted into the air, the blade’s trajectory shifting to target their eyes. The attacked dragons raised their jaws to evade.

With the Seven Kill Finger, Liu Junhuai struck beneath the jaw of a dragon that had lifted its head high. With a wet crunch, half its jaw fell to the ground, its enormous body collapsing with a thud, raising clouds of dust.

Delighted, Liu Junhuai saw his myriad techniques finally bearing fruit.

His body leaped repeatedly, the Seven Kill Finger paired with the Shattered Blade striking out in tandem. Under his relentless, razor-sharp attacks, the dragons’ tiers mattered no more—their jaws split open one after another.

Those dragons with greater intelligence stopped raising their jaws when their eyes were attacked, but their eyes could not escape, and each was blasted apart by the Shattered Blade’s true energy, leaving them blind and crazed, no longer a threat.

In the span of a single incense stick, the once formidable Fangtooth Dragons fell like chopped melons, their corpses strewn across the ground.

Liu Junhuai did not rush to leave after the battle; the exercise had granted him new insights.

Finding a mountain hollow free of danger, he replayed the Shattered Blade of the Nine Transformations Heart Technique in his mind.

The Shattered Blade erupted with true energy at multiple points; in the next stage, this energy could be focused into a single line—known as the Condensed One Realm. When Liu Junhuai sliced through the dragons’ jaws earlier, he sometimes felt the true energy shift from a mass to a straight line, though it reverted to a mass on the next strike.

Pondering this, he approached a large tree. With his left hand, he unleashed the Shattered Blade. The true energy struck the trunk with a boom, slicing it clean in half.

He tried guiding a thread of celestial sense to lead the true energy as he swung the blade; the remaining stump was split, with a faint cut appearing at the break.

Seeing it work, Liu Junhuai happily moved to another tree, channeling more celestial sense with his swing. The trunk was again cut in half, the cut mark more distinct.

Frowning in concentration, he wrapped the true energy completely in celestial sense and struck. With a hiss, the trunk was cleanly sliced, the blade’s force continuing on to cut the second and third trees in succession, only fading at the fourth, leaving a cut mark.

Laughing in delight, Liu Junhuai realized he had achieved the Second Transformation, the Condensed One Realm. Its power was several times greater than the Shattered Blade.

Excited, he repeatedly unleashed the Second Transformation, the trees before him falling in batches, though his true energy was nearly depleted.

Liu Junhuai hurriedly set up a formation, sat cross-legged, formed seals, and rapidly circulated his cultivation to restore his energy.

Two hours later, reinvigorated, he dismantled the formation and strode deeper into the mountain.

The further he ventured, the denser the forest grew, the richer the spiritual energy, but the mist thickened as well. Visibility dwindled to dew-laden leaves nearby, while distant shapes blended in shadow—chaos and haze interwoven. Even the sky seemed veiled.

Liu Junhuai now walked through a vast, shadowy forest, stretching across more than a dozen mountain peaks. One could gallop for days and nights and not escape.

Deep within this forest lay the gathering place of the Cangyue Wolves, over a hundred beasts from the third to fifth tier resting in a grassy hollow, silently awaiting nightfall.

As he pressed onward, the light faded, the path narrowed, almost impassable, giant trees everywhere, their shadows overlapping. A strange, indescribable smell permeated the air, gray mist drifting, the occasional beastly roar echoing—enough to send chills down one’s spine.

Liu Junhuai stumbled along, evading venomous snakes and centipedes, drawing closer to the wolf pack.

Shielding his aura with celestial sense, Shadow Blade in hand, he crept toward his first target.

Two swift strikes severed the heads of two Cangyue Wolves. Liu Junhuai quickened his pace, aiming to kill as many as possible before the scent of blood spread.

Swinging the blade in swift arcs, he cut down over a dozen wolves, finally drawing the pack’s attention. A long howl rang out—the wolf king gave the order to attack. Noise erupted through the forest, countless blue wolf eyes flickering, darting through the woods.

More high-tier wolves remained crouched in the grass, awaiting their chance.

Having just slain two wolves nearby, Liu Junhuai was now revealed. In a flurry, several wolves lunged at him.

The Shadow Blade vanished from his hand. Liu Junhuai drew the Five Elements Chaotic Blade. With a sweep, invisible, colorless blades formed a net before him, slicing mercilessly through the wolves that leapt at him.

Blood flashed as Liu Junhuai shifted instantly ten yards away.

The wolves, having missed, turned to pursue him, while more leapt from another side. For a moment, the air was filled with their gray forms.

Liu Junhuai felt exhilarated rather than afraid. Chanting the incantation, he unleashed the Heavenly Flame Incineration Technique. Instantly, the bone-burning, marrow-incinerating Heavenly Lotus Heartfire enveloped the gray shapes above.

Amidst agonized screams, over a dozen wolves became balls of fire, falling to the ground, igniting the grass, which quickly spread into a sea of flames.