In the desolate forest, if a group of people suddenly appeared wielding swords and sabers, what would you think they were?
Mercenaries? Adventurers? Bandits? Murderers?
All were possible. But when the surrounding area had already been bloodbathed by the Blood Wolf Bandits, anyone daring to wander the wilderness was already suspicious…
Liu Bai stared at the five-man squad walking beneath the tree where he was hiding. Although they weren't dressed in the signature blood-red clothing, the heavy stench of blood lingering around them confirmed their identity in Liu Bai's eyes.
More importantly, these people had appeared at the previous battlefield and were even carrying a half-mangled corpse left behind by the Blood Wolf Bandits. This alone gave Liu Bai ninety percent certainty of their identity.
Following silently under the cover of night, Liu Bai trailed them all the way without being discovered and eventually arrived at the mountain valley where the Blood Wolf Bandits had set up their temporary camp.
Seeing the increasing number of checkpoints and guards, Liu Bai knew he could no longer proceed further. He needed a safer method to infiltrate.
Using the cover of the dense forest, Liu Bai quickly scouted out the three entrances to the valley. However, each entrance was guarded by the Blood Wolf Bandits, clearly familiar with the terrain.
"No good. The cliffs surrounding this valley are sheer and exposed. If I try to climb them, I'll be spotted instantly."
This was different from the Scarlet Flame Wolf Valley from before. As such, Liu Bai had to abandon his plan to sneak in directly.
Just as Liu Bai was pondering his method of infiltration, he noticed a disturbance in the valley. Soon, dozens of disguised Blood Wolf Bandits rushed out in all directions.
The already well-guarded valley suddenly became even more alert.
"After learning that Blood Saber was killed, they didn't immediately launch a full retaliation. Seems these Blood Wolf Bandits are more than just bloodthirsty…"
That being the case, Liu Bai would need to use force.
His eyes gleamed as he quickly made his way to the most treacherous of the three entrances. Because this path was flanked by sheer cliffs and deep ravines, the Blood Wolf Bandits didn't expect anyone to sneak in from here, so they left it lightly guarded.
"Six guards. It's impossible to take them all out quickly without alerting others. I'll need to use Spiritual Arrays to disrupt their senses first."
The Consciousness mesmerizing Array and the Spiritual Rain Array—Liu Bai increasingly appreciated their effectiveness against enemies weaker than himself.
"Huh? Damn, why is it raining now?" A bandit cursed as he felt a cold droplet hit his face.
"What's so strange about rain? Stay alert! If the boss finds out you're slacking, I'll kill you before he does!" A massive man, built like a wall and holding a giant warhammer, roared at his subordinates.
The underling who had just complained instantly shrank back, wiped the rain from his hair, and forced himself to focus on the narrow path ahead.
The rain intensified quickly, forming a curtain that soaked the six guards to the bone.
Unable to endure it any longer, one of them turned to the squad leader and said, "Boss, the rain's too heavy. We should find some cover… This place is so remote our own people barely come here. Who would be stupid enough to try sneaking in?"
The others nodded in agreement.
The large squad leader hesitated, but ultimately relented. Though they weren't afraid of getting wet, no one liked being drenched for no reason.
"Fine, but one of you stays behind to keep watch. The rest, come with me to shelter…" he decided.
Liu Bai, hiding in the shadows, smiled faintly. These people were more cautious than he thought.
But with the rain and the Concealing Array concealing him, Liu Bai slipped past the lone guard with ease. He could even hear the man muttering to himself as he slipped silently into the valley.
Inside, Liu Bai soon spotted the campfires in the valley's center. The vegetation had been cleared, and tents were erected in orderly rows.
"There are more Blood Wolf Bandits here than Liu Bo's intelligence suggested. Just in this valley, there are at least two hundred of them!" Liu Bai's expression turned serious as he silently gathered intel.
With that many enemies, trying to kill them all one by one would exhaust his spirit energy completely.
These weren't pigs waiting for slaughter—they were hungry wolves.
"Looks like I'll need to rely on Spiritual Arrays to wipe them out…"
Liu Bai had already mastered several offensive Spiritual Arrays. Now operating from the shadows, he could lay down multiple traps in secret and lure these wolves in.
Although the system still evaluated him as only a Rank Second Spiritual Array Master, as long as his spiritual energy was sufficient, he could control over fifty Spiritual Seals. He fully qualified to be a Rank three Spiritual Array Master. For basic Rank-one arrays, he could simultaneously control five!
Among his Rank-one array Consciousness mesmerizing Array and Spiritual Rain Array were more supportive, so he didn't plan on using them this time.
Instead, he would deploy Flame Serpent Spirit Break Array, Wolf Spirit Slaying Array, and the Nine Heavens Thunder Spiritual Array. The first was his signature technique, which had helped him defeat many formidable foes.
The Nine Heavens Thunder Spiritual Array had appeared in the original novel as one of the Spiritual Arrays Mu Chen's father had gathered for him in the Northern Spiritual Realm. Though a Rank-one array, it required twenty Spiritual Seals to activate and its power rivaled that of Rank-two arrays.
The Wolf Spirit Slaying Array was similarly powerful. Although slightly weaker than the Thunder Array, it could summon nine Wolf Spirits, each as strong as the Flame Serpents.
Unfortunately, Liu Bai hadn't fully mastered the Thunder or Wolf arrays yet, so his control over them was a bit clumsy. That meant he couldn't risk deploying the Five Wheels Heaven-Splitting Array.
Once preparations were complete, Liu Bai walked boldly out of the forest and unleashed his Mountain-Shaking Divine Fist.
Dozens of meteor-like stones rained down from the sky, accompanied by his fist's shadow, crashing violently into the camp area.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Although Liu Bai had restrained his spirit energy to conserve strength, the Mountain-Shaking Divine Fist still caused massive casualties among the unsuspecting bandits—killing dozens on the spot.
Unfortunately, some of the victims were the poor women abducted by the Blood Wolf Bandits.
"Enemy attack?!"
Inside the largest tent, Blood Wolf was shocked. He immediately grabbed his massive war blade and charged out.
Seeing the rocks embedded in the ground, he instantly thought of the news he'd received earlier that morning.
"Falling rocks used as weapons it's the same person who killed Second Brother!"
So the attacker really had come for them…
As rage flared in his chest, Blood Wolf also felt deeply humiliated.
He had repeatedly warned his men to stay vigilant, yet the enemy still managed to reach their base so easily. This was a blatant slap to his face!
To be fair, the subordinates weren't entirely at fault. This valley was only a temporary camp. If not for Blood Saber's unexpected death, they would've already moved on. Thus, they hadn't constructed any real fortifications.
And so, even with sentries, accidents were bound to happen.
At this point, Blood Wolf had no time to assign blame. The priority was to gather his forces and annihilate the intruder.
"All units, rally to me!"
His roar silenced the chaos. Bandits surged in from all sides, quickly assembling in front of him.
Liu Bai's figure was soon spotted.
"Boss, someone's running toward the woods!"
Blood Wolf narrowed his eyes, a flash of red flickering in his gaze.
"After him!"
Over a hundred Blood Wolf Bandits howled as they charged into the forest like a tidal wave of blood.
"He's over here! Tear him apart!"
"You dare mess with the Blood Wolf Bandits? Kill him!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Their shrieks filled the air. Liu Bai watched the figures draw closer, even making out their twisted faces.
"Flame Serpent Spirit Break Array, activate!"
Boom!
Three serpents of flame, each ten zhang long, exploded into being, transforming the area within a hundred meters into a sea of fire.
Those at the front were instantly engulfed, vaporized into charred corpses without even time to scream.
Although the scene was terrifying, not many bandits were actually killed. Most had Spiritual Movement Realm strength and could dodge unless hit directly.
But Liu Bai had no intention of letting his prey escape after leading them into his trap.
His hand seals shifted again, and the fleeing bandits were suddenly enveloped in a vast green Spiritual Array dozens of zhang wide.
"Wolf Spirit Slaying Array!"
A low, mournful wolf howl rang out. Dozens of spectral wolves, formed of green spirit energy, charged forth.
Surrounded by invisible wind blades, the wolves shredded anyone they passed.
"Two Spiritual Arrays?!" Blood Wolf's eyes narrowed. Could the enemy be a Rank Three Spiritual Array Master?
But if that were the case, did he really need to go through all this trouble to kill them?
"Could he possess a spiritual artifact that stores arrays?"
Such items were rare, but Blood Wolf had heard of them spiritual artifacts inscribed with Spiritual Arrays that could be activated instantly for offense or defense. They were worth a fortune.
As Blood Wolf speculated, over fifty bandits had already been killed by the two arrays. Twice as many were injured. Nearly half of his force had been neutralized.
Yet Blood Wolf's expression remained unchanged.
To him, these lackeys were just expendable resources. If they died, so be it. He could recruit more. Even within the Nine Great Domains, there was no shortage of people willing to walk the dark path. He never worried about manpower.
Even if they all died, none mattered as much as Blood Saber had.
After all, what true Spiritual Wheel Realm expert would willingly abandon a stable life to join a group of outlaws?
After the double arrays had run their course, the valley's forest had been reduced to rubble. The survivors were so terrified they dared not press forward and began to retreat.
Liu Bai quickly spotted a figure in the distance. Judging by his appearance and weapon, this had to be Blood Wolf.
"Sending lackeys to die first. So he's not just bloodthirsty, he's also cunning…" Liu Bai thought.
It seemed luring him into a formation wouldn't work. In that case, he would first clean up the riffraff.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
With a new decision, Liu Bai's hand seals changed again. Lightning crackled in the air, and a buzzing sound echoed around him.
"Everyone, don't retreat! Kill him, or we're all dead!" a squad leader shouted. Seeing the coverage of the lightning formation, he knew escape was impossible. The only chance was to fight.
Wounded and exhausted, many couldn't even flee. They were already trapped. Running would only lead to quicker death.
"Kill him!"
"Screw it, if I'm dying, I'm taking him with me!"
"Kill!"
Forced into a corner, the Blood Wolf Bandits displayed their savage nature. They had no shortage of courage when it came to perishing together with the enemy.
With bloodlust surging, only one thought remained in their minds.
"Kill!"
"Nine Heavens Thunder Spiritual Array!"
Liu Bai's eyes were ice-cold. His hand seals shifted once more, and he shouted.
Boom!
As his voice fell, the Thunder Array fully activated. Thunder roared through the air. The formation trembled, then a bolt of lightning the size of a ten-zhang dragon burst out like a thunder dragon, tearing through the sky and crashing down on the charging bandits.
...
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