Chapter 29: Encounter with the Wolf Master

  Four figures rode swiftly on horseback, arriving at the foot of Hei Mu Shan before midnight. Meng Xuan looked up to see that the mountain was enormous, stretching for nearly a thousand miles, with dense forests and eerie energy filling the air, forming dark clouds in the sky. Beneath the clouds stood rows of ominous buildings, their jagged silhouettes resembling fangs rising from the earth under the moonlight, exuding an aura of foreboding danger.

  Still a hundred or so zhang away from entering the Black Wood Mountain border, General Liu waved his hand and ordered the army to halt.

  But before his eyes grew a patch of black thorn forest, with several winding paths in the middle, curving through Blackwood Mountain.

  Meng Xuan's senses were extremely keen, and he faintly felt that in the midst of the dark thorny forest, there was an inexplicable aura floating about.

  "Hmph, this small array is also used to show off, Black Wood Mountain has a big name, but it's somewhat undeserved..."

  General Liu sneered and snapped his fingers, sending a strong gust of wind into the narrow mountain path.

  "Whoosh..."

  This surge of energy, compared to the vast thorny forest, can be said to be weak and pitiful, but flying into the thorns, it seemed to suddenly trigger a huge disaster. Countless thorns spread out, directly submerging all the small paths. If General Liu had not stopped them in time, everyone would have entered the thorny forest, and they might have already been pierced through the chest by the thorns.

  This is the advantage of inviting General Liu.

  He has been confronting Kurokami Mountain for many years and is familiar with some of the defensive spells on its periphery.

  Of course, the defensive systems outside Sicheng are also well-known to Lang Zhu. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to send his subordinates to sneak into Sicheng and assassinate Qingmu silently.

  "Release the fire oil and burn this ghost forest to ashes!"

  General Liu let out a loud shout, and his men promptly brought out bamboo-made water guns, spraying black fire oil onto the forest, then shooting fire arrows. The entire thorny forest immediately erupted in a raging inferno, crackling with a scorching sound. Those thorns seemed to have come alive, twisting and swaying in the flames, emitting a mournful wailing howl that pierced one's eardrums.

  However, General Liu's subordinates were all very experienced and would have already taken out cotton balls to block their ears.

  As for others, they all have cultivation on their bodies, and after circulating true energy, these sounds have no effect on them.

  "This ghost forest is the first line of defense for Blackwood Mountain, a thorny barrier cultivated from the dark and evil land. After being planted here, it was watered with human blood, causing countless vengeful spirits to linger on these thorns. As soon as someone approaches, they will be trapped by the forest and drained of their blood. To break through this defense, fire must be used, but when the thorns are set ablaze, the vengeful spirits will let out a haunting howl that can both disrupt the enemy's minds and alert Blackwood Mountain to the presence of an intruder."

  Commander Liu explained to Meng Xuan.

  The fire spread extremely quickly, instantly engulfing the entire forest of ghosts. Thick black smoke gathered and refused to disperse, eerily strange.

  "Ahh..."

  Just as the forest was about to be completely burned, a rolling black smoke suddenly condensed into a giant wolf tens of meters high, opened its eyes, and let out a long howl towards the Four Image City army, shaking the ground slightly.

  General Liu saw it, turned around and shouted loudly: "I am not good at resisting my elite soldiers. Who among you is skilled in Taoism and can defeat it?"

  "I'm coming!"

  At this moment, an old man following Meng Xuan stepped forward and suddenly thundered: "Disperse!"

  The sound waves surge forward, like a dragon's roar.

  An old man in front, as if a torrent of flood swept up, even the air was distorted.

  That black giant wolf had yet to charge into the crowd when it was met head-on by this wave of sound.

  Suddenly, the giant wave's body shattered and turned back into rolling black smoke, dispersing into the heavens.

  "Good at repairing..."

  Everyone applauded, but it turned out that the old man didn't use any Taoist magic or martial arts skills. He simply relied on his own true energy to let out a loud shout, creating a sonic wave that directly broke through the black wolf's demonic spell.

  "Keep moving forward..."

  Everyone stepped on the charred ground and continued moving forward.

  But just a few steps later, the ground suddenly gushed out with fresh blood, and where the blood flowed, the black ash was washed away. The black thorn forest that had been burned clean actually grew again, as if it were a demon wrapping itself around everyone's body. This move was somewhat unexpected by the crowd. However, after all, there were many masters on the scene, and this little trick did not affect the overall situation.

  "This time let me!"

  The Water Moon Maiden smiled faintly and with her hands formed a seal, drawing an esoteric pattern in the air before merging them together.

  "Rise..."

  As her clear voice rose, the air suddenly became humid, endless water vapor was extracted from the air, and quickly froze. The black thorny forest that was twisting towards the crowd was sealed off in an instant when it touched the ice flowers that filled the sky, unable to move at all. The surroundings instantly became crystal clear and sparkling, like a world of ice sculptures.

  "Hmph, Mirror Flower Water Moon technique..."

  In the darkness, a majestic and cold voice rang out: "Long time no see, Shuǐ Yuè, your cultivation has improved quite a bit..."

  "Lord Wolf!"

  Shuǐ Yuè Niáng lightly uttered a few words, her expression serious.

  In the midst of Hei Mu Shan, on the rooftop of the highest palace, a tall figure emerged.

  Although his facial features were unclear due to the distance, I could feel the thick bloody aura emanating from him as well as a chilling murderous intent that was like a sharp blade scraping against bone.

  Meng Xuan knew that the figure must be Lang Zhu, and only he could give himself such a heavy pressure at this time.

  "Liu Yunfei, Leng Lingyu, Cheng Deng... You're quite impressive, to have invited so many experts!"

  The wolf master said coldly, although the distance was far away, but his voice clearly entered everyone's ears.

  "Hehe, although I've always wanted to kill you, I don't have such a big face, why bother so many masters..."

  The water moon daughter smiles lightly, with a charm of countless kinds.

  "Oh? So that's Liu Yunfei..."

  The wolf-like gaze fell on General Liu's body, and he said in a cold voice: "Do you want to take down my Black Wood Mountain as your own achievement?"

  "Haha, of course I want the credit, but today's hero isn't me..."

  General Liu burst out laughing, with an air of grandeur and magnanimity.

  "Oh?"

  This time Langzhuren was really somewhat unexpected.

  "No more guessing, Wolf Lord! Tonight, I will be the one to destroy Blackwood Mountain!"

  Meng Xuan stepped forward and coldly laughed at Lang Zhu.

  "Who are you again? I don't remember this person..."

  Lang Zhuzheng's cold tone was tinged with a hint of puzzlement, but he really didn't recognize Meng Xuan.

  Meng Xuan sighed and said, "You sent someone to my house three days ago to kill people, and then issued a warrant for the arrest of Labor Jianzi, wanting to exterminate my entire Meng family. Have you forgotten now? Your memory is really poor!"

  Upon hearing his words, Wolf's eyebrows furrowed, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he said in a cold voice: "You are that abandoned son of the Xianmen?"

  "Not bad, today the one who's going to kill you is me!"

  Meng Xuanping calmly replied, seemingly oblivious to Lang Zhu's menacing aura.

  "Are these masters all invited by you?"

  Although the Wolf Master was still far away from the crowd, his gaze seemed to be substantial, sweeping across everyone's body. When he glanced over the three masked old men behind Meng Xuan, his face turned extremely ugly because he saw through the cultivation of two of them, both of whom were top-notch masters in the True Spirit Realm. The most frightening thing was undoubtedly the last old man, for with his eye power, he couldn't see through the opponent's cultivation.

  "I'm a discarded son of a immortal sect, naturally I wouldn't be taken seriously by you, the demon king of this realm. Having no other choice, I can only ask someone to deal with you!"

  Meng Xuan smiled slightly coldly.

  The wolf host fell silent, and for a long time he did not speak, nor did he know what idea he was thinking of.

  "Oh dear, this is a misunderstanding..."

  Suddenly, a hoarse and oily voice rang out. By the wolf master's side, an unknown stout old man appeared out of nowhere. From such a distance, his appearance looked like a meatball to those with poor eyesight. He smiled and said: "Young Master Meng, it was all just a misunderstanding. This wanted poster was issued because my master was deceived by some petty people. Please be at ease, we will withdraw it immediately. You can calm down too, let's sit down and discuss this slowly."

  "Oh? Are you looking at our strength and wanting to bow your head to me?"

  Meng Xuan sneered, it seems that this Hei Mu Shan is not as brutal as the rumors say!

  Leng Daishi, Liu Dajiangjun and others, all showed a look of surprise on their faces.

  To know they have been fighting with Kuroki for so many years, yet never see Kuroki lower his head.

  "Sit down and talk? Alright, anyway this demon-slaying order hasn't caused our Meng family any losses!"

  Meng Xuan sneered: "However, three days ago you sent someone to kill four of our Meng family's guards. This can't be ignored, can it?"

  "Four family members?"

  That short and stout old man slightly stunned, smiled: "Alright, alright, Young Master Meng just say a number, those four family guards, no matter how precious, our Hei Mu Shan can afford to compensate, if not, we'll give you four pure gold human heads as compensation!"

  "Pure gold is unnecessary, four households, take two hundred lives from Hei Mu Shan as compensation, can you?"

  Meng Xuan's smile disappeared, and he said in a cold voice.