53: Chapter 53 Mission Name: Blood Frenzy

That towering crimson pillar of light stood between heaven and earth, exuding an Aura that made one's heart palpitate.

The sky darkened at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Crack!"

A ferocious bolt of lightning tore across the firmament.

Following closely, bean-sized raindrops smashed down in a patter.

The cold rain, carrying a biting chill, instantly enveloped the entire mountain forest.

In other corners of the Tianyao Mountain Range, all the Disciples participating in the trial saw this terrifying scene.

Some people were blinded by greed, convinced that a peerless supreme treasure had been born, and recklessly rushed toward the direction of the light pillar.

Meanwhile, another more perceptive group sensed an evil and ominous presence originating from the depths of the Soul within that crimson light, turning around without hesitation to flee toward the outer perimeter of the mountain range.

The crimson pillar of light flickered a few times in the sky.

Afterwards, its brilliance began to dim rapidly, ultimately dissipating completely.

The sense of oppression shrouding everyone's hearts vanished into thin air accordingly.

Amidst the torrential rain, the mountain forest fell into an eerie dead silence.

"Roar—!"

A beast roar filled with tyranny suddenly sounded from the depths of the mountain range.

This seemed like a signal.

"Awooo—!"

"Hisss—!"

"Screee—!"

For a moment, one after another, the roars and cries of various Yao Beasts echoed from every corner of the mountain range, converging into a frantic symphony of death.

Zhao Ruoan's expression changed completely.

This commotion was not right.

The rain was too heavy and the thunder was rolling; continuing to stay in the open area was no different from being a live target.

He propped up a spiritual energy protective barrier to isolate the rainwater, turning around to find a place to take shelter first.

The moment he moved, a black shadow mixed with a fishy wind suddenly lunged out from the forest on the side.

It was a Blazing Frenzied Ape.

This Yao Beast was already famous for its irritability; at this moment, its bell-sized eyes were covered in bloodshot veins.

Zhao Ruoan's footsteps did not stop.

The long sword at his waist silently left its scabbard.

A cold sword light flashed and disappeared in the dim rain curtain, so fast that people could not capture it.

That Blazing Frenzied Ape, coming with a fierce Aura, had its body stiffened halfway through its lunge, and then its huge head soared into the sky.

Scalding beast blood gushed out, instantly washed clean by the cold rainwater.

Zhao Ruoan's figure did not pause in the slightest as he continued forward.

The wind whistled, and another even swifter Yao Beast attacked from behind him—a Three-Eyed Yao Tiger, known for its cunning and speed.

Taking cover under the rain curtain and thunder, it silently extended its fatal sharp claws.

Zhao Ruoan didn't even look back.

He merely stepped casually to the side, his entire figure shifting sideways like a ghost by several feet.

Tianxing Step.

The Yao Tiger's sharp claws, carrying a gale force that tore through the air, grabbed nothing.

Welcoming it was a silent backhand sword strike.

Puchi.

The Yao Tiger's massive body collapsed to the ground with a crash, its third eye wide open, filled with lingering astonishment and incomprehension.

Dealing with these ordinary Spirit Gathering Realm Yao Beasts held no difficulty for him.

However, the surrounding beast roars not only did not weaken, but instead grew denser and more manic.

The entire earth began to tremble slightly.

This was not just a few or dozens of Yao Beasts going mad.

It was the Yao Beasts of the entire Tianyao Mountain Range that had gone mad.

Beast Tide!

These two words popped into Zhao Ruoan's mind.

He had heard from the old hunter in the village that once a true Beast Tide formed, with ten thousand beasts stampeding, its might would be enough to flatten cities. Even powerhouses of the Spirit Sea Realm or even the Spirit Pill Realm, if trapped within it, would only end up having their spiritual energy exhausted and being torn into shreds.

Just as he was pondering whether to find a place to lay low until the trial ended or run away directly, that long-silent voice emerged in his mind.

[Ding! Detected drastic changes in the special environment, emergency mission triggered!]

[Mission Name: Crimson Surge]

[Mission Content: Affected by an unknown force, a large-scale Beast Tide has erupted in the Tianyao Mountain Range, and a large number of Qingyang Sect Disciples are trapped in dangerous situations, facing imminent peril. Please have the Host rescue the trapped fellow Disciples as much as possible before the Sect Elder rescue forces arrive.]

[Mission Reward: Calculated based on the number and Aptitude of rescued fellow Disciples, the rewards will be extremely generous with no upper limit.]

Zhao Ruoan stopped his footsteps.

Standing in the torrential rain, he couldn't help but want to complain mentally.

This System really knew how to pick its timing to issue a mission.

Rescuing people in a natural disaster-level Beast Tide like this, what difference did it make from courting death?

However...

He noticed a few words in the mission description: "before the Elder rescue forces arrive".

This indicated that the Sect's Elders had already reacted and were rushing over.

What he needed to do was not fight the entire Beast Tide, but fish people out within this time gap.

The risk was extremely high, but the words "rewards will be extremely generous with no upper limit" were indeed tempting.

Let's do it!

Fortune favors the bold!

Hesitating no longer, he identified the direction and sprinted toward the outer region where the trial Disciples were most dense.

He pushed Tianxing Step to its absolute limit, transforming his entire body into a faint phantom as he shuttled through the thunder-flashing torrential rain with incomprehensible speed.

Deep within the rain curtain, beneath a steep cliff.

"Senior Sister Liu, we can't hold on much longer!" a young female Disciple cried out tearfully. On her arm, a bone-deep claw mark was continuously bleeding.

Three Qingxuan Sect female Disciples leaned against the mountain wall, forming a crude triangular formation as they were besieged by four robust Wind Wolves.

These Wind Wolves also had scarlet eyes and were fearless of death, their bodies wreathed with pale green wind blades, attacking more fiercely each time.

The leading Senior Sister Liu had the highest cultivation, but she was only at the fourth layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm. She alone withstood the attacks of two Wind Wolves, and by now she was drenched in fragrant sweat, consuming a massive amount of spiritual energy.

"Hold on! The Sect's rescue signal has already been sent out, and the Elders will be here soon!" She gritted her teeth, cheering herself and her Junior Sisters on.

Just at this moment, the most cunning Wind Wolf spotted the gap in her parry.

Its wolf body suddenly arched, transforming into a gray lightning bolt that bypassed her sword blade and went straight for the most severely injured female Disciple by her side.

"Careful!"

Senior Sister Liu turned pale with fright, wanting to fall back to defend, but she was tightly entangled by the other two Wind Wolves, having no Clone to spare.

That injured female Disciple could only watch helplessly as the wolf claws flashing with cold light magnified rapidly before her eyes.

She despairingly closed her eyes.

It's over.

Swish!

A sound of breaking air rang out.

The female Disciple waited for a long time, but the expected excruciating pain did not arrive.

She tremblingly opened a slit of her eye.

She only saw that the Wind Wolf that had lunged in front of her had its entire body frozen mid-air.

An extremely thin line of blood emerged from the center of its brows, then rapidly spread across its entire body.

The next moment, the massive wolf body was neatly split into two from the middle, the cut as smooth as a mirror.

Fresh blood and internal organs mixed with rainwater, flowing all over the ground in a gush.

The three female Disciples were completely dumbfounded.

They looked in the direction from which that sword light had slashed.

In the rain curtain, a slender figure walked over leisurely.