Blue Phoenix Chapter 12 – Wolf

Standing in complete darkness, Hui Yue felt, even more, alert than he had previously. He quickly withdrew a light stone from within his storage stone. The light appeared within the dark tunnels causing shadows to flicker all over the place. Some of which were actual shadows while others were creatures which tried to escape from the light that was being emitted.

Deng Wu took out the light stone Hui Yue had passed him earlier, and Wang Ju Long picked out two from her storage stone, one for her and another for Sha Yun.

Although Sha Yun accepted the stone, she did not need it because she was a magical beast with enhanced senses. Her cat-like eyes were specialized to see during the night and in a tunnel like this it was no different.

Most of the magical beasts were retreating from the light. Yet a good distance away an horrendous howl could be heard, and the tunnel ground shook slightly as something was dashing towards Hui Yue and the group.

This was clearly no lightweight magical beast. As soon as they noticed it approaching, energy fluctuations could be felt as all of the young cultivators released their spiritual energy, creating shields which covered their bodies.

With a quick flick of his hand, Black Blood appeared in Hui Yue’s grasp, and a red flame sprang to life within his hand. Killing intent surged forward, and the advance of whatever beast was arriving slowed down significantly.

Green energy was swirling around Wang Ju Long as she started her incantations. Within her hand were seeds from three different types of plants. She then spread these seeds out in front of her as she kept mumbling incantations.

Suddenly the seeds started to sprout, and with an incredible speed one of the plants grew and surrounded Wang Ju Long, shielding her from anything outside.

The plant had long vines filled with thorns and flowers, poisonous flowers. Anyone who dared to get close to her would have to fight through the barricade she had set up.

Although the first type of seed had grown into the shield which protected her, Wang Ju Long continued mumbling incantations. Soon the second type of seed started to sprout into long roots that dug under the ground. Ripples could be seen on the surface, as the roots dug further and further away from the trunk of the small tree before they finally stilled.

The third seed grew as Wang Ju Long’s final incantation finished and beautiful poppies appeared on the ground. An alluring scent emitted out from within the petals.

Upon looking at these petals, one could instantly tell that they were poisonous. After having given life to three kinds of seeds, Wang Ju Long’s face had grown slightly pale. She sat down in her protective shell, closed her eyes and started to meditate.

The beast which had been slowed by Hui Yue’s killing intent was still running their way. The closer it came, the more the ground shook, causing small stones to rain down from the ceiling.

Deng Wu was unable to use his soul shadow inscriptions in this tunnel as no other living bodies were available, other than himself and his friends. Instead, he found some fire inscriptions he had previously made while still living within Riluo City.

Together with inscription patterns, small magical gems were taken out of the storage stone. As soon as they entered Deng Wu’s hand, he started to chant an incantation. His attention was focused fully on the stones in his hands. Slowly the gems started to liquidize, and under the expert care of Deng Wu’s incantations, the previously shiny red gem turned into a red liquid. He quickly gathered it within a jade bottle, before he elegantly started to spread it onto a sheet of paper into a complex inscription.

In the middle of this inscription was the sign for fire and after a short time the sheet of paper lit up with a red hue. By the time the inscription was finished Deng Wu had placed it on his arm, preparing to use it should the roaring creature appear.

Sha Yun stared at the other two with slight disdain in her eyes, as she stood there just waiting for the beast to appear. Her skills could be used to protect Hui Yue and herself, yet her personality was not much of a defensive type. Instead, she was ready to create a tomb for the creature the moment it appeared.

Sha Yun was in the fortunate position of having synced with the earth and incantations were useless to her. With the wave of her hand appeared a chair created from the stone beneath her feet. She sat down with a satisfied smile on her lips, much akin to an empress overseeing an impressive play in front of her.

Hui Yue grasped Black Blood at the start but seeing the actions of his friends he laughed quietly, as he once more stored it within his storage stones. A complacent look formed on his face as he allowed his friends to deal with whatever beast was rushing their way.

In the dim glow from the light stones, a massive figure appeared. Even Hui Yue was taken aback upon seeing the creature in front of him. It was a wolf-like creature, yet not a wolf. It was easily five meters long and three meters tall, filling up the entire tunnel.

Its fur was black, with grey legs, and a long, grey, scaled snake-like tail. This appearance caused Hui Yue to snort slightly as he looked at Sha Yun, who, with the help of a deadly glare, silenced the younger boy.

Its head was raised as if looking up and its fangs were like those of a sabretooth tiger. Its eyes were fiercely red with killing intent shining from deep within.

Looking at those eyes, Hui Yue quickly found that deep inside the eyes, behind the killing intent was intelligence. As soon as the snake saw the poppies on the ground, it instantly stopped its advance. It stood completely still with its body lowered as though it was ready to pounce at any time.

Seeing this expression on the wolf’s face, the playfulness which Hui Yue had been feeling before instantly dissipated. Instead, it was replaced by vigilance and alertness, as he once more brought forth Black Blood and infused it with his spiritual energy.

The wolf seemed as though it understood that the cultivators in front of it were people it could not easily defeat. With a low growl, it turned around and got ready to leave.

“Do not let it get away!” Sha Yun jumped up from the stone chair she had created for herself, her voice echoing throughout the humid tunnel walls. This urgency caused Hui Yue, Deng Wu, and Wang Ju Long to prepare for battle.

Wang Ju Long closed her eyes and once more entered meditation. This time she kept mumbling her incantations, Soon spores of red light appeared from all the poppies after which they floated towards the fleeing wolf.

Currently, the wolf was not moving at a rapid pace, but as soon as it noticed the spores coming its way, his speed instantly picked up.

Swearing at the sight, Hui Yue activated Velocity Flow, and with the additional speed-boost, he rushed towards the wolf itself.

Right behind him was Deng Wu. The inscription he had written earlier had been wrapped around a flying Qi Sword which shot forward at an incredible speed.

“Duck Yue!” Deng Wu yelled, and per reflex, the white-haired boy did just that. Moments later a resounding boom could be heard throughout the tunnels. Small stones fell from the ceiling, and a blazing fire was burning within the tunnel.

The Qi Knife landed on the wolf and as soon as it had landed the inscription erupted with a power in no way inferior to Hui Yue’s fireballs. This was one of Deng Wu’s most used and also most practiced skills.

Although it was as powerful as Hui Yue’s fire orbs it also was a heavy price to pay for Deng Wu. Every time he created a new inscription, he had to let go of some of his cultivation base and to rebuild that cultivation base he would have to struggle quite hard.

He did have some inscriptions which did not require cultivation base but spiritual energy instead. However, these inscriptions were far weaker, and their results lacked in power when compared to cultivation-based ones.

In general Deng Wu was not fond of using his inscriptions to fight as all of them would take the life of those who were standing close by, innocent, allies, or enemies. No one would be spared.

This was a choice he had made upon noticing that he was a metal affinity cultivator. Deng Wu was aware that Hui Yue was the type who chose single target attacks and who enjoyed one-on-one fighting. This was great whenever it was a cultivator duel, yet Deng Wu knew that it would have its downsides on the battlefield. Since he long ago decided to stay by Hui Yue’s side, he was also ready to choose what he figured would be the most beneficial for his friend.

No matter who was in the way, Deng Wu would do his best not to drag Hui Yue down, and at the same time complement his friend’s strength.

These were the thoughts which ran through Deng Wu’s mind, as he saw the flames ignite on the black wolf in front of them.

Deng Wu was not the only one who wished to show off. As soon as the fires were booming, causing the wolf to howl agonizingly, spears of earth appeared from all sides, directly penetrating the protective fur of the wolf.

The already agonizing screams quickly picked up in intensity. But within a few moments, the twitching body stopped moving. The body collapsed on the ground, the last breath of air escaping the fanged lips as the beast no longer had the will to live.

Excitement was seen in the eyes of Deng Wu and Sha Yun. Yet annoyance was evident within Wang Ju Long’s eyes as her abilities had not been used.

Killing the flames with a cancellation inscription, Deng Wu walked closer to the beast followed by Hui Yue and the others.

The beast was like a treasure trove, filled with good items which they would have much use for later.

First was the meat which was clearly of high quality, and the sheer amount was simply staggering. If dried properly it could easily refill the storage ring which Deng Wu had emptied previously while trading for information.

The fur was softer than any other fur they had ever touched before. While not knowing what they might encounter in the future, Hui Yue decided to skin the beast in case they ever needed warmer clothes. Although it was filled with holes from Sha Yun’s spikes, it was still a high-quality item, and he gladly accepted it.

The beast core was beautifully white, showing that this animal had a pure cultivation, which was increasingly rare with beasts, and that could explain the gleam of intelligence which Hui Yue had seen earlier.

Although a beast core like this sold for a lot of money, Hui Yue quickly handed it over to Deng Wu, as it was one of the items he needed whenever he was crafting new inscription patterns. Giving it to him could provide them with a high-ranked inscription one day when they were in a tight spot.

Looking at the dead wolf, Hui Yue knew that the bones would be a great benefit as well. He squatted down and started to take the beast apart, carefully treating each and every bit as a priceless treasure.

The three friends were all used to Hui Yue doing such work, and they all helped as though they were one entity, everyone working in perfect harmony.

Wang Ju Long and Deng Wu were finding wooden blocks within their storage rings which they used to set up a fire. Sha Yun was using her affinity with earth to scout the area and set up protective traps.

As soon as Sha Yun started doing her tasks, her face turned pale. She quietly moved closer to Hui Yue, slowly poking his shoulder as she said with a silent voice, “I don’t want to worry you, but there are actually a lot of wolves coming our way. Quite a lot really.”