Martial Peak

Chapter 2541 – Great Waves Wash Away The Sand

The newcomer erupted with rage, “Must you insist on being a defender of justice little girl? Have you stopped to consider whether it’s worth it? You don’t know this person, do you? Do you intend to offend others for the sake of a stranger?”

Zhang Ruo Xi snorted, “I don’t know whether it’s worth it or not, but I can’t just sit still and watch it happen!”

“How unreasonable!” The anger of the newcomer was like an active volcano, and it almost swallowed him up. [How unlucky! I just had to encounter a meddlesome little girl like her when my life is at stake!]

On a regular day, he wouldn’t mind wasting a few words with her, but right now, he didn’t have the luxury!

Just then, Yang Kai raised his head and looked at the newcomer and said faintly, “The wind is getting stronger outside. I’m afraid you won’t be able to find another place if you don’t go now, friend.”

The newcomer stared back with deep, hatred-filled eyes before turning around and dashing out.

He didn’t even bother to spit out a threat, because he knew that if he stayed to argue with Zhang Ruo Xi, he would miss the opportunity to find another cave. Being exposed to the Astral Wind was lethal, but if he left now, he would still have a chance to survive.

It was a gamble.

“Many thanks! This humble one will never forget what you did for me today and will definitely return my gratitude in the future!” The young man hiding in the deepest part of the cave cupped his fists and bowed over and over again to Zhang Ruo Xi.

If Zhang Ruo Xi didn’t stand up for him just now, there was no doubt that he would’ve been thrown out of the cave and left to die. Therefore, he was very grateful to her.

She dismissed it with a smile and a wave of her hand, “Don’t mention it.”

Her smile seemed to light up the whole cave, and the young man couldn’t help staring at her, stunned, while her face turned a little red when she noticed. At the same time, she felt slightly annoyed.

Old Ban lightly coughed, “This old man admires your kind heart, Young Lady, but… I’m afraid what you’ve done just now is pointless.”

“What?” Zhang Ruo Xi turned her head and looked at Old Ban with a puzzled expression on her face.

The old man sighed, “As the time of the Astral Wind draws closer, more and more cultivators will come and fight for a spot. You’ve managed to drive one of them away, but will you be able to drive away all of them?”

As soon as his words fell, the sound of heavy breathing came from outside the cave.

Following it, several cultivators who were escaping from the strange fog rushed directly towards the cave. They were undoubtedly looking for shelter.

When they reached the entrance, they looked inside, and when they saw that there was no space left, their faces turned dark. However, they seemed to have expected this situation, because instead of stopping to talk nonsense, they summoned their respective artifacts and unleashed their strongest attacks.

Amidst the chaotic flashes of Source Qi, two distressed cries rang out.

Blood splashed, and the two cultivators standing closest to the entrance fell before they could even react. The pungent smell immediately filled the air.

Afterwards, the newcomers laughed and kicked the bodies aside.

“Give us some room if you don’t want to die!” They sneered.

As they spoke, their attacks rained down harder, causing the cultivators near the entrance to cry out miserably and incessantly.

Zhang Ruo Xi was stunned upon realizing the truth behind the skeletons outside.

It turned out that those people weren’t killed by the Astral Wind, but by other cultivators. Every time the Astral Wind blew, they would fight to the death for shelter, causing countless cultivators to fall over the years. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to call this place a graveyard.

It was the case for this cave, and most likely for every other cave in the passageway too.

Rather than simple competitions, the cultivators treated the battles as deadly life-and-death duels, because they all knew that if they failed to obtain shelter, they would die in the Astral Wind. Therefore, their attacks were completely without mercy.

The scene at the entrance of the cave was one of a murky sky over dark earth, with flying sand and rolling pebbles.

Streams of people came and went, attacking fiercely without saying a word.

The situation was extremely chaotic. From time to time, the screams of the fallen would resonate through the cave. The ground was dyed red by blood and dead bodies with severed limbs piled up at the entrance, leaving a strong, nauseating smell of blood.

Only the extremely powerful Masters were able to survive the madness. Those who lacked strength also lacked the qualifications to survive.

The Masters broke into the cave and forced their way inside. They wanted to squeeze into the depths of the cave, because only then would they truly be able to relax. If they stayed near the entrance, they would have to face more latecomers.

Before long, the entire cave fell into complete chaos.

Soon, it spread to the inside of the cave, with different artifacts and Secret Techniques flying loose, everyone seeming to be an enemy.

Yang Kai and his group were deep within the cave, but even so, they couldn’t avoid the fighting. However, after Yang Kai killed two Third-Order Dao Source Realm Masters who tried to attack Zhang Ruo Xi and Old Ban with a wave of his hand, people instinctively began to avoid their spot. Only then were they able to relax.

From time to time, the cultivators from the cave would be thrown out by the more powerful newcomers. Soon, out of the ten people who were inside originally, less than half remained.

The wind roared and grew stronger.

All of a sudden, the cultivators who failed to get inside the cave cried out. Extremely frightened expressions appeared on their faces, and they immediately rushed towards the cave without a care for their lives. However, once again, they were blocked.

Then, in front of everyone’s eyes, countless slashes appeared on their physiques that were exposed to the outside, as though made by invisible knives. Their skin was peeled away, revealing their muscles and bones.

The screams were truly terrifying, and the scene gave the onlookers goosebumps and caused cold sweat to begin dripping down their backs.

All of the cultivators hiding in the cave stepped back involuntarily

In less than ten breaths of time, the cultivators outside were turned into skeletons, with no flesh or even clothing left on their bodies, their ghastly bones scattered all over the ground, clattering and clanking.

It wasn’t until several moments later that Old Ban let out a sigh of relief and said, “Now, we’re safe.”

The power of the Astral Wind had been fully revealed, so at this point, the cultivators who failed to find shelter had also lost their chance at survival. The Astral Wind would kill anyone caught outside, so no one would intrude within the cave. In other words, the many cultivators inside the cave no longer had to worry about having their spot taken.

It was strange to think that just a few moments ago, they were almost all enemies fighting each other to the death, as though their opponent had killed their family and stolen their wife.

But now, they were all relieved and immediately restrained their hostility. After exchanging a glance, everyone just sat down cross-legged and began to adjust their breathing.

It was as if nothing had happened.

Just now, the battle was to seize shelter, so naturally they had to fight each other to the death, but now that the crisis was over, there was no longer a need to fight. Everyone understood this.

Zhang Ruo Xi looked around, and when she failed to find the young man she had saved before, she couldn’t help but sigh. There was no doubt that he had been killed or thrown out at some point during the scuffle just now.

When Old Ban told her that what she had done was pointless, he was telling the truth.

She could save the young man once, but not keep him safe forever. One’s own strength was the only real capital one had to survive.

At present, there were more than a dozen people in this cave, and with the exception of Old Ban, the rest were all either Second or Third-Order Dao Realm. They were all latecomers with powerful auras.

The battle had exhausted a lot of them and they were all trying to recover now, so the cave turned silent, save for the nerve-wracking sound of the howling wind outside.

There was no sign of the Astral Wind dying down; rather, it only grew louder and stronger.

Two hours later, Yang Kai, who was meditating, suddenly frowned and looked toward the entrance of the cave.

He felt a faint and inexplicable sense of uneasiness.

At this moment, the cave was surrounded by strange fog and the howling of the Astral Wind though, so even with his powerful Divine Sense, he couldn’t tell what was going on outside.

As Yang Kai paid close attention to any movement outside the cave though, a cry and a howl travelled inside from the depths of the strange fog. Although it was distorted by the wind, everyone was able to hear it clearly.

Several pairs of eyes opened at once, turning in scepticism towards the entrance.

“Am I the only one who heard that…?” A cultivator near the entrance asked, frowning.

“A Yin Soul!” Another other replied in a deep voice.

“Hmph, the Ancient Lands Passageway is filled with those, what’s so strange about that? Who knows how many people have died here? It’s the perfect breeding ground for Yin Souls.”

“Naturally, I understand that, but… Don’t you feel that the Yin Souls are heading in our direction?” Asked the cultivator who had spoken first.

“Haha, how funny. When the Astral Wind comes, we’re not the only ones who need to find shelter, the Yin Souls must also lie dormant in a secret place. Why would they come here?”

“That’s right. This King has been here for several years, and never once have I met a Yin Soul during the Astral Wind storm. You must be thinking too much, my friend.”

“Indeed!” The first man thought about it and agreed that what they said made sense, so he dismissed his concerns.