Chapter 122: A Savage Struggle

As he continued his cultivation, Cao Yi began to notice that something was wrong with his meridians. Suddenly, a massive surge of spiritual energy began to pour into him frantically.

Cao Yi opened his eyes. He could not see himself, but his eyes had transformed into a vibrant green. His pupils had narrowed into vertical slits, much like those of a wild beast. Though he did not know what had happened to his eyes, he clutched his head, feeling as though his brain were incredibly heavy. His thoughts began to slip beyond his control.

The first sign of change was when his hand, which had been clutching his head, suddenly stopped and struck the nearby tree with a violent punch. With a thunderous boom, the entire tree was shattered. Cao Yi’s hand became a mangled mess of flesh and blood. Yet, upon seeing his own injury, Cao Yi felt no concern. Instead, he felt as if the blood in his body had been awakened; a boiling, bloodthirsty urge stirred within him, and his expression grew increasingly sinister.

Knowing that this state was wrong, Cao Yi tried to stop. He covered his head, groaning, "Ugh, what is happening to me? Why do I feel like I've lost control? Ah!"

But the clarity lasted for less than two seconds before he began slamming his head against the nearby trees. A series of self-destructive thuds echoed through the air. Cao Yi could no longer control himself. In just a short time, had it not been for his innate strength, he would have been either crippled or dead. As it was, he was in a wretched state, covered in blood and wounds—all self-inflicted. The more he looked at his wounds, the more excited he felt. He could no longer bear this feeling of losing control.

"Ah!" Cao Yi struggled desperately against the black energy within him. His roars, filled with spiritual power, echoed through the silent night, causing the surrounding leaves to rustle and fall to the ground. Explosions erupted one after another.

Suddenly, it was as if a certain order had been broken. In the pitch-black night, many bright eyes began to emerge, glowing with light as they approached Cao Yi. Looking at them, Cao Yi knew they were exotic beasts, yet they felt unfamiliar, as if they had all mutated. They stepped toward him, one by one.

Rationally, Cao Yi told himself he should not fight them and should turn and leave. But in reality, he was beyond his own control. His feet seemed glued to the ground, and he stood motionless, watching them approach. His eyes shone with excitement, and he licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, his whole body trembling with restlessness.

When the beasts charged at him, before they could even attack, Cao Yi uncontrollably lunged at the nearest one.

"Roar!"

After a few punches, he knocked the beast to the ground, bit into its neck, and began to absorb its blood. As he drank, the green light in his eyes grew increasingly chilling and terrifying, and his sanity slipped further away.

"What is happening to me? What is wrong with me?" After finishing the blood of the beast, he had a fleeting moment of clarity. He pounded his head, looked at the body of the beast he had just drained in disbelief, and screamed, "Ah!" He could not bear what was happening before his eyes.

At this moment, Cao Yi did not know what changes his body had undergone. Before he could remain clear-headed for long, the surrounding beasts began to go wild.

"Roar! Howl!"

Seeing that Cao Yi had taken the initiative to attack and had killed one of their companions, these lupine beasts immediately banded together, snarling and roaring at him. They swarmed him in succession. This caused Cao Yi’s briefly recovered sanity to vanish completely. With scarlet, green-slit eyes, he fought them just like a wild animal. The cries of the lupine beasts mixed with Cao Yi's screams, echoing through the entire forest.

Gradually, dawn broke. Having witnessed Cao Yi's ferocity, the lupine beasts began to retreat. However, Cao Yi seemed to have fallen into a state of demonic obsession; not only did he not let them go, but he pursued them relentlessly. The path was left in a bloody, chaotic mess, littered with the remains of beasts, while Cao Yi wore a look of wild, eerie, and chilling intensity.

Finally, only two lupine beasts remained, fleeing frantically as if pursued by monsters. Not far behind them, Cao Yi appeared, dragging the remains of a beast in his hand, chasing them step by step. He was covered in blood—both his own and that of the beasts. His mouth was stained with residual blood, and his eyes remained green, slit-pupiled, and completely devoid of his former elegance.

The two beasts continued to run, with Cao Yi in pursuit. He walked forward step by step, like a demon. If anyone else were to see this bizarre scene, they would find it unbelievable—a powerful beast, stripped of all dignity, fleeing in terror upon seeing a human. Cao Yi was not making them retreat through his own skill, but through sheer, terrifying brutality.

By now, Cao Yi was more like a beast than the creatures themselves. He fought with primitive, savage methods, as if he had forgotten he was a cultivator. His eyes held the wildness of a beast, glowing with a green, ghostly light that appeared even more harrowing under the sunlight.

As the chase intensified, the terrain began to change. Cao Yi followed them deeper into the forest. It was as if the two beasts were leading him, eventually bringing him to an open area. If Lin Hao were here, he would have recognized this as the territory of the natives he and Momo had encountered before. However, the once-prosperous village was now desolate. Because of the native guards Lin Hao had encountered, the village had been abandoned, and no natives had remained there since. Yet, the defensive array had been strengthened.

The two beasts dashed directly into the array and vanished from sight. Seeing them disappear, Cao Yi sank into a gloom. He furrowed his brows, his body erupting with violent energy, and he grew increasingly frantic—the agitation of a beast that has lost its target. Unable to see his prey, Cao Yi didn't know what to do. He stepped forward to the spot where the beasts had vanished.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, the array was triggered, and the scene before him changed drastically. What had looked like a desolate ruin from the outside was suddenly filled with countless arrows raining down on him.

Cao Yi showed no intention of dodging; instead, he seemed excited—a bloodthirsty excitement. When the arrows reached him, with a swish, he caught them with his bare hands. With a series of rapid motions, he snatched them all out of the air. Then, with a series of sharp cracks, he snapped the arrows and threw them to the ground, stomping on them until he left pits in the earth.

Then, with a manic look, he stared at the direction from which the arrows had come. Although the area was filled with houses and no people were visible, Cao Yi, as if possessed, let out a thunderous "Roar!" and charged forward.

Clang! Boom!

Whether he mistook the houses for something else or had fallen into some delusion, Cao Yi moved with a brutal, destructive intent, tearing through everything in his path. He demolished the nearest houses, turning the area within a few miles into a scene of ruin and chaos in an instant.

The commotion grew louder and louder. Just then, in a grand hall atop the mountain, a masked figure suddenly opened his eyes, shooting out a sharp, piercing gaze before returning to the gloom. He lazily called out to the outside, "Someone come here. Bring Elder Black to me."

At this command, a voice from outside immediately replied, "Yes!" and the figure vanished without a sound.

A short while later, Elder Black hurried into the hall and bowed, "Master, your subordinate is late. What are your orders?"

Indeed, this was the same elder who had battled Lin Hao, and the person in the hall was the master of the natives. The masked man looked at Elder Black with an expression of displeasure. Hearing the question, he gestured for the elder to rise and said, "Did you sense it just now?"

"Yes, Master. I sensed the disturbance from the foot of the mountain and have already sent people to investigate. I suspect it is just another person from an outside sect who stumbled in by mistake. It is nothing to fear," Elder Black replied.

In truth, Elder Black had sensed Cao Yi the moment he entered, as he was the one who had set up the array. Both he and the master could sense intruders. Initially, he hadn't paid much mind to it, as the array contained illusions to bewilder the mind and lethal traps like the arrows. He had not expected that Cao Yi would already be devoid of reason, rendering the illusions ineffective, nor that he would be capable of such wanton, large-scale destruction. This had caused the array to shake, sparking the curiosity of the master and the elder as to what exactly had broken in.

Having explained himself, Elder Black waited. The master nodded, satisfied, and said, "Mm."

They then waited in the hall for news from below.