Chapter Ninety-One: Toying With You to Death Amid the Chaos

Just as Azure Cloud failed to shatter Myriad Dragon Zhou’s bones at once, and even as the latter gathered astral force to shield his entire body, making it difficult for the poison mist released by the poison pill to draw near, there was a deafening blast.

The high-grade magical greaves hidden on Azure Cloud’s leg exploded with a thunderous roar. With deliberate detonation, such a thing was terrifyingly powerful.

Myriad Dragon Zhou, completely unprepared, was blasted backward. The arm that had been gripping Azure Cloud’s calf was torn to bloody ruin, and Azure Cloud seized the chance to wrench his leg free.

Azure Cloud’s injuries were no lighter, but he had prepared for this. Inside the exploding greave was another layer of protection that absorbed most of the force. Though his flesh was still mangled, his leg was not ruined beyond saving.

By then, the toxic haze from the poison pill Azure Cloud had just crushed had long since spread out.

This was not the same kind of poison pill he had used against Deputy Captain Wang. He could now refine a poison capable of dealing with Cloud-Riding realm experts, but it was hard to make such a method work through direct application.

What he had used now was still called a poison pill, but in truth it relied more on intense stimulation.

The demon monkeys that had swarmed in from all around, especially the monkey king with its high intelligence, had initially not rushed in while watching the two of them fight to the death.

Though they did not know the proverb about the snipe and the clam fighting while the fisherman profits, they did understand this much: when two powerful enemies suddenly began tearing at each other, they could wait and watch for a chance to pick up an easy gain.

But once the poisonous mist swept over them, their eyes gradually turned red and the power within them surged explosively.

Most importantly, when they looked again at Myriad Dragon Zhou, their eyes were those of beasts driven near madness by long pent-up heat, as though they had found a target upon which to vent everything.

Myriad Dragon Zhou himself had not even noticed that when he seized Azure Cloud by the ankle, his hand had already picked up a trace of medicinal fragrance.

As for Azure Cloud, the instant the greave exploded, the flesh around his ankle had been blown away. And the moment he freed himself, he had already smeared something else over that same area with astonishing speed.

“You think you can get away...?”

Myriad Dragon Zhou had not yet noticed this subtle change. Seeing Azure Cloud detonate a high-grade magical artifact in order to break free, he directly condensed a giant hand from astral force, refusing to give Azure Cloud any chance to dive underground or flee again. He sealed off the surrounding area and seized at him.

A Cloud-Riding realm cultivator possessed immense power. The condensed astral force could be controlled at will, forming protective armor around the body or imprisoning and sealing an enemy.

Against someone of the same level, such a seal could be broken fairly easily. But to seal a Zither Heart realm cultivator was far from easy.

So long as he could pin the man down for even a moment, he could then strike hard, severely injure him, and take him alive; or he could continuously gather astral force to press and suppress him until his cultivation was sealed and he was captured.

Boom!

Just as Myriad Dragon Zhou believed everything was now under control, that his prey could no longer escape his grasp, a golden fist-shadow suddenly came crashing in. Its terrifying force nearly shattered his protective astral barrier.

He staggered, driven back several steps, utterly unable to maintain his confinement of Azure Cloud.

Myriad Dragon Zhou was shocked. Turning back, he saw that even the monkey king, crazed as though in rut, had been forced back by the blow. Its arm was already faintly cracked, yet it came charging again.

Not only that monkey king, but all the demon monkeys within a hundred meters that had been affected by Azure Cloud’s special poison had their power rising as well, each plunging into a frenzy.

They no longer stood by, no longer merely surrounded the two combatants. Instead, they turned all their fury upon Myriad Dragon Zhou, attacking him relentlessly.

For a moment, Myriad Dragon Zhou was thrown into confusion. With a surge of spiritual will, he controlled his flying sword, and in an instant sword light circled his body, slaying seven or eight demon monkeys outright.

But there were far too many charging in from all sides. He had no choice but to join the fray personally and cut down several more.

The more of them there were, the more attacks came from afar, making it impossible to close in on him. Each individual strike might only threaten an ordinary seventh- or eighth-level Zither Heart realm cultivator, and would not count for much against a ninth-level expert, let alone a Cloud-Riding realm master protected by astral force.

But there were simply too many of them. The protective astral force around his body was violently rippling, and the consumption was enormous.

Most crucially, two more approaching monkey kings had also been affected at this point. The several monkey kings were no weaklings; even he could not easily slay them. In the blink of an eye, dozens of demon monkey corpses had fallen around him, yet still more rushed in.

“Get lost!”

Enraged, Myriad Dragon Zhou erupted with terrifying power, blasting away more than ten demon monkeys that had leaped at him, along with one monkey king. Then he shot into the air, trying to rise into the sky.

But the moment he took flight, dozens of demon monkeys, led by the monkey kings, swooped down from above.

Their repeated assaults were astonishingly powerful, and with their constant shrieks, over a hundred demon birds appeared in the sky as well. These birds clearly had some tacit understanding with the demon monkeys, and together they sealed the air while attacking Myriad Dragon Zhou from above.

While Myriad Dragon Zhou was trapped, Azure Cloud had already withdrawn at speed.

After all, only part of the monkey pack had been affected. If he lingered here any longer while they formed a surrounding assault, he would likely end up sharing the burden of Myriad Dragon Zhou’s fury.

As expected of a Cloud-Riding realm expert, once Myriad Dragon Zhou truly went all out, the demon monkeys numbering in the hundreds around him, along with the birds in the sky, were all drawn in.

Taking this chance, Azure Cloud hurried toward the other side.

At this moment, Myriad Tiger Zhou and the other four deputy captains had brought more than a hundred men with them, but fewer than sixty remained. The weaker ones had already been killed, and even among the survivors, half were injured.

By now, they no longer intended to continue pursuing Sea Breeze alongside Myriad Dragon Zhou. There was simply no way to keep chasing.

Myriad Dragon Zhou had gone mad with slaughter, and the number of demon monkeys converging on him was even greater now, with demon birds swooping in from the sky as well. Going over there would be no different from walking to one’s death.

So they had already changed direction and were now trying to break out.

They had not yet ventured too deep into the forest. After their desperate push, they had already covered several miles; only another mile or two remained. Once they broke out, the threat posed by these demon monkeys would be greatly reduced.

After all, the outside world was in chaos, and there were even many areas occupied by other beasts.

“Form up! Those who remain, form up! Kill! I’ll take the lead! Captain Chen, bring your people to guard against the air!”

Myriad Tiger Zhou roared as he charged forward furiously.

Though he had not reached the Cloud-Riding realm, a suit of tiger-demon armor had appeared on his body, and his gauntlets had also erupted with demonic souls. His strength surged dramatically, making him seem like a Cloud-Riding realm demon tiger.

This had been something his elder brother had spent a huge price to obtain for him in the past, allowing him to possess combat power at the edge of the Cloud-Riding realm.

“What are you running for? Weren’t you the ones chasing me? Why are you running now? I’m over here...”

At that very moment, a voice suddenly rang out from their flank. It was Azure Cloud, who had just hurried over from Myriad Dragon Zhou’s side.

The instant Azure Cloud spoke, some of the enraged demon monkeys shifted toward him as well, though the number was limited. Azure Cloud moved extremely fast; after taunting Myriad Tiger Zhou and the others a few times, he had already circled ahead of them.

That was precisely his purpose in stirring up chaos. Only by doing this could he create an opening.

He had more equipment, and his assortment of secret arts and methods came without end. In this kind of disorder, he would gain the advantage. The more people the other side had, the more ferocious the attacks they faced, and then it would no longer be him alone against a horde; everyone would be bearing the same danger.

After circling to the front, Azure Cloud quickly drew the monkey pack toward him.

Like baiting monsters in a game, he took advantage of his strengths to lure the demon monkeys in front of Myriad Tiger Zhou and the others.

By the time Myriad Tiger Zhou’s group was less than a thousand meters from the edge of the forest, where the trees had visibly begun to thin and they could even spot low hills several hundred meters away if they leapt up, Azure Cloud had drawn three or four hundred demon monkeys to charge straight at them from the front.

“Brothers, let loose all you want. This little bunch of monkeys is nowhere near enough for you to kill. I’ve brought you more. Come on, kill to your heart’s content!”

Shouting this, Azure Cloud charged toward them head-on.

“Damn it!”

“You filthy bastard!”

“Rotten to the core!”

“You son of a...”

Everyone under Myriad Tiger Zhou was nearly driven mad. They had been so close to breaking out, only for this shameless fellow to lure over so many demon monkeys while calling out those words.

With no other choice, they had to avoid this direction, force a breakthrough elsewhere, and then loop around before escaping.

But in a moment like this, even a slight detour cost precious time. And with that delay, several more people were killed in the melee.

Meanwhile, Azure Cloud had already turned in another direction during the very process of luring the monkeys. Though he had changed course, the majority of the demon monkeys still rushed toward Myriad Tiger Zhou and the others, after all—they were the bigger target, and there were more of them.

As for Azure Cloud, he had countless tricks at his disposal. With several special pills released, he even provoked some demon monkeys into feeling repelled and unwilling to come near him.

After evading, Azure Cloud led away several dozen monkeys, drawing them along as he went. He looked more and more like a monkey king himself, advancing ahead while the rest followed behind him.

Whenever attacks came from afar, he blocked them directly. His constantly shifting footwork and ever-changing movement methods in the forest were no weaker than those of the monkeys.

In this way, after taking a detour and even shaking off part of the pack, Azure Cloud circled around again and lured yet another wave of demon monkeys over, once more blocking Myriad Tiger Zhou and the others’ path.

When Azure Cloud had led another wave of demon monkeys to cut off their route and forced them to turn aside once more...

“Tiger Brother, this can’t go on. If it does, none of us will make it out. We need to find a way to pin down Azure Cloud or kill him. Only if he dies will we have a chance. This just won’t do...”