Winds Rise Overseas: The Netherworld Domain

Chapter 591: Winds Rise Overseas: The Netherworld Domain

The enormous beast seemed to realize its peril. With a thunderous roar, it spat a stream of chilling, yin-aligned wind from its maw.

The arrows racing toward it were scattered by this gale. Not only did they wobble and veer off course, but in an instant a layer of glossy black ice formed over them. Before they could even touch the beast’s body, they fell uselessly to the ground.

As for the heavier spears and such—though some did manage to strike the beast’s massive frame—the fierce wind had already sapped most of their killing power. They only managed to inflict a few shallow flesh wounds, which instead provoked the creature into a greater frenzy.

Enraged, the beast’s four eyes suddenly flared with blood-red light. With a loud bang, the stiff bristles along its neck stood on end, one by one, making it look utterly terrifying.

From atop the stone rooftop, Han Li watched this scene unfold. A flicker of confusion passed through his mind before he could grasp the beast’s intent. Then he saw the giant lower its head, and the raised bristles transformed in an instant into countless black needles, shooting toward the stone wall like a storm.

The defenders on the wall seemed to have anticipated this trick. Though tension was written on every face, they still shouted in unison and raised their various large shields in a coordinated formation.

A torrent of crack-crack sounds erupted from the shields like a sudden downpour of hail.

The black needles sank several inches deep into the shields, but for the most part, they were blocked. Still, a few who had been careless in their coverage were pierced clean through by the needles. They tumbled backward off the wall, their fates unknown.

No one had the leisure to check on the fallen. At a sharp command, another volley of spears and arrows was loosed, but once again, most were blown off course by the beast’s yin wind.

It seemed the creature only had that one patch of bristles on its neck that it could fire. Though it bellowed in pain as more projectiles struck it, it could only struggle frantically to rise. It had no other means of retaliation.

The purple-mist tentacles, however, held its feet in a firm grip, never loosening for a moment.

After five or six such volleys of ranged attacks, the yin wind from the beast’s mouth finally began to weaken rapidly, losing its earlier ferocity.

Now the arrows and spears from the wall came faster and thicker. They pierced the giant beast’s body so densely that it looked like a porcupine.

Yet, despite all this, the beast did not seem gravely wounded. It continued to roar with undiminished vigor, swinging its enormous black club wildly, smashing the ground around it into craters.

Han Li watched this and felt a slight stir of unease at the beast’s thick hide and immense strength.

The villagers, however, seemed to have a well-established method for dealing with this creature.

A squad of particularly tall, sturdy men quickly bounded up onto the stone wall. They carried no weapons save for a clutch of four or five enormous spears, each three to four zhang long, tucked under their arms. Once they reached the wall top, they raised the great spears, took brief aim, and hurled them with all their might at the massive body of the beast.

The sharp whoosh of the projectiles tore through the air, and even Han Li, standing behind, felt his expression shift slightly.

These men were all possessed of no small internal strength. They hurled the great spears as if they were twigs, with a force as fierce as a heavy crossbow or a drawn war bow.

Immediately, blossoms of blood the size of bowls burst open across the beast’s body. Not a single spear missed; every one of them buried itself into the creature, pinning it alive to the ground. Its former murderous aura vanished in an instant.

A great cheer erupted from the stone wall. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The purple mist that had bound the beast’s feet finally dissipated as well.

Some men eagerly lowered the wooden gate, drawing their blades, ready to go out and finish the beast off. Others began tending to the wounded.

But before the gate had fully lowered, the beast, which had been hanging its head low, suddenly let out a final, dying roar to the sky. With one last effort, it swung its arm and hurled the dozen-zhang-long club with savage strength.

The club flew high into the sky, arcing toward the center of the village with a terrifying momentum.

Below were women and children who had just run out in delight, thinking the beast was about to die. It seemed inevitable that seven or eight of them would be flattened into meat paste. The onlookers cried out in alarm.

But in that instant, a figure flickered and shot toward the falling club. With a low shout, the figure waved both arms and struck the middle of the great club with tremendous force.

A loud crash rang out. The black club was knocked askew and landed on an empty patch of ground.

The figure landed lightly, his movements graceful and controlled. It was the pale-faced, somewhat grim-looking middle-aged man.

The rescued villagers—men and women alike—let out a great sigh of relief and immediately surrounded him, their faces full of gratitude, thanking him profusely. But the man merely waved his hand dismissively, his expression indifferent, and returned to his original post.

Han Li, however, caught a faint flicker of something unusual in his eyes. For after saving the people, the man had cast a cold, deliberate glance toward him, as if by chance.

Han Li could not guess his intent, but it was clear the man did not look upon him kindly.

Frowning, Han Li was still pondering the possible significance of this when the wooden gate was finally lowered. Several dozen able-bodied young men rushed out of the village and finished off the now-immobilized giant beast on the spot.

But they did not stop there. Someone drew a long white blade and split open the beast’s skull. After a bloody search, he raised his hand, holding a green crystal the size of a thumb. The man cried out in delight, and the nearby onlookers, after a moment of stir, broke into similar joy.

Watching this, Han Li blinked. He felt that the green crystal looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

Puzzled, he lowered his head in thought. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck, and he remembered.

Back in the inner hall of the Void Heaven Palace, among all the puppet remnants he had collected, each of them seemed to have contained a similar green crystal. Could they really be the same thing? Han Li was quietly doubtful.

Still, after watching a while longer, he said nothing, and with a light leap, he jumped down from the stone roof.

The fat old man and the other elders had already re-entered the main hall. Han Li still had a bellyful of questions he wanted to get clear about.

Mei Ning, seeing Han Li return to the hall, also lowered her head and followed him inside. Having just witnessed the battle against the giant beast, she seemed to have grasped the danger of this place, and a trace of worry appeared on her face.

When Han Li entered, the old man and the other elders had already taken their seats again.

Seeing Han Li come in, the old man smiled and was about to speak when a tall, burly man strode quickly inside. In his hands, he held the very green crystal.

“Great Elder! This is the Netherworld Beast Crystal from the Jiaozheng’s skull. Please examine it, elders.” The burly man placed the crystal on the stone table in front of the old man and spoke respectfully.

“You’ve worked hard again this time. Taking advantage of the Spirit Void Eruption, Xin Shi and the others managed to bring back some fish and shrimp. Later, everyone will receive an extra portion as a reward.” Seeing the crystal, the old man said with pleasure.

“Thank you, elders!” The burly man’s face lit up with surprise and satisfaction. Following these instructions, he withdrew from the hall contentedly.

Han Li stood to the side, watching coldly.

“The monster you two just witnessed is a unique Netherworld beast of this region, the Jiaozheng. It must have given you quite a shock! This Netherworld Domain may be only a hundred li in circumference, but it is home to demon beasts, humans, and all sorts of Netherworld beasts.” The old man carefully tucked the green crystal into his bosom before turning to Han Li and speaking solemnly.

“There are demon beasts here too?” Han Li showed a flicker of surprise.

“Of course. Whenever the spatial tears occur here, they make no distinction between cultivator and demon beast; all are caught indiscriminately.” The old man gave a bitter smile, but after a pause, he continued.

“Here, demon beasts also cannot use their demonic arts. But their tempered demon bodies are extremely powerful. Neither we humans nor the Netherworld beasts can afford to provoke them. Fortunately, they usually stay in a few fixed areas, feeding on Netherworld beasts, and rarely venture out. So their threat to us humans is not too great. These Netherworld beasts, however, are a different matter. They are born spontaneously from the yin energy of this place, and they instinctively crave the flesh and blood of humans. Almost every so often, a powerful Netherworld beast will find its way to a human village. Most of the time, the villagers manage to drive it off. But occasionally, smaller villages have been broken through, and entire villages have been devoured clean. On the other hand, as we killed this Jiaozheng today, before long, a new one will be born from the place where yin energy condenses. These Netherworld beasts are simply inexhaustible.”

“From what you say, the human villages here are not the only one. There are others?” After a moment’s silence, Han Li asked slowly.

“There are. Not many—about seven or eight scattered across the entire Netherworld Domain. Food is extremely scarce here. Apart from a few limited patches of land where coarse grains can be grown, the ground is completely barren due to the heavy yin energy. Most of the Netherworld beasts are poisonous to the touch. The demon beasts’ guts may not care, but for us humans, contact is a death sentence! Apart from a few special varieties, even if we kill the other Netherworld beasts, we cannot eat them. All these harsh conditions together determine that the human population here is fixed. Every person who wants to survive here must be useful. Otherwise, they are cast out of the village to fend for themselves!” When the old man reached the end of his words, his tone turned icy.