Chapter Eighty-One: Silencing Witnesses

Chapter 81: Silencing Witnesses

Yi Tian and his three companions soon arrived atop the cliffs of Peach Blossom Valley.

After descending into the valley, they returned the game stored in their pouches to the mine below.

As they emerged from the valley once more, Yi Tian’s eyes suddenly narrowed; in that fleeting instant, he sensed something amiss, an unsettling feeling of being watched from the shadows.

Someone was spying nearby!

“Who is there, lurking in the shadows? Show yourself!”

Yi Tian’s voice rang out sharply, his gaze sweeping the surroundings with icy intensity.

Yi Feng, Yi Shan, and Yi Li were all startled. None of them had imagined that someone could be lurking so close without their notice—they had indeed been careless.

A mocking laugh echoed through the air.

From a towering ancient tree ahead, a man leapt down, landing soundlessly—a testament to his skill in lightfoot techniques.

He appeared before Yi Tian and the others: a man whose gaze was as cold as a lone wolf’s, a long scar slashing across his face that made him seem all the more ferocious, like a predator hidden in the dark.

“Hand over the secret of what lies beneath Peach Blossom Valley at once, and the Azure Wolf will grant you a swift death,” he threatened, sweeping his eyes over Yi Tian and his companions. “Otherwise, I’ll make you beg for death and find none.”

“Hmph, bold words—see if you can back them up in a real fight!”

Yi Feng cast the stranger a cold glance. Though the man’s strength was evident, Yi Feng was brimming with confidence. At just twenty years old and already a ninth-rank martial artist, he feared nothing; even if his foe was at the peak of the ninth rank, he was ready for battle.

“Kill him!”

Yi Shan, ever the battle-hardened one, was instantly enraged.

In a flash, he charged forward, his fist crashing toward the Azure Wolf. Wild and primal true energy surged from his body, tearing through the air with thunderous explosions—enough to shatter even a massive boulder.

The man’s expression changed abruptly.

He hadn’t expected that one of these young men would be a high-level martial artist, capable of unleashing true energy attacks at a distance. Yi Shan’s punch exuded such overwhelming force that the man instinctively sensed danger.

Unstoppable!

The Azure Wolf darted away, retreating dozens of feet in an instant.

Yi Shan’s fist struck where the Azure Wolf had just stood, shattering a towering tree into splinters and blasting its trunk into countless fragments.

Without pause, Yi Shan crossed the distance in the blink of an eye and pressed the attack.

“So fast!”

That thought flashed through Azure Wolf’s mind as he drew a curved blade, a cold light flashing as he slashed at Yi Shan’s fist. True energy shimmered along the blade, making it even sharper.

Fists wrapped in primal energy clashed against the blade, exploding with devastating force. The shockwaves ravaged the forest for dozens of yards around, leaving the area in ruins.

Both fighters moved with extraordinary speed, their skills at the pinnacle of their rank—attacking, vanishing, and reappearing in a dance of deadly exchanges.

Yet Yi Tian and his companions could still follow the rhythm of their battle.

While locked in combat with Yi Shan, the Azure Wolf grew increasingly alarmed. His keen eye saw that Yi Shan, Yi Tian, and the others did not hail from the great clans or powerful sects, but resembled members of some tribe living beyond the mountains.

Yet for one so young as Yi Shan to have reached the ninth rank was almost unbelievable.

Even among the direct descendants of the top powers in Jingmu County, few could attain such strength at so tender an age, and only after immense resources were lavished upon them.

Could there be a great secret hidden within Peach Blossom Valley?

The Azure Wolf’s suspicions grew. Why else would these people venture into such a secluded ravine without reason?

Escape!

That was the only thought in his mind. If he could get away, he would gather the other six wolves of the Seven Wolves of Jingmu and seize the secret of Peach Blossom Valley for themselves.

Unable to subdue Yi Shan quickly, and finding his attacks ineffective against Yi Shan’s raw, overwhelming power, the Azure Wolf abruptly broke away, leaping into the dense forest behind him.

“After him! Don’t let him escape!”

Yi Tian’s expression darkened as he shot into the woods like lightning.

Yi Shan, Yi Feng, and Yi Li all understood the gravity of the situation. Peach Blossom Valley’s secret could not be leaked, and the Azure Wolf was clearly a ruthless villain. The only option was to cut the threat off at the root, snuffing out danger before it could grow.

Yi Tian chased the Azure Wolf into the forest.

The Azure Wolf moved like a fish in water among the trees; more than once, Yi Tian nearly lost his quarry.

Yet Yi Tian’s mastery of the Feather Flight technique grew with each pursuit, and he quickly adapted to the tricks of hunting in the woods, steadily closing the distance.

When only a few yards separated them, the Azure Wolf twisted aside and flicked several shining darts from his hand, each glinting with a strange light.

Throwing darts!

In an instant, Yi Tian unleashed his Shadow Step technique, vanishing and reappearing more than twenty yards away.

The darts embedded themselves in nearby trees, and around each one, darkness spread rapidly, seeping outward.

Clearly, the darts were laced with deadly poison.

Now truly earnest, Yi Tian used his movement technique to appear directly before the Azure Wolf, barring his path.

With a roar, he unleashed a punch. Scorching, pure yang true energy burst forth as dragons of fire, engulfing the forest around them.

The Azure Wolf was shocked.

He summoned all his true energy to defend himself.

But it was futile.

The dragons of fire battered his defenses, burning relentlessly. The intense heat soon overwhelmed the Azure Wolf, who could barely endure it.

Steel clashed with steel as Yi Tian drew his Golden-Scaled Sword, engaging in a fierce duel. Sparks flew as their blades met, and the collision of their true energies ignited explosions that reduced the forest to ashes within dozens of yards. The ground was left scorched and red-hot, wrecked beyond recognition.

Ultimately, the Azure Wolf’s true energy—both in volume and strength—was no match for Yi Tian’s blazing yang energy.

After exchanging more than a hundred blows, the Azure Wolf’s defense was breached. The searing energy consumed him, leaving nothing but a charred corpse.

Yi Feng, Yi Shan, and Yi Li soon arrived.

“Bury his remains,” Yi Tian commanded.

Together, they dug a shallow grave and buried the Azure Wolf.

Yet the battlefield was devastated, impossible to conceal. Should anyone investigate, there would be evidence to find.

With the threat eliminated, they hurried back to their temporary cave, stored the game in their pouches, and finally, the group of over twenty returned to Peach Blossom Valley.

This hunt would provide food for more than a hundred people for at least a month.

Fortunately, they had ample seasonings in reserve, enough to last four or five months with careful use.

For now, Yi Tian and the others would hold the mine, waiting for the turmoil outside to subside and the major powers to withdraw. Of course, the hunt would go on, but with far greater caution.