Chapter Fifty: Bloodshed in the Desolate Woods

"Are you a dog? You actually bit me."
On the mountain path, Luo Hao looked at his own arm with a pained expression. On his forearm, there were two delicate bite marks, clearly visible.
"Hmph!"
At his words, Su Yao merely snorted and lifted her chin proudly, saying, "Who told you to say my chest is small? Say it again and I'll bite you to death." As she spoke, she even bared her two little canine teeth at Luo Hao.
"..."
Luo Hao was speechless. This girl was too bizarre; unable to win a fight, she resorted to biting, completely unreasonable. Thankfully, Su Yu and Ji Rou managed to hold her back in the end, or else who knows how many bite marks his arm would have now.
Along the way, Luo Hao had tried to test Su Yu and Ji Rou's strength, but to his dismay, he discovered that among the three girls, only Su Yao was at the Qi Spirit realm, while the other two had already broken through to the Blood Gathering realm. Even Su Yao, this little girl, was two minor realms above him.
"How can I let myself be surpassed by women? It seems I must double down on my cultivation," Luo Hao thought, an urgent resolve rising in his heart.
Night fell as the four pressed on, finally leaving the influence of the Sky Sea Sect behind. They passed through a primordial wild forest, untouched and ancient, with withered leaves carpeting the earth, old vines coiling like dragons, and grotesque rocks scattered throughout. A faint, savage aura seemed to transport them back to ancient times.
Within the wild forest, a heavy smell of blood hung in the air. As the group passed, they witnessed two first-rank spirit beasts locked in fierce combat, blood flowing and staining the earth, until both collapsed and died, leaving behind only a pool of blood.
The four watched with a sigh; this was the law of the jungle—survival of the fittest, the weak eliminated. Only true strength allowed one to survive in this world.
"Luo Shidi, are you alright?" Noticing something off in Luo Hao's expression, Su Yu asked with a trace of concern.
"It's nothing. Let's go," Luo Hao replied, a flash of determination in his eyes as he strode deeper into the forest. Watching his back, Su Yu and Ji Rou felt that at that moment, something in Luo Hao's demeanor had changed—something ineffable yet undeniable.
Beneath an ancient towering tree, the four sat around a campfire, the crackling of burning wood illuminating their faces. After a day’s journey, Luo Hao felt fine, but the three girls were weary. They decided to rest for now, for to cross the wild forest at night would be unwise.
"Senior Sister, we’re already over a thousand li from Sky Sea Sect. How much farther do we have to go?" Leaning against the ancient tree, Luo Hao gazed at the night sky, stars filling the heavens, the morning star shining bright—a sight rarely seen in the twenty-first century.
Ji Rou stretched lazily, fatigue in her voice. "Once we cross this forest, we should be there."
During the day, they had made their way deeper into the wild forest. The deeper they went, the stronger the scent of blood became; clearly, they were not the first group to pass through here.
A beast's roar shattered the silence.

In the darkness, the cries of spirit beasts sounded all the more savage. Ancient trees soared to the sky, their countless branches twisting like writhing dragons.
As night deepened, the air in the forest grew damp, and mists began to gather. From within these pockets of miasma, low, chilling beastly growls echoed—cold and bloodthirsty, belonging to true killers of the wild.
Suddenly, the campfire flared, tongues of flame leaping high as Luo Hao, leaning against the ancient tree, sprang up, his eyes narrowing. At the same time, from the mists emerged a massive black claw gleaming with icy light, as if the void itself was nothing before its might.
As the black claw swept down, Luo Hao reacted in an instant. A vast, ancient dragon’s roar resounded, as if ten thousand dragons howled together. Immediately, a golden palm thrust forward from before him.
Brilliant light burst from the golden palm, and the righteous dragonfire surged to meet the attacking black claw, twisting the very air in its wake.
There was a thunderous crash as dragonfire exploded, golden palm and black claw colliding with furious force. Waves of golden power surged out like a storm, shattering the surrounding ancient trees, sending rocks flying and leaves shredding.
"Ha!"
With a clear cry, Su Yu and Ji Rou acted in time, layers of spiritual power shielding the three women as falling rocks bounced away. The moment Luo Hao struck, their fatigue vanished, replaced by warlike vigilance.
Seeing Su Yu and the others unharmed, Luo Hao nodded to them and strode into the miasma. At once, golden dragon force surged, that ancient and noble gold shining like an eternal sea, piercing the thick mists.
Their hidden assailant was finally revealed—a giant ape, its body pitch-black and towering like a fortress, fur as hard as steel, metallic luster glinting, blue fangs bared, and a ferocious visage that sent chills down the spine.
"A first-rank peak spirit beast, the Black Spirit Ape," Su Yao exclaimed in alarm.
"Die!"
With a mighty shout, Luo Hao moved like thunder, stepping forward as golden light gathered in his palm. His hand turned pure gold, surrounded by dense cracks in the very air. A chilling aura emanated, making the three women’s hearts tremble.
"Heaven-Splitting Hand!"
The golden palm fell, crushing half the sky, countless scorching golden rays descending on the Black Spirit Ape with an irresistible will. Sensing mortal danger overhead, the ape roared and swung its black-gold palm upward.
Another resounding crash—the golden palm blazed with divine radiance, shattering the void as if returning space to chaos. Amidst the ancient, noble golden light, ten thousand dragons howled, suppressing the heavens.

The Black Spirit Ape’s attack was utterly destroyed by the golden palm. Its black-gold hand exploded, white bone jutting out, blood streaming down.
With a howl of pain and terror, the Black Spirit Ape clutched its shattered limb and fled into the depths of the miasma.
"Where do you think you’re going!"
With a flash of golden light underfoot, Luo Hao dashed after the ape like a cicada in flight, dragonforce blotting out the sky as it condensed into an eternal golden palm that struck down.
A loud crunch—the golden palm slammed onto the ape’s skull, splitting its iron-hard head open, scattering white brain matter and shattered bone as its massive body crashed to the ground mid-stride.
Such a bloody scene made the three women behind Luo Hao frown slightly. Though martial artists, as women they could not help but feel nauseated by such carnage. Luo Hao himself remained impassive, watching the ape’s body fall.
"Senior Sister, we can’t wait for dawn. We must cross the forest immediately!"
Calling out to the three behind him, Luo Hao and the others set off again. With the Blood Spirit Secret Realm about to emerge, this forest was destined for chaos—better to cross it as quickly as possible.
Under the cold stars, they passed a field of jagged rocks where the stench of blood hit them in the face. Their expressions changed at once, and the four stepped forward together.
The scene before them was horrifying—even with his recently transformed state of mind, Luo Hao was still deeply shaken.
Everywhere on the rocks, bright red blood stained the stone, and between the cracks lay corpses. The aura of death was not yet heavy—they had not been dead long. Everywhere the eye could see, blood and corpses abounded.
"These are disciples of the Infinite Sword Sect."
"And those from the Wildfire Cult."
"And those from West Mountain Hills… What’s going on? Why are so many disciples from different sects dead here? What happened?" From their clothing, Su Yu identified their affiliations, deep confusion furrowing her brow.
"Senior Sister, come look—these are our Sky Sea Sect disciples."
At Su Yao’s call, Luo Hao and the others hurried over. From the clothing, these were indeed their own sect's disciples.
Externally, this corpse bore no wounds, but bizarrely, beneath the cover of black hair at the back of the skull was a blood hole the size of a fingernail, from which blood and white brain matter oozed. The corpse’s eyes were wide open, as if it had suffered immense torment before death.