Chapter 33: The Times Have Changed

  "Jie jie jie..." The sinister ugh echoed through the forest, and the wildman's body slowly became transparent, eventually disappearing without a trace.

  Sanbao furrowed her brow, vigintly scanning the surroundings. She reached to her waist and pulled out the st water pouch. She poured the water into her palm and silently chanted an incantation. The water rapidly gathered in her hand, forming a smooth water sphere that gently floated above her palm, slowly spinning.

  "Jie jie jie..." The eerie ugh still echoed around Sanbao. The trees and bushes rustled, as if countless eyes were watching her from the shadows.

  "Stop with the theatrics. Come out!" Sanbao shouted, her voice ced with a hint of panic. "Don’t make me take action!"

  "Jie jie jie..." The reply was still the same cold ugh.

  Sanbao slowly turned around, seemingly panicking as she spun in the forest, but in reality, she quietly used her heel to carve an inverted triangle rune in the dirt.

  "Let’s talk," Sanbao said casually, "I’m sure you don’t want to eat me right away." She tried to sound rexed. "Living alone in this forest, isn’t it boring?"

  "Jie jie jie..." The eerie ugh continued in response.

  Sanbao wasn’t discouraged. "Judging by your abilities, you must have been cultivating for quite a long time, right? You’ve been living here for many years. But why did you start attacking humans only this year? Was it because Miss Yin from the Yin family came here for a spring outing and did something to anger you?"

  As soon as she said this, the ughter suddenly stopped. The forest fell into an eerie silence, the only sound being the rustling of leaves in the wind.

  Sanbao knew her words had successfully captured the wildman’s attention, and she continued, "Tell me, since you’re going to eat me anyway, are you afraid of me telling your secret?" While speaking, she secretly activated the Two-Element Thunderfire Formation set by the Wudang Taoists.

  Suddenly, the wildman’s voice rang out in the air, "You’ve activated your formation, but why haven’t you used the Thunderfire to strike me? If the Thunderfire kills me, do you still need to distract me?"

  Sanbao’s heart sank, her face changing slightly. She suddenly bent down, smmed both palms to the ground, and quickly recited the incantation, "Heaven and Earth, limitless, the cosmos lends me its w! Two-Element Thunderfire, rise!"

  The inverted triangle rune on the ground suddenly lit up, and a Yin-Yang Taiji diagram appeared around it. The Taiji diagram began to spin faster and faster. In the sky, two bolts of lightning descended, striking a rge tree directly behind Sanbao. The tree’s trunk was instantly split in two, revealing the wildman hiding inside the hollow trunk!

  "Found you!" Sanbao shouted, and immediately recited the incantation again. This time, two bolts of heavenly thunder descended from the sky, striking the wildman’s massive body. The thunder ignited wildfires, and fmes spread, filling the air with the smell of charred fur as the wildman was engulfed in bzing fmes.

  Seeing the timing was right, Sanbao quickly took out several Thunder Strikes and threw them at the wildman. As the Thunder Strikes hit the wildman, they exploded instantly, intensifying the fmes and turning the entire clearing into a sea of fire.

  The wind fueled the fire, and the fmes began to spread toward Sanbao. She quickly channeled her spiritual energy, and the water sphere in her hand transformed into droplets of water that merged into the water shield in front of her, expanding it. The shield slowly formed a protective barrier around her, completely isoting the fmes.

  "It seems the wildman will turn to ashes in the fire." Sanbao sighed inwardly. "But it’s a shame I haven’t gotten his head yet. Looks like I won’t be getting the reward this time."

  Suddenly, a roar came from the center of the fmes. The wildman’s body released a powerful aura. The aura spread out, extinguishing all the fmes.

  The wildman appeared, his body nearly unharmed except for his fur, which was now charred bck. His eyes had turned even more crimson, radiating a strong killing intent.

  "You still have a chance to cut off my head, as long as you can defeat me." The wildman slowly advanced, flicking his hand. The water shield around Sanbao instantly shattered, as if it were fragile porcein being smashed by a giant hammer.

  Sanbao touched the empty water pouch at her waist, quietly making up her mind.

  The wildman sneered. "It’s fine to tell you the whole story. I’ve been cultivating martial arts here for decades, living in peace with the world. But that day, Miss Yin came to hunt and took my child to eat as a beast. Do you think I should get revenge? And now, you’ve come to my home to hunt me down, should I not strike back?"

  Sanbao remained silent, quietly gathering her spiritual energy and slowly retreating a few steps.

  "You’re a cultivator too, so you must have already noticed I’m a Danjing martial artist, three levels stronger than you. All your spells and artifacts are nothing more than scratches for me." The wildman said. "Even if you turn around and run, you won’t escape this forest. This forest is a secret realm, my secret realm. Only I can let you out, or if you defeat me, you can leave."

  "In that case, I’ll defeat you," Sanbao said, taking the Spirit Lock Gun from her Seven Treasures Bracelet and pointing it at the wildman. "Let’s see if this only scratches you."

  The wildman ughed loudly. "Come on, I won’t be satisfied until you use all the artifacts you brought with you. It’s not enough to make me your food."

  Sanbao said no more. She pulled the trigger and emptied the chamber in an instant.

  *Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!* Six bullets tore through the air, hitting the wildman’s massive body with precision. Six blood holes instantly appeared in his body, blood gushing out. His smug grin froze on his face.

  "What kind of artifact is this?" The wildman rasped, his voice hoarse, before colpsing to the ground, his blood spreading.

  Sanbao slowly approached, sighed softly, and summoned the Candle Dragon Sword, swiftly severing the wildman’s head.

  "This is the Spirit Lock Gun, specially made to deal with all kinds of cultivators and martial artists." Sanbao sighed. "You were too overconfident."

  Sanbao dusted off her clothes, muttering to herself, "The times have changed. This world now has weapons like the Spirit Lock Gun. It seems the cultivation world is about to face a storm of blood and death. The end of the wless age may be approaching."