Chapter 82: The Chaotic Battle at the Valley Entrance

Ever since arriving in the Blood Massacre City, Chu Jie felt as if he had been surrounded by slaughter. Especially in the Abyss of Gods and Demons, the number of people he had killed had greatly increased. This time, his challenge was to kill a full hundred experts at the Spirit Convergence stage. Even though he relied on traps, this was still an extraordinary feat.

But now, he had just managed to kill forty people.

Staring at the corpses reduced to ashes before him, Chu Jie remained silent for a long time. Even though they were enemies, watching their bodies consumed by the earth's flames stirred strange emotions within him.

Yet, this was only the beginning of death.

"It's not easy for these people to reach the Spirit Convergence stage, but the rules of Massacre City are as they are—either you die, or I die. There's no need to overthink it," Duan Kun tried to comfort Chu Jie, afraid he would not be able to bear it.

"I understand," Chu Jie sighed, then suddenly recalled something. "Wu Long shouldn't run into those people, should he?"

Chu Jie glanced in the direction Huang Zhengde had just left.

"He shouldn't. Wu Long and his group are clever. Even if they do run into them, nothing major should happen," Duan Kun replied.

"As for these sixty people, I think we must find a way to kill them. If we don't deal with them ruthlessly, I'm afraid people here will think we're easy targets," Chu Jie said coldly. Having been chased and having killed so many, he had already vented most of his anger.

"I agree we should kill them," Duan Kun said. "If we don't kill them now, they'll definitely come after us later. After losing so many of their own, they won't let us go. These Spirit Convergence experts must have been drawn from various factions. Otherwise, only a few great families would have the power to field so many."

"Alright, let's try to lure them over again and see if they'll come," Chu Jie replied.

If they wanted to kill these sixty with ease, they'd have to rely on the earth vein traps. The question was whether they could lure them in again.

If it came to single combat, Chu Jie feared none of the sixty. But these people were so afraid of his reputation as a peerless fiend that none dared to fight him one-on-one. Thus, only the earth vein traps would do.

The two of them moved to the edge of the Windfire Gorge and looked out. In the distance, the sixty people sat in meditation, with two standing guard. Huang Zhengde sat in the middle, eyes closed.

Sensing something, Huang Zhengde suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward Chu Jie's position.

"Everyone, up! They're coming," Huang Zhengde shouted.

The group immediately broke meditation, looking energized. Although the deaths had left them frustrated, being out of Windfire Gorge made them much calmer.

Outside, with no traps, their confidence soared.

Chu Jie and Duan Kun stood within the gorge, feeling helpless. What is a trap, after all? Once it's known, is it still a trap? If people know there's a trap and still walk into it, they must be mad.

Huang Zhengde was highly unlikely to fall into the trap again.

"You two inside—do you dare to come out? After killing so many of us, do you not even have the courage?" Huang Zhengde taunted from the edge of the gorge.

Chu Jie and Duan Kun watched Huang Zhengde outside as if watching a monkey perform.

Scarred by the torments inside the gorge, Huang Zhengde and his men had escaped and now refused to go back in, no matter what.

So they resorted to hurling abuse from outside, trying every means to enrage Chu Jie and lure them out.

Chu Jie and Duan Kun plugged their ears, finding peace and quiet. Then they took out some snake meat and began to roast it at the side. Once again, it was snake meat—Chu Jie poured out two Mystic Wind Serpents from the Wild Cauldron and roasted them over the fire.

The aroma of serpent meat soon wafted far and wide, especially since the high temperatures in Windfire Gorge carried the smell even further.

Huang Zhengde sniffed the air and felt a wave of hunger. They had been outside for so long, lacking good food, and now seeing Chu Jie and Duan Kun eating snake meat, their eyes turned green with envy.

But none dared to enter the gorge. To them, it was a land of death.

"You two, bring that roast meat to us, or I'll come in and wipe you out!" one of Huang Zhengde's men shouted.

Huang Zhengde was speechless at his subordinate's greed.

Soon, their insults all revolved around the roast meat.

But Chu Jie and Duan Kun heard none of it. While roasting meat, they watched this group shout themselves hoarse, completely unbothered, their ears still blocked. No matter what was said outside, they pretended not to hear.

After all, before long, those people would likely be dead. There was no point in taking the words of the dead too seriously.

Bite by bite, they ate the roast meat. Roasted with earth vein fire, the serpent meat tasted superb. The warmth that spread through their bodies made them feel stronger. However, the strengthening effect of the Mystic Wind Serpent meat had become very slight; for Chu Jie and Duan Kun, it was only to fill their stomachs. Still, there was no denying its delicious flavor.

Huang Zhengde and his men shouted until their throats were dry, but seeing no response from Chu Jie, they were left frustrated, not realizing the two had simply blocked their ears.

Not far off, Wu Long and his companions were hiding behind a rock.

"Wu Long, I can't stand listening to them insult the boss like this. I want to rush out and shut them up!" Li Yao fumed. "I don't know how the boss can endure it—unless he can't hear them?"

Wu Long replied, "That's likely. Maybe he really can't hear. With the boss's temper, he would have stormed out by now."

They had been hiding on Chu Jie's orders, mainly to avoid harm. But now, with Huang Zhengde and his men so close, they were tense.

Still, their trust in Chu Jie was absolute. The peerless fiend, nearly unrivaled in the Abyss of Gods and Demons, would hardly be bothered by sixty Spirit Convergence experts.

By now, Huang Zhengde had lost all sense of dignity, cursing Chu Jie madly—though Chu Jie couldn't hear a word.

But Wu Long couldn't stand it any longer. Naturally belligerent, he suddenly stood up from behind the rock and shouted, "Brothers, let's go! Kill him! Teach him to watch his mouth!"

The seven of them, well-coordinated in attack and defense, had once wiped out formidable warriors. Though they would be lying to say they weren't afraid of these sixty, with Chu Jie backing them, they felt no fear of suffering losses.

Moreover, this was their chance to prove their loyalty.

The seven charged out, a faint light linking their bodies into a shield. The weakest among them had reached the fourth stage, making their united assault formidable.

Within moments of their charge, they collided with Huang Zhengde's sixty men, who were unprepared. Five or six were killed outright.

Among Huang Zhengde's men, the weakest was at the first stage of Spirit Convergence, the strongest at the fifth. Only Huang Zhengde himself had reached the seventh stage.

Originally sixty, now just over fifty remained. Huang Zhengde, who had been shouting so gleefully, turned ashen-faced; he had thought this place safe, only to be attacked from behind.

"Courting death!" Huang Zhengde transformed into a streak of light, hurtling toward Wu Long and his group, but was instantly blocked by a shimmering shield.

The seven's shield was truly formidable—a group defense barrier that had once stood against Chu Jie's Nine Suns Sky-Splitting Claw.

Failing to break through, Huang Zhengde gathered his strength for another assault, mist swirling around him as a white dragon faintly circled his body.

"Azure Dragon Chasing the Sun Fist!"

The white dragon opened its maw, as if swallowing clouds and mist. If a sun had appeared, it seemed it would have been swallowed as well.

Huang Zhengde's fist, like a giant dragon, crashed down on the seven's shield.

The barrier shuddered violently, on the verge of shattering. Blood trickled from the corner of Wu Long's mouth, but he gritted his teeth and held the shield firm.

Huang Zhengde sneered and unleashed another punch.

A dragon's roar resounded as the white dragon opened its mouth wide and lunged at the seven.

With a boom, the shield shattered, but quickly reformed, protecting them once more.

At this moment, Chu Jie and Duan Kun arrived. They had sensed something amiss earlier, and upon investigation, discovered Wu Long and his group had charged out. It wasn't hard to guess—it must have been Huang Zhengde's foul-mouthed taunting that had provoked even Wu Long.

"These people deserve death!" Chu Jie was furious.

Even with their ears blocked, being cursed at was infuriating. He had intended to wait for a better chance, but with Wu Long and his men already engaged, he had to act, or they would be doomed.

With Wu Long's group present, victory was within reach. The key was that Huang Zhengde's men varied in strength, were thrown together, and lacked coordination—a weakness ripe for exploitation.

Chu Jie immediately confronted Huang Zhengde, while Duan Kun assisted Wu Long's group against the other Spirit Convergence experts.

"Heh, I thought you would keep hiding forever. Now you've finally come out. This is your time to die—prepare to be killed! And those seven are your men? Not bad, I didn't expect you to have reinforcements," Huang Zhengde sneered.

"Enough talk. Before, I offered you a chance to surrender, but you refused. Now I've changed my mind—even if you beg me, I will kill you!" Chu Jie declared.

Insults must be repaid with blood. Huang Zhengde had to die.

"Boss, kill him! Kill him!" Wu Long shouted, even angrier than Chu Jie after all he had heard.