Chapter 104: Calming the Storm (Part I)

The entire forest lay in a silent, indifferent stillness, all creatures hiding to escape the scorching sun’s relentless assault. The caravan’s horses panted heavily, their pace sluggish and weary, heads drooping like withered leeks, trudging forward without spirit.

At this moment, Su Bai was fully immersed in quiet cultivation within a carriage in the middle of the caravan.

He had just reviewed the four major stages of body tempering, pushing the body-strengthening effects of the Zhenbing Profound Skill to their utmost limit. Yet, paradoxically, his cultivation level nearly slipped back to the marrow refining stage.

Only moments ago, he had finally stabilized his Heart Protection Layer and slowly opened his eyes, sighing softly, “I didn’t expect that breaking through too quickly before had destabilized my foundation. I almost had to breakthrough the Heart Protection stage again.”

Recalling the arduous struggle of his last breakthrough made Su Bai break out in a cold sweat on his own behalf.

But now, it seemed those days were not wasted; his physical strength had risen significantly, especially the internal forging, which was several times more powerful than before.

Feeling the strong beating of his heart and the smooth flow of blood and energy throughout his body, Su Bai couldn’t help but curl the corner of his mouth into a slight smile.

“This is something to boast about, isn’t it? Next step, walking shoulder to shoulder with the sun.”

“…”

Every time Su Bai thought of something joyful, there was always an old woman who spoiled his mood.

Just as he was about to retort verbally, a sudden roar of wild beasts cut off his words.

“Beast attack! Everyone, don’t panic!”

Next to Su Bai’s carriage was Cao Wu, whose relationship with Shang Wenyi was like that of father and daughter. Cao Wu himself had reached the sixth or seventh level of concentration. Su Bai had avoided being found by Qin Feng so far thanks to Cao Wu’s presence.

Cao Wu furrowed his brow. The map showed no signs of wild beasts here—how could so many suddenly appear?

But time was tight; he had no choice but to quickly command the guards to fend off the attacking beasts.

A white tiger with glaring eyes lunged fiercely from behind, its mouth exuding a foul stench. Hidden beneath its paws were claws that...

The massive body, nearly a zhang tall, seemed ready to rip Cao Wu apart in the next moment. Yet suddenly, a sharp dagger pierced through the tiger’s brain from below and was pulled forward, splitting the tiger's head in two. Brain matter, shattered bones, and flesh splattered on the ground.

Without even glancing back, Cao Wu dashed toward the front of the caravan where Shang Wenyi was.

“The lady’s place must be extremely dangerous. I must hurry!” Although aware Qin Feng was beside Shang Wenyi, Cao Wu’s feelings for her prevented him from truly relaxing.

But after only a few steps, two white wolves attacked from both sides, their sharp teeth dripping foul saliva, eyes viewing him as nothing but prey.

Seeing the caravan stretching long ahead, Cao Wu had no choice but to put aside the beasts around him and engage in combat.

“Maybe I’m overthinking. With Qin Feng beside the lady, these beasts shouldn’t be a problem.”

Yet he did not know that Qin Feng was nowhere near Shang Wenyi at this time.

Jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards surged from all directions, numbering in the hundreds, their exact count impossible to discern.

Inside the carriage, Shang Wenyi and Xiao Qing anxiously awaited rescue.

Outside, over a hundred guards formed a protective barrier, blocking the ferocious beasts’ assault. Yet under such a massive onslaught, each strong man was torn to pieces. The beasts, tasting fresh blood, grew even more savage, their attacks relentless as if fueled by desperation.

“Ah!” A guard’s spine was shattered by a bear’s paw, the force sending his body flying straight into Shang Wenyi’s carriage.

With a heavy thud, the man uttered his final breath as blood seeped through the carriage window.

At that moment, Shang Wenyi and Xiao Qing were about to open the window to assess the situation outside. The sudden impact terrified them both, especially Xiao Qing, who dove into Shang Wenyi’s arms.

“Miss, why hasn’t Brother Qin Feng come yet? Are we going to die here today?”

Shang Wenyi forced calm, trembling as she tightly embraced Xiao Qing, her heart in chaos at the girl’s cries.

Qin Feng was nowhere to be seen, and neither Su Bai nor Cao Wu’s whereabouts were known. Though not helpless, facing so many beasts, Shang Wenyi’s bone-tempering strength was clearly insufficient.

Her jade hands gripped Xiao Qing’s clothes, knuckles white, as she comforted her: “It’s alright, someone will come. For now, this place is…”

Before she could say “safe,” a vicious wolf slipped through a gap while guards fought outside and leapt onto a large Dazhou horse.

With a mouthful of sharp teeth, the foul-smelling wolf bit down hard. Moments later, its fangs pierced through the horse’s neck, severing the artery, blood spurting like a fountain.

The wolf tore off a chunk of flesh and swallowed it whole.

The Dazhou horse reared and let out a deafening scream. Though tall and sturdy, these horses had no combat ability and were only capable of fleeing in panic.

Seeing their companion bleed wildly, the other Dazhou horses neighed in alarm and scattered in different directions.

The iron chains of the reins, thicker than forearms, could not hold the horses’ struggles; the clanging of breaking iron rang out.

The guards, already overwhelmed by the beasts, had no time to deal with this. Their attention scattered, the formation was torn apart, and soon they could no longer resist the overwhelming horde.

Inside the carriage, Shang Wenyi and Xiao Qing were thrown out, the carriage shattered to pieces.

The wolf, having lost its target among the fleeing horses, spotted two frail women nearby—an exquisite feast in its eyes.

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