Hell-Level Difficulty

The Plain of Divine Demise had fertile soil. With a casual thrust of a spade, wisps of bright red Fire Spring water could seep forth to nourish all living things. Thus, even though this vast plain was draped in dense night mist and drowned in pitch-black darkness, vegetation flourished and living species abounded. "Young master, you're back at last!" When the people of Luo Family Village spotted Qin Ming, a great crowd swarmed over in a rush. Earlier, their hearts had been fraught with apprehension, but now their faces brimmed with anticipation. "Rest assured, the wolf menace has been resolved," Qin Ming comforted them. "Young master, you truly are our great benefactor!" someone choked out, eyes rimmed with red. Tears streamed down the faces of young and old alike, particularly among the households that had lost children. The village's Newborns stood no chance against wolf monsters of that caliber. In recent days, they had lived in constant tension and terror, each day dragging by like a year. Unable to decline their earnest hospitality, Qin Ming stayed for lunch. Along the way, he questioned the village chief about the Silver Wolf King; he sensed that if he didn't eliminate the old wolf behind it all, trouble would strike again. "It resides in the Wolf Palace and commands over a hundred wolf monsters under its sway." Qin Ming pondered that if an opportune moment arose, he would quietly take it out. He suspected that this Silver Wolf King might very well be one of the failed-evolution silver creatures Zhou Tao had mentioned, with residual silver blood inside its body possessing astonishing value. At noon, when the darkness of night was relatively thin, Qin Ming arrived at the neighboring settlement, Liu Family Stronghold. A bloody massacre had occurred here as well, and it had long since been reported. This place was quite bright, situated around a grade two Fire Spring—potent enough to support the founding of a town. "Young master, you came alone?" Seeing how young Qin Ming was, the people of Liu Family Stronghold were somewhat disappointed. Had he offended someone and been sent here to handle the case as punishment? Qin Ming produced a string of wolf fangs. Instantly, the old village chief of Liu Family Stronghold perked up, thoroughly thrilled. "Young master, you possess such skill? You resolved the wolf menace in the neighboring village?" Without dithering, he quickly laid out the details: a dark bird demon appeared from time to time and had already devoured four people. "It was utterly vicious. Liu Dazhuang had already undergone his second Newborn transformation, yet when that bird demon swooped down, a single swipe of its talons ripped open his skull. Right before his own front door, it unhurriedly sucked out his brain and then devoured most of his flesh." The old chief suspected this bird demon had likely committed massacres elsewhere as well rather than focusing solely on their stronghold; otherwise, their plight would have been even grimmer. "Do you know where its nest is?" Qin Ming was unwilling to wait around. He wanted to seek it out proactively; otherwise, every day delayed could cost another human life. "It should be in the dense forest over ten li away..." The old chief pointed trembling toward the old woods in the distance. Upon hearing this, Qin Ming set off at once. Half an hour later, within the dense woodland, he spotted the bird demon depicted in the dossier. It was five meters long with grayish-black feathers, a human face, and a beak curved and sharp as a scimitar. Moreover, it was a pair of bird demons. They had nested in an ancient tree and already laid five speckled eggs; if the chicks were to hatch, the scourge would become far worse. A moment later, Qin Ming drew his bow and notched an arrow, blowing one bird demon apart and severely wounding the other. He kept one alive to extract information. In the end, he learned that the two bird demons had been unable to survive in the depths of the Plain of Divine Demise and had fled to the periphery to breed and rear their young—they were merely castoffs among the weak. Qin Ming crushed it to mush with a single palm strike. Then, with a sweep of fist light, the nest exploded and yolk splattered everywhere. This counted as his first time exterminating an entire line; whether old or young, he left not a single survivor. Qin Ming pressed on without pause, resolving the troubles of four villages in a single day. Within the territory under his charge, only Stone Fort Village remained, and the bloody case there was by far the thorniest. It involved an old monster possessing profound cultivation, said to have lived for at least a century. After learning the details, Qin Ming's expression turned grave. The people of Stone Fort Village wore gloomy scowls and sighed in despair, for this old monster had a past connection to their village. "There's more to the story?" Qin Ming inquired closely. "It was an old donkey from our village. They say when dogs grow old they take to the mountains, and this donkey grew weirder the older it got, finally fleeing into the depths of the Plain of Divine Demise." A century-old donkey that had once been "enslaved" in Stone Fort Village, toiling bitterly day after day, had ultimately mutated, made a name for itself in the Plain of Divine Demise, and returned for revenge. Two years ago, it had tortured more than a dozen people to death—all descendants of its former master. Nowadays, it rarely came to the village directly, but it abducted many people to Mount Jilei to wait on it hand and foot. Qin Ming listened in astonishment. An old donkey seeking revenge? A full century had passed, yet it still held a grudge. Crucially, it even had three sworn brothers. The Silver Wolf King was one of them, alongside a giant beast and a terrifying Black Peng. Qin Ming's expression grew solemn. A century-old monster was formidable enough, and the Silver Wolf King already commanded his wariness; now two more monsters were entangled in the mess. Slaying any one of them risked provoking the vengeance of the other three. Qin Ming, who always erred on the side of overestimating his opponents, felt that this was truly of hell-level difficulty! He evaluated the situation carefully. Even if a peak mutant who had completed nine Newborn transformations were sent to handle this, they would likely meet an ill fate. Unless one completely disregarded the lives of Stone Fort Village's residents, found a way to slay the old donkey, and immediately fled the region forever. Yet doing so wouldn't solve the problem—it would trigger an even greater bloodbath. The other three old monsters would surely retaliate madly, slaughtering villages and towns. "Are the cases Cui Chongxuan, Zhuo Ya, and Cao Wuji face just as difficult?" Qin Ming suddenly realized that entering the mountain gates of the Six Imperials was no easy feat. He dared not act rashly. He still had plenty of time, as Zhou Tao, the elder of the Six Imperials ancestral court, had instructed them to return in half a month. Over the next two days, Qin Ming quietly ventured into the Plain of Divine Demise to scout the four old monsters, cautiously approaching their territories in search of an opportunity. On Mount Jilei, more than twenty ragged young men and women washed clothes and cooked meals for donkey demons, dog demons, rat demons, and the like. The old donkey possessed dozens of subordinates. When it traveled, it sat solemnly in a palanquin carried by humans, its donkey face pulled long in a posture of grave majesty. The Wolf Palace was by no means small; it was remarkably grand, built primarily from the crimson crystal stone of the Plain of Divine Demise. Crimson throughout, it looked as though drenched in blood under the glow of the Fire Spring. Although he only caught a fleeting glimpse from afar, Qin Ming felt the Silver Wolf King was even more formidable than Master Huang—unquestionably a potent adversary. Most crucially, it had over a hundred subordinates, all tall, burly wolf monsters. Qin Ming wanted to target it first because, among the four old monsters, it was surprisingly the weakest; the strongest two were naturally the giant beast and the Black Peng. Furthermore, if the Silver Wolf King truly was a failed-evolution silver creature, the residual silver blood within its body could aid Qin Ming in achieving his seventh Newborn transformation! If he broke through again and took his strength to the next level, he might be able to wipe out all four old monsters! Qin Ming gazed toward the Wolf Palace, his eyes burning with desire, yet he knew full well that unless he struck with absolute success on the first attempt, he would be in grave danger. After all, the territories of the four old monsters were not far apart. As Qin Ming roamed the Plain of Divine Demise, he discovered many monsters and encountered human adventurers. He had attempted to invite others to join him in slaying the beasts, but the moment they heard whom he intended to confront, they refused flatly. "That monster likely possesses wondrous blood as well!" Qin Ming had observed the giant beast multiple times. Covered in fiery-red scales, it was not the mountain-sized behemoth of legends, but it was bulkier than an elephant. For ordinary humans—especially in the outer regions of the Plain of Divine Demise—it unquestionably qualified as a giant beast. The next day, Qin Ming saw the most terrifying of the four, the Black Peng wreathed in dark light, take flight from the great mountain it occupied and head deep into the Plain of Divine Demise. Instantly, his spirits rose. His opportunity seemed to have arrived. At this hour, shouldn't the giant beast be feeding? He moved through the mountain forest, approaching the giant beast's lair. Resembling a fiery lion draped in crimson scales, the beast breathed bursts of flame from its mouth and nose. Its diet consisted of various mutant creatures, including mutated elephants. The sight of its feeding was exceedingly bloody: seated on the ground, it clutched an elephant leg in its massive claws, gnawing ravenously as blood stained the ground. "It ate half an elephant. Going by its habits, it will probably sleep for half a day. Opportunity knocks but once!" Qin Ming vanished from the spot and swiftly arrived outside the Wolf Palace! This time, he would go all out, aiming for a single-strike kill. Under cover of night, Qin Ming drew his mutton-fat jade iron saber and waited quietly for the optimal moment. Constructed mainly of crimson crystal stone, the Wolf Palace was grand and imposing, its blood-red facade exuding an intense sense of pressure. Seven or eight minutes later, having feasted on fresh flesh and blood, the Silver Wolf King stepped out for fresh air. It walked upright, standing roughly four meters tall and exceptionally brawny. Its coat of silver fur flowed with brilliant radiance in the night, extraordinarily eye-catching. Qin Ming loosed four jade iron arrows. Without checking whether they hit, he charged forward at top speed with his jade iron saber, kicking up wild winds. The Silver Wolf King grunted. Two arrows struck it, but it had dodged vital points; blossom-like spatters of blood dyed its silver fur. Infuriated, it raised its head to unleash a wolf howl. With a flick of his wrist, Qin Ming hurled a jade iron arrow straight toward its gaping bloody maw. The Silver Wolf King hastily snapped its jaws shut and jerked its head aside. With a resounding boom, brilliant blade light erupted. Qin Ming closed in and engaged the Silver Wolf King in a life-or-death clash. In that brief exchange, the two clashed fiercely. The Silver Wolf King's massive claws were sheared bare like clipped nails, dripping with blood. Yet it managed to draw a spiked wolf-tooth club. Its paws glowing, it swung the heavy weapon in counterattack, smashing relentlessly at its foe. Qin Ming looked grave. This was indeed a formidable enemy, exceptionally powerful. Straining with everything he had, he fought fiercely as his heavenly light force burned like raging fire. Yet the silver wolf king had suffered only a single slash from him and refused to fall, displaying stubborn tenacity. Splurt! Holding nothing back, Qin Ming unleashed his ultimate techniques, opening another wound across the Silver Wolf King that nearly severed its neck. Now thoroughly terrified, the Silver Wolf King roared repeatedly, silver light boiling across its entire frame as it fought for its life. Surrounding wolf monsters rushed in to assist, but none could withstand Qin Ming's terrifying blade light. "Get back, all of you!" A cold voice rang out from midair, and every wolf monster receded like a receding tide. "Big Brother, you're finally here! Who would have thought someone would actually come after us!" Seeing its savior, the Silver Wolf King cried out instantly. Qin Ming's heart sank. Looking up, he saw a predatory bird resembling a black sun, radiating dark light—vicious and terrifying beyond measure—its beating wings giving off intense waves of energy. The ground trembled. Nearby, a giant beast clad entirely in crimson scales appeared. Resembling a lion, elephant blood still dripping from its jowls, its protruding fangs gave it a savage, hideous air. On the other side, an old donkey with glowing fur appeared, borne in a palanquin carried by humans. Lifting the curtain, it cast a cold, sinister glare his way. Qin Ming let out a sigh. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected the worst-case scenario to unfold. The four old monsters, each more vicious than the last, had all arrived and surrounded him at the Wolf Palace. This was the most perilous situation Qin Ming had faced since stepping onto the Newborn path—truly of hell-level difficulty!