Chapter 159: Chapter 158: A Little Bit Strong

’I don’t know what this is, or what it’s for.’

’But anything that drops from a monster like this has to be good.’

Wu Chen tossed the black Crystal Stone into his storage pouch, not planning to study it further while still in the gray fog.

After all, Pang Lei had said this fog stretched for nearly a hundred li. In such a vast area, there was bound to be more than just one of these monsters with bodies like stone and iron.

Having killed only one, this was no time to let his guard down.

"Don’t space out. Stay close," Wu Chen said, glancing at Xue Hongling behind him.

Xue Hongling’s expression was dazed; she clearly hadn’t recovered from the shock of watching Wu Chen violently butcher the monster.

Hearing Wu Chen’s voice, Xue Hongling snapped back to her senses, nodded, and followed closely behind him.

The two of them walked through the fog.

This time, Wu Chen didn’t rush ahead. He led Xue Hongling, moving slowly through the dense gray fog and constantly scanning their surroundings for any signs.

Having already killed one monster, Wu Chen was completely at ease and no longer found the fog particularly terrifying.

Besides, he figured that since the fog had separated him from the others, he might not even be in the secret realm anymore.

Charging headfirst into a whole swarm of monsters would be a bad idea.

Behind him, Xue Hongling also gripped her scabbard tightly, her eyes warily scanning their surroundings.

But her gaze kept returning involuntarily to the figure in front of her.

’Ever since I met him in the secret realm, has there been anything he couldn’t kill?’

"You’re... that strong?"

"I guess I’m a little bit strong..."

Wu Chen replied casually.

’He calls that "a little bit strong"...?’

Hearing such a rare, humble statement from Wu Chen, Xue Hongling was momentarily speechless.

As a disciple personally chosen by the Blood Palace, bearing its mark, her innate talent and aptitude were naturally remarkable.

But seeing Wu Chen’s methods, she suddenly wondered if she was even cut out for martial arts.

After all, even if she did eventually enter the Blood Palace and break through to the Blood Coagulation Realm, she doubted she could handle the monsters in this gray fog with the same ruthless efficiency as Wu Chen.

"Stop letting your mind wander."

Wu Chen said coolly, "Another one’s here."

Hearing this, Xue Hongling’s expression tightened. She focused her mind and carefully observed her surroundings.

But she couldn’t perceive anything at all, not even the faintest trace.

"You’re only at the Meridian Passage Realm. It’s normal that you can’t sense it."

"Once you reach the Organ Refining Realm, it’ll be easy."

Wu Chen gave another perfunctory reply to stop the girl from overthinking and losing her composure.

A hint of frustration crossed Xue Hongling’s face when she heard this.

Back when she was in the Body Tempering Realm, her master from the Demon Sect had told her things would get easy once she reached the Flesh Refining Realm.

When she reached the Flesh Refining Realm, he said the Meridian Passage Realm would be easy.

Now she was at the Meridian Passage Realm, not even at the "Jade Bone" stage yet, and Wu Chen was saying the Organ Refining Realm would be easy...

’When will it ever be easy?!’

’Could he be any more careless with his platitudes?!’

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Just as they were speaking, a vicious slash cut through the fog.

The monster in the fog knew who was strong and who was weak; the attack tore toward Xue Hongling’s delicate neck.

But Wu Chen was faster. He grabbed the scruff of Xue Hongling’s neck, flung her behind him, and met the incoming attack with his blade.

CLANG!

Just like before, sparks flew in the dense fog at the moment of impact.

Wu Chen said coolly over his shoulder, "Stay close."

Then he strode forward, chasing after the shadow that had retreated into the fog.

This monster also failed to react in time, unaware of how ferocious Wu Chen was. It still instinctively swiped its claws at the approaching figure.

SHRRRIP!—

His palm, glowing red-hot like a branding iron, bypassed the monster’s sharp claws and clamped down onto its black, keratin-covered forelimb.

CRACK!

As his five fingers tightened, an earth-shaking force erupted from his fingertips. Wu Chen twisted his wrist, and a sound like stressed fine iron twisting under immense pressure came from within the black, keratinous forelimb.

Under that earth-shaking force, one of the monster’s limbs was torn off on the spot, hanging uselessly in the air.

The monster cried out in pain and swiped with its other claw, trying to break free, but Wu Chen repeated the process and snapped that one too.

With both its forelimbs broken, the monster was no longer a threat.

Looking at the monster writhing on the ground, Wu Chen unceremoniously stomped on its head.

WHIMPER!

The monster struggled frantically.

It knew all too well that in this position, it was completely at his mercy.

But how could it possibly break free from a force strong enough to snap its own forelimbs?

As Wu Chen gradually increased the pressure under his foot, a clattering, cracking sound came from the monster’s mouth as countless sharp teeth were crushed and dislodged.

Looking at the helpless monster underfoot, Wu Chen swung his blade again, scraping it across the keratin on the creature’s body.

SCRAPE! SCRAPE!

’If I scrape it while it’s still alive, I should be able to get some of this keratin, right?’

He was trying to obtain some of the keratin covering the monster’s body.

After all, this material was clearly no ordinary thing.

But to his surprise, the moment a tiny bit of keratin was scraped off by his sharp blade, it immediately turned into mist and dissipated into the air.

This completely foiled his plan to collect it.

’He finished another one... that quickly?’

Just as Wu Chen was frowning in frustration, Xue Hongling, who had followed him into the fog, froze. She stared at the monster pinned under his foot and the slow, scraping motion he was making, as if flaying it.

’The first one was just a test kill, and now he’s already moved on to torturing the second one to death?’

However, before she could think any further, Wu Chen—frustrated at not being able to collect the keratin—gripped the back of the monster’s head with one hand and planted his other foot on its back.

Then, he pulled with immense force.

RRRRIP!

As Wu Chen’s strength intensified, a series of cracking sounds erupted from the monster’s neck. Fine pieces of keratin flaked off and flew away, dissolving into mist.

With a final, soft POP, the monster’s savage head came off in Wu Chen’s hand, and its body simultaneously stopped struggling.

WHOOSH...

But just like the last one, the monster’s corpse quickly withered and dried up. Its nearly ten-foot-long body dissolved into the fog, leaving only a single black Crystal Stone spinning in its place.

’So these monsters are formed from the fog?’

’And they can’t survive outside of it?’

Wu Chen looked at the mist dissipating from his hand with a helpless expression, then bent down to pick up the second Crystal Stone.

’Pang Lei said the fog would appear, but he never said anything would come out of it.’

’This must be why.’

Placing the Crystal Stone in his storage pouch, Wu Chen shook his head and decided not to dwell on it.

No matter what the deal was with the monsters, he was already in the middle of the fog.

He could either walk five li to the edge of the fog, reconnect with the secret realm, and finally leave this mysterious area...

...or he could venture into the deepest part of the fog’s center to see what it really was.

But looking around, Wu Chen had no idea which direction led to the edge of the fog.

"I can’t tell which way is out anymore."

Wu Chen looked at Xue Hongling and told her honestly, "I might not be able to get you out of here."

Xue Hongling nodded and simply raised the blade in her hand. Her meaning couldn’t have been clearer.

She was willing to do her part in slaying the monsters in the fog.

Assuming she got the chance.

The two set off again, wandering aimlessly through the fog.

Though they didn’t know if they were heading toward the edge or deeper in, after two hours, Wu Chen had killed two more monsters.

HUFF! HUFF!

After killing four of the cast-iron-bodied monsters in a row, Wu Chen’s breathing had become slightly heavier.

Evidently, hacking away without conserving his Qi Power had left him somewhat fatigued.

"Should we rest for a bit?" Xue Hongling asked worriedly.

Wu Chen shook his head. How could he dare to linger in a place like this for even a quarter of an hour?

The monsters dissolved into fog, so the fog could naturally form into monsters. Every moment spent in this place could bring unforeseen changes.

They walked for another hour, and this time it was relatively quieter.

The view before them also began to open up considerably.

"The fog seems to be thinning!"

They both realized it at once—they had found a way out.

"Let’s go!"

Wu Chen didn’t dare delay. He guessed the edge of the fog was just ahead—whether it was the edge of the whole area or the edge of the center, he couldn’t know.

Fearing another unforeseen complication, Wu Chen simply scooped up Xue Hongling and, becoming a blurry afterimage, sprinted madly forward.

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