Suddenly, Juno Hian felt like he had nowhere to hide; he felt as if this hateful gray robed arch nemesis of his was reading his thoughts completely!
"[Reptilian] N-no! Y-You can't kill me! I'm one of the only peak Martial Warrior realm fighters in our local force! Aiden, don't be too impulsive!"
Juno Hian's eyes darted around and he panted slightly, getting more nervous by the moment.
Two ancient remnant beasts crept over stealthily, inching closer and closer ready to strike at the two piles of flesh at any moment…
As if he had eyes behind his back, Aiden slashed with Rygintarth in reverse, shooting forth a dark beam that slayed the two ancient remnant beasts on the spot!
Glaring at Juno Hian, Aiden suddenly remarked with a vicious and ominous-looking sneer.
"[Reptilian] Do you remember what I told you before?"
"[Reptilian] Huh?"
"[Reptilian] I warned you not to harbor any designs on me or the next time… your head will explode!"
Right after saying that, Aiden's eyes lit up and his figure flashed, creating a series of surreal afterimages in his wake.
Juno Hian felt his eyes blur and by the time he wanted to retreat, Aiden had already arrived before him with a razor-sharp gaze that was filled with endless killing intent!
After meeting Aiden's gaze, Juno Hian felt his eyes sting and tears flowed out, causing him to close his eyes instinctively.
It was the last time he closed them up. From there on, he never opened his eyes again.
In front of everyone, Aiden slapped his backhand tightly against Juno Hian's cheek.
*CRACK!*
Juno Hian's cheek sank in deeply and his skull directly shattered, distorting his facial features completely as everything else turned into meat sludge.
He died on the spot.
His corpse was sent flying and a group of ancient remnant beasts fought to devour it before it even reached the ground.
Even though Juno Hian was an Azure Myst Sect disciple, even though he was a late stage Martial Warrior realm warrior of their ranks, even though Aiden was only an outsider, no one from Azure Myst Sect objected to Aiden's actions.
That was because all of them knew that they would have long been swallowed up by the ancient remnant beast tide if not for Aiden!
"[Reptilian] Let's carry on! Everyone, don't stop!"
After killing Juno Hian, Aiden turned around and led the cone-shaped formation forward once more.
Although his gray robes were stained with the fresh blood of countless ancient remnant beasts, the increasingly mysterious man seemed as if he had infinite stamina.
At that moment, he resembled a genuine rakshasa or perhaps an asura, a god of the battlefields baptized in the fresh blood of his slain enemies. His eyes shone brighter by the moment as he pushed forward, slashing the ebony blade, Rygintarth widely with valiance and ferociousness!
Even so, there were Azure Myst Sect disciples that died continuously along the way, dragged into the beast tide without a chance to escape.
The cone-shaped formation shrank endlessly. Each fallen brethren, disciple or clan members caused their formation to grow slightly weaker, more and more vulnerable. Placing more and more pressure on the frontal leading valiant group of fearsome warriors…
Almost all the Azure Myst Sect battle-oriented disciples at the outer rim were injured and the formation might have long broken apart if not for the Aiden's group, as well as the constant supply of potions from the Azure Myst Sect.
The path ahead was pitch-black and nobody knew when the beast tide was going to end nor where the Ancient Burial Ground ruins were at.
All they could do was follow Aiden instinctively and venture deeper into the valley.
Everyone was trying their best to hold out. It was as Aiden had said before, with no way out, their only option left was to continue forward…
Alongside Aiden, the only figures that still stood firm and healthy were his own captains. Dragha, the rest of the evolved Saurians, Madam Dara and Lady Pyre who had their brief episode before, and Tak who had joined their ranks the last, the barrack captain of the Temple Forces Aiden had freed up and directly evolved to this giant hulking heap of muscles that were now tearing these ancient remnant beasts apart with his bare hands.
Each of them fought tirelessly as they followed after their Young Master and keeping the formation alive by themselves.
If not for them, most likely the group's losses would have been tremendous already, and most -if not all- of the Azure Myst Sect disciples would have met their ends by now already.
All of a sudden!
In a mountain range far ahead, a series of rainbow lights shot out in succession, illuminating the skies and conjuring the scenery of a beautiful palace that was majestic and stunning!
Instinctively, everyone paused in their tracks and looked over with agape mouths.
Although nobody had seen what the Ancient Burial Ground ruins looked like, everyone realized the instant they saw that fairytale-like palace that it was the place they were painstakingly searching for. Though they could not know from where, they instinctively knew it was their ultimate destination.
Initially, nobody had any direction nor did they know where the Ancient Burial Ground ruin was located.
But at that moment, the lights in the distance became a beacon for all the martial artists, sects and clans in the valley!
"[Reptilian] There!"
"[Reptilian] Kill with your might! The Ancient Burial Ground ruin is right ahead!"
Although there was the guise of the night as well as the thick milky fog and nobody from Azure Myst Sect could see what was going on far away, they could hear faint shouts coming from their sides.
They were not the only ones; Crystal Palace Sect, Malefic Demons Clan and the other martial artists of all the other factions that entered the valley were being attacked by the beast tide.
Still, there was one lingering thought that kept Aiden from relaxing and instead kept him in a constant state of unease: There were still absolutely no signs of the High Priest's group anywhere!
Seemingly oblivious of this same thought, Tai Liu declared with a joyful expression.
"[Reptilian] Everyone, hang on tight! The Ancient Burial Ground ruins are right ahead! As long as we can reach it, we'll be safe!"
All the ancient sect ruins possessed immense defensive power and remnant beasts did not dare to enter at all. Right now, there were only four to five dozen people left in Azure Myst Sect and they were all exhausted. Less than half of their original force has survived to this point!
However, they were invigorated upon hearing Tai Liu's words and their stamina seemed to have magically recovered. Only Aiden's expression was still heavy and did not feel much joy at all.
Something was amiss.
The beast tide before them was formed with ancient remnant beasts. There must be traces of pure-blooded ancient beasts behind them!
How else would such an orderly ancient remnant beast stampede be formed without the intimidation of pure-blooded ancient beasts at the back?
"ROAAAAR!"
As if answering his line of thinking, suddenly at the base of the Elixir Pool Sect ruins mountain range, a shuddering roar resounded, causing the entire beast tide to pause for a moment!
A gigantic demonic-looking beast appeared at the back of the beast stampede. Filled with pitch-black fur, it resembled a demon hound from the abyss. With the mighty ground shaking roar it opened its mouth and spat out flames for hundreds of yards before itself, incinerating everything in its path and burning countless martial artists into ashes!
Everyone was shocked.
"[Reptilian] W-what is that?!"
"[Reptilian] It must be the king of this valley!"
The group remarked with fearful expression as they gazed at the humongous giant in the distance.
p Aiden narrowed his gaze and remarked slowly.
Even the elderly uncle nodded and revealed a heavy, exceptionally grim expression.
"[Reptilian] It is a peak stage Martial Grandmaster Rank Ancient Beast. Just at the brink of breaking into the Quasi-Demi Rank.
Quasi-Demi Rank. It was a state of power that signified that the entity, be it beast or not, have finally reached a state of being that was above the state of what mortals were supposed to achieve. Yet, he was not baptized with any divine power, nor did he germinate a divine seed inside his core, and as such could not evolve to become a heavenly beast, or start its cultivation journey in the Divine Realm.
Still, it was not an existence that any other being could question, or stand up to in the mortal worlds.
A pure-blooded ferocious beast had appeared!
"[Reptilian] Hmmpf! So what if it's a pure-blooded ferocious beast? It's just one! If we join forces, we'll definitely be able to kill it!"
Far away in the fog, the voice of Dark Lord Yang Zahn from the Malefic Demons Clan sounded, filled with killing intent.
"[Reptilian] Oh? Could it be that the Mighty Dark Lord himself, is asking for help? From us filthy peasants?"
Another voice came from the distance. Pei Syriac, couldn't miss this chance to throw in a jab. Even at a moment like this.