The sound of heavy impacts against the rock echoed, one after the other. The immense, raw power smashing against the boulder blocking the entrance left Shi Yan and Di Yalan's arms numb, their faces etched with shock.

“Friend inside, let go! Or I won't be polite!”

From the cave mouth, a chilling voice hissed coldly, “My Martial Spirit can sense life imprints within two hundred meters. I know there are three of you. We only wish to enter to temporarily take shelter. Please grant us passage!”

“This cave is ours. Find your own way to survive, and don't bring disaster upon us.”

Shi Yan’s face was grim, pouring his essence wildly into his arms. His muscles contracted, slowly shriveling as wisps of white mist coiled around him.

“Hurry up and move aside! In a few more minutes, the demonic beasts will gather. High-level beasts will certainly appear then. If you don't want to die, let us in immediately!” a rough voice shouted anxiously.

“Get lost! Our cave is too small to hold you!” Shi Yan's expression turned sharp, his refusal uncompromising.

The cavern they occupied was not large, capable of housing only six or seven people. Including the large rock blocking the entrance, at most five people could hide inside. Judging by the breathing from outside, there were six people in the approaching party, and the cave simply could not accommodate that many.

“Second Brother, you and I join forces and blast it open!” the first cold voice commanded impatiently.

“Fine.”

“Boom! Boom!”

Two explosive surges of fierce energy struck the rock simultaneously, unleashing a tidal wave of immense force from within! Amidst the deep, muffled roar, the rock Shi Yan and Di Yalan were holding together began to fracture, splitting into more than ten pieces.

“Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!”

Piece by piece, the stones fell away, and light suddenly pierced the dim opening of the cavern. Three figures seized the opportunity and darted into the entrance.

The leader, a man in his thirties wearing silver martial robes, had a face like ice and an arrogant expression. He spared a mere glance at the trio inside before sneering, “Only one Human Rank expert daring to stop us? Overestimating yourselves!”

“Big Brother, kill them quickly!” another burly young man urged anxiously, “The cave can only hold six. If they occupy the space, An Nuo and the others can’t get in!”

“You three get out immediately, or I’ll start killing right now!” the silver-robed martial artist said coldly, “You are absolutely no match for us! We have two Human Rank masters here and four Innate Realm martial artists. Don’t make this difficult for us.”

At the entrance, the three intruders stared coldly at Shi Yan and Di Yalan, faint halos slowly emitting from their bodies—a sign they were ready to strike at any moment.

“Big Brother, those two young women—tsk, tsk!” The third, slightly thinner youth, having adjusted to the cave’s gloom, finally noticed that Di Yalan and Mu Yudie were rare beauties and couldn't help but speak lecherously.

“Third Brother, do you want women, or do you want our brothers outside to live?” the leader scoffed.

The thin youth chuckled awkwardly and quickly said, “Don't be angry, Big Brother, I was joking. Of course, I’m worried about our brothers’ lives. Women are everywhere, aren't they? Ha! We got treasures from the 'Thunderwing Silver Wolf’s' lair this time; why worry about not having women to enjoy, ha ha!”

“You still haven't left?” The leader’s face suddenly turned icy; it looked like he was about to make his move.

“We fight!” Di Yalan roared in anger, grabbing her short sword, ready to attack. She exclaimed, “The outside is full of demonic beasts; even if we leave, it’s a dead end!”

“Heh heh, you can run far away. Better yet, help us lure the demonic beasts further off. That way, we’ll be safe,” the rough young man guffawed. “Otherwise, do you think you can survive?”

“Sister Lan, let’s go out,” Shi Yan took a deep breath, his demeanor unexpectedly calm. Without waiting for Di Yalan to say more, he grabbed her arm. “Hurry, let’s go! If we move fast, maybe we can escape this area.”

“Impossible…” Di Yalan tried to argue, but Shi Yan forcefully dragged her outward.

Mu Yudie had already risen and followed Di Yalan closely. As her delicate figure passed by the thin youth, he reached out a hand, grinning lecherously, aiming for her backside. “Beauty, forgive my rudeness. If we meet again, we can be more intimate.”

A cold glint flashed in Mu Yudie’s eyes. She rushed out of the cave entrance at top speed, but the thin man still managed to brush against her waist, causing her to grind her teeth in hatred.

Outside the cave, the other three Innate Realm men had already grown impatient waiting. Upon seeing the three emerge, the three men swept their lustful gazes over Di Yalan and Mu Yudie, lingering for a moment before reluctantly entering the cave. They marveled, “Big Brother, we didn’t expect there would be two beauties here. Big Brother, your Martial Spirit is truly amazing; you could sense this cave from so far away. If not for your marvelous Spirit, we really wouldn't have dared to search the 'Thunderwing Silver Wolf’s' lair for treasure.”

“Ha ha, our haul this time is considerable. We even found a Spirit-grade Martial Skill! Back in the Divine Protection Empire, one Spirit-grade Martial Skill is enough to exchange for everything the six of us need. By then, what kind of women can’t we find!” the rough man inside chuckled softly.

“It’s all thanks to Big Brother’s amazing Martial Spirit, being able to detect the surrounding life fluctuations. It’s too incredible.”

The group of six forcibly occupied Shi Yan’s trio’s refuge, conversing in low tones inside.

“You three had better scram far away immediately. It’s still not too late to save your lives now. Otherwise, when the demonic beasts gather completely, you’ll have only one way to die!” The leader’s cold voice drifted out from the cave, calm and measured. “If you continue standing at the entrance, don’t blame me for being impolite and dealing with you directly.”

Under the pale moonlight, Shi Yan’s face was cold as ice, his expression sinister.

Cries of demonic beasts echoed from all directions. The beasts clearly knew people were in the area and were slowly converging. Given the situation, it wouldn't take long before this entire area was surrounded by demonic beasts. At this point, attempting to flee would only make them targets for the beasts. Even if they managed to lure the beasts elsewhere, they would ultimately perish in their deadly jaws.

Shi Yan understood that the leader inside hadn’t killed them because he wanted them to flee, hoping the three of them would draw the beasts' attention, allowing the intruders to survive inside the cave for a while longer.

“Ding Yan! Why didn’t you fight them? We come out only to be killed by demonic beasts anyway! Running away will only lead to a meaningless death, and we won’t even be able to take them down as sacrifices!” Di Yalan glared furiously at Shi Yan.

To avoid unnecessary complications, Shi Yan had told everyone his name was Ding Yan when they first met, but Di Yalan and Mu Yudie rarely used it. Now that Di Yalan was calling him by name, it showed how deeply dissatisfied she was with his decision.

Mu Yudie’s face was deathly pale, and she said mournfully, “Rather than being eaten clean by demonic beasts, it’s better to be killed by people from the ‘Dark Nether.’ Sister Lan, let’s just kill ourselves here. Even in death, we can draw the beasts over.”

“Come here!” Shi Yan frowned, grabbing both of them and pulling Di Yalan and Mu Yudie toward a blind spot near the cave entrance, preventing their bodies from facing the opening.

“What are you doing?” Di Yalan asked, furious. “Do you really intend to run?”

“Run? Do I look like someone who plays nice?” Shi Yan sneered, his expression savage, and suddenly pulled a metal lump from his embrace, shaking it at the two women.

Di Yalan and Mu Yudie froze, then reacted immediately, their expressions shifting simultaneously. They coldly laughed and quietly moved further away from the cave entrance.

Shi Yan nodded, ensuring the two women had found a good position, then suddenly charged toward the cave entrance from the side. As his figure appeared within the cave, he forcefully hurled the metal lump into the opening, then swiftly darted past the entrance.

“Boom!”

A violent explosion erupted from inside the cave, sending dozens of sharp blades whistling through the air. Several blades shot out of the entrance, shredding the surrounding bushes into pieces. An extremely piercing scream suddenly erupted from the cave mouth.

“Second Brother!”

“Fourth Brother!”

“Sixth Brother! Sixth Brother!”

“Big Brother, I—I’ve been hit!”

Furious roars and pained screams echoed from within the cave, and the thick scent of blood wafted out. Shi Yan waved toward Di Yalan and re-entered the cave.

Standing at the entrance, he stared coldly at the carnage inside and sneered, “Gentlemen, how does that feel?”

The three men on the ground were riddled with holes like hornet nests, covered in blood. The rough man was among them; his skull had been pierced. Inside the cave remained one leader, the thin youth, and one slightly chubbier man. These three were alive only because the other three had blocked the blast for them. Although they were also wounded, they hadn't taken a fatal hit from the blades ejected by the ‘Star Thunder.’ The three survivors had bloody holes covering their limbs, and the leader’s abdomen was also streaming blood; clearly, they were severely injured. The cave was only so large; after the single ‘Star Thunder’ exploded, they had nowhere to dodge. If someone hadn't shielded them, not a single one would have survived the blast.

“I will flay you alive!” the lead elder bellowed, his eyes split wide with hatred.

“What rich essence.” Shi Yan took a deep breath, his expression one of enjoyment. As he spoke, his muscles began to contract, and his body slowly withered. A cold, insane, frigid, and violent aura slowly coiled out of his body, forming a pale white mist that enveloped him entirely.

…M