Volume One: The Hidden Dragon in the Abyss Chapter 163: Fierce Battle

The ground suddenly heaved and undulated like a giant dragon moving in the deep, surging like ocean waves.

The earth beneath their feet shook violently, as if threatening to swallow them whole.

Thick fog gathered and surged, swiftly enveloping Wang Chuan as if to consume him.

Su Yi was about to leap forward and stretch out her arms to catch him, but she was still a fraction of an inch short.

Swoosh—

A sword qi suddenly flew horizontally across the air, cleanly slicing through the mist.

Feng Qianxia stumbled upon landing, almost falling over.

Only then did everyone realize that the mist was clinging to them like venomous, hazy tendrils.

Realizing the danger, the others quickly moved away, shaking their garments vigorously to drive it off.

"Sister..."

Feng Qianyan rushed forward, catching her by the arm, but before she could speak, Wang Chuan suddenly gave her a hard shove away.

Clang—

Wang Chuan casually struck out, intercepting the enemy's attack barehanded and smashing it heavily onto the ground. His legs stood as firmly planted as if they were rooted in the earth, unmoving, like driven iron spikes.

After shielding Feng Qianxia, he drew his bowstring once more. The iron bow in his hand vibrated, and a long arrow shot out from the string.

It seemed to scatter the dense fog and push it backward, but the arrow was immediately swallowed by the mist without the slightest sound.

The men of the Beiyun tribe drew their sabers, staring nervously at the fog before them.

A miserable cry suddenly rang out from the front, only to be cut short abruptly.

It was one of their brothers; for reasons unknown, he had been snatched away once more. After that wretched scream, there was absolute silence, and it was clear his chances of survival were slim.

Everyone could hear the beating of their own hearts, cold sweat streaming down their foreheads. In this oppressive silence, the tension grew ever heavier, and a sense of helplessness began to spread.

"Who is it?" Feng Qianxia asked in a low voice, gripping her sword.

"It looks like the Ghost King's men," Su Yi said.

Wang Chuan was speechless. How had the wedding procession been ambushed?

Could it be that their cover had been blown?

He had intended to channel Jing Ke assassinating the King of Qin, waiting for the map to unroll to reveal the dagger, but they couldn't even reach their enemies.

Thud, thud...

Muffled footsteps rang out at that moment, striking heavily against their hearts.

As if the mist were retreating before him, a figure pressed forward like a towering mountain.

With a massive physique, rugged facial features and sharp lines, the exposed muscles on his arms and legs bulged in thick knots, and his dark skin looked as though it had been carved from stone—he was like a demon walking out of primordial times.

Every step he took carried a wild and formidable power.

In his right hand, he held a sharp battle-axe; in his left, he clutched a dripping, severed head.

Clang—

One of the tribesmen drew his long saber from his waist and charged forward with a furious roar.

His saber technique was direct and fierce, sweeping like a howling gale and a gathering cloud. It was practical and ferocious, carrying the overwhelming momentum of an entire army parting before a single strike when swung.

The gigantic barbarian ignored it entirely. He swept his dark red eyes across the crowd, then split his mouth in a wide grin. Wang Chuan faintly caught the stench of foul breath.

It was as if something from the bowels of the earth had suddenly spewed upward.

An iron axe swept horizontally from the side.

Bang—

That immense force surged outward as well. Impacted as fiercely as if struck by the front of a locomotive, the Beiyun warrior was sent flying far backward, vanishing into the thick fog.

Another dark figure emerged from the mist. He too had dark skin and massive bones, and wielded a giant axe.

His expression was utterly unkind.

These people...

One dark figure after another emerged from the dense fog. Without wasting words or uttering a single sound, the moment they appeared, they charged forward to hack and slash at the crowd. Their iron axes whipped through the air with a dull, heavy thud, and the mist churned like long dragons dancing in flight.

"I remember reading a story once about a deity known as the Son of the Earth. As long as his feet touched the ground, he drew an inexhaustible stream of strength and could never be defeated. Later on, the only way to conquer him was to lure him up into mid-air..."

Wang Chuan touched his chin with his index finger, deep in thought.

Yet the others had no leisure to care what he was muttering about; they were all entirely focused on fighting off the enemy.

The two sides had already clashed into a chaotic melee, slashing and hacking with long swords, dodging and shifting with every move.

The barbarian warriors possessed explosive physical strength, capable of sending people flying with a single effortless blow, making them nearly impossible to approach.

The others could only rely on nimble footwork, evading the enemy's sharpest edges to engage in a war of attrition.

The dense fog blocked the view, preventing even the barbarians from seeing very far ahead.

Purely in terms of raw strength, their sabers certainly could not match the barbarians' iron axes.

Several attacks landed on the barbarians' bodies, producing clanging sounds like metal striking stone.

Even the skin and flesh of these men were as hard as iron, granting them extraordinary defense.

No one knew what the opponent was doing next.

They only saw Wang Chuan raise both hands high, invoking the sun above.

An invisible force surged skyward, connecting with the nine heavens.

Above the void, some immense power was churning and shifting.

Gradually, visible to the naked eye, the clouds high in the sky seemed to be parted.

Sunlight shot down from above.

He took an instinctive breath, the energy wheel in his dantian spinning rapidly as the fog swirled around him.

No ghosts or demons dared approach.

The group of barbarians let out strange, shrill cries as the mist vanished completely.

Wang Chuan held his hands high, as if he had forcibly dragged the sunlight down from the heavens.

The green grass flourished under the sunlight, brimming with tenacious vitality.

In the distance, the great snow-capped mountain still stood tall, its peak piercing the clouds.

This time, as if banishing the darkness, the entire world shone with brilliant light.

With a sound of rushing wind, a dark figure suddenly materialized, swinging an axe down to cleave him. Wang Chuan instinctively and agilely leaped backward.

A long sword swept horizontally to block the attack, flowing with the softness of billowing sleeves.

The opponent's iron axe was entangled and unable to parry. At that moment, Feng Qianyan also grabbed a steel saber and slashed forward, her graceful figure rising like a soaring dragon.

The barbarian had no choice but to lower his head. Amidst a flurry of clashing metal and a deafening roar, a shower of sparks flew.

Then, grabbing Feng Qianxia's sword and to the astonishment of the onlookers, he lunged fiercely toward her.

A pull, and a draw.