As soon as they entered the deep forest, Ye Guichen felt that the atmosphere around them was somewhat off.

More than three thousand new disciples basically formed into groups of three or five, some in groups of over ten.

Originally, outside, three thousand people seemed like a lot, but once scattered in the deep forest, it was clear there were fewer people.

In the area Ye Guichen and the other three could see, there were only a few dozen people scattered around.

At first, everyone was quite excited, feeling that through this trial, they could ascend to great heights.

But soon, after howls appeared around them.

The crowd quickly began to panic.

"Ahhh, it’s a pack of wolves, a dozen wolves!"

From Ye Guichen’s front-right side suddenly came a heart-wrenching scream.

Mixed in were the sounds of wolf howls.

Then, someone was seen running back covered in blood.

But before they could reach Ye Guichen, they collapsed directly onto the ground.

Ye Guichen looked down and saw that the person’s neck had already been bitten off; running this far was a miracle.

That wasn’t all, many nearby people began scattering.

But for unknown reasons, the previous escape route seemingly disappeared, rendering retreat impossible.

How long has it been, and they’ve already lost their way?

Ye Guichen furrowed his eyebrows: "Everyone, be cautious. There’s something odd here."

Qin Muge and the others also sensed something amiss and nodded, becoming vigilant.

Even Feng Chuchu, who was slower to catch on, felt uneasy now and held her sword tight, afraid to make a sound.

"Awooo!"

Suddenly, a roar rang out.

Swish, swish, swish!

Immediately after, the sound of countless figures moving through the woods were heard.

Soon, Ye Guichen and the other three were surrounded by a pack of wolves.

The wolves were all large, appearing to be between demonic beasts and wild beasts.

The lead wolf was as big as a small calf.

They looked at Ye Guichen and the others, as if staring at a sumptuous dinner.

Each wolf’s mouth and claws were covered in fresh blood, indicating they had already bitten several people to death.

The Wolf King glanced at Ye Guichen and his companions, then let out a low growl.

The next second, the wolves charged at Ye Guichen and the others.

"Kill!"

Hua Nu was the first to strike.

The treasured sword in his hand danced like a flower, effortlessly killing four or five wolves.

The other wolves hesitated, not expecting to encounter such a tough opponent.

The Wolf King was also surprised at how powerful these people were, with just one of them killing so many of their comrades, and let out two more low growls.

A pack of wolves turned and fled.

"Hmph, just a bunch of beasts. They dared to eat us, truly overestimating themselves!" Qin Muge was exceedingly proud.

Unless there were high-level demonic beasts, they really weren’t afraid.

"Let’s go, let’s head further in and see." Ye Guichen didn’t say much more.

He wasn’t as optimistic as Qin Muge.

An inexplicable feeling of unease lingered in his heart, as if an invisible web was enveloping them all.

And they, couldn’t break free from this web.

The four of them walked a bit further, only to see the ground was covered in blood. More than a dozen casualties littered the area.

And this was just in the area they had passed through.

It was likely that in other areas, the casualties were countless.

Ordinary people facing beasts were like cultivators facing demonic beasts—unless they were strong enough, they had no power to resist.

This inadvertently gave these beasts an opportunity, turning it into a gluttonous feast for them.

Further in, demonic beasts would appear.

Those ordinary people seemed like mere ants, and of the three thousand, it would be a miracle if three hundred survived.

But Ye Guichen was no saint, and he couldn’t care about that many.

Coming here, no one forced them—though Xuanyin Sect might have been deceptive, everyone made their own choice.

"Awoo..."

Unexpectedly, another roar sounded.

Ye Guichen looked towards the direction the sound came from.

He saw someone standing on a tree branch not far away.

That person was cloaked, but had long hair growing on their face.

They looked like a monkey.

But monkeys weren’t this big.

Even as Ye Guichen looked at him, the person revealed a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth, as if ridiculing them for courting death.

"Hmm?"

Ye Guichen raised a brow, about to rush forward to capture the person but then heard numerous roars from the surroundings.

Then, those roars resounded in succession, making one’s scalp tingle.

"Demonic beasts!"

Upon hearing these sounds, everyone’s faces changed drastically.

Shortly thereafter, demonic beasts emerged from the dense forest.

These beasts stared intently at Ye Guichen and his group of four.

One of them, a massive black ox, exuded a sky-high Evil Qi, reaching the level of a seventh-grade demonic beast.

"How, how could so many demonic beasts suddenly appear?" Feng Chuchu’s legs went weak from fear.

She had been pampered since childhood and never faced a real fight to the death.

But to her surprise, they were suddenly surrounded by so many demonic beasts.

Even if they could escape, they’d be severely worn down.

Hua Nu frowned.

"Something’s off. Normally demonic beasts have divided territories; they wouldn’t appear simultaneously. Here, there are more than a dozen demonic beasts, not only of different types but also seemingly guided by something."

"Could it be that there is a higher-level terrifying demonic beast, becoming a Demon King here?"

Hua Nu, clearly more knowledgeable, quickly outlined the issue.

However, these demonic beasts didn’t seem to want to give Ye Guichen and the others much time to consider.

A two-headed giant python flicked its tongue, rushing towards Qin Muge.

Hua Nu didn’t dare delay, and pushed off the ground with his toes, charging straight at it.