42 The Hunt for Ruby Rhino

Chi Yan and He Shan Jie chose to split ways with us outside the ruin.

"We'll be returning to Elemental Mountain Sect," He Shan Jie explained politely. Some distance away, Chi Yan harrumphed and folded his arms.

"I have my own matters to deal with. I won't drag you into them. And I won't involve myself in your personal issues."

The guy was either socially awkward or being a dick. Or both. Perhaps another main character or author might attempt to justify his behavior. "Oh, he didn't mean it." Or "he actually meant to say something else, but was being nice in his usual rough way." That was bullshit. Bakugo was still an asshole no matter how the manga artist for My Hero Academia tried to paint him. Sure, he protected his friends, but that didn't justify him being rude and verbally abusive.

I wasn't going to deny that Chi Yan helped us a lot, and we wouldn't get this far without him, but that didn't mean I had to put up with his bullshit.

"Well, see you next time," I said dismissively with a wave. Chi Yan simply turned and ran off, disappearing into the dense overgrowth of the Crimson Forest. He Shan Jie bowed apologetically before he joined his sect mate and vanishing after him. I then turned to Lan Bei Er and Hong Yao Yao. "All right, let's go."

The three of us moved immediately.

As it turned out, the habitat of a Ruby Rhino wasn't far from the ruin we had just exited. Both were located deep inside the Crimson Forest, being places of utmost danger and inhabited by high level spirit beasts. I was prepared to face a spirit beast that was on a similar level of strength with the Ifrit, but hopefully without access to an infinite amount of yang qi.

Otherwise I would have to use the Celestial Creature Palace formation again…which might be a problem now that we didn't have Chi Yan and He Shan Jie to help us hold the damned monster off. We might have become stronger, but Lan Bei Er hadn't reached Innate Realm yet, and on her own, Hong Yao Yao wasn't a match for a peak Innate Realm spirit beast like the Ruby Rhino, even with her newly acquired treasure fan and techniques. Come to think of it, neither was I. I would have to work together with her if we were to defeat it.

"Up ahead," Hong Yao Yao warned, breaking me out of my thoughts. I looked up and caught sight of an immense spirit beast prowling ahead. The size of a mastodon and almost as tall as a tree, the Ruby Rhino trampled over several fallen logs and grazed the tall grass leisurely, assured and confident in its strength.

No predator could threaten it.

"Sorry," I whispered under my breath at the sight of a majestic spirit beast. I wasn't some bloodthirsty guy who went around hunting spirit beasts for sport. I didn't like the task I was assigned by Bai Yao Cai, but I knew that it was important to collect its horn. It would make life-saving elixirs for people. So it was either a human's life or a Ruby Rhino's life. I wasn't a total bastard, but I wasn't a saint either. If asked to choose between them, I would always choose humans over spirit beasts.

That didn't mean I didn't feel any remorse or guilt over taking a life. Yeah, yeah, I was a failure of a villain. So what? As a villain, I didn't care what other people thought of me. I was going to do what I wanted. And yeah, I saw all those comments on the forums from edgelords. "I want completely evil main characters with no bottom line." "I want ruthless and cold-hearted main characters who kill without remorse." "I want evil main characters without any morals, who will kill anyone in their way." "He should be a loner and not love anyone."

Jesus, the edge from these forum posts and demands made me bleed just from reading them. I shuddered to think what would happen if they somehow found their way to my story. Probably write a review ranting and raging about how I was some beta cuck mc, about how I refused to kill (didn't I kill Long Ao Tian and a bunch of his harem right at the beginning of the story?), and how I simped for my wife. As if courting a girl or respecting my wife was something to be ashamed about. If that was their mentality, then I felt sorry for these eternal virgins who lived in their parents' basements, believing in some sort of misguided toxic masculinity where they treated women as objects to be conquered and dominated, not love and respect.

Well, maybe it was a good thing that they didn't reproduce…their genes would be weeded out of the pool eventually, and humanity would benefit.

The Ruby Rhino deserved more sympathy than those edgelords, though.

Drawing my sword, I parted the grass and whispered the unsealing words.

"Blaze, Hou Yi bow."

In a flash of fire, the katana transformed into a bow. Three black arrows formed between the fingers of my right hand and I notched them to my weapon, taking aim. The Ruby Rhino stiffened at the sudden surge of qi, and turned to glare at me.

With a grunt, it kicked off the ground and charged at me. Flames billowed around its horn, extending its length. It truly was a spirit beast befitting of a peak Innate Realm. I could see the inferno it left in its wake, incinerating entire swathes of the forest and raging unchecked. With a bellow, it thrust its rapidly expanding fiery horn at me, which would have lanced through my body if Lan Bei Er hadn't conjured a barrier.

"Ugh!"

The barrier shattered instantly, showering me with fragments of qi. I ignored the dissipating warm qi against my flesh and focused on my target. Inhaling, I kept the breath in my mouth and lungs, refusing to exhale until I released my arrows.

Then I fired them one at a time

The three arrows streaked forward mercilessly in a single file, one behind the other. The first crashed against the fiery horn that stretched from the Ruby Rhino, exploding violently. At first, it didn't appear to have any effect, but the black projectile turned into a void…some sort of black hole that ravenously devoured the flames. Within a few seconds, the fiery horn shrank to insignificance, engulfed by a tiny black hole that winked out of existence the moment the qi embedded into the arrow was spent.

"Gr!?"

The Ruby Rhino was taken by surprise, totally not expecting its renowned horn to blink out of existence because of a single puny arrow. It was unaware that the arrow was produced by Hou Yi's Nine Suns Slaying Arrow technique, as well as released from his legendary bow.

If such an arrow could slay the sun, why could it not obliterate a flaming horn from a "mere" peak Innate Realm spirit beast?

The second black arrow surged forward and collided against the Ruby Rhino's forehead. For a moment, it appeared that the ruby armor that coated its entire body – and it was thickest around the Ruby Rhino's head – would hold. The dark energies crackled and transformed into a swirling maelstrom that battered against seemingly indestructible biological armor.

They said the hardest thing back in my previous world was diamond…and it was a lattice of carbon molecules that had been shaped by enormous pressures to become near indestructible. That same carbon was the same element present in organic chemical compounds and every biological living creature. In other words, if a beast could evolve its carbon-based flesh into some sort of organic armor, it could potentially be as hard as diamond.

What if the same principle could be achieved through spiritual means in a cultivator world?

But then again, the cultivator world had stuff that defied common sense. An arrow imbued with qi was capable of piercing through diamonds, apparently…especially since it was an arrow that could shoot down a bloody sun, for heaven's sake.

There was a detonation and the Ruby Rhino's head snapped back, its entire momentum halted by the opposing force. The ruby armor on its forehead cracked and blood leaked out. It wasn't a fatal wound, just a graze, but the penetration of the Ruby Rhino's reputedly impenetrable armor was no small feat. Even a Saint Realm cultivator would have to exert plenty of strength just to punch through its natural protection.

Of course, a shallow graze was far from enough to defeat the Ruby Rhino. Snarling furiously, it whirled back to glare at me, blood trickling down its face. Its eyes were filled with rage and determination. Pawing the ground, it prepared to charge once more, conjuring flames around its horn despite being stunned by the previous hit.

That was when the third arrow struck.

With unerring accuracy, it homed onto the crack that the second arrow had opened up on the armored forehead, sinking deeply into the breach and punching through bone to hit the soft brain tissue within. There was a muffled detonation as black qi expanded inside its skull, obliterating both bone, muscle and flesh…and even armor. Half of the Ruby Rhino's head was blown away and its near headless carcass dropped like a rock, sending tremors across the scorched earth.

"What? How…?" Lan Bei Er was staring at the scene in disbelief, not comprehending what had just happened. "Did you really just slay a Ruby Rhino with a single attack?"

"It was three attacks, not one," I corrected her. Honestly, though, I was similarly astonished by the power of my arrows. I certainly did not expect such an outcome. I had prepared myself for a tough battle ahead and had expected that I would need Hong Yao Yao's help, but the pink haired cultivator didn't have to step in at all.

"Why are you both so shocked?" Hong Yao Yao giggled, fanning herself. "That's the power of Man and Sword as One. It doesn't just seal the weapon, conceal its true power and save qi consumption. Once you reach that stage, you intensify the power of your treasure weapon by several times." She then glared at me disapprovingly. "You should have done that with your sword before fighting the Ifrit. It would make our lives a lot easier."

"It wouldn't have solved the issue where it could regenerate indefinitely because it has access to unlimited qi from the ruin. Also, I don't think my sword techniques are that powerful even with Man and Sword as One."

To prove it, I drew Abyssal Edge, unsealed it and swung it. The Shadow Sword Strike that I executed didn't seem much different from the ones I usually used. A single tree toppled over, sliced neatly at the base of the trunk, but that was about it.

"Oh…" Hong Yao Yao was studying my sword thoughtfully. Then she nodded, hitting her palm with a fist. "I know why. I think you have better affinity with the bow than you have with the sword."

"That was what Hui Ying said too," I muttered, inadvertently letting it slip. Hong Yao Yao nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Not everyone is the same. Some people are more talented in specific weapons and aren't as good with other weapons when compared to their peers. Not everyone can be a peerless swordsman."

"Oh, well." I sighed wearily and shrugged. "It is what it is."

Frankly, it was no big deal to me. Whatever helped me kill my enemies would be better.

Brushing away such frivolous thoughts, I hurried over to the Ruby Rhino's corpse. With several strokes from my Abyssal Edge, I finally cut out the horn. Damn, but even when dead, the ruby armor that coated its body was still tough. I was panting as I sealed my black sword and picked up the horn to store it in my spatial pouch.

Taking a deep breath, I straightened myself up and turned to Lan Bei Er with a grin.

"Well, we got what we came for. Let's go home!"

My wife beamed back at me, equally delighted. "Now even Master shouldn't have any complaints about you joining White Herb Sect!"

"Hopefully."

"I wonder about that," Hong Yao Yao said in a teasing manner, her finger on her chin. "I wouldn't be surprised if she comes up with a new excuse to put down your husband and insist that he isn't worthy of you."

"Ugh…" I couldn't say I didn't expect that. "What am I supposed to do if she continues to harass me?"

"There's only one way to deal with such deluded people." Hong Yao Yao giggled and punched the air. "Through overwhelming force. Intimidate her to the point where she wishes she was dead, and she'll never dare to go against you again."

Her grin widened as she gave me a meaningful look.

"I'm sure you know exactly how to do that, hmm, sir Hei Ye?"