Chapter 58: Netherworld Demon Rabbit (2)

Faced with the mocking laughter of the crowd, Yan Chuan showed a trace of disdain. He paid them no mind, his gaze instead fixed on the towering pillar that seemed to reach the heavens.

Suddenly, a thread of yellow light emerged from the top of the pillar with a resonant hum.

"The Yellow Springs are about to open!" Yan Chuan drew a deep breath as he spoke.

"What?" Huo Guang asked, puzzled.

"Form up! Gather together!" Yan Chuan commanded.

"Yes, sir!"

"Square formation!" Huo Guang shouted with authority.

With a thunderous rumble, the silver-armored troops quickly converged, forming ranks.

The sudden movement of Yan Chuan’s army immediately drew the attention of all present, their eyes turning toward the yellow pillar at the center.

A flash of yellow light burst from the pillar. In that instant, the white clouds encircling it in the sky took on a pale yellow tint.

As the yellow hue flickered, several patches of clouds were stained a deep yellow.

"The Eight Fiends' Yellow Springs—as Yan Chuan foretold, the Yellow Springs are indeed opening!" Master Wen Ruo said gravely.

"Not only in the sky—look to the ground as well!" Azure Dragon interjected.

Where the yellow clouds spread, slender streams of yellow liquid began to seep from the earth below. As soon as the liquid appeared, it dyed the grass yellow wherever it touched.

Above, the yellow clouds multiplied. Below, the yellow liquid spread swiftly, the tainted ground expanding outward.

From the base of the pillar, the corruption widened, growing ever larger.

"What’s happening?" Zhao Kunwu’s face changed.

Not far from Zhao Kunwu’s army, a little white rabbit was happily munching on a carrot.

Just then, the yellow liquid crept toward the rabbit’s feet. The moment it touched, the little creature began to tremble violently, its form swelling at a pace visible to the naked eye.

The rabbit grew and grew, its body quickly reaching ten feet, then twenty!

A rabbit twenty feet tall? And as it grew, its form seemed to evolve—its forelegs lengthened into arm-like limbs, and it sat on its haunches with its back to the crowd.

"What is that? Why did the rabbit grow so huge?" a young officer cried out in alarm.

The gigantic rabbit, still facing away from them, exuded a thick, inky-black aura of malevolence.

"The rabbit’s changed—what sort of monster is that?"

"A demon beast? Impossible! Just moments ago, it was an ordinary rabbit!"

"Some kind of illusion?"

"Sir, what should we do?"

...

The soldiers stared in dread at the monstrous rabbit, a flicker of true terror in their eyes.

"You—go take a look!" Zhao Kunwu ordered a junior officer.

"S-sir, I—I’m scared…" the young man stammered, trembling with fear.

"Get moving! If you don’t, I’ll deal with you myself," Zhao Kunwu barked, his eyes fierce.

"Yes, yes, sir!" The officer, quaking, stepped forward.

The huge rabbit, still with its back turned, let out a series of strange, creaking sounds.

The junior officer approached, his long blade shaking in his grip. He dared not circle around to the front; when he was close enough, he thrust his blade toward the rabbit with all his might.

Just as the blade was about to pierce its flesh—

A flash of white light, and the young officer was lifted clean off the ground. A massive, furry paw had seized him in an instant.

The giant white rabbit whirled around with astonishing speed, snatching up the officer and holding him tight in its grasp.

"Help! Sir, save me!" the officer cried out in terror.

But at that moment, the Green Turban Army seemed paralyzed with fear. Two thousand men, all involuntarily recoiled a step.

"W-what sort of monster is that?" one of the soldiers shouted in horror.