Yang Tianxue and Yan Kong

In the Nine Phoenix Realm, pale red clouds, like a red robe, draped across the vast sky. An Escape Light sped from afar, its speed gradually decreasing until, like a bird with broken wings, it crashed to the ground.

The vegetation is lush, and the gnarled branches grow upwards with all their might, vying for the sunlight that falls from the sky.

A pack of Wild Beasts swarmed around, eager to devour the woman on the ground, who exuded a sweet fragrance.

Yang Tianxue was in a daze. Having just broken out of the Demon Race's encirclement, she had lost all power to resist. She couldn't summon even a trace of Law Power or Divine Sense.

Feeling the warmth and stench on her cheek, she felt a pang of resentment. She had finally reached the Late Golden Core realm, and was about to break through to the Golden Core Perfection. Was she really going to die in the jaws of Wild Beasts like this?

Whoosh!!

A fierce gust of wind rang out, followed by the shrill screams of Wild Beasts and the faint sounds of fighting.

After a while, accompanied by heavy breathing, Yang Tianxue felt her body lighten as she was carried on someone's back. She could vaguely sense that it was a young boy, who was thin and frail.

She didn't know how much time had passed before Yang Tianxue woke up from her daze. She opened her eyes and found herself lying in a Thatched Cottage. The cicadas chirping outside were a bit jarring, making her, who always preferred peace and quiet, frown.

But then, Yang Tianxue's expression changed. She didn't know when her dress had been taken off, and she had been replaced with a grayish outfit made of some unknown material that smelled strange.

The good news is that the Storage Ring on her hand wasn't removed. Once her Divine Sense recovers a bit, she'll be able to take out Wound-Healing Pills to recover from her injuries.

Squeak!!

The door opened, and a figure came into view. It was indeed a young man with delicate features, and his rosy eyes held an innocent naiveté, as well as a deeply hidden wildness.

He was dressed like a hunter, with a sheathless hunting knife hanging at his waist. The hilt of the knife was badly worn, indicating that the boy used it frequently.

"You're awake?" The boy, holding the dark, murky medicine, looked somewhat excited. "The medicine prescribed by the old Clan Chief is quite effective."

As the boy became excited, his tail began to wag. It was a crimson monkey tail. Yang Tianxue narrowed her phoenix eyes and sensed a trace of the aura of the Explosive Flame Divine Ape Clan that was chasing her.

"Is this child a Half-Demon?" The thought flashed through her mind.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" the boy asked, then, seeing that Yang Tianxue seemed a little dazed, he muttered to himself, "Could she be mute?"

"What's your name?" A clear, aloof voice, like a plum blossom on a snowy mountain, came from Yang Tianxue's mouth. She leaned quietly against the bed railing behind her, looking at the Half-Demon boy who had saved her life.

Hearing her speak, the boy's tail wagged even more merrily. He smiled innocently and said, "My name is Yan Kong. What's yours?"

The boy's eyes were very clear, reflecting Yang Tianxue's slightly pale face. "This older sister is really beautiful!" Yan Kong couldn't help but think.

"Snow!" Yang Tianxue tilted her head back slightly, staring blankly at the Thatched Cottage.

"Xue..." The young Yan Kong engraved this name firmly in his heart.

Three days later, Yang Tianxue understood her current situation.

Young Yan Kong is a member of a Half-Demon tribe. He lost both his parents at a young age and grew up relying on the kindness of others.

Half-Demons possess Fleshly Body attributes far superior to Human Race, but the probability of them becoming cultivators is far lower than that of Human Race. Therefore, Half-Demons do not hold a high status in the Ten Thousand Demon Continent, though they are still stronger than Human Race.

In the Nine Phoenix Realm, apart from the Eastern King Continent and the Giant Spirit Continent, the Human Race on the other five continents are the lowest of the low.

This Half-Demon tribe, named Yanling, has over a thousand inhabitants, all Mortals. However, their Fleshly Body strength alone is enough to tear apart tigers and leopards, so they live relatively well. Of course, this is only when they don't encounter any Demon Beasts. Ordinary Wild Beasts and Demon Beasts are on two different levels of beings.

Yang Tianxue lived in the Yanling tribe for half a month, and under Yan Kong's meticulous care, she finally regained a trace of her Divine Sense.

"Don't disturb me!" After saying this, Yang Tianxue went into the Thatched Cottage to cultivate in seclusion.

Although Yan Kong didn't know what Sister Xue was going to do, his innate keen intuition told him that Sister Xue must be doing something very important. So he stood guard outside the Thatched Cottage, his bloodshot eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

Inside the room, on the bed, Yang Tianxue sat cross-legged. A gentle look flashed in her phoenix eyes. After a moment of Divine Sense, she took out Pills from her Storage Ring and swallowed it.

Faint Spiritual Qi gathered from all directions. At first, the movement was not too noticeable, but as time went on, a Spiritual Qi Vortex slowly appeared.

A sudden gust of wind arose, Yan Kong scratched his head, somewhat puzzled as to why the wind had suddenly picked up. However, the weather in the mountains was unpredictable, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

Mortal and Wild Beasts cannot sense the flow of Spiritual Qi, but demons can.

As time passed, the gathered Spiritual Qi finally attracted the attention of a Demon Beast. It was a giant, three-zhang-long, striped tiger with a dark "king" character on its forehead, above which floated the illusory figures of wailing, mournful Changgui.

"Such rich Spiritual Qi! What kind of treasure has been born?" Inside the cave, the demon tiger's eyes widened. After sensing for a moment, it roared and rushed out of the cave abode.

In the blink of an eye, they had covered more than ten miles. The demonic tiger lurked in the bushes, its two brown tiger eyes fixed on the Thatched Cottage not far away. Drops of saliva dripped from its mouth as it sensed the sweet smell of flesh and blood—the aura of Human Race Cultivator.

"A severely injured Human Race cultivator..." The scarlet tongue covered in barbs licked its dark nose. The demonic tiger was very cautious and first released its Changgui to test the waters.

A dozen or so little ghosts shrouded in ghostly mist drifted towards the Thatched Cottage. Yang Tianxue, who was healing her wounds, noticed them, but she had reached the most critical moment and had no power to resist.

The Changgui lunged forward with a sharp howl, but suddenly layers of golden light rippled around Yang Tianxue's body—the radiance of her Golden Core, automatically protecting her.

One by one, the Changgui turned into wisps of green smoke, but the demonic tiger was not alarmed but rather delighted. "Golden Core Cultivator, and one who has no power to resist. If I devour her, it will be enough to advance my cultivation by a hundred years!"

A thought surged within him, and the demonic tiger suddenly pounced.

"Aww!!"

A domineering tiger roar Dang Kai, immediately catching Yan Kong's attention. "My goodness, such a huge tiger?"

The boy's expression changed, but he didn't move an inch. This boy, who had lost both his parents at a young age, had come to regard Yang Tianxue as family after spending time with her.

So he drew his gleaming hunting knife and swung it down.

Brush!!

The flash of the blade revealed Yan Kong's considerable strength. His Fleshly Body was extremely strong; if classified according to the Body Cultivator level, he should be around the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer. Although he was young, his strength was already among the best in the tribe.

However, this demonic tiger had already reached the Foundation Establishment Realm. Although it was only at the initial stage, it was still something that Yan Kong could not withstand.

Clang!!

The tiger's claws clashed with the hunting knife, producing a crisp metallic clang that echoed through the air, followed by a gush of blood.

Thump!!

Yan Kong crashed to the ground, creating a deep crater, barely clinging to life.

"Huh? He's not dead?" The demon tiger was quite surprised that this Half-Demon was still alive after its attack.

"Good luck!" it muttered, and swung its claws down, ready to kill Yang Tianxue again.

However, a powerful aura suddenly emanated from behind, and a ferocious ape roar echoed from behind. A sense of crisis caused the demonic tiger to abruptly turn around. Upon seeing Yan Kong's drastically changed Yan Kong, its pupils constricted. "The Explosive Flame Divine Ape?"