Demon Beasts

"These mushrooms are called Nightlight Mushrooms. They grow everywhere underground and give off a faint glow. Otherwise, it would be impossible to enter the Underground World at all. Countless dangers lurk in the darkness, and all kinds of Demon Beasts can pounce and kill you at any moment. But this place is also excellent for tempering one's will and unlocking one's potential. You need to remain in danger at all times. Before reaching the Mystic Divine Realm, most Outer Sect Disciples of our Yuhua Sect come to the Underground World to concentrate on cultivation," Shen Hao said.

As they spoke, a black shadow suddenly shot out from behind a boulder and lunged at Fang Xuan, who was at the front.

It radiated a powerful, bloody aura. The moment it drew near, he smelled a foul stench. It was a Blood Wolf, its jaws snapping open as huge fangs lunged for his throat.

Whoosh~

With a sweep of his longsword, a streak of sword light flashed past. The Abyss Blood Wolf was instantly cleaved into two, its blood splashing over the fertile black soil and enriching it further.

"Fang Xuan, are you all right?" Fang Qingxue cried in alarm.

Fang Xuan grinned, revealing snow-white teeth. He laughed. "I'm fine. This beast can't hurt me."

Shen Hao also walked over and looked at the wolf's corpse on the ground. "It's an Abyss Blood Wolf. I didn't expect us to encounter one the moment we entered the Underground World. These Abyss Blood Wolves have extremely tough bodies. Their teeth can crush rocks to pieces, and when they eat people, they can chew even the bones into powder and swallow them. They move like lightning, are incredibly cunning, and excel at lying in wait and launching sneak attacks. If one reaches the surface, it can bite an entire village to death. Even experts of the Divine Strength Realm can be killed if they let their guard down. There are often entire villages in certain dynasties wiped out by a single Blood Wolf."

There were countless Blood Wolves like these underground. They even dared to devour Underground Demons.

However, Blood Wolf fur was worth a fortune outside. Many nobles took pride in wearing Blood Wolf fur coats. Furthermore, there was a piece of skull bone atop a Blood Wolf's head called Blood Essence. Brightly colored and containing exceptionally dense vital energy, it could treat physical weakness and replenish deficient blood and qi when worn by ordinary people. It was also one of the finest materials for refining many pills, magical artifacts, and Spirit Items."

After saying that, he stepped forward and lightly flicked the Demon Slaying Sword. It lifted the wolf's skull bone, prying out a thumb-sized, blood-crystal piece of skull.

"Catch."

Fang Xuan reached out and caught it. It felt warm and smooth, like warm jade.

"Good stuff. Be careful. I read in All Worlds that these underground Blood Wolves live in packs. There can't possibly be only one."

The expressions of the others tightened as they quickly gathered around Fang Xuan.

"Let's go. Keep moving."

The four formed a small formation with Fang Xuan as the point. Shen Hao and his sister stood to either side, while Fang Qingxue guarded the rear against ambushes as they slowly advanced.

Sure enough, as soon as they crossed the boulder, dozens of Abyss Blood Wolves pounced at them.

"Divide Shadow Three Strikes."

"Nine Stars Heavenly Chill."

"Azure Wave Overlapping Water."

"Fallen Starfall."

The four attacked in unison, each stepping through profound footwork. The Demon Slaying Sword unleashed dense streams of sword qi, like a web of blades.

Before long, the dozens of Abyss Blood Wolves had all been slain, and each of them obtained some Blood Essence.

In the Mortal World, they had disdained money. But after entering this immortal sect, food, clothing, shelter, travel, and especially cultivation all required resources.

Hiss hiss hiss~

Several brightly colored venomous snakes suddenly shot out of the grass and bit at the four of them. These snakes were not even afraid of the scent on their feathered robes, showing just how deadly their venom was.

However, ever since entering the Underground World, they had remained highly alert. Faced with the snakes' ambush, none of them panicked. Their Demon Slaying Swords flashed, their sword moves strange and elusive, and the heads of the charging venomous snakes were easily sliced off.

Fang Xuan seemed to recall something and said, "Split those snake heads open."

Although the other three did not understand why Fang Xuan was making such an unnecessary request, they still followed his advice and swung their Demon Slaying Swords.

Hiss~

One snake head that was clearly dead suddenly sprang from the ground again and bit toward Shen Ruolan's wrist.

"Careful!"

A flash of cold light flickered from Fang Qingxue's hand. The snake head was split in two and fell to one side.

Seeing Shen Ruolan's flustered expression, Shen Hao rebuked her, "Ruo Lan, the Underground World is unimaginably dangerous. You must be prepared for dangers that can appear from anywhere at any time. You must never be careless. If Qing Xue hadn't acted just now, even if you didn't die, you would have lost that arm."

Shen Ruolan was so frightened that tears welled in her eyes. She did not dare say another word.

Shen Hao cupped his hands toward Fang Qingxue and said sincerely, "Thank you."

"It's nothing," Fang Qingxue said. "Fang Xuan, how did you know those snake heads could still attack people?"

"I've been bitten before."

"..."

The four rested where they were for a while before setting out once more toward the depths of the Underground World.

Along the way, they slew all kinds of underground monsters and obtained all kinds of treasures.

Some came from the bodies of those monsters, such as the blood and fur of Demon Beasts, as well as the blood crystals from the Blood Wolves. Others were specialties of the Underground World itself.

The Underground World was rich in minerals, such as Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron, Ink Gold, Purple Silver, refined gold, White Radiance Steel, Earth Crystal Stone, Azure Falling Stone, Tidal Jade, and more. These rare treasures, seldom seen on the surface, were essential materials for refining Flying Swords and magical treasures. They could even assist cultivation and strengthen one's spirit.

Of course, these treasures were only part of their gains. From the moment they entered the Underground World, their minds had remained tense and focused, constantly watching for movement around them. During battle, they did not dare relax in the slightest. As their minds stayed taut, their cultivation had actually improved bit by bit.

Fang Xuan wiped the blood from the Demon Slaying Sword and sighed. "No wonder Outer Sect Disciples all like coming to the Underground World to train. It truly is a good place to improve one's cultivation."

In just this half day, Fang Xuan had already sensed the threshold of the Divine Courage Realm. It would not be long before he broke through.

Fang Qingxue also smiled. Clearly, she had sensed her own improvement as well.

"Roar!"

The expressions of the four changed as they quickly gathered together.

"Hide."

A long line of torches appeared in the darkness ahead, moving toward them like a fiery dragon.

Under the torchlight, the four saw clearly that they were tall Underground Demons.

All Worlds divided demons into three categories.

Human Demons.

Earth Demons.

Heavenly Demons.

Simply put, Human Demons were humans who cultivated demonic arts and attained supernatural powers, such as those from the Innate Demon Sect, Eternal Regret Demon Sect, Red Dust Demon Sect, and so on.

Heavenly Demons came from the Extraterritorial Starry Sky. They came in many forms, were formless and intangible, and excelled at conquest and slaughter.

Earth Demons were the underground abyssal creatures before them: savage, vicious, utterly evil, yet possessed of formidable intelligence.