Hard Clash with the Fox Demon

Glancing at the Fox Demon's corpse beside him, Zhuge Xiang saw intense killing intent in the eyes of this One-Star Mid-Grade Fox Demon. Thick demonic aura spread through the air, making it hard for him to breathe.

That previous Fox Demon had only been One-Star Low-Grade, equivalent to the Qi Cultivation Realm Third Layer, and it had been injured. Even then, the two of them had needed to join forces to kill it. This One-Star Mid-Grade Fox Demon was at full strength, several times more terrifying. With its forelegs slightly bent as though ready to pounce, it made Zhuge Xiang feel as if a blade hung over his head.

No wonder. Zhuge Xiang was only at the Qi Cultivation Realm First Layer, while Lu Yuling, this genius girl, had only recently broken through to the Qi Cultivation Realm Third Layer. Yet this Fox Demon possessed strength comparable to the Qi Cultivation Realm Fifth Layer. A gap of two levels was not so easily bridged, even if a Fox Demon of this level did not possess an especially formidable body.

"Let's do it!" Although the demonic aura of the Qi Cultivation Realm Fifth Layer made Zhuge Xiang feel as though he could barely breathe, the Fox Demon's speed told him that escape was impossible. At least, he himself could not escape. He gathered his thoughts, raised the Blood Refinement Saber in his hand, and prepared for battle.

Lu Yuling looked at Zhuge Xiang, surprise flashing through her eyes. She had not even seen how he had taken out his Blood Refinement Saber. What astonished her most was that, despite having comprehended Qi Energy only a week ago and possessing merely Qi Cultivation Realm First Layer cultivation, he dared to face a Fox Demon comparable to the Qi Cultivation Realm Fifth Layer without fear.

"Senior Sister Lu, how long can you hold it off?" Zhuge Xiang gripped the Blood Refinement Saber tightly, his eyes fixed on the calf-sized Fox Demon as he spoke.

"Since you possess such fighting spirit, I'll accompany you and give it a try. If I go all out, I can hold it off for around twenty breaths." She smiled calmly, though her eyes carried a grave look. Lu Yuling had clearly abandoned any thought of running as well.

"Twenty breaths?" Zhuge Xiang looked at Lu Yuling in surprise. Though she had broken through to the Qi Cultivation Realm Third Layer, that should not have been enough for her to hold the Fox Demon back for twenty breaths, should it?

Though surprised, Zhuge Xiang said nothing more. She clearly had secrets of her own. Their friendship was not particularly deep, but Zhuge Xiang knew that Lu Yuling was not someone who would joke about such a matter.

"Twenty breaths should be enough!" Gripping the Blood Refinement Saber, Zhuge Xiang directly stuffed the Steel Secret Medicine, which he had never been willing to use, into his mouth. As the medicine took effect, he felt as if his body had been clad in armor, hard as iron, yet his movements were not affected in the slightest.

Steel Secret Medicine: Consuming it increases physical defense by 150 points for 1 minute.

After consuming the Steel Secret Medicine, Zhuge Xiang's defense rose by a full 150 points. At the same time, his legs bent slightly, and the essence-blood Qi Energy within him suddenly seemed to boil. Visible blood-red Qi Energy seeped from his skin. Because his blood qi was boiling, even Zhuge Xiang's eyes turned scarlet. It was precisely the Bloodthirsty Technique.

The Bloodthirsty Technique increased all attributes by 30% for a short time. As it activated, the essence-blood Qi Energy in his body boiled, and Zhuge Xiang's mind entered a state of exhilaration. He actually let out a beast-like roar and lunged forward. The Blood Refinement Saber wreathed in blood-red Qi Energy became a crimson streak as it slashed down at the Fox Demon...

"Bloodthirsty Technique!? He mastered the Bloodthirsty Technique!?" Lu Yuling's eyes widened slightly as she watched Zhuge Xiang.

He had mastered the Bloodthirsty Technique in one week? Lu Yuling had been present when Zhuge Xiang selected a Martial Art in the Martial Arts Pavilion that day. She knew very well that Zhuge Xiang definitely did not know the Bloodthirsty Technique a week ago. Besides, he had only comprehended Qi Energy a week ago. Even if he had wanted to cultivate before that, he had not had the conditions to do so.

Barely managing to cultivate the Blood Thunder Slash in a week was already remarkable, yet somehow he had secretly mastered the most dangerous Bloodthirsty Technique in the Martial Arts Pavilion. Looking at Zhuge Xiang in astonishment, Lu Yuling realized that she truly did not know much about this junior brother she had spent ten days with. Though shocked, she was still a genius girl. After only a slight hesitation, Lu Yuling charged forward.

In the Fox Demon's eyes, Zhuge Xiang posed an even greater threat than Lu Yuling. Without dodging or retreating, the Fox Demon raised its claws and swiped directly at Zhuge Xiang. Its sharp nails gleamed coldly, coated in demonic aura equivalent to the Qi Cultivation Realm Fifth Layer. It could surely tear even a steel plate apart with ease.

"Slash!" The Blood Refinement Saber chopped straight down. Zhuge Xiang looked utterly desperate, making no attempt to evade the Fox Demon's attack. He deliberately wanted to test what level of defense the Steel Secret Medicine's 150 points, combined with the Bloodthirsty Technique's 30% boost, nearly 200 points in total, could achieve.

"This is bad. Has his mind become muddled?" Seeing Zhuge Xiang desperately clash with the Fox Demon without even dodging its attack, Lu Yuling's gaze tightened. She believed that, like most who cultivated the Bloodthirsty Technique, Zhuge Xiang's consciousness had grown muddled.

If this continued, Zhuge Xiang might injure the Fox Demon, but he himself would surely die. Yet she was a step too late. By the time Lu Yuling wanted to save him, it was already impossible.

The Fox Demon's coldly gleaming claw slammed fiercely into Zhuge Xiang's chest. Its sharp nails raked across his torso, but the imagined scene of him being disemboweled did not appear. Zhuge Xiang's coarse cloth clothes were torn apart, but only several blood-red marks remained on his chest. Fine beads of blood seeped out. That claw had only barely broken through his defense, and the injury was clearly limited to the surface of his skin.

When the Fox Demon struck him, Zhuge Xiang felt a prickling pain in his chest, as though he had been lightly jabbed by several needles. It could not be called a serious injury; it had merely barely broken his skin. On the Character Interface, his 110 HP had only dropped by 5 points. Such an injury was practically nothing, but Zhuge Xiang's Blood Refinement Saber hacked fiercely into the Fox Demon's foreleg.

Though Zhuge Xiang was only at the Qi Cultivation Realm First Layer, his attack power was still terrifying under the Bloodthirsty Technique's boost. The Fox Demon was huge, and though its body was much stronger than that of an ordinary fox, it had not reached the level of a Two-Star Demonic Beast. Its resistance to physical attacks was not particularly strong. Amid a miserable shriek, Zhuge Xiang's strike left a saber wound so deep that bone was visible in its foreleg. Dark red blood soaked its dusky yellow fur and dripped to the ground.

As that strike landed, Zhuge Xiang clearly felt a faint stream of energy flow through the Blood Refinement Saber into his body. The minor flesh wound on his chest instantly healed, and the 5 HP missing from the Character Interface was immediately restored. The Blood Refinement Saber's passive effect—10% lifesteal—converted 10% of the damage dealt to a target into his own HP.

"Kill!" After that head-on clash, the Fox Demon had done him almost no harm, while the damage he had inflicted on it was real enough. On top of that, there was the 10% lifesteal effect. Zhuge Xiang's confidence surged. He completely cast aside any concern for defense or evasion, and with the 30% boost to speed and attack speed, he slashed again.

After one desperate clash, Zhuge Xiang's battle intent blazed, but deep wariness filled the Fox Demon's eyes. One swipe of its claws could shatter even stone, yet it had produced no effect whatsoever on this human. The Fox Demon felt profound fear toward Zhuge Xiang. It simply could not understand why this human, whose aura was not strong and could even be called exceedingly weak, possessed a body harder than steel.

"Clear Wave Palm..." Though Lu Yuling was equally shocked by Zhuge Xiang's bodily defense, she knew that she could not lose focus in battle. She unleashed the Clear Wave Palm, and the aura of the Qi Cultivation Realm Third Layer locked onto the Fox Demon.

"Kill, kill, kill!!!" In his exhilarated state, with no need to worry about being injured and no need even for that Healing Pill, Zhuge Xiang swung the Blood Refinement Saber in his hand faster and faster. What could be more thrilling than attacking with no worries at his back?

The Clear Wave Palm entangled the Fox Demon, while blood-red Qi Energy billowed from Zhuge Xiang's body, making him seem like an Asura bathed in blood. The Blood Refinement Saber carried a dangerous aura, transforming into a sheet of scarlet saber light under the 30% attack speed boost.

Fortunately, this Fox Demon was itself an agile Monster Beast. If it had been a slow-moving Monster Beast such as a cow or bear, it would surely have already been slain by now. Even so, seven or eight wounds had appeared on the Fox Demon's body. Blood flowed freely, and it looked more bedraggled than ever. This Monster Beast equivalent to the Qi Cultivation Realm Fifth Layer no longer retained any trace of the high spirits it had possessed when it first appeared.

Its injuries grew increasingly serious. Fighting Lu Yuling and Zhuge Xiang together, the Fox Demon discovered that its powerful demonic aura had no room to exert itself. Zhuge Xiang in particular was like a chunk of steel it could not bite through. Thus, after only around ten breaths of fighting, the Fox Demon began to think of retreating.

"This is bad!" Seeing that the Fox Demon wanted to flee, Zhuge Xiang's heart tightened.

At this point, if it escaped, would that not be wasting a huge amount of experience? Though they had suppressed the Fox Demon completely, stopping a Fox Demon equivalent to the Qi Cultivation Realm Fifth Layer from fleeing was far too difficult.

"Zhuge Xiang, Blood Thunder Slash!" Lu Yuling likewise realized that the Fox Demon intended to escape and called out urgently. At the same time, strands of white Silk Thread, fine as hair, appeared between her slender fingers. As she wielded the Clear Wave Palm, they wrapped around the Fox Demon's body and restricted its movements.

Strand after strand of Silk Thread wound around the Fox Demon with the Clear Wave Palm. Though the Qi Cultivation Realm Fifth Layer Fox Demon possessed tremendous strength and even dragged Lu Yuling's body along, affecting the Clear Wave Palm as well, it seemed that restraining it for a short time would not be a problem.

So that was where her earlier confidence came from—the Silk Thread? Seeing the Silk Thread wrapped around the Fox Demon and Lu Yuling doing her utmost to bind it, Zhuge Xiang understood why she had been confident that she could hold the Fox Demon for twenty breaths.

Daring not to waste time, he made his blood qi surge and poured it into the Blood Refinement Saber. The 30% attack speed boost also let Zhuge Xiang gather power for the Blood Thunder Slash faster.

Just as Lu Yuling was about to lose control, at the point where she herself would be dragged away by the Fox Demon if she did not let go, Zhuge Xiang kicked off the ground. Dirt sprayed into the air as he became a blood-red shadow. Dazzling saber light slashed directly toward the Fox Demon's neck—Blood Thunder Slash...