Fierce Battle with a Sixth-rank Demon

The next moment.

Zhu Huan's neck stretched like rubber, elongating wildly.

In an instant, it extended over five meters, coiled around Wei Qing's body, and yanked hard!

Wei Qing's entire frame was lifted into the air, bound and dragged before Zhu Huan, whose crimson tongue lightly swept across his own lips.

"Hehe, Lord Wei, I've got you!"

"Is that so?"

A faint blue light shot from Wei Qing's eyes, plunging straight into Zhu Huan's brow.

"Ah..."

Zhu Huan screamed, his elongated neck rapidly retracting and snapping back to normal. A searing pain exploded in his mind, like ten thousand silver needles stabbing into his brain all at once, causing him to clutch his head and roll on the ground.

Just as Wei Qing prepared to deliver the final blow, a roar brimming with murderous intent rang out from behind him.

"Boy, you killed my son."

A bone-chilling demonic aura washed over him, making every hair on his body stand on end. Without a moment's hesitation, he pushed off the ground with explosive force, his figure retreating in a blur.

But.

The Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat was faster. Its four tails swept like steel whips, the air cracking with each strike.

"Boom!"

Wei Qing hastily swung his blade to block, the Soul Severing Blade meeting the cat's tail.

A terrifying force traveled down the blade, splitting the skin between his thumb and forefinger. He flew backward like a kite with a broken string, smashing through four walls before barely managing to stop.

"Pfft!"

Wei Qing spat out a mouthful of blood, his face instantly paling. The hand gripping his blade trembled slightly as blood dripped from the hilt.

A sharp pain stabbed through his left chest—at least two ribs were broken.

With every breath, his lungs burned with a fiery ache.

"The gap is bigger than I thought..."

He had assumed that, going all out, holding his own against a Sixth-Rank Initial Stage demon beast wouldn't be too hard.

But reality slapped him hard.

The speed, strength, and density of demonic energy of a Sixth-Rank demon beast far exceeded his estimates.

After just one exchange, he was already spitting blood with broken ribs.

If this continued, Dragon Cave Village might well become his burial ground.

"I can't fight head-on..."

Wei Qing quickly pulled out the "Black Jade Dew" from his chest and poured it over the blade of the Soul Severing Blade.

Black Jade Dew was a secret medicine of the Heavenly Realm Division, specially used to suppress a demon's demonic energy.

The higher the demon's rank, the weaker the effect.

Though its impact on a Sixth-Rank demon was limited, even reducing its strength by a tenth could turn the tide of battle.

Seeing that the human youth before it had withstood its strike and survived, the Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat's killing intent deepened.

Its figure blurred.

The next second, it appeared before Wei Qing, claws aimed straight for his face.

Wei Qing twisted his waist sharply, the Soul Severing Blade carving a fierce arc through the air.

When the blade's edge struck the cat demon's spine, it was like hitting mystic iron—sparks flew.

Amid the clang of metal, the cat demon's four massive tails descended like silver spears from the sky.

Wei Qing's pupils contracted. Qi Force surged wildly within him as his form turned into a blur, dodging left and right.

Boom, boom, boom...

Three tails plunged into the ground, shattering the bluestone pavement and sending debris flying.

Wei Qing's movement faltered, and the cat demon's fourth tail pierced straight through his left shoulder.

"Cough..."

Wei Qing coughed up blood, his body staggering, but a cold smirk curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Brat, pay for my child..."

The Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat's eyes turned icy, then its words suddenly stopped.

It realized that the tail piercing Wei Qing's shoulder was stuck fast, as if clamped by steel pliers.

The smile on the human youth's face only deepened its unease.

The moment the tail pierced his shoulder, Wei Qing's shoulder muscles clenched tight, locking the cat demon's tail in place.

Qi Force raged within him.

"Arcane Art—Lotus!"

With Wei Qing at the center, a blood-colored lotus bloomed beneath him with a thunderous burst.

The nine lotus petals were all blade light condensed to the extreme. The surrounding spiritual energy wildly reversed, coalescing in midair into a blood shadow three zhang tall.

The shadow moved in sync with Wei Qing, its blade swinging down.

The Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat's vertical pupils shrank to pinpricks. It finally understood the source of that unease in its heart.

This human youth before it had used his own severe injury as bait!

Thus achieving the goal of trapping it.

Paving the way for the attack to come.

"No—"

Sensing the terrifying destructive force contained within the crimson blade light, the demonic force within it churned wildly, layering three demon force barriers around its body in rapid succession.

Yet—

"Rip!"

The first demon force barrier was torn apart like thin paper. The blade light's momentum did not diminish.

"Crack!"

The second barrier held for a mere instant before shattering.

"Shriek!"

The third barrier was pierced through by the blade light's residual force.

The demon tail lodged in Wei Qing's shoulder was also shaved off by a quarter, demon blood gushing wildly.

The remaining blade light slammed heavily into its body.

"Oww..."

Under the excruciating pain, the Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat's miserable howl pierced the skies.

Its eyes, fixed on Wei Qing, turned completely bloodshot, killing intent surging to the heavens.

"You actually... comprehended an arcane art!"

This was the supreme martial skill that only great demons above Third-Rank or human Third-Rank Grandmasters could master.

If this child was not eliminated, he would surely become a great calamity for the demon race!

Thinking this far.

The Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat's eyes blazed with crimson light. An extremely powerful mental power descended, enveloping the area.

The surroundings abruptly transformed.

A blood moon hung in the sky.

The Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat crouched atop a blood rock. Wei Qing was bound to a cross by three arm-thick chains, utterly unable to move.

He had just attempted a mental shock, only to find that this mental power space was completely unaffected.

"Hehe, welcome to my world."

"Now then, let's have some fun."

The cat demon's voice carried a bone-piercing chill. It lightly raised its front paw and gave a gentle wave.

The blood-red sky twisted violently. The blood-colored earth turned into writhing flesh.

A blood thread shot out from the flesh, coiling around Wei Qing's limbs, tightening bit by bit like a living thing.

"Shriek!"

Skin and flesh were sliced open. Blood flowed along the blood thread but did not drip down—instead, it was greedily absorbed.

Those writhing blood threads were like parasites.

Cutting and absorbing at the same time.

"Crack"

Bones let out an overburdened sound, as if they would snap in the next second.

Wei Qing clenched his teeth, a look of unyielding defiance flickering in his eyes.

The cat demon crouched to the side, smirking wickedly. "This is just the first thread. For the next twelve hours."

"Have a good taste of what it means to be worse than dead!"

As it spoke.

A second blood thread shot out... a third blood thread...

"Ugh..."

The agony surged like a tidal wave. What was even more terrifying was that he could clearly sense it.

This was not an illusion!

The Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat's illusion had long surpassed ordinary mental interference.

It acted on the nerves, on the level of the five senses.

Here, the pain was real...

Twelve hours later.

Wei Qing's face was pale as paper, his consciousness scattered, his tattered robes completely stained red.

His fingers twitched faintly, his nails long since peeled away, revealing the stark white bones beneath.