The Hunt Begins

Ji An flew beyond the range of the sect's mountain-protecting formation, fixed his direction, and shot straight west.

The wild wind howled past his ears, while the sun silently spread light and heat across his back.

It was the height of summer. The earth was lush and green, brightly feathered birds darted through the woods, and mischievous monkeys scrambled along the branches.

Streams chimed through the mountains, and several deer leaped lightly across them, unaware that a striped tiger lay crouched nearby, hidden among the weeds.

The forest brimmed with life, with flights and pursuits unfolding every moment.

The deer ran for their lives, the tiger hunted to fill its belly. It had nothing to do with justice or evil; survival and reproduction were the main melody.

As Ji An ventured deeper, the forests grew denser and the number of demonic beasts increased.

Billowing black qi rose from a deep valley. Most of the nearby plants had withered, yet some twisted, gnarled vegetation flourished with unusual vigor.

The black qi rapidly spread and thinned, shrouding the entire area in gray mist. All demonic beasts and ordinary animals detoured around it.

Shadows occasionally flickered through the mist, but a closer look revealed nothing.

This black qi was demonic qi. There had to be a fissure in the valley leading to the True Demon Realm. Those indistinct shadows were phenomena caused by demons stirring the demonic qi as they flew.

Demons were formless and could not be distinguished with the naked eye unless one had cultivated a special Pupil Technique.

For now, the animals still had room to avoid the demonic qi. In a few years, there would be nowhere left to retreat, bringing about a great extinction of living creatures.

Ji An hovered above the deep valley and formed a hand