The next moment.
Zhu Huan's neck stretched out wildly, becoming as flexible as rubber.
In an instant, it extended more than five meters, coiled around Wei Qing's body, and yanked hard!
Wei Qing's entire body was lifted into the air, bound and dragged before Zhu Huan. Its scarlet tongue gently swept over the corner of its lips.
"Heh heh, Lord Wei, I've caught you!"
"Is that so?"
A blue radiance shot from Wei Qing's eyes and sank directly into the center of Zhu Huan's brows.
"Ah..."
Zhu Huan let out a shriek. Its long neck rapidly retracted and returned to normal as excruciating pain exploded in its mind, like thousands of silver needles stabbing into its head at once. In agony, it clutched its head and rolled across the ground.
Just as Wei Qing was preparing to deliver the final blow, an enraged roar filled with overwhelming killing intent rang out from behind him.
"Brat, you were the one who killed my son."
A bone-chilling demonic aura rushed toward him, making every hair on his body stand on end. Without the slightest hesitation, he stamped down hard and retreated explosively.
However.
The Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat was faster. Its four tails swept across like steel whips, making the air crack with booming sounds.
"Bang!"
Wei Qing hurriedly raised his blade to block. The Soul Severing Blade collided with the cat's tail.
Terrifying force traveled along the blade, splitting the web between his thumb and forefinger. His entire body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, smashing through four walls in succession before he barely managed to stop.
"Pfft!"
Wei Qing suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. His face instantly went pale, and the hand gripping the blade trembled slightly as blood dripped down the hilt.
A sharp pain came from the left side of his chest—at least two ribs were broken.
Every breath sent a searing pain through his lungs.
"The gap is a little bigger than I expected..."
He had thought that, with all his strength, fighting a low-stage sixth-grade demonic beast to a draw would not be much of a problem.
But reality had slapped him hard across the face.
The sixth-grade demonic beast's speed, strength, and depth of demonic power had all far exceeded his estimates.
After exchanging only one blow, he was already vomiting blood, with broken ribs.
If this continued, Longdong Village might well become his burial ground.
"I can't fight it head-on..."
Wei Qing hurriedly pulled the Black Jade Dew from his robes 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 demonic power.
The higher the demonic creature's rank, the less effect it would have.
Although its effect on a sixth-grade demon was limited, even weakening it by ten percent would be enough to change the course of the battle.
Seeing that the human youth opposite him had actually survived his blow, the killing intent in the Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat's eyes deepened.
Its figure suddenly blurred.
The next second, it had already appeared before Wei Qing, its claws reaching straight for his face.
Wei Qing twisted sharply at the waist, and the Soul Severing Blade carved a fierce arc through the air.
When the blade touched the cat demon's back, it seemed to strike black iron, sending sparks flying everywhere.
Amid the ringing clash of metal, the cat demon's four enormous tails descended from the sky like silver spears.
Wei Qing's pupils contracted sharply. The energy in his body surged wildly, and his figure turned into a fading afterimage as he dodged left and right.
Boom, boom, boom...
Three enormous tails stabbed into the ground. The bluestone-paved floor instantly exploded, sending fragments of stone flying.
Wei Qing's figure faltered, and his left shoulder was instantly pierced by the cat demon's fourth tail.
"Cough..."
Wei Qing coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body staggered, but the corner of his mouth curled into a cold smile.
"Brat, pay for my child..."
The Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat's pupils were icy cold, but its voice suddenly faltered.
It discovered that the tail piercing Wei Qing's shoulder seemed to be clamped by steel pincers and could not be pulled free.
The smile on the human youth's face opposite it gave it an even greater sense of unease.
The instant his shoulder was pierced, Wei Qing's muscles abruptly tightened, clamping the cat demon's tail firmly.
The energy within his body circulated furiously.
"Esoteric Art—Lotus Bloom!"
Centered on Wei Qing, a blood-red lotus burst into bloom beneath his feet.
All nine lotus petals were blade radiance condensed to the utmost limit. The Primal Energy around him rolled back madly, even condensing in midair into a blood-red phantom three zhang tall.
The phantom swung its blade in perfect synchronization with Wei Qing.
The Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat's vertical pupils shrank to pinpoints. At last, it understood the reason for that thread of unease in its heart.
The human youth before it had actually used his own severe injury as bait!
He had done so to trap it.
And lay the groundwork for his attack.
"No—"
Sensing the terrifying destructive power contained within the crimson blade radiance, it circulated its demonic power madly and successively formed three demonic-power barriers around its body.
However—
"Rip!"
The first demonic-power barrier was torn apart like thin paper, and the blade radiance continued forward unabated.
"Crack!"
The second barrier barely held for an instant before shattering.
"Shnk!"
The third barrier was pierced by the remaining force of the blade radiance.
The demonic tail caught in Wei Qing's shoulder was also sliced away by a quarter, and demonic blood gushed wildly.
The remaining blade radiance slammed viciously into its body.
"Roar..."
Under the agony, the Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat let out a shrill howl that resounded through the heavens.
The eyes it turned toward Wei Qing became completely blood-red, and its killing intent surged sky-high.
"You actually... comprehended an esoteric art!"
This was a supreme martial technique that only great demons above the third grade or third-grade human masters could grasp.
If this child was not eliminated, he would surely become a grave threat to the demons in the future!
At that thought.
Blood-red light erupted from the Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat's eyes, and an extremely formidable spiritual force descended like a shroud.
The surrounding environment abruptly transformed.
A blood moon hung in the sky.
The Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat crouched atop a blood-red rock, while Wei Qing was bound to a cross by three arm-thick chains, unable to move in the slightest.
He had tried a spiritual shock just now, only to find that this spiritual-force space was completely unaffected.
"Heh heh, welcome to my world."
"Next, we'll have a good time."
A bone-piercing chill seeped from the cat demon's voice. It gently raised a forepaw and gave a light wave.
The blood-red sky abruptly twisted, and the blood-red earth transformed into writhing flesh.
A strand of bloody filament shot out from the flesh, wrapped around Wei Qing's limbs, and slowly tightened like a living creature.
"Shnk!"
Skin and flesh were sliced open. Blood flowed along the bloody filament, but instead of dripping down, it was greedily absorbed.
Those writhing bloody filaments were like parasites.
They cut while they absorbed.
"Crack."
His bones made a sound of unbearable strain, as if they would be squeezed apart the next second.
Wei Qing clenched his teeth, an unyielding light flashing in his eyes.
The cat demon crouched beside him and said with an evil grin, "This is only the first one. There are still twelve hours ahead."
"Enjoy the feeling of wanting to die but being unable to!"
As it spoke.
A second bloody filament shot out... then a third...
"Urgh..."
Pain surged over him like a tide. What was even more terrifying was that he could clearly feel it.
This was not an illusion!
The Four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat's illusion had long since surpassed ordinary spiritual interference.
It acted on the level of the nerves and the five senses.
The pain here was real...
Twelve hours later.
Wei Qing's face was as pale as paper, his consciousness scattered, his tattered robes thoroughly dyed red.
His fingers twitched faintly. His fingernails had long since peeled away, exposing ghastly white finger bones.