Dragon Raises Its Head

"You're feeling smug?"

In the darkness, Wu Dao slowly raised his head.

Half of his face had been torn away by the Flesh Tai Sui, leaving only the facial bone. Combined with that half-distorted smile and a mouthful of Triangular Shark Teeth, he was truly no different from an Evil Ghost from hell.

He was reaching his limit.

The energy from the Bat King flesh within his body had been squeezed dry; if he continued to fight, he would drain his own life force and turn himself into a dried corpse!

But!

He was not without a chance of victory!!

As long as he could restore his peak state, even for a brief moment.

Even if it lasted less than a minute!

He could tear this bastard who had touched his flesh to pieces!

How to obtain this minute?

It was very simple...

And so.

Next.

An extremely terrifying scene unfolded before the eyes of the Flesh Tai Sui.

It made the creature tremble from head to toe.

It made its soul shudder.

It even caused its intelligence to briefly reach the level of a normal person, forcing it to spit out two words in a trembling tone:

"You are not human!!"

Why such a loss of composure?

That was because...

Under the horrified gaze of the Flesh Tai Sui.

Wu Dao grinned, revealing two rows of sharp Triangular Shark Teeth.

Then.

His iron claws tore at the muscles on his chest...

Following that!

He held his right arm horizontally...

Rip!

Chunks of muscle were torn and stripped right off his right arm...

After the right hand came the left.

In the stunned gaze of the Flesh Tai Sui.

Wu Dao's arms were soon reduced to nothing but jade-like bones, ghastly white and terrifying to behold!

And as for that meat...

Thump, thump, thump--

The Great Medicine supply kicked in.

The brand-new "fuel" began to burn and exert power, surging with vigorous, majestic life force in all directions.

However.

This time, Wu Dao locked the Myriad Healing Fluid away.

He did not use it to restore the damaged body tissue.

Instead, he channeled it only to the parts that were still intact and usable.

Thump, thump, thump--

Under the abundant supply of Myriad Healing Fluid.

His heart, which had been on the verge of extinguishing, began to hammer like a war drum once more. The volcanic energy finished charging, and the scorching, overbearing aura—vast as a mountain and crashing like a sea—pressed down on the Flesh Tai Sui until it could barely breathe.

"Hiss, that hits the spot!!"

Wu Dao let his skeletal hands hang limp, feeling no pain, his face twisted in a look of manic enjoyment. Through his chest, one could clearly see his fiery red heart beating beneath his thick, exposed ribcage.

Then.

He parted his hideous maw, his blood-red eyes locked onto the distant Flesh Tai Sui, and spat out a single sentence devoid of all emotion:

"Round two!"

Thump!!

The earth collapsed, soil and stone spraying outward!

And it all happened in the blink of an eye!

Wu Dao's mangled frame crushed the air, the surging currents behind him swelling into a terrifying blood-colored demonic shadow as he appeared before the Flesh Tai Sui.

In a momentary trance.

The Flesh Tai Sui felt as if it had returned to the very beginning of the battle.

The same twisted smile!

The same violent, ferocious aura!

The same explosive power, brimming and brewing like a Savage Whale Crashing into Island!

The only difference was.

This time, he used his knee!

This time...

It could neither dodge nor defend against it...

Thud!!

The knee strike was like a Dragon Raises Its Head!

Destructive force like a mountain-toppling tsunami poured in, as if tons of high explosives had detonated within its body!

Crack~

A barely audible shattering sound rang out.

Boundless darkness descended.

In a daze, the Flesh Tai Sui seemed to see the mountain forest from hundreds of years ago, bathed in bright sunlight with dappled tree shadows.

Still ignorant and unawakened, it lay quietly beneath the fertile soil, instinctively absorbing the gifts of heaven and earth.

Until...

It saw a variegated tiger leap down from the hilltop, sniffing the air as it walked toward it, step by step.

As it drew closer.

It suddenly realized.

Why did that tiger have a human face, twisted like an Evil Ghost?

How familiar it felt...

Bang!!

Splash!

A massive spray of red fluid scattered.

The entire upper body of the Flesh Tai Sui was kicked into ten thousand pieces of flying mud, exploding into clouds of blood mist in mid-air.

Where it once stood.

Only half a fleshy stump remained, tumbling through the air before finally rolling onto the ground.

Thud!

Another heavy sound of something hitting the ground.

Wu Dao's battered and broken body toppled over like a mountain of gold collapsing into a pillar of jade.

That final strike.

It had burned through all the "fuel" he had consumed, and now it began to consume his very flesh and blood, his body visibly shriveling up.

He could no longer maintain the God-Ghost Heaven state.

The moment he exited it.

The brain's protective mechanisms returned.

Agony like falling into a mountain of blades or a sea of fire surged over him, tearing at his soul and flesh; his entire being felt as if it were about to burst apart!

His consciousness was being dragged bit by bit into the darkness, as if he were about to fall into an eternal sleep in the next second.

Can't sleep!

Can't sleep!

You are the winner, you haven't even enjoyed your prey yet, why would you sleep?!

That's right!

I won!!

I won once again!!

Once again, I have emerged from the cruel competition of natural selection!

This is not my end!

Devoured the prey!

Keep moving forward!!

"Ha... hahahahaha..."

Utterly exhilarating.

Laughter, manic and demonic, echoed across the wilderness.

Wu Dao suddenly bit through half his tongue, using pain to overcome pain, forcibly maintaining his consciousness.

Body unable to move?

At the end of his rope, trapped in a dead end?

But it didn't matter!

Drawn by that scent, so full of deadly temptation.

Using the only muscles he could still exert force with—his jaw—and aided by the warm current spreading from his stomach, Wu Dao kept clenching and unclenching his teeth, gnawing at the ground, dragging his body like a maggot toward the location of the Flesh Tai Sui Demon Core.

I'm coming!

I'll be there to eat you in a moment!!

Wu Dao roared in his heart, gnawing his way along the ground, trailing a thick, blood-colored path as he kept inching forward.

His brain flickered.

Sometimes clear.

Sometimes chaotic.

All sorts of messy thoughts surfaced:

Tastes like chicken?

Tastes like beef?

Or perhaps a hundred flavors mixed together??

Stir-fried, steamed, or deep-fried?

Should I add more chili?

Ten meters...

Five meters...

One meter...

Finally.

The ball of meat, the size of a soccer ball and clear as red agate, came into view, exuding a refreshing, intoxicating fragrance.

At its center, Lay the Demon Core, the size of a chicken egg, glowing with a faint, gem-like luster, its scent reaching a truly dizzying intensity.

Snap!

He bit down hard into the meat mass!!

His mouth was filled with fragrance.

Unexpectedly.

This Tai Sui meat.

Actually tasted like sweet potato, with the texture of jelly.

Majestic Canyun Mountain.

Vast, sea-like forests.

As the moon hung low in the west, yin descended and yang rose.

Whoosh—

A warm breeze from the east stirred the waves of green leaves, dispersing the eerie, strange fog beneath the mountainside.

The wind climbed mountains and crossed forests.

It swirled and wailed through a stretch of dark, primordial wilderness.

In the end.

This gust washed away the thick, lingering stench of blood in the air.

As for the blood-soaked mire that had accumulated on the ground like a slaughterhouse, that would have to be cleaned up by the "residents" of the mountain themselves.

The hinterlands of Canyun Mountain.

Deep within a natural cave.

"Chi chi chi..."

In the darkness.

A bat flapped its wings, seemingly having discovered prey, and approached with impatience.

Splat!

Suddenly, a steel hand shot up from the darkness, smashing the bat into a pulp.

Swish!

Wu Dao's eyes snapped open, fine electric light exploding in the darkness, emanating an imposing aura.

Hoo~

He exhaled a long, deep breath of turbid air.

Wu Dao sat up and surveyed his surroundings, his gaze sharp, like two small lanterns, his night vision unimpaired in the darkness.

One night of recuperation.

His battered and depleted body had finally returned to its peak state.

After the brutal battle last night.

His spirit and body had been on the brink of death.

But he had still used his inhuman willpower to forcibly move himself before the Flesh Tai Sui's Demon Core.

After consuming the fragrant meat that encased the Demon Core, he had barely regained his mobility.

To prevent new "fishermen" from appearing.

He had fled with the Demon Core, eventually hiding in this primitive cave.

Demons harm people, and people kill demons for their cores. It's a normal occurrence in fantasy and xianxia novels, right?