Exterminating Demons

He extended his right hand and grasped at the air, five beams of light manifesting at his fingertips to converge into a sharp, conical shape. With a loud bang, it collided with the venomous hook, and amidst the gasps of the onlookers, the scorpion's tail was deflected. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; after all, Tie Wushuang, the master of Black Wind Stronghold, had been killed by a single strike from that very hook. Yet, at that exact moment, the scorpion's two front pincers lunged forward.

Yan Chihuo held his longsword horizontally, and with a metallic clang, the pincers struck the blade. Using the force of the impact, he flipped his body forward, leaping into mid-air as he brought his sword down in a follow-up strike. This sequence of movements was executed in one fluid motion, leaving the scorpion no chance to counterattack. Strangely enough, although the scorpion's cultivation base was higher than his and it moved like the wind, he could always catch a glimpse of its vulnerabilities in the blink of an eye.

His ability to seize a tactical advantage had always been exceptional; during his battle with Gao Kun, he had struck the spine of the opponent's sword dozens of times without missing once. However, back then, his cultivation had been superior, whereas now, it was due to his physical Abnormality and his keen eyesight. Otherwise, with the Ice Poison Scorpion moving as fast as lightning, he would have been defeated long ago.

The scorpion spat out another wave of cold air, forming an ice wall, while simultaneously shifting its body a few feet to the side. Several cracking sounds echoed as the ice wall shattered, and though the scorpion dodged quickly, the edge of the sword still left a wound on its body.

Stung by the pain, the scorpion reared up, preparing to strike again. Little did it know that Yan Chihuo had already seized the upper hand; he grasped with his right hand once more, and five beams of light flew out, instantly piercing five finger-sized holes into the scorpion's body. Following this, he launched himself forward, his longsword slashing straight down.

Having suffered repeated setbacks, the Ice Poison Scorpion was consumed by rage. It opened its mouth and spat out a glob of cold liquid—this was its life-bound venom. Living in the Ice Snow Valley, the Ice Poison Scorpion's entire body was saturated with cold toxins, making it incredibly formidable. However, using this life-bound venom would inevitably cause severe damage to its vitality, which was why it had always been reluctant to use it.

Yan Chihuo was in mid-air and could not dodge in time, so he had no choice but to cast the Stone Armor Art again. The cold liquid drenched him, and in an instant, he was frozen into an ice pillar, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud. The scorpion, still not satisfied, continued to spit cold liquid onto his frozen form.

Xuan Ming and the others initially thought Yan Chihuo would escape just as he had before, but after a few moments, there was no movement from him. Instead, the layer of ice grew thicker as the scorpion continued to spew its venom.

After a while, the Ice Poison Scorpion stopped spitting venom and turned its gaze toward Xuan Ming and his group. Xuan Ming and the others felt a sense of dread, but the scorpion was blocking the temple entrance, making it difficult for them to flee.

Seeing that the Ice Poison Scorpion was only posturing and refusing to advance, Xuan Ming's heart stirred. He shouted, "Don't be afraid! This monster was heavily injured a few days ago and just exhausted a great deal of its vitality. This is the perfect opportunity to eliminate it; otherwise, even if we survive today, we will surely die if we fail to collect the Snow Soul Essence."

Hearing this, the others felt it made sense and suppressed their urge to flee, preparing to kill the scorpion. However, even though they knew its strength had greatly diminished, no one dared to be the first to strike.

Xuan Ming gritted his teeth, shook his longsword, and lunged forward. The scorpion flicked its front pincer, deflecting the sword aside without launching a counterattack. Instead of being alarmed, Xuan Ming was overjoyed, realizing the scorpion was even weaker than he had imagined. Under normal circumstances, even if the scorpion didn't use its arts, it would have certainly retaliated.

He shouted loudly, "This monster is finished! Everyone, put in some effort! If we wait for it to recover its vitality, we're all dead."

The others also saw that the scorpion was far from its former self and, emboldened, they all attacked at once. Xuan Ming took a deep breath and silently recited an incantation. Seeing this, the others intensified their assault, fearing the Ice Poison Scorpion might seize the chance to escape.

A moment later, a surge of cold air erupted from the tip of Xuan Ming's sword, swirling toward the scorpion. Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the cold air enveloped the beast. However, to his surprise, the scorpion did not freeze into an ice pillar as they had imagined; it was merely covered in a thin layer of white frost.

The scorpion shook itself, and the frost fell to the ground. Not only was it uninjured, but it seemed even more spirited than before. Xuan Ming immediately realized his mistake: the Ice Poison Scorpion was an ice-attribute monster, and it was already at the Body Tempering Middle Stage. Although it was severely wounded, for cultivators at the Body Tempering Early Stage who practiced the same attribute, low-level ice spells would not only fail to harm it but might even provide it with a boost.

The others realized this as well. Since they all hailed from the Black Wind Stronghold and practiced ice-attribute techniques, they all felt a bitter taste in their mouths. Two of them immediately turned to flee.

Unexpectedly, the scorpion seemed to have recovered a sliver of its magic power. With a single leap, it landed behind the two men. It raised its tail stinger, and with two sharp thwips, the venomous hook pierced through their backs and out their chests. As the two corpses fell to the ground, covered only by a thin layer of frost, it was clear that the scorpion's strength had indeed been greatly reduced.

Even so, the group remained in a state of panic. Just then, a long whistle rang out, and a flash of sword light flew forth, transforming into a white rainbow several yards long. The scorpion's tail hook rose to meet it, and with a sharp crack, the sword light severed both the tail hook and the creature's head.

The group turned to look and discovered it was Yan Chihuo. The ice on his body had vanished, and he stood there holding his longsword. Seeing the scorpion still twitching, he struck several more times, hacking it into pieces.

Xuan Ming and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief. They all knelt down and said, "Many thanks to the Senior for saving our lives."

Yan Chihuo nodded slightly and said to the man in black, "What is your name? Come with me and find that Heavenly Evil Blood Demon."

The burly man in black replied, "This humble one is named Shi San. But Senior, if I accompany you, I will miss the collection of the Snow Soul Essence. If my poison flares up, I would be better off dead."

Only then did Yan Chihuo recall that they had been discussing this matter before he entered. He said, "What kind of poison are you afflicted with? Let me take a look."

A flicker of hope suddenly ignited in the burly man's heart. Ever since he had been poisoned, he had lived in constant fear of a flare-up. He had seen with his own eyes a disciple from the Black Wind Stronghold who failed his mission; when Ru Shuang arrived and refused to give him the antidote, the poison took hold. The man wailed for three days and three nights, eventually tearing the flesh from his own body before he finally died. Every time he thought of it, a chill seemed to run down his spine.

He stepped forward and said, "I don't know what kind of poison it is, but it was planted on my forearm." With that, he rolled up his right sleeve, revealing a black, pigeon-egg-sized lump on his forearm that emitted a faint, foul odor.

Yan Chihuo reached out and pressed his hand against the black lump. Shi San felt a surge of true energy enter his body, circulating through him, and in an instant, the black lump vanished—the poison within him had been completely eradicated. Yan Chihuo then placed two fingers on his pulse, and after a moment, said, "Your poison is cured. You can come with me now, can't you?"