Night fell,
the wind and rain lashed fiercely.
The village's mortal warriors, who had been holding the Crocodile Demon at bay, retreated one after another, staring toward the battle in horror.
There, wave after wave of deafening booms rang out. The fierce battle tore through the surrounding houses, smashing them down as if they were made of paper!
The entire ground visibly shook!
With help from those nearby, the injured Han Qinhu also got to his feet,
his face unable to hide his shock as he watched the battlefield.
Too strong!
Even the shock waves alone were enough to injure anyone they touched and kill anyone they struck!
This was a cultivator,
possessing power beyond anything mortal warriors could ever hope to wield!
They weren't even qualified to interfere in a battle between a cultivator and a Demon Beast!
At that moment,
on the battlefield,
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
Three basketball-sized scarlet fireballs shot through the air. Their scorching heat swept outward, instantly evaporating the raindrops around them as they hurtled toward the Crocodile Demon!
The fireballs flew at incredible speed, covering the distance of a dozen or so yards in the blink of an eye.
The Crocodile Demon couldn't dodge in time and took all three fireballs head-on.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Amid muffled booms, the fireballs struck the Crocodile Demon and exploded. Orange-red flames blasted in every direction, their intense heat vaporizing the surrounding rain. White steam billowed outward on all sides.
At the same time,
the stench of scorched flesh began to spread through the air.
The Crocodile Demon's pupils grew even redder, the madness reflected in its eyes seeming to set the heavens ablaze!
It let out a furious roar,
then threw back its head and bellowed,
unleashing even more overwhelming demonic power from within its body as it gathered a ball of water larger than before!
It seemed to be pouring all its strength into this single attack, as though it meant to annihilate the two-legged beast leaping around before it!
Its immense power nearly made the air visibly compress.
Shen Changchuan's breathing grew slightly labored!
Was this a desperate, last-ditch attack?
Shen Changchuan tensed every nerve.
He pushed the Spirit Eye Technique to its limit, watching the trajectory of the attack that was about to come. He had to dodge this lethal strike.
Through the Spirit Eye Technique,
Shen Changchuan vaguely saw countless densely packed points within the mass of demonic energy gathered in the water ball!
They seemed to be points where spiritual energy had been condensed to an extreme degree!
Retreat!
Shen Changchuan had no idea what the Crocodile Demon intended to do.
It might be preparing to use a new spell.
Whatever the case,
retreating was the safest choice!
His body instinctively moved at once, rapidly pulling back. In the space of a few breaths, he had put another dozen or so yards between them!
At that very moment,
the Crocodile Demon unleashed its demonic art,
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Arrow after arrow of condensed water shot out like a vast, all-encompassing rain of arrows, hurtling toward Shen Changchuan and covering a wide area around him, above, below, left, and right!
The barrage was so dense that even Shen Changchuan, who could see the arrows' trajectories and points of impact with the Spirit Eye Technique, couldn't find a single place to dodge!
Yet there wasn't the slightest hint of panic on Shen Changchuan's face.
With the Spirit Eye Technique active, he had noticed that the demonic power within those Water Arrows rapidly diminished after they were fired.
Especially after he had retreated a dozen or so yards, their power had weakened even further.
The threat,
didn't seem all that great!
Shen Changchuan's gaze shifted,
and with a lift of his hand, he sent out three fireballs.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In a blaze of scarlet light, terrifying heat swept out and exploded, blasting apart and evaporating every Water Arrow that came straight at him.
He easily cleared an opening.
"If you don't have any other tricks, then you—"
Shen Changchuan was about to say something, but when he looked up, he suddenly realized the Crocodile Demon's enormous body had vanished from ahead!
Something was wrong!
Shen Changchuan whipped his head toward the riverbank,
and there, in the rainy night, on the stretch of earth between Dawan Village and the river,
the Crocodile Demon was racing toward the riverbank like a giant rat, its four limbs leaving a trail of afterimages as its massive body shot forward at incredible speed.
"Fuck!"
He'd been tricked!
Shen Changchuan's eyes widened,
and he swore, letting loose a choice curse from his past life.
What blood-red eyes blazing with fury? What desperate last strike? It had all been a smokescreen for its escape!
That bastard's real goal had been to run away!
There was no time to think.
Relying on the agility granted by the Light Body Technique, Shen Changchuan stepped forward. His figure flashed several times, darting like a phantom across dozens of yards as he pursued the Crocodile Demon's escape route.
The Crocodile Demon was running fast. In just a few breaths, it had nearly reached the riverbank.
Fortunately,
Shen Changchuan was faster!
When it was still thirty or forty meters from the river,
Shen Changchuan had already drawn to within a dozen or so yards of it!
Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Changchuan spread his five fingers and clenched his hand toward it from afar.
Vine Technique!
As spiritual light flickered with the flow of his mana, the seeds he had scattered in advance around the area sprang to life almost instantly. Tough vines grew rapidly, shooting upward and intertwining like long snakes.
The huge Crocodile Demon didn't see them in time. It tripped over the vines beneath its feet, stumbled forward, and crashed to the ground with a rumble.
At that moment, even more vines shot up from every direction. They wound around its limbs and body, stretching and twisting like a dense web of ropes until its massive frame was bound.
A flicker of panic seemed to pass through the Crocodile Demon's eyes, once filled with madness.
It had every reason to panic.
In its earlier fight with Shen Changchuan, it had used its innate spells too many times,
leaving it with barely any demonic power. It had been forced to use a feint before hastily turning to flee.
Now, faced with a spell that merely coaxed ordinary vine seeds to grow, it no longer had the strength to sweep them aside as it had before.
Its enormous body was trapped as if it had sunk into a swamp.
The Crocodile Demon swung its thick limbs with all its might. Unable to withstand that tremendous force, the ordinary vines snapped one after another with sharp cracks.
But Shen Changchuan's Vine Technique had already reached 100% mastery. He could cast it instantly.
As long as there were still seeds scattered around,
one vine could snap, and even more could grow in its place!
More and more vines spread over it,
and the harder the Crocodile Demon struggled, the deeper it sank, as if it were mired in a swamp!
At the same time,
a cold glint flashed through Shen Changchuan's eyes.
Now!
With the Spirit Eye Technique active, Shen Changchuan found the perfect moment to strike.
In that instant,
two golden needles appeared in Shen Changchuan's hand. As his mana flowed, spiritual light gathered over his palm, and the needles glimmered with a faint golden sheen, their chilling edges flashing.
Gold Thorn Technique!
Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Changchuan unleashed the strongest killing move in his arsenal.
He whipped his hand forward, hurling the golden needles!
A flash of golden light vanished through the air.
The dozen or so yards between them disappeared in an instant.
Every hair on the Crocodile Demon's body stood on end. Its instincts screamed that it was in the gravest danger.
But,
before it could react,
Thud! Thud!
Two muffled impacts. Flesh burst apart.
The two golden needles had already pierced its head like sniper bullets, carrying unimaginable force that churned its brain to pulp!
The Crocodile Demon's enormous body stiffened abruptly. Then its eyes dimmed,
and it crashed to the ground.
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