Sea of Sand (3)

Shen Yuxi strode alone through the dim passage, his face dark. The anger of being forced apart from his junior brothers churned within him, all of it transformed into the icy gleam at his sword's tip.

Before even half an hour had passed, two Nether-Scale Snakes spewing poisonous miasma lunged from the shadows, their foul stench rushing into his face. He did not even pause. His scabbard trembled lightly, and a streak of Sword Qi swept out like a crescent moon—their heads fell at once. Before their venomous blood could splash out, he had already drifted several yards away, leaving only two headless snake bodies twitching where they lay.

After roughly the time it took to burn an incense stick, a deafening roar suddenly sounded ahead, making the ground tremble faintly. A Stone-Armored Bear, built like a small mountain, charged out from around the bend.

This demon beast was clearly the ruler of these tunnels. Seeing an intruder, it slammed its forepaws into the ground. Two cracks several feet deep instantly spread to Shen Yuxi's feet, while its foul-smelling roar shook loose fragments of stone from the ceiling.

Shen Yuxi finally stopped. Slowly raising his eyes, he swept his sword-sharp gaze across the thickest plate of armor on the Stone-Armored Bear's chest—faint red patterns could be seen there, the weak point where the demon beast's heart meridian lay.

His longsword left its sheath by three inches, and an utterly condensed sword intent tore through the air. It pierced directly through the heavy armor and shattered the demon beast's heart meridian. The Stone-Armored Bear crashed to the ground, but he did not even spare it a second glance.

Along the way, any demon beast bold enough to block his path—whether venomous insects spewing poisonous mist or savage beasts baring their fangs