Black Tiger King

Chen Xian rode into the forest.

Many demon corpses still lay within the forest, while thick, foul-smelling demon blood covered the ground everywhere.

Previously, the bloody aura had floated above the forest. Now it drifted through the woods, mingling with the thin miasma like a veil of blood draped over everything.

Judging by the number of demons Chen Quanwu and the others had slain, they had blocked at least three thousand demons.

But they had been a thousand Demon Slayer Soldiers who were used to slaughter and battle, several times stronger than the three hundred Cook Soldiers under his command.

"Holding them off for two days will be a little difficult!"

Chen Xian's expression darkened. If a Lesser Demon King led three thousand demons against them, he could only fight the Lesser Demon King himself.

The remaining three thousand demons would certainly charge at Wang Yan, Qin Fei, and the others.

How could a hundred or so people possibly hold back three thousand demons?

Unless he could kill that Lesser Demon King in an instant and frighten the three thousand demons into retreat.

But Lesser Demon Kings varied in strength. The Young Wolf King he had killed last time had possessed mid-stage Lesser Demon King strength. If he encountered a late-stage or peak Lesser Demon King—

With his current strength, he could at most wound it. Killing it would be rather difficult.

If he could not instantly kill the Lesser Demon King, Wang Yan, Qin Fei, and the others would be in grave danger.

Chen Xian frowned slightly. Though he knew Li Shen and Liu Dingchun had sent him here with his men to die, there was nothing he could do but obey orders.

A moment later, Chen Xian arrived before Wang Yan's hundred-man unit and stared at the crimson river water in the Blood River.

"The battle was brutal!"

Wang Yan rode forward and said by Chen Xian's ear, "Quite a few men under Chen Quanwu died. Liu Dingchun wants us to hold out for two days. He probably thinks we're dying too slowly."

Chen Xian said, "Li Sheng and Liu Dingchun still want to make use of us. They won't let all of us die."

Wang Yan's eyes flickered. "I wonder what identity Brother Ding had before coming in front of Demon-Slaying Pass. Li Sheng is the duke's grandson, after all. To put it bluntly, if he truly wanted Brother Ding dead, wouldn't it take just a word?"

Chen Xian remained expressionless and did not respond to Wang Yan. His gaze fixed on the far bank of the Blood River. "There will be a bloody battle tonight!"

Wang Yan also looked across the Blood River. Through a narrow gap, he stared at the dark firmament and saw blood-colored clouds rolling and surging.

"I'm ready for a bloody battle." He gripped his spear tightly.

Chen Xian smiled. "Don't think too much. Brothers advance and retreat together, in life and death."

Wang Yan nodded. "I understand, Brother."

Over the past three days, he had taken two Origin Condensing Pills and successfully condensed thirty-two acupoints, finally stepping into the Surging Origin Realm.

Both his strength and physical toughness had surpassed what they had been before.

Midnight.

A rain of blood fell from the night sky, carrying biting cold.

Everyone stood motionless beneath the rain.

Rumble!

Suddenly, a thunderclap split the night sky. Lightning tore through the skies above Blood River Forest like dragons and serpents, shredding the darkness into fragments.

The lightning illuminated Chen Xian's expressionless face.

His gaze was incomparably calm as he stared ahead. After roughly ten breaths, he shouted in a low voice, "Everyone, fall back!"

Without hesitation upon hearing the order, Wang Yan led the hundred men swiftly out of Blood River Forest.

"Xianzi, why aren't you leaving?" He looked back and saw that Chen Xian had not moved.

"You go first. Send word for Qin Fei to retreat to Seven Mile Peak."

"Alright!"

Wang Yan nodded and rode away.

Roar! Roar! Awoo! Awoo...!

Not long after he left, waves of earthshaking roars came from the far side of the Blood River.

Wang Yan was shocked. Looking back, he vaguely saw masses of black demons darting about.

He knew ordinary demons could not harm Chen Xian at all, so he hastily led the Cook Soldiers under him out of the forest.

Boom!

At that moment, a silver figure shot through the sky above Blood River Forest, charging toward the far bank of the Blood River.

Standing by the Blood River, Chen Xian looked up.

That silver figure was Pei Menglong. With a spear in hand and golden dragon-elephant radiance surrounding his body, he alone battled a burly man in black armor.

There was no need to guess. That black-armored man had to be the Black Tiger King.

"Kill them! Slaughter every last one of those lowly humans!" Three Lesser Demon Kings each led three thousand demons across the Blood River from three directions.

One of the Lesser Demon Kings charged toward Chen Xian.

There were simply too many demons. Some crossed through the Blood River, while others passed through the angle between the western side of Blood River Forest and the Black Abyss.

Chen Xian's Spiritual Sense Eye could only cover a little over seven hundred meters, leaving the other areas beyond his sight.

But judging from the demons' roars, there were likely no fewer than ten thousand of them.

There had to be other Demon Suppression Army soldiers guarding Blood River Forest. Otherwise, how could their mere three hundred men possibly block ten thousand demons?

"Kill!"

Chen Xian shouted coldly. Before the demons crossed the Blood River, he leaped into the air and charged at that Lesser Demon King.

Clang!

His spear struck the Lesser Demon King's fist, producing the sound of metal crashing against metal.

Chen Xian's expression darkened. He thrust again, launching a continuous barrage against the Lesser Demon King.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang...

The Lesser Demon King carried no weapon, relying entirely on its fists and formidable body to withstand Chen Xian's spear. After five or six fierce strikes in succession, Chen Xian only sent it flying without inflicting much injury.

Moo!

Chen Xian activated the Jade Sea Furnace. In an instant, the Ox Demon Body Refinement appeared behind him. Surging Origin Qi erupted and transformed into spear shadows as he attacked the Lesser Demon King again.

The surrounding demons roared as they rushed toward the far side of the Blood River.

Only the Demon Men and Demon Generals remained behind to assist the Lesser Demon King in killing Chen Xian.

Pshht!

The spear pierced through a Demon Man, blood spraying out amid the rain.

Killing a Lesser Demon King was difficult, but killing Demon Men was extremely easy. One spear strike killed one.

Sacrificed the soul of one mid-stage lesser demon, gained 1438 experience points

A line of text appeared on the panel.

Chen Xian had no time to look. After knocking the Lesser Demon King flying with a spear strike, he charged again at the five Demon Men and two Demon Generals.

In only a moment, he pierced three Demon Men to death.

He pierced through one Demon General's chest, though it had not yet completely died.

Chen Xian turned and leaped onto the northern bank of the Blood River. His spear swept sideways and stabbed repeatedly, killing more than ten demons in an instant.

Yet the demons were simply too numerous.

At that moment, the Lesser Demon King had already flashed onto the northern bank and launched a fierce assault against Chen Xian.

That Demon General and two Demon Men joined it in attacking Chen Xian.

Chen Xian could only focus his attention on the Lesser Demon King. With a flick of his hand, he sent his spear shooting toward one Demon Man.

At the same time, he drew the straight saber from his waist and slashed at the Lesser Demon King like a tempest of wind and rain.

The spear's attacks were too slow. Once he switched to the straight saber, his attack speed became five times faster.

A wall of impenetrable saber light struck the Lesser Demon King's body again and again. At last, it broke through the Lesser Demon King's defense, carving a ten-centimeter gash across its chest as blood poured out.

"Damn it!"

The Lesser Demon King's demon body was powerful beyond measure. It had never expected a human youth to break through its defense, and its mind was filled with shock.

Pshht!

A Demon Man's head flew through the air, blood spurting upward like a fountain.

Chen Xian did not rest for even a breath. After killing the Demon Man, he continued hacking at the Lesser Demon King.

Though the Demon General was terrified, it did not dare flee while the Lesser Demon King remained. It could only charge toward Chen Xian.

Instead, Chen Xian ran it through with a single slash, blood spraying everywhere.

Chen Xian remained expressionless and outwardly unruffled, but inwardly he was exceedingly anxious.

The Demon Army had already charged across the northern bank and headed toward Seven Mile Peak.

He had to kill the Lesser Demon King as quickly as possible, then go stop the Demon Army. Otherwise, Ding Chen and the others would never be able to hold them back.

Roar!

The Lesser Demon King let out a tiger's roar. Its skin turned black as iron, its arms cracking as they transformed into beastly limbs, its claws incomparably sharp.

Roaring furiously, it pounced at Chen Xian, its blade-like claws clawing for his throat.

"You slaughtered my kin! You deserve death!" the Lesser Demon King roared.

The saber light in Chen Xian's hand flashed like a shadow. Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang... He repeatedly struck the Lesser Demon King's tiger claws, sparks scattering in every direction.

With the final slash, pshht, he severed one of the Lesser Demon King's tiger claws, blood gushing out like a spring.