Jin Wanwan knew that, with her divine power nearly exhausted, staying here would be of little help.
She addressed Shi Qingyun with a measure of respect. "I'll leave this beast to you, young master."
With that, a pair of wings radiating golden light sprouted from her back. A few casual beats lifted her into the air.
The next moment, those sacred wings wrapped around her body, and she became a streak of golden light that sped away from the battlefield.
Sensing Jin Wanwan's presence vanish from the battlefield, Shi Qingyun let down his guard a little.
He had been somewhat worried that the Ferocious Beast might suddenly attack Jin Wanwan to distract him.
Now that Jin Wanwan had left, a surging fighting spirit shone in Shi Qingyun's eyes.
As though sensing his fighting spirit, the vicious beast unleashed its terrifying killing intent without restraint.
His blood thundered within his body, and he could barely hold himself back.
The Blood Moving Realm Ferocious Beasts sensed the confrontation between the two and tacitly moved away.
Shi Qingyun's gaze met the Ferocious Beast's in midair. Sparks seemed to flicker between them as each remained on guard against the other.
Their auras clashed in the air, immediately stirring up a powerful surge that spread out between them.
Although Shi Qingyun was itching to fight, he still felt some pressure.
This might well be the strongest opponent he had encountered since embarking on cultivation, even though he had previously slain a Spirit Transformation Realm Ferocious Beast on the verge of a breakthrough in an instant.
Still, Shi Qingyun found the enormous creature before him rather troublesome.
After all, the Nine-Handed Yin Beast from before and this Ferocious Beast were on entirely different levels.
The Nine-Handed Yin Beast he had killed was merely an ordinary Ferocious Beast brought into being by vast quantities of yin energy and death energy.
Aside from its tentacles, that Nine-Handed Yin Beast had no formidable innate Precious Technique, much less any powerful bloodline inheritance.
But this creature was different. Its intimidating aura alone told him that neither its bloodline nor its innate Precious Technique would be weak.
Moreover, who knew how long the Nine-Handed Yin Beast had spent absorbing the Death Swamp's yin energy to grow stronger?
The Ferocious Beast before him, however, had clearly grown through countless battles, as its killing intent—so dense it had nearly become tangible—made plain.
What was more, this Ferocious Beast could fight in the air, elevating its strength even further.
Its overall strength could not be underestimated. It was simply in a different league from that Nine-Handed Yin Beast.
"Looks like I'll have to give this everything I've got!"
Shi Qingyun rolled his neck as he spoke slowly.
He was ready to fight it. No matter how accurate his analysis might be, only a real battle would reveal what it was truly made of.
Chapter 46: A Fight to the Death
Meanwhile, the enormous Ferocious Beast stood on all fours, blowing a heavy breath from nostrils like two great bowls.
Its breath stirred the dust on the ground as it paced back and forth through the haze.
Behind it, its long tail stood high, constantly swaying from side to side and striking the ground.
Rhythmic thuds reached Shi Qingyun's ears as its tail struck the earth, sounding like a rod of metal crashing against the ground.
Its thick tail lashed about as it paced, dragging across the earth and carving one groove after another.
It watched Shi Qingyun warily, unable to imagine how such a tiny body could conceal such terrifying strength.
Moreover, Shi Qingyun's immense blood energy was like a blazing furnace. Even at this distance, it could still feel that searing heat.
Although Shi Qingyun was far smaller than it was, simply standing there, he gave it an overwhelming sense of danger.
Its instincts as a Ferocious Beast told it unmistakably that Shi Qingyun was a predator no weaker than itself.
The two remained wary of each other, each waiting for the other to reveal an opening.
The atmosphere between them settled into a stalemate as they assessed each other's strength.
Shi Qingyun's perception covered the entire battlefield, and he knew that the Ferocious Beasts surrounding him were gradually gaining the upper hand.
He knew he could not delay any longer. He had to deal with the Ferocious Beast before him quickly.
If his judgment was correct, this creature, which had the highest cultivation realm of all the Ferocious Beasts present, should be their beast king. Once he dealt with it, everything else would fall into place.
Sharp gleams flashed through Shi Qingyun's eyes as he stared into the Ferocious Beast's eyes and spoke as though making a pact with it. "Come on! Let's fight to our hearts' content!"
"Treading Yin-Yang, Reversing the Eight Directions! Extreme Speed!"
Shi Qingyun vanished from his original position as his words rang out, leaving only a faint swirl of dust to prove he had been there.
Runes appeared beneath his feet, and the next moment, he stood beside the distant vicious beast.
Divine power surged from within him like a mighty river, and two runes, one black and one white, appeared above his hands.
He flicked the runes in his hands, and they emitted a gentle glow, rapidly stretching and lengthening as though responding to a command.
Soon, two elongated shapes, one black and one white, slowly formed in his hands, and his divine power coiled around them.
Runes danced around the objects in his hands, giving off clear chimes.
One by one, the runes circling his hands embedded themselves into those elongated shapes, exuding a keen, cutting sharpness.
In an instant, Shi Qingyun held a black Rune Sword in one hand and a white Rune Sword in the other.
Gripping both swords tightly, he leaped high into the air before the beast king could react.
The black sword in his left hand cleaved heavily toward the beast king's head with a rush of air, aiming straight for its eyes.
As the black-glowing sword tip drew closer, the beast's lantern-sized pupils rapidly shrank to pinpoints.
Realizing it had underestimated Shi Qingyun's speed, it hurriedly twisted its body and leaped aside, trying to evade his attack.
At the same time, it activated its defenses. Its scales rippled and gave off a faint glow.
But it was still too late. Seeing the beast king try to dodge, Shi Qingyun put even more strength into his strike.
The black sword slashed fiercely across the beast king's hind leg, scattering beads of blood. The blood that reached the blade instantly turned into crimson ice crystals and fell to the ground.
The black sword's icy yin energy lingered on the beast king, continuously eating away at its scales with a sizzle.
The beast king had anticipated Shi Qingyun's attack, but it had never expected him to move so fast that he would appear before it in an instant.
Even though it had raised its defenses, it had still been wounded. It looked at the wound that was still being corroded.
Bloodshot veins steadily spread across its eyes, and divine power spilled from the seams between its scales.
Rays of red light enveloped the beast king's body, then sank into its scales the next instant.
Sharp spikes rapidly sprouted from its scales.
The red light also slowly merged into its wound, stripping away the icy yin energy clinging to it in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the slash wound swiftly vanished.
Seeing this, Shi Qingyun planted his left foot on the spikes protruding from the beast king's body.
Yin-Yang Qi wrapped around his foot, and he used the recoil to lean backward and fall toward the ground.
As he descended, Shi Qingyun rapidly twisted his body in midair, swinging the black and white Rune Swords in his hands.
His body carried the two Rune Swords into a high-speed spin in the air, resembling a Taiji Dao Diagram.
An unbroken storm of slashes rained down upon the beast king, immediately drawing sizzling sounds from every point of contact.
This time, however, Shi Qingyun failed to break through the beast king's defenses. Its spiked scales were as hard as divine iron.
After enduring another barrage of attacks, the beast king's eyes filled with red light.
This little runt dared provoke me again and again. I'll tear him into ten thousand pieces!
The beast king let out a furious roar, raised its claw high, and slammed it toward Shi Qingyun.
Feeling a fierce gust sweep toward him, Shi Qingyun used the Eight Directions Step to dodge swiftly, then landed lightly a short distance away.
Shi Qingyun looked at the beast king before him. Its scales were now covered in marks.
The beast king seemed to have been enraged by Shi Qingyun. Divine power poured from its body without restraint, surging like a raging river.
It instantly healed the injuries it had just suffered. Even the lingering Yin-Yang energy was ground away by its churning blood energy.
Shi Qingyun had never expected to truly injure the beast king so easily. That earlier barrage had merely been a probe.
Only now did the true battle begin.
Using the Eight Directions Step, Shi Qingyun charged forward with the black and white swords in his hands, while the beast king rushed toward him with overwhelming might.
The instant they collided, a tremendous explosion erupted between them, sending ripples spreading in every direction.
Some of the people and Ferocious Beasts fighting nearby were caught in the shock waves and stopped to watch.
The next moment, both figures vanished together. To the onlookers, only two dots, one red and one black, could be seen colliding with each other.
Only clouds of rising dust and the clang of metal striking metal reached the watching crowd.
Chapter 47: An Overwhelming Slaughter
Bang, bang! Clang, clang!
The two sides, who had been locked in a fierce battle moments earlier, tacitly stopped together.
Yuan Sheng hurried to Jin Wanwan's side and immediately fussed over her. Seeing that she was only a little pale, he checked on her anxiously.
His anxious heart finally settled, but then he noticed that she was paying him no attention.
Her two bright eyes kept following Shi Qingyun's figure, and jealousy immediately welled up in the ignored Yuan Sheng's heart.
Still, he only grumbled about Shi Qingyun inwardly. After all, Shi Qingyun had saved Jin Wanwan, and he ought to thank him.
Everyone present had their attention drawn to the battle unfolding before them. Both combatants moved incredibly fast.
In the blink of an eye, both figures vanished from the crowd's sight. As the fight went on, all they could see were two dots, one red and one black, colliding with each other.
Everywhere the two fought, flesh and blood flew, leaving devastation in their wake. Even stray shock waves killed many Ferocious Beasts in the Blood Moving Realm.
Any Ferocious Beast blocking their path that was swept into Shi Qingyun and the beast king's battle met only one end: its body shattered, with not a scrap of flesh left intact.
The beast king threw its head back and roared at the sky. Waves of sound poured from its mouth, forcing the spectators to hurriedly cover their ears.
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