Slaying the Demon

It could be said that Song Yan's knowledge of the cultivation world was already fairly extensive.

Yet the "True Person Jiang" before him, who had not a trace of spiritual power and relied purely on refined Blood Qi to stand on equal footing with Senior Sister Qin, an outstanding cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Realm, still made him marvel.

The cultivation world truly held every conceivable wonder!

"You two, go save Qingqing!"

Qin Ying stared fixedly at Jiang Xiao. Their earlier exchanges had given her a rough understanding of how terrifying this tainted blood was.

"A polluting spirit item..."

It was indeed somewhat troublesome, but...

Since when had she, Qin Ying, been an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator?

The spiritual power within her surged. Wind and snow immediately blanketed the battlefield. With her flying sword hovering beside her, she flew forward and engaged Jiang Xiao in battle.

Only two colors remained in the sky over Peach Blossom Hollow: blood red and icy blue.

Song Yan and Li Qingfeng had no time to watch the battle. They headed straight for the blood-colored cocoon.

Whoosh-

A streak of Geng Metal Sword Qi flashed past the blood cocoon, forcing Song Yan and Li Qingfeng to stop in their tracks.

"Little brothers..."

Bai Yulu smiled seductively. "This Blood Refining Grand Formation combines killing, confinement, and disruption of the mind. It has been accumulating power for three years."

"The Blood Qi and vengeful souls within could swallow even three cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm."

"It's just that the formation's pressure is still focused on that woman right now. Once she dies, you'll turn into tainted blood just like those mortal swine."

"Why struggle? Be good and wait to die. Save yourselves the effort."

Song Yan admitted that this was the most seductive, alluring voice he had ever heard.

Beside Bai Yulu stood a cultivator in dark blue Daoist robes. That streak of Sword Qi had come from him.

Li Qingfeng's heart tightened, and he warned, "Senior Brother Song, that looks like a disciple of Hanging Sword Mountain."

However, this fellow Daoist from Hanging Sword Mountain did not seem entirely lucid at the moment.

His eyes were dull, like a puppet's.

"If you two find waiting a little boring..."

"Then don't resist this feeling..."

Her soft, beguiling voice echoed in their ears, and pink mist spread across Song Yan's vision.

He felt his consciousness begin to sink, along with his body.

"Why don't we do something enjoyable together~"

An illusion technique!

Among Demon Beasts' Divine Abilities, illusion techniques of this sort were common, drawing people into illusions before they even realized it.

By the time Song Yan reacted, he already felt as though his soul had separated from his body.

The light in Song Yan's eyes began to fade.

"Yanyan! Yanyan!"

"Oh no, oh no! You didn't listen to a single thing Grandpa told you!"

The little snake was sweating with anxiety. "You have to watch out for pretty girls!"

Bai Yulu frowned. "Where did this little snake come from..."

A sweep of her Divine Sense eased her somewhat. It was merely a little snake that had not even begun cultivating, having gained intelligence only through its exceptional natural gifts.

"You're a demon. Why are you mixing with humans? Come, come over to your big sister..."

"Hiss-"

Snake Treasure flicked her forked tongue at her in displeasure. Then her little eyes darted around, and she chomped down on Song Yan's shoulder.

Song Yan felt a sharp pain, followed by a faint coolness flowing into his body from the agonizing spot on his shoulder.

His sense of control over his body seemed to be slowly returning.

"Ugh..."

The light returned to his eyes, though his hands and feet were still somewhat numb.

"Hmm?"

Bai Yulu was a little surprised.

Admittedly, there were many ways to break her illusion technique, such as certain pills or spirit items, special methods of circulating spiritual power, and so on...

But she had never heard of any kind of demon whose saliva could break her illusion technique.

"Whoosh-"

Bai Yulu did not hesitate. Revealing a tantalizing glimpse of flesh, she repeated her old trick.

A fragrant breeze drifted over, and that heavy sensation seemed about to drag him down again.

Xiao He grew anxious. She blocked Song Yan's view, her serpentine eyes glowing blue-gold.

"Y-you... you! You're not allowed to look at her anymore!"

In an instant, Song Yan felt his mind clear, and the heavy sensation abruptly vanished.

Huh?

Xiao He hasn't cultivated any demonic arts. What Divine Ability is this?

Her illusion technique should be a Demon Beast's innate Divine Ability. Otherwise, with my unusually powerful Divine Sense, I wouldn't have been completely helpless against it.

I didn't expect Xiao He's eyes to have something special about them.

Song Yan was puzzled. Though he had not figured out the reason, there were clearly more important things to do right now.

He grabbed Li Qingfeng's chubby hand.

"Xiao He, bite him!"

Another chomp.

"Junior Brother Li, no time to talk. You deal with that man. I'll slay this demon!"

"Ugh..."

Li Qingfeng was still dizzy and muddleheaded, his arm aching fiercely, but he kept Song Yan's words in mind.

"All right..."

"How very bold..."

A trace of coldness settled over Bai Yulu's eyes. She knew that with this little snake here, illusion techniques would only be wasted effort.

Irritation rose in her heart. "If only your strength were half as great as your boasts!"

She brought out a long whip and charged straight at Song Yan.

Perhaps it was because of that look from Xiao He just now, but Song Yan still felt an unprecedented clarity in his Lingtai.

If an ordinary cultivator at Qi Refining, fifth layer, encountered a First-Order Mid-Stage Demon Beast, their prospects would be grim despite being at the same level.

But now that one of this demon's formidable methods had been neutralized, a fight was not out of the question.

Bai Yulu lashed her whip fiercely. The innate strength of a Demon Beast sent it tearing through the air with a sharp crack.

"You don't know how high heaven is or how deep the earth runs! Once the formation grinds that woman to death, you'll learn what it means to wish you were dead!"

Strangely, Song Yan felt neither timid nor afraid.

Facing a Demon Beast at the same level as himself, whose true form was unknown, he actually felt a trace of...

Excitement.

In the past, if the sect had not strictly required Song Yan to descend the mountain, he would have gladly hidden in the sect every day and cultivated until he died.

When did I start to...

Enjoy fighting?

Unnoticed by him, beneath the Sword Mansion of the Dao-Subduing, the Embryonic Dao Heart upon the Seed of the Sword Dao slowly sent out ripples.

Song Yan sent out his flying sword, deflecting the long whip, then leaped back and lightly tapped his toes against the blade.

Three streaks of Sword Qi shot from his fingertips at once.

Bai Yulu dodged sideways, but the edge of one streak of Sword Qi caught her, opening a long, narrow wound across her brow.

"..."

She brushed it with her fingertips, picking up a smear of crimson. "Such sharp Sword Qi..."

The demon blood within her boiled, but the Sword Qi lingering in the wound delayed its healing by a breath.

"..."

Song Yan had no intention of concealing his abilities or holding back a trump card. He only wanted to give it his all and see exactly how much he was worth now.

A Foundation Establishment battle raged overhead. Senior Sister Qin had already borne the greatest pressure.

Junior Brother Li was helping him hold back the Hanging Sword Mountain cultivator.

Before him now stood a demon that had slaughtered common people alongside a Devil Cultivator.

For him, too, this was a fight to the death.

What reason was there not to give it everything he had?

He directed Spiritual Qi to activate a protective talisman. Three pale green shields of spiritual power circled him.

His fingertips lightly brushed the blade of his flying sword.

The Sword Qi swelling like lotuses within the Sword Mansion of the Dao-Subduing surged through his fingertips, flowing over the blade.

Hum-

Almost all of his Sword Qi!

To Song Yan, in a life-and-death struggle, there was simply no room to trade probing moves with an opponent.

If he was going to kill, he would read the winds and seek an opening, then annihilate his opponent in an instant with the force of thunder!

The flying sword obeyed him like an extension of his arm, trailing streak after streak of Sword Qi and actually forcing Bai Yulu back step by step!

Since leaving Corpse-Bone Abyss, when had she ever suffered such humiliation?

Even Jiang Xiao, a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Realm, had to treat her courteously.

Furious, she lashed out with her whip, intending to entangle the flying sword.

Unfortunately, she had underestimated the Sword Qi upon it.

Spiritual power raced through Song Yan's body, and Sword Qi surged wildly!

"Swift!"

The sword swept sideways. Unable to withstand the violent Sword Qi, the long whip gave ground again and again, then shattered and lost its spiritual glow!

"Pfft-"

Blood spilled from Bai Yulu's mouth. Her mind destabilized, and Demon Beast features began to show. White fur spread across her face, her eyes reddened, and she could no longer conceal her ears.

"A rabbit demon..."

After all, she was only a Demon Beast that had barely reached the First-Order Mid-Stage. With her refined law artifact damaged, her mind naturally became unstable.

Taking her life while she was weakened, Song Yan moved his fingertips into a Sword Art hand seal.

"I'm a Demon Beast from Corpse-Bone Abyss. You..."

One could only call it unfortunate.

A hotheaded novice like Song Yan, fresh out into the world, had no idea what Corpse-Bone Abyss was.

Even if he had known, it would have made no difference.

Perhaps under the combined blessing of Xiao He's unknown Divine Ability and the Myriad Forms Dao Heart, Song Yan entered an extraordinarily profound state.

In the world before his eyes, color, sound, light-everything "superfluous" was stripped away.

Only the flying sword and Bai Yulu remained. Everything became very slow.

By the time Bai Yulu reacted, it was already too late.

The first of the white Sword Shadows was embedded in her lower abdomen.

"Ugh..."

Her Demon Power fell into disarray and could no longer be sustained.

"You dare..."

The second...

The third...

Seven streaks of Sword Qi poured into Bai Yulu's demonic body in succession.

The six surrounding sword shadows spun rapidly, trailing blazing phantoms of Sword-Ray, and merged with the flying sword above her head.

Sword in the Clouds!

The Sword-Ray fell.

Boom!!!

"..."

Violent waves of air stirred up mist and dust, surging outward in every direction.

A moment later, spiritual power scattered, and the Sword Qi dissipated.

With slow steps and an indifferent expression, Song Yan walked past Bai Yulu. There was no mercy to speak of for a demon that had committed such countless evils.

Only the corpse of a rabbit demon remained, utterly lifeless, dullness and bewilderment frozen in its eyes.

Like a statue submerged in the Sword Qi of High Antiquity.

Thank you to reader Lucky Girl for the tip!

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