His gaze pierced through the billowing yellow dust at the end of the official road, fixing on the towering mountain wreathed in black mist.
The Black Demon Mountain Range.
Dense Yao Qi mingled with the stench of rot, riding the mountain wind straight into his face.
Su Yu abandoned the broad road leading to Tiannan Commandery City.
He kicked the black spike Zhao Ke had left on the ground with his right foot, driving it precisely into the roadside bushes.
His legs surged with strength.
His entire body became a black afterimage, plunging straight into the dense forest to the side.
Many factions held sway within Tiannan Commandery. Establishing a foothold would not be easy, and he needed a vast number of Slaughter Points.
The Black Demon Mountain Range was undoubtedly the best choice!
The outskirts of the mountain range!
Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky and sun. The light abruptly dimmed, and his leather boots made no sound as they trod over the layer of decaying leaves.
Bang!
The bushes to the side suddenly burst apart, and three Black-Armored Wild Boars the size of adult water buffalo charged out.
Spirit Realm Second Level demons.
Their barbed tusks stabbed straight at Su Yu's waist and abdomen with tremendous speed, whipping up a foul, bloody gust.
Su Yu kept moving, unleashing his demon-suppressing blood and Qi in full.
The Prohibition Blood Formation took shape within three feet around him, and tenfold gravity slammed down upon them.
The three Black-Armored Wild Boars' massive bodies abruptly sank, a cascade of sharp bone-cracking sounds erupting from their leg joints.
Their charge stopped dead. The boars slammed into the mud, plowing three deep trenches through it.
Su Yu held two fingers of his right hand together, Demon-Suppressing Spiritual Qi coating his fingertips. With the Vajra Star-Shattering Seal, he jabbed through the air three times in succession.
The dark-gold finger imprints pierced the Black-Armored Wild Boars' skulls like a force smashing rotten wood, leaving only three coin-sized holes in the hard bone.
Inside, however, their brains and organs were completely shaken into minced flesh by the high-frequency penetrating force.
[Slain a Spirit Realm Second Level demon. Gained 300 Slaughter Points.]
Three notifications appeared simultaneously.
Su Yu drew the short blade at his waist, cut open the boars' heads, and picked out three demon cores, putting them into his storage pouch.
His movements flowed like drifting clouds and running water, without a single unnecessary pause.
Half an hour later, beside a deep pool of standing water.
Two men and a woman were besieging a Spirit Realm Third Level venomous crocodile.
All three wore blue-green Daoist robes with a small silver sword embroidered on the cuffs.
Mystic Sword Sect disciples!
The venomous crocodile swung its long tail, forcing one of the sword-wielding men back.
"This beast's hide is too thick! Senior Brother Li, blast it with a Lightning Fire Talisman!" The female disciple hastily retreated several steps and shouted.
The man addressed as Senior Brother Li gritted his teeth, his sword scraping a trail of sparks across the crocodile's hide.
"Lightning Fire Talismans are extremely precious! Wasting one on a venomous crocodile isn't worth it!"
"The sect just issued a blood-letter wanted notice. Anyone who provides a lead on Senior Brother Chu Jie's killer gets five thousand low-grade spirit stones outright!"
The other male disciple thrust his sword swiftly, only for the crocodile's thick armor to deflect it again.
"Senior Brother Chu Jie was at the Spirit Realm Third Level Peak, and he had a Mystic Sword secret treasure protecting him. The killer must be at least at the Spirit Realm Fourth Level. Even if we run into him, we'd just be throwing our lives away."
"We only need to provide a lead. Senior Brother Chu died on Cloud Wolf Mountain. His killer might have fled into the Black Demon Mountain Range by now," Senior Brother Li added loudly, rolling out of the way of the crocodile's sweeping tail.
On a thick branch of a large tree, Su Yu leaned against the trunk, a peculiar gleam flashing in his eyes.
A wanted notice!
Five thousand low-grade spirit stones!
These weren't just Slaughter Points delivered to his doorstep, but walking banks.
Su Yu straightened, pushed off with his toes, and dropped straight down from the canopy.
The venomous crocodile was opening its bloody maw to bite the female disciple, the reek of blood gushing out.
In midair, Su Yu reached back and drew the black-and-gold saber from his back, without any unnecessary flourishes.
Relying purely on his formidable physical strength and the boost from gravity, he gripped the saber in both hands and brought it down with the force to cleave Mount Hua.
The blade struck the venomous crocodile's hard skull with perfect precision.
Crack!
The sound of shattering bone was exceptionally crisp. The venomous crocodile's head split neatly in two, and its massive body crashed into the mire.
Its limbs twitched twice before it died completely.
A huge splash of water mixed with filthy mud drenched the three Mystic Sword Sect disciples.
[Slain a Spirit Realm Third Level demon. Gained 400 Slaughter Points.]
The three stared in shock and uncertainty at the black-clad young man who had suddenly appeared before them.
He had killed a Spirit Realm Third Level venomous crocodile with a single slash.
Such sheer physical destructive power was simply beyond an ordinary martial artist.
Senior Brother Li was the first to react. Sheathing his sword, he stepped forward and cupped his fist.
"Thank you for lending us a hand. I am Li Yun, an inner disciple of the Mystic Sword Sect. May I ask your esteemed name?"
Su Yu flicked the blood off his blade, used its tip to pry out the venomous crocodile's demon core, and put it away.
His gaze shifted and settled on Li Yun's face as he spoke in a level tone.
"The man who killed Chu Jie."
At those words, Li Yun's expression changed sharply, the corner of his mouth twitching.
The man and woman behind him reacted even faster, swords in hand and faces full of wariness. They had just been discussing how to collect the bounty, but when they actually encountered the wanted criminal, their first reaction was not wild joy.
It was uncontrollable terror.
This was a ruthless man who had slaughtered Chu Jie and the others single-handedly!
"You certainly enjoy a joke..."
Li Yun forced out a smile, but his left hand was already stealthily reaching for the voice-transmission jade slip inside his robe.
As long as he sent the message, the spirit stones would be his.
Su Yu watched Li Yun's furtive movement without uttering another word.
His Spirit Realm Third Level divine sense compressed to its limit.
Spirit Sense Piercing!
Whoosh! Whoosh...
Three sharp cones of divine sense stabbed into their seas of consciousness simultaneously.
"Aah!"
All three dropped their weapons at once, clutching their heads tightly with both hands and letting out agonized screams.
With their seas of consciousness grievously injured, Spiritual Qi instantly ran wild inside their bodies, leaving them unable even to remain standing.
Li Yun, who bore the brunt of the attack, dropped stiffly to his knees in the muddy water, blood streaming from all seven orifices.
Su Yu stepped forward and swept the black-and-gold saber in his hand across them, its edge slicing through flesh and throat bones without resistance.
Three heads rolled into the muddy pool one after another.
[Slain three Spirit Realm Third Level martial artists. Gained 1,000 Slaughter Points.]
Su Yu crouched and pulled the storage pouches off the three bodies one by one.
He could not collect the bounty, but all these sect disciples' possessions were now his.
Su Yu had no fear whatsoever of the Mystic Sword Sect's investigation.
He would simply accept every Slaughter Point delivered to his doorstep.
Night fell completely, and the outskirts of the Black Demon Mountain Range became a hunting ground where demons reveled.
It also became Su Yu's one-sided slaughterhouse.
Deep within the dark, secluded forest.
Su Yu stood with one foot on the corpse of a Spirit Realm Third Level Blood-Poison Mottled Tiger and sheathed his saber.
His entire body could be seen covered in thick beast blood.
His fitted black clothes were completely soaked through with blood, giving off a pungent, bloody stench.
He had not stopped moving all day, combining Subtlety-Level Wandering Dragon Steps with the Prohibition Blood Formation and the silent, traceless Spirit Sense Piercing.
The battles throughout this outer region had been utterly one-sided.
Along the way, he had encountered a band of Rogue Cultivators intent on murder and robbery: five desperate outlaws at the Spirit Realm Third Level.
Before they could even get close to Su Yu, gravity pinned them down, and Vajra Demonic Baleful Intent combined with the Vajra Star-Shattering Seal smashed all their breastbones.
Whether demons or martial artists who had entered the mountains to train.
As long as they drew a weapon against him, they all ended up as warm corpses.
An illusory system interface slowly unfolded before his eyes.
[Host: Su Yu] [Slaughter Points: 5,000]
"Just about enough!"
Su Yu found a secluded cave, exerted his arms, and moved a boulder weighing several thousand jin to seal the entrance completely.
He sat cross-legged on a dry stone slab.