Chapter 48: Slaying Demons
It could be said that Song Yan’s knowledge of the cultivation world was already quite extensive. However, this “Immortal Master Jiang” before him, who possessed not a shred of spiritual energy yet could contend with the Foundation Establishment cultivator Qin Ying purely through that refined blood energy, still left him in awe.
The cultivation world truly had no shortage of wonders!
“Go save Qingqing!”
Qin Ying’s gaze locked onto Jiang Xiao as her previous probes had given her a sense of how dangerous that corrupted blood truly was.
“Corrupting spiritual artifacts…”
It was somewhat troublesome, but then again—
She was no ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. Spiritual energy surged through her body as the battlefield was immediately engulfed in a snowstorm, her flying sword hovering at her side as she charged forward to battle Jiang Xiao.
The sky above Peach Blossom Dock had been reduced to just two colors—blood red and ice blue.
Song Yan and Li Qingfeng had no time to watch the battle unfold as they rushed straight toward the blood cocoon.
“Swoosh—”
A sharp golden sword beam slashed across the blood cocoon’s path, forcing Song Yan and Li Qingfeng to halt in their tracks.
“Little boys…”
Bai Yulu smiled seductively. “This Blood Refinement formation integrates offense, trapping, and mind disruption. It has been accumulating for three years.”
“The blood energy and tormented souls within could devour even three Foundation Establishment cultivators.”
“Though right now, the formation’s pressure is still focused on that woman. Once she dies, you’ll become corrupted blood just like those mortal pigs.”
“Why struggle? Just wait for death and save yourselves the effort.”
Song Yan had to admit, this was the most alluring and captivating voice he had ever heard.
Beside Bai Yulu stood a cultivator in dark blue Daoist robes, and that sword beam had come from him.
Li Qingfeng’s heart tightened as he warned, “Senior Brother Song, that appears to be a disciple of Hanging Sword Mountain.”
Though this particular disciple of Hanging Sword Mountain didn’t seem to be in his right mind at the moment.
His eyes were lifeless, like a puppet’s.
“If you two find waiting rather boring…”
“Then don’t resist this feeling…”
The seductive, bewitching voice echoed in their ears as pink mist pervaded through Song Yan’s field of vision.
He felt his consciousness and body beginning to sink.
“Let’s do something fun together, shall we~”
“Illusion technique!”
Demonic beasts often possessed such illusion techniques, capable of making people unconsciously fall into fantasy realms.
By the time Song Yan reacted, he felt his soul separating from his body.
The light in Song Yan’s eyes began to fade.
“Yan Yan! Yan Yan!”
“Oh no, oh no! You didn’t listen to a single word Grandpa said!”
The little snake was frantic with sweat. “You have to be careful of pretty girls!”
Bai Yulu frowned. “Where did this little snake come from…”
She swept her divine sense over it and relaxed slightly—it was just a small snake that hadn’t even begun cultivating yet, having merely awakened spiritual intelligence due to its natural talent.
“You’re a demon, so why are you hanging around humans? Come here, to big sister…”
Hiss—
She bared her fangs at her in displeasure, then her small eyes darted around before she bit down hard on Song Yan’s shoulder.
Song Yan felt a sharp pain, followed by a cool sensation flowing from the bite into his body.
His control over his body seemed to be slowly returning.
“Ugh…”
The light returned to his eyes, though his limbs were still somewhat numb.
“Hmm?”
Bai Yulu looked surprised.
Indeed, there were many ways to break her illusion technique—certain pills, spiritual objects, special methods of circulating spiritual energy—but she had never heard of a demon’s saliva being able to dispel her illusions.
Exhaling softly, Bai Yulu hesitated for just a moment before revealing her springlike form and attempting the same technique once more.
A gust of fragrant wind drifted toward him, and that heavy feeling seemed ready to drag him down again.
Xiao He grew anxious and stepped in front of Song Yan, her snake eyes glowing with cyan-gold light.
“You… you, you, you! Stop looking at her!”
In an instant, Song Yan felt his mind clear, and the heaviness vanished abruptly.
“Huh?”
Xiao He hadn’t cultivated any demon arts—what kind of ability was this?
The opponent’s illusion must be an innate demonic beast ability, otherwise his divine sense, far surpassing ordinary people’s, wouldn’t have been so powerless against it.
He hadn’t expected Xiao He’s snake eyes to possess such special properties.
Song Yan was puzzled, but though he hadn’t figured out the reason, there were clearly more important matters at hand.
He grabbed Li Qingfeng’s chubby hand.
“Xiao He, bite her!”
Chomp—another bite.
“Junior Brother Li, enough talk. You deal with that person. I’ll slay this demon!”
“Ugh…”
Li Qingfeng was still dizzy and his arm ached fiercely, but he committed Song Yan’s words to memory.
“Alright…”
“Quite bold…”
Bai Yulu’s eyes hardened with a hint of coldness. She knew that with the little snake around, her illusion technique was nothing but a waste of effort.
Annoyed, she thought: If only your cultivation strength were half as good as your mouth!
She summoned a long whip and charged straight at Song Yan.
Perhaps due to Xiao He’s earlier gaze, Song Yan now felt an unprecedented clarity of mind. An ordinary Qi Refining Stage fifth-layer cultivator encountering a first-rank mid-stage demonic beast would typically be in grave danger, despite being at the same realm.
But now that one of this demon’s formidable abilities had been neutralized, a fight was not impossible.
Bai Yulu swung her whip with all her might, and the innate strength of a demonic beast made the whip crack through the air with a sharp whistle.
“You don’t know your place. Once that woman is killed by the formation, you’ll learn what it means to wish for death!”
Strangely, Song Yan felt no fear or dread.
Facing this demonic beast of the same realm with an unknown true form, he actually felt a trace of…
Excitement.
The Song Yan of the past, if not for the sect’s mandatory requirement to descend the mountain, would have preferred to hide in the sect forever, cultivating until death.
Since when had he started to…
Enjoy combat?
Beneath the Suppressing Sword Palace, which he had not noticed, the nascent form of the Dao heart on the seed of the sword path was slowly rippling outward.
Song Yan unleashed his flying sword, cutting through the whip, then twisted midair, tapping his toes lightly on the sword’s blade.
Three sword beams shot from his fingertips in unison.
Bai Yulu dodged to the side, but the sharp edge of one sword beam grazed her, opening a long, narrow wound across her brow.
She lifted a drop of crimson from her fingertip. “What a sharp sword beam…”
The demonic blood within her body boiled, but the lingering sword energy in the wound slowed the healing process by a breath.
Song Yan had no intention of holding back or preserving any trump cards. He wanted to give it his all and see what he was truly capable of.
Above, the Foundation Establishment battle raged—the greatest pressure had already been taken on by Senior Sister Qin.
Junior Brother Li was keeping the Hanging Sword Mountain cultivator occupied.
Before him now was a demon that had slaughtered civilians alongside the demonic cultivator.
For him, this was also a battle of life and death.
There was no reason not to give everything he had.
He channeled his spiritual energy and activated a protective talisman. Three pale green spiritual shields circled around him.
His fingertips lightly traced the blade of the flying sword.
From within the Suppressing Sword Palace, sword energy surged like lotus blossoms, flowing along his fingertip and covering the blade.
Hummm—
Nearly all of his sword energy!
For Song Yan, in a life-or-death battle, there was no interest in exchanging probing strikes with his opponent.
To kill, one had to seek the opening in the wind and strike with thunderous force to obliterate the enemy in an instant!
The flying sword moved as if it were an extension of his arm, trailing arcs of sword energy that forced Bai Yulu to retreat step by step!
Since emerging from the Corpse Bone Abyss, when had she ever suffered such frustration?
Even the Foundation Establishment cultivator Jiang Xiao had treated her with courtesy.
Enraged, she cracked her whip, intending to ensnare the flying sword.
Unfortunately, she had underestimated the sword energy on the blade.
Song Yan’s spiritual energy surged wildly, sword energy erupting like a storm!
“Go!”
A horizontal slash—the whip couldn’t withstand the ferocious sword energy and retreated, cracking and losing its spiritual glow!
Pfft—
Blood sprayed from Bai Yulu’s mouth. Her mind wavered, and demonic beast traits began to manifest—white fur covering her face, eyes turning red, ears no longer concealable.
“A rabbit demon…”
It turned out she was only a first-rank mid-stage demonic beast after all. With her refined magical artifact damaged, her mind naturally became unstable.
Strike while she’s down. Song Yan’s fingertips lightly formed a sword seal.
“I am a demon of the Corpse Bone Abyss. You—”
A pity, truly.
A greenhorn like Song Yan, fresh out of the nest, had no idea what the Corpse Bone Abyss was.
Even if he had known, it wouldn’t have helped.
Perhaps under the influence of Xiao He’s unknown ability and the Myriad Manifestations Dao Heart, Song Yan had entered an extraordinarily mysterious state.
The world in his eyes—colors, sounds, light—every “redundant” thing had been stripped away.
Only the flying sword and Bai Yulu remained, and everything moved as if in slow motion.
By the time Bai Yulu realized what was happening, it was already too late.
The first white sword shadow pierced her abdomen.
“Ugh…”
Her demonic power went into chaos, unable to sustain itself.
“You dare—”
The second…
The third…
Seven consecutive sword beams poured into Bai Yulu’s demonic body.
The six surrounding sword shadows trailed blazing afterimages, spinning rapidly before converging above her head and merging with the flying sword.
Sword of the Clouds!
The sword’s light plummeted.
BOOM!!!
A violent wave of energy sent fog and dust surging outward in all directions.
After a moment, the spiritual energy dispersed and the sword energy faded.
Song Yan walked slowly past Bai Yulu’s remains with an indifferent expression. For a demon that had committed such atrocities, there was no mercy to be had.
Only the corpse of the rabbit demon remained, devoid of all life, its eyes frozen in an expression of dull confusion.
Like a statue, submerged in ancient sword energy.