A Demon?

A Demon that was once human!

The giant ape, a full ten meters tall, was like a moving hill. Every breath it took was accompanied by a raging gale.

Its thick limbs, bulging muscles, and crisscrossing fangs all displayed pure power.

An inhuman power!

Although the giant Ape Demon before them wasn’t transformed from a True Man, it was already beyond what a Great Mage could handle.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu."

Xie Changge retreated cautiously.

"Don’t be reckless. Great Mages can already manifest a Dharma Form with their Divine Soul. After turning into a Demon, he’s not much weaker than a True Man."

"Back then, that Parasitic Demon Bee wasn’t a True Man’s demon either, yet it nearly destroyed the Bamboo Mountain Temple and its thousand-plus monks. You can imagine how terrifying it was."

"That’s right!" Situ Kongli nodded.

"With your talent and potential, Young Master Zhu, you’ll surely become a True Man in time. There’s no need to take this risk."

"This Yuan Yue was a peak expert among Great Mages to begin with. Now that he’s a Demon, his power is even more terrifying."

In short,

There was no need to act tough for a fleeting moment of glory!

"ROAR!"

The giant ape threw its head back and roared. A visible sound wave surged through the entire mountain stronghold, like a rampaging hurricane.

The simple houses within the stronghold were blown askew.

The bandits were left deafened and dizzy, with blood streaming from their Seven Acupoints. The weaker ones died on the spot.

"ROAR!"

As the roar subsided, the giant ape flashed and reappeared in front of Zhu Ju.

Its massive size did nothing to slow it down; it even left an afterimage on the battlefield.

"WHOOSH..."

A fist the size of a millstone, wreathed in Powerful Qi, descended. Before it even landed, debris on the ground had already exploded into fragments.

The hair of the two people behind Zhu Ju whipped about as they were forced to retreat again and again.

"Excellent timing!"

Zhu Ju’s eyes lit up. The Cross and Vertical Saber in his hand swung in a near-perfect semicircle, colliding head-on with the incoming fist.

"BOOM!"

Powerful Qi erupted.

The large and small figures met and separated in an instant.

The sharp Cross and Vertical Saber carved a deep wound on the back of the giant ape’s hand, while the ground beneath Zhu Ju’s feet shattered.

"SWISH!"

Ghost God Limit!

First Limit—Thousand Mountains Locking Mist!

Streaks of saber light materialized from thin air, weaving into a dense net that instantly enveloped the giant ape.

"CRACK!"

"CRACKLE..."

With a sound like an axe striking stone, wounds of varying depths instantly appeared all over the giant ape’s body.

Especially on its face.

The saber wounds nearly tore its eye sockets apart.

"ROAR!"

The giant ape roared relentlessly, its hands constantly swatting, striking, scooping, and grabbing as it chased the figure before it.

"Demons have no intelligence..."

Zhu Ju muttered under his breath,

"They’re just beasts!"

It possessed a formidable Physical Body and incredible innate abilities, but it had no idea how to use them.

No wonder Demons were no match for True Men.

Even if its Physical Body’s foundation became stronger after transforming into a Demon, without intelligence, it was all just a castle in the sky.

Besides...

He could now be considered an Innate expert who had broken four, or even five, acupoints!

"Slash!"

Broken Moon Knocking!

A silent, cold gleam of saber light appeared like a sliver of moonlight, slicing across the giant ape’s neck.

"SPURT!"

Blood splattered everywhere.

The massive gash nearly severed the giant ape’s head, but even so, it didn’t die.

Its terrifying regenerative power made the severed neck squirm like budding flesh, healing at an astonishing speed.

Not only that,

As if Zhu Ju had provoked its consciousness, layers of Stone Armor began to form on the giant ape’s body.

Its Defensive Power doubled.

"ROAR!"

It slammed both palms onto the ground.

Countless sharp stone spikes pierced up from the ground, instantly transforming the hundred-meter area into a forest of stone.

Zhu Ju’s figure weaved through the stone forest, occasionally unleashing his saber. Each slash could shatter a large section of the stone pillars.

The Demon was inhuman.

But his performance was in no way inferior to the Demon’s.

"PENG!"

Dust and smoke billowed.

"So strong!"

Situ Kongli leaped back to dodge the flying rubble, her beautiful eyes shimmering.

"I don’t know how Young Master Zhu tempered his Physical Body, but to think it can contend with a Demon head-on."

"Maybe..."

"He really has a chance!"

That last slash nearly took off the giant ape’s head. If he could find the right opportunity, it wasn’t impossible to decide the battle in a single move.

"It’s not that simple," Xie Changge said, shaking his head.

"Demons may be witless, but they have instinct. And this instinct is in harmony with the Dao, far surpassing that of ordinary living beings."

"The Demon that Yuan Yue transformed into must have been sealed away for a long time, so its instincts hadn’t yet manifested. Now, it’s starting to change."

Sure enough,

A change was taking place unnoticed.

The giant ape’s eyes were still murky, but its movements had become extremely agile. It could now evade the saber light that could have heavily wounded it, and it perfectly combined this with its ability to manipulate earth and stone.

Protective Stone Armor, earth-shaking tremors, recovery through the Qi of the Earth Veins...

Its endless stamina allowed it to launch a frenzied barrage of attacks even while evading Zhu Ju’s assault.

A ceaseless onslaught!

"SWISH!"

Five streaks of cold light flashed by.

The giant ape seemed to instinctively know that the incoming cold light was trouble. With a flicker, it left an afterimage in its place.

Celestial Escape Sword Ring!

The Five-Pointed Flying Sword’s Tunneling Speed increased. It abruptly changed direction in mid-air, catching the giant ape like a set of wildly spinning gears.

"CRUNCH..."

The giant ape’s body was torn to shreds.

But there was no joy of success on Zhu Ju’s face. Instead, he frowned and recalled the Five-Pointed Flying Sword.

A decoy!

The giant ape had actually learned to create a decoy out of stone to trick him.

No!

It wasn’t that it had learned it, but rather that it had mastered an innate ability and was using it with extreme proficiency.

"Interesting!"

Zhu Ju’s eyes glinted as he murmured,

"Now this is getting fun!"

"SWISH!"

A massive figure appeared behind him.

A colossal fist fell upon him like a black cloud, its terrifying pressure weighing on his mind even before it arrived.

Zhu Ju’s heart sank.

It felt as if a heavy stone had been dropped on his mind, and his tensed Physical Body seemed to want to give up the struggle.

A Spiritual Soul Attack?

A mindless beast was actually using a Divine Soul Technique on him, trying to subdue him without a fight?

How utterly...

Ridiculous!

"BOOM!"

An invisible rage ignited in his heart, becoming a Fierce Flame that instantly consumed his entire Sea of Consciousness.

As the Heart Fire burned, something leaped forth.

Ghost God Limit!

Fourth Limit—Thousand Blades Unending, One Slash Void!

This move required too much True Qi, far more than an Early-stage Innate Qi Refiner could possibly wield, even if they had comprehended it.

But with the help of his Inner Core, it wasn’t a problem.

Myriad streaks of saber light erupted in an instant, shattering countless rocks. Then, the myriad streaks of light abruptly converged inward.

A single gleam of saber light flashed and vanished.

"PENG!"

In the chaos,

The giant ape, a crack appearing between its brows, staggered backward.

As it moved, the crack widened, extending from between its brows down to its groin, as if it were about to be split in two.

If not for its powerful Demon Body and the protection of its Stone Armor, the giant ape would have truly been sliced in half by that single slash.

But now,

It wasn’t!

"Don’t let it recover!"

Xie Changge roared upon seeing this, his hands flashing through a Seal Technique. He bit his tongue to activate some kind of Secret Technique that consumed his potential.

"SWISH!"

The Smoke and Mist Sword shot out like lightning.

Like smoke, mist, and a vibrant sunset cloud all at once, the Flying Sword pierced the giant ape’s right eye and flew out of its left, dripping with blood.

"ROAR!"

The giant ape threw its head back and howled, roaring in fury.

"Go!"

Zhu Ju took a deep breath, formed a Sword Pointing gesture, and sent the Five-Pointed Flying Sword flying above the giant ape’s head to plunge downward.

Sword Light flashed.

It descended as a Sword Rain of ten thousand blades, like an inverted mountain, its might shaking the heavens.

Burial Sword Peak!

Instantly,

The giant ape’s body was carved away layer by layer by the Flying Swords. Amidst the flying flesh and blood, its internal organs and white bones were exposed.

"CLANG CLANG..."

When the Flying Swords struck its skull, they produced the sound of metal on metal, even kicking up sparks, a testament to its hardness.

’Although the Five-Pointed Flying Sword is a set of Magical Artifacts, it’s ultimately just a Low Grade Flying Sword. Its rank is a bit too low. This Ape Demon’s Physical Body is even a notch stronger than an Earth Evil True Body at the Great Success stage.’

’If it were a High Grade Flying Sword...’

’No!’

’Even a Middle Grade Flying Sword would be enough. With the power of the Five Elements Sword Technique, I could easily kill this Demon.’

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Zhu Ju felt his True Qi dwindling and had no choice but to stop the Flying Swords and retract them.

At this moment,

The giant ape was already dismembered. It was not dead, but it was on the verge of death.

All of its Skin and Flesh had been flayed off by the Flying Swords, its bones were shattered inch by inch, and even its internal organs had been minced to a pulp.

Zhu Ju strode forward. Looking at the giant ape on the ground, he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"It’s still not dead?"

Not only was it not dead, but its shattered organs were actually regenerating slowly, nourished by the power of earth and stone.

If left alone, it might actually recover completely after some time.

Just as he was about to raise his saber and finish off the giant ape, Zhu Ju paused. He put away the Cross and Vertical Saber and stretched out his left hand, pressing it forward.

Five Elements Palm!

Five Mountains Flipping Heaven!

His five fingers exerted a slight force. The giant palm in his Sea of Consciousness shimmered with a faint halo, and dense patterns appeared on Zhu Ju’s own palm.

"PENG!"

The white bones that required the full force of a Flying Sword to shatter were fragile before Zhu Ju’s Palm Force.

With a light press,

The bones shattered on the spot.

Not only that,

Wherever the Palm Force covered, even the giant ape’s ability to recover by devouring the power of earth and stone was crushed.

As the palm fell,

The giant ape’s body, which still held a trace of life, suddenly stiffened, and then that last spark of life vanished into thin air.

Hm?

Zhu Ju’s eyes twitched as he slowly retracted his left hand.

This left hand...

What in the world was going on with it?

*

*

*

The group had left the city full of confidence, thinking that dealing with Yuan Xin would be a simple matter. They never expected to suffer such heavy losses.

Situ Kuang was on the brink of death.

The Mages and Magicians traveling with them were either dead or injured.

If Zhu Ju hadn’t intervened at the critical moment, even Situ Kongli and Xie Changge might not have escaped unscathed.

"Giddy-up!"

"Giddy-up!"

Their strong horses galloped along the main road, heading straight for Yidu City.

"Is that Sister Kongli up ahead?" Just as Yidu City came into view, a voice called out from behind.

"Zhu Hu!"

Situ Kongli’s brow furrowed slightly. She saw several riders accelerating toward them from behind. The rider on one of the strong horses was burly and smiling—it was none other than Young Master Zhu Hu of the Silk Ridge’s Zhu Family.

"What a coincidence."

Zhu Hu’s gaze swept over the group, pausing on Situ Kuang. A flicker passed through his eyes as he said with a smile,

"Elder Situ, you’re injured."

"Yes..." Situ Kuang’s eyes were vacant.

"My uncle is fine," Situ Kongli cut in, shooting a look at Xie Changge.

"Brother Zhu, we have urgent matters to attend to, so we’ll be on our way."

"That’s right," Xie Changge said gruffly.

"This is a matter of great importance. We can’t afford any delays."

"This..." Zhu Hu’s smile stiffened slightly.

"Very well."

"Then we’ll meet again after we enter the city."

"Alright," Situ Kongli nodded.

"Farewell."

With that, she spurred her horse and rode away.

"Hah..." Watching the group’s departing figures, the smile vanished from Zhu Hu’s face, and he let out a soft sneer.

"They actually made it back alive."

"The Demon that Yuan Yue transformed into wasn’t a True Man’s demon, after all. It’s not surprising it couldn’t finish them," a woman wearing a veil said slowly.

"But from the looks of it, they actually managed to kill that Demon!"

"Indeed," Zhu Hu said, narrowing his eyes.

"I was hoping to play the hero rescuing the damsel in distress and win the beauty’s favor, but it seems that’s not going to happen now."

"However..."

"That Situ Kuang probably doesn’t have long to live."

"Situ Sheng took a Life-Locking Pill. Although he can live for another year, he won’t be able to use his full power during that time."

"The Situ Family..."

"...is left with only that little girl, Situ Kongli."

His eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but lick the corner of his lips.

If he could get Situ Kongli, then Silk Ridge could occupy Yidu, and the Zhu Family could replace the Situ Family.

"Chase them down and kill them?"

"No," the veiled woman shook her head.

"People from Celestial Star City are watching. We can’t act rashly. You find a way to get Situ Kongli."