It wasn’t eating the shredded flesh. It was absorbing the blood energy!

The blood from the Centaur, which had been torn to pieces and scattered across the ground, began to vanish before his very eyes.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Gu Zheng glanced over and decisively unleashed his blades. Drawing on the Power of Heaven and Earth, they shot through the air toward the Blood Boiling Demon Eagle.

The blades vanished, only to reappear a moment later. By the time the Blood Boiling Demon Eagle sensed them, it was too late.

"SHKT! SHKT! SHKT!"

A series of gruesome sounds rang out as glints of cold light danced through the air.

The Blood Boiling Demon Eagle’s massive body, just like the Centaur’s, was shredded into a pile of flesh.

The cloud of blood energy it had just absorbed dissipated, drifting away on the wind.

Spirit Capturing!

[Demon Points +25]

[Demon Points +27]

’A Tier 2 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle... not bad.’

"SCREEEEEE!!!"

Suddenly, an infuriated, piercing cry erupted, echoing high in the heavens.

The invisible sound waves became visible, spreading down from the sky in one swirling ripple after another.

WHOOSH~~~

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Tremors followed one after another, the sound shattering the very air and echoing for miles. The resulting gale howled through the mountains, flattening vast swathes of trees.

’Tier 3!’ 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

’There was a Tier 3 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle lurking high in the sky.’

’Was the Tier 2 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle I just killed its offspring?’

Gu Zheng recalled his blades. His figure flickered as he activated the Wandering God Falcon Wings.

’If nothing else, I can’t let it get a speed advantage.’

"SCREEE~!!"

The eagle’s cry rose again.

Waves of sound surged forth, shaking the air and washing over Gu Zheng.

His blood and vital energy, which had only just settled, began to surge violently within him once more.

Hmph!

With a cold snort, Gu Zheng circulated his energy and forcefully suppressed the turmoil inside him.

WHOOSH~

A terrifying gale descended from the heavens.

The Tier 3 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle, like a great mountain, plummeted from the sky at extreme speed, locking onto Gu Zheng.

FWOOSH!

With a single beat of its wings, it unleashed a dense barrage of wind blades that tore through the air, blanketing Gu Zheng’s position.

SWOOSH~

SWOOSH!

Gu Zheng moved like lightning, weaving at incredible speed to evade the Tier 3 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle’s attack. The volley of wind blades rained down on the ground, leaving behind a series of clearly visible craters.

"SCREEE~!"

The Tier 3 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle shrieked in fury, beating its wings to pursue Gu Zheng.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Row after row of wind blades swarmed forward in successive waves.

Gu Zheng changed direction, effortlessly dodging them.

Then, in a sudden move, he shot skyward. His three hundred sixty blades fanned out, slicing through the air from the side as they shot toward the Tier 3 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle.

Imbued with Sword Intent and a surge of Divine Wondrous power, the blades vanished, only to reappear a moment later already inside the Tier 3 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle’s body.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

Demon Blood splattered as the blades shot forth. They bypassed its Feather defenses, piercing straight through the Tier 3 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle’s body from the inside out.

The Tier 3 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle shrieked in terror. Its massive body froze, hovering in place as it desperately beat its wings, trying to retreat.

However, it was too late...

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The remaining blades followed suit. They vanished in the same manner, reappearing inside the Tier 3 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle’s body to shred its organs and tear through its flesh.

Finally, they pierced through its head!

"...Gak~"

With a final, low gurgle, the Tier 3 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle stopped moving. Its massive body, riddled with bloody holes, went rigid for a moment.

The next moment, it plummeted to the ground, smashing onto a sparsely vegetated, two-hundred-meter-tall mountaintop. The impact sent shattered rocks flying and kicked up a small cloud of dust.

The mountain vibrated with a loud rumbling, seeming as if it might crack apart at any moment.

And then, it actually began to move!

CRACK~

RUMBLE!

A dull rumble echoed, accompanied by the grinding of massive stones. The two-hundred-meter-tall mountain extended a...

No, a pair of arms!

The arms, which had been pressed flush against the torso, now lifted high, just like a person raising their arms.

RUMBLE~

The deep rumbling continued, and the very earth began to shake.

After the arms extended, a thick thigh, followed by another colossal, pillar-like leg, separated from the mountainside.

On the mountaintop, amid rumbling tremors, huge chunks of earth crumbled away and the sparse trees toppled as an enormous head with indistinct features slowly emerged.

"HUUURRGHH~~~"

A deep, rasping breath, like rolling thunder, echoed through the mountains.

WHOOSH~!

A gale whipped up clouds of dust that swirled around the man-shaped mountain, refusing to disperse.

A giant!

A giant made of countless rocks—a Rock Giant!

The moment it appeared, a terrifying aura, somewhere between Tier 3 and Tier 4, erupted and blanketed the area.

RUMBLE~~

The ground shook and dust filled the air.

Standing erect, the Rock Giant slowly turned its head. Its gaze fell upon the corpse of the Tier 3 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle at the foot of the mountain, and a scarlet light flared on its indistinct face.

"HRRNGH~~!"

With a low roar, the Rock Giant slowly raised its massive thigh to stomp on the corpse of the Tier 3 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle.

If that foot landed, the Tier 3 Blood Boiling Demon Eagle’s corpse would be reduced to a bloody pulp.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Gu Zheng decisively unleashed his three hundred sixty blades. They flashed like cold light, pierced the air, and vanished, only to reappear a moment later inside the Rock Giant’s body.

THUNK! THUNK!

An odd sound rang out as fragments of rock sprayed into the air.

The three hundred sixty blades met little resistance as they pierced the Rock Giant, weaving in and out of its torso and even its head.

But!

This two-hundred-meter-tall Rock Giant seemed completely unfazed. It merely let out an angry growl, then lifted its massive thigh and strode toward Gu Zheng.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Its heavy footsteps made the very ground tremble with each dull thud.