Chapter 84: Tasty But No Money for Wine

"Hah! Hah!"

After flying an unknown distance, the massive dragon body rolled and convulsed before crashing to the ground with a thunderous boom, kicking up clouds of dust.

It reverted to human form.

Its body, covered in black scales, was riddled with fine, dark red wounds.

The grotesque dragon head gasped heavily, its sharp claws reaching downward, smeared with blood; its waist and abdomen had been cleanly severed by the great halberd, leaving only half its body.

Its eyes were filled with panic and lingering terror.

Leaning against a tree, it let out a howl from its bloodied maw, its crimson tongue extending as its scaled, rough claws grew scorching hot, sizzling shut the wounds.

From today on, Zhang Hengzhou of Qingfeng Mountain no longer exists—only Jiang Jiao, the Sixth Prince of Yangchun River, remains.

Provided… that I can escape back to Yangchun River.

Thick venomous hatred gathered in its monstrous eyes.

It was a three-thousand-year-old Nascent Core ancient demon, yet it appeared utterly feeble before Chen Qiankun.

"Zhen Mo Si! Zhen Mo Si!"

The dragon demon slowly regained strength, its face twisted with intense envy; the Nascent Core Realm had three stages: condensing fluid into a core, embracing the core within the qi sea, and shattering the core to nurture the spirit.

The most important of these was the second stage.

The core is like a placenta; when first formed, it contains only pure heavenly and earthly qi, like an empty egg. What emerges after shattering the core depends entirely on what fed it during the embrace.

If one cultivates with sword intent, blood qi, essence… and attains the Hunyuan Wuji Shen Zongshi realm, a demon or monster of this realm may be called a regional demon king.

But among these dozen or so generals of Zhen Mo Si—including the overall commander of Outside Qingzhou—all but one followed the shortcut of incense and vow power.

They fed their inner cores with the incense and vow power of Outside Qingzhou's people, and when the core cracked open, it gave birth to a yin spirit.

This realm no longer adheres to martial ways, standing entirely apart from the Hunyuan Realm, and is called Wu Xian.

In close combat, Wu Xian are far inferior to Hunyuan Realm Grandmasters, yet they possess their own mystery: the yin spirit can leave the body, wander the four seas, and hear all directions.

This was originally the path to godhood for mountain spirits and wild demons: doing good, building temples, accumulating vow power, and ascending to positions as mountain gods, river mothers, or local land deities.

But martial warriors stole this path, relying on imperial court backing, and in this uniquely advantageous condition, they brazenly plundered incense.

How old is Chen Qiankun? Only eight hundred years.

Simply by virtue of his title as Grand General of Zhen Mo Si in Linjiang Prefecture, he has amassed such deep foundations.

Though he cannot slay demons from a thousand li away, he can briefly let his yin spirit leave his body, wielding a blade to strike down—nearly cutting me in half with one slash.

This proves that within his inner core, the Wu Xian has already begun to take shape, awaiting only the passage of time and the moment to shatter the core and emerge.

"Qingfeng Mountain cannot contain him!"

The dragon demon's eyes filled with despair; that boundless sword intent could trap the flesh, but how could it trap a yin spirit?

Even Zhang's ancestral ancestor in the ancestral sword—a mere remnant soul sustained by generations of disciples' blood—believed himself safe, convinced martial warriors could not touch him, and dared to appear before Chen Qiankun… he is surely already dead, slain by the old general's yin spirit.

"Run!"

The dragon demon finally regained some strength, dragging its mangled body with both palms, struggling to crawl forward.

Once back in Yangchun River, where the dragon returns to water, even if Chen Qiankun came—or worse, the true Wu Xian, the overall commander of Zhen Mo Si in Outside Qingzhou—none could do more than sigh at the river.

I had painstakingly built a reputation as a hero, as a Qingfeng Mountain disciple, refining my core in the Sword Pool, succeeding as sect leader—if I continued step by step, I would have had a chance to compete for incense.

I could not bear to abandon the identity of Zhang Hengzhou, yet I lost half my body!

And now, reduced to this, I dare not even reveal my true dragon form to hide my trail—this is utter humiliation!!

The dragon demon desperately suppressed its aura; as it crawled with its palms, its speed was nearly equal to flying on clouds—mainly because it was safer.

Suddenly, it shuddered violently, lifting its head to see the sky ahead filled with crimson spiritual energy.

A faint patter of footsteps reached its ears.

"Chen Qiankun, you've gone too far!"

The dragon demon, like a bird startled by a bowstring, whirled around, its voice cracking with terror.

But then it saw a figure that filled it with bitter hatred.

A handsome young man panted heavily, his disheveled hair soaked with sweat and clinging to his pale face, his black robe's hem fluttering slightly, his hand gripping the hilt of his blade, his dark, deep eyes brimming with endless killing intent.

Then he stopped, at a distance he deemed safe.

"It's you."

The dragon demon froze, suddenly finding it absurd, yet filled with unbearable pain.

Did I look so pitiful that even a Jade Liquid Realm brat dared to chase me down?

Watching him stand still, the dragon demon was baffled: "You're merely a Captain, earning two hundred taels a month—why come alone?"

Shen Yi wiped sweat from his brow; he swore that since opening his eyes in the Liu household, he had never exerted himself so utterly.

Fortunately, an inexplicable connection linked them, allowing him to slowly catch up despite his weak legs, never losing track.

Thinking this, he brought his palm down.

The full-force Heavenly Blood Chaos abruptly crashed down, slamming into the dragon demon's half-body!

Only now did Shen Yi begin to catch his breath, whispering: "Because you looked at me three times."

The spiritual energy blasted white marks into the dragon demon's scales, its countless wounds splitting open further, demonic flames licking its flesh.

Yet the dragon's head showed no change in expression: "You'd kill me for one look?"

"Three looks."

Shen Yi stared, calmly yet sincerely correcting him: "Not just want to kill you—I want to kill your entire family."

He spoke every word from his heart.

In the dragon's eyes, Shen Yi saw hatred, saw venom—but saw no path to escape for himself.

So even if the enemy had the faintest chance to flee—

He would crush it with his own hands.

Otherwise, what awaits him might be the revenge of the entire Yangchun Jiang Jiao clan.

"Heh! Ha—"

Seeing this, the Serpent Demon fell silent for a long time, as if it had seen through the youth's thoughts. Suddenly, it burst out laughing, its whole body trembling, laughing until it gasped for breath. Its claws pressed down heavily on the ground ahead, and it snarled, "You still have some brain."

Zhang Hengzhou could be valued so highly by Qingfeng Sect Master, treated like his own son; there truly was a common point between their two personalities.

That was the same overprotectiveness toward one's own!

Moreover, Jiang Feng was not a half-demon; it was the offspring it had borne with a female serpent before leaving Yangchun River. It simply couldn't let go, worrying that in its youth it would be bullied by the rest of its clan, so it had fetched it out from the river.

It was its only... true... offspring!

And at this moment, the thick and familiar aura on the youth made it go mad.

Even knowing that Chen Qiankun would pursue at any moment, casually eliminating a Jade Liquid Realm martial artist required almost no effort.

"So what are you waiting for! Come on! Kill me!"

The Serpent Demon let out a piercing shriek, climbed forward a distance again, and then saw Shen Yi silently step back a few paces, then raise his hand to summon another wave of Great Star Blood Fiend.

It advanced, he retreated.

For every step forward, he retreated the same amount, not a single inch off.

Serpent Demon: "..."

"Don't come over, I'm a bit scared."

Shen Yi stood with his hands hanging by his sides, his voice calm, stating the truth frankly, then raised his hand to summon a third wave of Blood Fiend.

The previous clash between Nascent Core Realm cultivators had already completely exceeded his understanding.

Therefore, he truly felt somewhat unsure.

The Blood Qi, which had always been invincible, crashed onto the Serpent Demon, yet showed no visible effect.

But Shen Yi firmly believed that accumulating small amounts would eventually yield results; if not, it simply wasn't enough.

In a single breath, nearly twenty palm strikes made his face turn deathly pale.

While the power of the Blood Qi increased, the consumption was far beyond what it had been in the beginning.

Dense, storm-like Qi rained down entirely upon the Serpent Demon, even tinting the horizon a dark red.

Just as the Serpent Demon thought he had exhausted his strength, Shen Yi slowly held his breath.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, golden light shone anew in his pupils: "..."

The palm that had just paused for an instant actually lifted up again!

"What kind of demonic art is this?"

Facing this incomprehensible scene, the Serpent Demon's expression changed slightly, an odd feeling subtly rising in its heart.

Feeling the tearing pain gradually approaching its back, its gaze cold, it hesitated for a moment, then slowly turned and crawled away into the distance.

Something's wrong! Leave first!

"..."

The sound of tiny footsteps started up again.

The Serpent Demon suddenly turned its head, glaring angrily, yet helplessly and resentfully withdrew its gaze, climbing with even greater effort.

However, those footsteps followed behind, neither hurried nor slow, only stopping when it turned its head. Shen Yi looked as if he was always ready to retreat, giving it not the slightest chance to counterattack.

Accompanying it was also a continuous, endless rain of Qi.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Leaving surging flames on the Serpent Demon's hard spine, its countless fine wounds burst open completely, dark red demon blood gushing out and staining the ground red.

Finally, it stopped moving, looking at the youth who was inseparable from it like a ghost. Blood surged in its pupils; it opened its mouth to reveal a full set of fangs and a scarlet pointed tongue, and shouted in rage, "You're scared of your mother!"

"Get lost!!"

The opponent struck so ruthlessly; where was even a trace of fear?

What the hell kind of person is this? Is there any dignity a martial artist should have?!

Bullying a disabled serpent?!

(End of this chapter)