Jiao Feng let out a long breath, not bothering to hide the disdain in his eyes.
The long journey had caused the dark red scabs covering his body to crack slightly.
His youthful features wrinkled slightly, and a hint of enjoyment flashed across his face.
The tearing pain stimulated his entire body, making him tremble with pleasure.
Unable to help himself, he opened his mouth and let out a piercing cry: "Ang!"
In that eerie cry, the entire forest fell silent.
Birds and beasts alike were terrified, their courage shattered.
Jiao Feng gazed into the distance, eager to return to the village as soon as possible.
His agile figure darted through the forest, and with a casual swipe of his claw, he plucked the head of the black-robed officer as easily as picking a fruit from a tree.
Compared to the demon's many thoughts, Shen Yi's mind was calm and focused.
He gripped his ceremonial blade tightly, his eyes steady, all his attention on the monstrous claw reaching toward him.
The claw, covered in scales, surged forward with a violent, overwhelming force.
Jiao Feng was unarmed, yet his body alone was enough to rival any divine weapon.
"..."
Whether it was the Yellow Dog, the Black Ape, or even the Azure-Scaled Matron, Shen Yi was familiar with these creatures—they were all animals that had cultivated into demons.
But the beast before him, with its strange cry and the horn on its forehead, was something else entirely.
It didn't need cultivation; its very form was that of a mythical creature.
Shen Yi tightened his grip on the blade.
His black-and-white eyes, which should have been filled with tension, were instead inexplicably excited, his heart pounding rapidly.
His entire aura poured into the blade, merging it with the night.
"Wolf of Greed, Slay the Evil."
The straight blade fell silently, pausing for a moment as it touched the scales of the claw, then sliced through effortlessly.
Jiao Feng didn't even feel the pain.
He was only puzzled—why didn't he feel the familiar pleasure of tearing flesh? He glanced to the side and saw half of his hand fall to the ground.
There was no spray of blood, only the black blade, now stained with a few streaks of crimson.
Shen Yi held the blade with both hands, his movements unceasing.
Before Jiao Feng's disbelief could fully register, the black blade was driven deep into the demon's body!
"Pfft!"
The ceremonial blade, though inanimate, seemed to exude a strange greed.
Countless threads of blood were drawn out, dyeing the blade a deep red.
"Tsk..."
Jiao Feng suddenly grabbed Shen Yi's wrist.
Under the sharp claws, Shen Yi's Eight Treasures Profound Body, which he had relied on, seemed to lose its effectiveness.
The white skin glowed with a profound light, only to be easily torn apart by the sharp claws.
Jiao Feng exerted force, trying to pull out the strange blade.
Shen Yi seemed oblivious to the pain, coldly pushing the blade three inches deeper.
Even with the Eight Treasures Profound Body, the strength of a first-realm martial artist could never match that of a powerful dragon.
But as the crimson aura from the blade flowed into his body through his hand, Shen Yi felt an endless surge of energy.
Even the wound on his wrist healed at a visible rate.
"You're... eating me?" Jiao Feng's voice was hoarse, his eyes filled with madness, more intense than when his claw had been severed.
"You dare eat me?"
He laughed maniacally, as if the idea was absurd.
Then, a look of savagery crossed his face.
The countless wounds on his body burst open.
He released Shen Yi, grabbed his own flesh, and tore it apart!
"Rip!"
In an instant, a massive creature, ten zhang long, soared into the sky.
Its body coiled in the air, its head grotesque, the single horn glowing with blood.
The black blade embedded in its body now seemed insignificant, almost trivial.
The dragon roared, its vertical pupils glaring down at Shen Yi.
It didn't even bother to shake off the ceremonial blade, which had lost its power and returned to its original black sheen.
"Roar!"
It roared again, the wind snapping trees and whipping up fallen leaves, rushing toward the young man.
Its massive body rolled downward, crushing everything in its path.
With such a size difference, a martial artist without a blade posed no threat.
Shen Yi stood still, his hands hanging at his sides, seemingly confirming the dragon's thoughts.
Until he looked up.
In that moment, the dragon sensed danger.
Its scales bristled, and it instinctively turned its head.
Behind it, countless streams of energy converged, forming a curtain of swords.
Under the pale moonlight, the swords glowed with an eerie red light, their malevolent aura no less intense than the dragon's.
What kind of demonic cultivator was this?
As Shen Yi's face paled, he exhaled a turbid breath.
The sky filled with demonic energy crashed down!
The dragon's massive body had no way to avoid it.
It could only curl up, using its hard black scales to protect its belly.
"Bang! Bang!"
The invisible demonic energy struck the dragon's body like a blacksmith's hammer, the dull sounds echoing through the valley.
In an instant, the dragon was smashed into the forest.
When the energy dissipated, the red glow clung to its body like flames, refusing to be extinguished no matter how much it writhed.
The sizzling sound of corrosion continued unabated.
The black scales quickly melted, revealing the flesh beneath.
"Ang!!"
The dragon screamed, thrashing about, turning the surroundings into chaos.
When the red glow finally burned out, it trembled and raised its head, its body in tatters.
The pleasure it had once felt from pain was gone, replaced only by the relief of having survived.
It suddenly turned its gaze to the young man.
Seeing Shen Yi's pale face, it finally let out a cruel laugh: "Good! Good! Now it's my turn."
Before it could finish, the dragon noticed Shen Yi closing his eyes.
This posture clearly indicated that he was exhausted, ready to be captured.
But for some reason, a shiver ran through the dragon's heart.
The next moment, the sky filled with another curtain of demonic energy, identical to the first.
Then a second, a third... until the entire sky was covered, the red glow faintly mocking.
The dragon raised its neck, stunned.
It opened its bloody maw, revealing sharp fangs, its cry sharp and filled with despair: "Fake! It's all fake! You can't fool me!"
Shen Yi coldly pressed his palm down.
Countless waves of demonic energy surged, completely engulfing the small dragon.
Forty years of demonic lifespan.
Even he felt a pang of regret.
Until a notification flashed across his panel.
[Slayed a Jade Liquid Realm early-stage dragon demon.
Total lifespan: 1,427 years.
Remaining lifespan: 1,230 years.
Absorption complete.]
[Remaining demonic lifespan: 1,435 years.
Can be condensed.]
Shen Yi walked slowly toward the wreckage.
The remaining corpse was still covered in red light, half of it already dissolved in just a few breaths.
He bent down and picked up the glowing dragon core, placing it alongside the fox demon's essence he had collected earlier.
Now was not the time to tally his gains.
Shen Yi turned and swept through the forest, picking up the two unlucky souls as he headed toward the fishing village.
(End of Chapter)