"Third Brother!"
Witnessing Zhu Ju blast the Bear Demon to death, the Poisonous Flood Dragon let out a furious, hissing roar. Earth flew from under its feet as it transformed into a phantom blur and lunged forward.
Within a single day.
Two of its three sworn brothers of many years were gone. The Poisonous Flood Dragon’s heart felt as if it were bleeding, and rage drowned its reason.
Die!
I must kill him and avenge my brothers!
"Hmph!"
Zhu Ju snorted. Qi Blood surged from his body into the Bright Armor, and its surface immediately began to glow with a cold, sinister light.
Demon-Devouring Iron!
This material could suppress the Demonic Power within a Demon’s body.
Refined by a Secret Technique he employed, the Bright Armor’s power to suppress Demons was even greater.
Though the armor was not yet at Perfection, it was already more than serviceable.
He had killed the thick-skinned Bear Demon with just a few punches earlier, partly due to his own extraordinary strength, but mostly because the Bright Armor had suppressed its Demonic Power, sealing its fate.
The moment the Poisonous Flood Dragon drew near, it immediately sensed that something was wrong.
For some reason, the Demonic Power in its body was rapidly dissipating, and a sense of powerlessness washed over it.
’This is...’
PENG!
Fist met claw.
Zhu Ju’s figure swayed as he retreated several steps. The Poisonous Flood Dragon, however, grunted and was sent flying backward.
It scrambled back to its feet the moment it landed, its eyes filled with a mixture of fear and fury.
"Demon-Devouring Iron!"
"You damn bastard! I’ll tear that armor from your body and let you dissolve piece by piece in my venom."
HISS...
The Poisonous Flood Dragon flicked its serpent-like tongue. Its body slowly began to expand, and in the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a giant python ten meters long and as thick as two people wrapped together.
For Demons, Transformation was merely a technique they gained after their Realm of strength reached a certain level.
Their true form.
That was always their strongest state.
When a peak Seventh-Grade Poisonous Flood Dragon revealed its true form, even a low-level Sixth-Grade Martial Artist would be helpless against it.
SWISH!
The Poisonous Flood Dragon coiled its body and shot forward.
From their previous exchange, it had already probed Zhu Ju’s strength. While his Martial Arts were remarkable, they couldn’t change the outcome in the face of absolute power.
WHOOSH...
A fierce wind erupted.
Fallen leaves scattered and flew.
The ten-meter-long Poisonous Flood Dragon was like a shadow that blotted out the sky, enveloping the armor-clad Zhu Ju.
The terrifying pressure washed over him, causing even his well-tempered Primordial Spirit to ripple slightly.
’Dangerous!’
Zhu Ju’s eyes narrowed. He quickly held his breath and, bearing the two-thousand-jin weight of his armor, abruptly twisted his body.
His body unfolded like the pages of a book. His legs rooted themselves to the earth as his hands swung down like a great axe.
PENG!
RIIIP...
A long gash was torn open on the Poisonous Flood Dragon’s body. Scales flew and fresh blood splattered everywhere.
TSSSSS...
Zhu Ju retreated hastily, looking down at the armor on his chest.
The Poisonous Flood Dragon’s blood was clearly highly toxic. White smoke billowed up the instant it hit the armor, but thankfully, after the smoke cleared, the armor was completely unscathed.
Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, a wave of dizziness washed over him.
’How could this be?’
’I was holding my breath.’
"AHH!"
NEIGHHH...
The surviving manor guards in the distance suddenly screamed, clawing frantically at their own skin.
The horses thrashed their hooves, bolting desperately into the distance.
"Poison!"
Liao Ran struggled to her feet and shouted in a strained voice,
"The mist is poisonous!"
"Everyone, hold your breath! It’ll slow the poison’s spread! Let’s... let’s get out of here first."
As she spoke, she looked at Zhu Ju, a flicker of hope in her eyes.
As long as the Poisonous Flood Dragon was alive, even if they escaped for now, they would ultimately be doomed.
She no longer had the strength to fight, and even at full power, she would have been no match for the Poisonous Flood Dragon. Now, the hopes of the entire group rested solely on Zhu Ju.
’Mist?’
Zhu Ju raised an eyebrow.
Although his Realm was profound, his understanding of this world was still limited. His knowledge of Demons, in particular, was severely lacking.
WHOOSH...
A gust of wind slammed into him.
The Poisonous Flood Dragon lunged again.
It was cloaked in a foul wind, spewing poisonous smoke from its mouth.
Wherever its enormous body passed, trees fell and branches snapped. Even the Demon-Devouring Iron could do little to stop its rampage.
PENG!
Zhu Ju’s arm collided with the Poisonous Flood Dragon once more. Though he tore off some of its Skin and Flesh, he couldn’t reverse the tide of battle.
He was only a Ninth-Grade Martial Artist, and with the two-thousand-jin armor he wore, his Qi Blood consumption was immense.
’If this continues...’
"Give me the sword."
"Ah!"
Liao Ran was stunned for a moment before snapping back to reality. She instinctively tossed the Demon-slaying Sword in her hand over to him.
SWISH!
Zhu Ju dodged the Poisonous Flood Dragon’s lunge and reached out to catch the Demon-slaying Sword. His ragged breathing came to an abrupt halt.
In that instant, his powerful Primordial Spirit forcibly suppressed the poison rampaging through his body, as well as the chaotic Qi Blood.
The full potential of his Physical Body was also unleashed.
With the sword in his hand, his entire aura changed.
The cold wind howled.
The halo of the setting sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves, dancing with the falling foliage as it drifted to the ground.
The mist, the Poisonous Flood Dragon, the breeze, the cold sword, the interplay of light and shadow, motion and stillness—it all formed a scene like a painted scroll.
A flash of sword light abruptly appeared within the scroll.
An ultimate killing intent tore through everything, seemingly incompatible with the world itself—ferocious and sharp.
Even more...
Domineering!
His churning Qi Blood exuded a bizarre, chilling aura that sent a shiver down the spine of anyone who merely glanced at it.
VMMMM...
The sharp, piercing ring of the sword made Liao Ran’s eyes narrow. Her Essence, Qi, and Spirit seemed to be completely drawn in by that Sword Intent.
’No!’
She bit her tongue hard. The sharp pain brought back a sliver of clarity, and a trace of terror appeared in her eyes.
’What kind of Sword Technique is this?’
’Death!’
’A Sword Technique that points directly to death!’
This Sword Technique seemed to represent death itself. No one, no being, could escape from death.
And Demons were no exception.
A flash of black sword light vanished as quickly as it appeared. With a splash of blood, the Poisonous Flood Dragon’s head separated from its body and fell heavily to the ground.
A peak Seventh-Grade Poisonous Flood Dragon, slain with a single strike.
THWACK!
The Demon-slaying Sword, stained with poisonous blood, landed in the ground before Liao Ran. Its blade quivered slightly, as if still immersed in the Sword Intent from a moment ago.
...
"What a sharp Sword Technique!"
A white-haired old man appeared on the scene, his fingers gently brushing over the sword mark left on the ground.
"I once saw a Sword Technique that was like a blooming blue lotus, sweeping away all filth. But that was a Sword Intent only a being at the Third Grade or above could possess..."
"Master."
Liao Ran spoke up.
"Although that man dealt with the Bear Demon and the Poisonous Flood Dragon quickly, his strength probably hasn’t reached the Sixth Grade yet."
"That’s what makes it truly terrifying." The old man narrowed his eyes.
"It means this person possesses a top-tier heritage and has already grasped the Divine Intent of the Sword. As long as he doesn’t fall prematurely, he is certain to reach the Fourth Grade, and even cultivate a Third-Grade Dharma Aspect."
"When did such a figure appear in Taiyuan Prefecture?"
He muttered to himself, his expression grave.
"Master," Liao Ran spoke again,
"He doesn’t seem like a bad person."
"’Good’ and ’bad’ are only for distinguishing between Mortals. For a true expert, there is no absolute good or evil." The old man straightened up.
"However..."
"He is friendly toward the Human Race, and that is enough."
"The Sanhe Gang has allowed Demons to run rampant in Taiyuan Prefecture. The Demon-Slaying Hall cannot let them act so recklessly. We must report this to the State Yamen."
"Yes." Liao Ran bowed her head, sighing inwardly.
The old man only said to report it to the State Yamen; he didn’t mention deploying the Demon-Slaying Hall’s own power. Clearly, he still had his reservations.
And as for reporting it... setting aside whether they’d even get a response, even if action was taken, who knew when that would be? Could the local people even hold on that long?
"By the way,"
the old man said,
"you said that man’s armor was made entirely of Demon-Devouring Iron?"
"Yes." Liao Ran snapped out of her daze and nodded.
"At least two thousand jin of Demon-Devouring Iron... that’s truly a grand gesture. The Sanhe Gang has been stationed in Taiyuan Prefecture for decades, and they’ve only managed to acquire two or three thousand jin." The old man sighed.
"It seems the claim that this person comes from a major power is true. Otherwise, how could he be so extravagant?"
*
*
*
Clad in his armor, Zhu Ju appeared by the river. He glanced up at a hawk circling in the sky and sighed helplessly.
"If I can’t fly, there’s nothing I can do about that feathered beast."
Shaking his head, he leaped into the river.
The heavy armor enveloped his body, yet he entered the water without making the slightest splash.
This showed that his control over his Strength had reached a point where not even a trace of it leaked out.
Underwater.
Zhu Ju formed a Finger Technique with both hands. A tremor ran through the Qi Blood All Over his Body, and the Bright Armor instantly transformed into a stream of light, vanishing into his Dantian.
’After devouring the Demon Essence Blood of three Seventh-Grade Demons, plus a horde of Little Demons, I’ve finally refined the Bright Armor to the Entry Level. It has become a true Qi Blood Divine Weapon.’
’First, I should head back.’
’Then I’ll have someone bring the goods back to the Cloth Workshop.’