The other two demonic beasts were so shocked by Lin Que’s strike that they retreated several feet, not daring to spare a glance at the purple-maned ferocious lion’s fate.
They were afraid.
The instincts of beasts made them fear the young man before them. They wanted to flee.
And once the thought of escape took hold, the outcome of the battle was already decided.
Half a quarter of an hour later—
Lin Que held three blood-soaked demon cores in his hand. After confirming their grade, he stored them along with the hides, bones, and flesh in his storage ring.
These were all valuable materials: the demon cores could be used in alchemy, the hides could be made into cloaks, and the bones into weapons or magical artifacts.
As for the meat… the flesh of carnivorous demonic beasts was too tough and unsuitable for his own meals, but it could still be sold.
Although the quality of the meat was poor, it still contained a considerable amount of spiritual energy thanks to the beasts’ Nascent Soul cultivation. There were always those who wanted it to boost their own cultivation.
Truly, he was a frugal and practical man, never letting anything go to waste.
After dealing with the three demonic beasts, Lin Que still hadn’t found the one at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. It had probably sensed something was wrong from the start, sent its subordinates as decoys, and escaped.
“They clearly know how vengeful human cultivators can be, yet they still risked being hunted down. What were they trying to achieve?”
In truth, there was a reason why the demonic beasts said that humans held grudges.
The high-tier demonic beasts in the forest didn’t always live in the heart of the mountains. They once roamed the outer regions as well, even taking pleasure in hunting humans.
Gaining intelligence didn’t necessarily make them rational. On the contrary, it often made them even more cruel and violent.
According to Master An Xiaoyao, several hundred years ago, this region was plagued by powerful demonic beasts that burned, killed and looted, committing all manner of atrocities. The forest was littered with human remains and mutilated corpses.
Eventually, their actions drew the attention and ire of righteous cultivators. Multiple sects joined forces and launched a huge extermination campaign, reducing the number of beasts in the forest to less than a quarter of what it had been. Over half the forest was destroyed, and it took nearly a hundred years to recover.
It could be said that most of the high-level demonic beasts now residing in the forest are survivors of that era. They know very well how terrifying humans can be. Their retreat into the forest’s depths wasn’t out of humility or obedience…it was fear.
And yet—
Despite their usual aversion to provoking human cultivators, they had now taken the initiative to leave the inner forest and even ambushed Qin Wanyuan and her group together. That alone spoke volumes.
It was likely connected to that unknown looming threat.
“That thing deep within the forest she mentioned… what exactly is it?”
Lin Que’s instincts told him that if he continued deeper into the demonic beast forest, he would find what the little demon had referred to…and also encounter the peak Nascent Soul beast that had injured Qin Wanyuan and Jiang Moqing.
Riding his sword through the air, this time Lin Que did not soar high into the sky but instead flew at low altitude, simultaneously extending his divine sense to probe the auras within the forest.
Before leaving, the little demon had mentioned that there was a strange aura in the demonic beast forest. Using that as a clue, he should be able to find something.
Sure enough, less than ten li from the heart of the demonic beast forest, Lin Que sensed a subtle disturbance in the surrounding spiritual energy. Even his tongue and throat began to feel faintly dry.
“A fire-type aura? And it’s been deliberately concealed.”
Lin Que closed his eyes and expanded the range of his divine sense. Before long, he had locked onto the center of the spiritual disturbance.
Flying toward that direction on his sword, the night wind howled past his ears. The trees below swayed wildly, as if caught in a violent storm.
Suddenly, a chill surged from behind Lin Que. Without turning his head, he immediately shifted his body to the side.
Almost simultaneously, a sharp claw swept dangerously close past him, narrowly missing its mark.
Had Lin Que been even a moment slower, he might have been pierced through.
Creating distance from the ambusher with a quick movement, Lin Que calmly observed the beast that had just attacked him.
This demonic beast wasn’t nearly as large or imposing as the lion- and tiger-like ones he had encountered earlier. Its figure was closer to that of a human, though it still retained several beastly features.
It had a hunched back and dull and lifeless fur and looked frail and aged. It wore a tattered Daoist robe clearly stolen from somewhere which was still stained with blood that had dried black.
In its hand, it held a somewhat tattered formation flag, clearly another item looted from a victim.
“How did you discover this place?” the old demonic beast demanded.
Demonic beasts, while physically strong, were not well-versed in matters of the soul or spirit and thus had no understanding of divine sense or its uses.
“……”
Lin Que, of course, offered no explanation. Instead, he simply took out the sword wrapped in chains from his storage ring. Without a word, he stepped forward and slashed.
The old demonic beast’s expression twisted in alarm. It had assumed that even if the young man had seen through its ambush, the two sides would exchange a few threats or at least some words explaining their presence.
It hadn’t expected that this young cultivator would skip all pre-battle banter and charge in without a single word. He was completely unlike the chattering human cultivators it had encountered before.
As a result, it was caught completely off guard by Lin Que’s sudden attack, forced to retreat several hundred zhang before it could regain its footing.
It truly hadn’t imagined that a dignified Nascent Soul stage demon like itself would one day be driven into such a sorry state by a human who, at a glance, seemed to be only at the Core Formation stage.
Just after creating some distance, the old demonic beast quickly pulled out several talismans and a blue pearl from its sleeve. Forming a sword seal with its hands, it chanted under its breath.
A demonic beast was actually using human cultivators’ talismans and magical treasures.
But—
It was all useless.
Lin Que’s speed suddenly surged. Before the old beast could react, he had already appeared right in front of it.
With a flick of his wrist, the seemingly dull and crude sword sheath in his hand emitted a razor-sharp gleam, slicing straight through the beast’s hand that was forming the seal.
The next strike landed heavily on its heart meridian, severing all signs of life.
A Core Formation cultivator facing off against a Nascent Soul stage opponent….this battle, which should have spanned a major realm difference, ended without suspense in just a few short moments.
If word of this were to spread, few would believe it.
Lin Que, however, remained calm and indifferent, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
The old demonic beast fell limply, crashing to the ground. In its final moments, its eyes remained fixed on the direction it had come from.
“My… immortality.”
After leaving behind those final words, it moved no more.
“Immortality?”
Lin Que blinked, and without sparing the old demonic beast’s belongings, he thoroughly looted everything from its body. Only then did he take the tattered formation flag it had been holding from the start and head toward the source of the spiritual turbulence.
It was at the foot of an otherwise unremarkable mountain. Lin Que waved the damaged formation flag while channeling spiritual energy into it. Immediately, what had appeared to be a solid mountainside suddenly revealed a cave entrance.
As he stepped inside, the air grew increasingly hot, and a parching dryness rose in his mouth and throat. As if the moisture in his body were being rapidly evaporated.
Reaching the deepest part of the cave, Lin Que saw a refining formation. And at its center, there lay a huge egg.
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