Above the lake pouring with rain, bolts of lightning ripped through the night sky.
An invisible shockwave expanded into the surroundings. In that moment, countless terrifying waves were shattered and torn apart. A large region of water recovered momentary peace before immediately becoming even more turbulent.
Two colossal figures faced one another in the centre of the lake. A pair of scarlet eyes that glowed like embers and a pair of verdant wolf eyes clashed together in the air, sending sparks flying. They were filled with fury and bloodthirstiness.
However, apart from fury and bloodthirstiness, there was a steady sense of strength; he was like a mountain, gazing down at E Dan before him.
A pair of curved ox horns plunged into the air, and a pair of ox hooves stood on the ground. The deep lake water only reached up to his waist. The colossal waves constantly slammed against his chest that was pitch-black like rock.
E Dan stood near the island, so he stood on land that was much higher, but he was still over a head shorter than Li Qingshan, forcing him to raise his head and gaze at this “wretched daemon” who had spent much less time cultivating and possessed a lower cultivation than him.
Blood flowed down from this right arm, dyeing the water red in the blink of an eye. Apart from the alarmingly-great strength, the terrifying power of tremors in the punch was the true reason for his injury.
The shrill howl of a wolf completely tore through the night sky, coming from both E Dan and the mouth of the black wolf tattoo at the same time. His muscles rippled, and his bones extended, swelling in size once again. Strands of black, spear-like wolf fur erupted from his body, covering him completely and turning him into a black wolf standing on its hind legs. He even grew a long wolf tail that waved around wildly.
Li Qingshan felt threatened too. He loathed this person very much, but he was a worthy opponent. Regular Golden Core cultivators definitely were not in possession of a body and power like that. However, he felt confused inside. Is he also half-human, half-daemon? What kind of place is the Mountain Manor of Myriad Beasts?
The Mountain Manor of Myriad Beasts was one of the large sects of the Dragon province, basically standing on equal ground with the three great sects of the Green province, or even surpassing them in certain aspects. They were specially responsible for tending to the Menagerie of Exotic Beasts for the imperial clan of Great Xia.
E Dan’s master, the Beast King, was the lord of the manor, a great cultivator renowned throughout the Dragon province. To be able to become the first disciple under the Beast King in the Mountain Manor of Myriad Beasts where strength was revered, E Dan was obviously much more powerful than his fellow cultivators.
Disciples of the Mountain Manor of Myriad Beasts would draw a beast soul into their body from childhood, turning it into a tattoo. When they fought, they did not have to rely on anything else. They only needed to release the beast soul, and they would possess terrifying battle prowess able to triumph over other cultivators at the same realm.
However, the more they released the beast soul, the easier it was for the beastial nature to influence them. As a result, most of the disciples behaved barbarously and violently, not bound by morals and rules. They did whatever they wanted, almost akin to the demonic path. And, the beast soul could even devour their souls if they were careless, turning into a sacrifice for the beast soul. Most disciples of the Mountain Manor of Myriad Beasts died to beast souls, so unless he had to, even E Dan was reluctant to release the power of the beast soul to such a degree.
Roar! E Dan’s back arched high into the air. He stomped his feet into the ground behind him and erupted with startling speed in that moment, lunging towards Li Qingshan.
Why would Li Qingshan be afraid of a direct confrontation with him? He advanced firmly, throwing a punch.
At this moment, he suddenly experienced an omen of warning, and there was a flash of white light.
“Come, lightning!”
Jia Zhen pointed his feather fan at the sky. A lightning snake even thicker than a tree descended from above. Majestic lightning filled the surroundings.
Li Qingshan shuddered. He was unscathed thanks to his powerful body, but every single moment mattered in a clash between the strong!
Bang! E Dan pushed Li Qingshan into the lakewater violently, mauling away viciously and kicking up great waves.
After reaching the fifth layer of the ox demon, Li Qingshan’s ox hide became extremely tough. E Dan managed to reduce his throat to a bloody mess, but he was unable to rip it apart completely. Even if he managed to rip it away, he would not die as long as his tiger bones remained standing.
“Good!”
Li Qingshan was overjoyed instead of being surprised. He wrapped his arms around E Dan firmly, and with the Strength of the Earth as a foundation, he feared no one in a direct confrontation of brute strength.
E Dan felt his waist ache as his bones groaned gently. He felt like he was about to be snapped in half. After spending quite the effort, he finally managed to rip apart Northmoon’s throat, but what appeared was not blood, but flames. Northmoon seemed completely fine. If he could not break out of this situation soon, he would definitely be the first to die.
However, he definitely did not choose close combat because he had lost his sense of rationality after releasing the beast soul. He growled, “Jia Zhen, forget about the formations. Kill this wretched daemon first!
The mud at the bottom of the lake suddenly began to rumble. Stone giants stood up from the soil at the bottom of the lake. Every single one of them was around twenty to twenty-five meters tall. They seemed like children beside Li Qingshan’s figure that stood over sixty meters tall, but every single one of them was filled with strength. They grabbed Li Qingshan’s hands and feet and tugged hard.
After completely releasing the beast soul, E Dan’s strength had already become alarmingly great. He was only overwhelmed because he had matched up against a monster like Li Qingshan. Now that he had the assistance of the stone giants, he immediately turned the tables and gained the upper hand.
Li Qingshan’s body shuddered as he unleashed the power of tremors, shaking the stone giants to pieces, but in the blink of an eye, even more of them emerged as if they were endless. However, his daemon qi was not endless, so if this continued, he would definitely be the first to give way.
This was obviously Jia Zhen’s handiwork. As he watched the battle in the water, even he was surprised. This was the first time he had ever seen E Dan lose the upper hand in close combat, forcing him to rely on external assistance.
The daemon had to be eliminated!
He waved the feather fan again and again, unleashing various techniques. With each wave, E Dan would grow a bit stronger, becoming even more powerful. A defensive light enveloped him, such that even his wounds rapidly healed.
He had not sent out a single ranged spiritual artifact or arcane artifact the entire time either. He only waved the feather fan around in his hand, but it seemed like a piece of cake for him to use techniques of the five elements. All of them were startlingly powerful, so even Li Qingshan could not afford to underestimate them.
Li Qingshan had already left many people surprised when he wielded five arcane artifacts at the same time at Foundation Establishment, but at peak Golden Core, Jia Zhen wielded twice as many arcane artifacts as him. His hands were adorned with rings, a necklace hung around his neck, a pouch of fragrance hung from his waist, and he was dressed in special robes. There were a total of ten arcane artifacts, where none of them were below mid grade. The feather fan in his hand was even a priceless supreme grade arcane artifact.
However, none of these arcane artifacts could directly attack the opponent like flying swords. They all strengthened his techniques and recovery rate. He was the exact opposite of E Dan, who did not rely on any external items. Jia Zhen pushed the specialty of human cultivators to the limit.
Li Qingshan frowned. Sitting there and waiting for his doom had never suited him. With a violent wriggle, E Dan immediately struggled to keep him at bay. He called out at Jia Zhen, “Stop treasuring those talismans of yours!”
“I’ll obviously use them when I need to!” As Jia Zhen spoke, he tossed out a violet talisman, which stuck to E Dan’s back.
E Dan erupted with golden light, condensing the avatar of a guardian king around him. It was a Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings that Li Qingshan had not seen in a very long time, but who knew how many times more powerful the violet talisman was compared to that yellow talisman of the past.
At this moment, a black shadow suddenly appeared behind Jia Zhen, vaguely resembling Ye Mingzhu. However, it was completely pitch-black, without any facial features. It gripped a dagger-shaped cluster of darkness in its hand, plunging it towards Jia Zhen’s back!
