Chapter 1: Full of Murderous Intent

"Don't run!" the huan beast great demon roared as it chased across the water, stepping on waves that burst apart each time. After all, it had not yet reached the realm of unity between heaven and man, and could only forcibly tread water by releasing its demonic power. Moreover, it was merely a land beast, so its speed running on the water's surface was naturally even slower!

In truth, even in the mountains and grasslands, its speed was probably slightly inferior to Ji Ning's, let alone running on water! It could only watch helplessly as Ji Ning quickly fled far away.

"Woo." The huan beast great demon could only turn back, seeing the Kongqing Snake King within the sky-covering great formation, struggling madly, sometimes growing extremely large, sometimes becoming extremely small. "How can this Kongqing snake withstand the power of the formation? No matter how it struggles, in the end it must submit!"

…

A formation draws upon the power of heaven and earth to produce all sorts of mysterious and unfathomable abilities!

The power of this Yin-Yang Two Qi Formation was far beyond what the Kongqing snake demon could resist.

"Hahaha..." Tiemuzhan stood on the water, pointing into the distance at the enormous green snake entangled by countless black and white streams of qi. "Kongqing snake, you have entered my formation. No matter how you struggle, it is useless. Submit obediently, acknowledge me as your master, and you will suffer less pain!"

"Roar~~" The Kongqing snake raised its head and roared.

"Not submitting?" Tiemuzhan could not understand the words but could sense the Kongqing snake's anger and hostility. He sneered coldly, "Kongqing snake, on this boundless earth, the true masters are the human race! The one who rules this land is the Great Xia Dynasty! No matter how powerful a divine beast you are, can you overturn the heavens? Even if I let you go now, someone else will come to subdue you in the future. I think you'd better submit to me!"

Tiemuzhan kept talking.

But no matter what he said, the Kongqing snake demon paid no heed, which made Tiemuzhan very angry. "Let's see... whether your proud bones are harder, or my Yin-Yang Two Qi Formation is more powerful!"

"Sssss~~" The black and white streams of qi madly entangled, like a millstone, grinding the scales of the Kongqing snake demon, causing them to crack and fall off. Bright green blood splattered. Yet the excruciating pain of torn scales and flesh did not make the Kongqing snake demon lower its head in the slightest.

Swish!

The Kongqing snake suddenly shrank to the thickness of a finger, temporarily escaping the entanglement of the black and white streams of qi. But immediately, those streams of qi surged around again, encircling it.

Qi gathers and disperses without fixed form! How difficult it was to evade the encirclement of the qi streams?

"Ah!" The little snake, as thin as a finger, shrieked miserably, then instantly became enormous, even larger than the Yiyi snake! Sometimes large, sometimes small, it struggled desperately, only thus could it minimize the time it was crushed by the Yin and Yang qi, for that crushing was truly, truly painful.

While struggling, the little snake also tried again and again to pounce at Tiemuzhan. But the power of the Yin-Yang Two Qi Formation was too strong; it could not touch Tiemuzhan in the slightest.

Struggling again and again, its entire body was covered in wounds, scales shattered, and bright green blood scattered through the air.

"Ya!"

"Ya!"

It shrieked again and again, mournfully.

The King of Sky-Blue Serpents struggled desperately. As a divine beast, it was immensely proud—how could it easily submit to this human before it? If it had been a Zifu cultivator, it might have bowed its head, but this Tie Muzhan was not worthy.

"Hmm?" After a long while, Tie Muzhan frowned.

"Still struggling?" Tie Muzhan looked at the Sky-Blue Serpent, now covered in wounds and near death, yet still fiercely defiant. "Though the Yin-Yang Dual Qi Formation has only exerted part of its power, this beast is courting death. If it continues, it will surely be ground to death by the formation! Would it rather die than submit to me?"

Tie Muzhan gritted his teeth. With a thought, the black and white currents binding the Sky-Blue Serpent began to disperse.

"Sky-Blue Serpent!" Tie Muzhan pointed at the battered snake. "You were subdued by the formation's might, so you're probably unconvinced. How about this: we fight, and I won't use the formation to aid me. If you can defeat me, I'll let you go. But if you lose, you submit to me. Agreed?"

"Ya!"

The Sky-Blue Serpent hissed in hatred, then shrank to a length of over ten meters—the size at which it could exert its full strength—and lunged straight at Tie Muzhan.

"Hmph." Tie Muzhan produced a black whip in his right hand, studded with naturally grown sharp spikes. This magic artifact, the 'Blackwood Vine Whip,' was the weapon that had made Tie Muzhan famous across the Yan Mountains. He swung it fiercely, and the whip transformed into a massive black shadow sweeping toward the Sky-Blue Serpent.

Swish! Swish!

The Sky-Blue Serpent dodged nimbly, barely evading the strike.

"Swish, swish, swish..." Tie Muzhan whirled the whip in his hand, sending countless rings spiraling outward, blotting out the sky and enveloping the Sky-Blue Serpent. Then, with a tearing sound, a chunk of flesh and scales was ripped from the serpent's body.

"Sssss..." The Sky-Blue Serpent hissed in fury, willing to take damage just to get close.

But Tie Muzhan just sneered and lashed out again and again with the Blackwood Vine Whip. This was not his first fight with the Sky-Blue Serpent; he was skilled with the whip and could completely counter the serpent's agility. The serpent was incredibly fast when fleeing, and in the past he had no way to stop it. But now, trapped within the formation, it had no escape.

"How about it?" Tie Muzhan stood there, whip in hand, each strike powerful enough to split a small hill, tearing open the Sky-Blue Serpent's flesh. "I'm stronger than you. Just submit obediently."

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

The clash of magic artifact against flesh, combined with Tie Muzhan being a late-stage innate being, completely overwhelmed it.

“Swoosh!”

While dodging a flying whip, the Azure Serpent abruptly vanished into thin air. Moments later, it reappeared dozens of zhang away.

This stunned Tiemuzhan, and immediately his expression changed drastically: “Not good!”

“Hiss~~” The Azure Serpent cried out excitedly, and with each darting movement it could teleport dozens of zhang or even farther away.

“Die!” Tiemuzhan’s face twisted savagely, as if he had gone mad.

Rumble~~~

The great formation shifted violently, massive streams of black and white qi crushing toward the Azure Serpent. The serpent cast a cold glance at Tiemuzhan, then vanished with a swoosh.

“Boom!” The collision of black and white qi created a maelstrom of turbulence.

“Damn it!” Tiemuzhan roared, waving his arms wildly. “Damn it!!!”

“Void Shuttle! Void Shuttle!” Tiemuzhan’s face was contorted, his eyes red with hysteria. “This Azure Serpent actually managed to execute Void Shuttle! Yes, it’s that Ji kid. That Ji kid fought with this serpent several times… he must have helped it improve, so this time its movement technique reached the Unity of Heaven and Man, allowing it to perform Void Shuttle!”

Tiemuzhan was furious.

The Azure Serpent was unique in the Yan Mountain region, but there were many across the endless lands ruled by the Great Xia Dynasty. So Tiemuzhan knew well how formidable the Azure Serpent was, and he desperately wanted to subdue this one.

Most great demons could control water, poison, fire, or the like.

Even non-divine beasts like the Water Rhinoceros King and the Winged Serpent had such talents, but as a divine beast, the Azure Serpent King had no special abilities…

In fact, it did!

Its talent was simply too powerful to use at low cultivation levels. Just as ordinary demons couldn’t control water at the Houtian stage but could after becoming Xiantian, the Azure Serpent King’s talent lay in ‘Void.’ Even after reaching Xiantian, it had to attain the Unity of Heaven and Man to merge its body with the void and perform Void Shuttle!

“Void Shuttle!” Tiemuzhan gnashed his teeth. “An Azure Serpent that has comprehended Void Shuttle will soon become incredibly powerful!”

Void Shuttle…

It allowed the serpent to visit mysterious places and even steal celestial fruits, triggering an explosive growth in power. Undoubtedly, this Azure Serpent King would leave Dongshan Swamp to wander, for only by traveling far could it steal more treasures and grow faster. Staying in one place would waste its talent!

“Given its hatred for me, it will likely return to Yan Mountain to seek revenge.” Tiemuzhan was both angry and alarmed!

“Aaaah!!!”

Tiemuzhan roared in fury, his voice shattering the lake water!

Such rage!

“All because of that Ji brat!” Tiemuzhan ground his teeth in bitter hatred.

If Ji Ning hadn’t helped the Azure Serpent King improve so much in daily sparring, how could it have suddenly broken through in this battle? He might have already subdued it. Now not only had he failed, but he had also made a powerful enemy. The Azure Serpent would surely remember this grudge!

…

The sky-covering formation dissipated. Tiemuzhan collected the eight formation flags and walked out over the water with a dark face.

“Master.” The Hound Demon, now a black-clad man, hurried over. Seeing his master’s expression, he knew the subdual had failed and quickly said, “Master, don’t be angry. That Azure Serpent was too foolish; it deserved to be killed by you!”

“It’s not dead!” Tiemuzhan said coldly.

“Not dead?” The black-clad man was stunned. “Then where is it?”

Tiemuzhan shook his head. “It comprehended Void Shuttle and escaped.”

“This… this…” The black-clad man found it hard to believe that the serpent had grasped Void Shuttle at the critical moment.

“It’s all that Ji kid’s fault,” Tiemuzhan said coldly. “His strength matched the serpent’s, and their repeated battles helped it improve greatly. That’s why it could touch the heavens, merge with the void, and perform Void Shuttle! That Ji kid ruined my plans. I’ll skin him alive and pull his tendons, or I won’t be able to vent my anger!”

The black-clad man nodded quickly. “Master, rest assured. When I shot my backspikes earlier, they were coated with ‘Ice Flower Liquid.’ A little of it got on him. If we release the Ice Bees, they will surely find him.”

“Hmm.” Tiemuzhan took a gray pouch from his waist, loosened the opening, and a translucent crystal bee flew out swiftly.

“After it.”

Tiemuzhan and the Hound Demon followed the Ice Bee in rapid pursuit.

After they left, a green serpent emerged from the calm lake water. It gazed into the distance, a hint of hope in its eyes. It had fought Ji Ning many times, and they had come to respect each other as worthy opponents. Moreover, its breakthrough to the Unity of Heaven and Man and Void Shuttle owed something to Ji Ning. It felt a measure of gratitude toward him.

“Hiss~~” The Azure Serpent called softly, hoping Ji Ning would escape. That was all it could do, for now it was only good at fleeing; in terms of combat, it was far from a match for Tiemuzhan.