Slay the clan leader and hunt down the demon general!

They had arrived at the Heavenly Demon Clan.

Dense Demonic Qi, like solid dark clouds, enveloped the ancient and massive valley ahead.

Within the valley, shadowy forms moved, and halls built from massive stones were visible.

Countless grotesque Yao Beast silhouettes flickered between them, and the air was thick with a primal and bloody scent.

Ye Qing's group had just stepped onto the edge of the valley.

Several figures rushed out from the Demonic Qi, blocking their path.

These Heavenly Demons were tall and hideous, their cultivation all at the Early Stage of the Golden Core.

"Who goes there! This is the Heavenly Demon ancestral land. Trespassers will die!" the leading Heavenly Demon barked, a fierce light glinting in its eyes.

Ye Qing didn't even look at them, his pace steady as he walked straight ahead.

"Insolent!" The Heavenly Demons roared in fury, their Demonic Qi surging and transforming into claws and poison mist as they pounced toward Ye Qing in unison.

However, their attacks disintegrated inch by inch under an invisible force before they could even get within three feet of Ye Qing.

With a light flick of his sleeve, an unstoppable gust of powerful wind swept out.

Those Golden Core Realm Heavenly Demons didn't even have time to scream before their bodies instantly exploded like paper.

They turned into a mist of blood, merging into the Demonic Qi without leaving even a trace behind.

"Wow!" Little Treasure watched this scene, his dog eyes wide as he wagged his tail excitedly.

It could fight those at the Early Stage of the Golden Core too, but not with such effortless ease.

It was as if they weren't on the same level, like a dimensional strike.

Lin Xueer and Su Chan looked as calm as ever, long since accustomed to their Revered Master's effortless displays of overwhelming power.

Then, Ye Qing led his Disciples into the Heavenly Demon ancestral land as if taking a casual stroll, encountering no further obstacles along the way.

Because every Heavenly Demon that tried to block them had been turned into bloody pulp.

Swish!

Afterward, Ye Qing's Divine Sense spread out like a tide, sweeping across the vast valley, but his brow furrowed slightly.

He did not sense Liu Ruyan's presence.

Meanwhile, deep within the Heavenly Demon ancestral land, inside the most magnificent stone hall.

The current Clan Chief of the Heavenly Demon Clan, Split Mountain, sat opposite Blood Fiend, a Demon Ghost General shrouded in black mist.

Split Mountain was burly with rugged features.

At that moment, he was playing with a pair of crystal-clear kirin horns that glowed with a faint golden light.

Although these horns belonged to a juvenile Kirin, they seemed to contain some inscrutable power of laws, mysterious and profound.

Split Mountain gazed at the kirin horns.

His eyes held both deep wariness and an indescribable fascination.

He had tried to refine the kirin horns but found it impossible.

However, it was precisely this unattainable power that made him even more obsessed and infatuated. He had even specially ordered a hat to be made, carefully inserting the kirin horns on both sides, then raised an ancient bronze mirror to admire his appearance.

"Hmph, majestic indeed!" Split Mountain muttered to himself, putting down the mirror in satisfaction before looking at Blood Fiend.

"Your Excellency Blood Fiend, do you truly mean what you promised?"

Split Mountain asked in a low voice, a flicker of worry in his eyes. "I have betrayed the Kirin Clan. If the Kirin of the Upper Realm find out, I'm finished!"

Blood Fiend, the Demon Ghost General, was surrounded by black mist, a hint of disdain flashing across his obscured face.

From the black mist came a raspy, comforting voice: "Clan Chief Split Mountain worries too much. As long as we capture that juvenile Kirin and imprison it completely, how would the Kirin of the Upper Realm know of your actions? Even if they did, it is not so easy for those from the Upper Realm to descend. As for what I promised, once my Lord's great ambition is achieved, I will naturally help you realize it. Under your leadership, the Heavenly Demon Clan will surely reach greater heights in the future!"

Hearing this, Split Mountain gave Blood Fiend a deep look, his eyes filled with complexity.

He knew that siding with Demon Ghosts was like plotting with a tiger for its skin, but the terms Blood Fiend promised were too tempting.

If he succeeded, he, Split Mountain, would be recorded in the annals of the Heavenly Demon Clan!

"It had better be so," Split Mountain snorted.

Just then, a sudden clamor and screams erupted outside the hall, rising and falling with terror and rage, rapidly spreading toward the hall.

Split Mountain and Blood Fiend exchanged a glance. Split Mountain's brow furrowed, a flash of violence in his eyes. "Who dares to cause trouble in my Heavenly Demon ancestral land?"

Then, the two of them blurred and appeared outside the hall.

However, what they saw made their pupils shrink instantly.

They saw rows of Heavenly Demons lying in pools of blood, their deaths gruesome.

A young man in green robes was strolling through the Heavenly Demon ancestral land. With every step he took, several Heavenly Demons around him silently turned to ash. Even several Golden Core Realm Elders of the Heavenly Demon Clan fell like harvested straw, row after row, without any power to resist.

The one taking action was indeed Ye Qing.

Split Mountain's cold gaze swept over Ye Qing and finally fixed on Kylin Little Treasure behind him.

A flash of astonishment crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by joy.

"Stop!" Split Mountain roared first, his voice shaking the valley as rolling Demonic Qi pressed toward Ye Qing like a tidal wave.

Ye Qing turned his gaze to Split Mountain and the Demon Ghost General shrouded in black mist beside him. He raised an eyebrow, thinking it was interesting.

It seemed he had come to the right place with the Heavenly Demon Clan.

This Demon Ghost actually had a cultivation of the Nascent Soul Third Layer. A Demon Ghost General? Perhaps he could learn Liu Ruyan's whereabouts from him. As for the man next to him with the Nascent Soul Third Layer cultivation, wearing a hat with kirin horns and a face full of rage, he must be the Clan Chief of the Heavenly Demon Clan, Split Mountain.

Split Mountain looked at Kylin Little Treasure following Ye Qing, his smile grim and cruel.

"There is a path to heaven, yet you refuse to take it; there is no gate to Hell, yet you barge in!" Split Mountain sneered. "I was just looking for you! I didn't expect you, little beast, to walk right into the trap!"

He waved his hand fiercely and shouted to the surrounding Heavenly Demon experts, "Attack! Capture this puppy for me!"

Kylin Little Treasure was instantly enraged, cursing inwardly, You old geezer, your whole family are puppies.

This Young Master will eventually beat your head until it blooms!

The surrounding Heavenly Demon experts obeyed the command and roared as they rushed toward Kylin Little Treasure. However, before they could even get close, a sharp sword light flashed like lightning, and those leading the charge were all instantly slain, their bodies shattering into blood mist.

Seeing this, the fire of rage in Split Mountain's eyes burned even brighter. He snorted coldly, "Seeking death!"

He wasted no more words.

He reached out with a massive palm, Demonic Qi surging to instantly blot out half the sky, pressing down on Ye Qing with overwhelming power!

In his view, although this human Ye Qing was indeed very strong.

And had even killed many Elders of the Heavenly Demon Clan at the eighth or Ninth Layer of Golden Core, still...

The Golden Core Realm and the Nascent Soul Realm were completely different concepts!

Being able to kill those at the Ninth Layer of Golden Core didn't mean one possessed Nascent Soul combat power! Moreover, he was at the Nascent Soul Third Layer; killing ordinary cultivators at the first or second layer of Nascent Soul was easy for him. Thus, he believed that with this one strike, Ye Qing would surely be turned into meat paste, dying without a grave!

Standing beside Split Mountain, Blood Fiend the Demon Ghost General remained calm, his expression showing no emotion.

To him, unless something unexpected happened...

This reckless human youth was as good as dead.

However, in the next moment, Split Mountain's sky-blotting hand exploded in mid-air before it could even touch Ye Qing, the vast Demonic Qi scattering like fireworks.

Immediately, with a thought from Ye Qing, a clear sword hum echoed around him, and a dazzling sword light flashed by!

"Ah—!"

Split Mountain let out a shrill cry of pain as the arm he had just used to attack was severed cleanly at the shoulder.

Blood erupted like a fountain, staining half the sky red!

Split Mountain's face turned pale instantly, his eyes filled with horror and disbelief.

He felt this human Ye Qing was strange; this combat power didn't look like anything a Golden Core Cultivator could possess!

How was this the Golden Core?

He was clearly a Nascent Soul Realm expert even stronger than himself!

Where on earth did Kylin Little Treasure find such a backer?!

"Blood Fiend! Attack together!" Split Mountain shouted to the Demon Ghost General beside him, ignoring the excruciating pain of his severed arm, his voice filled with terror.

Blood Fiend's expression also became exceptionally grave.

He hadn't expected Split Mountain's attack to be so easily countered, or that the opponent would sever Split Mountain's arm with such a casual sword strike.

This human youth's strength far exceeded his expectations!

He stopped watching and unleashed surging black mist that transformed into countless hideous ghost shadows. Along with Split Mountain's violent Demonic Qi, they launched a massive, sky-covering attack from both sides at Ye Qing. The combined power of two Nascent Soul Third Layer experts instantly enveloped the space around Ye Qing, as if to tear the area to shreds!

However, facing the joint attack of two Nascent Soul Third Layer experts, Ye Qing remained calm.

His eyes showed not a single ripple of emotion.

He used no fancy tricks, simply reaching out.

The cold abyss sword unsheathed with a clear hum, and a brilliant sword light soared into the sky, instantly destroying all their attacks and shattering the surging Demonic Qi and ghost shadows!

Then, in the next instant, the sword light flashed by!

Split Mountain's body suddenly froze in place.

His eyes were wide, filled with disbelief and despair.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, only a few rasps escaped before he collapsed heavily to the ground with a thud, his breath gone.

The Clan Chief of the Heavenly Demon Clan, a powerhouse of the Nascent Soul Third Layer, was dead!

He didn't even have time to let his Nascent Soul escape before it dissipated within him; his death was swift and clean.

The remaining members of the Heavenly Demon Clan were now completely stunned.

Everyone was pale with shock, finding it hard to believe.

Their Nascent Soul-level Clan Chief had... just died like that?!

Dead at the hands of a human who seemingly only had Golden Core cultivation, in just an instant, slaughtered like a chicken or a dog?!

This... this was too perfunctory, wasn't it?

Kylin Little Treasure's eyes shone brightly, his dog face filled with excitement and adoration.

"Holy crap! Revered Master is too strong!"

It roared in its heart, thinking that its Revered Master was simply an invincible existence here!

Heavenly Demon Clan, you didn't expect this, did you? As soon as This Young Master's Revered Master arrived, your Clan Chief kicked the bucket!

As expected, This Young Master is brilliant for choosing such a wise Revered Master!

Beside them, Blood Fiend's eyes flickered, his Battle Intent vanished. He knew he was no match for Ye Qing; staying would only mean certain death!

Without a moment's hesitation, he reached out and snatched something from Split Mountain's corpse.

He quickly grabbed the hat with the kirin horns, the kirin armor and kirin bone Split Mountain carried, as well as the Storage Ring.

Then, his body instantly turned into a dark shadow, as if merging with the earth, and dove into the ground.

Then he fled into the distance at an incredible speed!

Ye Qing's brow furrowed.

He knew that once Demon Ghosts entered the ground, their speed became extremely eerie and fast.

Especially since this was a Nascent Soul-level Demon Ghost.

Once it dove into the earth, it could completely vanish if one wasn't careful!

And Kylin Little Treasure's kirin horns, kirin armor, and kirin bone were all in that Demon Ghost's hands; he had to get them back!

Furthermore, Ye Qing needed to learn Liu Ruyan's whereabouts from this Demon Ghost.

Therefore, he absolutely could not let this Demon Ghost escape!

Ye Qing didn't have time for anything else; he waved his hand and quickly embedded three sharp Sword Intent Imprints into Lin Xueer, Su Chan, and Kylin Little Treasure.

"These imprints can unleash about fifty percent of my combat power. If you face a life-or-death crisis, they can protect you, and I will arrive in time." Ye Qing gave a quick instruction, and without saying more, he blurred and turned into a streak of green light, shooting off like an arrow toward the direction Blood Fiend had fled!

Only Lin Xueer, Su Chan, and Kylin Little Treasure remained in the valley, amidst the wreckage of the Heavenly Demon ancestral land.

"Revered Master is so fast!" Little Treasure exclaimed, his eyes full of adoration.

Lin Xueer gripped the qinglan sword tightly, a determined light shining in her eyes. "We can't drag Revered Master down either. While we're at it, let's finish off these remnants of the Heavenly Demon Clan!"

Su Chan also nodded, her Profound Sword Body erupting. With the Nascent Sword Intent bolstering her, a sharp aura radiated from her body. "Let's go together! Kill them!"

The three of them exchanged glances and charged toward the Heavenly Demons who were still in shock and fear.

Having lost their Clan Chief and many Elders, and being scared out of their wits...

These Heavenly Demons were no match for the three of them at all.

Meanwhile, Ye Qing's figure was like a phantom, traversing at high speed.

His Divine Sense locked onto Blood Fiend, who was fleeing rapidly through the ground, sensing just how fast the Demon Ghost was.

It was so fast that even within his Divine Sense, it left behind afterimages.

Thus, Ye Qing pursued even more closely.

Blood Fiend was absolutely terrified.

He had never imagined that a human who seemingly only had Golden Core cultivation could unleash such terrifying combat power.

Even the Heavenly Demon Clan Chief Split Mountain, a Nascent Soul Third Layer expert, had been killed in an instant by a single sword strike! What shocked him even more was that even though he had dove into the earth, Ye Qing was still able to follow him closely!

"Damn it! Where did this human come from?!"

Blood Fiend cursed inwardly, desperately pushing his Demon Ghost secret techniques to increase his speed to the limit, attempting to shake off Ye Qing.

However, no matter how much he accelerated, Ye Qing remained hot on his heels.

The distance was even closing bit by bit.

Furthermore, Ye Qing's Sword Intent formed an invisible edge within the earth, faintly locking onto Blood Fiend's figure.

Then—

He struck with his sword!