The Creation of the Heavens and All Realms

Chapter 37: Slaying the Demon Beast with a Single Sword Stroke

Led by Liu Yuntao, the group continued deeper into the cave. Within a few minutes, Zhou Tianci clearly sensed that primal, chilling aura ahead. The aura was extremely intense, accompanied by a foul-smelling, cold wind—undoubtedly emanating from a先天 demon beast. “Hiss…” A faint sound drifted from within the cave. Though barely audible, the senses of Innate-level experts were incredibly keen—to them, this sound was as clear as a gong or a bell. “There really is a Primordial Demon Beast!” someone whispered. Upon hearing this, Zhou Tianci couldn’t help but snort derisively—to think someone actually believed there were no demon beasts in the cave was truly laughable. After rounding a bend, a completely different world unfolded before Zhou Tianci. It was a massive pit with no bottom and no ceiling, at least twenty-plus li in diameter. The pit walls were densely covered with openings, each over ten zhang wide. What was even more spine-chilling was that the “hiss, hiss” sounds were coming from those very openings. “Could it be that we’ve entered a snake lair?” Zhou Tianci felt a chill run down his spine. With his powerful spiritual sense, he could detect countless cold, sinister auras emanating from the openings in the pit’s walls. Some of these auras were extremely powerful—likely the legendary demon beasts—while others were weaker, probably ferocious snakes. “Where… exactly are the legendary Spirit Lake and the Yuan Jing?” someone couldn’t help but ask. Liu Yuntao’s expression remained unchanged. Though this was actually his first time here as well, he was clearly well-versed in the layout of the cave. “The Spirit Lake lies 2,000 meters below,” Liu Yuntao’s cool voice rang out. Zhou Tianci and the other Innate-level experts walked to the edge of the giant pit and looked down, only to feel a chill wash over them. He had originally assumed the pit would be filled with endless darkness, but to his surprise, there was a faint glow below. Deep within that glow, Zhou Tianci saw a rippling expanse of water—that must be the Spirit Lake. “How… are we supposed to get down there?” Someone hesitated—and no wonder. There were no ladders in this massive pit; to descend, they’d have to rely on the winding vines clinging to the pit walls, and they might even have to venture into the snake lair, making their way down step by step. If that were all, it wouldn’t be so bad, but let’s not forget that there was more than one demon beast in the snake lair—who knew if they might launch a surprise attack? Seeing the expressions on the faces of some of the Innate Realm experts, Liu Yuntao said disdainfully, “Did you really think the Yuan Jing would just be lying right in front of you, waiting for you to pick them up? If the Spirit Lake weren’t in such a dangerous place, would it even be your turn?” Zhou Tianci had to admit that while Liu Yuntao’s words were harsh, they were true. “All right, everyone,” Wan Wusheng said. “You’ve all seen the dangers involved in competing for the Yuan Jing. Whether you go down or not is entirely up to you.” As a businessman, his tone wasn’t as confrontational as Liu Yuntao’s. “Based on past experience, the demon beasts in the Snake Cave don’t dare to approach the Spirit Lake, so there’s no need to worry too much. Of course, whether you’ll be attacked by demon beasts on the way down is another matter.” Liu Yuntao snorted coldly and leaped down first. After falling several dozen meters, he steadied himself by grabbing a vine, then let go and continued his descent. Seeing Liu Yuntao take the lead, Sun Chong and the other commanders followed without hesitation. Unlike those idle Innate-level cultivators, they were bound by military orders; even if they had concerns, they had no choice but to comply. Following the Northwest Legion, the Huang, Zhang, Wang, and Zhao clans closely followed, though they avoided the spot where the Northwest Legion had jumped. As top-tier martial arts clans with deep-rooted traditions, the Four Great Clans possessed countless martial arts secrets, and the elites they had cultivated were truly extraordinary. Fifty or sixty of them leaped down simultaneously, descending toward the bottom of the pit in an orderly fashion. Following the Four Great Clans, Wan Wusheng, accompanied by more than ten Innate-level practitioners from the Wanhai Pavilion, also set off. With this, half of the more than 100 Innate-level practitioners had descended. “What should we do? Should we go down or not?” The remaining Xiantian-level experts all came from smaller factions, and the vast majority were the pillars of their respective organizations. If anything happened to them, their factions would crumble. After Liu Yuntao leaped down, Zhou Tianci quickly followed suit. His exceptional skills gave him the courage to face any danger; he was confident he would not be afraid even if a demon beast launched a surprise attack. The moment he plunged into the giant pit, Zhou Tianci sensed a destructive aura—an aura so dark and ominous it felt like needles piercing his spiritual essence. “What on earth is in this massive pit?” Zhou Tianci was startled. Had he not confirmed that the aura did not originate from a demon beast, he would have been compelled to retreat. Though faint, the aura of destruction gave off an irresistible sense of inevitability; had he not possessed the Tree of Immortality, he likely wouldn’t have even sensed it. Zhou Tianci surmised that the reason there was no movement in the snake lairs all around, and the reason those demon beasts dared not approach the Spirit Lake, was likely related to this aura—after all, demon beasts’ senses were far keener than those of Innate-level cultivators. In the space of half a minute, Zhou Tianci had descended more than 300 meters, while ahead of him, Liu Yuntao had already reached 500 meters. The others were all between 200 and 300 meters, showing that everyone was descending at a rapid pace. “Phew…” Zhou Tianci keenly detected a fluctuation in spiritual energy. Glancing upward to his left, he saw a massive, silvery tail lashing out from a snake den. Even with only a small portion exposed, the tail was over five zhang long, and it lashed out like a whip toward the three Innate-level experts standing nearby. “Boom!” Caught off guard, the three Innate-level experts were struck by the massive tail. Two of them used the momentum to fly nearly a hundred meters away, grabbing onto vines on the rock wall, while the remaining one was swept toward the center of the giant crater—where there were no vines to grab onto and no snake holes to take refuge in… Although Innate-level experts were powerful, they had not yet reached the realm of soaring through the void. The Innate-level martial artist in the center of the massive pit had nothing to hold onto; like a bird with broken wings, he plummeted toward the bottom of the pit. As he fell, he was still over 1,000 meters from the bottom—a height from which even an Innate-level expert would face certain death! The sudden attack by the Innate Demon Beast put all 100-plus Innate-level martial artists who had descended into the pit on high alert, and it also caused those still hesitating whether to go down to halt in their tracks. Zhou Tianci drew the Thousand-Jun Sword from his back, keeping a constant watch on the snake holes around him while slowing his descent. He sensed the demon beast’s aura growing increasingly distinct—a sign that more were closing in! “Hiss…” A strong scent of blood wafted from a snake den four or five zhang away from Zhou Tianci. A serpentine demon beast with a head as large as a house emerged from the den, fixing its gaze on Cao Ming of the Northwest Legion! Despite its massive size, the demon beast moved as swiftly as lightning. The moment it poked its head out, it immediately opened its massive jaws and lunged toward Cao Ming. Cao Ming, who was only at the Innate True Qi Realm and had been distracted by the snake’s tail moments earlier, failed to adjust his trajectory in time and plummeted straight into the beast’s maw. At this critical moment, Cao Ming demonstrated excellent combat instincts. He let go of the vine and lashed his spear against the demon beast’s massive fangs. The demon beast was no pushover either; its blood-red tongue lashed out at Cao Ming’s back, causing him to lose his balance once more and send him hurtling toward the center of the giant pit. “Commander Cao, grab hold!” Cao Ming heard a voice, and immediately a vine flew toward him. He decisively grabbed it and was pulled back to the stone wall. “It’s you, Zhou Shi!” Cao Ming realized who had just saved him only after getting closer. “Thanks!” Zhou Tianci had no time for pleasantries with Cao Ming—the demon beast had already turned toward him. He was only a dozen or so meters away from the beast, and a dozen meters was practically nothing to such a colossal creature! “Hiss…” The demon beast extended its body more than 20 zhang from the snake’s den and was in front of Zhou Tianci in the blink of an eye, the stench of blood washing over him. “Zhou Shi, get back!” Cao Ming shouted. Zhou Tianci could have chosen to retreat, but he had no intention of doing so. He’d heard of the demon beast’s power, but he was equally confident in his own abilities. “Whoosh!” Just as the demon beast lunged, Zhou Tianci thrust the Thousand Jun Sword in his hand forward. The speed of his strike was astonishing; the black blade blended seamlessly with the massive crater, and the fine sword energy was nearly imperceptible. Compared to the colossal demon beast, the Thousand Jun Sword wasn’t even as thick as a toothpick. Yet, with just a light thrust, this tiny Qianjun Sword pierced right through the massive demon beast’s head! “Ssss… ssss…” Many had come to witness Zhou Tianci’s downfall. Flanked on both sides by Innate-level cultivators from the Four Great Clans, they naturally harbored no goodwill toward Zhou Tianci, a member of the Northwest Legion. Seeing the demon beast attack and Zhou Tianci choose to confront it head-on, they all waited with schadenfreude for his downfall. But to their surprise, the ferocious demon beast, struck by Zhou Tianci’s long sword, began rolling back and forth as if drunk, emitting a constant, piercing screech. The demon beast rolled for about three minutes before actually sliding out of the snake den and plummeting into the massive crater! “Rumble, rumble…” As the demon beast—measuring fifty or sixty zhang in length—plummeted into the massive pit, a thunderous roar echoed from the bottom, reverberating through the pit until it finally died down after quite some time! “Zhou Shi, you actually killed the demon beast!” Cao Ming muttered, staring at Zhou Tianci, unable to believe what he was seeing. In the darkness, Zhou Tianci let out a quiet sigh. Though his single sword strike that had slain the demon beast appeared effortless, it had actually been extremely perilous. That strike had been nearly the most powerful he could muster—it not only incorporated the combat techniques of the *Nine Transformations Mystic Art* but also drew upon every ounce of his immense strength, all while wielding his divine weapon, the Thousand Jun Sword… Had it not been for that, Zhou Tianci would never have dared to confront the demon beast head-on under such circumstances. “It was just a stroke of luck,” Zhou Tianci said. “All right, Commander Cao, hurry down. Watch out for the demon beasts in the snake den!” Although it was dark inside the massive crater, the light emanating from the bottom allowed these Innate-level experts to see clearly. The sight of Zhou Tianci slaying the demon beast with a single sword strike had left too many people in awe—especially those from the Four Great Clans. Everyone was wondering what the outcome would have been if they had faced that demon beast themselves. “That man is actually Zhou Shi!” Huang Jue looked down at Zhou Tianci, his memory of the man suddenly coming back to him. “How is it possible that Zhou Shi has attained the Innate Realm so quickly—and is even capable of slaying a demon beast?” Huang Jue thought back to over a month ago in front of the General’s Mansion. At that time, Zhou Tianci had been nothing more than a Post-Heaven martial artist; if not for Zhang Kai’s staunch protection, Huang Jue could have taken his life at any moment. In just over a month, that Post-Heaven martial artist had grown into an Innate-level powerhouse—and his strength now surpassed even his own… At this thought, Huang Jue felt a profound sense of danger.