Chapter Thirty-One: Slaying the Demon on Mount Dali

Mount Dali.

Bai Li Feihong's expression was grim; he had nearly fallen victim to the cunning of a demon rabbit.

"As expected, those who appear most harmless often require the greatest caution."

The rabbit, nibbling on grass, transformed in the blink of an eye into a monstrous beast, sinewy and muscular. With a single explosive kick from its hind legs, it nearly shattered Bai Li Feihong’s skull.

He drew out the Black Soul Jade and pressed it against the demon rabbit’s head.

The ethereal demon soul, shrouded in dark demonic energy, was sucked into the vortex that the Black Soul Jade conjured.

After slaying the demon rabbit, Bai Li Feihong gained three skill points.

A handsome reward.

"The art of transformation among demon beasts is truly fascinating," he mused. "A mere rabbit, yet its body could instantly swell, standing as tall as a man, and its kicks were even swifter than those of a mountain ape spirit."

Upon death, the beast reverted to the size of an ordinary rabbit, indistinguishable from a wild hare.

"With the demon soul absorbed and the demonic energy cleansed by the Black Soul Jade, I wonder if its flesh is still edible?"

The Demon Suppression Bureau had precedence for consuming demon beast meat. After purification to remove demonic energy, it could be eaten—though not without side effects.

Demon beast flesh contained immense life force. Consuming it could rapidly replenish one’s vitality, making it one of the fastest ways to advance in martial cultivation when pills were scarce.

However, this flesh also carried a unique energy imbued with the beast’s will. If that energy wasn’t fully converted into vitality, residual will could accumulate, affecting the eater’s own mind.

This could lead to violent and savage tendencies. In severe cases, one’s body might begin to manifest beastly traits, turning a human into a monster.

Officially, the Demon Suppression Bureau forbade the use of demon beast flesh, but secretly, many officers experimented with it in small amounts, periodically cleansing themselves of the accumulated energies.

The rabbit was small and easy to carry. Bai Li Feihong was tempted to try, but reconsidered.

He possessed experience bonuses in his cultivation, progressing with remarkable speed, and he could upgrade and strengthen himself with skill points. He had no need for rabbit meat.

Yet, the meat, though meager, brimmed with potent life force. It would serve excellently as bait to lure more demon beasts.

Leaping up, Bai Li Feihong concealed himself in the canopy, eyes fixed on the corpse below.

He waited in silence.

The rabbit was already slain, its blood pooling and the scent of gore wafting far and wide.

In the stillness of the forest, the tangled underbrush rustled noisily. A powerful demonic presence, drawn by the blood, was approaching from afar.

Yet, after a long wait, no demon beast appeared.

Bai Li Feihong frowned. Had the beast sensed his presence and abandoned its meal?

What a pity. The sinister miasma in this place was dense and ever-present. If the beast was cautious, it would be difficult for him to detect its approach.

That foul mist had become a shield for the demon beasts of Mount Dali. Little wonder the Demon Suppression Bureau’s repeated purges had failed to eradicate them.

A faint, slithering sound!

Something was wrong!

Bai Li Feihong’s face changed dramatically—the sound came from above.

He looked up sharply, just as the monstrous, savage head of a giant python emerged, maw agape, venomous fangs bared, ready to strike.

With a hiss, it spat venom in a cold, emotionless attack.

Bai Li Feihong leapt, agile as a swallow, dodging the toxic spray.

The python’s massive body coiled and shot forth like a catapult, lunging at him in mid-air.

Its speed was terrifying, its nearly thirty-foot length thicker than an ancient tree, and its movements shattered the sound barrier in an instant.

A flash of cold light—a blade swept across.

Clang!

The python’s single horn deflected the blow, but a deep gash was left behind.

Bai Li Feihong was knocked to the ground by the recoil. He rolled swiftly aside as the enraged beast crashed down, gouging a crater into the earth.

Springing to his feet, his gaze hardened.

This serpent was cunning; it had nearly succeeded in ambushing him, swallowing him whole.

He glanced at the trees touched by the venomous spray—smoke rose from them, the corrosive toxin etching horrific scars into the wood.

Contact with flesh would be far worse than strong acid.

Gripping his blade with both hands, he faced the python as its tail lashed toward him.

The thirty-meter body whipped out like a massive scourge, sweeping everything before it.

But Bai Li Feihong advanced instead of retreating, surging forward with explosive speed.

The python’s own attack exposed a weakness—its tail’s strength left its upper body without support, unable to strike.

Seizing the opening, Bai Li Feihong darted along the beast’s body, nearly pressed against its scales.

Lightly touching the ground, he leapt onto the serpent’s back and drove his blade deep.

This python was not the most formidable demon beast he’d faced, but it was deadly.

To think, such a creature could hide in the canopy, its enormous body concealed behind him, undetected.

Had it succeeded, he would have been nothing more than a meal in its belly.

He drove his blade in, piercing the serpent’s flesh.

The python let out a howl of agony, thrashing violently to throw him off.

Yet Bai Li Feihong clung to it like a reef in the sea, unmoved by its wildest efforts.

His blade stabbed again and again, serpent flesh parting like paper under his relentless assault.

The beast coiled, attempting to crush him, but he remained fixed, inching toward its head, raining blows upon it like a storm.

Sometimes, sheer size was a disadvantage.

After all, a body thirty feet long could never match the agility of a pair of human fists.

"Blood River Slash!"

A streak of blade light severed the serpent’s head.

"Skill points gained: +3!"

The message from the Book of Skills flashed in his mind.

Bai Li Feihong allowed himself a smile.

Demon beasts, for all their terror, remained fundamentally animals. With enough understanding, one could devise a way to defeat them.

This monstrous python looked fearsome, but it was no more troublesome than the mountain ape spirit.

His tactics were simple: stick close, inflict constant damage.

Apart from its tail and head, its greatest weapon was to constrict and crush.

But that required specific conditions.

Bai Li Feihong had no intention of letting the serpent coil around him.

Against such large beasts, one either kept out of reach and whittled them down—which he lacked the means to do—or fought up close.

Staying close put him in the beast’s blind spot, where it could not easily strike.