"Chase!"

Man and beast tore through the purple bamboo forest in a frantic pursuit.

To Xu Changshou's surprise, the Black Antelope Thunder Ox was barreling toward the dense outer woods-the very exit of the Thunder Pool.

Unbeknownst to Xu Changshou, a Black Antelope Thunder Ox typically dragged its prey deeper into the marsh.

The closer to the core, the denser the catastrophic lightning, allowing the beast to fight with the absolute advantage of its domain.

Yet, today's encounter defied all logic. This human cultivator could somehow swallow its innate lightning.

Having awakened a sliver of spiritual wisdom, the Demon Beast feared being trapped like a turtle in a jar. It naturally chose to break outward. Once beyond the suppressing arrays of the marsh, the heavens were high and the earth vast; escaping would be effortless.

While the Black Antelope Thunder Ox boasted apocalyptic offensive might, its raw speed was severely lacking.

Xu Changshou closed the distance rapidly, remaining mere paces behind its fleeing hooves.

A cold urgency gripped Xu Changshou. The Thunder Pool was geographically confined. If they breached the outer perimeter, chaos would ensue.

Over a dozen seasoned cultivators still lingered at the border like starving wolves. If this prize spilled into the open, claiming it would become a bloodbath.

I must sever its head within the marsh.

As long as he could close the gap, the execution would be trivial. Stripped of its lightning domain, the beast's physical might was even inferior to the Ferocious Bull King he had recently butchered.

Moo-!

Suddenly, the Black Antelope Thunder Ox forcefully burned its vitality, accelerating violently as it prepared to breach the tree line.

Xu Changshou's expression chilled. With a flick of his wrist, he drew a Windwalk Talisman from his storage space and slapped it against his thigh.

This was a flawless Windwalk Talisman of his own drafting, capable of traversing three thousand Li in a single day. At this do-or-die juncture, he refused to rely on inferior market scraps.

Whoosh!

Xu Changshou became a blur of azure robes. In the exact fraction of a second the beast breached the Thunder Pool's perimeter, he materialized directly above its massive skull.

Simultaneously, the cultivators lurking at the border erupted into a frenzy at the sight of the emerging beast.

"Look! The beast has broken cover!"

"Strike!"

"Butcher it!"

Over a dozen rogue cultivators instantly sealed the beast's path of retreat.

Driven into a corner, the Black Antelope Thunder Ox panicked. It unhinged its massive jaws, spewing a catastrophic tidal wave of volatile lightning.

"Curse it!"

"Flee!"

"Scatter!"

The vanguard of cultivators scrambled to reverse course. Those lacking sufficient movement arts were instantly engulfed. One was vaporized into blood mist, two were critically crippled, and several others were blasted into smoking husks.

"The Thunder Beast! The Thunder Beast has emerged!"

"Run for your lives!"

"Heavens above! Even the Immortals are being slaughtered!"

Several Li away, a group of mortal onlookers collapsed in sheer terror.

They had ventured out to witness the Immortals subjugate the local terror, treating it as a spectacle.

Never did they imagine the beast's might would be so apocalyptic that it could effortlessly reap Immortal lives.

"Foul beast, cease your rampant slaughter! This Daoist will sever your fate!"

Amidst the chaos, Xu Changshou descended upon the beast's broad back. Barking a righteous command for the onlookers, his Five Clouds Sword flashed with a five-colored lethal arc.

Schlick.

The colossal head was violently cleaved from its shoulders.

It perished instantly.

The surviving cultivators froze in absolute shock.

The distant mortals gaped in terrified awe.

Even Ye Shanhu stood completely paralyzed.

From the moment the beast violently breached the tree line to its abrupt decapitation, barely a single breath had passed. She had not even registered the killing stroke.

"Store."

Slapping his Storage Bag, Xu Changshou cleanly swept both the massive corpse and the severed head into his dimensional space.

Sweeping a cold gaze over the battered survivors, he cupped his hands and spoke with a veneer of righteous dismissal. "Fellow Daoists, the foul beast has been purged by my blade. You may safely disperse."

"The Thunder Beast is dead!"

"Demon! You finally face retribution! Hahaha!"

"Praise the Immortal!"

"Grace of the Upper Immortal!"

"Quickly, Er Gou! Kowtow to our savior!"

The distant mortals snapped out of their stupor, falling to their knees and frantically kowtowing toward Xu Changshou.

However, among the cultivators, the atmosphere curdled into something far more sinister. None of them retreated. Instead, their eyes locked onto Xu Changshou, a naked, predatory greed flickering within their pupils.

Yet, for a long moment, none dared to make the first move. Suffocating wariness weighed down their killing intent.

This youth had marched alone into the lethal depths of the Thunder Pool and successfully dragged out the beast's corpse.

He outwardly radiated the mere ninth layer of Qi Condensation. His aura seemed entirely mundane and harmless. But the undisputed fact remained: he had slain the overlord of the marsh.

In truth, stripped of its catastrophic lightning, the beast was a hollow threat.

By draining its volatile energy with his Lightning Attraction Talismans, Xu Changshou had effortlessly slaughtered a fangless tiger.

But the surrounding vultures did not possess this context. They assumed Xu Changshou was either a disguised master masking his true realm, or that he clutched a heaven-defying trump card.

"Since Fellow Daoists refuse to depart, this Daoist will take his leave."

"Halt!"

Just as Xu Changshou turned, his path was abruptly severed by an elderly couple.

The man possessed an unnervingly pale complexion and narrow, serpentine eyes.

The woman beside him radiated a cold, shadowy gloom.

Stepping forward, the old man wore a mask of absolute amicability. "Fellow Daoist, a word. This Black Antelope Thunder Ox is actually a spirit beast of my Meng clan, tasked with guarding our mountain gates. Over a decade ago, the ungrateful brute broke its tethers and vanished. Who could have foreseen it taking refuge here?

My wife and I exhausted immense effort tracing its lingering aura to this exact spot."

"You claim this feral beast belongs to your clan?"

Xu Changshou sneered internally. The creature had only barely awakened its primal spiritual wisdom; there wasn't a single trace of a taming brand upon its soul.

"Indeed."

The old woman offered a stiff, ghostly nod.

Xu Changshou barked a cold laugh. "This creature has slaughtered no less than eight hundred mortals, perhaps over a thousand. How does your esteemed couple intend to settle this karmic blood debt?"

The old man maintained his sickeningly humble smile. "The beast's feral nature remained unchecked, resulting in a tragic loss of mortal life. Falling to your blade, Fellow Daoist, is entirely its own karmic retribution. My wife and I harbor no grievances regarding its death. We only ask that you return the remains to our Meng clan."

"How deeply reasonable."

Xu Changshou's smile turned razor-thin. This pair wore masks of righteous morality, but their naked greed for the beast's lightning-infused horns was suffocating.

"However, I refuse to hand over the corpse."

The instant the rejection left his lips, the couple's amiable facades shattered, replaced by a dark, sinister curve at the corners of their mouths.

Without a word, Ye Shanhu materialized behind Xu Changshou, silently circulating her Spiritual Qi, ready to ignite a killing blow at a moment's notice.

The surrounding cultivators maintained a perimeter of icy neutrality.

They were all seasoned predators of the Dao; they immediately recognized the couple's claim over the spirit beast as blatant, fabricated nonsense. It was merely a flimsy justification for murder.

Yet, none dispersed. They hungered to watch Xu Changshou and the Meng couple butcher each other, eagerly waiting to play the fisherman when the snipe and the clam clashed.

The standoff was intensely volatile. Regardless of who ultimately claimed the prize, the victor would still have to survive the encirclement of the remaining vultures.

Yet, this elderly couple radiated an absolute, suffocating confidence.

"Junior Brother Xu..."

Ye Shanhu compressed her voice into a thin thread of Spiritual Qi, transmitting directly into his ear. "Guard your life. These two are likely operatives of the Joyous Union Sect. Their disciples practice profound dual cultivation arts, binding their foundations to the exact same root and sharing a flawless, telepathic synchronicity.

If they strike in unison, they can effortlessly slaughter any cultivator within their own realm."

Such lethal synchrony.

Xu Changshou's heart sank slightly.

Small wonder they act so brazenly. They hail from the Joyous Union Sect.

Among the five great immortal sects, disciples of the Joyous Union Sect were notoriously treacherous. For isolated rogues to clash against a bonded pair meant almost certain death.

The martial synergy of a Joyous Union couple was far more catastrophic than a mere sum of their parts.

"Fellow Daoist, I will offer you one final mercy. Relinquish the corpse, or do not blame this Daoist for lacking manners." The old man took another half-step forward, his tone dropping to a freezing lethality.

"My apologies! This beast has reaped too many innocent lives. I intend to offer its flesh to pacify the souls of the departed. I will not hand it over!"

Xu Changshou's divine sense flared. Beneath his robes, he silently locked onto a Sharp Gold Talisman and an Earth Stalwart Talisman, both painstakingly drafted upon the premium hide of the Ferocious Bull King.

Both elders radiated the oppressive aura of the peak twelfth layer of Qi Condensation. Their foundations were deep. Once the killing intent was unleashed, Xu Changshou would have no choice but to immediately detonate his most devastating trump cards.

"Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Husband, cease your prattling. Butcher the boy!"

The old woman's face twisted into a mask of pure malice. In perfect, terrifying unison, the couple slapped their Storage Bags, drawing twin, gleaming longswords.

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