Elder Niu’s entire body shimmered with flowing radiance. His eyes blazed like two ignited divine lamps. Battle intent soared to the heavens.
“Master, here I go. Be careful,” Elder Niu reminded him.
Ye Qiu instructed, “Mighty, this is a fight with our backs to the wall. Give it everything.”
“Yes.” With that, Elder Niu leapt into the void, facing Blood Slave from afar.
The Long-Browed Daoist urged frantically, “Little brat, let’s escape now!”
Ye Qiu shook his head. “We cannot escape.”
“Even if we cannot, it is better than waiting here to die.” The Long-Browed Daoist spoke anxiously. “Brother Mighty cannot possibly defeat the red-haired freak. Once the red-haired freak kills Brother Mighty, he will come for us.”
Ye Qiu replied, “We bear no saint-level array patterns. With our cultivation, crossing the void is impossible. Fleeing would be futile.”
“Besides, I have faith in Mighty.”
The Long-Browed Daoist muttered, “Even Niu Dali himself has no confidence.”
A sharp glint flashed in Ye Qiu’s eyes. “Old fellow, how about a wager?”
“At a time like this, you still have the mood for bets. I do not know whether your heart is simply vast or you have long set life and death aside.” The Long-Browed Daoist changed tone. “What is the wager?”
“I bet Mighty will give you a surprise,” Ye Qiu said. “If Mighty can gravely wound Blood Slave, you hand over all your remaining divine medicines to him. How about it?”
“Fine.” The Long-Browed Daoist agreed at once. “If Brother Mighty truly can gravely wound that red-haired freak, he will have saved my life. Giving him the divine medicines will be repayment for that lifesaving grace.”
“That is the right way to think.” Ye Qiu’s confidence in Elder Niu stemmed from the bull’s extraordinary combat prowess.
Back in the demon clan, he had heard Little White Fox evaluate Elder Niu thus: below saint level, he was invincible; at saint level, he could trade one life for another.
In other words, even before breaking through to saint realm, Elder Niu possessed the power to exchange his life for a saint’s.
Now that Elder Niu had reached saint realm, and with Ye Qiu having imparted the Nine Steps Nine Heavens technique, Elder Niu could use it to elevate his combat strength further. Thus, he was qualified to fight Blood Slave.
Moreover, in their current situation, it was kill or be killed.
Ye Qiu believed that in desperate straits, a person’s greatest potential could be unleashed.
Oh, he almost forgot. Niu Dali was a demon.
Demons were no exception.
Whether human or demon, in desperate straits, miracles were always possible.
“Little brat, what if you lose?” the Long-Browed Daoist asked.
“I will not lose,” Ye Qiu replied.
“What if you do?”
“There is no ‘what if’!”
The Long-Browed Daoist eyed Ye Qiu suspiciously, puzzled as to why Ye Qiu was so certain.
At that moment, Blood Slave’s indifferent voice rang out from the void.
“Though I have followed my master for many years, I have yet to kill a demon of the saint realm.”
“You are a strong bull demon, but you are no match for me.”
“I will kill you, take your corpse back, and prepare a full bull feast for my master to savour.”
Hearing this, Elder Niu flew into a rage.
Killing him was one thing, but wanting to cook him into a dish? Was that something a human would do?
“Do not be arrogant. Not only will I kill you, but one day I will twist off the Wuji Heavenly Venerable’s head and use it as a ball to kick.”
At those words, bone-deep killing intent appeared in Blood Slave’s eyes.
“You dare show disrespect to my master. You court death,” Blood Slave said coldly.
In response, Elder Niu made only one gesture.
“Moo——”
Elder Niu threw his head back and roared in fury, like a mad beast. Murderous aura boiled around him, every strand of hair standing on end, utterly terrifying.
The void trembled across ten thousand li.
“Clang!”
A blood-coloured longsword appeared in Blood Slave’s hand. He slashed through the air, instantly raising the sound of ghosts wailing and wolves howling, chilling to the bone. The next instant, the longsword pierced the void.
In a flash, it reached Elder Niu’s brow.
Too fast.
Watching from the ground, Ye Qiu and the Long-Browed Daoist felt chills run through their bodies.
Countless strands of great saint killing intent condensed on the sword tip. Each strand alone could annihilate a great power.
And there were thousands upon thousands.
Whoosh——
The sword point halted right at Elder Niu’s brow.
“Boom!”
Elder Niu dared not be careless. His hands shot forward, eyes cold and boundless, seizing the blade in a firm grip.
“Hm?”
Blood Slave’s brow arched slightly. He had not expected Elder Niu to block the sword in this manner.
What surprised him most was that the sword tip was only a finger’s breadth from Elder Niu’s brow. Had it pierced through, it would certainly have transfixed his primordial spirit as well. Not even a saint king could survive that.
Yet it had been stopped.
Elder Niu gripped the blade with both hands, suppressing the great saint killing intent upon it, preventing the sword from advancing even a fraction.
“Bloody hell, he blocked Blood Slave’s attack like that. Impressive,” the Long-Browed Daoist exclaimed in awe.
Ye Qiu said, “Among the demon races, each possesses abilities they excel at. The ox clan excels most at raw strength.”
“If only Mighty were a great saint, Blood Slave would be blasted apart by him…”
His words were cut short.
Killing intent surged like dragons from Blood Slave’s pitch-black eyes. He abruptly wrenched the longsword free from Elder Niu’s grasp, then immediately followed with a downward slash.
“Pfft——”
One of Elder Niu’s arms was severed, blood spraying everywhere in a ghastly sight.
Yet Elder Niu did not even frown. He threw a punch at Blood Slave.
“Hum!”
Blood Slave’s right hand shook. The longsword seemed to split heaven and earth, emitting thick blood mist.
“Pfft!”
In an instant, a shaft of blood light shot skyward.
Elder Niu’s heart was pierced. Blood from his heart gushed like a mad wolf, soaring several zhang high, shocking to behold.
“Not good. Brother Mighty is no match for him.”
The Long-Browed Daoist’s heart sank, his face filled with terror.
Ye Qiu’s expression grew grave. He clenched his fists and said, “Do not panic. Mighty has yet to play his trump card. He can still fight.”
For an ordinary person, a pierced heart meant certain death, but for cultivators who trained the primordial spirit, as long as the spirit endured, the body would not perish.
Thus, a heart wound was little more than a flesh wound to Elder Niu.
Still, being injured twice in succession enraged him.
“Ahhh——”
Elder Niu roared, shaking heaven and earth.
Blood Slave remained cold and merciless. His sword pierced Elder Niu’s heart once more.
Elder Niu ignored the blade embedded in his heart. He had no time to heal his wounds, nor the slightest intention to retreat. Like a mad bull, in the instant his chest was nearly cleaved open by Blood Slave, his fist smashed into Blood Slave’s body.
In that moment, blood light scattered everywhere.
Half of Blood Slave’s body shattered. He staggered back several steps with heavy thuds.
“Haha… satisfying!”
Disregarding his injuries, Elder Niu’s laughter resounded through heaven and earth. He pointed at Blood Slave and bellowed,
“Since breaking through to saint realm, this old ox has yet to kill a great saint. Today, I start with you!”
