Devouring Soul Emperor

"Heh heh, no need to worry about that. The Demon Beast was already heavily injured when we found it. We have it surrounded now. We’ll just wait for its injuries to worsen a bit more, and then we can close the net."

Cao Jingbin sounded excited as well.

’A Demon Beast on par with a Martial Spirit Level expert is about to die by our hands!’

’If I can personally kill a Demon Beast like that, I’ll have truly earned my title as a Martial Artist.’

"Second Uncle, we’ll definitely make a ton of money from killing a Tier Three Demon Beast, right!?" Cao Meng asked, his eyes gleaming.

"Of course. A Tier Three Demon Beast is a treasure trove from head to tail. We’ll definitely make a fortune. And if we’re lucky enough to get a Tier Three Demon Core, we’ll have hit the jackpot. If we play our cards right, this could absolutely raise our Cao Family’s status in Flame City!"

"That’s fantastic! Does that mean our Cao Family’s status could rival the Zhao Family’s?" Cao Meng’s eyes lit up, and he nearly started drooling.

Although he was something of a spoiled brat in Flame City, always bullying people and the like.

But he was nothing compared to the spoiled brats of the Zhao Family. Every time he saw the Zhao disciples flaunting their power and acting so high and mighty, Cao Meng was so envious he wished he could change his last name to Zhao.

Hearing this, Cao Jingbin was left speechless.

He had just gained a new appreciation for the depths of his nephew’s stupidity.

The Zhao Family was so powerful in Flame City they could blot out the sky with one hand, not even giving the City Lord’s Mansion a second thought. They definitely had a Martial Spirit Level expert backing them.

And here they were, getting lucky with one heavily injured Tier Three Demon Beast. How could they possibly compare to the Zhao Family?

...

After shaking off Cao Jingbin and his companion, Chu Qingyun cautiously wandered aimlessly through the Mist Forest for another two hours before finally heading for the exit.

Since he’d gotten lost in the Mist Forest before, Chu Qingyun had already asked Chen Jinshi how to get his bearings and find a way out.

In truth, it was all quite simple once explained—just a matter of experience.

After walking for a while, Chu Qingyun suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Previously in the Mist Forest, his ears had always been filled with the chirping of insects and birds, and he would occasionally see small beasts or poisonous snakes scurrying past.

But thinking back over the last few minutes, he realized he hadn’t seen a single living creature. The woods around him were utterly silent, without even the slightest chirp of an insect or bird. It was an unnerving quiet.

Such an unnatural silence could only mean trouble.

Chu Qingyun’s mind went on high alert. He drew his Treasure Sword and activated both his Hidden Qi Technique and Stealth Soul Techniques. He moved forward cautiously, each step taken with extreme care.

He advanced like this for two or three minutes. After climbing a low hill, Chu Qingyun was so startled he nearly cried out. He quickly clapped a hand over his mouth and jerked his head back.

Ahead, he saw a small stream. Lying beside it was a colossal creature.

It was a Lion Demon Beast, but it was larger than any he had ever seen. It lay there like a small house, its sheer size exerting an immense pressure on anyone who saw it.

Moreover, the waves of aura and pressure radiating from the Demon Beast terrified Chu Qingyun, and his body began to tremble lightly, an uncontrollable, instinctual reaction.

’A Tier Three Demon Beast! It’s definitely a Tier Three Demon Beast!’

’A Demon Beast on par with a Martial Spirit Level expert!’

Chu Qingyun screamed internally, his heart leaping into his throat.

This wasn’t the core region of the Mist Forest. Logically, a Tier Three Demon Beast shouldn’t be here at all.

But there was no mistaking that suffocating pressure. The creature ahead was a Tier Three Demon Beast!

At this moment, Chu Qingyun desperately missed You Yun. If a Martial Spirit Level expert were by his side, he wouldn’t be afraid. But without one, his Puppet alone was no match for a Tier Three Demon Beast.

Hiding behind the low hill for a moment, Chu Qingyun pushed his Hidden Qi Technique to its absolute limit, not daring to move even a muscle.

But soon, he felt that something was off.

’Logically, even with the Hidden Qi Technique pushed to its limit, it should be impossible to evade the Spiritual Sense of a Tier Three Demon Beast,’ he thought. ’Unless... something is wrong with the beast!’

After another moment of thought, Chu Qingyun gritted his teeth. Slowly and carefully, he poked half his head over the top of the hill to look at the giant lion.

One look confirmed it—he had found the problem.

The stream beside the Lion Demon Beast was stained a faint red. The beast had a gruesome wound on its abdomen, so deep he could vaguely see the stark white of bone within. Gouts of blood pulsed from the injury.

’The Demon Beast is heavily injured!’

Looking closer at its head, he saw its eyes were narrowed to mere slits, and its breathing appeared labored.

A heavily injured Tier Three Demon Beast!

Chu Qingyun couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. If he could finish off this Demon Beast, the benefits would be immense!

For someone like Chu Qingyun, who required vast resources for his cultivation, this was a fortune that had just fallen into his lap. He absolutely could not let it pass!

Without much hesitation, Chu Qingyun made his decision. ’I’m doing this!’

Although his decision was swift, he didn’t act rashly. He first pulled his head back and took the Puppet out of his Storage Ring.

"Profound Celestial Divine Pattern!"

"Shadow Martial Soul!"

"Ten-Star Vine Martial Soul!"

"Hidden Qi Technique!"

One by one, Chu Qingyun prepared all of his abilities, ready to unleash them at a moment’s notice.

A starving camel is still bigger than a horse. Even a heavily injured, dying Tier Three Demon Beast was still a Tier Three Demon Beast. He couldn’t afford the slightest mistake.

The slightest slip-up, a single blow from a beast of this level, would likely be fatal.

Because he kept his Hidden Qi Technique active, releasing his Martial Souls and Profound Celestial Divine Pattern didn’t give off any aura, so the Thundercloud Lion didn’t notice.

However, his luck was about to run out.

To operate the Puppet, he had to infuse it with a sufficient amount of Primordial Power.

Chu Qingyun had just pulled a handful of Upper Grade Primordial Stones from his Storage Ring when the fluctuation of Primordial Power from them caught the Thundercloud Lion’s attention, causing it to look quizzically toward the low hill.

Both Demon Beasts and human Martial Artists were extremely sensitive to fluctuations in Primordial Power.

Chu Qingyun used his Primordial Power to shatter the Primordial Stones, channeling the massive burst of power into the Puppet.

With this, the fluctuation of Primordial Power grew even stronger. The Thundercloud Lion’s eyes slowly opened, and the aura around its body began to build.

It was like a sleeping giant, slowly stirring to wakefulness.

"ROAR!"

The Thundercloud Lion let out a great roar as a blinding bolt of Thunder shot from its mouth, streaking straight toward the small hill where Chu Qingyun was hiding.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion rang out.

The entire hill was blasted to smithereens. The trees and rocks in the path of the lightning were all pulverized.

Its roar flattened the hill, sending dust and debris flying everywhere.

The instant the roar echoed, Chu Qingyun’s heart leaped, and the hair on his body stood on end. He dove behind the Puppet without a second thought.