CHAPTER 372: CHAPTER 357: FIERCE BATTLE WITH THE EVIL PYTHON! [SUBSCRIBE REQUESTED]

Convincing Xiao Ying was not difficult.

The main reason she advised Zhouyang not to keep a Ghost Servant was the fear of being attacked by other cultivators if the news got out.

It wasn’t because her sense of justice was so strong that she couldn’t stand the existence of anything evil.

Zhouyang knew this well, which made it easy to "target the problem" and successfully persuade her.

However, while persuading Xiao Ying was easy, it was quite difficult, or even impossible, to mask the fluctuation caused by Xu Song’s Core Formation.

As Xu Song began to formally undergo Core Formation, the array he had set up to seal the Yin Qi within the Three Yin Forbidden Land had already failed due to the impact of the Core Formation Celestial Phenomenon. The surging Yin Qi, without its restraints, coupled with the changes brought about by the Core Formation, rushed out, turning a vast expanse of the surrounding waters ink-black.

If it hadn’t been for the clearing Yin wind earlier that had already reaped all the fish and shrimp in these waters, at this moment, the surface might have been covered with fish corpses.

Such a large commotion was difficult not to attract outside attention from the village.

It’s known that Ghosts are enemies of all living things; even Demon Beasts naturally loathe and repel these outsiders that bring death and destruction.

Upon discovering the pervasive Yin Qi, low-tier Demon Beasts were relatively easy to deal with. They were too afraid of the high-tier ghostly aura emitted by Xu Song’s Core Formation to dare approach, fleeing like startled birds to a great distance.

However, several middle-to-high tier Demon Beasts approached aggressively over the water, seemingly ready to attack en masse.

Middle-to-high tier Demon Beasts possess varying degrees of wisdom. When facing human cultivators or Yin Soul Ghosts, unless they are sworn enemies, they generally put aside racial conflicts to unite against a common enemy.

"Ying’Er, just protect yourself. I’ll handle these beasts!"

Zhouyang, seeing the Demon Beasts surrounding them from all sides, spoke solemnly to his Dao Companion beside him.

Xiao Ying wasn’t proficient in magical combat and disliked killing. Unless absolutely necessary, Zhouyang didn’t want to force her to do things that went against her nature.

Fortunately, her cultivation techniques divine techniques were excellent in defense, and the magical artifacts in her possession were all top-grade. Zhouyang wasn’t worried about anything happening to her under his watch.

After instructing Xiao Ying, he patted the Spirit Beast Bag at his waist, releasing the long-unleashed Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, and had it carry Xiao Ying around while he, alone with his sword, dealt with the approaching Demon Beasts.

With Zhouyang’s current strength, unless faced with a tier four high-grade Flood Dragon Beast, even several ordinary tier four Demon Beasts attacking together weren’t enough to challenge him.

Although the Black Cloud Swamp was a gathering place for Demon Beasts, it was not entirely a human forbidden zone like the Broken Cloud Mountain Range and Wilderness Jungle. Though there were high-tier Demon Beasts, their numbers were not many.

Human cultivators didn’t want the Black Cloud Swamp to become another Broken Cloud Mountain Range, which lacked conditions to become like it. Tier Five Demon Beasts were the limit the Black Cloud Swamp could sustain.

Thus, any Demon Beast advancing to Tier Five in the Black Cloud Swamp, besides a few reckless ones, would typically become silent and hidden after advancing.

They either left the Black Cloud Swamp to find another place to stay or hid in the swamp’s deep water regions, rarely surfacing to avoid being discovered and hunted by human Golden Core Stage cultivators.

Human cultivators could tolerate Tier Five and Below Demon Beasts breeding here, providing training grounds for sect clan juniors and numerous loose cultivators, also continuously harvesting some Demon Beast materials.

But they absolutely wouldn’t tolerate Tier Five Demon Beasts appearing, as it would threaten the survival of their clans and sects.

Under such frequent human cultivator purges, the number of Demon Beasts of various levels within the Black Cloud Swamp remained controlled within a specific range, preventing significant fluctuations.

Even though Xu Song’s Core Formation stirred quite a commotion, the number of tier four Demon Beasts drawn here was not many, with only a few nearby beasts coming to check out the situation.

When Zhouyang, sword in hand, quickly slew a tier four Demon Beast and several tier three Demon Beasts with swift methods, the remaining Demon Beasts, intimidated by his power, retreated thousands of feet away, not daring to come forward again to meet their doom.

Zhouyang didn’t pursue these Demon Beasts, and in the Black Cloud Swamp, where he wasn’t proficient in water combat, it was also difficult for him to chase these water-dwelling Demon Beasts intent on escaping.

So, both sides stood in a standoff from afar.

After nearly half an hour of standoff, the arrival of a formidable Demon Beast brought a new change to the situation.

Hiss!

A sharp snake hiss sounded as a black Demon Python, five to six hundred feet long, suddenly emerged from beneath the water, its cold serpent eyes glaring at Zhouyang in the sky, brimming with killing intent.

This Demon Python was a tier four high-grade, unrivaled in the Black Cloud Swamp. It sensed the commotion from Xu Song’s Core Formation and came to devour him at the moment of his transformation, hoping to then advance to Tier Five in one fell swoop.

As for whether devouring a Ghost Cultivator’s Golden Core would affect its own cultivation, the Demon Python clearly hadn’t considered this matter.

This ferocious beast, evolving through devouring other Demon Beasts and human cultivators, walked a path of murderous evolution, caring only about increasing its own strength, disregarding anything else.

So, the moment it appeared, it immediately launched an attack on Zhouyang.

This Demon Python seems to carry some Jiao Dragon bloodline, its water manipulation skills are quite outstanding. Under its control, the lake water instantly transformed into countless water columns, water arrows, and water spears, shooting towards Zhouyang.

The power of these attacks doesn’t appear to be great, even a Tier Three Demon Beast could withstand many of them, but the quantity is unending, and the Magical Power consumption for the Demon Python is extremely low.

Just maintaining this level of attack alone, it could continue for days and nights without stopping.

Seeing this, Zhouyang realized that the Demon Python must have hidden in the shadows earlier, witnessing his battle with other Demon Beasts, and thus chose to use this attrition tactic to exhaust his Magical Power.

Of course, he would not let this Demon Python have its way.

As soon as he waved his sleeve, he summoned the "Celestial Thunder Horn" Magical Artifact, then formed a spell with his hands, directly performing the "Artifact Soul Transformation" Divine Technique to summon the "Canglan Cloud Tiger".

Roar!

As soon as the Canglan Cloud Tiger Artifact Soul appeared, it roared and pounced towards the Demon Python in the water.

The Canglan Cloud Tiger itself is an amphibious Demon Beast; its aquatic combat abilities are no weaker than any other Demon Beast. The Thunder Divine Techniques it possesses actually effectively restrain aquatic Demon Beasts.

However, the Demon Python is a Tier Four High-Grade Demon Beast; relying solely on the Canglan Cloud Tiger is clearly no match for it.

Therefore, Zhouyang swiftly summoned the "Thousand Blade Disc" Magical Artifact, similarly activating the artifact’s attached Divine Technique "Thousand Cuts", causing countless silver flying blades to form a whirlwind of blades, slicing towards the Demon Python.

With successive encounters of two fierce attacks, the Demon Python was forced to bring out its true abilities.

Hiss~

It let out a long hiss, its body suddenly exuding a thick, ink-black Spiritual Light, wrapping it entirely, resembling a cloud of ink if not looked at carefully.

This ink-black Spiritual Light possesses extremely strong defense; the Thunder Divine Techniques unleashed by the Canglan Cloud Tiger merely made it flicker without effect.

A whirlwind of blades formed from the "Thousand Blade Disc", can break the ink-black Spiritual Light defense, but once the blades break through this layer of spiritual defense, further breakthrough of the python’s hard scale armor is impossible.

This ink-black Spiritual Light Divine Technique of the Demon Python is seemingly akin to Zhouyang’s "Qianyang Golden Light" Divine Technique, capable of immediate recovery upon being breached, as long as its Magical Power is not exhausted.

Not only is its defense formidable, but its attack capability is also strong once it truly engages in combat.

Its enormous body moves with agility not matching its size, swimming swiftly in the water, quickly entangling the attacking Canglan Cloud Tiger, squeezing it tightly to immediately crush the Canglan Cloud Tiger Artifact Soul back into the "Celestial Thunder Horn".

"Sword Array, merge!"

A low shout sounded, but Zhouyang, taking advantage of the Demon Python’s confrontation with the Canglan Cloud Tiger, performed the "Six Harmonies Celestial Sword" Secret Skill.

Crimson Giant Sword descended from the heavens, striking the Demon Python that had just crushed the Canglan Cloud Tiger.

Under the descending slash of the giant sword, the layer of ink-black Spiritual Light on the Demon Python’s body could only slightly resist before dissipating considerably, even its incredibly hard scale armor shattered instantly, spilling crimson snake blood.

However, what surprised Zhouyang was that the Demon Python actually withstood his sword, not splitting into two as he had imagined.

Moreover, his sword seemed to have completely provoked the beast’s ferocity. After being injured by the Crimson Giant Sword, the Demon Python, instead of fleeing, wrapped tightly around the sword, forcibly crushing and dispersing it back into twelve "Great Derivation Divine Light Swords".

"What a nefarious beast, seems I have to use some true skills!"

Zhouyang’s expression turned stern, then his eyes darkened, as he immediately formed a spell to perform the "Qianyang Divine Thunder" for assistance in battle.

But at this moment, the sky suddenly rumbled with thunder.

He looked up, only to see dark clouds unknowingly gathered above the battlefield, lightning flashing and thunder roaring within them, clearly indicating an impending thunderstorm.

Seeing this, Zhouyang’s heart skipped, his expression changed dramatically and he couldn’t help but exclaim: "It’s bad, could it really be as I guessed!"

Boom!

As if to confirm Zhouyang’s words, a massive bolt of Celestial Thunder suddenly descended from the sky, splitting into two midway, striking towards him and the Demon Python.

Due to the divided strength, the power of this Celestial Thunder is equivalent to a standard Tier Four Lower Grade Thunder Magic, powerless against Zhouyang and the Demon Python.

But this is a very bad omen.

The originally enraged Demon Python, injured by Zhouyang, now seemed like a frightened little snake, diving quickly into the deep water, disappearing beneath the lake surface.

As a native Demon Beast of Black Cloud Swamp, the Demon Python apparently knows better than Zhouyang how to dodge Celestial Thunder strikes.