With the formidable power of the Soul Suppressing Inkstone, it merely smashed his head and left him dazed, spilling blood everywhere. Yet even so, he was wounded but not dead. If he regained his senses, it would take only a few breaths for him to activate his Mysterious Skill and be vigorous once more.
However, Zhang Yan had no intention of giving him a chance. With a swift motion of his fingers, the Star Sword Ball transformed into a streak of white light, circling the demon’s neck dozens of times in the blink of an eye.
Unexpectedly, even Zhang Yan had not anticipated the toughness of this Demon King’s neck bone; despite the sword ball’s sharpness, all it produced was a nerve-grating friction sound. After several breaths, it managed to sever most of the neck, but by the time the Demon King awakened, it still might not have been enough to kill him.
Fearing that delay could lead to complications, Zhang Yan’s expression hardened. He drew a large saber from his Sleeve Bag, stepped forward, raised it above his head, shouted loudly, and slashed down with all his might. With a crisp "Crack!", the head was finally severed.
Yet even with his head separated, the Demon King still refused to perish. From the severed neck rose a black mist that linked up with the head, and the body kept struggling, seemingly attempting to reattach itself.
Zhang Yan sneered coldly and silently recited a spell, summoning the "Nine Capturing Demon Scroll."
As soon as the scroll appeared, ethereal celestial music resonated in the sky. Amid the swirling mist, a three-foot Jade Scroll glowed with brilliance, pure and flawless, shrouded in radiant clouds and resplendent colors, exuding magnificence like a divine object of the Immortals.
Its appearance was remarkably deceptive; anyone unsuspecting could hardly imagine it was a Demon Artifact based on its seemingly divine presence.
Sensing the scent of blood, the Demon Scroll acted without Zhang Yan’s guidance, transforming into a streak of light that burrowed into the severed neck of the Demon King, ravenously consuming the rich Essence Qi and flesh.
The Demon King’s indestructible body slowly shrank, withered like brittle wood, and decayed further under the relentless ocean winds before dispersing into flying ash scattered across the sea.
With a flash of light, the Demon Scroll flew back out, still unsatisfied, and dove towards the Demon King’s head. It burrowed into the nostril, and within a few breaths, drained it dry before emitting a resonant hum and returning to Zhang Yan’s hand.
Zhang Yan temporarily stored the scroll in his sleeve, reached out to retrieve the gray cloth pouch, and prepared to deal with the final Demon King. Summoning the Seven Absolute Piles back with a single motion, he noticed a streak of Sword Qi escaping from the piles, disappearing in an instant.
Zhang Yan raised an eyebrow, guessing that the sword light had likely returned to its original owner. Not dwelling on it, he focused on the immediate task at hand.
The remaining Demon King, trapped by the Seven Absolute Piles for such a long time, was battered and bloodied with barely any intact part of his body but still stood firmly. Their avatars were interconnected by mind; sensing that Zhang Yan had already slain one avatar, this Demon King was filled with fear and quickly pleaded, "Fellow Daoist, spare me this time. I know I wronged you, but please show mercy..."
How could Zhang Yan believe such lies? Letting the demon escape now would only invite trouble later when it returned with its True Body seeking vengeance.
Since he had already struck, he had no intention of showing mercy. Without a word, he rolled up his sleeve and unleashed a barrage of attacks—You Yin Heavy Water, Golden Fire Mysterious Light, Star Sword Ball, and Soul Suppressing Inkstone—all descending upon the demon simultaneously.
The Demon King, already gravely injured with depleted Primordial Qi and unable to recover from prior wounds, succumbed quickly under Zhang Yan’s ferocious assault. The Soul Suppressing Inkstone landed a heavy blow to his head, and with a loud scream, the demon collapsed.
Zhang Yan threw out the Nine Capturing Demon Scroll, repeating the previous method to extract the demon’s Essence Qi and Divine Soul. Its corpse crumbled into ash and scattered, leaving only a gray cloth pouch behind.
He first collected the pouch before summoning back the Demon Scroll, now saturated with Essence Blood.
When the scroll returned to his hand, Zhang Yan’s expression shifted slightly. He sensed a flow of Spiritual Energy attempting to enter his palm, recognizing that the scroll was feeding Essence Qi back to him. However, now wasn’t the time for cultivation. He flicked his wrist, storing the scroll in his Sleeve Bag, then leapt up and headed back to the sea boat.
Flying without pause for long, a streak of green light returned to his forehead.
Xiu’er, standing at the ship’s bow, suddenly saw the "Yin Transformation Furnace" suspended in mid-air lose its support and begin to fall. She hurriedly stepped forward to catch it.
As Zhang Yan descended onto the deck in a tunneling light, standing firmly, he glanced sideways at Xiu’er, noting that the furnace was merely a low-grade spiritual artifact. He dismissed it and shook out the cloth pouch, releasing the unconscious Miss Shan onto the deck without a word and walked away.
Xiu’er gasped in surprise as Miss Shan rolled onto the deck. Panicked, she stepped forward to check her mistress’s breathing. Upon confirming that she was unharmed, Xiu’er sighed in relief, looked up hesitantly at Zhang Yan’s retreating figure, and mustered the courage to ask, "Daoist, may I know your honored name?"
Zhang Yan appeared not to hear, continuing toward the cabin without pause.
Once inside, he sat on the bed and reflected on the recent victory, feeling discontent.
In this battle, he had employed all his means and achieved a methodical victory in the end. Yet if his sword ball had been sharper, he could have resolved the fight with a single strike instead of resorting to other techniques.
The sharpness of the sword ball depended on the depth of his Daoist Cultivation. If he reached the Xuan Guang Third Realm, where his Mysterious Light was fully condensed, he could undoubtedly sever the opponent’s head with one blow.
After contemplating for a while, he smiled faintly. This encounter had exposed his shortcomings, presenting him with areas for future improvement.
He turned toward the window, gazing out at the expansive sea. In ten days, he would complete the sacrificial refinement of Dragon Country’s Ship’s First Realm, enabling him to roam the outer sea freely without being constrained by the vessel.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of miles away, atop a solitary and icy peak, a white-robed woman was seated with her eyes closed. Suddenly, a streak of sword light shot in. Her beautiful eyes abruptly opened, and with a graceful motion of her jade-like finger, she caught the light and examined it quietly for a long time before rising to her feet.
Looking eastward, she gripped the long sword at her waist as her skirt fluttered in the morning breeze. She murmured, "The East Sea, is it?"
...(To be continued. If you enjoy this story, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with your recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)