Yao Shiba remained suspended in mid-air, his playful expression unchanged, but the alertness in his eyes was undiminished. On the surface, he appeared to be full of loopholes, but in reality, he was luring the enemy in deep!
Shh! Shh!
A tremendous tremor grew louder as it approached. Towering trees swayed violently, as if crushed or struck by some enormous object. Countless trees leaned to the side, and a gigantic beast was drawing ever closer!
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a gaping maw shot out from behind Yao Shiba. The enormous mouth was big enough to swallow a three-story building whole. Yao Shiba didn't seem to make any move, but as if he had eyes in the back of his head, he moved more than half a zhang to the side, barely dodging the fatal blow!
What came into view was a giant python as thick as an oil tanker, its body carved with eerie green patterns. Looking at it for even a short while made one feel dizzy. Its thick body twisted and coiled, constantly moving through the depths of the dense forest. It waded through that emerald green poisonous lake without sustaining any damage, as if it had just taken a short bath. Then it coiled around a giant tree, and its head, as big as a bus truck, slowly emerged from behind the tree. Its green eyes coldly stared at Yao Shiba, its forked tongue flicking in and out of its mouth!
This was the first time Li Sisui had faced a demon beast so closely. The sheer size of the creature in front of him was so overwhelming that he instinctively took several steps back. If it weren't for Leng Rushuang's red ribbon wrapped around his waist, he probably would have lost his footing and fallen off the tree!
"This serpent is after that guy. As long as we don't move, it won't attack us..."
Leng Rushuang's voice rang in his ears. Li Sisui felt relieved after hearing it, straightened his body, and looked down at the tree again. Yao Shiba looked at the giant python's head in front of him and sneered. He silently drew another bone sword from his hand. Obviously, he did not dare to be careless!
“I remember now! The Teng Snake that perished under the Lone Sword last time looked almost exactly like you, only a few sizes smaller. It seems to be your companion. But isn’t sacrificing so many of your own kind just to avenge your companion a bit of an overreaction?”
Hiss! Whoosh!
The three thousand serpents opened their blood-red maws and lunged straight at Yao Shiba. Their speed was astonishing. However, Yao Shiba was prepared and moved to the side again. But before he could reach his destination, a huge force struck from behind, catching him off guard. He couldn't dodge in time and was hit squarely!
Whoosh!
Like a kite with a broken string, Yao Shiba was sent flying far away. Just as he was about to plunge into the poisonous lake, his wings flapped, and he soared into the air again. Then, he spat out a mouthful of blood-red saliva and grinned maliciously:
"You're strong enough to touch my body, so you're definitely stronger than the previous one. But even so, you're still no match for me!"
As he spoke, Demon Eighteen flapped his wings, transforming into a gust of demonic wind, and rushed straight towards the head of the Teng Snake. At this moment, the three thousand Teng Snakes revealed their ferocious nature, showing no intention of dodging. Instead, they opened their blood-red maws once again and charged forward!
Two streaks of white light flashed, and two wounds of varying depths appeared on either side of the three thousand Teng Snakes' gaping maws. However, due to their scales, they were clearly not seriously injured. The demonic wind stopped, and Demon Eighteen reappeared, his two bone swords bearing several nicks, rendering them unusable...
Yao Shiba's expression remained unchanged, but a hint of shock flashed in his eyes. He subconsciously said:
"Thirty... thirty thousand Teng Snakes! Ultimate form, it seems they're only one step away from the ultimate form. No wonder they're unafraid of my bone sword!"
Hiss! Roar!
Thirty thousand Teng Snakes twisted their massive bodies and faced Demon Eighteen again. The latter's expression remained unchanged, but there was a hint of excitement in his eyes, which made the Thirty thousand Teng Snakes roar incessantly. Their massive bodies darted back and forth in the dense forest, knocking down countless giant trees!
"Thirty thousand Teng Snakes! Although they failed to complete their final molt, they are still very close to their ultimate form. It is said that when a Teng Snake molts, its scales become deeply embedded. After nine molts, it will face a life-or-death choice—to transform into nothingness or return to its origin!"
Leng Rushuang's expression was solemn, her eyes filled with shock. As someone who was well-versed in ancient books, she had long known from them that although demon beasts were exceptionally talented in cultivation, the tribulations they experienced were no less than those of human cultivators. Some demon beasts would spend their entire lives trying to achieve the ultimate form, let alone the so-called transformation into the void and returning to the origin!
"Returning to the origin and transforming into emptiness? What does that mean?"
"Each demon beast has only one such choice in its life: to transform into a humanoid cultivator. However, the price is that its cultivation level will regress by one level. In some cases, because it is difficult to adapt to the human body, its cultivation level will regress even more severely!"
As for Returning to Origin, it's the exact opposite of Transformation into Emptiness. It involves further strengthening the demon race's physical body, becoming a pinnacle of bloodline existence, but never having the opportunity to cultivate techniques or supernatural abilities. They can only rely on their physical strength to roam freely. Many powerful humans in the past enjoyed raising Returning to Origin demon beasts!
Li Sisui was dumbfounded. Such a thing was possible! Was the previous demon city lord, Meiji, an ultimate being? But why could she reveal her demon body and revert to human form at the same time, seemingly without any limitations?
Li Sisui had a bellyful of questions, but he couldn't say much because while he was talking to Leng Rushuang, the situation below changed. Yao Shiba pulled out several bone swords from behind, then clenched them in his hand and spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood was like gel, which actually glued the bone swords together, forming a thicker bone sword!
Without hesitation, Yao Shiba bulged his arm muscles and hurled the giant bone sword at Tengshe's gaping maw. The giant bone sword vanished into thin air as soon as it left Yao Shiba's hand, and a white light suddenly exploded in Tengshe's mouth the next second!
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