Deep within the Bronze Plain, in the Valley of the Dead...

The terrifying sound waves came one after another, uprooting trees, causing the valley to crumble, scattering in all directions as if trying to escape.

The azure sky was also obscured by yellow sand and stone, appearing dim and bleak.

Feng Mengrou looked grave yet frightened, feeling the aftermath of the battle, and nervously said, "Junior Brother, we should retreat for now."

Li Xuan asked, "What’s wrong?"

Feng Mengrou’s dazzling eyes fixed on the distance steadily as she said, "It’s hard to determine the rank of the other party, but it must be no less than Tier Three."

Li Xuan said, "Maybe it’s just two early Tier Threes? We could hide by the side and seize the chance to reap the benefits when they’re exhausted."

Feng Mengrou asked with a laugh in her voice, "Early Tier Three?"

She then sighed, "Junior Brother, you’ve experienced little; you may not know how terrifying early Tier Three demons can be..."

Li Xuan: ...

Feng Mengrou continued, "Demons are generally physically strong, with tough flesh and blood. Once they reach Tier Three, they possess the strength to move mountains and overturn seas.

We cultivators, even if we can kill them with swords, it takes many strikes to do so.

But if such a demon hits us even once, we might end up dead.

However, in the Middle Tier Soldier Lord Realm, with a good sword, one might quickly kill an early Tier Three demon."

Li Xuan knew she was referring to the "Stacked Soldiers Array."

Feng Mengrou added, "Besides, joining forces with a Sword Array can also slay demons. But with just the two of us, we must be smart, not rely on brute force, especially since there are two demons here. Listen to Senior Sister; let’s retreat first."

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

As they spoke, a massive boulder fell from the sky like a meteor, hitting the ground hard, shaking the earth as dust and stones flew!

Feng Mengrou saw Li Xuan unmoved and wanted to pull him, but as she reached out, she remembered her Junior Brother was bare-chested, wrapped only in animal skin, so she said, "Junior Brother, let’s go quickly, avoid getting caught in the aftermath. Dealing with demons like these requires intelligence, not brute force!"

Li Xuan was silent for a few moments, then nodded, saying, "Alright."

In the distance, the four-horned bull demon was almost killed by the illusion skill puppet. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

He roughly understood that Tier Three meant a level where a certain attribute reached 280.

And if physique is 280, the flesh and blood should be vitalized, even if chopped into pieces, it would revive when reattached.

While thinking, suddenly there was a sound from afar, like a thunderclap from the heavens.

Bang!!

Li Xuan and Feng Mengrou turned and ran.

The illusion skill puppet had already chopped off the bull’s head.

The bull’s head flew out, blood spurting wildly.

With a thought, Li Xuan controlled the illusion skill puppet to approach again, picking up the bull’s head, slowly bringing it near the broken neck.

However...

The bull’s neck and head did not reattach.

Obviously, once a demon is killed, it dies.

The illusion skill puppet tried a few more times, but the demon bull showed no signs of coming back to life.

...

Feng Mengrou, hearing the sounds disappear, softly said, "The dust has settled."

Li Xuan’s gaze shifted, spotting a large tree suitable for hiding, and said, "Let’s rest over there first."

The two swiftly moved, then quietly waited.

However, this waiting brought silence.

Strong mental exertion made Senior Sister Feng easily fatigued.

She supported her forehead, trying to keep her eyes open.

Li Xuan gently said, "Rest for a while; it’s alright."

Feng Mengrou nodded, feeling that her Junior Brother’s words always reassured her.

She dusted the ground and leaned against the tree to sleep.

Li Xuan glanced at "the ever-valuable Senior Sister Feng," slowly shaking his head; in some respects, Senior Sister Feng indeed did a lot for him.

If Senior Sister Feng wasn’t so useful, he might have had to join the Lingyi Sect long ago.

If Lingyi Sect was a good sect, he wouldn’t mind joining.

But during these two years outside, through his initial contact Luo E, now Senior Sister Feng, and his connection within Lingyi Sect—Wei Yao, he sensed something amiss. Such a sect was riddled with many issues and extremely unstable, and he wasn’t keen on diving into such troubled waters.

However, Senior Sister Feng’s assistance wasn’t a decision made in her clear state.

If Li Xuan ceased his mental influence, within a year, Senior Sister Feng would likely feel as if "waking from a long dream, gripped by fear."

He watched the sleeping Senior Sister Feng for a while, suddenly recalling the flying sword of the "Stacked Soldiers" and the cultivator Sword Array.

A heavy look appeared in his eyes...

Instinctively, Li Xuan felt those were two things capable of killing him.

And now...

With a thought, the illusion skill puppet dozens of miles away vanished, then reappeared beside Li Xuan, transforming into Li Xuan’s form, standing guard nearby.

Meanwhile, Li Xuan dashed away, reaching the location near the four-horned bull demon’s corpse.

Raising his hand slightly, the new demon blood information emerged:

Eight-horned Demon Bull (Tier Two): Injecting this demon blood can provide an extra 230 strength points and grants the demon technique [Mountain Root].

’Turns out it’s just Tier Two... quite the punch absorber.’

’Eight horns?’

Li Xuan was momentarily stunned.

But he quickly realized that this was because the demon bull hadn’t fully developed... thus only having four horns.

He glanced at the mountain-like pile of bones beneath the demon bull, likely the commoners from the border villages of Great Yong and Great Yin...

Recalling what Feng Mengrou previously told him about the "demons," he pondered: ’A demon’s growth doesn’t happen overnight; truly, one can only imagine how much flesh and blood it must consume...’

Drawing back his thoughts, Li Xuan glanced over his current nine-slot blood bar.

He made a brief categorization in his mind.

Strength type: None.

Agility type: Fog Stealth Panther, Red Cloud Demon Python.

Physique type: Rotting Buddha Corpse Rat, Black Mountain Tuo (incomplete), Ordinary Rhino Spirit.