Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Nine-Clawed Demon Chapter

Mahe Valley.

This was a section of a riverbed located more than fifty kilometers from Yandu City. Once submerged under a river, the waters had now dried up, exposing Mahe Valley.

The banks on both sides of Mahe Valley were extremely high, over three hundred meters at their lowest point. As a result, many Demon Beasts were trapped within the riverbed.

The dried-up river bottom was a mess of mud, scattered rocks, and more...

Even powerful human Martial Artists would find it difficult to move freely here.

With countless ferocious Demon Beasts hidden within the mud, traversing the area was next to impossible. Only those Martial Artists with extreme confidence in their own strength would dare venture deep into the riverbed to hunt Demon Beasts!

At this moment, on the mud-caked riverbed, a figure was gliding across the surface like an agile monkey.

A closer look would reveal that he had two wooden planks tied to his feet, which he used to slide over the mud.

The figure moved with an elegant grace. His features were handsome and striking. Beneath a pair of sword-like brows, his dark, profound eyes shone with a brilliant light as he scanned his surroundings, as if he could see through the thick layer of mud below.

BOOM— 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

To the young man’s left, a patch of seemingly calm mud suddenly exploded upward.

A jet-black Demon Beast burst forth. It was massive; the half of its body that emerged from the mud was a full ten meters tall.

Its appearance sent a spray of black mud flying into the air.

It resembled a centipede, but its abdomen was lined with fins like a fish. Its fangs glinted with a cold, sinister light and were coated in venom. This was a Tier One Low-level Demon Beast, the Five Poison Blood Centipede, which loved to lie in ambush within the mud, waiting for prey to walk into its trap before delivering a fatal blow.

The Five Poison Blood Centipede opened its cavernous maw and lunged ferociously at the young man.

"You’re courting death!"

The young man sneered. Twisting in mid-air, the sword at his waist let out a crisp ring. SWISH!

A flash of silver light arrived in an instant!

Like a stream of light cutting through the air, it sank into the Five Poison Blood Centipede’s body.

The Five Poison Blood Centipede’s body shuddered violently. A fissure slowly appeared, starting from the middle of its head and spreading toward its tail.

In a mere instant, it split apart, cleaved in two by the young man’s single strike!

SIZZLE!

The flesh of the Demon Beast’s corpse twitched slightly as a crimson mist condensed above it. The young man took out a Token and swept it toward the mist, absorbing it inside.

A line of text appeared on the Token—Jiang Chen, Points: 15.

’A Tier One Low-level Demon Beast is only worth one point? The guy who made these rules is a real cheapskate.’

Jiang Chen shook his head helplessly. He put away the Token, retrieved the Five Poison Blood Centipede’s Demon Pill, and frowned. ’Jiang Ziyou and the others have a lot of followers. They’ll definitely use any means necessary to capture Demon Beasts and farm points for them. If I want to surpass them, I can’t just follow the rules. I have to find higher-level Demon Beasts!’

A Tier One Low-level Demon Beast was equivalent in strength to the first to Third Stage of the Martial Dao.

A Middle Level one corresponded to the fourth to Sixth Stage.

Following that logic, a Tier One Advanced Demon Beast was equivalent to an expert from the Seventh to the Ninth Stage of the Martial Dao.

With Jiang Chen’s current strength, he could even kill some Tier One Advanced Demon Beasts.

Clenching his fists, a sharp glint flashed in Jiang Chen’s eyes. ’Yun Haoran, Jiang Ziyou... you think victory is in your grasp, that you have me all figured out, huh? Just you wait. In five days, I’ll be the one wiping those ugly looks off your faces!’

He continued his journey through Mahe Valley...

Jiang Chen killed five more Demon Beasts, but unfortunately, they were all Tier One Low-level, earning him only three more points.

His current total was now eighteen points!

As the sun began to set, Jiang Chen was about to find a place to rest. He planned to strike again after nightfall, when the Demon Beasts were most active.

But just as he sat down cross-legged on a rock by the riverbank, an instinctive sense of crisis filled his mind and body. Jiang Chen shuddered as a chill washed over him. ’Not good!’

BOOM—

The instant Jiang Chen shot to his feet, a tentacle as thick as a water bucket burst through the rock wall of the riverbank, lunging out to grab him.

"Get lost!"

Jiang Chen’s gaze turned icy. As he shot backward, his sword moved without hesitation, unleashing the Flowing Light Sword Technique in an instant!

He severed the tentacle with a single strike.

ROAR—

A low, furious roar echoed from beneath the ground. The entire riverbed trembled, and huge rocks and chunks of earth tumbled from the cliff walls.

An enormous, jet-black octopus suddenly shot out from the mud!

Jiang Chen’s gaze focused on the octopus’s tentacles, and his pupils constricted slightly. ’A Tier One Advanced Demon Beast, the Nine-Clawed Demon Chapter? Haha, finally, a big one has arrived!’

The Nine-Clawed Demon Chapter waved its eight tentacles. Its two huge, black eyes glanced at the tentacle Jiang Chen had severed, and a look of hatred filled them as it glared at him. "Human brat, you dare sever one of my claws! I will tear you to pieces!"

"I’ll sever your remaining eight claws too!"

Jiang Chen laughed heartily, showing no fear in the face of the Nine-Clawed Demon Chapter.

This Nine-Clawed Demon Chapter before him was comparable to the Ape King of Spiritual Monkey Valley, possessing strength on par with the Martial Arts Seventh Stage.

The current Jiang Chen was fully confident in his ability to deal with a Demon Beast of this level!

"You’re courting death!"

The Nine-Clawed Demon Chapter roared in fury, waving its eight claws as it charged toward Jiang Chen.

Each tentacle seemed to have a Life Force of its own, shooting out from eight different directions. They were covered in suckers that exuded a powerful suction force. If Jiang Chen were careless enough to be caught by even one, he would be entangled and unable to break free quickly.

Then, the Nine-Clawed Demon Chapter’s other tentacles would swarm in and tear their target to shreds!

"Flowing Light Technique!"

Jiang Chen slashed out with his sword, his speed incredibly fast.

But he hadn’t expected the Nine-Clawed Demon Chapter to be even faster. It dodged his strike and laughed maniacally. "Human brat, you think you can use the same move on me twice? You’re dreaming!"

"Oh?"

A corner of Jiang Chen’s mouth lifted into a cold smile. "Then try this one on for size!"

"Thunderbolt Technique!"

BOOM—

Jiang Chen activated his Profound Technique. True Qi surged through his body, and a torrent of power rushed to the edge of his sword.

The entire longsword began to glow with a thunderous luster as arcs of lightning clung to its blade. As he swept the sword, a constant SIZZLE filled the air, like thunder streaking across the sky.

With a horizontal slash, a sharp SWISH cut through the air.

"A petty trick! Watch how I—Ah! H-How can your sword be so fast..." The Nine-Clawed Demon Chapter had been sneering disdainfully, its eight tentacles once again closing in to crush Jiang Chen. However, it never imagined that Jiang Chen, after using the Thunderbolt Technique, would be several times faster than before.

Moreover, the arcs of lightning on his blade had a paralyzing effect, causing the Nine-Clawed Demon Chapter’s tentacles to pause for a fraction of a second.

By the time it could react, Jiang Chen had already severed all eight of its remaining tentacles.

PLOP!

Only the Nine-Clawed Demon Chapter’s head was left, and it fell onto the riverbed. It stared at Jiang Chen in terror. "H-How can this be? You’re just a human brat in the Martial Arts Realm! How can your Swordsmanship be so fast?"

"You don’t need to know!" Jiang Chen sneered, raising his sword to finish it off by severing its head.

But just then... a clamor of voices suddenly drifted from the distance. "Hurry, the commotion from the fight came from up ahead!"

Jiang Chen paused, recognizing the speaker’s voice. The corner of his mouth curled into a strange smile. ’It’s him? What a coincidence!’