A terrifying roar rang out, accompanied by a shrill scream. Lin Zheyu sneaked a glance into the distance and saw a cultivator seized by a massive claw, then stuffed into the yao's mouth and chewed. Even he could not help but frown at the gruesome sight. Those cultivators were likely drawn here, just like the yaos, by the fluctuations released when he used Origin Force.

Lin Zheyu frowned slightly, and his heart filled with caution as he thought, I need to be more careful from now on.

This was the second time he had drawn such a terrifying yao. Compared to the previous one, this creature was even more persistent. It had not left after all this time and had even found several cultivators hiding nearby who had come to watch.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Lin Zheyu's gaze sharpened, and he quickly lowered his head. Just now, he had seen a humanlike expression on the yao's face. This yao possessed considerable intelligence!

So I've finally encountered an intelligent yao. The ones before had no intellect and were just mindless killing machines. Do they only gain intelligence after reaching a certain level of strength? Or are the mindless ones like beasts from the demonic realm, driven here as vanguards?

Lin Zheyu pondered inwardly. He did not dwell on it as there was no time for it.

Boom!

A massive explosion rang out again. This time, the attack landed even closer, less than two meters from Lin Zheyu. The immense demon essence shockwave blasted him away once more, while most of the surrounding yaos exploded under the impact.

Not good!

Before he even hit the ground, his true origin surged. With a burst, he shot into the distance, his speed skyrocketing.

"Found another one."

The yao in the sky watched Lin Zheyu's retreating figure and revealed a feral grin. Its eyes were full of disdain. It was nearly a hundred meters long, covered in savage scales, with thick, powerful claws. It resembled a monstrous flood dragon.

The yao suddenly extended its right claw, which rapidly expanded as it reached for Lin Zheyu. Lin Zheyu had already activated his Perception Domain and immediately detected the incoming claw. His expression darkened as he had not expected to be discovered. This yao was far more intelligent than he had imagined. Even hiding among the other yaos had not concealed him.

"This is getting bad," muttered Lin Zheyu.

The massive claw drew closer and closer. Just as it was about to seize him, Lin Zheyu's speed surged again. With a boom, he shot to his absolute limit. Earlier, he had deliberately slowed down, feigning weakness to mislead his opponent and create an opportunity to escape.

A massive rumble erupted behind him. The yao's claw slammed into the ground, blasting out a huge crater.

"Hm? Was that aura from this human just now?" murmured the massive yao. It let out a soft sound of surprise, clearly not expecting that weak human to burst out with such speed.

"Hm, probably not. That's the aura of my kind. Another little one cultivating demon arts."

After a brief scan, the yao sensed a strong demon-puppet aura emanating from Lin Zheyu. The moment he was exposed, Lin Zheyu did not withdraw the purple-black energy barrier. Instead, he began frantically absorbing demonic qi, rapidly converting the golden runes within his body into purple-black ones. Even his flesh started to show signs of demonic corruption. As he fled, he relied on this aura to mislead the powerful yao and secure a slim chance of survival.

"Kekeke... Such a rich aura. My kind will gain another fine seedling..." The yao let out a sinister laugh and stopped attacking Lin Zheyu.

It shifted its body and continued attacking the surroundings, trying to force out whoever had emitted that peculiar aura. The aura made it uneasy, yet at the same time, stirred its hunger. Its instincts told it that devouring that person would trigger a massive transformation in its strength.

Lin Zheyu moved at extreme speed, pushing himself to the limit. Streams of demonic qi surged into his body. One golden rune after another was corroded and turned into purple-black runes. Waves of purple-black energy poured out from within him.

"Hm? It stopped attacking?" said Lin Zheyu. Sensing that the yao behind him had given up, a look of surprise appeared on Lin Zheyu's face. Had he really managed to deceive it?

"This..."

The sudden turn of events left Lin Zheyu in disbelief. He did not slow down, continuing for over a hundred kilometers before finally relaxing.

Lin Zheyu still found it hard to believe, saying to himself, "It really let me go."

He had thought that even if he escaped this time, it would come at a heavy cost. He did not expect it to be this easy. It truly caught him off guard.

"Was it because of this?" Lin Zheyu murmured softly.

He raised his hand. His palm had undergone a strange transformation. His arm bulged and swelled, turning purple-black, similar to a demonized yao martial artist. The original golden runes had undergone subtle changes under the erosion of demonic qi, as if evolving toward demonic patterns.

During his escape, to deceive the powerful yao, Lin Zheyu had frantically absorbed demonic qi and suppressed the golden energy within him. Nearly 80% of the golden runes in his body had transformed into purple-black ones, and signs of demonization appeared across his entire body.

Lin Zheyu let out a breath of relief and thought, No matter what, I made it out alive.

He fully released the suppression on the golden energy within his body. His body trembled as immense golden energy burst from his blood. The flesh that had been gradually demonized by demonic qi began to reverse under its influence, slowly returning to its original state, though the process was slow.

Just now, Lin Zheyu had absorbed demonic qi without restraint. He offered no resistance and even actively absorbed it, using his runes to take in its energy. Under the combined effect of the special runes and demonic qi, the rate of demonization had been astonishing.

Lin Zheyu speculated and wondered, Did that powerful yao stop attacking because it sensed my body had begun to demonize?

The only factors that could have made the yao spare him were the special energy produced by the purple-black runes and the rapid demonization caused by his reckless absorption of demonic qi. Lin Zheyu felt it was likely that his demonized state had made the yao see him as one of its own.

If that's the case, I might be able to transform into a half-yao and then infiltrate near the space-time node. But I'll need to test it first.

The last time he used a teleportation formation, he had gained some insight into the mysteries of space, but it was not enough. The void fluctuations produced during its activation were too weak for him to comprehend much. He planned to sneak close to a space-time node.

A space-time node was a special point that connected to the Yao Demon Nest. If he could cultivate near it, he should gain far deeper insights. Then, by applying those insights to his saber technique, he could create a new technique and solve his lack of offensive power. But before that, he needed to improve the Primordial Golden Body. With it, even if he encountered danger, his chances of survival would be much higher.

Lin Zheyu let out a helpless sigh as he thought, I need to change locations. Running into such powerful yaos twice in a row... I hope it hasn't drawn too much attention. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Yaos possessed intelligence. If they shared information among themselves, it could indeed alert them. Lin Zheyu pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

Powerful yaos are mostly concentrated in the central region. As long as I don't get too close and stay near the outer edge of the demon god barrier, it should be fine. Even if I attract a strong yao, I can leave the barrier immediately. I wonder if they would chase me out once I leave.

There was no demonic river near the outer edge of the demon god barrier, but that was not an issue. He could simply recreate one. Lin Zheyu had plenty of storage pouches. By collecting the viscous liquid filled with demonic qi from the river and transporting it outward, he could form a small demonic lake. It would be a hassle, since the liquid would need to be replaced after each breakthrough. But compared to his life, that inconvenience meant nothing.