clown let out a few taunting cries from the air. Below, the giant crocodile roared in fury, its eyes locked on the detestable white bird. At this point, its desire to tear the bird to shreds out of sheer rage had eclipsed any thought of eating it for dinner!

Ling Xiao whistled sharply, stood up on his branch, and shouted to clown, "Stop playing around! Finish it off!"

To Ling Xiao, the blood of this giant crocodile was an excellent supplementary ingredient for refining Elixirs. If a beast like this existed in the Cultivation Realm, it would undoubtedly be a Spirit Beast everyone would go into a frenzy over—a true example of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

This particular species of giant crocodile, native to Penzes Swamp, was known in the bestiaries of the Canglan Continent as the Swamp Demon. They were born with the ability to control the elements, starting at Tier Two at a minimum.

If both parents were exceptionally powerful, a Swamp Demon could even be born with the strength of a Tier Four!

’This is astonishing,’ Ling Xiao thought. ’clown is a Flying Magical Beast that has absorbed two Tier Five Crystal Cores and countless Low-Tier Crystal Cores. Yet, after it was born and went through several battles, it was only at the Tier Four Early Stage. Even now, having reached adulthood, it’s only just above the Tier Four Mid Stage!’

’And yet these giant crocodiles could be born as Tier Four Magical Beasts! Their potential is terrifying!’

’An adult giant crocodile could even reach Tier Seven!’

The one before him was clearly not one of the strongest, but it was at least Tier Five. It was only because of the natural counters between species that clown, at the Tier Four Mid Stage, could fight it without being at a disadvantage. However, a single bite from a Magical Beast with such immense jaw strength would spell certain death for clown.

The giant crocodile had already noticed Ling Xiao. It let out an angry roar in his direction, then unexpectedly shot through the water toward him.

Despite its colossal size, it moved through the water with the speed of a lightning bolt!

It closed the hundred-meter distance in the blink of an eye. The massive... Swamp Demon opened its maw, and a blinding, azure bolt of lightning lanced directly toward Ling Xiao.

Ling Xiao leaped to the very top of the great tree, only to feel the massive trunk shudder beneath his feet. Leaves rained down as the bolt of lightning pierced straight through the tree, leaving a gaping hole the size of a large bowl in its wake.

Ling Xiao sneered. The Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword in his hand glinted with an eerie light in the sun. A sanguine stream of Sword Qi hissed from the blade, lancing toward one of the giant crocodile’s eyes.

Meanwhile, clown, like an enraged child, let out a series of shrill cries from the air. A bright yellow bolt of lightning shot from its beak, slamming down on the giant crocodile’s body as its sharp talons clawed for the beast’s other eye.

It was as if they were competing to see whose lightning was more powerful.

The giant crocodile’s attention was focused almost entirely on Ling Xiao. From this "small fry," it sensed an aura far more terrifying than that of the white bird in the sky.

Despite its immense bulk, its movements were incredibly agile. With a whip of its head, it jerked its eyes out of harm’s way, then opened its massive jaws and snapped viciously at Ling Xiao.

The red Sword Qi from Ling Xiao’s blade swept through the giant crocodile’s open mouth, and the beast let out an earth-shattering shriek of pain. A fountain of blood erupted from its maw. The Sword Qi, imbued with the demonic essence of the blade, had grazed its tongue and sliced a massive gash across its lower jaw.

At the same time, the bright yellow lightning bolt slammed into the giant crocodile’s tough, armored hide. The smell of scorched flesh filled the air. A plume of smoke rose from the beast’s hide as its tail thrashed, sending up a huge splash before its body began to sink.

It was enraged, but it also realized it was no match for them. So... the Swamp Demon decided to flee.

A creature with its level of intelligence had no compunctions about fighting to the death. The moment it realized it couldn’t win, it fled without the slightest hesitation. It didn’t seem crestfallen at all—just a bit battered. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

A patch of dark red blood churned to the surface of the murky water.

Drenched by the splash, Ling Xiao and clown exchanged a helpless glance. Aquatic Magical Beasts, much like Flying Magical Beasts, were nearly impossible to stop if they decided to flee a losing battle.

But just then, the unexpected happened.

Hundreds of meters away, a colossal wave erupted from the water’s surface. A gigantic water snake, a full hundred meters long, leaped high into the air, its jaws clamped tightly around the head of the very same giant crocodile.

Then, its body slammed back onto the water, raising another monstrous set of waves. The swells rocked the swamp for more than ten minutes before the surface finally grew calm and still, as if nothing had ever happened.

And so, the man and the bird bore witness to the true terror of Penzes Swamp.

The giant crocodile had been a Tier Five beast, yet in front of that massive water snake, it hadn’t stood a chance. Its head was crushed in a single move. ’By now, it’s probably been swallowed whole.’

clown seemed a little dejected. Its head drooped, and it followed listlessly by Ling Xiao’s side.

Ling Xiao smiled and patted clown’s head. "You’re still young, not even a full adult yet," he said. "I’m sure that soon enough, you’ll be able to smash that big fellow’s head to a pulp with a single swipe of your claws."

clown understood its master’s comforting words. It nuzzled its head against Ling Xiao’s neck a few times, then tilted its head back and let out several clear, bright cries.

That evening, Ling Xiao found a small mountain. One side of it featured a cliff two to three hundred meters high. Riding on clown’s back, Ling Xiao found a rather large cave right in the middle of the cliff face. The cave was over twenty meters deep, dry and drafty, and looked to have been formed by weathering.