Chapter 31: Slaughter

"An Eighth-Rank Demon Beast? How could an Eighth-Rank Demon Beast appear on this Frozen Path? Why was it never mentioned in any ancient texts?"

Jiuyou raised an eyebrow slightly, a flicker of doubt flashing in his eyes. But his hands didn't slow for a moment. The instant the Ice Flood Python appeared, he had already struck without hesitation.

From the thick cyan mist surrounding him, hundreds upon thousands of skulls wreathed in ghostly blue flames surged forth. Their jaws opened and closed, spitting fire, dense and overwhelming. In the blink of an eye, they had completely surrounded the Ice Flood Python, crashing down like rain, flames blazing into the sky.

The Ice Flood Python’s roars shook the heavens as it madly weaved and dodged through the relentless bombardment of countless skulls. Cold beams of ice shot from its mouth repeatedly, shattering the skulls in its path.

The shattered ghostfire skulls transformed into expanding waves of blue flames that scorched the python’s scales, emitting a piercing sizzle mixed with the beast’s agonized cries.

Jiuyou wouldn't give this ice python bastard any chance to catch its breath.

He waved his hand again, and the Heavenly Light Mirror suddenly appeared in his palm. A flash of light rippled across the mirror’s surface, and Jiuyou’s aura abruptly surged, his spiritual pressure rising another level.

A brilliant spiritual light blazed at his fingertips. From the thick mist behind him, one chain after another of dark cyan iron shot out, each one coated in Nether Capital Ghostfire, brimming with endless killing intent.

Suddenly, these chains began to intertwine, climb over one another, and twist together. They condensed into a single massive chain dozens of feet in diameter, carrying the force of heaven-shaking, earth-shattering destruction as it slammed down fiercely at the Ice Flood Python.

The Ice Flood Python, already entangled by countless skulls, suddenly felt a lethal threat descending from above. Almost instinctively, it braved the skulls' impacts and rolled wildly to one side.

But that iron chain’s attack speed was too fast.

Even though the Ice Flood Python gave everything it had, it still got struck on the tail. In an instant, flesh and blood sprayed everywhere, and icy blue blood splattered across the frozen ground, freezing solid immediately.

The Ice Flood Python let out a blood-curdling scream, its entire body writhing wildly on the ground as if it had gone completely mad.

In its blood-red eyes, beyond the madness, there was a trace of barely perceptible fear. Instinctively, it sensed that this tiny creature before it was more dangerous than anything it had ever encountered.

Just then, an unexpected change occurred. Countless ice spikes that had been standing silently around them suddenly tore free from the ground, slowly floating into the air, their sharp tips all pointing toward Jiuyou.

With another roar from the Ice Flood Python, countless ice spikes rained down like a storm.

Jiuyou stood calmly in place, watching the massive hundred-foot ice spike about to smash into him. Sensing its momentum, his eyes were filled with disdain. He didn’t dodge, didn’t even move a single step.

Seeing this, Canfeng, especially feeling the fierce pressure radiating from those ice spikes, was already panicking. He scrambled and crawled to hide behind Jiuyou.

"An Eighth-Rank mutated beast that hasn’t even awakened its intelligence—not even as good as a Cold Wind Turtle—and it thinks it can ambush this old man? How laughable."

Jiuyou snorted coldly. The Nether Capital Ghostfire lit up in his hand once more. A beam of ghostly blue light, condensed to the extreme, shot out instantly, crossing a hundred feet in a flash, colliding violently with the nearest massive ice spike.

The moment they collided, that ice spike shattered like paper, breaking into countless fragments, turning into a blizzard of ice dust.

Jiuyou didn’t stop. He swept the beam lightly, cutting across the remaining ice spikes.

Wherever the beam passed, all the ice spikes exploded in midair, fragments scattering everywhere like a dazzling fireworks display.

The gap between a Nascent Soul cultivator and a mutated beast that relied only on instinct was laid bare in that moment. The two weren’t even on the same level.

Seeing the situation was hopeless, the Ice Flood Python dragged its crippled body, trying to flee into the distance.

Would Jiuyou give it that chance?

His form flickered, transforming into a mass of cyan mist. In an instant, he appeared directly on the python’s escape route. His hand seals changed again, and Nether Capital’s Frozen Domain and Nether Capital Gate activated simultaneously!

Countless skeletons crawled out from the frozen ground, dense and covering the sky. The surrounding cold grew even more intense. Even an ordinary Early Nascent Soul cultivator would hesitate to stay long in this domain, let alone a mindless beast.

After a few moments, the Ice Flood Python went silent.

Jiuyou reached out into the void. A Giant Spiritual Hand retrieved the beast pill and pocketed it, while Nether Capital Gate devoured the beast’s essence soul. He felt the pure surge of power, but couldn’t help frowning slightly.

"No wonder this old man felt this Ice Flood Python’s intelligence was so low—it could only fight on instinct. This beast’s essence soul is barely at the level of a Seventh-Rank Demon Beast from the outside world. It seems that the mutated beasts on this path, whether in intelligence or soul power, are far inferior to outside demon beasts. Otherwise, this old man wouldn’t have killed an Eighth-Rank Demon Beast so easily."

He slowly bent down, touched the Ice Flood Python’s corpse, and narrowed his gaze.

"According to the ancient texts this old man found and what Blood Sea True Person said, in tens of thousands of years, not a single Eighth-Rank Demon Beast has ever appeared on the four paths of Heavenly Abyss Mountain. So where did this Ice Flood Python come from?"

Jiuyou looked up toward the depths of the Frozen Path, a trace of seriousness flashing in his aged eyes.

"Could it be... that something has changed within Heavenly Abyss Mountain?"

"Ancestor! That was absolutely magnificent!"

Canfeng rushed forward, his face full of excitement. He reached out to touch the Ice Flood Python’s corpse, envy clear in his eyes. This was an Eighth-Rank Demon Beast, and their ancestor had taken it down so easily!

Jiuyou didn’t say a word. His mind churned with thought. After a moment, he spoke lightly.

"Let’s go. Something seems to have changed within Heavenly Abyss Mountain. To avoid any more trouble, we should leave as quickly as possible."

With that, he stepped forward without hesitation, casually tossing the Ice Flood Python’s corpse into his Storage Pouch.

After all, it was an Eighth-Rank Demon Beast—how could he waste all those materials?

Canfeng hurriedly jogged after him, staying obediently behind Jiuyou. That Eighth-Rank Demon Beast’s sudden appearance had left him shaken. He kept his Divine Sense fully extended, not daring to slack off for a moment, terrified that another one might pop out from somewhere and swallow him whole.

What they didn’t know was that, at the same time, the same scene was playing out repeatedly on the other paths.

The Lava Path.

A Golden Core Rogue Cultivator, looking like a lone cultivator, was desperately fleeing. Behind him, an Eighth-Rank Lava Lizard covered in molten rock was chasing relentlessly.

The cultivator’s face was full of despair. His streak of light flickered weakly, and he let out a pitiful cry for help. But on this treacherous path, who could save him?

Moments later, a scream came to an abrupt halt.

The Lava Lizard carried the cultivator’s corpse in its mouth and slowly sank into the lava, leaving behind only a few wisps of smoke.

The Thunder Path.

Three Golden Core cultivators from the Righteous Path Alliance formed a defensive formation, their faces pale as they stared at the Eighth-Rank Thunder Eagle circling in the sky above them.

The Thunder Eagle’s wingspan was dozens of feet. Every beat of its wings was accompanied by booming thunder. Silver-white arcs of electricity danced across its body, scorching the air with a sizzling crackle.

"How... how could there be an Eighth-Rank Demon Beast?!"

One of the cultivators’ voices trembled, his hand gripping his sword shaking.

His answer came in the form of a thunderbolt descending from the sky. The defensive barrier the three had erected held for only one breath before shattering completely.

The Wind Path.

An Early Nascent Soul cultivator was locked in a fierce battle with an Eighth-Rank Wind Vulture. The vulture was incredibly fast. With one beat of its wings, it could cross hundreds of feet. The wind blades shooting from its mouth were as sharp as knives, slicing the surrounding rock walls to shreds.

Although the Nascent Soul cultivator had the upper hand, he was fighting with considerable difficulty, cursing inwardly.

"The ancient texts clearly said these paths had at most Seventh-Rank mutated beasts! Where the hell did this Eighth-Rank Wind Vulture come from?"

As he defended himself, he silently thanked his luck.

At least these mutated beasts had extremely low intelligence and only fought on instinct. If this were a real Eighth-Rank transformed demon beast, he would have already turned tail and fled.

Another part of the Frozen Path.

Two Golden Core Rogue Cultivators huddled together, trembling as they stared at the slightly smaller Eighth-Rank Ice Wolf in front of them. Their luck was terrible. The moment they were teleported in, they ran straight into this bastard, without even a chance to escape.

The Ice Wolf slowly approached, its emerald-green eyes filled with bloodthirsty killing intent.

"Q-quick, run..."

"There’s no escape!"

Before the words had even finished, the Ice Wolf pounced.

Blood stained the icy ground.

In an instant, blood and chaos swept across all four paths.

Countless rogue cultivators without the protection of any sect basically died in the mouths of those Eighth-Rank Mutated Beasts. Fewer than one in a hundred managed to escape alive.

As for the Nascent Soul cultivators, they encountered Eighth-Rank Mutated Beasts one after another as well. But fortunately, these beasts had extremely low intelligence, nothing like real transformed demon beasts from the outside. Though the ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators had to exert some effort, they wouldn’t lose.

Yet, one question rose in nearly everyone’s mind at the same time—

How could Eighth-Rank Mutated Beasts appear on the four paths of Heavenly Abyss Mountain?

Something that had never happened in tens of thousands of years was happening in their generation. Even the dullest person could smell something wrong.

Some wore grim expressions. Others quietly sharpened their vigilance. But most simply quickened their pace, wanting to pass through this bizarre path as fast as possible and regroup with their companions at the mountaintop.

Everyone was converging toward the same point.

The summit of Heavenly Abyss Mountain.

There, the Life-Extending Fruit waited.

There, perhaps, the answer to this upheaval lay as well.

Jiuyou led Canfeng forward steadily, his gaze distant. He had a feeling that this trip to Heavenly Abyss Mountain wouldn’t go as smoothly as he had initially thought.

But the more obstacles there were, the more it proved this journey wasn’t in vain.

He glanced at the Little Green Bottle deep inside his Storage Pouch, lowered his eyes, gave a slight roll of his eyeballs, and finally let out a cold snort.

Whatever awaited him at the summit, he, Jiuyou, would face it.