Chapter 595: Ransoming a Life

The Great Demon of the True Body Realm was arrogant, relying on his superior cultivation. After all, he had reached the True Body Realm, so he was fearless and paid the small group no mind. The only one who posed any real threat was the Exiled Great Demon, whose Realm had already declined. But even that threat seemed minimal now, so he planned to casually finish them all off.

But as his palm strike slammed toward the approaching One-tailed, he inexplicably felt his target vanish. In that single instant, it seemed his attack hadn’t connected at all. Even though it left a visible palm print on the ground and crushed the nearby vegetation, he felt no impact, no contact with One-tailed.

In other words, when the Great Demon of the True Body Realm unleashed his palm technique on One-tailed and the others, he had clearly locked onto his opponent’s aura. But in the instant the technique was released, his target’s figure vanished.

In reality, One-tailed had conjured a phantom. It was this very phantom that deceived the Great Demon of the True Body Realm. The sensation of having locked onto an aura was merely an illusion created by a fake Nine-tailed Fox phantom. The demon had failed to detect One-tailed’s actual location.

The moment the Nine-tailed Fox phantom flickered was the same moment One-tailed appeared behind him. The entire process was incredibly brief; in the blink of an eye, One-tailed was right next to the Great Demon of the True Body Realm.

This was a terrifying realization. He was a Great Demon of the True Body Realm. His reflexes were naturally far superior to those of the other members of the Demon Race. Even the Exiled Great Demon, who had once surpassed the True Body Realm, couldn’t possibly have faster reactions than him.

But the truth was undeniable. In the instant the Great Demon of the True Body Realm unleashed his technique, One-tailed used Phantom Clone to evade the damage and flicker behind him. Simultaneously, he drew out myriad crimson threads of Spirit Charm, ready to slice into the Great Demon’s body like steel blades.

Indeed, in that moment, crimson threads reflected in the Great Demon’s pupils. He felt an aura unlike any he had ever experienced in his life: the stench of death.

In that brief instant, he felt his life about to slip away. It was as if a blade was pressed against his neck; the slightest movement would sever his veins, and the gushing blood would drain his Life Force.

This feeling petrified him. It was so shocking that his thoughts froze, and he instinctively forced the activation of his True Form!

RUMBLE—

The crimson threads of Spirit Charm sliced into the abruptly expanding True Form. The Great Demon of the True Body Realm remained bound in place, unable to struggle free. His knees buckled, and his entire body collapsed to the ground. One-tailed stood before him, looming over him and asking, “Did you want to kill me?”

That’s right. The Great Demon of the True Body Realm had been bound before he could fully release his True Form. He had only managed to manifest half of it, which had barely saved his life. With a single thought, One-tailed could still kill him!

Of course, under normal circumstances, this Great Demon of the True Body Realm wouldn’t have been subdued so easily. But it couldn’t be helped. He could never have imagined that One-tailed possessed such an uncanny Secret Technique. The power it contained was simply too strange—it was nothing like a power that a creature of the First Celestial Realm should be able to wield!

So, in the end, the Great Demon of the True Body Realm had been careless. He hadn’t used his full strength from the start, and now, he couldn’t use it even if he wanted to. After all, his True Form was suppressed and couldn’t be fully released for the time being!

Indeed, a Great Demon of the True Body Realm who couldn’t release his True Form… His current combat power was not much better than that of a Great Demon at the Perfection level of the Transformation Realm.

Of course, he was still powerful enough to dominate the Middle Rank of the Primitive Ancient Forest. Even the Celestial Wolf Ancestor, who had just awakened his True Form, would be no match for him without using that True Form.

And yet, a being with such combat power had been utterly crushed by One-tailed. His expression was a mixture of terror and, even more so, indignation. “What in the world are you?! Why can’t I fully release my True Form!”

In truth, the moment he had sensed death, his True Form had begun to manifest instinctively. However, because he was already suppressed—his very life held in One-tailed’s grasp—the transformation had stalled. It failed to fully emerge, barely managing to protect his life and prevent him from being sliced to death.

But in reality, even that protection hadn’t been completely effective. Everything had happened too quickly. By the time his True Form began to manifest, it was already too late. His limbs had been deeply gashed, leaving wounds of mangled flesh and blood. In other words, he had survived, but only after suffering grievous injuries.

The reason he was kneeling on the ground was that his legs had been slashed in several places. They weren’t completely severed, but they could no longer support his weight, causing him to collapse.

Facing One-tailed’s tranquil, almost divine countenance, the Great Demon found it impossible to remain composed. Still, he was unreconciled to having his power suppressed. He finally cried out, demanding a proper explanation. He wanted to know why his True Form had been restricted!