In the next instant, the fist and claw collided.
Clang!
A crisp metallic clang exploded outward. In an instant, gravel flew in all directions, and the black mist billowed wildly.
The moment the two forces clashed, the victor was instantly decided.
Ye Ling's figure stood as steady as a rock, her feet pinned to the ground without budging an inch. Only the hem of her robe fluttered slightly.
Meanwhile, the massive body of the Demon Claw Wolf stiffened abruptly, as if it had been struck by a mountain.
Immediately afterward, it flew backward uncontrollably, crashing into a pile of rocks dozens of feet away, sending debris flying everywhere.
Sharp pain shot through its entire body. Tiny cracks fractured across its sharp claws, and its fur tore open, oozing blood.
An irresistible, monumental force surged through its entire body, throwing its blood and vital energy into chaos and inflicting severe internal injuries.
Yet, the skin on Ye Ling's fair, smooth fist was completely undamaged, without even a trace of redness left behind.
Lying on the ground, the Demon Claw Wolf's eyes were filled with utter terror.
It was a mid-stage Xiantian Realm demon beast, boasting a powerful physical body and razor-sharp claws. Ordinary cultivators of the same rank would never dare to meet its claws head-on.
Yet, this young human before it had completely crushed it with the sheer physical strength of a single punch, leaving it utterly powerless to fight back, and without even breaking her skin.
Fear instantly consumed its ferocity. Struggling to its feet, the Demon Claw Wolf prepared to flee deeper into the valley.
Ye Ling naturally would not give it the chance. With a light flick of her wrist, the Qinglan Sword at her waist unsheathed itself with a ring.
A streak of sword light sliced through the dark, heavy mist. Moving with extreme speed, it caught up to the fleeing Demon Claw Wolf in an instant.
A cold gleam flashed, and a single strike severed the wolf's head, ending its life.
The long sword spun in midair before flying back to Ye Ling's waist, returning to its sheath.
Afterward, she took out a jade box specially crafted by her sect and carefully harvested the fifteen Quiet Heart Grass plants before her, storing them away.
Her sect mission required fifty plants, so she was still thirty-five short.
Over the next few days, Ye Ling traversed the outer and middle regions of Heifeng Valley, searching everywhere for the spiritual herbs.
Along the way, she encountered many late-stage Houtian Realm, early-stage Xiantian Realm, and mid-stage Xiantian Realm demon beasts.
She cast aside her sword for all of them, relying solely on her physical body and bare fists to crush and defeat them, using the combat to continuously stabilize her foundation.
After several days of bloody battles, she successfully gathered forty Quiet Heart Grass plants.
But at this point, the spiritual herbs in the outer and middle regions of Heifeng Valley had been completely harvested. Only the deepest part of the valley might still have some remaining.
With no other choice, Ye Ling had to venture deeper.
The further in she went, the thicker the miasma became, the heavier the malevolent aura grew, and the stronger the demon beasts were. The danger multiplied exponentially.
After exploring a few more areas, she finally discovered a large patch of Quiet Heart Grass growing in a dark corner at the bottom of the valley. There were over a hundred plants, growing exceptionally lushly.
With the spiritual herbs growing so densely, there was bound to be a powerful demon beast guarding them.
Ye Ling's eyes narrowed slightly as she released her Divine Sense to probe ahead.
In the next instant, a terrifying aura as massive as a mountain suddenly locked onto her from the shadows at the bottom of the valley.
The black mist billowed and the earth trembled as a massive ancient tree demon rose with a roar from beneath the ground.
Instantly, Ye Ling recognized what kind of demon beast it was from the sect's Demon Beast Registry.
This was an ink-patterned tree demon. Its body stood dozens of feet tall, its bark was pitch-black and as hard as iron, and it was covered in ink-colored spiritual patterns. Its cultivation was shockingly at the Xiantian Realm Great Perfection.
Looking at this demon beast with its profound foundation and powerful aura, not only did Ye Ling show no fear, but a surge of battle intent actually welled up in her eyes.
Crushing those weak demon beasts day after day had long since become boring. She had finally met an opponent that would allow her to go all out.
The battle was on the verge of breaking out.
No longer holding back, Ye Ling gave her wrist a light shake. The Qinglan Sword at her waist unsheathed with a clear ring, its cold light piercing through the mist with a bone-chilling sharpness.
Pushing her Star-Treading Flowing Shadow movement technique to its limit, her figure became elusive and flickering as afterimages scattered. She instantly broke through the miasma and malevolent aura, closing in on the tree demon's massive body.
Although she was only at the mid-stage Xiantian Realm, her Qinglan Sword Canon had already reached the fifth layer. Her true essence was vast, continuous, and endlessly regenerating, giving her a foundation that was not the least bit inferior to the Xiantian Realm Great Perfection.
In an instant, a succession of sword forms erupted. A layer of Sword Force enveloped the blade, carrying immense lethality.
Layers of sword shadows overlapped into one, intertwining illusion and reality as her offensive surged toward the tree demon like a rising tide.
Not to be outdone, the tree demon sent countless branches sweeping toward Ye Ling like striking serpents.
In just dozens of exchanges, the ringing of the sword shook the valley as the shadows of branches whipped about wildly.
The branches and vines of the ink-patterned tree demon were severed one after another, scattering all over the ground.
Its hard trunk was also covered in a dense network of deep gashes.
Its spiritual light grew dim, and its demonic power fell into chaos. Having already suffered severe injuries, its aura plummeted significantly.
The ancient tree demon's dark-gold vertical pupils contracted violently, its eyes filled with shock.
It had guarded Heifeng Valley for a hundred years and had seen countless Xiantian Realm martial artists venture deep into the valley to gather herbs.
Among them were no shortage of experts at the Xiantian Realm Great Perfection, yet all of them had been easily repelled by it.
Yet, the sense of suppression and crisis brought by this young girl, who was only at the mid-stage Xiantian Realm, far exceeded all the formidable enemies it had faced in the past.
Being battered to the point of near-death by a human two minor realms lower than itself completely enraged the ancient tree demon.
The ink patterns all over its body suddenly turned blood-red, and its thousands of roots beneath the earth shook violently as it poured out its entire life's accumulation.
It resolutely unleashed the rare bloodline skill it had awakened when breaking through to the Xiantian Realm: Dark Miasma Wither and Flourish Annihilation.
This was an innate talent that was one in ten thousand among Xiantian Realm demon beasts. When a demon beast broke through to the Xiantian Realm, there was an extremely low probability of comprehending an ancestral skill from their bloodline.
Those who could comprehend such a skill were the geniuses among demon beasts, possessing combat strength that could easily crush any Xiantian Realm martial artist of the same rank.
A destructive torrent of pitch-black mixed with dark red erupted with a roar. Carrying the power of decay and extinction, it crashed toward Ye Ling like an overflowing sea.
Its power was terrifying beyond measure, several times stronger than its previous attacks.
Ye Ling's mind tensed as her pressure surged. She circulated her True Dragon Unfettered Art with all her might, fully deploying her Xiantian True Dragon Body to meet the attack head-on.
A deafening boom resounded through the valley.
The terrifying force of decay and destruction washed over her body. Even though her True Dragon Body was peerlessly formidable...
...a dense network of tiny, bloody cuts was still torn open across the surface of Ye Ling's body, her physical form taking actual damage.
Yet, only a few breaths of time passed.
The cycles of the True Dragon Unfettered Art flowed endlessly, and her majestic dragon power and true essence rapidly repaired her injuries.
Those cuts and bloody wounds healed and vanished in the blink of an eye, her skin once again becoming as smooth as jade, without a single trace left behind.
Opposite her, the ink-patterned tree demon froze completely, its mind shattering.
The ultimate Xiantian bloodline strike it had unleashed by exhausting its very origin had only caused a fleeting, minor injury.
The physical body of this human girl before it was actually several times stronger than its own as a Xiantian Realm Great Perfection demon beast.
At this moment, the ancient tree demon's origin was overdrawn, its demonic power was depleted, and its injuries were extremely severe. With its trump cards exhausted, it no longer had any power left to fight back.
The Star-Treading Flowing Shadow beneath Ye Ling's feet flashed abruptly. Her figure burst through the air, and her One Layer of Sword Force completely suppressed and locked onto the area, sealing off all of the tree demon's paths of retreat.
Infusing her true essence into the Qinglan Sword to the absolute limit, she unleashed another sword strike.
The sword light fell like a cascading heavenly river, peerlessly overbearing and sweeping away all obstacles.
Pfft!
The chilling sword light that spanned heaven and earth crashed down with a roar.
The ink-patterned tree demon, already depleted and heavily injured, had no way to resist. Its massive tree trunk was split in half from top to bottom by the single strike.
The ink-colored spiritual patterns shattered and dissipated, its origin completely extinguished. Its massive body collapsed with a loud crash, silent once more.
The howling winds in Heifeng Valley gradually died down, and the black mist slowly settled, returning the entire valley floor to peace and quiet.
Ye Ling returned her sword to its sheath. Her breathing was steady and calm, and her true essence remained as abundant as before. She had suffered only a minor expenditure of flesh and blood, which healed in an instant.
She looked up at the dense patch of Quiet Heart Grass at the bottom of the valley. There were over a hundred plants, far exceeding what was required for her mission.
This harvesting mission was already a resounding, overachieved success.
Rate on N.U.
