After a brief test of the power of her Two and a Half Layers of Sword Force, Ye Ling sheathed her sword and calmed the surging sword qi within her body.
Unwilling to linger any longer in the lower reaches of the second layer, she immediately stepped onto the Qinglan Sword and once again flew toward the highest reaches of the second layer.
During her flight, Ye Ling thought to herself that her top priority right now was to verify her hypothesis.
To verify this theory, she would need to find another Tongxuan Realm demon beast.
Upon returning to the higher reaches of the second layer, Ye Ling picked a direction at random and flew forward on her sword light. Throughout the journey, she did not activate the Turtle Breathing Art to conceal her aura even in the slightest.
Tongxuan Realm demon beasts all had their own exclusive territories, and they were extremely territorial.
By deliberately releasing her aura, Ye Ling intended to disturb any slumbering Tongxuan Realm demon beasts and lure them out of her own accord.
However, even after flying through the air for half an hour, the surroundings remained dead silent. Not a single Tongxuan Realm demon beast showed itself, completely ignoring her aura.
This situation only made Ye Ling's deduction all the more certain.
According to the natural instincts of demon beasts, if an outsider trespassed into their territory, a Tongxuan beast would immediately appear to drive them away. They would never allow an intruder to wander around freely.
Yet, these Tongxuan Realm demon beasts of Bailing Mountain chose to turn a blind eye to her presence. There was definitely something fishy going on.
Ye Ling raised an eyebrow slightly. “Since they refuse to come out on their own, I will pay them a visit.”
She immediately spread out her Divine Sense, meticulously tracing the paths of demonic qi in the surrounding mountain forests. After searching at a low altitude for over half an hour, she finally locked onto a secluded valley surrounded by mountains on three sides.
Before she even entered the valley, a heavy and majestic wave of demonic qi rushed over her. Sure enough, a Tongxuan Realm demon beast was entrenched here.
Ye Ling hesitated no longer. With a flash of her sword light, she flew straight toward the depths of the valley.
Inside the valley, a goat-like demon beast with a body as massive as a small hill was resting beside some spiritual herbs. Its tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open, a trace of contemplation flashing in its narrow pupils.
“A human cultivator... Judging by her aura, she is only at the mid-stage Xiantian Realm. To dare venture into the higher reaches of the second layer with such cultivation, she is indeed arrogant.”
It felt a bit troubled. It kept the rules of the sword sect firmly in mind—it must absolutely not take the lives of the Qinglan Sword Sect's disciples.
However, the rare spiritual herbs it guarded were right beside it. If this human junior spotted them, she would surely refuse to leave without a fight.
After thinking it over, it made up its mind. It would simply strike and heavily wound her, forcing her to retreat on her own.
The goat-like demon beast snorted two streams of white mist from its nostrils. Propping its thick hooves against the ground, it slowly stood up, its pupils locking onto the sole entrance of the valley.
The moment Ye Ling flew into the valley entrance, she got a clear look at the giant beast and instantly recognized its species.
Giant-Horned Demon Goat.
She hadn't found any records of the giant anglerfish she had fought earlier in the sect's archives, which was likely because she hadn't read enough books yet.
But the Giant-Horned Demon Goat before her was a very common Tongxuan demon beast.
Its overall strength was only mediocre among early-stage Tongxuan Realm beasts. Its most troublesome feature was the pair of massive, spiraling horns atop its head, which were several meters long.
The horns were harder than refined iron and incomparably sharp. Their ramming power was incredibly lethal, so she had to be extremely cautious.
The Giant-Horned Demon Goat stared at Ye Ling in midair, its demonic qi surging as it spoke in a low, heavy voice.
“Human junior, seeing that you are only at the mid-stage Xiantian Realm, this seat does not wish to make things difficult for you.”
“As long as you turn around and leave this place immediately, this seat will not pursue your intrusion today.”
The sword light beneath Ye Ling's feet did not falter in the slightest. She pressed straight ahead and called out in response.
“Demon Goat, I came here today solely to verify a suspicion in my heart. There is no way I will retreat. Show me what you've got!”
As soon as she finished speaking, she mobilized the True Dragon qi and blood within her body along with her spiritual energy. Her figure transformed into a streak of green light, charging straight toward the Giant-Horned Demon Goat.
Seeing that she didn't know what was good for her, the Giant-Horned Demon Goat thought to itself that it would simply wound her severely and toss her out of the valley.
With that, it slammed its front hooves heavily onto the earth, causing a deafening boom to erupt instantly.
The ground cracked and split in rapid succession as dozens of sharp stone spikes erupted from the soil, shooting toward Ye Ling in midair in a dense formation.
Facing this, Ye Ling remained perfectly calm in midair. With a succession of flicks from her wrist, she unleashed several slashes infused with Two and a Half Layers of Sword Force, cutting through the air.
The Giant-Horned Demon Goat wore a look of utter disdain. The stone spikes it conjured with its Tongxuan Realm demonic power were incredibly hard; there was no way a mere Xiantian cultivator's spiritual energy slashes could destroy them.
But in the next instant, its pupils contracted violently, its face filled with disbelief.
The sword slashes easily shattered the countless stone spikes into pieces. Moreover, their residual force did not diminish as they slammed heavily into the valley floor, carving out several wide, deep trenches.
“How is this possible?!”
“A mere mid-stage Xiantian Realm cultivator has actually comprehended Two and a Half Layers of Sword Force?!”
“When did such a peerless monster emerge from the Qinglan Sword Sect?!”
The Giant-Horned Demon Goat was filled with shock and bewilderment, but it dared not lose focus for even a second.
The destructive power of Two and a Half Layers of Sword Force was no joke. Relying solely on its physical defense of scales and flesh, it might not be able to withstand it unscathed.
It no longer held even a shred of contempt. Its hind legs kicked off the ground with a powerful thrust, launching its massive body into the air as it lunged straight at Ye Ling.
Its two massive, rock-hard horns slammed violently against the blade of the Qinglan Sword, and an ear-splitting metallic screech instantly erupted.
Boom!
Fine, spiderweb-like cracks immediately began to spread across the tip of the Giant-Horned Demon Goat's proud right horn.
Yet, instead of becoming angry, the Giant-Horned Demon Goat laughed. Its intact left horn suddenly seemed to break free from the constraints of its body, weirdly twisting its direction to circle behind Ye Ling and thrust at her from a tricky angle.
Ye Ling keenly sensed the sharp, menacing wind behind her and immediately sought an opportunity to break free.
Upon seeing the horn in front of her, an idea flashed in her mind.
She stomped her legs heavily against the cracked tip of the right horn, using the counterforce to leap dozens of meters upward.
How could the already damaged horn withstand Ye Ling's monstrous physical strength? In an instant, the tip of the right horn shattered and fell in pieces.
The Demon Goat's left horn attack missed entirely because of this.
Watching the shattered horn fragments fall to the valley floor, the Giant-Horned Demon Goat was shaken to its core.
To crush its proud horn with nothing but raw physical strength, this junior must have cultivated a top-tier body-tempering cultivation method.
In that case, there's no need for me to hold back my strength anymore.
In the next instant, it threw its head back and let out a sharp, ear-piercing howl that shook the entire valley. Its face suddenly turned incredibly savage and terrifying.
Its originally pitch-black eyes ignited with eerie black flames, and the surging demonic qi around its body swelled violently, its pressure multiplying instantly.
This was precisely why it was named the Giant-Horned Demon Goat. Once it activated its demonized combat state, its combat strength would increase dramatically.
The price, however, was that most of its sanity would fade, making it extremely easy to lose control.
Ordinary Xiantian cultivators were simply not worthy of forcing it into this state. Once demonized, it would find it difficult to control itself and could easily kill its opponent by mistake, thereby violating the sword sect's ban.
But Ye Ling was entirely different. Her Two and a Half Layers of Sword Force, combined with her formidable physical body, gave her enough power to threaten it. Without entering its demonized state, it wouldn't be able to force her back at all.
Before making a move, the Giant-Horned Demon Goat subconsciously glanced at the patch of spiritual herbs beside it.
Seeing that its demonic barrier was firmly protecting the spiritual herbs and that they hadn't been affected by the previous clash, it finally cast aside its worries and allowed the demonized power to sweep through its entire body.
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