Seeing that Ye Ling was actually thinking of actively seeking out demon beasts to fight, the Giant-Horned Demon Goat was taken aback at first, then burst into hearty laughter.
“You junior, you are simply a lunatic.”
Ye Ling's expression remained calm. She did not get angry at its teasing, merely waiting quietly for it to continue.
The Giant-Horned Demon Goat restrained its laughter and said seriously, “I understand your thoughts. You want to use life-and-death battles to polish your combat skills.
“But in the upper levels of the second region, my strength can only be considered average at best. There are many demon beasts stronger than me.
“However, most of them have eccentric tempers and dislike humans.
“If you are looking for an opponent to train against, I can recommend one to you.
“Its strength surpasses mine, and its temperament is gentle. It harbors no hostility toward human cultivators either. Finding it to spar with would be most suitable.”
Hearing this, Ye Ling pondered inwardly. This description sounded strangely familiar for some reason.
But she did not dwell on it and immediately asked for the location of this demon beast's territory.
The Giant-Horned Demon Goat did not beat around the bush at all, speaking directly.
“That demon beast is in a large pool a hundred miles to the east. It is naturally fond of sleeping, so it is likely still fast asleep at this hour.
“When you go, remember to be gentle when waking it up. Although it has a kind nature, it has quite a temper when its sleep is disturbed.”
As it said this, the Giant-Horned Demon Goat looked solemn, making sure to repeatedly warn her.
Ye Ling nodded slightly upon hearing this. So it was the Lantern-Bone Giant Fish she had fought before.
Now, she had not only mastered Two and a Half Layers of Sword Force, but her soul foundation was also far superior to before. It was the perfect time to go and spar with that giant fish again.
She then cupped her hands to the Giant-Horned Demon Goat in a salute. “Thank you for telling me, Senior.”
The Giant-Horned Demon Goat waved its hoof dismissively. “It is nothing.”
Ye Ling did not linger any longer. She turned and walked out of the cave dwelling, stepping onto the Qinglan Sword. Transforming into a streak of green light, she rapidly flew toward the pool a hundred miles to the east.
Inside the cave dwelling, once Ye Ling's aura had completely vanished into the distance, the Giant-Horned Demon Goat finally dropped its composed demeanor and could not help but burst into loud laughter.
“I have finally sent this plague god away. Brother Fish, I wish you the best of luck.”
It could not help but raise its thick front hoof, gently rubbing the short, tender section of horn that had newly sprouted from the stumps.
Its eyes were filled with helplessness as it muttered in a low voice, “What a pity for my pair of horns. Before they are fully grown, I absolutely dare not take a single step out of this cave dwelling.”
...
High in the sky, the Qinglan Sword streaked through the air. Before long, Ye Ling arrived at the pool where she had previously fought.
The marks of their past fierce battle were still clearly preserved all around, with the deep crater where the giant fish had smashed her particularly eye-catching.
Ye Ling paid no attention to it, landing directly by the edge of the pool.
Recalling the Giant-Horned Demon Goat's advice, Ye Ling channeled her spiritual energy into the pool to transmit her voice.
“Senior Giant Fish, are you still home?”
Deep within the pool, the Lantern-Bone Giant Fish was sleeping leisurely, not awakened by Ye Ling's voice transmission in the slightest.
Seeing no response, Ye Ling continued to transmit her voice. She sent it ten times in a row, but there was still no sign of a response from the Lantern-Bone Giant Fish.
Seeing this, Ye Ling stopped transmitting her voice. She looked around the edge of the pool and spotted the giant boulder she had not thrown last time.
She walked over, hoisted it onto her shoulders, and mercilessly hurled it toward the center of the pool. The pool instantly let out a thunderous boom, exploding with massive splashes of water.
Since politeness didn't work, she had to resort to force.
Deep at the bottom of the pool, the Lantern-Bone Giant Fish was curled up in a deep sleep. The deafening sound of the splash abruptly woke it up.
At first, a wave of anger surged in its heart. But when its demonic sense swept over and clearly identified the sword-wielding young girl on the shore, its anger instantly boiled over.
Why was it this human junior again?
Last time, she had clearly been beaten by it and fled with injuries. How dared she actively seek it out again?
The water-attribute demonic energy around its body surged, and its massive fish body burst out of the water into the air, instantly kicking up a dense mist of water.
Its pair of lantern-like eyes glared angrily at Ye Ling, its voice filled with impatience.
“Human junior, why have you come back again?
“Disturbing my peaceful sleep time and again—this time, I will absolutely not show you any mercy!”
Ye Ling stood quietly by the edge of the pool, holding her sword. Her expression was calm and unhurried as she replied.
“Senior Lantern-Bone Giant Fish, I did not disturb you today without reason.
“Just now, I transmitted my voice to you over a dozen times in succession, but received no response. Left with no other choice, I had to resort to using a giant boulder to disturb you again.”
Hearing Ye Ling clearly state its full race name, the Lantern-Bone Giant Fish paused slightly, surprise rising in its heart.
The Lantern-Bone Giant Fish race was extremely rare. Even among the Tongxuan demon beasts in the upper levels of the second region, most could not identify its race.
For this Xiantian Realm cultivator before it to be able to name it so accurately was truly unexpected.
But before it could delve into the reason, Ye Ling's subsequent words entered its ears, and the giant fish instantly showed a hint of embarrassment.
After being forcibly woken up by Ye Ling for a spar last time, its only desire had been to sleep in peace.
It had deliberately wrapped a thick layer of demonic energy around itself to block out sound, so it had not captured any of the Divine Sense messages transmitted by Ye Ling just now.
Realizing that its own soundproofing barrier had blocked the transmissions and that it had falsely blamed her, the Lantern-Bone Giant Fish was momentarily at a loss for words.
The aggressive aura it had displayed earlier instantly weakened by more than half.
Its tail gently slapped the surface of the water as it asked in a slightly softened tone.
“Then why have you come back this time?”
Seeing that its morning temper had mostly dissipated, Ye Ling finally stated the purpose of her visit.
“I have come today wishing to spar with you once again, Senior.”
The Lantern-Bone Giant Fish's lantern-like eyes flickered slightly, showing a trace of surprise.
“It seems you are aware of the agreement between the Qinglan Sword Sect and us Tongxuan Realm demon beasts of the secret realm?”
“I am aware,” Ye Ling nodded slightly.
The giant fish slowly swayed its massive body, its tone carrying a hint of dismissiveness.
“There is no harm in wanting to spar with me, but with your current cultivation, you are still far from ready.
“Last time, I did not even use my full strength, yet you could only retreat with injuries.”
Ye Ling thought to herself. It seemed the Giant-Horned Demon Goat's words were true; this Lantern-Bone Giant Fish was indeed gentle by nature.
Their previous fierce battle was purely because she had rashly thrown a giant boulder to disturb its sleep, triggering its bad temper upon waking and resulting in a hard-fought battle.
Ye Ling looked up at the giant fish in mid-air, her tone firm. “You can rest assured, Senior. During this period, both my cultivation and sword path have improved significantly. Only now do I have the confidence to seek your guidance again.”
Before her voice could fade, the Qinglan Sword unsheathed in an instant. A powerful and sharp Two and a Half Layers of Sword Force swept out from the blade, the biting sword qi forcing the surrounding pool water to churn and roll.
The Lantern-Bone Giant Fish, which had been careless and paid no heed to Ye Ling just a moment ago, suddenly changed its expression.
In its mind, even if this human junior knew that it could not deal a lethal blow, if she lacked the corresponding strength, it would ultimately be nothing but empty talk.
But the sharp Sword Force rushing at its face now caused its pupils to contract sharply, and it cried out in disbelief.
“Two and a Half Layers of Sword Force? Heavens!”
Having not seen her for a mere month, this mid-stage Xiantian Realm human junior, who had only comprehended One Layer of Sword Force last time, had actually broken through directly to Two and a Half Layers.
Such shocking talent was something it had never witnessed in its hundreds of years of guarding the secret realm.
Now, it dared not show the slightest hint of contempt. Layers of water-attribute demonic energy surged around its body as it braced itself seriously.
It knew that today's clash would absolutely not be as easy to suppress as the last one.
Rate on N.U.
