Inside a cave more than a dozen miles southwest of Shadowmoon Valley, Jiang Yuan commanded tens of thousands of Dragon-Whisker Tigers as he confronted a shadowy figure shrouded in black mist, its face indistinct.
"Who exactly are you? How can you control so many beasts?"
The Shadow Demon's body churned with black fog as it stared at the dense mass of monsters filling the entire cave, speaking in a低沉 voice.
"You don't need to know my name. All you need to know is that I'm here to take your life."
Jiang Yuan drew the half-foot-long "Demon-Slaying Needle" from his waist, slung it over his shoulder, and looked calmly at the Shadow Demon across from him.
"Hmph! An ignorant and arrogant fool. Soon I'll slowly suck out your brain marrow and make you die in endless agony!"
The Shadow Demon opened its mouth, extending a crimson tongue to lick its lips, letting out a sinister laugh.
"Attack!"
Ignoring the Shadow Demon's threat entirely, Jiang Yuan barely parted his lips to issue the command to the Dragon-Whisker Tigers.
"Boom!"
The moment the Dragon-Whisker Tigers charged forward upon receiving the order, the black mist缠绕 around the Shadow Demon exploded violently. The shockwave from the blast sent the dozens of leading Dragon-Whisker Tigers flying.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
One after another, loud echoes resounded through the cave where the Shadow Demon hid. The Dragon-Whisker Tigers Jiang Yuan had summoned were blasted into the cave walls by the Shadow Demon, each landing on their backs in disarray, looking utterly pathetic.
The remaining several thousand Dragon-Whisker Tigers immediately surged forward to attack, and a dense stream of damage numbers appeared above the Shadow Demon's head.
The Shadow Demon's defense was as high as 5,500, so each Dragon-Whisker Tiger's attack was partially negated. A Dragon-Whisker Tiger with a panel attack power of 24,000 could only inflict around 17,000 to 18,000 damage on the Shadow Demon.
To Jiang Yuan's disappointment, due to the terrain, all ten thousand Dragon-Whisker Tigers couldn't attack simultaneously. Seven to eight thousand were stuck behind the others, becoming mere spectators like Jiang Yuan himself.
Even so, one to two thousand Dragon-Whisker Tigers still hit the Shadow Demon, reducing its health by nearly half!
Since gaining cultivation and sentience, the Shadow Demon had been nearly invincible within Shadowmoon Valley! Even Zhang Yang, the third-tier loose immortal and master of Shadowmoon Manor, couldn't gain any advantage against it. Yet upon encountering Jiang Yuan, after just one exchange, it had lost nearly half its health!
"Wait! Stop!"
After one round of mutual attacks, the Shadow Demon immediately spoke up to halt Jiang Yuan and delay his next wave of assault.
"Young man, how about we make a deal?"
The Shadow Demon took a few steps back without a sound, the black mist on its face gradually dissipating to reveal a pair of blood-red eyes as it looked at Jiang Yuan.
"Oh? What kind of deal? Let's hear it."
Hearing the Shadow Demon's words, Jiang Yuan immediately activated a "Summon Follow" skill, gathering all his summoned beasts around him. He raised an eyebrow and spoke to the Shadow Demon.
"We don't know each other, and there's no enmity between us. There's no need to fight to the death. Let's stop here, and I'll give you all the gold and silver treasures I've taken from humans!"
With that, the Shadow Demon slapped the cave wall behind it. Clods of earth fell away, revealing a large chest hidden within.
"As long as you spare my life, all of this is yours!"
The Shadow Demon waved its hand, sending out a stream of black energy. The chest lid flew open with a sound, and a dazzling golden light instantly illuminated the entire cave, making it shine brilliantly!
"Holy crap!"
Seeing the chest packed full of gold bars, even Jiang Yuan, ranked among the top three on the wealth leaderboard, couldn't help but widen his eyes. He stared fixedly at the chest by the Shadow Demon's feet, roughly estimating that it contained no fewer than ten thousand gold bars!
"Well?"
Taking in Jiang Yuan's expression, the Shadow Demon revealed a knowing smile. In its view, this chest full of gold had completely won over the young man. It asked with a grin, but Jiang Yuan's next words left it stunned!
"I don't think so. After I kill you, won't all this still be mine?"
As the two remained at a standoff, the Dragon-Whisker Tigers' summoning time expired and they slowly dissipated. Jiang Yuan immediately summoned another thousand Dragon-Whisker Tigers plus fifty Sand River Turtles, shaking his head at the Shadow Demon.
"You, you, you!"
The Shadow Demon trembled with rage, its finger shaking as it pointed at Jiang Yuan, unable to speak.
Jiang Yuan's shamelessness had far exceeded what the Shadow Demon could accept. A huge question now surfaced in its mind.
"Between him and me, who's really the demon?"
"You what? Are we fighting or not? If not, obediently hand over all your valuables and kill yourself. That'll save me some effort."
Jiang Yuan waved the rod-shaped "Demon-Slaying Needle" in his hand, speaking impatiently.
"Ahhh! You're going too far!"
Hearing that Jiang Yuan wanted not only its treasures but also its life, such shameless behavior drove the Shadow Demon into a frenzy. It let out an angry roar and charged at Jiang Yuan.
Just as the Shadow Demon closed to within two meters of Jiang Yuan, the Sand River Turtle's body emitted a flash of light. Its taunt skill activated, forcibly redirecting the Shadow Demon's attack target.
"Thump!"
After the Sand River Turtle taunted the Shadow Demon, Jiang Yuan leisurely raised the "Demon-Slaying Needle," as thick as a baby's arm, and stabbed it directly into the Shadow Demon's body!
-12,500,000
A damage number exceeding ten million appeared above the Shadow Demon's head. Struck by the "Demon-Slaying Needle," the Shadow Demon's body went rigid, trembling violently as if electrocuted, and it let out a series of agonized cries.
"This thing really works!"
Jiang Yuan watched the Shadow Demon's convulsing body, nodded in satisfaction, and withdrew the "Demon-Slaying Needle."
"What... what is that?"
Continuously taunted by the Sand River Turtle and unable to escape, the Shadow Demon could only twist its head with difficulty to look at Jiang Yuan and ask laboriously.
"Hehe! This is called the 'Demon-Slaying Electric Baton,' a gift I specially prepared for you! How about it? Not a bad taste, huh?"
Jiang Yuan chuckled, wearing a smug expression. The main reason was that he couldn't bring himself to call the silver rod in his hand a needle. Combining the Shadow Demon's reaction when stabbed with the image of the black electric batons often held by community security guards, Jiang Yuan improvised a new name!
"I surrender! I'm willing to hand over all my treasures!"
At this point, the Shadow Demon's will to fight had completely collapsed. No matter how it resisted, this seemingly harmless young man always had it completely under control! A deep fear surged within it, and the Shadow Demon had no heart left to fight, immediately begging for mercy.
"Don't waste my time with that nonsense. After I kill you, all your treasures will still be mine!"
Unmoved by the Shadow Demon's plea, Jiang Yuan raised the "Electric Baton" and jabbed it into the Shadow Demon's body again.
-15,000,000
This strike dealt even more damage than before. The Shadow Demon, already with less than half its health, saw it plummet again to under twenty million, triggering its innate passive skill!
"Hahaha!"
The Shadow Demon's body exploded with a bang, splitting into countless fist-sized clumps of black mist. Maniacal laughter echoed through the cave, making it impossible for Jiang Yuan to determine which clump was the true body.
"I almost forgot about my innate skill, you brat! I'll tear you apart piece by piece and eat you slowly!"
The Shadow Demon, now transformed into countless black mist clumps, spoke with boundless fury and cruelty. Fortunately, it still had the life-saving skill "Scatter and Gather." Given enough time to reform its body, its health would fully restore!
"You think this makes me helpless? Naive!"
Jiang Yuan looked at the Shadow Demon, now exploded into countless mist clumps, with a disdainful expression. The "divide and conquer" tactic had already proven useless when he faced the Shadowmoon Wolf King earlier!
With a thought, Jiang Yuan summoned five thousand Sand River Turtles, filling the entire cave without leaving a single gap.
"Taunt them all! Don't let a single one escape!"
At Jiang Yuan's command, thousands of Sand River Turtles simultaneously emitted flashes of light, firmly taunting every clump of black mist the Shadow Demon had split into within the cave.
"Sizzle!"
Jiang Yuan raised the "Demon-Slaying Electric Baton" and stabbed it into the nearest clump of black mist. White smoke rose, accompanied by the sound of meat grilling on an iron plate. A fist-sized clump of black mist rapidly shrank, dissipating into nothingness within seconds.
"Ah!"
Somewhere hidden, the Shadow Demon's true body let out a heart-wrenching scream. These black mist clumps were formed from its purest source demonic energy. Each loss was a fatal blow to the Shadow Demon!
Jiang Yuan pulled a costume mask from his backpack and put it on, transforming into a welder. He began methodically cleaning up the source demonic energy firmly controlled by the Sand River Turtles.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"
"Ahhh!"
Every time Jiang Yuan struck a clump of source demonic energy, the Shadow Demon let out a scream. The cries rose and fell, gradually forming a rhythm, as if Jiang Yuan were conducting a symphony.
"Wah! Spare me, young hero! Spare me!"
In no time, Jiang Yuan had popped dozens of source demonic energy clumps. The Shadow Demon, hiding in a corner, couldn't take it anymore. It quickly gathered the remaining energy, reformed its body, and with a tearful face, begged Jiang Yuan for mercy.
"Young hero, take it all! Take all the treasures!"
The Shadow Demon was truly terrified, its voice carrying obvious sobs. It kept flinging out beams of various colors from its body, which landed on the ground, illuminating the entire cave in a riot of colors.
Blue, purple, orange, red!
Jiang Yuan silently counted. On the ground now lay three orange beams and two red beams, meaning he would gain at least three epic-grade equipment pieces and two mythical-grade items!
"Good! Keep going, don't stop!"
Jiang Yuan sat sideways on the back of a nearby Sand River Turtle, swinging his legs while nodding in satisfaction, signaling the Shadow Demon to continue.
Finally, after flinging out two more orange beams, one red beam, and over a dozen blue and purple beams, the Shadow Demon stopped. It covered its chest with both hands, looking at Jiang Yuan with a resentful expression, like a young bride stripped bare by a pervert.
"That's it?"
Seeing the Shadow Demon stop, Jiang Yuan leaped off the Sand River Turtle's back, walked up to it, and asked loudly.
"That's... that's it."
The Shadow Demon turned its head away, not daring to meet Jiang Yuan's gaze, which seemed demonic to it, and whispered.
"Really?"
Jiang Yuan raised the rod in his hand and jabbed it into the Shadow Demon's body, knocking off another ten million health. Now only a sliver of health remained above the Shadow Demon's head!
"Wah! Really, that's all! Wah!"
Faced with Jiang Yuan's doubt, the first-tier loose demon actually burst into loud sobs!
"Fine! I'll trust you for now. Stand obediently in the corner and don't move!"
Jiang Yuan raised the "Demon-Slaying Electric Baton," directed the Shadow Demon to stand in a corner, and then began picking up the items from the beams of light shining on the ground.