"Stupid mutt, this strike carries twenty years of cultivation—can you block it?!"
An Yi swung his sword.
A crescent-shaped black sword energy slashed through the air.
The heart of the Colossal Beast Hongtian, which had just relaxed, tensed again before twisting into a vicious grin.
"So what if he stole it?!
If he doesn’t know how to load it, that gun’s no better than a club!"
With a single claw, it shattered An Yi’s sword energy.
Baring its fangs, the Colossal Beast Hongtian grew even more savage. "Kid, your attacks have gotten weaker."
"Second Form: Dragon’s Descent!"
An Yi’s voice echoed from above.
Gripping his battered greatsword, he transformed into a meteor, plummeting from the sky!
A surging black aura enveloped him, like a raging dark dragon!
Boom!
The sword came crashing down!
Yet, the Colossal Beast Hongtian blocked the strike with nothing but its razor-sharp claws.
"Is this all you’ve got, brat?"
The beast opened its maw, spewing forth a torrent of black flames!
An Yi dodged with Shadow Step, but the flames still grazed his leg, clinging and burning relentlessly, spreading like a curse.
With a glance, he gritted his teeth—then acted without hesitation.
Sschick!
The blade severed his own leg in one clean motion, blood gushing.
Soon, the bleeding stopped, and the flesh began regenerating at a visible pace.
"Heheh, that Undying Warrior’s Body of yours drains spiritual energy like crazy. Let’s see how long you last!"
The Colossal Beast Hongtian’s crimson eyes gleamed with mocking delight.
An Yi’s gaze turned colder.
The beast wasn’t wrong.
The Undying Warrior’s Body was consuming too much energy.
The dwindling dark spiritual power within him was fading fast.
Without it, the fight would only get harder.
The assault continued—but now, the Colossal Beast Hongtian took the offensive.
Barrages of black flames! Claw strikes!
All aimed at An Yi!
Too drained to counter, he could only rely on Shadow Step to evade.
As his energy waned, the beast’s crimson eyes burned with escalating cruelty.
"Die already!"
Seeing An Yi barely able to stay aloft, the Colossal Beast Hongtian roared.
Behind it, the phantom of a primordial beast emerged, radiating an ancient, oppressive aura!
Yet—right then—
A smirk curled on An Yi’s lips as he hurled his broken greatsword with all his might.
"Now, just one more keystone!"
The sword shot like a comet toward a yin-yang diagram woven from dark spiritual energy in the sky.
Suddenly—
Centered on the sword, the diagram began to rotate, unleashing a terrifying gravitational pull!
The Colossal Beast Hongtian panicked, its crimson eyes wide with terror.
Black flames surged uncontrollably, sucked into the formation!
It tried to flee—
But escape was impossible against this force!
"Impossible! How do you know formations?!"
The beast howled as strands of black fire were ripped from its body.
An Yi grinned. "Our Night Sect founded formations, dumbass. Of course I know! This one’s just a bit… complicated. Had to memorize it by brute force."
Realization struck the Colossal Beast Hongtian.
This bastard had been setting this up the whole time—luring it out, weaving the trap mid-air!
No wonder he’d been darting around like a madman!
Then, another truth hit. Baring its fangs, it snarled, "You lied! You blocked my mind-reading?!"
An Yi chuckled. "Just a little trick. Hardly worth mentioning. Hence why you’re a stupid mutt."
Rage and helplessness burned in the beast’s eyes.
This kid… had played it!
Meanwhile, the howling winds devoured every wisp of dark spiritual energy—
Not just from the beast, but even faint tendrils of black energy seeped from An Yi’s body into the yin-yang formation.
Desperate, the Colossal Beast Hongtian roared and expanded, its body swelling to mountainous proportions—
Trying to break free!
But the formation held fast.
The broken greatsword kept draining, relentless.
"Then I’ll kill you first!"
Abandoning escape, the beast lunged at An Yi, eyes murderous.
It charged through the black flames—
Yet with every step, its body shrank further!
By the time it reached An Yi, its titanic form had dwindled to a speck… then plummeted from the sky.
"Whoa. That’s it?"
An Yi blinked, stunned.
This yin-yang formation was ridiculously overpowered.
Too bad its principles were beyond him. He’d just copied the original formation’s structure blindly.
Now, even the dark energy the beast had forced into him was gone.
All he could do was use Air Step to slow his fall—barely avoiding splattering on the ground.
(His Air Step wasn’t nearly good enough for actual flight yet.)
Whoosh!
An Yi landed hard.
The ground erupted in a cloud of dust and smoke.
Whew, safe landing!
An Yi removed the demon mask, grinning as he revealed his teeth.
At that moment, the Yin-Yang dual formation in the sky began to disperse and crumble.
The tattered black greatsword fell from the heavens!
Boom!
An Yi knew the power of that sword all too well—dropping from such a height, its impact would be terrifying.
He sprinted toward the landing point.
The black sword stood upright, embedded in the ground with only its hilt exposed.
Something felt off.
An Yi gripped the hilt and yanked the massive blade free.
His eyes widened instantly.
The sword was no longer in its dilapidated state.
Its broad blade was now smooth as a mirror, devoid of the previous dents and scars. A faint azure hue shimmered across its surface, radiating an eerie cold glow.
Did it absorb that dumb mutt’s dark spiritual energy?
An Yi’s curiosity flickered.
The Yin-Yang dual formation had devoured so much spiritual power—it had to go somewhere.
As the formation’s keystone, the greatsword had clearly taken on that role.
What a blade!
An Yi ran his fingers along the sword’s edge, admiration in his voice.
Before, the greatsword had been so damaged he could only use it as a blunt weapon.
Now, its edge was restored—a divine weapon capable of cleaving iron like mud!
However, the sword’s weight had also increased drastically.
After all, completing his lifelong commitment with Shangguan Qianqian—her cauldron physique had surged his internal energy, boosting his strength significantly.
Yet even now, wielding this sword still strained him!
Mastering it for fluid combat would take time.
For now, the Soulrend Dagger and Dragonfang Demonblade suited him better.
Besides, he had little experience with the sweeping, heavy swordplay—he’d need to study it later.
Storing the greatsword in his spatial pouch, An Yi turned his gaze toward the grand hall.
With the dumb mutt dealt with, it was time to head back!
Just then, from the bushes, a pair of crimson eyes locked onto An Yi’s retreating figure.
"An Yi! Sooner or later, I’ll pay you back with interest!"
The figure limped out of the undergrowth—a black dog with only one red eye remaining.