Chapter 21

In the courtyard, Ji Yichuan was wielding a green longsword, slashing and stabbing at a wooden post. He performed the basic sword techniques—slash, thrust, sweep, cut, and point—without using much force, leaving only some surface scratches on the post.

Beside him, his wife Weichi Xue was holding a clay pot, occasionally smiling as she watched her husband practice, and at other times watering the potted plants.

"Hmm?" Ji Yichuan and Weichi Xue turned their heads simultaneously in one direction, both sensing a disturbance in the air.

"It's from Dragon Castle."

Ji Yichuan and Weichi Xue leaped to the roof in unison, gazing in the direction of Dragon Castle.

Dragon Castle was located in a secluded part of the inner city, about two li away from where Ji Yichuan and his wife lived.

They saw...

A massive winged snake hovered above Dragon Castle, its scales and wings spread wide, almost covering the entire structure. On top of the castle, a bloodied, armless youth was darting about, while a huge snake tail lashed out at him with lightning speed.

Weichi Xue's eyes turned bloodshot, and she let out a heart-wrenching cry, "Ning'er!"

It was too far.

There was no time to save him!

"Beast!" Ji Yichuan's eyes were bloodshot with rage, and he swung his green longsword with all his might. A dazzling green sword beam, over a hundred zhang long, shot out, even larger than the winged snake itself, slicing through the sky toward the beast.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The winged snake's tail lashed out dozens of times in an instant, causing the entire Dragon Castle to explode and collapse. Debris flew everywhere, and the blood of many servants, guards, and members of the Ji clan splattered, resulting in numerous casualties. Even some of the beasts in the nearby dens were killed.

...

As Ji Ning darted out of the cage, he was met with a massive snake tail lashing out.

Ji Ning understood that in front of this winged snake, even the Golden Dawn Robe was as fragile as paper. With his body only at the peak of the innate stage of divine and demon cultivation, he would likely be turned into a pulp in an instant.

"No."

Ji Ning felt an intense sense of injustice. He had a healthy body, loving parents, and the opportunity to embark on the path of cultivation. He had dedicated himself to cultivation up to this point... everything was just beginning, and he was not ready to give up!

"Get out of the way!" Ji Ning exerted all his effort to perform the Wind Shadow Step.

Faster, faster, even faster!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

The wind was howling!

Whoosh! Ji Ning's figure was also howling through the air!

Thud! The snake tail lashed out, narrowly missing Ji Ning and striking the thick rock of Dragon Castle, causing the entire structure to tremble and debris to fly everywhere.

"Missed?" The winged snake, with its crimson vertical pupils, growled, "You managed to dodge once, but can you dodge again?"

Thud!

The snake tail lashed out again!

But Ji Ning was like a piece of paper, drifting with the wind, evading the snake tail once more, which struck the castle again.

"Impossible." The winged snake was enraged.

It was a thousand-year-old demon that had reached the late stage of the innate realm, far stronger than ordinary early-stage innate demons. Killing a human youth was too easy for it, as it had effortlessly slaughtered thousands of the Golden Knife Tribe's members before.

Thud! Thud! Thud! The winged snake lashed out its tail and wings wildly, causing the entire Dragon Castle to collapse, with debris flying everywhere, and many servants and black-armored guards dying as a result...

"Die, die, die." The winged snake was desperate.

A cold aura spread, the temperature plummeting, freezing some servants to death.

Black poisonous gas spread, poisoning the surrounding innate demons.

But Ji Ning continued to evade in the midst of the dust and smoke.

The cold could freeze innate-stage qi warriors, but Ji Ning, who had cultivated the first divine and demon cultivation method, had a body far stronger than any innate-stage qi warrior. These large-scale attacks of cold and poison could not harm him.

"Like the wind, like a shadow."

"Wind Shadow Step."

"This is the Wind Shadow Step, the true Wind Shadow Step." Ji Ning was completely immersed in it, evading the massive snake tail and the scales and wings of the winged snake, using the power of the wind and the strength of the opponent to drift and dodge.

Like a shadow, the winged snake could not strike him.

Like a breeze, Ji Ning's movements were gentle and effortless, like a leaf in the wind.

"Heaven and Earth as One!"

"This human youth has reached the realm of Heaven and Earth as One, his footwork has reached this realm?" The fierce old winged snake finally confirmed that the human youth who had killed its child had reached the realm of Heaven and Earth as One, a realm that even it, a thousand-year-old demon, had not achieved.

Heaven and Earth as One!

Most Purple Mansion cultivators were at the realm of Heaven and Earth as One, and some powerful innate demons could also reach this realm.

Humans had a natural higher comprehension than demons!

Unless some divine beasts, they could match the comprehension of humans.

"Damn it." The old winged snake realized it could not kill the human youth in a short time.

"Beast!"

A massive green sword beam approached.

The old winged snake lashed out its tail to meet the sword beam, not caring: "You, Ji Yichuan, think you can injure me with a sword beam from two li away?"

Pfft!

Dark green blood splattered, the drops sizzling on the ground, rapidly corroding the rock and black iron. The thick tail was nearly severed, almost breaking off completely.

"How can it be so strong?" The old winged snake was terrified.

This first person of the Ji Clan's Western Manor was too terrifying.

"Whoosh!"

"Let you live for now!" The old winged snake glanced at Ji Ning with reluctance, then flapped its wings and flew away.

"Beast!"

"Winged snake, you dare to invade the Ji Clan's Western Manor and think you can escape?"

"Die!"

From different directions within the Ji Clan's Western Manor, angry shouts echoed, including those of Ji Lie, Ji Youyang, and dozens of other innate demons, each roaring in fury.

"Borrow me the Green Flame Bird." Ji Yichuan transformed into a streak of light, flying toward a large green bird with flames on its tail, on which a black-robed woman was seated.

"Yichuan, I'll go with you." The black-robed woman said hoarsely.

"Let's go."

Ji Yichuan glanced down, seeing his son in the ruins of Dragon Castle and feeling a slight relief, but his anger flared when he saw his son's one arm and bloodied body.

"Whoosh!"

Ji Yichuan and the black-robed woman rode the Green Flame Bird, breaking through the air to chase the fleeing old winged snake. The other innate demons of the Ji Clan's Western Manor were also enraged, as a powerful demon had dared to invade their inner city, a clear provocation.

However, human innate demons could not fly, so only Ji Yichuan and the black-robed woman could ride the Green Flame Bird to pursue the old winged snake.

...

Ji Ning remained immersed in the sensation of Heaven and Earth as One, sensing the power of the wind and using it to move freely. He could even use the force of the enemy's attacks to evade, becoming like the enemy's shadow.

"Ah."

"Ah!"

Some faint moans caught Ji Ning's attention. The entire Dragon Castle had become a ruin, with many servants and black-armored guards dead, crushed, frozen, or poisoned, each a tragic sight.

The joy of reaching the realm of Heaven and Earth as One with the Wind Shadow Step faded.

Ji Ning gritted his teeth, leaped into the ruins, kicked away large rocks, and quickly found his severed left arm. He first stored the Beimeng Sword, which he was holding in his left hand, in a storage crystal. Then, he grabbed the severed arm with his right hand and attached it to the shoulder, where the wound had stopped bleeding.

"Connect it well." Ji Ning attached the arm, and the Golden Dawn Robe extended, quickly covering and securing the left arm.

Even in his previous life, severed fingers or arms could be reattached within a short time.

Ji Ning's body was like that of a divine being; a severed arm could regrow in a few hours. Holding the severed arm, he could clearly feel the flesh and bones rapidly regenerating and connecting. The connection was already complete, but it would take a little more time to fully heal.

"Ji Ning!" A slightly anxious voice called out.

Ji Ning looked up and saw an old man in dark red animal skin standing on the ruins, the Manor Lord Ji Youyang. Seeing Ji Ning unharmed, he sighed in relief: "It's good, it's good."

"Ning'er." A pained cry echoed.

Ji Ning, without a word to the Manor Lord, leaped out of the ruins and saw his mother, tears streaming down her face, rushing toward him in great distress.

"Mother." Ji Ning called out.

Weichi Xue, seeing her son standing there, burst into tears of joy. Ji Ning quickly ran to her side and embraced her, and she hugged him tightly: "Thank goodness, thank goodness. I was so scared. If anything happened to you, I wouldn't know what to do."

"Mother, I'm fine." Ji Ning reassured her.

"Your arm?" Weichi Xue examined his left arm closely.

"I'm fine, look." Ji Ning moved his left arm, which was already fully connected, with the skin and bones about eighty percent healed. It would be completely fine in a little while.

Weichi Xue finally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing her son's recovery ability from divine and demon cultivation.

"What happened? How did the great demon from Winged Snake Lake dare to attack our Ji Clan's Western Manor?" A deep voice echoed, and a red-haired old man, Ji Lie, strode over, his face full of anger. "This beast is courting death. Also, find out why it attacked our Ji Clan's Western Manor."

"It is strange. Does this great demon from Winged Snake Lake not know that this will completely enrage our Ji Clan's Western Manor?" A lean old man with a bump on his forehead said coldly.

One by one, the innate demons approached.

Seeing the ruins of Dragon Castle and the numerous bodies and bloodstains, the dozens of innate demons were all grim-faced. As the rulers of this land, how long had it been since a great demon dared to attack the Ji Clan's Western Manor? Each strongman of the Ji Clan's Western Manor felt anger and humiliation.

"Damn it!"

"We must kill the great demon of Winged Snake Lake."

"Kill it."