Free Web NovelChapter 560: Chapter 388: Slaying the Great Demon (Part 1 & 2)
Eventually, the black wind dissipated, and Xia Shangzhen revealed himself, his face pale, heart full of bitterness.
He had underestimated the desperate struggle of a Great Demon, resulting in his severe injuries, leaving him to watch helplessly as the demon broke through his Ninefold Mountain Wind and transformed into a streak of thunder-light, swiftly escaping.
"It seems that the Great Demon Core and I are fated to be apart..."
Xia Shangzhen was already exhausted, lacking the strength to continue the battle or give chase.
Wang Tianshuang also suffered serious injuries in that final Golden Thunder, and at this moment, was vomiting blood profusely.
Song Changming’s condition was slightly better; his muscles and bones were resilient enough, and his Thunder Roar Body traits protected him, allowing him to endure the Kang Jin Rat King’s wave of Thunder Strikes without becoming immobile.
Seeing the Rat King flee, Song Changming also stirred up a storm of wind and thunder to give chase.
"Changming!" Wang Tianshuang worried for Song Changming, still wanted to stop him.
However, Song Changming moved swiftly, already following the Rat King into the distance.
Crossing mountains and rivers, the scenery below swiftly receded.
After a long while, atop a great mountain, an one-eyed, one-armed old man fell from mid-air, crashing into the forest in the mountains.
His body was covered in flowing blood, his face weary, and his body shriveled as if drained dry.
A few arcs of thunder-light flickered on his body, crackling like a flame about to burn out.
"To think I’ve fallen to such a state..." the Rat King’s heart was full of resentment, shame, and anger.
Moments ago, in a desperate struggle, he had nearly exhausted his entire Thunder Power just to create an opportunity to escape.
And after discharging his power, he was now at his weakest.
At this moment, he desperately needed a safe place to rest, lick his wounds, and recover from the exhaustion without being disturbed.
"Once I recover, I will surely exterminate you all!"
The Rat King panted heavily, blood still oozing from him, especially from the black hole-like eye socket and the broken arm, which were the most severe.
Just as he was about to struggle to his feet, his ears suddenly perked up, keenly catching a sound of something cutting through the air coming from a distance, his heart tightening abruptly.
This desolate mountain was uninhabited, even beasts and birds were sparse.
The presence of such a sound was clearly wrong!
A bad premonition arose in his heart, and very soon, this premonition was confirmed.
The sound of something breaking through the air landed on the mountaintop where he was, followed quickly by the sound of footsteps slowly approaching.
By the time he had flown to this place, he was completely exhausted, lacking even the strength to stand, let alone burrow into the ground to escape.
He forced himself to lift his head and saw the newcomer, feeling as if his heart was falling into an ice cave.
The person held a long knife, his armor ragged, his body also bearing many scars, but compared to him, his physical condition was clearly much better.
At least the other party still had the strength to fight!
"Kid, if you dare come closer, I’ll detonate the Great Demon Heart Core and we’ll perish together!" the Rat King still lay on the ground, speaking out, making his final struggle.
Song Changming paused his steps, frowning.
"Detonate the Heart Core?"
At this moment, Song Changming still didn’t know much about beings at the level of a Great Demon.
He had merely heard people mentioning that Great Demons refined a Heart Core within their bodies.
It was incredibly important to them, comparable to a second life.
But he wasn’t very clear on the exact function and significance of the Great Demon Heart Core.
To be cautious, Song Changming stopped.
The Rat King felt secretly pleased, thinking he had a chance.
But what came next was Song Changming slashing from afar.
The crimson Sword Qi arrived in a flash, swiftly beheading the Rat King.
Though the Rat King had detected Song Changming’s strike, he was already too weak to dodge.
A once mighty Great Demon, today met such a careless end, beheaded with a single stroke!
As for the Rat King’s earlier threat to detonate his Great Demon Heart Core, that didn’t happen either.
It seemed to be a mere bluff to intimidate Song Changming, who, being unintimidated, made it useless.
In fact, the Great Demon Heart Core could indeed be detonated.
It’s just that usually no Great Demon would choose to do so.
Because the Heart Core is both the Tao Practice crystallization of the Demon Race’s transformation into a Great Demon, and their life essence.
So long as the Heart Core remains intact, the Great Demon is not truly dead!
Even if their Demon Body is destroyed and their Qi Blood dries up, as long as the Heart Core remains, they can rely on its Demon Qi to be reborn!
For this reason alone, scarcely any Great Demon willingly detonates their Heart Core.
Even knowing that if the Heart Core falls into enemy hands, they have little chance for resurrection, they still cling to the one in a million hope, refusing to extinguish their last chance of revival.
So too was the case for this Kang Jin Rat King.
Not far away, after releasing the Sword Qi, Song Changming prepared to take flight at any moment.
But the Rat King’s corpse lay still and silent, no signs of movement even in death.
After waiting for a while longer, confirming his safety, Song Changming approached the corpse to observe.
In death, the Kang Jin Rat King had returned to his Demon Body form.
The huge Demon Body, with hot blood still flowing out, showed no further signs of life.
"The Blood Essence of a Great Demon..."
Song Changming licked his somewhat dry lips, his eyes showing a hint of anticipation.
He had long wanted to try refining the Blood Essence of a Great Demon, wondering what difference it would make.
Now, the opportunity lay right before him.
Song Changming reached out his right hand, pressing it against the giant corpse of the Rat King.
The Witch Refining Technique within him began operating with great proficiency, and the enormous Demon Blood Essence started surging into Song Changming’s body.
Instantly, Song Changming’s eyes glowed brightly.
In the Nether Sea, a large amount of Spiritual Power was mobilized, accelerating the Witch Refining Technique.
"Such high purity!"
Song Changming quickly realized that the blood and flesh essence of this Great Demon was clearly a level beyond ordinary Demon Essence Blood.
Each drop of Great Demon Blood refined gave him the feeling of consuming a top-grade tonic.
+100 pounds, +100 pounds, +100 pounds, +100 pounds...
During this refining process, his physical strength increased rapidly, especially the manifestation of power.
However, Song Changming did not experience it for too long at this moment.
On one hand, the battle was not yet over and this place was not safe.
On the other hand, the capacity within his body for storing Demon Blood Essence quickly reached saturation, unable to contain more essence from this Great Demon.
Thus, he had no choice but to store this Rat King’s corpse in batches within the Heaven and Earth Ring.
Fortunately, the storage space in the Heaven and Earth Ring was large enough; otherwise, managing this Great Demon’s corpse would have truly been a headache.
Of course, doing so was not without its downsides.
Typically, when Demon Race members die, turning into corpses, their Demon Qi Tao Practice and Qi Blood disperse on their own, something even the Heaven and Earth Ring could not prevent.
If Song Changming did not quickly extract and refine the Rat King’s blood essence, in the end, it would be a waste of this Great Demon’s bodily essence.
Therefore, Song Changming was quite anxious.
Once back, after the battle concluded, he would immediately go into seclusion to refine and cultivate, without delaying any longer.
"Aside from this..."
Before storing the Rat King’s corpse, Song Changming suddenly slashed twice, creating a blood hole.
Then, a Gang Qi shot out, enveloping a light orb from within the Rat King’s body, drawing it out.
The light orb was about the size of a fist, appearing minuscule compared to the enormous Demon Body of the Rat King.
However, this orb not only held all of the Rat King’s Demon Path cultivation but also bore the possibility of his resurrection!
The light orb spun vigorously, trying to escape under the envelope of Gang Qi as if it had a consciousness.
Small flashes of Golden Thunder appeared on its surface, flickering brightly.
This was a small Thunder Ball, but it had another name.
The Great Demon Heart Core!
Indeed, this was the Heart Core only a Great Demon could nurture!
The Rat King’s Heart Core was pulled into Song Changming’s palm, which he closely examined.
Initially, he thought the Heart Core would be a physical object, like an organ in the human body.
But in reality, this Great Demon Heart Core was merely an exceptionally unique Energy Body.
It appeared like a Thunder Ball, its surface shrouded with the distinctive Golden Thunder energy of the Kang Jin Rat, yet its interior contained various strange energies coexisting harmoniously in this microcosmic energy sphere.
"Demon Qi, Golden Thunder Energy, Demon Blood, Spirit Body?" Song Changming was not completely sure of the exact composition of this Heart Core, only feeling that its formation must be incredibly complex and challenging.
After all, even within the entire Demon Race, the number of Great Demons was quite limited.
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