Chapter 1639: Multi-Eyed Demon

Volume 9: The Hundred Races of the Spirit Realm

Han Li and the two others flew several hundred li in one breath, even disturbing a nest of stubborn black flying rats perched on a mountain peak along the way.

These demonic beasts were more than ten times larger than ordinary rats, resembling squirrels but with bat wings on their backs. Their fangs protruded, making them look fierce and unusual. Of course, such low-level demonic beasts wouldn't catch Han Li's eye.

Without even needing Han Li to act, countless golden rays erupted from Qianqian, shooting out like a storm and instantly riddling the bodies of these demonic flying rats with holes, killing them outright.

However, upon witnessing this, Yue Zong showed no sign of joy. Instead, after flying a short distance further, he stopped his flying dharma wheel, let out a soft sigh, and addressed the other two:

"Fairy Qian, Senior Han, there's no need to fly further. That demonic beast has been trailing us, and its escape speed isn't slow. At our current pace, we won't be able to shake it off."

"Are you sure about this?" Han Li asked, his figure emerging from the light as the azure glow receded. A subtle, almost imperceptible, flicker of surprise crossed his face.

"There's no mistake. Although my magic power isn't high, I do have some methods when it comes to sensing and tracking demonic beasts," Yue Zong affirmed.

Hearing this, Qianqian's expression grew somewhat grim.

Han Li, for a moment, fell silent. In fact, even without Yue Zong's confirmation, he was well aware that a demonic beast was indeed relentlessly pursuing them, about seven or eight li behind. Although his spiritual sense couldn't extend that far, his Clear Spirit Eyes could penetrate the demonic energy and discern the beast's vague silhouette.

Even though the beast constantly hid within the black mist below and occasionally concealed itself beneath mountain peaks, how could its massive, building-like body truly vanish without a trace? After this test, Han Li genuinely gained some confidence in Yue Zong, the demonic beast hunter. It seemed the other party truly possessed some skill to safely enter and exit the Demonic Gold Mountains multiple times. No wonder Qianqian insisted on hiring him.

"Senior Han," Qianqian asked cautiously, looking at Han Li, "it seems we'll need to set a trap to kill this demonic beast."

"Set a trap? Why go to all that trouble? Since this beast wants to target us, I'll just go kill it and return. The two of you wait for me here for a moment!" Han Li said calmly. Suddenly, a blue-white light flashed behind him, and a pair of crystalline feathered wings emerged. With a gentle flap of the wings, a clap of thunder resounded, and Han Li transformed into a blue-white electric arc, shooting forth.

After just a few flashes, he was several hundred zhang away. Following another low rumble of thunder, the electric light completely vanished without a trace. The Crystal Clan woman and Yue Zong were somewhat stunned by this sight.

"Senior Han is going to deal with that demonic beast alone?" Yue Zong mumbled, coming to his senses but still looking worried. "Although that beast can't be a Saint-rank one, some high-level demonic beasts possess extraordinarily powerful divine abilities, far beyond what even cultivators of the same rank can handle."

"Since Senior Han is so confident, he must have a plan," Qianqian said slowly, seemingly quite confident in Han Li.

Upon hearing this, Yue Zong didn't say anything, but his brows still furrowed slightly.

Just then, several loud rumbles echoed from the distance, followed by a furious roar. But the roar quickly changed, transforming into a loud scream, which then abruptly ceased. Silence once again descended upon the distant area. This eerie situation made Yue Zong and Qianqian exchange bewildered glances.

A moment later, as both waited with some unease, a spiritual light flashed in the distant sky, and an azure rainbow shot towards them.

"It's Senior Han!" Yue Zong exclaimed, recognizing the color of the escaping light. He let out a sigh of relief, but his expression remained somewhat peculiar.

Qianqian said nothing at this point, merely watching the approaching azure rainbow with flickering eyes.

With a whoosh, the azure rainbow reached them after a few flashes. As the azure light receded, Han Li's figure appeared.

"Fellow Daoist Yue, take a look, what kind of demonic beast is this? It looks quite peculiar!" Han Li said. With a wave of his arm, a dark, blood-scented object was tossed directly downwards.

Yue Zong was startled. Without hesitation, he pointed his finger at the object. Immediately, the object spun in mid-air and then hovered there.

The Crystal Clan woman quickly focused her gaze.

It was, astonishingly, the head of a demonic beast, about the size of a human face. At first glance, it was furry with two round ears, resembling an ape's head. But after a closer look at its front, it made one gasp in cold air and shiver down their spine. The head's face surprisingly lacked a nose or mouth. Instead, on its equally furry cheeks, there were over a dozen half-closed, blood-red demonic eyes. Most of these demonic eyes were bleeding from their pupils and filled with expressions of extreme horror and eeriness.

"A Multi-Eyed Demon! It's one of *these* demonic beasts. These creatures are naturally proficient in illusionary and soul-capturing techniques. They are extremely rare, even in the depths of the Demonic Gold Mountains. No wonder those demonic crows were being controlled!" Yue Zong recognized the head's origin at a glance, first shocked, then enlightened.

"A Multi-Eyed Demon! I wondered why this beast kept blinking those strange eyes from the start. So it was planning to use soul-capturing techniques on me. Tsk, tsk, trying that on me was quite unlucky for it," Han Li chuckled, saying dismissively.

"However, Senior, you are truly amazing. You went and returned in less than a quarter of an hour and managed to slay this high-level Multi-Eyed Demon. This beast is not only proficient in its techniques, but its other divine abilities are also incredibly strange. Even someone one or two ranks higher would find it quite troublesome," Yue Zong said, still looking somewhat peculiar.

"Oh, really? I didn't know that. I didn't give it any time to cast its abilities. Besides, this demonic beast's magic power was only between the seventh and eighth ranks of its race, not particularly strong," Han Li replied with a faint smile. Yue Zong was rendered speechless by his words.

"I have heard a thing or two about Multi-Eyed Demons, Senior," Qianqian suddenly said with a smile. "I heard that the most precious material from this demon is its eyeballs. They are excellent materials for refining tranquilizing and soul-nourishing artifacts. It's a pity these aren't the eyeballs of a Saint-rank Multi-Eyed Demon; otherwise, they could be used to refine a rare treasure nearly equivalent to a spirit artifact."

"Fairy Qian, you jest," Han Li said with a slight smile. "If I truly encountered a Saint-rank Multi-Eyed Demon, I'd run as far as I possibly could. Haha, in any case, I did have some foresight and didn't discard this most important material. However, the beast's body fell deep into the demonic energy, making it quite difficult to retrieve."

"Now that this Multi-Eyed Demon has been dealt with, the journey ahead will be much smoother. Senior, it's fortunate you truly eliminated this demonic beast. Multi-Eyed Demons are experts at controlling and coordinating other demonic beasts to attack opponents, and they are very vengeful. If it had escaped, the repercussions would have been endless. However, this place isn't suitable for lingering. Let's leave immediately, lest the recent fight attract other high-level demonic beasts," Yue Zong said cautiously.

"Brother Yue is right. Senior Han, let's get going," Qianqian agreed upon hearing this.

Han Li nodded without objection. With a flick of his sleeve downwards, a swath of azure mist swept past, and the demonic beast's head instantly disappeared within the azure light. The three then resumed their escape lights and continued their journey forward.

What Han Li and his companions didn't know was that just half a day after they left the area, a sharp shriek suddenly echoed from another direction. Following this, a mass of black mist rolled in from high above, rapidly engulfing the sky for several miles around.

A piercing shriek emanated from the black cloud, which then violently churned. Over a dozen blood-red pillars of light suddenly shot down from the cloud, striking the mist sea below. Where the light pillars passed, the black demonic energy receded. Then, after the light pillars wildly churned below, an area several mu wide and hundreds of zhang deep was completely cleared of black demonic energy, revealing a headless, bizarre demonic beast corpse below.

The lower half of this corpse resembled a giant green python, while its upper body was like that of a lizard. It had two pairs of arms, one large and one small, growing on its sides. The tips of its fingers had jade-green claws that were exceptionally sharp.

Upon seeing the demonic beast's corpse, a wail of utter grief rang out again from the black cloud above, its sound as desolate as a ghost's howl. "Who? Who killed my son? I'll tear him to shreds, refine his soul, and extract his essence!" Although the voice was exceptionally unpleasant, it was clearly that of an old man. "Jiuye, Wuwang, immediately find the traces of the person who took my son's head! We'll pursue them at once and devour them piece by piece!" the old man roared ferociously.

"Yes!""As you command!"

Two unfamiliar voices, one male and one female, also emerged from the black cloud. Immediately, the black cloud parted, and two glowing orbs, one silver and one red, flew out. Two faint silhouettes were visible within them, and with a flash, they arrived at the headless corpse below.

As the escaping lights receded, two half-human, half-beast monsters were revealed.

One had a pair of giant black horns on his head, was broad-shouldered and powerfully built, and wore black iron armor. His upper body was indistinguishable from an ordinary human, but his legs were bestial, bent at the knees and covered in stiff, black fur.

The other, a woman, was slender with a peach-blossom complexion. Her eyes were jade green, her ears pointed, and a slender yellow tail, like that of a weak cat, extended from her backside.

As soon as they landed, both circled the corpse a few times.

A moment later, the man roared and opened his mouth, spitting out a beam of dark light that flashed and vanished into the corpse. Immediately, a ghostly light flickered from the man's large black horns.

The corpse suddenly trembled, and then a wisp of gray energy, enveloped by the dark light, slowly floated out from the body. After a flicker, it transformed into an incredibly dim shadow, hovering motionlessly above the corpse.

At this moment, the woman sniffed a few times, her nose twitching slightly. Her eyes narrowed, and she suddenly soared into the air, circling wildly nearby.

"Found it," the woman suddenly stopped her flight and respectfully said to the figures above. "Only one person should be responsible for killing the Young Master. However, there are also traces of two other outsiders nearby. It seems that even if they aren't directly related to the Young Master's death, they must be that person's companions."