Chapter 117: Cat Demon and Fiend

“Who's there?!”

From inside the cave, an angry roar echoed, followed by two streaks of light, one black and one white, shooting out. Before Qin Sang could clearly see the figures within the streaks of light, Gu Tiannan and his disciple immediately made their move.

Gu Tiannan gently raised his hand, and five spirit swords swiftly returned, hovering before him. His disciple, Gu Yuan, also drew out a fiery red short sword.

“Die, fiend!”

The master and disciple flew up on their swords, encircling the black streak of light.

“It's you again, old ghoul!”

The black streak of light dissipated, revealing a black-robed man. His face was incredibly gaunt, his eyes deeply sunken in their sockets, and his cheekbones prominent. His age was indiscernible; he resembled a skeleton more than a human.

Seeing Gu Tiannan and his disciple, the black-robed man flew into a rage. He opened his mouth wide, and a black flying needle shot out like lightning, heading straight for Gu Yuan's face. Gu Yuan seemed to have suffered losses before. Upon seeing the flying needle attack, he immediately dodged in a panic. Unexpectedly, the needle was remarkably tenacious, incredibly fast, and agile. In a flash, it evaded Gu Yuan's incoming short sword and was about to pierce him.

Gu Tiannan watched, yet felt no urgency for his disciple. Seizing the opportune moment, he suddenly pointed his finger. The Five Elements Breaking Sword, which had been still, sprang to life. Five streaks of sword light, swift and graceful, merged into a single burst of sword energy. Moving with lightning speed, it struck the center of the flying needle squarely before the black-robed youth could react.

The flying needle tumbled in mid-air, its glow dimming considerably. Seeing this, the black-robed youth grew anxious. He hastily recalled the needle, inspecting his artifact with great heartache. Only after confirming there was no significant damage did he relax.

However, Gu Tiannan remained relentless. The Five Elements Breaking Sword gently spun, instantly changing direction. Its sword light surged in speed, and the powerful pressure caused the black-robed youth's expression to change drastically. He quickly opened his mouth and spat out a cloud of demonic energy, which landed on the flying needle. Replenished by the demonic energy, the flying needle returned to its original state. With a slight tremor, it transformed into a black thread, catching up and surpassing the Five Elements Breaking Sword. Tip against tip, its eerie glow firmly resisted the sword energy, matching it in power.

At the same time, the black-robed youth opened his palm, revealing a palm-sized ox-head skull clutched within. It had no flesh or blood; only a pair of eyes in its empty sockets, constantly darting around, making it appear exceptionally sinister.

The black-robed youth cast a sinister glance at Gu Tiannan, then suddenly cut a slit on his fingertip, forcing out several drops of essence blood, which fell into the ox-head skull's mouth. The ox-head skull greedily sucked the essence blood, its eyes growing brighter, and demonic energy surging from its body.

The black-robed youth powerfully flung his hand. “Go!”

The ox-head skull, enveloped in surging demonic energy, shot skyward. Its pitch-black eyes fixated on Gu Tiannan, and it let out a chilling, eerie laugh. Like a meteor chasing the moon, it reached Gu Tiannan in the blink of an eye, opening its large mouth, about to bite him.

Unexpectedly, Gu Tiannan completely ignored it. He retrieved a dried tree root from his dimensional pouch, held it, and began chanting. At that critical moment, his disciple, Gu Yuan, rushed to his side with his sword. A brilliant red light flared from his short sword, barely fending off the ox-head skull. Each bite from the skull weakened the flames on the short sword. Gu Yuan's face flushed red as he gritted his teeth and persevered, struggling immensely.

Just as Gu Yuan was about to lose his footing, the tree root in Gu Tiannan's hand suddenly transformed, emitting dazzling electric light. The entire root turned a brilliant silver-white.

“Boom!”

With a thunderous crash, a bolt of lightning shot from the root, striking the ox-head skull fiercely.

“Crack!”

The demonic energy around the ox-head skull violently fluctuated. Looking at the skull itself, half of its face had been directly shattered by the lightning. The ox-head skull, as if alive, let out a painful shriek. It turned and fled back, clamping firmly onto the black-robed youth's palm. No matter how exasperatedly the youth tried to command it, it refused to emerge again.

A sneer appeared on Gu Tiannan's face. Holding the tree root, he pointed it at the flying needle in the air. Seeing this, the black-robed youth's expression subtly changed. He glanced at the intense battle nearby, then after a brief hesitation, he recalled the flying needle and transformed into a streak of light, clearly intending to escape.

“Fiend! Today is your doomsday!”

Gu Tiannan let out a cold shout and pursued on his sword. At the same time, he turned to Qin Sang and yelled, “Junior Brother Qin, you stop that cat demon! I'll eliminate this fiend first, then I'll return to assist you!”

Qin Sang only responded with a hum, then vigorously swung his Jade Wave Sword. Three enormous waves of water, forming a triangular formation, completely blocked the path, forcing back the white cat that was eagerly rushing to aid the black-robed youth. Indeed, his opponent was a white cat. This white cat looked no different from an ordinary cat, yet it was a demon beast in the late stage of the Mortal Demon phase!

The white cat stood on two legs, its front paws holding an artifact made of green bamboo. Its power was formidable, launching streaks of green light that Qin Sang dared not underestimate. However, this was also because Qin Sang had not yet exerted his full strength. He harbored doubts about Gu Tiannan, fearing it might be a trap. Unwilling to reveal all his trump cards, he parried with the white cat using his Jade Wave Sword while secretly observing Gu Tiannan and the black-robed youth. After a series of exchanges, Qin Sang realized that both sides were fighting with extreme ferocity and ruthlessness, clearly aiming to kill their opponents. It didn't seem like an act.

Perhaps I'm overly suspicious, Qin Sang thought to himself.

Seeing Gu Tiannan and his disciple pursue the black-robed youth, disappearing from sight in a blink, and noting that they had the upper hand and victory was only a matter of time, Qin Sang also wanted to quickly finish off the cat demon before him and report back. Demon beasts in the Mortal Demon phase, whose spiritual intelligence has not yet awakened, are not difficult to deal with.

Qin Sang made up his mind. Just as he was about to sheath his Jade Wave Sword and summon his Ebony Sword for a quick resolution, the cat demon unexpectedly defied convention. Instead of trying to flee, it stood on two legs, propped by its green bamboo, and faced Qin Sang directly. From its deep blue eyes, Qin Sang perceived a light of intelligence no less than a human's, which struck him as incredibly bizarre.

“Whoosh!”

The green bamboo suddenly emitted a serene, clear light, enveloping their surroundings. A strong sense of alarm rose in Qin Sang's heart. He immediately summoned his Ebony Sword, hovering it around himself, while cautiously observing his surroundings. He found that, apart from the pervasive green light, there seemed to be no immediate danger. However, he now couldn't see where the cat demon was.

Is this an illusion formation or something else? Qin Sang pondered silently, hesitating whether to break the formation with another formation.

Just then, the green light before Qin Sang shifted, and the white cat's figure appeared in the depths. Like a human, it put its paws together and bowed to Qin Sang, saying, “Young Master, please don't worry. This green light is merely for my self-preservation and cannot harm you. I've been entrusted by someone with a matter I wish to convey to you.”

Its voice was clear and crisp, like that of a young girl.

Qin Sang's eyes widened in utter surprise. “You can speak?!”

Except for certain special demon beasts, most demonic beings can only transform into human form and speak human language after reaching the Shapeshifting phase. Such demon beasts are known as Great Demons of the Shapeshifting phase, with strength comparable to human Nascent Soul cultivators. The white cat was clearly not one of them.