Chapter 307: Demon Emperor's Daughter

He rushed out of the carriage and looked around. His gaze quickly fixed on Jiang Fan, who was meditating cross-legged. "You've mastered the Sword Control Technique?"

Jiang Fan opened his eyes. A flicker of surprise crossed them – this sword technique was indeed the Sword Control Technique! Was the elder before him the peerless expert who had killed the Silverwing Thunder Raven from afar using the Sword Control Technique last night? No wonder he looked familiar. Jiang Fan had plucked all the feathers from the Silverwing Thunder Raven and taken its most valuable monster core. Now, this elder was gifting him the very Sword Control Technique he was so proud of. What a "beautiful" situation it would be if the elder recognized him now, Jiang Fan thought. Just thinking about it sent a shiver down his spine.

He was pondering how to explain the movement of the Weeping Frost sword moments ago. Suddenly, Xu Qingyang realized something and said, "I was so flustered. To think I suspected you. You only received the sword manual an hour ago."

Even he had taken ten years to master the Sword Control Technique. Moreover, without sufficient sword talent, one might not succeed even after a hundred years. To comprehend it in an hour, one would have to be a celestial immortal.

He jumped onto the carriage roof. Looking around, he took a deep breath and called out, "Which fellow Daoist is practicing the Sword Control Technique here? Please come forward and discuss it with this old man!"

Ling Jinghu also rushed over, scanning the surroundings. As her gaze swept past Jiang Fan, she paused briefly before moving on. She didn't believe for a moment that it could be Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan rubbed his nose and remained silent. Only when the two powerful experts searched the surroundings fruitlessly did he interrupt, saying, "Senior Xu, we don't know if this person is a friend or foe. Why insist on asking them to appear?"

Xu Qingyang raised an eyebrow. All those he had taught the Sword Control Technique to were individuals of good character. However, there was no guarantee that the technique wouldn't fall into the hands of malicious individuals. Jiang Fan's reminder made his heart slightly wary. He had been too excited that someone had mastered his Sword Control Technique, forgetting that he himself was injured.

"Let's go immediately!" he said sternly. As Jiang Fan secretly chuckled, the group resumed their journey. He continued to follow at a moderate distance, quietly practicing the legendary Sword Control Technique. This time, he was more cautious. He only practiced, daring not to wield the sword freely, to avoid being discovered by the elder again.

Half a day later, he skillfully circulated the spiritual energy within his body. If someone could see through him, they would notice that the flow of his spiritual energy resembled a drawn sword. This was clearly a sign of achieving Sword Heart Mastery. The sword moved with his will. Wherever his heart desired, the sword pointed. If he had a sword in hand now, he could cleave through enemies from a distance with just a thought.

Jiang Fan's face was alight with excitement. His hands itched as he looked at the Weeping Frost sword on his lap, eager to demonstrate its power on the spot. However, the elder was in the carriage ahead. If he made a move, the elder would immediately notice.

Neigh—

Suddenly, the carriage ahead jolted to a stop, and the horses reared, neighing in terror. Everyone in the carriage leaped out, looking forward with bewildered alarm.

They saw the bodies of several horses scattered haphazardly across the main road. Their limbs were mangled, and their internal organs splattered on the ground. It looked as if they had been torn apart alive by some horrifying creature. What made their pupils constrict even more was the faint sight of human remains.

Jiang Fan rushed over to take a look. His expression turned grim, and he instinctively gripped his Weeping Frost sword, saying in a low voice, "They're disciples of the True Thunder Sect!" Fragments of clothing on the remains were faintly recognizable. They were indeed the uniforms of the True Thunder Sect disciples they had encountered not long ago.

Ling Jinghu was startled: "What did they run into? Even the disciples met such a tragic end!" She was very aware of Jin Yunlie's strength. Among the Grand Elders of the Nine Sects, he was undeniably in the top three. His thunderous power made him invincible among those of the same realm. Yet, he couldn't protect his disciples.

At this moment, Jiang Fan's peripheral vision caught sight of something in the weeds beside the road. He used his sword to pick it out of the grass. Upon seeing it, his expression slightly changed.

"A Red-Scaled Evil Dragon's tooth?" Ling Jinghu recognized it, surprised: "Wasn't Jin Yunlie keeping this? He lost it too." However, Jiang Fan's expression turned extremely solemn. He didn't even bother to pick up the tooth, turning and rushing towards the carriage, shouting, "Go! Hurry! We cannot stay here!"

Ling Jinghu was stunned. While there was danger here, was it really as exaggerated as Jiang Fan was making it out to be? But then, she suddenly realized something, her face turning pale. Jin Yunlie had even reprimanded his most favored disciple over this tooth. Now that it was lost, he didn't even dare to pick it up, fleeing the scene directly. Evidently, they must have encountered some terrifying entity. A shiver ran down her spine, and she quickly urged, "Let's go!"

Xu Qingyang's expression was grave. Looking at the traces of the torn bodies, a faint unease settled in his heart.

A hundred miles away, in a dense, dark forest, numerous monstrous beasts emanated an incredibly fierce aura. They were massive, with ferocious eyes and an overwhelmingly powerful presence. There were over a hundred of them! And they were all Beast Kings of the Core Formation realm! Such a vast number of Beast Kings was enough to bring ruin to any of the Nine Great Sects. However, what was astonishing was that this group of world-destroying Beast Kings was utterly silent. Each one was prostrated on the ground, barely daring to breathe.

This was because, before them, lay a fierce tiger with three heads, its body wreathed in black flames. It was the Sky-Devouring Tiger, one of the Four Great Demon Kings under the Demon Emperor! Currently, its middle head was half-severed. Its body bore several savage sword wounds, from which blood flowed unceasingly. Its eyes were filled with pain, yet it dared not make a sound.

This was because on its back sat a girl in a blood-red dress, propping her chin in her hand with an expression of displeasure. Her skin was exceptionally fair, and she had long, curly hair. Her nose bridge was high, and her eye sockets were deep-set. Her blue eyes resembled two precious jewels. Beneath the blood-red dress, her figure was alluring in a way that belied her age. She cupped her snow-white cheek with her left hand, while her right hand playfully twirled an ancient bronze longsword that exuded immense power. Sword energy swirled around her, lifting her long hair. This revealed a pair of pointed horns faintly visible beneath her hair. Such features were not something humans possessed!

"So, you pursued the wrong person?" The blood-robed girl's blue eyes slowly narrowed. She stared intently at the Beast Kings before her. A colossal beast, whose claws were longer than its own body, radiated a ferocious aura second only to the Sky-Devouring Tiger. Its body trembled as it prostrated itself on the ground, pleading in terror: "We tracked the aura of this sword, but we didn't realize that the wielder was no longer the Grand Elder of the Myriad Sword Sect. Instead, it was the Grand Elder of the True Thunder Sect."

The blood-robed girl snorted through her nose: "I only want results, not explanations! Leading over a hundred Beast Kings, and you couldn't even hunt down a heavily injured human! What good are you?"

As she spoke, blue specks of light gathered in her blue eyes, emanating an extremely dangerous aura. The clawed beast cried out in terrified entreaty, "Young Mistress, spare me! Young Mistress, spare me!" Seeing this, the Sky-Devouring Tiger quickly interceded: "Young Mistress, please give Leng Gu another chance. Xu Qingyang is severely wounded now, he surely can't have gone far. We can definitely intercept him on his inevitable path!"

The blood-robed girl was none other than the Demon Emperor's daughter! She was born in human form! At just eighteen years old, she possessed unrivaled strength, with her physique alone reaching the third level of Core Formation! She had personally come to the western region and led the hundred beasts to intercept after learning that the Sky-Devouring Tiger, with whom she had the closest relationship, had been severely wounded.

Listening to the Sky-Devouring Tiger's plea, she retracted the blue light from her eyes and snorted: "Within three days, I want to see Xu Qingyang's head!" Leng Gu, terrified, replied, "Yes, Your Highness, your subordinate will deliver it!" With that, he led the numerous beasts away.

Once the surroundings cleared, the blood-robed girl asked, "Sky-Devourer, what about the task I gave you?" The Sky-Devouring Tiger looked troubled and replied, "We were too late. The White-Furred Jade Beast you were looking for, Young Mistress, is... dead." "What?" The blood-robed girl suddenly stood up, her face filled with anxiety: "Then what about the Pill Scroll hidden on its body?"