Chapter 97: Battling the Great Demon

*Snap!*

A crisp sound echoed. Hu San’s brow furrowed, and a wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Missed," he muttered to himself. "A defective meteorite arrow, as expected."

He shook his head, the wry smile fading into an expression of bemused disbelief. "What a coincidence—two birds with one stone. Those two demons deserve their luck."

Originally, Hu San had aimed his arrow at the head of a badger demon. Due to a flaw in the arrow’s forging, it had veered off course. It missed the target's skull but punched through the side of the badger demon's abdomen, skewering it along with a nearby pig demon and binding the two monsters together.

The terrifying *gang-qi* Hu San had infused into the arrow erupted, shredding the internal organs of both demons. They stood frozen in place, too stunned even to scream.

The women of Lingfeng Mountain, though curious about the source of the mysterious arrow, did not miss the opportunity. Faced with a life-or-death struggle, they moved instinctively. Guided by Zitong, their sword formation shifted, enveloping the two unfortunate demons and hacking them into a pulp.

"What terrifying marksmanship, what terrifying *gang-qi*."

A massive purple bear and a peacock had just arrived on the battlefield. Upon witnessing the scene, the bear’s pupils constricted. It pivoted sharply and charged toward the carriage where Hu San stood, its massive frame moving like a small mountain.

Such lethal archery could not be ignored. If Hu San were allowed to maintain his distance, even a powerful demon like himself would struggle to survive.

Faced with the bear's charge, Hu San did not panic. He swiftly nocked another meteorite arrow and fired it at the last demon of the eighth realm, who was locked in combat with Iron Centipede and his group.

Though the arrow did not strike a vital point due to the weapon's inherent instability, it obliterated the demon's right arm. The ensuing shockwave of *gang-qi* tore through the monster's meridians. The demon, which had been pressing its advantage against Iron Centipede’s group, suddenly found itself in dire straits and was cut down by the collective efforts of the fighters within moments.

As the demon’s dying wail rang out, the massive purple bear lunged. Without any visible movement, Hu San felt a yellow light wash over him. Suddenly, his body felt as if it had become several times heavier, severely hindering his movement and evasion.

The bear in mid-air raised a massive paw, which grew in size amidst a flash of purple light, descending like a collapsing mountain peak.

In truth, this was the first time Hu San had faced a demon that fought with such tactical use of demonic arts. The previous snake demon had been restricted by arrays and forced into a direct physical confrontation before it could cast anything. This bear, however, was a master of prepared demonic power.

"Immense strength."

Facing a strike that seemed to blot out the sky, Hu San was confident that his eighth-realm Green Wood Sutra and physical resilience could withstand it. However, he chose not to meet the blow head-on, wary of whatever hidden trump cards the beast might possess.

The yellow aura the bear had cast might be devastating to ordinary warriors or cultivators, but to Hu San, who possessed the strength of sixteen men, it felt like little more than a mild irritation.

Just as the bear thought it had pinned the dangerous human under its claw, a flash of green light flickered. The young warrior, previously hampered by the slowing spell, darted away like a fish through water.

*Boom!*

The bear’s paw struck empty ground. Ignoring its own shock, it unleashed a burst of purple light that fused with the yellow aura surrounding Hu San. In an instant, the light transformed into a heavy earthen box, trapping him within. The bear’s other paw slammed down immediately after.

But before the blow could land, the bear realized that its earthen prison, reinforced by all its strength, had shattered. The seemingly slender figure had already vaulted out.

The bear, which had used its "Starlight Double Strike" and "Earth Prison" to slay countless foes, found itself striking empty air once more, leaving a massive crater in the ground.

This time, however, it lacked the momentum for a third pursuit and could only watch helplessly as Hu San retreated beyond its reach.

Meanwhile, the peacock had engaged the top-tier expert in black. Though its strength far exceeded that of the expert, it found itself unable to gain the upper hand against the combination of several first-rate masters and the Seven-Star Formation.

Ren Tang, Zitong, and Iron Centipede were straining to hold their ground, leaving them no energy to assist the warriors against the smaller demons. In fact, the peacock had even managed to pick off several second-rate warriors in the chaos. The number of fighters on both sides was dwindling rapidly in the bloodbath.

As time passed, the smaller demons, no longer threatened by Hu San, began to gain the upper hand, slaughtering the remaining humans. The tide of battle slowly shifted in favor of the demon race.

"Tit for tat," Hu San said. "Let’s see how you like an arrow of mine."

Now that he had put some distance between himself and the bear, Hu San abandoned cultivator methods and relied on pure martial skill. His preferred weapon—the bow—came into play.

Arrows infused with his blue *gang-qi* whistled through the air like guided missiles. Since he was no longer using the unstable meteorite arrows, his accuracy was pinpoint and lethal.

The bear, which had only feared the power of Hu San’s arrows and not his marksmanship, was nearly caught off guard, a stray shaft narrowly missing its eye.

While these arrows were less powerful than the meteorite ones—lacking the armor-piercing effects—they were still imbued with eighth-realm Green Wood *gang-qi* and fired from a Nine-Ox Bow. Even with the bear’s "Earth Armor" spell active, each strike caused agonizing, piercing pain. Because of Hu San’s peerless aim, whenever his arrows breached a single hole in the armor, several more would follow through the same gap.

Fearing he would be worn down and killed, the bear dared not let Hu San maintain his distance. It was forced to repeatedly use its Starlight Double Strike and Earth Prison to restrain him, but this was rapidly depleting its demonic energy.

Desperate, the bear could only hope the peacock would finish its opponent and come to its aid.

"Roar! Damnable human brat! When I catch you, I’ll pickle you alive and eat you slowly! Roar! And you, you rabbit-hearted boy, all you know how to do is run! Roar! Green-Blue, hurry up and finish off that trash!"

As the bear’s roars echoed, the young man in the embroidered robe sitting in the pavilion could no longer remain calm. He could not understand how a simple interception mission had devolved into this.

He had expected the expert in black to be a member of the kingdom’s elite guard, but the emergence of this unknown youth with a bow, who possessed the strength to contend with a Great Demon, was a complete surprise. Great Demons were generally superior to top-tier human experts, yet this one was being led by the nose.

"When did such a young expert appear in this world? Thankfully, things haven't completely spiraled out of control."

The young man tossed his folding fan aside and leaped from the pavilion. He did not approach the battles involving the two great demons but instead plunged into the fray between the second-rate warriors and the smaller demons.

Though he looked young, his purple *gang-qi* rippled with the sound of wind and thunder. He was clearly a first-rate expert in the *gang-qi* realm, and not a novice—he was at least at the peak of the seventh or eighth stage. As he waded into the second-rate warriors, he moved with lethal precision, stabbing and striking, instantly felling two of the caravan’s guards.

"You..."

"To side with demons, do you not fear the shame brought upon your ancestors?"

"Picking on the weak, is that all you're worth? If you have the guts, fight me one-on-one!"

Ren Tang and the others were anxious, but with the terrifying peacock standing before them, they could do nothing but hurl insults.

"Hee hee, well done, Young Master Shen. I shall reward you later," the peacock, Qinghong, giggled. She continued to lash out with her fifty feathers at the surrounding warriors. The bear’s plight had deeply shaken her; otherwise, she might have toyed with the human fighters. But with Hu San’s appearance, she had abandoned all pretense of playfulness. She knew that while she was strong, she was far inferior to the bear.

If the bear was being beaten so miserably, she would likely have lost her life already. She fought with everything she had, holding nothing back.

"Do not lose focus!" the black-clad elder shouted, sensing the wavering morale of his team and the instability of the Seven-Star Formation. "If we hold this demon off until our friend finishes the bear, victory will be ours!"

"Yes, senior!"

"We understand, senior!"

They replied, but as they heard the screams of their dying comrades, their temples throbbed with fury.

By now, the young man surnamed Shen had slaughtered the last of the human warriors. Three small, heavily wounded demons remained by his side. When he faced the defenseless women left in the center of the carriage train, he did not strike as he had before. Instead, he paused, allowing the three bloodthirsty demons to surge forward ahead of him.