Raise a sword!

In the mountains and forests.

Jiang Peng concealed himself and hid not far from the demon-hunting formation, secretly observing.

If he were determined to escape, he would have a good chance of avoiding the white ape.

He was hiding in the shadows, not because he harbored any ill intentions and planned to attack the remaining members of the demon-hunting team.

Instead, Jiang Peng planned to see where the white ape would go after escaping.

After facing the white ape head-on, Jiang Peng knew that even if she used all her skills without holding back, she would not be able to truly kill the white ape.

Not only that.

Jiang Peng also realized that the so-called suppression of the formation probably could not stop the white ape from retreating. The reason that the beast did not retreat was because it was not afraid!

Moreover, it wasn't just Jiang Peng; it's likely that Old Liu, the true mastermind behind the formation, also realized this.

That's why he simply ordered his companions to leave.

If they don't retreat soon, as everyone's spiritual energy is depleted, the white ape, which relies entirely on its physical strength to fight fiercely, will likely become more and more powerful. If the situation drags on any longer, it will only spiral out of control.

While concealing themselves, the other three members of the demon-hunting team had also successfully retreated, scattering like birds and beasts, each going their own way in the mountains and forests.

Finally, only Old Liu remained in the formation.

After being knocked away by the white ape once again, the golden shield in front of him, which was about to collapse, finally shattered.

He coughed up blood and fell heavily to the ground. As the white ape approached, a strange flush appeared on his face.

At the same time, Jiang Peng, who was hiding in the shadows, keenly sensed that Lao Liu had become the center of a vortex of spiritual energy, frantically absorbing the spiritual energy from the surrounding mountains and forests into his body.

If an ordinary cultivator dared to do this, the best outcome would be for their meridians to be damaged by spiritual energy.

If it's more serious, a drop in cultivation level could sever the foundation, and it's normal to lose a significant portion of one's lifespan.

Just as demonic beasts burn their life essence, human cultivators also have the means to perish together with their prey.

Jiang Peng had witnessed a similar scene before.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, may you rest in peace," Jiang Peng sighed inwardly.

Although we met by chance in the black market, this person was quite upright and a decent individual.

Just as Jiang Peng was silently chanting, a deafening roar echoed through the mountains and forests.

Rumbling--

The power of this self-destruction far exceeded Jiang Peng's expectations.

He had witnessed Old Hao's self-destruction, which severely injured Old Dan, who had no time to dodge, in a confined space.

Jiang Peng thought that was the limit of self-destruction.

However, the power released by Old Liu, who was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining and had not yet reached the late stage of Qi Refining, far surpassed that of Old Hao after his self-destruction.

Even though Jiang Peng was some distance away from the explosion, she still felt that she had lost her hearing for a moment, and her head was buzzing. It wasn't until a few breaths later that she finally began to slowly recover.

The compressed spiritual energy surged out in an instant, and countless trees in the surrounding mountains and forests were snapped in half by the raging wind swept by the spiritual energy.

When the smoke and dust in the air finally dissipated.

A deep pit, more than ten feet in diameter, had appeared in the clearing in the forest where the formation had been set up, and the surrounding area was a flat area even larger than the pit.

The vegetation turned to ashes, leaving only a massive, battered figure lying on the ground, its chest heaving.

"It wasn't just Lao Liu who self-destructed; he also activated the formation when he did it." Jiang Peng realized something was wrong.

Such self-destruction power should not appear on a Qi Refining cultivator; this is clearly the result of the Qi Refining cultivator and the formation being combined.

The array plate is the fuse, the body is the container, and the spiritual energy is the gunpowder.

Such a blow was too much for the arrogant white ape to withstand, and it finally collapsed, severely injured.

But it was not dead yet, and the rise and fall of its chest was quite even, indicating that it was not even at the point of exhaustion.

"But that's enough," Jiang Peng muttered to herself.

As the sound rang out, Jiang Peng leaped up and landed in the open space after the explosion.

The white ape clearly noticed Jiang Peng's appearance and scrambled to its feet.

Swah——

A sharp sword light, accompanied by the sound of wind being cut, flew out from Jiang Peng's sleeve and arrived in front of the white ape in an instant.

The white ape's eyes trembled slightly. The once arrogant creature fell backward in a sorry state, narrowly avoiding the flying sword's attack aimed at its neck.

A wound about an inch deep appeared on the white ape's shoulder.

It roared, rolled on the ground, and then fled towards the cave without looking back.

"That beast is indeed quick-witted. Seeing that things were not going well, it didn't hesitate for a moment and turned to run away." Jiang Peng was greatly surprised.

He had thought that the severely injured white ape would unleash the bloodthirstiness unique to demonic beasts.

Unexpectedly, he was quite intelligent, able to suppress the throbbing in his blood and remain clear-headed, knowing how to seek advantage and avoid harm.

Jiang Peng was naturally unwilling to let it leave, and even unwilling for it to return to the cave.

The cave appeared to be shallow, existing only within a large, fallen rock.

But who knows what twists and turns are involved?

So Jiang Peng made up her mind, activated the Wind Chasing Boots, and transformed into a blur, quickly catching up to the heavily injured white ape.

With a wave of his hand, the exquisite sword behind him fell into Jiang Peng's hand.

Then, without any fancy moves, he thrust the sword towards the white ape's vital point in the back. During this process, a wisp of flame flashed in Jiang Peng's eyes, and spiritual fire rose from the exquisite sword in his hand.

The moment Jiang Peng unleashed the power of spiritual energy into fire, she felt more than 30% of her spiritual energy being drained, and maintaining the power of spiritual energy into fire was also extremely taxing.

However, the enormous consumption also brought unparalleled power.

The sword's edge hadn't even truly struck yet, but the fur on the white ape's back had already begun to curl and turn charred black.

The white ape clearly sensed the threat behind it. It hurriedly turned around to try to dodge again, but ultimately, due to its large size, it was stabbed in the spine by Jiang Peng's sword, the tip of which got stuck in the bone.

"Huh, I was planning to stab you in the heart from behind, but you dodged it quite well. It's not that you were completely flawless, but you managed to avoid a direct confrontation."

As she spoke, Jiang Peng flicked her wrist, and a clever force rose from the Linglong Sword and landed on the white ape.

click-

A section of the white ape's spine was shattered, and at the same time, the spiritual fire raged within its body.

The burly beast collapsed limply to the ground, convulsing rhythmically, his eyes gleaming with chilling hatred as he stared intently at Jiang Peng.

Before it could make a move, Jiang Peng swiftly pierced the white ape's neck with a single sword strike.

Although the sword's edge was blocked by the solid flesh and steel-like neck bones, it was unable to sever the entire head.

But a hole piercing the neck must be a fatal injury.

Jiang Peng took two steps back, avoiding the carotid artery that, after being ruptured, resembled a fountain.

He frowned slightly, feeling a pang of heartache.

"My essence and blood."