A Ranked Great Demon!

The Chiyu Mountain Range. Thousands of peaks stood joined together, ringed by mountains, where ancient, towering trees grew in dense thickets. Dripping with blood from head to toe, Shi Lin carried Li Guanqi on his back, moving cautiously through the mountains. His face was deathly pale, his eyes warily scanning their surroundings as he concealed his aura and flew through the air. Within this mountain range, he sensed the auras of many unusually powerful demonic beasts! Dusk fell, and low, muffled beast roars echoed intermittently through the forest. Suddenly! Bearing Li Guanqi on his back, Shi Lin darted beneath a massive boulder. A moment later, rustling hisses reached his ears. Shortly after, a colossal emerald snake over thirty zhang long appeared not far away. The serpent had a triangular head and narrow, slit pupils of dark green that shimmered with faint luminescence. Its massive coils wrapped around an ancient tree, causing the thick trunk to fracture slowly under the strain. The serpent's body slowly extended forward, its tongue flicking in and out, eyes glinting with savagery. Fearsome miasma swirled all around it, withering and melting every tree in its wake. Shi Lin held his breath, pressing his body tightly against the rock face. His heart thumped wildly, for this giant snake was a first-rank great demon! Its strength was even greater than Zhao He's cultivation realm! Under the faint moonlight, its scales shimmered with a metallic sheen. Hiss! Hiss! As the serpent flicked its tongue, an unsettling spatial ripple slowly radiated outward. Suddenly! Savagery flared in the serpent's eyes, and its upper body reared high into the air. Shi Lin's heart sank. He knew that the scent of blood on the two of them had failed to escape its senses after all. Boom! Transforming back into his true form, a fire qilin spanning three zhang abruptly spewed a blast of searing flame, then turned and bolted! Boom! A terrifying pillar of fire shot forth. The serpent's eyes lit up; the rich true dragon bloodline filled it with extraordinary excitement. With a twist of its body, the coiled ancient tree exploded into splinters, and the serpent shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring. It opened its maw and spat a wave of poisonous mist to clash with the flames. Boom! The earth trembled as a deafening roar rang out, the bursts of fire illuminating the night as bright as day. The fire qilin glanced back at the serpent barreling toward him, his heart sinking. The poisonous miasma had reduced every ancient tree within hundreds of zhang to ash. Under the spread of that terrifying venomous vapor, not a blade of grass survived in its wake. The great serpent flew through the air, pursuing relentlessly. Meanwhile, hundreds of li away in the sky above the Chiyu Mountain Range. A troop of black-armored soldiers snapped their heads around, exchanged glances, and spoke in low voices. "Over that way!" Engraved inconspicuously upon the chests of their black armor were two characters: "Tianshu"! Rumble! Within the Chiyu Mountain Range, demonic beasts of both high and low ranks scattered in panic. A ranked great demon was an undisputed overlord in these mountains. And the area Shi Lin and Li Guanqi had entered happened to be the territory of this Biying Xuan Serpent! The serpent was colossal, yet it slithered with astonishing speed. Like a wild bull plowing through a mountain, it kicked up an enormous commotion! Amidst billowing dust, Shi Lin dashed at top speed, turning into a streak of fire as he fled. Yet Shi Lin was already nearing his limit. Am I going to die here today?! Shi Lin gritted his teeth. He had never expected ascension to look like this. The Immortal Realm of his imagination no longer existed... In its place was a world of the weak falling prey to the strong, much like the Beast Spirit Realm. In the distance, over a dozen terrifyingly immense pressures were steadily drawing near—evidently formidable experts dispatched from the Ascension Platform. Gradually, Shi Lin felt his consciousness growing hazy. The remaining primal energy in his body was dwindling, with no way to replenish it. Just then, however, Shi Lin noticed the surrounding environment shifting. Tough, wiry vines covered the ancient trees all around, and the withered skeletons of great demons littered the ground. Bright pairs of eyes hid in the shadows, radiating the auras of numerous rank-six and rank-seven demonic beasts. Moreover, within his perception, there was also a deeply veiled presence that seemed to be slumbering. As if struck by an idea, Shi Lin glanced back at the heavily wounded Li Guanqi. His claw suddenly slashed across his own chest, and pale-golden blood spurted out. Shi Lin threw back his head and let out a furious roar, scattering his essence blood into the darkness! Awoo! Roar! Awoo! Owooo! Jet-black giant apes leapt from the shadows, their scarlet eyes fixed intently on Shi Lin. They lunged toward the essence blood spraying through the air. Yet just as they were about to seize the essence blood, a gust of poisonous miasma swept across midair! Over a dozen giant apes died instantly. "Awoooo!" Agonized howls rang out as the Biying Xuan Serpent opened its maw wide and inhaled every drop of essence blood. It narrowed its eyes, wearing an expression of utter relish. Yet immediately after, the vertical slits of the serpent's eyes shrank violently! Suddenly! A terrifying screech that shook the mountains pierced the heavens! Far away atop a towering peak, an imposing figure as massive as a mountain leapt down through the clouds! Under the moonlight, the dark figure finally became clear. It was a giant ape with pitch-black fur all over, save for its back, which was covered in silver-white hair. Beneath the moonlight, it radiated a faint silver-white luminescence. The ape's eyes were blood-red, its bulging muscles like miniature mountains, and its upright posture stood a full seventy zhang tall! Shi Lin's pupils contracted as he muttered, "The legendary Silverback Demonic Ape!" Rumble! The giant ape slammed into the ground, instantly flattening the earth for hundreds of zhang around. A terrifying shockwave tore through everything nearby like a tsunami! Boom! Turning into a blur of black shadow, the giant ape completely ignored Shi Lin in his fire qilin form. The moment it bypassed Shi Lin, the ape's massive hand clamped onto the Biying Xuan Serpent's neck and hurled it violently away! Crash! Bang! Rumble! The Biying Xuan Serpent's body smashed through several peaks before finally coming to a halt! The two ranked great demons faced off across several hundred zhang. Ferocity glinted in the Silverback Demonic Ape's eyes as it scooped up the corpses of the apes killed earlier from the ground. With chilling murderous intent gleaming in its scarlet eyes, it actually spoke human tongue, its deep voice rolling out slowly. "Biying! You are courting death!" "Killing my kin and trespassing into my territory—do you truly think I dare not kill you?!" With those words, the Silverback Demonic Ape sprang into the air without another thought! Seeing this, the Biying Xuan Serpent sensed impending disaster and hastily transformed into human form. A tall, pale-skinned man appeared atop a mountain peak. He wore flowing emerald-green robes and had fluttering long hair, single eyelids, high cheekbones, and vertical emerald pupils. Having taken human form, the Biying Xuan Serpent shouted, "Silverback! I didn't enter your territory on purpose—it was that fire qilin!" The Silverback Demonic Ape refused to listen to his explanation. Its mountain-like fist smashed downward! Boom! A mountain was shattered to pieces in an instant by the immense force. Boom! The ape's voice boomed once more. "Cut the nonsense! You have coveted the spiritual herb I guard for over a thousand years. Do you think I don't know what you're after?!" "A mere Ascension realm fire qilin isn't worth you risking a step into my domain!"