True Demon Art

Hearing Bai's words, Qin Sang's thoughts stirred. "I've met her before! Back when I was trapped in the Demon Sea by the demon turmoil, I accepted Immortal Aunt Yue's invitation to rescue her from a place where true demonic qi had gathered. Whether due to her constitution or her cultivation art, she could absorb true demonic qi directly into her body—something even a Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't do..." "We never met again after that. For some reason, Su Nü ended up under the Eastern Pole Alliance Leader..." Qin Sang quickly recounted Su Nü's background, hoping to awaken some of Bai's memories. True demonic qi was also called ancient demonic qi; it likely originated from Bai's era. "True demonic qi..." Bai fell silent, lost in deep thought. Seeing that Bai still had no answer, Qin Sang looked up at Su Nü flying toward him. With a shift in thought, he put on a mask, then retrieved an ordinary spirit sword magic treasure from his mustard seed bag. *Whoosh!* Bent on escape, Su Nü did not notice Qin Sang concealed nearby as she flew overhead. Immediately after, an enormous snow eagle swept in, trailing a howling blast of frigid wind. The instant the snow eagle flew past, Qin Sang struck. *Swish!* The spirit sword cleaved through the freezing gale, its sword light flashing out before instantly blooming into a sword wheel that drove straight for the snow eagle's underbelly. Su Nü had seen the ebony sword during their last encounter, so she might recognize it. The identity of Daoist Qingfeng was entangled with Old Devil Mou, and not wanting to expose it, Qin Sang had switched to another sword. Having comprehended sword light differentiation on his own, he could unleash the sword wheel even without his life spirit sword. As for the Heavenly Demon Transformation, very few people knew of it, and Su Nü had never seen it in person, so there was no need to deactivate it. The snow eagle was formidable and possessed keen senses. The moment Qin Sang revealed himself, it detected the danger. Forcibly twisting in midair, it managed to evade a lethal blow to its belly, swinging a metallic wing to slam violently against the flying sword. How could swordsmanship wielded with Qin Sang's full strength be broken so easily? *Boom!* A thunderous crash resounded. The snow eagle screeched in pain and was knocked askew, stumbling through the air. Only after flapping its wings frantically several times did it manage to stabilize itself. A trail of blood spattered across the ice. Feathers had been severed from the snow eagle's wing, revealing a long gash. Stung by the pain, the snow eagle shrieked piercingly. Up ahead, Su Nü heard the commotion. Turning back to witness the scene, she was momentarily stunned. "What are you standing there for? Help me slay this beast! Do you want to draw even more ferocious beasts here?" Qin Sang cast a cold glance at Su Nü as he directed his flying sword in a fierce assault against the snow eagle. Gazing at the mask on Qin Sang's face, Su Nü could not fathom why this stranger was saving her, and countless thoughts raced through her mind. Yet considering her current plight, what was the point of indulging in wild guesses? Steeling her resolve, she swallowed a healing elixir to suppress her injuries, then brought forth her demonic blade and coordinated with Qin Sang to hunt the snow eagle down. Though Qin Sang did not exert his full power, his sword techniques were masterful; the sword wheel alone forced the snow eagle into continuous retreat. At the same time, not wishing to expose his trump cards and eager to end the fight swiftly, he summoned the white crane. The white crane was weaker than the snow eagle, but it was treacherous and underhanded, flitting all over and targeting the snow eagle's groin, inflicting immense agony. Ever since it had begun following Qin Sang, the white crane had clung to this wretched fighting style. Every time Qin Sang watched it fight, he felt a phantom chill between his legs. He swore he had never taught it such moves—it was simply the creature's nature. Seeing that it was quite effective, however, he let it be. With the white crane and Su Nü joining the fray, the snow eagle was left with virtually no ability to fight back. Instinctively sensing mortal peril, it turned to flee, but it was already too late. *Squelch!* Without warning, the white crane sank a claw straight into the snow eagle's backside. The snow eagle let out a strangled wail, its eyes bulging. *Thud!* Seizing the opening, Su Nü brought her demonic blade down solidly upon the snow eagle. White feathers scattered. With a wretched screech, the snow eagle lost its balance and slammed hard against the ice. Immediately after, a brilliant burst of sword radiance poured down like the Heavenly River spilling onto the earth, engulfing the snow eagle. An instant later, blood stained the ice, swiftly freezing into crimson icicles. The snow eagle lay limp upon the ice, reduced to a lifeless corpse. With dripping blood on its claws, the white crane cast a look of utter disgust and wiped them clean on the snow eagle's plumage. Su Nü looked from the snow eagle to the white crane, then back at Qin Sang. Curtsying demurely, she said, "This humble woman is named Su Nü. Many thanks to Fellow Daoist for lending a helping hand!" Ignoring the white crane's protests, Qin Sang recalled it into the Primordial Concentric Rings, then waved his hand to clear away the snow eagle's corpse and the scent of blood. "Hmph!" he said coldly. "How dare you lead ferocious beasts toward me and drag me into this? If I weren't searching for spirit herbs nearby and didn't want you causing chaos here, I wouldn't care whether you lived or died!" Hearing this, Su Nü felt a sudden wave of relief instead. Straightening her posture, she said earnestly, "Regardless, it is an undeniable fact that Fellow Daoist saved my life. Might I ask your esteemed identity? Should the opportunity arise in the future, I will surely repay this life-saving grace." Her eyes rippled with emotion as she looked at Qin Sang with an expectant, pitifully delicate expression. Unfortunately, such feminine wiles were completely lost on Qin Sang, whose heart was as hard as iron. "Let us leave this place before speaking further..." Tapping his foot, Qin Sang activated his movement technique and flew into the distance. Su Nü stomped her foot in exasperation, yet not daring to leave on her own, she hurriedly caught up and echoed, "Thank you for the reminder, Fellow Daoist. It was because I lingered too long in one spot after slaying two small demons that I was carelessly besieged by a pack of ferocious beasts. After exhausting all my strength to shake them off, I drew this snow eagle's pursuit. I was already at the end of my rope; fortunately, I ran into Fellow Daoist and managed to escape with my life." Not all of this was fabricated. When the Ice Flood Dragon King had pursued her, she had activated a spirit talisman and seemed on the verge of shaking it off, only for a snow eagle to appear out of nowhere. Though she had used every trick at her disposal to escape the dragon king, this snow eagle was exceptionally fast and had stayed hot on her trail. Recalling that perilous predicament, Su Nü still felt a lingering dread. The two flew one behind the other across a considerable distance. Qin Sang halted his escape light and turned to look at Su Nü. Clenching her hands, Su Nü felt a knot of tension tighten in her chest. "The cultivation art you practice seems very peculiar; I have never seen anything like it before," Qin Sang said, sizing Su Nü up while feigning total ignorance. "The aura you condensed into that black blade earlier shouldn't be spiritual power, should it? It resembles demonic qi to some degree, yet it is completely different. Just what kind of power is it?" Su Nü's expression relaxed slightly, and she said softly, "The power I wield is indeed not spiritual power. However, even if Fellow Daoist has never seen it, you must have heard of it. It is known as true demonic qi." "True demonic qi?" Qin Sang put on a surprised expression. "The demonic qi rumored to have existed in antiquity, which now only lingers in a scant few secret realms, and which even demonic cultivators blanch at the mention of? To think you can actually use it for cultivation! Could it be that what you practice is also an ancient demonic art?" Su Nü shook her head and answered honestly, "I do not know whether it is an ancient demonic art either. This art was bestowed upon me by a senior in my sect, who only told me its name is the *True Demon Art*, without revealing its true origins." "The *True Demon Art*." Qin Sang secretly asked Bai if he recalled anything.