"You are truly deserving of death!"
Led by it, the Two-Winged Black Tiger was utterly enraged. To have a human so cleanly dispatch one of their Beast Kings made the Two-Winged Black Tiger feel utterly humiliated.
"Roar!"
With a furious roar, its less-than-three-zhang tall body suddenly surged upwards. In an instant, it transformed into a black tiger three hundred zhang tall. Its wings spread like clouds covering the sky, and with a gentle flap, they stirred up a violent black wind that swept across the entire Sword Domain. Dense dark power coiled around its body, emanating an incredibly terrifying aura.
"So this is your true form. No wonder you could become the king of beasts in the Great Luo Realm. You've even cultivated the Way of Darkness to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage." Zhang Fan looked up at the enraged Two-Winged Black Tiger, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
Demonic beasts' comprehension was far inferior to humans. Even if they cultivated the Way, they could hardly achieve great things. However, there were exceptions, some individuals possessing comprehension comparable to human cultivators. Clearly, this Two-Winged Black Tiger was one such anomaly.
Not only had it honed its physical body to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, but it had also cultivated the Way of Darkness to the same level. The combination of the two made it even stronger than the siblings Canglan Mingyue, almost reaching the level of Half-step Nascent Divinity.
"Human, your strength indeed exceeds my expectations, but you will die today regardless!" Fierce light flashed in the Two-Winged Black Tiger's colossal eyes, its roar deafening.
Zhang Fan paid no heed to the Two-Winged Black Tiger's words. He glanced at the other battlefields. Shen Feichen was fighting a Beast King and several Ninth Tribulation realm demonic beasts alone. With the aid of the Sword Domain, the battle was fierce and evenly matched, with no clear winner in sight.
However, in another area, the siblings Canglan Mingyue and Canglan Qiuyue were suppressing two Beast Kings and a group of Ninth Tribulation realm demonic beasts, completely holding the upper hand. Within a few breaths, one Ninth Tribulation realm demonic beast had already been slain by Canglan Mingyue's blade.
"It seems I need to finish this quickly." Zhang Fan had initially intended to spar with the Two-Winged Black Tiger, but seeing the situation, he abandoned the thought.
If Canglan Mingyue and his sister finished off their opponents while he was still fighting, it would be a significant loss of face.
"Little black tiger, come and die!" Zhang Fan drew his sword and unleashed a ferocious slash. The sword light seemed to cleave the heavens and earth, heading straight for the Two-Winged Black Tiger.
The Two-Winged Black Tiger flapped its wings, and two streams of black wind surged forth, converging into a vortex resembling a black hole. It collided with the sharp sword light. The two remained locked in a stalemate for less than a breath before the sword light was swallowed by the vortex, and the vortex dissipated.
Just as the Two-Winged Black Tiger was about to attack again, it saw Zhang Fan activate the Kunpeng Wings divine ability, pushing his speed to the absolute limit as he charged towards the other Beast Kings.
Zhang Fan's previous thunderous action of killing the Yaksha White Wood Crocodile in one encounter had indeed intimidated the other Beast Kings. They dared not stand in their previous positions to surround Zhang Fan and could only gather together, avoiding being picked off one by one.
Therefore, the moment Zhang Fan charged forward, the other Beast Kings immediately unleashed their innate divine abilities, bombarding him in unison. Zhang Fan's physical body was robust and could withstand the onslaught, but doing so would drastically reduce his speed, giving the Two-Winged Black Tiger time to react.
With a flash, it appeared before Zhang Fan. Its massive tiger palm slammed down, its sharp claws imbued with potent dark energy, striking towards Zhang Fan. They were once again locked in combat.
Zhang Fan, utilizing his exquisite footwork, easily dodged the attack. He then swung his blood-colored iron sword upwards along the tiger's palm. To his surprise, the Two-Winged Black Tiger's defenses were not breached. It only left a shallow, white scratch on its body.
"Hmph, if you were to unleash that Sword of Rules again, you might still be able to wound me. However, that Sword of Rules possesses such immense power, its consumption must be considerable. I wonder how many more strikes you can manage?" The Two-Winged Black Tiger's obsidian eyes, like stars hanging in the void, stared coldly at Zhang Fan and said.
Zhang Fan understood. The Two-Winged Black Tiger's physical body and cultivation had both reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Coupled with its immense size, even with his current strength, conventional means would indeed find it difficult to inflict damage.
And the other seven Beast Kings were huddled together. With their defenses alerted, killing them quickly was clearly impossible.
Facing such a beast with an exceptionally powerful physical body was indeed troublesome. Although their techniques were too simplistic compared to cultivators, their extremely high defense and tenacious vitality gave them the confidence to fight against cultivators of the same level.
"Since that is the case, then I shall use you all to test the might of this Immortal Treasure!"
As Zhang Fan spoke, he flipped his hand and produced a golden lamp. The lamp was no larger than his palm, shaped like a peacock, with shimmering silver threads swirling around its perimeter, looking as exquisite as a work of art.
This was the Golden Peacock Silver Thread Lamp, an Immortal Treasure Zhang Fan had obtained after killing Ku Tian.
Vast spiritual power surged into his palm, pouring continuously into the Golden Peacock Silver Thread Lamp under Zhang Fan's control. The wick instantly ignited, emitting boundless radiance that illuminated the heavens and earth.
Simultaneously, an invisible force rapidly spread, enveloping the entire Sword Domain.
When the Two-Winged Black Tiger saw Zhang Fan take out the exquisite lamp, it felt an inexplicable sense of dread. What it found even more bizarre was that although it saw the lamp being lit and emitting dazzling light, its world plunged into darkness, and the cacophony of battle suddenly ceased.
At this moment, all the demonic beasts within the Sword Domain were trapped in darkness, their eyes unable to see, their ears unable to hear.
"This is a technique that blinds the soul! This human actually possesses such an Immortal Treasure!" The Two-Winged Black Tiger harbored thoughts of retreat for the first time. However, at this very moment, even if it wished to withdraw, it couldn't find its direction.
Yet, the Two-Winged Black Tiger was, after all, an ancient demon that had lived for tens of thousands of years. Even in such a perilous situation, it did not panic. After quickly calming down, it soon thought of a solution.
"Go!"
As the Two-Winged Black Tiger flapped its wings, a surging wave of dark power erupted from its body and spread outwards like ripples on a lake.
Since its senses were sealed and its soul was blinded, the Two-Winged Black Tiger could only rely on continuously releasing ripples of darkness to perceive its surroundings.
Although the effect was good, it consumed an immense amount of its spiritual power, and it dared not sustain it. When it sensed Zhang Fan's location through the ripples of darkness, Zhang Fan had already reached the seven Beast Kings, causing the Two-Winged Black Tiger's face to change drastically. It inwardly cursed its misfortune.
It could release ripples of darkness to perceive its surroundings, but those seven Beast Kings had not cultivated the Way and had no spiritual power in their bodies. They had no way of knowing the danger that was stealthily approaching.
Each of them had a vacant look, completely unaware of the impending peril.
...