As Baili An's Spiritual Power poured from within his body, the water screen flowed along the sword tip like ink spreading across the green-furred corpse demon's arm, its scope relentlessly widening.
The old, tattered sleeve was immediately shrouded in a layer of water color.
It was precisely because of this layer of water color that Baili An joyfully discovered the grip around his neck had loosened significantly compared to before.
Baili An clenched the hilt tightly, desperately squeezing out the last of his Spiritual Power.
And with the continuous infusion of his Spiritual Power into the sword body, the water color spread swiftly, covering the green-furred corpse demon's entire arm.
The green-furred corpse demon let out a low growl; his slashed left hand did not transmit any sensation of pain.
Although corpse demons were relatively insensitive to pain, they had not completely lost the ability to feel it.
Only the lowly Mortal Corpse, devoid of spiritual wisdom, and possessing only the strong physical body of a corpse demon, would be unaware of pain.
The regenerative abilities of such Mortal Corpses were also extremely slow.
The green-furred corpse demon discovered that the water color wrapped around his arm made his left hand feel weak and unable to exert force.
He released the right hand that was tightly gripping the prey's neck before him and stared unpleasantly and fixedly at the layer of water on his left hand.
A crisp crack came from the right elbow joint; what would be a very simple bending motion for an ordinary person was a complete struggle for the green-furred corpse demon.
This time, the sharp nails did not target Baili An's throat but violently stabbed towards his own left arm.
And as the ferocious nail tips touched the water layer, their speed abruptly slowed down.
The water layer no longer remained calm, stirring up waves upon waves of ripples before suddenly dissipating into a spray of glittering droplets.
Baili An's reaction was incredibly quick.
Ignoring the pain of broken bones in his neck,
Baili An bent a leg violently and kicked up a Gale, striking hard against the green-furred corpse demon's lower abdomen.
Despite the green-furred corpse demon's immense strength, perhaps because its spiritual wisdom was not fully developed, its reaction was very slow.
He was concentrating on dealing with the water screen on his left hand when the kick came suddenly and hit him squarely.
At almost the same moment the water screen burst, the green-furred corpse demon's body flew backward, dragging two long marks on the ground with its feet.
Baili An's body suddenly loosened, and he propped himself up on his knees on the ground, coughing hoarsely.
Every cough brought with it the pain of grinding broken bones in his throat, almost making him faint.
A large amount of bright red blood gushed from his mouth, scattering in droplets on the backs of his hands, the hem of his clothes, and the ground—everywhere.
The cold touch on the back of his hand informed him that his blood—was ice cold!
Baili An furrowed his brow, touching his injured neck with his right hand, feeling the deep concave arc, making him somewhat at a loss.
Beside him, a trembling fawn trotted to Baili An's side, lowing in concern.
Then, it gently tugged at the bloodstained hem of his clothes with its thick lips, signaling him to hurry away.
Baili An felt a warmth in his heart; he hadn't expected, at this critical juncture of life and death, that the little creature would not abandon him to escape first.
He stroked the fawn's fluffy head and tried to force a comforting smile.
Who knew that more and more bright red blood gushed from his mouth, showing signs that it wouldn't stop.
He knew that escape was definitely too late.
The green-furred corpse demon was incredibly fast; with their speed, they would not get far before becoming its bloody prey.
Watching the corpse demon rid its arm of the water screen and cast its murderous gaze once more, Baili An's mouth was filled with bitterness.
He struggled to stand, placing the Longsword across his chest; since he couldn't escape, there was only one option left: to fight!
In life, he had been killed due to his cowardice; now given the chance to start anew, if he couldn't become strong, then he was resigned to complete decay and silence!
He kicked the fawn's plump hindquarters hard and hoarsely roared, "Go!"
The fawn neighed in pain, looking at him incredulously, not understanding why he wouldn't run.
While it was terrified of the green-furred corpse demon, it was also angry at the kick that had hurt it. With a forceful flick of its thick lips, it spat at him and ran away without looking back...
Seeing it leave, Baili An finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He slowly drew breath, each exhalation rough, his throat still throbbing with a piercing pain, his brows furrowing slightly as two intertwining streams of warmth surged up from his Dantian.
The Autumnwater Sword in his hand began to vibrate in response, sensing something very familiar within the two streams of warmth.
Baili An's feelings were mixed, well aware of the origins of the two streams of warmth.
One, the full-bodied presence that came from a senior cultivator who had died on his blade, transformed into his Essence Blood.
The other, soft as spring water, was left within him by the girl Jiujiu during their absurd encounter.
A cultivator woman's Primordial Yin is of great benefit to other cultivators.
Spirit Swords often choose their masters on their own, and the Autumnwater Sword was one such sword.
It was precisely because Jiujiu knew this that she left her Autumnwater Sword for him.
With a "crack," the corpse demon's wrist, twisted at ninety degrees, snapped back to being straight, its pointed nails aimed directly at Baili An once again.
In the cave, the damp vapor rose from the soil beneath his feet, condensing into beads of clear, sparkling water that hung mid-air around Baili An.
Outside, heavy rain was falling, the soil was moist, and the Autumnwater Sword's attribute was that of the ultimate spiritual sword of water.
With the confluence of heaven and earth in his favor, Baili An now held two advantages.
The green-furred corpse demon growled lowly; under its leap, the not-so-soft ground beneath it erupted in a cloud of dust, leaving a large pit.
Its figure blurred, vanishing from sight in an instant.
However, Baili An, having witnessed its astonishing speed, dared not be the least bit negligent.
With the Autumnwater Sword already unsheathed, it also saved him the time to draw his blade. He flicked his wrist, and the sword tip dexterously lifted, creating a beautifully curved sword flower.
The sword tip grazed the water droplets in the air, slicing the suspended droplets in two.
Water is the softest thing in the world, encompassing all things, and it changes into various forms because of them.
The droplets formed because of Baili An's will.
And now, as the upward motion drew them out rapidly, the rounded droplets were flattened by the swift force into thin layers, transparent as if a clear mirror.
This was a very conservative defensive stance.
Through that thin, transparent water screen, Baili An saw a pair of greenish eyes...
The green-furred corpse demon, previously a mere blur of speed, halted behind the vibrating water screen as it trembled violently, seemingly ready to collapse at any moment.
At the same time, the charging body of the green-furred corpse demon seemed to be weighed down by a heavy slowness, stopping behind the water screen.