"He bears the scent of Imperial Essence!"
The gray-furred giant bear roared again, its excitement over the discovery of the Imperial Essence still uncontainable.
For a shape-shifting demon like it, receiving even a single drop of Imperial Essence in ten years was a blessing, something to be thankful for. Yet the aura of Imperial Essence emanating from this human seemed far beyond just one drop.
"So what? He belongs to me!"
The serpent woman, undeterred, stepped forward to block its path. At this moment, she knew there was no hiding from the bear demon, so she boldly declared her ownership. Whether it was a single drop or a thousand, it was none of its concern.
To put it simply, this was about protecting her meal.
Due to some selfishness, the three-eyed evil lion Mu Du's incomplete orders had given her this one sliver of opportunity.
"I…"
The bear demon's mouth gaped open, eyes wide, but it could not utter a word.
It huffed heavily, glaring fiercely at Li Xiaobai with eyes as red as flame, burning with a desire to devour him. If not for the serpent demon's comparable strength, it might have already pounced. For now, it could only glare in frustration.
The serpent woman, too, was on high alert, wary of the giant bear.
Bear strength was not the sort to be reasoned with!
The tension between the two demons escalated, their confrontation on the verge of erupting.
Another demon intent on devouring him? Was his fate to be so tragic? Li Xiaobai took a few steps back, suddenly stepping on a branch.
Crack!
The sharp snap of the branch, normally unnoticed by anyone present, seemed to echo with a particular significance in the stillness of the moment.
"Die!"
The gray bear let out a ferocious roar, its paw, the size of a tabletop, crashing down, its greed for the Imperial Essence compelling it to strike.
Boom!
Countless rocks and dirt flew in all directions as the ground was struck, creating a crater nearly ten feet across.
The serpent woman, Qingyao, had vanished from where she stood.
"Hiss!"
A massive serpent, as thick as a barrel, rose on its hind legs not far away, hissing at the gray bear, spitting a cloud of black smoke that billowed toward it.
In the daylight, Li Xiaobai, who had retreated several dozen steps and hidden behind a large tree, finally saw the true form of the serpent woman: she was a green serpent, her scales glistening with an almost jewel-like sheen, a creature that seemed carved from jade.
"Roar!"
The bear, the size of a small mountain, howled in defiance as the venomous mist approached.
The thick, almost indiscernible black smoke was swept away by the shockwave of the bear's roar, but the faint remnants of the mist lingered, swiftly turning the surrounding vegetation to withered husks, and the earth itself began to crack and decay.
Still, a few wisps of smoke clung to the massive bear's body, but the bear, fixated on the Imperial Essence, paid them no mind. It swung its paws, charging toward the serpent demon like a rolling mountain.
Boom!
The impact of the bear's paw and the serpent's tail created an explosion of sound, a thunderous crash that reverberated through the air. The two beasts, driven by their primal instincts, immediately launched into an all-out battle, their forms a blur of violence.
"Is this what demon battles are like? It's insane!"
Knowing his fragility in the face of such a clash, Li Xiaobai glanced back at the earth-shaking fight as he hurriedly fled further away.
Fearing that a single misstep might drag him into the fray, he hoped to escape the serpent's clutches and avoid becoming fodder for the monsters.
However, neither the serpent nor the bear demon was willing to let him go; both were keenly aware of the Imperial Essence he carried, and their battle followed him, carving a path of destruction through the forest.
Being shape-shifters, neither demon could decisively overpower the other, so they fought with everything they had, exchanging grievous wounds with no restraint, until one could no longer endure.
Boom!
The ground shook, the mighty bear, having endured multiple strikes from the serpent's tail, its massive form battered and bloodied, its fur torn and ragged, finally found an opening. It gathered all its strength and, with a thunderous swipe, struck the serpent directly.
Scales shattered, demon blood erupted, and a long, grotesque gash appeared on the serpent's once-perfect body, a wound that would have spelled certain death for a human, yet beneath the scales, exposed bone could be seen.
The bear's strike, relentless and unyielding, sent the serpent hurtling through the air, its twisted body crashing right in front of Li Xiaobai, blocking his escape.
The sky dimmed for a moment as the serpent's battered form fell before him, its golden eyes flickering weakly.
With a soft hiss, it barely managed to whisper,
"Run..."
But Li Xiaobai was frozen, unable to move.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!"
The gray bear, gasping heavily, lumbered toward him, its wounds oozing dark, putrid blood, clearly poisoned by the serpent's venom. If it hadn't seized the opportunity for a counterattack, it might have been the one unable to move by now.
"The Imperial Essence... it's mine!"
The bear's fiery red eyes locked onto Li Xiaobai, its victorious roar echoing for miles, sending the local wildlife fleeing in terror.
This human, with the scent of Imperial Essence, would soon be nothing more than food for it. Once the Essence was digested, perhaps it could ascend to the realm of a true demon, free from the foolish commands of Mu Du, the three-eyed lion, and maybe even rival it.
Li Xiaobai, gazing at both the bear and the serpent, felt a surge of defiance. He muttered to himself,
"This isn't how it's supposed to be."
Humans, the most intelligent of beings, should not be reduced to mere prey for the monsters to feast upon.
Though they lacked claws, scales, or immense strength, humans had carved a place for themselves in this world precisely because they said, "No!"
That defiance, once stirred, swelled within him, threatening to burst forth and reach the heavens themselves, making all of creation bear witness to it.
No! No! Absolutely not!
Li Xiaobai's body trembled.
The gray bear, glancing at him with nothing but disdain, assumed the weak human was trembling in fear. This was how its prey often acted just before they were devoured, their thoughts and actions inconsequential.
But just as the bear raised its paw to deliver the final blow to the serpent, something within Li Xiaobai snapped.
Whoosh!
A sword cry, sharp and clear, echoed from within him, as if it had reverberated from the very creation of the world.
Without his will, a strange flower bloomed in his heart, the first petal unfurling in silence.
Li Xiaobai instinctively raised his hand, his thumb pressing against his ring and pinky fingers, while his index and middle fingers formed a sword stance, aimed at the bear.
"Xi He!"
Whoosh!
This time, the sword cry was not just in his mind but rang out clearly for all to hear, echoing across the battlefield.
A flash of pale light, as pure as the first beam of light at the dawn of creation, shot from his fingers with blinding speed, disappearing in an instant behind the giant bear's head.
The serpent's golden eyes caught the fleeting flash, a flicker of surprise passing through them.
The bear, mid-strike, froze. Its massive form began to stagger backward, eventually collapsing, its great body falling silent.
Its soul was destroyed.
The forest fell into a deathly stillness, only the soft rustling of leaves disturbed the silence.
The serpent, battered and broken, lay motionless, though its faint breaths could still be seen, a testament to its remarkable regenerative abilities.
Yet Li Xiaobai could move no longer, drained of energy, unable even to lift a finger.
The serpent, its golden eyes still locked on him, continued to watch with a gaze that spoke of quiet, unspoken thoughts.
"Damn it!"