The White Demon King choked on his words. Su Rushi’s seemingly simple plea was a blatant slap in his face.
"You wretch! I want to marry you—that’s an honor you couldn’t earn in eight lifetimes! Since you don’t know what’s good for you, you can just disappear from this world."
He, the White Demon King, would never let another man take away a woman he couldn’t have.
He had failed to kill the snake today. If he also let that snake take his bride, he, the White Demon King, might as well find the hardest rock in the Yaoling Mountain Range and bash his own head in.
Su Rushi’s repeated rejections had thoroughly infuriated him.
Any trace of tenderness in the hedgehog’s heart vanished, and his love curdled into hate.
Never mind a mighty Deep Mountain Demon King; even an ordinary man could not tolerate such a slight.
In an instant, the White Demon King’s gaze toward Su Rushi turned ice-cold. His entire being erupted with a terrifying aura, radiating both intense Killing Intent and abyssal despair.
WHOOSH...!
A cold glint flashed from those frigid eyes as his gaze materialized, shooting out a beam of light.
This was a technique not exclusive to Tu Xiao’an; any of the Deep Mountain Demon Kings could do it.
The cold beam shot out at what seemed like the speed of light. Tu Xiao’an was shocked, but the distance was so short that he could only throw himself in front of the Azure Owl.
BANG...
The cold beam struck Tu Xiao’an’s Snake King Armor, shattering dozens of Snake Scales. He coughed up a mouthful of crimson blood that bloomed like a bewitching flower.
The attack was too sudden and from too close. Even Tu Xiao’an hadn’t expected the White Demon King to strike at Su Rushi. The power of the beam from his gaze was astounding; that it could make Tu Xiao’an cough up blood even while protected by the Snake King Armor was a testament to its terrifying might.
If the attack had landed as intended, it wouldn’t have just been Su Rushi; his Azure Owl would have died as well.
"You fucking animal! One moment you’re telling me to return your bride, and the next you’re trying to kill her yourself!"
Tu Xiao’an was consumed by a sudden, uncontrollable rage. His handsome face twisted into a terrifying mask of fury, like a viper baring its deadly fangs.
"Hmph. A woman who betrays me doesn’t deserve to live." A flicker of regret passed through the White Demon King’s eyes that his attack had been blocked.
Su Rushi, with her Taiyin Cold Body, was an unparalleled cultivation cauldron. If the White Demon King couldn’t have her, how could he possibly let that snake Tu Xiao’an benefit?
She was far more than just a bride.
"Brother Bai, you... you want to kill me...?" Su Rushi was stunned, as if turned to stone. The light instantly drained from her beautiful face.
The White Demon King said coldly, "You ungrateful wretch. Without me, you would have died two years ago."
He wasn’t lying. If Su Rushi’s life hadn’t been on the line, her grandfather, the vice-dean, would never have been forced to send her to the White Demon King.
"Brother Bai, it’s not like that! All the kindness you’ve shown me... I remember it all. I’ve always thought of you as a big brother. But that doesn’t mean I can marry you. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry..."
Crystal-clear tears streamed down her face, her heart filled with sorrow.
For a young woman like Su Rushi, her relationship with the White Demon King was one of familial affection, but familial affection and romantic love were two different things.
If she’d had a choice, she never would have wanted the situation to become this awkward.
Tu Xiao’an wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. ’Fine. It’s time to see this through to the end.’ From the moment he had agreed to help that old man, the vice-dean, his fate had been entangled with the White Demon King’s.
Every cause has its effect.
"You damned hedgehog, let’s settle this once and for all! We’ll see if it’s you or I who dies today!"
With those words, Tu Xiao’an flashed into the open sky. In an instant, the weather shifted. The sky was plunged into darkness as a vast expanse of black clouds gathered overhead, and a terrifying display of thunder and lightning began to crackle and boom.
"Good. That suits me just fine."
The White Demon King also appeared in the sky, the Demon Qi radiating from his body tearing the very air to shreds.
Seeing the White Demon King appear directly opposite him, Tu Xiao’an gave a faint smile. But though he smiled, his deep, dark eyes were incomparably cold—a single glance could freeze a person in place, as if they had been plunged into a bottomless abyss.
WHOOM...!
The world trembled. Above Tu Xiao’an’s head, an immense and towering snake shadow manifested. It roared at the heavens, and a world-shaking shockwave swept out, its force more terrifying than any tornado.
Suddenly, the phenomena of all five of Tu Xiao’an’s Elements manifested around him. At that moment, he hovered in the void between heaven and earth, radiating an imperious aura. With a light wave of his hand, the electricity covering his body flared. Thunder Shock erupted ceaselessly around the White Demon King, a tumultuous Thunderclap that could overturn rivers and seas. He waved his hand again, and a sky-scorching inferno ignited near the White Demon King, threatening to consume everything.
Next, a deep blue Ice Frost Qi, so cold it could freeze the very air, appeared beneath the White Demon King, freezing everything in its path.
At the same time, a brilliant golden light flared from Tu Xiao’an. The Elemental Energy of Gold wasn’t just for defense, and his Dark Ability was even more terrifying.
Each Element erupted with its most dazzling light.
The power of destruction gathered, ready to be unleashed.
The White Demon King, however, glanced at the surrounding phenomena with disdain in his demonic eyes. A violent explosion erupted from where he stood, and a pillar of Demon Qi shot to the heavens. Instantly, the impeccably dressed White Demon King became savage and terrifying. His body began to swell, and quills sharper than any sword sprouted from his skin as he took on a half-human, half-beast form.
Above his head, an astonishingly massive and terrifying beast manifested, Spiritual and Fierce. It faced off against the giant snake shadow above Tu Xiao’an, a struggle between dragon and tiger. They were evenly matched, neither giving an inch.
It was as if they were fighting for control of the very sky.
Unexpectedly, the Fox Immortal King made no move to stop them. She simply sighed and shook her head, knowing she could no longer interfere.
’This has become a battle between two men fighting over a woman.’
The phenomena in the sky grew increasingly intense. Both Tu Xiao’an and the White Demon King were preparing to use their most powerful techniques to obliterate the thorn in their side from this world.
This represented a clash between the strongest powers in the Yaoling Mountain Range.
The other three Deep Mountain Demon Kings were no longer hovering high in the sky, but had descended to the ground to watch.
Who would win or lose, who was stronger or weaker, who would live or die—a conclusion would surely come soon.
This was an unparalleled duel between two creatures, the likes of which had never been seen before. On the surface, it was merely a battle between a venomous snake and a hedgehog, but their Cultivation levels were enough to suppress all creation.
In truth, whether human or beast, none can choose the circumstances of their birth. You might be born lowly or weak, rich or poor, but you must believe that one can defy fate.
Tu Xiao’an, reborn as a snake, had defied the odds every step of the way to reach this point.
Even facing a Deep Mountain Demon King, he was confident that he could go all out and seize the Lifebound Golden Core from his opponent’s body.
POP...!
One after another, Demon Spirit’s Lifebound Golden Cores appeared in Tu Xiao’an’s hand. He then swallowed them one by one, as if they were candy.
As he swallowed them, the pure, potent power of the Lifebound Golden Cores was instantly assimilated by his body. The phenomena of the five Elemental Attributes manifesting around him grew even more terrifying.
The Snake King’s aura surged on the spot, breaking through to the Demon King Level in a single leap. By the time Tu Xiao’an had swallowed all the Lifebound Golden Cores—those he had obtained today combined with the ones he’d saved before, adding up to no fewer than twenty in total...
...his aura had terrifyingly reached the level of a Deep Mountain Demon King. The very heavens above warped and shifted in response.
The snake shadow phenomenon above Tu Xiao’an’s head grew even more majestic and terrifying than a Nine Heavens Divine Dragon, blotting out the sun and sky.
This scene not only left the demons below gaping as if petrified, but it also made the White Demon King’s face turn as black as ink. He was so shocked he began to question reality itself.
’Lifebound Golden Cores can be eaten like that? Swallowed and digested instantly?’
’A Demon Spirit’s Lifebound Golden Core is a supreme treasure, but you have to refine it after swallowing it! The body has to absorb it slowly.’
’But this snake before me... he’s defying the heavens themselves! He’s just wolfing down those glittering Golden Cores, and his skyrocketing aura is already faintly stronger than mine, a genuine Deep Mountain Demon King!’
For the first time, the White Demon King felt his confidence completely shatter.
If he could, he would even follow the Gray Demon King’s example and flee in disgrace. But he knew he couldn’t.
His only choice was to fight with all his might.