After being chosen by the Ice Queen

The Blackwater King's serpentine tail swept across with tremendous force, the resulting gust of wind sending stone fragments flying through the cave. The black water arrow was even more insidious, silently piercing the air and aimed directly for vital points.

Gu Yan's pupils contracted slightly, and the breath of the Candle Shadow swirled rapidly. His body twisted in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the snake's tail. The obscure blade slashed diagonally, precisely striking the side of the Black Water Arrow.

The black water arrow was deflected and embedded itself in the nearby rock wall, corroding a deep pit the size of a bowl, from which hissed white smoke and emitted a pungent stench. Gu Yan's wrist went slightly numb, and he thought to himself that this black water mystic light was indeed filthy and vicious.

Missing its first attack, the Blackwater King roared repeatedly, its massive body rising completely from the icy pool, sending sprays of water flying everywhere. No longer confined to ranged attacks, its thick body lunged forward, its gaping maw revealing sharp, white, barbed fangs. A foul-smelling, dark green venomous mist was the first to be spewed out, enveloping Gu Yan. The black light from its single horn flashed again, this time not a water arrow, but concentric circles of black ripples spreading outwards, freezing the air and chilling everything in their path.

Gu Yan held his breath, and the Candlelight Breath formed a thin barrier within his body to resist the corrosive effects of the poisonous mist. However, the sluggishness caused by the black ripples slowed his movements by a fraction.

By the slightest difference, the Blackwater King's massive jaws were already closing in.

In the critical moment, Gu Yan's eyes sharpened, and instead of retreating, he advanced. He deliberately faced the slow ripples, channeling more of his Yin-Yang energy into his legs, forcefully breaking through the obstruction and narrowly escaping the snake's snout. The blade of the Obscure Blade erupted with a gray-white light, its intent to slay evil reaching its peak, and it slashed fiercely down along the gaps in the scales on the Blackwater King's neck!

A piercing clang of metal clashing rang out. The Blackwater King's scales were harder than expected. Although the Dark and Bright Blade was sharp, and enhanced by the power of the Calamity-Slaying and Demonic Power Devouring techniques, it could only pierce the scales and cut an inch into the flesh before getting stuck and unable to penetrate further. On the contrary, the enormous recoil caused Gu Yan's tiger's mouth to split open, and blood flowed freely.

The Blackwater King, in pain, went berserk, its body twisting wildly in an attempt to throw Gu Yan away. Its thick, long snake tail lashed out again, blocking all of Gu Yan's escape routes.

Gu Yan had no time to abandon his sword, so he could only clench his left fist, gather the Yin energy of the Candlelight at the tip of his fist, and use a cold and stagnant force to forcefully strike the snake's tail!

A dull thud echoed, and Gu Yan's body shuddered violently, his blood surging. He was sent flying backward, crashing heavily against the cave wall. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. A sharp, bone-cracking pain shot through his left arm.

The gap! This is the power divide between a near-transformed demon and a spirit. The Blackwater King not only possesses immense demonic power and a formidable physical body, but his combat instincts and magical abilities are also far superior to those of a dog demon.

The shimmering light was still embedded in the Blackwater King's neck, its grayish-white glow intertwining with the black and red demonic blood gushing from the wound, frantically devouring his demonic power. The Blackwater King was both shocked and furious, and stretched out his claws covered in black scales, about to draw his sword.

Gu Yan suppressed his pain, a cold glint in his eyes. He couldn't let it pull out Huiming. Huiming was weakening him now; this was his only chance!

He leaped off the rock face, charging forward again, this time bare-handed. His right hand, fingers joined like a sword, held a concentrated, dark gray-black aura of energy, aimed directly at the Blackwater King's dark yellow vertical pupil. He was attacking where the enemy would have to defend!

As expected, the Blackwater King was forced by this move. He didn't bother to draw his sword, but quickly turned his head and closed his eyes, while slapping Gu Yan with his other claw.

Just as the Blackwater King's claws were about to strike his chest, the Yamata no Orochi's afterimage, which had been suppressed by the divinity of the Kusanagi Sword within Gu Yan's body, suddenly became violently agitated due to some strong pull.

This stimulation did not come from external life-or-death pressures, but rather from... the interplay of light and shadow!

To be precise, it was because Huiming was frantically devouring the demonic power of the snake-dragon bloodline belonging to the Blackwater King.

The Yamata no Orochi is a top-tier calamity-causing demon beast of the scaled insect type. It possesses an almost instinctive suppression and craving for the bloodlines of its fellow scaled insects, especially those of the serpent-dragon type. At this moment, Huiming acts as a transit point, continuously absorbing the pure serpent-dragon demon power. This energy is like the most delicious bait, completely igniting the Yamata no Orochi's greedy instincts.

"hiss--!"

A silent roar, audible only to Gu Yan, exploded deep within his soul! The sealed core of the afterimage relentlessly assaulted the suppression of the Kusanagi Sword fragments.

"Not good!" Alarm bells rang in Gu Yan's mind. At this critical moment of life and death, if the Orochi afterimage went out of control and went berserk, the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, what happened next was beyond Gu Yan's expectations.

The violently agitated afterimage of Orochi transformed into an extremely condensed phantom, surging towards the obscure blade embedded in the neck of the Blackwater King like a burst dam.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

To outsiders, Gu Yan's fingertips were only half an inch away from the snake's eyes, and the Blackwater King's giant claws were only millimeters away from his chest. But at that moment, Gu Yan's body stiffened strangely for a split second.

The blade trembled violently. The pale yellow cloud pattern on the hilt, which had been formed by absorbing the demonic power of the dog demon, suddenly turned dark gold, and the pattern twisted and spread, outlining the contours of eight ferocious snake heads.

Huiming emitted a high-pitched buzzing sound, like a dragon's roar or the hissing of ten thousand snakes, unleashing a terrifying suction force.

"Ah—! What the hell is this?!" Blackwater King screamed in utter horror. It felt its demonic power being drained from the wound on its neck at an unprecedented speed. Not only its demonic power, but even the faint wisp of dragon's breath deep within its bloodline, and even its very life essence, were being brutally devoured by that strange longsword.

A sense of dread, originating from the depths of its soul and akin to facing a natural enemy, surged through the blade into its mind. It was a suppression from the very source of its bloodline, the trembling of a lower-level scaled insect facing an ancient ferocious god.

Blackwater King froze, his claws aimed at Gu Yan also stopping in mid-air.

Gu Yan was stunned for a moment, but he reacted very quickly. He kept his right hand, which was like a sword, pointing in the same direction, and stabbed it hard into the gap of the Blackwater King's eyelid.

The Blackwater King let out a dying scream, its massive body twisting and struggling wildly, but the Dark Light at its neck held it firmly, devouring it relentlessly.

Having landed a successful blow, Gu Yan immediately withdrew and retreated, landing several feet away.

The gloomy light completely enveloped Huiming, and the dark gold patterns on the eight snake heads on the blade became increasingly clear. The Blackwater King withered at a visible speed, its massive snake body limp on the ground, leaving only skin and bones. Its demonic energy dissipated, and it died completely.

After absorbing the last trace of the serpent dragon's essence, Huiming's gray-black light slowly receded. But the blade itself had been completely transformed.

Eight fine, dark gold serpentine patterns meander along the blade from the hilt to the tip, lifelike and exuding a fierce aura. The cloud pattern around the hilt has been completely transformed into eight interlocking snake heads in relief, exquisitely detailed and menacing. The entire blade has lost some of its cool sharpness and gained a more domineering and eerie quality.

Gu Yan felt that his connection with Huiming had become even stronger, as if Huiming had become an extension of his own body.

Gu Yan stepped forward and reached out to grasp the hilt of Huiming's knife.

With a slight thought, the dark gold snake pattern on the Obscure Blade lit up.

[Notification: Your exclusive weapon 'Hidden Light' has undergone a transformation!]

[Fusion Elements: Divine Steel (Base), Divinity of the Kusanagi Sword Fragment (Purification/Calamity Slaying), Breath of Candlelight (Time/Yin), Intent of Calamity Slaying, Abundant Monster Essence (Dog Demon/Black Serpent/Black Water Serpent), Origin of the Yamata no Orochi Remnant (Calamity/Regeneration/Devouring)]

[Current Form: Obscure and Bright - Orochi Shadow Blade (Under Development)]

[New/Enhanced Features:]

1. Demonic Power Devouring (Intermediate → Advanced): Increases damage against monster-type enemies by 15%, and greatly improves devouring efficiency and conversion rate.

2. Orochi's Calamity Blessing: Attacks inflict a weak "Calamity Corrosion" effect, slowly weakening the enemy's luck, defense, and recovery abilities. (The strength of the effect varies depending on weapon upgrades and the user's control over Orochi's power.)

3. Shadow Blade Spirit Connection: Reaches a new level of connection with the user's mind, allowing for more precise control and initially possessing the spirituality of "the blade follows the mind".

4. Form Potential: Unlocks further growth possibilities, requiring the consumption of higher-level/compatible monster essences or special materials.

[Warning: The essence of the Orochi's afterimage is deeply bound to the weapon; its calamity and corrosive properties will manifest as the weapon grows. Use with caution, pay attention to mental defenses, and avoid being devoured by the power of calamity.]

Gu Yan stroked the newly refurbished blade, his feelings a mix of emotions. This change was unexpected, but the outcome seemed not so bad? The power of Orochi had been channeled into the weapon, rather than acting directly on himself, reducing the risk of losing control and greatly enhancing the Hidden Light effect. However, this weapon now also carried the attribute of calamity, requiring careful use.

He swung the blade a few times, the wind whistling through it, accompanied by the faint hissing sound of a snake, as if it were his own arm.

After glancing at the withered corpse of the Blackwater King, Gu Yan removed the single horn from its head and carefully stored away the cold iron essence from the cave.

As soon as they stepped out of the cave and arrived at the edge of the Cold Mist Pool, they saw Jinbao hiding behind a large rock, peeking out and looking around.

"Immortal...Immortal Master!" Seeing Gu Yan walk out safely, Jinbao was both surprised and delighted, and scrambled over to him, "That...that evil demon..."

"He's dead."

Jinbao was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears.

"Father! Mother! The evil demon has been vanquished, you can rest in peace now."

After crying for a while, it wiped away its tears and stood up.

"Thank you, Immortal Master! Immortal Master, you have avenged this blood feud for me. I will never forget your great kindness."

Gu Yan nodded and asked, "What are your plans next?"

Jinbao hesitated for a moment, looked at Gu Yan, then at itself, and whispered, "Little demon... Little demon wants to follow Immortal Master! Immortal Master is highly skilled. If I follow Immortal Master, perhaps... perhaps Little demon can also learn skills, and won't be bullied anymore. I can also help Immortal Master in some way. Little demon is quite good at gathering information, scouting, and acting as a lookout." It looked at Gu Yan expectantly.

Gu Yan glanced at it; its ability to communicate with rodents was indeed useful. Moreover, this little demon was simple-minded and grateful, so keeping it by his side wasn't a bad idea.

"Following me is fraught with uncertainty and danger. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure!" Jinbao straightened his little body. "I'm not afraid of danger, as long as the immortal master doesn't mind."

"Then let's go together." Gu Yan turned around and looked at the mountains. "Next, we'll go to a more distant place. Also, don't call me Immortal Master anymore; I don't cultivate any immortality."

"Yes! Immortal..." Jinbao jumped happily onto Gu Yan's shoulder, then changed his mind and asked, "Boss, where are we going?"

"Leave Cuiwei Ridge first. Then go find Tianlou or Dijue."

The golden treasure on the shoulder seemed to understand but not quite, but it was willing to go anywhere as long as it could follow this powerful immortal master.