Why did you provoke that old man? He's a reincarnation of a deity!

Xiao Nian glanced at him indifferently.

His divine sense locked onto the snake-man's location. If he wanted, he could use a few spells to turn the snake-man in front of him into ashes, but he was in no hurry.

Jiang Wangshu was already locked in battle with the two beast-like generals.

His longsword flashed, and his true energy mixed with spiritual power formed a thin protective aura around his body, allowing him to withstand several blows from the bear's paw without injury.

His swordsmanship was even faster than it had been ten days ago. Each strike carried a force that combined the softness of spiritual energy with the strength of masculine energy. The blows that struck the leopard-man's claws made his hands go numb, and the blows that struck the bear-man's shoulders left shallow and deep cuts.

Bald Bear took a half step back, panting heavily as he stared at Jiang Wangshu.

He had seven or eight cuts on his shoulder and arm, none of them deep, but the blade of the other man carried a force that made him extremely uncomfortable.

The short, stocky leopard-man was in an even worse state.

His speed advantage was gradually suppressed by Jiang Wangshu. Every time he got close, he was forced back by the blade. Half of his left claw blade was missing, which was cleaved off by a single blow.

"A thousand waves piled upon each other."

Jiang Wangshu didn't give them a chance to breathe. Her true energy mixed with spiritual energy surged in waves, one wave after another, each higher than the last.

Before the two could react, they were thrown by the wave, coughing up blood and turning back into their original forms.

The bald man growled. They already knew they couldn't defeat Jiang Wangshu, so the three of them retreated at the same time and regrouped at the entrance of the valley.

"Trying to leave? Too late." Xiao Nian instantly cast Earthbind Technique, trapping the three of them on the ground they had just stood on, unable to move.

The moment the bald bear-man was bound by the binding technique, he was unable to move, as if he were being clamped in iron pincers.

The short, stocky leopard and the thin, lanky snake-man were also trapped in place. The three of them struggled a few times, but the mud beneath their feet sank deeper and deeper, the sand in the mud gripping them tightly.

"Alright, you can talk properly now." Xiao Nian looked at the three of them calmly.

"Western magicians? We have no hatred for them, let's just pretend this never happened," the short, stocky leopard man said somewhat guiltily.

"You started attacking the moment you met, did you even ask us if we had any grudge against you?"

"What the hell did you do?" Bald Bear cursed, the bestial features on his face fading.

"Do you even know who we are? We are the priests of the Ya'an tribe in the Taihang Mountains! This cave is the sacred site of our tribe's altar. You've already committed a capital offense by trespassing to cultivate here, and you still dare to attack us?"

The lanky, snake-like man flicked his tongue, his voice high-pitched:

"Release us! Otherwise, when our High Priest arrives, you will all die! Die in a way that leaves you crushed to ashes!"

"If you kill me, the High Priest will sense it immediately! All three of us have his life mark on us. Once we're dead, he'll be able to pinpoint your location instantly! Then it won't matter where you run!" The short, stocky leopard-man, used to being arrogant, changed his tune when he saw Xiao Nian's cold expression.

The three of them took turns making threatening remarks.

"If you know what's good for you, release us now, and we'll provide you with good food and drink for three days. Then kneel down and kowtow three times to admit your mistakes, and we might even put in a good word for you with the high priest!" Bald Bear said, his neck craned back, his body still injured, but he didn't hold back with his words.

The bald bear-man chimed in: "Right! Kneel down! At least until you bleed! Otherwise, this isn't over!"

Xiao Nian sat on the back of the black cloud, looking down at the three beastmen trapped in the mud on the ground.

He was clearly tied up but still spouted nonsense.

"Heh, you probably don't know your current predicament, do you?"

"Stop talking nonsense and let us go."

"Our High Priest is someone you can't afford to offend."

"You old bastard, let us go right now!"

Xiao Nian laughed, a laugh that left her speechless.

"No one has ever dared to threaten me."

At this moment, he was a supreme being who transcended all things, and he would not allow anyone in this world to threaten him.

He slowly raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and gave a loose handshake to the three people.

The soil suddenly contracted.

It was like an invisible giant hand gripping the three bodies.

"Old man, spare my life!" The short, stocky leopard man now knew he was in deep regret.

But it was all too late...

The three orcs felt their bones and internal organs being instantly crushed.

The mud instantly enveloped the three people, and three muffled thuds exploded simultaneously.

They didn't even have time to let out a proper scream before the whole process was over. All that was left on the ground were three puddles of mud mixed with broken bones and blood, with dark red liquid seeping out from the cracks in the soil and flowing slowly.

Jiang Wangshu's knife froze in mid-air. He was a True Qi Martial King and had killed many people, but he had never seen such a bloody scene.

He looked at the three unrecognizable human-shaped objects on the ground, and his pupils contracted slightly.

He had seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield, but he had never seen such a method of casually crushing three peak-level martial generals into dust.

This kind of killing is even somewhat disgusting.

"You..." his voice was a little hoarse, "...killed him far too decisively."

"What's wrong?"

"That's almost a True Qi Martial King!"

"They're nothing but ants. Why keep someone who threatens me around?"

Xiao Nian withdrew his hand; his withered fingers looked no different from any ordinary old man on the roadside in the moonlight.

His skin was loose, his knuckles were large, and he had several age spots.

"What's wrong, Wangshu?"

"It's nothing, I just feel like you're different than before."

"How can a thousand years of slaughter be the same as before?" Xiao Nian said calmly.

Xiao Nian looked closely and noticed something in the remaining pile of flesh and blood.

With a wave of his hand, three thumb-sized crimson beads flew up.

The three pillars were as smooth as congealed blood droplets.

And so it flew into his hands.

"Beast Transformation Pill. The core of their Beast Transformation Technique lies in this thing. This thing is a crystal formed by the compression and condensation of their demonic beast bloodline and human blood and qi, which is equivalent to a low-end version of a demon core."

Each pill has a different color. Is someone going to use these different attribute demon pills to break through to the Golden Core stage? Xiao Nian scoffed.

He casually put the three beads into his storage bag, stood up, and dusted off his hands.

Just as Jiang Wangshu was about to speak, she suddenly felt a burning sensation on the fabric around her waist.

He looked down and saw a dark red light shining on the inside of his clothes; some kind of mark had been activated.

He tore open his clothes and saw several strange runes lighting up on his body.

"Holy crap, what's this?" Jiang Wangshu's expression changed instantly.

"I've seen this before; it's a natal jade talisman soul-tracing technique."

"It is said to be a technique that only cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage or above can use. I saw it once a few years ago on the Beiyang battlefield. At that time, a general was killed, and his master used this technique to chase the magician for a hundred miles and brought back his head within three days."

He abruptly looked up at Xiao Nian: "A Foundation Establishment cultivator, his strength is on par with a Qi Refining Martial Emperor! We're no match for him! You'd better leave quickly! I have his mark on me, I'll run east to lure him away, you retreat west!"