The snake was as thick as a calf and nearly five meters long.

It looked terrifying, not a python, but it had the body of one.

Meng Fan didn’t recognize the species, but its colorful scales were a clear warning—this was a creature not to be trifled with!

Meng Fan had no intention of provoking the snake, yet it seemed intent on provoking him.

Just as Meng Fan hunted the Purple Thunder Pig for its Thunder Essence, the snake wanted to devour him.

Humans slaying demons, demons slaying humans—neither side was wrong from their own perspective.

The Heavenly Heart Mountains were demon territory, rarely tread by humans. So, upon seeing Meng Fan, the snake wouldn’t pass up the chance to satisfy its hunger.

After all, humans were known to be delicious!

“Whoosh~~~~~” The giant snake lashed its tail like a massive whip towards Meng Fan.

A grave look crossed Meng Fan’s face; he was unsure whether the snake was stronger or weaker than the Purple Thunder Pig.

Faced with the unknown, he had to give his all.

Stepping into the Willow Fluff on the Wind movement technique, he dodged the snake’s tail with all his might.

Fortunately, the tail’s attack had a limited arc, allowing Meng Fan to swiftly retreat and evade the strike.

The snake, failing to hit its target, glared with cold, dark green eyes.

It slithered rapidly, lunging at Meng Fan with incredible speed.

Meng Fan instinctively leaped onto a tree branch, narrowly escaping the snake’s assault.

Damn it!

The snake could fly.

Meng Fan was taken aback; he had expected it to climb the tree, not launch into the air!

In that moment, his wariness of the snake grew.

Then, in the next second, the Hong Qi Sword was unsheathed.

Sword light cascaded, a chilling Sword Qi burst forth, slashing at the snake’s head.

Demon-Slaying Sword Intent combined with the explosive move of the Thunderous Sword Technique!

Just like that, he had decapitated the Purple Thunder Pig.

But this time, it didn’t work.

The Sword Qi struck the snake’s head precisely but only caused a flesh wound, far from fatal.

Injured and enraged, the snake went berserk.

In the moment of pain, it instinctively hit the ground, a natural reaction.

Now furious, it spewed a red mist from its mouth and charged at Meng Fan again.

Meng Fan no longer feared the snake’s charge, having already gauged its speed, but the red mist was a different story.

It was an unknown, and his instincts screamed poison.

Without hesitation, Meng Fan channeled his Spirit Wind True Qi and, with the Willow Fluff on the Wind technique, he instantly moved dozens of meters away from the tree.

This was the advantage of practicing both the Spirit Wind Profound Art and the Pure Yang Thunder Cultivation Scripture!

Had he allowed the Pure Yang Thunder Qi to consume and refine the wind attribute True Qi, focusing solely on thunder attribute True Qi, he wouldn’t have been able to achieve such speed.

Thunder attribute True Qi was undoubtedly powerful in attack.

But wind attribute True Qi gave Meng Fan incredible speed.

With benefits to both and the ability to dual cultivate, why wouldn’t Meng Fan embrace it?

At that moment, he was grateful for his past choices.

He even considered whether to cultivate other elemental arts in the future.

Water attribute arts could speed up healing.

Metal attribute arts could sharpen his sword, a perfect match for a swordsman.

And Earth attribute arts could strengthen his physical cultivation, an indispensable skill.

The more Meng Fan thought about it, the more it made sense. If he could master all these paths, wouldn’t he be unstoppable?

Perfect!!!

But now was not the time for wild thoughts.

The snake, seeing Meng Fan change position, furiously changed direction and continued its pursuit.

It seemed determined to fight to the death.

Meng Fan sneered; he wasn’t one to back down easily.

This snake was as good as dead!

With his speed, he could have outrun the snake.

But why run?

Kill it!!!

Facing the charging snake, Meng Fan struck with his sword once more.

Demon-Slaying Sword Intent!

Thunderous Sword Technique, explosive move!

Mountain Splitting Sword Momentum!

This strike, imbued with the Mountain Splitting Sword Momentum, was far stronger than the last.

“Mountain Splitting” was a Sword Technique Meng Fan had learned from the Copper Mountain Sword, which contained the Mountain Splitting Sword Momentum.

Sword Momentum was a level above Sword Intent, and at the time, Meng Fan was not yet capable of grasping it.

So, he had only managed to derive the “Mountain Splitting” Sword Technique from it.

With “Mountain Splitting,” his attacks could be light yet carry the weight of mountains, multiplying his attack power.

After twice comprehending the Sword God Stele, Meng Fan had enriched his understanding of the Primordial Great Way of the Sword.

Now, he had elevated “Mountain Splitting” to the level of Sword Intent.

If he could comprehend the Sword God Stele a few more times, he might grasp the true Sword Momentum of “Mountain Splitting”!

“Whoosh~~~~~~”

The Hong Qi Sword’s light flashed, releasing a peerless Sword Qi.

With the addition of the Mountain Splitting Sword Intent, its power was more than tripled!

Mountain Splitting was designed to enhance the power of Sword Techniques, making them stronger and more ferocious.

Meng Fan’s strike hit the same spot on the snake’s head, which was already wounded, and the outcome was gruesome.

Its head was cleaved in two.

Yet, even so, the snake did not die but frantically tried to flee.

Demons were inherently cowardly, and sensing the threat of death, it abandoned any thoughts of eating Meng Fan, seeking only to survive.

But Meng Fan had no intention of letting it go. He had declared it must die, and so it would!

To slay a demon meant to do so thoroughly.

With killing intent aflame, Meng Fan would not allow the snake to escape.

His speed already surpassed the snake’s, making the pursuit effortless.

After hacking it eight times, the snake was in four pieces, dead beyond doubt.

Meng Fan sat down, gasping for breath.

Truth be told, killing the snake had taken a toll; his True Qi was nearly depleted.

This was his weakness: insufficient True Qi made it difficult to sustain long fights.

Elder Lin emerged from the shadows, advising Meng Fan, “Rest and recover your True Qi.”

He could see Meng Fan’s True Qi was almost spent.

Then, approaching the snake’s corpse, he extracted a gallbladder and tossed it to Meng Fan.

“This is valuable; take it to the Alchemy Hall later. It should fetch you about ten Spirit Stones.”