Lightning had always been a nemesis to demons. Wei Li looked up, saw the situation, and retreated repeatedly, dodging left and right. However, all the routes he could retreat through had been designed by Dan Ya in advance.
Struggling to cope, and seeing that he still couldn't avoid a bolt of lightning, he gritted his teeth and pushed his arms upwards.
A flash of white light exploded. A large area of Wei Li's exposed skin was already scorched black by the lightning, but his body beneath his magical robe remained unharmed and fair.
Wei Li, surprised, pulled open his clothes and looked inside. Although his clothes were also a magical robe, they couldn't withstand the fierce blow of a single lightning sword from a Nascent Soul cultivator.
He suddenly remembered something. If there was anything special, it was that beneath his red robe, he wore a black garment that Gu Jun Shi had given him when he transformed. Because he couldn't bear to leave it unused, he had secretly altered it into an undergarment and wore it close to his skin.
Could it be... that this garment was of very high quality?
But this thought passed in a flash, as the current situation did not allow for much speculation.
Wei Li, with fur bristling, spat out the dust in his mouth.
One of his hands transformed into a fox claw, and a ball of red light spun in his palm.
"Come again!"
Dan Ya raised his sword and pointed at Wei Li. "Come again."
As the two clashed again, a strange and chilling voice drifted on the wind: "So hungry, so hungry... Devour it—"
Dan Ya's expression changed.
He trembled violently, and his back seemed to deflate like a punctured tire. A large amount of black energy surged out, forming a black shadow. It suddenly extended countless black tendrils, entangling the caught-off-guard Wei Li.
"What is this thing?" Wei Li's eyes widened, reflecting a dark, creeping, millipede-like mass that made his hair stand on end.
Dan Ya's body stiffened again, unable to move. The malevolent thought wanted to devour Wei Li, but Dan Ya looked up, his face serious, and shouted to Wei Li, "Leave quickly!"
He wasn't trying to save Wei Li, but he couldn't let the malevolent thought swallow Wei Li. A person could die by his hand, but not in the maw of the malevolent thought.
"Have you gone mad? What is this thing, and why can't you break free!"
Wei Li struggled anxiously, but the tendrils of the malevolent thought were very sticky. Once they latched onto him, they wouldn't let go, tightening their grip. Wei Li felt his flesh and skin letting out painful groans.
"If you don't want to die, then find a way quickly, or it will completely devour you, leaving no soul behind," Dan Ya said coldly.
He had not gone mad. The malevolent thought was a monster bred from a wisp of his abandoned good intention, fueled by the resentment of demonic beings. He hadn't noticed them at first. By the time he did, it was already impossible to destroy them.
The only thing he could do was to slow down its growth.
But when he had to kill people, it grew as if fanned by the wind.
Now, it was too late. He couldn't control it at all, especially when it became "hungry" for a long time. It would attack proactively, even without his permission as its master.
"Easier said than done!"
Wei Li formed a hand seal and was forced to transform into his beast form, using his demonic body as a weapon, and bit down on the black tendrils binding his arms.
But they were not solid objects. After being torn apart, they quickly reconnected, ceaselessly and annoyingly.
"If I kill you, will these ghost things disappear?" Wei Li suddenly stared at Dan Ya fiercely, his gaze like that of a tiger about to pounce on its prey.
Dan Ya was neither fearful nor angry. He even smiled slightly, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, kill me, and it will disappear."
Since it was born from him, it would naturally die with him, unless it grew to the point of separating from his body and becoming its own demon.
He thought to himself, only if you have the ability to kill me.
Wei Li really intended to solve the problem at its source. His demonic energy slowly rose, his fox fur pulled out like red needles. Infused with demonic power, they became sharp, forming a dense formation of needle-like spikes. Once aimed at the target, they were all shot towards the tendrils.
These fox hairs, like needles, were imbued with Wei Li's demonic power and could pierce metal and stone.
This naturally included Dan Ya.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... Hundreds of tendrils were pierced like a beehive, unable to maintain their form. Seeing this, Wei Li, convinced of its effectiveness, was about to continue.
Unexpectedly, in the next second, the external black shadow mass was struck and scattered, but more malevolent thoughts surged out from Dan Ya's body all at once.
Immediately, Wei Li's entire body was covered by a large patch of shadow.
He looked up.
He saw that massive, twisted black mass. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't just pure black but contained various incomplete body parts, a deformed amalgamation of humans and beasts, huge grotesque eyes, and scarlet tongues, forming a creature that made one's scalp tingle, accompanied by a strong scent of blood.
"What did you use to raise such a large monster?"
Wei Li was incredulous.
Dan Ya heard him and a self-mocking bitter smile appeared on his face. "If I knew, I wouldn't have nurtured a tiger to become a threat."
Taking advantage of the scattering of the tendrils, Wei Li regained his freedom. He had come to kill Dan Ya to avenge his severed tails, but he never expected Dan Ya to carry such a malevolent monster.
He was unprepared and didn't know where to begin. He had no intention of cleansing Dan Ya.
He was quite pleased that the other party had brought this upon himself.
But leaving wasn't so easy.
The malevolent thought had locked onto him. To the malevolent thought, Wei Li was like a delicious piece of fatty meat. He possessed an aura that made the malevolent thought intensely greedy and desirous.
"So hungry—so hungry—"
Its piercing shriek assaulted the eardrums, and then it lunged towards Wei Li.
Wei Li hurriedly retreated, goosebumps rising all over his body at the approach of this disgusting thing.
Wei Li cursed on the spot, "Dan Ya, this thing is as disgusting as you are!"
Dan Ya's expression stiffened, and he said faintly, "Yes, but what does it matter? Fox demon, it seems you cannot escape. You are destined to become one with it."
Since everything could no longer be stopped, it was a pleasure to see someone he disliked die before his eyes.
Just as the malevolent thought opened its "great mouth," roaring with hunger to swallow Wei Li, a sword energy as hot as lava shot over from the side. Terrifying dark purple light streaks shot towards the malevolent thought, causing it to shatter and disintegrate by a large portion.
Wei Li's eyes widened. His heart raced, and he gasped, looking back with surprise.
A figure appeared in the void, her terrifying aura pressing down upon this realm.
After saving Wei Li, the fox with the severed tail, she casually made a grasping motion, and the black sword Wu Xiang returned to her palm.
"Jun Shi—"
Dan Ya stared blankly at her in the sky, his emotions complex and indescribable. He turned his head away, his expression showing unconcealed embarrassment and evasiveness.