It was no surprise that the scene had unfolded this way. Although the Wood Demon avatar before them had advanced to the first level of the Dao Source Realm after devouring Han Leng's flesh and blood essence, the Insect Mother was now capable of exerting second-level Dao Source Realm strength, and the Azure Flame Thunder Jackal was no slouch either—though its cultivation was on par with the Wood Demon avatar, it commanded fire-attributed power, making it the Wood Demon's natural nemesis.
With Yang Kai joining forces alongside the two, if they still couldn't suppress the Wood Demon avatar, that would have been the truly strange outcome.
One man and two blood beasts, working in concert, hacked the Wood Demon's countless vines into a scattered mess. Severed segments tumbled to the ground, spilling green liquid from their stumps, while the severed vines continued to squirm like maggots—still alive, as though they were living things.
But once the green liquid had drained away completely, those vine segments withered and shriveled in an instant, turning into something resembling dead wood. A gust of wind blew, and they crumbled into powder.
The Wood Demon let out a string of enraged roars, driving its power with even greater fury. For every vine that was severed, a new one sprouted in its place, creating a situation where it seemed impossible to cut them all down.
Yang Kai's expression turned grim at the sight.
He had the nagging feeling that this particular Wood Demon avatar was different from the ones he had faced before—far too tenacious, genuinely difficult to deal with. He remained on high alert, Fire Sword Qi swirling around his entire body, refusing to give the Wood Demon any opportunity to close the distance.
They battled for the span of a cup of tea. Although it appeared on the surface that Yang Kai and the two blood beasts held the upper hand, they were unable to land a single fatal blow on the Wood Demon, and the fight had settled into a stalemate.
It was precisely at that moment that the Azure Flame Thunder Jackal, which had been channeling fire-attributed power to attack the Wood Demon, seemed to run low on energy. The fireball it spat from its mouth stuttered for just an instant.
Ssss, ssss, ssss, ssss—
A strange hissing sound rang out as countless roots suddenly burst from the earth below, latching onto the Azure Flame Thunder Jackal and binding it tight.
Those roots were, unmistakably, the very ones the Wood Demon had driven into the ground earlier.
The Azure Flame Thunder Jackal whimpered and struggled with all its might, but it could not break free from the roots' grip.
A vine seized the opportunity and lanced forward, punching straight through the Azure Flame Thunder Jackal's body with a wet thud. The next instant, that sickening gulp of swallowing that had made Yang Kai's scalp go numb rang out once more—the vine was devouring the Azure Flame Thunder Jackal's flesh and blood essence.
The Azure Flame Thunder Jackal was an eleventh-rank demon beast with cultivation at the first level of the Dao Source Realm. After Yang Kai had killed it and refined it into a blood beast, its flesh and blood essence had not been lost; on the contrary, it had grown even stronger under the nourishment of the golden blood threads.
Now that the Wood Demon had begun devouring it, its previously sustained injuries healed almost entirely in one stroke. The twisted facial features etched into the tree trunk flickered with a mix of shock and elation.
Yang Kai felt his heart drop. Without a second thought, he sent a mental command and roared, "Return!"
In response to his shout, the Azure Flame Thunder Jackal—still bound by the roots—shuddered and transformed into a single golden blood thread, zipping back toward Yang Kai. Once the thread had returned to his body, Yang Kai probed it silently and his face darkened. In that brief stretch of time, the flesh and blood power contained within that golden blood thread had been depleted by a full third.
In other words, a third of the Azure Flame Thunder Jackal's vital essence had been devoured. To replenish it, Yang Kai would inevitably have to supply more of his own golden blood.
On the other side, the Wood Demon suddenly flew into a berserk frenzy—as though the fact that it had failed to devour the Azure Flame Thunder Jackal entirely had pushed it into an explosive rage.
It abandoned Yang Kai entirely, turning its attention instead to the Insect Mother.
The recent devouring had granted it enormous benefits, and naturally it now wished to repeat the trick.
Beneath the Insect Mother's feet, the ground split open, and countless roots shot outward like spirited serpents, attempting to ensnare the Insect Mother.
But would the Insect Mother simply allow it to succeed? The twin swords—one purple, one cyan—swung outward, trailing twin hues of ethereal light. Sharp sword qi radiated in every direction like volleys of arrows. An aura of icy Law power enveloped the Insect Mother's body, and the moment any root breached that perimeter, its speed plummeted dramatically. Far from dealing any damage to the Insect Mother, the roots suffered considerable harm themselves.
Seeing this, Yang Kai's heart settled firmly.
If neither blood beast could be used in such a battle, then he would truly be in trouble this time. But as things stood, the Insect Mother's performance far exceeded his expectations.
After all, it was the fusion of a Sword Intent Spirit and a blood beast—the combat power it could unleash was simply incomparable to what the Azure Flame Thunder Jackal could muster.
Yang Kai was just about to charge back in and join the Insect Mother in a pincer attack on the Wood Demon when he suddenly sensed an urgent call reaching out to him.
The call was unmistakably coming from the sealed Flowing Flame!
Although the Flowing Flame had been sealed within the round bowl, she had apparently also perceived the battle unfolding outside, and so she had activated the imprint Yang Kai had once placed within her spiritual sense long ago.
Yang Kai paused for a moment, then slapped his forehead and silently cursed himself for being dense.
He had been so focused on coordinating with the two blood beasts that it had never once occurred to him to consider the Flowing Flame's existence. The Flowing Flame was a pure fire-attributed Artifact Spirit—though her current cultivation was lower than that of either blood beast, in a battle like this, the combat power she could bring to bear would very likely surpass both of them combined.
If he could just get the Flowing Flame out first, why would he need to fear some mere Wood Demon?
With that thought, Yang Kai's gaze immediately locked onto Han Leng's corpse lying on the left side of the Wood Demon's body.
He issued a silent command to the Insect Mother, and while she engaged the Wood Demon in fierce combat, Yang Kai's figure flickered and he materialized directly in front of Han Leng's corpse, reaching down to snatch both space rings from his hand.