The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 659 - 374: The Sudden Battle

It arrived here just five years ago, only to start missing the dazzling outside world. Although there were struggles and enemies, no one would restrict its temperament; it could go wherever it wanted, freely and unrestrained. Every day when it woke from meditation, it longed for the sensation of its Mantis Blades slicing into flesh, a craving born from the Mantis Demon’s innate savagery.

Yet vast as the Ba Snake Mountain Range was, and abundant as its creatures were, every demon had to abide by the strict laws of Hidden Stream!

Hidden Stream did not oppose the Demon Soldiers fighting amongst themselves. Life here was boring enough, lonely enough, and demons had much stronger desires than humans. Without an outlet for release, not to mention continuing cultivation, even psychological issues could arise. Unfortunately, the small territory the Mantis Demon occupied was located right between a Bird Demon and a Tiger Demon – both foes it couldn’t afford to provoke, so it had to suck it up and keep a low profile most of the time.

Gone were the days of glory. As for the weak humans – those it could easily decapitate with a swing of its serrated blade and complete a ’Hundred-Men Decapitation’ – it had not seen any since arriving here. The Ba Snake Mountain Range was a forbidden zone for humans. Just the other day, however, it did spot a few human Cultivators, but they were guests of Hidden Stream, and no demon dared to cause trouble.

Such boring days.

Once again, it complained to itself, then it spotted a slender figure.

In the wilderness of these mountains, a human was actually lurking about! The Mantis Demon immediately became excited as if injected with adrenaline. No matter who it was, entering the jungle alone without a Token was a declaration of slaughter to it! Killing this person would be without fault, and Hidden Stream couldn’t say anything about it.

Although its spirit was agitated, its actions became even more cautious. This maple forest was its territory; the autumn maples were redder than flames, mournfully gorgeous like blood. At the moment, it was nestled under a maple tree, with only its head protruding from the bushes, its body naturally blending into the same grimly beautiful red as the maple leaves.

Camouflage – this was its innate ability. As long as it wanted, it could immediately merge with its surroundings, leaving no flaw – no shape, no scent.

The prey had a delicate figure and a beautiful face, but her speed was incredibly fast. It had to hit with the first strike, or it had no confidence in holding onto such a nimble opponent. At the moment, she seemed to be discerning directions, and coincidentally stopped just seven meters in front of it. Her eyes emitted a divine light, sweeping around twice and skimming over the Mantis without realizing its presence.

Then, she turned her back towards it.

What an opportunity! It gazed at her slender neck, trembling with excitement. Such a lovely neck, what a soul-breaking sensation it would be to chop it off with one strike!

In these deep mountains, the Mantis Demon did not like to take human form. Its two forelimbs were two-meter long scythe-like blades, with serrations like a piranha’s sharp teeth, the sharpest part as fine as needle tips. Because of the high level of calcification, these Bone Blades were as sharp as a Divine Sword yet light and narrow, ensuring no piercing sound even when using great force in battle, making them the ideal weapons for ambushes and sneak attacks.

As a master of disguise, it had another remarkable innate ability, known as the Foggy Technique. Whether it was for humans or demons, once their cultivation reached a deep level, they could replace eyesight with Divine Sense to inspect their surroundings. What use then was the Mantis Demon’s camouflage? Hence, its Foggy Technique compensated for this, allowing it to appear in others’ Divine Thought range like a stubborn rock or a handful of weeds, rather than a living being.

This was why it was not worried that Ning Xiaoxian would "see" it.

It silently cast the Gale Technique on itself, making its body lighter and its movements swifter. As the young quarry slightly lifted her snowy neck – oh, such a perfect angle – its pair of blade arms, without any hesitations, swept out to strike.

These blade arms were usually folded, springing out violently only when ambushing an enemy. The smooth Bone Blades guaranteed silence as they cut through the air. These malicious Bone Blades did not have a blood groove because they didn’t need one – a single slash could neatly slice off an enemy’s head; who would need it to bleed?

A snap of the fingers is sixty ’moments’, and its strike required only one-sixtieth of a moment!

Having spent a long time in the outside flashy world, it had learned a fair share of Divine Skills, but after all the trials, the Cultivation Techniques of its own kind suited it best. Hmph, what is that saying about ’still as a maiden, swift as an escaping rabbit’? Clearly, it should be ’swift as a Mantis’ instead!