Within the cave.

A group of Demon Beasts silently retracted their gazes from the Magical Treasure.

On it was the scene of Jiang Man crushing the White Fox and the others.

The few simple images shook their very Heart Spirits.

Utter silence.

Finally, a tiger-like Demon Beast broke the silence. "Among the Sect’s Golden Core cultivators, how strong is he?"

If he is one of the elites of the human Early Stage of Golden Core, then it’s no big deal.

But if he is merely an ordinary expert, then this is far from simple.

"His Magic Skills were likely learned during the Qi Refining Stage, and his power is just a crude form of Spiritual Energy Release," a voice spoke from a corner.

This simple statement plunged the cave into an even deeper silence.

It meant one thing: this Golden Core cultivator had yet to use any of his Golden Core-specific abilities.

This implied that, among Golden Core cultivators, he wasn’t considered particularly strong.

There should be no shortage of Golden Core cultivators like him.

"After the Great Reformation of the Immortal Sects, these humans seem rather different from their predecessors," the Jiao Dragon said.

The crowd remained silent.

"It seems the plan needs to be changed," the Jiao Dragon said with a sigh. "I didn’t want to stir up more trouble, but these human Golden Core cultivators are too powerful. We have to get to the bottom of this.

"What are your thoughts?"

The Demon Beast in the corner, who had previously advocated for avoiding a direct confrontation, spoke up. "We can’t back down now. We must find out why human Golden Core cultivators are this strong. We’ve run into a lone one—it’s a rare opportunity."

"Who knows when we’ll find another one."

"I believe we should capture him alive, no matter the cost, to understand the secret behind the strength of human Golden Core cultivators."

"The longer we wait to find out, the greater the danger to us."

Everyone else agreed.

The Jiao Dragon nodded. "We will stick to two groups. Those who haven’t sufficiently recovered will lend their power to us. We will focus all our efforts on capturing the human Golden Core—he must be taken alive."

"After that, the rest of you will flee."

"If we succeed, we will regroup with you."

"If we fail, you must find a way to warn the rest of the Demon Race."

"The humans have changed."

"Underestimating them will only lead to our destruction."

Afterward, the Demon Beasts in the cave split into two groups.

One group was led by the Jiao Dragon.

It consisted of four Demon Beasts in total.

The other Demon Beasts lent them the majority of their power.

In an instant, their power began to skyrocket.

————

Meanwhile, Jiang Man frowned as he looked at the two Demon Beasts on the ground.

"You two are really tight-lipped." Jiang Man had been questioning them for a while but had gotten no information.

Making all kinds of promises proved useless.

They just kept repeating that humans were treacherous and couldn’t be trusted.

They weren’t trustworthy.

If they stayed silent, they might live. If they talked, they would lose all their value.

Death would be certain.

Jiang Man sighed. ’They’re spot on,’ he thought.

The Great Reformation of the Immortal Sects never said you couldn’t kill demons.

Besides, it was obvious they had no intention of letting him go, so there was no reason for him to spare them.

However, before Jiang Man could do anything...

Power suddenly erupted from their bodies, as if being drained by an unseen force.

Their Physical Bodies withered before his very eyes.

WHOOSH!

A whistling sound tore through the air ahead.

Then, something came sweeping toward him.

Not daring to hesitate, Jiang Man unleashed the Shadowless Palm.

BOOM!

As the forces collided, Jiang Man felt the Spiritual Qi vibrate.

The weight of his opponent’s Spiritual Qi was no less than his own.

The force of the impact knocked him back more than ten steps.

He was already beginning to channel his True Martial Skill.

’A powerful foe!’

Just as he steadied himself, strong and powerful vines suddenly erupted from the earth.

The ground collapsed over a wide area.

BOOM!

Jiang Man countered with the Bengliu Technique.

But the range of the vines was too great. He failed to repel them and was instead blasted into the air.

At that moment, eagle talons were already descending from the sky.

Like a giant palm, they sealed off his escape route.

The chilling sharpness of the talons stung his skin.

’I can’t block this head-on!’

Cyan Smoke Melody.

The instant the talons descended, Jiang Man dissolved into a wisp of cyan smoke and vanished.

He reappeared on solid ground, clear of the collapsed earth, and scanned his surroundings warily.

The mist began to flow unnaturally, then it started to churn and roil like a hurricane.

The fog was then swept aside as if by a giant tail, and his surroundings instantly cleared.

Imposing dragon horns emerged from the mist, followed by deep, cold eyes.

A gale surged, driving the mist away.

The mist flowed back along the creature’s body.

In the span of a breath, a long, slender body covered in dark, bluish-black scales entered Jiang Man’s sight.

’A Jiao Dragon.’

Jiang Man was stunned.

’To think such a creature actually exists.’

He could tell from its aura alone that it was no ordinary being.

Moreover, Jiang Man could feel the ground trembling slightly and saw something circling in the sky.

Not only that, but he had the distinct feeling of a pair of eyes staring at him from within the mist.

Ready to strike at a critical moment.

’I’m surrounded, and not a single one of them is a pushover.’

Jiang Man never would have imagined that so many powerful Demon Beasts were gathered here.

Having just reached the Golden Core Realm, he stood no chance against all these Demon Beasts.

Especially since they still dared to show themselves after he had dealt with the first two, it was clear they had come prepared.

The Jiao Dragon lowered its head to look at Jiang Man, its voice calm. "Are all human Golden Core cultivators as strong as you?"

"Strong?" Jiang Man asked.

"Not strong?" the Jiao Dragon countered.

"Not now," Jiang Man replied honestly, "but in the future, I will be stronger than all other Golden Core cultivators."

’Right now, I have nothing. I have to lie low and avoid the top prodigies of the Inner Sect. In the future, they’ll be the ones avoiding me. Give me a few years, and I’ll definitely become an invincible Golden Core cultivator.’

"We would like to invite you to be our guest," the Jiao Dragon said.

"Invite me as your guest? We’ll see if you have what it takes." As the words left his mouth, Jiang Man took a step forward.

His True Martial Skill began to circulate.

A golden light immediately radiated from his body, enveloping him completely.

Instantly, the Jiao Dragon and the others sensed a surge in Jiang Man’s power.

As expected, he had a trump card.

"Everyone, be careful," the Jiao Dragon said in a low voice.