Mythical Demons were far more powerful than ordinary demons.
From birth, the former possessed complete spiritual intelligence, while the latter—even if they somehow developed a “spirit”—usually required years, decades, or even longer to acquire wisdom comparable to a human’s.
The gap in their bloodlines was even greater.
Mythical Demons’ bloodlines contained special powers. Feats like cleaving mountains or shifting seas and fields—things ordinary demons might spend an entire lifetime cultivating to achieve—these beings could accomplish effortlessly by nature.
Comparing the Earth Louse to the Little Radish Spirit was like pitting someone born in Luo Royal Capital against a child of rural mountain villagers; the difference was immense, impossible to capture in just a few words.
“You even know my name,” the Earth Louse spoke in human tongue. “But why is a mere sprite like you hanging around with humans? With your power, you can’t control them, can you?”
Xiao Luo gave no answer.
She knew she was doomed today.
Even among Mythical Demons, there were disparities in strength, but even the weakest of them was far beyond what a little radish spirit like her could handle.
Not even three radish spirits could defeat an Earth Louse.
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter,” the Earth Louse said. Seeing its opponent already scared stiff, it wasted no time. Pawing the ground with its hooves as if readying a charge, it growled, “I’ll eat you first to whet my appetite!”
Whoosh!
Before the words had fully left its mouth, the Earth Louse’s massive four-horned goat body vanished from sight, moving too fast for the naked eye to track.
“Goodbye, my…”
Boom!
An explosive crash rang out.
“…friends. Everyone, live well… Huh? I’m not dead?”
Xiao Luo blinked her eyes and realized she was tucked securely under Yin Luan’s arm, completely unharmed.
The splintered wreckage was a tree on the other side.
“Pretty fast, indeed.”
The Little Snake Demon remarked.
This speed was several times greater than that of the Evil Spirits they’d encountered before or the agents from the Demon Subduing Division. The sheer force of such a charge was unimaginable if it struck a person.
“…You’re that strong?”
After holding back for what felt like forever, Xiao Luo finally managed to get the words out.
She had sensed that Yin Luan was much stronger than her, but she never imagined the snake demon could hold her own against a Mythical Demon.
“It’s not something you two can handle,” Yin Luan said as she set Xiao Luo down. “Take Ren Tan and hide over there. I’ll deal with it.”
“Got it!”
Relieved at not having to fight, Xiao Luo’s expression eased in an instant. She hurried to Ren Tan’s side, grabbed her hand, and pulled her to a safe distance away. Then she shouted to Yin Luan at the top of her lungs.
“You’ve got this! Oh, right—don’t try to block its charge head-on! One hit and you’re dead. That’s the Earth Louse’s ability!”
It wasn’t merely a matter of speed or power. Thanks to its special Mythic Ability, anyone the Earth Louse rammed died without fail.
The Little Snake Demon gave a quick acknowledgment, her pupils locked unblinkingly on the four-horned goat ahead. Her aura surged to full intensity.
The Earth Louse yanked its head free from the shattered wood, shook it twice, and turned its gaze back to the figures in the clearing.
“So you’re the strongest one in your little group,” it said, its voice laced with fury. “I misjudged you! Human, I’ll tear you to pieces!”
It charged once more, even faster this time, trailing a string of afterimages through the air. From their vantage point, Ren Tan and Xiao Luo couldn’t distinguish the real body from the illusions.
When the eyes couldn’t keep pace, defending became nearly impossible.
Even an Innate Expert would find such an assault troublesome.
But Yin Luan was different.
No matter how swift the target, she could track it with perfect clarity.
The Earth Louse barreled straight ahead before abruptly swerving at the last second, launching its impact from the right.
Heeding Xiao Luo’s warning, Yin Luan didn’t meet it head-on. She simply sidestepped, letting the charge whistle past.
Boom!
Another thick tree trunk shattered into fragments.
“What?!”
The Earth Louse cried out in shock and disbelief.
Someone on the ground had dodged its lethal charges—not once, but repeatedly? Its speed might not rank at the top among all Mythical Demons, but among terrestrial creatures, it reigned supreme.
Be they colossal monsters ten times its size or hordes of human experts, none survived its ram—no exceptions!
“If I can’t block it head-on,” the Little Snake Demon murmured to herself as she uprooted a tree trunk, “then I’ll just change tactics!”
The Earth Louse lunged again.
Its attacks were monotonously simple: just ram.
One killer move that conquered all; armed with the Mythic Ability “One Hit Kill,” it had no need for other strategies. Simply colliding with the enemy sufficed.
Bang!
The Little Snake Demon swung the tree trunk, striking the four-horned goat squarely and sending it flying.
“Impossible!”
The Earth Louse scrambled to its feet, bellowing as it charged anew.
Bang!
The Little Snake Demon swatted it away once more.
Bang! Bang!
Dull thuds echoed through the forest again and again.
The Earth Louse was not only fast and powerful but also boasted incredibly high defenses. Even a thousand-jin log crashing into its body left no damage whatsoever—not even a scrape on its skin.
But this truly dented its fighting spirit.
To think it couldn’t even land a single blow on its opponent!
What breed of monster was this human?!
“Such thick blood,” Little Snake Demon said as she tossed aside the shattered remnants of the tree trunk. “Gotta think of another way.”
“Human, what’s your deal?” The Earth Louse pawed at the ground, holding back its charge this time. “Are you from that Demon Subduing Division or something? I’ve got no beef with you lot—why come after me? Fine, I won’t eat those two companions of yours!”
A sprite with less than a century of cultivation base wasn’t worth risking its life over. It wasn’t even hungry in the first place; the hunt had just been for kicks.
“You killed people from the village. They want me to take you out,” Yin Luan said flatly.
“So what if I killed one person?” the Earth Louse shot back. “It’s not like it was a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand. It doesn’t affect you humans at all! You’ve got plenty more where that came from!”
“One person is still a person,” she replied.
“Ridiculous! You’ve hunted down how many demons, and now you won’t let us demons hunt humans?” the Earth Louse roared. “Humans eat demons, demons eat humans—that’s the natural cycle, the proper way of the world!”
Yin Luan didn’t reply right away.
She tilted her head and pondered for a moment.
“You’re right,” Little Snake Demon said. “So, taking you down now would just be part of the cycle, yeah?”
“You…!”
Fuming, the Earth Louse slammed its hooves against the ground.
Humans were so sly, always twisting logic and splitting hairs!
Baa—! Baa—!
It threw its head back and bleated long and loud. The two pairs of sheep horns atop its head began to glow with a pale golden light. Some special force seemed to lift its body into the air, hooves dangling off the ground, radiating an overwhelming sense of pressure.
“Be careful!” Xiao Luo shouted from a distance. “It’s tapped into the mythical power in its bloodline! This state won’t last long, but it’s incredibly powerful!”
“Hearing that just gets my blood pumping even more!”
Little Snake Demon replied, raring to go.
Her blood surged faster, her body temperature rose—now she was in “Warrior Snake” mode!
“Die!”
With a bellow, the Earth Louse thrust its four horns forward and hurtled toward Yin Luan like a streak of golden flowing light!
