Rift Wind Withering

The angry shriek tearing through the sky behind him, and the cold, substantial killing intent, clung to Nightmare like maggots to a bone, locking onto him relentlessly!

The Green-Winged Bat King's speed was beyond imagination! It was originally the king among wind-elemental Yao Beasts, and now it was burning its Origin, each flap of its wings stirring up terrifying hurricanes, propelling its massive body to close the distance at a near-teleportation speed!

Nightmare pushed the Demonic Shadow Evasion Technique to an unprecedented extreme, even continuously burning his already not fully recovered vital blood. His speed already far surpassed that of an ordinary Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator, but he still couldn't shake off the approaching shadow of death!

The distance between them was rapidly shrinking!

Five hundred li... three hundred li... one hundred li... Nightmare could even clearly smell the fishywind from behind and the scorched scent of the violent wind energy tearing through the air!

He couldn't let this continue! Once caught, in this exposed sky, facing a frenzied Peak Golden Core Stage Yao Beast, he would surely die!

He had to counterattack! At least to slow it down!

A fierce glint flashed in Nightmare's eyes. He bit the tip of his tongue, forcibly stimulating his Divine Soul, and in his left eye, the green glow of life force and the gray glow of death flickered alternately!

The Azure Nether Life and Death Dao — Life Force Plunder! Target: the vast mountain forest below!

Buzz!

An invisible ripple spread out with him as the center!

In an instant, centered on his flight path below, the flowers, plants, and trees within a radius of more than ten li seemed to have their life force instantly drained. They withered, yellowed, and wilted at a visible speed! A vast but mixed life force was forcibly plundered and surged into Nightmare's body!

This power was far less pure than his own vital blood, and forcibly absorbing it would even cause his Meridians to ache, but at this moment, he couldn't afford to care about that!

With this surge of life force, Nightmare's speed increased by another fraction, and he suddenly turned around!

Facing the Green-Winged Bat King, which had already closed to less than fifty li behind him and had its ferocious maw open, Nightmare violently pushed his hands forward!

The massive life force he had just absorbed and not yet refined, mixed with his own pure Demonic Essence and a trace of Xiangliu Poison, surged out without reservation!

This was not some exquisite Divine Ability, but the purest, most barbaric energy torrent impact!

Boom—!

The gray-green energy torrent, like a breached dam, slammed fiercely into the charging Green-Winged Bat King!

The Green-Winged Bat King hadn't expected its prey to dare to counterattack. Caught off guard, it was violently jolted by this savage energy impact, and its speed suddenly slowed! It shrieked in anger, its wings flapping wildly, as sharp wind-elemental blades slashed out, continuously tearing apart the energy torrent!

But its charge was, after all, interrupted!

Seizing this opportunity, Nightmare once again put a little more distance between them, while simultaneously flicking his ten fingers!

Soul Shattering Finger! The target was not the Bat King's tough body, but the relatively fragile joints of its massive fleshy wings and its pair of crimson demonic eyes!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Streaks of condensed gray-black finger wind shot through the air with astonishing speed!

The Green-Winged Bat King had clearly suffered from this finger wind before. Sensing the destructive Divine Soul power contained within, it dared not be careless, sharply turning its head to dodge, while also blocking with its scale-covered wing bones!

Thud thud!

Most of the finger winds were dodged or blocked, but two still accurately hit the membrane connection of one fleshy wing and its shoulder blade!

Although no serious damage was inflicted, the deathly aura of Xiangliu Poison and the Divine Soul impact contained within still made it roar in pain, its movements faltering slightly once more, and its wing flaps seemed less smooth and natural than before.

Effective!

Nightmare's spirits lifted. He fought and retreated, continuously harassing the Bat King with Soul Shattering Finger from a distance, slowing its pursuit.

However, the might of a Peak Golden Core Stage Yao Beast far exceeded imagination. Those minor injuries and poison were forcibly suppressed and expelled by the Green-Winged Bat King's vast Demonic Qi in just a few moments!

It was thoroughly enraged! This tiny ant before it had not only stolen its treasure but dared to injure it repeatedly!

"Screech—!"

The Green-Winged Bat King let out an even sharper, more piercing shriek. The spiral horn on its forehead suddenly burst forth with dazzling azure-black light!

The next moment, it opened its huge maw, not emitting a sound wave, but rather a deep azure wind beam, condensed to the extreme, only arm-thick, yet exuding a destructive aura!

The speed of this wind beam surpassed the limits of Divine Sense detection! Wherever it passed, space seemed to be cut open, leaving faint black traces!

Nightmare's pupils suddenly contracted, and a fatal sense of crisis instantly enveloped his entire body!

He couldn't dodge it! It was too fast!

He roared, his Demonic Essence erupting without reservation, the Myriad Poison Demonic Body pushed to its limit. He crossed his arms in front of him, while simultaneously dodging to one side with all his might!

Rip!

The deep azure wind beam grazed his arm!

A terrifying tearing sensation came! Nightmare's demonic body, which had been strengthened multiple times and was comparable to a Magic Treasure, was like paper in front of this wind beam! The Demonic Essence shield on his arm shattered instantly, the scale-like skin was easily cut open, deep enough to see bone! Even a layer of bone was shaved off! Blood instantly gushed out!

Even more terrifying, a fierce and domineering wind energy surged madly into his body through the wound, violently destroying his Meridians!

Nightmare grunted, his face instantly turning ashen, his body plummeting towards the mountain forest below like a kite with a broken string!

"Roar!" The Green-Winged Bat King let out a triumphant shriek, its huge wings flapping. It swooped down like a demon god, its sharp claws spread, about to tear the falling prey to shreds!

In this critical moment, a trace of extreme madness flashed in Nightmare's eyes!

Now!

He endured the intense pain and the rampant wind energy within his body, and his Divine Thought suddenly connected with the demonic vine seed that had just recently condensed within his Dantian!

"World Devouring Demonic Vine—Appear!"

Buzz!

The ground of the mountain forest below where Nightmare was falling suddenly vibrated violently!

The next moment, countless pitch-black vines, covered with strange porous patterns and exuding endless devouring power, burst out of the earth like demonic snakes from the Nine Hells, growing wildly and instantly weaving into a huge, wriggling black demonic net, shrouding the Green-Winged Bat King as it swooped down!

These demonic vines appeared soft, yet they were incredibly tough. Even more terrifying, the moment they touched the Green-Winged Bat King's protective Demonic Qi, they erupted with terrifying devouring power, frantically tearing and absorbing its Demonic Qi!

At the same time, several of the thickest demonic vines, like venomous Dragons emerging from their lairs, lashed fiercely at the Green-Winged Bat King's fleshy wings and eyes!

This sudden and bizarre attack completely exceeded the Green-Winged Bat King's expectations! Its massive body was instantly entangled by countless demonic vines, and its swooping momentum abruptly stalled! Its Demonic Qi was frantically devoured by the demonic vines like a flood breaking through a dam!

"Screech?!?" The Green-Winged Bat King let out a shriek of combined shock and fury, struggling wildly, tearing with its sharp claws, and spitting out wind energy, severing and shredding one demonic vine after another!

But these demonic vines seemed endless, regenerating rapidly at the broken points. Moreover, after devouring its Demonic Qi, they grew even thicker and fiercer!

Seizing this opportunity, Nightmare crashed heavily to the ground, spitting out another mouthful of blood, but without hesitation, he soared into the air again, fleeing madly into the distance! At the same time, with a thought, the demonic vines stopped their entanglement, rapidly retracted into the ground, and disappeared.

This was his first time using the World Devouring Demonic Vine. Although its power was strong, it consumed an immense amount of Demonic Essence and Divine Soul. It was impossible to trap the Peak Golden Core Stage Bat King for long; to hinder it for a moment was already the limit!

The Green-Winged Bat King broke free from its restraints, looked at Nightmare's retreating figure, and felt a faint sense of weakness left by the demonic vines devouring part of its Demonic Qi. It let out an extremely enraged roar!

Just as it was about to give chase again—

Caw—!!!

Just then, an even higher, more majestic avian cry, seemingly capable of tearing through the firmament, suddenly came from the extremely high Nine Heavens!

This avian cry contained a terrifying pressure that looked down upon all under heaven, noble beyond compare, its level... actually surpassed Golden Core, reaching the Nascent Soul Stage!

The Green-Winged Bat King, preparing to give chase, froze as if doused with ice water. A very human-like fear instantly flashed in its crimson pupils! It unhesitatingly abandoned its pursuit of Nightmare, letting out an unwilling yet fearful low growl, abruptly changing direction, and fleeing in extreme panic towards the Rift Wind Demon Valley's lair, at a speed even faster than it had arrived!

And Nightmare, who was desperately fleeing, felt his hairs stand on end the moment that avian cry sounded. A terrifying suppressive force, originating from a higher life level, almost made him unable to breathe!

He struggled to look up.

He saw a colossal black shadow slowly sweeping across the clouds of the Nine Heavens. Its wingspan blotted out the sun, and the shadow it cast seemed to plunge the entire earth into gloom. Although he couldn't see its specific form, the substantial pressure it exuded and the extremely dense wind-elemental Law fluctuations made Nightmare instantly understand what it was—

"A Wind-Rending Condor?!"