Record of a Demon's Cultivation Chapter 1373: The Ferocity of Demon Beasts is Nothing Compared to the Treachery of the Human Heart

Translator: CinderTL

"Ji Yin, look! What’s that?" Ying Wu pointed at the dark, churning waves below, her voice tinged with excitement.

Using the intense light from the falling lightning, Song Wen followed her gaze.

There, a demon beast was rising and falling with the waves.

Its body was slender and feline in shape, about ten feet long, but completely hairless. Its smooth, pitch-black skin was covered in silver-white Profound Markings.

A pair of wings grew on its back, but submerged in the water, they remained folded against its body.

The Blackwater crackled with silver arcs of electricity from the lightning. The Profound Markings on the beast’s body flickered as they absorbed the surrounding electrical energy.

The creature was only at the late fourth-tier of power, unable to withstand the direct force of the lightning strikes. It had to constantly dodge and weave through the electric arcs.

This was the Zhenhou that Song Wen had been searching for.

"It’s a pity it’s just a small, fourth-tier cub," Ying Wu said. "Still, the Zhenhou is truly remarkable. With only fourth-tier strength, it’s managed to hold this territory year-round. Even we two would struggle to do so. If a human Nascent Soul cultivator came here, they’d likely be blasted to ashes by the lightning."

Unlike Ying Wu’s slight disappointment, Song Wen’s eyes lit up with delight, and a smile spread across his face.

"A cub is perfect. With the cub, we won’t have to worry about failing to capture the other two adults."

With a flap of his wings, Song Wen plummeted downward.

After dodging two bolts of lightning, he was within a few dozen zhang of the Zhenhou.

The Zhenhou now noticed Song Wen.

It showed no fear of this ’monster’ with wings and formidable power. Instead, it bared its fangs and roared at Song Wen.

"ROAR—"

A sphere of lightning the size of a millstone erupted from its blood-red maw, hurtling straight toward Song Wen.

"This little brat is too arrogant. How dare it attack someone far stronger than itself? Its parents must be the local overlords; no other demon beast would dare provoke them."

As Song Wen analyzed the situation in his mind, his body had already pierced through the spherical lightning and lunged before the Zhenhou.

Perhaps sensing the malice emanating from Song Wen, the Zhenhou finally felt fear. It lowered its body, attempting to flee into the water, but it was too late.

A Blood-Colored Tentacle struck, its tip opening wide like a grotesque and alluring carnivorous flower.

The giant flower swallowed the Zhenhou in one gulp.

Holding the closed flower, Song Wen returned to Ying Wu’s side.

"Fellow Daoist Yingwu, I will need your assistance shortly," he said.

Ying Wu nodded slightly. "What do you plan to do?"

"Find a suitable location, set up a formation, and wait for the other two Three-Headed Zenhou to fall into the trap," Song Wen replied.

"How can you be certain the other two will come to their rescue?" Ying Wu asked.

"Based on the intelligence reports, the three Three-Headed Zenhou—two large and one small—were jointly absorbing the lightning. I infer that they are likely a mated pair with their offspring. Their joint absorption of the lightning suggests a strong familial bond," Song Wen explained.

At the bottom of the water, on a massive boulder, stood a Zhenhou. Its four hooves were encased in thick layers of blood, pinning it to the stone and rendering it immobile.

Song Wen stood before the Zhenhou, a sinister smile playing on his lips. He held the Soul Cleaving Blade, tracing its edge over the creature’s body as if preparing to disembowel it. Yet he hesitated, unsure where to strike.

The Zhenhou’s eyes, as large as bronze bells, widened in terror. Its gaping maw emitted frantic howls that shook the surrounding Blackwater, sending ripples spreading into the distance.

For over fifteen minutes, Song Wen circled the Zhenhou with his blade, while the creature howled ceaselessly.

Finally—

"ROAR!"

A thunderous roar echoed from the distance, filled with fury and urgency.

A Zhenhou, three zhang long, burst through the Blackwater. As it closed in, its maw widened, and thunderlight began to coalesce. Perhaps fearing injury to the smaller Zhenhou, it unleashed a bolt no thicker than an arm.

Yet Song Wen dared not underestimate it.

With a flick of his wrist, Song Wen pressed the short blade against the young Zhenhou’s forehead, between its eyes.

His observations had confirmed that both the young Zhenhou’s Demon Soul and demon core were located beneath this spot.

At the same time, Song Wen glanced at the larger Zhenhou’s abdomen.

It was a female beast, at the late seventh-tier.

Just as Song Wen had anticipated, Zhenhou were fiercely protective of their young.

The lightning bolt the mother Zhenhou had swallowed veered slightly, grazing Song Wen’s body before striking a pile of submerged rocks nearby, sending countless fragments flying.

The mother Zhenhou halted ten zhang away, casting a concerned glance at the young one. Then, its eyes blazed with fury as it fixed its gaze on Song Wen.

Song Wen’s expression was as cold and unyielding as iron, the short blade steady against the young Zhenhou’s forehead, not moving an inch.

The young Zhenhou looked pleadingly at its mother, tears welling in its eyes. Its body struggled violently, and it let out a few whimpers of distress.

The mother Zhenhou’s heart ached at the sight of its suffering child, but it seemed to have no way to rescue it. With a desperate roar that shook the heavens and earth, it threw its head back and let out a thunderous cry.

The sound waves rippled through the water, creating visible rings of ripples.

Before long, another Zhenhou burst through the Blackwater.

This one was even more massive than the mother Zhenhou, its Profound Markings glowing more intensely. It was a peak seventh-tier creature.

Moreover, its temper was even more violent than the mother’s. It opened its jaws and unleashed a lightning bolt half a zhang thick, striking straight at Song Wen.

Song Wen glanced at the Zhenhou’s abdomen again.

Confirmed, a male.

Still motionless, he merely tightened his grip on the Soul Cleaving Blade.

The blade pierced the smaller Zhenhou’s forehead, sinking three inches deep. A trickle of crimson blood seeped from the wound, blooming in the pitch-black water.

"ROAR—"

The mother Zhenhou let out a desperate roar, as if to curb the male’s reckless assault.

Hearing this, the male Zhenhou finally came to its senses. It opened its mouth and inhaled, drawing back the lightning it had just spat out.

It stopped a few zhang away from Song Wen, forming a pincer attack with the mother Zhenhou, trapping Song Wen and the smaller Zhenhou between them.

"I don’t want to be your enemy. I’ll return your child to you. But don’t make any rash moves. Wait until I’m far away before rescuing it. Otherwise, I’ll take it down with me."

Ignoring whether they understood him, Song Wen retracted the blood sea that had bound the young Zhenhou’s four hooves and slowly retreated backward.

However, he didn’t remove the Soul Cleaving Blade.

It remained lodged in the young Zhenhou’s forehead.

Eager to escape the danger and reach its parents, the young Zhenhou suddenly lunged forward a few feet. But the Soul Cleaving Blade plunged deeper, its entire foot-long blade sinking completely into its forehead.

"Waa... waa..."

The mother Zhenhou let out urgent cries, seemingly trying to soothe her offspring and prevent it from struggling.

Meanwhile, the male Zhenhou opened its maw and inhaled sharply.

Song Wen, who had only retreated a few dozen feet, suddenly felt the Soul Cleaving Blade begin to move uncontrollably. A strange force was dragging it out of the young Zhenhou’s body.

As the short blade and a clump of blood simultaneously burst from the creature’s forehead, the male Zhenhou’s fury erupted. With a single stomp of its four hooves, it charged toward Song Wen.

(End of the Chapter)

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