Outside the cave, snow was falling heavily. Inside, Yan Shouyi and Li Genmiao were also shrouded in shadow.
The Black Bear Demon’s immense size exerted extreme pressure. With every breath, the hot air from its nostrils nearly sprayed onto Yan Shouyi’s face.
Li Genmiao managed to divert the Black Bear Demon’s attention to Yan Shouyi. As expected, the demon fixed its gaze solely on Yan Shouyi.
Damn it! You son of a bitch, Li Genmiao!
Yan Shouyi cursed inwardly, then raised the Ginseng Doll and said coldly,
“Do you recognize this Ginseng Doll? Does it have a name, Er Ya?”
The Black Bear Demon seemed to care deeply about the Ginseng Doll. Seeing Yan Shouyi treating it so roughly, the demon flew into a rage, “Release her!”
So, these two knew each other, and their relationship was unusual.
Having reached this conclusion, Yan Shouyi placed his Zanpakuto at the Ginseng Doll's neck.
“Human…” The Black Bear Demon instantly became anxious. “Don’t make another mistake!”
“That depends on your performance,” Yan Shouyi stated.
Li Genmiao looked at Yan Shouyi and chuckled, “When it comes to threats, you and I are neck and neck.”
“Get out of the way, you unlucky bastard,” Yan Shouyi replied without looking back.
Li Genmiao, though cursed at, felt a little guilty due to his earlier maneuver of shifting the conflict, so he didn’t mind Yan Shouyi’s insult.
Yan Shouyi took two steps back. The Black Bear Demon moved forward two steps. Yan Shouyi immediately put on a stern face, “Don’t you understand what I’m saying?”
The Black Bear Demon quickly retreated, maintaining distance from Yan Shouyi.
Only then did Yan Shouyi relax a little. He didn't know the Black Bear Demon's full strength. If it was too close, and the demon suddenly attacked, he might not be able to handle it.
The Black Bear Demon suppressed its anger and said, “What exactly do you want?”
“To go up the mountain.”
Yan Shouyi said calmly, “Last time you stopped the person beside me from going up, what was it for?”
The Black Bear Demon hesitated for a moment. Its not-so-bright eyes revealed a glint of “wisdom,” and then it explained,
“There is a thousand-year-old spirit grass on Changbai Mountain. Er Ya and I have been guarding it for three hundred years, waiting for it to mature so we can eat it. I was afraid humans would come up the mountain and steal our spirit grass.”
Spirit grass?
Yan Shouyi wore a thoughtful expression.
The Black Bear Demon immediately added, “But if you are willing to release Er Ya, I am also willing to hand over the spirit grass!”
Oh? This was a concession? The Ginseng Doll was indeed very important to the Black Bear Demon.
However, the Black Bear Demon’s acting was too poor. Yan Shouyi saw through its lie at a glance.
He sneered, “There is no spirit grass on Changbai Mountain at all. You are just making excuses to trick me into releasing Er Ya.”
The Black Bear Demon’s eyes widened, as if its thoughts had been exposed, which greatly surprised it.
Was my acting not good enough?
Or is this male human too smart?
Or did I reveal something?!
The Black Bear Demon couldn’t understand. It considered itself the most intelligent being on Changbai Mountain, yet it often couldn't figure out what humans were thinking.
However, as the two sides were in a standoff, Li Genmiao seemed to notice something.
He observed that behind Yan Shouyi, there was a row of strange small footprints, resembling the tracks of some small avian creature.
Suddenly, Yan Shouyi’s vision blurred!
A black shadow appeared out of nowhere, flashed past, and snatched Er Ya from Yan Shouyi’s hand.
Before he could even react, the Black Bear Demon roared and lunged forward, its massive paw aiming directly at Yan Shouyi’s forehead!
Yan Shouyi quickly bent down to dodge!
With a boom, the Black Bear Demon struck the cave wall. The entire cave trembled. A piece of rock detached from the wall as if it were tofu, bearing long, deep claw marks!!
Good heavens, if that paw had hit my head, even with my Heavenly Corpse Puppet body, my head would have been crushed into a pulp.
What if it hit Li Genmiao?
Yan Shouyi suddenly understood why Li Genmiao was so wary of this Black Bear Demon. In close-quarters physical combat, Li Genmiao might not have stood a chance against it.
But, what was that thing that snatched the Ginseng Doll just now?
After bending down, Yan Shouyi immediately used the technique of "Soaring Ground Golden Light" to retreat into the depths of the cave.
The closest person to the Black Bear Demon was now Li Genmiao.
Li Genmiao, who had been spectating, became the Black Bear Demon’s target. He snapped back to reality, his face changing, “Yan Shouyi, you’re dishonorable!”
Yan Shouyi, hiding behind, sneered, “Weren’t you doing the same thing just now?”
Although Yan Shouyi was watching the spectacle, he hadn’t let his guard down. Li Genmiao couldn't die yet.
He didn't believe Li Genmiao couldn't handle the Black Bear Demon, so he wanted to use this opportunity to let the Black Bear Demon test Li Genmiao’s capabilities.
After Li Genmiao’s curses, he also adopted a serious expression. Seeing the Black Bear Demon lunging at him, Li Genmiao dashed towards the cave wall. His body actually ran along the wall in a circle, landing behind the lunging Black Bear Demon.
The Black Bear Demon, being huge, appeared somewhat clumsy, struggling to turn around.
At this moment, Li Genmiao took out a small gourd. After removing the stopper, countless white, mindless evil spirits floated out.
He casually pointed, and these spirits lunged at the Black Bear Demon. However, they didn’t cling to the demon; instead, they directly burrowed into its body!
“What, what is this!”
The Black Bear Demon was greatly alarmed, rolling on the ground continuously, trying to rub out the things that had entered its body.
Li Genmiao, seeing that the time was right, began to sing, “Ox-Head and Horse-Face, soul reapers! Black and White Impermanence come to claim your life~~ King Yama summons you at the third watch, who dares to keep you till the fifth~~~”
What kind of move is this?
Yan Shouyi silently observed intently.
The Black Bear Demon showed signs of extreme pain. The muscles beneath its black fur twitched incessantly, as if some parasite was ravaging its body.
Bang bang bang bang!!!
Without any warning, several large bulges appeared on the Black Bear Demon’s body, like inflating balloons. In less than a second, its skin burst, splattering blood!
The Black Bear Demon ceased to move. Blood sprayed onto the cave walls, splattering all over Li Genmiao.
But Li Genmiao not only didn’t mind the blood but also wore an extremely cruel smile under the glow of the bonfire.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve killed… I’m even a bit rusty,” Li Genmiao said to Yan Shouyi with a hint of an apology.
Yan Shouyi turned his face, feeling profoundly uncomfortable.
With that last move, Li Genmiao released some souls he had captured beforehand, letting them burrow into the Black Bear Demon’s body. Then, like igniting a bomb, he caused those souls to explode. The Black Bear Demon had tough skin, but its internal organs were just as fragile. He had never expected it to die such a violent death.
“I should have killed this beast last time, but unfortunately, I wasn’t prepared,” Li Genmiao chuckled. “This time, it was just unlucky.”