Chapter 222: The End

When Zhou Qing arrived at the entrance of the cave, it was surrounded by demons. Among them, fewer than ten had cultivated into human form; the rest were small tiger spirits still walking on all fours.

The leader of the pack was a small giant, standing three or four zhang tall with a physique as sturdy as a mountain. He clutched a massive stone hammer, which he was currently bringing down upon a dying black python pinned beneath his feet. With a heavy thud, the hammer crushed the serpent into a mangled heap of flesh and blood.

"Lingji! Hand over the Dragon Pellet! If you refuse, once I break this barrier, I will feast on your flesh and peel your skin until not a single bone remains."

The giant swung his hammer against the barrier surrounding Snake Mountain. The force of the blow caused the cave entrance to tremble as if struck by an earthquake.

"Little demon, whose flesh are you planning to feast on, and whose skin are you planning to peel?"

Zhou Qing moved, stepping out from the cave and standing at the threshold to face the giant.

"Oh, ho? A human cultivator among the snake clan?" The giant sneered at Zhou Qing’s elegant robes. "I see. They said Lingji was carrying a human hybrid in her womb—that hybrid must be yours, I suppose?"

"Who is 'they'?" Zhou Qing’s eyes flashed with icy coldness as he retorted.

Following his gaze, the giant pointed toward a snake demon not far away. It was clear that there had been a traitor within the snake clan.

"Keep spewing your filth; I shall treat your curses as your final words in this world. As for that word 'hybrid' you just used, I will make your entire tiger clan pay a heavy price today."

"A price? Do you think you’re some heavenly being descended to earth? Taste my hammer!"

The giant roared and swung his massive stone hammer directly at Zhou Qing. Zhou Qing did not dodge or parry. He tapped the storage pouch at his waist and drew forth his blade, Wuching. As the hammer descended, he pointed the tip of the blade upward, piercing directly into the stone. The hammer shattered into fragments, scattering across the ground, while Zhou Qing remained standing perfectly still.

Seeing his weapon destroyed, the giant let out a furious roar and threw a massive punch at Zhou Qing. Again, Zhou Qing did not move, nor did he use his blade, allowing the giant’s fist to strike him directly.

"Ouch!"

The giant yelped in pain, clutching his hand and recoiling. Zhou Qing, however, remained rooted to the spot, completely unmoved.

"Little demon, is this all the skill you have to show off before me?"

Zhou Qing looked coldly at the retreating giant, stowed Wuching away, and drew a talisman from his pouch. This was the "Hundred-Thunder Spirit Talisman," a charm that could summon countless bolts of lightning; provided one had sufficient spiritual energy, a hundred could easily become a thousand.

With the talisman in hand, Zhou Qing glanced around the cave. Lingji emerged from the darkness behind him, her hand resting on her swollen belly. She looked at the surrounding demons and whispered, "Kill them all."

"That would be too cruel," Zhou Qing replied, turning to look at her. He gently brushed his finger against the bridge of her nose with a tender smile, then shouted, "You have three breaths to flee for your lives. After that, there will be no mercy."

He stroked Lingji’s pale cheek and tossed the talisman into the air. The countdown began.

However, none of the demons surrounding the mountain moved to flee. Without the giant’s order, they knew that running away would only result in their deaths at his hands.

Zhou Qing cast the talisman, offering it to the heavens, and used his spirit as a conduit to summon the power of the celestial thunder. He performed the ritual steps, one hand behind his back and the other forming a strange seal pointed toward the sky, chanting rapidly.

"By the decree of the Supreme Thunder God, I command the power of the eight wildernesses to enact divine justice. Above, I rely on the heavens; below, I tread the earth. With the mysterious light of the Purple Star, I summon the thunder from the divine palace. Let the spirits of sun and moon converge; with one thought, let the heavens and earth tremble. By my spirit, I command the thunder—come!"

As the incantation left his lips, the clear sky instantly darkened, filled with roiling, pitch-black clouds. Thunder rumbled deep within the heavens.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

The thunder roared like a killing formation, drowning out all other sounds for dozens of miles.

When the three breaths passed, a blinding bolt of lightning struck down from the clouds, instantly incinerating the traitorous snake demon. A second bolt followed, slamming into the giant’s mountain-like frame.

Seeing this, the remaining small demons finally snapped to their senses and scrambled to flee, but as soon as they moved, dozens of bolts of lightning rained down from the heavens. Soon, the area around Snake Mountain was littered with the corpses of tigers.

Zhou Qing had given them a chance, but they had chosen not to take it. Who could he blame for that?

Relying on his formidable cultivation, Zhou Qing channeled nearly a hundred bolts of lightning. Finally, he leaped to the side of the dying giant. The giant had shrunk to the size of a normal human, his body scorched and broken.

"Little demon, do you have any final words?"

"Spare me, I..."

Before the giant could finish, Zhou Qing ended his life with a strike from Wuching. The once-formidable tiger clan lay dead around the cave.

"You said it was too cruel, yet you killed them all. Is there a single word of truth in you?"

"It is indeed cruel, but I gave them a chance to run. They chose not to value their own lives; how can you blame me?"

Zhou Qing sheathed his blade and looked at Lingji before preparing to depart.

"Didn't you say you had something to tell me once this was resolved?"

"The place is littered with corpses. Let’s go somewhere else to talk."

As he spoke, Zhou Qing moved to her side and swept her into his arms. Lingji did not resist, instead draping her arms around his neck with a sweet smile. Their figures then vanished into the mountain forest beyond Snake Mountain.