White Demon's sharp gaze swept over the ground. Two leaves on the short bush to the left were broken, the yellow earth showed signs of having been disturbed and refilled, and there were faint scratches on a nearby pine tree.

Based on White Demon's past experience, William Harper had definitely escaped into the bushes on the left. Taking a deep breath, White Demon soared up like a great eagle, gliding five or six meters forward in a flash of white light, disappearing into the forest.

It wasn't until White Demon had gone far away, more than ten minutes later, that William Harper finally poked his head out from the nearby mound of earth. He was covered in mud, reeking with a pungent stench. To evade White Demon's pursuit, William Harper had doused himself with the fruit of the black pear tree, dug a pit, buried himself inside, and held his breath for nearly twenty minutes before daring to come out.

In terms of tracking and hiding, William Harper's skills were second to none. If not for the vast difference in strength between him and White Demon, he would never have ended up in such a sorry state.

A babbling stream rushed down from the western mountain, forming several deep pools. William Harper plunged into the water, burying himself at the bottom, letting the current wash away the stench from his body. Running away with that smell would make him easy to track.

After completely erasing his scent, William Harper surfaced and swam toward the edge of the water.

Now it's safe, William Harper thought to himself. He swam to the rocks at the edge of the pool, grabbed a boulder with his right hand, and prepared to climb ashore. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his hand, making William Harper grimace in agony. Looking up, he saw White Demon standing right in front of him, stepping on his hand.

As fate would have it, White Demon had searched for William Harper for over thirty minutes without finding him, so he doubled back. At that time, William Harper was still underwater, and White Demon still couldn't find him, so he searched downstream along the creek—only to catch a whiff of the stench coming from the water, which led him right there.

"Kid, you've got some skills. For a little nobody at the lower Xuan initial stage, you sure made me look for a long time. If you weren't from the Hao clan, I might even appreciate your talent," White Demon said, hooking his right foot and kicking William Harper in the chin, sending him flying, then grabbing him by the neck.

A trace of blood trickled from the corner of William Harper's mouth, but he showed no panic. He simply wiped his mouth with his sleeve and retorted, "It's because I'm only at the lower Xuan initial stage that you caught me so easily. If I were at the lower Xuan advanced stage, I could kill you!"

Seeing the fearless look in William Harper's eyes, White Demon couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart. For some reason, he actually believed William Harper's words a little. White Demon laughed at himself—how could he be intimidated by a little nobody? Even if it were the middle or upper Xuan advanced stage, so what?

"Big talk. But you won't get another chance. I won't give any enemy the opportunity to kill me!" White Demon sneered, tossing William Harper high into the air and chopping his right hand like a blade into William Harper's dantian. For some reason, White Demon felt a vague fear of William Harper. This kid was only in his teens, yet already had such a mind. If he grew up, who knows, maybe he'd be killed by him one day. Better to cripple him now.

William Harper let out a scream of agony. His entire dantian felt shattered, his meridians torn to pieces, his dantian like a punctured ball, vital energy leaking everywhere.

The unbearable pain made William Harper's whole body convulse, his face pale, sweat dripping down like beans.

White Demon gathered a ball of white light in his right hand and pressed it into William Harper's abdomen, instantly easing much of William Harper's pain.

"Get up, stop playing dead." White Demon kicked William Harper, sending him flying.

William Harper staggered to his feet, his dantian wracked with pain. He tried to gather his vital energy, only to find he couldn't anymore—he was now a cripple.

"Take me to find the Nine Nether Spirit Fox, or I'll kill you!" White Demon said coldly.

After being crippled, William Harper didn't care at all. He looked at White Demon and gave a wicked smile.

"Damn, still got some backbone," White Demon cursed. For some reason, William Harper's smile sent chills down his spine. He thought, I've killed so many people, how could I be afraid of a kid, especially a cripple?

The basic requirement for cultivating the Ancestral Dragon Art is destruction before rebirth. Only by abolishing all internal power can one practice the Ancestral Dragon Art.

By a twist of fate, White Demon had fulfilled William Harper's wish. Even if White Demon hadn't acted, William Harper would have done it himself.

William Harper dove into his sea of consciousness, opened the Soul Ring, and took out the Ancestral Dragon Art hidden inside. The first layer of the Ancestral Dragon Art appeared in William Harper's mind: Reverse the Nine Stars, transform qi within the Heavenly Kui to draw energy into the origin, invert the circulation, cultivate the Heavenly Pillar Dragon Bone, and transform the body into a dragon...

He had only glanced at the Ancestral Dragon Art before, never studying it closely. Now, reading it word by word and pondering its principles, he realized how domineering and dangerous it was. This cultivation method completely disregarded the human body's structure. Reversing the Nine Stars and inverting the circulation would create a powerful counterflow of vital energy. A single misstep could burst the meridians and cause the cultivator to explode. However, the strength of the counterflow was undeniable—the Ancestral Dragon Art expanded the meridians by intensifying the counterflow, then cultivated along the normal flow.

The first layer of the Ancestral Dragon Art also included two martial skills: Dragon Origin Destruction and Dragon Qi Restoration Technique.