All of this happened in a flash, both sides moving as swiftly as the wind, and before they knew it, they had already reached the depths of the valley. Just as William Grant’s attention was still fixed on the white shadow of the monster ahead, he was caught off guard by a rumbling wind above his head—a massive black shadow descended.

　　Boom!

　　He stopped himself abruptly, only to realize it was a gigantic branch! And he had already arrived before a towering, sky-reaching tree!

　　It turned out that at the center of the valley stood a colossal tree, dozens of zhang tall, its canopy blocking out the sky and sun, stretching far and wide, as if all the vegetation in the valley had sprung from it. Countless thick branches coiled around the trunk, and any living creature that approached would be lashed by them.

　　Clearly, this giant tree was the demon king of the valley!

　　William Grant dodged the first branch, but couldn’t avoid the second one coming straight at him—thud!

　　This strike sent him flying more than ten zhang away!

　　After tumbling to the ground, William Grant looked up again at the white shadow of the monster, only to see it dodging and leaping among the giant branches, not even a single leaf touching its body.

　　It was too agile!

　　William Grant’s thunder sword energy was always known for its speed, but it was more about bold, direct attacks.

　　If they were in a flat, open area, he was confident he could catch this human-faced demon in no time. But in this rugged, complex valley, he was actually unable to do anything to his opponent.

　　And with the giant tree present, he dared not pursue further.

　　He could only watch as the monster’s figure leapt farther and farther away in the blink of an eye...

　　“Damn it!” William Grant cursed angrily.

　　A Golden Core cultivator leading the team, and the mission still failed. Returning to the mountain like this, who knows what his master would think of him, what Senior Brother Daniel would think, what Junior Sister Emily would think... Hm?

　　Swish—

　　Just as he was frustrated, a black shadow, almost impossible to catch with the naked eye, suddenly swept past him, chasing rapidly in the direction of the monster.

　　And it looked even faster, even more agile! The giant tree’s branches didn’t even attack this black shadow, because before they could react, it had already passed!

　　Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!

　　...

　　The human-faced demon.

　　It was an extremely rare mountain spirit, born when a human-faced jade essence flower matured and was devoured by a ghost. The ghost would then grow a new body, called a human-faced demon.

　　The hallmark of this spirit was its incredible speed and agility.

　　The one in the valley had been lurking here for a long time. For any humans who dared touch the jade essence flower it had found, it wished nothing more than to wipe them out.

　　But those humans were extremely powerful, so after snatching the jade essence flower, it could only run for its life. As long as it made it back to its cave and refined the flower, its cultivation would double, and then... hehehehehehe...

　　Thinking of its cultivation soaring, the human-faced demon couldn’t help but let out a strange laugh.

　　As for the human cultivator relentlessly chasing behind, it felt only disdain. No matter how strong he was, he could only eat its dust.

　　It knew the valley like the back of its hand and could easily shake him off. He even tried to fly on his sword here—ha, just wait to smash your head open!

　　Once it entered the giant tree’s domain, the human-faced demon knew it was safe.

　　Other than itself, no other demon could move freely on the giant tree. As for these humans, even less so!

　　It darted and weaved with ease, as if strolling in a garden. After a while, it felt it could turn back to see the human’s frustrated face—any farther and it wouldn’t be able to see him at all.

　　Thinking this, the human-faced demon turned back with a strange laugh.

　　Then, on its huge human-like face, its eyes suddenly bulged, as if it had seen something utterly terrifying!

　　What was that?

　　Its not-so-developed mind was thrown into wild confusion.

　　Because when it turned around, it actually saw, right behind it, just a body’s length away, a black shadow following closely.

　　Swish! Swish!

　　In the blink of an eye, the black shadow leapt above its head, then to its side, running neck and neck with it!

　　How was this possible?!

　　Did I run into a ghost?

　　No, wait, I’m the ghost here!

　　In its memory, since it was born, no one had ever been able to keep up with the speed of a human-faced demon!

　　What on earth was going on?

　　Because they were both moving at high speed, the two were relatively still to each other. So it got a good look at the black shadow’s true form.

　　It was a young man in brocade clothes with sleeves tied up, quite handsome, looking gentle and refined.

　　How could he have such terrifying movement skills?

　　As the human-faced demon looked over, the young man also glanced at it.

　　Then... he stuck out his tongue and licked his palm... his eyes shining with a sharp light, as if thoroughly enjoying the thrill of the chase.

　　The strange smile on the human-faced demon’s face instantly shattered.

　　Oh my god, this guy’s a freak!

Chapter 014 Our Hero Liam Carter

　　The human-faced demon departed peacefully.

　　...

　　Liam Carter hadn’t wanted it to be this way.

　　They had originally been following behind William Grant, already lagging a bit behind.