Chapter 112

The rich bloody scent gushed forth incessantly, like a column of spring, continuously spraying.

The entire hall was completely shrouded in the bloody stench, making people almost want to vomit.

And within the main hall of the White Wave Hall, the crosswind howled and poured, blowing everyone until their whole bodies were icy cold.

Ox Demon……

Ox Demon!

Hearing his name, they lose their courage!

A villain of extreme wickedness!

The vice hall master standing beside the White Wave Hall's lord trembled all over like chaff in a sieve, his complexion deathly pale, his pupils shrunk to the size of mung beans.

He stared blankly as the figure beside him, sturdy as a mountain, was easily twisted and his head snapped off.

His wildly dancing dark blue-black hair, like lightning, illuminated the cute bovine mask… resembling an Asura!

"You… you…"

The vice hall master was terrified out of his wits; recently, the name of the Ox Demon's ferocity had been thunderously notorious.

All the many forces under the Fishermen's Gang were slaughtered by the Ox Demon, yet the Gang could do nothing against him!

Now, this Ox Demon has appeared in the White Wave Hall; finally it's the White Wave Hall's turn…

The vice hall master was utterly desperate; the Ox Demon's appearance came without warning, as if it had suddenly appeared beside the Hall Lord.

Cultivating the Corpse-Nurturing Technique, using corpse energy to nourish his flesh to the peak of the Walking Corpse, with one foot about to step into the Iron Corpse stage, the White Wave Hall Lord had his head twisted off by the Ox Demon…

Easier than twisting off a chicken's head…

This Ox Demon is ten, even a hundred times more terrifying than the rumors!

Li Che's eyes beneath his mask were icy cold, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

These people…

All deserve to die.

His gaze linked with the Heaven-Earth Chessboard; the Eight Directions Corpse Curse seal suppressed within the board trembled violently, and an invisible wave of corpse energy spread outward from his body.

Thus, the corpse curse marks on these people became exceptionally clear in his eyes!

This is a gift from the Corpse God Sect to them, and also a means to drag them into mire; the corpse curse seal requires corpse energy to nurture, so if they wish to break through their cultivation, they must accumulate corpse energy.

Where does corpse energy come from?

Just like the White Wave Hall Lord—killing people… even eating them!

Bang——

Qi and blood exploded; the vice hall master had no thought of fighting to the death, he only wanted to flee!

The White Wave Hall Lord said that once the Ox Demon appears, someone will come to deal with him—where?

Where!!!

"Where are the people?!"

A roar of fury bellowed from the vice hall master's mouth.

Then his body became unable to move, his throat felt as if gripped by an invisible hand; an extremely terrifying high-rank divine aura spread like ripples, brushing over his body, leaving him stiff in place, utterly immobile…

How terrifying the divine aura…

The vice hall master felt his own divine aura trembling, unable to even circulate a thread; before that rank, he was completely suppressed.

Then he saw behind the Ox Demon a wheel like a blazing sun rising—a Divine Base.

As the Divine Base turned, countless blade lights swept in an instant, like countless bamboo leaves tossed by a gale, a hurricane sweeping across, churning wildly within the hall.

Plop plop plop plop——

All the experts of the White Wave Hall inside the hall were slain!

Li Che briefly opened the Ascending Tower state, not the kind that receives temple god divine energy, which can last a few breaths, used to draw in divine energy all at once… it was very convenient.

Clenching his five fingers, countless divine energy gathered from the corpses, condensing into divine chess pieces, which he placed into the Heaven-Earth Chessboard.

Li Che's powerful divine sense swept over, searching the bodies of the two vice hall masters he had blown up and the hall master whose head he had twisted off, scooping away the Cosmos Jade.

Killing people without looting their corpses—what's the difference from a salted fish?

"Ox Demon——!!!"

"Where to flee!!!"

When Li Che finished these corpse-collecting actions, an extremely terrifying aura suddenly erupted from outside the White Wave Hall!

That was… the divine aura of an Illusory Appearance Realm cultivator!

Mighty and vast, as if a deity from afar opened its eyes, the divine pressure swept over like a boom, seeking to annihilate everything.

Moreover, there was an ear-splitting sound of wind being torn; a divine archer from afar shot a lethal arrow straight at him!

On the arrow coiled qi and blood like a roaring flood dragon, and an extremely refined, perfect Divine Base divine energy!

A very powerful arrow!

It sealed off all escape angles and directions for the Ox Demon!

But this was not the first time Li Che had encountered such a powerful divine archer from the Divine Guard Army; his archery skill was supernatural, far surpassing Li Che's 【Cry of a Hundred Ghosts Wind Thunder Arrow】.

Furthermore, this divine archer's strength is also extraordinary: mid-stage Grandmaster cultivation, his divine energy has reached Perfection of the Divine Base, he is observing the Divine Appearance, and the Illusory Appearance is about to form.

The shot arrow is more terrifying than a cannonball!

If we talk about explosive bombardment power, it even surpasses his 【Namu Xian Gong Barrett】!

The Immortal Craft Barrett mainly has long range, high speed, strong penetration, plus the toxicity of the Dragon Tooth Bodhi bullet made from fused bodhi blood and tears…

Causing extremely terrifying carnage!

However, in terms of explosive power, it truly cannot compare to the arrow of the divine archer containing a Grandmaster's true qi and perfect Divine Base divine energy!

Two great attacks came raging: one Illusory Appearance expert from the Fishermen's Gang, and one Divine Archer from the Divine Guard Army!

Almost simultaneously, thunderous lethal strikes descended.

A terrifying sense of oppression, nearly suffocating!

Boom——!!!!

Terrifying explosion, like a mushroom cloud rising, the ground shook, countless cracks spiderwebbed outward, as if an earthquake.

Even the Nine Dragons River, several tens of zhang away, burst into surging waves, as if a dragon in the river roared angrily.

The main hall of White Wave Hall instantly collapsed and sank into a deep pit, tiles shattered, walls collapsed, huge, like spiderweb-like radiating cracks intertwining ferociously.

Amidst the rolling smoke and dust, someone stepped through the void, sleeves fluttering past.

A strong wind arose, causing the floating dust to disperse completely.

Revealed the scene within the deep pit.

That was an old man in splendid robes, hands behind his back, standing suspended in midair; a Void Appearance cultivator already had the ability to levitate.

That was one of the two Void Appearance-realm deputy chiefs of the Fishermen's Gang, Liu Jinsong.

The other, with domineering qi and blood raging, shot forth and landed at the edge of the deep pit, his golden armor gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.

He escaped again……

This person is the Divine Archer of the Divine Guard Army, Jiang Du.

Both, top-tier experts in Jingguang Prefecture City, joined forces, yet the Bull Demon escaped once again.

Liu Jinsong floated down, his splendid robes billowing in the wind, hands behind his back, eyes icy: "What a Bull Demon, truly as slippery as a loach……"

Always striking in secret, killing people and fleeing immediately! Vicious and cunning!

Even among the populace, some call him a hero, yet he slays innocent members of our Fishermen's Gang…… utterly brutal and tyrannical, his actions cowardly and fearful of death, truly a rat-like scoundrel!

Liu Jinsong shouted his rebuke.

A mighty Void Appearance realm expert, actually continuously evaded by a mere initial-stage Divine Foundation cultivator, simply playing with us like a toy!

Annoyance is also normal.

Jiang Du put away his crimson longbow, glanced at the flustered Liu Jinsong, and muttered inwardly.

The people the Bull Demon killed…… what sort of scum are they? As a deputy chief of the Fishermen's Gang, how could Liu Jinsong not know?

Extorting the people's wealth, doing evil, killing and feeding fish…… ruthless and violent!

These people deserved death.

Why does the Bull Demon, despite killing countless people, gain fame and a good reputation among the populace?

Isn't it just because his peers set him off?!

This Bull Demon surely masters some kind of divine translocation secret technique, and his breath-concealing art is also extremely profound; otherwise, facing our two attacks and divine seal, he could not escape so easily.

Jiang Du's golden armor clanged as he spoke in a deep voice.

Liu Jinsong gave a cold snort, his face extremely grim.

The Fishermen's Gang…… another of its forces has been wiped out!

White Wave Hall, the Fishermen's Gang's black-gloved fist, its hall chief renowned for swift, precise, and ruthless actions, has now been directly crushed by the Bull Demon.

In less than ten days, casualties among the Fishermen's Gang's forces have been enormous.

Liu Jinsong's eyes flickered, with a gloomy luster continually surging.

Mainly……

Those killed by the Bull Demon are all followers who worship the Corpse God Sect and have received the Corpse Curse Mark!

This Bull Demon is…… specifically targeting members of the Corpse God Sect to kill!

Coincidence?

One or two times might be coincidence, but every time the Bull Demon wipes out a Fishermen's Gang force, there are those who have received the Corpse Curse Mark among them!

This absolutely cannot be coincidence.

He is targeting the Corpse God Sect! He is opposing the Corpse God Sect with his own strength!

Madman, this Bull Demon……

Truly a mad bull!

……

……

No taboos, utterly reckless!

I really……

I really like it!

Temple Suppression Office.

Zhang Lianhao looked at the information about the Bull Demon presented by Hong Yong and Shi Lei, his eyes gleaming, unable to resist slamming the table.

The Fishermen's Gang again had a force taken out by the Bull Demon; moreover, according to feedback from the Temple Suppression Office, the chief of White Wave Hall…… is also a follower of the Corpse God Sect.

This Bull Demon…… can discern who worships the Corpse God Sect?

He specifically arrests and kills Corpse God Sect followers; is this…… an attempt to single-handedly oppose the Corpse God Sect's infiltration of Jingguang Prefecture City?!

Zhang Lianhao rose to his feet, hands behind his back, pacing back and forth.

His face flushed slightly, full of excitement.

Does the Temple Suppression Office not know about the Corpse God Sect's infiltration?

Naturally they know, but they dare not act lightly, for they cannot determine who has been infiltrated, nor can they perceive the existence of the Corpse Curse Mark.

According to information obtained by the Temple Suppression Office at the cost of many scouts, the Corpse God Sect, taking advantage of the uprising at the 【Eight-Armed Prison Lotus Furious Third Prince】 Guiyi Miao's anomalous gate, sent people to infiltrate many high-ranking officials of Jingguang Prefecture while the Temple Suppression Office, the Bureau of Astronomy, and the Divine Sect's branch experts all went to suppress it……

Now, the Supervisor and Governor of the Temple Suppression Office are both engaged in suppressing the Third Prince's anomalous gate.

The Temple Suppression Office's strongmen in Jingguang Prefecture City are lacking……

This is also the reason why Zhang Lianhao does not dare to arbitrarily turn against and attack.

Mainly, because in the situation where it has not yet been confirmed which senior officials of Golden Light Prefecture have been corrupted by the Corpse God Sect...

He does not dare to act on his own!

Most importantly… the Divine Guard Army also has senior officials corrupted, and that is the most serious!

After all, the Temple Suppression Office has many experts, but when it comes to troops, it cannot compare to the Divine Guard Army of Golden Light Prefecture City.

"What a fine Bull Demon..."

"Truly a heroic figure."

Zhang Lianhao sighed with deep emotion.

Although… such lawless, wanton slaughter, disregarding rules, the officialdom does not like such people.

But, Zhang Lianhao, from his own perspective and from the perspective of the prefecture's commoners, the Bull Demon… truly is a good bull that removes harm for the people!

The Bull Demon's solitary vigor suppressed the Fishermen's Gang, causing them to restrain their tempers.

"Truly envy his unrestrained temperament..."

Zhang Lianhao truly is envious; when he dons this official robe, many things leave him no choice.

"This Bull Demon's movement technique is superb; perhaps he truly has a teleportation art, but now exposed… all sides have made preparations, and under the means of restricting teleportation, the Bull Demon… is not far from being caught."

Zhang Lianhao stopped pacing and happened to stand by the window.

Gazing at the sky overcast with dark clouds, brewing a spring rain.

Fine drizzle enveloped, giving the entire riverside-built prefecture city a veil of mist and clouds.

As if in the vast blank of a landscape painting, some flying eaves and upturned corners of buildings leap forth, full of poetic charm.

The Directorate of Astronomy, the Cliff Stone Treasure Pavilion.

In the workshop.

Li Che clenched his five fingers around a white Flying Thunder chess piece, returning here.

The bloody stench on his body was extremely strong, but with a sudden shake, countless traces of blood were condensed and rose, forming a blood droplet that was directly tossed into a jade bottle and thrown into the Qiankun space.

Lighting sandalwood incense, letting the workshop fill with a faint fragrance.

Putting away the Bull Demon mask, removing the black robe, his burly physique returned to normal, restoring Li Che's usual gentle and honest appearance.

He gently exhaled a breath; Li Che's mind calmed, without ripples.

The Fishermen's Gang… he had his eye on them, but he did not first start by attacking the Black Snake Gang that had been surveilling his home; instead he acted against other forces within the Fishermen's Gang, as long as he discovered the Corpse Curse Mark inside the gang.

Li Che would then without hesitation deliver a killing blow, slaying them with a thunderous burst.

What surprised Li Che was that the Fishermen's Gang… was riddled with holes, almost completely infiltrated by the Corpse God Sect, or rather, it was practically wide open, allowing the Corpse God Sect to corrode it freely.

This must have been done with the consent of the Fishermen's Gang's senior leadership.

"Fishermen's Gang… are they planning to rebel against Golden Light Prefecture?"

Li Che's eyes flickered slightly.

However, he couldn't be bothered to think too much about it.

Whether the Fishermen's Gang rebels or not, he doesn't care; anyway, he only seeks to follow his heart's whims, and since the Fishermen's Gang lacks martial virtue, Li Che naturally unleashes the Bull Demon.

Sitting cross-legged on the chair, Li Che tallied this harvest; actually the gains were quite ordinary, and Li Che mainly focused on the divine essence crystals.

"So poor..."

Li Che frowned and muttered, "This White Wave Hall Master possesses a total of only five Ten Metropolis Divine Essence Crystals—so poor it's deadly."

Over these ten days, Li Che completely transformed into the Bull Demon, hunting down the forces under the Fishermen's Gang; any cultivator who had accepted the Corpse God Sect's Corpse Curse Mark was slain by him.

In total he harvested thirty-two Ten Metropolis Divine Essence Crystals, which really isn't many.

Li Che also felt helpless, after all divine essence crystals are cultivation resources consumed in training; these cultivators all need to train, so being able to scrounge up thirty-two is already quite good.

"Still, the Corpse God Sect's Corpse God Envoys are relatively wealthy… a single Eight Extremes Divine Essence Crystal almost would burst me."

Li Che muttered, feeling somewhat nostalgic.

Unfortunately, during this period, while he had transformed into the Bull Demon and hunted the Fishermen's Gang's subordinate forces, he never encountered a Corpse God Envoy of the Corpse God Sect.

With a stir of his mind, flowing light appeared before his eyes.

【Dao Fruit: Immortal Artisan (lv3, 79%), Dragon Elephant Vajra (lv3, 25%), Immaculate Heart (LV3, 5%), Chess Sage (LV2, 58%)】

The maturity of the Dao Fruit has achieved considerable growth overall!

Immortal Artisan hasn't improved much, after all no new deity statues were carved; Dragon Elephant Vajra, due to frequent combat, though not under great pressure, still has a decent rate of improvement.

After Immaculate Heart reached LV3, its improvement rate slowed completely; even if he drained the remaining Eight Extremes Divine Essence Crystals, it would only raise proficiency by about 5%.

As for Ten Metropolis Divine Essence Crystals, it takes ten of them to raise proficiency by 1%, the speed has plummeted, making the cost‑performance ratio extremely low!

I don't know whether it's because Immaculate Heart, after consuming the fine chaff of Eight Extremes Divine Essence Crystals, now finds these coarse Ten Metropolis Divine Essence Crystals utterly unpalatable.

This is forcing him to seek higher‑quality divine essence crystals.

Only Eight Extremes and Seven Origins grade divine essence crystals are edible?

Fortunately, Immaculate Heart extracts the divinity from divine essence crystals at extreme speed; Li Che converts the extracted Ten Metropolis divinity into the Divine Foundation of the Three‑Eyed Wrathful True Sovereign, which, although still needing refinement of the foundation, greatly boosts overall speed.

In ten days, after refining ten Ten Metropolis Divine Essence Crystals, he elevated the Divine Foundation of the Three‑Eyed Wrathful True Sovereign to the intermediate stage of Divine Foundation!

But what surprised Li Che the most was the Chess Sage Dao Fruit…

Because slaughter increased, the condensed divine essence chess pieces, and the frequency of employing the Flying Thunder Chess Sage and the Heaven‑Earth Chessboard rose.

The maturity of the Chess Sage Dao Fruit has achieved admirable growth!

It has now reached 58%!

Indeed, it's still combat and slaughter that bring swift improvement.

Li Che let out a deep sigh.

After finishing up, Li Che rose to his feet, his bones and muscles ringing in unison, a nonstop crackling sound.

Clenching his fist, air currents intertwined as Li Che began cultivating martial techniques within the courtyard.

Divine Meridian cultivation, as described in the 《Dàjǐng Temple Supremacy Hell Lotus Meridian Divine Meridian Method》, mainly focuses on Divine Transformation.

The extent of Divine Transformation influences the vigor of one's blood and qi, as well as internal qi.

To breakthrough to Grandmaster, the Divine Meridian must fuse the artistic conceptions of three Transformation Realm martial arts, achieving three transformations of the Divine Meridian.

And is the minimum requirement; the True Qi Grandmaster attained thereby also belongs to the lowest rank.

Afterward come the stages of six transformations and nine transformations of the Divine Meridian.

It requires merging the Transformation Realm of six martial arts, as well as that of nine martial arts.

Difficulty…… simply incomparable!

After all, for any martial artist, cultivating a single martial technique to the Transformation Realm demands an enormous amount of time and effort.

Moreover, martial arts are divided into lesser, middle, and greater vehicles, and the Transformation Realm cultivated differs for each.

Many Divine Meridian martial artists spend their entire lives unable to cultivate three Transformation Realm martial arts, naturally making Grandmaster unattainable.

However, it is rumored that within the Divine Sect there exists a mysterious Spirit Martial Pill that can enhance one's martial arts comprehension, thereby accelerating cultivation to the Transformation Realm.

This is also why great sects easily produce Grandmasters.

But for ordinary Divine Meridian cultivators, achieving Grandmaster is extremely difficult.

Without becoming a Grandmaster, attaining Divine Appearance is hopeless…… equivalent to a dead end, the path already broken.

Inside the workshop, the raging wind gradually subsided, only a latent, formidable blood and qi surging; Li Che opened his eyes, as if brilliant light burst forth in the darkness, his pupils like two stars releasing radiance.

"White Tiger Raging Wind Fist and Eight-Link Bone-Shattering Spear—both have reached the Transformation Realm and been integrated into the Divine Meridian…"

"Next, the Python Dragon Cannon, Cloud Hawk Treading Cloud Leap, and the Fury Cry Hundred Ghosts Wind Thunder Arrow have all reached Master level; the Wrathful True Monarch Triple-Blade Sword is about to reach Master level…"

"By the way, there's also the Amitabha Golden Robe, now also at Master level—each is just a step away from the Transformation Realm."

"But I have only cultivated seven martial arts; for the Divine Meridian Nine Transformations I'm still missing two."

Li Che pondered.

Li Che, who possesses the Dragon Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit, naturally aims to impact the Divine Meridian Nine Transformations, stepping into the Grandmaster level in the most perfect manner.

But even for him, attempting to impact the Divine Meridian Nine Transformations is extremely difficult.

"By the way, there's also the 《Seven Origin Divine Condor Technique》 obtained from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau, which contains a profound martial art 《Thousand-Hand Divine Condor》, belonging to martial techniques; however, I am still some distance from Grand Completion…"

"So calculated, I'm still missing one martial art reaching the Transformation Realm."

Li Che ceased his training and stood still, air currents and blood and qi permeating his surroundings incessantly, like a blooming hell lotus.

"Shall we cultivate the Corpse God Sect's martial arts?"

Li Che recalled the 《Corpse God Death Smoke Finger》 obtained from the Corpse God Envoy of the Corpse God Sect, a divine martial technique also belonging to martial arts.

It is this martial art that requires deathly qi…

Well, the Ox Demon lacks nothing but deathly qi.

Li Che exhaled a breath.

If so, let's cultivate it!

The foundations for the Divine Meridian Nine Transformations are all complete!

Nowadays, the Ox Demon, facing the Fishermen's Gang…… can only choose covert slaughter, killing someone and then fleeing.

Moreover, the targets he can kill are only the minor factions under the Fishermen's Gang; up against the gang's higher-ups, it's generally very difficult to deal with.

After all, the Fishermen's Gang leader is a true Divine Appearance realm, and the two vice‑leaders are even Grandmaster Illusory Appearance…

Even if he activates the Ascension Tower state, facing the Illusory Appearance realm remains very difficult.

The Temple God possesses an invincible posture of the same rank, but the Illusory Appearance realm no longer belongs to the Divine Foundation, so the suppressive force of the Ascension Tower state diminishes, making victory naturally difficult.

However, Li Che feels that giving it a fight should still be possible.

Just……

The strong ones in Jīnguāng Prefecture City are too many; once surrounded, it becomes truly dangerous.

Li Che's main approach is stability; even when embodying the Ox Demon and seeking recklessness, he must also ensure his own safety.

He expelled a turbid breath, and Li Che walked to the window.

Gazing at the waters of the Nine Dragon River striking the cliffs, Li Che's pupil light shifted.

In the distance, it seemed as if he could see through the thick city walls, beholding a towering, awe‑inspiring Guiyi Miao standing outside the city, roaring angrily at the river's heart.

He sighed wistfully.

"The Temple God's power…… is stretched thin."

"I want to draw it in."

……

……

Night deepened, at the Fishermen's Gang headquarters.

A bare‑armed, white‑haired old man with flying bristly beard sat firmly in the grand tutor's chair, his eyes wide open, full of murderous aura surging.

The entire house was filled with dead silence and oppression.

Vice‑gang leader Liu Jinsong and the other vice‑gang leader Zhao Xunqi instantly fell silent.

"Million Gambling House, White Wave Hall…… seven of them, all seven forces under my Fishermen's Gang have been slaughtered, wiped out!"

"Now my Fishermen's Gang, hearts are panic‑stricken, many even want to quit the gang!"

"A mere Ox Demon, not even an Illusory Appearance, has managed to throw my Fishermen's Gang into such panic!"

"Damn it!"

The Fishery Gang leader slapped down, the terrifying physiognomy's aura instantly emptied the airflow in the whole room, emitting a fierce whistling sound.

Where are the Corpse God Sect people?

Those who died were all those who had received the seal before being targeted by the Ox Demon.

How can the Ox Demon accurately find those who received the seal?

The Fishery Gang leader glared with leopard eyes, looking at Liu Jinsong.

Could it be that the Ox Demon is a member of the Corpse God Sect? Damn it, just finding an excuse to deliberately devour my Fishery Gang!

Liu Jinsong was responsible for contacting the Corpse God Sect, but at this moment, his complexion slightly changed.

Is the Ox Demon a master of the Corpse God Sect?

Impossible, absolutely impossible……

It's gotten chaotic, leader, don't make wild guesses!

Liu Jinsong dressed in fine robes, after clasping his fists, exhaled a breath, his complexion grim.

The Ox Demon absolutely cannot be a member of the Corpse God Sect, leader, stay calm……

As for why the many Corpse God Envoys of the Corpse God Sect remain hidden.

Because……

Liu Jinsong's cheek twitched.

The spring equinox is approaching.

Li Qingshan is coming back.

During the streaking, asking for monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and readership support! Lao Li thanks!