Chapter 386: Deja Vu

The Meng-family cultivator revealed a sinister gaze, staring into the distance while emitting a hoarse, evil chuckle from his throat.

He seemed to have already counted on capturing Qin Ming, as if taking him down would be effortless.

As for Qin Ming opposite them, he had naturally detected the presence of the two long ago.

Yet only after his divine sense clearly perceived them did he realize: why did these two cultivators look so familiar? Suddenly.

A flash of inspiration struck his mind; weren't these two the demonic cultivators they had encountered near the Five Elements Mountain market back then?

At this moment, it was too late to evade.

Qin Ming's expression tightened; his powerful divine sense instantly perceived the intense killing intent coming from the opposite direction.

It appeared the two intended to kill him.

In the turn of a thought, his eyes burst forth with a cold light; he had already made his decision.

A distance of several hundred li was merely the blink of an eye for two powerful Blood Refining Demonic Sect Jin Dan demonic cultivators.

In just a few breaths.

The two had already blocked Qin Ming's path.

"Heh heh heh! So it's only a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator; still, better than nothing."

Without another word, the emaciated Meng-family man swept his sleeve, directly shooting a beam of blood light at Qin Ming.

Whoosh! This beam of blood light instantly pierced through the void, arriving before Qin Ming in the blink of an eye.

The Meng-family cultivator was clearly extremely confident in his methods, wearing an expression of inevitable victory.

To him, was slaughtering a lower-realm late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator not simpler than crushing an ant? Thus, after striking, he immediately flew forward, intending to instantly devour this blood meal that had voluntarily delivered itself to his door.

However.

Qin Ming remained calm, simply extending a hand and pointing into the air.

More than ten zhang before him, a clump of black thorny vines suddenly appeared; like tentacles, they tightly entangled a blood-red demonic drill.

This sudden development.

Caused the emaciated Meng-family man's face to change abruptly, immediately halting his pouncing figure.

"A Jin Dan cultivator!"

At this moment, no matter how puzzled he was, it was not hard to guess that this cultivator dressed as a Shopkeeper opposite him must have concealed his true cultivation.

Because clearly, an ordinary late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator could not withstand the fatal strike from himself, a late-stage Jin Dan demonic cultivator.

And at this very moment.

The opponent had casually blocked his demonic treasure attack, the "Blood Spirit Drill."

Only a cultivation of at least the late-stage Jin Dan realm could achieve such a feat... With the situation taking an unexpected turn, even the burly man behind him, Senior Brother Qiu, narrowed his eyes, his expression rarely showing a trace of change.

"It's actually you!"

The next moment, the emaciated Meng-family man let out a strange cry.

Once he too clearly saw Qin Ming's appearance, memories instantly surfaced in his mind: the three of them, brothers, had once crossed paths with this person outside the Five Elements Mountain market! Wasn't this quite a coincidence?!

The emaciated man's expression fluctuated between yin and yang; staring at the completely unhurried Qin Ming opposite him, a trace of vigilance arose in his heart.

Someone capable of concealing their cultivation under the very noses of them, the three brothers, without being seen through, how could they be an ordinary person?

Simultaneously, within his mind, he linked together the causes and consequences of everything that had happened during this period, instantly understanding it all.

Immediately after.

The emaciated demonic cultivator gritted his teeth and demanded of Qin Ming: "It was you who leaked the whereabouts of us three back then, wasn't it?!"

As he spoke, resentment and malice flowed from his eyes.

But what shocked and enraged him even more was.

His demonic treasure, that Blood Spirit Drill, was actually tightly bound by those strange black vines and could not be retrieved for the time being.

In his urgency, the emaciated man explosively unleashed his late-stage Jin Dan demonic cultivation; suddenly, a vast swarm of blood bats flew out from behind him, covering the sky and blotting out the sun as they pounced toward Qin Ming.

"Blood Spirit God-Slaughtering Great Art!"

Its momentum was so immense it resembled a huge blood cloud, filled with violent, bloody, and filthy evil qi.

This blood-path divine ability was such that even a Jin Dan cultivator, if touched by even a tiny bit, would either die or lose a layer of skin!

The Meng-family demonic cultivator held nothing back, unleashing a ruthless and extreme demonic technique with his first strike.

Qin Ming swept his divine sense across, seeing that the opponent now held a black iron tower demonic artifact in hand; those blood bats were released from within it.

Boom! Crack! Just as the swarm of blood bats was about to reach Qin Ming, a tremendous clap of thunder suddenly rang out.

Like thunder striking flat ground, followed by several dazzling purple lightning arcs falling down, stirring up a gust of black gale that instantly blew the blood cloud rolling back.

Seeing this, the emaciated Meng-family man was suddenly startled; an extremely ominous premonition suddenly surged in his heart.

He hastily formed hand seals, casting a blood shield upon himself and positioning the black demonic tower before him for protection.

Swish! Bang! Just as the emaciated demonic cultivator finished all this, dozens of pitch-black earth spikes suddenly shot up from beneath his feet, emitting terrifying demonic qi as they fiercely stabbed toward him.

With a single strike, his entire body's blood and qi churned violently; both he and his shield were knocked flying backward a hundred zhang, terrifying cracks appearing on the blood shield.

He had been ambushed by a surprise attack.

The Meng-family demonic cultivator, still unsettled from the shock, had just regained his senses when he saw ripples spread through the air at his original location in the void, slowly revealing a rat demon.

The rat demon carried five command flags of different colors on its back and held a black steel fork, looking at him with a mocking expression.

Then the Shi Tian Shu spoke in human language, its gaze fixed intently on the Meng-family demonic cultivator as it licked its lips and said: "Heh heh heh! You kid are mine; last time my master let you off, yet you delivered yourselves to our door so quickly again; you can only blame yourselves for being born at the wrong time!"

As its voice fell, the Shi Tian Shu unleashed the spiritual pressure of a late-stage Tier Three Demon King, causing even the surrounding space to become distorted.

Swish! The black steel fork in the Shi Tian Shu's hand burst forth with a sheet of black mystical light, stabbing toward the emaciated man!

"A late-stage Tier Three Demon King!"

Seeing this, the Meng-family demonic cultivator's heart immediately tightened! He had not expected the cultivator before him to be so deeply concealed, actually possessing such a powerful beast pet.

However, as a true disciple of the Blood Refining Demonic Sect, his methods naturally extended far beyond this.

After all, he had crawled out of a pile of corpses to reach his current position within the Demonic Sect.

He prided himself on possessing incomparably rich experience in magical duels and bloody slaughter; what kind of gory scene had he not witnessed? Thus, even when encountering such a situation, he did not show any cowardice; instead, it ignited his Xiong Xiong fighting spirit.

Moreover, with Senior Brother Qiu nearby helping to hold the formation, given the combined strength of the two from the Blood Refining Demonic Sect, they feared nothing unless they encountered a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Lower Realm!

The Meng-family cultivator, watching the black light surge forward, chanted incantations under his breath and tossed the black pagoda magical treasure in his hand forward.

The black demonic pagoda instantly transformed from the size of a palm into a giant tower dozens of zhang in size, its entire body surging with demonic qi, blooming with demonic runes as it suppressed downward toward the Shi Tian Shu!

Its power was unparalleled, causing the surrounding space to twist and suddenly stagnate, followed by a series of sonic boom sounds.

Boom! Bang! Bang! Bang! The black steel fork in the Shi Tian Shu's hand smashed fiercely onto the demonic tower.

Clang! In an instant, the earth shook and the mountains quivered; under the violent collision between the two parties, the surrounding space exploded into a cluster of dazzling light.

Two figures flew backward out of mid-air.

"Yo-ho! You actually have some substance, surprisingly able to withstand one strike from this Great Master's fork." After stabilizing his stance, the Shi Tian Shu looked at the opposite side with some surprise.

Then his figure surged upward; he put away the black steel fork and, reversing his hand, took out the Five Elements Flags from behind his back, charging once again toward the Meng-family demonic cultivator.

On the other side.

Qin Ming's divine sense landed upon the rough-looking man known as Senior Brother Qiu.

Suddenly.

A series of mournful wails from fierce ghosts rang out beside his ears, incessant and unending.

Overwhelming demonic qi, accompanied by countless powerful demonic creatures, surged toward Qin Ming.

Charging at the very forefront were three late-stage Jin Dan demonic creatures, resembling yakshas, with wings growing from their backs.

The Qiu-family cultivator was also a decisive killer; he took out a black banner demonic artifact and immediately made his move against Qin Ming, without uttering a single word of useless chatter.

However, in Qin Ming's view, this attack from the opponent was merely a probe; he immediately made a vague grasp with his five fingers, and six Wood Emperor Nails flashing with crimson-gold quietly vanished into the void.

Swish swish swish! A series of sonic boom sounds rang out.

The Wood Emperor Nails magical treasure had been planted by Qin Ming using the 【Spirit Plant Born Treasure】 attribute within his natal spirit plant, the Yang Xuanteng, equivalent to having been nurtured for over a thousand years.

Furthermore, the grade of the magical treasure had been continuously improving, its power terrifying.

Now deployed by him once again, it was nearly invincible! After being infused by Qin Ming with Solar Essence Gold, it possessed an innate suppression effect against demonic path ghostly entities!

The six Wood Emperor Nails, with a force that crushed rotten wood and shattered weeds, penetrated the demonic creatures released by the demonic banner in an instant.

Even atop the heads of the three leading demonic creatures, three fist-sized holes were blasted open.

Then, under the attack of the Wood Emperor Nails magical treasure, they melted away and collapsed like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun.

Qin Ming's gaze turned cold, and he immediately changed the hand seals in his hand.

The six streams of crimson-gold light did not reduce their momentum, once again vanishing into the void.

Swish! The eyelids of the opposing Qiu-family demonic cultivator twitched wildly, his body hair standing on end! His entire body was moreover seized by a bone-chilling cold!

He had never expected that merely a probe would be met with such sharp methods from the opponent.

His experience in magical combat was completely not what a Shopkeeper should possess.

"A third-grade top-quality magical treasure! And it carries such a large quantity of Solar Essence Flames!"

"Only a hair's breadth away from reaching the level of a pseudo-spiritual treasure!"

As a true disciple of the Blood Refining Demonic Sect, he naturally spotted the extraordinary nature of Qin Ming's magical treasure at a glance.

This also exceeded the Qiu-family demonic cultivator's expectations; he had not expected to encounter such a ruthless character.

Even though he specialized in demonic path body-refining techniques, at this moment he dared not directly block these third-grade top-quality Wood Emperor Nails.

If he did, his body might end up with several more bloody holes.

A blood talisman appeared in Senior Brother Qiu's hand, inscribed with profound demonic runes; disregarding the pain in his heart, he directly poured demonic qi into it.

In an instant.

Countless black runes suddenly burst forth around him, forming a cauldron-shaped black barrier that protected his entire person.

Ding ding ding ding ding! A series of sparks shot out as Qin Ming's Wood Emperor Nails quietly drilled out from the void, smashing fiercely against the barrier composed of black runes.

Yet they failed to break through the Qiu-family demonic cultivator's defense.

Qin Ming's brows furrowed; this was the first time he had encountered a situation where his Wood Emperor Nails failed to penetrate an opponent's defense.

Having failed to hit the mark with one strike, his facial expression did not change much as he once again made a vague grasp with his finger.

In the next instant, a full ten-plus Wood Emperor Nails suddenly reappeared.

Such a large quantity of third-grade top-quality Wood Emperor Nails magical treasures made the Qiu-family demonic cultivator's scalp go numb.

He had also not expected that Qin Ming actually possessed such a large number of nail-type magical treasures in his hands.

"A set of third-grade top-quality magical treasures; could it be that he is a Nascent Soul seed from some major sect?"

The Qiu-family demonic cultivator had no time to think further; he stopped holding back and directly unleashed his trump card.

It was only after this brief exchange.

That he no longer dared to underestimate this human cultivator opposite him.

The thunderous means displayed by the opponent were not in the least weaker than those of him, a true disciple of the Blood Refining Demonic Sect.

This was also the first time since descending to the Lower Realm that he had encountered such a powerful enemy.

However, this did not cause him to generate any intention of retreating.

On the contrary, a bloodthirsty impulse ignited within his chest! Because his strongest means and divine abilities were not in spells, but rather—the demonic sect body-refining technique forged by Heavenly Demon Possession.

"You are quite good; I did not expect that among the Jin Dan cultivators of the Lower Realm, there would still be a cultivator with such strong strength."

"However, your journey ends right here!"

Subsequently, a strange, evil smile appeared on the rough face of the Qiu-family demonic cultivator.

Dense blood-colored demonic qi suddenly erupted from his body.

Suddenly.

The void twisted violently; shrouded in a blood-red mist, a pitch-black demonic dragon a hundred zhang long materialized, its entire body covered in black scales that reflected a gloomy, cold light.

Within its huge, scarlet eyes, a pair of blood-red vertical pupils suddenly snapped open!

The mighty aura of a primordial ferocious beast descended abruptly!

Previously, the demon cultivator surnamed Qiu had relied on this body-refining demonic form to easily slay the Zen Master Tianyin, who was at the peak of the Jin Dan realm.

Before absolute power, everything was useless.

In the mid-air above the Beast Cry Mountain Range, the huge, pitch-black demonic dragon coiled and danced, causing demonic beasts within a thousand li to tremble in terror.

When had they ever felt the intimidation of spiritual pressure of such intensity?

Roar! The pitch-black demonic dragon transformed from the demon cultivator surnamed Qiu churned up surging demonic qi, opened its massive maw, and clawed straight at Qin Ming! Seeing this, Qin Ming let out a light exclamation: "Eh? A demonic path body-refining technique? Seems I've seen it somewhere before."

At that very moment.

He suddenly recalled that the *True Scripture of Yuansha Seed Demon* he had obtained recorded a demonic path body-refining cultivation method named 'Heavenly Demon Body Infusion'.

Although it fell far short of the 'Nether Netherworld Heavenly Corpse Art' recorded within the demonic scripture, as well as other several demonic bodies like the legendary 'Yuansha True Demon Body'.

However, this method forged a unique path, merging the bloodlines of demonic creatures and cultivators, using demonic qi to infuse the body and greatly enhance and strengthen the cultivator's physical flesh.

The more powerful the demonic creature, the more powerful the demonic body cultivated through infusion became.

Yet this method carried extremely high danger; even within the Blood Refining Demon Sect, a slight carelessness would result in being swallowed by the demonic creature instead, and few disciples ever succeeded in refining it.

In a daze.

A violent and icy divine sense swept over without any restraint.

The domineering nature of that divine sense made Qin Ming feel as though he had fallen into an ice cellar, chilled to the bone.

This sufficiently proved that the Heavenly Demon Body Infusion cultivated by the demon cultivator surnamed Qiu had already reached an extremely profound realm.

The next instant, Qin Ming moved as well.

He unleashed the techniques from the Jin Dan chapter of the *Strategy for Refining Form with Heavenly Demons*, and immense power of blood and true gang surged forth from within his body.

Roar! A blood-red, eight-armed demonic ape illusion a hundred zhang tall materialized behind Qin Ming, and a strange double pupil in the center of its brow suddenly opened!

Immediately after, the blood-red demonic ape hammered its chest with both arms, stomped its feet fiercely, and its massive body leaped high into the air, pouncing toward the pitch-black demonic dragon.

The next moment.

The blood-red demonic ape joined its five fingers into a fist, crossed a distance of several hundred zhang through the air, and struck horizontally!

Boom! The demonic dragon, the incarnation of the rough and wild demon cultivator surnamed Qiu, let out a furious roar, likewise extended its five claws, erupted with its full strength, and crashed toward the demonic ape!

Boom! Crack! In an instant, heaven and earth changed color.

Under the collision of the two ferocious beasts, black clouds churned in the sky, countless black lightning flashes appeared, and a world-destroying energy surged wildly.

In a daze, the collision produced a blinding ball of light, rising slowly like a small sun appearing out of nowhere, illuminating the Beast Cry Mountain Range.

A brief flash of blinding light appeared.

The mountains and earth below were instantly turned to powder by the emitted shockwave.

Rumble! A huge black figure fell from the sky, smashing heavily into the dense forest below and embedding itself directly into the ground.

It revealed a twisted trench hundreds of li long, as deep and bottomless as an abyss.

……

(End of Chapter)