Chapter 395: Exterminating the Demon
Inside the Small Xiao Lingjing.
Qin Ming remained unmoved by Jiang Yuan's shouts, showing not the slightest intention of coming out voluntarily.
Originally, he still had some confidence in the Small Xiao Lingjing's ability to conceal them.
Even if the Holy Son of the Demonic Sect possessed sharp methods, he would absolutely never find their hiding place.
Moreover, Jiang Yuan had just suffered heavy injuries during the self-detonation of Huo Hu Xu Zi's Jin Dan.
Furthermore, even his strongest innate demonic treasure was damaged, its spirituality greatly lost; it was estimated he wouldn't recover for some time.
As long as Qin Ming hunkered down inside the Small Xiao Lingjing, he could simply wait quietly for the other to leave.
But he never expected that after a true disciple of the Blood Refining Demonic Sect was slain, a so-called "Blood Ring Curse Mark" would be left on their body to mark the killer.
It seemed impossible to detect or eliminate it by ordinary means, which was truly extremely troublesome.
Being marked by the Blood Ring Curse Mark inevitably meant enduring the endless revenge of the Blood Refining Demonic Sect.
Outside, a chilling smile also appeared on Jiang Yuan's deathly pale face.
"So you are here."
"That segment of Star Sea Divine Vine should also have been taken by you, correct?"
Subsequently, Jiang Yuan was seen holding a demonic rune token, pointing toward a certain spot in the void.
The Blood Ring Curse Mark erupted with a faint red thread, guiding the way to a specific location in the void.
It was precisely the hiding place of Qin Ming's Small Xiao Lingjing.
Jiang Yuan saw that under the guidance of the Blood Ring Curse Mark, no figure of any cultivator was revealed.
A trace of confusion first swept across his pale, yin-soft face.
Then.
He suddenly thought of something, and his eyes immediately revealed a strong sense of excitement.
"Heh heh heh!"
"Could this be the legendary grotto-heaven treasure?"
"I never expected such an existence to be found in a mere lower realm!"
"A blessing in disguise, who knows if it isn't good fortune!"
"Fortunately, Junior Sister Lan is not here, so no one will fight me for this opportunity!"
"Star Sea Divine Vine, grotto-heaven treasure! Hahaha!"
Inside the Small Xiao Lingjing, Qin Ming's expression became extremely ugly.
After a flash of lightning-fast thought in his mind, he already had a plan.
"M-Master has been discovered, what should we do?"
Hua Tianxiong asked with a face full of tension, occasionally glancing outside at that madman Jiang Yuan.
"You stay inside and don't come out."
Qin Ming immediately activated the True Demon Illusion, transforming into Hua Tianxiong's appearance, then circulated the "Green Emperor Art" to hide his magic power aura down to the mid-stage of the Jin Dan realm.
Afterwards, his figure blurred, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from within the Small Xiao Lingjing.
Jiang Yuan waited outside for a long time without seeing any movement, becoming somewhat impatient.
"It seems unless I force you, you have no intention of coming out."
Just as he was preparing to make a move.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Jiang Yuan subconsciously flew backward, leaving an afterimage where he had originally stood.
When he regained his footing, he startlingly discovered seven holes had appeared on that afterimage.
Jiang Yuan released his vast divine sense to sweep the surroundings, yet he found no one secretly attacking him.
Instead, his spine grew cold, and a feeling of palpitations arose.
He formed hand seals, storing the damaged Blood Xue Futu, revealing its true form to be a demonic treasure shaped like a pitch-black inkstone.
Jiang Yuan stored the Blood Xue Futu within his body, and a blood-colored demonic banner appeared in his pale hand.
Immediately, he waved the blood-colored demonic banner forward.
The void twisted and writhed, as if something was about to crawl out from within.
Roar! In the next instant, three skull heads emanating pitch-black demonic qi from head to toe suddenly materialized.
The demonic heads wore long hair, had green faces and fangs, with a scarlet long tongue hanging down; empty eye sockets and mouths spewed black flames, emitting a terrifying aura.
Even while injured, Jiang Yuan remained completely unpanicked, relying precisely on this asset.
These three late-stage Jin Dan demonic heads had already birthed spiritual intelligence, making them almost no different from humans.
The next instant.
A subtle fluctuation came from the void, and seven Wooden Emperor Nails, flashing with crimson-gold light, shot out fiercely, heading straight for Jiang Yuan's face.
Howl! The three demonic heads in front of Jiang Yuan opened their giant mouths, let out a wild roar, and spewed several streams of astonishingly powerful pitch-black demonic flames, sweeping forward.
The moment the Wooden Emperor Nails pierced through the void and contacted the demonic flames, the crimson-gold Solar Essence Flame erupted violently.
The demonic flames spewed by the demonic heads immediately scattered upon encountering the Solar Essence Flame.
Bang bang bang! The Wooden Emperor Nails did not slow their momentum, directly punching several large holes through the three demonic heads.
The demonic heads all screamed painfully in agony; the pitch-black demonic qi surrounding them was weakened by more than half by this strike, causing their aura to become withered.
The seven Wooden Emperor Nails spun in the air and fell back into Qin Ming's hand.
However, Jiang Yuan relied on the demonic heads to block this attack and remained unscathed.
"A third-grade top-quality treasure! And Solar Essence Flame! No wonder it can suppress this Saint's demonic cultivation techniques!"
"How should I address you, honored one?"
Ripples spread through the air, and then the figure of a plump cultivator in magnificent robes appeared, protruding a large belly, smiling as he spoke to Jiang Yuan:
"I do not change my name when I walk, nor alter my surname when I sit; I am Hua Tianxiong."
Inside the Small Xiao Lingjing, Hua Tianxiong, who was watching the drama, wore a bitter expression, knowing that today he would once again have to shoulder a huge blame.
Jiang Yuan casually waved his hand, retrieving the three demon heads before him, his expression showing a hint of heartache.
These three demon heads were items he had refined with immense effort; not only was the refinement method harsh, but it also required slaughtering countless living beings to absorb their resentful qi.
If all three demons were unleashed together, killing a Jin Dan stage perfect cultivator would be no trouble at all.
But Jiang Yuan had not expected that the opponent possessed a top-grade magical treasure refined from Solar Essence Flame, which severely suppressed the ghostly entities in his hands.
It had easily broken through the divine abilities of his demon heads.
"Heh! You hidden, tail-showing rat, I didn't expect you to actually have some skill."
"You nearly destroyed this Saint's demon heads."
"Mid Golden Core... I suppose this isn't your true cultivation strength, is it?"
"Junior Brother Chou and Junior Brother Meng dying at your hands was truly no injustice."
Today, Jiang Yuan had suffered setbacks with two of his demonic treasures in succession, making his mood quite depressed.
However, as the Holy Son of the Demonic Sect, his methods naturally extended far beyond just this much.
Upon realizing that the opponent possessed a magical treasure capable of suppressing the Demonic Path, he did not display excessive surprise.
In Qin Ming's heart, he secretly sighed; to force Huo Hu Xu Zi, who was at the Jin Dan perfect stage, to the point of self-detonating his Jin Dan, this Holy Son of the Blood Refining Demonic Sect indeed possessed extraordinary strength.
"Why does fellow Daoist not go down personally and ask your two fellow sect brothers?" Qin Ming said lightly.
Immediately, a Nine Nether White Bone Sword appeared in his hand, and without a second word, he slashed dozens of cold flame sword energies toward Jiang Yuan.
"Very good! It has been a long time since anyone dared to speak to this Holy Son in such a manner."
"You are the first."
Jiang Yuan, enraged to the point of laughter, suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a blood-colored demon pearl, which hovered before him.
A burst of brilliance erupted from the demon pearl, merging into a blood-colored brocade handkerchief in his hand; the handkerchief continuously expanded, and in an instant, it enveloped the space within a hundred li.
"Demon Luo Heavenly Tent!"
Blood light rained down from the sky, appearing like a massive blood-colored curtain that completely sealed off the space below.
The sword light slashed out by the Nine Nether White Bone Sword was swallowed and dispersed by the red blood light he cast down before it could even approach Jiang Yuan.
Subsequently.
Jiang Yuan's entire body surged with towering demonic qi, his momentum continuously climbing as he began to catalyze that demon pearl.
A beam of blood light shot toward the sky, rushing at Qin Ming with speed faster than thunder could reach the ear! Wherever the blood light passed, it swept away everything, melting all things, its power unmatched.
Qin Ming immediately spoke no further words, put away the Nine Nether White Bone Sword, and fully activated his Qi and Blood True Gang! Roar! True Gang Transformation!
A blood-colored eight-armed demon ape clad in armor manifested upon Qin Ming, its momentum crushing all; subsequently, the third vertical pupil of the demon ape suddenly opened!
A beam of crimson mysterious light shot forth from the double pupils, shining directly upon the blood light divine ability emitted by Jiang Yuan.
In an instant, the blood light was frozen in mid-air by the mysterious light emitted from the Law-Breaking Double Pupils, then swept away and extinguished!
After breaking the demonic light, the blood-colored demon ape did not linger for even a moment more.
The blood-colored eight-armed demon ape, whose form towered a hundred zhang high, glared furiously at Jiang Yuan, joined its five fingers into a fist, crossed a distance of several hundred zhang, and struck horizontally.
Boom-rumble! Under this single punch, the heavens and earth changed color!
"How is this possible? Even this Holy Son's Blood Refining Demonic Light could be broken?"
At this point, Jiang Yuan could no longer maintain his composure.
Because previously, it was precisely by using the Blood Refining Demonic Light catalyzed by this demon pearl, combined with the Ice Soul Demonic Light of the Blue Ice Saintess.
That he had severely injured Han Ya Shangren, a Nascent Soul True Monarch of Great Zhou.
Regarding his trump-card divine ability, Jiang Yuan knew it better than anyone; its power was absolutely incomparable to that of ordinary Jin Dan cultivators.
Yet now it had been swept away and extinguished by the opponent with a single glance, leaving him extremely astonished and causing him to discard his underestimation.
"What a powerful body-refining technique!"
He continued to catalyze the demon pearl, and instantly, demonic light surged wildly, enveloping his entire person.
The next moment.
Jiang Yuan's entire body transformed into a pale Heavenly Corpse, his form similarly towering a hundred zhang high, emitting an aura capable of destroying heaven and earth with every movement.
Upon the massive torso of the Heavenly Corpse, blood-colored demonic runes were spread everywhere; he leaped down from the sky and slashed a claw toward the demon ape opposite! Boom-crack-crack! In an instant, black thunder suddenly appeared in the sky.
A terrifying shockwave diffused outward in all directions, turning everything within sight into fine dust.
Accompanied by the fierce collision, the two massive figures each retreated backward.
Once Qin Ming steadied himself and saw clearly, he realized that the reason the yin-and-yang man was so powerful lay entirely within that pitch-black demon pearl.
Suddenly.
A demonic technique from the "Origin Asura Seed Demon True Scripture" arose in his mind.
"Could it be Lei Lei Yuanmo Qi?"
"Dao Heart Planting Demon, 'Yin Nether Heavenly Corpse Art'."
At the same time, Qin Ming was also extremely surprised; how could the Holy Son of the prestigious Blood Refining Demonic Sect cultivate this kind of pig-farming style demonic technique?
It was almost exactly the same as that dead ghost Junior Brother Chou.
It was just that his own "Yin Nether Heavenly Corpse Art" was of a slightly higher grade.
On the opposite side, Jiang Yuan, hearing the opponent accurately identify the origin of the technique he cultivated, as well as the demonic qi emanating from the demon pearl.
His pale face finally lost its calm, and he began to panic slightly.
"How do you know the technique this Holy Son cultivates?"
"Who exactly are you?"
Qin Ming sneered, "Not only do I know the technique you cultivate, but you must have already planted the demon in your Dao Heart and cannot turn back, correct?"
"I am merely curious as to why a Holy Son of the Devil Sect would cultivate such a devilish technique that only serves to benefit others."
"Have you ever considered that while you can harvest others' cultivation bases for rapid progress, should you encounter a cultivator with a higher base than your own, they can use this very devilish technique to harvest yours?"
As his words fell.
Jiang Yuan opposite him instantly turned red-eyed, his features twisting in distortion; clearly, Qin Ming had pierced Jiang Yuan's greatest secret.
The Origin Devil Pearl and the
This secret was unknown even to his master within the Blood Refinement Devil Sect.
"You seek death!!"
Jiang Yuan, transformed into a Yin Nether Heavenly Corpse, swallowed that Origin Devil Pearl, and his aura immediately surged violently once more!
He even began to preliminarily stir the heavenly and earthly yuan qi.
Seeing this, Qin Ming knew his guesses were entirely correct; he sighed lightly and retracted the qi and blood power surrounding his body.
Behind him, the illusory figure of the eight-armed blood-colored devil ape also dissipated into nothingness.
Immediately after, a bronze mirror of archaic design appeared in his hand.
Qin Ming activated the Yin-Yang Mysterious Mirror divine ability; a trace of cyan-green radiance flashed across his eyes as he swept his gaze over the ferocious and sinister Jiang Yuan.
He spoke leisurely: "I did not expect you to possess as much as five hundred years of life span remaining."
"It seems you have devoured no small amount of cultivators' essence blood."
Meanwhile, Jiang Yuan opposite him, at the moment the other party produced the bronze mirror.
From somewhere in the void, he suddenly felt a premonition of impending catastrophe arise in his heart.
Moreover, it was the kind that meant certain death; Jiang Yuan's face showed a look of horror, thinking in his heart, how could this be? Just as the Gouyu Jin Guang Mirror in Qin Ming's hand was about to ignite.
A piece of black jade worn at Jiang Yuan's waist suddenly flashed with a pitch-black luster.
Suddenly, a thunderclap resounded through the air; amidst rolling black clouds, a gigantic human face materialized in the sky.
This person had long eyebrows and white hair, with a blood-colored eye growing on his forehead; it was none other than the Yunxi Laozu of the Blood Refinement Devil Sect.
"Who are you, daring to injure the Holy Son of my sect?"
Qin Ming remained silent; the face in the sky spoke again, its voice like thunder: "Junior! Release him, and I will spare your life; otherwise, even if you ascend to the highest heavens or penetrate the deepest nine netherworlds, this old man will take your life."
Qin Ming then probed slightly and realized that the face before him was merely a void projection.
It possessed not a shred of combat power.
It was likely the Blood Refinement Devil Sect's final protective warning measure bestowed upon their Holy Son.
A wisp of divine sense from a Nascent Soul Laozu left within the jade pendant would automatically trigger at the critical moment of the Holy Son's life or death.
After all, even for the Blood Refinement Devil Sect, the resources and cost expended to cultivate such a Holy Son were not insignificant.
Qin Ming's pupils constricted: "Old scoundrel, are you trying to frighten me?"
The next moment.
He mobilized his magic power and directly activated the Gouyu Jin Guang Mirror; atop the smooth mirror surface, a burst of golden light instantly erupted.
The Jin Guang divine flames ignored all defensive means on Jiang Yuan's body and subsequently fell straight upon him.
Jiang Yuan revealed an expression of extreme terror; he was horrified to discover that the vitality within his body, within mere breaths, withered and decayed rapidly like autumn leaves in the wind.
"Th-this is—"
As strands of white hair quietly drifted down and his teeth fell out, his countenance rapidly became haggard.
His life span was exhausted in an instant, and his corpse suddenly plummeted from the sky.
The face in the sky only witnessed the Jin Guang divine flames descend before Jiang Yuan instantly perished.
He immediately flew into a furious rage, but could only watch helplessly, powerless to intervene.
Qin Ming raised his hand and grabbed, casually tossing Jiang Yuan's corpse into the Small Xiao Lingjing to await slow study.
Seeing this, the face in the sky was greatly alarmed, for how could he not know that Origin Devil Pearl? The Origin Devil Pearl and the technique had been deliberately leaked by him to his beloved disciple Jiang Yuan... that Origin Devil Pearl was also one of the several sect-suppressing treasures of the Blood Refinement Devil Sect.
The Yunxi Laozu of the Blood Refinement Devil Sect had cultivated Jiang Yuan at all costs precisely to harvest his beloved disciple's cultivation base and thereby break through to a higher devil technique realm.
However, before the face in the sky could speak, with Jiang Yuan's death, the jade pendant lost the support of its host, and the face instantly dissipated into the air. Qin Ming naturally did not worry about that Yan Laomo, because from what he had learned from Yue Lingyan, cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage could not descend to the Human Realm via Realm-Descending Talismans.
This was the very reason he acted without fear.
"Since I have already killed one, killing two is still killing; this one Holy Son makes no difference."
"Sigh, it is just that I have wasted another fifty years of my life span in vain."
Qin Ming's current magic power was so substantial that it rivaled a perfect Jin Dan; therefore, when using the life-span-reducing divine ability against Jiang Yuan of the same realm, the exchange ratio was one to ten.
The Devil Treasure, the Demon Sky Tent in the sky, lacking Jiang Yuan's magic power support, also transformed into a blood-colored brocade handkerchief and fell down.
"This item is also quite extraordinary; what a good treasure."
After Qin Ming cleaned up the battlefield, seeing that the time was ripe, he subsequently transformed into a green rainbow and vanished into the horizon.
The surroundings returned to tranquility; after experiencing a great battle, the earth was scarred and devastated.
Gradually, some low-rank cultivators who had been hiding near the Five Elements Mountain Range, having survived the disaster, began to cautiously poke their heads out with rustling sounds.
Each and every one of them was utterly terrified and trembling.
"Surely those were not Nascent Soul Zhenjun fighting just now? It was truly too terrifying..."
(End of Chapter)
End of Chapter
