Chapter 575: Demon Ape Power, Four Symbols Tribulation Curse Array

Deep within the Beastsong Mountains.

As the dust settled, Qin Ming's blood-red eight-armed demon ape leapt from the sky, crashing down with a thunderous boom not far from the ravine.

Rocks shattered and flew, and the earth trembled several times.

Only moments passed.

From the collapsed ground ravine before him, the jet-black demon serpent writhed and crawled out once more.

After the two ferocious beasts had clashed with all their might.

Whose flesh was stronger—clear at a glance.

At this moment.

The jet-black demon serpent, formed by the demon cultivator of the Chou clan through the Heavenly Demon Body Infusion technique, exuded a weakened aura.

His earlier full-power strike had inflicted not a single scratch on the blood-red demon ape.

Instead, he himself had been punched into the ground, nearly losing half his life.

What kind of terrifying flesh power was this?

The jet-black demon serpent shook its massive head, its body blazing with demonic light as it once again summoned a cluster of demonic energy through secret techniques.

At the same time.

In its dragon-like vertical pupils, an unusual flicker of wary apprehension appeared.

"Blood-red eight-armed demon ape?"

"I've never heard of such a thing."

This was the first time the Chou demon cultivator, after mastering the Heavenly Demon Body Infusion, had been humiliated—encountering such a monstrous body cultivator.

Instantly! The blood-red eight-armed demon ape stood towering, radiating an utterly terrifying aura.

"Another one shatters on contact? Looks like body cultivators from the Blood Realm aren't so impressive after all?"

Since Qin Ming had cultivated the True Ultimate Body, his flesh had been nearly unmatched.

After all, the Heavenly Demon Body Refinement Scripture was a demonic holy text—only a handful had ever mastered it in the ten thousand years since its inception, even among the royal bloodlines of demonic beasts.

Qin Ming was an exception.

The blood-red demon ape slowly nodded, its three massive eyes fixed on the black serpent below, brimming with ferocity!

Roar! The demon ape spread its eight arms, its muscles swelling explosively, fingers curling into claws, feet slamming the ground as it leapt once more toward the demon serpent.

The opposing demon cultivator, just severely wounded, had yet to recover from his churning blood and qi.

Moreover, he had never expected the demon ape to be this formidable—after forcibly clashing with him, it still had energy left, and acted without hesitation.

It gave him not a single moment to breathe.

Startled, the demon cultivator moved half a beat too slow; though he desperately twisted his demonic body to barely evade the ape's two massive palms,

the next instant, six blood-red ape arms seized him tightly! Roar! The jet-black demon serpent howled in agony as six horrific gashes tore across its body.

Its once adamant black scales shattered and peeled away, gushing forth dark demonic blood.

In panic and rage, the black serpent thrashed wildly, and in desperation, it opened its massive jaws and bit down hard on one of the blood-red ape's arms—its survival instinct triggered, and it instinctively launched a counterattack.

The demon serpent bared its jagged fangs and clamped down on the demon ape's arm.

Qin Ming was utterly unfazed, for the demon ape was formed from his true qi and blood Gang —its defense was astonishing.

The blood-red demon ape raised its remaining fists and pounded the pinned demon serpent relentlessly! The demon serpent, equally defiant, even wounded, lashed out with its colossal tail, striking the ape's back as they clashed fiercely.

The earth shook, mountains and rivers collapsed.

The two colossal beasts battled within the Beastsong Mountains, unleashing violent gales around them.

The residual shockwaves shattered everything nearby, reducing it to ruin in an instant.

Even demonic beasts a thousand li away, hearing the thunderous roar of the battle, mistook it for a transformed great demon beast fighting—and all cowered in their dens, too terrified to show their heads.

Afraid of being caught in the crossfire, dying without even knowing how.

Nearby, the emaciated man of the Meng clan, locked in combat with the Devouring Sky Rat, witnessed this scene and stared in disbelief.

"How is this possible?!"

"Among lower-realm cultivators, how could anyone match Chou Senior Brother's Heavenly Demon Body Infusion with sheer flesh power alone?"

Worse still, the Meng demon cultivator saw that his once-hoped-for Senior Brother Chou was now completely on the defensive, being crushed beneath the other cultivator's fists. "Hey! You still got time to look around?"

"Looks like I haven't been hard enough on you yet!"

"Damn it! Taste my divine technique!"

The Devouring Sky Rat roared, swung his Vermilion Bird Banner, and instantly countless heavenly flames rained down, forming a vast sea of fire over the demon cultivator! The emaciated man shrieked in terror and frantically countered.

…

Meanwhile, Qin Ming's battle had reached its fever pitch.

Let it be said—the Blood Refining Demon Sect's true disciples still had their merits.

The Chou demon cultivator, despite being pounded relentlessly by Qin Ming's blood-red eight-armed demon ape, had not yet died, clinging to life with desperate last-ditch strikes.

The black serpent's demonic head glowed crimson, its jaws locked onto the demon ape's arm, refusing to let go.

Suddenly!

The demon serpent's vertical pupils flashed with ferocity; as the demon ape swung its fist, it spat a torrent of jet-black demonic energy toward Qin Ming's face.

This demonic energy reeked foully—it was clearly a treacherous demonic poison technique.

In the blink of an eye.

The demon ape's third eye—the Breaking Technique Rebirth Eye—suddenly opened!

A crimson divine light shot forth, freezing the serpent's demonic mist and poison midair.

The next instant, the power of the Rebirth Eye exploded, instantly obliterating the demon serpent's poisonous mist!

Senior Brother Chou, witnessing this heavenly-level technique, stared in disbelief, his heart sinking.

His pride—his flesh—was no match; even his ultimate technique had been shattered.

What kind of monster had appeared out of nowhere? In a high-level duel, life and death often hinged on a single instant.

The blood-red eight-armed demon ape seized the moment the enemy froze, using two of its arms to suddenly grab the serpent's head.

Roar! The demon ape bellowed in furious rage, unleashing its true blood and qi Gang power!

Its thick blood-red arms twisted with all their might—*plop!

Black scales on the serpent's neck peeled off, revealing horrific gashes; its eyes, rarely showing fear, now widened in terror.

But the blood-red demon ape gave it no chance—it flipped over, straddling the jet-black demon serpent.

Then its eight arms clenched into fists, unleashing a storm of blood-red punches, hammering the serpent's head like falling meteorites.

Roar! The demon ape was merciless—not content with pounding, it opened its abyssal maw and bit down savagely on the black serpent's neck, spurting torrents of dark demonic blood.

The demon serpent screamed in agony, wailing pitifully.

Then—

The demon ape's eight arms gripped the serpent's head and twisted with brutal force, tearing the massive head clean off, dropping it to the ground like a mountain.

With the serpent's death, its demonic aura dimmed and slowly dissipated.

Revealing the true form of the Chou demon cultivator of the Blood Refining Demon Sect.

But he too had his neck twisted—his head severed from his body.

Suddenly!

Yet at this very moment.

A spiritual essence shot out from the corpse, piercing through space, fleeing in blind panic.

Qin Ming dispelled his true qi transformation, fixed his gaze, and a sneer curled his lips.

"Now you think of running? Isn't it too late?"

His spiritual sense erupted instantly, solidifying into a barrier that blocked the Chou demon cultivator's spirit.

Boom! The fleeing spirit of the Chou demon cultivator finally showed utter terror.

Before him, an invisible wall appeared out of nowhere.

His spirit smashed into the spiritual sense wall, nearly dissolving—soul-deep agony surged through him instantly.

"Spiritual sense manifestation!"

"Why is the spiritual sense of a Nascent Soul cultivator so strong?!"

"I refuse to accept this!"

Before he could react, Qin Ming's spiritual sense shifted again, forming a giant hand that seized his spirit and dragged it before him.

The Chou demon cultivator, stripped of his former calm, was now filled with pure terror.

Having roamed the demonic path for years, he needed no thought to know what awaited him—he had used soul-extraction and spirit-refining techniques on countless others, and now it was his turn. He did not wish to experience that pain himself.

He cried out in desperation: "Esteemed fellow cultivator, spare my life! Can you at least give me a quick death? I have many treasures—I'll give them all to you! And whatever else you demand, I'll fulfill it!"

"Hmph! Do you think I can't take them myself?" Qin Ming sneered, utterly dismissive.

He immediately began the Soul-Searching Technique.

But the next instant—

"Aaaaah!!!"

A shrill, ear-splitting scream rang out.

As Qin Ming activated the technique, the Chou demon cultivator's spirit swelled like a balloon.

His face twisted in agony.

Then—*boom! —it exploded instantly, his spirit scattered, his aura gone, leaving no chance for reincarnation.

Qin Ming's face darkened—he had intended to extract the man's memories for detailed intelligence on the Blood Realm.

Who could have imagined that the Blood Refining Devil Gate had planted soul seals on its disciples from the Lower Realm, so that anyone attempting soul search would trigger the forbidden seal and instantly annihilate the soul?

This ensured that the Blood Refining Devil Gate's secrets would never leak.

Qin Ming had never expected the devil sect to have such a backdoor measure.

He shook his head, dismissing the thought, and collected the storage bag from the corpse of the devil cultivator surnamed Qiu.

Then he activated the Thorns Technique; countless black vines whipped through the air and instantly swallowed and buried the corpse.

After a moment, a dark red blood pearl fell into his hand.

The devil cultivator's corpse was not wasted—it was directly tossed into the Small Spirit Realm to serve as fertilizer for the Fengyou Ghost Jujube Tree.

After completing all this, Qin Ming turned his gaze toward a nearby location.

"This Blood Refining Devil Gate's true disciple has some real skills."

"If any other cultivator faced this one, few in the Golden Core realm would be a match."

"Too bad he met me."

After breaking through to Golden Core late stage, Qin Ming's power surged dramatically; apart from Nascent Soul True Persons, he had virtually no rivals.

Qin Ming felt no hesitation or psychological burden in eliminating the devil sect disciple.

Because he had learned from Yue Lingyan that these devil cultivators from the Lower Realm operated under strict limitations.

He had no fear of retaliation from the Blood Refining Devil Gate.

And once the ten-year term ended, the remaining devil sect disciples would be forcibly returned to the Upper Realm.

The only regret was that he had hoped to extract some useful information from the devil cultivator.

But the Blood Refining Devil Gate's secrecy methods were peculiar: as soon as one of its disciples fell into another's hands and soul search was attempted, the soul would instantly scatter—nothing could be gained.

This was precisely the Blood Refining Devil Gate's cruel and vicious nature.

Above the Beast Roar Mountains, not far away, the emaciated devil cultivator surnamed Meng witnessed his senior brother Qiu being brutally crushed and killed by Qin Ming.

Instantly panicked, he slipped up—his opening seized by the Sky Devouring Rat, which struck him with a ground spike that pierced his abdomen, spraying blood like rain.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

The devil cultivator surnamed Meng, shocked and furious, screamed: "Rodent! How dare you ambush me!"

"Hmph! Child's talk—I am a rat demon by nature. You're about to die and still dare to speak insolently? Your senior brother Qiu is already cold. I'll send you to join him right now!"

The Sky Devouring Rat's eyes turned icy; five flag banners flew from its hand and landed at five points in the void.

Then it channeled its demonic energy, muttering incantations under its breath.

"Four Symbols Catastrophe Array!"

Boom! Five brilliant colored pillars of light erupted from the five flag banners, shooting skyward!

A world-destroying aura locked onto the dying, emaciated devil cultivator within the array.

The devil cultivator surnamed Meng turned pale with shock: "This—this—"

Then a terrifying black gale surged within the array, as if capable of extinguishing a cultivator's spiritual sense.

Heaven's thunder summoned earth's fire; within the black gale, ferocious black flames raged, interwoven with flickering lightning.

The emaciated devil cultivator was like a tiny boat adrift in an endless ocean, tossed violently by the gale's monstrous waves, on the verge of capsizing at any moment.

In mere moments, all his techniques were exhausted—he could not withstand the terrifying black wind, and was instantly engulfed.

He did not even manage to utter a final scream.

The Sky Devouring Rat immediately ceased its spell and waved its hand, recalling the Five Elements Flag Banners.

The gale dissipated.

A charred corpse tumbled lifelessly from midair; the devil cultivator surnamed Meng's eyes were hollow and vacant—his soul and body had been utterly obliterated by the black gale. "Hmm… maybe I went a bit too far. The master wanted to soul-search him—now there's no soul left at all."

The Sky Devouring Rat realized it had overdone it, silently pondering how to explain to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming's figure had already appeared beside it.

"Master, I've slain this devil! Hehehe!"

"But his soul seems… scattered."

The Sky Devouring Rat puffed out its chest, proudly seeking praise from Qin Ming.

Qin Ming collected the storage bag from the corpse, then repeated the same method: he activated the Thorns Technique, draining the body dry into a blood pearl.

He tossed the emaciated man's corpse into the Small Spirit Realm as fertilizer.

Then he fed the two blood pearls from the late-stage Golden Core devil cultivators directly to his life-spirit plant, the Yin-Yang Mystic Vine.

After absorbing the essence within the blood pearls, the Mystic Vine began to grow wildly and rapidly once more.

Dozens of silver, arcane runes spiraled and danced around the plant.

Until dozens of black-and-white flower buds bloomed anew among the black vines.

After completing all this, Qin Ming turned to the Sky Devouring Rat and spoke.

"It's fine. These two Lower Realm cultivators had a sect seal implanted on their souls—soul search and interrogation are impossible."

He did not blame the Sky Devouring Rat.

On the contrary, he was quite impressed by the final technique it had just used.

"This place is not safe to linger. The commotion may draw nearby great beasts to investigate. Let's leave."

Immediately, Qin Ming erased all traces of energy from the scene, confirmed no residue remained, then took the Sky Devouring Rat and vanished in a streak of green light.

At the exact moment Qin Ming slew the two devils.

Across the Three Immortal Realms, the dozen or so devil cultivators who had descended from the Blood Realm all suddenly changed expression.

Each frantically pulled a blood-marked devil talisman from their robes—two of their fellow disciples' soul marks had vanished.

"How is this possible?"

"Senior Brother Qiu and Senior Brother Meng both perished simultaneously?!"

"Could they have encountered a Nascent Soul elder?"

"…"

In the Grand Zhou Immortal Realm, within the Xuanqing Temple now occupied by devil sects.

Jiang Yuan, the Blood Refining Devil Gate's Holy Son, looked frail and feeble, idly playing with a devil-marked blood talisman. His pale, paper-white face showed faint confusion as he spoke in a soft, feminine tone to the person across from him: "Sister Lan Bing, who do you think did this?"

"Senior Brother Qiu's Heavenly Demon Body Transference technique absorbed the devil dragon imprisoned in the eighteenth layer of the Devil Abyss. Unless it was a Nascent Soul cultivator… no one else could have killed both brothers at once."

"Could it be a Nascent Soul cultivator from Great Jin intervened?"

Lan Bing, the Holy Maiden, showed no change in expression, replying in a voice as cold as ice: "Two worthless trash. Let them die. What does it matter to me?"

"Cough! Even so, someone dared to defy our Holy Sect's dignity."

"Shamefully tarnished our Holy Sect's reputation."

"Sister Lan, we can't just let this slide, can we? How will we explain to the Elders when we return?"

"Besides, Senior Brother Meng was the only grandson of Elder Meng Kuo. If he's gone like this, how will we appease the old man?" Jiang Yuan said with a faint smile.

Upon hearing this, Lan Bing, the Holy Maiden, replied with utter calm:

"That human cultivator likely doesn't know that killing our disciples leaves behind an invisible Blood Ring Curse."

"Inform the other brothers to stay alert. Whenever a blood talisman reacts, notify me immediately."

Jiang Yuan chuckled darkly: "Sister Lan, you always think ahead."

…

(End of Chapter)