Chapter 37: Your Karma, It Belongs to Me Now! (4k, seeking monthly votes, follow-up reading)

The Fly Child, pinned to the ground, heard Jiang Yan’s words and tilted its head at a grotesque angle, revealing a face covered in blood as it spat out with resentment:

"You are too arrogant; you only relied on a sneak attack..."

"Only the weak make excuses; strength does not speak..."

Jiang Yan interrupted it, looking down at the Fly Child, and said calmly:

"Because I, in my strength, am dominating you!"

"Hiss—"

As the words fell, the scarlet radiance in the eyes of the Two-Headed Shadow-Eating Serpent grew more intense, and shadows flowed, spreading like a tide.

Sizzle!

Another tail hook began to coil around the Fly Child’s neck, the sharp sickle-blade making contact with its neck, revealing a line of blood that seeped out in dense, tiny beads.

The latter instantly understood Jiang Yan’s intent, its expression turning terrified as it roared:

"You dare!?"

With a snap,

The Fly Child’s head rolled onto the ground, its gaze filled with disbelief, and then...

It was swallowed in one gulp by the Shadow-Eating Serpent.

Sizzle!

Accompanied by the sound of chewing, a large amount of granulation tissue grew and intertwined within the shadow-like flesh at the wound of its other shattered head, gradually beginning to repair the injury.

"Hiss hiss!"

The scarlet eyes of the Two-Headed Shadow-Eating Serpent grew increasingly greedy, surging with the desire to devour everything.

The strong were its nourishment.

And the Fly Child was one of its delicious meals!

Thus, the Shadow-Eating Serpent retracted the hook-tail that had pinned the Fly Child and brought it to its mouth, just as it was about to swallow it.

Bang!

The Fly Child’s mangled body suddenly tore apart, but instead of flesh and blood splattering, shattered leather flew everywhere.

A black shadow darted out from within, appearing above the Shadow-Eating Serpent’s head.

It was the Fly Child!

"Damn it!!!"

At this moment, it was no longer in the form of a child, but had transformed into a giant fly with red compound eyes and a brown body, its eyes filled with thick hatred.

This was a precious human-skin garment it had bought from the Leatherworker; once worn, it could conceal its true form and demonic aura, allowing it to easily blend into human society and avoid the pursuit of powerful History Walkers.

But in reality, the Fly Child did not actually like turning into a human shape, just as humans would not like turning into the shape of food.

It was only because Gaoshan Jun, the Lord of Shaolao Mountain, often liked to maintain a human form.

Every time the Fly Child went to see it, it would crawl on the ground, looking up at Gaoshan Jun as it sat indifferently and majestically on its throne, looking down at the demons on the ground, high and mighty.

After putting on the human skin, the Fly Child would often fantasize about becoming a powerful demon like Gaoshan Jun.

With ten thousand demons bowing in submission, ruling over a region.

Therefore, it cherished the skin dearly in its daily life, applying oil refined from living people to maintain it every day, and would be heartbroken by even the slightest damage or scratch.

But at this moment...

The human skin was ruined...

Its dream had also been dismembered by Jiang Yan!

The Fly Child was burning with rage, but it was not impulsive.

Because it had been caught in the shockwaves when Shaolao Mountain impacted the present world, it had suffered significant injuries, and even after eating a large number of History Walkers in succession, it had only recovered half of its strength.

It was only equivalent to the early stage of Dao Foundation.

So this time, it feigned death to lower the opponent’s guard, all to get close to the Shadow-Eating Serpent before striking.

'This guy is only relying on this external avatar; once I shatter the remaining heads of this big snake, I will make you feel pain like descending into hell!'

The Fly Child thought with resentment, opening its hideous mouthparts and emitting a sharp, explosive sound:

'Killing Move—Spirit Fly Sting!'

Hiss hiss!

The insect wings on its back vibrated at high speed, its figure suddenly turning into an afterimage, and several sharp insect limbs aimed at the Shadow-Eating Serpent’s head like iron spears; because they were so sharp, they tore through the air, whipping up a nearly tangible airflow.

A full-force strike was enough to kill an early-stage Dao Foundation in seconds!

Let alone a mere snake condensed from shadows!

"Destroying my human skin, go to hell!"

The Fly Child roared, its killing intent boiling.

Ding!

However, the sensation of cutting it had imagined did not come; instead, a crisp sound rang out, numbing its limbs.

The Fly Child’s expression stalled, and it roared:

"How is this possible?!"

Its insect limbs had hit the Shadow-Eating Serpent, but that was all.

It was blocked by a faint layer of golden protective light on the Shadow-Eating Serpent’s surface, unable to penetrate even a fraction further.

"Vajra Varahi Fire-Burning Seal!"

The Fly Child said every word clearly, but it could not understand.

Why...

Could a Shadow-Eating Serpent also practice the signature ability of the Corpse-Dissection Wang Ting?

And possess such high proficiency without any Varahi infection?

Had Vajra Varahi gone mad?

"Hiss—"

The Shadow-Eating Serpent would not give it time to think, opening its abyssal maw and biting down fiercely; even though the Fly Child quickly flapped its wings to dodge, it still had several insect legs bitten off.

Drip! Drip!

Ink-green insect blood dripped onto the ground from the wounds, and the Fly Child quickly stopped the bleeding, but its missing-limbs appearance looked extremely miserable.

Even if it did not want to admit it, everything before its eyes had already slipped out of its control.

Jiang Yan’s calm voice came:

"Your fear is much more interesting than your current disheveled state."

A single sentence made the Fly Child’s gaze incomparably gloomy.

It had always been the one toying with others; it never expected to be reduced to a toy today.

On the seat, Jiang Yan felt the other’s anger, without joy or sorrow, his gaze as indifferent as a calm sea, hiding surging undercurrents, and he whispered in his heart:

"So, why... must you force me?"

He only wanted to get home safely, have a good sleep, and wake up to eat the food Yin Yiyi made, receive his cultivation method, and get through a new Disease Domain.

After sensing danger, he had run away at the first opportunity, not wanting to cause trouble.

He only wanted to live a calm and simple daily life.

But this idiot, the Fly Child, had pursued him relentlessly.

Since there was no avoiding it, he would go all out.

He had directly sacrificed one head and his entire body’s Qi and blood, using the [Great Assistance] skill to exchange for Dao Foundation-level combat power.

The monstrous fighting spirit should have sent him into a berserker state, but it was forcibly calmed down by the dual stabilizing effects of the Brahma Sword Buddha Armor and the Ash Lamp.

Two diametrically opposed extreme effects intertwined, especially after the birth of the Ash Lamp, that powerful soul force far exceeding his own rank allowed him to enter a special state.

His wisdom was greatly enhanced, emotions were absent, he could maintain absolute rationality at all times, and he possessed terrifying computational power.

In his eyes, all matter and life in this world had become chess pieces and chips on a board, which could be sacrificed.

It was as if he were looking down at the world from the perspective of a high-dimensional deity, indifferently watching the operation of all things.

It was also in this extreme rationality that Jiang Yan understood...

How shallow his understanding of the Demon God Embryo was.

It nurtured all things, and could also turn all things into one.

All its offspring were chess pieces in his hand, extensions of his will.

They could fuse with each other, and naturally, they could also stack with each other.

Theoretically, with enough offspring, performing countless attribute stacks, one could create a mythical life form and swallow the entire world.

Even deities could become prey.

It was just that to reach this step, enough nourishment was required.

"Let’s tentatively call it... [Overlimit State] or [Warlord Mode]!"

The thought flashed through Jiang Yan’s mind, and looking at the battered Fly Child, he said faintly:

"It’s time to end this."

"Arrogant!"

The Fly Child roared: "So what if you have the blessing of Vajra Varahi, I will still shatter you!"

Just as it prepared to rely on its high-speed movement ability to attack the Shadow-Eating Serpent continuously, thereby breaking the surface with a single point, its body suddenly shook.

The Fly Child lowered its head; the many wounds pierced by the tail hook began to rot rapidly, and thick shadows flowed within them, beginning to erode its flesh.

"No, there is poison on the hook!"

Even for a naturally filthy fly-demon like Fly-Child, and even with immediate suppression, facing such potent poison, the flesh and blood within its body still dissolved rapidly, spreading throughout its entire body in the blink of an eye.

At this moment,

its already injured body suffered further damage.

"Despicable human, if you have the ability, fight me fair and square!" A human-like hatred appeared on Fly-Child's face.

But the only response to its accusation was the Shadow-Eating Great Snake’s frenzied biting and pursuit, its tail-hook continuously piercing through.

Fly-Child was incredibly aggrieved, forced to dodge passively,

clearly possessing strength, yet unable to exert even thirty percent of it.

"Losers always like to find all sorts of excuses for themselves."

Jiang Yan’s heart was without a ripple; facing a powerhouse of a higher rank than himself, one must not only improve oneself but also exhaust every means to weaken the opponent.

One must crush the opponent with absolute superiority, leaving not a single chance.

Snap!

Jiang Yan snapped his fingers.

Swish, swish, swish!

The shadows on the ground surged, transforming into arms that whistled through the air; Fly-Child dodged them one by one, just about to mock him, but in its compound eye vision, it discovered them weaving into a net, blocking its path.

"Oh no!"

The Shadow-Eating Great Snake pressed in step by step, its abyss-like maw already before it.

Boom!

Facing a desperate situation, Fly-Child let out a cold snort, and dozens of palm-sized white flies emitting white light flew out from its body, blocking in front, and then...

Instantly self-destructed!

Rumble!

The spiritual energy explosion instantly enveloped the Shadow-Eating Great Snake, causing the ground within a radius of several dozen meters to crack and sink.

It kicked up a cloud of dust, shrouding the Shadow-Eating Great Snake.

"Hateful brat, to actually force me to self-destruct most of my Spirit Flies; these are treasures that are hard to produce even after hundreds of generations of the fly swarm.

However, even if this great snake has the blessing of the Vajra Varahi Seal, it will still be injured. Once I go eat some humans to recover my Foundation Establishment peak strength, I will come back to take revenge on you!"

Fly-Child took the opportunity to shrink to the size of an ordinary fly, blending into the remaining swarm, preparing to escape in the chaos.

Before leaving, its red compound eyes turned to look at Jiang Yan, guarding against any further tricks he might have.

It was also to remember this enemy.

"Have you been forced to reveal your final trump card?"

Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes; the moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

He had been sitting not to look cool, but because sacrificing the Shadow-Eating Great Snake’s head and his own blood essence to exchange for Foundation Establishment combat power had left him with no strength to stand.

Fortunately, the Shadow-Eating Great Snake had just devoured the fly swarm and Fly-Child’s limbs, feeding back quite a bit of vitality, allowing him to recover a little strength.

Although he could not fight intensely, it was enough to...

Swing the sword!

"A true swordsman is never obsessed with the sword itself, and does not even need to hold it personally."

Jiang Yan slowly extended his hand and grasped at the void.

"Fool!"

This sudden action made Fly-Child in the distance sneer in its heart.

Did this guy think he was some big shot of the Old Register level, capable of pinching it to death out of thin air through a Dharma Domain?

Wait!

Fly-Child realized, suddenly discovering...

The headless snake body that had been guarding Jiang Yan’s side was gone.

"Where exactly is it?"

A bad premonition surfaced in its heart; it turned its compound eyes sharply, only to see the Shadow-Eating Great Snake transforming from a phantom shadow into a solid entity within the dissipating dust.

Shadow-form to evade physical damage!

Brilliant golden light emerged around the Shadow-Eating Great Snake as it roared toward it.

Through the perspective provided by the Lamp of Ashes, it easily locked onto Fly-Child’s life-lamp among the many flies.

Then,

it opened its abyss-like maw and bit down fiercely!

"How did this guy find me?!"

Fly-Child was shocked, forced to change back to its original form, waving several insect legs in preparation to knock it back; however, after the collision, it was not blocked, but instead sank into it.

It was like hitting scorching mud.

Fly-Child looked closely and discovered that the golden light on the Shadow-Eating Great Snake’s body began to melt, sticking to its body like burning plastic.

This is...

Candali!

Vajra Varahi is both the most rigid and the most yielding!

The Candali in the heart entangles all things.

"Get away!!!"

Fly-Child panicked, unable to break free despite using all its strength, so it simply severed its own limbs and released the last of its Spirit Flies to rush at the Shadow-Eating Great Snake, blowing it away through self-destruction.

It vibrated its wings and turned to run, but...

It was too late.

Sizzle, sizzle!

Another headless snake body emerged from Fly-Child’s shadow, with countless shadow threads spreading from its broken wounds.

They continuously wove together at the broken wounds, transforming into dozens of pitch-black arms, as if the spirits killed by Fly-Child had returned to the world of the living.

Manifesting karmic retribution.

They gathered together, the arms layered upon one another like a flower of hell,

slowly blooming.

The scene was eerie yet carried an inexplicable beauty.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

At the end of the broken snake body, a three-meter-long Sanskrit sword emerged, its hilt gripped by the many arms.

At the same time, Jiang Yan’s fingers tightened in the void, his movements synchronized.

He lowered his eyes and said softly:

"Even after a hundred kalpas, the deeds done do not perish; when the conditions meet, the fruits are borne by oneself."

Hum!

The sword body vibrated and hummed incessantly; the Sanskrit characters on it lit up one after another, gathering together to transform into a ghostly Buddha light, dispelling the darkness in the woods.

But what held the sword was an even deeper darkness.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The air flow accelerated, and in an instant, a wild wind blew, sweeping through the woods.

At this moment,

the leaves rustled,

the tree trunks swayed and groaned,

the corpses piled on the mountain of bodies shifted and fell; all these sounds converged into a special movement.

Playing in Fly-Child’s ears, at this moment, it knew the name of the mysterious movement, named...

Death!

"Great Vajra Slash!"

Jiang Yan swung his arm down, like a Buddha passing judgment on the human world.

Hiss, hiss!

The headless snake body danced, and the many arms swung the sword down.

The wild wind roared, and the Buddha light offered salvation.

It transformed into a brilliant swastika-shaped sword aura that swept across.

"No! Spare me! I am willing to hand over my Foundation..."

Fly-Child begged desperately, but even by exhausting all its strength, it could not block the strike for even an instant, and could only watch as its body was pierced and torn into many pieces.

The broken body fell, and the Shadow-Eating Great Snake swallowed it in one gulp.

Fly-Child, dead!

Jiang Yan slowly withdrew his hand; the fire on the Lamp of Ashes flickered, collecting Fly-Child’s soul, and he said softly:

"Your karma now belongs to me."

Seeking monthly tickets, seeking follow-up reads, seeking recommendation tickets

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(End of this chapter)