Chapter 745: The Fall of Shemu and the Explosion of Demon Qi

From the body of Shemu, thick clusters of black Qi rose up, resembling dark clouds.

Within the black Qi, a mass of golden light flickered; the golden light expanded incessantly and spun crazily, finally transforming into a golden vortex.

A terrifying suction force emanated from the vortex. This suction force ignored spatial distance and descended upon all the snake demons in an instant. The snake demons' cultivation was continuously extracted by the vortex and fed back to Shemu.

All the snake demons had their arts transmitted by Shemu; every snake demon's magic power was of the same origin as the magic power within Shemu's body. It did not even need to be refined by Shemu; with just a slight circulation, it merged into one with her own cultivation, without the slightest stagnation.

Xiaoqing and Xiaobai were no exceptions. They finally experienced the feeling Taiyin Zhenjun had previously, their cultivation collapsing like a broken dam, flowing away crazily. Even though their cultivation was now extremely profound, they were ultimately based on the arts transmitted by Shemu, and facing Shemu's "reclamation," they were fundamentally powerless to resist.

This suction force was truly too strong.

After just a few breaths, many snake demons had their power drained, turning one after another into ordinary small snakes, losing their intelligence, scurrying about on the ground, and disappearing without a trace before long.

With the loss of magic power, even the two women, Qing and Bai, could barely maintain their human forms, transforming into half-human, half-snake states.

Xiaobai's eyes were dim, her tone carrying a trace of grief: "Yu Liancheng was right. Our arts actually, actually really have problems. Everything is just to make a wedding dress for Master."

"Shemu, we honored you as Master and obeyed your orders, yet you played tricks in the arts, letting us serve as your tonic pills." Xiaoqing glared hatefully at Shemu, her willow eyebrows raised, and she questioned with full anger: "Taiyin Zhenjun refined us, but at least he was not of the same race. Your actions, cannibalizing your own kind, are simply more excessive than the National Master. You will surely suffer divine retribution in the future."

"Hahaha, what do little demons like you know? The weak are prey to the strong; that is the natural law. I am merely acting in accordance with the natural law."

Shemu's face was ferocious; she spread her arms and laughed wildly: "When I attain the true fruit in the future, you will have a share of the credit. You should feel honored and proud of this."

Boom!

Rolling black Qi surged out from Shemu's body, rushing in all directions like a tidal wave. In the blink of an eye, it enveloped Xiaoqing and Xiaobai. The golden vortex also spun larger and more fiercely, causing the two women's magic power to be extracted even more rapidly.

"I said it before, the human race is cruel, and your Snake Clan is no less so."

Just as Xiaoqing and Xiaobai were about to be unable to hold on, a clear and pleasant voice rang out. Hearing this voice, a trace of joy could not help but rise on the faces of the two women.

At the same time, Xiaoqing, Xiaobai, and Shemu all saw a palm flashing with jade-like luster.

At this moment, a hundred zhang in radius was shrouded by Shemu's black Qi, obscuring the sky and overturning the light of the sun and moon.

The golden light within the black Qi was even more dazzling, making everything before one's eyes bright and shimmering; every blade of grass and every tree looked as if it were carved from gold.

Yet this palm intruded into everyone's field of vision so clearly, its skin color like polished jade, unable to be stained by even a fraction of the golden light.

This palm, perfect as a work of art, pressed down in mid-air, instantly giving people the illusion that the world had turned upside down. The palm force, violent as a hurricane, tore open the black Qi; the darkness shattered layer by layer, the golden light scattered, and sunlight once again spilled onto the human world.

Light seemed to reappear, but everyone's vision became dim.

That palm seemed to have sucked up all the light and heat in the world, brilliant and magnificent, capturing people's souls, making even the sun and moon grow dim as it pressed toward Shemu.

The speed of this palm was not fast, and could even be described as "slow," as if every movement were frozen. But strangely, although Shemu could see every movement of this palm, her body could not react in time, and she could only watch helplessly as this palm landed on her chest.

Shemu's body trembled violently, her arrogant and ruthless expression wiped clean, a trace of shock and fear appearing on her face. The next moment, she retreated dozens of zhang in an instant, her face pale, and she spat out a mist of blood.

Yu Liancheng withdrew his hand into his sleeve, his robes unstained by dust, as if descending from the nine heavens: "If you have any last words, just say them. I imagine Xiaoqing and Xiaobai won't mind me finishing off their vicious master."

"You are the new National Master, Yu Liancheng?"

Shemu's face was pale. After a brief moment of shock, a ruthless look appeared again: "Although you are powerful, I have absorbed the cultivation of the snake demons and Taiyin Zhenjun, and the Taiyin True Art is pushed almost to the limit. I promise you, from now on, I will no longer trouble Xiaoqing and Xiaobai; we will mind our own business. I can even promise you one thing: to help you suppress demons or deal with human cultivators."

Yu Liancheng looked at his palm, seemingly muttering to himself: "Is this your last word? If you are finished, it is my turn to act."

"Fine, fine, fine, you forced me."

Shemu looked at Yu Liancheng with resentful and malicious eyes. According to her plan, she was supposed to feign submission first, and after absorbing the National Master's magic power and completely stabilizing her cultivation, she would then wait for an opportunity to take revenge.

But now it seemed that Yu Liancheng would not let her leave.

As the words fell, a monstrous black Qi erupted from Shemu's body, extremely thick.

Then, amidst a heaven-shaking roar, a giant black python poked its head out from the black mist.

One could see the snake head covered in hundreds of bone spurs, its scales as huge as mats. There were gaps between the scales, and within the gaps surged scorching red light, as if it were not blood flowing, but surging, boiling magma. The snake body slid slightly, ready at any moment to erupt with the terrifying power to topple mountains and overturn seas.

And the most peculiar thing about this snake was that it had two heads.

A two-headed python, with a tail; at this moment, its scales shimmered in the sunlight, appearing even more ferocious.

Shemu roared, slid violently, and arrived in front of Yu Liancheng. The snake neck stretched out, carrying a sonic boom like rolling thunder, and bit toward Yu Liancheng.

At this moment, the snake head was truly enormous. As it dived, it was as if a mountain peak had suddenly collapsed, whistling as it smashed down, terrifying to the extreme. Even Xiaoqing and Xiaobai, upon seeing their master's true form, felt their legs go weak; this was the suppression and fear within their bloodlines.

Yu Liancheng chuckled, and his figure suddenly disappeared the moment Shemu was about to bite him. The snake mouth, filled with sharp teeth, bit into nothing but a mass of air, emitting a 'bang' sound.

Shemu scanned with her divine sense, but there was no trace of Yu Liancheng within a hundred zhang.

Suddenly, she noticed the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi in the air surging toward the sky like a tide. She hurriedly looked up and discovered that Yu Liancheng was standing in mid-air, over a hundred zhang high. The Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi gathered in his palm; these Yuan Qi combined yin and yang, then transformed into a bolt of thunder and lightning, yet it did not descend, permeating the high sky.

In an instant, pools of thunder gathered in the high sky. Looking up from below, a hundred zhang in radius was shrouded in the Thunder Pool. Lightning and thunder chased each other like flood dragons, countless bolts of lightning intertwined, emitting a crackling sound, the light dazzling. This boundless power alone was enough to suppress demons and make people tremble with fear.

Boom!

Yu Liancheng pointed a finger at Shemu.

The sea of thunder shattered, and countless bolts of thunder crashed down, as if a glowing waterfall, or a roaring, howling thunder dragon, pouring down toward Shemu.

Shemu could not dodge in time. After letting out a hiss, she condensed a barrier of black Qi in front of her, attempting to resist the countless bolts of thunder.

However, thunder is meant to destroy evil; how could black Qi resist it? In the blink of an eye, the black Qi dissipated, and the thunder headed entirely toward Shemu's body.

Boom!

Boom, boom, boom!

The violent roaring sound was incessant. In an instant, hundreds or thousands of thunderbolts struck Shemu. Dust flew, and the heaven and earth trembled. Even hundreds of miles away, one could hear the rumbling of the thunder. Under this violent thunder, it seemed that everything was destined to be destroyed.

Seeing this scene, Xiaobai and Xiaoqing both felt fear in their hearts, gaining a new understanding of Yu Liancheng's strength.

As the saying goes, the might of heaven is unfathomable. This strike from Yu Liancheng was even more terrifying than the Thunder Tribulation endured by those great cultivators; how could one not be afraid?

After the thunder dissipated, the village, which had been destroyed into ruins by the battle between the snake demon clan and Taiyin Zhenjun, had completely disappeared, not a single tile remaining. The ground sank more than twenty zhang, forming a huge Tiankeng, and cracked with dense fissures, spreading like lightning for dozens of zhang. Even the place where Xiaoqing and Xiaobai stood was covered in cracks, as if it might shatter at any moment.

In the center of the giant pit, the huge snake body lay motionless, its whole body scorched, countless scales destroyed, and blood like magma surged and splashed out.

There was even thunder power that had broken through the scales and entered Shemu's body, rampaging within the snake body, destroying every inch of flesh and bone, demonstrating the destructive power of thunder to the fullest. Faintly, a scent of roasted meat drifted out.

And Shemu had no breath left; under the bombardment of the Thunder Pool, she had likely suffered the Annihilation of Body and Soul.

As Yu Liancheng slowly descended from the sky, the two heads of Shemu suddenly popped out at the same time, biting toward Yu Liancheng, and thick black Qi was spat out from their mouths.

It turned out that although Shemu was severely injured, she was not dead.

She had hidden her breath just to deliver a fatal blow to Yu Liancheng at the critical moment.

"You snake demon, you really are tough to beat, but that is all there is to it."

Yu Liancheng struck out with a palm from a distance; a violent palm force descended from the sky, tyrannical to the extreme, and smashed fiercely into Shemu's mountain-like, massive body.

Taking another heavy blow, Shemu's two heads hung down listlessly, causing the ground to tremble slightly, as if from a small earthquake.

"Spare me... spare me... I am willing to serve the National Master as my master and obey your every command." Shemu could only emit a faint, mournful cry at this moment, attempting to save her life: "Xiaoqing, Xiaobai, no matter what, I... I am still your master; please plead with the National Master for me, spare... spare my life."

Xiaobai bit her lip, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Xiaoqing sneered: "When my sister and I helped you kill Taiyin Zhenjun and offered up the Jade Hairpin, all debts of gratitude were wiped clean. Furthermore, you even wanted to kill my sister and me; it is already good enough that we didn't kick you while you were down."

"Rest assured, I will not kill you."

Yu Liancheng flicked his sleeve, and a stream of light flew from the ground into his hand; it was that Jade Hairpin capable of absorbing magic power.

When the waterfall of lightning had crashed down earlier, Shemu had been in no position to care about the Jade Hairpin, and it had fallen to the ground.

It was unknown where Shemu had obtained this Jade Hairpin; after being bombarded by lightning, not only was it undamaged, but it had actually gestated a strand of thunderous power within it.

Once the thunderous power within the hairpin was released, sweeping away an army of a thousand cavalry would be a trivial matter.

"No, don't, I beg you, please don't..."

Seeming to know what Yu Liancheng was about to do, Shemu's already dying body began to tremble slightly.

Unfortunately, Yu Liancheng inserted the Jade Hairpin into the seven-inch mark of Shemu's body, then rapidly devoured Shemu's magic essence.

Feeling her own magic essence being absorbed by the Jade Hairpin like a bursting dam, Shemu felt despair, wailing and struggling in vain, which made Xiaobai unable to bear watching, while Xiaoqing sneered repeatedly.

After ten or so breaths, Shemu's body continuously shrank, exiting her giant python state.

Not long after, Shemu's entire cultivation was drained, transforming her into a three-foot-long, two-foot-wide two-headed snake, having lost all intelligence, and she slithered away along the Broken ground.

Bai Suzhen let out a soft sigh.

Xiaoqing, however, felt incredibly gratified.

In the future, she must strive to cultivate and reach a higher realm as soon as possible, just like Yu Liancheng; whoever dared to provoke her would be killed. It was just that no one saw a trace of sadness flash through Xiaoqing's eyes.

"A gift for you." Yu Liancheng tossed the Jade Hairpin in his hand.

"Really?" Xiaoqing took the Jade Hairpin, her usual cold and arrogant demeanor swept away, her smile blooming like a flower.

The Jade Hairpin stored a massive amount of magic power, and it was of the same origin as the cultivation arts practiced by the green and white snakes, so there was no need to spend time refining the magic power.

If they absorbed the magic power within the Jade Hairpin, even if split in two, she and Xiaobai would become rare Demon Kings in the world, capable of sweeping across a region.

"Naturally, it is true."

Yu Liancheng smiled: "You are my mounts, after all. If your strength is too weak and something like today happens again, and I don't manage to arrive in time, wouldn't that be a huge loss?"

"I am not your mount." Xiaoqing snorted, then lowered her head to whisper with Xiaobai, discussing how to absorb the magic power within the Jade Hairpin.

Yu Liancheng looked at the two flower-like faces, his mood quite pleasant.

Suddenly, his brows furrowed, his expression grew solemn, and his gaze looked toward the north.

In his eyes, he seemed to see a vast and mighty Demon energy surging toward the firmament, stirring the clouds, sweeping across the sky and covering the earth, as if it wanted to dye the entire world in a layer of blood.

"Such heavy Demon energy... with Demon energy like this, I fear only the opening of the entire Demon Realm gate could compare, and that is even considering that this Demon energy does not seem to have truly erupted yet."

Yu Liancheng furrowed his brows, secretly calculating with the Xuanji Dao in his heart. A moment later, he understood.

"It is the eruption of the Demon energy in Wangqing Forest. With such terrifying Demon energy, I fear only the joint efforts of the righteous and demonic paths could suppress it."

However, whether the Xuanxin Orthodox Sect and the Yinyue Dynasty, who had always viewed each other as mortal enemies, could cast aside their prejudices and join forces to resist the Demon was still unknown.