"Yes, it's a pity that even so, the success rate is not very good." The alchemist lowered his head and shook his head with regret. "Their willpower is too weak. Many of them can't even make it to the last step. They just collapse mentally and no matter what medicine they use, they can't be saved."
"If we had used materials with guaranteed physical strength and even greater mental resilience like yours, perhaps so many people wouldn't have died in vain."
Ji Mofan narrowed his eyes slightly.
What a smooth and effective form of moral blackmail.
They were practically telling him to die, that he should be sacrificed so the others could go to heaven in peace.
How utterly shameless! I never imagined that demonic cultivators could be so adept at shifting blame.
“Even if you say that, the spirits of the dead won’t haunt me,” Ji Mofan said. “Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor. In the dead of night, they will always find a chance to seek justice from you.”
"You couldn't beat me when you were human, so what can you become as a ghost?" The alchemist's expression was quite indifferent. "Anyway, I've already told you that if you had been willing to be my test subject back then, allowing me to properly create a perfect medicinal human, I wouldn't have had to look for so many second-best options."
"Their fate is inextricably linked to your inaction."
Ji Mofan was almost laughing out of exasperation at his logic.
What a convenient excuse: "It's not me who's wrong, it's the whole world." Evil people always have their own set of logic, and they completely ignore what others say. You can't convince anyone with their thought process.
“Since you’ve put it that way,” Ji Mofan ignored the black bird at his feet that kept flapping its wings to remind him to think twice, and looked at the alchemist in front of him with a smile, “then let’s have a match.”
*
The main city became lively once again after the Demon Lord's birthday celebration.
The news spread by word of mouth: "The Venerable One's furnace cauldron is going to have a contest with the alchemist." Just these few words were enough to attract people to flock to it.
Before entering the Demon Palace, Ji Mo Fan didn't let a word slip by, and once inside, he never came out or showed his face. As the only righteous cultivator to have stayed in the Demon Palace for such a long time in all these years, it was hard not to arouse the curiosity of the demon cultivators in the main city.
The little black bird was still flapping its small wings as it tried to pull the enraged Ji Mofan back until the very last second before Ji Mofan was about to stand in the center of the crowd.
At this moment, Ji Mofan suddenly squatted down and gently touched the little black bird's head.
"Good boy, when we get back to the Demon Palace, I'll feed you lots of spirit stones."
The young man's eyebrows and eyes were naturally gentle, and he did not appear cold even when he was expressionless.
But his expression was devoid of any warmth.
The little black bird stared blankly up at him, its little mouth wide open, watching as Ji Mofan stood up in front of it and turned to face the alchemist opposite.
Its somewhat slow-witted little brain finally realized that Ji Mofan hadn't been provoked into murderous intent by the alchemist's few words.
—From the very beginning, his goal was to save the other person's life.
A clearing had been marked out at the intersection of the streets, the lines drawn with demonic energy appearing both real and ethereal. The onlookers remained obedient, not daring to cross the line.
After all, no one knows whether the one in the Demon Palace not far away is watching this side.
Only three people remained in the circle: Ji Mofan, the alchemist who was fighting him, and the neighborhood chief in charge of this street.
The demonic cultivator looked quite old, and he must have presided over similar events countless times. After announcing the start of the arena battle, he skillfully slipped and slid into the crowd of onlookers, as if afraid that he would be caught in the crossfire once the battle began.
Ji Mofan turned his gaze away from the unimportant people and looked directly at the alchemist in front of him.
This person's cultivation level is nothing to fear; he's only at the late Golden Core stage. But I'm afraid his underhanded methods might catch people off guard.
Demonic cultivators don't have as many rules and regulations as righteous cultivators, so their insidious methods are even more terrifying.
Moreover, having stayed in the Demon Realm for too long, his spiritual energy reserves have been greatly depleted, and he is no longer at his peak.
Seeing the alchemist's ugly, wicked smile, Ji Mofan instinctively drew his sword, Yongxue, from its sheath with a swift motion. The blade unexpectedly collided with something remarkably hard, and only after he swung his hand and severed it did he realize it was a severed hand.
It was unclear from whom the bone was taken or how long ago it had been removed, but the skin of that hand was entirely bluish-black, and the muscle tissue at the break point had long since withered and shriveled.
But the fingernails on that hand were unusually long, either because they had been carefully cared for before the person was born, or because they continued to grow after the hand was cut off.
Either one is enough to give you goosebumps.
A deep, gaping wound, revealing bone, was split open at the base of the thumb on that hand—the work of the Snow Embracing Sword. Ji Mo Fan looked up at the alchemist standing at the edge of the arena and saw him clutching his hand, blood dripping from between his fingers onto the ground.
A knowing glint flashed in Ji Mofan's eyes.
Was it synesthesia? Or was it just an act to trick him into wasting his spiritual energy?
Another gust of evil wind swept in from behind his head, and before he could even process it, the Snow Embracing Sword was already swung behind him. The weapon made a dull thud, and with a powerful leap, Ji Mo Fan saw in mid-air that what had attacked him was a severed leg.
The thigh bone was chopped in half, and the kick that came just now was the more sturdy knee section. Unfortunately, the silent kick came too fast, and Ji Mofan was unable to turn the blade, allowing the kick to strike the sword's surface.
Otherwise, you could split that kneecap in two either way.
Looking at the alchemist who was still standing there, he subtly bent his knee, as if he had also been hurt by the impact.
"What kind of skill is it to just throw out some random stuff?" The icy blue sword energy in his hand spun along the direction of the Snow Embracing Sword and flew straight toward the alchemist standing there.
"A move that can kill you is a good move!" The alchemist wasn't stupid at all; he knew this was Ji Mofan testing him. He had somehow managed to grab a small porcelain bottle in his hand, and before being struck by the sword energy, he hurled it at the spiritual power.
"Crack!"
The sound of porcelain shattering was crisp and clear, accompanied by a thick cloud of smoke that blotted out the sky, covering most of the arena.
The demonic cultivators watching from the surrounding area also retreated, fearing that they might accidentally inhale something harmful in the fog.
"What about the righteous path? Why is there no movement from them?"
"I hope I won't get knocked out by this fog."
Amidst the buzzing and clamor of voices, the alchemist, who had been covering his mouth and nose as he retreated, unconsciously curled his lips into a wicked smile.
His poisonous smoke could easily knock down even a Nascent Soul cultivator, let alone a Deity Transformation cultivator.
—In the darkness, a flash of icy blue light appeared.
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