Chapter 148 The Immortal Cultivation World
Wherever the Lingxiao sword intent passes, the illusions and the real will inevitably return to nothingness.
This unstoppable and domineering power is what swordsmen aspire to throughout their lives. Only the strongest sword intent can achieve this.
The sword intent fell like a celestial being, its terrifying pressure spreading out to devour all living beings. Unexpectedly, a dazzling yellow light suddenly converged beneath it, then scattered, and the figures of Zhen Su and Zhen Wang vanished without a trace.
"...Solved? No, no way..." That was a great demon... Song Wei looked at the empty space and was surprised to find that she did not feel any joy at all, and even tried to deny the power of Duan Wenyang's sword intent.
Duan Wenyang had clearly seen the strange crystal that Zhen Su had summoned, although he didn't believe that Zhen Su could escape from his sword intent with just a magical artifact. Therefore, he solemnly used his divine sense to search around.
Just then, a clear, sharp shriek rang out from above, and the three of them immediately looked toward the source of the sound.
A ghostly figure, resembling a fox, appeared as if it had stepped out of a traditional Chinese ink painting. It was impossible to tell whether the fur on its body was ink wash or real hair; only the varying shades of ink fluttered in the wind, making it exceptionally handsome. It had two horns on its back and four long legs, leaping through the air. A flash of yellow light appeared in its mouth, which condensed into a ball of light.
Song Wei was dumbfounded. Thinking of the beast ears that had sprouted from Masaki's head and the beast tail behind him, he wondered if Masaki had been forced to reveal his true form. Although Masaki's round, thick tail gave people a rough and clumsy feeling, it was completely different from the elegant fox tail of the ferocious beast in front of him.
Duan Wenyang and Song Wei were unaware of the other party's origins and were merely wary, but Lin Jue on the other side was utterly terrified. As a demon of the Bifang clan, he recognized the beast's origins at a glance.
He almost stammered, "That's... Chenghuang..." It's an existence even more ancient than the phoenix, a legendary divine horse. Now that the phoenix has disappeared, who would have thought that Chenghuang would actually appear?!
The other two noticed the Phoenix Feather Demon Lord's unusual reaction and their expressions immediately turned grim. After all, the battle situation was already so complicated, and the sudden appearance of a troublesome opponent was definitely not a good sign.
However, before they could make any further moves, the ball of light in Gui Chenghuang's mouth violently contracted into a beam of light, which shot towards Duan Wenyang on the ground.
Song Wei hesitated whether to unleash his "Bell of Stripping" to block the attack for Duan Wenyang, but by the time he hesitated, he was already too slow to act. Duan Wenyang had already raised his sword formation, transforming it into a shield that could be deflected at any moment.
But a terrifying thing happened. Duan Wenyang's seventy-odd flying swords met the light shot from Gui Chenghuang head-on, but the expected counterattack did not occur. Instead, the sword formation was broken in an instant. The flying swords in the center that were hit were all turned to ashes. Once the luster faded, the formation was no longer a formation and could not rebound.
Duan Wenyang stared intently at the drifting sword ash, his eyes widening in fury.
Song Wei was also stunned, unable to believe the power of Gui Chenghuang's attack.
They didn't understand, but Shinju, who was observing from afar, knew very well why Ryougi possessed such power.
Riding on a yellow horse is an auspicious omen of longevity; legend says that riding on its back can add two thousand years to one's lifespan. However, riding on a yellow horse by a ghost is an ominous sign of death, the opposite of riding on a yellow horse. It cannot increase lifespan, but can shorten it, signifying destruction.
In truth, when the sword intent descended, Shinju wasn't entirely confident. However, his intuition was extraordinary; he had always relied on it to escape countless perilous situations. Therefore, at that critical moment, Shinju still summoned the supreme-grade ghost shadow that he had kept in his Qiankun bag for a long time, but had never activated.
Taking advantage of the fact that the unclaimed Oni no Kage was attacking everyone indiscriminately, Shinjuku was finally able to get close to Oni Gin's location.
"Wake up!" Shinjuku punched the heavy rock, dug out the Oni Silver that had been crushed into a "silver note" underneath, and hurriedly called out.
Ghost Silver remained motionless, appearing extremely weak. Shinjuku had no choice but to try using a magic-replenishing stone. As soon as the crystal was handed over, the "silver note" twitched and opened its mouth. Shinjuku put the crystal inside.
"Ugh, so many impurities, it's so hard on my teeth..." Oni Gin chewed and chewed, finally coming to his senses. When he saw Shinjuku's face so close to his, he jumped up in surprise, instantly transforming back into a silver bracelet and fastening it to Shinjuku's wrist. "Master, you've come!"
"Hmm." Shinju breathed a sigh of relief and forced a smile, but in reality, the heavy weight on his heart remained, and he had a vague sense of unease.
Upon meeting Shinjuku, Oni-Gin felt as if it had found its backbone. It immediately poured out its heart to Shinjuku, recounting how it had investigated the spirits in the Black Prison, how it had been caught in the teleportation array, how it had been affected, how its demonic energy had been completely taken away by Rinjuku, how it had lost consciousness and was buried in an unknown corner by the rubble and debris of war.
"I understand. We can't stay here any longer. We need to find a way to teleport back to the underworld." Right now, there's no safer place than the underworld. Anywhere in the cultivation world could be within the territory of a demon.
Ghost Silver surveyed the fierce battle outside. Although he didn't recognize a single person, it didn't stop him from clicking his tongue in amazement. "How terrifying... I actually survived. Did I really survive?"
Suddenly, it remembered something and asked, "Wait, where is Yama, the King of Hell?"
While Shinju was still pondering his escape route, he casually replied, "Into my Three Corpses." Since the demonic energy of the Poison King had been weakened to this extent, he could not possibly let the Poison King face the sword intent directly. Therefore, at the critical moment, disregarding the Poison King's struggles, he forcibly pulled the person back into the Three Corpses for the first time as the Master.
Now, Shinjuku originally intended to release the Demon Mother to discuss a way to escape, but inexplicably released the Poison King first.
As soon as it was released, a large hand rushed straight to his face and grabbed Shinjuku's neck tightly.
Shinju's mind went blank for a moment, not because his internal energy was not flowing smoothly, but because he knew who had attacked him without even seeing it.
"Brother... Brother, what's wrong..." Shinju's golden eyes welled up with tears, his voice filled with disbelief, shock, and worry.
Two crimson streaks ran beneath the eyes of the Poison King, radiating an inexplicable sorrow, yet the killing force in his hands showed no sign of abating, even tightening in the process. His demonic energy was completely transformed, surging to a terrifying level, far surpassing the Yin spirit in the sky that Lin Jue had been unable to absorb. His aura was so powerful that his black hair grew to the ground, each strand adorned with runes, extending to the ground around his feet.
"King Yama, what are you doing! Release your master!!" Ghost Silver leaped into the form of a silver jellyfish and flew behind King Zhen. He intended to stab King Zhen with his tentacles, but when he saw what was behind King Zhen, he panicked and stabbed incoherently, "King Yama, what...what has hit you behind your back!"
Upon hearing this, Zhen Su scanned the area with his divine sense and saw an inconspicuous arrow-shaped ink dot in the center of the crimson-purple body, continuously releasing thick black demonic energy into the Zhen King's meridians.
Shinju quickly realized that the King of Poison had probably been ambushed just before he was about to retrieve it, which greatly aroused the already unstable demonic energy within him.
But recalling their positions at the time, Duan Wenyang was the only one behind the King of Poison. However, Duan Wenyang was still focused on controlling his sword intent, and it was the first time he had released his sword intent. Therefore, the opponent should not have been able to prepare a surprise attack.
If it's Duan Wenyang, that's fine; but if it's not him, then it's terrible. It means that there is a being that even the divine sense of a True Elder cannot detect, watching their every move, and even waiting for an opportunity to strike from behind the scenes.
Shinju gritted his teeth and telepathically instructed Oni-Gin to pull out the arrow.
However, the King of Poison seemed to sense their intentions. The enormous demonic wings that sprouted from his back muscles slashed at Guiyin like knives. Guiyin was knocked down just as he reached the broken end of the arrow.
Immediately, a pair of slender, giant hands steadily supported Gui Yin, and then swiftly pulled the arrow, brimming with demonic energy, from behind the Zhen King.
Gui Yin shifted his gaze and saw Lou Lanrouya's upturned lips.
Shinju kept a close eye on the changes in the King of Hell, but unfortunately the demonic energy on the arrow was merely a catalyst, having already completely transformed the King of Hell into a demon, no longer a simple demon-possessed being.
Without the guidance of demonic arts, attempting to break through the demonic threshold in this way will only damage one's inner dantian, turning them into a demon rather than a demonic cultivator. And demons have no independent consciousness; they only go mad and cause destruction.
And once he becomes a demon, it is irreversible! This means that the Poison King can only wander alone in chaos for the rest of his life, either causing devastation wherever he goes, or being hunted down and slaughtered by everyone.
This is the worst aspect of going astray in cultivation: a lifetime of practice vanishes into nothingness, and a person is reduced to a demon, becoming something other than a human.
"How vicious!!" This move truly struck at Shinju's weak spot, crushing the dignity of the King of Poison to the ground.
Unforgivable... If that vicious person who dares to hide in the shadows isn't dragged out and never returns, he doesn't deserve to be human...
Taking advantage of the moment when the King of Zhen was stunned to discover that the arrow was missing, Shinju broke free from his grasp and created some distance between them.
He had thought that once he found the Ghost Silver, he could escape unscathed from this chaotic battle by using Lou Lan's help. However, the Poison King was forced to become a demon! He couldn't take the person back to the Underworld, as that would likely cause chaos there. If the Poison King were imprisoned in the Black Prison, the consequences would be far worse than just bad. Besides, staying here wasn't a solution either.
No, no, there must be another way!
While racking his brains for a solution, Zhen Su and Lou Lan had to fend off the relentless attacks of the Poison King.
This time, the King of Poison pulled a brand-new Miao sword from his heart. The blade was decorated with red and black flame patterns, and its demonic energy was so dense that it could suffocate the righteous path within a hundred miles. With a flick of the tip of the sword, the remaining energy scalded a bottomless path into the scorched ground.
Then, the tip of the knife slowly rose, pointing towards Shinju.
Those pupil-less phoenix eyes stared straight at Shinjuku, but there was not a trace of familiarity. The gentle gaze that once looked at him could never return... Shinjuku's heart felt as if it were being torn apart by a thousand knives. In the extreme pain, his sense of pain itself became numb.
Shinju slowly loosened his clenched fist and closed his eyes. After a few breaths, he opened them again. At that moment, intense hatred suddenly filled his golden eyes, turning them a scarlet red that foreshadowed slaughter.
If they can't bring their emperor back, then they should kill all those who are blocking their way!
As those people wished.
The next moment, Shinju instantly left his original spot, leaped, turned around, and threw a punch at Duan Wenyang.
Having destroyed nearly half of his flying swords, Duan Wenyang was no longer as at ease as before. However, the two-against-one situation gave him a chance to catch his breath.
However, Masaya arrived.
Duan Wenyang vomited blood and rolled several feet on the ground. Song Wei saw this out of the corner of his eye and immediately played the "Bell of Removal," which emitted a shocking sound wave that shook the Purple Palace, trying to slow down the pace of Zhen Su's pursuit.
Shinju acted as if he couldn't hear, even though blood was gushing from his ears, staining his golden earrings red and making the white fur inside his beast ears tangled with blood. Shinju's steps were firm, his anger heavy, and he shouted as he punched Duan Wenyang squarely in the cheekbone.
With a terrifying cracking sound, bone and flesh sank into the ground. Duan Wenyang didn't even have a chance to choke on blood before he was buried dozens of feet deep in the ground.
Shinju slowly straightened up, glanced down at the ravine-like chasm, and walked towards Song Wei without turning his head.
Song Wei was still locked in a fierce battle with Lin Jue, constantly having to dodge the destructive beams of light from Gui Chenghuang. Overwhelmed with worry, and seeing the fate of his only ally, Duan Wenyang, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine, and a hint of retreat crossed his mind.
Upon meeting Shinjuku's emotionless, inhuman golden eyes, the fear reached an unprecedented peak.
"What have you done! That's the future sect leader of the Myriad Swords Sect!! You've made an enemy of the Myriad Swords Sect and all the righteous sects!!"
Mayuki chuckled, tilted his head, and asked, "Who are you talking to?"
There was not a trace of a smile in his eyes.
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Author's Note: It's so cold, the temperature has dropped lately, all I want to do is sleep Zzz
[Edited] The latter part has been supplemented and adjusted.
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