Chapter 92: First Steps on the Demonic Path (4) |
One week later, the four of them reached their destination. Their target was a demon beast known as the Windwing Dragon Bat. Its demon core was required by one of the sacred land's elders for refining a pill.
The moment they arrived, chaos erupted.
Ye Wushang struck at Su Chen without warning. At the same instant, one of the other inner disciples attacked Ye Wushang, while the remaining one turned on his companion. The coordination was flawless.
Yet Su Chen moved against all three at once.
"Spirit Soul realm!"
All three were stunned. The cultivation Su Chen revealed had already surpassed the Spirit Sea realm!
The two unsuspecting inner disciples had no time to react. A single palm from Su Chen turned them into bloody mist. The monstrous phantom manifesting behind him opened its maw and devoured their essence and blood in one gulp.
Ye Wushang hastily summoned his magical artifact. It shattered on impact, but the desperate defense barely blocked Su Chen's killing blow.
"How is this possible? You should have only just entered the Spirit Sea realm!"
Su Chen offered no reply. Villains died because they talked too much. He directly activated the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Divine Art and consumed Ye Wushang entirely.
Three days later, Su Chen had fully refined all three of them.
"Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Divine Art… no, this should be called a demonic art."
Even with thousands of years of mental fortitude, he felt a momentary daze. To feed on the myriad things of heaven and earth, on all living beings—it was far too tyrannical.
After devouring the three, Su Chen sensed a slight enhancement in his innate talent. But there were drawbacks as well. His internal qi had become mottled, a chaotic mix of conflicting attributes and varying strengths. It would take time to slowly purge the impurities.
The demon beast hunt posed no real challenge to Su Chen. Once he located traces of the Windwing Dragon Bat, he struck decisively, killed it, and retrieved the demon core.
Upon returning to the sacred land, Su Chen reported the deaths of the three inner disciples. He claimed internal conflict had broken out during the hunt, and the demon beast had taken advantage to kill them. With his own low cultivation, he had merely picked up the spoils.
The supervising elder showed no concern whatsoever. He nodded indifferently, accepted the demon core, and let the matter drop. Inner disciples were plentiful in the Sun-Devouring Sacred Land. A few deaths drew no real attention.
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It took Su Chen two full months to cleanse the impurities from his body and restore his cultivation to normal.
"Time to find the next target."
Su Chen murmured to himself. This time, he began investigating the Western Regions' Prodigy Ranking. Among the five domains, the Western Regions ranked third in overall foundation. Even after suffering heavy losses in the war against the Southern Barbarian Lands, its position remained unshaken. Geniuses abounded.
Su Chen set his sights on the prodigy ranked ninety-ninth: Mu Yingyi, bearer of the Thousand Strength Physique, born with immense divine strength capable of tearing apart variant beasts. The force behind him was merely a minor power presided over by a Profound Connection realm expert—no one would care if he died.
Su Chen headed to the mission hall, accepted an assignment, and used the pretext of carrying out sect duties to leave the Sun-Devouring Sacred Land in search of his prey.
…
Two months later.
Deep within a secret realm.
Mu Yingyi emerged from the realm's exit, basking in the crowd's admiration and congratulations. A satisfied smile played across his face. This journey had yielded far more than he had dared hope for. On the Prodigy Ranking, he was certain to climb several places higher—enough to live up to his family's high expectations.
What Mu Yingyi failed to notice was the single figure among the onlookers quietly watching him. Once Mu Yingyi departed, that figure vanished as well.
In the midst of rolling mountains, within a narrow canyon. Mu Yingyi suddenly halted. Without turning, he spoke calmly toward the rear. "You've followed me for so long. It's rather impolite to keep hiding. Skulking in the shadows is hardly the conduct of a true man."
A black-robed figure slowly materialized. The mysterious person was, of course, Su Chen.
Su Chen felt no surprise that Mu Yingyi had detected his presence. He had never intended to conceal himself in the first place.
When Mu Yingyi saw the black-robed figure emerge—face completely obscured—he let out a mocking laugh. "So it's just some rat who dares not show his true face."
With a flick of his sleeve, twelve sharp swords materialized around him, orbiting like silver moons. Sword qi shimmered with cold brilliance.
"This place will be your grave!"
Mu Yingyi's expression was one of supreme confidence. Since he had deliberately lured the stranger out, he naturally had full assurance of victory. The twelve swords pierced straight through the black-robed figure, carving the nearby mountain peak into countless fragments.
Terrifying waves of sword qi caused every demon beast in the vicinity to tremble in fear. Yet after landing such a devastating strike, Mu Yingyi found no joy in it. His expression gradually grew grave.
Afterimage… that had been nothing more than an afterimage!
"The way of the sword… is not used like that."
A calm, indifferent voice sounded from directly behind him.
Mu Yingyi whipped around. A perfectly round sword light, resembling a descending moon pulled by irresistible gravity, cleaved toward him with heart-stopping force. He swiftly formed hand seals. Layer upon layer of array patterns emerged around him.
"I admit I underestimated you. But I am no soft persimmon anyone can squeeze!"
Within the array, sword qi surged forth like a tilted galaxy. A colossal silver-moon greatsword took shape, ringing with ethereal, clear chimes.
The two silver radiances collided. Entire mountain peaks were flattened by the unleashed sword qi.
When the dust settled, Mu Yingyi lay weakly amid the rubble, watching the black-robed figure approach step by step.
"You… who exactly are you? If you kill me… the Mu Clan will never let you go!"
Before he could glimpse the true face beneath the hood, darkness swallowed Mu Yingyi's vision, and he fell unconscious.