Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: Not Badly Spicy, Eh?
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Not too bland, is it?
The realm of Heaven-Observing Star Orbit far surpassed the bounds of humanity, entering the domain of the superhuman.
The acuity of his senses and the volume of information he could process greatly exceeded what ordinary people could imagine.
That was why, even while clashing with the Dark Venerable, the North Sea Sect Master could swiftly grasp the surrounding situation moment by moment.
At this instant, for the first time, the North Sea Sect Master cursed his own sharpened senses.
‘Just... where did it all go wrong?’
The Dark Venerable, half-covered in tri-colored radiance as he unleashed poisons and hidden weapons, was a problem in his own right.
But the sudden reversal of the battle situation was an even greater issue.
At first, they had clearly held the advantage, so why had it flipped like this?
In truth, the North Sea Sect Master had instinctively known the answer.
‘Tang Yunhui.’
The man suspected of ties to the Benevolent Demon Divine Transformation Sect.
The Black Bone Asura King had mobilized personally to capture him, only for him to vanish abruptly.
And then, the air of the formation array encircling the estate had completely shifted.
A problem had arisen with the Initial Soul Ice Mantle Great Law, which had granted infinite power to the Demonic North Sea Sect.
The estate's mechanisms and formations activated, trapping the entire North Sea Fury Fortress.
The Black Bone Ghost Valley sorcerers were hunted down one by one without exerting any power, making it practically impossible to operate the North Sea Fury Fortress.
What did this mean?
Starting with the Black Bone Asura King, the Demonic North Sea Sect had been entirely devoured by Tang Yunhui—or the Benevolent Demon Divine Transformation Sect!
‘It was all... planned from the beginning.’
The North Sea Sect Master felt his strength drain from his body.
The journey he had undertaken, even devouring his own kin, believing it would usher in his sect's era of revival—had instead brought about its downfall.
‘The Benevolent Demon Divine Transformation Sect, which I thought long destroyed... hahaha...!’
Hadn't the Demonic North Sea Sect poured the most effort into exterminating its remnants?
So when reports came that they might have holed up in the Nine Dragons Branch Family, he had inwardly scoffed, thinking the worms were making futile struggles.
Without the Divine Sword Heavenly Demon or the Little Heavenly Demon, the Benevolent Demon Divine Transformation Sect was nothing more than something he could crush with a flick of his wrist.
No, he had even thought it fortunate.
An opportunity to gather and eliminate them all at once, without the hassle of chasing them further.
But apparently not.
Even a cornered rat bites the cat, and that resistance was now shaking the North Sea Fury Fortress.
If this was a death throes, it had surpassed that level.
Of course, even if this expedition failed, it wouldn't mean the complete destruction of the Demonic North Sea Sect.
His eldest son, whom he truly trusted, remained on Heavenly Mountain, immersed in closed-door training with the faithful.
The day they reemerged into the world, the Demonic North Sea Sect could rise anew, just as it had once from the North Sea Ice Palace.
However, the sect master's death would inevitably lead to a temporary decline in the sect's power.
Whether the other four major sects would leave the Demonic North Sea Sect alone was anyone's guess.
The current Heavenly Mountain was a demon realm in itself—a chaotic battlefield where countless fiends eyed each other's throats, waiting for an opening.
“......”
The North Sea Sect Master's eyes sank deeply.
‘Do I have no choice but to use that method?’
There was one way to make a comeback.
A technique the Black Bone Asura King had taught him long ago.
Back then, as a demon, he had rejected it outright, asking how he could endure such humiliation.
But with things as they were, he could no longer dismiss it entirely.
‘Even if I die, I must see this through to the end.’
The North Sea Sect Master gazed quietly at his blackened right hand, then used his frigid energy to concentrate all the poison into the tip of his right index finger.
He was managing to neutralize the Dark Venerable's deadly venom for now, but the inner energy consumption was far too steep.
Proof that the Dark Venerable's martial prowess exceeded what Heavenly Mountain or the Alliance had assessed.
‘At this rate, unlike the original plan, I won't assassinate the Dark Venerable easily. Even if I succeed, I'll be isolated in the heart of the enemy lines, and I won't escape death either.’
Thus, the best option available was mutual destruction.
‘But first, I need to uncover the link between the Tang Clan and the Benevolent Demon Divine Transformation Sect.’
The North Sea Sect Master stared steadily at the Dark Venerable.
The Dark Venerable's appearance was utterly bizarre.
Half-buried in tri-colored radiance, he resembled a half-human, half-beast—or as if half his body had fused with a great peng.
Especially the burning petals, which fluttered down like feathers shed from a bird's wings.
Who could call that a human?
It wouldn't be strange to deem him a monster outright.
No, perhaps monster was the right term.
From the moment he had entered the Entry into Divinity realm, he had ceased to be 'human.'
Guide to the Reverse Calamity God, was it?
He truly seemed to carry all the world's misfortunes with him.
“What a ridiculous situation.”
“What's so ridiculous? Your own state?”
The Dark Venerable sneered.
The North Sea Sect Master calmly shook his head.
“The Windstorm Squad you claimed was forming.”
“?”
“Didn't you say their goal was the extermination of the Demonic Cult?”
“And?”
“Yet the Tang Clan, meant to lead them, has now allied with Heavenly Mountain instead? Is this what you Central Plains folk call 'using barbarians to control barbarians'?”
A faint flicker appeared in the Dark Venerable's visible eyes.
There seemed to be some inner turmoil, but its nature was hard to discern.
He was still an old man impossible to read.
“Are you done with your last words?”
“Last words? Your words are too harsh.”
“Then you should struggle harder. That's the only way you might leave a scratch on me.”
Paaaat!
The Dark Venerable kicked off the ground fiercely, charging forward.
It was a ferocious, threatening speed, like a massive great peng swooping low to the ground for the hunt.
‘Dodging the question.’
That was enough for the North Sea Sect Master.
He had confirmed his suspicion of a connection between the Tang Clan and the Benevolent Demon Divine Transformation Sect.
From there, he could steer the battle in the direction he desired.
If he needed to preserve his full strength to return to Heavenly Mountain, it would be different—but resolved to mutual destruction, his options were endlessly varied.
“Just a scratch? I'll take your head.”
The North Sea Sect Master rolled up his right sleeve.
A chilling light emanated from his gaunt hand, enveloping the Northern Nether Blade.
It was the unique supreme art combining Bare-Hand Demonic Art, Ice Soul Supreme Qi, and Ice Soul Demonic Art: Bare-Hand Ice Soul Blade.
Bare-Hand Ice Soul Blade
Absolute Zero
Creeeeak!
The surrounding temperature plummeted, whipping up a blizzard.
“Foolishness!”
Dismissing it as pointless, the Dark Venerable slammed his right hand downward.
With the illusion of a great peng wheeling overhead, a barrage of hidden weapons followed.
Bare-Hand Ice Soul Blade
Ice Flower
The North Sea Sect Master thrust his right fist toward the sky.
The blizzard veered upward, clashing against the barrage.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
Ice flowers bloomed over the incoming burning petals, adding weight and slowing them.
The firepower drastically weakened as the storm raged outward.
Ice shards scattered everywhere.
Steam-born mist enveloped the two.
In a state where only sensory perception allowed distinguishing the foe—visual sight failed—they clashed once more.
The Dark Venerable's green-glowing hand targeted the North Sea Sect Master's throat.
In counter, the North Sea Sect Master drove his knee upward toward the Dark Venerable's abdomen.
Kwaaaang!
Kkwaaak—
The North Sea Sect Master's right knee was caught in the Dark Venerable's grasp.
Chiiiik!
A acrid burning stench rose, white smoke billowing.
The Dark Venerable smiled coldly, tightening his grip.
Puk!
With a gruesome sound, the North Sea Sect Master's right shin detached all too easily.
No blood spilled.
The acidic poison was so vicious that the wound sealed almost instantly.
Yet, despite losing a healthy limb, the North Sea Sect Master didn't blink.
Instead, he pressed into the Dark Venerable's embrace, raising his left elbow like a awl.
Kung...!!
The Dark Venerable swiftly pulled his left hand inward, blocking the strike.
But the blow's force shattered his hand, exposing bones up to the inner joints.
The North Sea Sect Master leaned even deeper, adding his weight to the attack.
The Dark Venerable's mangled left hand yielded, nearing his solar plexus.
Whiiiir...!!
The Dark Venerable's left hand glowed green.
In an instant, the North Sea Sect Master's body blackened to death.
Formless Supreme Poison.
The Tang Clan's pinnacle—the ultimate, supreme, most vicious poison—engulfed him, inviting death.
“Indeed... the Tang Clan's poisons pack a punch. It's been ages since I tasted one; my limbs are all tingling.”
“Do you think only the poison is hot?”
“True enough. Everything about you burns. Had I known, I wouldn't have come here. From now on, I'll avoid every last Tang clansman.”
“Do you know what the world's stupidest act is? Eating something to check if it's soybean paste or shit.”
“I agree. This seat was a fool.”
This venom, concentrated enough to kill thousands in a breath, should have melted bones without trace.
The North Sea Sect Master blocked the Formless Supreme Poison with his vast inner energy.
Precisely, he held back a lethal dose just barely with his energy, pouring the rest into this strike.
“But that foolishness became my stubborn resolve, forging me into today's self.”
Only then did the Dark Venerable realize.
The North Sea Sect Master had begun to disregard death.
“How could I avoid it?”
Puuuuk!
Ultimately, the North Sea Sect Master's elbow struck the Dark Venerable's left shoulder.
He had aimed for the solar plexus, but the Dark Venerable had twisted at the last moment, shifting the impact.
The Dark Venerable's left shoulder exploded in a chunk.
He likely couldn't move his left arm properly now.
But that wasn't the only problem.
From the impact point, Heart-Piercing Ice Poison spread rapidly across the Dark Venerable's upper body.
It slew the poisons and froze the inner energy.
Burrowing inward, it sought to necrotize his meridians.
He had dared to poison the Tang Clan Lord, ancestor of poisons.
The issue was that even the Dark Venerable couldn't easily neutralize it.
Yin Poison.
Curse Poison.
“Even the lord of the world's Tang Clan must be seeing this poison for the first time. It's born of sorcery—ripping out a piece of this seat's soul and implanting it directly. Its power is utterly reliable.”
The North Sea Sect Master grinned wickedly, baring his fangs.
The Dark Venerable's expression hardened rigidly.
Puuuk!
He urgently struck the North Sea Sect Master's abdomen, shoving him back.
The North Sea Sect Master retreated a dozen paces, a head-sized hole in his gut.
Even facing death, he laughed.
Conversely, the Dark Venerable's face had paled.
The ominous poison aura that had churned as if ready to tear the North Sea Sect Master apart moments ago had greatly subsided.
“How is it, this seat's poison? Pretty spicy, eh?”
The Dark Venerable could say nothing.
Before he could, the Heart-Piercing Ice Poison burrowed deep within, freezing his heart in an instant.
Creeeeak!
His heart iced over. His heartbeat stopped.