Chapter 132
Chapter 132
Qilian Demon (2)
The warriors of the Beast Palace felt their stomachs drop as they saw the piles of corpses lying behind them.
It was impossible to believe.
So many of the Blood Cult's disguised infiltrators had been hiding within their ranks—even their long-time allies, the Wolf Tribe, had betrayed them entirely.
Had those corpses carried out their original mission, it would have been them lying dead on the ground instead.
The Beast Palace warriors wiped cold sweat from their brows and turned their heads.
Standing tall before them was a single man.
"...Tang Se-woon!"
Though their skills were too lacking to perceive how he had slaughtered them all, instinct told them one thing:
He had saved them.
In that moment, his name was irrevocably carved into their minds.
'As expected, the Extreme of the Fire Realm is still the Extreme of the Fire Realm. The consumption of innate energy when using Shadowless Daggers against enemies below this level is incomparably reduced.'
Having reached the Extreme of the Fire Realm after obtaining the Black Blood, Se-woon had achieved tremendous growth.
Despite slaughtering dozens of enemies with his Shadowless Daggers, his energy expenditure was minimal.
His control and execution speed had improved to the point where he could annihilate scattered foes in an instant.
If he soon surpassed the Fire Realm and reached the Mystic Realm, he could only imagine how much more powerful he would become.
"W-what? How?"
At that moment, Qilian Demon's hollow voice reached his ears.
But the Blood Cult Elder wasn't looking at the cold corpses of his subordinates—he was staring at Umun Gol.
The Beast Heavenly King, who had been clutching his chest in agony moments ago, now stood unfazed as if nothing had happened.
Se-woon smirked.
"Why so surprised?"
"You—!"
"Did you really think the Tang Clan—the ancestors of poison mastery—wouldn't be able to handle some measly Gu poison?"
"!!"
Had he been freed from the poison from the very beginning?!
Qilian Demon had no choice but to accept the truth—his Gu poison had been neutralized.
Moreover, Umun Gol's alliance with Se-woon suggested one more thing:
'...Umun Gol wouldn't betray me just because his own poison was cured. That means he must have also removed the Male-Female Gu Poison I planted in Umun Tak.'
Overwhelmed by frustration, Qilian Demon unconsciously let out a bitter laugh.
None of this made sense.
The Sichuan Tang Clan had fallen into ruin—that much was undeniable.
Yet, in such a short time, their medical skills had advanced to the point of removing the Male-Female Gu Poison—a toxin so absolute it was called the Undying Gu, impossible to extract once it took root unless the host died.
"...Gu poison?"
"Y-you mean that horrible worm was inside our Heavenly King's body?!"
The Beast Palace warriors, who had been listening to the exchange, were struck with shock and disbelief.
But soon, that emotion twisted into something far darker.
These arrogant cultists dared to plant worms in their king?!
Their eyes burned with fury.
"Great King!!"
"Give the order!! We will slaughter these enemies!!"
They looked ready to tear Qilian Demon limb from limb on the spot.
In an instant, the Blood Cult Elder found himself surrounded by countless martial artists in the arena.
Even if he were the Divine Thief himself, there would be no escape from this.
Yet, Qilian Demon's eyes held neither despair nor fear.
'You won't get your way so easily!!'
Instead, an even more intense killing intent surged within him.
"Kihihi! Did you really think killing a few lackeys meant you'd won?!"
"...!!"
As his eerie laughter echoed, something grotesque unfolded.
Crrk!
Crack!
Suddenly, the mangled corpses of the Jiangshi warriors and Wolf Tribe fighters all gaped their mouths wide at once.
Their jaws stretched unnaturally, as if their bones would snap—and from within their throats, something writhed.
Crreeak!
Yellow scrolls, tightly rolled like parchment, shot out from their mouths.
"Ghk—!"
"W-what?!"
They were talismans—yellow amulet paper inscribed with blood sigils.
Huuuum!
Whooosh!
The talismans, ejected from the corpses' mouths, began emitting a sinister glow.
The blood within them spilled onto the ground, forming an ominous ritual array.
Watching the distorted ground ripple like heat haze, the Beast Palace warriors realized what this was.
'Storage Talismans!!'
Artifacts capable of sealing objects within—Storage Talismans.
They had no idea what would emerge, but they had to stop it!
That was the immediate thought of every warrior present.
Slash!
Crash!
"Block them!!"
"Destroy them!!"
Boom!
Kwaang!
The Beast Palace warriors unleashed fierce strikes toward the glowing talismans.
At the same moment, Se-woon moved as well.
Whoosh!
He yanked hard on the Golden Threads of Heavenly Net still binding Qilian Demon while gathering a surge of Soul Qi in his other hand.
He intended to drag the Elder forward and crush his skull in one motion.
Huuuum!
Whooosh!
The anti-demon energy that had tormented Qilian Demon flared brighter than ever.
Under normal circumstances, the Blood Cult Elder would have been powerless to resist.
'Good is merely covered by greater evil—light is merely swallowed by deeper darkness!'
As his body was violently pulled forward, Qilian Demon flashed a maddened grin—
Crunch!
—and bit down on a blood pill hidden in his molars.
The liquid within it poured down his throat.
Ssssk!
Craaack!
Instantly, a demonic energy incomparably more violent than before erupted from his body.
The pill he had saved for this moment contained concentrated Corpse Blood of Ten Thousand—a forbidden elixir of the Blood Cult.
Fwoom!
Qilian Demon poured demonic energy into the Yongcheon acupoints on his soles.
Screech!
Groooan!
The arena floor shattered as deep fissures split open.
The Golden Threads of Heavenly Net strained taut.
Repelling the anti-demon energy entirely, Qilian Demon stood firm—no longer being dragged forward.
"Kihihi... the power... it overflows!!"
Roaring with exhilaration, Qilian Demon crossed his arms—wreathed in demonic energy—into an X.
Twang!
Ping!
The golden threads binding him snapped, rebounding violently back toward Se-woon.
Umun Gol's face twisted in disbelief.
'...What kind of power is this?!'
The strength amplified by the Corpse Blood wasn't just the threshold of the Mystic Realm.
It had surpassed even that—reaching the Peak of the Mystic Realm, a level where a supreme demonic sovereign manifested within him.
The Peak of the Mystic Realm was a martial prowess so formidable it could rival even the lowest-ranked of the Ten Great Masters.
That alone made the situation dire—but the surrounding circumstances grew even worse.
The Beast Palace warriors had ultimately failed to stop the Storage Talismans' activation.
And now, emerging from the completed ritual array were—
[GRRROOOAAARRR!]
[GRRRLRRL!]
—none other than thirty-nine Jiangshi.
A chorus of inhuman, ghastly roars filled the air.
"J-Jiangshi!!"
"They're coming!!"
"Hold them back!!"
Just as the battlefield descended into utter chaos—
'Finally, he's brought them out.'
Only Se-woon seemed to have anticipated this, his eyes gleaming.
Qilian Demon licked his lizard-like, elongated tongue, surveying the battlefield with arrogance.
His body was now encased in a hemispherical barrier of demonic energy—an impenetrable fortress.
Upon reaching the Peak of the Mystic Realm, one could freely manipulate the form and nature of their energy.
Qilian Demon had twisted his demonic energy into the strongest shield possible—his ultimate defensive martial art:
Thousand-Corpse Tortoise Armor.
Unless his opponent was also at the Peak of the Mystic Realm, not even a scratch could be left on him.
'Kukuku, Tang Se-woon. Seems you have no way to break through.'
Qilian Demon grinned viciously at Se-woon, who had immediately given up attacking him and was now aiding the Beast Palace warriors.
'Kehehe, pointless effort. Do you really think you can defeat my masterpieces?'
There was a saying in the martial world: A warrior must conceal thirty percent of their ability.
And Qilian Demon's hidden trump card was precisely these Jiangshi.
Using Storage Talismans imbued with the Blood Cult's forbidden arts—which erased the host's lingering soul—he had summoned thirty-nine Jiangshi in total.
Among them, twenty-seven were Monstrous Jiangshi—abominations created by fusing human corpses with the souls and blood of demons.
Their hides were impervious to blades.
Their aggression drove them to attack relentlessly until their enemies died.
Though their combat prowess neared the Pinnacle of Martial Arts, their true strength lay elsewhere.
[GRROOOAAHH!]
A Monstrous Jiangshi, crafted from a vampire bat, drained its victim's blood and energy.
[SKREEE!]
Another, made from a Human-Faced Spider, spewed deadly venom from its body.
Indeed, each Monstrous Jiangshi utilized the traits of different demons to corner the Beast Palace warriors.
"We can't fight them alone! Form coordinated formations!!"
"Poisoned warriors, fall back!!"
"Support your comrades!!"
But compared to the remaining three masterpieces, even these Monstrous Jiangshi were nothing special.
Qilian Demon had spent his entire life perfecting only three of these—the Annihilation Jiangshi.
Their defenses surpassed blade immunity—rivaling indestructible diamond.
Unlike martial artists, who had to circulate their energy to recover stamina, these Jiangshi could freely wield demonic energy beyond their limits.
And most crucially—
'They can perfectly utilize the martial arts of their original hosts!!'
Unlike other Jiangshi, which relied on brute strength, the Annihilation Jiangshi fought with martial techniques.
And the three warriors they were crafted from were anything but ordinary.
Swiish!
Whooosh!
A dazzling sword light flickered through the air—the Thirty-Six Heavenly River Swordsmanship of Zhongli Huo, the former leader of the Zhongnan Sect, who had vanished after reviving his fallen faction.
Whooosh!
Fwoom!
The second Annihilation Jiangshi blazed with flames in both hands—crafted from the corpse of Duan Huixiao, the former deputy leader of the Southern Sea Sun Palace, known for his Rotating Flame Fist.
Slash!
Whooosh!
And finally—Qilian Demon's last Annihilation Jiangshi.
The sole female among them, and without a doubt, his greatest masterpiece.
'Yes, kill him!!'
Swiish!
Whooosh!
Just as the final Annihilation Jiangshi unleashed an eerily beautiful sword technique—the Emei Sect's Reverse Mysteries—toward Se-woon...
"Now, Umun Tak!!"
'...Umun Tak??'
Se-woon shouted a name Qilian Demon had never expected to hear.