CHAPTER 340: CHAPTER 310: COMPETING FOR DRAGON QI

In an instant, the expressions of everyone who had just shown some joy froze, their faces etched with disbelief.

The Ghost King betrayed us?

No... the Ghost King dragged the State Preceptor down with him in an explosion!?

The Immortals were dumbfounded, momentarily speechless. The Golden Decree Divine Spirits, no longer concerned with the broader situation, ceased their pursuit of the Abyss Demons. They all repelled the three Demon Serpents and retreated behind the defensive line, their minds filled with doubt and uncertainty.

Both sides faced each other in a standoff.

"Brother Chu Yi, if you had come any later, you might have been collecting my corpse," Nanaki said, retracting her Demon Spear. Her elaborate and splendid gown swayed as she stood gracefully, a playful arc on her lips as she surveyed the battlefield. "In that case, little Nanaki would have had to become a Fierce Ghost to come and play with you, you know."

The surrounding Enchanting Demon Guards sensed that Nanaki’s previously taut aura had suddenly eased. She reverted to the mischievous, vivacious fun-seeker she had been at the start.

It was as if the arrival of a certain someone had put even this Enchanting Demon Queen at ease, just as she had anticipated.

Above the White Bone Palace, shadows twisted and gray mist swirled. A figure slowly stepped out, drawing everyone’s gaze. Instantly, countless Scouting Techniques were cast towards him, only to be blocked by the gray mist.

He was an extraordinarily handsome young man clad in a Profound Robe. Reaching behind him to his spine, he drew forth a blood-stained Demon Halberd with the grating sound of vertebrae being extracted. Having drunk its fill of Human King’s Blood, the halberd swung mightily at the dumbfounded Blood God Child.

BANG!

The halberd’s light flashed like lightning, tearing through the void, utterly unstoppable. Countless Fierce Ghosts, dragging the spectral forms of Ghost Immortals, shrieked wretchedly. In an instant, they wove together a terrifying Forest of Hell—where flayed skin lay like carpets and bones rose like trees—dragging everything before it into its depths.

In that instant, heaven and earth seemed to lose their color, and the air grew murky.

What is this...

Before the Blood God Child could even register what was happening, he found himself in the Ghost Mansion Hell. Before the halberd’s light could strike, his soul shattered, splintering into several fragments of consciousness that drifted away on a gust of spectral wind. All that remained was a grotesque, tumorous husk of a body, which, driven by sheer, stubborn life instinct, met the incoming blow.

SHRED! SHRED!

Its protective fleshy wings were stripped of skin and bone, peeling away inch by inch. The impact generated a colossal hurricane, which transformed into a bloody tempest that scattered everything. Not a single bone, not even a fragment of flesh and blood, remained. There was no chance of revival.

With a single strike, the Blood God Child, one of the Immortals, was slain!

For a moment, the entire battlefield fell deathly silent.

"The Blood God Child was killed? He couldn’t even withstand a casual blow? What kind of Spell was that?!"

The Demon Ape Immortal’s enormous pupils, as large as cartwheels, contracted violently, and the fur on his body stood on end. Where did this god of calamity come from? Could he also be an Outerworld Celestial Demon?!

Moreover, he keenly detected a wisp of aura emanating from the newcomer. It shared the same origin as the Heaven and Earth Technique, yet was fundamentally different.

"Such ferocious power! Could he be... the mysterious Ghost King who rules the Underworld!?"

"Even the State Preceptor was momentarily tricked by him. We are no match for him either."

"The Yin Spirit Technique, cultivated to its peak... it’s truly terrifying!"

The other Immortals murmured in fear.

The Immortals trembled, thoroughly terrified by this display of power.

Even the heavily defended Blood God Child was killed in a single strike! Dealing with us would be as easy as chopping vegetables, wouldn’t it? They realized the two sides were not in the same league at all; this newcomer might even rival Wei Wuyang. It was because that door had opened, infinitely raising the world’s limits, and this opponent had already achieved a breakthrough in the Underworld.

He had transcended from mortal to Immortal!

"It’s him!"

"Lord Chu Yi!"

"The external support acknowledged by the Princess! So he’s this strong!"

Among the Abyss Demons, those who remembered Chu Yi naturally recognized him. He was the Princess’s requested aid, the one chosen for that sole position, and he had disembarked from the carriage with her—all of which had left a deep impression. Initially, they had wondered what was so special about this "pretty boy." But when the trial began, he had vanished, naturally drawing curses from some of the Demons.

Now, having survived the calamity, these doubts and curses dissipated like smoke. However, a trace of resentment lingered in their hearts. You’re this incredible, this powerful, so why didn’t you show up sooner? You nearly made us lose our minds and get wiped out!

Above the auspicious clouds, filth was now everywhere. Countless beautiful faces, sewn onto the chairs and tables, emitted twisted, frenzied female voices.

Wei Wuyang’s expression was extremely grim. His entire body felt as if it were being sliced by a thousand knives; pus and blood dripped, and the falling pieces of his flesh bizarrely sprouted insect legs and crawled about. The surrounding phenomena of dragons and phoenixes also shrieked wretchedly, oozing bun-sized blood tumors from which venomous insects burrowed. Maggots crawled, mosquitoes and flies buzzed chaotically, and the stench was unbearable.

His perfect body, which absorbed dragon qi without leakage, felt as if it had been drenched in sewage, utterly defiled. The dragon qi, instead of nourishing him, was now frantically leaking out like air from a punctured balloon.

Was I careless? Wei Wuyang wondered. Did my smooth progress make me too complacent?

No. It was clearly because the enemy’s methods were too vile, his disguise as the Ghost King too convincing, and his willingness to sacrifice too absolute.

Who would have ever imagined that the Ghost King of the Underworld would resort to self-destruction, all to lay a curse upon me?

Wei Wuyang’s face was somber. With a majestic tone, like that of a nation’s ruler, he declared, "I am the sovereign of this land! All evils shall retreat! No malevolence can invade me!"

As his words fell, the dragon qi reversed its flow. All the filth began to recede, and his wounds started to heal. Auspicious signs descended once more, yet the dragon and phoenix manifestations were now wilted and listless. The polluted banquet could no longer be used.

"Good. Very good," Wei Wuyang said, his voice cold. "You have succeeded in angering me, descendant of the Sun Gods." He gazed into the distance at the young man who seemed to walk on air. He saw the roiling dragon qi converge towards the depths of the gray mist, actually beginning to contend with him for the nation’s fortune.

Having navigated the world for twenty years with maturity and steadiness, there was hardly anything that had ever truly angered Wei Wuyang. But at this moment, towards this young man bearing the divinity of the Sun Gods, an unprecedented killing intent surged within him. This wasn’t just a public humiliation; the boy was also shamelessly trying to seize the treasure of the Immortal Destiny. This would greatly diminish the accomplishments Wei Wuyang had strived for over the past two decades.

Do you even deserve it?

Seeing the State Preceptor unharmed, the Immortals collectively breathed a sigh of relief and began to contract their battle lines.

The State Preceptor was merely caught off guard by a trick earlier, that’s why we were frightened by that bizarre fellow, they thought. Now that he’s recovered, the State Preceptor is an Immortal. Dealing with this opponent should be a piece of cake... right?

High above, snow-like wisps drifted across a celestial dome stained crimson, like a gaping wound torn open by some colossal beast, oozing scorching hot blood.

Chu Yi, now the focal point of the battlefield, paid no heed to the others. He was currently enveloped in a vortex of dragon qi.

Under the cover of the gray mist, a beautiful woman with silver hair and blue eyes, wearing a jade crown and peculiar, close-fitting attire, delicately wiped a trace of fruit juice from her lips with a handkerchief.

Ji Xuexin felt herself on the verge of a breakdown. Her beautiful eyes brimmed with tears. This hateful past life of mine! It seized control when we entered the passage to the Mortal World, and as soon as it appeared...

Now, though they shared one body, the two souls practiced different Spells, distinguishable by their hair color. Ji Xuexin cultivated the Vengeance Technique, so her hair was naturally silver, tinted by the Heart of Vengeance. The Celestial Slayer Demon Immortal, on the other hand, was adept at Daoist Techniques; her hair was like fragrant, dark ink.

But her past life was full of cunning schemes. Occasionally, it would activate the Vengeance Technique, impersonating Ji Xuexin to perform acts beneficial to its own Dao heart. Then, it would emerge, leaving Ji Xuexin to take the blame, making her feel utterly ashamed.

A moment later, Chu Yi’s response stunned Ji Xuexin.

"I have been reborn," he stated. "In my previous life, I was the founding emperor of the Longwu Dynasty. It was I who created the Ancestral Dragon Nine Methods."