Seven figures scattered like startled birds, fleeing frantically toward the exit of the spirit herb garden.
Behind them, the Demon Venerable’s sinister laughter followed like a shadow. With each step the monster took, the earth trembled, as if the entire ancient ruin was shuddering at his revival.
Fresh from the [Body Seizing], the creature was unstable. It craved essence blood to cement its hold on the stolen flesh.
Shen Xian’s heart pounded against his ribs. The [Tortoise-Snake Lamp] in his [Sea of Consciousness] was flashing wild, frantic warnings.
He glanced over his shoulder. The Demon Venerable moved like a ghost, his pitch-black scales gleaming with a cold, metallic luster under the sun. Wherever he passed, spiritual herbs withered instantly, their essence drained into the air.
“Ah—!”
A scream ripped through the air.
A cultivator at the rear of the pack was snagged by a tendril of black demonic qi. It was as if an invisible hand had crushed his throat. He was yanked backward with violent force.
“Save… save me!” the man roared in despair, clawing at the empty air.
No one dared to look back.
Crack!
The Demon Venerable’s sharp claws punched through the man’s chest. Blood gushed out, only to be inhaled by the monster in a single, terrifying breath.
The desiccated corpse was tossed aside like a rag.
Instantly, the Demon’s aura spiked.
He’s getting stronger! Shen Xian realized with a jolt of horror. With every kill, he recovers a portion of his power!
Shen Xian’s pupils contracted. A chill that had nothing to do with the wind settled in his bones.
Worse, without a specialized movement technique, he was gradually falling behind.
Under the oppressive weight of the demonic aura, Shen Xian’s legs felt like they were filled with lead. Every step was a struggle, leaving deep impressions in the stone floor.
Damn it! I have wealth, I have artifacts, but I don’t have speed!
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Ahead, he watched Lei Yingjie driving the war chariot like a streak of lightning. Qiu Ruoli fluttered gracefully like a startled swan, widening the gap with every second. Even the eliminated cultivators were burning their blood to outrun him.
Behind him, the laughter grew louder.
“Little insect, you’re quite slow.”
The hoarse voice sounded right next to his ear, dripping with the cruelty of a cat toying with a mouse.
Shen Xian threw himself sideways instinctively.
Shing!
The Demon Venerable’s claws grazed his cheek, plowing five deep grooves into the solid stone wall next to him.
Too fast!
Heart hammering, Shen Xian hastily summoned the [Burning Heaven Cauldron]. It sprayed a curtain of golden flames, but the demonic energy shredded the fire as easily as paper.
When he looked up, the others had vanished over the horizon.
Abandoned? No, I’m just too slow!
The realization made him grind his teeth until he tasted blood.
The Demon Venerable raised his bone-blade arm slowly. Shen Xian could see his own pale reflection in the polished, lethal surface of the bone.
“Die.”
A cold, vicious light flashed in Shen Xian’s eyes.
If I can’t outrun you, I’ll smash you!
He bit the tip of his tongue hard, spraying a mouthful of pure essence blood onto the [Burning Heaven Cauldron].
Boom!
The golden flame mark between his eyebrows flared to blinding intensity. The [Li Fire True Seal] detonated!
The cauldron trembled violently, its surface lighting up with blinding thunder and fire patterns. A violent torrent of lightning and magma roared out like an angry dragon, blasting straight into the Demon Venerable’s face.
The Demon sneered. He didn’t even dodge. He swept his bone blade horizontally, a wave of black demonic qi forcefully splitting the dragon of fire and thunder in half.
“A mere Golden Core dares to resist?”
However, before his arrogant words could finish—
DANG—!
A deep, resonant bell toll exploded directly above him!
The [Mountain-Suppressing Chaotic Sky Bell], which Shen Xian had stealthily deployed, materialized above the Demon’s head. Ancient runes flowed across its bronze surface as a terrifying gravitational force descended—like the crushing weight of Mount Tai!
“What?!”
The Demon Venerable’s figure stalled. His movements slowed by a third, his knees buckling under the pressure.
Now!
Shen Xian didn’t hesitate. He pushed the [Burning Heaven Cauldron] to its limit.
Thunder and fire intertwined, fusing into a crimson-gold beam of destruction that smashed squarely into the Demon’s chest.
BOOM—!
The Demon Venerable was blasted back several steps. His scales scorched black, and for a brief second, his cohesive demonic form flickered and dispersed.
“Ant!” the monster roared in fury. He struggled against the invisible weight, but the bell’s suppression held firm.
Shen Xian didn’t stay to admire his handiwork. He turned and ran.
I have to use this gap!
Muscles screaming, he borrowed the recoil force of the explosion to shoot himself forward like an arrow, blasting out of the spirit herb garden.
“You cannot escape—!” The Demon’s roar echoed behind him, shaking the very air.
Shen Xian burst out of the garden entrance, finally catching up to the tail end of Lei Yingjie’s group.
But before he could even exhale—
BOOM!
A pitch-black shadow tore through the air, shattering the sound barrier.
The Demon Venerable’s ferocious body erupted from the garden, landing with a cratering impact. His scales gleamed with a cold, metallic light under the sun. Where his feet touched the ground, the earth hissed and smoked, scorched by his mere presence.
Damn it… he caught up already!
Shen Xian’s heart hammered against his ribs.
He watched helplessly as the Demon’s crimson eyes swept the area, finally locking onto a group of weaker sect disciples who had been waiting outside the garden.
“Ants…” The Demon Venerable’s voice was hoarse, like sandpaper grinding on stone, filled with horrific pleasure. “Offer up your essence blood!”
He wants to feed!
Shen Xian opened his mouth to shout a warning, but it was too late.
Puchi! Puchi!
The Demon Venerable vanished. When he reappeared, he was standing in the center of the crowd.
His claws moved faster than sight, instantly piercing the chests of two disciples. Blood sprayed into the air, only to be caught by an invisible vacuum and sucked into the monster’s open maw.
“Ah—!”
Screams erupted as the survivors scattered in terror. But the Demon was faster.
Blood-red tentacles shot from his back like venomous snakes, snapping up three more fleeing cultivators and crushing them instantly.
He’s growing stronger… with every kill, his aura surges!
Shen Xian felt his fingertips turn ice-cold.
The Demon Venerable’s scales were turning a deeper, truer black. The horns on his forehead lengthened, curling wickedly, and glowing demonic patterns writhed beneath his skin like living worms.
His laughter was low and mad, savoring the bloody feast.
“Run! Run quickly!” Lei Yingjie roared, the [Eight Desolations War Chariot] blazing with light as he tried to herd the Wind Thunder Sect disciples to safety.
The Demon Venerable grinned, revealing rows of sharp, white fangs.
“Want to leave?”
He suddenly formed a set of complex hand seals.
Crack!
The ground beneath them split open. Countless blood-red runes crawled out of the fissures like spiders, weaving together in the blink of an eye to form a massive formation.
Powered by the fresh essence blood, his strength had recovered enough to cast this.
“[Blood Prison Demon Sealing Array]!”
BOOM—!
Towering pillars of demonic energy shot into the sky, expanding into a blood-colored dome that blotted out the sun. It sealed an area of several miles in a suffocating red gloom.
It’s over…
Shen Xian and the others slammed into the edge of the barrier. An invisible force repelled them violently, throwing them back toward the center.
“Damn it!”
Shen Xian gritted his teeth. He smashed the [Burning Heaven Cauldron] against the barrier, but the golden fire only stirred up faint ripples. It couldn’t shake the foundation.
He frantically activated the [Heavenly Secrets Disc] to analyze the structure, but the result was gibberish. This was a Demon Race formation; its logic was completely incompatible with human cultivation.
Lei Yingjie’s face turned ashen as the light of his chariot dimmed. “My spiritual power… it’s being suppressed!”
Beside him, the white light at Qiu Ruoli’s fingertips flickered and died. Even her [God-Slaying Sword Intent] was being smothered by the heavy, polluted air of the array.
Her face was pale, a rare trace of panic flashing in her eyes. “This formation… it’s devouring our spiritual power just by existing!”
The Demon Venerable walked toward them slowly, savoring the moment. His scales pulsed with a dark, eerie light, and his aura spread like a tide, crushing the air out of their lungs.
The weaker cultivators collapsed, their minds shattered by the sheer pressure of a peak Nascent Soul entity.
“Now…” The Demon Venerable licked his lips, his eyes shining with cruel delight. “It’s your turn.”
Despair, like a shadow, enveloped everyone’s hearts.
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