"Damn you! A mere Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer, and you dare to be so brazen!"
The cyan-robed cultivator flew into a rage when he saw the shadowy figure's true Cultivation.
'Even if I'm spent, I'm a True Inheritance disciple of the Blazing Fire Sect! How could I let a lowly Demon Disciple like him humiliate me!'
With a turn of his hand, the cyan-robed cultivator summoned a crimson banner. Its surface was embroidered with a Fire Crow, and as he waved it, flames billowed.
A realization suddenly struck Qin Xuan.
[Fire Crow Banner]
'This is the Seventh-Grade Opportunity mentioned in the divination!'
"Heaven-Burning Fire Rain, go!"
The cyan-robed cultivator bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a wisp of Essence Blood. He shook the Fire Crow Banner fiercely, causing the fiery light on its surface to surge. As he brandished it, the faint sound of wind and thunder echoed.
Dozens of Fire Crows flew out from the banner, screeching as they flapped their wings and transformed into a sky-filling rain of fire that poured down.
The shadowy Demon Disciple immediately whipped out a Golden Light Protection Talisman.
'Heh. Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—utterly clueless about his own limits.'
'How can a mere Fifth-Layer Qi Cultivation Protective Talisman possibly compare to my Great Technique?'
The cyan-robed cultivator didn't even bother to look, turning to make his escape.
In his mind, this Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation Demon Cultivator was already as good as dead.
The next moment, however, the cyan-robed cultivator's face filled with terror.
"How is this possible? You're completely unscathed?"
He had just turned around, only to see another black-robed Demon Cultivator—identical to the last one—smiling at him.
He glanced back and saw that the shadowy figure had already dissipated. It was just a Clone Residual Shadow.
'So fast.' The cyan-robed cultivator gritted his teeth and once again bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of crimson Essence Blood.
He formed a seal in mid-air and pointed. The Fire Crows swirled and condensed, forming a thirty-foot-long fire python that opened its massive maw and lunged toward Qin Xuan.
Even before the attack arrived, the scorching heat distorted the air, instantly charring the grass and trees on the ground.
After unleashing this attack, the cyan-robed cultivator's face turned ashen. His True Essence was nearly depleted.
'The power of the Eighth Layer of Qi Cultivation is truly formidable!'
Qin Xuan inwardly assessed.
'A pity it's useless, though.'
'It has to actually hit me first!'
[Ghost Shadow Seven Kills]
Activate!
As Qin Xuan moved at high speed, his figure suddenly blurred and distorted!
He moved like a phantom, vanishing with a near-teleportation-like warp. Each time he flickered, he left behind an ephemeral "blood shadow" formed from his high-speed afterimage and dissipating Blood Qi.
[Fierce Soldier Qin Xuan has used Ghost Shadow Seven Kills once. Contribution Points -10]
At the same time, a skeleton with eerie green ghost fire burning in its eye sockets burst from the ground. It held a sharp black fang in its palm, which was wreathed in a poisonous mist.
VMM!
As if appearing out of thin air, the ancient bronze long sword manifested once more.
Blocked from three sides, there was no escape.
"How can this be?"
An expression of utter disbelief and terror appeared on the cyan-robed cultivator's face. Before he could even beg for mercy, his features twisted and contorted. His once-full cheeks caved in, and his flesh rapidly withered and shrank.
The [Fire Crow Banner] in his hand fell to the ground, and he moved no more.
'Ghost Shadow Seven Kills is truly impressive. Even someone a whole realm higher than me couldn't detect my real body.'
Qin Xuan's true form slowly materialized in the distance, a smile playing on his lips.
So neither of the shadowy figures just now had been his true body! As he wiped the crimson blood from his Lifebound Iron Sword, a surging power began to churn like a tempest inside him.
His heart pounded like a war drum, each beat accompanied by a stronger pulse of Demonic Essence.
The last three Mystic Gates that had been troubling Qin Xuan for days melted away like thin ice before a blazing flame, bursting wide open.
All he needed was a little more time to stabilize his Cultivation, and reaching the Seventh Layer of Qi Cultivation would be as easy as turning over his hand.
Just then, remembering the opportunity he had yet to claim, Qin Xuan quickly picked up the crimson banner from the ground.
[Fire Crow Banner]: A Top-Grade Magical Artifact containing a wisp of an early-stage Foundation Establishment Fire Crow True Spirit. Can cast the Magic "Heaven-Burning Fire Rain."
"Not bad, not bad. Another piece of loot." Qin Xuan was very satisfied.
The two Eighth-Layer Qi Cultivation cultivators from the Blazing Fire Sect had both been reduced to withered bones, but adhering to the principle of thrift and not letting anything go to waste, Qin Xuan tirelessly began to search their bodies.
A moment later, a Jade Scroll Daoist Scripture and two dusty gray Storage Pouches were in his hands.
However, the Storage Pouches were sealed with Spiritual Shackles and couldn't be opened. Forcing them would only damage the items inside.
[Submit to the Sect's Contribution Hall, one Storage Pouch can be exchanged for 50 Contribution Points.]
The Identity Token in his robes suddenly grew warm as a stream of information flowed into his mind.
'The Holy Sect sure knows how to do business,' Qin Xuan chuckled.
After a moment's thought, he immediately exchanged both Storage Pouches.
'Since I can't open them anyway, I might as well trade them for solid, practical Contribution Points.'
At this moment, the other Demon Disciples, who had been sleeping nearby, were finally roused and arrived belatedly.
Staring at the two skeletons on the ground, their Essence Blood drained dry, the disciples were utterly shocked.
"S-Senior Brother Qin, did you... kill these two?"
Qin Xuan shook his head. "They were both heavily injured and low on Essence Blood. I was just lucky."
Everyone gulped and exchanged glances.
'Senior Brother Qin is so humble. He silently killed two Eighth-Layer Qi Cultivation Righteous Cultivators and still calls it luck.'
Qin Xuan had just ordered his men to carry the two withered corpses away, planning to refine them into his Bone Shadow Soldiers in the future.
BOOM!
Suddenly, the distant Earth Demon Peak trembled violently, followed by the sound of a domineering laugh.
"I didn't expect one of the old fossils from the Blazing Fire Sect to have the guts to sneak into my Blood Demon Sword Sect!"
It was like an Abyss Demon King had appeared in the mortal world. The Demonic Qi surrounding him boiled and churned, every wisp of his aura radiating unstoppable violence and destruction.
Just from the voice, Qin Xuan recognized the speaker. It had to be the Demon Child he had saved before—Chen Xuanba!
Sure enough, after several months of recovery, Chen Xuanba had returned to Purple Mansion Peak.
The next moment, a blazing red sun shot out.
To be more precise, this blazing sun had been punched out of Earth Demon Peak by Chen Xuanba.
"Young Friend, I was merely passing by with no intention to spy. I hope your esteemed sect doesn't misunderstand."
The flames dissipated. A closer look revealed the speaker to be a thin old Daoist with a white beard and hair, clad in a fiery red Daoist Robe. His bearing was as elegant as a crane among clouds, and his body was wreathed in clumps of crimson flame.
However, the old man was clearly in terrible shape, with a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.
"You snuck all the way to the gates of my Blood Demon Sword Sect and you still dare call it a misunderstanding?"
Chen Xuanba raised an eyebrow, his gaze turning frigid.
The massive Golden Broadsword in his hand materialized, appearing like a jade pillar of an Azure Dragon poised to swallow heaven and earth. Where he stepped, vegetation grew with abandon.
Wreathed in roiling Demonic Qi, it soared into the sky before smashing down on the Purple Mansion Daoist with the force of a thunderclap.
Its momentum was immense, its power tyrannical and without equal.
"Young Friend, is this how the Blood Demon Sword Sect treats its guests?"
The thin old man glared. He hadn't expected Chen Xuanba to immediately unleash two Positional Divine Techniques the moment they met: "Taoshan Root" and "Azure Dragon Ridge."
Daoist Techniques, according to their grade, could be divided into six categories: Magic, Great Techniques, Star Techniques, Taoist Skills, Divine Techniques, and Positional Divine Techniques.
Of these, Positional Divine Techniques were the strongest. They inherently possessed Five Elements Pressure, and starting from Foundation Establishment, a cultivator could only learn one per realm.
'We are both Purple Mansion Daoists. You think I don't have Divine Techniques of my own?'
The thin old man was cloaked in a crimson radiance and surrounded by scorching flames that danced like a candle's fire, threatening to incinerate the heavens and dyeing the surrounding space red.
It was the Blazing Fire Sect's Positional Divine Technique, "Heart-Burning Candle"!
The power of the flames was astonishing. Every flicker contained enough terrifying power to melt mountains and rivers, instantly transforming the world into a Sea of Fire Purgatory.
"Flashy nonsense. It won't stand a single blow!"
Chen Xuanba sneered. Holding the Golden Broadsword, its body swirling with black Demon Patterns, he made the Azure Dragon jade pillar transform once more.
It was like the roiling of the ocean, a monstrous tidal wave surging forth.
The thin old man was on the verge of breaking down.
Another Positional Divine Technique, and this one, "Cold Abyss Seed," was of the Yang Water element.
'Does the Holy Sect just give away Positional Divine Techniques for free?'
Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements all have their counters. This guy was specifically choosing techniques to suppress him.
BOOM!
The True Flame and Demonic Qi collided, like the chaotic explosion at the dawn of creation. A powerful shockwave swept across the world, causing the sun, moon, and stars to lose their luster.
His movements were grand and sweeping, incomparably tyrannical, as if he were drawing forth Profound Nether True Water from the Nine Netherworld, or like the giant, dark shadow of some unknown creature hidden within a tsunami's roaring waves.
Every strike carried a violent power capable of destroying all vitality.
"[Taoshan Root]... [Azure Dragon Ridge]... [Cold Abyss Seed]..."
The thin old man was on the verge of despair. "You haven't even broken through yet! You're still at Purple Mansion Peak! How could you have possibly mastered three Positional Divine Techniques?!"
Chen Xuanba laughed heartily. "You don't practice Demon Cultivation. You wouldn't understand."