Chapter 149 - 116: Xue Nichang

Chapter 149: Chapter 116: Xue Nichang

"Why so pathetic? Only half a body... oh, right. The Nether Monarch sliced you in half, and this half is bound by a seal, unable to leave, isn’t it?"

Lu Changyuan gave a mocking smile, his eyes lowered as he scanned the Blood Demon’s mutilated remains.

The Blood Demon’s body trembled violently. Its twisted, insect-like head let out a hateful roar, and murky, bloody foam spewed from between its foul-smelling fangs.

It remembered this face. More importantly, it was because the owner of this face had carried the Nether Monarch across thousands of miles in the dead of night, arriving at this place where it had been sealed for ten thousand years, that its perfect breakthrough to the Yao Guang Realm had been ruined.

The Blood Demon’s rage soared to the heavens. Scarlet tentacles proliferated madly from its writhing torso, carrying a stench that corroded Spirituality. Like countless spears piercing the wind, they stabbed viciously toward Lu Changyuan.

The Nether Monarch had used a Yao Guang Technique to split the character "Netherworld"—the symbol of her authority—in two, forging them into two shackles to suppress each half of the Blood Demon’s body. However, the Blood Demon was exceptionally cunning. Using a Secret Technique, it had forcibly pieced the sundered "Netherworld" character back together and fused it onto one half of its body. This allowed the other half to break free, but as a result, the power of this abandoned half was greatly diminished, causing it to fall from the Yao Guang Realm.

But even so, the Blood Demon in its current state was by no means an opponent that Lu Changyuan, who had not yet entered the Fifth Realm, could handle. The only reason it was in such a sorry state was that Lu Changyuan had caught it off guard.

The previous time, if not for the Nether Monarch’s intervention, it would have long since devoured this Lifebound Spirit along with its master. This time, the Nether Monarch was still weak; this Lifebound Spirit would surely die in its jaws.

It would unleash these ten thousand years of fury and hatred completely upon the two of them!

Kabeng.

A crisp snap that set the teeth on edge.

The Blood Demon let out an even more shrill, pained howl. The tentacle it had just extended was brutally torn off by a formless, immense force. Viscous Demon Blood splattered out, and at the stump, countless bloody filaments twitched madly like dying insects.

Lu Changyuan grinned, his smile a little unsettling.

"What? You feel wronged being imprisoned? This is just the beginning. Take a guess. Why didn’t the Nether Monarch kill you and instead just suppressed you beneath Long Mountain? Even if she didn’t have time back then, she could have eventually found the time to visit death upon every fiber of your being and truly kill you."

It’s hard to stop the sovereign of the Path of Death from killing someone they want dead, especially when that sovereign—the Nether Monarch—has already attained the Yao Guang Realm.

The Blood Demon froze on the spot, seized by a primal fear that stemmed from its very life instincts.

It could clearly sense its own life force inexplicably draining away. But what horrified it even more was the severed tentacle, which was rapidly melting and dissolving in Lu Changyuan’s hand, ultimately turning into a shriveled husk that Lu Changyuan casually tossed aside.

"It’s a little disgusting, but I’ve never been a picky eater."

Lu Changyuan raised Broken Thought. The Five Desires and Six Dust Heart Transformation Technique began to revolve madly within him, a frenzied appetite blooming in his scarlet pupils.

The Blood Demon felt an inexplicable fear. It was just like this in the Ancient Era: the weak became food for the strong, devoured completely, down to the very bones.

It was just like when the Blood Race encountered their predators—they would tremble all over, just as it was trembling now before Lu Changyuan, and then watch helplessly as their bones were shattered and marrow devoured.

’But how is this possible? My realm is clearly higher than his.’

Lu Changyuan gave it the answer.

In an instant, his figure shot forward, appearing before the Blood Demon’s enormous half-body. The Blood Demon found that it couldn’t move at all. An inexplicable force even viciously pressed its insect-like head down, forcing it to prostrate on the stone slab as if awaiting execution at noon.

The "Netherworld" character on its head pulsed with an eerie light.

The Nether Monarch’s seal had been damaged through three thousand years of sacrifices from the Spirit Race. But now, as Lu Changyuan invoked the name "Yu," the seal reappeared, binding the Blood Demon tightly like a net.

The Blood Demon shrieked. Its main body was pinned in place by the "Netherworld" character, but amid its roars, its enormous tentacles shot out once more. Their target wasn’t Lu Changyuan; instead, they rapidly enveloped the heavily injured Lan Xi, who lay not far away after being defeated by the Little Fairy.

Before Lan Xi could even scream, he was drained of his blood in an instant, his life force converted into sustenance for the Blood Demon.

Having devoured Lan Xi, the Blood Demon threw its head back sharply, as if preparing for a life-and-death struggle with Lu Changyuan.

But unfortunately for it, the muffled thud of a sharp weapon sinking into flesh seemed to tear through the night, and the blood moon dissipated.

The Blood Demon heard the handsome youth say, "Tang’Er, come and help. I’ll eat a little, and you use your Time Technique to help me digest a little."

~~~~~~~~~

On the coast far from Long Mountain, a small boat was slowly sailing toward the mountain. But now, the boat had stopped, no longer moving forward.

Looking closely, one could see four or five Cultivators on the boat. Most were clad in black robes, their faces obscured. The most striking among them was a Cultivator with only one arm and one leg. His missing limbs had been replaced with some kind of steel constructs, making them look like mechanical creations from the Lu Ban Palace.

"The seal on Long Mountain is open. The blood moon is gone, and there’s no sign of the Blood Dao. Should we still go over?"

The one who spoke was the one-armed, one-legged Cultivator.

He added, "There’s the aura of the Kai Yang Realm over there, and more than one. What the Lord wants has most likely been snatched up by someone else already. There’s no need to go."

Someone spoke up, "The Town Elder has a point."

This one-armed, one-legged man was indeed the Town Elder. He had fitted himself with prosthetics and seemed to get around without much trouble on normal days. It was only when it rained that his severed arm would throb with a dull ache.

He couldn’t help but lament that the women of the Cultivation Realm were each more ruthless than the last. He would have to break through to the Kai Yang Realm to regenerate his severed limbs, but with his Daoist body incomplete, breaking through to Kai Yang was nothing short of a fantasy.

Therefore, he could only slowly grind away the remnant Dao principles left behind by Su Youwan and Hanyi Master.

The sound of rushing wind came from above. A small sedan chair flew out from Long Mountain, bearing the insignia of a Daoist Sect.

"Then let’s head back." The one who spoke was their leader. She wasn’t wearing a black robe. A smile played on her bewitching lips, and her voice was so enchanting it could melt one’s bones. "Since we can’t get it, no one else can either. We might as well head back early and prepare for the upcoming matter of the Dragon Transformation Bone."

The Blood Demon Palace was indeed powerful, and the Blood Demon Lord himself was a Yao Guang Cultivator, but unless absolutely necessary, they wouldn’t dare provoke a Daoist Sect.

What if that Jiang Jiayi had one of her fits and decided to go on a demon-purging crusade again?

After all, when Jiang Jiayi had engaged in Magical Combat with the Buddha Master of Shifo Temple back then, it had taken her less than an hour to completely shatter his Buddhist conviction.

The Town Elder nodded, not quite daring to look at the female leader. Compared to Xue Yanluo, he was more afraid of this young woman who held a long whip.

She was Xue Yanluo’s half-sister, Xue Nichang, of the Fourth Realm Megrez Realm.

Xue Nichang said indifferently, "The matter of the Dragon Transformation Bone is of great importance. We cannot afford to be careless."

Compared to the capricious Xue Yanluo, Xue Nichang’s emotions were far more stable—stably tyrannical.

The Town Elder sighed. Xue Yanluo’s insistence on cutting ties with the Blood Demon Palace had brought about tempestuous consequences. For every day the Blood Demon Palace was without a Young Master, it knew no peace.

In the past, Xue Yanluo had been so outstanding that the others could only cower in her shadow. Now that she had abandoned her status, the twenty-odd other heirs had all made their move, stirring the Blood Demon Palace into turmoil.

After all, the Town Elder was not yet in the Sixth Realm Kai Yang, only the Fifth Realm Jade Balance. It was a truly awkward realm to be in—qualified to have a seat at the table, but not powerful enough to avoid having to choose a side. So, he had no choice but to place his bet on Xue Nichang becoming the next Young Master.

*Sigh.*

’Why did Young Master Xue Yanluo have to quit? How am I supposed to claim credit for the leg and arm I lost for her?’

The Town Elder was worried sick.