Chapter 159 - The Village Orphan

At the bottom of the crater lay the corpse of Chen Wuhen, with the gaping hole erasing half of his right side.

In the fight earlier, Su Ming had attacked him with the intent to kill. Moments ago, he had incinerated Lady Tao into ash without a second of hesitation.

Coming from a modern life on Earth, taking a human life should have weighed on his thoughts. But after spending more than a year in this world, Su Ming’s mentality has shifted. In a world where a moment of hesitation meant death, such decisiveness was simply necessary to survive and protect himself. He made his peace with it quickly.

Su Ming jumped down into the crater, landing softly on the ground.

Demonic Ancestor Mo’s complex soul seed inside Chen Wuhen was already destroyed. Yet, even without a soul, the corpse did not wither or decay. Decades of tempering in River Styx Water had given it a dense reservoir of pure Yin Vitality.

Su Ming scanned the corpse with his Essence Sight.

The Yin Vitality preserved every muscle fiber in the body. Su Ming made a quiet mental note of the phenomenon. Upon completing her body refinement, Lin Yao’s physical body would likely achieve a similar state of endless Yin Vitality, allowing her to control vast amounts of Yin energy without harming her meridians.

Su Ming stepped forward, bent down, and pulled the black spatial ring from Chen Wuhen’s cold finger.

Peeking inside the storage space, Su Ming saw piles of high-grade spirit stones and dark ores.

Amidst the piles of treasures, two items immediately caught his eye. The first was a Nether Jade Gourd containing River Styx Water essence, and the second was a jade slip containing the Styx River Guiding Art.

Behind him, a deafening explosion shook the valley as Lei Zhenwu obliterated the Yin corpse puppet.

As the sound echoed across the Black Crow Ridge, Su Ming felt something was odd.

Things were going too perfectly.

He looked deeper into the spatial ring with Essence Sight, and noticed a hidden area beneath the spiritual ores. Hidden within was an ancient jade slip covered in dark crimson markings.

It was the Nine Seed Transference Art.

Su Ming channeled a wisp of his divine sense into the jade slip, rapidly scanning the forbidden technique.

In the next breath, a line of ancient blood runes appeared within his vision.

’Nine seeds share one source. When the eighth falls, the ninth ascends.’

As he gradually understood the Demonic Technique, a cold chill ran straight down Su Ming’s spine.

’A trap...’ Su Ming thought, his pupils contracting sharply.

His mind raced at lightning speed, calculating the sect’s deployment across the continent.

Sect Master Jun Tianya had destroyed one vessel in the Heavenly Phoenix Sect territory. Peak Master Jian had slain another vessel near the Black Iron Ridge. First Elder Nie had executed another in the Iron Crag City.

Here at the Black Crow Ridge Stronghold, there were five vessels in total.

Chen Wuhen, Lady Tao, the Tiger Demon, Scholar Yan, and Elder Yun Song.

That made exactly eight vessels in total.

Where was the ninth?

A horrifying realization struck him like lightning.

Peak Mistress Yue’s divination had only tracked seven vessels across seven locations. Yet, there were already eight vessels in total, and the technique clearly mentioned a ninth soul seed and a main body.

’Was Elder Cang on Sword Peak the ninth?’ Su Ming wondered.

Chen Wuhen was no doubt the main body of Demonic Ancestor Mo. The complex soul seed within him made it crystal clear. The remaining vessels were essentially extensions, only meant to fuel the final resurrection. But with his body destroyed, another vessel should have inherited that role of the main body.

Looking across the valley at the remaining three vessels, it was clear they were merely ordinary vessels. That meant another vessel was hidden somewhere, ready to become the new main body.

And if all of these remaining vessels fell, the ninth seed would resurrect fully with at least Saint-rank power.

While the Heavenly Cloud Sect believed they were systematically eradicating the demonic vessels, in truth, every vessel executed across the continent only fueled the growth of the ninth seed.

A chilling truth dawned upon Su Ming as the Demonic Ancestor’s sinister plan became clear.

***

A violent shockwave tore through the valley. Lei Zhenwu’s halberd descended like a falling meteor, cleaving Elder Yun Song in two.

Six down. Only two remained.

Silver-blue arcs of True Stellar Meteor Lightning crackled around Lei Zhenwu’s body. Raising his weapon high, he aimed straight for the battered Scholar Yan and the Tiger Demon, preparing to wipe them out in a single devastating sweep.

If those two died here, the final sacrifice would be complete!

Su Ming did not hesitate even for a moment. He surged his divine sense to its absolute limit, sending a desperate roar directly to Peak Master Lei Zhenwu.

’STOP!’

’Peak Master Lei, do not kill them! Restrain them right now!’

The sheer panic in Su Ming’s mental voice struck Lei Zhenwu like a bolt of lightning.

Lei Zhenwu stopped his heavy halberd in midair just before it left his grip.

’What?! Su Ming!’ Lei Zhenwu’s voice echoed back in complete bewilderment as he held his halberd in place. ’You want me to restrain them? Do not tell me you have taken a liking to these demonic fiends!’

’It is a trap! Restrain them completely!’ Su Ming’s urgent transmission rang in his mind. ’The moment these vessels die, a ninth vessel will resurrect Demonic Ancestor Mo completely!’

***

Some distance away, at the quiet outskirts of a mortal village.

Distant thunder rumbled across the dark horizon. Lightning illuminated the distant sky, sending tremors through the wooden huts. Inside the village, the elders instructed families to hide inside their huts and pray to the immortals for protection.

Every family in the village did the same except one boy. It was the village orphan.

Behind the last cottage at the end of the road stood twelve year old Jiang Chen.

Gripping an old wooden spear with both hands, he stared straight into the distant sky.

He did not run inside his hut when the sky rumbled, nor did he pray.