Chapter 274 - 139: A Fierce Battle with a Golden Core

Chapter 274: Chapter 139: A Fierce Battle with a Golden Core

While the crowd’s minds raced, he had already channeled all his Qi and Blood, bringing himself to peak condition to unleash this flawless punch.

The techniques of Body Tempering Cultivators were far too limited.

If he couldn’t end the fight quickly, it would be easy to get bogged down by his opponent’s various Immortal Techniques.

Unless he had no other choice, Lin Shu didn’t want to use the Mountain God Mirror.

"Illusory Silk Spirit Spider Hand!"

Feeling the terrifying force of the incoming punch, Tang Qizheng’s face twisted. He desperately channeled his Spiritual Power, and the Third-Turned Spirit Firming True Pill within him spun so violently that faint cracks began to appear.

But his Spiritual Power, as vast as the ocean, was effortlessly torn apart by that fist.

This Mountain Master Disciple of the Chen Family was like a lone boat in a raging storm, capsized in an instant.

His clothes disintegrated, his flesh split open, and his entire body was violently sent flying, crashing hard into the mountain range!

RUMBLE!

In a clash between Golden Core Cultivators, the mere radiating aura was enough to chill the other Cultivators to the bone.

Whether they were Demon-slaying Bureau constables, Demon Generals, or Demon Soldiers, all stared at the two figures with faces full of horror.

Just as everyone thought an earth-shattering Magical Combat was about to unfold at Lingyun Stronghold, they saw the two figures barely touch before one was instantly struck down from the sky.

The expressions on their faces couldn’t help but turn dazed.

"Hm?"

Lin Shu was stunned for a moment, clearly a little surprised.

Then, he lowered his gaze slightly and looked at his body.

Beneath his loose robes, dense, sharp threads had appeared at some unknown point, wrapping tightly around his skin.

’Maybe it was because everyone in the Border Region was so poor. Besides, my own frequently used Immortal Techniques had been improved by Merit and Sin Coins, and my primary methods came from the Qi Family’s Silver-eyed White Wolf. That’s why I never really noticed the difference.’

’Is the gap between a Scattered Immortal’s Formulas and a Half-Life Immortal Technique really this big?’

After the Jade-Boned Golden Lion had consumed the Karma Fire Essence Gold, the Demon Lion Suppressing Treasure Body had long since been elevated to a Half-Life Immortal Technique.

Now, Lin Shu took a casual step, and the spider silks were shattered into motes of Spiritual Light by his surging muscles.

His figure flickered and vanished from the spot once more.

"..."

The Demon General who had been rescued earlier had just run into the stronghold. He stared blankly at the scene, his body suddenly trembling uncontrollably.

Beside him, the man with the scarred face slowly came to a halt.

The fool watched thoughtfully, then reached out and poked his own flesh with a fingertip.

At first, he could still make a small dent, but as he imitated Lin Shu’s stance, his entire arm gradually took on the texture of refined steel, becoming completely unyielding to pressure.

Seeing this, the man seemed to recall a familiar feeling. He grinned, baring his teeth. "GAGA, now I can take even more of a beating."

"AH! AH!"

From within the mountain range, a miserable figure suddenly shot out. His bones were all shattered, and he was already a bloody mess, wailing without end.

He lay trembling on a ten-foot-long Flying Shuttle, forcibly channeling his chaotic Spiritual Power and letting out a long, hoarse, terrified shriek.

A white light so brilliant it seemed to bleach the sky erupted, and a Sword Intent far surpassing his previous one burst forth.

This time, however, it wasn’t for an attack.

The strands of Sword Qi converged at a speed invisible to the naked eye, forming a cocoon that tightly enveloped him.

With just a single punch, the so-called newly-ascended Demon Monarch had shattered Tang Qizheng’s courage, leaving him with only one thought: to flee.

The power his opponent had displayed was simply not that of an ordinary Golden Core Cultivator.

Perhaps only a Mountain Master Disciple from a Half-Life Immortal Family would be qualified to fight this Demon Monarch!

"Senior Brother Tang!"

The members of the Demon-slaying Bureau stared with wide eyes.

Meng Ting’s face was a mask of terror.

The Magical Combat had just begun, and this Golden Core Powerhouse was already planning to abandon them and escape?

The next moment, their pupils constricted within their wide, staring eyes.

The Demon Monarch had appeared again.

One had to understand that the Flying Shuttle was a Mid Grade Magical Treasure. When fully powered by a Golden Core Cultivator, its speed was simply astounding.

But the young man had caught up to it with ease.

Then, he casually reached out. Facing the raging Sword Qi, he thrust his fingertips into it without hesitation.

TSSSK!

With just his bare hand... he had ripped apart the terrifying cocoon of Sword Qi.

Tang Qizheng turned his head, trembling, and watched helplessly as the hand reached in. It was as if he had seen some peerless monster, and his lungs began to convulse.

In the next instant, the hand yanked him off the Flying Shuttle.

"Hah."

Lin Shu exhaled a hot breath. He lifted Tang Qizheng with one hand, his entire right arm swinging like a horned dragon as he slammed his fist into the middle-aged man’s temple.

CRACK!

The man’s entire head exploded, splattering blood and gore everywhere!

As the young man took a long, slow breath, the Qi and Blood Power that filled the sky grew increasingly scorching, lashing out like giant, rampaging pythons.

"Gah!"

Scared out of his wits, Meng Ting turned to flee, but he was instantly swallowed by the crimson waves. His flesh, blood, and bones rapidly dissolved in the magma-like heat.

"AHH!! AHH!!"

Shrill wails of agony filled the air.

To watch one’s own body melt away... this didn’t resemble Magical Combat at all. It was more like a form of brutal torture.

"That’s the Demon Monarch whose Demon Mountain was destroyed..."

Inside Lingyun Stronghold, a Demon General murmured.

How could such a powerful Demon Monarch not have a large-scale killing technique? He had deliberately chosen this most energy-intensive, yet most cruel and brutal method. He was clearly just venting his rage!

"..."

Lin Shu calmly watched the sky.

’Using Qi and Blood Power to smash people to bits and refine them is a bit noisy, but it really saves resources.’

’Besides, the Nether Cold Miasma Thunder is only a Core Formation technique. Even with my Core Formation Perfection Cultivation, trying to use it to cover so many people at once... I might not have won against them.’

At the same time, a vast amount of Sin Coins began to appear.

[To murder and burn is to wear a belt of gold; to build bridges and roads is to leave no corpse behind. For killing one Spiritual Object, you are awarded five thousand taels of Sin Coin and one mace of Karma Fire Gold Essence.]

Besides the Sin Coins from the Chen Family’s Mountain Master...

...the twelve Vice Generals at Mid-stage Core Formation or higher yielded an average of four to five hundred taels each, for a total of five thousand four hundred taels of Sin Coin.

As for the dozens of Mountain Search Captains, they weren’t worth much, only adding up to seven hundred taels of Sin Coin.

’Over ten thousand taels of Sin Coin... that should be enough for my Body Tempering Technique to break through to the Sixth-Grade.’

’There are far fewer Merit Coins than I expected.’

Lin Shu looked toward the Demon Stronghold.

A dozen or so Demon Generals was not a small force. Logically, they should have been able to muster at least seven or eight hundred Demon Soldiers, but less than half that number were present.

They must have been lost during the escape.

The former would be worth about four thousand five hundred taels of Merit Coin, while the Demon Soldiers would be worth a little over two thousand taels.

There were over two hundred thousand demon people. Even in the vast province of Yongzhou, that was nearly the entire population of a small county like Black Water City.

Now they were all gathered in the cramped mountains of the Demon Stronghold, and there was no telling how many had died on the road.

Lin Shu watched the scattered notifications for Merit Coins popping up and shook his head slightly.

It wasn’t that he was upset about the Merit Coins.

’After all, it wasn’t as if these demon people had the same treatment as those on Seven Stars Mountain, who could practice Spirit Formulas. All of them together would only be worth a little over a thousand taels of Merit Coin at most. An average of five copper coins a head was hardly a fortune.’

What truly made him uneasy was that, even though he’d killed all the Demon-slaying Bureau constables, the system notifications told a different story. Given the miserable state of the demon people before him, few would survive without immediate medical attention.

’Territory like the kind Yu Sheng imagined isn’t so easy to take.’

’Forget about prosperous cities; even in this bitter, cold land, they were still hunted down.’

"It stinks to high heaven. This is no place for anyone to live. Let’s move them somewhere else first."

Lin Shu flitted over to the crowd of demons and glanced around casually.

"..."

The demons all stood rooted to the spot, staring dazedly at the young man.

Although he had spoken with disgust, he didn’t cover his nose like the Chen Family’s Mountain Master had. Instead, he simply walked into the mountains that were piled high with filth.

It was unclear who started it, but suddenly, a figure bowed down and kowtowed. Then, like a tidal wave, the crowd of demons surged forward and prostrated themselves.

The sound of choked sobs rose and fell throughout the crowd.

"Thank you, Lord Demon Monarch... for saving our lives..."

"We... will never forget this for all eternity."