Martial Peak

Chapter 2552 – You Brought This Upon Yourself

Within just ten breaths, the Netherworld Sect disciples suddenly made a huge jerk before he ceased breathing, lying still on the ground. No part of his body remained intact; even his intestines had been dug out by himself. It was a horrendous sight.

And the pitch-black energy was still burning around him, as if it would continue burning till the end of time.

*Xiu Xiu Xiu…*

Streaks of black light continued to fly out of the Heavenly Net Absolute Sealing Array, one after another, shooting straight towards the Netherworld Sect disciples.

These disciples were utterly terrified and all turned tail and ran, crying to the Elder to save them.

But, how would Hua Fei Chen have the time to rescue them when he and Yin Le Sheng were still being chased by Yang Kai. They didn’t even have the time to gasp for breath, so despite knowing that these disciples were suffering from the Ten Thousand Ghosts Biting Backlash, they were completely helpless.

However, even if he had the time, he would still not be able to rescue those disciples.

For Netherworld Sect disciples, the Ten Thousand Ghosts Biting Backlash was the cruellest torture and the most unbearable method of death. This was related to their cultivation technique and their artifacts.

But at the end of the day, it was the foundation of the Netherworld Sect, so how could the disciples not cultivate it?

Miserable screams resounded, one after another, but this time, it wasn’t the Yin Souls that were being bitten, but rather the Netherworld Sect disciples who were afflicted with the Ten Thousand Ghosts Biting Backlash.

In just thirty breaths, the number of Netherworld Sect disciples had been reduced by half, all of them having suffered the backlash and died because of their Netherworld Purgatory Banners being damaged.

However, the array was still operating.

The Heavenly Net Absolute Sealing Array was a rather peculiar Spirit Array in that it was quite flexible; five could lay out the Array and ten could too. The same went for twenty…

So, even if so many had died, the Spirit Array still had not stopped.

It was just that the pitch-black ball had faded a lot, and the three figures inside could already be seen flying about rapidly, locked in a fierce battle.

With the sudden death of half of the disciples on their side, the remaining Netherworld Sect disciples were naturally terrified. They knew that if they didn’t run away, they would not fare any better than their departed Brothers. Sooner or later, they would be killed by the backlash.

But Hua Fei Chen didn’t give out any orders to retreat, so how could they dare escape? If they really tried to escape at this point, they would definitely be chased by the entire Netherworld Sect, so they could only grit their teeth and persevere.

“Summon the Ghost King, you fools!” Yin Le Sheng suddenly shouted.

The remaining Netherworld Sect disciples all jolted when they heard this. Immediately after, a resolute look flashed across their faces before they started making hand seals as their Source Qi surged.

Next, they spewed mouthfuls of Blood Essence towards the black ball, one after another.

The red blood splashed through the black ball, vanishing from sight like the rain falling into the sea.

However, the banner’s Yin Souls inside the black ball seemed to have been stimulated and started roaring non-stop.

Hua Fei Chen timely flew over, blocking Yang Kai. Yin Le Sheng quickly pulled away, looking at Yang Kai with a glare of hatred. In the text moment, a Netherworld Banner suddenly appeared in his hand.

It was the very same Netherworld Purgatory Banner, the symbol of being a Netherworld Sect disciple.

Holding the Netherworld Purgatory Banner, he opened his mouth and spurted a mouthful of Blood Essence towards his artifact as he fiercely urged it, causing it to rapidly inflate in size.

*Huchi Huchi…*

Suddenly, rhythmic sounds started coming from the Purgatory Banner, like the sound of breathing, making everyone feel unnerved.

And along with this sound, the dense black Qi and the countless Yin Souls inside the black ball gathered towards the Netherworld Purgatory Banner in Yin Le Sheng’s hand, as if they were drawn in by some irresistible force.

In a flash, all the black Qi and Yin Souls had disappeared.

Yang Kai and the two were left standing, their fields of vision bright and clear, only the white light screen of the Taiyi Cinnamon Bowl left covering them, sealing them in this space.

Yang Kai’s heart skipped a beat as he instinctively had a dangerous feeling. While fighting with Hua Fei Chen, he found a moment to glance at Yin Le Sheng, whereupon he saw Yin Le Sheng grinning hideously before shouting, “Yang Kai, let’s see how you will remain alive now!”

Just as he said this, the Netherworld Purgatory Banner in his hand suddenly burst into a cloud of black mist, and from that surging cloud of black mist, a pair of scarlet eyes suddenly flickered with a strange gleam, like it could devour everyone’s Soul. No one could keep their eyes away from it.

Immediately afterwards, two enormous ghastly claws stretched out from the black mist.

Amid the tumbling mist, an enormous figure appeared.

The figure was more than five meters tall and was completely black, its appearance completely repulsive. There was a curved horn on his forehead, and a mouth packed with sharp fangs. When the figure appeared, it gave off an oppressive feeling.

The temperature of the surrounding air seemed to have dropped to the freezing point in an instant.

*Huchi…*

A streak of white mist gushed out from the figure’s nostrils, freezing the air.

“Ghost King!” Old Fu’s pupils shrank. He knew that the Netherworld Sect disciples had put their lives on the line now, otherwise they wouldn’t resort to such a Forbidden Technique. Once they had used this technique, they had pushed themselves to an impasse; either their enemy would die, or they would.

This Ghost King was different from the Ghost King found in the Ancient Lands Passageway. The Ghost King in the passage was born naturally and had reached its terrifying cultivation over many years of accumulation. But this Ghost King was formed by the Netherworld Sect disciples through merging the Yin Souls stored within their banners.

Nevertheless, the undeniable fact was that the aura exuded by this Ghost King was terrifying; in fact, it was comparable to a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. Old Fu, who was spectating the fight from outside, couldn’t help but shiver as the Yin Qi radiating from the Ghost King hit him.

On the contrary, the girl named Lin’er, whose cultivation was lower, remained unaffected; however, a faint aura flashed around her figure at this moment. Apparently, the glow surrounding her had negated the corrosion of the Yin Qi.

“Martial Uncle, help me!” Yin Le Sheng shouted.

Hua Fei Chen made a feint, causing Yang Kai to back away, and then immediately flickered as he retreated to Yin Le Sheng’s side and punched himself right in the chest.

*Pu…*

Blood spurted by Hua Fei Chen landed on the Ghost King, causing its aura to grow stronger still.

The two rapidly formed hand seals and a serious look filled their faces as they seemed to be resonating with something; they had established a connection with the Ghost King.

Yang Kai on the other hand stood in place with a solemn look on his face, his eyes narrowing as he sized up the newly summoned Ghost King.

[Worthy of a top Sect from the Eastern Territory, they actually had such a bizarre Secret Technique!] Yang Kai thought his victory was secured, but he had never expected such a development.

Yin Le Sheng, gritting his teeth, shouted, “Yang Kai, I didn’t anticipate you being so strong, but can you beat this Ghost King? This is the full power of the several dozen disciples of my Netherworld Sect! Your death has now been assured!”

Yang Kai derided with a snort, “You have already said that so many times today, yet this Young Master is still standing here, isn’t he?”

Yin Le Sheng was unable to suppress his anger as he stopped arguing and formed a hand seal, shouting, “Die!”

When the words fell, the Ghost King’s eyes flashed with a red gleam, it rushed toward Yang Kai.

“Devour it!” Yang Kai pointed at it as countless Soul Devouring Demon Insects flew out and crashed into the Ghost King, forming a dark cloud in the sky.

*Honglong…*

The dark cloud of insects suddenly collapsed as countless Soul Devouring Insects were knocked back and fell to the ground; it was difficult to tell whether they were alive or dead.

The Ghost King, on the other hand, was completely safe; its momentum wasn’t diminished in the slightest.

After all, the dark cloud of insects was composed of countless Soul Devouring Insects, so they didn’t form a dense or rigid structure. How could a cloud withstand such a collision? It was natural for it to collapse, giving the impression that it couldn’t take even a single hit.

Yin Le Sheng broke into laughter and sneered, “Who asked you to act so arrogantly and presumptuously? You brought this upon yourself!”

Judging by his words, it seemed as if Yang Kai was in the wrong.

Yang Kai pursed his lips into a sneer, indifferently staring at the oncoming Ghost King, showing no intention of moving away.

Yin Le Sheng’s laughter abruptly came to a stop as he stared ahead with bulging eyes when he noticed pitch-black insects crawling all over the Ghost King at some point, covering it completely. Obviously, they had secretly landed on the Ghost King during the collision.

*Kacha…*

Suddenly, a crisp sound akin to the silkworm biting the mulberry leaves rang out. Immediately, an extremely painful look appeared on the charging Ghost King’s face and it let out a howl as it suddenly slowed down.

“This…” Yin Le Sheng was stunned. He didn’t expect these strange insects would be so powerful that they could even devour the Ghost King.

Hua Fei Chen’s face suddenly brightened and then darkened as a flash of confusion appeared in his eyes. Soon, he seemed to have recalled something as he called out in alarm, “Soul Devouring Insects! These are Soul Devouring Insects!”

As a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, he had cultivated for many, many years and naturally had an extremely rich breadth of experience and knowledge. It wasn’t surprising for him to know about Soul Devouring Insects.

He didn’t recognize them at first; after all, these Soul Devouring Insects were really different from the records he had seen in the ancient books he had read. Whether it was their size or brutality, these were on a completely different scale compared to the ancient records.

Only now did he come to realize their true nature.

And after having come to know that they were Soul Devouring Insects, Hua Fei Chen was struck with panic.

Yin Le Sheng may not know how powerful these Soul Devouring Insects were, but he knew that the Netherworld Purgatory Banner and Yin Souls were absolutely not opponents of these insects. No wonder so many disciples had so miserably died, it was because of these bugs!

While he was crying out in shock, the Soul Devouring Insects that had been knocked down and fallen on the ground also crawled back up, fluttered their wings, and buzzed towards the Ghost King, biting at it.

Currently, the enormous Ghost King was covered in Soul Devouring Insects, leaving only its faintly discernible scarlet eyes visible.

Being gnawed by the Soul Devouring Insects, the Ghost King was slowly slipping out of Yin Le Sheng and Hua Fei Chen’s control, howling and writhing as if in excruciating pain.

Hua Fei Chen knew that things weren’t looking good for them and he hurriedly shouted, “We have to end this quickly!”

Once the Soul Devouring Insects had come into play, they couldn’t delay things any longer. If they continued to drag the situation, the Ghost King would be completely devouring clean. When that happened, he and Yin Le Sheng would also suffer the Ten Thousand Ghosts Biting Backlash.

Over a dozen disciples had miserably died already, and Hua Fei Chen didn’t want to follow in their footsteps.

Yin Le Sheng was also sharp and naturally knew about the fearsome relationship with this Ghost King, so he immediately teamed up with Hua Fei Chen to force the Ghost King to attack.

*Hou…*

The Ghost King let out a deafening roar and its two eyeballs turned redder, as if blood was pouring out from them. It completely disregarded the Soul Devouring Insects gnawing at it and shot straight at Yang Kai, stretching its enormous ghastly claws as a pitch-black sickle suddenly appeared in its hands. Immediately after, it swung it straight towards Yang Kai.