Chapter 340 - 331: Great Success Bright King, Fierce and Wicked

Chapter 340: Chapter 331: Great Success Bright King, Fierce and Wicked

The soft, thick mud of the pool was cracked and dry. A massive bubble emerged, swelling to the height of several men before suddenly bursting with a POP!

"HISS—!"

A strange shriek accompanied the bursting bubble, and a black shadow as thick as a water jug shot out violently from below.

Fu Juemin’s hands and the four Fire Centipede Steps on his back simultaneously converged in front of him—

"BOOM!"

A huge fireball exploded above the mud pool, igniting the marsh gas. It formed a wave of fire that swept outward, and large swaths of tall grass crackled in the flames.

As the orange light subsided, Fu Juemin could be seen, his strong, slender arms locked in a death grip on a terrifying Demon that resembled an oversized earthworm.

Its dark-red body looked as if it were cast from pig iron, and the rings on its surface resembled deep gullies in the firelight. Inside its wide-open, circular maw, it was lined with row after row of fine, sharp teeth spiraling inward...

All four Fire Centipede Steps had pierced the Demon Earthworm’s body, pinning the front half of its torso firmly in mid-air.

The flames coiling around the Steps sizzled against the Demon Earthworm’s flesh. Thick, black Demon Blood flowed ceaselessly from its wounds. Some of it even ignited, looking just like crude oil.

The Demon Earthworm was clearly in pain. It let out a sharp shriek, and its lower body, buried in the dry mud pool, began to writhe, causing the ground to rumble.

Fu Juemin suddenly released his hands, and the four Fire Centipede Steps piercing the Demon Earthworm’s body were also swiftly withdrawn.

Freed from its restraints, the Demon Earthworm instantly reared up, its entire upper body rising high. Its maw gaped open to its maximum extent, like a giant, circular black hole, looming over Fu Juemin as if to swallow him whole.

Fu Juemin’s expression was calm. He looked up slightly, his diamond-like golden eyes locking onto the Demon Earthworm. Behind him, the four Fire Centipede Steps suddenly converged. Immediately after, a crimson Star Map lit up on his chest.

"[Celestial Star. Xiushu Yi]!"

"BOOM—!"

A crimson meteor seemed to streak across the sky above the garden’s mud pool. An explosive burst of fire erupted, momentarily distorting half the sky.

As the thick, hot air slowly dissipated, there was a dull thud. The Demon Earthworm, its entire head melted away, crashed heavily to the ground. It twitched twice, then fell still.

The four Steps, like four burning screens, slowly fanned out behind Fu Juemin.

Feeling a swift infusion of intangible power, Fu Juemin furrowed his brow.

’It’s dead?’

He looked down at the Demon Earthworm lying on the ground like a dead snake, then walked over and slashed at it viciously with the white Bone Blade on his right elbow.

"RRRIP—"

The Demon Earthworm’s flesh tore open, and a large amount of thick, black fluid poured out.

Seeing this, Fu Juemin shook his head and reverted from his [Flame Monarch] form.

He had rather high hopes for this Senior Fifth Grade Demon Earthworm, thinking it might possess a Talent Ability like "Undying" or "Regeneration," which would have made it a top-tier material for organ-stuffing.

To his great disappointment, he had killed it instantly with a single [Xiushu Yi].

Its Life Force wasn’t even as tenacious as that of a typical Fourth Grade Demon Fiend.

’I’m afraid it put all its talent points into digging holes...’

Fu Juemin glanced at his character panel. Sure enough, a new White Level Talent called [Earth Travel] had appeared in his Talent Bar.

He stood his ground and gave it a try.

As he activated the Talent, the ground beneath his feet immediately liquefied like flowing water, and Fu Juemin was quickly submerged.

A moment later, about ten meters away, he emerged from the earth, step by step, completely naked.

Rivulets of thick mud streamed down his body, splatting onto the ground.

’It’s similar to Earth Escape. I can breathe freely underground, but the travel speed is very slow. It might be useful in certain special circumstances...’

Fu Juemin summarized the [Earth Travel] Talent, his expression gradually returning to calm.

’Well, what’s dead is dead.’

A few days ago, he had also "accidentally" killed a Demon Moth. That Demon Moth’s Talent was also garbage—when activated, it would just frantically scatter phosphorescent powder all around, causing hallucinations and fear in anyone who inhaled it, an effect similar to [Nightmare].

The Skill Points provided by these two Demons, plus the one point he already had, gave him just over four Skill Points—exactly enough to level up his > once more.

He casually opened the panel, and the golden "+" behind > flashed.

In that instant, a vast torrent of memories, images, and light flooded his mind as expected.

In the visions this time, Fu Juemin saw "himself" suddenly at the bottom of a frigid pool, his body wrapped in chains. Then, he was beside a roaring furnace, red-hot iron chains tightening layer by layer around his body...

In terms of cultivation difficulty alone, the > was clearly much harder than the > or the >.

The process of going from Mastery to Great Success, without relying on adding points, was nothing short of ultimate self-torture. Every step was fraught with peril!

When the last sliver of light and shadow merged perfectly into his body, Fu Juemin’s eyes snapped open.

A crimson glint flashed in the depths of his eyes. Immediately, the pores all over his body opened in unison, releasing rolling waves of heat. Even his breath carried a faint scent of sulfur.

This strange phenomenon only slowly subsided after several full breaths.

Fu Juemin lifted his hand, faintly hearing a strange hum emanating from within his chest.

[Bright King Shackles Skill (Great Success: Attack +26, Defense +27)]!

The attribute values added at the Great Success Realm alone were higher than those from the Dragon Elephant Skill at the Perfection Realm!

Fu Juemin’s Basic Attributes also soared under this massive numerical increase.

Now his [Attack] was a staggering 57 points, and his [Defense] had broken past 50, undergoing a new qualitative change.

’Bright King Skill at Great Success, breaking through both the Mountain-Crushing and Burning Barrier realms. I should now be considered at the Fourth Layer, the Vajra Heart Lock realm...’

’My five viscera resonate like bells and chimes, and a sonic wave from my mouth can easily deflect arrows and flying stones.’

’When taking a heavy blow, my internal organs will naturally generate a vajra-like spinning force, turning direct force into a vortex...’

Fu Juemin thought for a moment, then suddenly thrust out his palm.

He had only struck out casually, but at that very instant, a dense ball of heat seemed to emanate from his palm, rapidly extending through the air.

The heat wave naturally condensed in the empty air, leaving behind traces of translucent chains that spread outward like living snakes.

"BOOM—!"

About six meters away from Fu Juemin, a point in empty space showed signs of collapsing and distorting before it exploded with a bang, and a heat wave rose from thin air.

’Inexperienced Fire Meditation, Burning Barrier Shackles! This is the effect after cultivating the third layer, the Burning Barrier Lock.’

’Truly incredible...’

Fu Juemin let out a slow, turbid breath and gradually relaxed his stance, a complex mix of emotions flashing in his eyes.

That palm strike had not used a single shred of True Gang Qi. It relied entirely on gathering and controlling the heat his body naturally emitted. To have such power from that alone showed just how abundant his Qi Blood had become!

’The Bright King Skill’s techniques have no fixed forms; they are all techniques for using and controlling Vitality... or rather, energy.’

’I should also be able to use the techniques of the Burning Barrier Lock in my [Flame Monarch] form. But when I do, what condenses into chain flails won’t be True Strength, but actual Bright Demon Fire...’

’In my current state, Martial Dao Realms have become irrelevant...’

Fu Juemin looked at his own palm. After mastering the Bright King Skill to Great Success, the effects of his cultivation were reflected in his body. His skin, once as white and smooth as mutton-fat jade, had become a little deeper and darker. It was no longer dazzlingly white, no longer the white of a frail weakling.

’Iron Body Strange Skills: one force to shatter ten thousand dharmas.’

’This force is both the great power of the physical body and the power of Vitality techniques...’

With Pharmacist Master Dragon Elephant Perfection and now the Bright King’s Shackles at the Great Success Realm, as Fu Juemin’s cultivation of the Celestial Blessing Four Great Iron Body Skills deepened, he seemed to be gaining some new insight.

His intuition told him it might be related to the [Mana] Attribute he had been seeking to no avail, but for now, it was like the moon in the water or a flower in the mist—hazy and indistinct.

Fu Juemin shook his head, setting the thought aside for now, and examined his Consciousness.

After reaching Great Success in the Bright King Shackles Skill, it generated the Wrathful Bright King Dharma Form, which naturally began to nourish and nurture his Demon Magic Dharma Form.

The fusion of his Consciousness at his spiritual altar had clearly accelerated, and deep within his Consciousness, the nascent silhouette of the Demon Magic Dharma Form had become much clearer.

He could already make out that it had a humanoid shape with multiple heads and arms.

’Don’t tell me I’m actually going to form the Dharma Form of the Sixth Celestial Demon King Boshun?’

With this stray thought, Fu Juemin picked up the robes he had tossed aside and began to dress as he walked away.

In the past twenty days, he had taken down five clans of the Five Banners under the Yingjing Nine Banners one after another. The number of branch families with different surnames he now controlled within the Lower Five Banners had reached nine, accounting for nearly a third of the entire Lower Five Banners!

Of course, it hadn’t all gone smoothly.

But just as Helu had said: those who did not bow to the Prince’s Decree would meet the Exorcism Saber.

Any Patriarch who didn’t obey was killed on the spot, and another was propped up in his place. If that one also refused to obey, he too was killed. He would keep killing until he found one who would listen...

Fu Juemin wouldn’t have cared if every last queue-wearing member of the Nine Banners died. With Helu’s tiger skin to fly as his banner, his actions grew ever more brazen and unrestrained.

This led to his fearsome reputation "spreading far and wide" throughout the Lower Five Banners in just twenty short days. Many of the Banner Races now knew of him—

That the Profound Banner had a "Young Master Ling" who, armed with Prince Lv’s Decree, was savage, tyrannical, and ran completely rampant.

A man who enjoyed having people slapped in the face, who would humiliate them before killing them—a man both vicious and vile...