owlsbooks Chapter 20, The Feast of Slaughter Begins
Chapter 20, The Feast of Slaughter Begins
"Xu! Ming!"
The Black Wind King abruptly rose to his feet, his massive body bringing with it a stench of blood. He raised his hand to touch the wound on his head; it was slippery and sticky to the touch, and excruciating pain, like maggots crawling on his bones, pierced straight to his brain.
At the edge of the wound, countless tiny buds of flesh were writhing frantically, trying to heal but being constantly torn apart by the Xuan Sha Gui Water Qi. Above his soul, cracks were spreading silently, driving him further into madness and chaos.
His eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at Xu Changqing, who had retreated into the enemy formation. The more exhilarating his recent dream, the more profound the betrayal and agony he felt now.
"Traitor! How dare you plot against me!"
In a fit of rage, he unleashed his full demonic power, causing black demonic energy to surge into the sky like smoke, stirring up the miasma on the cave ceiling.
Those demons who were still indulging in the fragrant illusion and killing each other were shocked by this sudden change and terrifying pressure. Many of them trembled violently, and the confusion in their eyes faded, replaced by horror and fear.
"Your Majesty!"
"What happened?"
"My head...it hurts so much..."
Near the throne, several of the stronger leaders were the first to regain their senses. They looked at their king, who was bleeding from the head and furious, with suspicion and uncertainty. They then looked at Xu Changqing, who remained calm in the center of the formation, and for a moment, they dared not step forward.
On the other side, the centipede boy, who was being attacked and killed by the cunning old man Huang, was also awakened by this roar and pressure.
His brightly colored clothes were torn to shreds, and several deep claw marks were visible on his body. Just as he was filled with panic, the irrational weasel monster pounced again, bringing a foul stench to his face.
"Get out of here!"
The centipede boy was both shocked and furious. With a fierce roar, he spewed out poisonous smoke from his ten fingers, which transformed into dozens of colorful phantom snakes that entangled with Old Man Huang.
The venom corroded the ever-growing, wriggling skin of the weasel, making a strange "sizzling" sound.
Old Huang, in pain, roared even more fiercely, his attacks becoming even more ferocious. The two monsters were instantly locked in battle, the air thick with poisonous mist and a foul, fishy stench.
In the center of the cave, Xu Changqing slightly raised his head and looked at the giant bear that stood like a black tower, exuding a demonic aura.
He bowed to the Black Wind King, his movements still composed, his voice clear and distinct, easily audible in the chaotic cave.
"Amitabha Buddha. I have come here to," he paused, his eyes like the moon reflected in a cold pool, "to exterminate you man-eating demons and restore some peace to these eight hundred miles of mountains and fields."
"Fellow Daoist Black Wind, greetings."
As soon as he finished speaking, murderous intent filled the air.
"Burning Spirit Incense"
With a flick of his finger, a wisp of dark, fragrant mist rose straight into the sky.
"Offering sacrifices."
Before he finished speaking, the white bone hairpin leaped out of his hair, drawing a tragic white arc in the air, and "whoosh" pierced the skull of the old ghost in his burial clothes who had just awakened from the illusion and was looking around blankly.
The old ghost was only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, and his ghost body was just beginning to form. Under the soul-killing attack of the white bone jade hairpin, he didn't even have time to scream before his body crashed to the ground. Along with the dozens of demon corpses around him who had died in mutual slaughter, his flesh and bones mysteriously disappeared into thin air.
"The feast of slaughter has begun."
As Xu Changqing uttered those words in a low voice, an inexplicable feeling instantly enveloped the entire Black Wind Mountain.
Majestic, ancient, and somber...
High atop a neighboring mountain, an old Taoist priest, dressed in a shabby robe and with a shiny red gourd hanging from his waist, squinted as he gazed down toward Black Wind Mountain.
His gray hair fluttered in the night wind, a glint of light flashed in his cloudy old eyes, he smacked his lips, and his tone was a mixture of amazement and schadenfreude.
"Goodness, my future apprentice has quite the bloodlust, judging by this setup... tsk tsk..."
He stroked his sparse beard, showing no concern whatsoever. Instead, as if he had seen something rare, he simply sat cross-legged on the edge of the cliff, looking quite pleased with himself.
"It's time. Any later and these guys will wake up."
Xu Changqing's voice was icy cold. His robes fluttered wildly in the chaotic airflow. The ribbon binding his hair had long since broken, and his long, dark hair moved on its own without wind, strands of it flying up, making his handsome and otherworldly face look particularly eerie at this moment.
"Explode." He uttered a single word, then abruptly closed the hand seal and pushed it outwards with a powerful force.
The long-awaited Thousand Transformations of the Nether Lotus Array exploded, and the chaotic spiritual energy swept across the surrounding areas with a storm that directly attacked the soul.
The dark, fragrant mist that permeated the cave, which had been absorbed into the bodies of demons or entangled around them, now became the most deadly fuse.
Countless tiny, dark lotus shadows suddenly appeared, expanded, and exploded in the seven orifices of the demons.
"Whoosh—Boom!"
It was as if a thunderbolt had exploded from the ground, causing the entire Black Wind Mountain to shake violently.
The mountain rocks cracked and the rock walls collapsed, and the thick, dark lotus stem that ran through the mountain's belly suddenly burst open from its core.
The raging spiritual energy, freed from the constraints of the formation, instantly transformed into a visible shockwave, carrying with it fragments of stone, bone, and flesh, spreading wildly outward in a ring.
The cave ceiling could no longer hold. Large swathes of stalactites rained down, and then the entire mountain began to collapse from the inside.
Smoke and dust billowed into the sky, mixing with the lingering dark fragrance and scarlet blood aura, forming a huge gray-red mushroom cloud that churned and refused to disperse.
The explosion sent shockwaves through the air, and smoke and dust filled the eyes.
Xu Changqing knew that if he didn't kill the Black Wind King in the chaos, he would be the one to die once the Black Wind King recovered. Instead of retreating, he advanced, breaking through the swirling dust, his robes fluttering, and focused solely on killing the Black Wind King amidst the myriad demons.
A glint of purple light flickered deep within his eyes. In his vision, all things in heaven and earth were shrouded in a faint grayish-white aura. And on the Black Wind King's massive body, several deep red cracks slowly disappeared.
These shattered machines moved slowly, appearing and disappearing as if they were alive. Once they caught their breath and their demonic power stabilized again, these cracks would close on their own.
The cave ceiling was still collapsing, and a few rays of sunlight, mixed with smoke and dust, pierced through, illuminating the figure of the giant bear.
Black Wind King slowly rose from beneath a pile of collapsed boulders. His rough leather armor was completely shattered, revealing his magnificent body covered in wounds and scorch marks.
The wound on his head, pierced by the white bone jade hairpin, was so deep that the flesh was torn open and the bone was visible. Dark red blood mixed with some grayish-white substances flowed slowly, while granulation tissue was growing wildly on the wound. The death energy in his body appeared and disappeared as he recovered.
The rage and hatred within the giant eye almost solidified into a tangible form.
Its Black Wind Cave, built with countless efforts, its horde of demons gathered for a grand battle, its ambition to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage and dominate the region...
Everything was completely destroyed by this seemingly gentle and otherworldly Taoist priest.
"Xu Ming! You have ruined my path... destroyed my foundation... I... will devour every inch of your bones and suck every drop of your blood dry."
Upon seeing Xu Changqing, the chaotic and frenzied Black Wind charged forward recklessly, its roar carrying a foul stench. It slammed its palms into the ground, causing rocks to shatter. A visible black shockwave exploded outwards in a ring, crushing the surrounding boulders into dust.
This is Black Wind's famous Earth-Splitting Palm, now unleashed in fury, making it even more powerful than before.