Chapter 671 - 270: Mysterious (Part 2)
Each time a name was called out, someone in the crowd would look crestfallen.
Most of the names were not unfamiliar to Chen Qing. They belonged to faces he had often seen while cultivating on Xu Wang Mountain. While they hadn’t been close, he recognized them.
He even remembered one of them clearly. When Chen Qing had just become a True Successor Candidate, the man had come to congratulate him along with other disciples, even bringing a gift.
Deng Ziheng nodded slightly, his expression placid. A veteran of the Jianghu like him had weathered too many storms. While not numb to life and death, he had long learned to face it with composure and not wallow in grief.
Chen Qing took a deep breath. "The injured disciples should meditate and recover as quickly as possible. We can’t stay here long. There’s no telling if the Demon Sect has other plans in store. We must leave immediately and head for Dongji City."
He Shuang, Luo Qianjue, and the others answered in unison, "Yes!"
Afterward, the group began to clean up the battlefield and tally their rewards from the fight.
Chen Qing carefully replayed the battle in his mind, taking stock of the Demon Sect members he had killed.
’By my count, I killed one person at Late-stage Astral Force, two at Mid-stage Astral Force, and three at Astral Force Perfection.’
Chen Qing calculated inwardly, ’The Contribution Points total... nine thousand one hundred!’
The Contribution Points he earned in this single battle were almost equivalent to half a year’s worth of his monthly stipend.
No wonder the Sect used this system to motivate its disciples to fight the Demon Sect.
The other surviving disciples also began to calculate their own kills. Although their totals were far less than Chen Qing’s, the rewards for killing an enemy of the same Realm—or even one Realm higher—were generous enough to be exchanged for a considerable amount of Cultivation Resources.
Amidst their sorrow, many couldn’t help but feel a flicker of excitement.
Risk and opportunity went hand in hand. Fighting the Demon Sect meant death and injury, but the rewards were truly astounding.
At Elder Deng Ziheng’s urging, the group hastily dealt with their companions’ bodies, took Elixirs to briefly meditate and recover, then set off once more, speeding toward Dongji City.
.....
Mo He, holding on by a thread, had used the Ten Thousand Transformations Blood Escape to flee for an unknown distance. Finally, his strength gave out, and he plummeted into a deep, desolate mountain ravine.
He snapped several dead branches as he tumbled down onto the scree-covered bank of a stream. Countless bones in his body felt shattered, and the excruciating pain radiating from his Sea of Qi nearly caused him to pass out.
Trembling, he fumbled inside his robes for a Jade Bottle and tipped out an Elixir.
This was a secret Elixir of the Demon Sect, capable of forcibly stimulating one’s life potential to stabilize injuries in a short amount of time.
"I never thought the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect would be so treacherous, sending that old dog Deng Ziheng to secretly act as a guardian... A grave miscalculation! Dammit!"
Mo He took a deep breath. If he hadn’t decisively burned his Essence Blood at the last moment, he would have been utterly destroyed by that Mountain and River Seal.
He didn’t dare hesitate, swallowing the Elixir in one gulp. A scorching, domineering medicinal power instantly spread through him, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his vital energy and blood and holding his shattered meridians together, which temporarily restored a sliver of his mobility.
He had just caught his breath and was about to find a more concealed spot to recuperate when his brow suddenly furrowed. Though his Divine Sense was damaged, it still caught a faint aura.
"Who is it? Show yourself!" Mo He snarled, mustering what little strength he had.
"There’s no need to be alarmed, Elder Mo. It’s me."
Following the calm voice, a figure in a loose black robe emerged from behind a massive boulder, moving like a phantom.
The newcomer was completely shrouded in the black robe, their face hidden in the deep shadows of a hood, and their aura was masterfully concealed.
"It’s you!"
Upon recognizing the visitor, Mo He didn’t relax. Instead, his heart seized, and his guard went up instantly.
Though this person was a recent addition to the True Essence Realm, he was profoundly cunning and highly valued by Grand Elder Sikong Hui. His sudden appearance here was no coincidence.
"Shouldn’t you be in the Soul-Breaking Forest, helping the Grand Elder ambush Ji Yunliang? What are you doing here?"
Mo He’s voice was hoarse as he secretly circulated the remnants of his True Essence—which the Elixir had barely managed to suppress—gathering his power, ready to act at a moment’s notice.
The black-robed figure tilted his head up slightly. "In response to your question, Elder Mo, I am here on the Grand Elder’s orders to provide support, just in case."
"The Grand Elder?"
Hearing that it was Sikong Hui’s arrangement, the tension in Mo He’s chest eased slightly. He nodded. "I see. The Grand Elder is always thorough. That Deng Ziheng from the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect certainly has some skill. I was careless for a moment and took a small loss, but I made sure he didn’t get off easy!"
"Go back and report to the Grand Elder for now. Tell him the target, Chen Qing, has a True Essence Realm expert secretly protecting him, so the plan was thwarted. I need to find a place to heal and will return afterward."
The black-robed figure was silent for a moment before speaking slowly, "In that case, take care, Elder Mo. I will return to report as ordered."
With that, he gave Elder Mo a slight bow, and then with a flicker of his body, he transformed into a wisp of black smoke and shot out of the ravine.
Watching the black figure vanish from sight, Mo He finally let out a long sigh of relief. The strength he had been mustering instantly abandoned him, and he broke into a violent coughing fit, black, bloody foam once again spilling from his lips.
He dared not linger. He struggled to his feet, knowing he had to leave this place immediately and find somewhere completely safe.
However, in that very instant when his Heart and Spirit were at their most unguarded!
Disaster struck!
The black figure shot out from the bushes to his side and rear with incredible speed!
Its target: directly at the back of Mo He’s heart!
The bone-chilling killing intent radiating from it was colder than the ravine’s stream!
"You!"
Terror seized Mo He. Heavily injured as he was, his reaction was more than a beat too slow!
In a desperate hurry, he only had time to wrench his body around and concentrate all his remaining True Essence at his back.
PFFT!
A hand, wreathed in black Demon Astral, tore through the True Essence Defense he had hastily thrown up as easily as a red-hot iron brand searing through paper, and slammed viciously into his back!
A savage, insidious Power instantly surged into his body, wildly ravaging his meridians and internal organs, which were already on the verge of collapse!
Mo He’s body convulsed. He was flung forward, landing heavily on the ground as blood gushed from his mouth and nose like a fountain.
He struggled to turn his head and looked at the black-robed figure approaching him once more, his eyes filled with incredulous fury.
"...You... How dare you?!"
He rasped, fragments of his internal organs mixed with blood spurting out with every word.
The black-robed figure walked slowly to stand over him, looking down. "It seems your injuries are far more severe than you let on, Elder Mo."
"You... dare to attack a fellow sect member... The Grand Elder... he won’t let you get away with this..."
Mo He’s gaze lost focus, his life force flickering like a candle in the wind.
"Fellow sect member?"
The black-robed figure seemed to let out a soft chuckle. "In this Holy Sect, it is the law of the jungle. Who isn’t just a resource for someone else? Your Cultivation has plummeted, and your position as an Elder is forfeit. Rather than letting someone else benefit, or being tortured to death by your old enemies, you might as well serve my purpose. Your Essence Blood and True Essence are exactly what I need to stabilize my Realm."
Before he had even finished speaking, the black-robed figure gave him no further chance. He crouched down, curled the fingers of his right hand into a claw, and pressed it directly onto the top of Mo He’s skull!
A terrifying suction force erupted from his palm!
"AHHH—!"
Mo He let out a bloodcurdling, inhuman shriek as his entire body began to convulse violently.
His already flagging life force began to drain away like a bursting dam, surging madly toward the black-robed figure’s palm.
At a speed visible to the naked eye, his wizened skin lost its final sheen, turning as dry and brittle as tree bark. The essence of his flesh and blood, along with what little remained of his Lifebound True Essence, was forcibly extracted and devoured.
Within a few breaths, Mo He’s horrifying screams came to an abrupt halt.
All that remained was a skeleton wrapped in tattered robes. All of his flesh, Essence Qi, and True Essence had been completely devoured—a truly gruesome and chilling sight.
The black-robed figure slowly retracted his hand, feeling the vast, surging True Essence within him. His body beneath the robe swelled slightly, and his aura began to fluctuate wildly.
He skillfully gathered any items that might reveal his identity, then with a flick of his finger, shot out a wisp of True Essence that pulverized them into dust, which then scattered on the wind.
Then, with a flicker, the black-robed figure transformed into a black shadow and melted silently into the vast mountain forest, as if he had never been there at all.
.....