Chapter 46 : Chapter 46
Chapter 46: They Take the Pill, I Take Their Lives
The night was silent.
One shadow after another sped toward the Eastern District of Peach Blossom Alley.
Lu Zhan lifted his head slightly. The moon hung in the sky like a round disk, and the bright moonlight draped him in a gauzy veil.
The trees on both sides rushed backward.
In the darkness, five pairs of eyes stared at him, killing intent surging.
“Boss, should we kill him now?”
One of them looked at Lu Zhan, his killing intent flaring.
“No rush. First, we take back what belongs to us from Sima Zheng.”
A trace of greed flashed through the boss’s eyes.
“But Boss, our mission tonight is to kill Lu Zhan, not to seize the Marrow Cleansing Pill.”
Under normal circumstances, he would never have dared to defy the boss, but tonight was different.
He was unwilling to let it go, because Lu Zhan had killed the goddess in his heart—Fei Lingyu.
Even letting Lu Zhan live for one more second made him uncomfortable.
“Idiot. This is a Marrow Cleansing Pill. How many years would the five of us have to sell our lives to the Five Poisons Sect to get even one?”
The other three thought about it and realized he was right.
Just one Marrow Cleansing Pill could completely remake a person.
So they all began to chime in.
“Exactly. Third Brother, let’s listen to Boss. Lu Zhan is still in his own jurisdiction. Even if a monk can run, the temple cannot. We can delay avenging Lingyu for a little while.”
“That’s right. We want the Marrow Cleansing Pill, and we’ll help you kill him too. To be honest, I brought Thousand-Layer Poison this time...”
Once he brought it up, the others started boasting as well.
“I brought Death’s End Powder...”
“I brought Thousand-Crowned Crane...”
“Hahaha! With so many poisons, that brat Lu Zhan is going to suffer badly. I can hardly imagine which poison he’ll die from.”
“Hmph. This is what happens when you provoke the Five Poisons Sect.”
“Fourth Brother, now that you mention it, I just thought of a fun idea. Later, why don’t we see whose poison kills Lu Zhan?”
“Good, good, good! Fifth Brother, that’s a fine idea. It’s been a long time since we, the Camel Bell Five Fiends, had such an exciting contest. We might as well use this chance to see whose poison is superior. Whoever loses moves himself down in the rankings from now on.”
“Fine, I agree!”
“I agree too!”
“What about you, Third Brother?”
Everyone spoke over one another, and it was obvious they all approved of the boss’s plan.
Seeing that, Third Brother had no choice. “I agree too! But brothers, I have one request...”
When the boss saw him give in, he nodded in satisfaction.
“We, the Camel Bell Five Fiends, have always advanced and retreated together, as close as real brothers. Third Brother, just say what you want. As long as it’s not excessive, I’ll agree to it on everyone’s behalf.”
“Thank you, Boss, and thank you, brothers. I only have one request. When you poison him later, don’t go too hard. Don’t kill Lu Zhan too quickly.”
He paused slightly, then ground his teeth. “I want to carve him into a thousand pieces and avenge Ling’er...”
His eyes were full of hatred.
The boss patted him on the shoulder in comfort.
“Third Brother, you’re still as devoted as ever...”
“All these years, the four of us have abducted at least a hundred women for you, haven’t we? We only wanted to help you forget her. But you did not take a single one of them. You only used their yin essence to nourish Fei Lingyu’s love parasite.”
“That just shows how deeply you loved her. Don’t worry. Lu Zhan killed the woman you loved, so we, the Camel Bell Five Fiends, absolutely will not let him off.”
“We grant your tiny request.”
“Let’s go. First, we take the Marrow Cleansing Pill.”
After the five vanished, Lu Zhan stared coldly in the direction they had left, killing intent surging.
“So it’s those vermin from the Five Poisons Sect again.”
They thought they were well hidden, but with the enhancement of the 【Absolute Poison Spirit Body】 talent, everyone from the Five Poisons Sect was radiating brilliant multicolored light.
Especially at night, they were practically like lamps.
“I didn’t expect them to pick up the scent and come too. Hmph. A few fish that slipped through the net. Now is the perfect time to wipe them all out in one sweep.”
“System, all in. Use all my Slaughter Points to deduce the Nine Heavens Breaking Fiend Art!”
Lu Zhan glanced at his Slaughter Points. There were probably only enough to raise him two or three minor realms, around the seventh or eighth layer of the Aperture Opening Realm.
Rather than increasing his cultivation, he might as well improve his saber art.
Although the Iron-Slaying Saber Art had already reached the Entering the Divine level, it was still only a peak Mortal Rank technique. The Nine Heavens Breaking Fiend Art was different. This was a genuine peak Spirit Rank martial art.
Above peak Mortal Rank came Spirit Rank lower grade and Spirit Rank middle grade.
Lu Zhan felt that improving a martial art offered the best value. Since he was already cheating, he might as well learn how to use the cheat properly.
【Ding! The Slaughter System is at your service wholeheartedly.】
【The host has consumed 1000 Slaughter Points to deduce the Nine Heavens Breaking Fiend Art.】
【No resources beneficial to cultivation have been detected.】
【Entering the Unceasing Cultivation State...】
【You have already mastered the Entering the Divine level Iron-Slaying Saber Art, and you think you can draw inferences from one example to another. But only after truly coming into contact with the Nine Heavens Breaking Fiend Art do you understand just how difficult a peak Spirit Rank martial art is to cultivate.】
【First, your physical body must be strong enough to match a lower-grade Spirit Weapon. Otherwise, the fierce force within the saber art will backlash against your own meridians. You are fortunate that you already meet this requirement.】
【Second, cultivating this saber art requires a special environment rich in fiend energy. So every night, you swing your saber a thousand times in a mass graveyard, absorbing moonlight and fusing it with fiend energy.】
【After one month, you finally grasp a little of the basics.】
Lu Zhan was somewhat surprised. The system seemed to have changed again.
A Spirit Rank martial art was indeed a Spirit Rank martial art. It had far more requirements than a Mortal Rank one, even demanding a special environment. It was quite particular.
...
【Continue consuming 1000 Slaughter Points to deduce.】
【After another month of bitter training, you master the basic movements of chopping, cleaving, lifting, and sweeping. By using the Spiritual Power in your meridians to stir the fiend energy around your body, and through day after day of tempering, you finally reach Beginner.】
【Only then do you realize that fiend energy is not truly fiendish, but murderous. The Nine Heavens Breaking Fiend Art uses fiend energy to connect with the killing intent in your heart. The stronger your killing intent, the denser the fiend energy, and the greater the power.】
【You feel that this martial art suits you extremely well. Your body and mind are filled with pleasure, and you gain a buff: cultivation speed increased by 50%.】
...
【Continue consuming 1000 Slaughter Points to deduce.】
【After reaching Beginner, you continue your bitter training without arrogance or impatience, yet you discover that your progress in the saber art is painfully slow. On a stormy night filled with wind and rain, you gain insight from watching the lightning, and suddenly realize that all this time, you have focused on the fiend while neglecting the meaning of the Nine Heavens.】
【As a result, you enter a state of enlightenment... Enlightening...】
【Your consciousness seems to merge into the thunderclouds above the Nine Heavens. Your saber intent draws down heavenly might, and a bolt of lightning illuminates your sea of consciousness. The true meaning of Breaking Fiends suddenly becomes clear to you.】
【Cultivation complete. Congratulations, Host. Nine Heavens Breaking Fiend Art has reached Minor Mastery (15%).】
In an instant, wave after wave of saber art experience poured into his mind. It was as though he saw thunderclouds churning above the Nine Heavens, and with one slash, even the fierce winds within the clouds were scattered.
At the same time, a faint soreness spread through his muscles.
Though only an instant had passed in the real world, Lu Zhan felt as though a full year had gone by.
But what concerned him most was the saber energy inside his body. If the original red saber energy had only been a trickling stream, then now it was like a surging river.
Its original red hue had also gradually darkened into a deep crimson.
He could even sense arcs of lightning jumping across that river of saber energy. The saber energy seemed even more overbearing and sharper than before.
Even Lu Zhan himself could feel the destructive power mixed into it.
Although this was only Minor Mastery, Lu Zhan felt it could leave the Mortal Rank Iron-Slaying Saber Art far behind.
Lu Zhan looked toward the boundary between Peach Blossom Alley and Duckweed Road.
Not far away came the sounds of Spiritual Power colliding, mixed with Sima Zheng’s furious shouts and a stranger’s bizarre laughter. There also seemed to be a faintly sweet, fishy scent lingering in the air.
It was very weak, but it was still caught by the 【Absolute Poison Spirit Body】.
“Mm, they’re fighting fiercely.”
“But while the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole waits behind.”
He had been out long enough. It was time to draw in the net. They wanted his Marrow Cleansing Pill, and he wanted their lives!
Yes, that was very fair!