Mountain Cave?
When he saw the Mountain Cave, Master Zhong's eyes lit up. Clutching the little dagger, he swiftly leaped toward it.
The entrance was tall enough for a person, and the stones on all four walls seemed to have been polished smooth. It was a stone cave. Although it looked utterly ordinary, Master Zhong unexpectedly saw countless miasmas unable to draw near the cave.
The miasmas couldn't approach? It was as though some force was constantly resisting the miasma outside.
Seeing this, Master Zhong's heart sank. Should he go in?
There might be something good inside, but there might just as well be disaster. If it was the lair of a vicious beast, entering would mean certain death. If it was an empty cave, there might be something good inside. However, the bang from earlier showed that there was definitely something alive within.
He was only at the Innate Stage, and the weakest kind at that. The chances of dying if he entered were even greater. In that case, he couldn't go in. He would return later, once he had the power to protect himself.
After thinking everything through, Master Zhong resolutely prepared to leave.
"Fiend God, what are you doing?" A furious shout suddenly came from inside the cave.
Master Zhong halted, tightened his grip on the dagger, activated the Turtle Breath Technique, and listened carefully.
"What am I doing? The Shining Sun Sword suppresses this Nether Spring. Today, when it is taken out, only one person can obtain it. Of the five of us, naturally four must die," said an incomparably ferocious voice.
"Without us, you can't take it out either. Only by combining the strength of the five of us can it be pulled free. Otherwise, the moment you slacken, you will surely be devoured by the Nether Spring's yin energy, reduced to tribulation ash, and doomed for all eternity. Do you want us all to die together?" the earlier voice shouted angrily.
"Die? Hahaha! Do you know why I, Fiend God, bear the name Fiend God? You four can die. Wouldn't that simply multiply my strength fivefold? Although I'll be weak for a while, the Shining Sun Sword will be mine from this point onward. Hahaha." Fiend God laughed.
"No~~~~~"...
Three of them cried out in unwillingness.
"Person outside, come save me quickly. I'll give you everything," one of them suddenly shouted from inside.
"Hmph." Fiend God let out an angry snort, and the voice inside abruptly fell silent.
Master Zhong glanced around, cold sweat pouring down his body. Had he been discovered again?
If even one of the four could detect him, then Fiend God certainly could as well. If he simply left like this, there would be no peaceful days ahead.
That person had discovered him and was still asking him to help? With his meager cultivation, how could he save anyone? And why hadn't Fiend God charged out?
Master Zhong rapidly weighed the pros and cons. Should he flee, or go inside?
If he fled, Master Zhong believed the Fiend God inside was certainly no ordinary figure. He wouldn't make it back to the Kaiyang Sect before being caught. The fact that Fiend God had not come out clearly meant that something inside was restraining him.
After swiftly judging the advantages and disadvantages, Master Zhong gripped the little dagger and quickly stepped inside.
The interior was a space resembling a great hall. In one corner, a fist-sized Night-Luminescent Pearl illuminated the place brilliantly.
The other four were nowhere to be seen. There was only a man in black robes. With both arms stretched straight out, he stood there motionless like a zombie. Faint Black Qi rose from his body, as though he were circulating his power.
The Nether Spring? The Shining Sun Sword? Where were they? The ground below was completely flat. And where were the other four? Could it be that this man in black robes had deliberately lured him inside?
At this thought, Master Zhong's heart jolted. He tightened his grip on the dagger and grew tense.
"Boy, leave now and I can let bygones be bygones. Scram," said the man in black robes.
Fiend God. This man was Fiend God. He wanted Master Zhong to leave? If it had been some inexperienced fool, upon hearing those words, he would have run as far away as possible. But who was Master Zhong? How could a single sentence throw him into disarray?
Fiend God—he was Fiend God. Then the other four truly had died. As for how they had died and where their corpses had gone, Master Zhong didn't know. He only knew that Fiend God was certainly at a critical juncture and unable to move.
Scram? If he left, then he would truly be dead. Once Fiend God overcame this crisis, it would be his death date.
He hadn't spared his four companions. Would he spare Master Zhong?
Thoughts flashed rapidly through his mind, and Master Zhong made his decision in an instant. Strike while you're sick, and take your life.
Master Zhong poured the greatest amount of true qi he could into the dagger in his hand. From a distance, he swiftly hurled it at Fiend God.
Master Zhong was an Innate cultivator, after all, and the force behind the throw was terrifying. Combined with the dagger's sharpness, even a block of iron or stone would have been pierced by the thrown blade.
"BOOM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
With a tremendous crash, the dagger struck Fiend God's throat. Yet it merely left behind a red mark before bouncing back.
Master Zhong caught the dagger in terror and swallowed. A red mark? Such an attack had only left a red mark? Was this man forged from iron? No, even iron wouldn't have been this outrageous.
Fiend God's eyes bulged wide as he glared viciously at Master Zhong. A trace of disdain and a trace of fury flashed in his eyes. Yet his posture remained utterly motionless.
Seeing Fiend God's gaze, Master Zhong's conviction grew firmer. If he didn't kill him now, then he would be the one dying in the future.
He couldn't move?
Master Zhong boldly walked behind him. Gripping the dagger, he stabbed Fiend God several times with all his strength.
"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"...
It had no effect whatsoever—not the slightest effect. At the same time, Fiend God burned with even greater fury. Blood vessels now showed in his eyes, and a thread of cold sweat slid down his forehead, but he still remained motionless.
Master Zhong didn't dare go around to his front. Instead, he kept stabbing him from behind. Yet not once did he pierce Fiend God's skin. The more this happened, the more determined Master Zhong became to stab him to death. Otherwise, the consequences would be endless.
"Boy, you're dead meat," Fiend God said harshly. The dignified Fiend God of the demonic path had actually—actually been humiliated to this extent.
After thinking it over, Master Zhong determined that Fiend God's body was absolutely impervious to weapons. Since he couldn't pierce it, what should he do? A weak point? A hole? What openings did he have? His mouth? Eyes? Ears? Nostrils? Or the rear?
After considering it, Master Zhong finally made a decision. It was somewhat vulgar, but life was the most precious thing.
Looking at Fiend God's buttocks, he aimed at the center and, with all his strength, fiercely thrust the dagger forward.
"Squelch~~~~~"
With a muffled sound, Fiend God's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, the muscles around his mouth involuntarily twitching twice, and the strength in his hands suddenly slackened.
"Bang~~~~~"
Master Zhong saw a mass of Black Qi appear before Fiend God's palms. It was an intensely black Black Qi, and it suddenly seemed to take solid form as it surged toward Fiend God's hands.
"No~~~~~~~~~~" Fiend God cried out in terror.
At the same time, Master Zhong didn't even have time to pull out the dagger before hastily retreating.
"Whoosh~~~~~" The Black Qi entered his body and instantly shot through Fiend God's entire form.
Fiend God revealed only a trace of regret before dying. In the blink of an eye, his body seemed to turn into countless fragments, vanishing into thin air.
Master Zhong stood pressed against the wall, staring at the scene in terror. He was dead? Gone? Had the other four died the same way?
Fiend God had died, disintegrating into black smoke that dispersed. Even the dagger embedded in him had vanished, likewise turning into smoke. Where Fiend God had stood, only a piece of black cloth remained.
The Nether Spring? Devoured by yin energy? Master Zhong stared at the scene in terror. It was too frightening. Such a powerful body had been reduced to nothing after just one assault from the yin energy? Even his dagger had been turned to tribulation ash?
The Mountain Cave had become empty. A generation's Fiend God had calculated everything, yet perhaps he had never imagined that he would die such a pathetic death.
Looking at the black cloth on the ground, the cold sweat on Master Zhong's head had not yet dried. The yin energy was gone? Everyone was dead, and the Shining Sun Sword had not been taken out. That black cloth could actually withstand the yin energy. What kind of material was it? It had to be a treasure.
Should he take it?
In the end, Master Zhong still went outside and gathered some branches. He tossed them at the black cloth several times, and only after seeing that nothing happened did he dare pick it up. Like the Red Phoenix Heavenly Scripture, its surface was densely covered with tiny golden characters.
"Heavenly Devil Body Tempering Great Technique"
P.S. During the ranking campaign, I humbly ask everyone for recommendation votes and collections.