The formidable Ten Thousand Year Black Tortoise Art

"Boom—!!!"

A deafening, earth-shattering roar!

The massive sludge tentacle slammed solidly onto Lu Chen's body—no, onto the thick, mountain-like Protective Qi enveloping his form!

The ground cracked on impact, spiderweb fissures spreading outward in all directions!

The bluestone slabs beneath Lu Chen's feet shattered into fragments, his entire body driven backward several chi by the immense force, plowing two deep furrows into the earth.

But he still stood!

His figure upright as a pine, the Hundred Refinements Saber in his hand steady as a boulder, without even a hint of trembling!

That layer of pitch-black Protective Qi merely caved inward by a hair's breadth, then completely neutralized and dissipated the terrifying power that could shatter stone and split rock!

"What?!"

The two Warriors inside the ancestral hall nearly popped their eyes out, mouths gaping wide enough to swallow a fist.

He... he actually tanked it?!

Even the blurred woman's face of the Vengeful Mother in the Well seemed to flicker with a trace of shock and fury.

"Woo—wooo—"

It let out that eerie, soul-piercing wail once more!

This time, the sound was more shrill, more venomous than any before!

An invisible spiritual shockwave swept forth like a tsunami, striking directly at the depths of one's soul!

The two Warriors hiding in the ancestral hall bore the brunt of it. Their heads felt as if struck by a heavy hammer; their vision went black, and they instantly clutched their skulls, rolling on the ground in agonized screams, blood seeping from their seven orifices.

Yet this soul-crushing cacophony, enough to shatter the minds of ordinary martial artists, fell on Lu Chen's ears like a gentle breeze brushing over a mountain ridge.

His mind, tempered by the Ten Thousand Year Black Tortoise Art, had long settled into a stillness like a ten-thousand-year-old frozen pool—an ancient well without ripples.

The spiritual impact crashed against his consciousness, only to meet a block of eternal ice, stirring a negligible ripple before being utterly dissolved and assimilated.

"Spiritual attacks... ineffective too?"

A cold smirk curled at the corner of Lu Chen's mouth.

This art was practically the bane of all crooked paths and evil ways!

After two failed assaults, the Vengeful Mother in the Well flew into a full rage!

Its massive body churned wildly as dozens of sludge tentacles erupted from within, blotting out the sky and covering the sun, writhing like a host of demons. They sealed off every escape route from all directions, forming a cage of death!

Lu Chen's eyes sharpened. He knew that pure defense would eventually drain him dry.

He had to strike back!

His gaze swept across the battlefield like lightning, finally locking onto the ruined well—the blasted wreckage.

He keenly sensed that the Water Sha energy of the entire town was flowing through some invisible channel, converging endlessly into that rubble, then pouring into the Vengeful Mother in the Well, fueling it with boundless power.

That was its root! Its lifeline!

"There!"

A decision crystallized in Lu Chen's mind.

He stopped defending passively. With a shift of his footwork, he pushed his Shadow Step, now at minor mastery, to its limit!

His figure instantly became elusive, like a wisp of smoke threading through a torrential rain. Amid the gaps between dozens of swinging tentacles, he dodged and weaved at impossible angles and speeds.

Every lethal pincer attack from the tentacles landed precisely on the afterimage he'd just left, smashing massive craters into the ground—yet they couldn't even graze his clothes.

"Light it!!!"

In the midst of his high-speed movement, Lu Chen's voice rang out like a thunderclap, clear and sharp into the ancestral hall.

The two Warriors, jolted awake by the shout, still splitting with pain but driven by survival instinct, forced themselves up. Trembling, they hurled their torches onto the mountain of corpses already drenched in Fire Oil!

"Boom—!!!"

Flames roared into the sky!

The entire pile of corpses, along with the square it occupied, instantly turned into a sea of blazing fire!

Hundreds of bodies writhed and shrieked in the inferno, green corpse-fire mingling with orange mortal flames, lighting up half the night sky as bright as day!

The scorching wave of heat made the Vengeful Mother in the Well falter for a moment.

Its body, condensed from Water Sha, bore a natural aversion and fear toward this supreme, blazing flame.

Its attention was drawn to the raging sea of fire, the woman's face twisting with fury and agony.

Now!

In that instant of distraction, Lu Chen seized the sole, fleeting opportunity!

He stopped weaving. Pouring all his inner energy into his legs, he transformed into a black arrow loosed from the bowstring.

He didn't charge at the Vengeful Mother in the Well's massive form. Instead, he skirted around it, racing at top speed straight toward the ruins of the ancient well!

The Vengeful Mother in the Well snapped back, letting out a piercing shriek, and immediately diverted several tentacles to guard its foundation.

But—too late!

Lu Chen's figure had already appeared atop the ruins like a ghost!

Beneath the shattered bluestone and filthy mud, a massive, heart-pulsing tumor—woven from countless strands of women's hair and dark green flesh—was deeply rooted in the earth's veins!

This was the true body of the Vengeful Mother in the Well!

"Found you!"

Murderous intent blazed in Lu Chen's eyes. Without a moment's hesitation, he gripped the hilt of the Hundred Refinements Saber with both hands and raised it high above his head!

The ultimate essence of the perfected Demon Suppressing Saber Technique, and the full force of the perfected Ten Thousand Year Black Tortoise Art—in that instant, all of it converged upon the blade!

He himself seemed to merge with the long saber in his hands, transforming into a divine axe that could split heaven and earth!

"Sever the root... NOW!!!"

He roared, and brought the saber down!

Puchi—!!!

The keen edge of the Hundred Refinements Saber, wrapped in an immensely heavy, pitch-black saber aura, carved unstoppably into that massive, pulsing heart of flesh!

Where the blade passed, every shred of flesh, hair, and sinew was shredded and annihilated by the overbearing Demon Suppressing Qi and the heavy Mystic Tortoise Internal Energy!

"AHHH—!!!!!"

A shriek unlike any human sound—filled with boundless venom and despair—erupted from that enormous liquid body!

The Vengeful Mother in the Well's colossal form, like mud stripped of its skeleton, began to twist, collapse, and dissolve in madness!

Before it completely disintegrated, its woman's face fixed its gaze on Lu Chen, eyes shooting forth a venom and resentment cold enough to freeze the soul.

At last, with a thunderous boom, it burst apart entirely, scattering into a foul, dark green rain that fell from the sky.

And the remaining Water Sha, still burning in the flames, lost all life the moment its host died, turning into charred, withered bones that crumbled to ash in the blaze.

Firelight soared into the sky, casting Lu Chen's silhouette in stark relief as he stood, saber in hand.

He stood atop the ruins of the ancient well, drenched in foul, rotting fluids, his chest heaving violently—but his eyes burned with a terrifying brightness.

Code
[Host has slain a Ranked Demon: Vengeful Mother in the Well. Obtained Demon Devil Lifespan: 360 years!]
[Detected host's direct kill of a high-rank demon. System is analyzing demon characteristics...]
[Congratulations, Host. From the Vengeful Mother in the Well's origin Killing Intent, you have comprehended a new trait—Water Sha Affinity (Beginner): Your resistance to water drag is slightly reduced, and you can faintly sense the flow of Killing Intent within water veins.]