Beheading

Three sentences scared away the commander of the Grand Tutor Manor, and he even transferred a hundred million to him... cough cough! Probably not.

In short, Zhang Chongyang was frightened away by the mutiny in Zhen Country, so Li Fan no longer needed to worry about anyone spying or interfering. He began to carefully examine the clues around the explosion site in Rouge Pool.

Speaking of which, he had visited the Yanzhi River when he was strolling on the pleasure boats, and he had also seen it once in Du Xia's illusion. But now, everything had changed. The once bustling Flower Harbor Wharf and the brightly lit red buildings and green tiles on both banks had vanished like smoke overnight. The banks were barren, and the river embankment had been blasted flat. It was truly a weapon of mass destruction.

What the hell is this thing? The Immortal Realm's cloud-burst bombs are being thrown around like crazy...

Scan complete, environment analysis in progress, database matching, matching complete.

'A High Energy Density Explosive made of Homoleptic Polynitrogen Ion Material'

What did you say? Speak like a human being.

'A high-energy explosive prepared from a homogeneous mixture of nitrogen pentions, probably a metallic nitrogen bomb. Oh, you might not know metallic nitrogen, so just think of it as a detonator.'

'Of course, it's much smaller than a detonator. Including the remote detonation device, storage equipment, and anti-detection casing, I estimate it's at most the size of a capsule.'

"It seems you've come into contact with other people. Don't worry, this kind of civilian equipment and guerrilla style probably belong to the weaker side, the system forces supporting the cult behind the scenes."

Yeah, they have even fewer manpower and resources. I'm guessing this apostle is here to run a cult faction quest. He's even using homemade bombs, so he's probably pretty weak. He wouldn't be able to kill you even if you ran into him... maybe.

... No way, half the city was blown up and you're telling me it was civilian equipment? Improvised explosive devices??

'It's civilian solid fuel, commonly used by miners, planetary farmers, and mercenaries. Besides being used for sub-light-speed flight, it can also be used to blast asteroid veins, synthesize fertilizer, and control pests. The formula is quite simple; any industrial ship can prepare it.'

Simple... how about giving him a dozen of these simple things?

"Why didn't you get it? What can we do if you can't draw it? Relax, we're just recruiting you as an agent, not forcing you to fight the enemy's apostles. If things get bad, just run."

"But it really is time to go. With that Beast's Child ahead, the deviation value near Xingye City has already exceeded the limit. They'll send people over sooner or later. Once we're done, leave quickly and don't linger around. Go back to Ink Bamboo Mountain and hide. Also, I'm going to use this opportunity to upload the Heavenly Book to an encrypted channel during my recent trip to Void Abyss."

... So now there's a 'fellow villager' from Xun Kingdom who just threw a homemade bomb for a faction quest...? Perhaps in the eyes of these apostles, everyone in this world is practically a 'pest'...

No, Li Fan didn't have any such "fellow villagers." In any case, he had never even heard of any metal nitrogen clay bomb. If he had the chance, he really wanted to use a Sword Light to kill this madman who had no bottom line. Unfortunately, there were just too many madmen with no bottom line these days, and he simply couldn't kill them all.

Moreover, Li Fan knew that the apostle lurking in the cult was also well aware of the power of the earth-based bomb and had probably already left the vicinity of Xingye City. He didn't have time to waste now, so he decided to settle this score later and flew out of the city on his flying sword to ensure the Beast's Child was killed.

Judging from the blood, flesh, and scales left behind by the Beast's Child, it fled wildly despite being attacked, without lingering in battle. It first fled west, then encountered an ambush and was forced to flee south. It then repeatedly jumped between the southeast and southwest directions, but it was clearly heading towards the South China Sea.

You know what, you can't say those eleven Divine Transformation cultivators didn't go all out; they were clearly killing them, practically slicing the Dragon God into pieces. The path was littered with severed claws, heads, and shattered flesh. If you didn't know better, you'd think they were chasing a ten-headed, eight-legged, thousand-foot-long centipede! If you count the blood and flesh, they probably killed seven or eight of them, yet they still couldn't kill that Beast's Child— can you believe it!

This Non-Thing vitality is simply outrageous. Although it can't withstand the onslaught of magical treasures and spells, it can regenerate infinitely? What kind of Transformation Stage demon possesses such vitality!

But thinking about it, it makes sense. When the Beichen Sword Sect set up their sword formation to exterminate the demon, they only managed to send Youquan back to the Void Abyss to hide. Now, this Beast's Child is gritting his teeth and trying to save his life. The eleven Divine Transformation didn't have any prior preparations, and they're not even from the same faction. They'll definitely have to be wary of each other. If they don't dare to use their ultimate moves and do their best, I'm afraid they might not be able to capture or kill the other party.

After chasing for a while, Li Fan realized the situation might be worse; the pursuers had probably started attacking each other. Perhaps seeing the Beast's Child was near death, they were scrambling for the 'opportunity'. Sigh, such a traditional skill of the Central Plains: working together to drive out the enemy, then turning on each other... Please, make sure the Beast's Child is dead before you start fighting amongst yourselves...

Then, the thing Li Fan feared most actually happened. He chased after them for a long time, but in the end, he didn't catch up with the Beast's Child. Instead, he caught up with the six Divine Lords of Luo Feng!

Of course, it wasn't that the six divine lords of Luofeng Mountain didn't want to continue the pursuit, but rather that they couldn't. In the distance, four Divine Transformation cultivators released divine light to form an array, forcing them to descend from the clouds and confront each other.

Li Fan used his blind eyes to investigate from afar and discovered that among the four people opposite him, the leading old general was none other than General of Pacifying the East, who had come from the east to encircle the Beast's Child and was responsible for guarding Jiujiang Prefecture. Li Fan had also sensed the Divine Sense fluctuations of the other three Divine Transformation cultivators; they were likely cultivators who had originally guarded Xingye City. These four were probably the heads of the four major clans. Combining Zhang Chongyang's statement that Prince of Lu's Crown Prince, supported by the clans, had won the struggle between the two palaces.

Well, the Beast's Child wasn't caught, and now your old grudges with the four great clans have reignited. The four spirit officials from the Immortal Palace aren't here; they're probably still hunting down the Beast's Child, who's at his wit's end.

With so many Divine Transformation cultivators locked in a standoff, a major battle was imminent. Li Fan had no choice but to take a long detour and continue the pursuit.

He now had a very bad feeling. The infighting among the Three Great Sects was too fierce. If they really let the Beast's Child, it would be a disaster with endless consequences. If it were to escape and join forces with those demons overseas, in a few years, it might not just be one or two Dao Ancestors at the Enlightenment level invading!

They chased him all the way to the seaside and finally found Li Fan.

Relying on the range of his blind Divine Sense, he was able to confirm from afar that the four Divine Transformation Officials of the Immortal Palace had already set up a magic array to capture the true form of the Beast's Child.

No wonder they kept Luo Feng's people outside. The Beast's Child, after being beaten all the way, was almost at his limit. Now he was just a head, his body wouldn't grow back, and he was being ganged up on by the four spirit officials, punched and kicked like a ball...

The four spirit officials also revealed their Dharma forms, surrounding the Beast's Child in the formation and beating it mercilessly until it was a bloody mess and could barely maintain its form. It seems that they realized the Beast's Child could regenerate and was difficult to deal with, so they didn't give it a chance to recover and beat it to death. Once its evil energy, cultivation, and essence were all exhausted, they would seal it away.

You know what, this brute-force approach, though crude, seems to be quite effective.

It was probably to allow the Three Enclosures to seal the Demon God that the remaining Nascent Divine Transformation cultivators of the Xun Kingdom blocked the Luo Feng Palace from the outside for defense, and the Luo Feng cultivators did not kill them. Moreover, in addition to the four spirit officials personally rolling up their sleeves and beating the Demon God, there were also Divine Transformation treasures and Divine Beast beasts guarding the area to prevent anyone from sneaking in from the outside and letting the Beast's Child escape from the formation.

Therefore, Li Fan could only watch from afar and could not get too close.

But it seems like there shouldn't be too much of a problem now, right? Although the local natives probably don't have the same means as his Crimson Eyes to fundamentally deal with Non-Things, if they can break it into pieces and seal it away, this demon god won't be able to cause any trouble for tens of thousands of years. We can collect the scraps of flesh along the way later; the problem of the Beast's Child should be solved, right?

Li Fan breathed a sigh of relief, and after the Sword Light fell to the ground, he found a hilltop to sit down and catch his breath.

He was exhausted from running around using his sword-fighting technique. Once he personally witnessed the spirit officials deal with the Beast's Child, the events in Xun Kingdom would be over. Then he could find a place to Moon Worship and recover his cultivation...

However, to Li Fan's surprise, he was probably truly cursed, because before he could even catch his breath, the situation took a dramatic turn for the worse!

Guess who's here this time.

Yes, you guessed right.

It's the Nangong Family...

"Ugh... why are you guys everywhere? It's so annoying..." Li Fan covered his face, decisively put on the Returning to Gui Xu Dao Yi, and hid by escaping into the ground and becoming invisible.

At this moment, a large group of Nangong generals had arrived. Nascent Soul stage generals rode Vermilion Bird and Fire Phoenix in front, followed by fragrant carriages and precious chariots. Not only did the carriages exude the Divine Transformation of a Celestial King or Celestial Queen, but they also brought tens of thousands of Celestial soldiers, stirring up fiery clouds that stretched across the sky, as they came together from the South Sea.

In an instant, the army unleashed a rain of fire from the sky, approaching the magic array set up by the four spirit officials. They were beginning to encircle and surround the enemy, forcing the other side to temporarily halt their attack and turn to see what these people were up to at this time.

"Why does the General Zhenxi not go to Kun Country to send reinforcements, but instead come to Xun Kingdom?"

Unfortunately, the Nangong Family has never disappointed Li Fan when it comes to doing bad things.

A haughty, arrogant, and unapproachable female voice came from the sedan chair, saying, "Greetings, four spirit officials. My general has suddenly caught a cold and is feeling unwell, lacking a medicinal ingredient. This Devil Embryo is just right; why don't you grant us the Three Enclosures?"

The spirit officials were speechless. They had chased this Beast's Child for a long time, enduring its malevolent aura and beating it for half a day. They were exhausted and just about to capture it when the Nangong Family suddenly appeared to steal the Devil Embryo as a medicinal ingredient. Weren't they afraid of dying from eating this stuff?!

Even more shameless was that the Nangong Immortal Army did not sit idle at all. They immediately began to use several Vermilion Birds as vanguards to circle around the sealing magic array of the four spirit officials, creating a sky full of fire nets. Then, the immortal army used Divine Beast to pull eighteen copper pillars and drive them into the ground like piles on the outer perimeter, starting to set up the Qi-Shen-Fire Array!

Holy crap, people in this world are truly shameless...

Seeing this, Li Fan knew things weren't going to end well, and he figured another fight was imminent. He quickly stuffed a handful of pills into his mouth to catch his breath. He didn't have time to waste on these troublemaking clowns from the Nangong Family. He knew the Beast's Child bound to escape, so he immediately focused his attention on its head, determined not to let it get away!

As expected, the four spirit officials also temporarily stopped. Of course, they couldn't just sit idly by and watch the Nangong Family trap them in a fire formation. So they exchanged glances and discussed the matter, then split into two groups. One group continued to suppress the Beast's Child, while two others broke free from the formation to deal with the Immortal King Nangong and Nangong Immortal Queen first.

The two leaders of the Nangong Family also transformed into a pair of phoenixes and flew out of the precious carriage. It was about to collide with the light of the two spirit officials and have a great battle!

However, at that moment, another divine light descended, and it was General of Pacifying the East Lu Yi the east.

Upon seeing the arrival of reinforcements, Lingguan was overjoyed. "General of Pacifying the East, let us join forces to defeat these traitorous convicts of Nangong."

Lu Yi nodded, "Okay!"

So the two spirit officers waved their hands, one holding a knife and the other a spear, ready to charge straight into battle!

But at that moment! Lu Yi thrust out his sword, piercing straight into the back of a spirit official!

From Lu Yi's divine light, another golden figure flashed out. It turned out to be a Divine Transformation cultivator who transformed into Sword Light and hid behind him. With a thrust of the Sword Light, as fast as lightning, it directly blinded the other Spirit Official!

Yuepo exclaimed in shock, "How is this possible! The Sun Sword Technique! It's Brother Yan's swordsmanship!"

Li Fan clenched his fists, his teeth grinding together. Just as he suspected! He had seen this sword technique before! It was the sword technique used by the light and shadow summoned by Madam Yan, the Nine-Tailed Fox, when she played the zither!

What's going on! Could it be that Brother Yan is still alive? Or has someone from the Nangong Family or Lu Family inherited his swordsmanship?

But at this moment, the situation completely collapsed! The two spirit officials were attacked from both sides by Lu Yi, the sword cultivator of the Sun Sword Technique, and the four Nascent Divine Transformation of the Nangong Family, and were also ambushed, and were immediately seriously injured!

The other two spirit officials had no time to care about the Devil Embryo! They immediately roared and rushed forward to join the battle! They rescued their comrades and fought alongside Nangong and the other four Divine Transformation cultivators!

The Nascent Soul Stage generals of the Nangong Family also charged forward with the Vermilion Bird, unleashing Samadhi Divine Fire as they led their army to prioritize the attack on the Four Spirit Officials and their Divine Beast. It was clear that the Devil Seed Medicine was just a decoy, and their true target from the beginning was them!

Although he utterly despised these despicable scoundrels, Li Fan could only grit his teeth and burrow underground to escape! His blind eyes were fixed on the Beast's Child's head! That guy had indeed seized the opportunity to flee! No way he could get away!

All that could be seen was the Beast's Child's remaining head. One second it was playing dead and being beaten like a punching bag, and the next second it stretched out anemone-like tentacles and pseudo-legs from its chin and frantically crawled away!

Although the Nangong Family's celestial army frantically unleashed array formations, talismans, and magical artifacts in an attempt to stop the beast's head, the Beast's Child was fighting desperately. Knowing this was its last chance of survival, despite its severely weakened state and inability to regenerate its body, it stubbornly withstood the relentless bombardment, relying on its head's invulnerability to blades and spears! It displayed near-mad mobility! Crawling and rolling, soaring through the air and plunging into the earth, overturning rivers and seas, it managed to break free from the encirclement of the Nangong Family's army!

What a bunch of useless trash! Tens of thousands of people surrounded them and they couldn't even catch a single head!

Li Fan could only grit his teeth and burrow underground. In the sky, three Nascent Soul Stage generals from the Nangong Family rode a Vermilion Bird, relentlessly chasing after the Beast's Child's head!

The four of them chased after the head, and it seemed they were about to reach the South China Sea!

No way! Those people above are clearly not in a hurry. They only need to track the head's whereabouts. Once the Immortal King and Empress of the Nangong Family have dealt with the Four Spirit Officials, they will naturally come to capture the Beast's Child. Time is on their side. If this drags on any longer, Li Fan will run out of breath. He can't handle the entire Nangong family! Besides, he already ran a marathon around the Xun Kingdom without stopping, and he really can't run anymore!

Go for it! Moon Soul! Use the Taiyin Sword Art!

Yuepo was shocked. "Isn't it too risky of you to act now? What if those three in the sky..."

Enough talk! Exorcising demons is the priority! Taiyin Sword Art!

Li Fan emerged from the ground, pointed his hand, and spat out a bolt of sword lightning! Silver light flashed! Thunder shook the heavens! The bright light turned the world black and white for a moment, and then struck the head of the charging beast in front of him with a bang, shattering its skull with a single sword strike!

"Aaaaaah--! I'm not reconciled..."

"Stop talking nonsense and die!!" Li Fan lunged forward, using all his strength to pry open the crack in the top of the Beast's Child's furnace with his hands. A rainbow line shot out from his Crimson Eyes between his brows, directly illuminating the Beast's Child's brain!

"Awooooooooo--!"

"Hahaha, all the kills are mine!"

After a burst of sparks and lightning, the grilling process was complete.

The Beast's Child's head exploded.

'Li Fan kills the Beast's Child...'

"Blazing Sky Soar! Fiery Phoenix Divine Spear!"

Although the three Nascent Soul General from the Nangong Family were startled by the sword immortal who suddenly jumped out and used the Taiyin Sword Art to slay the demon, they quickly recovered and, without saying a word, decisively launched a joint attack on this bastard who stole their kill!

The tips of the three men's spears erupted in flames, coalescing into a massive fire phoenix that hurtled straight at Li Fan's back! The crimson flames exploded, instantly engulfing him!

Moon Soul, "Pharmacist!!"

The instant Li Fan was engulfed in flames, the figure within the flames split into seven clones! They surged upwards, baring their fangs and claws, and lunged straight at the three divine generals of the Nangong Family!

With a sharp cry, the Vermilion Bird swept away the four clones with a single flap of its wings!

The Moon Soul roared, "You beast!"

A flash of light, and the Sword Light struck, cleaving open the Vermilion Bird's intestines!

The Moon Soul Sword had exhausted its power, and the Divine Beast dodged quickly. It let out a mournful cry but did not die immediately. Before anyone knew what kind of innate technique it used, it suddenly transformed into a fiery cloud and swept towards the horizon, actually escaping on its own!

The three generals were thrown off without warning. In their shock, the two generals on the flanks managed to regain their footing, but the cavalry general riding the Vermilion Bird was a step too slow. He was actually pounced on by Li Fan's remaining three clones, who grabbed his hands and feet and tore him into four pieces with a sudden burst of strength!

The other two, startled and enraged, retaliated, wildly thrusting their spears at each other!

One of them unleashed a raging sea of fire to block the clone, then turned to run, only to be sliced in two by two Sword Light, Golden Dragon White Star, descending from the sky!

Another one launched a counterattack with a fiery dragon and phoenix, and then fired two more shots to destroy one of the clones. Just as he was about to fight the other one to the death, a figure suddenly appeared behind him and punched him through the abdomen and chest, smashing him into the sea!

Even Yuepo was shocked. "Pharmacist! You actually have such a strange trick up your sleeve! Why didn't you use it sooner! Quick! Chase after that hairy beast and kill it!"

"I've already been knocked down to the second stage! And they still come at me!" Li Fan wiped his face; damn it, blood was flowing from all seven orifices! He couldn't take it anymore, he really couldn't take it anymore. "Time to get out of here!"

So Li Fan swallowed back the Moon Soul, summoned back the Golden Dragon White Star, grabbed the Beast's Child's bursting skull, and then twisted his body to transform into the Gonggong Dao Body, diving into the deep sea to escape.