The inner sanctum farther inside had clearly been devastated in a great battle, and it had yet to be repaired. The place had probably been swept up in the fighting when it was attacked two days ago. Banners and fragments of sword and knife-type spirit treasures still littered the ground, scattered everywhere like broken porcelain.
Master Yao surveyed the battlefield and nodded. "So that's what happened. There was quite a battle here. The magical treasures of Tiantai Mountain's demonic horde were smashed to pieces, which saves us a lot of trouble. But fighting with magical treasures at the Foundation Establishment Stage is still a bit much. With a battle this fierce, they must have exhausted themselves. That's bound to have damaged their souls. They didn't even get many proper treasures, and they're badly injured on top of that. They'll probably need a good long while to recover."
Li Fan looked at the many demonic monks' corpses in the ruins, some of which had already begun to stink. Three days had passed, and they hadn't even collected the remains of their own people? "At least getting rid of these fiends counts as a good thing."
Master Yao shook his head. "What fiends? They're nothing but clowns. Probably a bunch of grave robbers and martial artists who stole techniques, bandits who robbed and murdered, and wanted criminals. They don't care about the Dao at all. As long as someone's bold enough to join, they teach them some unorthodox sorcery and take them in. Just a gang of riffraff, a pack of hawks and hounds raised to do their bidding."
Master Yao glanced around the battlefield, then suddenly smiled and pointed with two fingers. "Look. This one might actually count as a fiend."
Before he had even finished speaking, he casually fired off a burst of Sword Qi. It was so fast the sword's shadow was impossible to see. A sharp bang rang out, like a pistol shot, and the shock wave bursting from his fingertips sent dust and broken tiles flying. Then, a heap of rubble nearby exploded, and a bald man with his shirt off tumbled out with a cry.
At first glance, the man looked like a rotting corpse. A vicious knife wound gaped across his chest, his guts spilled out onto the ground, and he was covered in blood, dust, and mud. He reeked to high heaven. But now he was clutching his chest and howling as he writhed on the ground. Clearly, he had been faking his death.
"He's at the Golden Core Stage. His Tortoise Breath, Soul-Sealing, and Hidden Radiance techniques are all quite good. Look at that—he even cut himself and hid among the corpses. Even Jiugao didn't spot him. Now this is what you call a ruthless, seasoned fiend!"
As Master Yao pointed out the ways of the martial world to Li Fan, he kept firing Sword Qi with his fingers. Bang, bang, bang, bang! He blew apart every joint in the bald monk's limbs. His soft bones and muscles burst into flying fragments, and the mighty Golden Core fiend could only writhe like a mudfish, screaming in agony.
Li Fan glanced at Yao Xuanzhou. He was standing beside them with his sleeves gathered, but he still hadn't finished off the writhing, wailing bald man. Li Fan understood what he meant. "Thank you for the guidance, Master Yao."
He lifted the Tiger-Eyed, White-Forehead Mace and strode toward the fake monk. Keeping his distance, he gave the man a careful once-over.
What, he'd gotten that burly from eating vegetarian? There was even a tattoo of a vicious tiger devouring a man across his shoulders and back. He must have been overfed—he looked like a fat tiger. And don't try to tell me he's an innocent man. What high monk meditated bare-chested in a woman's underwear? Was cross-dressing supposed to help with cultivation or something?
The debauched monk knew his time was up. Tears and snot streamed down his face as he howled and begged for mercy. "I-I beg you, Immortal Master, spare my life! I know I was wrong! I swear an oath to serve you as your slave for the rest of my life! I'll serve you and never betray you! Please, spare—"
Li Fan held both maces in his right hand and raised his left to stop the man's rambling. "What should I call you?"
"Huh? I—I'm... your humble servant... your lowly slave... G-Golden... Tiger..."
Li Fan sneered when the man couldn't even answer right away. "You can't even remember your own name! Is your reputation so foul that you're too ashamed to say it? And you still have the nerve to ask me to spare you? Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword!"
With a flick of his sleeve, Li Fan sent out two streams of Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword Qi, aiming them straight at the hole in the monk's chest that Yao Xuanzhou had opened with a single finger. The monk was a Golden Core fiend, after all. Even with his limbs broken, he gritted his teeth and roared, then arched his back and sprang sideways. He managed to dodge the twin sword dragons' attack and avoid being torn apart on the spot—but was drenched in lamp oil.
Huh? Lamp oil?
That was right. As he fired the Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword Qi with his left hand, Kun poked its head out of his sleeve and spat out the oil jar it had been holding in its mouth, just as they had practiced for their secret combo move. The sword gale carried the oil straight over. The fiend had dodged the lethal attack, but was drenched from head to toe. Li Fan had even come up with all sorts of variations based on the circumstances—chili powder, lime, smoke bombs—but they hadn't managed to practice those yet. The main problem was figuring out how to make Kun keep things in its mouth without swallowing them...
Anyway, while the man was drenched in lamp oil, Li Fan immediately reversed his left hand and fired five streaks of Crimson Fiend Sword Qi from his fingertips, aiming them at the monk.
The fiend screamed and tried to dodge again, but he hadn't expected Li Fan's Five Luo Sword Ghosts technique to let him control five streams of Sword Qi at once, weaving them back and forth. His hands and feet had been broken and were useless. Where could a lump of flesh like him possibly hide?
The Sword Qi pierced his skin and set his fat and the lamp oil alight. With a roar, he burst into blazing flames, crackling as black smoke and the stench of charred flesh rose into the air!
But Li Fan still didn't stop. After setting the monk ablaze, he gathered his left sleeve and fired another Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword. It boomed as it blew apart the man's chest. Then Li Fan fired another, piercing his belly. After two blasts of sword gale, the fiend fell to the ground and didn't move.
Li Fan still didn't approach. He stood nearby with both maces in hand and waited a while. Then, without warning, he charged forward and pounced, opening with a rising strike. He brought both maces crashing down on the monk's head, smashing the roasted, crispy-crusted monk's skull to pieces.
'Li Fan's mood increased by 1.'
Hmph. You thought you could play dead?
'Li Fan survived a killing tribulation and defeated Sugu Jietashi Ha.'
...That's his real name? Yeah, it's not easy to remember. Guess I did him wrong...
Ah, whatever. My hands are dirty! My heart's hardened! But I've gotten my revenge! That felt pretty good!
'Li Fan's mood cap increased by 100. Current mood: 150/300'
What... System! So killing tribulations were this beneficial? If you'd just told me sooner, I'd have risked my life jumping off the boat to steal some kills! I feel like I've missed out on another small fortune... I mean, it felt great, but somehow it didn't feel great enough...
Master Yao nodded again and again. "You're pretty cautious. That fiend didn't get a chance to ambush you at the end. But you personally took out a Golden Core cultivator, so you felt it too, right? Breaking through a killing tribulation lets you seize your opponent's fortune. But it only works against someone at least at your own level."
'The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says: This is basically like agreeing to put the rest of your lifespans on the line in a gamble. The winner takes all. If you can stomach it, you can slaughter your way across the battlefield and make rapid progress in the Dao.
'Take our Beichen Sword Sect, for example. We hold a small tournament every ten years and a grand tournament every hundred. That's how we forge sword immortals.
'Of course, heh heh, most mediocre disciples in other trash sects wouldn't dare take a risk unless they were at death's door.'
Got it. So you people really do go all in with your lives on the line...
Just then, the clouds in the sky suddenly rolled away in every direction, like curtains being drawn back to reveal the night sky. The darkness brightened all at once, as if someone had switched on a floodlight.
Li Fan looked up. There was no sign of heavenly soldiers or celestial generals, nor of cloud-borne platforms or carriages. He only saw Real Person Wei spreading his arms like a great crow as he glided over their heads. He seemed to nod at Master Yao, then flew straight down into Luo Temple.
So he'd finished eating and was back to work...
Come to think of it, though, the dark clouds had blocked the moon, so they hadn't seen a thing...
"Did he really eat sixteen hundred people in one go?"
Master Yao noticed the fear on Li Fan's face and explained, "I've seen Senior Brother's Dharma Form. It shouldn't be able to eat that many. He probably just gobbled up those six dragons. He likely killed all the others."
"...I thought elders weren't allowed to bully the younger generation during sword duels?"
Master Yao chuckled. "He didn't come here for a sword duel. Who among the great cultivators of the Supreme Plain Heavenly Dao would care about the scraps of fortune from a killing tribulation? If you don't participate, you don't have to follow the rules."
...That makes a lot of sense.
"Come on. Let's go see how Jiugao's fight is going. If you're lucky, there might still be a few fiends left to feed your sword."
So Li Fan followed Master Yao with high hopes as they made their unhurried way to the innermost part of Luo Temple, the inner sanctum where the Golden Core fiends of Tiantai Mountain had made their lair. One look at the scene inside explained why Yao Xuanzhou had been so calm and completely unruffled.
Little Crane had gone beyond godlike.
Zhang Jiugao had charged into the inner sanctum alone, relying on the Crimson Qiu Qin Jianshi had given him and the life-bound flying sword he had nurtured himself. He was completely out of control, cutting down everything in his path.
Fragments of magical treasures lay everywhere, each smashed to pieces with a single strike from the Crimson Qiu. Between the buildings, severed limbs and heads had been shredded by flying swords. Every so often, the sword gale of the Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword exploded in a fury, blasting the buildings' beams full of holes and sending splinters flying. Dark-red blood flowed out beneath the doors, spreading across the steps in front of the hall until it soaked the flower beds.
In the Great Hero Hall, riddled with holes, unrestrained fury and bloodlust seemed to hide a ferocious dragon within. It roared and howled with raging sword energy, its killing intent soaring to the heavens!
Welp, looks like there won't be anyone left for me to kill.
Before you continue