Monster Alliance 3

Feeling the deep, chilling cold of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Yin Grand Formation, Xiang Hui and the others, though all possessing formidable cultivation at the Qi Induction Stage - Mid Phase, still shuddered. Xie Xiaohong said, "Truly a killing formation of the demonic path. Though it's far inferior to our Shu Mountain's Ten Thousand Swords Exterminate Immortal Formation used to guard the mountain gate, with the four of us and the magic treasure Master gave me, we might just be able to open a gap in it, right?"

Xiang Hui was carefully observing this man-sized opening. Hearing this, he replied, "Our Shu Mountain's Ten Thousand Swords Exterminate Immortal Formation was laid down by countless senior immortals over the ages. The Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Yin is powerful, but how can it compare to our Shu Mountain's formation?" Liu Zhihua and Lu Hongchen both nodded in agreement. The four of them entered the formation one by one, heading toward that enormous villa.

Liao Xiaojin watched the four figures from afar and sneered coldly, "Damn, Master guessed right. Things have indeed changed. But with just these small fry, what waves can they stir? Forget it, I'll wait for the big fish!"

The entire villa sat there like an ancient primordial beast, waiting to devour anyone who came close. Pitch black, without a single light. Zhou Qing said to Zhou Chen, "Can you still sense where your sister is now?" Zhou Chen nodded. "Good. Then you lead the way, and I'll follow you."

"Mm!" The two turned into the villa. Zhou Qing suddenly split off his Second Primordial Spirit. Seeing two identical Zhou Qings, Zhou Chen's cherry-like mouth opened wide. She exclaimed in surprise, "An avatar outside the body! A Second Primordial Spirit!" Zhou Qing quickly covered Zhou Chen's small mouth and said, "Don't speak. I sense four demonic auras—three strong, one weaker. That must be the four demons you mentioned. I took the Eight Extremes Wolf King's Inner Core; without decades of bitter cultivation, he won't recover. Huh? Why can't I sense that big demon's aura?" Zhou Qing whispered softly in Zhou Chen's ear.

Zhou Chen's lips were covered by Zhou Qing. She was about to speak when a wave of masculine, virile energy hit her face. Still stunned by Zhou Qing's Second Primordial Spirit, she felt her mind clouded with confusion. Zhou Qing's voice came again by her ear, tickling it, the pleasant sensation nearly making her moan.

Then Zhou Qing said, "Huh! I sense an aura identical to yours. It must be your sister. Fifty meters ahead of us."

Though the villa was dark, with Zhou Qing's cultivation, it was as bright as day. Zhou Qing flickered, withdrew his Second Primordial Spirit, and carefully crept forward.

Zhou Chen bit her tongue to snap out of it. Ignoring her flushed face, she fully activated her Invisibility Talisman and followed behind Zhou Qing. The aura didn't seem far, but after passing through eight rooms and descending three flights of stairs, they finally saw a door forged from refined steel. Zhou Qing thought to himself, "This place is like a maze. If my primordial spirit's divine sense weren't so strong, anyone else would have gotten lost."

Zhou Chen had already rushed forward and said to Zhou Qing, "Master, my sister is inside. I can sense her. But this door has no way to open it!" Zhou Qing stepped up to examine it as well. "Indeed. It's just a solid iron plate, with no formation laid on it. Strange."

"Then how do we open it?" Zhou Chen grew anxious.

"No problem! It's just a refined steel plate. How could that stump your master?" Zhou Qing focused his mind, and a sword aura silently swept out. The iron plate, a full three feet thick, was carved into a pitch-black hole as easily as a knife cutting tofu. Zhou Qing's flying sword was originally the Azure Lock Sword, made from Prime Gold of Taiyi, incredibly sharp. After the Azure Lock Sword was severed by the Blood-Devouring Divine Saber, Zhou Qing reforged it with Samadhi True Fire. He removed the superfluous formations placed on it by the Shu Mountain Elder, pursuing only sharpness and speed, and quenched it with Liao Xiaojin's blood. In quality, it had long surpassed the original Azure Lock Sword, and in sharpness, it was even greater. Though it might still not match Liao Xiaojin's strange sword!

Seeing Zhou Qing silently cut through the iron door, Zhou Chen didn't hesitate. She twisted her body and slipped through the hole. By the time Zhou Qing thought to call her back, it was too late. He had no choice but to follow her in. As soon as they landed, a gust of eerie wind swept toward them. Zhou Qing quickly reached out to grab Zhou Chen, only to grasp empty air.

Thick, almost tangible black fog mixed with a foul stench rushed at them, making Zhou Qing dizzy and disoriented. The surroundings were shrouded in pitch-black darkness, so thick you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Zhou Qing was alarmed. His flying sword transformed into a beam of cyan light, protecting his body and pushing the black fog a foot away. "It's the Five Poison Smoke Cloud Miasma!"

Only then did Zhou Qing see that the black fog was filled with tiny flying insects. He immediately recalled the record of this vile thing in the Refining Compendium: The Five Poison Smoke Cloud Miasma is made from highly toxic miasma gathered from deep mountain forests, mixed with the venom of five types of poisonous insects, and refined with deadly Gu worms. Once afflicted, a person's entire body goes limp, and their skin gradually ulcerates. At that point, the Gu worms enter the body to feast on the rotting flesh, while the victim does not die immediately but is forced to watch helplessly as the worms devour them completely. During the feeding, the victim cannot move or speak, enduring unbearable agony. It is one of the cruelest tortures in the world.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qing grew frantic, his worry for Zhou Chen intensifying. Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit him, and a sharp pain stabbed at his heart. He realized he had also inhaled some of the miasma, and the Gu worms had begun their work. Zhou Qing quickly used his Second Primordial Spirit to draw true fire into his body, burning away the miasma and worms completely!

With a thought, Zhou Qing spat out a mouthful of Samadhi True Fire. Instantly, the thick black fog of the Five Poison Smoke Cloud Miasma melted like snow under boiling water. In less than a quarter of an hour, it was completely refined away, revealing a vast, empty meditation chamber. Zhou Qing immediately spotted Zhou Chen lying unconscious on the ground, her face flushed.

Knowing she had inhaled the miasma, Zhou Qing grasped Zhou Chen's hand. A surge of powerful True Essence, laced with threads of true fire energy, instantly coursed through Zhou Chen's meridians. Wisps of black fog carrying Gu worms seeped out of her body, only to be refined by Zhou Qing's Samadhi True Fire.

"Mm..." Zhou Chen groaned softly and slowly regained consciousness. Seeing Zhou Qing holding her hand, her face flushed slightly before returning to normal. "Why were you so impulsive? If your master didn't have some skill, we'd both be dead. That demon is ruthless, even using the Five Poison Smoke Cloud Miasma!" Zhou Qing wiped the sweat from his brow, recalling the situation.

Clap! Clap! Clap! The sound of applause echoed through the empty chamber. One wall suddenly split open, and five figures entered. Zhou Qing carefully examined them. The leader was a middle-aged man with an imposing bearing, wearing a loose red robe. If Zhou Qing hadn't known this was the Monster Alliance, he'd have thought they were filming a movie. Beside him, a half-old man stared fixedly at Zhou Qing—it was the Eight Extremes Wolf King.

The other three: one had arms longer than his knees and prominent cheekbones, looking exactly like an ape—this must be Yuan Wuji, as Zhou Chen had mentioned. Another was shrouded in mist, his body indistinct, with gusts of eerie wind swirling around him and faint sounds of wronged souls wailing—this was the Nether Ghost. The last was a beautiful woman, exuding an aura of lewdness that stirred lustful thoughts.

The one clapping was the imposing middle-aged man in the loose red robe. "Brother, which sect's expert might you be? Your sword aura seems to be from Shu Mountain, but I've never heard of such a young expert at the Nascent Soul stage from Shu Mountain. This Humble One is Tianxuan Blood Demon, leader of the Monster Alliance. May I ask your esteemed name?"

"Blood Demon, what have you done to my sister?" Seeing her mortal enemy before her, Zhou Chen could no longer suppress her overwhelming hatred and lunged forward to fight. But Zhou Qing held her back firmly. "Calm down. You're no match for him. Let me handle this," Zhou Qing said softly to Zhou Chen. Knowing the gravity of the situation, Zhou Chen glanced at Zhou Qing, nodded, and fixed her gaze on Tianxuan Blood Demon.

"Heh heh! Alliance Leader Blood Demon, This Humble One is Zhou Qing, Sect Leader of the Heavenly Dao Sect. I've come to ask a favor of you—to return my disciple's sister. Let's be friends, shall we? Better to resolve enmity than to deepen it, no?" Zhou Qing silently activated his Second Primordial Spirit but couldn't see through Tianxuan Blood Demon's depth of cultivation. He was secretly alarmed and began spouting nonsense to buy time and think of a plan.

The Eight Extremes Wolf King let out a strange, grating laugh. "Kid, we've been waiting for you. Do you think you can leave this place today? I'll skin you alive to avenge the theft of my Inner Core!" Hearing the Eight Extremes Wolf King speak, Zhou Qing's face turned cold, and a sharp light burst from his eyes. A powerful aura pressed down on the five demons.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Except for Tianxuan Blood Demon, whose expression remained unchanged and whose red robe merely fluttered, the other three stumbled back three steps. The Eight Extremes Wolf King, having lost his Inner Core and greatly weakened in power, retreated five steps and nearly fell on his backside. Zhou Qing's Second Primordial Spirit was the Six-Winged Golden Silkworm, a primordial exotic species. Though these demons all had cultivation at the Qi Induction Late Stage, they couldn't withstand the pressure from a superior demonic being—it was an instinctive reaction.

Zhou Qing laughed heartily. "You want to take my life? Do you think you can?" Tianxuan Blood Demon suddenly stepped forward twice. Zhou Qing's laughter stopped abruptly as he felt as if a mountain were pressing down on him, making even his breathing labored.

Zhou Qing was shocked. "This Tianxuan Blood Demon's cultivation is indeed profound. Even my Second Primordial Spirit struggles to handle him!" Zhou Qing fully activated his primordial spirit, and faint golden light began to shimmer around his body. Bang! Bang! Bang! Three floor tiles between Zhou Qing and Tianxuan Blood Demon were lifted by their auras and blasted into dust.

Zhou Qing stood motionless, but Tianxuan Blood Demon took a step back. The calm expression on his face turned to surprise. "It seems that kid is slightly weaker than me. Why was I pushed back by him? Could he be hiding his true strength?" In Tianxuan Blood Demon's eyes, Zhou Qing suddenly seemed unfathomable.

In truth, Zhou Qing had used a trick. The one opposing Tianxuan Blood Demon's aura was Zhou Qing's Second Primordial Spirit. The force of the aura's final clash was all borne by the primordial spirit. But Zhou Qing refused to retreat to disperse the force, forcing the spirit to take the blow head-on. However, the Six-Winged Golden Silkworm's physical body was incredibly tough; this strike was nothing to it.

Tianxuan Blood Demon's expression turned grim, and the atmosphere grew awkward. The two sides stared at each other, at a loss for words.