Dragon Slaying Sword: I Think They Look Like Dragons

Ding. Cultivation Technique "Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art" began its action.

As the cold mechanical electronic voice rang out.

Jiang Li lost control of his body, which was taken over entirely by the cultivation technique.

The next second.

Jiang Li moved.

He headed straight for the mortal manor not far away, moving quickly and looking eager beyond measure.

"Stop! Who are you?"

Before he could get close, the patrolling Demonic Cult disciples spotted Jiang Li and shouted sharply.

The long blades in their hands had already been drawn.

They closed in step by step.

Jiang Li stopped.

He did not move.

NPC dialogue triggered. Your choices are...

One: Kill.

Two: Teachings.

Oh?

It was becoming more and more like playing a game from a third-person perspective.

"Teachings."

The patrolling Demonic Cult disciples were all below Qi Refining Layer 3. Killing them would be easy; the hard part was doing so without drawing attention.

Under these circumstances, Teachings was the best choice.

Cultivation Technique "Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art" was not skilled with words. Please enter dialogue text.

Jiang Li began typing.

The body controlled by the cultivation technique opened its mouth in sync.

"Your clear blue sky has arrived. I'm giving you a chance to become good people."

The Teachings skill entry was an ability that forcibly brainwashed others. Back when Jiang Li was at Qi Refining Layer 3, he could make late Qi Refining cultivators repent bitterly with this entry's effect. Now that his cultivation had reached the peak of Qi Refining Level 6, a single sentence was all it took to brainwash them.

Once he finished speaking.

The Demonic Cult disciples approaching him first fell silent, then their faces filled with remorse.

"Have you really come to help free us? We know we've done every evil deed imaginable and have no face left to cling to life, but at the final moment of our lives, we want to do one last good deed."

"That's easy. I'm going to destroy this place. If you help me, you'll be accumulating virtue."

Jiang Li stated his purpose.

He was certain that this group had already been forcibly imbued with reflection and regret, and hated their identities as Demonic Cult disciples from the bottom of their hearts.

In other words.

They were already on his side.

"No problem. I'll take you inside right away."

The patrolling Demonic Cult disciples were exceptionally enthusiastic. Their previous savage demeanor was completely gone as they led the way for Jiang Li.

When they reached the manor entrance, Jiang Li repeated the same trick, converting the guards one by one as well.

Making them join the big family of those who had mended their ways.

"Too easy."

Watching the system advance as though it had entered an unguarded realm, Jiang Li could not help but sigh.

Under the effects of this heaven-defying skill entry, the dangerous Demonic Cult stronghold instantly became warm and tender. Everywhere he went, there were pitiful people shedding tears.

"Now I just need to wait for the others to get in. Then we can proceed according to the original plan and dismantle this Yin Puppet Sect stronghold."

Jiang Li thought to himself.

However...

The cultivation technique had ideas and plans of its own.

After completely converting a batch of Demonic Cult disciples at the manor entrance, the cultivation technique controlled Jiang Li's body and headed deeper inside.

It had no intention of stopping at all.

Jiang Li's heart jolted.

"Fuck, didn't we agree that as long as the contribution share reaches over fifty percent, that'd be enough? Doggy, don't go messing around."

The cultivation technique did not listen and continued plunging deeper alone.

Along the way, it did not forget to keep converting the surrounding Yin Puppet Sect disciples.

This also drew more and more attention.

While typing, Jiang Li slipped in a little extra content.

The added instruction was simple.

He told the disciples who had already been converted to go receive Murong Qing and the others.

That way.

They would be working together from within and without.

Just as he was thinking that.

Suddenly.

A soft, sinister voice drifted over.

"Who are you? You're not a disciple of the Yin Puppet Sect. Why have you appeared here? And what have you done to them?"

The voice came from a young man in a red robe.

His face was an unnaturally pale white.

He looked either malnourished or like someone who had not seen sunlight for a long time.

A pair of skull wind chimes hung from his waist. As his body swayed, they gave off a sound like fierce ghosts wailing.

And his cultivation was clearly in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Jiang Li was startled.

He had encountered the cultivator stationed at this Demonic Cult stronghold so quickly?

His luck was not very good.

After all.

The cultivation technique's Teachings entry currently could not brainwash cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm or above.

And the Cultivation Technique "Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art" had no offensive methods. It could only defend. To break this deadlock, either the cultivation technique had to relinquish control and let him regain control of his body, or it had to cooperate with his spells and place his body in a partially hosted state.

In any case, he would be able to take back control of his body.

"Not talking? Once I catch you and dig out your soul to refine it, you'll be crying and begging me to kill you."

The red-robed youth was named Xia Di.

An Inner Sect Disciple of the Yin Puppet Sect.

He was primarily responsible for maintaining the stability of this secret stronghold.

Just moments ago, his Spiritual Sense had detected something unusual.

The disciples who normally patrolled had gathered together for some unknown reason, circling around an unfamiliar man. Some had even begun weeping bitterly, looking as though they were guilty of heinous crimes.

That made him feel something was wrong.

So he had come immediately to stop it.

"Doggy, what are you going to do now? Hand control of my body over to me. I need one-fourth of your... Sorry, wrong channel."

Jiang Li began to look forward to it.

With his current strength, he could definitely have a go at a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It was still uncertain who would win or lose.

Of course.

That was assuming the cultivation technique stopped hosting.

But...

The Cultivation Technique "Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art" offered a third path.

That was to run.

The moment the red-robed youth Xia Di noticed him, the system seemed to trigger a Plus Plan B and immediately bolted, oiling its soles as it fled at a flying pace.

Xia Di was utterly dumbfounded.

No.

What exactly had this guy come here for?

Had he secretly infiltrated this place just to play a racing game with him?

That was too absurd.

After hesitating for two seconds, Xia Di chased after him.

"Kid, I don't care who you are. Since you dared to sneak in here, you have already chosen the path to death. In your next life, remember to keep your eyes peeled."

As his words fell.

A bloody claw shot out from his body.

It went straight for Jiang Li's heart.

This strike was not something a cultivator below the Foundation Establishment Realm could withstand.

Jiang Li did not turn around.

Yet it was as though he had grown eyes on his back. The instant the bloody claw lunged at him, a golden shield condensed behind him and blocked its attack.

"Hm? A Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator like you can actually block my attack?"

Xia Di's heart skipped a beat.

He had not held back much in that strike. He had used around sixty to seventy percent of his strength, enough power to slaughter freely throughout the Qi Refining stage.

Yet before him stood a minor cultivator who had not even reached late Qi Refining, and he had blocked the attack with a spell.

He had misjudged him.

This was a genius.

But it ended here.

Xia Di slightly reined in his contempt and used eighty percent of his strength. A dark crimson bloody hand stretched out and grabbed at Jiang Li.

Jiang Li remained unmoved.

He put his back into it and ran in a single direction.

When the bloody hand came down, the cultivation technique merely operated casually, and the golden shield appeared again.

No matter how the bloody hand pressed down, the golden shield remained as steady as Mount Tai.

It protected Jiang Li within.

Watching this scene, Xia Di was filled with uncertainty.

He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Using eighty percent of his strength was already close to going all out, so how could a Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator block that strike?

Even if it was a Foundation Establishment defensive spell, it should not have had such an effect.

Damn it.

Where exactly had things gone wrong?

As for Jiang Li.

His attitude was: attack all you want. If you can break it, you're this.

As long as there was an endless supply of Righteous Qi, the Shield of Justice would never shatter. During cultivation technique hosting, Righteous Qi was continuously generated, forming a complete bugged loop.

On top of that, the Soul of Justice entry's additional fifty percent effect boosted the Shield of Justice's defensive power to an even higher level.

Break it? What a joke.

Just as he was thinking that.

Jiang Li discovered that his body had begun turning, charging toward a secluded pavilion.

No one guarded this pavilion, but an invisible formation isolated it from the outside world.

Eh?

Where was the system taking him now?

This place actually had a separate formation protecting it.

Without question, this was the core area of the Yin Puppet Sect stronghold.

Behind him.

Xia Di heard the voices of other Demonic Cult disciples. "Sir, that's where the individual grafting experiments are conducted. All the experimental subjects we've successfully grafted over this period are stored inside. Because their feral natures are difficult to remove, we haven't awakened them yet. If he barges in, will something happen?"

Xia Di sneered. "There's a Bewilderment Array there, set up specifically to prevent the experimental subjects from going berserk. Those inside can't get out, and those outside can't get in. If he dares to charge in, he can just spin in circles on the spot."

The moment his words fell.

A Demonic Cult disciple cried out in alarm, "Sir, he passed through the formation and ran inside. He isn't spinning in circles."

Xia Di: ?

On the other side.

Jiang Li was not surprised.

No matter how advanced the formation around the pavilion was, could it be more advanced than the Heart Questioning Forest of the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land?

The system could easily pass through a trial ground like the Heart Questioning Forest, so a mere trapping formation was even less worth mentioning.

It was just that this place...

Seemed to be an experimental site.

Was this the cultivation technique's objective?

Jiang Li's expression shifted.

He knew that a cultivation technique in hosted mode would not do pointless work. Its earlier choice to convert the Demonic Cult disciples had been the same. If it could have finished converting all the Demonic Cult disciples before the Foundation Establishment cultivator arrived, that would have been no different from directly destroying the entire Yin Puppet Sect stronghold.

But things had not gone as hoped, and it had failed.

So the cultivation technique changed its strategy and came here.

Very soon.

Jiang Li saw the true nature of this pavilion.

It really was an experimental ground.

All kinds of Yin Corpses filled the inside.

Some were failed experimental subjects, bloated and swollen;

Others were successful subjects, their bodies grafted with demonic beast parts. Some had grown horns, some had scaled tails behind them, and others had been completely modified, grafted with several kinds of demonic beast bodies.

At a rough glance, there were well over a hundred of them.

However, these Yin Corpses were currently dormant, utterly motionless.

Destroying this place would be tantamount to sabotaging the Yin Puppet Sect's plans.

His share of the overall contribution would shoot through the roof in an instant.

Jiang Li understood what the cultivation technique was thinking.

Just then.

The spell "Dragon Slaying Sword" also delivered divine support.

The spell "Dragon Slaying Sword" looked left and right. Dragon beasts had scaled tails; they had them too. There was only one truth: they were dragons.

Jiang Li:!

Jiang Li's mouth fell slightly open.

A scaled tail meant they were dragons?

If he wasn't mistaken, that should have been the tail of some kind of crustacean demonic beast, right?

Compared to dragons, it couldn't be said to have no connection at all—it could only be said that there wasn't the slightest resemblance.

Previously, the spell "Dragon Slaying Sword" had judged whether something was a dragon by whether it possessed dragon bloodline. Now, any tiny similarity was enough for it to declare them dragons?

That was way too badass.