The Mantis Stalked the Cicada, Only to Suffer the Backlash
Click! Click!
A series of sharp, grating chewing sounds suddenly rang out atop the thousand-foot-tall altar of white bones.
Not a single drop of the purple-gold Six-Tribulation Ghost Immortal ghost immortal flowed from the chest and back of Ming Jiutian, where the Primordial God-Slaying Dagger pierced his body.
Thousands upon thousands of tiny, black beetles, each the size of a grain of rice and covered with eerie dark gold runes, gushed forth from the depths of his wound!
Nangong Wudi laughter froze instantly.
He tried to pull his right hand back from the dagger, but was horrified to find that the invincible Primordial God-Slaying Dagger was completely stuck in the flesh and bones of Ming Jiutian's body and could not move an inch!
"Primordial Soul Devour Demonic Insect?! Your physical body... you are no longer Ming Jiutian!"
Nangong Wudi's scalp tingled, and he decisively released the dagger hilt. The Five Tribulations Source within his body erupted violently, and he desperately retreated backward!
However, they were ultimately a step too late.
Whoosh--!
The gushing torrent of black demonic insects flowed upstream along the hilt of the God-Slaying Dagger, and the instant Nangong Wudi released his grip, they burrowed into the meridians of his right arm through his fingertips!
"Get out of here! Get out of my way!!"
Nangong Wudi terrified. He formed a knife with his left hand and, with a heavy heart, slashed directly at his own right shoulder, attempting a desperate act of self-sacrifice!
A large hand covered in black and purple demonic scales suddenly reached out from the front and firmly grasped Nangong Wudi's severed left wrist.
Ming Jiutian slowly turned around, leaving the Primordial God-Slaying Dagger embedded in the center of his chest.
His left side of his face still retained the majestic and aged appearance of the Netherworld Palace, but the skin on his right side was peeling away inch by inch under the wriggling black worms, revealing a bizarre demonic appearance covered with pitch-black fleshy buds!
"Old dog Nangong, I was imprisoned for 100,000 years beneath the Senluo Deathland by those nine broken Tokens of the Heaven-Stepping Immortal Emperor. Although my main soul is weak, I still managed to separate a wisp of demonic thought three thousand years ago, completely assimilating the Primordial Spirit of that fool Ming Jiutian!"
Ming Jiutian let out a double, hoarse laugh, and with a sudden burst of force from his right hand, he crushed Nangong Wudi's left wrist bone!
"I deliberately leaked the false news of my weakened main soul to your Nangong Family, and then launched the Ten Thousand Ghost Blood Sacrifice with great fanfare, all to lure you, this greedy fool, to willingly offer me your pure blood, the heart's essence of Five-Tribulation Ghost Immortal!"
The moment the words fell, the billions of Soul Devour Demonic Insects that had burrowed into Nangong Wudi's right arm had already entered his internal organs and Sea of Consciousness Purple Mansion his meridians!
"Ahhh--! No! I am Five-Tribulation Ghost Immortal, you cannot..."
A piercing, desperate scream echoed throughout the underground Blood Sea.
Under the chilling gazes of all the Cultivators present, the once invincible Nangong Aristocratic Clan's Supreme Ancestor, Nangong Wudi, convulsed violently in mid-air, his entire body bulging with countless wildly moving black lumps beneath his skin!
Ming Jiutian opened his blood-red maw and bit down directly on Nangong Wudi's carotid artery, swallowing it in large gulps!
Glug! Glug!
In less than three breaths.
The five dark gold halos of life and death Heavenly Tribulation surrounding Nangong Wudi were forcibly extracted from his body along with his entire Five Tribulations Primordial Spirit by Ming Jiutian, who then chewed them up and swallowed them on the spot!
This Five Tribulations Ancestor, who had ruled the Nangong Aristocratic Clan the Central Domain for tens of thousands of years, rapidly withered and shriveled into a thin, grayish-white skin in extreme fear and regret. With a gust of wind, it drifted down into the bottomless Blood Pool below!
Rumble--!
Having devoured the entire Essence Blood and foundation of a Five-Tribulation Ghost Immortal, the Primordial God-Slaying Dagger embedded in Ming Jiutian's chest was instantly blasted away by the surging Devil Qi within his body!
The six solid Life-and-Death Tribulation rings that were originally floating behind his head spun wildly. The thick, ink-like ancient demonic source and the origin of the Five-Tribulation Ghost Immortal merged perfectly, and a seventh half-illusory, half-solid purple-gold Heavenly Tribulation ring was forcibly opened up and condensed on the outer side of the sixth Tribulation Ring!
Quasi-Seven-Tribulation Ghost Emperor!
The terrifying power of a quasi-emperor-level demon spread out with a roar, causing the rock walls around the ten-thousand-foot-deep blood Blood Pool to collapse in sections. The Yellow Springs vein of the Nine Netherworlds Underworld connected to the bottom of the Blood Pool trembled violently under the impact of this pressure that surpassed the limits of the mortal world. A certain ancient rule mark that had been sealed for a long time deep underground faintly glowed!
Thump! Thump!
Below the altar, the eight Supreme Protectors of the Netherworld Palace and the dozen or so remaining Tribulation Immortal elders of the Nangong Aristocratic Clan were unable to muster even the slightest thought of resistance in the face of the overwhelming pressure of this Quasi-Seven-Tribulation Ghost Emperor. They all prostrated themselves on the ground in the blood, trembling like leaves!
Taking advantage of the brief moment when Ming Jiutian roared to the sky and digested the origin of the Five Tribulations.
A tall, slender figure in a white robe stained with blood, braving the overwhelming demonic might of a quasi-emperor, stepped onto the very top of the thousand-foot-tall altar of white bones!
Chen Changqing didn't even glance at Ming Jiutian, who was advancing behind him, and rushed to the front of the Demonic Embryo Blood Pillar in a few leaps!
Upon closer inspection, Xiaoqian's limbs and collarbone were completely pierced by nine barbed chains as thick as bowls. The stark white bone fragments pierced through her flesh and exposed to the air. Her once delicate face was now as pale as paper, and her faint breaths could stop at any moment.
The wisp of the Demon Lord's soul from the Upper Realm her brows, sensing Chen Changqing's approach, not only did not retreat, but instead let out a fierce shriek, attempting to completely obliterate Xiaoqian's last remaining True Soul at the last moment!
"Get out of my disciple's body!!"
Chen Changqing's eyes were bloodshot, and his left hand, with its four fingers curled together, pressed the ancient Emperor Dao Marks that had shattered all heavens onto the Demon Lord's main soul half an inch in front of Xiaoqian's brow without hesitation.
The Heaven-Stepping Emperor Finger!
Buzz--!
A dazzling purple-gold imperial aura exploded from his fingertips, transforming into an incredibly dense net of Pure Yang Principle that instantly and firmly bound the dark demon lord's main soul, which had already penetrated eight and a half parts of Xiaoqian 'Sea of Consciousness!
"Agh--! It's that damned Heaven-Stepping Origin again!!"
The Demon Lord of the Upper Realm encountered his nemesis and let out a shrill scream from his very soul. The Devil Qi tentacles that had been tightly gripping Xiaoqian's True Soul were burned by the purple-gold imperial light and instantly released their hold!
Chen Changqing's left index finger shone brightly with purple light, forcefully pulling the frantically struggling Demon Lord's soul out of Xiaoqian's Sea of Consciousness bit by bit!
At the same time, Chen Changqing raised the Quasi-Houtian Spirit Treasure Immortal Execution Sword, high in his right hand!
The nine Purple Mansion Worlds within his body, representing the Late Heavenly Monarch Stage realm, roared with all their might. The vast Divine Sense of the Twelve Primordial Spirits, spanning twenty thousand miles, was poured into the sword's edge. He then fiercely slashed across the nine Primordial Soul-Locking Demonic Chains that pierced through Xiaoqian's body!
The Fifth Form of the Immortal Execution Sword Technique: Immortal Execution!
Clang!
The blinding crimson-gold Pure Yang Sword Light intertwined with the gray-white Chaos Sword Qi, drawing a brilliant trajectory that separated life and death in the dark, black-purple demonic mist!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Click--!
A series of ear-piercing metallic cracking sounds rang out one after another!
The nine barbed Soul-Locking Demonic Chains, forged by the Netherworld Palace from ten Ten-Thousand-Year Black Iron and unbreakable even by Five-Tribulation Ghost Immortal, were instantly shattered from their roots into countless black iron fragments under the full force of the Quasi-Houtian Spirit Treasure Immortal Execution Sword, and the Pure Yang Origin!
Puff--!
As the nine demonic chains snapped, the Xiaoqian of the Upper Realm Demon Lord's soul, which had been firmly held by the Heaven-Stepping Emperor Finger, was also ripped out of Chen Changqing's body by Chen Changqing and flung violently toward Ming Jiutian behind her!
Without the magic chains suspending her, Xiaoqian's petite body, covered in blood, plummeted limply from mid-air.
Chen Changqing sheathed the Immortal Execution Sword with a backhand, took half a step forward, and stretched out his left arm to steadily pull Xiaoqian into his arms.
The little girl in his arms was so light that she was just skin and bones, her body ice-cold, and blood stained Chen Changqing's chest red along with her tattered white dress.
Xiaoqian struggled to open her eyes, which had regained their clarity, and looked at Chen Changqing was so close to her. Her chapped lips moved slightly, and her small, blood-stained hands tried to reach up to grab his clothes, but they fell limply to the ground as she fainted completely in Chen Changqing's arms.
Chen Changqing felt as if he had been struck hard in the chest by a massive hammer, the pain causing him to hold his breath for a moment.
He immediately took out the life-saving holy medicine— the Nine-Turn Soul Returning Pill —given to him by Hua Yao from the Medicine God Valley from his Heaven-Stepping Ring. He used his Pure Yang Immortal Essence to dissolve the medicinal power and gently fed it into Xiaoqian's mouth to protect her heart and soul, which were about to collapse. Then he carefully put her into the spiritual spring in the Minor World of the Heaven-Stepping Ring to nurture her.
At the same time, the eighth and ninth Heaven-Stepping Tokens that surged out from the bottom of the Blood Pool also disappeared into Chen Changqing's sleeve, and all nine Tokens were completely gathered in the Heaven-Stepping Ring!
After doing all this, Chen Changqing slowly straightened up.
Ten feet behind him, Ming Jiutian caught the Demon Lord's main soul, which had been flung back, and pressed it directly into his brow.
Boom--!
With the main soul and the divided soul completely merged, the seven Life-and-Death Tribulation rings—six real and one illusory—behind Ming Jiutian's head erupted with a world-destroying purple-black demonic light. He slowly raised his head, his strange eyes, half-human and half-demon, locked onto the white-robed youth in front of him.
Chen Changqing slowly turned around, clenched his right hand, and the Quasi-Houtian Spirit Treasure Immortal Execution Sword, reappeared in his palm. The tip of the sword pointed diagonally at the ground, and scalding purple-gold immortal blood dripped down the blood groove.
Facing Ming Jiutian, who was laughing maniacally and had seven Tribulation Rings floating behind him, Chen Changqing's Pure Yang Qi and Blood completely transformed into Burning Heaven flames:
"You old bastard, now that no one's bothering us, let's settle our scores!"