Tamu Town.
A gathering place for rogue cultivators in the Sola Desert.
"Chen Haoming, late Yuanqi Stage, cultivates the Essence-Devouring Demon Art."
"Zhang Mu, Middle Yuanqi Stage, cultivates the Corpse Demon Art."
"Old Shi..."
A middle-aged man in green robes lowered his voice to persuade inside a dilapidated sandy stone house: "Have you thought this through? Those two are disciples of the Crippled Demon Sect! You can always have another son if you lose this one, but if you lose your life, everything is gone!"
Shi Yue, an elderly man in gray robes who had been awake all night, had already made up his mind at this moment and said with sorrow: "I know the Demon Mountain is arriving soon, but I don't know the exact day. I also solemnly warned the two of them not to leave Tamu Town during this time, yet they simply wouldn't listen!"
He knew clearly what kind of agony one would suffer before death and what kind of end awaited one after death if killed by those who cultivated the Essence-Devouring Demon Art and the Corpse Demon Art.
--Yet that was his own flesh and blood!
It was extremely difficult for cultivators to conceive offspring, and the higher their realm, the slimmer the hope. Those two sons of his were born to him by a mortal woman of the Mortal Demon Kingdom when his realm was low.
Now, how could he still hope to have another?
The middle-aged man in green also understood the hardships of cultivators in reproduction and knew he was hurting inside, so he sighed softly: "Since you chose this path of cultivation, shouldn't rogues like us without sect foundations have had such an awakening long ago?"
Shi Yue snorted coldly: "You don't have children, of course you don't understand!"
The middle-aged man did not grow angry, nor did he argue with him, only saying: "Old Shi, let alone the consequences after the news leaks, just you alone... would find it difficult to kill Zhang Mu, so what about that Chen Haoming?"
Shi Yue had long since made a plan: "Go find me a few fellows who aren't afraid of death; I am willing to spend all my family property to buy their lives!"
Faces and figures of people who viewed death as returning home flashed across the mind of the middle-aged man in green. He nodded gently: "I will do my best, and I hope someone can be without fear of the Crippled Demon Sect's great prestige and be willing to accompany you in this madness."
Noon.
The scorching sunlight was like a Flame Blade, shining so fiercely that people's skin stung.
Ruan Meizhen, who seemed to be walking aimlessly, allowed the fire of irritation in the depths of her heart to rise before silently extinguishing it once more.
Behind her alluring and sexy figure, Zhao Changfeng followed closely while carrying the corpse of a Dryland Sand Lizard, though most of the time he hid within the area of her shadow cast by the sunlight.
Half a day later, Zhao Changfeng continued to follow her, probing for information from time to time and asking about all kinds of common-sense questions about this world, yet he simply did not go cultivate the Demonic Cultivation Art again.
Her Ten Thousand Poisons Art had already been cultivated to the Great Perfection realm, lacking only the final breakthrough of the Upper Dantian's barrier to touch the Sea of Divine Sense and advance to the Primordial Spirit Realm.
This trip leaving the sect with the Demon Mountain was, on one hand, to collect poison for her Realm Breakthrough, and on the other hand, to seize an opportunity to try once more.
The various types of poison for her Realm Breakthrough were now prepared, and she had also made preparations to take a desperate risk, yet Zhao Changfeng, whom she had chosen as her calamity-blocker, persistently refused to cultivate with forgetful devotion.
Her actions over the years, along with the traits of the Ten Thousand Poisons Art, were crystal clear to the Yuanqi Stage junior martial brothers within the gate.
Those without confidence typically chose to shrink back within the Demon Mountain and not come out, while those who dared to venture out did so in groups of three or five. It was not easy for her to find a replacement for Zhao Changfeng.
In addition, her rich experience of repeatedly transferring toxins using a calamity-blocker told her that those who had just entered the Yuanqi Stage could absorb more of her toxins.
No matter how she looked at it, Zhao Changfeng was the most suitable person.
For this reason, she had even specially helped Zhao Changfeng hunt down a Dryland Sand Lizard, providing him with abundant blood-refining resources.
It is already the second day. I still need time to break through, and I must return before the Demon Mountain reboots.
If this fellow... delays his breakthrough until we return to the Demon Mountain, then my efforts will have been in vain.
The more Ruan Meizhen thought about it, the more suffocated she felt. The peaks of her chest heaved with her continuous deep breaths, stretching and deforming the embroidered "Crippled" character until it looked magnified.
The Crippled Demon Sect did not prohibit internal strife among sect members, but it could not take place inside the Demon Mountain. If Zhao Changfeng dragged his feet and postponed his Realm Breakthrough until returning to the Demon Mountain, then her trip would yield nothing.
"Junior Brother Zhao, if there is anything you don't understand about the Essence-Devouring Demon Art, I would be very happy to clear up your confusion."
Ruan Meizhen truly could not hold back any longer.
She brushed aside a wisp of messy black silk from her fair forehead and said with a casual smile: "Or... could it be that you have some misgivings?"
She truly looked like a sexy and alluring mature older sister, every movement, expression, and smile carrying her own lazy and enchanting demeanor.
Zhao Changfeng's eyebrows did not move; his face remained calm as he shook his head and said: "There is nothing I don't understand, nor do I have any misgivings. It's just that it's easier to become irritable in the desert. As long as I cultivate the Demonic Cultivation Art, I find it hard to suppress the rising thoughts of slaughter."
He had already sensed that something was amiss.
Ever since Ruan Meizhen brought the Dryland Sand Lizard over, she had been intentionally or unintentionally urging him to cultivate the Essence-Devouring Demon Art as soon as possible, appearing incomparably anxious and impatient.
The Lingxiao Sect had no good people; would the Crippled Demon Sect be an exception?
Though he could not accurately guess Ruan Meizhen's true intentions, he had already developed a strong sense of vigilance. The more Ruan Meizhen urged him to practice the Demonic Cultivation Art, the less he dared to act rashly.
"Oh, fine then, you take your time."
Ruan Meizhen bit her tongue hard, forcibly suppressing the impulse to beat Zhao Changfeng to death on the spot, and suddenly thought of a strategy: "I'm going to look around nearby."
This stroll lasted for two full hours...
After a long while, Ruan Meizhen still had not returned.
Zhao Changfeng, who had originally been accompanied, was left alone in the boundless desert, having no idea what he would encounter.
Ruan Meizhen was dangerous, and others were equally dangerous.
Toward evening, the afterglow of sunset filled the sky.
Ruan Meizhen remained entirely without news.
Zhao Changfeng, who had waited bitterly for a long time, did not wait for Ruan Meizhen to appear, but instead waited for two other fellow apprentices.
The two of them walked with unsteady paces, as if they were fleeing in a panic.
When they saw Zhao Changfeng, who was likewise wearing the sect's large red robes, the eyes of both distinctly lit up, and they hurried over.
"Lin Kexin."
"Hong Xian!"
The man and woman called out their names in loud voices.
Hong Xian, whose build was short and stout, wore a thoroughly honest expression as he wiped his sweat and repeatedly looked back, saying with lingering fear: "We ran into a lunatic. She just kept chasing the two of us without rushing to deliver the killing blow."
Lin Kexin, whose face had large patches of bluish-purple blemishes, added in detail: "It's a woman! Both her head and face are covered with a veil so her appearance isn't clear, but she is a whole major realm higher than the two of us!"
For someone a whole major realm higher to hunt them down in a desert with no cover, the fact that the two of them were still alive could only be attributed to the opponent showing mercy.
The one thing this world did not lack was all kinds of morbid madmen, and the two of them could only assume the other party was intentionally toying with them, enjoying the thrill of watching them flee in a frenzy.
"Zhao Changfeng."
After similarly stating his name, Zhao Changfeng silently sensed his surroundings and discovered that the two of them did not carry the oppressive aura that made him uncomfortable.
Those like Ruan Meizhen, Chen Haoming, and Zhang Mu clearly stood a whole major realm higher than him, and as long as they were close, he would feel that uncomfortable sensation.
Lin Kexin and Hong Xian should be at the same Yuanjing Stage as him, while he himself was at the Yuanjing Stage Ninth Heaven.
This made Zhao Changfeng feel slightly more at ease.
"Zhao Changfeng... You used to cultivate in the Lingxiao Sect? You're the master's newly accepted Named Disciple?"
Lin Kexin, whose appearance had originally been passable but was ruined by the large blue-purple blemishes, let out a rather obvious sneer at the corner of her lips and ridiculed: "I heard you betrayed your sect and killed your own fellow martial brothers with your own hands?"
Zhao Changfeng smiled in mild amusement and explained: "They weren't all killed; I still let two junior martial brothers go."
"Heh." Lin Kexin gave a joyless laugh, looking at him with undisguised contempt as she joked: "Then you really are quite a nice guy!"
Hong Xian grew anxious and impatient, shouting: "Just what time is it? That lunatic might reappear at any moment, we need to contact the Yuanqi Stage senior martial brothers and sisters as soon as possible!"
"What's the rush? It's not like she's going to kill us right away!"
Lin Kexin snorted, the blemishes on her face making her appear gloomy and cold: "In the present Sola Desert, people from our sect are everywhere! We can do whatever we want among ourselves in private, but if outsiders dare lay a hand on our people, that's just being tired of living and purely seeking death!"
Hong Xian pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "What you're saying makes sense."
"Hark, this is... a Dryland Sand Lizard? Junior Brother Zhao, you actually hunted a First-Rank Spirit Beast?"
Finally noticing the creature behind Zhao Changfeng, Hong Xian's eyes suddenly lit up. He hurried over and said: "Junior Brother Zhao! I urgently need the blood of this kind of spirit beast to recover my combat strength. We can discuss the reward later, please let me..."
That honest and dependable face of his, which had worn a harmless smile the moment before, instantly flashed with ferocity the next.
The moment he stepped past Zhao Changfeng's body, a blue-glowing dagger abruptly appeared in his hand as he whirled around to stab toward the "Demon" character on the back of Zhao Changfeng's heart.
Terrifying momentum suddenly surged. Veins bulged violently on the arm holding the blade, and the murderous intent in his pupils was no longer concealed.
"Heh."
Zhao Changfeng smiled and shifted his footing slightly. While precisely dodging the poisoned dagger, his fist slammed heavily like a siege hammer into Hong Xian's face.
"Bang!"
Under the heavy blow, Hong Xian's nasal bone broke immediately, accompanied by a splatter of fresh blood.
Taking advantage of the momentum, Zhao Changfeng snatched the blue-glowing dagger, kicked Hong Xian flying with one foot, and then flipped his hand to hurl the dagger at the rapidly approaching Lin Kexin.
A streak of blue light pierced into Lin Kexin's chest like a fierce, ghostly lightning bolt, penetrating the prominent "Crippled" character and extinguishing her life force.
"Junior Brother Zhao! Listen to me!"
With his face covered in blood, Hong Xian shouted the moment he hit the ground, overwhelmed by the terror of seeing a ghost in broad daylight.
Zhao Changfeng turned a deaf ear.
There was not the slightest bit of murderous intent on his face or in his eyes, yet his calm demeanor made one's heart and lungs tremble. His tall and well-honed physique pressed forward like a mountain.
"Junior Brother Zhao! Junior Brother Zhao!"
Hong Xian, who only looked honest and was not the least bit simple-minded, scrambled up and began to run for his life, shouting wildly as he fled: "It's a misunderstanding! There's a misunderstanding between us!"
During his flight, he glanced back from time to time to see Zhao Changfeng still closing in, exuding the oppressive aura of an overwhelming flood or a ferocious beast.
With only the cultivation of the seventh heaven of the Yuanjing Stage, he could neither outrun nor defeat his opponent, and he had even lost his poisoned dagger.
Soon, he was overtaken by Zhao Changfeng, pressed to the ground, and beaten with a flurry of wild blows.
"Thud! Thud thud!"
Following his nasal bone, his sternum also broke piece by piece. His entire body was hammered so deep into the sandy ground that "gurgling" streams of fresh blood bubbled from his mouth.
When he was on the verge of death, Zhao Changfeng finally stopped and asked out of curiosity: "How did the two of you dare to come kill me?"
Hong Xian and Lin Kexin were lower in realm than him, and besides taking him by surprise with a sneak attack, there was no possibility of success. Even with a sneak attack, the risk was far too high, making it completely not worth the reward.
"Sen... Senior Sister Ruan..."
Knowing he could not escape death, Hong Xian struggled to speak of the underlying reason: "It, it was she who found the two of us and told us to come kill you."
Ps: I humbly request everyone to read up on the final chapter. Thank you~