The Asura monster roared. "No. Judging by the Demonic Qi surging to the heavens around you, you must have killed plenty of people yourself. Besides, with your True Martial Realm cultivation, your mind won't be affected."
Zhou Qiong glanced at the Asura. A vortex appeared in his hand and swallowed the pearl directly. His presence immediately surged, boundless Sha Qi swirling around him as countless wronged souls howled inside his body. Yet all of them were restrained by the vortex on him, and peace slowly returned at last.
For a moment, Zhou Qiong's presence strengthened again, now laced with traces of Sha Qi and wickedness that made others afraid to look straight at him.
Character: Zhou Qiong (Zhou Wudi) Position: Sect Master of the Demon Sect Cultivation: Eternal Realm, third layer (presence at True Martial Realm, first layer) Martial arts: Demon God Scripture, Firmament Life and Death Hand, Gods and Devils Eye, Heaven-Devouring Demon Art, second layer Mount: Demon Dragon Flying Carriage
A single Asura Pearl had raised Zhou Qiong's cultivation by another two minor levels.
"How is that possible? Roar!" Asura Xueqi's blood-red eyes widened. He had actually just lost his connection to the Asura Pearl. He had refined it through a secret art only after continually slaughtering hundreds of millions of living beings. He had originally only wanted to placate Zhou Qiong, yet it had vanished outright. Judging by Zhou Qiong's state just now, he had most likely absorbed the pearl.
Only after a long while did Asura Xueqi steady his mind. He said gravely to Zhou Qiong, "You've taken the thing and used it up. Isn't it time you helped me remove the talisman?"
Zhou Qiong did not hesitate at his words. He walked straight toward the chain Xueqi had indicated and gently peeled off the talisman. The instant he removed it, Zhou Qiong felt something suddenly burrow into his body.
"Kakaka! I've finally escaped my imprisonment! Just you wait! You dared imprison me! Once I recover my cultivation, I'll tear you into ten thousand pieces, grind your bones, and scatter your ashes! Kakaka!" Xueqi's vows echoed incessantly in Zhou Qiong's mind.
"Huh? Why is this body's cultivation off? Its physique is sturdy enough, though, and this foundation is fucking incredible. This sou-ah! What is that?!"
"System, you've dealt with him?"
"Yes, dealt with him!"
"You didn't leave me any memory fragments or anything?"
"Destroyed him outright. Nothing left!"
Even in death, Asura Xueqi never understood what had killed him. He had plotted for over a thousand years, using a secret art to strip his soul from his body and place it in an iron chain, all so he could seize a body and be reborn. After finally managing to fool a human, he had never expected to be wiped out by the system outright, without even a chance to beg for mercy.
The Asura body on the chains also lost all signs of life in an instant, becoming an Asura corpse.
Just as Zhou Qiong was about to turn and leave, his gaze suddenly sharpened. He could actually still feel that pull, and it was coming from the Asura corpse.
The Gods and Devils Eye between his brows kept pulsing, as though it was about to manifest on its own. The eye continually conveyed longing to Zhou Qiong, as if it wanted him to eat the Asura.
Without hesitation, Zhou Qiong circulated the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art at full strength, forming an enormous vortex that enveloped the Asura corpse. The entire Asura was instantly shrouded in the vortex until it slowly vanished.
For a moment, blood-colored flames surged to the heavens around Zhou Qiong, and his entire body swelled wildly, as though it were about to explode. The Gods and Devils Eye between his brows immediately released a beam of black light that enveloped him. Slowly, Zhou Qiong's body began returning to normal.
The Gods and Devils Eye between his brows was still slowly emitting light. A closer look revealed that, besides the slowly rotating Gods and Devils Ring within it, a long saber had appeared, standing upright in the very center, boundless bloody light coursing along its blade.
Item: Gods and Devils Eye (damaged) Divine weapons being nurtured: Gods and Devils Ring, Gods and Devils Saber. Gods and Devils Saber: A supreme divine weapon nurtured by the Gods and Devils Eye. It feeds on absorbed blood and souls and can unleash a Gods and Devils Strike, whose power depends on the quantity of blood and souls absorbed.
Zhou Qiong pondered in silence. It seemed the Gods and Devils Eye could also repair its damage by devouring things. He would need to keep an eye out for such things in the future.
Another trump card had appeared, and for Zhou Qiong as he was now, it had come at a very timely moment. Moreover, forcibly devouring the Asura just now had actually allowed his Heaven-Devouring Demon Art to break through another layer, reaching the third layer. His cultivation had also risen to the fifth layer of the Eternal Realm.
Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the hidden quest: Devour the Asura. Reward: 200,000 Villain Points.
With a bang, the stone wall to Zhou Qiong's left was suddenly smashed open. A figure carrying a sword on his back walked out, seemingly muttering something. "This wall was really sturdy. Finally broke through. Those roars just now came from in here. Elder Fu, what cultivation realm do you think that armored man who called himself a general was at?"
"At least the Great Luo Realm. Since he knows the Sword God, you'll meet again sooner or later. When that time comes, just don't forget this good karma with him!"
Zhou Qiong chuckled as he watched the muttering figure. Without hesitation, he blasted out a palm strike.
"What? Why is he here? Run!" Elder Fu reacted first, hurriedly shouting from inside the ring.
At those words, Zhao Li had no time to say anything. He turned and ran into the cave. But the palm was far faster than he could flee. Just as it was about to blast him to death, blue light suddenly appeared around Zhao Li, enveloping him and shifting him a hundred meters sideways, barely allowing him to avoid the attack.
The blue light flashed again, about to teleport Zhao Li out of there. Yet a black ring suddenly appeared above his head, rotating slowly. No matter how the blue light flashed, it could not break through space.
"This is bad, Zhao Li! This ring of his can suppress and seal. I can't break through space at all!" Elder Fu cried helplessly from inside the ring.
Zhao Li looked at Zhou Qiong, who stood before him with a sinister smile. "Demon Zhou, do you think killing me will rid you of all future trouble? There are countless righteous people in this world. Can you kill them all?"
What greeted Zhao Li was Zhou Qiong's boundless hand, a palm strike blasting straight toward him. With Zhao Li now completely unable to move, certain death awaited him.
Just then, the ring on Zhao Li's hand suddenly began spinning rapidly. A blue figure emerged from it, an old man with a long beard. He looked kindly at Zhao Li. "Having met you made it all worthwhile!" With that, he gently waved his hand. The space around Zhao Li immediately began to ripple, and Zhao Li vanished from the cave in an instant.
The old man looked at the enormous black palm descending on him and laughed heartily. "Well met! Let me show you my Demon-Breaking Palm, Sect Master!" An enormous blue palm met the enormous black palm.
The attacks from the two brought the cave crashing down. The blue figure's soul was utterly scattered without so much as a scream.
At that moment, in an unknown place an unknown distance from Black King City, a dirt-covered figure appeared out of thin air.
The figure removed an already broken ring from his right hand, scalding tears streaming from his eyes.
"Zhou Qiong, you little bastard! If I, Zhao Li, don't tear you into ten thousand pieces in this lifetime, I swear I'm not human!"