Chapter 112: Cunning and Treacherous, Li Qingshan Returns

Chapter 112: Cunning and Treacherous, Li Qingshan Returns

A thick, pungent stench of blood permeated the air, erupting like a fountain, continuously spraying and splattering.

The entire hall was engulfed in the nauseating smell, causing everyone to feel like vomiting.

Inside the main hall of White Wave Hall, the wind howled through, chilling everyone to the bone.

Demon Ox...

Demon Ox!

Just hearing his name was enough to strike fear into one's heart!

A notorious and vicious brute!

The deputy hall master, standing beside the hall master of White Wave Hall, trembled uncontrollably, his face deathly pale, and his eyes narrowed to the size of mung beans.

He stared blankly at the towering figure beside him, who had effortlessly twisted and snapped the head of the White Wave Hall master, as if it were a mere chicken's neck.

The wildly dancing, sturdy black hair, like lightning, illuminated the adorable cute bull mask... like an Asura!

"You... you..."

The deputy hall master was terrified. The rumors of the Demon Ox's ferocity had been ringing in his ears for some time.

Many of the Fishing Gang's forces had been slaughtered by the Demon Ox, yet the Fishing Gang seemed helpless against him!

Now, the Demon Ox had appeared at White Wave Hall, and it was their turn to face his wrath.

The deputy hall master was filled with despair. The Demon Ox's appearance was completely unexpected, as if he had suddenly materialized beside the White Wave Hall master.

Cultivating the art of corpse nurturing, the White Wave Hall master had used death qi to nurture his physical body to the peak of a Cursed Corpse, and was on the verge of becoming a Cursed Iron Corpse.

But his head was twisted off by the Demon Ox with ease, even simpler than twisting a chicken's neck.

This Demon Ox was ten, a hundred times more terrifying than the legends!

Beneath Li Che's mask, his eyes were icily calm, devoid of any emotional fluctuations.

These people...

They all deserved to die.

His gaze connected with the Heaven and Earth Chessboard, and the Eight Trigrams Corpse Curse Seal within the chessboard trembled violently. A circle of invisible corpse qi spread out from his body as the center.

This allowed him to clearly see the Corpse Curse Seals on these people through his eyes. It was a gift from the Corpse Deity Sect, a means to entrap them in the quagmire. The Corpse Curse Seals required death qi to nurture, and if they wanted to break through their cultivation, they had to accumulate death qi.

Where did this death qi come from?

Just like the White Wave Hall master, they killed... and even ate people!

Boom!

Vitality surged, but the deputy hall master had no intention of fighting for his life. He only wanted to escape!

Where was the person who was supposed to deal with the Demon Ox when he appeared?

Where were they?!

A furious roar erupted from the deputy hall master's mouth.

Then, his body became immobile, and his throat felt like it was being choked by an invisible giant hand. The terrifying high-level divine aura spread like ripples, freezing him in place, unable to move an inch.

Such a terrifying divine aura...

The deputy hall master felt his own divine aura trembling, unable to even circulate a shred of it, completely suppressed by the other's superior rank.

Then, he saw a millstone-like divine foundation rising behind the Demon Ox, resembling a scorching sun.

As the divine foundation rotated, countless sword lights swept across in an instant, like countless bamboo leaves being blown by a raging wind, a hurricane sweeping through and raging within the hall.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

All the experts of White Wave Hall within the hall perished.

Li Che briefly entered the Ascension State, not giving the Temple Deity divine aura time to replenish. He could maintain this state for a few breaths, just enough to absorb divine aura once.

Clenching his five fingers, countless divine auras converged from the corpses, condensing into divine aura chess pieces and incorporating them into the Heaven and Earth Chessboard.

Li Che's powerful divine awareness swept through, scavenging the Heaven and Earth Jade from the corpses of the two deputy hall masters he had killed and the White Wave Hall master whose head he had twisted off.

Killing without looting the bodies was no different from being a salted fish.

"Demon Ox!!!"

"Where are you going!"

Just as Li Che finished his corpse collection, a terrifying aura erupted from outside White Wave Hall!

It was the divine aura of a Illusory Form Realm cultivator!

A majestic presence, like a deity opening its eyes from afar, the divine aura pressure swept in, threatening to annihilate everything.

Moreover, there was an incredibly fearsome sound of breaking wind, and a divine archer was shooting deadly arrows from a distance, aimed directly at him!

The arrow was entwined with blood-like qi, resembling a coiling dragon, and its divine foundation was extremely refined and perfect.

It was an incredibly powerful arrow!

It blocked off all escape routes and directions for the Demon Ox!

But this was not the first time Li Che had encountered such a situation. This powerful divine archer from the Divine Guard Army was an expert in archery, far surpassing Li Che's mastery of the Wrathful Cry Hundred Devils Thunderbolt Arrow.

Furthermore, the divine archer's strength was formidable, with a Master Rank cultivation and a perfect divine foundation, currently observing the Divine Form Realm, on the verge of forming an Illusory Form.

The shot arrow was even more terrifying than a cannonball!

In terms of explosive power, it surpassed his Namu Divine Art Barrett!

The Namu Divine Art Barrett excelled in long-range, speed, and penetrating power, coupled with the venomous Dragon Tooth Bodhi Bullets formed from Bodhi Blood Tears.

It resulted in an incredibly lethal attack!

However, in terms of explosive power, it was still inferior to the arrow of the divine archer, who had infused his Master Rank true qi and perfect divine foundation.

Two devastating attacks rained down simultaneously, one from a Fishing Gang Illusory Form Realm expert and the other from a divine archer of the Divine Guard Army!

Almost simultaneously, they unleashed their thunderous strikes.

The oppressive pressure was suffocating.

Boom!!!!

The terrifying explosion rose like a mushroom cloud, shaking the ground, and countless cracks spread in all directions, like an earthquake.

Several dozen zhang away, the Nine Dragon River was in turmoil, its waters churning as if a dragon was raging within.

The meeting hall of White Wave Hall suddenly caved in, creating a deep pit. The walls collapsed, revealing a giant, spider web-like radial crack, intertwining with a hideous visage.

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, a figure appeared, stepping through the air and brushing past with a flick of their sleeve.

A strong gust of wind arose, dispersing the floating dust and revealing the scene within the pit.

It was an elderly man in luxurious clothing, standing in mid-air with his hands clasped behind his back. He was a Illusory Form Realm cultivator with the ability to levitate.

This was one of the two Deputy Guildmasters of the Fishing Gang, Liu Jinsong, who had attained the Illusory Form Realm.

Another person, with powerful and rampant blood energy, shot towards the pit, landing on its edge. His golden armor glistened in the sunlight.

"He escaped again..."

This person was Jiang Du, a Divine Guard Army's divine archer.

Both of them were top-notch experts in Golden Light City, yet even with their combined efforts, the Ox Demon had managed to escape once more.

Liu Jinsong descended gracefully, his luxurious clothing fluttering in the wind as he stood with his hands behind his back. His eyebrows and eyes were cold and stern, "What a slippery Ox Demon, as slippery as an eel..."

"He always strikes secretly, killing people and then immediately fleeing! He's vicious and cunning!"

"Some even call him a hero in the streets, but he kills innocent people under the Fishing Gang's command... He's truly cruel and brutal, yet he's also timid and afraid of death, a real coward!"

Liu Jinsong scolded aloud.

A master of the Illusory Form Realm was repeatedly outmaneuvered and escaped by a mere Initial Divine Foundation Realm cultivator. It was as if he was being toyed with and manipulated at will!

His anger was understandable.

Jiang Du put away his red longbow and glanced at Liu Jinsong, who was furious.

Who were the people killed by the Ox Demon? How could Liu Jinsong, a Deputy Guildmaster of the Fishing Gang, not know? They were the ones who extorted the people, committed evil deeds, and fed people to the fish... They were cruel and ruthless!

These people deserved their deaths.

Why, then, had the Ox Demon gained such a reputation in the streets, despite killing countless people? It was all because of the contrast with his peers!

"This Ox Demon must have mastered a divine aura technique for teleportation, and his breath control ability is also extremely profound. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to escape so easily from our combined attacks and divine aura suppression."

Jiang Du spoke in a deep voice, his golden armor clanking.

Liu Jinsong let out a cold snort, his face turning extremely ugly.

The Fishing Gang... had lost yet another branch! White Wave Hall, the Fishing Gang's secret weapon, was known for its swift and ruthless actions. Now, it had been crushed by the Ox Demon.

In less than ten days, many of the Fishing Gang's branches had suffered heavy casualties.

Liu Jinsong's eyes flickered with a dark gleam, and his pupils shimmered with a dark light.

The main reason...

The people killed by the Ox Demon were all followers of the Corpse Deity Sect, who had received the Corpse Curse Seal! This Ox Demon was specifically targeting the Corpse Deity Sect's followers!

Was it a coincidence? Perhaps once or twice, but every time the Ox Demon destroyed a branch of the Fishing Gang, there were followers of the Corpse Deity Sect among them! It couldn't be a coincidence anymore.

"He's targeting the Corpse Deity Sect! He's single-handedly resisting the Corpse Deity Sect!"

"A madman, this Ox Demon..."

"A true Mad Bull!"

...

...

"He has no taboos and is utterly reckless!"

"I really..."

"I like him so much!"

Temple Enforcement Command.

Zhang Lianhao looked at the intelligence report on the Ox Demon submitted by Hong Yong and Shi Lei, his eyes shining with excitement as he couldn't help but slam the table.

The Fishing Gang had lost another branch to the Ox Demon, and according to the Temple Enforcement Command's intelligence feedback, the White Wave Hall's leader was also a follower of the Corpse Deity Sect.

"Can this Ox Demon distinguish who has joined the Corpse Deity Sect?"

"He specifically targets and kills followers of the Corpse Deity Sect. Is he trying to resist the Corpse Deity Sect's infiltration in Golden Light City with his own strength?"

Zhang Lianhao stood up and began pacing with his hands behind his back.

His face turned slightly red with excitement.

Didn't the Temple Enforcement Command know about the Corpse Deity Sect's infiltration? Of course, they did, but they dared not take action lightly because they couldn't determine who was corrupted and couldn't detect the presence of the Corpse Curse Seal.

According to the Temple Enforcement Command's intelligence, which cost the lives of many of their spies, the Corpse Deity Sect took advantage of the Eight-Armed Hell Lotus Wrathful Third Prince's Strange Temple Deceptive Tower riot. While the Temple Enforcement Command, the Heaven-Enraged Bureau, and the Divine Sect's branches sent their top experts to suppress the riot, the Corpse Deity Sect sent people to corrupt many high-ranking officials in Golden Light City...

Currently, the Temple Enforcement Command's supervisors and governors were all suppressing the Third Prince's Deceptive Tower.

Golden Light City's Temple Enforcement Command was lacking in powerful experts...

This was also why Zhang Lianhao dared not take action on his own.

The main reason was that he couldn't determine which high-ranking officials in Golden Light City had been corrupted by the Corpse Deity Sect...

He dared not act without authorization! The most crucial reason was that the Divine Guard Army also had corrupted high-ranking officials, which was the most serious issue! After all, while the Temple Enforcement Command had many experts, they couldn't compare to the Divine Guard Army in terms of military might.

"What a mighty Ox Demon..."

"A true hero."

Zhang Lianhao was filled with admiration.

Although... this kind of reckless and unrestrained killing, disregarding all rules, was not favored by the authorities.

However, from his own perspective and that of the citizens of Golden Light City, the Ox Demon was a true hero who eliminated evil for the people!

The Ox Demon's bloodthirsty nature had forced the Fishing Gang to restrain their own nature.

"I truly envy his unrestrained nature..."

Zhang Lianhao genuinely admired the Ox Demon. After donning this official robe, many things were no longer within his control.

"This Demon Ox's movement technique is exceptional, and he might truly possess the art of teleportation. But now that he's exposed... with everyone prepared and with restrictions in place to counter teleportation, the Demon Ox's capture is imminent."

Zhang Lianhao halted his pacing, finding himself precisely at the window.

He gazed at the sky, where dark clouds gathered, brewing a spring rain.

...

...

A fine drizzle enveloped the entire city built along the river, shrouding it in mist.

It was as if in a landscape painting, where amidst the vast white spaces, a few buildings with flying eaves and upturned corners emerged, imbuing the scene with poetic charm.

Heaven-Enraged Bureau, Cliffstone Treasure Tower.

Inside the workshop.

Li Che returned here with his five fingers gripping the white Thunderbolt Chess Piece.

The scent of blood on his body was extremely strong, but with a sudden shake, countless traces of blood were condensed into a blood pearl, which he threw directly into a jade bottle and then into the Heaven and Earth Jade space.

Lighting up sandalwood incense, he filled the workshop with a pleasant aroma.

Putting away the Demon Ox mask and removing the black robe, his robust physique returned to normal, restoring his usual gentle and honest appearance.

Breathing out softly, Li Che's heart was calm, without a ripple.

The Fishing Gang was under his surveillance, but instead of starting with the Black Snake Gang who had been tailing his family, he targeted other forces within the Fishing Gang, as long as they had the Corpse Curse Seal.

Li Che didn't hesitate to take action, striking with thunderous force and killing them.

What surprised Li Che was that the Fishing Gang was almost entirely infiltrated by the Corpse Deity Sect, riddled with holes, or rather, they had opened their arms wide, allowing the Corpse Deity Sect to erode them.

This must have been done with the consent of the Fishing Gang's higher-ups.

"The Fishing Gang... is planning to rebel against Golden Light City?"

Li Che's eyes flashed slightly.

However, he didn't bother thinking too much about it.

Whether the Fishing Gang rebelled or not didn't concern him. All he wanted was to act freely, and since the Fishing Gang didn't uphold martial morality, Li Che unleashed the Demon Ox.

Seated cross-legged on a chair, Li Che took inventory of his gains, which were quite ordinary. He was mainly interested in the Divinity Crystals.

"So poor..."

Li Che frowned and muttered to himself. This White Wave Hall's hall master had a total of only five Ten-Town Divinity Crystals, barely making ends meet.

Over the past ten days, Li Che had completely transformed into the Demon Ox, hunting down the Fishing Gang's subordinate forces. Any cultivator who had accepted the Corpse Curse Seal from the Corpse Deity Sect was killed by him.

In total, he had obtained thirty-two Ten-Town Divinity Crystals, which wasn't a large number.

Li Che couldn't help but feel helpless. After all, Divinity Crystals were cultivation resources, and these cultivators needed them for their own cultivation. Being able to gather thirty-two of them was already quite impressive.

"The Corpse Deity Sect's Corpse Deity Envoys are indeed wealthier... One Eight Trigrams Divinity Crystal almost killed me."

Li Che muttered, savoring the memory.

Unfortunately, during this time, while he was in the guise of the Demon Ox hunting down the Fishing Gang's subordinates, he hadn't encountered any Corpse Deity Envoys from the Corpse Deity Sect.

A thought crossed his mind, and a light appeared before his eyes.

[Divine Fruits: Immortal Craft (lv3, 79%), Lion Elephant Vajra (lv3, 25%), Pure Heart (LV3, 5%), Chess Sage (LV2, 58%)]



The maturity of the Divine Fruits had increased significantly!

The Immortal Craft's improvement wasn't significant since he hadn't carved any new divine statues. As for the Lion Elephant Vajra, despite frequent battles, its growth rate was still decent, even though it wasn't under much pressure.

After reaching LV3, the Pure Heart's growth rate slowed down considerably. Even after absorbing all the remaining Eight Trigrams Divinity Crystals, it only increased its proficiency by 5%.

The Ten-Town Divinity Crystals were even slower, with ten of them increasing proficiency by just 1%, making them extremely inefficient. It seemed that after the Pure Heart consumed the refined essence of the Eight Trigrams Divinity Crystals, it couldn't absorb the crude energy of the Ten-Town Divinity Crystals.

This forced him to seek higher-quality Divinity Crystals.

Only Eight Trigrams and Seven Elements level Divinity Crystals were suitable?

Fortunately, the Pure Heart's extraction of divinity from Divinity Crystals was extremely fast. Li Che transformed the extracted Ten-Town Divinity into the Three-Eyed Wrathful True Monarch's Divine Foundation, greatly increasing the overall speed.

After ten days of refining ten Ten-Town Divinity Crystals, he elevated the Three-Eyed Wrathful True Monarch's Divine Foundation to the Middle Divine Foundation stage!

But what surprised Li Che the most was the Chess Sage Divine Fruit...

Due to increased killings, the condensed divine chess pieces, and the frequent use of the Thunderbolt Chess Sage and the Heaven and Earth Chessboard, the Chess Sage Divine Fruit's maturity had increased significantly!

It had now reached 58%!

Indeed, it was through battles and slaughter that progress came swiftly.

Li Che sighed with emotion.

After finishing his inventory, Li Che stood up, and his entire body resonated with a loud cracking sound that seemed to never end.

With his five fingers clenched, Li Che began to cultivate martial arts techniques within the courtyard, weaving air currents.

According to the Great Jing Temple Jail Lotus Divine Pulse Technique, Divine Vein cultivation primarily focused on divine transformations.

The number of divine transformations affected the strength of one's blood and internal energy.

To break through the Grandmaster rank, the Divine Vein needed to merge the insights of three ultimate martial arts, achieving three divine transformations.

This was the minimum requirement, and those who broke through to become True Qi Grandmasters were of the lowest tier.

The subsequent stages were the six divine transformations and nine divine transformations.

These required the fusion of the insights of six and nine ultimate martial arts, respectively.

The difficulty... was simply incomparable!

After all, for any martial artist, the time and effort required to cultivate a martial art to the ultimate level were immense.

Martial arts are further divided into Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana, each with its unique transformation realm.

Many Divine Vein Fighters spend their entire lives trying to cultivate three transformation realm martial arts, but they still fall short of achieving Grandmastery.

However, it is rumored that within the Divine Sect, there exists a mysterious Martial Pill that can enhance one's martial arts comprehension, allowing them to accelerate their cultivation towards the transformation realm.

This explains why grand sects often produce Grandmasters.

But for ordinary Divine Vein cultivators, achieving Grandmastery is extremely difficult.

Without reaching Grandmastery, the Divine Form Realm remains out of reach, creating a vicious cycle with no way forward.

Inside the workshop, the raging wind gradually subsided, leaving behind a powerful aura and surging blood energy. Li Che opened his eyes, and in the darkness, a dazzling light seemed to burst forth, his eyes like two stars emitting a radiant glow.

"White Tiger Chaotic Wind Fist and Eight-Linked Bone Shattering Spear have both reached the transformation realm and are integrated into the Divine Vein..."

"Additionally, the Python Dragon Cannon, Cloud Eagle Cloud Soaring Leap, and Wrathful Cry Hundred Devils Thunderbolt Arrow have all reached the master level, and the Wrathful Venerable Three Blade Sword is about to reach the master level..."

"Oh, and the Maitreya Golden Robe has also reached the master level, all just one step away from the transformation realm."

"But I've only cultivated seven martial arts, and I still need two more for the Divine Vein Nine Transformations..."

Li Che pondered.

As the possessor of the Lion Elephant Vajra Fruit, Li Che naturally aimed to challenge the Divine Vein Nine Transformations and attain the Grandmaster realm in the most perfect manner.

However, even for him, achieving the Divine Vein Nine Transformations was extremely challenging.

"Oh, and there's also the Seven Elements Divine Carving Technique that I obtained from the Heaven-Enraged Bureau, which includes a profound martial skill called Thousand-Hand Divine Carving, belonging to the category of martial skills. But I'm still some distance away from perfection..."

"So, I still need one more martial skill at the transformation realm."

Li Che finished his cultivation and stood up, with streams of energy and blood coursing through his body, resembling a blooming hell lotus.

"How about the Corpse Deity Sect's martial skills?"

Li Che thought of the Corpse God Death Smoke Finger, a Divine Aura martial skill he had obtained from the Corpse Deity Envoy of the Corpse Deity Sect.

But this martial skill required Death Qi...

Hmm, the Demon Ox had an abundance of Death Qi.

Li Che exhaled.

Since that was the case, he decided to cultivate it!

With the foundation of the Divine Vein Nine Transformations complete, he had everything he needed.

The Demon Ox, in his current state, could only resort to stealthy killings, striking and then fleeing.

Moreover, he could only target small gangs under the Fishing Gang's command, as the higher-ups of the Fishing Gang would be much harder to deal with.

After all, the Fishing Gang's Guildmaster had truly reached the Divine Form Realm, and the two Deputy Guildmasters were even Grandmasters in the Illusory Form Realm.

Even with the Ascension State activated, facing an opponent in the Illusory Form Realm would still be very challenging.

The Temple Deity possessed the strength to dominate its peers, but the Illusory Form Realm was no longer part of the Divine Foundation, so the suppression power of the Ascension State would be reduced, making victory difficult.

However, Li Che felt that he could still give it a try.

It was just that...

There were too many powerful individuals in Golden Light City, and if he were to be surrounded, it would be extremely dangerous.

Li Che valued stability, and even when he transformed into the Demon Ox, he sought to balance his freedom with ensuring his own safety.

Exhaling a turbid breath, Li Che walked towards the window.

Looking at the Nine Dragon River's waters crashing against the cliff, Li Che's gaze changed.

As he gazed into the distance, it was as if he could see through the thick city walls and spot a majestic and strange temple standing outside the city, towering over the raging river.

He sighed.

"The power of the Temple Deity... is becoming inadequate."

"I want to absorb."

...

...

Deep into the night, at the Fishing Gang's headquarters.

A robust old man with a bare upper body and a fierce, bearded appearance sat upright in a grandmaster's chair, his eyes wide open and filled with surging killing intent.

The entire room was deathly silent and oppressive.

Deputy Guildmaster Liu Jinsong and the other Deputy Guildmaster, Zhao Xunqi, fell silent.

"The Million Gambling House, White Wave Hall... all seven of them, the forces under my Fishing Gang, have been slaughtered and eliminated!"

"Now my Fishing Gang is in turmoil, and many are even considering leaving the gang!"

"A Demon Ox, not even in the Illusory Form Realm, has caused such chaos within my Fishing Gang!"

"Damn it!"

The Fishing Gang's Guildmaster slammed his palm down, and the terrifying divine form pressure instantly emptied the air in the room, emitting a fierce howling sound.

"What about the people from the Corpse Deity Sect?"

"All those who died had received the Corpse Curse Seal before being targeted by the Demon Ox..."

"How did the Demon Ox accurately find those who had received the seal?!"

The Fishing Gang's Guildmaster, with his feline-like eyes, glared at Liu Jinsong.

"Could it be that the Demon Ox is a member of the Corpse Deity Sect? Is he deliberately targeting our Fishing Gang under the pretense of an excuse?!"

Liu Jinsong, who was in charge of communications with the Corpse Deity Sect, paled slightly.

It's impossible for the Demon Ox to be a member of the Corpse Deity Sect, absolutely impossible...

This is bad, the Guildmaster must not jump to conclusions!

Liu Jinsong, dressed in ornate clothing, bowed and exhaled, his face grim.

"The Demon Ox is definitely not a member of the Corpse Deity Sect, Guildmaster, please calm down..."

"As for why the Corpse Deity Sect's many Corpse Deity Envoys are hiding..."

"Because..."

Liu Jinsong's face twitched.

"The Vernal Equinox is approaching."

"Li Qingshan will be returning soon."

During the naked sprint, please support with monthly tickets, recommendations, and follows! Old Li thanks you!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end