Chapter 112: Devious and Cunning, Yet Called a Hero - Li Qingshan Returns [Seeking Monthly Votes]

Chapter 112: Devious and Cunning, Yet Called a Hero - Li Qingshan Returns [Seeking Monthly Votes]



Thick, relentless blood spewed forth like a gushing fountain, continuously splashing and spreading.

The entire hall was enveloped in a suffocating stench of blood, making people feel nauseous.

Within the grand hall of the White Wave Hall, the wind howled through, chilling everyone to the bone.

Devil Ox...

Devil Ox!

His name alone strikes fear into the hearts of men!

A most heinous and vicious villain!

The deputy hall master standing beside the White Wave Hall's hall master trembled uncontrollably, his face deathly pale, eyes shrunk to the size of green peas.

He stared dumbfounded at the towering, mountain-like figure who had effortlessly twisted the head of the White WaveHall's hall master off with a snap.

The wildly dancing, sturdy black hair, like lightning, illuminated the adorable ox mask... like a demon!

“You... you...”

The deputy hall master was terrified; the tales of Devil Ox's ferocity had been like thunder in his ears for so long.

So many forces under the Fishermen's Gang had been slaughtered by Devil Ox, yet the Fishermen's Gang could do nothing about it!

Now, Devil Ox had appeared at the WhiteWave, and it was finally the White Wave Hall's turn...

The deputy hall master felt utter despair. Devil Ox's appearance was completely unforeseen, as if he had suddenly materialized beside the White Wave Hall's hall master.

The hall master, who had cultivated the Corpse Cultivation Technique, nurturing his flesh with death qi to the peak of the Cursed Corpse, with one foot already striding towards the Cursed Iron Corpse, had his head twisted off by Devil Ox...

Easier than snapping a chicken's neck...

This Devil Ox was even more terrifying than the rumors by tenfold, a hundredfold!

Li Che’s eyes behind the mask were icy cold, devoid of any emotion.

These people...

All deserve to die.

His gaze connected with the cosmic chessboard, where the Eight Directions Corpse Curse Seal within the board trembled violently, and a ring of intangible corpse qi spread from his body.

This made the Corpse Curse Seals on their bodies appear crystal clear in his eyes!

This was the gift bestowed by the Corpse Deity Sect, but also the means to drag them into the mire. The Corpse Curse Seal needed death qi to cultivate; to advance in cultivation, they had to accumulate death qi.

Where did the death qi come from?

Just like the White Wave Hall's hall master, by killing... and even eating people!

Peng—!

Blood and qi erupted, the deputy hall master had no thought of fighting to the death; he only wanted to flee!

The hall master said that when Devil Ox appeared, someone would come to deal with him, where were they?

Where are they!!!

“Where are they?!”

A roar erupted from the deputy hall master’s mouth.

Then, his body became immobile, his throat seemingly gripped by an invisible hand. The terrifying high-rank Divine Essence spread like ripples, brushing over his body, and he froze in place, unable to move...

What a terrifying Divine Essence...

The deputy hall master felt his own Divine Essence trembling, unable to muster even a shred of it. In the face of a higher rank, he was completely suppressed.

Then, he saw a blazing sun-like millstone divine foundation rising behind Devil Ox.

As the Divine Foundation rotated, countless blades of light swept in an instant, like countless bamboo leaves stirred by a gale, a hurricane sweeping through, causing a chaotic whirlwind within the hall.

Puh puh puh puh—

Every expert of the White Wave Hall within the hall met their end!

Li Che briefly activated the Ascension State, which did not provide the Temple Deity Power, but could last for a few breaths, conveniently drawing Divine Essence in one go.

Five fingers clenched, countless Divine Essence gathered from the corpses, coalescing into a Divine Chess Piece, which he absorbed into the cosmic chessboard.

Li Che’s powerful Divine Perception swept over, stripping the Heaven and Earth Jade from the two already slain deputy hall masters and the hall master whose head he had twisted off.

Killing without looting the corpses, what's the difference from a dead fish?

“Devil Ox—!!”

“Where are you going!”

After Li Che completed this looting action, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from outside the White Wave Hall!

That was... the Divine Essence aura of an Illusory Form Cultivator!

Vast and overwhelming, like a deity opening its eyes from afar, the Divine Essence pressure swept over, seeking to obliterate everything.

And there was the terrifying sound of the wind, the the arrows of the wind,, A powerful arch Archer from Divine Wave Hall had released a life-threatening arrow from afar, targeting him!

!

The arrow, entwined with the roaring qi of a python python, and the perfected Divine Foundation Divine Essence!

A very powerful shot!

It sealed all of Devil Ox’s escape routes and directions!

But this was not the first time Li Che had encountered this. The powerful Divine Archer in the Divine Guard Army had arrow skills that were far more superior to Li Che’s [Wrathful Cry Hundred Ghost Lightning Arrow].

Moreover, this Divine Archer was extremely strong, at the Master Realm Mid-stage, with Divine Essence already perfected and observing the Divine Appearance, on the verge of the Phantom Realm.

Shot was more terrifying than a cannonball!

!

If it came to explosive power, it even surpassed his [Namu Immortal Artisan Barrett]!

The Immortal Artisan Barrett had a longer range, faster speed, and stronger penetration, combined with the poisonous Dragon Fang Bodhi bullets...

Caused extremely terrifying slaughter!

But in terms of explosive power, it truly was no match for the Divine Archer’s arrow, which contained the Master’s true qi and perfected Divine Foundation Divine Essence!

The twin attacks rampaged forth, one from the Fishermen's Gang Phantom Realm expert, and one from the Divine Guard Army's Divine Archer!

Almost simultaneously, they unleashed their thunderous killing power.

The terrifying pressure was nearly suffocating!

Boom—!!!

A terrifying explosion rose, like a mushroom cloud, the ground shook, countless cracks spider-webbed, as if an earthquake had struck.

Several dozen zhang away, the Nine Dragons River churned with agitated waves, as if a dragon raged within.

In an instant, the conference hall of White Wave Hall collapsed, sinking into a deep pit. The tiles shattered, and the walls crumbled, revealing a vast web of radial cracks that intertwined menacingly.

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

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

There stood an elderly man in luxurious robes, hands clasped behind his back, hovering in mid-air with the ability to levitate—a cultivator of the Illusory Form, Liu Jinsong, one of the two Deputy Guild Masters of the Fishermen's Gang with Illusory Form cultivation.

Another person, exuding a formidable aura of raging blood energy, shot towards the scene and landed at the edge of the pit, their golden armor gleaming in the sunlight.

"He escaped again..."

This person was none other than the Divine Guard Army's renowned archer, Jiang Du.

Both of them were top-tier experts in Golden Light City, and yet, working together, they had been unable to stop the Devil Ox from escaping once more.

Liu Jinsong floated gracefully, his robes billowing in the wind as he stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes cold and stern. "What a slippery Devil Ox, as elusive as an eel..."

"Always sneaking around and killing people... So treacherous and cunning!"

"Some even call him a hero in the streets, but he's killed innocent members of our Fishermen's Gang... He's brutal and violent, yet he's also cowardly and afraid to die. He's nothing but a rat!"

Liu Jinsong scolded aloud.

A high-level cultivator of the Phantom Realm was repeatedly outmaneuvered and toyed with by a mere Divine Foundation Initial Stage cultivator. It was infuriating.

Jiang Du sheathed his crimson longbow and glanced at the disgruntled Liu Jinsong, his heart filled with disdain.

The people killed by the Devil Ox... Liu Jinsong, as a Deputy Guild Master of the Fishermen's Gang, was well aware of their nature. They had been extorting the common folk, committing heinous acts, and even feeding people to the fish—their cruelty knew no bounds. These people deserved their fate.

Why, then, had the Devil Ox, despite his numerous killings, gained a favorable reputation among the commoners and become a celebrated hero? It was all thanks to the contrast with the other gangs!

"This Devil Ox must possess a teleportation divine secret technique and an extremely profound concealment skill. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to escape our combined attacks and divine essence seals so effortlessly."

Jiang Du's golden armor clanged as he spoke in a deep voice.

Liu Jinsong let out a cold snort, his face contorting in anger.

The Fishermen's Gang had lost yet another branch! White Wave Hall, the gang's notorious enforcer, known for its swift and ruthless actions, had been utterly crushed by the Devil Ox.

In less than ten days, the gang had suffered heavy casualties among its branches.

Liu Jinsong's eyes flickered with a dark gleam, and a faint glow of gloom emanated from him.

The reason was...

The Devil Ox had been targeting and killing only those who had pledged allegiance to the Corpse Deity Sect and received the Corpse Curse Seal. This Devil Ox was specifically targeting followers of the Corpse Deity Sect!

Could it be a coincidence? Perhaps once or twice, but every time the Fishermen's Gang lost a branch to the Devil Ox, there were members with the Corpse Curse Seal among them. It couldn't be a coincidence anymore.

"He's targeting the Corpse Deity Sect! He's single-handedly challenging their influence in Golden Light City!"

"A madman, this Devil Ox..."

"A true Wild Bull!"

...

...

"No Taboos, he's gone too far!"

"I really..."

"I like it!"

Temple Guard Service.

Zhang Lianhao examined the intelligence report on the Devil Ox submitted by Hong Yong and Shi Lei, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he slammed his hand on the table.

The Fishermen's Gang had lost another branch to the Devil Ox, and according to the Temple Guard Service's intelligence, the master of White Wave Hall was also a follower of the Corpse Deity Sect.

"This Devil Ox... can distinguish who has pledged allegiance to the Corpse Deity Sect."

"He's specifically targeting and killing their followers. Is he trying to challenge the Corpse Deity Sect's influence in Golden Light City on his own?"

Zhang Lianhao stood up, pacing with his hands behind his back.

His face was slightly flushed with excitement.

Didn't the Temple Guard Service know about the Corpse Deity Sect's infiltration? Of course, they did, but they dared not act rashly because they couldn't identify who was corrupted and couldn't detect the existence of the Corpse Curse Seal.

According to the Temple Guard Service's intelligence, obtained at the cost of many spies' lives, the Corpse Deity Sect had taken advantage of the riot at the Strange Temple of the Eight-Armed Prison Lotus Wrathful Third Prince to send infiltrators to corrupt many high-ranking officials in Golden Light City.

Currently, the Temple Guard Service's supervisors and governors were all dealing with the riot at the Strange Temple.

Golden Light City's Temple Guard Service was lacking in powerful cultivators.

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

The main reason was that he couldn't act without knowing which high-ranking officials in Golden Light City had been corrupted by the Corpse Deity Sect.

But the most critical issue was that even the Divine Guard Army had high-ranking officials who had been infiltrated, which was the most severe problem! After all, the Temple Guard Service had many powerful cultivators, but in terms of military might, they couldn't compare to the Divine Guard Army of Golden Light City.

"What a Devil Ox..."

"A true hero."

Zhang Lianhao sighed with admiration.

The Devil Ox, with his disregard for rules and his bloodthirsty nature, had forced the Fishermen's Gang to restrain their own aggressive tendencies.

"I truly envy his unrestrained nature..."

Zhang Lianhao genuinely envied the Devil Ox. Once he put on this official robe, many things were beyond his control.

"This Devil Ox's movement technique is truly remarkable, and it's likely he possesses the Teleportation Technique, but now that he's exposed... various parties are prepared, and with means to restrict the Teleportation Technique, the Devil Ox... won't be far from being captured."

Zhang Lianhao stopped pacing and stood by the window.

Gazing at the sky filled with dark clouds, brewing a spring rain.

...

...

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

Like a landscape painting with ample negative space, some buildings with flying eaves and upturned corners emerged, exuding poetic charm.

The Celestial Surveillance Agency, Cliffstone Treasure Tower.

During work hours.

Li Che held the white Flying Thunder Chess Piece in his five fingers and returned to his work.

The bloody smell on his body was extremely intense, but with a sudden jolt, countless blood was condensed, forming a blood pearl that was directly thrown into a jade bottle and tossed into the Heaven and Earth Space.

Lighting the sandalwood incense, filling the workroom with a faint fragrance.

Putting away the Devil Ox mask, removing the black robe, his burly physical body returned to normal, and he resumed his usual gentle and honest appearance.

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

The Fishermen's Gang... had caught his attention, but he didn't start by tailing the Black Snake Gang who was watching his family. Instead, he took action against other forces within the Fishermen's Gang, as long as they had the Corpse Curse Seal.

Li Che would strike without hesitation, killing them with thunderous force.

What surprised Li Che was that the Fishermen's Gang... was almost completely infiltrated by the Corpse Deity Sect, or rather, it was almost like they had opened their arms wide, allowing the Corpse Deity Sect to erode them.

This was undoubtedly done with the consent of the Fishermen's Gang's upper echelon.

"The Fishermen's Gang... are they planning to rebel against the Golden Light City?"

Li Che's eyes flashed slightly.

However, he couldn't be bothered to deal with it.

Whether the Fishermen's Gang rebelled or not, he didn't care. After all, he only sought freedom in his heart, and since the Fishermen's Gang didn't uphold martial morals, he, Li Che, had released the Devil Ox.

Sitting cross-legged on the chair, Li Che took stock of his gains from this trip. In truth, his gains were quite ordinary, and Li Che was mainly concerned about the Divine Essence Crystals.

"So poor..."

Li Che frowned and muttered. This White Wave Hall's Hall Master was so poor that he was on the verge of death.

Over the past ten days, Li Che had completely transformed into the Devil Ox, hunting down the forces under the Fishermen's Gang. Any cultivators who had accepted the Corpse Curse from the Corpse Deity Sect were killed by him.

In total, he had collected thirty-two Ten-Town Divine Essence Crystals, which wasn't a large number.

Li Che also felt helpless. After all, the Divine Essence Crystals were cultivation resources for consumption, and these cultivators needed them for cultivation. Being able to gather thirty-two crystals was already quite impressive.

"The Corpse God Envoys of the Corpse Deity Sect are indeed wealthy... One Octagonal Divine Essence Crystal almost killed me."

Li Che muttered, feeling a bit nostalgic.

Unfortunately, during this period, while he was in the form of the Devil Ox, hunting down the forces under the Fishermen's Gang, he never encountered the Corpse God Envoys of the Corpse Deity Sect.

A thought flashed through his mind, and a stream of light appeared before his eyes.

[Dao Fruit: Immortal Craft (lv3, 79%), Dragon Elephant Vajra (lv3, 25%), Pure Heart (LV3, 5%), Chess Sage (LV2, 58%)]



The Dao Fruit's maturity had achieved a significant increase overall!

The Immortal Craft's improvement wasn't significant, as he hadn't carved any new statues. The Dragon Elephant Vajra, due to frequent battles, had a good improvement speed despite not facing too much pressure.

After reaching LV3, the Pure Heart's improvement slowed down completely. Even if he absorbed the remaining Octagonal Divine Essence Crystal, it only increased the mastery by a mere 5%.

The Ten-Town Divine Essence Crystal, ten of them were needed to increase by 1%, and the speed slowed down drastically, making the cost-effectiveness extremely low. It seemed that after the Pure Heart absorbed the Octagonal Divine Essence Crystal's fine residue, the Ten-Town Divine Essence Crystal, such coarse food, could no longer be absorbed.

This forced him to seek high-quality Divine Essence Crystals.

Only Octagonal and Seven Elements level Divine Essence Crystals could be absorbed?

Fortunately, the Pure Heart's extraction speed of the divinity from the Divine Essence Crystals was extremely fast. Li Che transferred the extracted Ten-Town Divine Essence Crystals to the Three-Eyed Wrathful Vajra's Divine Foundation, and although it still needed to be refined, the overall speed increased significantly.

After ten days of refining ten Ten-Town Divine Essence Crystals, the Three-Eyed Wrathful Vajra's Divine Foundation had increased by 1%! But what surprised Li Che the most was the Chess Sage's Dao Fruit...

Due to the increased killings, the condensed divine essence chess pieces, and the frequency of using the Flying Thunder Chess Sage and the Heavenly Chessboard had increased.

The Chess Sage's Dao Fruit maturity had achieved a pleasing increase! It had now reached 58%!

As expected, only through battles and slaughter could the improvement come faster.

Li Che felt a surge of emotion.

After finishing his preparations, Li Che stood up, and his entire body's tendons and bones resonated with a crackling sound that lingered endlessly.

With his five fingers clenched, the streams of qi intertwined, and Li Che began cultivating martial techniques within the courtyard.

Divine Vein cultivation, according to the Grand Jing Temple Guard Supreme Lotus Pulse Conduction Divine Vein Technique, focused on divine transformations.

The number of divine transformations affected the strength of blood, qi, and inner energy.

To break through the Grandmaster realm, the Divine Vein needed to fuse the profound realm of three martial arts, achieving the Three Divine Vein Transformations.

This was the minimum requirement, and those who broke through and became Grandmasters were also of the lowest rank.

The next stages were the Six Divine Vein Transformations and the Nine Divine Vein Transformations.

It required the fusion of six profound realm martial arts and nine profound realm martial arts.

The difficulty... was simply beyond comparison!

After all, for any martial artist, the time and effort required to cultivate a single martial technique to the profound realm was too much.

Martial arts are further categorized into Small Vehicle, Middle Vehicle, and Supreme Vehicle, and the cultivation realms they lead to are also distinct.

Many Divine Vein martial artists exhaust their entire lives without mastering even three transformation realms, let alone aspiring to become a Grandmaster.

However, it is rumored that within the Divine Sect, there exists a mysterious martial pill that enhances one's understanding of martial arts, accelerating their cultivation towards the transformation realms.

This explains why Grand Sects frequently produce Grandmasters.

However, for ordinary Divine Vein cultivators, achieving the Grandmaster level is extremely difficult.

Failing to reach the Grandmaster level means the Divine Image Realm remains unattainable... It's like a dead-end cycle, a path that has already collapsed.

Within the workshop, the raging winds gradually subsided, leaving only a powerful and restrained surge of energy. Li Che opened his eyes, and in the darkness, a dazzling light seemed to burst forth, his eyes shining like two stars emitting a radiant glow.

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

"The Python Dragon Cannon, Cloud Hawk Sky-Leaping, and Wrathful Cry Hundred Ghost Lightning Arrow have all reached the Master level, and the Wrathful True Monarch's Three-Blade Saber is about to reach the Master level..."

"Oh right, the Maitreya Golden Robe has also reached the Master level, all just a step away from the transformation realm."

"But I've only mastered seven transformation realms, and I still need two more."

Li Che pondered.

Possessing the Dragon Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit, Li Che naturally aimed to break through the Divine Vein Nine Transformations, stepping into the Grandmaster level in the most perfect manner.

However, even for him, breaking through the Divine Vein Nine Transformations is extremely challenging.

"Oh right, there's also the Grand Jing Celestial Surveillance Agency's Seven Elements Divine Carving Technique, which includes the Thousand Hands Divine Carving, a profound martial skill..."

"So, I still need one more transformation realm in martial skills."

Li Che stood up after finishing his cultivation, and the qi stream and blood energy swirled around him, like a blooming hell lotus.

"Corpse Deity Sect's martial arts..."

Li Che thought of the Corpse Deity Skill, the Corpse God Death Smoke Finger, which he obtained from a Corpse Deity Sect's Corpse God Envoy.

This martial skill requires Death Qi...

Hmm, the Ox Demon is never short of Death Qi.

Li Che exhaled.

Since it's like this, I'll cultivate it!

The foundation for the Divine Vein Nine Transformations is now complete!

The current Ox Demon, when facing the Fishermen's Gang... can only resort to stealthy assassinations, killing and then fleeing.

Moreover, the only ones he can kill are the small gangs under the Fishermen's Gang, as dealing with the gang's higher-ups is likely very difficult.

After all, the Fishermen's Gang leader is in the Divine Image Realm, and the two vice leaders are Grandmasters in the Illusory Form Realm.

Even with the Ascension State activated, facing the Illusory Form Realm is still very challenging.

Temple Gods possess the ability to be undefeated within their own realm, but the Illusory Form Realm is not part of the Divine Foundation, so the suppression power of the Ascension State will be reduced.

However, Li Che felt that he should still be able to fight.

It's just that there are too many powerful individuals in the city, and if he gets surrounded, it will be truly difficult.

Li Che, prioritizing both freedom and safety, arrived at the window.

Looking out, Li Che's gaze changed.

From afar, it was as if he could see through the thick city walls, and there stood a majestic and mysterious temple outside the city, towering over the raging river.

Sighing.

"Temple God's power... is limited."

"I want to absorb it."

...

...

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

An elderly man with a bare upper body, his beard flying in the wind, sat in a grandmaster's chair, his eyes wide open, filled with surging killing intent.

The entire room was deathly silent and oppressive.

Vice leader Liu Jinsong and the other vice leader, Li Qingshan, immediately fell silent.

"Million Dollar Gambling House, White Wave Hall... Our Fishermen's Gang's seven forces have all been slaughtered and eliminated!"

"Now, our Fishermen's Gang is in chaos, and many want to leave the gang!"

"A mere Ox Demon, not even in the Illusory Form Realm, has caused such chaos in our Fishermen's Gang!"

"Damn it!"

The Fishermen's Gang leader slammed his palm down, and the terrifying Divine Image power emptied the room of all qi streams, emitting a fierce howling sound.

"What about the Corpse Deity Sect's people?"

"The deceased were all marked with the seal before being targeted by the Ox Demon..."

"Why can the Ox Demon accurately find those marked with the seal?!"

The Fishermen's Gang leader glared with anger, looking at Liu Jinsong.

"Could it be that the Ox Demon is from the Corpse Deity Sect? Is this just an excuse to target our Fishermen's Gang?!"

Liu Jinsong, who was in charge of contacting the Corpse Deity Sect, slightly changed color.

The Ox Demon is from the Corpse Deity Sect? Impossible, absolutely impossible...

This is chaos! The leader must not make wild guesses!

Liu Jinsong, in his elegant attire, bowed and then exhaled, his expression grim.

"The Ox Demon absolutely cannot be from the Corpse Deity Sect, leader..."

"As for why so many Corpse Deity Sect's Corpse God Envoys are in hiding."

"Because Li Qingshan is returning for the Vernal Equinox."

During the naked sprint, seeking monthly votes, recommendations, and readers!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end