Chapter 144: The Enraged Prince in the Temple, Counting the Harvest of the Sword Immortal

Chapter 144: The Enraged Prince in the Temple, Counting the Harvest of the Sword Immortal

Around the deep pit, dense death Qi and corpse aura intertwined and filled the air.

It made the already deep night even darker, as if thick smoke was swirling and twisting, hanging around the pit.

In front of each black vortex, stood a figure dressed in white robes, wearing a white mask with the character "Eight" written in blood.

They were all Eight Apex Corpse God Envoys of the Corpse Deity Sect!

There were six of them!

A terrifying and oppressive pressure was swirling and rolling.

"A Great Master?"

"Impossible, it can't be a Great Master..."

After a long while, one of the Corpse God Envoys broke the silence.

"Great Masters have no interest in Strange Temples. They are a group of madmen who pursue the limits of physical breakthroughs, breaking through the void, and ascending to the ranks of immortals."

"The only thing of value in Jin Guang Prefecture is the Four Imperial Anomalous Temples, the Eight-Armed Wrathful Third Prince Mysterious Temple."

"It's impossible for a Great Master to be attracted here."

Several Corpse God Envoys spoke one after another.

"But..."

"Such terrifying power, the lingering blood energy, and the awe-inspiring aura hidden within..."

"It's really similar to a Great Master!"

One of the Corpse God Envoys squatted down and broke off a piece of melted and solidified rock crystal.

Suddenly, the air began to vibrate violently, and a black dot appeared out of thin air, gradually growing and swirling.

It was like an ink dragon dancing in the void.

It transformed into a giant black smoke vortex with a diameter of three meters.

From within the vortex, a figure stepped out, and an overwhelming pressure of rank instantly swept over.

The Eight Apex Corpse God Envoys all felt an intense suppression.

"Honorable Envoy!"

It was a terrifying existence, dressed in white robes, with a blood-red "Seven" character written on its mask.

It was the Seven Elements Corpse God Envoy of the Corpse Deity Sect!

Each Seven Elements Corpse God Envoy was a Primordial Sage realm expert!

Moreover, they had cultivated the perfect Curse Bronze Corpse, giving birth to a silver beam, just one step away from becoming a Curse Silver Corpse, a top-tier expert!

"Is it Xu Jiqing who died?"

"Useless..."

"He was planted in the Golden Light Branch Sect for so long, fed so many resources to cultivate the Curse Bronze Corpse, and yet he encountered a suspected Great Master during this most important 'Temple Deity Resonance' and died."

"Was the Seven Elements Mother and Son Corpse Spell Seal recovered?"

The cold and oppressive pressure of rank was overwhelming, making the other Corpse God Envoys hesitant to speak.

Within the Corpse Deity Sect, the pressure of rank was even more terrifying.

Because everyone cultivated the Curse Corpse Technique, and the pressure of the Curse Bronze Corpse on the Curse Iron Corpse was more than ten times that of the Divine Essence rank...

Basically, the difference in cultivation levels was very obvious!

Although the Seven Elements Corpse God Envoy was also a Curse Bronze Corpse, the silver beam on his body...

Was an unsolvable suppression for them.

"Not yet... Xu Ji's soul attached to the Corpse Curse Seal and encountered a suspected Great Master along with Huang Shiyi. They both died."

One of the Eight Apex Corpse God Envoys reported in a low voice.

"Xu Ji's soul traveled through space using our sect's secret technique, 'Temporal Death Technique', and the coordinates were randomly determined..."

"How could they be targeted?"

"Did Huang Shiyi reveal their location?"

The Seven Elements Corpse God Envoy spoke coldly.

The eyes behind the mask looked towards the ruins of the deep pit, where Huang Shiyi's body lay like mud, without any attempt to hide their disgust.

"Useless!"

"A Great Master? All the Great Masters in the Great Divine Empire are under our sect's surveillance... There are no Great Masters in Jin Guang Prefecture!"

"Moreover, do you think a Great Master would be at this level?"

"It must be a fake."

The Seven Elements Corpse God Envoy spoke coldly, "Investigate! Find the culprit for me!"

"The Temple Deity Resonance is about to begin... Many powerful experts have gathered in Jin Guang Prefecture, even some from Dao City, so be discreet."

"Investigate secretly."

"Also... Many Divine Children have arrived. Find an opportunity to infect them."

"Even if only one Divine Child joins our sect... Our sect will profit greatly!"

The Seven Elements Corpse God Envoy gave orders and assigned tasks.

"Also..."

"That ox demon who specializes in hunting our sect members... I just returned from Thunderbolt City. Cao Guang's ceremony was disrupted, and that ox demon was involved!"

"That ox ruined my plans... I will meet him soon, slaughter him, and eat his beef!"

"Disperse!"

The white-robed figure suddenly waved his sleeves, creating a gust of wind, and a silver beam burst forth, landing on Huang Shiyi's mud-like corpse.

Instantly, the corpse directly vaporized!

Then, the figure turned and stepped into the black vortex, disappearing without a trace.

"Yes!"

The six Eight Apex Corpse God Envoys respectfully bowed.

They also stepped into the black vortex, one by one.

...

...

The winter snow fell, carrying a heavy sorrow.

Unable to wash away the mountains and rivers, it only brought a cold dusk to the river and sky.

At dusk, a flock of crows cawed like rain.

In the churning Nine Dragon River, a giant and majestic Strange Temple stood on the river's surface, causing ripples to spread in layers!

A thousand meters away from the Strange Temple, several Town Temple Guardians stood in black and red uniforms, like spears, with their hands forming seals.

Divine Essence burst forth from their bodies, intertwining and blending, forming an immense net that enveloped the temple.

Boom!

The river water kept forming bumps, like boiling water in a pot, bubbling and surging.

The Strange Temple continuously shook, and between heaven and earth, it was as if an angry roar echoed, as if the figure beneath the temple was struggling to break free!

The sound of anger, like a winter thunderclap, reverberated through the sky!

Clang, clang...

It was as if the sound of chains being pulled, grating and unbearable, like a mischievous child biting a metal chain with their teeth.

The Town Temple Guardians standing on the river's surface, their faces solemn, suddenly changed expressions.

The invisible sound waves, mixed with strands of crimson divine essence, seemed to rise from the river, enveloping their bodies.

In an instant, their eyes turned crimson, as if their minds were being altered and their wills usurped by the divine essence.

Many of them slowed down their continuous hand gestures of forming seals.

But they were, after all, professionally trained. Although their minds were clouded by the encroaching divine essence, their seal-forming movements never ceased.

"Halt!"

Suddenly, a voice thundered like a startling clap of thunder, and a figure strode across the river from a distance, walking slowly but with incredible speed.

The embroidered Kirin uniform fluttered in the night wind.

The newcomer was none other than Xie Jing, the Governor of the Temple Guardian Corps!

With the addition of Xie Jing, a Primordial Sage expert, the temple officials who had been affected by the scattered divine essence and lost their will immediately regained their composure.

Xie Jing's face was grave and solemn as he stood up.

"Strange, according to the Heaven Foretelling Bureau's calculations, the day of the temple deity's rampage is still some time away. Why is there a sign of turmoil today...?"

"Did you sense something?"

Xie Jing's brows furrowed.

Suddenly, the sound of a two-stringed instrument filled the air, and a man in plain clothes, with a small bamboo stool hanging from his waist, appeared and landed beside him.

"Inspector, what's the matter?"

Xie Jing turned to the Inspector, whose arrival was accompanied by the sound of the two-stringed instrument, and asked.

The Inspector stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes.

"Two possibilities... Someone might have entered the temple and accidentally awakened the temple deity."

"That's highly unlikely. The temple is surrounded by a mysterious barrier, and there are even several terrifying temple-guarding corpse gods in deep slumber. It's impossible for someone to enter the temple without making a sound."

"What about the second possibility?" Xie Jing couldn't help but ask.

"The second possibility..."

The Inspector turned his head towards the direction of the Divine Sect Main Gate. There, Golden Light Peak soared like a flowing light sword piercing the sky.

"On Golden Light Peak..."

"The Heavenly King is on patrol."

...

...

Jin Guang Prefecture, Luohua Lane.

A snowflake was instantly torn apart, and a black shadow descended in an instant.

The entire courtyard, covered in deep snow, was instantly struck by a terrifying force, slamming into the walls with a dull "boom."

A sizzling sound filled the air as the snow melted, and hot steam rose, creating a hazy mist.

Whoosh—

Suck—

The sound of heavy breathing, like the pumping of a bellows, filled the courtyard, stirring up the raging wind.

After about ten breaths, Li Che finally moved, awkwardly removing his helmet and mask and sitting down on the ground.

"As expected... It was still too much."

"The divine essence of the Heavenly King's temple deity is too high. Even with the body of a Furnace Master, entering the Tower Ascension state and absorbing only a third of the temple deity's chess piece essence was already pushing the limit."

"And my flesh and blood were torn apart, and my tendons and bones were pushed to the extreme..."

Li Che reflected on the power he had gained from absorbing the essence of the Golden Vajra.

In that moment, Li Che felt like he was going to burst with power, wearing the Ox Demon mask.

He could slay gods and Buddhas alike! Of course, this was the period of expansion after a surge in power, something Li Che had experienced many times.

Removing the Black Robe, Li Che revealed countless knife-like wounds on his flesh, caused by the overwhelming power that had torn through his Dragon Elephant True Energy-hardened skin.

Now, the wounds had already healed, and the Dragon Elephant True Energy cultivation path, with its unique dual cultivation, also brought powerful regenerative abilities.

"The first time I've been so severely injured..."

"The result is that I've avenged Xi Xi and eliminated the threat from Xu Jiuling."

Li Che sighed.

It had been a long time since he had felt the pain of injury.

Too lazy to put on clothes, Li Che stood up and started practicing punches in the courtyard, his fingers curled like hooks, drawing in the energy of the courtyard.

His muscles and bones vibrated, and his veins popped like coiling dragons, his spine like a roaring angry dragon!

He practiced the basic fist forms of the Dragon Elephant True Energy, a profound martial art.

Hot currents flowed through his body, and his blood and energy slowly returned to normal, dispelling any negative effects from using the power of the Heavenly King's temple deity.

After finishing his practice, Li Che put on a new black robe and returned to the inner room.

The Pure Heart divine essence was used to create ink, and the blood essence, combined with the Seven Emotions divine essence, was ground into Divine Ink.

With a splash of ink, seven Immortal in the Painting Li Che clones emerged, each finding a spot in the room, sitting in meditation, and entering the state of Liver Divine Essence.

Li Che stroked his chin, considering whether to paint another Immortal in the Painting clone to practice punches in the courtyard day and night, and if the strengthened physical body would also feedback to him after the clone's dissolution.

However, while divine essence could be fed back, it would be difficult for the physical body to do the same.

The main reason was that his original physical body was that of a Furnace Master, and the bodies of the clones he painted couldn't reach that level unless he infused all his blood essence into them.

Sitting in a chair, Li Che took a sip of water.

Li Che rubbed his hands, finally feeling at ease to tally his gains for the day.

Xu Jiuling was truly dead, his soul scattered, and the threat to Xi Xi was finally avenged. Li Che felt refreshed.

Moreover, he had obtained the Mother Seal of the Seven Elements Corpse Curse Seal.

With a thought, in the Heaven and Earth Chessboard, countless Pure Heart divine essences, like soldiers holding spears, surrounded and contained the Corpse Curse Seal, which was even more potent with the mixture of death essence and corpse aura.

This Mother Seal was far more powerful than the Child Seal, and it would likely take a significant amount of time to grind it down.

Once the refinement was successful, there was no doubt that his ability to detect the strength of the Corpse Deity Sect's experts would reach a whole new level.

"This Seven Elements Corpse Curse Seal, completely integrated, has probably reached the level of high-grade Seven Elements..."

"After refinement, will I be able to detect the holder of the Six Departments Corpse Curse Seal?"

Li Che thought to himself, but the holder of the Six Departments Corpse Curse Seal... how powerful must they be?

Shaking his head, Li Che didn't want to think about this question. He felt the restless and angry Seven Elements Corpse Curse Seal.

Li Che directly manipulated and brought over two dark golden pieces, almost causing the lines of the chessboard to sink. They were dark golden Divine Essence Chess Pieces of the Heavenly King.

The mother seal instantly became quiet and obedient.

It was like the evil spirits and monsters, trembling under the scolding of the gate gods on both sides.

Li Che smiled and manipulated the Pure Heart Divine Essence, slowly refining and melting it.

Exiting the Heaven and Earth Chessboard, Li Che tore open the air with his fingers, and two Heaven Earth Jade pieces fell out.

One was obtained from Xu Jiuling in close combat, and the other... was the treasure of the Eight Extreme Corpse God Envoy, whom Li Che had beaten into a pulp when he entered the Golden Vajra Ox Demon State.

Harvests were always exciting, and his mood was beautiful because of it.

Li Che split his divine sense into two, one on the left and one on the right, to start the investigation as he opened the two Heaven Earth Jade pieces simultaneously.

The Heaven Earth Jade pieces of two Divine Manifestation Realm experts...

Surely they wouldn't disappoint Li Che too much?

Li Che began to tally his harvest. "Two Divine Essences... Four Eight Apex Divine Essences, twenty Nine Stars Divine Essences, and one hundred and ten Ten Capitals Divine Essences."

"Not bad!"

Li Che was surprised. These Divine Essences, similar to his Pure Heart Divine Essence, could quickly enhance his Pure Heart Divine Essence and increase the condensation speed of the Seven Rounds Divine Foundation.

They were the most practical things.

"It's a pity there are no Seven Elements Divine Essences..." Li Che felt a little disappointed.

But this was normal.

With four Eight Apex Divine Essences, Li Che was already very happy.

After the Divine Essences came the Divine Armaments and pills.

Li Che clenched his five fingers, and a sword sheathed in its scabbard fell into his hand.

His palm suddenly turned red, and with a thousand analyses... analyze!

...

[Divine Armament (High-grade Seven Elements): Icefire Sword of Lu]



[Craftsmanship: Forged from a thousand-year-old cold iron, infused with the Divine Essences of Astonishment and Wrath, and tempered by fierce flames, this sword is a replica of a Sword Immortal's blade. It can channel the Divine Essences of Astonishment and Wrath, and its attacks carry both ice and fire.]



[Mastery: Divine Essences of Astonishment and Wrath, Sword Intent Grandmaster, Ethereal Shape Realm and above]



...

A Seven Elements Divine Armament sword, a replica of a Sword Immortal's blade!

"The sword of Sword Immortal Lu?"

Li Che's eyes flashed with an unusual light.

Was this one of the Eight Immortals? After a moment of contemplation, he sheathed the Divine Armament.

Aside from this Divine Armament, Xu Jiuling's collection only had one or two Ten Capitals Divine Armaments, as he was an Enforcement Hall Elder, a mole within the sect, but he still worked diligently.

He hadn't embezzled much.

But thinking about the Seven Elements Divine Armament that Xu Jiuling had given to Shangguan Qinglei to threaten Xi Xi, Li Che felt annoyed.

He had probably jumped to conclusions too early.

As for the Eight Extreme Corpse God Messenger, the Heaven Earth Jade didn't contain a Seven Elements Divine Armament, only a single low-grade Eight Elements Divine Armament...

He was quite poor.

Li Che kindly explained that he probably hadn't brought any Seven Elements Divine Armaments with him, as he had come in a hurry.

Regarding pills, Li Che was quite surprised.

A bottle of pills appeared in his palm, contained in black jade, and filled with dense, boiling Death Qi.

"A low-grade Seventh Rank Death Essence Condensation Pill!"

"Did this guy trade his Divine Armament for this pill?"

Li Che's eyes shone with excitement.

With such dense Death Qi, this Seventh Rank pill, even he, if he consumed it, would experience significant body refinement effects.

For Li Che, who had reached the Furnace Master Realm and was working on his physique, this pill would be effective.

There was only one Seventh Rank pill, six Eighth Rank Death Essence Pills, and the rest were Ninth Rank Essence Pills, which were better than nothing.

After all, Xu Jiuling was a traitor who had cultivated the Curse Copper Corpse, and he didn't have a single proper Essence Pill, only Death Essence Pills.

Li Che, feeling content, put away the pills and continued to inspect the martial arts.

There were quite a few martial arts, a mixed bag.

But Li Che was only interested in two! Only two caught his eye.

Xu Jiuling, as one of the Golden Light Branch Sect's Divine Appearance Realm Elders, presided over a peak and mastered an Essence Art.

The high-grade Essence Art, Lu's Divine Sword Scripture!

It was no weaker than the high-grade Essence Art, Eight Serpents Turning the River, practiced by Li Qingshan!

Both were Divine Sect Main Gate's Essence Arts, high-grade, and even higher than the Thunderclap Body practiced by the Shangguan Clan.

This was the difference between the Jin Guang Prefecture City and the secular world.

However, the Temple Deity Resonance and the Independent Workshop, should also have high-grade Essence Arts.

With another high-grade Essence Art in hand, Li Che's Dragon Elephant Vajra would become even stronger!

Li Che felt that his Dragon Elephant Vajra might need a new name...

"Integrating various Essence Arts, let's call it 'All-Encompassing Dragon Elephant Vajra'!"

Li Che smiled, as he was the creator of this high-grade Essence Art, so he could name it as he pleased.

The second martial art was not an Essence Art but a Divine Essence Secret Art.

Li Che narrowed his eyes, looking at the scroll enveloped in black Death Qi.

"Temporal Death Body Technique?"

A high-grade Divine Essence Secret Art.

With minor mastery, one could transform into black Death Qi smoke and travel through space.

"Oh... is this the space-traveling technique that Xu Jiuling kept us waiting for?"

Li Che raised an eyebrow.

Was this the space-traveling method that had kept them waiting for flowers to bloom?

It was nothing compared to his Thunderbolt Chess Piece.

Both required pre-setting coordinates and then traveling to the designated location.

The efficiency difference was like that of a 100-megabit connection versus a 10-megabit connection.

However, Li Che didn't completely dismiss this Secret Art.

"Although it's somewhat inferior in terms of teleportation, this Temporal Death Body Technique involves both time and space..."

"When mastered, not only will space travel be faster, but time can also be paused!"

"Time pause?"

Although it was only half a breath's time... less than a second, when experts clash, even this brief moment of stagnation can be extremely deadly and greatly disrupt their rhythm.

Li Che's eyes narrowed, and he couldn't help but become alert.

But amidst his alertness, he also felt a hint of temptation.

"Can I cultivate it?"

"If I can cultivate it, can I integrate it... into the Dragon Fang Bodhi Bullets?"

"If it can make the target's time stagnate while my speed remains unaffected, wouldn't it be an extremely bizarre variable-speed sniper bullet?"

Li Che was extremely intrigued. He began to flip through the pages, determined to research it even if he couldn't cultivate it himself, so he could incorporate it into his mechanisms.

...

...

Deep into the night, silence enveloped the world.

Li Che returned to Thunder Peak.

The courtyard was quiet. Xi Xi had just celebrated her birthday, and everyone was either cultivating or sleeping.

Li Che walked out of the study, recalling his woodcarving Woodcarving Immortal clone from the painting.

After extinguishing the candle, he stretched, his bones cracking audibly.

In front of him, a stream of light flashed by.

【Dao Fruits: Namoh Divine Art (lv3, 86%), Dragon Elephant Vajra (lv3, 70%), Pure Heart (LV3, 7%), Chess Sage (LV3, 15%), Woodcarving Immortal (lv1, 5%)】

The summary of his Dao Fruits appeared before his eyes.

Li Che glanced at it, feeling quite satisfied.

Excluding Namoh Divine Art, the maturity of his other Dao Fruits had increased significantly.

The Dragon Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit, in particular, had improved remarkably after he activated the Golden Vajra Tower Ascension State to kill Xu Jiuling and an Eight Apex Corpse God Envoy.

The Chess Sage Dao Fruit had also advanced considerably after absorbing the corpse's divine essence.

As for the Woodcarving Immortal Dao Fruit, even though he had just acquired it, Li Che's clones were working tirelessly.

Everything was thriving, steadily improving.

Li Che was very pleased.

As his qi and blood circulated through his body, Li Che returned to the house.

To his surprise, the oil lamp in the inner room was still lit, and his wife, Zhang Ya, was sitting in front of it, staring at the flickering flame.

Undoubtedly, she had been waiting for his return.

Zhang Ya had guessed what Li Che was going to do that night.

Moreover, the commotion at Flowing Sword Peak had been so great that Thunder Peak had also sensed it.

After all, that was a Divine Appearance expert, so Zhang Ya naturally worried about her husband's safety.

When Zhang Ya saw Li Che return, she hurriedly got up, rushed towards him, and hugged her husband's waist.

"As long as you're safe, that's all that matters..."

Zhang Ya exhaled in relief.

Li Che's eyes softened as he gently patted his wife's delicate shoulders.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"I'm the pillar of this family, and I won't put myself in danger."

Li Che reassured her gently.

Zhang Ya lifted her face, buried in Li Che's embrace, her eyes sparkling with crystal tears, "But I'm still so worried."

"You have to believe in your husband's strength and power." Li Che smiled, "For the sake of this family, I won't allow myself to get into trouble..."

"After all, I have you and Xi Xi to worry about."

Zhang Ya bit her lip.

Li Che laughed and directly picked up his wife's long legs, carrying her towards the inner room.

"Stop it, Xi Xi is sleeping with me tonight."

Zhang Ya panicked and blushed.

"Don't worry, she won't hear a thing."

Li Che calmly summoned the Heaven and Earth Chessboard, securely covering Xi Xi.

The couple began to work on developing and consolidating their bone-tempering postures with peace of mind.

...

...

The next day, at dawn.

Zhang Ya did not get up.

Li Che, feeling refreshed and energized, prepared breakfast for the whole family.

He teleported to the Luohua Lane courtyard and calmly entered the small restaurant, where the recently awakened Black Dog was yawning and stretching its claws.

"Boss, what's for breakfast today?"

Li Che entered the Fly's Diner and asked.

A handsome young man emerged from the kitchen and glanced at Li Che, "Only dumplings."

"Then give me a hundred!" Li Che teased the large black dog at the entrance.

The young man's face darkened, "No, only thirty. No more."

"Then thirty it is."

Li Che didn't mind.

The young man turned and went back into the kitchen, bringing out three steaming baskets for Li Che to take.

Li Che didn't hesitate and took thirty dumplings, then poured a large jar of soy milk, "Boss, I'm buying so many dumplings, shouldn't the soy milk be free?"

"Get out."

Li Che smiled and tossed a gold leaf, kicking the black dog at the entrance that was trying to sneak a dumpling. He left, laughing, as the dog bared its teeth.

The young boss calmly pocketed the gold leaf and glanced at Li Che's figure disappearing into the snow.

He grabbed a dumpling and fed it to the black dog, petting its head as he did so.

Li Che brought back breakfast, and everyone enjoyed it.

Xi Xi ate ten dumplings by herself, her mouth greasy, "Daddy, these meat dumplings are so delicious!"

"I want more tomorrow!"

Xi Xi held a large meat dumpling in each hand, excited.

"By the way, why is mother still sleeping in?" Xi Xi asked, puzzled.

"Your mother overdid it with bone tempering yesterday, so let her rest." Li Che replied nonchalantly.

After breakfast.

Old Chen, holding a cigarette, stopped Li Che.

He tapped the ash from his cigarette, his cloudy eyes filled with hope.

"Ah Che..."

"Help me, Old Chen. I want to see blood."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end