Chapter 221: The Face Behind the Ox Demon Mask, Seeking to Slay the Demon Child

Chapter 221: The Face Behind the Ox Demon Mask, Seeking to Slay the Demon Child

The night sky, washed by spring rain, displayed a deep blue hue, adorned with sparkling stars. Some were bright, while others were dim.

Lead-colored clouds drifted gently with the spring breeze, and the starry sky above was sparsely scattered. But as the clouds gathered and flowed, they formed a dazzling river of stars!

In Thunder Lane, the sky was devoid of thunder.

Yet, within the courtyard, the sound of rumbling thunder echoed, like the moment when blood, as thick as mercury, was being transported, creating a booming sound.

Gusts of wind stirred, and dense mist erupted from every pore, billowing without cease.

Threads of crimson electricity danced around, intertwining with his body, weaving a deep rumble within.

On his palms, two distinct divine auras intertwined, the true intent of the martial arts perfected by two Martial Saints.

"The Thousand Mountain Solo Blade and the Floating Void Eight Auspicious Steps have finally been mastered to the Grand Master level!"

"These two Martial Saint ultimate skills aren't as challenging as the Ten Thousand Dragons Subduing God and the Primordial Heaven-Filling Staff, but I didn't spend too much effort cultivating them, so the progress wasn't as fast as it could have been."

"Now, with the nourishment of the Dragon Elephant Vajra Fruit, I've finally reached the Grand Master level and refined the true intent."

"All five divine auras...refined and merged into one! I can now temper my five viscera, twisting the refined divine aura into a single strand."

Li Che took out a black porcelain bottle and poured out a black pill. Its potent medicinal properties burst forth.

This was the Fifth Rank Inferior Three-Claw True Dragon Blood Martial Pill obtained from the Supreme Grand Master Long Tai during the battle with Su Hu Li.

The intense medicinal properties erupted, and mighty energy surged within, so overwhelming that even the pill's coating couldn't suppress it.

Only a Supreme Grand Master's robust physique could withstand and consume a Fifth Rank pill, as its energy was too vast.

Even a typical Divine Aura Grand Master would hesitate to ingest it.

But Li Che was different. He had entered the Grand Master realm with the Sect Master's physique, and now, having perfected the cultivation of five Martial Saint ultimate skills, he had refined their true intent.

His physical body was incredibly powerful and robust. After the purification and strengthening of the Dragon Elephant Vajra Fruit, Li Che was confident his body could withstand this pill's potency.

After all, he had exchanged blows with Long Tai, and he clearly felt that his physical strength was no weaker than Long Tai's!

That's why he dared to take this pill.

Sitting cross-legged in the courtyard, his powerful qi and blood surged and roared within him.

Martial pills were refined from the blood of supernatural creatures, mixed with heavenly materials, and concocted with earthly treasures.

Even within the Heavenly Observation Bureau, a Fifth Rank pill was a valuable item, capable of depleting the wealth of a Divine Aura Grand Master with each pill. Li Che was fortunate to have received this gift from Long Tai.

It was often said that scholars were poor while martial artists were wealthy, and indeed, martial cultivation was an expensive endeavor.

Comparing it to spiritual cultivation, martial cultivation required even more resources.

A Fifth Rank martial pill was not only expensive due to the rare ingredients but also required the expertise of a pill refinement master, consuming their mental energy in the process.

When all the additional costs were considered, a single Fifth Rank pill was worth far more than a Five Elders Divine Crystal.

Li Che's decision to take the pill today was primarily to increase the volume of his divine aura. Cultivating solely through practice was too slow, and supplementing martial cultivation with pills was a common practice.

While it was said that medicine could be three parts poison, the robust physique of a warrior could largely ignore the toxic elements within the pill.

The divine aura, like a burning flame, would cleanse the subtle and stubborn toxins hidden deep within the blood, bones, and meridians.

Li Che swallowed the pill, and its potent medicinal properties ignited like natural gas meeting an open flame.

The pill dropped into his stomach, burning like heavenly fire as it passed through.

In an instant, the pill traversed Li Che's five viscera and six bowels, flowing through every meridian.

A loud thud reverberated, like a giant rock dropping into a vast lake, creating ripples of turbulent energy. Li Che felt his entire body heat up, as if he were immersed in boiling water.

"What potent medicinal power!" Li Che exclaimed.

The pill in his stomach seemed to transform into a second heart, constantly creating new blood. Each beat pumped out a vast amount of blood, like mercury, surging through his meridians.

Bang! Li Che's body, like a pressure cooker, burst open, and countless heat waves shot out in all directions.

The medicinal properties were incredibly fierce!

Li Che's physical body, tempered by the Dragon Elephant Vajra Fruit, was exceptionally robust, even among Divine Aura Grand Masters.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Sitting cross-legged with closed eyes, thick blood mist instantly filled the entire courtyard, saturating every corner.

His heart and pill seemed to become two hearts, each beat generating a vast amount of blood, like mercury, flowing through his meridians.

Li Che's third eye, the Pineal Palace, glowed. His nascent spirit, already formed, scanned and observed a pill emitting golden light, immersed in his gastric juices.

With a thought, his stomach walls contracted, crushing the pill, and as the pill coating ruptured, Li Che's expression slightly froze.

It was as if fireworks had ignited in his stomach, exploding like a rocket, wildly ricocheting within his stomach walls.

Even Li Che's formidable physique felt the intense pain, his abdomen twisting as if being wrung out. The potency of the pill had increased tenfold the moment its coating broke! The earlier medicinal properties were just a prelude!

"This medicinal power...is so vigorous!"

"Even a Heaven and Man As One Grand Master might struggle to withstand it!"

Li Che's mouth and nose opened and closed as he panted, his breath gusting and dispersing the blood mist.

Leaping up from the ground, he clenched his fist, and divine aura burst forth, exploding in mid-air. With a punch, he manifested the Dragon Elephant Illusion.

The dragon roared, and the elephant trumpeted. Li Che began to punch, refining his internal furnace through the practice of Martial Saint ultimate skills.

Scorching and fierce, the power was overwhelming.

The power of a Fifth Rank Pill was indeed incomparable to that of the Sixth and Seventh Rank Pills. Li Che had also consumed a Sixth Rank Pill, and its effects were vastly inferior to that of the Fifth Rank.

Ssssss—

Li Che's entire body seemed to be on fire, his flesh burning with an intensely rising temperature!

His blood, driven by the constantly generated Qi, surged and roared within him, like the sound of muffled thunder. His entire body turned crimson, as if carved from a massive blood diamond!

Whoosh—!

In the courtyard, the strong wind danced wildly, and Li Che pushed out his fists with the might of a dragon and an elephant. The self-created supreme art of the Martial Saint realm, the Ten Thousand Transformations Dragon Elephant, was performed by him with such perfection that it seemed even more powerful.

As the Thousand Mountain Solo Blade and Floating Void Eight Auspicious Steps reached the Master realm, Li Che's fusion of various techniques and the Ten Thousand Transformations Dragon Elephant seemed to become even stronger.

There was a hint of approaching the Transformed realm!

Bang—!

With a punch, the Divine Aura condensed, like a roaring dragon's cry.

Spreading his five fingers, the Profound Gold Eight Treasures Thunder Dragon Staff instantly appeared in his hand, accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder. The staff's shadow overlapped repeatedly, and his body continuously twisted.

The Primordial Heaven-Filling Staff and Floating Void Eight Auspicious Steps combined.

The courtyard was filled with dense staff shadows, among which Li Che's figure was also mixed, making it impossible to capture his movements!

The Thousand Mountain Solo Blade, with its true intent condensed, was used by Li Che to refine his spleen.

The Floating Void Eight Auspicious Steps, refining the Divine Aura, was used by Li Che to refine his liver.

Thus, all five organs had corresponding condensed Divine Auras!

Under the powerful effects of the Fifth Rank Inferior Martial Pill.

Li Che refined the pill's effects, condensing the Divine Aura!

He combined the Thousand Mountain Solo Blade and Floating Void Eight Auspicious Steps' Divine Auras, chasing after the Ten Thousand Transformations Dragon Elephant, which had the most condensed Divine Auras.

The pill's effects were too vast, and Li Che wasn't in a hurry to use it to impact the Divine Auras of the Ten Thousand Transformations Dragon Elephant. Instead, he used it to refine the other Divine Auras and increase their numbers.

He adjusted the number of Divine Auras.

The key was that Li Che condensed five Divine Auras. If he wanted each Divine Aura to be intertwined, he couldn't afford to neglect any of them.

With a flick of his finger, a black chess piece shot out, swelling in the courtyard amidst the storm, transforming into Xue Duifu wearing a white mask and resembling a white-robed ghost.

Xue Duifu now was vastly different from before. His flesh was robust and muscular, like an inflated balloon.

The moment Xue Duifu appeared, Li Che had already struck with his staff!

He showed no mercy, his killing intent piercingly cold. After all, Xue Duifu was already a dead man, and even if Li Che killed him, he could still recondense.

"Come on, my master!"

"Oh, kill me!"

...

...

The night sky was adorned with bright stars, forming a galaxy.

The spring breeze blew gently, bringing a refreshing coolness.

In the inner city, within an enormous mansion.

The Demon Child, dressed in a black bellyband, had a purple lotus jail divine pattern constantly emitting a mysterious glow on his forehead.

Barefoot, he walked with a mature air, his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth in the courtyard.

He raised his hand to cover his chest, and within his dark eyes, a sinister look appeared.

"It's still very dangerous..."

"I'm still being watched!"

"The Netherworld Ox Demon!"

The Demon Child clenched his teeth, his face contorting in anger.

He hadn't expected that as soon as the Netherworld's evil beings arrived in the Dao City, they would directly target him.

He had lost three capable Curse Gold Corpses, which were as powerful as Heaven and Man As One Grand Masters!

Even within the Corpse God Sect, they were considered extremely precious and rare followers!

The cost of cultivating a Curse Gold Corpse was enormous, and he had lost three of them in an instant.

The key point was... even after losing three Curse Gold Corpses, the Demon Child still didn't feel safe after escaping!

He had absolutely no sense of security!

The Demon Child was now extremely agitated, wishing to mobilize all the forces he could...

He wanted to kill the Netherworld's people!

The Ox Demon, Hellhound, and everyone else!

He also learned about last night's events; Su Hu Li had been forcefully killed by the Ox Demon right in front of You Liqing.

This Netherworld...

was indeed too arrogant!

"This is the Dao City... How dare the Netherworld be so brazen here!"

The Demon Child sat on the doorstep, gritting his teeth.

These days, he hadn't had the heart to indulge in beauty.

He didn't even have the chance to organize a hunting plan for Li Nuoxi.

Now, Li Nuoxi had entered the main gate of the Qianyuan Divine Sect.

"This is going to be tricky..."

"My little girl has entered the Qianyuan Divine Sect's main gate, and I don't know when she'll come out... It's going to be difficult to catch her and bring her back to Jizhou."

The Demon Child exhaled and spread his arms, lying down directly on the ground.

"Unless I use the Qianyuan Divine Sect's inner spy."

"There's only one spy within the Qianyuan Divine Sect, and he's extremely important... He must not be exposed, as he can be of great use in critical moments."

A cunning look suddenly flashed in the Demon Child's eyes.

"That spy... no one knows about him, and no one can guess or imagine who he is!"

"Hehe..."

"So, exposing that spy for a little girl isn't worth it." The Demon Child's dark eyes twitched.

Suddenly, the Demon Child stood up from the ground.

But in the hall, black mist swirled.

And from within the mist, a figure emerged.

It was a Corpse Messenger wearing a white robe and a white mask, with the character 'Six' written in blood on the mask.

A Sixth Department Corpse Messenger!

Even within the Corpse God Sect headquarters, such a Corpse Messenger was considered powerful!

"Demon Child."

The moment the Sixth Department Upper Corpse Messenger appeared, the Demon Child immediately became alert, while the messenger respectfully greeted him.

"You've finally arrived, and I can finally relax a little."

"It's dangerous within the Dao City. The Time and Space Mimic Earth Technique must be used at the right moment to descend upon the Qianyuan Dao City." The visitor said calmly.

"I already know about the Demon Child's troubles... The Netherworld and our Corpse God Sect are indeed irreconcilable."

"The Ox Demon emerged from Flying Thunder City, and his notoriety stems from killing my Corpse God Sect disciples. In Flying Thunder City, he slaughtered our affiliated Ling Ying Sect, and in Golden Light City, he even eradicated the local gangs that our sect had painstakingly infiltrated..."

"Now, in Primordial Dao City is under his killing spree, targeting our sect..."

The Corpse God Envoy's voice was slightly hoarse and grave beneath the white mask.

"Yes... Several sects we had infiltrated were exposed by the Ox Demon, and he directly slaughtered them without a second thought!"

"This Ox Demon is truly malicious!"

The Demon Child grumbled.

"Ingenious mechanisms, deadly poisons, unparalleled blood and Qi cultivation, ruthless and cunning..."

"He's a formidable opponent." The Upper Sixth Department Corpse God Envoy said calmly.

"Moreover, he has the ability to see through our Corpse God Sect's disguise technique, which is the most detestable part."

"If my guess is correct, Demon Child... your current location should have been exposed to him."

"I'm well aware of that, but the Ox Demon can't possibly bombard the Dao City a second time... Do you think the City Lord of the Dao City is a vegetarian?"

"There's also the Temple Management Department and the Imperial Astronomical Bureau..."

"A surprise bombardment once is one thing, but to continue... even the Divine Embryo Great Deity might be disturbed."

The Demon Child grimaced, "I'm waiting for his attack. His fireworks can't kill me, and I have Curse Gold Corpses to defend, but if he keeps coming... he'll be the one to die!"

"I don't believe the Divine Embryo Great Deity will fail to capture him!"

The Corpse God Envoy seemed to chuckle lightly.

"Demon Child, you can actually contact the Demon Hunter Tower and have the Blood-Faced Assassins from the Dao City's Demon Hunter Tower kill the Netherworld's evildoers..."

The Corpse God Envoy's words trailed off.

The Demon Child's eyes instantly brightened.

"Yes! Although the Netherworld has killed many assassins from the Demon Hunter Tower, but... the Demon Hunter Tower doesn't care much about their fallen assassins. They are too cold, even colder than our Corpse God Sect."

"Indeed, in the eyes of assassins, there are no companions, only interests."

"To make the Demon Hunter Tower seriously hunt down the Netherworld, we must offer them a tempting deal."

The Demon Child's dark circles trembled. "Contact the Demon Hunter Tower on my behalf, offer a high price, and as long as the Netherworld is eliminated, it's all worth it!"

"I have one request. Kill the Ox Demon and bring his head to me."

"I want to see... what kind of face lies beneath that Ox Demon's mask!"

Upon hearing this, the Upper Sixth Department Corpse God Envoy chuckled lightly.

As the white robe fluttered, dark vapor surged, and within a breath or two, it engulfed his figure.

This Upper Sixth Department Corpse God Envoy's Spatio-Corpse Technique was truly agile!

...

...

A high-pitched screech pierced the sky as a silver eagle soared and spread its wings, tearing through the night sky and plummeting swiftly!

Its broad wings flapped, then landed at the headquarters of the Temple Management Department in Dao City.

The Temple Management Department's headquarters in Dao City covered an extensive area due to the sheer number of Odd Temples, all of which had to be recorded and documented by the Temple Management Department.

Consequently, the administrative paperwork was overwhelming.

Two Four Virtues, Three Five Elders, Sixteen Departments, Ninety-Eight Seven...

Information and intelligence about these Odd Temples, including the number of Enchanted Jade Corpses encountered in the Mystic Tower, and the strength of the demonic forces, were all recorded in the Temple Management Department.

Even the map of the Mystic Tower, obtained at the cost of the Temple Management Department's divine messengers' lives, was kept here.

The silver eagle glided, and a man in plain black clothing flicked his finger, releasing a blood-colored pill into the eagle's mouth.

Then, he took a letter from the eagle's leg and slowly opened it.

The silver eagle let out a cry, flapped its wings, creating a gust of wind, and then vanished into the night.

The man slowly unfolded the letter, his eyes scanning the contents.

The next moment, he raised his hand and made a slight gesture.

"Go and summon Zhu Chaoyang and the Governor of the Golden Light City's Temple Management Department, Xie."

As the words fell, a figure in the distance flickered and disappeared into the darkness.

A figure in a black shirt stood, his silhouette framed by the shadows.

"Golden Light City... also had an Odd Temple disappear?"

"What a coincidence? Is it due to the Mystic Tower's anomaly, or is someone intentionally causing the Odd Temple to vanish?"

"If it's the latter, who is the culprit behind the disappearance of the Odd Temple?"

"This... is a loophole."

"I seem to have... caught a clue."

The black-shirted figure raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

"Go and retrieve the records of Golden Light City..."

"Also..."

"Gather all the intelligence on the Netherworld."

In the darkness, another figure flickered and disappeared.

...

...

Sizzling—

Heat waves rolled through the courtyard.

Under the crimson membrane, Li Hua's skin shimmered with speckles of light, and each pore continued to emit heat, distorting the air.

"The Ten Thousand Transformations Dragon Elephant Divine Aura reached twenty-five paths, an increase of five paths. It's not a significant number... but the Ten Thousand Dragons Subduing God, Primordial Heaven-Filling Staff, and Floating Void Eight Auspicious Steps also reached twenty-five paths. The recently broken through Thousand Mountain Solo Blade and Floating Void Eight Auspicious Steps had only twenty paths. What formidable strength!"

"What a pity... the effectiveness of this martial pill has been exhausted."

"If only there were more..."

Li Hua stood up, and his entire body crackled with energy, like thunder after a storm.

He raised his hand, and in an instant, five divine auras burst forth from his five viscera, roaring and merging into one! It was like five colors condensing into one, sweeping through the air and tearing it apart with booming currents!

"So powerful!"

Li Hua's eyes trembled slightly.

He clenched his fist, and the five-colored divine aura coiled around it. With a punch, the divine aura erupted in dazzling brilliance.

Ten Thousand Dragons Subduing God!

Dragon shapes roared as they surged out, abruptly dispersing the air. Countless turbulent flows shot out!

"Even stronger than the previous Three Element Divine Aura! In terms of intensity, it might even surpass Long Tai's Primordial True Aura!"

"The strength of the divine aura suppressing the true aura... this is probably an extremely rare occurrence."

Li Hua's eyes shone with brilliance.

"However, there is a drawback. My strength lies in the explosive power of the Five Element Divine Aura, but in terms of resilience and endurance, it still falls short compared to the Innate True Aura."

"If they were to use this method to wear down my Five-Colored Divine Aura..."

"Hmm? He might just exhaust himself to death..."

Li Che thought of his Dragon Elephant Vajra Fruit, which granted him a recovery speed far surpassing that of ordinary warriors.

Li Che didn't conceal his aura.

He tore through the air, and a jade talisman dropped out.

"Divine Seed Martial Art... Blood Crocodile Heaven Splitting Palm, an incomplete Divine Seed Martial Art."

"Its rank is still above the Martial Saint's ultimate technique."

Li Che's divine perception erupted, surging into the jade talisman as he began to learn this Divine Seed Martial Art.

Roar——!!!

In an instant, his perception trembled, and a massive blood-colored crocodile appeared, flying towards him and slapping down with a fierce palm strike!

The air itself seemed on the verge of exploding.

Li Che's eyebrows twitched.

"An illusion, or perhaps... a sword intent-like concept."

Li Che's mind had already fully received the information of this Divine Seed Martial Art.

His muscles and bones resonated, and his qi and blood surged like rolling fog, as if stacked around his entire body!

Vaguely, a blood-colored crocodile was still, deep in thought!

In an instant, it shot out!

However, as it shot out, the blood crocodile exploded, turning into thick blood mist.

"It's a bit challenging, but manageable."

"A Divine Seed Martial Art is still a martial art. For me, there's no martial art that's too difficult."

Li Che's lips curled up in a smile.

The next moment.

The smile on Li Che's face suddenly faded.

His body suddenly swelled, and in an instant, he grew to the height of a tower.

His black hair danced wildly, and his eyes flashed with electricity!

"Huff."

"Inhale——!!!"

After a light exhale, Li Che took a deep breath, and in that instant, all the mist in the courtyard was absorbed into his body.

He joined his two fingers, tearing through the air. He plucked a straw hat and placed it on his head, then took a newly carved cute ox mask and covered his face with it.

Li Che instructed his Immortal in Picture body split, Li Che, to cultivate their divine essence.

With a single step, he emerged.

A master-level Floating Void Eight Auspicious Steps!

He appeared on the high wall of the courtyard in a flash.

With another step, he vanished into the distance, leaving behind only lingering afterimages in his wake.

...

...

It was late at night, the wind was howling, and the sky was high.

Li Che wore the Ox Demon mask, his black robe fluttering in the wind.

When it came to his daughter, Li Che wouldn't hold back, nor did he need to.

His daughter was his Achilles' heel. Anyone with malicious intent towards her would face death!

This was the wrath of an honest and upright father, a raging inferno when provoked.

"Su Family, Su Chuyang."

"Corpse God Sect, Demon Child."

Li Che's eyes behind the mask gleamed with murderous intent.

The night was beautiful.

Li Che had just broken through his realm.

So, for those who often kill, they should know... tonight is a good night to take a life!

The Heaven and Earth Chessboard expanded from his eyebrows, spreading out.

Li Che clenched his five fingers, and a Flying Thunder chess piece appeared in his palm.

As the Immortal in Picture body split exploded into ink mist, Li Che took the opportunity to eliminate the body split's position.

The luxurious mansion was no longer as grand as the one that had been bombarded by the Lotus Jail Divine Pattern.

The mansion's doors were tightly shut, as if the entire place had fallen into a deathly silence.

The Demon Child was in this mansion.

This Demon Child, who coveted his daughter and called her 'Madam'!

The fighter among the yellow-haired!

And now, he had the audacity to plot against his daughter!

Earlier, Li Che had sensed a strong spatial corpse technique aura through the Heaven and Earth Chessboard.

He saw a black mist appear beside the Demon Child, and a Sixth Department Corpse Messenger emerged from it.

"A Sixth Department Corpse Messenger... should be equivalent to an Embryonic Breath Transformation or an Apex Three Flowers Realm Supreme Grand Master."

"The Corpse God Sect does have some skills. To dare infiltrate a Sixth Department Corpse Messenger in the Dao City, this kind of Corpse Messenger... once their aura is exposed, the Divine Guard Army, Temple Deity, and Divine Sect won't let them off easily."

Li Che wasn't afraid.

Because through the Heaven and Earth Chessboard, he had seen that Corpse Messenger teleporting away using spatial corpse technique.

"Looks like they're going after Demon Hunter Tower's assassins to deal with the Netherworld..."

Li Che's lips curled slightly behind his mask.

Conveniently, Li Che didn't have to wait.

With the Sixth Department Corpse Messenger away, he could try to kill this Demon Child.

Li Che didn't underestimate this Demon Child of the Corpse God Sect.

He had planned to deal with this Demon Child personally after breaking through...

After all, the Corpse God Sect was willing to sacrifice three Curse Gold Corpses to protect this Demon Child...

This indicated that this Demon Child held a high value or status within the Corpse God Sect.

With a snap of his fingers, the painting scroll trembled.

A Hellhound emerged, holding the Immortal Craft Fire God Barrett.

Li Che snapped his fingers again, tearing the air, and a narrow crimson Fire God Dragon Fang appeared.

However, on this Fire God Dragon Fang bullet, there was a black and white Yin-Yang fish design.

This was the...

Black and White Extreme Collapse Annihilation Dragon Fang Bullet!

The Hellhound took the Extreme Collapse Dragon Fang, held its breath, and sought out the perfect sniping position.

Click!

The black and white Dragon Fang, now an inch longer, was loaded into the Fire God Barrett.

Li Che stood in place, the Heaven and Earth Chessboard expanding!

In the courtyard.

The Demon Child, with dark circles under his eyes, sat on the doorstep, waiting for the Corpse Messenger's return.

Suddenly, his eyebrows burned with the Lotus Jail Divine Pattern, and he felt a chill down his spine!

An intense sense of death, almost suffocating, like a smothering fog, rushed towards him!

"Protect me, hurry!"

"He's here!"

"He's coming!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end