Chapter 511: Annihilation
Chapter 511: Annihilation
Within the Malevolent Energy Pool, a torrent of malevolent qi rose, and each drop of malevolent liquid surged, creating thousands of ripples.
"Indeed, you are worthy of being the first-born of this world, the unparalleled genius, able to see through my true nature with a single glance."
After a brief silence, a voice filled with the weight of time and a chilling aura echoed.
One of the seven Sky Corpses, the strongest among them with hair growing, slowly opened its eyes, revealing pitch-black pupils, and fixed its gaze upon Chen Mu. With a slightly stiff expression, it spoke.
There was a hint of resignation in its voice.
The Sky Corpse Sect had been passed down for hundreds of years, and its existence was maintained despite the suppression of the Great Xuan Dynasty's court because this first Sect Master of the Sky Corpse Sect was actually a member of the Great Xuan royal family!
In the past, after his failed attempt to seize the throne, he had staked everything and escaped with the Corpse Refinement Secret Art, founding the Sky Corpse Sect. Later, he intended to use the sect's growth to support another bloodline's attempt to seize the throne, but this also failed, causing the Sky Corpse Sect to be targeted and suppressed by the entire world.
By then, he had already cultivated the Sky Corpse and even reached the highest realm of this secret art, achieving Human-Corpse Unity, with strength comparable to a Heaven Man Master. Moreover, his deep understanding of the court's secrets and methods made it difficult for the court to deal with him.
After achieving Human-Corpse Unity, he destroyed that part of the secret art and only passed down the remaining portion, ensuring that he was the only one in the world who could reach this realm. Thus, hundreds of years passed.
After achieving Human-Corpse Unity, although he did not transcend Heaven and Earth, he seemed to be stuck at a unique node, evading Heaven's control. In this bizarre half-human, half-corpse, half-alive state, he existed in a strange, almost immortal condition, nearly free from the constraints of mortality.
Now, if one were to calculate from his birth, his true age was approaching a thousand years!
"Are you proud of yourself?"
Chen Mu looked at the first Sect Master of the Sky Corpse Sect, his tone indifferent. "You've turned yourself into this half-dead, neither human nor ghostly state, barely clinging to life. Are you satisfied with this existence?"
The first Sect Master of the Sky Corpse Sect did not show anger. Having lived for nearly a thousand years, his mindset was vastly different from ordinary people. He had witnessed countless lives and deaths, and his emotions were as calm as could be.
The first Sect Master took a step forward, slowly emerging from the Malevolent Pool, and stood before Chen Mu, his gaze unwavering. "Having cultivated to your level, you should understand that all paths in this world are interconnected, and before reaching the Divine Realm, they are all the same. Your Martial Dao can lead to the Divine Realm, and so can my Corpse Dao. Perhaps my strength is inferior to yours, but the distance between me and the Divine Realm might not be much greater than yours."
Upon hearing this, Chen Mu couldn't help but laugh. "If we're talking about age, you've been alive for nearly a thousand years. I thought with your thousand years of experience, you'd have something profound to discuss. But your perspective is surprisingly narrow. The Corpse Refinement Art indeed originates from beyond this world and might be a direct path to the Divine Realm. However, even though I'm not deeply familiar with the Corpse Refinement Art, I can still judge that the key to this path lies in the transformation of beings, breaking through the boundaries of life and death."
"As for you, you seek to prolong your life using a human body and a corpse. You're merely seeking a way to survive, a path of existence. Your heart and soul are already decayed, and yet you dare to speak of the Divine Realm? How do you compare to Ji Yongzhao? He should also know about the Corpse Refinement Art, but in the end, he didn't choose to live on through this method."
Chen Mu's words were like a direct assault on the first Sect Master's facade, a heart-piercing truth that caused the entire body of the Sky Corpse Sect's Sect Master to tremble, and his breath became unstable.
Lies do not wound, but the truth is a blade!
The Sky Corpse Sect's Sect Master might not have a deep understanding of the Divine Realm, but having lived for nearly a thousand years, he had always been exploring that path. Hearing Chen Mu's words, he knew they were not empty boasts.
Otherwise, why would he have been stuck for hundreds of years, unable to advance his Sky Corpse body no matter how much he refined it, and unable to strengthen his soul no matter how much he focused?
Just as Chen Mu said, the Corpse Refinement Art was not meant to be practiced this way.
It required a unique environment and a specific world, where the blessings of Heaven and Earth would allow the birth of corpses that did not decay, and over time, these corpses would develop sentience, break through the boundaries of life and death, and free themselves from the constraints of their past lives, thus achieving the Divine Realm.
As for Corpse Refinement and controlling corpses, they were merely the manipulation of external objects. Even achieving Human-Corpse Unity was still borrowing an external object, and borrowing external objects could never surpass the Divine Realm.
Chen Mu, though unfamiliar with the path of Corpse Refinement, had cultivated an Immortal Soul, half a step into the Divine Realm. As the saying goes, understanding one principle leads to understanding ten thousand principles. After briefly observing the first Sect Master of the Sky Corpse Sect and the other six Sky Corpses, he had already grasped the general idea.
The Qi Aura of the first Sect Master of the Sky Corpse Sect surged, his breath, which had been calm for centuries, now constantly churned. After a long time, he finally took a step forward and spoke in a deep voice, "So what?"
"At least I'm still alive!"
"My contemporaries, and even my descendants, have all turned to dust."
"Being alive means there's still a chance. Once dead, there's no more chance! So what if my will is decaying? At least I can still make amends. If I can obtain the secret method of cultivating the soul, I can continue refining my heart and soul, striving for the Divine Realm!"
By the end of his speech, his tone had become somewhat hysterical.
Chen Mu's gaze remained indifferent as he looked at the first Sect Master.
He knew that this first Sect Master of the Sky Corpse Sect had not only a decaying will, but his body had also been affected by the Corpse Dao. Now that his fundamental flaw had been pointed out, his inner turmoil was evident, revealing his fragility and sorrow.
"You have no chance. You've lived long enough. It's time for you to die."
Chen Mu slowly raised his hand.
The first Sect Master of the Sky Corpse Sect saw Chen Mu's action, and his pitch-black pupils finally showed a slight change. His voice, deep and hoarse, asked, "There aren't many in this world who can surpass me, and you're definitely one of them. Indeed, I'm no match for you, and I might not be able to escape from your grasp. But now... with the Demon Disaster approaching, will you kill me too?"
"With me here, I can stand strong against the Demon Disaster. I can refine corpses and resist external enemies. In the face of this great calamity, shouldn't we, as the living beings of this realm, unite?"
His hoarse voice echoed in the dim cave.
Chen Mu paused slightly, his hand still raised.
Looking at the first Sect Master before him, he said, "Indeed, we need to resist the Demon Disaster."
"But, we don't need you."
Hum!
In the next moment, Chen Mu suddenly clenched his raised hand.
In an instant, a terrifying force of Heaven and Earth surged, seizing the first Sect Master of the Sky Corpse Sect and squeezing him towards the center. Despite the first Sect Master's Sky Corpse body being almost at the pinnacle of cultivation, nearly comparable to the Cave Island Master, the best body cultivator in this realm, he was instantly immobilized by Chen Mu's Void Divine Weapon. His limbs stiffened and contracted, and cracking sounds emanated from his body.
The first Sect Master of the Sky Corpse Sect let out a painful roar, struggling with all his might. The overwhelming Sky Corpse power erupted, and his Sky Corpse body tried to tear free, but he couldn't escape from Chen Mu's grasp.
"No, you can't kill me! My abilities are useful... my abilities can help against the demons..."
He continued to shout, his voice gradually turning hoarse and fading away. His entire body was squeezed to its limit, and the already dry Sky Corpse body gradually crumpled into a ball. The sunken black eyes were squeezed until they finally shattered!
His once resilient body, almost as tough as a top-tier Sacred Armament, was crushed by Chen Mu's gesture, eventually forming a ball the size of a skull, which dropped to the ground and rolled a few times.
After completing this action, Chen Mu's eyes remained indifferent, showing no emotion or turmoil.
The first Sect Master of the Sky Corpse Sect was right; the impending Demon Disaster required all available forces to unite and face the crisis. However, the Corpse Refinement method had a significant flaw in mental aspects, and the Demon Tribe excelled in mental attack techniques. Therefore, the Corpse Refinement combat power might not be effective and could even be controlled by the Demon Tribe, becoming a liability.
Even without this consideration, Chen Mu would not tolerate the Sky Corpse Sect. They had killed Xu Hongyu's father, slaughtered countless people in Ice State, and wreaked havoc in the world for centuries. His eyes would not tolerate any trace of them!
Moreover, whether this Demon Disaster could be resisted was not something the Sky Corpse Sect or the Sky Demon Sect could handle.
As for the Corpse Refinement method of the Sky Corpse Sect, Chen Mu had initially wanted to take a look, but after carefully examining the first Sect Master's Sky Corpse body and the other six Sky Corpses, he had already understood the intricacies of the technique.
Swish!
In a blink of an eye, the book was flipped to Chapter 169, and Chen Mu read it without a single mistake!
In the quiet, Chen Mu disappeared from the forbidden grounds of the Sky Corpse Sect.
Just as Chen Mu vanished, a commotion erupted from all directions. Numerous Corpse Refinement practitioners stirred, including the Corpse Refinement experts controlled by the Sky Corpse Sect Elders, all converging towards the forbidden grounds. They had all heard the recent disturbance.
(End of Chapter)
As several Heavenly Corpse Sect elders arrived at the forbidden grounds, they took one look and their faces paled in unison.
On the ground, there was a patch of 'skin' flattened and fused with the entire surface, a fist-sized black ball, and a skull-sized black sphere, all lying motionless beside the Malevolent Pool.
The 'skin' contained the familiar aura of a Heavenly Corpse Sect elder, while the black balls carried the essence of the Sect Master. The skull-sized black sphere was permeated with Corpse Qi, and upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a Heavenly Corpse twisted and compressed to an unbelievable degree.
"Sect Master?"
"What's going on here? What happened?"
The Heavenly Corpse Sect elders were all shocked, witnessing the scene within the forbidden grounds. None dared to believe that an elder, the Sect Master himself, and even a Heavenly Corpse had been crushed into such a state.
However, they had little time to react.
Almost in the next instant—
A deafening rumble shook the entire earth.
"Oh no."
"This is bad!"
Not only were the Heavenly Corpse Sect elders alarmed, but the stewards and guardians within the headquarters also sensed something amiss. They frantically manipulated their Divine Corpses, attempting to escape, but it was already too late.
The ground seemed to surge like a tsunami, rolling and curling over itself. In the shocked and disbelieving gazes of the Heavenly Corpse Sect members, it resembled a carpet being swept up from the edge of their vision, rolling over everything in its path. Both Corpse Refiners and Corpse Controllers were powerless against it, instantly crushed into meat paste.
"No!"
Some Heavenly Corpse Sect elders tried to control Earth Corpses to resist, but it was futile; they too were pulverized.
At that moment,
From above the hills where the Heavenly Corpse Sect headquarters, one could see the entire hill transformed into a wave, sweeping and crushing everything in its path. Finally, with a loud boom, it flattened the earth for dozens of li, creating a mountain of mud and rocks in the distance.
Within the mountain, there was no sign of life; Corpse Controllers, Corpse Refiners, and Malevolent Qi were all crushed together, forcibly squeezed into a 'rock layer'!
Perhaps after countless years,
When this 'mountain' collapses, revealing its interior, people might believe it was a landslide caused by a heavenly upheaval from eons ago, burying countless individuals, forming a fossil over the years.
Finally,
The commotion gradually subsided.
Chen Mu stood tall not far from the accumulated peak, slowly lowering his palm before turning to leave.
The Heavenly Corpse Sect headquarters was destroyed, but he intended to search further, eradicating all the sect's branches, as he always aimed to finish what he started.
For him, measuring the entire world was a simple task, and he could also collect resources, contemplate the Void Dao, and organize the Heaven Earth Chaos Origin Chart while he was at it. This would help him create a 'Heaven Earth Chaos Origin Intention Chart' for the Blood Transformation Realm cultivators of this world.
Several days later,
News spread across the world that Chen Mu, the holder of the Primordial Eight Aspects Diagram, was willing to share it with all martial artists, allowing them to contemplate its mysteries. This news shook countless sects and powers, especially since Chen Mu was the Great Xuan Martial Saint, the pinnacle of the contemporary era, and his words were undoubtedly true.
Even setting aside the impending demon disaster, the reappearance of the long-lost Primordial Eight Aspects Diagram, now in Chen Mu's possession, and his willingness to share it with all martial artists for joint contemplation, was enough to stir the entire world.
On this day, numerous Marrow Cleansing and Blood Transformation Realm experts set out, heading towards the Seven Profound Sect. The commotion was almost comparable to the Kunlun Dao Assembly from years ago!
Amidst this chaos, the destruction of the Heavenly Corpse Sect's headquarters and all its branches became an insignificant event, like a small pebble thrown into the vast sea, causing barely a ripple.
The Heavenly Corpse Sect, a heretical sect that had plagued the world for hundreds of years, quietly exited the stage of this world during these few days.
(Chapter End)
Chapter end
Report
