Chapter 95: Where's the Temple Deity's Divinity? He's a Thief! [Seeking Monthly Votes]

Chapter 95: Where's the Temple Deity's Divinity? He's a Thief! [Seeking Monthly Votes]



"Two temple deities?"

"How can there be two temple deity auras?"

In front of the City Lord's Mansion, the four confronting each other were all momentarily stunned.

None of them spoke, but their eyes gleamed beneath their masks.

The temple deity aura rising from the distance, mixed with surging and terrifying blood energy, was more pure than the one in the City Lord's Mansion. The raging divine nature's energy waves intertwined, carrying a strong sense of rank suppression.

To be precise, both temple deity auras possessed auras had a strong sense of rank suppression.

However, the distant explosion of temple deity aura seemed to have merged with the blood energy of an extremely furious Qi Pulse Warrior.

It was like an invincible raging dragon stretching its body, with its bones creaking as it roared towards the heavens.

"What's going on?"

The Spirit Baby Master narrowed his eyes, "Didn't Cao Guang say... that only one temple deity would be sacrificed? How did another temple deity aura appear?"

"Sacrificing two temples in one city?"

If there were two temple deities in Thunderstrike City...

It was too dangerous!

This didn't match the planned expectations!

L

The situation had changed.

He had already started hesitating about whether to flee.

Two temple deities... he might be beaten to death.

Especially in Cao Guang's plan, the Thousand Buddha Carving Banquet even wanted to elevate the Ten District Strange Temple in Thunderstrike City to the Nine Star level.

That would be a Nine Star level temple deity...

If he wasn't in his peak state, he might not be able to defeat it.

Moreover, there was another temple deity that appeared abruptly, completely outside the plan...

Li Qingshan's front foot had already started applying force, ready to bolt.

The Corpse Deity Sect's masters with the big nose and big eye masks also planned to leave.

The Spirit Baby Master had already turned around, holding the large red robe's hem, small and wobbly, ready to slip away.

...

...

Inside the City Lord's Mansion.

The thick bloody smell intertwined, in a huge secret room.

Cao Guang knelt in the center, wearing a white robe, his hair loose, and on the ground, a wooden plate with intricate patterns, flowing with dark red blood, surrounded by Spirit Baby wooden sculptures, each with a different appearance.

These wooden sculptures were crafted by the woodcarvers in Thunderstrike City.

Cao Guang had spent a fortune to have these woodcarvers create these sculptures.

But his money... was not that easy to obtain.

Cao Guang clapped his hands together, reciting obscure words from the 'Three-Eyed Wrathful Vajra Divine Foundation Technique,' almost like a sacrificial chant.

His expression was both devout and reverent, as if sacrificing his soul and presenting his faith, all to gain power and obtain strength.

At the same time,

Throughout Thunderstrike City, all the woodcarvers who had carved wooden sculptures for the Thousand Buddha Carving Banquet felt their heads buzz, losing all willpower, as if they had seen a divine presence, their faith stripped away.

They were like walking corpses, unconsciously leaving the house, kneeling on the rain-washed bluestone ground, arms wide, with utmost devotion.

Divine nature, like tiny snakes, slithered out of these woodcarvers, wriggling and twisting, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, quickly drifting towards the direction of the City Lord's Mansion.

Inside the City Lord's Mansion.

Cao Qingyuan's hair stood on end, and he retreated several steps, standing outside the room, not daring to step inside.

But he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. The temple deity's power...

This was an opportunity for his Divine Foundation Cultivation to break through to the middle stage.

If he relied on his own talent, he didn't know how long it would take, perhaps even a lifetime.

Borrowing the temple deity's power was the most direct and effective method.

Just like his father, who had also given up on using his talent to break through to a higher realm, planning to rely on the temple deity's power.

The Strange Temple's appearance in the mortal world was like a dawn for many cultivators who had reached a dead end, allowing them to touch heights previously unattainable.

As for the price to be paid...

The sacrifices required...

The things to be offered...

To them, these cultivators, the deaths were merely of commoners, no different from dogs or pigs.

Cao Qingyuan retreated to the doorway, also feeling a sense of devotion. He yearned for the temple deity's power.

Sacrifice to the deity!

Worship the deity!

With the blood and divine nature of a thousand Spirit Babies and a thousand wooden sculptures, although not divine nature sculptures, the divine nature could be extracted from the Spirit Baby wooden sculptures, as they were the masterpieces of the woodcarving masters.

These... were all offerings.

Deity, awaken!

Boom—

In the sky, it was as if a thunderous roar echoed.

Cao Guang opened his eyes, a vertical line appearing between his eyebrows, his white robe glowing with a blood-red hue, blindingly bright.

"Thousand Baby Carving Sacrifice, success!"

"The temple deity has accepted our offering!"

As the words fell,

The entire secret room began to transform with a thunderous roar. Countless flying sand and gravel piled up, forming a structure identical to the layout of the Strange Temple of the Three-Eyed Wrathful Vajra Spirit Baby outside the city.

There was even an altar, flickering red candle flames, and the seated Three-Eyed Wrathful Vajra Spirit Baby temple deity statue!

However, the temple deity statue trembled slightly, as if about to stand up.

But it seemed a bit weak, unable to stand.

Its eyes radiated unparalleled wrath, and the third eye between its eyebrows emitted a faint glow.

Everything around it seemed to shimmer.

Cao Qingyuan felt an invisible wave of energy spreading. The secret room was like a two-sided puzzle, transforming as it flipped, a shift in form and shape!

Or perhaps, the Strange Temple was slowly taking over... the City Lord's Mansion!

And Cao Guang knelt before the temple deity statue.

The vertical lines between his eyebrows glowed, and the blood-red hue on his body intensified.

"Temple deity, descend upon the mortal realm."

"With my body, I offer a divine vessel."

"Awaken—"

Cao Guang spread his arms, his expression devout. His white robe completely turned blood-red, blindingly bright.

Cao Qingyuan was horrified. On the temple deity wooden sculpture, dark red lines spread, and a terrifying divine nature's rank pressure, intertwined with his own, almost completely freezing his divine nature.

Thump!

Beads of sweat formed on Cao Qingyuan's forehead. This was the first time he realized that the method of sacrifice and invocation was like this.

His father, Cao Guang, was planning to use his own flesh to replace the temple deity wooden sculpture, allowing the temple deity to descend into his body...

This... was too insane!

Was this Cao Guang's plan, not only to break through the late Divine Foundation stage but also to use this to break through the Divine Form Realm?

"Once the Temple Deity takes over a physical body, will Cao Guang still be Cao Guang?"

As his flesh was eroded by the power of the Temple Deity, would he eventually succumb to becoming a Temple Guard Curse Corpse, a malevolent spirit?

It was too dangerous, like skinning a tiger or walking a tightrope!

But Cao Qingyuan couldn't dissuade his father. The Thousand Buddha Carving Banquet and this sacrificial ritual had been Cao Guang's sole focus for so long; it was the only glimmer of hope he saw at the end of his desperate path, and it couldn't be turned away with a few words.

Cao Qingyuan held his breath, watching as the black energy emanating from the Temple Deity statue poured into Cao Guang's body.

Cao Guang's body trembled slightly.

No one knew how long it had been...

The black energy from the Temple Deity statue surged into Cao Guang's physical body. His flesh was covered in dense, wriggling froglet patterns, which crawled and spread to the vertical lines between his eyebrows.

Then, the vertical lines split...

As if a pair of eyes suddenly opened.

The third eye opened!

In the eye, there was only crimson, an endless crimson like burning iron.

A pained expression appeared on Cao Guang's face.

"This is wrong... Something's not right..."

"Ah... Why... Where is the divinity? Where is the Temple Deity's divinity?! Where is the power? Where is the power I need?!"

Cao Guang covered his face, and countless froglet patterns squirmed.

The divinity... was so weak that Cao Guang almost thought the Temple Deity that had descended upon him was a fake, just a pretender with a calm disposition! What could such a weak divinity do?!

What could it do?!

Cao Guang roared repeatedly, filled with anger, unwillingness, despair, and confusion.

It shouldn't be like this!

Suddenly, Cao Guang's face became extremely angry and sensitive, like a child whose pride had been hurt, and his voice turned shrill.

"Shut up!"

"Ah—!"

"You're not allowed to speak!"

Boom—!

Cao Guang screamed, his hair flying wildly, the froglet patterns on his body writhing rapidly, the crimson in his third eye becoming increasingly intense!

At the same time, from the direction of the Xu Clan's manor, there was also a surge of Temple Deity divinity rising into the sky, as if a second Temple Deity had descended.

Cao Guang's eyes became extremely furious and frenzied, and his will was completely suppressed.

It was as if he had become a cultivator whose will had been eroded by the wrathful divinity.

"Thief... Thief..."

"Ahhh— Thief who touches the head!"

Boom!

As the Temple Deity, Cao Guang roared, instantly transforming into a blood-colored radiance and rushing out of the mysterious temple that had invaded the City Lord's Mansion at an extremely terrifying speed!

Plop!

Cao Qingyuan, who was lying at the entrance, was suddenly affected, his divinity almost bursting out of his body, his Divine Foundation barely able to withstand the force and nearly exploding.

He fell to the ground, gasping for breath. His Nine Stars Wrathful Vajra divinity, which was of lower quality, had no resistance against the Temple Deity's rank.

Was this the Temple Deity, invincible among its peers? But Cao Qingyuan, in disarray, struggled to get up.

"It's bad... Something seems to have gone wrong..."

Cao Qingyuan wiped away the blood flowing from his mouth and nose, his face changing repeatedly.

Then, he ran towards the City Lord's Mansion's treasury.

...

...

Li Che felt the terrifying power surging within his flesh, like a raging wave.

His condition was excellent!

Better than ever before!

It was as if his flesh had broken through a human limit, shattering the constraints of blood and flesh. After crushing the Temple Deity divinity chess piece, his flesh in the Ascending State seemed to become even more excited, and with each breath, the Temple Deity divinity power completely merged into his body.

It was as if a car needed oil, and the Temple Deity divinity was like oil...

He could even mobilize the Temple Deity divinity to unleash attacks.

"In the Ascending State, the fusion of flesh and divinity is so perfect... even more harmonious than I imagined."

Li Che felt the transformation and was even more amazed at the fusion of flesh and divinity in the non-Ascending State.

Because Qi-Blood Martial Arts and Divinity were incompatible.

Qi-Blood Martial Arts were mainly used to enhance the strength of the flesh, preventing the erosion of divinity, but Qi-Blood and Divinity were independent of each other.

But at this moment, in the Ascending State, the Temple Deity divinity and flesh were almost perfectly merged.

If he were to use martial techniques, he could unleash divinity-infused attacks!

Every punch he threw would be a divinity martial technique, and it would be a divinity martial technique originating from the Temple Deity divinity!

Although it wasn't long-lasting and as the Temple Deity divinity was consumed, he wouldn't be able to maintain the Ascending State.

Ascending was like stepping on the power of the divine, climbing higher with each step.

"The stronger the Temple Deity's divinity, the greater the power gained from Ascending?"

Li Che pondered.

"It seems... I'll need to visit a higher-ranked mysterious temple soon."

As for the Temple Deity divinity...

Just suck it in.

The dark clouds piled up, and rain fell, splashing and shattering into a misty spray as it collided with the path of the blood-colored light.

Old Master Xu died.

Just as he had said, it was like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken.

Facing Li Che's terrifying transformation in the Ascending State, Old Master Xu had a clear understanding of his own abilities and position.

Li Che had only pointed his spear, relying purely on his physical strength, and without even using the power of the Temple Deity, it was like driving a car without stepping on the gas... The terrifying power completely shattered Old Master Xu's internal organs, blasting his Divine Foundation, and extinguishing his vitality.

In addition to the rank suppression, Li Che also felt the strength of his own flesh.

In terms of Qi-Blood, he might have barely reached the level of a Qi-Blood Master, but the strength of his flesh was far too powerful.

His inner Qi also turned blood-colored, extremely violent and powerful.

"I wonder how it compares to the true Qi of a Qi-Blood Master?"

Li Che shook his head, not wanting to think about it anymore.

He raised his head, his pupils filled with a faint golden smoke, and he calmly looked into the distance.

That was the direction of the City Lord's Mansion.

Just as the Three-Eyed Spirit Baby Temple Deity sensed him, and he also sensed the presence of the Temple Deity.

The black, robust hair that fell to his waist like a cape, Li Che felt the surging Ascending State, his body enveloped in a hazy crimson inner Qi, his large muscles like coiling dragons, his neck twisting, and his spine like a roaring dragon.

The timing was perfect...

Old Master Xu was too fragile, breaking with just a touch.

He needed a bit more strength.

Perfect timing, as he also wanted to personally experience... How strong was the power of the Temple Deity?

Boom—!

A crimson light flashed rapidly from a distance, countless raindrops in its path shattered into a misty spray!

A loud thud, and the ground instantly caved in, radiating spiderweb cracks that continued to expand, causing the accumulated water to churn.

The crimson divine nature twisted and radiated like a luminous flow, constantly venting.

Cao Guang's exposed skin was covered with wriggling tadpole patterns, and his third eye, which stood upright between his eyebrows, was a bright red.

"Thief..."

A sharp voice emanated from Cao Guang's throat, like a child going through puberty, filled with anger and despair.

Li Che, wearing a cute bull mask, had a tall and sturdy physique. His inverted triangle spine resembled a devilish face, and he stared at the person who wasn't Cao Guang.

Li Che smiled, "Oh, it's you."

"Thief!"

Cao Guang shrieked, his body pressing down fiercely, with him at the center, causing the entire ten-meter space to fall into a terrifying state. The raindrops seemed to boil and leap in a scorching pot, like bouncing pearls.

"Come, touch it."

Li Che smiled.

As his words ended, he spread his five fingers and swiftly swiped in front of him.

In an instant, the remaining seven Divine Nature Temple Deity chess pieces floated up, hanging in front of him like seven little black holes.

Having just crushed one, the refining of the Divine Nature Temple Deity consumed one of the Three-Eyed Wrathful True Monarch's Divine Foundation.

The remaining seven were Li Che's entire stock.

The Divine Nature Temple Deity's screams abruptly stopped.

It was as if someone had grabbed their throat.

...

...

The Marquis' mansion had completely turned into ruins, and within the ruins...

A mysterious temple with a strong Divine Nature Temple Deity aura grew out, as if breaking through from the earth, appearing within the city.

Spiderweb-like cracks, centered around the mysterious temple, spread like the branches of a vast heavenly tree, extending towards all directions of the city.

"Thunderstrike City is done for..."

"This Cao Guang... is truly ruthless, completely disregarding the lives of Thunderstrike City's people. Perhaps... in his eyes, the commoners are no different from pigs and dogs."

Li Qingshan, wearing a cat face mask, narrowed his eyes.

As the mysterious temple migrated into the city, the entire city would be tainted by the Divine Nature Temple Deity, and if they didn't leave for a long time, they would all become possessed by the Divine Nature Temple Deity's evil spirits, turning into Temple Guard Curse Corpses.

This was the main reason why the various noble families in the city decided to relocate after learning that Marquis Cao Guang was going to hold the Thousand Buddha Carving Banquet, hoping to profit from it.

And Cao Guang had obtained the power of the Divine Nature Temple Deity, even being able to control these curse corpses.

Initially, Cao Guang had planned to sacrifice not just a thousand divine children, but the entire Thunderstrike City.

"A good-for-nothing!"

Even Li Qingshan couldn't help but turn pale with anger, cursing out loud.

But in reality, this was the overall situation in the various remote cities on the periphery of the world. Cultivators would go to great lengths to obtain power from the mysterious temple, using all sorts of means without restraint.

Additionally, various sects secretly stirred up the situation.

In this world, the commoners had it too hard.

The two experts from the Corpse Deity Sect and the Spirit Infants Sect's Spirit Baby Master all fixed their gazes.

The Spirit Baby Master's face beneath the mask was filled with excitement, "It's done, it's done..."

"However, what's the deal with two Divine Nature Temple Deities fighting?"

"Near Thunderstrike City... there's only one mysterious temple. Where did the other Divine Nature Templeity come from?"

The Spirit Baby Master was completely confused.

Not just him, but Li Qingshan and the experts from the Corpse Deity Sect were also puzzled.

Boom! As Cao Guang, carrying the Divine Nature Temple Deity, was controlled by its will and shot out from the Marquis' ruined mansion, transforming into a blood python piercing through the sky and rushing towards the distance.

Several people's eyes gleamed, filled with restlessness and the urge to watch the spectacle.

"A fight between Divine Nature Templeities?"

"A once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity... where did this intruding Divine Nature Templeity come from?"

Li Qingshan opened his mouth, filled with the mood of a bystander.

But after thinking about it, he suppressed this mood, glancing at the two experts from the Corpse Deity Sect and the Spirit Baby Master.

Then, his gaze fell on the cat face mask, and the eyes beneath it suddenly turned cold, with vast killing intent surging forth.

Let the Divine Nature Templeities fight over the Divine Nature Templeity...

Let them fight each other.

These trash... all need to die!

Kill them and run!

As long as the two Divine Nature Templeities didn't target him together, it would be easy for him to escape.

If there's a will, there's a way!

Li Qingshan took a step forward, and the Divine Nature surged out of the Horn-breaking Heaven Hammer, twisting and stopping the countless wind and rain.

His body swayed, and his toes tapped on the water's surface, creating a series of explosions as he rushed towards the small Spirit Baby Master.

"Li Qingshan, are you crazy? The Divine Nature Templeities are out, and you're not leaving?"

"Aren't you afraid of being left in the city?"

The Spirit Baby Master shrieked and hurriedly counterattacked.

The two experts from the Corpse Deity Sect also took action, their Six Desires Divine Nature raging, with rounds of Divine Foundation suspended behind their heads, and the light of the Divine Nature bursting and flowing.

Li Qingshan shook his sleeves, and the Horned Hammer lightly smashed down, but suddenly, a terrifying earth-shattering power exploded.

"Heh... I just want to kill you all."

Cao Guang felt his consciousness returning to his body.

He felt a bit numb and angry. The Divine Nature... the Divine Nature Templeity was so pitifully thin.

It seemed like it had been squeezed dry long ago.

Such a Divine Nature Templeity had cost him several years of preparation to sacrifice the entire city...

Did it deserve this?

"Such a pitiful god!"

Cao Guang gritted his teeth, feeling a chill down his spine. Now, he only hoped that the thin Divine Nature Templeity could help him break through to the Late Divine Foundation Realm, nothing more.

Hmm? Suddenly, Cao Guang regained control of his physical body's power.

He saw the scene before him clearly.

A cute bull mask.

Followed by the terrifying blood and the oppressive Divine Nature.

"Ox Demon?!"

Cao Guang's eyes narrowed.

A sense of disbelief surged in his heart...

What the hell? Why is it you again, Ox? However, what truly made him feel horrified, fearful, and trembling was...

The seven pitch-black chess pieces floating in front of the Ox Demon, emitting an extremely intense Divine Nature Templeity aura.

So, the Divine Nature Templeity he yearned for...

Was right before his eyes, within reach, easily obtainable...

Wait!

Cao Guang suddenly understood why his consciousness could regain control of his body.

You came to show off? Well, I'm here to take the beating!

"Damn, such a pitiful god—!"

Cao Guang only had time to scream.

Then, he was kicked, exploding into a cloud of blood and flying away.

PS: A new month, please vote for me! Can I make it into the top 500? Old Li begs for your support!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end