Chapter 96: How Dare You Ask Me to Remove My Mask?

Chapter 96: How Dare You Ask Me to Remove My Mask?

Bang!

Before Cao Guang could react, a terrifying force poured onto him like a raging storm.

His Mystic Pulse Technique, at its peak, emitted a sound of unbearable strain.

The python-like tendons snapped, tiger bones cracked, and blood mist filled the air, whipped and scattered by the rain.

His entire body slammed onto the long street, sliding along the ground, tearing through puddles, and shattering the blue bricks into a pile of broken rubble and mud.

Scorching heat filled the air, emanating from the friction between his back and the ground.

Cao Guang's head hung low, his hair dripping with blood and rainwater.

How could this be...

So powerful?!

Was this the burst of power after borrowing the Temple Deity's strength?

Truly formidable... But this power should have been his. He had prepared for so many years, hosting the Thousand Buddha Carving Banquet, and in the end...

Somehow, the Temple Deity's power had inadvertently benefited the Ox Demon.

Cao Guang summoned his divine nature, but the Temple Deity had already sold him out... Not an ounce of hope there.

Boom!

A muffled sound echoed as a robust and muscular figure appeared before him, his back forming a devilish inverted triangle, with black, sturdy hair cascading down to his waist like a cape.

The Temple Deity's divine nature, constantly radiating pressure, froze Cao Guang's Divine Foundation Realm, making it impossible for him to summon even a bit of his power.

Cao Guang inhaled, as if drawing on the power of life, forcing his blood and energy to circulate. Despite his shattered sternum and damaged internal organs, he gritted his teeth, swallowed blood, and forced himself to stand up from the ground, straining to keep his eyes open.

Crack!

A thunderbolt tore through the dark clouds, and lightning snakes writhed as the heavens unleashed their fury, pouring down torrential rain.

Visibility dropped to almost nothing.

The vast and scorching blood energy, creating a misty heat in the cold winter, made everything hazy and indistinct.

"Ox Demon!"

A low growl erupted from Cao Guang's throat.

The hot mist of blood energy was instantly torn apart, revealing the cute and adorable ox mask, which now looked sinister and devilish.

Like the bull-headed ghost officer in the Netherworld, responsible for taking people's lives!

"Ox Demon..."

Cao Guang's growl softened as he stared at the scene, stunned.

His initial desire to fight back suddenly vanished.

He watched the figure with black hair flowing like a waterfall, a muscular body glowing with vitality, golden smoke swirling in the eyes behind the mask.

For some reason...

His fighting spirit was gone.

He couldn't help but recall the time when he was full of vigor, rushing to the Golden Light City. In his moment of triumph, a true scion of the Divine Sect shattered his Divine Foundation Realm with a casual slap, leaving him with a tragic fate, his body broken and shattered.

"Ox Demon... Who are you?"

Cao Guang swayed unsteadily, drenched by the rain. He had orchestrated this entire scheme for his promotion, sacrificing everything.

But in the end...

He got this result.

A Temple Deity con artist!

His heart was unsettled, unable to accept this calmly. Now, he wanted to see, or rather, he wanted to glimpse the face behind the ox demon mask that had ruined so many of his plans.

Who was it?

Could it be...

That country bumpkin?

"Can I take a look?"

His eyes held a mixture of hope and curiosity.

Li Che activated the Ascending State, his physical body towering over Cao Guang. Although Cao Guang was also muscular, he seemed insignificant in comparison.

Looking down from above, the ox demon mask revealed eyes that emitted golden smoke, gazing coldly.

The extreme calmness brought by the Ascending State made him ignore Cao Guang completely.

Remove his mask?

Who do you think you are... to dare?

Spreading his five fingers, he clenched them tightly, and in that instant, countless streams of energy and rain were grasped together, as if compressed into a ball. A howling sound seemed to emanate from the surrounding air.

Roar!

A crimson tiger appeared behind the ox demon, baring its fangs and claws, roaring at the heavens.

White Tiger Chaotic Wind Fist!

The Ultimate Realm!

At this moment, it should be called the Red Tiger, as Li Che's inner energy transformed into a crimson torrent, raging like fire.

"You?!"

Cao Guang hadn't expected the ox demon to be so vicious. He had already given up resistance, yet the ox demon refused to grant his final wish.

He just wanted to know...

If the ox demon was indeed that country bumpkin.

Cao Guang roared, his arms crossed over his chest. But the terrifying punch that followed was unstoppable, shattering his flesh and pulverizing his bones.

With a loud bang, Cao Guang's body exploded, flesh flying in all directions, scattering into several pieces.

The skin above was covered in blood, and the wriggling tadpole-like patterns could still be seen.

Li Che clenched his fist, and countless silver threads, already hidden in the ground, shot up, swirling wildly. They appeared soft and gentle, like spider silk dancing in the wind.

But they vibrated at an incredibly high frequency, unleashing a terrifying cutting power.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Cao Guang's scattered flesh on the ground was instantly sliced into even finer pieces, including his head, filled with bitterness, humiliation, and anger.

One final blow to ensure Cao Guang's death.

Only then did Li Che withdraw.

Raindrops fell, splattering on the ground, shattering into fragments, mixing with the crimson blood, rippling in circles.

"The Temple Deity... is a bit weak."

"It's understandable; it's just the Temple Deity of the Ten Strange Temple."

Li Che raised his hand, and seven Temple Deity's divine nature chess pieces floated in his palm, with only one used.

That one piece didn't even need to be used.

Because when the Temple Deity saw the seven divine nature chess pieces on display, it fled.

Li Che estimated that the divine nature of the Three-Eyed Wrathful Vajra Spirit Infant Temple Deity could, with some effort, probably yield two more pieces.

Seven to two, so the Temple Deity escaped.

Just as Cao Guang had said, the Temple Deity put on a show, but Cao Guang took the beating.

Cao Guang was beaten mercilessly, a pitiful sight.

But... he deserved it.

Li Che looked towards the direction of the City Lord's Mansion, or rather, what should now be called the Mysterious Temple.

The Mysterious Temple in the city...

Soon, Thunderbolt City would become a dead city.

Unfortunately...

Li Che couldn't do much.

All he could do was absorb the Temple Deity's power, preventing its divine nature from spreading, giving the city's residents some time to evacuate.

Scanning the ground littered with flesh, Li Che raised his hand.

Thousand Analysis Palm!

Hmm?

Li Che's eyes glimmered, and in his Ascending State, he unleashed the Thousand Analysis Palm...

The two divine abilities merged seamlessly, without any sense of discord.

He didn't even need to touch the corpses. From Cao Guang's shattered body, divine natures were drawn out and condensed into chess pieces.

Dao Fruits could be combined with each other.

Could the embryonic forms of divine abilities also be fused?

There was still much room for development.

Cao Guang's strength was impressive, reaching the Middle Divine Foundation Stage, but he was trapped by the Temple Deity and completely suppressed by the Divine Foundation.

Otherwise, even with the Ascending State, Li Che would have needed more time to kill Cao Guang.

In the Middle Divine Foundation Stage, he had condensed eighteen Three-Eyed Wrathful Vajra divine nature chess pieces, all of Middle Divine Foundation Stage quality, far surpassing the Early Divine Foundation Stage in both quality and quantity.

With a thought, all the divine nature chess pieces were collected into the Chess Sage's Dao Fruit.

The powerful aura on his body gradually subsided, and the hair that had grown down to his waist retracted, returning his tall figure to its slender state.

He vaguely felt a disturbance in his blood and energy, and his muscles stiffened slightly, like the prickling pain after lactic acid buildup. It seemed that using the Ascending State had taken a toll on his physical body.

"The Temple Deity escaped and probably returned to the Strange Temple..."

"Can you escape the Temple Deity and the Temple?"

Li Che smiled and retrieved Cao Guang's Heaven-Earth Jade from the bloody ground, not the time to inspect it. He stored it in his Heaven-Earth Spatial Storage.

Looking towards the Marquis' Mansion, the direction of the Strange Temple, he activated Sleeping Dragon Elephant, completely concealing his aura and blending into the wind and rain. With a light tap of his toes, he disappeared without a trace.

To eradicate the weed, you must pull out its roots.

The Marquis' Mansion...

There seemed to be another Cao Qingyuan.

This was Cao Guang's root.

It had to be eliminated.

...

...

With the Level 3 Dragon Elephant Vajra, Li Che's breath-concealment ability reached new heights.

However, when he arrived at the Marquis' Mansion, he saw Li Qingshan, wearing a cat-faced mask, holding a horned hammer and suppressing two experts.

Li Che recognized Li Qingshan, despite the mask.

As for the two experts coughing up blood under Li Qingshan's hammer, one wore a big-nose mask, and the other, a big-eyed mask...

The divine nature they emitted was peculiar, not the Seven Emotions Divine Nature, but the Six Desires Divine Nature.

Their physical bodies were robust, emitting a dark, resilient color, enduring Li Qingshan's hammer blows.

But they couldn't withstand much longer; one of them had his chest smashed open, revealing nearly shattered internal organs, and blood, a mix of crimson and green, splattered everywhere.

"The Corpse Deity Sect..."

Li Che's eyes beneath the mask gleamed with a faint light.

Recalling Cao He's Desire Comparable to Corpse Meat Bodhisattva, a chill flashed in his eyes.

"The Corpse Deity Sect... Could they be targeting my Xixi?"

"An exceptional Divine Child, missed by Cao Guang, was sold to other members of the Corpse Deity Sect."

Li Che's mind was clear, and he vaguely understood the reason.

The Thousand Buddha Carving Banquet wood sculpture contained a strand of the Corpse Curse Seal, which was currently suppressed within the Chess Sage's Dao Fruit.

"These two Corpse Deity Sect experts... It seems Cao Guang has close ties with the sect. Things in the Prefecture City are not looking good..."

"This Cao Guang is truly despicable!"

Li Che grew angrier the more he thought about it.

His eyes turned cold. Cao Guang wanted to kill his daughter, so he would kill Cao Guang and his accomplices.

Taking a step, Li Che concealed his aura and distanced himself from the battlefield. He circled around and entered the Marquis' Mansion.

The Marquis' Mansion was vast, but the Eight-Angled Overhanging Eaves Building had become a ruin, transformed into the Strange Temple.

The Strange Temple sat atop the ruins, its cracks spreading like vines, but there were other buildings in the Marquis' Mansion, though they were now in a state of disrepair due to the aftermath.

He entered the Strange Temple.

Everything was quiet, the place in disarray, and the pungent, nauseating smell of blood assaulted his senses, causing Li Che's body to tremble slightly.

This blood...

It was the blood of Divine Children, the blood of a thousand infants...

How many parents' tears had been shed?

"Scum, worse than pigs and dogs."

Li Che muttered under his breath.

He didn't find Cao Qingyuan in the Strange Temple, and his eyebrows furrowed briefly before relaxing.

Leaping onto the altar, he approached the Temple Deity statue.

He slapped the Temple Deity's bald head, and with the Thousand Analysis Palm, a powerful suction force erupted.

It was as if he could hear the Temple Deity's unwillingness and extreme rage.

But Li Che paid no heed to it, bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Soon, he sucked the Temple Deity dry, condensing the last two Temple Deity divine nature chess pieces.

The entire Strange Temple fell silent.

Li Che flicked his finger.

The Temple Deity statue's head shattered into countless wooden splinters.

However, Li Che knew he hadn't destroyed the Strange Temple. The temple still stood, indicating the Temple Deity wasn't dead.

It would gradually recover.

Li Che didn't know how to destroy temples; that was a specialized skill of the Temple Guard Service and the Divine Sect's experts.

He exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Staring deeply at the Strange Temple, he said, "Rumor has it that Nine Luminaries and above Strange Temples can even form a 'Deceptive Palace,' trapping people within, where the Temple Deity can move freely as if having attained its true body, possessing immense strength..."

Fortunately, this Strange Temple hadn't transformed into a Nine Luminaries Strange Temple and hadn't released the 'Deceptive Palace.'

Otherwise, the citizens of Thunderstrike City would have suffered greatly.

Now, at least, the people had a chance to survive.

"Where is Cao Qingyuan? Where did he go?"

"Is he hiding?"

Under the Bull Mask, Li Che's eyes flickered slightly.

In his heart, the Chess Sage's Dao Fruit throbbed, and the next moment, the Heaven Earth Chessboard descended, enveloping all directions.

In the eyes of the Chess Sage, nothing could escape detection.

With a light tap of his toes, Li Che vanished like a gentle breeze, merging with the wind and rain.

...

...

Cao Qingyuan swiftly emerged from the Marquis' Mansion treasury, his Heaven-Earth Jade filled to the brim. Beneath the mask, his face was grim.

The Cao family... It's over! Second Uncle Cao He was smashed by Li Qingshan's hammer, and Father Cao Guang's Temple Deity sacrifice seemed to have gone awry.

What could Cao Qingyuan do? He couldn't rely on anyone and could only gather the treasures from the treasury to prepare for his escape.

He would go to the Prefecture City, seeking refuge with his mother's family! Cao Qingyuan's ability to stand out among the four young masters of Thunderstrike City and be the first to break through to the Divine Foundation Stage was largely due to his mother's family in the Prefecture City.

His mother's family was from the Capital, a prestigious lineage!

Back then, when his father, Cao Guang, went to the Capital for his studies and cultivation, it was his handsome looks and decent talent that attracted his mother, leading her to marry him.

Although his mother and father, Cao Guang, now had an extremely poor relationship, almost to the point of divorce... what did it have to do with him, Cao Qingyuan?

The child was innocent!

Rumble...

The heavy rain and thunder stood like pillars, and lightning snakes writhed within the dark, thick clouds, flashing from time to time, illuminating the dim world.

Cao Qingyuan carried a broad-bladed Refined Iron broadsword at his waist, dressed in black, and wore a mask to prevent being recognized. He walked close to the walls, concealing his Qi and blood.

As long as he left Thunderstrike City, he would be safe.

Thunderstrike City was finished.

He didn't care whether his father was dead or alive...

The only reason his mother had let him stay in Thunderstrike City was for this Thousand Buddha Carving Banquet that his father had been preparing for many years.

Now that the plan had fallen through, Cao Qingyuan should take his leave.

Outside the Marquis' Mansion, a terrifying shadow of a horn-breaking hammer appeared in the sky, dropping down and smashing into the ground with earth-shattering force. The powerful Master's True Qi raged and surged.

Cao Qingyuan shrank his neck, knowing without guessing that the person wearing the cat face mask was definitely that scoundrel Li Qingshan, the Master martial artist, and a fierce person on the Divine Foundation Register of Yunzhou!

He only brought one-tenth of his Divine Essence, yet it was so terrifying!

He'd better take a detour!

After all, he carried the entire treasure trove of the Marquis' Mansion, and there were too many good things inside.

There were things that even the top-ranked experts on the Divine Foundation Register would covet! So, as long as he could escape the city and survive, relying on these treasures, even if he didn't gain much from this Thousand Buddha Carving Banquet, he could still live a very comfortable life.

Once he reached the Capital, he would even have the capital to curry favor with the influential figures on his mother's side of the family, and perhaps... he might even have a chance to break through to the middle Divine Foundation stage!

What he couldn't get from the Thousand Buddha Carving Banquet, the treasure trove would compensate for!

Most importantly...

The good thing in the treasure trove...

Cao Qingyuan's thoughts reached this point, and his breathing quickened.

He quickly clenched the medium-grade Heaven-Earth Jade and activated the Breath Concealment Technique, sticking close to the darkness and walking along the walls!

Suddenly.

Cao Qingyuan felt a bone-chilling cold that seemed to pierce through his body, and his hair stood on end in an instant!

In the darkness where he was walking along the wall, a cute cow face mask suddenly appeared, followed by an earth-shattering spear that lunged forward like a dragon, roaring as it stabbed.

The spear seemed to pierce through the air, creating a hole!

Countless raindrops clinging to the spear exploded, forming a thick mist!

"Ox Demon!"

Cao Qingyuan's pupils constricted.

How could this ghostly thing be here?!

But Cao Qingyuan's reaction was also very fast. His eyes were about to split from fury, and this Ox Demon's breath concealment technique was far superior to his!

He had been sneaking along the walls, yet this ghostly thing could still ambush him!

How did the Ox Demon find him?

Whoosh!

The speed was too fast, and the power was too terrifying!

At the start of the ambush, Cao Qingyuan had just raised his broadsword, but before he could slash down, he was struck by the spear and smashed away. His entire arm that held the sword exploded, with skin torn and bones shattered, twisting grotesquely.

That power...

How could it be so terrifying?

"Li Che!"

Cao Qingyuan didn't have time to think too much. The cold rain slapped against his face, and he panted heavily, even feeling the bloody smell in his throat!

He roared Li Che's name, intending to reveal the Ox Demon's identity and cause his killing intent to stagnate for a moment.

But he was disappointed.

The Ox Demon was completely unmoved, like a killing machine without emotions. A spear directly pierced through his chest.

The terrifying force lifted his body and slammed it into the wall, instantly creating a spider web of cracks that radiated outward.

And at this moment...

Cao Qingyuan's Divine Foundation finally rose from behind his head.

Whoosh!

The spear, crimson like blood-stained wood, was abruptly pulled out but then stabbed down again.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Cao Qingyuan's body seemed to be nailed to the wall, like a target, as the spear continuously thrust and withdrew eight times.

Xu Family's Eight Continuous Bone-Breaking Spear!

Cao Qingyuan's bones shattered, his eyes wide with anger, filled with unwillingness...

But his breath had completely stopped.

Until his death, he didn't understand.

He had been so low-key, so why was he still ambushed by the Ox Demon?

Li Che looked at the dead Cao Qingyuan indifferently, his fingers pressing on Cao Qingyuan's eyes, absorbing his Divine Essence and helping him close his angry eyes, allowing him to die in peace.

Li Che felt that he was still a good person.

After taking the tightly clenched Heaven-Earth Jade from Cao Qingyuan's hand, Li Che's heart stirred slightly. Such a treasure... there was something good inside the Heaven-Earth Jade!

But he didn't have time to investigate; anyway, the Marquis' Mansion... now belonged to the Li family.

Li Che carefully searched the corpse again, confirming that there was nothing of value left, and then decisively withdrew his spear and left.

He didn't go to assist Li Qingshan because there was no need.

Those two Corpse Deity Sect cultivators were about to be hammered to death.

Li Che had one last thing to do.

...

...

Xu Family's Mansion, the main hall.

Thick, bloody air filled the hall.

Xu You's head ached as if it would split, and his whole body trembled. He opened his eyes wide, forcing himself to cough out the bloody taste from his throat, almost vomiting.

"No..."

Xu You stood up unsteadily, and the scene before him gradually became clear.

He smelled death.

He remembered Old Master Xu, his father Xu Namming, and his older brother Xu Heli, their faces twisted as if they wanted to eat his flesh and blood.

No, they really wanted to eat his flesh and blood! Xu Heli had even prepared a bone-stripping knife! Xu You felt like he had fallen into an ice cave, his heart filled with chill.

When he finally became fully conscious, the pungent bloody smell invaded his nostrils. He looked around the entire hall, stunned.

His father, Xu Namming, had been hammered to death, and Xu Heli had also been beaten to death.

Dead, they were all dead...

He saw the boiling hot pot beside him and didn't know whether to cry in sorrow or laugh in relief.

Whoosh!

Lightning flashed and thunder roared.

At the door.

A tall figure wearing a cute cow face mask stood quietly.

Good news, the book has reached 3000 fine quality, reaching the realm of a small fine quality. Thanks to everyone's support, continue to ask for monthly tickets and recommendations. Keep reading, guys, and we can rush to the next recommendation! Old Li will continue to update, striving to simplify the text and not water it down. Everyone must support! Also, I dedicate a book to help me reach the realm of a great fine quality!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end