A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 126 The Demon Lord is Captured
Woshi Village

Meng Fan slowly walked forward with the sealing talisman in his hand. The boulder seemed to sense the danger as well, and its body emitted a burst of spiritual light. A powerful force surged toward Meng Fan, trying to push him far away.

“This boulder is indeed sharp, but it also exposes your weakness.” Meng Fan’s eyes flashed with a sharp light. He channeled his true energy to resist the surging repulsive force, leaped into the air, and then raised his sword in a half-moon shape before slashing down.

A series of white lights flashed, and an invisible energy shield enveloped the entire boulder. However, as Meng Fan continued to inject true energy into the blade, the energy shield began to distort. Then, with a soft sound, the energy shield shattered, and the blade's light struck the boulder squarely.

Upon seeing this, Meng Fan immediately took out a talisman with his left hand, activated his true energy, and it floated down onto the boulder. In an instant, the boulder's spiritual light faded, and it became an ordinary boulder.

"ignition"

Seeing that Meng Fan had sealed the boulder, Tie Zheng immediately ordered his guards to pour oil on it, which then ignited a raging fire. In the blink of an eye, the fire turned from red to blue, and then to black, leaving the group of constables terrified.

The fire burned for a full hour, and as the sun began to set, it gradually subsided. Tie Zheng nodded to Meng Fan, who then waved his hand, and the constables poured the river water that had been prepared beforehand onto the fire.

A series of cracking sounds rang out as several cracks appeared on the boulder. The spirit-sealing talisman turned to ash and scattered. Then, Tie Zheng kicked it, and it shattered into dozens of pieces of stone, with some black charcoal and other substances among the broken pieces.

Meng Fan and his men smashed the stones into pieces, crushed them into dust, and scattered them with the wind.

“The stone demon has been eliminated, and there are no problems with this village.” Tie Zheng took out the crystal, which was originally faintly glowing, but now it was dim and without light.

"It's good that they're gone. After some time, once the villagers have been freed from the mind-controlling poison, they can return to the village. It's just a pity that their souls have been damaged after this ordeal; they probably don't have much time left to live."

Tie Zheng remained silent upon hearing this. He was only responsible for clearing away the demonic aura; he had no interest in the rest.

"Master Meng, what's the next destination?"

Lianyunzhou

This state dominates the northern region, with the Lianyun Mountains running east to west, isolating the outside world from the Central Plains. Its terrain is high and steep, making it impossible for ordinary people to climb and cross the mountains. Even cultivators find it difficult to withstand the biting cold winds at high altitudes.

In the northwest of Lianyungang, there is a mountain peak called Qingcha Peak. Its color is bluish-black, towering into the sky and surrounded by clouds and mist. Whenever the sun rises, it shines on this place, and the clear light shines through the clouds and mist, spreading a soft glow.

At the summit of the mountain stands a majestic palace built of red stone, with three large seal characters inscribed on its plaque:

Crimson Blood Palace

At this moment, a quarrel broke out in the hall, and on the throne at the top sat a wild and wicked man in blood-red robes. This man was none other than the leader of the demonic cultivator lineage, the Crimson Blood Demon Lord.

"Elder Ji Ming has lost his life in Tianhua Prefecture. We must go and find out the truth; we can't just let this go."

"Tianhua Prefecture is now a supreme Dao territory, and it's currently locked in a life-or-death struggle with the demon race. If we go there, we might get dragged into it."

"No matter what, we absolutely cannot swallow this insult, otherwise others will think that everyone in the Crimson Blood Palace is easy to bully."

“Sending people is easy, but Elder Li, have you thought carefully about the consequences? If the Supreme Dao refuses, there will be no way out. To put it more seriously, the demon race would love for us to get involved and share the burden for them.”

Upon hearing this, Elder Li's expression changed, and he fell silent.

Elder Gu is right. The Crimson Blood Palace is currently implementing a grand plan. If we get dragged into it and our energy is diverted, it's hard to guarantee that the grand plan won't go wrong. Compared to settling scores with one person, the future of the entire demonic cultivation world is more important.

After half an hour of commotion, the area below finally calmed down, and the Crimson Blood Demon Lord straightened his body upon seeing this.

"Have you all finished discussing this?"

Upon hearing the Demon Lord's voice, the leading elder bowed and said, "Demon Lord, we have discussed it and will send a few disciples to Tianhua Prefecture. They don't need to make a big fuss; just showing our stance will suffice. The Supreme Dao wouldn't risk offending us for the sake of a few disciples."

After a pause, Elder Gu continued, "Moreover, Tianhua Prefecture is the location of the main vein of the Nine Provinces. We've already fallen behind. This is a good opportunity to investigate; it's better than knowing nothing at all."

Although Lianyunzhou has become the territory of demonic cultivators, other forces have also planted spies. Ying Yin, a general of the demon race, has already settled in Lianyunzhou, and some people from the Supreme Path have also appeared in remote places.

"Hmm, Elder Gu's words are polite. Lianyun Prefecture cannot be lost. We don't need to think too much about the other prefectures. Tianhua Prefecture has a mixed set of forces, so we can try to infiltrate it. Very well, I will have Ge Zhen go with us."

"The wise and benevolent ruler"

Elder Gu bowed deeply. This Ge Zhen was the Demon Lord's capable assistant, whose cultivation was not much worse than Ji Ming's. Moreover, he also possessed the Blood God's Battle, so he was safe and sound. With such a worthy person going, the situation would be stirred up even more, making it easier for them to act.

"Go and make the arrangements," the Crimson Blood Demon Lord waved his hand and said.

"Your subordinates take their leave," Elder Gu and the others bowed once more and retreated from the palace.

"Go and summon Ge Zhen," the Demon Lord said to the empty palace.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a bloody shadow shot out from the pillar. A moment later, Ge Zhen arrived inside the hall. After bowing, Ge Zhen asked, "I wonder what orders Your Majesty has sent me here for?"

The Demon Lord recounted what had just happened, and Ge Zhen immediately agreed.

"On your trip to Tianhua Prefecture, unless absolutely necessary, avoid getting entangled with the Supreme Dao."

"While you're at it, retrieve the Blood Luo Celestial Instrument. After all, this is an item belonging to my Dao and shouldn't be left to circulate. As for whoever obtained it, let him disappear."

"Yes, I obey my orders."

After bestowing some gifts, Ge Zhen left the palace and headed straight down the mountain.

Ten thousand miles away from Qingcha Peak, there is a steep cliff covered with silver snow and a cold wind whistling. Halfway up the mountain, there is a cave with a red light flickering. As soon as the snow falls, it immediately turns into white steam. This is the residence of Ying Yin, a great general of the demon race.

"Lang Rong's physical body was destroyed. Ha, truly incompetent. The Refining God Pool, Lord Qingshan, is far too biased towards him."

Ying received the message from the demon race two days later, and felt somewhat uneasy after reading it.

"I've cultivated for many years without ever entering this realm, but Lang Rong has unexpectedly benefited from this misfortune."

Just as Ying Yin was deep in thought, an eagle demon came to report that there was something important to discuss.

"What is it?" Ying asked casually, lying lazily on the jade seat.

"General, I have learned that Ge Zhen of the Crimson Blood Palace has already left Lianyun Prefecture with several men, and the direction they are heading is undoubtedly towards Tianhua Prefecture."

"Oh, that's good news. Our clan just suffered a great loss here, and the Demon Lord couldn't hold back any longer. Is this intentional, or does he have another purpose?"

"General, are you saying that the Crimson Blood Palace intentionally let us discover this?" asked one of Ying Yin's trusted confidants.

"Of course. How could the Demon Lord not know we've settled here? He's only tolerating it because we haven't crossed his bottom line. I don't believe we've gotten information so quickly unless it was deliberately leaked. In any case, we still need to inform Tiger Lord about this."

Ying sat up straight and asked his trusted aide, "Use a sound transmission talisman to inform Tiger Lord of this matter, and do it quickly."

"Yes," the confidant immediately left. Ying Yin waved his hand, signaling the little demon messenger to go and collect his reward.

Not long after Ge Zhen and his men left the Crimson Blood Palace, Gu Xu had already arrived five hundred miles away from Qingcha Peak.

Looking at the shimmering light in the distance, at this wondrously beautiful place, Gu Xu couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"With clouds and mist shrouding the landscape, and verdant peaks reaching for the sky, the demonic cultivators have certainly chosen a good location."

Gu Xu's figure flashed, and he quickly headed towards Qingchao Peak. Just as he approached three hundred miles away, the Crimson Blood Demon Lord suddenly felt uneasy, as if something bad was about to happen. "Strange, such a sudden urge, something's not right," the Demon Lord's expression changed, and he tried to calculate, but the heavenly secrets were in complete chaos, and he couldn't see the future at all.

“Someone is obscuring the secrets of heaven,” the Demon Lord said with a gloomy expression. Clearly, someone was trying to deal with him. Could it be Qi Feng, Qingshan Jun, or someone else he didn’t know?

Just as he was pondering this, Qingcha Peak suddenly trembled violently a few times before returning to calm.

"Someone has broken into the mountain!" Some disciples looked at the person coming from the mountain, but in their eyes, they only saw a dazzling golden light. The longer they looked, the more their souls were corrupted. The more sinful a person was, the more serious the damage. Some even exploded and died on the spot, which horrified many disciples who turned pale.

"Who dares to trespass on this mountain?" Elder Gu hovered in mid-air, glaring at the golden light, and asked in a deep voice.

Gu Xu remained silent, then pointed his finger, and beams of golden light shot out like arrows, striking the defensive array. The green light flowed and the golden light was dazzling. In just a few breaths, a large hole was torn in the defensive array, and the person in charge of the array was hit by the backlash and died on the spot.

"How dare you!" Elder Li, the most fierce of all, roared and charged out of the formation, slashing at the golden cloud of light. But to everyone's shock, Elder Li was engulfed in flames just a few feet away from the cloud of light. After a few screams, he vanished without a trace.

Elder Gu and the others were so frightened that they retreated repeatedly, desperately using their true energy to repair the flaws in the formation. Elder Li's cultivation was not weak, but he couldn't even withstand a single move from the opponent. If they went up, they would only be courting death. The only thing they could rely on now was the Holy Monarch.

"You may all step back," a gentle voice reached Elder Gu and the others.

With a flash of crimson light, the Crimson Blood Demon Lord appeared above everyone, transforming into a cloud of blood, facing off against the golden light from afar. Above Qingchao Peak, the golden and crimson colors each occupied half of the sky.

Elder Gu and the others bowed respectfully and hurriedly withdrew. They couldn't possibly get involved in a confrontation between such figures; one wrong move and they would be killed.

"Fellow Daoist, you killed my disciple and elder without cause. You must give me an explanation," the Crimson Blood Demon Lord said in a deep voice, looking at the handsome Daoist opposite him.

"This person possesses profound magical power and is definitely not an unknown figure. His aura is not as sinister as that of the Supreme Daoists; instead, it exudes a majestic air that feels very familiar. Could he be a master from the Tong clan?"

Thinking of this, the Crimson Blood Demon Lord's expression darkened even further. If it really was someone from the Tong clan, the two sides would be mortal enemies, and nothing they did would be excessive.

"Demon Lord, what a grand scheme! You've planted demonic energy in over 90% of the population of Lianyun Prefecture. Are you aiming to create a demonic realm and reach even greater heights?" Gu Xu replied calmly.

Upon hearing this, the Crimson Blood Demon Lord's eyes narrowed, and he stared intently at the person opposite him.

"But ultimately it's a wicked and crooked path. With such despicable means, how can they still hope to climb to the upper realm? How innocent are these millions of Li Min and countless other lives?"

Gu Xu's sharp shout made the Crimson Blood Demon Lord tremble on the spot.

"Ha, I will stop at nothing to pursue the path of the Dao. Anyone who obstructs me is my mortal enemy. Fellow Daoist, I do not wish to make things difficult for you. If you withdraw, I will pretend nothing happened today. Otherwise, I will fight to the death rather than surrender. If I die, Lianyun Prefecture will be filled with lamentations. Daoist, you should think twice."

"Demon Lord, are you threatening me?"

"I dare not," the Crimson Blood Demon Lord said, his eyes glowing red as he prepared to destroy the entire jade stone.

"This person's cultivation level is unfathomable. It seems I'll have to go all out. If I can trap him in the formation and turn him into resources, perhaps my cultivation can advance even further."

Seeing the churning blood clouds opposite him, Gu Xu knew that his opponent had made preparations. Without further hesitation, he waved his hand, and dozens of golden talismans scattered around Qingchao Peak. Before the Crimson Blood Demon Lord could react, a dense net of golden threads instantly enveloped the entire mountain.

When a disciple touched it, it instantly turned into blood and vapor, leaving no trace.

"The Spirit-Locking Net!" Chi Xue exclaimed in shock.

This Soul-Locking Heavenly Net is a talisman technique of the Tong clan. He became more and more certain that Gu Xu was a hidden master of the Tong clan. Without further hesitation, he urged his mind, and the blood clouds around him transformed into a six-armed blood spirit giant, each wielding a weapon and attacking Gu Xu. Meanwhile, he himself flashed and flew towards the Crimson Blood Palace.

Seeing this, Gu Xu gave a command, and the golden light around him gathered, transforming into six golden-armored divine generals, holding swords and shields, who met the Blood Spirit head-on. With just one strike, the Blood Spirit colossus was utterly defeated, losing its armor and weapons, and even losing half of its six arms.

After another two or three breaths, the six generals swung their swords in unison, and six golden lights flashed and instantly sliced ​​through the blood armor, scattering the blood spirit.

Seeing the once invincible Six-Armed Blood Spirit defeated, the demonic cultivators below were terrified and fled in all directions, but due to the existence of the Spirit-Locking Heavenly Net, their efforts were destined to be in vain.

Gu Xu didn't even look at the juniors below. With a flash of light, he headed straight for the Crimson Blood Palace. As soon as he stepped into the palace, the palace gates immediately closed, the light dimmed, and a golden light shield spontaneously rose from Gu Xu's body, blocking all the incoming hidden weapons.

"Fellow Daoist, once you enter my Crimson Blood Palace, you'll be well prepared to experience the thrill of a raging sea of ​​blood."

After a burst of wild laughter, the dimly lit palace was suddenly illuminated, followed by a thunderous roar of water. Gu Xu floated in mid-air, his vision filled with a blood-red glow.

An immense, blood-red sea, driven by the Crimson Blood Demon Lord, surged with towering waves of blood, relentlessly rushing towards Gu Xu, as if to swallow him whole and turn him into nourishment.

"This sea of ​​blood contains yin and evil blood energy, and with countless vengeful spirits floating in it, ordinary cultivators who fall into it will turn into blood in no time. No wonder Crimson Blood is so confident. Is this your trump card?" Gu Xu sneered.

As the blood wave approached, Gu Xu's body shone with golden light, pushing it aside. At the same time, he pointed his fingers and slashed out, sending a scorching force straight into the sea of ​​blood. The surging sea of ​​blood suddenly stopped, followed by several wails, and the wisps of blood energy vanished without a trace.

"What a powerful divine ability! Fellow Daoist is indeed extraordinary. However, this is just a small demonstration. The main event is yet to come. Please take a look."

The sea of ​​blood churned and surged, stirring up waves of crimson. Above these waves stood skeletons clad in blood-red armor, their eyes glowing with a single, eerie green flame.

Arranged in formation, the leader, a blood general, pointed his longsword, and hundreds of blood soldiers attacked Gu Xu in an orderly fashion. Thick blood arrows shot into the golden light shield, causing the shield to sway erratically.

"The Demon Lord has truly mastered the art of fusing Yin Sha Yuan Qi with the Blood Sha Soldier's Soul and imprinting it with a blood curse."

Gu Xu immediately saw through the blood soldiers' true nature and let out a soft shout. A crimson light suddenly emanated from his body, which then formed a bright sun. Its radiance spread everywhere, and all the blood soldiers that were illuminated by the sun melted away. As time passed, the blood sea energy also began to thin out and slowly recede.

The Crimson Blood Demon Lord, hiding deep within the sea of ​​blood, had a drastic change in expression. He had thought that even if Gu Xu used that divine power repeatedly, he would have consumed a lot of vital energy. However, after three quarters of an hour, his aura was still at its peak and showed no signs of weakening. Knowing that he had made a mistake, the Crimson Blood Demon Lord became ruthless.

"I didn't expect I'd still have to resort to this trick." Chi Xue reached out and took out a blood talisman. Blood light flashed in his palm as he channeled a large amount of vital energy into it. His face turned pale instantly. At this moment, the blood talisman glowed and turned into countless points of light that scattered into the sea of ​​blood.

The blood sea, which had been weakening, seemed to have taken a tonic, its power increasing instead of decreasing. A blood curtain that blotted out the sky pressed down on Gu Xu.

"This should be the Blood Cloud Formation, but it doesn't seem to be perfect."

The golden light shield continued to shrink under the pressure of the blood-red clouds, shrinking from about ten feet to three feet, and the rate of shrinkage was getting faster and faster.

In just a few breaths, the blood cloud swirled and swept Gu Xu, who was inside the golden light shield, into the sea of ​​blood. A faint golden light flickered in the blood cloud, looking as if it could be swallowed up at any moment.

Chi Xue's face lit up with joy upon seeing this; after paying such a high price, he had finally received a reward.

"With this Daoist as the main soul of the Blood Cloud Formation, the formation's power will increase by at least 30%. Even if Lord Qingshan and Qi Feng join forces, I will no longer be afraid. At that time, I will not let either Pingshan Prefecture or Tianhua Prefecture go."

Just as Chi Xue was envisioning a bright future, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. His already pale face became even more frighteningly white, devoid of any human vitality.

Looking up, one could see a golden light break through the blockade in the surging sea of ​​blood. The golden sun responded to the fire, and blue flames ignited on the sea of ​​blood, spreading rapidly like waves to other places, soon encompassing the entire sea of ​​blood.

"Not good," Chi Xue thought to himself. This sea of ​​blood was his hiding place. Every time he burned a trace of blood energy, he consumed his own essence. Taking advantage of the fact that the golden sun had not completely invaded, Chi Xue made a decisive move and slashed at himself.

The body split in half, becoming two identical demon lords. One of them quickly regained consciousness, reached out and touched the other demon lord, who then automatically plunged into the sea of ​​blood.

Chi Xue's eyes flashed. He had exhausted a large amount of his vital energy to use the substitution technique. If he could not hide it from Gu Xu, he would have no way to resist.

"This place is not safe to stay for long."
With a flash of crimson light, he headed towards the area below the palace, where a teleportation array had been set up years ago, enough to bypass the Spirit Locking Net, but only enough for one person to pass through.

Just as Chi Xue left the edge of the Blood Sea, a loud bang was heard, and a wave of air rushed towards him, causing his breath to catch in his throat. At that moment, a bright, clear light enveloped him.

Chi Xue's body was instantly immobilized, unable to break free. He looked back in horror and saw a treasure mirror shining brightly in mid-air. Gu Xu swept his sleeve, dispelling the blood mist and turbid air, and looked at him coldly.

(End of this chapter)