Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 538 The Ultimate Victim
Seeing Feng Buyao's terrified state, Sect Leader Kang did not adopt a condescending attitude. Instead, he spoke in a calm and serious tone, "Fellow Daoist, do not make any moves. After all, if you frighten me, it will endanger your precious life, which would not be good."

This Feng Buyao was quite clever; as soon as he realized that he had been placed under a restriction, he immediately abandoned his plan to escape.

However, Kang Dabao did not expect that after she obediently bowed her head and bowed, she would immediately begin to undress. She moved very quickly, showing that she was a master of this art, so skilled that even the nearby Sect Leader Kang could not stop her.

As her nail-painted fingertips brushed against her waist, she gently untied the red thread, and at the same time, her ankles, adorned with silver chains, kicked aside the piled-up silk skirt. After a few rustling sounds, the gold-embroidered hem was dropped to the ground.

The arch of her neck as she tilted back resembled a bowstring stretched to its limit, so long and slender that it evoked the image of "a long neck furrowed like snow, a graceful cloud unfurled." Beneath the half-faded pale yellow shawl, a bead of fragrant sweat, about to fall, clung to the hollow of her collarbone, more alluring than the snow-white expanse of her chest.

"I am but a woman of meager means, and I hope Your Excellency will show me some mercy."

A fragrant breeze accompanied by soft words wafted over, causing Master Kang to frown and momentarily unsure how to respond.

"This is the consequence of those wicked people ruining my reputation."

Kang Dabao sighed inwardly, muttered a curse under his breath, and stopped worrying about his reputation for "bullying women." He simply straightened his clothes and composed himself, making himself appear as virtuous as a true moralist, before speaking:
"Please show some respect, fellow Daoist."

Upon hearing the sound, Feng Buyao showed no sign of relief; instead, he appeared somewhat ashamed and angry.

It's just that she's currently in a position of power, otherwise this woman might have used her cute and charming teeth to bite off a few pieces of tender flesh from Master Kang.

After calming herself down, Feng Buyao put her clothes back on one by one.

She didn't feel ashamed of serving others with her body. In her view, her graceful body was no different from high-grade spirit stones or rare spiritual treasures; it was still a valuable asset that could be used on her cultivation path.

The sect leader had no time to consider what the alluring female cultivator was thinking, and simply said, "The outcome of the battle outside is still undecided, please wait a moment, fellow Daoist."

Unexpectedly, after this female cultivator calmed down, she became quite bold. As expected of someone who could break through the encirclement of such a strange place as the Cloud Ze Witch Venerable Palace and form a golden core, she cannot be judged by ordinary standards.

But her lips parted slightly, and she asked softly, "Does Your Excellency intend to be the fisherman?"

Saying such foolish words is merely a way for female Taoists to get close to people, but Kang Dabao had no mind to pay attention to it and continued to probe out with his divine sense.

His current full moon visualization technique is already perfected. Although he is only at the initial stage of cultivation, his spiritual sense is stronger than most mid-stage upper cultivators who have not practiced spiritual sense techniques. He is not much weaker than newly promoted late-stage Golden Core cultivators like You Song.

The battle outside was raging, and no one had the time to come out and discover that Master Kang was secretly spying on them.

However, after only a short while, most of the vengeful spirits that Hou Mingfa had summoned with the bone flute had already been annihilated. He and the Third Palace Master You Songshangxiu, however, had no idea what the source of the bloody light in front of them was.

All I know is that his blood technique is incredibly powerful, the most powerful I've ever seen in my life. I imagine that if it weren't for his inferior cultivation, we two would probably be dead by now.

You Songlei's lightning magic was fierce, but he couldn't find any trace of the blood shadow. After fighting like this, ninety-nine percent of the spiritual power he used was wasted.

When Hou Mingfa's own protective aura was shattered by a blood-stained blade, a horrific wound pierced through his body from top to bottom. If it weren't for the jade pendant at his waist that saved his life, he might have been sliced ​​in two.

This Sixth Palace Master had experienced many fierce battles since he began his cultivation, and had walked the line between life and death quite a few times. Yet, he was still so shocked by the blood-red blade just now that his heart trembled and he almost lost his hand seals.

"Third Brother!! Let's retreat!!"

"Boom!"

Upon hearing the sound, You Songshangxiu didn't stop moving. Seeing streaks of brilliant lightning grazing the edges of the bloody light ahead and landing one after another in empty space, he became even more furious. Seeing that Hou Mingfa had lost his composure in fear, he couldn't help but curse loudly:

"Seventh Brother has just been captured, and Eleventh Sister came with the two of us, their fate unknown. Are you going back like this? What kind of explanation are you going to give to the Grand Master, you dog brain?"

Hou Mingfa instantly understood what the former meant.

After all, if Master Huang Miga were to truly become angry, even You Song, who was also a late-stage cultivator, would not be able to bear it, let alone him, a mere early-stage Golden Core cultivator.

You should know that, as a fellow temple master, Hou Mingfa might have the confidence to argue with any other temple master, but he would never say a single "no" to Master Huang Mijia.

The latter truly wields the power of life and death within the Yunze Witch Lord's Palace. If it were truly necessary to punish You and Hou for dereliction of duty, it would be impossible to find even a single person to plead for leniency.

However, it was absolutely impossible for him to give up his identity as the Sixth Palace Master and become a poor, wandering cultivator.

If that's the case, then the only way is to work together with You Songshang to capture this cowardly fellow.

When You Songshangxiu saw that Hou Mingfa had calmed down, he felt relieved.

With the former's insight, it was not difficult to discern that the person before him, who was covering his face, was seriously injured. He could also roughly deduce that if the person were at his peak, he would certainly not be a match for him.

However, this might explain why even someone like Kang Xiangyi was able to escape unscathed from the cave. This evil cultivator who faked the bloodshed must have been short-lived, which is why he didn't clean up the mess properly, allowing the news to leak out.

If that's the case, then if we just hold on a little longer, and wait for the nearby Golden Core cultivators to receive the distress signal I just sent out and come to our aid, it's not impossible to capture them alive and kill them in battle.

The Taoist Peng opposite him had no idea what You Song was thinking. He was just thinking to himself, "That's it. It must be this group of people who broke into my cave. Even if this Taoist's spiritual power is mixed and his foundation is weak, his thunder magic is still passable."

The bronze corpse I've been raising here was initially refined using improper methods, and it's been difficult to correct afterwards. As a result, it's become extremely afraid of lightning and fire, which are precisely what it's vulnerable to. So, if it were to fall victim to its poison, it would be quite understandable.

However, just like his battle with You Song, he was now finding it difficult to sustain a prolonged fight. Moreover, after injuring two early-stage cultivators on the other side with his superior Taoist skills, Peng Daoren breathed a sigh of relief.

Peng Daoren was cautious and, after dealing with You and Hou for a while, he believed he had figured out most of their methods. He then channeled his spiritual power into his fingertips, intending to settle the score in one battle.

But once Peng Daoren's figure came to a stop, You and Hou finally managed to make out his form. However, before they could even feel any joy, a large cloud of blood mist gushed out from the tear in Peng Daoren's tattered robe.

With a "glug-glug" sound, the blood pool in the cave suddenly began to boil.

"Pop pop pop," as the blood bubbles burst in the pool of blood, a large amount of foul odor was released, clearly indicating that this was no ordinary place.

You Songshang's expression grew increasingly solemn, while Hou Mingfa's face was filled with astonishment.

While the two were still trembling in shock, the evil energy had already entangled with the blood mist scattered by Peng Daoren and formed a red cocoon as tall as a person.

You Songshangxiu reacted quickly, wielding a black spear wrapped in lightning and thrusting it out. A large area of ​​brilliant light almost dyed the entire cave white, but it was steadily blocked by the blood wind around the Crimson Cocoon, unable to get any closer.

Hou Mingfa did not sit idly by and wait for his death. Endless ghostly energy emanated from every pore of his body, and he summoned dozens of fierce ghosts to cover his entire body.

These vengeful ghosts were his trump cards. Even the weakest of them were refined from the souls of late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. Each one was extremely fierce, with eyes filled with green phosphorescent flames, mouths emitting the shrieks of living beings, and hands full of bone and flesh spiritual weapons. They pounced fiercely on the red cocoon.

However, these vengeful ghosts encountered the same thing as the lightning bolts just now. The blood winds seemed harmless, but they were able to protect the area around the Crimson Cocoon from all harm.

The two exchanged a glance, both immediately thinking of causing trouble for Master Peng. However, the latter did not grant their wish, quickly moving to Chi Jian's side and sitting cross-legged to regulate his breathing.

Even though the blood cultivator was clearly so weak that he was pale as death, You and Hou were still unable to break through the blood wind. They could only watch helplessly as a blood dragon broke through the red cocoon and roared into the sky.

Hou Mingfa made a fatal mistake. His meticulously crafted ghost generals were instantly scattered by the heavy blood energy, causing him to lose all six senses and bleed from all seven orifices.

Immediately afterwards, all his internal organs were shattered by the onrushing blood vapor. If it weren't for the fact that the Golden Core cultivator had already achieved a flawless body, he would have been killed in this incident.

You Songshang was extremely vigilant. He knew that Hou Mingfa would be in grave danger after this incident. He casually made a grasping motion with his left hand, summoning heavenly lightning. A large patch of spiritual light appeared at the tip of the black spear, and a lifelike lightning dragon leaped out from it. The moment the blood dragon and the lightning dragon collided head-on, the burst of blazing white lightning illuminated the entire cave as if it were daytime.

Hou Mingfa lost his footing and was swept away by the shockwave along with the magic weapon in his hand; his fate is unknown.

Anyone with eyes could see that although Lei Long's aura was strong, it was only outwardly strong but inwardly weak. How could it compare to Peng Daoren's solid and skillful Blood Dragon Formation?
After a rumbling sound, Peng Dao was bleeding from the corner of his mouth, and You Songshangxiu looked terrified. When he looked up again, the thunder dragon on the top of the cave had long since vanished into countless spiritual rays falling down, while the blood dragon was still vivid, ferocious and savage.

You Songshangxiu knew that he could not retreat even a little bit at this time. After he landed, he vomited several liters of blood, which soaked the black spear in his hand and turned it into a different color.

Just as the blood dragon was about to swoop down, You Songshangxiu had already made up his mind. The lightning pattern on his right arm suddenly burst out with dazzling golden light, blasting half of his robe into pieces. Then, it condensed into a vajra pestle wrapped with Sanskrit on the top of the cave and crashed down.

"Why did you have to learn that damn Buddhist practice? It's utterly disgusting!"

Peng Daoren cursed inwardly, his anger deepening. He urged the Blood Dragon to entangle the Sanskrit Demon-Subduing Pestle, and his hand seals changed instantly, causing another strange phenomenon to occur in the already boiling blood pool.

Thick pillars of blood shot into the sky, and soon after, armored soldiers, each wielding a weapon, stepped out from them.

This was clearly the method of eliminating the dross and retaining the essence prepared by Peng Daoren. After the twenty-four armored blood soldiers were generated, the originally viscous blood pool in the cave immediately became clear as blue, and it was difficult to find even a trace of red residue in the corners and ravines.

As these blood soldiers marched forward wielding their weapons, streaks of crimson light fell to the ground, tearing it apart. Pieces of rock emitted a agonizing scream, as if a living being was being dismembered—a truly irritating sound.

You Song was so disturbed that he almost made a mistake in his lightning incantation. In other words, whether it was the demon-subduing pestle or his orthodox lightning magic, it was the only way to restrain Peng Daoren, which gave him time to think.

With Feng Buyao's whereabouts unknown and Hou Mingfa's fate uncertain, the choice of whether to stay or leave is not difficult for You Songshangxiu.

However, what is worrying now is that it seems unlikely that they can escape unscathed.

The blood dragon only had a slight advantage over the demon-subduing pestle. As the Buddha's light gradually weakened, the dragon's spiritual light also flickered continuously. It would take quite some time before a winner could be determined.
However, the blood soldiers summoned and assembled by Peng Daoren were indeed troublesome.

At a glance, one can see that these Blood Soldiers are all so rich in spiritual energy that they are comparable to those of a fake Core Formation cultivator. They are arranged in the formation of the Twenty-Four Constellations and press down heavily. Even when You Song was at his peak, he would have to be wary of them, let alone now that his spiritual energy is less than 30%.

"Damn it!" You Songshang cursed, then abandoned Hou Mingfa on the ground and was about to turn and walk away.

Just as he was about to begin his footwork, it was interrupted by Peng Daoren's magic. One by one, blood soldiers locked up the cave, sealing it off completely, leaving no way for You Song Shangxiu to escape.

The latter continued to strike the blood soldiers with lightning, causing an unknown amount of blood energy to spill out. However, these blood soldiers scattered and condensed repeatedly, and although You Songshang's spiritual power was exhausted, the formation of the blood soldiers did not become any less dense.

Peng Daoren's expression was indifferent. In truth, even now, he was still unsure whether You Song and his group were the culprits who had destroyed his cave. However, someone had to make up for the losses in his cave, and the resentment he felt for being humiliated by Fei Tianqin and Xiang Tianxing had to be vented on someone!
"It's all that old bird's fault! He caused most of my prized magical treasures to disappear, and even my spare items fell into the water along with my storage bag. Otherwise, if I were to seriously deal with these insignificant people, I wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble!"

As this wicked cultivator gloated, he noticed that You Song, the upper cultivator, had also developed a fierce expression on his face after several failed attempts to break through:
"If we're all going to die, then we're all dead. Don't even think about living alone!!"

The golden elixir in his Niwan Palace began to burn, and the black spear that had been struggling suddenly froze a foot above his head.

"What is this?!" Peng Daoren's expression was solemn. He knew that You Songshangxiu had been forced to fight to the death. He was even willing to risk a relapse of his injuries to forcefully exert his spiritual power, making the Blood Dragon and Blood Soldiers work harder and press down harder.

"break!"

The black spear above You Songshangxiu's head was suddenly covered in purple lightning. After blasting a huge hole in the blood soldier formation, its momentum did not diminish. It stabbed hard into the head of the blood dragon that was pressing down on the demon-subduing pestle and making it unable to breathe.

"boom!"

The Blood Dragon couldn't dodge in time and had most of its body blasted to pieces.

You Songshangxiu seized the opportunity and used the Vajra Pestle to break free, landing directly among the blood soldiers who had already formed a broken formation. Only a few breaths later, as the pure white Buddhist light spread out like ripples, these hideous creatures were seen turning into blood and slowly flowing back to their original place.

Just as the green pool was dyed bright red again, the lightning spear on the top of the cave had already subdued the blood dragon and returned, its target naturally being Peng Daoren's physical body.

You Songshang was naturally pleased with himself, after all, in his eyes, Peng Daoren had already used all his methods and was now at his limit. How could he withstand Peng Daoren's tough methods, which were willing to sacrifice his golden core essence and suffer a drop in cultivation level?

However, to his surprise, the latter simply let out a long breath, her face showing pity, and as she made a hand seal, she gritted her teeth and muttered, "You ruined my grand plan, but I won't let you, you fool, die a quick death!!"

But after Peng Daoren spoke, his already pale face lost its last trace of color, and the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, which had been nurtured in his dantian and had not appeared since his defeat at the hands of Fei Tianqin, suddenly trembled and was held horizontally in front of his chest.

The once menacing Thunder Spear was instantly extinguished. With a flick of the banner, this superior magic weapon, which had been infused with the essence of You Songshang, was pulverized into scrap metal. The smug look on his face vanished instantly, and his rebellious blood gushed out.

"Who exactly are you?!"

When You Songshangxiu spoke, he was still unwilling. He knew that he not only had no chance of winning, but also no chance of survival. His hundreds of years of cultivation had been lost here in such an inexplicable way, which was also a pity.

"Peng Min from Shannan greets fellow Daoist!" Peng Daoist spoke with an unusual tone, as if he had thought for a long time before remembering his name.

“Daoist Peng from Shannan?!” You Songshangxiu uttered the words casually, unaware that this Daoist was the very person whom the head of the Zhaixing Tower had recently come to borrow treasures from and rescued.

Peng Daoren had already forged an iron heart hundreds of years ago. Not to mention that he didn't know that You Songshangxiu was related to his escape, even if the latter was really his dear savior, the strength he used would not be any less.

But then, a mysterious incantation condensed in his hand, and wisps of blood fell from his wrist, winding their way up the groaning rocks and up to the top of the pine tree.

Before long, You Songshang's life essence was completely drained, and the color in Peng Daoren's face slowly returned. The former died in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and Hou Mingfa, who fell to the ground, followed in his footsteps.

Peng Daoren felt completely relaxed, but he didn't forget to wave the banner in his hand, collecting the two souls into the banner and their remains into his bag.

After all, when it comes to "making the most of everything," even Master Kang would have to admit defeat when facing these evil cultivators.

For someone like Peng Daoren, the remains of cultivators are no different from the corpses of demonic beasts, and they remain a highly sought-after commodity in the evil cultivation circle.

He removed his robes and slowly stepped into the blood pool, which had become much lighter in color.

This was his training ground, which he had prepared for nearly a hundred years. If everything remained as he wished, his injuries would be mostly healed in just one or two years. Although he would still be no match for an anomaly like Fei Tianqin, he would at least be able to face most of the surrounding area without fear.

Unexpectedly, the blood pool was ruined by these outsiders. Not only were all the blood amber and blood coral gone, but most of the blood pool was also consumed during the battle.

Even though the Myriad Soul Banner gained two more golden core souls to serve as generals, it still couldn't make up for the lack of nourishment and was still unable to recover its vitality.

Summoning him to fight the enemy severely damaged Peng Daoren's own essence. Although he consumed two doses of Golden Elixir essence, he could not recover quickly and would need many years to fully recover.

With a wave of his hand, the evil cultivator sent two freshly laid storage bags flying in the wind.

After examining the bag carefully for a while, Peng Daoren's expression changed: "Something's not right. They really don't have even half a single spiritual treasure from the cave in their bags!! The Six Harmonies Kanli Cauldron is also nowhere to be found!!"

The evil cultivator immediately realized what was happening and, without thinking, shot out of the water, but it was too late. Before he could even put on his robes, he was struck solidly by two beams of golden light, and his golden core body almost shattered.

His injuries were completely out of control, but he was decisive. Disregarding his own strength, he used the Blood Escape Technique and fled in a panic, not even taking the two storage bags he had just held in his hands.

Meanwhile, in the Soul Guardian Pavilion, a key location within the Yunze Witch Lord's Palace, four Golden Core Soul Lamps placed at the highest point went out one after another, startling the disciples within into a near-mad frenzy, who rushed out recklessly.

(End of this chapter)