novelraw Chapter 111 : I’ll Just Start Killing
Chapter 111 : I’ll Just Start Killing
Chapter 111: I’ll Just Start Killing
The hazy light filtered faintly through the leaves and fell upon the ground.
Lu Changyuan carried the Nether Lord in his arms as he moved swiftly through the forest.
The young girl had already fallen unconscious. Though she was exceedingly powerful, in the end, she still could not resist the curse devouring her from within.
Mount Long lay in the northwest.
Behind him came an overwhelming tide of pursuit and killing intent.
That pair of bastards, Chi and Lan—those mongrels whose entire families were dead—had gathered quite a number of people. Some came to repay favors, while others came to kill Ming, devour the Spirit Clan, and seize the World Tree.
Now that Chi and Lan were dead, and Ming gravely wounded, the entire affair had turned into a grand feast for the ancient races to divide the Spirit Clan among themselves.
“This really is…”
Lu Changyuan had nothing more to say.
One Sword from the West!
The blade traced a brilliant streak of light. At this moment, Lu Changyuan chose the same method Jiang Jiayi once used—utilizing the speed of One Sword from the West to travel swiftly.
Where the sun set—that was where he was headed.
The journey ahead would be long.
The Spirit Clan’s World Tree lay far, far to the west of the Blackwater region.
Lu Changyuan tried to estimate the distance… and failed.
Who could say whether the ancient times even had tectonic movement? Moreover, he had no idea where he currently was.
He could only keep moving forward.
There had never been anything Lu Changyuan set his mind to that he could not accomplish.
Boom!
A long spear fell from the sky, crashing before him. Dust billowed, obscuring the surroundings.
Before him stood a creature with fins on its back and the head of a dead fish.
Lu Changyuan couldn’t tell what it was.
But he understood its meaning.
“Put down Ming, and you may leave.”
Lu Changyuan said nothing. Severed Thought flashed horizontally like a streak of light through the night—the fish head fell to the ground with a dull thud.
“So weak, yet still trying to block me? The Spirit Clan really has fallen— even such fish dare to dream now.”
He gave a helpless smile, hugging the Nether Lord tighter. The girl’s frail body burned like a furnace, her blood hot enough to wound; it spattered against Lu Changyuan’s body, hissing and smoking.
“When I saved Tang’er back then, I said she owed me a favor and should remember to repay it. In the end, I never even got the chance to ask for it. Now, if I send you to Mount Long… Forget it. A guardian spirit protecting its master—that’s only natural.”
In the last moment before she lost consciousness,
the Nether Lord had said, “Go to Mount Long.”
Lu Changyuan had replied, “Alright.”
As if a pact had been sealed, Daoist Chang’an made an unfinished promise.
A wild wind swept past, carrying torrential force.
It was going to rain.
Lu Changyuan looked up and chuckled. “Rain at such a time?”
But that wasn’t entirely wrong—
The rain would mask his scent, making it harder for keen-nosed creatures to track him.
Hmm?
After crossing a creek and countless patches of tall grass, a small, dark hill appeared before him.
A Fei?
That wasn’t a hill—it was an enormous worm. Lu Changyuan had seen records of such things in Sword Solitary Sun’s notes.
It was said that in ancient times, there existed colossal worms tens of meters long, spewing foul miasma. Wherever they went, plants withered and springs dried up.
Fifth Realm?
Lu Changyuan suddenly laughed.
“How amusing. I’ve slain many men and demons before—some mutated into these kinds of monstrosities. Now I get to meet the real deal.”
In an instant, Severed Thought descended. Sparks flew as his blade scraped against the worm’s armor-like hide.
So hard.
Whoosh!
The air split with a sharp sound.
Lu Changyuan sidestepped, leaping away with the worm’s momentum. From the shadows of the forest, several horse-shaped figures emerged into view.
Half-human, half-horse, wielding bows and arrows.
Truly, there were all kinds of races in the ancient times.
Lu Changyuan grinned. The Five Desires and Six Dusts Mind-Transforming Technique flowed through him, and his eyes turned scarlet.
Kill!
Desire surged; the killing intent of the past slowly returned like a gathering stream.
Lu Changyuan vanished from where he stood.
When he reappeared, the rain’s light glimmered on his face twisted with a killing smile. “At least send a few Sixth Realm ones next time—who are you looking down on?”
A tearing sound split the air as flesh met steel. The human torsos and horse bodies separated entirely, crashing to the ground. Blood drenched Severed Thought, sharpening its gleam and chilling the air.
“Oh right, I had a question for you all.”
Lu Changyuan looked back at the giant worm. “When centaurs get pregnant, does the upper belly swell, or the lower—? Dead, huh. Never mind then.”
Severed Thought let out a clear ring—
as if urging Lu Changyuan to slay the worm.
The Fei spewed out poisonous mist, turning the surroundings into a swamp of venom. Sticky sludge spread across the ground, blocking his path forward.
He couldn’t drag this out.
If the Blood Demon caught up, things would turn ugly.
Lu Changyuan gave a soft laugh. His sword tore through the air, ripping open the void itself. In moments, he was before the worm.
Clang after clang resounded as the Fei let out a final agonized shriek.
Its foul miasma was absorbed by the Five Desires and Six Dusts Mind-Transforming Technique, and along with it, its desire to devour the Spirit Clan—now all consumed by Lu Changyuan, transformed into his ceaseless spiritual power.
With sheer will, Lu Changyuan hacked open a massive hole in the worm after hundreds of strikes. From within its mangled flesh, he burst out, charging onward into the distance.
He flicked Severed Thought lightly. The rain washed away the blood on him, but could not cleanse the scarlet from his eyes.
“Quite enjoyable.”
From the depths of his heart, Lu Changyuan felt joy. The lust for slaughter sprouted anew, like crimson bamboo shoots after the rain, rising from corpses.
Suppressing his impulse to slaughter all around, he once again used One Sword from the West to hasten his journey.
Behind him, the grass born of the Little Grass Sword Technique spread across the corpses of worms and centaurs, feeding his strength endlessly.
And not only that—
The Five Desires and Six Dusts Mind-Transforming Technique continued to devour every trace of lust in all directions.
This technique was too useful.
How had he not realized before that the method of releasing desire could be so effective?
Scarlet eyes gleamed with mania. To anyone watching, Lu Changyuan would have looked like a madman.
“Ten steps, one kill. Where’s the next one?”
Lu Changyuan smiled faintly—but that smile quickly froze.
Boom.
Another mountain loomed before him.
He recognized this one.
Luo.
“Damn it, dead you help me, but alive you block my way?”
Fifth Realm—nearly Sixth.
The giant’s fist came crashing down, smashing a vast crater in the earth. Lu Changyuan sprinted up its shoulder and kicked downward from midair.
Not a scratch.
The Stone Clan were always absurdly tough. If Jiang Jiayi, that natural sword body, were here, she might kill Luo with full power. But Lu Changyuan lacked her sharpness—he had to find another way.
Troublesome.
Back in the Nether Kingdom, Lu Changyuan had already thought these stone giants hard to deal with. At that time, Luo’s remnant thought had possessed Xiao Qingfeng to summon one. But now what?
Luo smashed its own head, forcing Lu Changyuan to leap aside. In the next instant, the giant’s enormous stone hand swung down again.
It looked slow, but was actually fast. Lu Changyuan barely managed to deflect it using Severed Thought, just enough to keep the Nether Lord in his arms safe.
“I said one day we’d be friends—do you believe me?”
The only answer was a storm of relentless punches.
Lu Changyuan could only twist and dodge continuously, stabbing whenever he found a chance.
Wait a second.
This thing had no brain, only instinct—so Mei Zhao Zhao’s Red Desire Technique wouldn’t work. And since it was impervious to weapons, it was nearly impossible to cut down.
Lu Changyuan quickly formed a hand seal. Countless blades of grass sprouted from the stone giant’s body.
The giant froze, then began furiously pounding its own chest. But with only two massive hands, it couldn’t perform the delicate task of pulling out the life-draining grass.
Boom!
Luo thrashed about, rolling on the ground in fury, trying to shake off the grass. But it was useless—unless it stopped completely to pluck them one by one.
Lu Changyuan let out a breath of relief. The creature’s vitality was astounding—even the energy drained by the grass was enough to make him feel full.
While Luo writhed in pain on the ground, a massive scythe suddenly swept toward Lu Changyuan in a sneak attack.
Lu Changyuan frowned and parried it with Severed Thought. “What the hell?”
Upon closer look, it was several dwarves, rubbing their hands together to conjure something—rubbing and rubbing—another scythe appeared before him.
“What kind of race is this now?”
“Did the Spirit Clan really make enemies of this many species?”
Rain splattered across Lu Changyuan’s face. He stuck out his tongue, letting the cold droplets wash away a bit of the blood’s taste.
“Dwarves?”
Lu Changyuan used the Spirit Clan’s language, but perhaps precisely because the gnomes understood the Spirit Clan’s language, they became furious. One after another, they rubbed out many scythes and sent them flying toward Lu Changyuan.
Those scythes were incomparably sharp. When they sliced across the giant trees, the trees did not even realize they had been cut apart and still stood upright where they were. Yet if anyone were to give the tree a shove, it would fall smoothly in half.
Lu Changyuan exhaled.
Rain Travels, Dew Upon Lotus!
The sword was swift, like the sudden flash of light. A bead of rain was severed, reflecting the gnomes’ disbelieving faces.
“‘Thirteen Swords of the Jade Palace’, nothing more. Something that could be learned just from watching once.”
In Xia Lianxue’s dream, Lu Changyuan had sat beside her eating candied haws, and had conveniently learned it on the side. It did not count as stealing, right? Palace Mistress Jade was his person—how could that be called stealing?
Lu Changyuan put away Severed Thought, preparing to continue on his way.
A rustling sound suddenly came, as though something were wriggling along the ground.
A snake?
No, vines.
At some unknown time, circle after circle of thick vines had spread across the ground. The place where Lu Changyuan currently stood was exactly the center of the vines.
Almost in an instant, the vines began to contract, completely binding Lu Changyuan’s legs. On those vines, countless tiny thorns abruptly sprouted, piercing the skin of his legs and greedily drinking his blood.
“Absorbing me?”
Lu Changyuan found it amusing.
The Five Desires and Six Dusts Mind-Transforming Technique circulated. His blood, along with the chaotic qi within the technique, entered the vines all at once. In the blink of an eye, those emerald vines flushed a cherry-red color, then began frenziedly attacking everything around.
The first to bear the brunt was Luo. He had just escaped the predicament of being wrapped in small grass when he was knocked over by the thick vines, crashing heavily onto the ground.
Lu Changyuan no longer looked at the chaotic forest but instead slashed fiercely toward the distance, turning into a streak of light.
~~~~~~~~~
This rain had actually never stopped.
The heavier the rain, the denser the dark clouds became. The denser the clouds, the less the sun could emerge.
A small flame slowly rose from within the bushes.
The rain could not extinguish this flame. Looking closely, it was not the warmth of burning wood, but the light emitted by a small, single-legged red bird.
The fire rose from the red bird’s feathers. The falling raindrops hit it with sizzling sounds.
“The Bi Fang Bird actually existed.”
Lu Changyuan let out a turbid breath and placed the girl beside him.
He was somewhat weary.
How long had it been?
He could not remember.
The black clothing on Lu Changyuan’s body was already ragged beyond repair. There was blood on his cheeks, and his hair was dry and disheveled.
He was indeed very strong.
But wheel battles were truly exhausting. Even with the Little Grass Sword Technique and the Five Desires and Six Dusts Mind-Transforming Technique providing him with an unending supply of power, he was still somewhat like a lamp running out of oil.
Severed Thought had lost its clarity. Its smooth blade had grown dim, and even its sword hum felt weak.
How many had he killed? Hundreds, thousands? Tens of thousands? He did not remember.
He simply killed wherever he walked.
Third Realm, Fourth Realm, Fifth Realm—every one of them died beneath Lu Changyuan’s sword.
It rather reminded Lu Changyuan of many years ago, when he roamed the world with his sword, sweeping down demons.
At that time, he cultivated the Dao of Killing. He killed just like he had these past dozen or so days—until heaven and earth dimmed, until all six senses were restless.
Using the Bi Fang Bird’s fire, Lu Changyuan sliced off meat from the bear that had collapsed not far away.
That Bear Clan cultivator, after he had slain the Bi Fang Bird, had wanted to ambush him, only to be killed by a single stroke of Lu Changyuan’s sword.
“Hu.”
Lu Changyuan roasted the meat, slowly stuffing it into his mouth and chewing bit by bit.
It tasted awful.
A heavy fishy odor, and half-raw.
He was not hungry.
But eating was Lu Changyuan’s habit. Without the Supreme Pure-Spirit Forget-Immortal Technique, Lu Changyuan had to rely on eating to alleviate his numbness.
Lu Changyuan gently brushed Lord of the Nether’s hair and placed Severed Thought on the ground.
Lord of the Nether still had not awakened.
The girl tightly furrowed her brows, as though caught in a nightmare.
Not only that—her aura continued to plummet. From extremely close to Jade Radiance, she had fallen to the current Fifth Realm.
The terror of the Blood Demon was evident.
Lu Changyuan pondered, recalling who exactly had killed the Blood Demon.
The Three Thousand Great Demons were either defeated or sealed. The Blood Demon had been one of those sealed, but there was no record of who had sealed it.
“Mm!”
The rain still fell. The girl felt scorching hot all over. She unconsciously reached out in search of something cool.
She found Lu Changyuan. She leaned over him, locking herself tightly around his body.
Lu Changyuan sighed.
All along the way, he had used the Five Desires and Six Dusts Mind-Transforming Technique to suppress the rampaging Nether blood, but now he could barely hold it down.
“Yu.”
The girl softly murmured his name.
“Mm, I’m here.”
Lu Changyuan wiped his face, brushing away the bloodstains—blood from countless clans mixed together.
“What sin did your Spirit Clan commit, for so many clans to be hunting us down together?”
Lu Changyuan felt it was strange, but the girl only rubbed against his arms, offering no answer.
Rustle.
Rustle.
Lu Changyuan waved his hand, and Severed Thought instantly returned to his grip. He carried the girl on his back, her arms wrapped around his neck.
“That…”
To Lu Changyuan’s surprise, the one who walked out from within the rain was a human.
Lu Changyuan let out a breath of relief: “Who are you?”
“Jue.”
The one who appeared was a man named Jue.
Fourth Realm.
Currently the strongest cultivator among the human race.
Lu Changyuan asked, “Is something the matter?”
“I heard that Lord Ming is in trouble.”
“You know Ming?”
Jue said, “Lord Ming has not seen me before, but all of humanity knows of Lord Ming’s honored title.”
Lu Changyuan narrowed his eyes slightly, signaling him to continue.
“Lord Ming has done many things for the human race. Hard to explain in a short time. In any case, you intend to take Lord Ming and escape, right?”
Lu Changyuan smiled, “What do you mean escape? Haven’t I just been killing my way through?”
Jue froze, then gave a bitter smile: “Then you intend to take Lord Ming and kill your way to somewhere else, right?”
“Yes.”
Jue clapped his hands. Suddenly, many humans emerged from within the forest.
This group nearly all had cultivation, their essence, energy, and spirit vigorous.
Lu Changyuan blinked: “This is?”
“We can buy you some time. In fact, I came out to tell you—if you are heading to Mount Long, do not go straight. Straight ahead is the Dream Monsters’ territory. That group of monsters is very troublesome.”
Lu Changyuan shook his head: “How far is this from Mount Long?”
Jue gave a bitter smile: “At your speed, in three more days you could reach Mount Long. But you must avoid the Dream Monsters’ territory. If you detour, it will take five days.”
“We must avoid the Dream Monsters?”
Jue said, “Yes, the Dream Monsters hate Lord Ming deeply.”
“Why? All along this road, it seems many races hate her.”
“Yes.”
Even Spirit Lord and Lan—two who were overly well-liked—should not have been able to summon this many races.
Jue explained, “Because in these past years, Lord Ming and Lord Twilight have been attacking other clans, rescuing many humans. The clans that were attacked now hate the two lords.”
Many races liked to keep humans as livestock for textile production. Ming and the Red Fox had fought their way in and rescued those humans.
The human race remembered this debt.
Jue pointed at those behind him: “Some of these people were rescued by the two lords. They have always wanted to repay them.”
Lu Changyuan looked at the girl. She still kept her eyes tightly shut. He asked, “Lord Twilight?”
“She may also be called Lord Red Fox. Lord Red Fox was one of the rare cases—though a demon, she helped us humans.”
Red Fox?
Lu Changyuan did not yet know the story between Red Fox and Lord of the Nether, but he knew that heading for Mount Long now meant seeking Red Fox.
Jue added, “Lord Red Fox should currently be fighting the Bear Clan’s leader. Lord Ming said she would take the heads of Red Sovereign and Spirit Sovereign, while Lord Red Fox said she would take the heads of the Bear Clan and the Ape Clan’s experts, to use in the Mount Long offering.”
There should not have been any accidents.
Both were excessively strong. If not for the Blood Demon, Ming should have reclaimed the Spirit Clan with imperial majesty, then joined Red Fox at Mount Long to pay respects to Granny Long.
Jue continued, “Lord Red Fox should also be on her way to Mount Long.”
Lu Changyuan did not know these details, but he stood up: “They are coming.”
From afar came a clear, piercing cry.
Within the curtain of rain, half-human, half-bird monsters beat their pitch-black wings in the sky.
Jue hurriedly said, “You should go. We will hold off the Featherfolk. That terrifying blood creature should catch up in a few days. You cannot delay here.”
Lu Changyuan nodded, preparing to leave, when he suddenly thought of something and asked: “Do you know the Desire Demon?”
Jue looked blank: “Desire Demon? What Desire Demon?”
“Never mind if you don’t know.”