novelraw Chapter 261
Chapter 261
At a distance of less than five steps between the two sides, the power that a pure-blooded Body-refining cultivator could unleash with a secret art was enough to make any cultivator tremble in fear.
Moreover, Wang Yu’s other arrangements also took effect at the same time.
A kilometer away, within the hidden formation’s range, the Yin Fiend Corpse Nurturing Coffin rapidly expanded. The Lunar Yin Fiend Corpse leaped out, bowed deeply toward the Five Poisons Old Demon from afar.
Yin Corpse Descending Evil Curse!
A top-tier corpse-path spell that imposed a heavy debuff. A fifty-percent weakening effect— even a Nascent Soul cultivator could not withstand it. Of course, for the curse to take effect, the cultivation levels of both sides could not differ too greatly.
As it happened, the Five Poisons Old Demon could not resist it.
Once the Fiend Corpse finished bowing, its task was complete. It jumped back into the coffin, and next came the Thunder Corpse.
Wang Yu unleashed a Demonic Dragon Fist infused with the “Asura Killing Heart”, attacking both body and mind. A Yin Nether Demonic Dragon formed from his blood essence surged forward with a torrent of killing intent, crashing into the Five Poisons Old Demon and blasting him into the air with a thunderous explosion.
At that moment, the Thunder Corpse leapt across the thousand-meter distance. Endless lightning gathered upon it, and with a deafening boom, a mushroom cloud rose from the ground.
The Five Poisons Old Demon was smashed back down, and Wang Yu activated the final charge of his Heavenly Thunder Talisman Treasure. A near-instant Pillar of Heavenly Thunder descended once again.It blasted the Five Poisons Old Demon even deeper into the ground.
A seamless chain of attacks left him with no chance to respond. This time, Wang Yu believed there was an eighty percent chance of success. He refused to believe that a wandering Core Formation cultivator at the seventh layer could be that formidable.
Remaining vigilant, he watched as the smoke and dust gradually dispersed.
From the circular crater, dozens of meters deep, came the croaking of frogs, the chirping of insects, and the hissing of snakes.
Toads, centipedes, scorpions, lizards, and snakes.
These were the five poisons known to common folk and also the Five Poisons Old Demon’s unique cultivation art, “Five Poisons Scripture”, which allowed him to refine five life-bound poisonous beasts simultaneously.
That was the root of his strength. By using his five life-bound poisonous beasts, he could perform clone arts, excelling in both combat and scouting.
Though poison beasts and gu insects seemed similar, they were actually entirely different entities.
“Five Poisons Revolving Wheel Technique!”
A vast surge of multicolored toxic smoke erupted from the crater, transforming into the spectral images of five poisonous beasts. The Five Poisons Old Demon stood at their center, gasping heavily.
His condition was dire.
The originally gaunt old man now looked like a skeleton draped in skin, countless insects wriggling beneath it, devouring his flesh and blood even as they restored his wounds.
The burn marks left by the lightning and the wounds inflicted by the Thunder Corpse’s claws were quickly healing.
Wang Yu’s expression grew graver.
The Five Poisons Revolving Wheel Technique was clearly a versatile divine ability. It not only had powerful offensive potential but could also heal injuries and defend against attacks.
This kind of inheritance was not something a mere rogue cultivator should possess.
He recalled intelligence from Listening Wind Pavilion. The Five Poisons Old Demon had been active in the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest for over three hundred years. It made sense that he might have obtained a great opportunity in such a mysterious place.
No wonder he disdained Wang Yu’s Nascent Soul inheritance—he likely had his own.
“...Boy.”
Though he had fallen into two layers of traps and suffered heavy injuries, the Five Poisons Old Demon was far from dead. Driving the five-colored poisonous smoke, he fixed Wang Yu with a deadly stare and said:
“Your trump cards are impressive, and your scheming is deep. But your cultivation is still too weak. If that talisman treasure were at the peak of the third rank, perhaps I truly would have fallen for it. Now... go to hell!”
Jingle... jingle...
The serpent staff that Wang Yu had been wary of was not actually the old demon’s life-bound artifact. What he now held was a ring of silver bells.
It looked like a child’s toy, but it worked in perfect harmony with his five life-bound poisonous beasts. As the bells rang, the five-colored toxic smoke turned into layers of poisonous rings and surged toward Wang Yu.
The lightning patterns on Wang Yu’s body were still active.
His speed was incomparable to before. With a single stomp, the ground split apart, massive rocks rose like see-saws, towering like small mountains.
The moment the five-colored poison rings collided with the rocks, thick smoke billowed. Amidst the flashes of lightning, Wang Yu and the Thunder Corpse split left and right, bypassing the poison rings to launch a fierce assault on the old demon’s main body.
“Thunderbirds Cry as One!”
The Yin Nether Demonic Dragon wreathed in lightning and blood mist struck again, and with a roar from the Thunder Corpse, five bolts of heavenly lightning descended from the storm clouds above.
They chained around the old demon’s limbs and neck, locking him into a spread-eagle position.
The Thunder Corpse excelled at both offense and defense. Since advancing to the third rank, it had mastered its life-bound divine ability, “Summon Lightning, Command Thunder”, and possessed both the “Thunder Corpse Garment”, rivaling a superior corpse’s defense, and the “Pure Yang Thunder Fiend Energy”, equal to that of a Fiend Corpse’s Yin energy in might.
It had no conventional weaknesses. Its control of Lightning Command Technique was masterful. The thunder chains that now bound the Old Demon were precisely its creation.
Wang Yu’s direct assault was simple but effective. However, the Five Poisons Old Demon had vast combat experience. It was impossible for him to be completely caught off guard.
As the left-right pincer attack struck, the Five Poisons Old Demon’s body was torn in half. Filthy blood rained down, forming droplets of multicolored poisonous blood.
Just as Wang Yu dodged back, a five-colored poison ring struck him from behind, smashing into his back. The burning pain and searing toxin invaded his body, making it hard for him to stand straight.
He turned sharply toward the crater he had blasted open earlier.
As expected—
The old demon, who was proficient in the poison clone art, once again flew out from within. Wang Yu’s divine sense probed several times, and every result confirmed that this was indeed the true body.
He took a deep breath.
“Calm down.”
He warned himself in his heart-mind, narrowing his eyes as he pondered countermeasures. He had already considered the possibility of the ambush failing and had prepared plans for what might follow.
However, the opponent’s resilience after falling into the trap was far beyond expectation.
“Boy, do you feel your internal organs itching?
“My Five Poisons Revolving Wheel Technique fuses five types of lethal poisons into one. Almost no one can dispel it. Just wait to melt into a puddle of pus, hehehe!”
No, something was wrong.
If the other party were uninjured, he would have easily crushed him by force rather than resorting to this slow and torturous poisonous tactic.
Was he afraid Wang Yu still had hidden trump cards? No.
It must be that the true body had suffered heavy injuries—so much so that even his life-bound treasure, the Five Poisons Silver Bell, had been handed over to this clone. Clearly, he was terrified of death.
Realizing this, the pressure in Wang Yu’s heart-mind lessened greatly.
His original goal had been to severely injure the Five Poisons Old Demon, leaving him unable to continue pursuing for a while, until the Immaculate Jade Toad completed its metamorphosis.
Once it became a complete form, the poison skeleton tracking mark implanted in his body could be easily removed.
With the Immaculate Jade Toad’s natural restraint against poison arts, he might even be able to turn the tables and hunt down the Five Poisons Old Demon himself. The demon had simply encountered him at the wrong time.
“Hahaha—
“Old ugly fiend, you’re afraid now, aren’t you!
“I’ll tell you this: the trump cards given to me by Lord Dizang still remain. If you don’t want mutual destruction, then scram!”
With a thunderous explosion, Wang Yu launched his attack again.
Two bolts of lightning roared forward. The Five Poisons Old Demon tried to retreat, but his heart suddenly tightened as a pair of killing-intent-filled eyes appeared before him.
The mental assault of the Lesser Asura Killing Fist detonated completely.
In the instant his body froze, lightning from both sides tore him apart once more.
With the repeated deaths of his clones and his true body heavily injured, the old demon was under immense pressure. The Poison Clones were not limitless—each required him to split off a portion of his own strength.
But now, the true body needed that strength to suppress his wounds. The raging thunder power of utmost yang and rigidity, along with the parasitic lunar fiendish energy gnawing at him like maggots on bone, caused him great torment.
“Damn it.”
Knowing he could only temporarily cease fighting, the old demon stopped sending out clones and instead spread his voice across the air, continuing his eerie laughter as psychological warfare.
“I will find your corpse. Having been struck by my Five-Colored Poisons, you won’t live long.”
Wang Yu gave no reply.
After confirming the opponent no longer intended to fight, he stepped onto the back of the Thunder Corpse, performing the Corpse-Control Flight Technique to flee toward You Prefecture.
As for the Five-Colored Poison within his body, he did not pay it much heed. With the physique of a third-rank Body Refiner, poison below the fourth rank could not kill him.
However, expelling it was difficult. He could only endure the discomfort until the Immaculate Jade Toad awakened to cleanse it. Perhaps he might even gain unexpected benefits, strengthening his body further.
Upon reaching the third rank of Body Refining, cultivation revolved around the Divine Marrow. When the marrow filled the dragon spine, it signified reaching the third-rank peak.
At present, it was merely the size of a thumb—still far from completion. He would need countless natural treasures for nourishment and the right environment for tempering.
Fighting with one’s body was also a form of training.
Half an hour later, the lightning patterns covering his body finally faded, the tattoo-like runes retreating into the skin. He would need to absorb sufficient thunder qi before he could use them again.
Progress on his Wind Pattern was meager and of little use for now.
However—
Just as he stopped to recover some true essence, a familiar figure approached, carrying a body he recognized instantly.
It was the true body of the Five Poisons Old Demon.
The newcomer was someone Wang Yu had seen once before—a direct disciple of the Thunderfire Temple, whom he had teasingly called the “Lady of Taihu.” Her mastery of the Shrinking Earth Into Inches technique was exquisite.
At this moment, she was radiating the aura of Foundation Establishment Peak, yet was dragging along the corpse of a Core Formation Seventh Layer cultivator.
The corner of Wang Yu’s mouth twitched involuntarily.
“Fellow cultivator, halt your steps. What is the meaning of this?”
The Lady of Taihu stopped, tossed the corpse between them, and explained calmly.
“I happened to be nearby and was drawn here by the thunderous aura of your battle. Recognizing you…”
She paused briefly, then continued.
“This demon had committed countless atrocities and deserved death. I only wish to ask you about the Demonic Organization known as the Moluo Horde. Consider this corpse my token of goodwill.”
Wang Yu immediately tensed up. Though the Five Poisons Old Demon had been heavily injured, for a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator to not only capture him precisely but also kill him unharmed, just to ask about the Moluo Horde—seemed far too casual.
The talisman treasures in her hands were likely only her most basic trump cards.
Wang Yu sighed helplessly.
“What I know, I have already told you. Did you not go to the Heaven Treasure Pavilion to purchase intelligence?”
“I did. But you possess the Earth-Net Ghost Mask, so you must know more than most. I wish to learn everything regarding the Yin-Yang Demon Lords and the Moluo Group.”