Chapter 243 – The Mountain is There (1/2)

The Golden Pheasant Elder said, “Eleven for the Pheasant’s Grace mountain.”

The Lone Grave Elder said, “Seven!” However, they all knew that this was not because disciples of the Burial Mound mountain were stronger, but because they could use corpses as shields.

Almost thirty disciples had died in under four hours. Although it was not a lot compared to the total number of disciples that they possessed, it was enough to shake up the foundations of the three mountains.

Hua Chengzan frowned. He never thought something like this would happen during the Herb Gathering ceremony. Were the daemons already prepared for this, waiting to ambush the Qi Practitioners as they ventured underground?

Perhaps the Daemon General in this region finally became fed up with humans running through his territory freely and began to respond to it. If that was the case, the deaths would only just be the beginning. It was very likely for all the cultivators in the ceremony to be annihilated this time.

He could no longer imagine just how great of a ripple it would cause if almost a thousand human cultivators died. He could not help but sigh. Looking at the dark clouds in the sky, the situation of the world really was going to change!

The three elders were bleeding inside over the loss. Their faces were cold and sunken as killing intent surged through their eyes. That person was right! All daemons deserved to die!

“Brother, are you saying that Zijian will…” Hua Chenglu rushed over from afar and grabbed Hua Chengzan’s sleeve anxiously.

As she said that, a few more specks of light vanished. Although Yu Zijian was not a disciple of the Green Vine mountain, she also carried a sensory spiritual artifact, so she was one of the specks of light there. Who knows when hers would be extinguished.

“We can only pray that the heavens protects good people.” Hua Chengzan pressed down on Hua Chenglu’s shoulder. Right now, he was powerless too. If there really was a Daemon General active, the underground would be a forbidden zone to Qi Practitioners. While he was known as the greatest below Foundation Establishment, he was still a Qi Practitioner.

If the person underground right now was Hua Chenglu, he would rush in there without hesitation, but it was impossible for him to take such a great risk for a girl he was unfamiliar with.

Hua Chenglu bit her lip. She understood what Hua Chengzan was considering. She could not be obstinate and make excessive demands here.

A black daemon sat alone in a large cavern. It raised its right arm and extended its forefinger. On the tip of the finger was a huge talon, as sharp as a blade, which it placed on a young man’s forehead gently.

A black shadow reflected in his fear-stricken pupils, and the violent murderousness and daemon qi completely obliterated his will to fight back. However, the daemon did not strike immediately, so he seemed to see a sliver of hope. He begged, “Don’t, I beg you. I…”

However, the heavy smell of blood seeped out from behind the black daemon. The young man clearly saw that it was a pile of corpses of Qi Practitioners, which made his lips tremble in fear. Translucent tears streaked across his face.

A while earlier…

A group of disciples from the Pheasant’s Grace mountain arrived here. Using the experiences of their seniors, it would often be much easier for them to find blessed lands with spiritual herbs and inhabited by daemonic beasts than independent cultivators.

But this time, the thing lurking here was an actual daemon, and the leader of the daemons.

The familiar uniform made Li Qingshan recall many negative memories, and he seemed to have met the leading seventh layer Qi Practitioner in the Quiet Spring valley as well.

“Ah!” The first disciple to spot Li Qingshan cried out before coming to a halt.

Li Qingshan’s index finger had already stabbed through his chest like a spear.

Only then did the other disciples react. They all bellowed out and attacked together. They took out talismans, drew spiritual artifacts, and used techniques.

The one who responded the fastest was the inner disciple, a seventh layer Qi Practitioner. However, before his golden pheasant feather had even managed to take off, a huge hand had already appeared before him. The index finger pushed against the thumb gently before flicking out leisurely. His head was smashed into pieces as bits of brain and fragments of his skull scattered across the ground.

At this moment, those who went for their talismans had only extended their hands into their talisman pouches, those who drew spiritual artifacts had only lit up their spiritual artifact, and those who used techniques had only gathered their true qi. Their minds even struggled to take in everything happening before them, preventing them from reacting properly.

Li Qingshan waved his hand conveniently and blood spurted out. Not a single person was alive anymore.

The battle began in an instant and ended in an instant.

It was so simple that even Li Qingshan himself was slightly surprised. He had sure spent a lot of effort in order to deal with Zhuo Zhibo who was a sixth layer Qi Practitioner back then.

Although he had yet to undergo the heavenly tribulation and take that legendary first step, his great strength had been converted into terrifying battle prowess after he reached the second layer of the tiger demon. He could now suppress even the strongest daemons, so how could any Qi Practitioner be his opponent?

Li Qingshan was not interested in torturous deaths, so they all died extremely swiftly, without any pain. The more direct reason for this was because he did not know these disciples of the Pheasant’s Grace mountain. Even the leader of this group would only bark meaninglessly in his face before he died.

However, since they were disciples of the Pheasant’s Grace mountain, they were his enemy. There was nothing much more to it. If he killed them, then he killed them.

But right now, he was completely unfamiliar with the young man standing before him.