158: Chapter 158 Hostage Threat

Spiritual energy enveloped each storage ring, flying into Su Yang's hand.

"Fortunately, I protected them with spiritual energy; otherwise, the items inside the storage rings would have been completely wasted."

Seeing the perfectly preserved storage rings, Su Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

He had expected the power of the Star Plucking Art to be quite terrifying, but he hadn't anticipated it would directly level a section of the mountain forest, instantly draining half of the spiritual energy in his body.

One must know that his dao foundation was the strongest, built by the 'Dao Origin Hunyuan Scripture', and his spiritual energy's depth was comparable to a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator with an ordinary dao foundation.

For such a massive amount of spiritual energy to be half-drained showed just how powerful the Star Plucking Art was.

If an ordinary Cultivator were to perform this art, they would need at least a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation, or perhaps even the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, to execute it.

Su Yang sent his Divine Sense into each storage ring; inside were not only Demonic Techniques and Medicinal Pills with severe side effects, but also numerous blood bottles and corpses.

With a look of disgust, he tossed out the blood bottles and corpses, striking them with a burst of flame to incinerate them completely.

"Oh? This 'Heavenly Demon Body' technique is actually quite good."

Su Yang discovered a demonic cultivation secret technique that actually had no side effects and could significantly increase a Cultivator's Physical Body strength.

However, the prerequisite for activating the Heavenly Demon Body was to Cultivate the Demonic Technique 'Blood River Manual', and the 'Blood River Manual' required the blood of living people to Cultivate.

Su Yang had no intention of cultivating a Demonic Technique, but he could use his Heavens Reward for Diligence Fate to reference the 'Heavenly Demon Body' and deduce a version that did not require a Demonic Technique to activate.

"It seems demonic cultivation methods aren't all trash; many Spells and secret techniques have excellent effects, it's just that the prerequisite for cultivation must be a Demonic Technique."

"But I can use them as a reference to create Dao methods that can be performed without Demonic Techniques."

Su Yang put away the storage rings and then, with a wave of his sleeve, cast two Spells in succession with effortless ease.

The ground, which had been riddled with pits and hollows, was quickly covered and smoothed over with fresh soil. Tender green saplings sprouted from the earth, growing branches and leaves at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning into a lush little sapling forest in the blink of an eye.

Su Yang turned his gaze in the direction Cheng Yue had left.

Since Cheng Yue had not yet returned, a trace of worry grew in his heart.

Considering the group of demonic Cultivators he had just faced, it was easy to deduce that this was a trap targeting the Su Family. However, the opponent had miscalculated two points: one was Cheng Yue's visit, and the other was that Su Yang had already achieved a Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

According to the original plan, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator who lured Cheng Yue away should have attacked the Su Family along with this group of demonic Cultivators.

But Cheng Yue's arrival disrupted their plans, forcing them to send one person to lure him away.

Su Yang could not be certain if there were other demonic Cultivators hiding nearby, and he pondered whether he should stay to guard the Su Family or go find Cheng Yue.

...

A mountain peak crashed down, and countless fragments of rock exploded outward.

"Surrender now, and you may be spared further pain."

Cheng Yue stood upon a Lotus Pedestal, holding the Black Tortoise Dharma Seal in his hand as he smashed it down toward the Blood River phantom ahead. The booming sound was deafening, and the fluctuations of spiritual energy kicked up a hurricane that dissipated outward.

Qin Chuanxing spat out blood, his body flying backward and crashing through two small hills.

His eyes were blood-red as he let out a great shout, a sea of blood surging from his body to strike at Cheng Yue with the force of a mountain-toppling wave. Simultaneously, he slapped a Talisman onto himself and fled desperately into the deep mountains.

"Truly stubborn and incorrigible."

Cheng Yue sighed, raising his hand to smash the Black Tortoise Dharma Seal down, suppressing the oncoming sea of blood.

His figure turned into a streak of light as he rapidly closed the distance. With a point of his finger, the Spell formed the phantom of a heaven-reaching giant, crushing mountains and forests with a continuous roar.

A wave of immense resentment surged in Qin Chuanxing's heart, and he couldn't help but curse out loud; that old thief Huo Chen had truly screwed him over!

How was the person before him any kind of ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator?

Demonic Techniques were always sinister and powerful, holding an almost overwhelming advantage in the same Realm, yet in the face of Cheng Yue, he was being beaten so badly he had no power to resist.

If not for relying on demonic secret techniques to forcibly endure, he would have lost his life on the spot long ago!

Qin Chuanxing's mind raced, and he suddenly veered off to flee toward the Immortal Cave.

Almost simultaneously, a giant finger, seemingly falling from the Nine Heavens, crashed down. The rock layer at the top of the cave shattered instantly, and daylight, carrying dust and noise, poured into the dark cavern.

"Stop! If you dare take another step forward, I will kill everyone here!"

Seeing Cheng Yue pursuing him through the air on the Lotus Pedestal, Qin Chuanxing screamed hoarsely. The thick plasma in the blood pool suddenly churned, transforming into countless sharp blood spikes that hung poised at the throats and hearts of the trapped Qin Family members.

He was actually using the lives of the Qin Family members as bargaining chips to force Cheng Yue to stop.

"Qin Chuanxing, you beast! You've finally met your retribution!"

"Kill us if you have the guts, you subhuman piece of filth! Kill us!"

"Hahahaha! Immortal Master, there is no need to hold back! Please kill this beast for us; we want this beast to be buried with us!"

Facing the threat to their lives, the Qin Family members each had blood-red eyes and roared hysterically.

Three long years of torture had already left them despondent; their only regret was being unable to personally witness the beast Qin Chuanxing go to Hell. Now that the opportunity was before them, everyone fell into a state of total madness at this moment.

Cheng Yue's brow furrowed slightly; he hadn't expected so many civilians to be trapped here.

If an ordinary Cultivator saw this situation, they would likely not care about the lives of Mortals, but Cheng Yue's School held similar ideals to the Su Family. At this moment, he could not ignore the people before him.

The key was that he did not know their identities. If they were villains, killing them would be fine, but if they were innocent and good people, he felt he should do his best to save them.

Seeing Cheng Yue stop, Qin Chuanxing's face immediately showed wild joy.

Indeed, he was just as foolish as the Su Family, actually harboring compassion for Mortals. With such a mindset, how could one achieve the Great Dao?

Just as Qin Chuanxing was grinning maliciously, intending to use the hostages to force Cheng Yue to retreat, both his and Cheng Yue's Divine Sense were violently jolted.

A figure was approaching with lightning speed, passing directly through the mountains and forests like a phantom, appearing inside the cave without any warning.

When the two of them saw the newcomer's face clearly, both of their expressions changed slightly.

Qin Chuanxing's pupils shrank, the hair on his body stood on end, and a chill rushed from his spine straight to his crown.

Su Yang stood with his hands behind his back, treading upon a Flying Sword with lightning flickering around him, his gaze slowly sweeping over Qin Chuanxing's horrified face.

"I wondered who was targeting the Su Family; so it's you, the traitor."

Su Yang had already forgotten this man, but he hadn't expected the other party not only to hide and survive but even to set a trap to take revenge on the Su Family. He had truly raised an ungrateful wolf.

The moment Qin Chuanxing saw the newcomer, his eyes turned blood-red, and he squeezed out that name from between his teeth: "Su Yang!!"

Su Yang's gaze was icy, and his Foundation Establishment Stage pressure crashed down like a vast sea overturning!

Qin Chuanxing's waist bent, and the ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch. His face turned pale as he realized in horror:

"Foundation Establishment Stage!!"

Cheng Yue, who was nearby, was also incredibly astonished.

Su Yang had actually quietly achieved a Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment without even holding a Foundation Establishment Banquet. He was far too good at hiding his strength.

"Su Yang! Look closely, these are all Qin Family members!" Qin Chuanxing's face was distorted, and the blood spikes in the blood pool trembled. "Are you going to just watch them die right in front of you?"