82: Chapter 82 Terrifying Demons and Evil Spirits, Blood and Qi Furnace

The figure was indeed Wei Chongshan, but his Aura was completely different from before.

His two eyes had no pupils or whites, leaving only a patch of pure black that seemed capable of swallowing all light.

The wound on his abdomen had vanished without a trace.

He lowered his head, looking at his hands, slowly clenching his fists and then releasing them, as if adapting to this body.

Then he looked up, his black-hole-like eyes staring directly at Lin Ye.

“This body is not bad.”

Wei Chongshan spoke, his tone devoid of any emotion, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

“Who are you?” Lin Ye asked.

In fact, Lin Ye had already guessed the answer.

It was just that Old Man Shen had been delayed by something unknown; what he needed to do now was stall for time.

“Hehe, don't you already know who I am?”

Wei Chongshan tilted his head, the corners of his mouth curling into an arc. That smile was exactly the same as the Zheng Fei he had seen in the illusion—as fake as could be.

“Are you Zheng Fei?”

“Zheng Fei? No, no, no.” Wei Chongshan shook his head.

“I only borrowed his body temporarily. Now that I've found a better Physical Body, he is naturally useless.”

After saying that, he chewed a few more times as if savoring something.

Hearing this, Lin Ye's heart sank.

There was no doubt that the people who had disappeared from the mine had likely all been devoured by this Demon.

Thinking of this, Lin Ye quickly activated his Qi Observation Technique.

[Rank Eight Demon] (Green)

[Essence]: 60

[Qi]: 80

[Spirit]: 50

[Comprehensive Score]: 1000

As expected!

Lin Ye's pupils constricted.

After an Demon occupies a human Physical Body, it not only inherits the original owner's attributes but also stacks a portion of its previous attributes.

Even if it wasn't a full inheritance, it was still quite terrifying.

If it were allowed to continue devouring indefinitely, it might very well give birth to a world-destroying great demon.

No wonder the imperial court's attitude toward Demons was to exterminate them completely. With this kind of terrifying growth rate, what ruler wouldn't be afraid?

Of course, Lin Ye speculated that there must be some kind of limit to this ability to grow stronger through devouring.

Perhaps there was a limit on the number of times, such as how many humans of the same Realm could be devoured at most.

Or perhaps there was a cooldown period, like the stronger the human devoured, the longer the cooldown, and so on.

Only this could explain why the other party went to such great lengths to plot for Wei Chongshan's Physical Body.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be better to hide in some remote backwater and develop slowly?

“Qi Observation Technique... the Demon Suppression Division really is omnipresent.”

Wei Chongshan said as he took a step forward, his tone carrying a hint of playfulness.

Lin Ye subconsciously gripped his refined iron staff tightly, but the Demon did not make a move, only sizing him up with interest.

From those black-hole-like eyes, Lin Ye saw a trace of greed.

“Your Soul is very special. It's a pity; if I had met you earlier, I would have anchored my Soul Mark on you.

Although this old fellow's strength is decent, he's just too old and won't be able to hold out for long at all.”

From the Demon's words, Lin Ye read two layers of information.

First, the Demon's devouring ability indeed had limits and required placing a Soul Mark on the target first.

Second, the Demon could not possess a target for a long time, and the duration was related to the target's age or other factors.

“Alright, the Fusion with this body is almost complete. It's time to send you on your way.”

As he spoke, Wei Chongshan's figure suddenly vanished, and even Lin Ye's Spiritual Perception could not capture it.

It wasn't that the other's speed exceeded his perception speed, but rather that his own perception was being suppressed by the opponent.

Previously, the reason he could fight Wei Chongshan to a standstill was that, besides the sufficiently profound Realms of his various Cultivation Techniques providing him with impressive combat power boosts, more importantly, he relied on Spiritual Perception to anticipate all of the opponent's movements.

But now, facing an Demon whose spirit attribute far exceeded his own, Spiritual Perception had lost its effectiveness.

Bang!!

Instinctively, he held the refined iron staff across his chest. The next second, a large hand pressed down on it.

A massive force struck, sending Lin Ye flying backward. He skidded for dozens of feet after landing before coming to a stop.

If Lin Ye hadn't already activated the two traits, Immortal and Battle Heaven, this single blow would have been enough to take his life.

“Cough, cough!!”

Feeling the pain from his chest, Lin Ye knew that his ribs were likely broken.

Fortunately, he had already entered the Bone Refining stage; an injury of this degree was not enough to affect his combat capability.

However, just as Lin Ye was about to activate the Ruyi trait again, an astonishing Aura suddenly surged up not far away.

That Aura was scorching and vast, like a heatwave erupting from a volcano. The entire valley was reflected in bright red, as if a sun were rising there.

The next second, a figure descended from the sky, landing between Lin Ye and Wei Chongshan.

The person was shrouded in a layer of crimson-gold flames, which condensed into a Cauldron-shaped phantom above his head, emitting a scorching, boiling Aura that seemed capable of melting everything.

Old Man Shen is here!

Lin Ye immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

However, truth be told, Old Man Shen in this state was indeed a bit terrifying.

In Lin Ye's impression, this man was just a retired old man who lay on a bamboo chair drinking tea and did nothing all day.

But now, just by standing there, his Aura was like a mountain pressing down, making Lin Ye's breathing a bit labored.

“Is this the might of a Seventh-Grade Martial Artist...”

A hint of yearning appeared in Lin Ye's eyes.

For a Seventh-Grade Martial Artist, the primary transformation is the blood within the body, eventually reaching the Realm of Qi and Blood Fusion.

Previously, he didn't know what Qi and Blood Fusion was, but after seeing it with his own eyes, he understood the sheer power of this Realm!

The furnace-like phantom above Old Man Shen's head was the manifestation of Qi and Blood Fusion.

Moreover, that furnace was so solid it looked real, with clear edges and distinct patterns, which was enough to show that Old Man Shen had reached the limit of this Realm and was only one step away from entering the Rank Six ranks!

Wei Chongshan's footsteps stopped.

For the first time, something else appeared in those black-hole-like eyes—it was wariness.

He stared at Old Man Shen, the fake smile on his face finally vanishing.

“Blood-Qi Furnace, Rank Seven Great Perfection.”

His tone carried a hint of shock.

“How could a Martial Artist of your level appear in a small place like Black Stone Town?!”

Old Man Shen was currently standing with his hands behind his back, a smile on his lips, looking very much like an otherworldly master.

He didn't answer Wei Chongshan's words but instead turned his head to look at Lin Ye:

“Sorry, I was delayed by some matters.”

His gaze swept over Lin Ye, confirming that Lin Ye was mostly fine, before he turned his head back, his eyes gradually turning cold.

However, before Old Man Shen could make a move, Wei Chongshan had already turned around decisively.

His black robe fluttered in the night wind, his speed astonishing as he turned into a bolt of black lightning heading straight for the depths of the valley.

“Lord Shen, quick...”

Seeing the other party about to flee while Old Man Shen was still standing there with his hands behind his back acting cool, Lin Ye hurriedly spoke up to remind him.

But before he could finish his sentence, four pillars of light suddenly rose around the valley.

Each pillar of light was as thick as a bowl, silvery-white all over, with dense runes flowing upon them.

The four pillars of light quickly converged above the valley, transforming into a giant light screen like an inverted bowl, covering the entire Black Wind Valley inside.

Wei Chongshan slammed headfirst into the light screen and immediately let out a scream, as a puff of black smoke rose from his body.

Wei Chongshan was like a cat that had been burned by fire, bouncing back violently and staggering for several steps before finally steadying himself.