33: Chapter 33 Demonic Cultivator Elder

In the courtyard.

The flowers and plants instantly withered. A layer of bloody frost coated the bricks and stones. A thick smell of blood and a terrifying suction force spread through the air!

The few guards he had controlled were screaming as they were rapidly sucked in.

Their vital essence and blood left their bodies, transforming into several crimson arrows that shot into Li Zhenchuan's body!

His aura surged once more. The dark red patterns beneath his skin slithered like living snakes!

This was the embryonic form of a Demonic Technique's Domain, capable of devouring the vital essence and blood of living beings within its range to replenish itself, while suppressing an opponent's True Qi and spiritual power circulation!

"How terrifying!"

Li Zhenshan and the Grand Elder's expressions changed drastically. They wanted to charge into the Domain to assist.

But they were forced back, finding it difficult to approach due to the terrifying suction force and the chilling, bloody aura!

Li Changsheng, at the center of the bloody Domain, immediately felt the flow of True Qi and spiritual power in his body become sluggish. A stinging, needle-like pain spread across his skin. His Qi and blood even showed a tendency to leave his body!

"A Devouring Domain?"

Li Changsheng snorted coldly, unhurried and unflustered.

He gave up resisting with True Qi.

Instead, he fully activated the 'Small Heavenly Cycle Qi Induction Mantra'. The wisp of pale cyan spiritual power within his Dantian suddenly brightened.

It rapidly traveled along specific Meridians, forming an extremely thin yet incomparably resilient membrane of spiritual power over his body's surface!

The nature of spiritual power was upright and balanced, carrying an endless vitality. It possessed a natural restraint against dark, evil devouring forces!

The corrosive effect of the bloody Domain was greatly reduced!

At the same time, Li Changsheng's hands were also rapidly forming hand seals.

These hand seals did not come from martial arts, nor were they Spells from the Qinglan Sword Sect's Jade Slips.

They were the simplified version of the most basic 'Evil-Breaking Seal' he had learned from the 'Small Heavenly Cycle Qi Induction Mantra'!

Driven by spiritual power, it specialized in breaking dark, evil, and corrupt energies!

Pale cyan spiritual light gathered at his fingertips. Though not dazzling, it was pure and clear, forming a stark contrast with the filthy bloody light around it.

"Break!"

Li Changsheng pointed a finger forward.

The pale cyan spiritual light shot out like an arrow from a bowstring, aiming for the core of the bloody Domain—Li Zhenchuan's Dantian position!

Li Zhenchuan sensed a lethal threat from this spiritual light!

He roared wildly, unleashing all the power from the vital essence and blood he had just devoured, condensing it into a thick, crimson shield before him!

"Sssss—!"

The spiritual light struck the blood shield. There was no earth-shattering explosion. Instead, it was like a red-hot branding iron falling onto ice and snow, emitting a continuous, teeth-grating sound of dissolution!

The crimson shield visibly thinned and faded at a rapid pace!

"Impossible! My Devouring Origin Demonic Technique..."

Li Zhenchuan was both terrified and shocked. He could feel the demonic essence he had painstakingly condensed being rapidly purified and dissolved by that seemingly weak spiritual light!

"Your Demonic Technique's Foundation is unstable, impure and muddled."

"Relying entirely on plundering the vital essence and blood of others for rapid advancement, it appears ferocious on the surface but is actually weak and hollow inside."

Li Changsheng's voice was calm. He took a step forward, passing through the gradually thinning bloody Domain, closing in on Li Zhenchuan.

"Moreover, you seem to have forgotten. What my father brought back from the mines wasn't just the 'Spirit Ape Health-Preserving Technique'."

Before his words faded, Li Changsheng's fist technique changed once more!

This time, it was no longer the pure 'Spirit Ape Iron Casting Power'.

On his fist, pale cyan spiritual power and robust True Qi actually began to attempt Fusion!

Although it was only a preliminary combination, still somewhat unrefined, its power was completely different!

With one punch, the hint of wind and thunder appeared!

The force of the punch contained both the fierce explosiveness of martial arts True Qi and the penetrating purification of spiritual power!

This was precisely the 'Unity of Martial Arts and Spirit' path that Li Changsheng had tentatively explored over months of seclusion, using his own body as a bridge!

"Spirit Ape Shatters Evil!"

Li Zhenchuan had no way to dodge. He could only push his remaining demonic power to the limit, crossing his claws to block!

"BOOM—!!!"

This collision far surpassed the previous ones!

The entire courtyard's ground caved in. The surrounding walls collapsed.

Violent shockwaves, mixed with fragments of spiritual power and demonic essence, scattered in all directions!

Li Zhenshan and the Grand Elder had no choice but to circulate their power to protect themselves and the other Family members.

The dust settled.

Li Zhenchuan was half-kneeling in a deep pit.

His arms were bent unnaturally. His pitch-black nails were completely shattered. Blood gushed from his mouth—the blood was actually a dark red, carrying a putrid stench.

The demonic light around him dimmed. His aura had withered to an extreme point.

His eyes were filled with shock, deep resentment, and a trace of despair.

He was defeated!

Defeated so utterly!

The power he had painstakingly Cultivated, even at the cost of falling to the Demonic Path, had actually proven Vulnerable under Li Changsheng's bizarre combination of martial arts and spiritual power!

Li Changsheng stood at the edge of the pit, his breathing slightly labored. The previous strike had placed a significant burden on him as well, but his gaze remained clear and sharp.

He slowly raised his hand. Spiritual power gathered once more at his fingertips, aimed at the space between Li Zhenchuan's eyebrows.

This strike was enough to completely shatter the Foundation of his Demonic Technique, even annihilate his Divine Soul.

"Second Elder, you have Cultivated a Demonic Technique, harmed the innocent, betrayed the Family. Your crimes are unforgivable."

Li Changsheng's voice was icy.

"In consideration of our shared Bloodline, I shall leave your corpse intact."

"Intact corpse? Hahaha..."

Li Zhenchuan suddenly let out a shrill, bitter laugh, filled with madness.

"Li Changsheng!"

"You think you've won?"

"You think you can kill me?"

He abruptly raised his head, his scarlet eyes fixed hatefully on Li Changsheng, the corner of his mouth twisting into a ferocious grin.

"Even if I die, I will not die by your hands!"

"And I will certainly not let you obtain the secrets on my body!"

As soon as the words fell, he violently struck his own chest with a palm!

"Puh!"

A large mouthful of heart's essence blood sprayed out.

But the essence blood did not fall to the ground. Instead, it hung suspended before him, burning with an eerie flame!

It transformed into a bizarre, jade-green flame!

Simultaneously, his remaining demonic essence madly poured into the flame. The flame surged violently, engulfing his entire body!

From within the flame came Li Zhenchuan's agonized, extreme screams, and one final curse brimming with boundless resentment.

"With my broken body, I offer it as sacrifice!"

"True Spirit of the Blood Fiend, receive and guide me back to the Sect!"

"Li Changsheng! Li Zhenshan! Li Family! You just wait! The Blood Fiend Sect... will avenge me!"

"I will be waiting for you... on the road to the Yellow Springs—!!!"

The jade-green flame exploded with a roar, yet there was no wave of heat—only an extreme chill and a dense, bloody stench that swept through the surroundings!

Where the flame exploded, space seemed to distort slightly, forming a brief, crimson vortex!

Li Changsheng's expression changed. He unleashed his spiritual power with full force, punching towards that crimson vortex!

But it was already too late!

The jade-green flame and Li Zhenchuan's figure contracted violently within the crimson vortex.

Transforming into a blood-colored stream of light as thin as a hair, it shot with a 'whoosh' into the vortex's center. The vortex then closed and vanished.

On the spot, only a puddle of filthy, dark red bloodstains remained, along with the lingering, nauseatingly evil aura in the air.

"Blood Escape Secret Art... Sacrificing oneself to demons, Soul returning to the Blood Fiend..."

The Grand Elder's face was pale as he trembled and spoke.

"This is the most extreme, most costly escape method in the Demonic Path. Burning all essence blood and Soul to exchange for a momentary spatial reception, escaping to a pre-set reception point of the Blood Fiend Sect..."

"He... he has completely sold himself to the demonic Sect, even abandoning his chance for Reincarnation!"

Li Zhenshan looked at the empty deep pit and the puddle of filthy blood, his expression complex and inscrutable, ultimately turning into a heavy sigh.

He knew that from the moment Li Zhenchuan performed this technique, that Second Brother who had once covered the Family's retreat was truly dead.

What survived was merely a vengeful monster who had offered his Soul to a demonic Sect.

Li Changsheng slowly withdrew his hand, the spiritual power at his fingertips dissipating.

[Combat Improvement: First significant spiritual power combat experience. Reward: 5 points of Mental Energy. Remaining Mental Energy: 20 points.]

He gazed at the spot where the crimson vortex had disappeared, his eyes profound.

"Blood Fiend Sect... reception point..."

He murmured to himself.

Li Zhenchuan had escaped, but the threat was not eliminated.

On the contrary, it might have attracted an even more terrifying enemy.