Martial Saint!
Chapter 456 - 0296 Million Mountains, Fire Spear Demon (3k for monthly ticket and subscription)

Chapter 456: 0296 Million Mountains, Fire Spear Demon (3k for monthly ticket and subscription)

June 8th.

Jinling City.

Summer lotuses in bloom, covering the pond.

A man and a woman, savoring tea and discussing it, were Tang Zheng and Gu Qianqian.

"This Grandmaster Gong seems to not plan on leaving Su City anymore. Speaking of which, Lufang has been missing for almost half a year, probably dead."

"That’s for the best. Chenzhou, when will you assassinate him?"

"This man has already broken through to Second Rank, difficult, very difficult..."

"So you’re not planning on making a move, are you?"

"I’ll need more money."

"I might as well hire a professional assassin from Blood Hidden Tower."

"Protector Gu, as you wish, I don’t mind."

Actually, Carefree Travel also had a bounty on Chenzhou.

Tang Zheng just wanted to profit from both sides.

Shortly after, his subordinate reported:

"The target has recently been slaying demons in the Hengduan Mountain Region. Should we make a move?"

"No rush, let others who are more eager try first. He is a disciple of the Heavenly King, not so easy to kill. He likely has enough tricks up his sleeve to threaten a Grandmaster. Let the sects wear him down first, then we’ll step in."

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; the boss is really steady."

...

Under the cover of night, a battle was underway.

A figure circled in the air, using wings as blades, extreme cold wind blades like a fierce storm, blasting pits in the ground; another figure protected by the Golden Bell, exhaling forcefully, his hair blasting into the sky like fierce flames, illuminating the night.

In Red Crane Form, Chenzhou transformed into a fiery man, his Fiery Flame Spear Technique overwhelming the Second Realm Middle Stage Snow Domain Demon before him, the clash of ice and fire creating billowing steam.

Time ticked by.

After a fierce battle, the demon found herself overpowered and tried to flee.

"Seal of the Ten Directions!"

A barrage of high-temperature red spear shadows engulfed the area, sealing the space. Amid heart-wrenching cries, the demon was shredded by countless spears and eventually fell in a pool of blood.

Puchi.

A long spear thrust forward, piercing her skull!

Second Rank Acquired Death Qi entered her body, her life force entirely dissipating.

Chenzhou checked the demon’s body and found a simple sapphire necklace on her chest, just an ordinary decoration, not an extraordinary item.

"The same Middle Stage Snow Domain Demon, but this one is different in strength and wisdom. Could she be a noble among their kind?"

Chenzhou packed up the body and looked toward the distant horizon.

Several more figures of Snow Domain Demons gradually disappeared.

"Retreat, safety first."

He ended his hunt and left the forest.

...

Hengduan Mountain.

Virtual Realm intersection site.

Entering, a vast expanse of black mountains rose and fell, miasma breeding, this area, dubbed by the military as "Million Mountains," is not a mere number. Initial surveys suggest its extent is vast beyond counting.

Million Mountains might be the largest oasis realm discovered so far in Da Xia. If it could be occupied, its size would exceed all that were consolidated before.

But the difficulty is immense!

Within Million Mountains, lairs of Demon Kings are numerous, and on the other side of the mountains lies the notorious Tower Forbidden Zone. At this stage, it’s impossible to start exploiting it. Da Xia is already overwhelmed merely suppressing the Virtual Disasters near human settlements.

However, the good news is, based on the intelligence from the military frontline, the situation in Million Mountains is complex. Strong ones occupy mountains and reign as kings. Demon Kings fight independently and not all serve the Forbidden Zone Evil God. Currently, only a few demon forces have discovered the intersection site.

Otherwise, if Demon Kings mobilized en masse, only super nuclear weapons could save the day.

Remember, once human-developed super nuclear weapons are utilized, it leads to killing a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of one’s own. One misstep, and we directly enter a nuclear winter.

Or even faster to a wasteland scenario...

Ice Wind Valley.

A cluster of snow-capped mountains near the intersection site, on the edge of Million Mountains, covering an area about a tenth of Kunlun Mountain, vast and expansive.

Within the valley, bitterly cold all year round.

The cold of the poles doesn’t compare to this place, only naturally cold-adapted Snow Domain Demons and other cold natured demons can survive here.

A towering snow mountain stands at the center.

A fearsome aura, fury sky-high.

This is the Snow Eagle Demon King, the ruler of Ice Wind Valley, the chieftain of the Snow Domain Demon tribe.

Compared to the ugly ordinary demons, its build is no different from a human woman, stunningly beautiful, skin smooth as cold jade, breasts as towering as the Kunlun Mountains.

Before it stood several panicked demons.

"Chieftain... the Ninth Princess, she went on a pilgrimage."

For demon groups, a pilgrimage means death.

They worship the Witch God, seeing it as the Creator.

The Witch God has decreed a divine mandate to find a suitable Divine Son in the Human World.

Chenzhou was one such candidate.

The Banshee Queen coldly spoke:

"What happened?"

"We encountered the Fire Spear Demon."

"That human called Chenzhou?"

"Yes."

"Arrogant! I shall capture him myself now!"

"The Great Demon King should not do this, the humans are now guarding the other side of the gate to the Human World. Without the strength of a Great Demon King, it’s easy to be blown up by their firearms."

The Banshee Queen regained her composure,

"Continue searching for new gates to the Human World. The intersection between the Mountain Sea and the Human World is becoming more intense, and there isn’t just one exit. With the strength of humans, they won’t be able to block it for long."

Soon after.

In the snow mountain ranges, banshees soared into the sky.

Below Ice Wind Valley lay a relatively warm cave world.

Here lived a group of small Snow Domain Demon juveniles, some of their bodies sticky, having just emerged from half-meter diameter giant eggs.

This was the Banshee Nest.

In the center of the nest, more than a dozen human males lay naked on the ground, one of them emitting the aura of a Martial Artist. They were skinny as kindling, being wantonly played with by a group of ugly banshees, their expressions already numb.

In a corner,

Ye Xiao was emaciated, lying face up in terror, unable to move.

The tall and beautiful figure of the Banshee Queen approached from the darkness.

"Here comes that banshee again..."

These past days, he had been used as a banshee furnace, continually drained day and night.

A disciple of the Ye Family, without a shred of dignity.

This was simply not a life for anyone!

The Banshee Queen bent down, her claws gently caressing Ye Xiao’s face.

She revealed a fierce smile and said,

"You humans killed my daughter, you will serve as compensation."

The Banshee Queen then bent down further and sat upon him.

A day and night later, Ye Xiao lay as a dried corpse, his eyes wide open in death!

The Banshee race had no males.

Their sole method of reproduction was to abduct male humans from the Humanoid Clan and extract their yang essence, then combine it with the Original Cold Qi in their bodies in a Yin Yang pattern, eventually condensing into a Banshee egg which, after hatching, would produce a new banshee.

Ordinary banshees only had the right to pleasure, not to reproduce, as they were too weak and their offspring were deformed. Such offspring couldn’t grow into Great Demons, and thus human males were wasted; only the leader was qualified to bear offspring.

Not long after, the abdomen of the Banshee Queen quietly swelled.

She touched her belly, leaning in a corner, waiting for the birth of new life.

"Hmph, damnable Fire Spear Demon, once I capture you, before I present you to the Witch God as a Divine Son, I’ll make you beg for life and pray for death..."

...

Several days later.

"Banshee Hunter" Lu Chenzhou stood above Erhai.

Within his Dantian, life and death, white and black, two types of Qi perfectly merged, spinning leisurely like the Yin Yang Fish, emitting a mysterious aura. Soon, a gray mark shaped like an ancient copper coin suspended in his Qi Sea.

The mark exuded a sense of coldness, cunning, and an unpredictable life and death feeling.

"Is this the Life and Death Talisman?"

Lu Chenzhou’s mind echoed Elder Leisure’s admonition,

"To activate this Method, one must use True Qi to extract Life and Death Qi from the body and manifest it externally, maintaining a high-speed rotation with strong coordination control power to prevent it from self-destructing."

He stretched out his palm, fingers loosely enclosing, and used True Qi to draw the gray Qi completely from the Dantian. The Yin Yang Divine Seed in his hand exerted force, the balanced, coordinated Yin Yang Tai Chi energy acting like an Immortal’s hand, skillfully manipulating the gray Qi.

Gradually,

A jujube core-sized gray sphere formed, vibrating and reflecting a six-colored gleam. Lu Chenzhou swung his hand, and the sphere slowly flew out.

After twenty zhang, it exploded with a bang.

The shockwave swept across, forming ripples across the lake surface.

"This power is truly not bad, although the speed is somewhat slow, which is due to my lack of proficiency. Once I master the First Layer, it should be about right."

Inside his Dantian, new gray Qi began to form.

Clearly, recovery would take some time.

"This Hidden Weapon method can serve as a supplement, compensating for my lack of long-range options. As long as I become proficient, in a fight, it’s more useful than firearms. The Life and Death Mysterious Pearl doesn’t only physically attack; the Death Qi produced after the explosion can linger around the enemy. If inhaled, the Death Qi will erode the mind and body, aging muscles and bones, invisibly reducing life vitality and even lifespan!"

Death Qi, a unique type of Qi and spiritual energy.

It could only be generated by those about to die or those who had just died.

When Death Qi lingered, death was imminent.

Only a very few Divine Skills could utilize Death Qi.

Elder Leisure’s wisdom was evident.

He looked towards the Martial Arts Tree.

[Life and Death Talisman: First Layer (50%)]

"The first three layers, indeed not very difficult."

With the current trend, he could master the First Layer in half a year.

When returning home, Lu Chenzhou stepped on the lake surface, leaping into the air.

With a puff from his left foot into the void, a Qi burst propelled him ten zhang high, then his right foot stepped on the air for another boost, reaching twenty zhang high.

After alternating ten times, he reached a hundred zhang high and began to fall. Just before landing on the lake surface, he activated Wind Step and skimmed over the water.

[Cloud Ascending Ladder: Beginner (100%)→ Proficient (1%)]

Martial Arts Tree’s prompt arrived, and Lu Chenzhou smiled.

"Finally getting proficient, truly not easy."

Every breakthrough in Divine Skill cultivation was worth celebrating.

"Combining ’Cloud Ascending Ladder’ with Wind Step, if I encounter a flying-incapable, clumsy Demon King, as long as I restrain it with the Great Sun Heavenly Dragon Cloak and then reach hundreds of meters high, I might have a chance to escape by gliding away with the Cloud Stepping Boots."

Of course, it was just a chance.

Demon King’s methods were too numerous.

If he encountered one now, unless he used the Vermilion Bird Sword Qi.

Otherwise, survival was slim.