Chapter 25: Chapter 24: Aftermath
Before the Lianshan City Government Office.
Shi Tianxing held his nose, a look of disgust on his face.
Even though it wasn’t the height of summer, the pile of shredded flesh had already begun to rot and stink, swarming with flies and maggots.
As a disciple of the Sun-piercing Alliance, Shi Tianxing, though young, was no stranger to killing.
However, the nauseating scene before him was still hard to stomach.
Murong Li, however, was squatting before the pile of shredded flesh and Yuan Dongtian’s corpse, examining them carefully.
"Besides Yuan Dongtian, this pile of flesh contains the remains of at least four, maybe five, other people.
They were killed by a High Tier Hidden Weapon from the Divine Strategy Sect: Guanyin’s Tears.
The Bodhisattva lowers its brow, Guanyin sheds a tear.
Only those who have reached the Condensing Truth Realm can defend against such an attack. They must convert their True Qi into True Essence and release it as a protective barrier.
Using Guanyin’s Tears to kill Yuan Dongtian and his men was a bit of a waste."
Shi Tianxing frowned. "The attacker was from the Divine Strategy Sect?"
Murong Li gave Shi Tianxing a look one might reserve for an idiot.
’Why would the Sun-piercing Alliance send such a wet-behind-the-ears kid?’
"If it had been the Divine Strategy Sect, they wouldn’t have used Guanyin’s Tears. The attacker used it because it was the only means they had at the time to completely wipe out Yuan Dongtian and his men."
Murong Li stood up. "Come on. Let’s go down and take a look."
The two followed the passage underground, where they also saw the murals.
The more they looked, the graver their expressions became.
By the time they reached the very bottom and saw the altar, their expressions had changed completely.
There was writing on the murals, but it was in the script of an ancient minor clan, which they couldn’t read.
But from the images alone, they could tell that this small clan was performing a blood sacrifice to a stele-like object.
"The Seven Kills Stele!"
Murong Li uttered these four words, his tone complex.
Martial Artists hailing from the top powers of the Jianghu were required to learn certain things.
Namely, the appearance and characteristics of the various Divine Artifact Demon Soldiers recorded in history and even in legend.
An object that looked like a stele and required a blood sacrifice was, with ninety percent certainty, the Seven Kills Stele.
The bodies of Jiang Kaitai and Murong Qing were still there.
After examining the bodies, Murong Li had pieced together what happened, and his analysis was almost entirely correct.
"The ambitious wolf Jiang Kaitai began a blood sacrifice in Lianshan City, attempting to seize the Divine Artifact, the Seven Kills Stele, only to be discovered and stopped by Murong Qing.
He bears wounds from my Murong Family’s Dragon City Swordsmanship.
But a third party was down here, swooping in to reap the benefits. They killed Jiang Kaitai first, then gravely wounded Murong Qing.
Murong Qing’s body shows traces left by a Grapple Technique. While such skills are unorthodox and not considered high martial arts, this one was quite refined, and its origin is untraceable.
They didn’t kill Murong Qing directly because they needed Murong Qing’s bloodline to activate the Star Shifting Divine Artifact Incarnation, which they then used to divert the Blood Fiend Power from the Seven Kills Stele.
After leaving, they ran right into Yuan Dongtian and his men. By then, their power must have been exhausted, which is why they used Guanyin’s Tears to eliminate them."
Murong Li calmly laid out his analysis of the events, reconstructing the sequence of the three-way struggle almost perfectly.
"Whoever took the Seven Kills Stele must be intimately familiar with the properties of Divine Artifacts.
They even knew to use a Murong Family bloodline to power the Star Shifting Divine Artifact Incarnation. That means they know my family extremely well. Their background must not be ordinary.
’Damn it! Who would dare plot against my Murong Family?’
’If the Murong Family finds out who it is, we will tear them to shreds!’
Murong Li’s face was savage, almost contorted with rage.
’That’s the Seven Kills Stele, a supreme Divine Artifact!’
’The Seven Kills Stele! Its destructive power ranks among the very top of all Divine Artifact Demon Soldiers!’
His thoughts mirrored Murong Qing’s: if they could obtain the Seven Kills Stele, the Murong Family’s power would skyrocket. They might truly be able to restore their fallen kingdom.
At this moment, Murong Li suddenly turned his gaze to Shi Tianxing.
’Familiar with the properties of Divine Artifacts, and possessing deep knowledge of the Murong Family... the one who fits that description best is actually the Sun-piercing Alliance.’
’Moreover, the Sun-piercing Alliance rose from humble origins. Their only core inherited technique is the Sun-piercing Sword Technique; the rest is a chaotic mix, which includes plenty of Grappling Techniques.’
It was no wonder Murong Li immediately suspected someone from a high-level background.
There were some things that common Jianghu People simply had no access to.
They might have heard the names of many Divine Artifact Demon Soldiers, but they would have no concept of their true power.
Most people had never even seen the Murong Family’s Star Shifting, so how could they possibly know it required a Murong bloodline to be activated?
Shi Tianxing, for his part, was filled with regret.
’This was the Divine Artifact, the Seven Kills Stele!’
’Just when the Sun-piercing Alliance’s own Divine Soldier was having problems... if we could have obtained the Seven Kills Stele, our crisis would have been resolved.’
’If we had known, the Alliance shouldn’t have dragged its feet. We should have sent people immediately.’
Still, his regret was nothing compared to the Murong Family’s.
The Sun-piercing Alliance had simply arrived too late. The Murong Family, on the other hand, had been involved from the start and still lost the Divine Artifact. Their situation was far more tragic.
Sensing Murong Li’s gaze, Shi Tianxing reacted at once, quickly saying, "You don’t suspect my Sun-piercing Alliance, do you?
If the Sun-piercing Alliance knew the Seven Kills Stele was buried beneath Lianshan City, we would have mobilized all our forces, locked down the city, and seized the Divine Artifact outright. Why would we resort to these petty schemes?"
Murong Li looked away and let out a long breath.
He knew Shi Tianxing had a point. It probably wasn’t the Sun-piercing Alliance.
Then, Murong Li suddenly drew his long sword. Flashes of Sword Qi crisscrossed, shredding Jiang Kaitai’s corpse to pieces.
"That old dog Jiang Kaitai really deserved to die!"
Compared to Murong Qing, Murong Li was much older, and he handled matters with a calm and steady hand.
But even he was utterly enraged by Jiang Kaitai’s actions.
’Without the support of my Murong Family back then, how could an outsider like Jiang Kaitai have ever established a foothold in Lianshan City?’
’But in the end, that old dog harbored malicious intent the entire time, hiding the news about the Divine Artifact.’
’The Seven Kills Stele was buried right under the Murong Family’s own territory, yet all we could do was watch helplessly as the Divine Artifact vanished.’
The feeling was agonizing.
"Young Friend Shi, I need to borrow the Black Water Gang, which is under your Sun-piercing Alliance’s control."
Shi Tianxing was taken aback.
"What do you intend to do, Elder Murong?"
A savage killing intent gleamed in Murong Li’s eyes. "There’s no point in keeping a disobedient dog. That old dog Jiang Kaitai might be dead, but the Celestial Wolf Gang still exists.
Help me annihilate the Celestial Wolf Gang. Everyone who has ever joined it, and anyone associated with it—slaughter them all. Leave no one alive!"
Shi Tianxing nodded, seeing nothing wrong with the command.
The Murong Family had suffered a huge loss. Not only was the Divine Artifact gone, but they had also lost a Direct Lineage Clan Member.
Given the Murong Family’s notoriously petty nature, it was certain they would do something to vent their frustration.
And the Celestial Wolf Gang was the perfect target for their rage.
They could only blame their own misfortune for being stuck with a Gang Leader like Jiang Kaitai.
As for whether such an act would affect the Murong Family’s reputation, no one cared.
The Great Noble Families and Major Sects had always held the power of life and death over lesser factions, acting with complete impunity.
As long as the Murong Family didn’t massacre the entire city, no one in the Jianghu would say a word. At most, they’d just remark on the Celestial Wolf Gang’s rotten luck.
After the two departed, the slaughter of the Celestial Wolf Gang began.
Thousands of Celestial Wolf Gang members died horrible deaths. Only a farsighted few managed to escape with their lives.
The Murong Family had intended to hunt them all down to the last man.
But they couldn’t find the gang’s membership roster, so they eventually gave up.
However, the Murong Family did issue a decree: any of their subordinate forces who encountered someone claiming to be from the Celestial Wolf Gang were to kill them on sight. They could then come to the Murong Family to collect a reward.
The storm brewing in Lianshan City no longer had anything to do with Chen Yuan.
In a desolate mountain five hundred li from Lianshan City, Chen Yuan had been nursing his wounds inside a cave for seven days.
After leaving that night, Chen Yuan had ridden relentlessly, pushing his horse until it collapsed and died. Only then did he stop to buy some dry rations on the road before disappearing into the desolate mountains to heal.
In truth, Chen Yuan’s injuries weren’t that severe. Externally, he only had a single gash torn open by Murong Qing’s Sword Qi, which wasn’t serious.
The real problem was the internal burns scorching his meridians, a side effect of the Fire Dragon Pill.
Any attempt to use his Inner Strength sent excruciating pain through his meridians, aggravating the burns and even risking their rupture.
That was why Chen Yuan had found a place to heal and recover his strength as soon as he was clear of Lianshan City.
Fortunately, among the elixirs he had obtained was a bottle of Returning Essence Blood Coagulation Pills. After only seven days, the damage to his meridians was completely healed.
Chen Yuan sat cross-legged on the ground, gathering his Inner Strength. But then, the Qi Blood in his body began to surge, rapidly transforming into a dark red, bone-chilling Blood Fiend True Qi.
This True Qi, however, seemed beyond his control. It grew more and more intense, the Qi Blood in his body churning ever faster. The consumption of his energy surged, causing his very blood vessels to bulge in a terrifying display.
Chen Yuan desperately circulated his Inner Strength, forcibly suppressing the boiling Qi Blood.
He then slammed his palm against the nearby stone wall. The powerful Blood Fiend True Qi instantly seared a deep, crimson Palm Seal into the rock.
"It’s still a bit uncontrollable."
Chen Yuan sighed and shook his head lightly.
He now had some good news, and some bad news.
The good news was that Chen Yuan had broken through to the Fourth Realm of the Martial Dao, the Qi Casting Realm, successfully condensing his True Qi.
When the Seven Kills Stele entered his body, although Chen Yuan had used Star Shifting to divert the majority of the impacting Blood Fiend Qi, a small portion still entered his system.
The impact from this power scoured his body, and the tyrannical Blood Fiend Power successfully purged it of impurities.
By the time his injuries had healed, the Blood Qi in Chen Yuan’s body had become as viscous as quicksilver, pure and flawless. He had achieved Great Success in the Blood Movement Realm.
When Chen Yuan attempted to condense his Inner Strength and cast True Qi, the process was incredibly smooth. He effortlessly forged his True Qi, bypassing the bottleneck entirely and stepping directly into the Qi Casting Realm.
For an ordinary Martial Artist to achieve Great Success in the Blood Movement Realm required long, patient work, a constant process of refining the impurities from their Qi Blood.
Even for disciples from a top Great Noble Family like the Murong Family, who had countless rare treasures and elixirs to aid their cultivation, it would still take several months, or even a year or two, to complete the Blood Movement Realm.
For Chen Yuan to cross the entire Blood Movement Realm in an instant thanks to the Blood Fiend’s impact was like riding a rocket.
The bad news, however, was that his current level of strength was still too weak. With the Seven Kills Stele inside him, he was unable to completely control the Blood Fiend Power.
Comments