The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

Chapter 267: Chapter 266: Demonic Youth

Outside Liubo Island, the battle between Celestial Humans was over.

The scene was one of utter devastation. The entire island had been destroyed, leaving only fragments floating on the sea. A replica of Ting Xiao was embedded in one of these fragments, not far from the assembled Celestial Humans.

In the distance, numerous Martial Artists gazed upon the aftermath of the battle, the shock in their eyes yet to fade. Their reverence for Celestial Humans had grown even deeper.

The gaunt old man held a broken sword, his body covered in injuries, but his eyes held an unmistakable look of superiority. Before him, the burly man from the Shangguan Family had regenerated his flesh, but his new body was covered in wounds. A sword gash on his chest was so deep the bone was visible, and it was being constantly eroded by fine Wind Blades.

"Pah! I’ll concede this time," the burly man snorted. He struggled to his feet, his eyes filled with unwillingness.

By the gaunt old man’s side, two Celestial Humans kept a vigilant watch on the old man with the staff and the saber-wielding man. It was clear the three of them had reached an agreement. The gaunt old man smiled faintly at his two companions. "I will never forget the assistance you have both rendered me. When I return, I will be sure to report this to the Palace Master. Patriarch Lin’s Primordial Stone Mine will be managed by the Lin Family next year. And Elder Li, you will become an Honored Guest Elder of our Brocade Cloud Palace, with control over the resources of the Twelve Islands..."

Hearing this, the two men’s eyes lit up, and they hurriedly thanked him.

Their factions were slightly weaker than Brocade Cloud Palace. After some consideration, they concluded that even if they managed to get the Spiritual Artifact, they likely wouldn’t be able to keep it. It was far better to do Brocade Cloud Palace a favor, gain some tangible benefits, and avoid making them an enemy.

The gaunt old man shot the burly man a look, a victorious smile gracing his lips. He then flew via Sky-Controlling toward the island fragment where the Ting Xiao Sword replica was embedded. The two men beside the burly man tried to stop him but were intercepted by the other two.

"Sigh. So the Spiritual Artifact is really going to Brocade Cloud Palace."

The old man with the staff sighed, speaking in a leisurely tone. His expression seemed nonchalant, but inwardly he was seething with unwillingness. ’That was a Spiritual Artifact, after all.’

Suddenly, at the very moment the gaunt old man reached for the Ting Xiao replica, a black shadow burst from the void beside him, launching a powerful palm strike. The old man snorted and met the attack with a palm of his own.

BOOM! Shockwaves of sound radiated from the point of impact.

The gaunt old man’s expression changed. He was thrown back dozens of yards, and he clutched his chest as he stared at the black figure in horror. "You’re... a Celestial Human!"

’A Celestial Human! To think there was another one here besides us!’

For days, they had been scanning the surroundings with their Divine Thought. They had been certain that besides themselves, the only other Celestial Human was the guard accompanying Bo Wen of the Merfolk Royal Family. Yet now, another had appeared out of thin air.

"Damn it, that’s my Spiritual Artifact!!"

The gaunt old man watched as the black-robed figure snatched the Spiritual Artifact, streaked into the distance, and in the blink of an eye, dove into the void and vanished without a trace.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!!"

The gaunt old man was beside himself with fury, his face contorted in rage. His Divine Thought surged out like a tidal wave, repeatedly scanning the surroundings, but he could no longer sense the other Celestial Human.

"Elder, are you alright?"

The two Celestial Humans who had sided with the gaunt old man flew over to him via Sky-Controlling, but he seemed deaf to their concerned questions. The hatred and fury in his eyes burned so intensely it seemed capable of destroying the very heavens. ’That was a Spiritual Artifact! He had risked offending a peerless prodigy and fought tooth and nail to obtain it.’

’Yet before he could even touch it, some unknown upstart had snatched it away.’

The sheer frustration in his heart was beyond words. His face flushed red, his sword hand trembled, and with a SPURT, he coughed up another mouthful of blood. After a great effort to compose himself, he turned to the two men beside him. "This Celestial Human... what are your thoughts?"

One of them remained silent for a moment before speaking. "We’ve been scanning the area with our Divine Thought day and night. Aside from that Merfolk guard, we haven’t detected any other Celestial Humans. Could the black-robed man have been him in disguise?"

The gaunt old man shook his head. "Unlikely. Given the pride of the Merfolk Race, they wouldn’t resort to something like this. Besides, when I exchanged a palm strike with him, his True Essence was exceptionally dark, not like that of a Merfolk."

"To remain hidden for so many days, he must have mastered a brilliant concealment method, likely a unique Mysterious Art. There aren’t many in the Celestial Dragon Sea Region who have both dark True Essence and such powerful concealment skills. I think we can start our investigation from there," the other man said calmly.

The gaunt old man nodded, then said through gritted teeth, "I don’t care who you are. You stole something that belongs to Brocade Cloud Palace, and I will hunt you down and slice you into a thousand pieces!"

"Hahaha." At that moment, a loud laugh echoed. The burly man slowly got to his feet and addressed the gaunt old man. "Ha! You were so close to getting the Spiritual Artifact. But who would have thought someone would come out of the woodwork to snatch it away?"

"Sigh, what a pity. So very close," the old man with the staff also sighed, his tone dripping with fake regret. However, the gloating expression on his face was not lost on the gaunt old man’s group.

At this, the gaunt old man snorted coldly and departed via Sky-Controlling. Seeing this, his two companions exchanged a look and followed close behind. After they left, the burly man and his two allies looked at each other and smiled. Clearly, if they couldn’t get the Spiritual Artifact, they didn’t want Brocade Cloud Palace to get it either.

The trio speculated about the identity of the black-robed man who had stolen the Spiritual Artifact, but they came to no conclusions. Soon, they too left the area. Seeing that the main players were gone, the other Martial Artists also began to disperse. The battle for the Spiritual Artifact had, for the time being, come to a close...

Hundreds of miles away, a figure in black slowly materialized from the void. He wore a black robe and a mask; it was the warrior who had stolen the Ting Xiao replica. He removed the mask, revealing a young, demonic-looking face.

"The Spiritual Artifact. I finally have it in my hands."

He raised the Ting Xiao he held, his eyes alight with excitement. But his expression quickly froze. As he stared at Ting Xiao, his face gradually turned ashen.

"How is this possible? There’s no spiritual consciousness... this isn’t a Spiritual Artifact at all!"

The demonic-looking youth gritted his teeth and hissed. His expression shifted, and a figure suddenly flashed through his mind—that youth in white, Qin Ya!

’He’d been tricked, just like everyone else!’

’Seven Celestial Humans, including him, had been completely played for fools!’

"Good. Very good. So that’s Qin Ya for you!!"

The demonic-looking youth let out a cold cry. An immense wave of Demonic Qi, born from his fury, surged from his body and swept across the small island. The island’s vegetation began to wither at a rate visible to the naked eye, becoming utterly lifeless...

In an instant, the small island had become a land of death.

"To think the Human Race has produced such a peerless prodigy... he’s probably no weaker than the Top Level geniuses from those Hidden Sects. If he isn’t eliminated, he’ll become a grave threat to my Demon Race in the future!" A frigid killing intent flared in the demonic-looking youth’s eyes. He then retracted his Demonic Qi and left the island.