Chapter 348 - Win-or-Die Battle

The rest were astounded to see Xiao Chen’s cruel expression. They knew then that death would be out of Ling Fei’s reach today. Several Nirvana Realm cultivators charged at Xiao Chen upon seeing this, not to save Ling Fei but to put up an act in front of the Orthodox community.

With a loud howl, Guifeng summoned his Soul power to reinforce the Barrier. The Nirvana Realm cultivators might be durable, but they wouldn’t be able to break through his Devil Devourment Barrier so soon.

Xiao Chen spun around and peered indifferently at Ling Fei. Though encased in a layer of ice, Ling Fei could see everything outside. His eyes were filled with fear. He had no idea how Xiao Chen planned on torturing him. His sole desire now was death! He wanted to die and enter the Wheel of Reincarnation!

“Thump!”

Xiao Chen shattered the ice with a palm attack. Ling Fei immediately tried to commit deliverance as soon as he escaped his bind, wanting to drag Xiao Chen to hell with him.

“Absolute Domain!”

Following Xiao Chen’s cry, a spatial force materialized inside the Barrier, and Ling Fei found himself unable to move anymore. His shock was soon replaced by fury as he yelled, “Xiao Chen! Just end me with a single hack if you dare! Even if I become a ghost, I won’t let you off…” A hair-raising scream escaped his mouth before he could finish. Xiao Chen had pierced Ling Fei’s chest with his right hand and taken out his heart.

Xiao Chen’s hand and arm were drenched with blood while Ling Fei’s bloody heart remained beating in his palm. The people outside turned pale, and some female disciples even looked away. This was too cruel.

Unless their soul were destroyed, cultivators wouldn’t die so quickly. Ling Fei’s eyes widened to see Xiao Chen clutching his heart in the latter’s palm, speechless.

“No one has ever been able to hurt her…”

Black Qi was winding around Xiao Chen. His expression was twisted with cruelty. Once he finished speaking, he loudly crushed Ling Fei’s heart in front of him.

“Pff!” Blood sprayed from Ling Fei’s mouth. Before the others even digested what was going on, they heard another scream from him. This time, Xiao Chen pierced his elixir field with his left hand and fished out the gold elixir that was about to transform into a Nascent Soul.

“No one can hurt her!” Xiao Chen bellowed. With another thump, he pulverized the golden elixir. Ling Fei once again coughed up blood and started shaking.

His scream reverberated throughout the public square. A pale-faced Ling Ruoxu couldn’t stop trembling as he kept shouting, “Kill him! Please kill him!”

Xiao Chen’s evil energy was so dense that Yu Yifeng felt that he was falling deeper and deeper into the dark side. If this continued, Xiao Chen might very well become a demon. Then, he turned around with great difficulty and yelled, “Xiao Chen! Stop!”

Qingyu had long turned pale from fright. Tears streamed down her face as she cried in a trembling voice, “Junior Brother Xiao, please stop… You’ll become a demon… It’s not worth it, not worth it…”

There were many in the distance, including Perfected Immortal Qing Chen, Su Yue, and Xiaoyue, who looked stunned. Xiao Chen’s sneer never left his face. Then, out of the blue, he perforated Ling Fei’s eyes with two fingers.

“Arghhh!” Ling Fei’s heart-rendering screech filled the air. Now, he was left with two empty sockets that overflowed with blood. He was a frightening sight.

“Fiend… Fiend… You’re a fiend…”

Xiao Chen sneered and grabbed Ling Fei’s upper and lower jaw. Then, he forcefully tore down Ling Fei’s lower jaw along with his flesh and skin. This made his face look even more ghastly. Even the cultivators who had experienced numerous near-death scenarios couldn’t help feeling a chill down their spine.

Outside the Barrier, a storm was brewing. Master Xuanji and Monk Xu Gu closed their eyes and quietly chanted Buddhist mantras, “Amitabha, amitabha, amitabha…”

Far in the distance, many independent cultivators shivered. They could feel hair raising on their skin. An elderly man among them sighed. “When you fight demons for too long, you inevitably become a demon yourself…”

Ling Fei was half-dead by now as he lay there shaking. Without his lower jaw, he could eke out only barely intelligible words. “Kill me… Kill me…”

“Oh, but how could I grant your death so easily? I want you never to be able to reincarnate!”

Following Xiao Chen’s cry, he produced countless black Qi on the hollow of his palm and directed them at Ling Fei’s head. Moments later, a wisp of cyan smoke emerged out of Ling Fei’s midbrows. Xiao Chen swiftly cast a few spells and sealed the wisp of smoke in a talisman. The smoke was Ling Fei’s soul.

“Xiao Chen, you’ll die a horrible death. In my next life, I won’t let you off even if I become a ghost…” Ling Fei’s mournful cry erupted from the talisman and filled the public square. Coupled with the overcast sky, everyone felt a hair-raising chill.

Xiao Chen put the talisman away in his Divine Vessel and then looked at the devilish horse. With a neigh, the horse immediately walked over to him and hauled up Ling Fei’s body. It crushed the body in a few bites before swallowing it whole.

This was also when Guifeng’s Soul power had exhausted itself, and the Barrier gradually dissolved. No one said anything until Ling Ruoxu’s trembling voice resounded. “Xiao Chen… what are you planning to do to his soul?”

Xiao Chen scoffed. “Didn’t you hear me? I want him never to be able to reincarnate!”

Finally, Master Xuanji opened his eyes and said, “There is no end to the sea of suffering. Please return to the shore and repent. Benefactor Xiao, why bother being so attached to…”

Xiao Chen ignored him and turned to look at the people outside. He said frostily, “I’m going! Will any of you stop me?!”

His terrifying methods earlier had horrified numerous Orthodox disciples to the core. When they heard what he said, they immediately retreated. In the distance, Qi Heng of the Order of the Divine Fire stood tall with his hands clasped behind his back. He said, “Did you think you’ll be able to leave after killing so many people today?”

Xiao Chen raised his head and guffawed. He then glared at Qi Heng. “Your Order of the Divine Fire will be next!”

Qi Heng’s expression remained unchanged, feeling no fear of a cornered Devil’s Practice follower with so many sects and clans around. He said emotionlessly, “You can try.”

The purple-robed Warden of the Immortals’ League yelled, “Spare the talking! Capture that Devil’s Practice follower!”

Once again, countless cultivators from various sects and clans congregated, but no one was willing to be the first to charge up, not after seeing Xiao Chen’s powers. All of them wanted someone else to do the dirty work while they reap the benefits.

Yu Yifeng stepped forward, wanting to say something, but Perfected Immortal Qing Chen stopped him and shook his head. Then, he said in a loud voice, “Please listen to me, my cultivator friends. This child is a traitor of my sect. I hope everyone will allow me to bring back this child…”

The blue-robed older man from earlier raised his head and laughed. “Qing Chen, I suggest you forget it. Who doesn’t know he’s just a fake Jade Qing Sect disciple? The way I see it, your sect is at least a representative of Orthodox sects in the East Continent. You better stay away from Devil’s Practice followers, lest your sect becomes a target like this devil. Then, us Orthodox folks will have no choice but to exterminate your sect!” His gaze turned so sharp that Perfected Immortal Qing Chen couldn’t help shivering.

“No! It’s all lies! Junior Brother Xiao is only affected by the Devil’s Intent because he had to help me remove Devil Qi! He’s not a Devil’s Practice follower…” Qingyu wailed. However, why would anyone listen to her when they wouldn’t even listen to Perfected Immortal Qing Chen?

In another corner, Su Zimu held tight onto Su Yue’s sleeve and kept shaking his head at her. “Aunt, you must not. Grandfather is still cultivating in seclusion. If we get our family involved now, we’ll affect his state of mind and possibly cause him to fail his ordeal…”

With a deep frown, Su Yue took in a deep breath. “Sister, I’m so sorry…”

Orthodox cultivators from all sides continued crowding Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen spun around to look at Perfected Immortal Qing Chen and the others. “Help me take care of Muxue and the rest…”

Yu Yifeng stretched out a hand. “Xiao Chen, what are you doing?! Put down your saber! It was the Ling family who wronged you in the first place! The Immortals’ League will handle this fairly! Don’t repeat the mistake…” Before he could finish speaking, a white radiance whizzed toward him. It was the Unsullied Immortal’s Sword that he had gifted Xiao Chen in the past. People with unsullied hearts would enjoy supreme tranquility and wouldn’t be confused by the temptations of devils and demons…

“Yu Yifeng, you gifted me this sword then. Today, I’m returning it to you.”

“Xiao Chen… you…” Yu Yifeng’s eyes were turning red as he clutched the Unsullied Immortal’s Sword in his hand. What a familiar scene this was.

“The next time we meet, we’re meeting as enemies!”

Xiao Chen turned around so that he wasn’t looking at Yu Yifeng anymore. He faced the various sects and clans with a grave expression. “From now on, all of you so-called distinguished sects and clans of the Orthodox Path are my enemies!” An overwhelming Devil Qi erupted from him then, making everyone feel stifled.

“We pledge our lives and swear to protect you, Master!” Twelve silhouettes appeared out of the blue. The ladies of Hidden Fragrance Wafting Under the Moon had come to protect Xiao Chen.

Qi Heng sneered. “Enemies? Very well. I’d like to see how a Devil’s Practice follower like you become enemies with all of us Orthodox cultivators in the world.”

Xiao Chen ignored him and turned to look at Qingluan and the other ladies. “Go. From now on, Hidden Fragrance Wafting Under the Moon will no longer exist…” He knew that the ladies could handle a few Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, but there were so many Nirvana Realm experts here today. If he couldn’t escape, why would he have them die with him?

“We swear to protect you even at the cost of our lives, Master!” The expression on the twelve ladies didn’t change as they held tight onto their curved blades. Once again, they spared no thought for what might be their imminent death.

“Go!” Xiao Chen yelled. He looked at the sisters Qingluan and Ziyun’er. “Help me do one final thing!”

“Master, do tell! We’ll execute your order or die trying!”

“Help me bring Xian’er back to the Human World. There’s a deep valley under the rear of Lingtai Mountain. She knows how to return. Tell her not to leave the Human World anymore. This place is too dangerous and sinister for her…” The whites of Xiao Chen’s eyes became filled with wisps of blood as he glared at the sects and clans.

Qingluan immediately turned to look at the ten other ladies, and they headed straight for the Immortals’ League. The target of the sects and clans was Xiao Chen, so they paid no mind to anyone else and didn’t bother to give chase. Xiao Chen said, “You two should leave too.”

“We’ll protect you or die trying…”

“Go! Do you want me to ask you to leave politely?!” Xiao Chen yelled. The Blood Lotus Demon Blade in his hand was beginning to shake. Qingluan and Ziyun’er exchanged looks. “Master, take care!” They respectively transformed into a cyan and purple light and flew toward the League.

Xiao Chen turned around and stared coldly at the crowd of Orthodox disciples. “Very well! Those who want my head, come at me!” he bellowed and stabbed the Blood Lotus Demon Blade into the ground. Crushed stones instantly flew everywhere, and countless cracks appeared, all nearly thirty meters in length.

With a neigh, the devilish horse kicked its legs in the air and spat out a black flame at the sky. Guifeng held up his massive saber as an overwhelming Devil Qi filled the air. “You brutes who entrap my Lord at every turn! Today, I’m here to behead all of you! Who will be the first to die?”

His formidable aura made everyone feel stifled. Even though there were many people from the Orthodox path, everyone had their thoughts. No one was willing to go up to Xiao Chen and blindly throw their lives away to become stepping stones for others. The Nirvana Realm cultivators were only a step away from achieving the Grand Completion Realm. They feared death more than everyone else.

The two Wardens of the Immortals’ League were also trying to preserve their strength to ward against possible ambushes by the Devil’s sects. When they saw the crowd not charging forward, the purple-robed Warden cried, “The devil doesn’t have much Soul power left! Charge up to him and capture the Devil’s Practice follower together!”

Then, an unknown voice in the crowd yelled, “Kill the Devil’s Practice follower! Uphold the Orthodox Path! Kill!” More than ten people charged at Xiao Chen, but a sweep of the latter’s saber sent all of them flying. Right at this moment, an ice-cold voice drifted from the horizon. “I dare all of you to try and kill him today…”

The voice was incomparably cold as if it came from an iceberg that remained unmelted for eons. Soon, a murderous aura shrouded the entire place. The aura was just as frigid and heartless, so much so that it pierced one’s very bones. Even the Nirvana Realm cultivators could feel a chill down their spine. No one dared to move.