Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 599 Three Thousand Years of Lonely Cultivation, Human Heads as Cups, Blood as Wine (Seeking Rewards and Subscriptions!)

A chilling aura filled the air, and a river of blood flowed endlessly!
The Netherworld Banner summoned by the Envoy of the Silent Netherworld fluttered in the wind, transforming into a dark curtain covering the void. On it, vengeful spirits howled and ghosts wailed, and countless solidified Netherworld chains intertwined to form a net, completely imprisoning and sealing off this space, isolating it from the outside world.

The Ghostly Array is complete, forming a dark and secluded domain within. The space is as solid as lead and mercury, making it difficult to use ordinary escape techniques. It is the perfect cage to trap and kill powerful enemies.

However, at this very moment, this gloomy world was tinged with a chilling and eerie crimson light.

The red color is rather eerie.

After obtaining a heaven-defying opportunity, a cultivator should be cautious and avoid showing off or fighting before fully digesting it. He should try his best to fully digest the opportunity or even cultivate to become an immortal.

The Nine Li Cauldron and the Taoist transformation and ascension techniques—these are the opportunities that Lu Cheng has.

Therefore, even after cultivating the Taoist Transformation and Ascension Technique to a minor level and possessing forty-four lives, Lu Cheng still suppressed his true nature as much as possible, remaining cautious, prudent, and kind to others, until this day:

"Not good, he's going to fight to the death! Fellow Daoists, there's no need to hold back. Kill this fiend, retrieve the Corpse-Suppressing Rope and the Blood River Flag, and we'll have an explanation. There will be a generous reward in the meeting!" Ji Ming's black robe billowed, and his voice turned icy cold.

Before he finished speaking, an even more terrifying and ferocious aura erupted from the headless body of Daoist Lu Cheng!

Instead of gushing blood from the severed neck, a thick, magma-like, and sun-blazing crimson flame erupted – this was his innate Bloodfire Divine Power!
"Roar--!"

Its nipples serve as eyes, their blood-red flames gleaming with a chilling, murderous aura; its navel acts as a mouth, its blood-red tongue spitting out a tremendous roar that shakes heaven and earth.

In Lu Cheng's hands, the Blood River Banner seemed to come alive, transforming into several blood-red dragons that coiled around its body, baring their fangs and claws.

With a sinister yet corrosive and ferocious intent, it burned and swirled back towards Master Wujian, who had just made his move.

"Hmph." Master Wujian's face paled slightly. He snorted coldly and took a step back, instantly covering a thousand miles.

Mr. Wujian's swordsmanship is terrifyingly high. His understanding and imitation of Lu Cheng's "Golden Rainbow Piercing the Sun" sword style has reached an extremely high level, with eight or nine parts of sword intent and ruthlessness.

This person belongs to the traditional swordsmanship lineage, which emphasizes: 'There is no coming or going, only a single sword!'

If one can kill an opponent with a single sword strike, one will never strike a second time.

Frequent sword strikes indicate either encountering multiple opponents or facing a formidable foe of equal skill capable of engaging in sword combat.

However, when Lu Cheng uses the Golden Rainbow Piercing the Sun Sword Style, he still needs to activate the five energies in his chest and the three flowers on his head. He cannot use it frequently, otherwise the sword energy will backfire. Although Master Wujian's sword cultivation is high, it is still above Lu Cheng's.

However, his Three Flowers Perfection and physical strength were far inferior. When he used such a domineering sword technique, his spiritual consciousness and physical body were under great strain and he could not recover his energy in a short time. Therefore, he retreated slightly.

Faced with the overwhelming backlash of the blood waves, which were filled with blood fire and fierce resentment, he was unwilling to take it head-on. With a flash of sword light under his feet, he moved like a fish in the solidified space, retreating to the edge of the formation and taking the time to adjust his breathing.

With Master Wujian backing down, the others no longer held back in their attacks.

If they were outside, given their status, any one of them would be a senior in Lu Cheng's society. Let alone joining forces to kill a junior, even fighting him individually would be criticized and seen as bullying the weak.

However, since they are now using the identity of guest elders of the Spirit Lord's Association, they intend to reduce time and minimize variables. Therefore, when the group makes a move, it is almost a joint attack.

"The Taoist immortal body, essence blood and demonic flames, let me test your abilities." Venerable Tianmu, being the most arrogant, was the first to attack.

His vertical pupils suddenly opened, no longer radiating pure, insightful golden light, but rather a light that suppressed demons and punished evil—the very "Demon-Slaying Divine Light," a secret technique passed down by the Spirit Clan.

This light is specifically designed to destroy all evil and demonic energy, as well as the spirituality of demonic treasures. It is the nemesis of all evil spirits in the world and is extremely domineering.

Wherever the golden light swept past, even the surrounding ghostly realm emitted a crackling, corroding sound, as if a raging fire was burning away the evil.

At the same time, he pushed forward with both palms, and an ancient rune appeared in each palm, which attracted the Yin lightning in the void, transforming into two giant Yin lightning pythons that were purple-black in color and wrapped with countless phantom images of wronged souls. They roared and devoured Lu Cheng's headless body.

The Celestial Eye Venerable holds the power of punishment among the Spirit Clan, wielding immense authority. However, driven by a lust for power, he secretly cultivates demonic arts, which he then suppresses with the Spirit Clan's Demon-Slaying Divine Light, thus avoiding any backlash. Consequently, he has mastered the Demonic Yin Thunder Technique to an extremely high level.

Lady Shadow spun around like a ghost, and hundreds of phantoms spread out, some of which appeared silently in the shadows beside Lu Cheng.

The being, seemingly both a phantom and a real entity, silently and effortlessly created a tiny crack in space as its hand gestures shifted. Strands of colorless and odorless "bone-corroding and soul-consuming poisonous miasma," invisible to the naked eye, seeped in like maggots clinging to bones, quietly penetrating through every possible crevice.

This miasma specifically erodes the spirit and soul. Once one is affected, the primordial spirit is plunged into an endless hell until consciousness dissipates, leaving one at the mercy of others!

What's most terrifying is her ability to escape; it can be both real and fake, ever-changing and making it difficult to pinpoint her true location.

The enormous, savage-looking Devouring Centipede let out a deafening hiss. Its massive body suddenly coiled up, and dark green poisonous clouds spewed from the gaps in its ferocious carapace—the "Corroding Immortal Poison."

This poisonous smoke is not only extremely toxic, but it can also melt metal and iron, and erode magical protective power. Even if one manages to block it, it will consume a great deal of magical power.

Immediately afterward, its enormous mouth opened, not to devour, but to spew out a condensed, ghastly green beam of light, known as the "Myriad Poisons Annihilating God Light," which aimed directly at Lu Cheng's vital organs.

The dwarf monk was the most bizarre; he made hand seals, chanted incantations, and his figure appeared and disappeared within the formation.

Each appearance was accompanied by the throwing of a palm-sized black wooden puppet depicting a hideous ghost face. These "cursed soul puppets" were not physical attacks, but rather directly targeted Lu Cheng's aura and destiny, drawing upon the power of a curse from the unseen realm.

The victim felt waves of palpitations and nausea, as if countless cold hands were tearing at his soul, trying to disturb his Dao heart, undermine his fighting spirit, and diminish his life force.

This is the "Ten Thousand Curses Entangling" technique, which is extremely insidious!

The last cultivator to make a move was the Forget-Worry Hermit. A complex emotion flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by ruthlessness.

He first took out a jade ruyi and threw it at Lu Cheng, then patted an inconspicuous gray cloth bag at his waist, from which countless spirit insects, gleaming with a cold metallic light, flew out.

These nameless spirit insects flap their wings silently, move with lightning speed, and have incredibly sharp mouthparts that are adept at breaking through all kinds of protective magic and magical artifacts. Once they get close, they frantically gnaw at flesh, bones, and tendons, and even an indestructible body can hardly withstand them for long.

Finally, he changed his hand seals, and a hazy gray "Spirit-Binding Flying Lock" silently wrapped around Lu Cheng's ankle, attempting to further restrict his movements.

Five Mahayana cultivators joined forces, each displaying their unique skills: poison, curses, miasma, light, insects, lightning, corrosion, and restrictions... a variety of insidious, vicious, and unpredictable methods, like a net from heaven and earth, instantly and completely engulfed Lu Cheng's headless, fiery body.

Within this blood-red, ghostly realm, the primordial energy of heaven and earth surged wildly, and all sorts of powerful Daoist techniques and supernatural abilities were unleashed at full force. If it weren't for the secret array set up by the tenth-tier pseudo-immortal artifact, the Netherworld Banner, it would probably have shattered this world long ago.

However, at this moment, with the support of two tenth-order pseudo-immortal artifacts, either one side will be completely wiped out, or no one will be able to leave this forbidden zone!

At this moment, the five Mahayana cultivators were still at the peak of their spiritual power. Although Lu Cheng's escape light was fast, it was still blocked by them.

The natal blood fire that was wrapped around Lu Cheng suddenly exploded, no longer a simple blood-colored flame, but transformed into billions of thin, yet incomparably sharp, "Erosion Blood Light" that shimmered with an eerie blood-red light.

These crimson lights seemed to have a life of their own, automatically meeting the attacks coming from all directions!

When the Heavenly Eye Venerable's Demon-Slaying Divine Light collided with the Corrosive Blood Light, it did not suppress and destroy the demonic blood fire as expected. Instead, it was eroded by the fierce and malevolent energy contained in the blood light, making a sizzling melting sound, and its power was greatly reduced!

"How could this be? His Blood Sea Demon Art is not a gathering of evil energy, and is completely unaffected by my Demon-Slaying Divine Light?"

Immediately afterward, the Jade Ruyi of the Forget-Worry Hermit struck Lu Cheng's chest first, only causing sparks to fly, but he paid no attention and acted as if nothing had happened.

The Hermit of Forgetfulness retrieved the jade ruyi and sighed softly, "Such an extraordinary person is truly a genuine cultivator of the Daoist path!"

He also knew that his cultivation level was the lowest and weakest among all cultivators, and that weaker magic treasures were completely useless. Therefore, he withdrew the jade ruyi and stopped using it.

The two giant pythons of Yin Lightning bit into Lu Cheng's body, and the blood and lightning collided violently, bursting out with a deafening roar.

Lu Cheng's body trembled violently, and sparks burst forth from his body, even revealing tiny cracks and charred marks. But in the end, he was unable to break through this incomparably powerful and indestructible body.

Lady Shadow's "Bone-Corroding and Soul-Destroying Poisonous Mist" is all-pervasive, seeping in silently.

The Devouring Celestial Centipede's "Corroding Immortal Poison" and "Ten Thousand Poisons God-Slaying Light" were weakened and burned layer by layer by the Eroding Blood Light. The poisonous smoke was evaporated by the blood fire as soon as it approached, and the pale green light pillar slammed into Lu Cheng's chest, exploding into a huge green poisonous cloud, corroding the Vajra Indestructible Divine Light, causing it to sizzle and dim.

Lu Cheng's forward-leaning body finally staggered, his chest and body torn open, revealing his Daoist bones that shimmered with golden luster and faintly flowed with blood and fire.

It's not just that the outermost layer of his body is indestructible and solid. Lu Cheng's body, forged by the Samadhi True Fire over thousands of years, is incredibly strong in every inch of its skin, bones, and blood. When the wound flashes with blood, a powerful life force surges and heals at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The curse power of the dwarf cultivator was the most troublesome. The invisible tearing sensation made Lu Cheng's movements stagnate. With the myriad curses stacked on top of each other, it felt as if he was carrying an invisible mountain on his back, and he even felt a slight, imperceptible loss of his life force.

"die!"

Lu Cheng's "abdomen" roared again, and the blood and fire around his body suddenly surged and shot out in all directions, turning into countless tiny blood-colored flying needles, like flames and curtains.

The nameless ninth-tier spirit insect that the Forget-Worry Hermit had just summoned collided with these corrosive blood rays, producing a dense barrage of crackling sounds.

Most of the spirit insects were directly pierced and burned by the blood light, with only a few escaping and rushing close to Lu Cheng.

But then, Lu Cheng Daoist, his body enveloped in a crimson aura, raised his palm diagonally, aiming at Wangyou Sanren. *Bang!*

The crimson sword light pierced the sky like a rainbow. As the sword light flew, not only the atmosphere but also the void of heaven and earth rippled to both sides. In a flash, it crossed a distance of nearly ten miles and went straight for the chest of the Forgetful Hermit.

"How could it be so fast..."

The Forget-Worry Hermit was, after all, a Mahayana cultivator who had cultivated for tens of thousands of years, and instinctively tried to avoid it. Yet, he still felt a pain in half of his body. Looking around, he saw that half of his body had been shredded by the blood-red sword light.

"Of course it's fast. He poured his own essence and blood energy into this sword strike. If I hadn't already severed his Six Yang Chief with my previous sword strike, you would have been dead without a doubt with this one!"

No wonder he had the audacity to unleash the Blood River Banner, intending to slaughter us all here. Such a transformation of the physical body is unheard of. His blood and fire essence, combined with the Blood River Banner, is almost seamless. I just wonder how many times his Taoist immortal body can revive.

"If it's only three or five times, even if he's mastered the Blood Burning Technique, it won't be enough to kill him. But if he can use it ten or eight times, we old guys might have to leave a few of us alive to die with him!"

In the distance, Master Wujian's eyes were already flashing with a fierce and frenzied light.

Seeing this, Wangyou Sanren felt a jolt in his heart, and he knew all too well that the other party's "being buried with" was a veiled reference to himself.

"These sword madmen," Forget-Worry Hermit cursed inwardly, but he also became secretly alert. His magical powers became somewhat restricted. He was the weakest of the group, and if he was not careful, he might die here.

The Winged Envoy, high above, noticed this, but frowned slightly and said nothing.

Even if this Taoist was more troublesome than expected, Youyi Shi absolutely did not believe that with the lineup he had set up today, he could not defeat a cultivator in the early stage of Mahayana. Such a thing was a bit... too ridiculous.

"That was great! Let's fight again."

Amidst the crimson hue of the heavens and earth, a young man in a Taoist robe once again materialized.

With the power of Tao, break the cycle of Yin and Yang!
He died in battle, but his spiritual awareness was elevated to a relatively extreme state due to the burning of his innate blood fire, thus giving him a precise grasp of the battlefield.

With a sudden change in footwork, his figure blurred instantly.

The Golden-Winged Roc's Escape Technique is incredibly powerful and swift!

Swish!
Only a fleeting afterimage remained in place before the true form appeared like a golden lightning bolt beside the massive head of the Devouring Centipede.

Ignoring the poisonous mist it spewed and the demonic light protecting it, the fist, wrapped in the blood-red light of the corrosive essence, slammed into its compound eyes with the power to shatter mountains and split seas.

boom.

A muffled thud, mixed with the piercing sound of protective magic collapsing and carapace shattering. The Devouring Centipede let out a shrill roar of pain as its massive head was violently thrown to the side, and one of its compound eyes instantly exploded, splattering dark green fluid everywhere.

But its huge tail lashed out with a howling gale, and Lu Cheng used the force to leap into the air, changing his movement once again.

The Five Elements Heavenly Escape Step. Metal generates water, water nourishes wood, wood ignites fire, fire assists earth, and earth contains metal. The five elements cycle endlessly.

His figure became elusive in this almost solidified space, sometimes sharp and piercing like metal, sometimes elusive like flowing water, sometimes rooted and unmoving like an ancient tree to neutralize attacks, sometimes bursting forth like a meteor, and sometimes heavy and solid like the earth to absorb force.

Within this relatively small space within the array, which is quite cramped for Mahayana cultivators, the exquisite variations of the Five Elements Escape Technique were brought to their fullest potential.

Lady Shadow and the dwarf monk exchanged a glance, both feeling a slight pressure at that moment.

The reason is that their inner demon illusion techniques and myriad curses are all accumulated and layered strange and mysterious techniques. In their thousands or even tens of thousands of years of life, they have encountered cultivators who have achieved the so-called Taoist immortality and substitution techniques.

However, if the inner demon illusion technique and the myriad curses can suppress and cover the opponent's Great Dao Laws, then the inner demon and the myriad curses can accumulate, and then erupt once, even several lives would not be enough to kill them all.

However, at this moment, neither of them felt this way: that is to say, neither the inner demon illusion technique nor the myriad curses technique could suppress or cover the other's Great Dao Laws, and that every time the other died and was resurrected, it was in a true state of full strength.

"When did the Taiqing Sect create such secret techniques and extraordinary skills? Their origins are truly remarkable! But even if he could survive ten lifetimes, so what? Today, we will still annihilate him here, search his soul and refine his spirit, forcing out his extraordinary techniques and methods so that we can all study them together!"

Lady Youying used her divine sense to communicate and looked around.

"Exactly this!"

"That's how it should be."

The assembled cultivators of the Spirit Venerable laughed heartily, their previous pent-up emotions swept away, and the pressure in their hearts was replaced by a fiery excitement at the prospect of obtaining extraordinary skills.

Several blood dragons coiled around Lu Cheng, who brandished the Boundless Blood Sea Sword. Upon hearing this, he also flicked his sword and sang a song:

"For three thousand years, the path of cultivation has been lonely, and the Yellow Court Classic has been recited endlessly within the mountain gate."

Now, suddenly descending the mountain, they use human heads as cups and blood as wine, drinking to the last drop of their enemies' blood!

Feeling the intense and vigorous blood and energy within the soldier's body, the spirit within the Blood River Banner was so overjoyed that it almost let out a groan of climax.

Only today did it realize that blood was like this: no longer cold and viscous, but sweet and fierce.

Lu Cheng's indestructible body had been cultivated to an extremely high level. When ordinary magic weapons struck him, only sparks flew, but they did not harm him in the slightest. Even when a sharp flying sword struck his flesh, it was difficult to penetrate deeply.

Such a body cultivator is already terrifying, but he is also proficient in three extremely advanced escape techniques: the Golden-Winged Roc Escape Technique, the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Step, and the Golden Crow Rainbow Transformation Technique.

In this confined space within the array, which is relatively small for Mahayana cultivators, the Golden Crow Transformation Rainbow Technique is difficult to execute. However, the powerful burst of the Golden-Winged Roc Escape Technique and the exquisite variations of the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Steps can both bring great profits.

During the refining process of the Heavenly Origin Limitless Immortal Pill, the blood, bones, and marrow of various fire-elemental true spirits were used, resulting in an excessively intense yang energy. This pill's tribulation flame has even developed sentience, and it would be more appropriate to call it a fire demon than a flame.

Lu Cheng separated his own Samadhi True Fire's lifeblood fire and merged it with the fire demon, gaining nine-tenths of its spirituality, and released it with a sliver of life back to the Nine Li Cauldron.

This newly refined natal blood fire is rooted in one's own blood and flesh. Its nature is extremely powerful and domineering. It can use one's own essence and blood to attract all kinds of fierce souls and evil spirits, generating a true aura that specifically erodes people's essence and energy. It is extremely powerful, domineering, and fierce.

It was derived by Lu Cheng by combining the good and evil paths of blood, aiming to unleash the full potential of the physical body.

Without this technique to burn potential, Lu Cheng would not have been able to continue fighting as a headless corpse after being beheaded, until his blood and energy were exhausted.

Just as Lu Cheng was using the Bloodfire Technique, relying on his indestructible body and exquisite escape techniques to fight against five Mahayana cultivators.

At the edge of the formation, a cold, pure sword intent, seemingly embodying all the sharpness of heaven and earth, rose up once more.

It was Master Wujian of the Juetian Sword Sect who had finally recovered his energy.

This time, he did not pursue the ultimate goal of beheading with a single sword strike.

Instead, he held his hands together, fingers pointing like swords, upright in front of him, his entire being seemingly transforming into a peerless divine blade about to be unsheathed. His divine sense and sword eyes were fixed on Lu Cheng's body wreathed in blood and flames, and he softly shouted:
"Split the light, transform into shadow, slash!"

In an instant, Master Wujian's figure seemed to split into three. The three sword lights, refined to the extreme, were not released simultaneously, but rather struck out one after another at a speed beyond the reach of divine sense.

The first sword strike, blazing like the sun, possessed a similar grandeur to Lu Cheng's "Golden Rainbow Piercing the Sun," yet it also incorporated other sword principles, focusing solely on its majestic and imposing nature. The sword light, like a golden rainbow, pierced straight into Lu Cheng's chest. This strike was intended to break through his protective magic and indestructible body.

The second sword strike was as swift as lightning, its light as thin as a wisp of silk, almost transparent, yet containing extreme penetrating and tearing power. It struck later but arrived first, catching up with the first golden rainbow, the two merging instantly. The golden rainbow's power was instantly elevated to a new level, its speed increasing dramatically.

The third sword strike, elusive and shadowy, appeared the instant the second sword strike merged. A dark sword shadow, almost seamlessly integrated with space, silently attached itself to the golden rainbow, its target aimed directly at Lu Cheng's back. This was the "Shadow Kill" sword, imbued with a vicious sword intent capable of breaking laws and shattering souls.

The three swords were linked together in one smooth motion.

This is a killing move that Master Wujian devised while recovering his energy in order to deal with cultivators like Lu Cheng, who possessed powerful physical bodies and had achieved immortality.

Splitting light and creating shadows, layering them together, their power more than doubles.

Lu Cheng was fighting five opponents alone, and his divine sense had been expanded to its limit. Even as a body cultivator, he instinctively felt a fatal threat.

Blood flames raged around him, and the corrosive blood light instantly recoiled, condensing into a thick, blood-red shield in front of him. At the same time, he fully activated his protective magic, and his body radiated a dazzling golden light.

Boom, crack...

The golden rainbow sword light slammed into the blood-red shield. The shield trembled violently, cracks appeared everywhere, and it shattered in less than an instant. Even with most of its power diminished, the golden rainbow sword light still slammed into Lu Cheng's chest with unstoppable force!
puff.

Blood splattered everywhere. Even with an indestructible body, it was still pierced and cut through by the combined sword techniques of Master Wujian, a late-stage Mahayana sword cultivator, who was exerting all his strength.

A horrifying, bowl-sized hole appeared in Lu Cheng's chest, completely transparent from front to back. Fragments of shattered internal organs and burning blood gushed out together, a truly gruesome sight.

"Even if you had ten lives to live, today you would only die under my sword. With your talent, abandoning the way of the sword to cultivate the art of the body is truly foolish."

(End of this chapter)