Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 424 Fierce battle!

At this moment, everything on the plain was illuminated by the twin moons, and large swarms of corpses and demons swirled around Li Wuxiang, surrounding the infant immortal Cui Xianren they had encountered earlier.

His earlier guess was correct; the one who came behind Zhou Xiang was indeed the Yin spirit of the Infant Immortal. This Infant Immortal was very powerful, and he couldn't plant a seed of calamity on it without the other party noticing, but he could at least leave a mark of a great calamity within its soul. He followed this mark all the way from the mortal world to Mount Ling, relentlessly pursuing it, until the Yin spirit finally realized it couldn't escape and returned to its original form.

Now, it seems that they have decided to fight him!
Li Wuxiang shouted loudly, "Immortal Cui, I'll ask you again, is Cui Daocheng inside or not!"

Finally, the immortal Cui spoke. And indeed, it was Cui Daocheng's voice: "Are you asking me?"

Then came dozens of other voices saying goodbye: "Are you still asking us?"

Finally, it all coalesced into the male voice he had first heard praising "supreme joy": "Still asking me!? I am Immortal Cui, not some Cui Daocheng! If you wish to die, I will grant your wish!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the corpse demons surrounding him immediately obeyed his commands and surged towards Li Wuxiang like a tide!
Li Wuxiang stood still, slowly raised his right hand, and extended two sword-like fingers joined together: "Go!"

A slender sword light shot out like lightning, striking the horde of corpses that surged forward like waves. The horde was thick and tall, and the corpse demons within had each unleashed their magical treasures, their mysterious lights reflecting off each other, forming a vast curtain of light.

Compared to this, Li Wuxiang's sword light was as thin as a hair, but once it struck, it immediately exploded like lightning behind the thick clouds. A fierce golden light shone brightly, and the horde of corpses rushing towards him froze on the spot. In a moment, it was like a mountain collapsing, from which countless corpses fell, crashing the earth with a loud bang, as if a rain of corpses was falling!
These corpses are merely at the Qi Refining or Golden Core stage, lacking any central authority. Many of them are not even humanoid, but seem to have been created by the Blood God Cult using new secret methods and by sacrificing demons. They are not any more skilled than swordsmen who have cultivated the True Immortal Body Dao Chapter, let alone those who have mastered the Lesser Calamity Sword Scripture, the Greater Calamity Sword Scripture, or even the Greater Calamity Infant Immortal.

With just a casual strike, Li Wuxiang instantly annihilated most of them!
Zhou Xiang had lived for over thirty years and had never truly fought anyone. Today was the first time he had witnessed such a scene, and even knowing that the opponents were all just ragtag soldiers, he was still stunned by the sight.

Zhao Qi was also stunned—in fact, he had rarely seen Li Wuxiang in action, let alone seen him kill countless people in the blink of an eye like this! After a while, he glanced at Zhou Xiang and hurriedly said, "Brother Zhou, don't be surprised. I've seen this kind of scene many times!"

As the corpses landed, another beam of light surged forth, like a sharp sword piercing through a black curtain—at its very center was a blood-red flying sword from the Sword Sect. Surrounding it were thirty-six magical treasures from the thirty-six sects, like stars orbiting the moon, revolving around the blood-red sword and attacking Li Wuxiang relentlessly!
Li Wuxiang flicked his right wrist, and nine sword lights immediately appeared behind his head, forming a halo. He flicked his finger again, and one of the sword lights flew out with a whoosh, colliding with the light cone—a deafening explosion followed. The two beams of light clashed, sending earth and rocks flying, blasting the remaining corpses into dust. The entire earth trembled slightly; the sand, yellow grass, and stones on the ground tumbled and rolled as if placed on a tilted table.

However, his sword light did not block the light cone; it only slowed its advance. Li Wuxiang stood still with one hand behind his back, flicked his sword twice more, and two more sword lights shot out from behind his head, merging with the previous one. The light cone was immediately blocked at a distance, unable to advance even an inch further.

Only then did Immortal Cui reveal himself from behind. Seeing that the stalemate had ended, he immediately slapped his hands together in front of his chest, producing a thunderous sound—his body seemed to be shattered by the sound, instantly transforming into thirty-six figures that flew in all directions, surrounding Li Wuxiang in the center.

Those thirty-six figures were actually thirty-six Nascent Soul cultivators, but they were still connected to each other by countless crimson blood nerves, like umbilical cords.

With a thought, Cui Xianren unleashed his power, and all thirty Nascent Soul bodies attacked simultaneously, lunging at Li Wuxiang among them.

The remaining six sword lights behind Li Wuxiang's head immediately dissipated like streams of light, splitting into thirty-six smaller swords that engaged in a fierce battle with the thirty-six people.

From a distance, the scene was filled with crisscrossing sword energy and billowing smoke, as if countless armies were engaged in a chaotic battle. But from high above, Li Wuxiang was surrounded in the center. Although his defense was impenetrable, the thirty-six Nascent Soul bodies were each using their own methods to gradually close in on his true form!

Only then did Immortal Cui speak again: "Eh? You don't cultivate the True Immortal Body Dao Chapter, but like Mei Qiulu, you cultivate the Lesser Tribulation Sword? Very good, with you as my mentor, my sect gains another fierce general—Blood God above, how joyous! How joyous!!"

The thirty-six Nascent Soul bodies also joined him in praising, their voices converging and soaring into the sky—

Then the real moon appeared in the sky, its light dimming slightly as if shrouded in shadow. This shadow grew thicker and thicker, revealing color—the moon gradually turned pale red. Clouds gathered in the sky, the light on the plains dimmed, and a vibrant life force emanated from the blood moon. The moon's outline also changed, gradually solidifying into the image of a blood god in the crimson sky!

Zhou Xiang exclaimed in disbelief, "That infant immortal is going to summon a god! He's going to summon the Blood God!"

“Yes.” Zhao Qi frowned and stepped back behind Zhou Xiang.

"Li Wuxiang! Use what I gave you!" Zhou Xiang shouted again.

Zhao Qi and Xue Baoping both knew what Zhou Xiang had given Li Wuxiang. Hearing him call out like that, they were both startled, then couldn't help but exchange a glance from afar—this person… is so strange! Strange in a good way! Strange like someone from the Xuan Sect! No wonder Li Wuxiang was so nervous about him!
Li Wuxiang seemed to have heard it, or perhaps it was just his imagination—after shouting that, Zhou Xiang saw him look up and glance in her direction, then smile slightly.

He might be glancing at the real moon, at the vitality emanating from it, at the divine power of the Blood God in the crimson sky. Or perhaps he truly heard it and was looking at himself.

Zhou Xiang's heart skipped a beat when he saw that smile. Coming from the Five Mountains True Form Sect, he naturally understood that battles between cultivators were one thing, but summoning supernatural powers was quite another! Now, the Six Departments hoped the Blood God Sect would send someone to destroy the Taiyi Swordsman, and the Nascent Soul Immortal wanted to summon a god. The true spirits of the Six Departments' Great Emperors within Mount Ling would absolutely not interfere—otherwise, they should eliminate Immortal Cui as soon as possible; if he were to actually summon a god, how could a Nascent Soul cultivator possibly defeat a true spirit!?

He couldn't help but take a few more steps forward and shouted, "I've seen what you're capable of! We can discuss what you said later—use what I gave you!"

But Li Wuxiang didn't speak, instead he smiled—a cold, mocking smile. He roared, "You half-dead thing, get back here!"

He raised his left hand, which had been behind his back, and pointed it towards the sky!
In Zhou Xiang's eyes, a sword aura shot up from his fingertips and soared into the night sky, as if it had struck the moon!
In Li Wuxiang's view, a streak of red light suddenly separated from the Great Calamity Star!
You're inviting a god?
I also invoke the gods!
This wisp of red light, like an extremely thin and long needle, swiftly pierced the moon wheel in the void, beyond the perception of those in this realm—

It's like puncturing a ball!
The shadow of the Blood God, which was gradually coalescing within the blood moon, seemed startled by the crimson light and instantly retreated. The blood-red light on the moon vanished in an instant, and moonlight once again bathed the earth!

Zhou Xiang was so shocked she couldn't speak. After a long while, she turned to look at Zhao Qi: "Your sect leader's move... this move..."

How could Zhao Qi know which move it was?
But in that instant, he realized—Li Wuxiang was already a Lesser God Lord, so what was the big deal about a Lesser God Lord killing a Blood God Cult Infant Immortal? Using this to show off his strength was hardly convincing.

This is exactly what he's been waiting for! He'll summon the Blood God while the infant immortals are fighting!
"Why didn't you say so earlier?! I could have given you a heads-up!" Zhao Qi didn't have time to complain in his heart. Since he hadn't managed to summon the Blood God anyway, his courage grew again. He took a step forward with his hands behind his back and smiled slightly: "The sect leader only showed you this skill because he believed you. Brother Zhou, do you cultivate the Lesser Tribulation Sword Scripture?"

Zhou Xiang nodded blankly: "Yes... but inside the Lesser Tribulation Sword... oh, my clan doesn't have any cultivation techniques above the Lesser Tribulation Nascent Soul stage, so what is Sect Leader Li doing—" Zhao Qi smiled again: "Sect Leader is cultivating the Great Tribulation Sword Scripture."

"The Great Calamity Sword Scripture!?" Zhou Xiang's eyes widened. "Impossible! How could anyone still cultivate the Great Calamity Sword Scripture? How could someone cultivate it and even reach the Nascent Soul stage!?"

Zhao Qi just smiled at him without saying a word.

Zhou Xiang then realized what was happening and didn't know what to say for a moment. She turned her face sharply and stared straight at the light screen at the door.

Although the Blood God's true spirit was not summoned down, the vitality it emitted when it was about to appear was all absorbed into the Infant Immortal's body.

In an instant, within the light cone that blasted towards Li Wuxiang, the thirty-seven magical treasures blazed with intense light, and flame-like blood energy rose from Cui Xianren's body. The thirty-six nascent souls that had been differentiated were all crimson and almost transparent, as if the seeds of life within them had turned into flames, illuminating them from the inside out!

A burst of red light erupted in the arena of battle, and the encirclement formed by Cui Xianren and his avatar suddenly shrank, completely suppressing Li Wuxiang's sword light in a thick cloud of dust!
But just then, Li Wuxiang's voice rang out again—

"Zhao Qi."

Zhou Xiang was startled, but also relieved—even though he was a Nascent Soul cultivator undergoing a great tribulation, he had finally asked for help!?
"I'm here!" Zhao Qi shouted hurriedly.

"They haven't seen much of the world, we can show them tonight."

Zhao Qi was stunned, not understanding what Li Wuxiang meant for a moment. At this moment, Xue Baoping walked out into the courtyard and said, "The sect leader has spoken, stop hiding."

On the top of the courtyard wall, a row of heads of Sword Sect disciples immediately popped up like mushrooms in a forest after the rain.

Zhao Qi then realized what was happening and quickly replied, "The sect leader told you to watch, so watch carefully and remember it well. I'll be testing you tomorrow!"

"You are cultivating in our Sword Sect, and in the future you will be contributing to the great cause of the world! Do you see this person in the courtyard? He is the living bloodline of Zhou Er, the Great Emperor of the Five Mountains True Form! The Crown Prince of the Five Mountains True Form Sect! He has come to our Sword Sect and will be forming an alliance with us in the future!"

"Ah, Brother Zhao—" Zhou Xiang only had time to say a few words before Zhao Qi immediately added, "The sect leader is now leading us to the Blood God Sect's lair!"

"You people have met the Little Divine Lord and the Crown Prince of the Five Mountains True Form Sect, but you haven't met Divine Lord Mei Qiulu or the Taiyi Sect Leader yet, have you? Let me tell you, the blessings you've cultivated—you'll meet them soon!"

"Master of Taiyi Sect, Master of Sword Sect, and all of you, we are going to destroy the Blood God Sect! What a grand vision, what a great blessing!"

"The one you're looking at right now is the Infant Immortal of the Blood God Sect, who calls himself Immortal Cui! Do you know who this person is? He's the second only to the Blood God Sect Leader! The Sect Master is currently fighting him!"

"Your cultivation is insufficient, your realms are too low, you cannot comprehend the Sect Master's methods. Now, watch carefully, and try to understand as much as you can! In the martial world, we will inevitably encounter fierce battles sooner or later! When faced with fierce battles, we must be like the Sect Master, calm and unhurried, slowly wearing down our opponent's strength! The Sect Master is temporarily allowing him to gain the upper hand to prepare for the upcoming fierce battle, waiting for this Infant Immortal—"

"Zhao Qi."

As he spoke, Li Wuxiang's voice rang out again amidst the billowing dust at the courtyard gate.

"We're here, we're here! Sect Leader, don't get distracted! We're all watching!"

"Prepare a few burlap sacks, and prepare to bring ten people out."

Zhao Qi was taken aback: "Huh?"

The next moment, a golden light suddenly appeared in the smoke and dust—it was only for a moment, so short that everyone in the courtyard thought they might be seeing things—the golden light suddenly traveled from one end of the smoke and dust to the other, and then disappeared!

The field suddenly fell silent.

The rumble of the earth, the clang of metal on metal, and the scattering of sand and gravel all vanished after that fleeting golden light.

The smoke then began to dissipate gradually.

What was revealed was land that looked as if it had been brutally plowed. The soil at the source of the river is red clay, and this land was like a wound on the earth. Within this wound lay the corpses of ghouls, a dark mass spread out like scabs on a wound.

There was something else... like scattered stars on the ground, those decaying, dying stars, gleaming faintly.

Only Li Wuxiang remained standing in the arena. He raised his hand and gestured towards the sky, causing the gazes at the courtyard gate to suddenly plummet downwards. At that moment, everyone in the courtyard saw clearly—those "stars" were all magical treasures!

"What's the point of this battle? Let's see how capable he really is. Bring your men out and pick up the loot."

(End of this chapter)