Chaotic Times and Disasters: I Hunt Down Martial Arts Masters and Become a God

Fu Qing selected twenty skilled rock climbers from the scout team, each carrying only a short knife and rope, traveling light.

Fu Qing led the way, climbing inch by inch along the almost vertical cliff face on the side of Luoyingjian.

The cliff face was covered with slippery moss, and you could feel the sticky residue of the worms when you dug your fingers into the cracks in the rocks. Occasionally, a piece of weathered rock would crumble under your feet.

After climbing for nearly half an hour, Fu Qing finally found the entrance to the secret passage that the prisoner had mentioned. It was a narrow stone door hidden by vines in a recess in the cliff wall, which was almost impossible to spot without careful observation.

The stone door was unlocked. Fu Qing pushed it open, drew his sword, and was the first to disappear into the darkness, followed closely by twenty soldiers.

There was no firelight in the secret passage; only the occasional flashes of Gu array runes on the walls provided a faint illumination.

They groped their way forward along the wall for about fifteen minutes, when they could faintly hear human voices and the rustling of worms crawling ahead.

Fu Qing lowered his body and peered out from around the corner. The exit of the secret passage was in an abandoned Gu worm warehouse inside the village wall. Outside the warehouse was an open space, and further ahead was the village gate.

Once they break through the outer layer of guards at the warehouse, they can open the gates and unleash their army.

Fu Qing raised his left hand and made a few hand gestures to He Shan behind him, preparing for a surprise attack.

Helan Shan nodded and placed his hand on the hilt of the knife.

Just as Fu Qing was about to give the signal to attack, the four walls of the abandoned warehouse suddenly exploded simultaneously.

To be precise, it was smashed open from the outside. Amidst the flying bricks and stones, countless green Gu fires poured in from the breach in the wall, turning the entire warehouse a ghastly green.

Hundreds of Gu cultivators filed in through the breach, led by a gaunt man dressed in a black priest's robe.

He had been waiting for Fu Qing here for two whole days; this was a trap.

Shi Gu Lie had already laid this net when the Vanguard Battalion began operating in this area.

Fu Qing's heart tightened. He drew his sword and cleaved the two Gu cultivators closest to him to the ground, then roared at He Shan.

"Break through! Charge towards the gate!"

He Shan drew his sword and followed, with the remaining members of the anti-poison team close behind, rushing towards the village gate through the side door of the warehouse.

The Gu Master's chilling voice echoed through the warehouse as he unleashed tens of thousands of Gu worms to pursue Fu Qing.

Fu Qing fought and retreated, his cold iron blade slicing through the swarm of Gu worms, creating streaks of dark blue light. The [Blue Overlord's Robe] allowed his blood and qi to continuously recover, but the number of Gu worms was simply too great; every time he chopped down a batch, more would surge up.

His legs, back, and arms were constantly being bitten through by Gu worms. His blood had a restraining effect on the Gu worms; when the Gu worms touched his blood, they would emit white smoke, fall to the ground, and die. However, his blood was also constantly being lost.

Just when he was about to give up, a familiar shout came from the direction of the secret passage.

"Brother Fu, don't panic, I'm here!"

An Sheng's silver spear emerged from the darkness, piercing through the Gu cultivator blocking the warehouse entrance. He then led Zhao Laotie and Sun Bufan's elite troops out of the secret passage.

"We knew you'd been ambushed when we heard the explosion!"

An Sheng shot a Gu cultivator away with a single spear thrust and rushed to Fu Qing's side.

"The brothers who launched the feint attack from the front have already pressed forward, but the gates of the stronghold remain unopened, and the Gu formation runes are still in operation!"

"Let's rush out first!" Fu Qing cleaved back the swarm of Gu worms released by Shi Gu Lie with a single slash.

An Sheng and Zhao Laotie protected Fu Qing as they fought and retreated, finally managing to break out of the warehouse.

On the open ground inside the stockade wall, Liu Wentong was leading the main force of the vanguard battalion in a fierce battle with the defending troops. Arrows and Gu worms intertwined in the air, forming an impenetrable net of death.

The gate was less than a hundred paces ahead, but the Gu array runes on both sides of the gate were still in operation, and the gate could not be opened without destroying the runes.

Just as Fu Qing was about to order a concentrated assault on the gate, the ground suddenly trembled violently, and the soil in the center of the open space exploded...

A giant lion, comparable in size to a siege ram, emerged from the ground, its entire body covered in dark golden scales, and its mane not being hair but bone spurs burning with eerie green flames.

Its vertical pupils burned with eerie green flames, demonic flames that had been condensed over countless years of cultivation in the demon realm.

The giant lion shook off the dirt on its body, opened its mouth, and let out a deafening roar. Demonic energy, as if it were a tangible substance, poured out from its mouth. The soldiers at the forefront were hit head-on by the demonic energy and were sent flying and crashed into the stockade wall before they could even scream.

"Demon race!"

An Sheng exclaimed, "How could there be demons here!"

"And they're not just any ordinary demons..."

Liu Wentong, leaning on his knife, looked up at the giant lion shaking its mane, and the color drained from his face in an instant.

"It's a demon general-level demon beast—equivalent to a martial artist at the Qi Refining Realm."

More demon warriors swarmed out of the underground cave behind the giant lion—wolf demons, tiger demons, and snake demons, each armed with weapons, numbering at least several hundred.

They, along with the Yue Kingdom's Gu cultivators, formed a pincer movement, trapping the vanguard battalion in the middle.

The high priest's sinister laughter came from behind the swarm of Gu worms.

"People of Jingguo! You've fallen into their trap! My Yue Kingdom has reached an alliance with the Demon Emperor's Palace. From today onwards, Yue Kingdom and the Demon Clan will join forces to resist Jingguo. Your vanguard battalion will become the first sacrifices offered at the alliance's flag-raising ceremony."

Fu Qing squinted at the high priest and the lion monster, his heart sinking to the bottom.

In the blink of an eye, he gripped the hilt of his sword and made his decision.

A frontal breakout was impossible; the Yue Kingdom's Gu cultivators and demon warriors had completely blocked the entrance to the stronghold, and charging through would be tantamount to suicide.

The only way out was to tear a hole in the flank and slip out, using the terrain of Luoying Gorge to shake off the pursuers.

"An Sheng, you and Liu Wentong lead the main force to break through to the flank. I'll cover the rear!"

"Brother Fu, aren't you going alone..."

"This is a military order!"

Fu Qing glanced at him coldly.

"The vanguard battalion can't all die here... Don't worry, I have a trump card, they won't die!"

An Sheng gritted his teeth and nodded, leading the main force to charge to the flank. His silver spear pierced through a wolf demon blocking the way, with Zhao Laotie and Liu Wentong following closely behind, while Sun Bufan and Helan Shan provided cover on both flanks.

Fu Qing, wielding his cold iron saber, stood behind the main force, facing alone the giant lion and swarm of Gu worms charging towards them. He spat and smiled.

"Come on, you beasts!"

The giant lion looked down at the blood-soaked human warrior before it, a hint of contempt flashing in its vertical pupils.

It raised its front paw and slapped down, the demonic fire at the tip of its paw drawing several eerie green arcs in the air.

Fu Qing parried with his sword, his claws striking the blade with a dull thud, sending him sliding several feet backward.

The power of this palm strike far exceeded his expectations—the physique of the demon race is naturally stronger than that of the human race at the same level, and this giant lion's cultivation is at least equivalent to the third level of the Qi Refining Realm of a human martial artist!

However, combined with the brute force of the demon body itself, its actual combat strength is more than one level higher than that of a human at the third level of Qi.

He had used up all the plunder points he had accumulated on the battlefield in Yue to advance his cultivation progress, so he could no longer rely on the lottery to turn the tide. All he could rely on was the knife in his hand and the blood and qi in his body.

The giant lion gave him no chance to breathe, its massive body lunging forward, its front paws slapping repeatedly, the demonic fire at the tips of its claws scorching and distorting the surrounding air.

Fu Qing blocked several claws in succession, each claw causing his tiger's mouth to go numb.

His health was constantly recovering under the buff of [Blue Overlord], but the recovery speed was far from keeping up with the consumption - the giant lion's attacks were too dense, and each claw was powerful and heavy.

His [Exceptional Talent] is triggered when he is isolated and helpless, and his combat power begins to rise. His [Combat Thrill] increases continuously as his health is consumed.

However, the physical advantage of the demon race still made him completely suppressed in the head-on confrontation. His sword slashed at the giant lion's scales, sending sparks flying and leaving only shallow white marks. Every time the giant lion's claws struck his sword, it made his internal organs ache.

As the battle reached its climax, Fu Qing suddenly felt something breaking through the soil deep within his dantian. It wasn't a system boost, but rather the foundation of his cultivation that he had accumulated over the past few months of continuous fighting, injuries, and recovery on the southern battlefield. It was being solidified bit by bit under the giant lion's relentless heavy blows.

The bottleneck between the first and second levels of Qi was like a layer of solid ice, which began to crack under the scorching of demonic fire and the pounding of sharp claws.