Chương 35: Shadow of the Demon

Reyn opened his eyes, feigning a sharp, instinctive alertness that quickly softened into a weary relief upon seeing Wu Shengli. He forced a bitter, haggard smile onto his face, looking every bit the part of a spent warrior.

"I truly believed my methods would be enough to slip away from those two golems," Reyn rasped, his voice brittle and thin.

"I did not expect to be brought to such a wretched state. Though I managed to fell them, my Qi is nearly exhausted—eight or nine parts out of ten are gone. With these injuries added to the drain, I fear I cannot continue this journey with the rest of you. My reserves are dry; once I have meditated for a time to stabilize my wounds, I should be fine. There is no need to trouble you, Brother Wu." Reyn slumped slightly against the cold stone, his face pale and etched with fatigue.

Every word he spoke seemed to drain the last dregs of his remaining strength.

"Is that so?" Wu Shengli replied. A predatory, mocking smirk curled his lips, and his eyes, previously calm, were suddenly flooded with a dense, suffocating killing intent.

"In that case, let me do you a final favor and send you to hell ahead of schedule."

"What is the meaning of this, Daoist Wu?" Reyn demanded. His face contorted with a mixture of shock and fury, his voice rising into a low, guttural growl. Wu Shengli's gaze grew feverish, his excitement palpable as he stepped closer.

"Perhaps you don't recall, but we crossed paths long before this expedition to the ancient abode. At the exchange meet, I traded a tattered scroll to Daoist Shu Yun in exchange for a batch of pills." He paused, savoring the memory of the transaction.

"Those pills were truly extraordinary. It was precisely through their medicinal power that I finally broke through my bottleneck to reach the 8th level of Qi Condensation. So today, as a token of my 'gratitude,' why don't you hand over your storage bag for me to keep safe?"

"You... you're in league with Chu Dian!" Reyn stammered, his eyes wide with feigned terror.

"What is this place? What kind of conspiracy are you weaving? Why lead us here?" Internally, Reyn sneered. This 'Ming Yue' and Chu Dian had indeed been plotting from the very beginning. The 'ancient cultivator's abode' they had spoken of was likely nothing more than a convenient lie to lure them in. However, on the surface, his performance remained flawless—the image of a cornered prey. Seeing Reyn as a helpless lamb led to the slaughter, Wu Shengli could not help but gloat.

"Hahaha! Since you are about to die—and since I intend to extract your soul and refine your spirit so you'll never know the peace of reincarnation—I suppose there's no harm in enlightening you. It would be a shame for you to die in ignorance." He leaned in, his voice dropping to a reverent, obsessed whisper.

"Three years ago, Chu Dian and I were nothing but insignificant True Inheritance Disciples within the sect. Our spirit roots were of poor quality; we were destined to rot at the third or fourth level of Qi Condensation for the rest of our lives. But we refused to accept that fate. We ventured out for 'experience.' Who cares about the lives of two overlooked disciples? It was during that year, amidst a brush with death, that we stumbled into this cave and met the Master."

A look of pure, fanatical adoration crossed Wu Shengli's face.

"Master is perfect. Master is invincible. Under his guidance, we achieved the power we hold today. For three years, we have used the treasures Master bestowed upon us to lure cultivators into this place. Their deaths and their struggles serve to weaken the restrictive seals. Now, the seal is at its breaking point. Soon, it will be time for Master to shatter these shackles and descend upon the world once more." Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Now that you know so much, are you ready to die?" Wu Shengli's patience evaporated. Without another word of warning, he channeled his Qi into his palm and struck down toward Reyn's skull with lethal, bone-crushing force.

"Indeed," Reyn's voice suddenly rang out, cold and clear, devoid of any weakness.

"Now that I know so much, you can finally die in peace." A brilliant, blinding light erupted from Reyn's eyes. A titanic spiritual pressure surged from his body like a released flood, manifesting as a frigid killing intent that locked onto Wu Shengli like an iron vice.

"You... you aren't injured! You lied to me!" Wu gasped, his face draining of all color. Under the crushing weight of Reyn's aura, he felt as though the Qi in his meridians was being flash-frozen.

"Master, save me!" In the face of certain death, Wu Shengli shrieked in desperation. Suddenly, a strange ripple distorted the air. An overwhelming sense of impending doom washed over Reyn, followed immediately by a sharp, stabbing pain deep within his mind. A Divine Sense attack! Reyn's heart hammered against his ribs. Before he could even react to the mental assault, the mysterious Golden Seal—which had remained dormant within his consciousness—erupted with a faint, majestic golden radiance.

A muffled, pained groan echoed in Reyn's ears from an unseen source, and his mind instantly cleared of the fog. That was close! The Divine Sense strike hadn't been exceptionally powerful, but it had been enough to paralyze Reyn's will to resist. Had the Golden Seal not intervened, he would have been a corpse. He didn't have time to ponder the mystery of his Master's identity.

His eyes locked onto the dazed Wu Shengli, who seemed unable to comprehend how Reyn had survived a strike from his 'invincible' Master—a strike that had easily snuffed out the lives of Foundation Establishment experts in the past.

"Earth-Shaking Finger!" Consumed by a cold, incandescent rage at nearly being killed, Reyn unleashed his most devastating technique. He needed to end this immediately before another variable appeared. As he struck, the Qi within Reyn's body surged like a tidal wave, spiraling through the meridians in his arm with violent velocity. Under the force of this rotation, a massive finger composed of pure, condensed spiritual energy manifested in the air.

It radiated a bone-chilling pressure as it descended toward Wu Shengli.

"Run!" The word barely left Wu Shengli's lips. Sensing the apocalyptic power of the Earth-Shaking Finger, his courage shattered. He spat out a mouthful of essence blood, activating a forbidden movement technique that boosted his speed several times over. He became a blur, desperate to escape the blast zone. Reyn watched with a cold, thin smile. Though his face was slightly pale from the exertion, his Qi remained abundant.

The Earth-Shaking Finger was a massive drain, but with his 15th level of Qi Condensation, he could handle the cost. He wasn't worried about Wu's flight.

"Do you really think you can escape?" As if answering his low whisper, the spiritual finger began to exert a strange, gravitational suction, pulling in the surrounding environmental Qi. Its power swelled, and its speed accelerated, closing the gap in an instant.

"I can't outrun it!" Horror filled Wu Shengli. Even with his secret art, which made him as fast as a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, the shadow of death was catching up. He was a decisive man; knowing flight was futile, he whirled around. If he didn't face it now, the finger would only grow stronger until he was utterly erased.

"Moon-Extinguishing Demon Art!" Wu bellowed. His handsome features twisted into a grotesque mask of agony. The sound of snapping bones and rupturing muscle echoed through the cavern.

"Roar!" A bestial howl tore from his throat. Before Reyn's startled eyes, Wu's skin erupted with dense, obsidian scales. Jagged bone spikes thrust out from his spine, elbows, and knees. His aura exploded, skyrocketing until it touched the threshold of the Foundation Establishment realm. When the transformation ceased, a nightmare stood in Wu's place: a demon clad in black scales, bristling with bone spurs, its face a fanged, blue-skinned horror.