Chapter 50: The victory mound

In the blink of an eye, the Yinshan Five Ghosts were reduced to two dead, one crippled, and one severely injured.

This was something Qin Honglian simply could not accept.

The five brothers had roamed freely across The border between You and Ning; even the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance’s pursuit had failed to bring them down. Who would have thought they would fall today at the hands of a nobody!

Chen Yuan withdrew his killing intent origin, suppressing the boiling Blood Fiend Force.

Currently, he could only guarantee that using the Blood Fiend Force for up to thirty breaths would have no side effects; within a hundred breaths, he could still suppress it from going out of control.

Although the series of offensive changes just now were numerous, the actual time used was just over thirty breaths.

Even though it exceeded a few breaths, it had almost no impact on Chen Yuan.

His earlier estimate of thirty breaths now seemed conservative.

Given the strength of his Physical Body, he could likely last a bit longer in actual combat.

Chen Yuan looked at Qin Honglian and Han Gang, saying calmly, “I’ll return your earlier words: end yourselves now, and I’ll leave you with intact corpses.”

Han Gang roared, charging madly toward Chen Yuan with his burning life force, while shouting to Qin Honglian behind him, “Run! Run fast! Go back alive to Miaojiang!”

Qin Honglian’s eyes turned red; she seemed not to have expected Han Gang to risk his life to cover her escape.

After a moment’s hesitation, Qin Honglian gritted her teeth and turned to flee.

By now, Han Gang was at the end of his rope. His secret technique of burning life force was not Advanced; it burned too quickly and didn’t grant much power in return.

Even without using the Blood Fiend Force, Chen Yuan could match him in strength.

“Tsk tsk, I didn’t expect you, big guy, to be such a romantic.”

Chen Yuan could tell that Han Gang’s attitude toward Qin Honglian was clearly different.

It wasn’t the brotherly bond accumulated from roaming the Jianghu together, but deep affection.

Who knows what had happened between these two.

Of course, none of that mattered; when it came time to kill, Chen Yuan would still do it.

After a few moves, Han Gang’s life force was nearly exhausted. The burly man was now pale-faced and physically drained.

“If you die and she lives, she’ll suffer for the rest of her life.

Don’t worry, I’ll go kill her soon, so you can reunite down below.

I’m just a kind-hearted person; I can’t bear to see such separation between Yin and Yang, life and death.”

Chen Yuan sighed, feeling he was truly a good person.

The Yinshan Five Ghosts wanted to kill him, yet he was actively sending them to reunite.

What do you call this? A classic case of repaying evil with good.

However, Han Gang was provoked by Chen Yuan’s words, his eyes turning red as he roared and lunged at Chen Yuan.

A flash of blade light swept by, and Han Gang’s massive head instantly flew off.

But the corpse had little blood left to flow; it had almost all been burned away.

Chen Yuan moved swiftly, chasing straight after Qin Honglian.

Having promised to reunite them down below, Chen Yuan couldn’t go back on his word.

Qin Honglian was now frantically sprinting deeper into Demon Sealing Valley, her eyes red with both fear and heartache.

Back when Han Gang was severely injured in a bloody battle, it was she who saved him with Gu insects and invited him to join the Yinshan Five Ghosts.

She also knew that from that moment on, Han Gang had harbored a special affection for her.

However, Han Gang was clumsy with words and somewhat cowardly in matters of the heart, never speaking it aloud.

But in daily life, Han Gang only listened to her, not even heeding Old Daoist Qi’s words.

In battle, he shielded her; in cultivation, he helped her kill and refine Gu.

Qin Honglian knew all this, but having been hurt in love back in Miaojiang, she was unwilling to believe in feelings again in this lifetime.

So, she turned a blind eye to Han Gang’s efforts, even deliberately avoiding them.

Little did she expect that those unspoken words would never have a chance to be said in this life.

“You’re truly heartless. That fool was willing to die for you, and you just ran away?”

Qin Honglian turned to see Chen Yuan had already caught up.

As a Miaojiang Gu Master, she didn’t know light-foot techniques and had weak explosive power.

Chen Yuan had deep reserves of Internal Energy; relying solely on his physical explosive power, his speed far surpassed hers.

“If I died before him, he would truly die with eyes wide open!”

Qin Honglian pleaded while fleeing, “It wasn’t us who wanted to kill you; it was Iron Clad Gate’s Sect Leader Wei Guangming who wanted you dead!”

“I know Wei Guangming wants me dead, but that has nothing to do with me killing you,”

Chen Yuan said calmly. “In the Jianghu, there are only two outcomes: life and death.

From the moment you made your move, it became a fight to the death. Now you’re begging for mercy? That’s just too naive.”

This woman had initially commanded with composure, showing some steadiness.

But faced with death, she lacked Han Gang’s decisiveness, ultimately fearing death.

Qin Honglian let out an angry shout, suddenly slashing her forehead with her finger, causing blood to spill instantly.

A Golden Cicada then crawled out from the wound on her forehead, fluttering its wings and emitting a metallic screech like an arrow shooting straight at Chen Yuan.

After releasing the Golden Cicada, Qin Honglian’s face turned as pale as paper; the cicada consumed her heart’s blood.

Qin Honglian wasn’t actually afraid of death; she just didn’t want to die now.

The man in Miaojiang who had betrayed her wasn’t dead yet; she hadn’t taken revenge—how could she die like this?

Chen Yuan slashed at the Golden Cicada, producing a clanging explosion upon impact.

This thing was actually harder than most Mystic Weapons, able to withstand a strike from Azure Dragon Blood Drink.

“Hard indeed, but it feeds on your essence blood—how long can it last?”

Autumn Wind Slash descended, followed by a storm of blade shadows raining down.

The tiny Golden Cicada drifted amidst the blade shadows, constantly being slashed back and repelled, its power rapidly depleting.

Within a few breaths, the cicada couldn’t hold on, swiftly flying back to Qin Honglian’s brow to suck her heart’s blood again.

But before it could finish, Chen Yuan’s blade light fell, and Qin Honglian’s head instantly rolled to the ground.

Chen Yuan was quite interested in that Golden Cicada.

Miaojiang Gu Masters were also a significant profession in “Jianghu II”; although Chen Yuan hadn’t played one, he had a deep understanding of them.

Some powerful Gu insects could be controlled not only by Gu Masters but also by other Martial Artists who knew the methods.

Moreover, Gu insects were also priceless treasures, not inferior to Shenji Pavilion’s Hidden Weapons or Medicine King Valley’s Medicinal Pills.

The other Gu insects on Qin Honglian’s body seemed ordinary, but this Golden Cicada was a good find.

Chen Yuan first poked the Golden Cicada with his scabbard, but it didn’t move at all.

“Dead?”

Chen Yuan then tested it with his Internal Energy, sensing a faint vitality within.

This Golden Cicada fed on Qin Honglian’s heart’s blood; it was likely exhausted and had entered dormancy.

Chen Yuan wrapped his hands in True Qi, carefully picking up the Golden Cicada to examine it.

Miaojiang Gu insects were bizarre, unpredictable, and ever-changing. Even though the Golden Cicada was confirmed dormant, caution was still warranted.

The Golden Cicada was entirely gilded, with six wings, each as sharp as a blade. Its design was so exquisite it seemed less like a living creature and more like a crafted artifact.

The wings and the cicada’s abdomen were engraved with densely packed tiny incantation, so small they resembled carvings on rice grains. Even with Chen Yuan’s current Realm, they looked somewhat blurry.

Chen Yuan was now certain that this Golden Cicada was definitely not something an amateur Gu Master like Qin Honglian could have refined.

Her cultivation in the Gu Dao was quite average; how could she have refined a Gu insect of this level?

Even the way she controlled this Golden Cicada might not have been correct.

Chen Yuan searched Qin Honglian’s body, finding a small red leather pouch.

This type of pouch was used by Gu Masters to hold Gu insect larvae, isolating them from external influences to prevent harm. Almost every Gu Master had one.

Chen Yuan placed the Golden Cicada in the pouch and stored it away, planning to study it later.

Intuition told Chen Yuan this Gu insect was extraordinary; finding the right control method would make it a valuable asset.

At that moment, Chen Yuan sensed several auras watching from a distance.

He looked up, and those auras all actively scattered and retreated, indicating no ill intent.

These were other Martial Artists who had entered Demon Sealing Valley.

In Demon Sealing Valley, fights over Spirit Pills were common.

But at most, people would just have a skirmish; truly fighting to the death was rare.

Someone like Chen Yuan, who went all out to exterminate from the start, was uncommon even in past Demon Sealing Conferences.

Especially since he had killed four of the Yinshan Five Ghosts.

The Yinshan Five Ghosts were quite famous among Loose Cultivators across The border between You and Ning.

Each of the five had their own strengths; these four, when cooperating, had even killed a Lunhai Realm Martial Artist.

Who would have thought the Yinshan Five Ghosts would stumble at the Demon Sealing Conference, with four directly slaughtered?

Even if Old Daoist Qi survived, from now on, the title “Yinshan Five Ghosts” would no longer exist in the Jianghu.

Just then, Thirteen Lang Luo also walked over, dragging eleven heads.

Besides the eight from Iron Clad Gate, there were the heads of Han Gang and the other two.

Fighting one against eight, Thirteen Lang Luo wasn’t injured, but his Internal Energy was heavily depleted, leaving him looking fatigued.

The Martial Artists watching from afar were utterly stunned.

Not only had Chen Yuan taken out four of the Yinshan Five Ghosts, but Thirteen Lang Luo had nearly wiped out Iron Clad Gate’s group.

Since when had the Demon Sealing Conference become so dangerous?

These Martial Artists didn’t dare linger, turning and leaving immediately.

These two god-like killers were not to be trifled with.

“Why did you bring all these heads?”

Chen Yuan was somewhat surprised.

He hadn’t heard that Thirteen Lang Luo had such a hobby.

“To build a victory mound,”

Thirteen Lang Luo stacked the heads, building a very mini, miniature victory mound.

“My Adoptive Father said that when dealing with sworn enemies, you must make them fear, make them afraid.

Iron Clad Gate’s Iron Turtles keep causing trouble every now and then. There are still many Iron Clad Gate Disciples here; let’s build a victory mound to warn them.”

“You really listen to your Adoptive Father.”

Chen Yuan grinned.

Thirteen Lang Luo bringing battlefield practices here was truly a bit abnormal.

Whether Iron Clad Gate’s people would be scared was uncertain, but the Jianghu People attending the Demon Sealing Conference would definitely be frightened.

“Brother Chen, where to now?”

Chen Yuan pointed to the deepest part of Demon Sealing Valley, saying, “The outer Formation hasn’t opened yet, so we keep going inward.”

The two continued forward, with other Martial Artists also advancing deeper into Demon Sealing Valley along the way.

Some Martial Artists who had attended past Demon Sealing Conferences felt something was off.

Previously, the main purpose of the Demon Sealing Conference was to suppress Devilish Qi outbreaks. They would kill Corpse Monsters here, while the Three Demon Clans repaired and reinforced the suppression from outside, re-sealing the Devilish Qi.

But this time, they had been killing Corpse Monsters for a long while, even nearly clearing the area of them. Why hadn’t the Three Demon Clans repaired the Formation yet?

The further they went, the narrower the path became.

Other Martial Artists also appeared, but they instinctively kept their distance from Chen Yuan and Luo Lie.

This wasn’t isolation, but fear.

These two had gone on a killing spree at the Demon Sealing Conference, even building a victory mound. Who wouldn’t be afraid?

After walking the narrow path for a quarter of an hour, the mist ahead thinned but grew darker, with Devilish Qi so dense it seemed impossible to disperse.

Before them appeared a forest full of withered trees.

These trees were entirely black, their texture not even resembling wood but rather dried flesh and blood.

In front of the forest stood a stone stele, inscribed with a line of large golden characters.

‘San Jue Venerable, Demon Sealed Here!’