260: Chapter 33: Devouring Soul_2 260: Chapter 33: Devouring Soul_2 Several young loose cultivators of the Human Race, flying on their swords, were casually conversing, their tone filled with much emotion.
The usually bold Ao Ying,
this time dared to let out only a wisp of Divine Thought.
However, after clearly seeing the aura of these Human cultivators, she often breathed a sigh of relief.
The strength of these Human cultivators was quite ordinary, three at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm, one who had just reached the Qi-controlling Realm, and their cultivation of the divine soul was also very average, completely failing to detect her “presence”.
To probe with Divine Thought for these few moments was the most agonizing for Ao Ying.
She was terrified that these young Sword Cultivators, who roamed in pairs, were the same as that black-clothed youth…
If that was truly the case,
the moment her Divine Thought emerged, it would probably be directly captured and then slain.
Fortunately, the heavens still seemed to “favor” her.
Ao Ying listened silently for a while, realizing something was amiss…
If she remembered correctly, this Li Lan Mountain region didn’t usually have such cultivators appearing, and for nearly a hundred miles around this area, it was a “forbidden zone” for both the Demon Country and Human Race, due to mutual fear and guard.
Even if someone entered this domain, they would do so in formation and in large numbers.
Then, recalling the encounter with that black-clothed youth from earlier,
Ao Ying faintly guessed the reason.
“Legend has it…
The Dachu Royal Family holds ‘Northern Hunts’ regularly, sending exceptional talents from the four realms to hunt geniuses of the Demon Domain,”
she murmured with furrowed brows, “Could it be that the guy I encounter earlier was one of the Human Race’s chosen talents?”
After taking a deep breath,
Ao Ying decided to make a very bold move.
Cautiously, she dissipated the secret realm’s array patterns and then released a thread of Demonic Qi.
“Hm?”
Indeed.
The passing loose cultivators were immediately attracted by this Demonic Qi.
“There’s a demon…
based on this aura, it’s very weak!
Should be only around the Foundation Establishment Realm!”
“Attack!”
“Don’t let it escape!”
The Qi Control Realm Sword Dao loose cultivator, being the first to sense the Demonic Qi, his eyes lit up, and without thinking twice, immediately controlled his sword to fly toward the Snow Mountain cave.
His companions hurried to follow suit.
Several streaks of sword light crashed into the dark caverns of the Snow Mountain.
A moment later,
this pitch-black and dim cavern in the Snow Mountain was illuminated by faint glowing fire, the ground covered with blood and remains.
Ao Ying sat in the pool of blood, expressionless, slowly reaching out to extract the heart of the Qi Control Sword Cultivator and put it into her mouth, chewing vigorously.
On her pale cheeks, a hint of color gradually began to appear.
For the Demon Race,
many injuries can be healed by “feasting”.
Humans use demon hearts for alchemy, drawing out Primordial Energy.
Similarly,
Demons eat the dantians of Human Cultivators to cultivate as well.
“Thankfully, the strongest among them was only in the Qi Control Realm…
the Sword Qi couldn’t even penetrate my dragon scales,”
Ao Ying murmured, “Otherwise, I might have really died here.”
Just now was her weakest moment.
The Demonic Qi she had released was intended to lure these Sword Cultivators into killing her.
She had already guessed that Lanshan Mountain was to be the hunting ground for this Northern Hunt.
It wouldn’t be long,
before others like that black-clothed youth would arrive.
Her concealed array patterns might fool some low-level cultivators, but definitely not such an existence.
Her current state was simply incapable of sustaining another battle.
She must find a way to “recover” as soon as possible.
“The Human Race’s Northern Hunt, unfortunately, comes at such a time…”
After eating the remnants of the three Human Cultivators, Ao Ying had somewhat recovered from her injuries, but was still in a severely weakened state.
A shadow flitted across her countenance.
It was unclear whether this was good or bad.
In the midst of the debris, there was still one Human Cultivator “alive”.
He was the weakest, with all four limbs broken by Ao Ying, cruelly fashioned into the shape of a human hog…
This was intentional, Ao Ying deliberately left this weakest cultivator for last to “eat”.
Before “eating” him,
she needed to recover some Primordial Energy to facilitate the Demon Race’s “Devouring Soul” technique.
“Please…
don’t kill me…”
The cultivator pleaded with the stunningly beautiful woman before him, sobbing uncontrollably, his Heart Lake near collapse.
He couldn’t imagine that his party would encounter such a situation!
Before the Northern Hunt, no one ever warned that there would be Great Demons “showing weakness to the enemy”, deliberately releasing a weak aura to lure Human Cultivators to their deaths…
And what realm was this Great Demon exactly?
Not even the Qi Control Realm could break through its skin defense!
Perfect Cave Heaven?
Half-step Yin God?
“…”
Ao Ying just coldly watched the person in front of her.
She extended her palm, pressing it onto the head of the Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
With a hum!
For a moment.
This head bled from all seven orifices.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator’s mouth gaped open, trying to let out a pain-filled howl, but the next moment, his entire head began to ooze fresh red bloodfire, igniting it completely.
Tens of breaths later, the snowy cave returned to tranquility.
The last Foundation Establishment cultivator, body and soul utterly extinguished.
“Northern Hunt…Jiageng…”
“Martial Sect…Qiantian Palace…”
Ao Ying sat cross-legged, quietly digesting the information in the cultivator’s mind.
Halfway through the digestion, her expression suddenly froze and turned ugly.
“Xie Zhen?”
A face flashed through the cultivator’s sea of consciousness.
That face.
It was the Human Race Sword Cultivator she had previously encountered at Resentful Ghost Ridge.
“Da Sui Sword Palace’s disciple, Xie Xuanyi?!”
Ao Ying’s face, which had finally regained a hint of color, faded again.
She was all too familiar with that name.
Da Sui Sword Palace’s Xie Xuanyi!
In the entire Demon Country, there was no one who did not know, no one who was not aware.
Not only was this name infamous within the Dachu Dynasty—
This was a complete murderer!
In those years, several Great Venerates of the Demon Country were slashed by Xie Xuanyi’s sword!
Almost every major power wished they could devour him alive.
It was said that a few Great Venerates even thought about taking action themselves, but this man’s cultivation speed was too fast, his killing power too strong…
Every time he battled with the venerates of the Demon Country, he ended the fight within a blink, never giving the opponent a chance to counterattack.
Later though, it was said that Xie Xuanyi died at the hands of “his own people” within the Dachu Dynasty.
The Great Venerates of the Demon Country breathed a sigh of relief.
Xie Xuanyi, such an evil genius.
Once promoted to Yang God, he would become a major threat to the core of the Demon Country!
However, nobody expected that he actually had taken on a disciple.
“No wonder he is so formidable.”
Ao Ying realized somewhat.
She spoke with a wary expression, “But, in these years, hasn’t the Human Race developed a bit too terrifyingly?”
This time, the Devouring Soul technique was very successful.
There was a lot of information in the sea of consciousness of this Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Before the Northern Hunt.
This group of people bought scrolls at Fangyuan Fang, studied them carefully, and now the “archives” of Fangyuan Fang were entirely plundered into Ao Ying’s mind.
“Qiantian Palace Saint, Jiangning’s Xie Sheng, Martial Sect’s Wu Yue, Taoist…”
The more she absorbed the information of the divine soul.
The uglier Ao Ying’s expression became.
“All of these people, are they monsters and geniuses on the same level as Xie Zhen?”
“The Dachu Dynasty has this many geniuses?!”
She felt tingling at the mere thought.
According to this Foundation Establishment cultivator’s sea of consciousness, in this Northern Hunt, every major power’s prodigy had strength comparable to “Xie Zhen”!
In other words.
There were several geniuses like Xie Zhen!
She couldn’t even imagine the scene of seven or eight Xie Zhens besieging her at the same time…
Could the Dachu Dynasty really have so many of such level of Perfect Cave Heaven Sword Cultivators?!
Was there even a point in fighting?
“What’s worse is that Chi Ling City is probably about to catch up to Li Lan Mountain.”
Ao Ying touched her brow, gritting her teeth and said, “Once Prince Jiu arrives, he will likely arouse the alertness of the Yin Gods on the Human Race’s side…
As things escalate, it’s possible that the Yang Gods from both sides will get involved.
Do I really have a way to survive?”
This last sentence.
Of course, was directed at “Feng Mou.”
However.
This Evil Eye would only “react” after absorbing the secret blood.
Such a question, naturally, would not be answered…
Ao Ying’s expression became extremely gloomy as she slowly stood up, her palm holding the skull scorched by bloodfire, which burst open with a loud pop!
“Since you led me here…
it means that this so-called ‘Ancient Saint Secret Realm’ does indeed exist.”
She stood slowly in the shadow behind the snowy cave, looking at the continuous mountain range.
“Is the Ancient Saint Secret Realm located within these Li Lan Mountains?”
…
…
(There will be another update tonight.)