Chapter Ninety-Five: Bloodstained

The deaths of over a dozen Demon-Suppressing Sect disciples seemed to evoke no feelings in their leader, the Pharmacist, who instead clapped in admiration.

“Impressive, impressive. Truly worthy of being one of the few peak masters preserved since a thousand years ago among the Twelve Peaks of Cangyun. This maneuver, ‘Turning the Palm to Control Heaven and Earth,’ has almost reached the peak. You must be just one step away from breaking through to ‘Transforming Extremes’ and reaching ‘Concealed Immortality,’ right?”

The pink-haired beauty remained expressionless, even refusing to stand from her stone chair.

“Is it necessary for me to tell you?”

The Pharmacist, undeterred by the curt reply, merely waved his hand, not looking back as he signaled the Demon-Suppressing Sect members.

“Implement the second plan.”

“Yes!”

As soon as he finished speaking, more than ten uniquely shaped demons suddenly leaped from the crowd, charging toward the stone pavilion!

“Hmph, small tricks. No matter how many come, it’s just… hmm?”

Just as she was about to manipulate the array in front of her, the Peach Blossom Saint suddenly furrowed her brow, looking up at the figures hovering above the spiritual spring.

Their bodies were emitting light and violently expanding!

“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!!!!!”

Before they even reached the stone pavilion, the demons burst open like living bombs filled with explosive substances, a surging shockwave and destructive force sweeping over them, enveloping the stone pavilion where the Peach Blossom Saint was!

“These beasts…”

Even with Ling Feng’s good temper, he couldn’t help but frown at the sight, instinctively clenching his fists, while Bai’er and Murong Yun exchanged worried glances.

Though Vilyric and Miss Xiao Kong remained relatively calm, their expressions weren’t particularly pleasant, after all, the actions of the opposing side were excessively brutal.

The Demon-Suppressing Sect members, led by the Pharmacist, were actually commanding the controlled demons to self-detonate their inner cores, launching attacks at the cost of their lives.

The so-called inner core was essentially the essence of a demon’s cultivation, precious yet fragile, much like a human heart or a magical beast’s core. The concentrated energy within could, if detonated, cause destruction several times greater than the demon’s original strength.

In simpler terms, it was like equipping each demon with a once-in-a-lifetime ‘Heavenly Palm.’

Like fleeting fireworks, this ultimate move would only be unleashed by demons as a last resort when they decided to bet their lives to protect or eliminate something.

Throughout history, there have been countless moving tales of demons in the Ancient Spirit Realm who self-detonated their inner cores to protect their partners or children, or to battle great foes for the sake of the living.

But the actions of the Demon-Suppressing Sect, commanding demons to self-destruct, felt like trampling over the noble legacy of those past demons, utterly despicable and devoid of any sense of decency, leaving a deep-seated revulsion in the hearts of onlookers.

“Sir, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

“…”

Yet, Ling Feng seemed hesitant, or perhaps she was considering and observing something and didn’t immediately respond to Bai’er’s rally.

Vilyric could roughly guess what was making her hesitate.

Their current position was the only exit from the Peach Blossom Peak’s summit platform. Aside from a handful of enemies stationed outside, the majority of the Demon-Suppressing Sect’s focus was on attacking the Peach Blossom Saint. If they could launch a sneak attack from behind and flank the enemy, they could achieve considerable results.

But the precondition was that the Peach Blossom Saint must indeed be able to defeat these enemies and that the situation had to be clearly defined.

Having developed to this stage, anyone with eyes could see that the enemies the Peach Blossom Saint faced… were not just the visible Demon-Suppressing Sect members.

Just like the Qilin in the Tidal Valley before, she clearly had strength that could easily crush most of the enemies before her, yet she still sat in that stone pavilion, seemingly unwilling to step out. This was rather odd.

The Peach Blossom Saint’s miraculous display, which countered the first wave of attacks, also indirectly reflected one issue.

It seemed she… couldn’t attack targets outside the spiritual spring’s range?

If not, she could directly use that maneuver to annihilate all enemies at once; why then was she just sitting in the pavilion waiting for the enemy to assault her?

The members of the Demon-Suppressing Sect weren’t fools. Since they dared to appear before the Peach Blossom Saint, they must have something backing them. Moreover, the fallen Peach Blossom Guardian had indeed mentioned things like “main forces were diverted” and “issues with the secret realm.”

Coupled with the mysterious Pharmacist’s presence, if they disregarded the factor of that certain Priestess, Ling Feng and the others would indeed be taking on considerable risk by showing themselves without the Peach Blossom Saint’s support.

The reason for considering the Priestess’s factor… was simple. If she had decided to stop watching and join the battle, she wouldn’t be asking for Ling Feng’s opinion.

Clearly, she wanted to see both sides’ true cards, not just the current displayed levels.

In just a moment, the members of the Demon-Suppressing Sect had launched three or four waves of suicide attacks. Although the shockwaves from the successive explosions were erased by the Peach Blossom Saint in a manner similar to spatial distortion without affecting the pavilion or its interior, they had managed to force her into a temporary stalemate, making even the onlookers aware that something was amiss.

“Everyone notice… the Peach Blossom Saint seems to be intentionally protecting that array disc. This doesn’t seem to be merely an attack method; it might also involve certain secrets of Peach Blossom Peak.”

Miss Xiao Kong nodded, softly picking up on Murong Yun’s deduction.

“Your vision is quite sharp; indeed, that’s the eye and core of the entire large formation at Peach Blossom Peak. Only through this item can Taomu interfere in real-time with the conditions of Peach Blossom Peak and the ‘Chaotic Secret Realm.’”

“Among the Twelve Peaks of Cangyun, only this Peach Blossom Peak is the actual key location concerning the safety of the grand secret realm, which is why it is personally guarded by the most powerful Taomu. But it seems Taomu is doing something remotely inside the Chaotic Secret Realm; otherwise, she wouldn’t be so restricted in every way.”

“But if it’s only at this level…”

Before the words finished, another change occurred inside the stone pavilion!

“Bang!!!!”

The ground within the pavilion suddenly erupted from below, a dark silhouette shooting out like lightning, directly stabbing at the Peach Blossom Saint!

“Hmph.”

With a light cold snort, the elegantly dressed lady curled her lips, seemingly dismissive of this attack.

As the array disc in her hand turned, she was about to ruthlessly strike down the attacker just like the previous enemies, but her beautiful eyes widened slightly, and she suddenly stopped in place as if realizing something.

“Whoosh!”

A sharp object sliced through her clothing, cutting through fabric and flesh, and pure, bright red blood gushed forth.

“Buzz~~!”

An overwhelming force erupted from the Peach Blossom Saint’s body, sending the attacker staggering back to the edge of the spiritual spring, yet he seemed to have sustained no injuries.

The figure was revealed clearly to everyone.

It was a tall figure draped in loose robes, but with the head of a large gray rat.

In his hand was a dagger emanating a strange luster, still stained with some blood and possessing a gaze filled with rich and complicated emotions, fixated firmly on the beauty in the center of the pavilion.

Huh? This rat demon…

Vilyric immediately noticed.

It resembled the ‘Nine-Patterned Earth Spirit Great Saint’ statue from the spiritual shrine at the foot of the mountain by at least seventy percent!

The next moment, Little Mole’s low exclamation followed.

“Digger King! It’s the Digger King!”

   

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