Chapter 79: The Sect Master Has a Problem

The fires of war and clamor of Qingshi Mountain gradually faded into the distance behind him, and billowing dark smoke obscured half the sky, proclaiming that the Xiao Family, with its centuries-old Legacy, had completely been reduced to the dust of history.

Chu Chang, dressed in a grey robe and wearing a bamboo hat, sped along a wilderness path like an ordinary traveling Loose Cultivator.

Having just broken through to the Purple Mansion Realm, the Chaos True Essence within his body surged endlessly like a great river.

Every breath he took could trigger the resonance of the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

Although he had forcibly seized the blood sacrifice energy of the Xiao Family, after the conversion of the "Taiyin-Taiyang Chaos Physique", his Foundation was incomparably solid, without a shred of floating Qi.

"Now that this matter is settled, once I return to the Sect to hand over the mission, I can rightfully leave the Divine Sword Sect and head deep into the Great Yuan Dynasty." Chu Chang calculated in his heart.

The attitude of the Divine Sword Sect had completely disappointed him. Now that he had attained the Purple Mansion, this tiny Sect could hardly provide him with much protection and resources anymore.

However, just as he crossed a forest of chaotic rocks and reached a valley mouth a mere fifty miles from the Divine Sword Sect mountain gate, his footsteps abruptly paused.

The wind in the valley suddenly froze at this instant.

A faint yet heavy-as-a-thousand-jun sense of oppression slowly spread from the shadows ahead.

Chu Chang raised his head, his eyes beneath the bamboo hat slightly narrowing.

He saw that atop a boulder ahead, a middle-aged man wearing a purple-gold Taoist robe had appeared at some unknown time. With his hands behind his back, a refined yet majestic countenance, and eyes as deep as the sea, he was quietly looking at Chu Chang.

Divine Sword Sect Leader, Sect Master Lin Wuwen!

Chu Chang's heart gave a slight jolt, but his face quickly returned to calmness as he cupped his fists in salute and said, "Disciple Chu Chang greets the Sect Master. I wonder why the Sect Master is here and what orders you have?"

Sect Master Lin Wuwen drifted down from the boulder, his lapels unstained by a speck of dust.

He looked at Chu Chang with a gentle smile on his face, though that smile did not reach his eyes: "Chu Chang, this seat has heard that you recently caused quite a stir at the foot of the mountain. How did you handle the affairs of the Xiao Family?"

Chu Chang's thoughts turned like lightning, and he replied in a deep voice, "Reporting to the Sect Master, the Xiao Family colluded with the Demonic Path, and the evidence is conclusive. Today, various major families of Qingzhou and countless Loose Cultivators besieged Qingshi Mountain, and the Xiao Family stubbornly resisted. When this Disciple arrived at the back mountain, Xiao Wanshan, Head of the Xiao Family, and Xiao He were putting up a stubborn resistance, and both had already fallen into the Demonic Path. Now, Xiao Wanshan died in the melee, and Xiao He was also backlashed by a Demonic Technique, turning to ashes. The Xiao Family has been completely annihilated."

Chu Chang concealed the fact that he had forcefully seized the blood essence and broken through to the Purple Mansion, presenting himself as a mere bystander who happened to encounter the event.

"Oh? Xiao He is dead, and the Xiao Family is also destroyed…" Sect Master Lin Wuwen sighed softly, his tone carrying a trace of inexplicable meaning, "What a pity. The Xiao Family's centuries of accumulation were just handed over so cheaply to that group of greedy Loose Cultivators."

"With the Sect's grand righteousness before us, righteousness prevails over evil. The Xiao Family brought destruction upon themselves and can blame no one else," Chu Chang said calmly. "If the Sect Master has no other instructions, this Disciple will return to the inner gate to hand over the mission first."

Having said that, Chu Chang slightly turned his body, about to walk past Sect Master Lin Wuwen.

The moment they crossed paths, the gentle smile on Sect Master Lin Wuwen's face instantly vanished, replaced by an extreme coldness and greed.

"Leaving? You ruined this seat's grand plan, where else do you want to go?"

Boom!

Without any warning, Sect Master Lin Wuwen ruthlessly struck.

His fair palm instantly turned pitch black, his five fingers forming claws, carrying a thick, viscous blood Qi that was almost inseparable, fiercely grabbing toward the back of Chu Chang's head!

The intensity of that blood Qi even transformed into countless painfully roaring faces of wronged souls in mid-air.

The cold, tyrannical, and bloody aura came flooding over the heavens and earth, incomparably more powerful than the Demonic Technique unleashed by Xiao He in the blood pool!

This was definitely not the orthodox profound Cultivation Technique of the Divine Sword Sect, but the purest, top-tier Demonic Path blood cultivation method!

"What?!"

Although Chu Chang had always maintained vigilance, Sect Master Lin Wuwen's sudden attack still gave him a shock.

What shocked him even more was the attribute of this power erupting from Sect Master Lin Wuwen's body.

"Pure Yang Protection!"

Having no time to think further, the True Essence within Chu Chang's body violently erupted, and a dark golden sun instantly expanded behind him.

Bang!

Sect Master Lin Wuwen's blood-colored ghost claws fiercely slapped against the dark golden sun, producing a piercing friction sound.

The golden Pure Yang fire and the black-red blood Qi frantically intertwined and melted away, bursting forth with destructive fluctuations.

The tyrannical force rebounded, and Chu Chang used the momentum to violently retreat a hundred feet, landing steadily on the ground.

Although he was not injured, that indestructible layer of Pure Yang True Essence in front of him had actually been corroded by that vicious blood Qi, producing spiderweb-like cracks.

Chu Chang raised his head, staring fixedly at Sect Master Lin Wuwen, his eyes filled with disbelief: "Sect Master Lin Wuwen… You, you are actually a member of the Blood Fiend Sect?!"

The dignified Sect Master of the Righteous Path's grand Sect, the Divine Sword Sect, and a renowned swordsmanship master in Qingzhou was actually a deeply hidden Demonic Path overlord!

No wonder the higher-ups of the Divine Sword Sect covered up Xiao He's affairs in every possible way, and no wonder they tried every means to suppress the dungeon matter!

It was not for the sake of the big picture at all, but because the true mastermind behind the scenes was this very ruler of the Divine Sword Sect!

"Hahahahaha!"

Sect Master Lin Wuwen laughed wildly, his originally refined face looking ferocious and distorted under the reflection of the blood light: "So what if I am? If it weren't for you, this obstructive little beast, meddling and ruining the Xiao Family's grand play, this seat would have long used the energy of the Xiao Family's blood sacrifice to break through to the Late Stage of the Purple Mansion Realm and completely control the Divine Sword Sect!"

"The Xiao Family is merely a dog kept by this seat. Xiao He is also just a chess piece of mine."

Sect Master Lin Wuwen sneered viciously, "You little beast, not only did you ruin my good deed, but you even dared to secretly break through to the Purple Mansion? This seat was originally wondering where the blood essence accumulated in the blood pool for several years had gone. It turns out it was swallowed by you, a mongrel with a special Physique!"

Greed surged greatly in Sect Master Lin Wuwen's eyes: "Good, very good! Your Physical Body and cultivation are simply the best tonic for this seat! After killing you, I can still break through!"

"Obstructive brat, go die!"

Sect Master Lin Wuwen formed hand seals, and the blood light behind him soared into the sky, transforming into a heaven-covering blood-colored canopy that completely sealed off the entire valley.

Facing a long-famed Middle Stage Purple Mansion Realm demonic Cultivator, Chu Chang did not hesitate at all, immediately making the most sensible choice: run!

He had just broken through to the Early Stage of the Purple Mansion Realm. Although his Foundation was strong, the opponent not only had a higher Realm, but as a Sect Master, he also had countless trump cards. Before figuring out the opponent's true strength, fighting head-on was a foolish choice.

Swish!

Golden light flickered under Chu Chang's feet, and his entire body turned into a golden rainbow, directly tearing through the edge of the blood-colored canopy and fleeing out of the valley.

"Want to leave? In front of this seat, can you leave?!"

Sect Master Lin Wuwen gave a cold snort, his sleeves fiercely waving.

"Roar!"

Three heaven-shaking roars suddenly came from the cliffs on both sides of the valley.

Immediately afterwards, three tall, ferocious figures descended from the sky, slamming heavily onto the inevitable path of Chu Chang's escape, smashing three deep pits into the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amidst flying gravel, three extremely terrifying, tyrannical auras that were no less than those of a Purple Mansion Realm Cultivator swept outward.

Chu Chang was forced to drop his escaping light, looking at the three huge objects before him with a solemn expression.

Those were three terrifying Puppets that stood two zhang tall, their entire bodies covered in dark red horny skin.

Their facial features had been forcibly stripped away, replaced by metal masks, with blood-red flames burning in their eyes.

What was even more bizarre was that embedded in their chests was a violently beating blood-red demonic heart, constantly delivering viscous black blood to their entire bodies.

"Blood Fiend Demonic Puppets!"

Chu Chang recognized this thing. This was an extremely vicious corpse-refining technique of the Blood Fiend Sect, which required draining the Divine Souls of living Purple Mansion Realm Cultivators while they were still alive, infusing them with demonic blood, and torturing them through forty-nine days before they could be successfully refined.

Each of these three demonic Puppets possessed the Physical Body strength of an Early Stage Purple Mansion Realm Cultivator in their lifetime, and they knew no pain, being fierce and unafraid of death!

The moment the three demonic Puppets landed, they locked tightly onto Chu Chang, emitting beast-like low roars from their mouths as they pounced forward like lightning.

"Brat, obediently become the nourishment of this seat!"

Behind him, Sect Master Lin Wuwen approached like strolling leisurely in a courtyard, carrying a cruel smile.

With formidable demonic Puppets blocking the way ahead and the unfathomable demonized Sect Master approaching from behind, Chu Chang, who had just broken through to the Purple Mansion, instantly plunged into an unprecedented life-and-death crisis.

Within the valley, a violent wind howled, stirring up flying sand and rolling stones all over the sky.

The three Blood Fiend Demonic Puppets stood in a triangular formation, their massive bodies radiating a suffocating sense of oppression.

The blood-red demonic hearts in their chests beat rhythmically, emitting a dull, thunder-like "thump-thump" sound.

Every beat delivered rich demonic blood into the Meridians throughout their bodies, causing the dark red horny skin on their surfaces to flash with an eerie luster.

"Roar!"

Accompanied by a tyrannical roar, the demonic Puppet on the far left launched an attack first.

At this instant, its massive body displayed a terrifying speed completely disproportionate to its size, pulling a blurry blood-colored afterimage through the air.

In just the blink of an eye, it had closed in before Chu Chang. A millstone-sized pitch-black iron fist, carrying a piercing sonic boom, smashed fiercely toward Chu Chang's head.

Before the fist wind arrived, that violent gale had already pressed the ground beneath Chu Chang's feet into cracking apart.

Chu Chang's gaze congealed, and the Purple Mansion True Essence he had just condensed within his body violently erupted like a breached great river. He did not choose to temporarily avoid the sharp edge, but instead punched out with a fist of his own.

"True Sun Fist!"

The dark golden Pure Yang True Essence condensed on the edge of his fist, transforming into a miniature, dazzling blazing sun.

That utmost-yang and utmost-rigid power violently collided in the void with the eerie blood Qi on the demonic Puppet's fist.

Boom!

A loud roar exploded in the valley like spring thunder, and a substantive wave of Qi swept outward in a ring, shattering the boulders dozens of zhang high all around into pieces.

Chu Chang only felt a huge force surging wildly along his arm, shaking the Qi and blood inside his body into a tumult.

The degree of sturdiness of that demonic Puppet's Physical Body was actually even more terrifying than he had imagined; this simple punch had a strength of at least hundreds of thousands of catties!

Step, step, step!

Chu Chang retreated three steps in a row, each step leaving a footprint several inches deep on the hard rocky ground.

As for that demonic Puppet, it was merely shaken back by half a step, its figure swaying slightly before regaining its center of gravity once again.

Before Chu Chang could catch his breath, the other two demonic Puppets had already flanked him from the left and right sides.

The demonic Puppet on the right slightly curved its ten fingers, and its ten sharp claws gleaming with dim green toxic light were like ten steel sabers, drawing out a piercing screech in the air and stabbing straight toward Chu Chang's ribs!

As for the strongest demonic Puppet in the middle, it opened its mouth and spewed out an extremely thick blood-colored mist. As soon as this mist appeared, it emitted a pungent, corrosive odor, eroding the surrounding air with a sizzling sound and enveloping Chu Chang head-on.

"Taiyin Protection!"

Plunged in a desperate situation, Chu Chang's expression was calm and composed.

His hands traced a profound trajectory in front of him, and the Taiyin True Power within his body instantly surged out, transforming into a layer of white light screen around his body that was as bright as moonlight yet bone-chillingly cold.

Hiss, hiss, hiss!

That highly corrosive blood mist collided with the Taiyin light screen and was instantly frozen by the ultra-cold Taiyin Qi, transforming into patches of black-red ice chips that drifted down.

However, the sharp claws of the demonic Puppet on the right also fiercely grabbed onto the light screen at the same time.

Crack!

A piercing shattering sound rang out. After supporting itself for a moment, the Taiyin light screen ultimately failed to completely withstand the tyrannical strike possessing the Purple Mansion stage Physical Body strength, and it shattered with a loud crash.

The dim green sharp claws did not lose momentum, brushing across Chu Chang's chest and instantly tearing apart the grey robe on his body, leaving five bloody scars deep enough to see the bone.

Bizarrely, no fresh blood flowed from the wounds. Instead, they were instantly enveloped by a layer of pale green poisonous Qi, and the flesh began to blacken and fester at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Chu Chang let out a muffled grunt, his figure flying backward with the help of the rebound force. Doing a flip in the air, he landed rather disheveled a hundred feet away.

"Hahaha! How does the taste of this seat's Blood Fiend Demonic Puppets feel?"