nyslfriends Chapter 23 Damn it, I almost became a pawn in someone else's scheme.
Chapter 23 Damn it, I almost became a pawn in someone else's scheme.
Xu Changqing watched quietly as everything happened to Jia Jue, the mocking smile on his face gradually fading, his eyes becoming calm.
"Oh dear, you've transformed." He said calmly, "It seems that I, Daoist Master, am in for a rough time today."
He abruptly changed the subject, turning his gaze to Jia Jue, his voice clear and cold.
"But... were you just summoning the Black Wind?"
He pointed to the enormous sphere in the pit, slowly rotating and devouring the flesh and blood of countless demons, and the dragon of evil energy in the air that was drawing life from the ruins.
"Unfortunately, Fellow Daoist Black Wind was not blessed enough. I have already helped him transcend the mortal world and ascended to paradise. His flesh, blood, and spirit are mostly there."
Xu Changqing paused, then slowly continued, meeting Jia Jue's increasingly ferocious and furious vertical pupils.
"When I first heard Old Man Huang say that Black Wind was practicing the Golden Pool Devouring Technique, I was quite surprised. I thought that Black Bear Spirit was truly blessed by Heaven, able to obtain the true scripture in a dream and advance by leaps and bounds, almost reaching the Foundation Establishment stage."
"As a result, under the influence of the Lotus Blossom Incense, that fellow's illusions were full of flaws, his foundation was weak, and he did not resemble someone who had attained enlightenment at all. At that time, I knew..."
Xu Changqing's gaze was sharp as a sword as he continued.
"That fellow was probably kept by someone. He was kept in this Black Wind Mountain, fed blood, and taught quick-fix evil techniques, and fattened up until he was strong and healthy. They were just waiting for the right time to kill him and harvest all his cultivation, blood, and soul to refine into great medicine."
He glanced at Jia Jue's inhuman form and the ape-like features faintly emerging on Yuan Hong's body, then let out a soft breath, a sound that was both a sigh and a mockery.
"Now it seems I wasn't wrong. That black bear spirit really was domesticated."
Before Xu Changqing could finish speaking, a ferocious smile appeared on Jia Jue's face, which was covered in black scales.
"You guessed right." His hoarse voice echoed through the ruins, carrying the smugness of a victorious prey. "Black Wind is indeed one of the pawns that our Jia family has placed in these eight hundred miles of Black Wind Mountain."
He moved his newly grown scales and claws, his bones making a crisp "crack" sound, his vertical pupils fixed on Xu Changqing.
"That stupid bear was just a wild demon who stole honey in the mountains three years ago. My Jia family passed down the 'Golden Pool Human-Swallowing Technique' to him and secretly sent him two batches of 'blood food'."
As Jia Jue spoke, he slowly walked towards the rotating ball of flesh and blood in the pit, as if he regarded it as his trophy.
"He did live up to our expectations. In three years, he broke through from the mid-stage of Qi Refining to the perfect stage, touching the threshold of Foundation Establishment. It was even faster than we anticipated."
Upon hearing this, Xu Changqing understood. No wonder the Black Wind King's foundation was weak and his soul scattered. This kind of quick-fix method was no different from drinking poison to quench thirst. Once he was fattened up, it would be the best time to kill him and reap all his cultivation.
"But this guy must have won the battle," Xu Changqing interjected, his gaze sweeping over the devastated ruins. "He stood out among the Gu you raised. And since you were planning to attack Qinghe County, you weren't in a hurry to reap the rewards. So you showed up ahead of time to contact him, ostensibly to discuss important matters, but in reality, you squeezed the last bit of value out of this stupid bear, making him gather an army to be cannon fodder for your attack on the city."
"clever."
Yuan Hong had also stood up by this time, and the fishy smell around him became even stronger. The bluish-gray hair on his neck and arms had grown thicker, his eye sockets were sunken, and his face now resembled seven parts ape and three parts human.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his voice becoming rough: "That idiot Hei Feng, he never knew until his death that the demons he gathered were originally 'rations' prepared for us."
"Once we conquer Qinghe County, we will only need to use a few tricks to wipe out this rabble, refine their flesh and souls into a great medicine, and harvest their cultivation foundation to replenish ourselves."
As Yuan Hong spoke, he grinned, revealing sharp teeth, and a hint of amusement appeared in his eyes as he looked at Xu Changqing.
"Master Xuming, although we are now missing the crucial element of attacking the city and cannot test the court's strength, there's no rush. We can find someone else. However, you have done us a great favor by quelling this internal strife ahead of time, saving us a lot of trouble."
Xu Changqing remained silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled softly. The laughter was faint, yet it caused Yuan Hong and Jia Jue to frown simultaneously.
"I see," Xu Changqing said. "I thought I had ruined your plans. Now it seems I was naive."
He paused, his gaze falling on the spinning ball of flesh and blood, then on the dragon of evil energy in the air that was still drawing life force from it.
"The flesh and soul of Black Wind have already been refined into the prototype of a great elixir in this 'Feast of Slaughter' of mine. The flesh and souls of hundreds of demons in the cave have also been gathered here. In addition,"
His gaze swept over the few remaining people in the pit, the illusory and terrifying power of his illusory destiny energy constantly stirring their emotions.
"Blood Sword, Blood Monk, Jade Fairy, Centipede Boy, Old Man Huang, Painted Skin Lady... If you were to refine all of these experts in the mid-to-late stages of Qi Refining, it would probably be enough for the two of you to break through the Foundation Establishment barrier."
Jia Jue's vertical pupils suddenly contracted.
What Xu Changqing said was exactly what they had originally planned.
The Blood Apricot Feast at Black Wind Mountain, ostensibly a gathering of forces to attack the city, was in reality a scheme orchestrated by the Jia and Yuan families. Using Black Wind as bait, they lured all the demons and evil cultivators from the eight hundred miles of mountains and wilderness to one place. First, they attacked Qinghe County to test the court's strength; when the time was right, they would capture them all, refine them, and help them break through their bottlenecks. Afterwards, they could receive rewards from the court—a triple win.
No one expected that the Abbot of Qingyang Temple would suddenly appear out of nowhere.
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the people in the pit changed drastically. The Blood Monk's pupils constricted, the Jade Fairy had already quietly taken half a step back, and the centipede boy's insect armor stood on end.
Xu Changqing secretly activated his Void Destiny Qi, silently amplifying his surprise and fear. Almost simultaneously, the group turned their weapons toward Jia Jue and Yuan Hong, quickly distancing themselves and becoming alert and wary. The atmosphere was tense, like a fully drawn bowstring.
"【Blood Sea Ascension Dragon Demon Scripture】·【Devouring Essence】".
Seeing this, Jia Jue knew his scheme had been exposed, so he stopped trying to hide it. His demonic energy surged, and with a ferocious roar, his right arm suddenly expanded into a dragon claw, with dark blood light emanating from his fingertips. He turned around and pierced Liu Canyang's back.
"Pfft." A sharp claw pierced through his back, its five fingers digging deep into his bone.
Caught off guard, Liu Canyang's pupils dilated suddenly, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.
"Jia Jue...you..."
His hoarse voice was filled with unbelievable rage, and the cracked longsword in his hand instinctively slashed towards Jia Jue's neck.
"clang!"
The sword blade struck the black scales, sending sparks flying, but leaving only a white mark.
Jia Jue grinned maliciously, and at the same time, his left arm shot out, stabbing Liu Canyang in the abdomen with another claw.
"Fellow Daoist Blood Sword, your bloodthirsty sword aura, which is capable of killing one's own family and friends, has been refined over the years. It smells amazing. I've been envious for a long time."
Before he finished speaking, several strange, jet-black arms with bulging muscles suddenly appeared around his body. These arms coiled around him like pythons, tightly locking Liu Canyang's limbs, neck, and waist, fixing him firmly in front of Jia Jue.
"Yuan Hong, what are you waiting for? Make your move!"
With a sharp shout, thick, ink-like black energy suddenly surged from the gaps in the black scales around Jia Jue's body, rushing wildly into the claws that had pierced into Liu Canyang's body.
Liu Canyang's body convulsed violently, and the veins on his face bulged and quickly turned dark purple. His essence, sword energy, and soul were frantically devoured and drawn away by the black energy, and his whole body withered away at a visible speed.
"die!"
Liu Canyang let out a final, unwilling roar, his eyes blazing with bloodlust as he prepared to detonate his natal sword pellet and perish together with Jia Jue.
But Jia Jue was prepared. Several demonic energy energies tightened their arms, forcefully suppressing and crushing the rampaging sword energy within Liu Canyang's body. At the same time, black energy surged into his dantian, layer by layer enveloping and suppressing the sword pellet that was about to explode.
In just three breaths, Liu Canyang had completely lost his life force, and his flesh and blood were completely devoured.
A creaking sound emanated from Jia Jue's body, his aura suddenly surged, his black scales grew even darker, blood light flowed in his vertical pupils, and the demonic energy surrounding him became several degrees denser, with the faint sound of a dragon's roar echoing between his bones.
"Damn it, it's true that the first to strike wins and the last to strike suffers. I was too kind and too young, and I almost became a pawn in their scheme."
Xu Changqing cursed inwardly, his figure transforming into a green shadow as he rushed straight towards the twisted photinia tree in the pit.