Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Peerless Fiend

Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Peerless Fiend

Liu Qing was dead, and his followers retreated endlessly until, in the end, they all fled. With Liu Qing gone, no one remained to restrain them; during the battle between Liu Qing and Chu Jie, their constant backing away had already revealed their intention to escape.

Chu Jie was unsurprised by their flight. He and Duan Kun immediately sat cross-legged to recover their inner spiritual power.

Now, in the Divine Demon Abyss, the special circumstances meant the absence of the Nine Heavens Gale, allowing their spiritual power to recover at a normal rate.

From Liu Qing's corpse, Chu Jie acquired a jade gourd. The Soul-Draining Worm within was formidable; had he not possessed the Barbaric Cauldron, which happened to counter the worm, they might have met their end here. The jade gourd was not difficult to use, being itself a treasure with its own internal space, suitable for the worm's habitation.

No other valuables were found; it seemed Liu Qing had brought little with him, perhaps coming straight for whatever was about to emerge from the depths of the abyss.

"I have no need for the Soul-Draining Worm. Do you have any treasures that could serve as weapons?" Duan Kun declined the jade gourd, considering it merely auxiliary—perhaps useful in the Spirit Gathering Realm, but less so later on, especially once one was prepared for its effects.

Chu Jie thought for a moment, then took out a shuttle-shaped treasure he had obtained after killing the Demon Lord earlier. Its main function was attack, and its power was considerable, but he already had the Wheel of Heaven and Earth, so it had remained unused—now, it was perfect for Duan Kun as compensation.

Duan Kun accepted the shuttle treasure, greatly satisfied. He had long wanted an offensive treasure, but in the outermost reaches of Blood Slaughter City, without extraordinary luck, how could one ever obtain such a prize?

Now, Duan Kun felt that partnering with Chu Jie was truly the right choice; otherwise, how could he have gained a treasure?

The two sat recovering their strength, paying no mind to the corpses of the warriors scattered around them. Over fifty bodies lay strewn, a terrifying sight, but to restore their peak power as quickly as possible, Chu Jie focused wholly on his meditation.

Their spiritual power was replenishing rapidly. With the Reincarnation Scroll in operation, the surrounding energy surged toward Chu Jie, absorbed ceaselessly. His recovery rate was several times that of Duan Kun.

Although Chu Jie had expended the most spiritual power, his recovery was far swifter. As he neared full restoration, Duan Kun still had a long way to go.

At that moment, a group of more than ten martial artists approached, dressed in battle attire. Yet before they drew close, the entire group halted, for they saw the field of corpses.

What chilled them most was the sight of two men meditating amid the carnage.

"Could these two be the ones who slaughtered the Divine Demon Abyss?" The same thought flashed through each mind.

The massacre in the abyss was already widely known, and the ubiquitous corpses confirmed it. Yet no one had seen the true culprit—for all who had witnessed it had died.

"Let's go around them; avoid any conflict." Their leader immediately issued the order, and they skirted the scene from afar.

Chu Jie and Duan Kun remained unaware that they had been mistaken for the perpetrators of the massacre. If they knew, they would surely be speechless.

That fiend had killed at least several thousand in the Divine Demon Abyss and continued his rampage elsewhere.

Soon after, another group passed by, saw Chu Jie, Duan Kun, and the sea of bodies, and likewise concluded that they were the killers. Rumor spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred—everyone believed the slaughter was the work of two, who had bathed the abyss in blood.

Most survivors had never seen the real fiend and so accepted the rumor. At last, the story became: two fiends were wreaking havoc in the Divine Demon Abyss; to win the treasure, they must be killed.

Messages spread swiftly in the abyss. Meanwhile, Chu Jie and Duan Kun had no idea they had been labeled fiends, nor that a portion of people were searching for them, with all the deaths in the abyss now attributed to their names.

Chu Jie wore a mask, so no one could recognize him. Duan Kun, always active in the outer zone and rather low-key, was known to few.

"Chu Jie, we must hurry, lest we miss the chance to seize the treasure," Duan Kun said, fiddling with the now-miniature shuttle treasure, eager to test its power.

By now, they had reached the entrance to the sixth terrace, where two or three hundred people had already gathered. The purpose of their assembly remained unclear.

Chu Jie and Duan Kun stood at a distance, channeling spiritual power to enhance their hearing and listened closely to their conversation.

"Boss, should our numbers be enough to deal with the two fiends?" a subordinate asked.

Chu Jie and Duan Kun exchanged glances. Two fiends? Did the slaughter involve two people? Neither realized they had been mistaken for the fiends; they assumed these people sought some other culprit.

"We're not enough yet. Let's wait; soon, over a dozen Spirit Gathering Realm experts will arrive," the leader at the front replied.

A chorus of gasps followed. A dozen Spirit Gathering Realm experts—most of the assembled were merely at the Body Firming Realm. With so many higher cultivators, their chances of victory looked much brighter.

Everyone felt lucky to follow powerful figures into battle. It would be a close-up opportunity to observe their techniques, promising great benefit for their own growth.

"When those experts arrive, you must show them respect and meet any requests. Once the two fiends are slain and the treasures seized, everyone will be rewarded," the leader instructed his subordinates.

All three hundred were full of tense excitement, itching to take on the two fiends at once.

"Boss, what kind of treasure has appeared in the Divine Demon Abyss? Why are those two fiends the ones who possess it?" another subordinate asked.

"Uh, I don't know the specifics, but it must be extraordinary. As for the news, it's absolutely reliable, and those two fiends are likely to come to this entrance. So stay alert; don't let anything escape. Make sure they're trapped here," the leader said.

...

Chu Jie and Duan Kun heard every word clearly.

"Chu Jie, could it be that the fiends have returned to the fifth terrace? That's not good," Duan Kun said, worried. Worse still, the fiend was not a single person, but two—how could they fight against such odds?

"Very possible. But I think we can join these people, help intercept the fiends. If we can't beat them, we can always run," Chu Jie noted, keenly aware that the crowd believed the fiends held the treasures from the abyss and that killing them would yield riches.

For them, obtaining the treasure would be best, but survival was the priority.

Recently, tales of fiends slaughtering within the Divine Demon Abyss had spread far and wide. Everyone inside the abyss spoke of the fiends with fear.

Despite their numbers, the three hundred present were tightly wound, knowing full well that if the fiends went berserk, they might be the first to die.

The fiends' reputation was simply too fierce.

Chu Jie and Duan Kun did not reveal themselves immediately, preferring to listen further. If they showed themselves, the real truth might remain hidden.

"Boss, can we really stop the two fiends? They're the ones who have slaughtered throughout the abyss—could they already be at the Star Pill Realm?" a subordinate asked.

"I don't know, but soon our experts will arrive. Don't worry—our job is just to block them here. The main force is coming," the leader replied.

"Boss, we won't just be cannon fodder, will we?" the subordinate asked anxiously.

"Stop whining and do your job. Rest assured—even if you die, your sacrifice won't be in vain," the leader reassured him.

The leader's face betrayed some worry. Since arriving in the abyss, he had seen many corpses—sometimes dozens piled together, sometimes hundreds—all indicating that numbers alone meant little against the fiends.

Now, the news was that there were two fiends, doubling the difficulty.

Victory would be hard to achieve.

Chu Jie and Duan Kun waited, but heard nothing new. They reflected on their journey—had they seen any fiends? They had come across corpses, but none appeared recently slain. All signs suggested that, in the fifth terrace, nothing proved the fiends' presence.

After a further wait, not only did the fiends fail to appear, but the so-called main force also never showed up.

"Should we go out and join them?" Duan Kun asked, thinking that numbers meant safety; they could provide cover if needed.

So many mobilizing implied the information about two fiends in the fifth terrace was likely accurate.

"Yes, let's go. We'll join them to resist the fiends," Chu Jie said.