Chapter Seventy-Four: Consecutive Slayings

This young subordinate entered with a face full of misery, but when he discovered that the place was empty, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

No need to die!

That was his first thought.

Qin Lie, who followed closely behind, was somewhat annoyed.

“There’s… no one here? You lied to me? Go to hell!” Qin Lie’s palm struck down fiercely, blasting the subordinate’s body apart and tossing him aside.

“Captain, there’s no one here?” The other Spirit Condensation stage martial artists entered, alertly scanning their surroundings.

Meanwhile, Chu Jie and Duan Kun were hiding within the cracks of the stone, waiting for the right moment to strike. Ideally, they wanted everyone inside before making their move, so escape would be easier.

Fifty Spirit Condensation stage martial artists—Chu Jie and Duan Kun decided it was best to avoid direct confrontation for now. With so many at this stage, if they couldn’t kill them instantly, reinforcements would surely arrive.

But Chu Jie quickly noticed a problem: the space wasn’t large enough for fifty people to stand inside. Even if they could fit, there was no need for so many to crowd in, so only twenty entered—mostly Spirit Condensation stage martial artists, with a few unfortunate Body Tempering stage ones.

Those Body Tempering stage martial artists immediately rushed to the slain subordinate’s side, carrying him out. Qin Lie didn’t spare them a glance; to him, Body Tempering stage warriors were mere cannon fodder, to be killed whenever he wished.

He hadn't wanted to come out and pursue the infamous criminal, but he had lost influence within his faction, so he had no choice.

The others in the group belonged to different factions; he was only the captain in name. Along the way, the others showed him little respect, fueling his anger.

“Blast all these stones to pieces, hurry!” Qin Lie shouted.

The Spirit Condensation stage martial artists unleashed their abilities, destroying the surrounding boulders.

“Let’s deal with the high-level one first,” Chu Jie whispered to Duan Kun.

Qin Lie’s ears twitched, seemingly catching something. He looked toward the stone crevice where Chu Jie hid and shouted, “They’re over there! Attack that spot!”

But before his team could react, a golden dragon claw appeared above Qin Lie’s head!

The Nine Suns Sky-Splitting Claw!

Chu Jie focused on Qin Lie; the rest were left to Duan Kun.

Duan Kun’s spindle-shaped artifact shot out at the nearest Spirit Condensation stage martial artist, whose cultivation was at the first level. Seeing the artifact coming, he panicked, fumbling to block with his weapon, but death was inevitable.

The spindle artifact pierced his body, radiating murderous intent as it sought its next target.

Before the battle, both Chu Jie and Duan Kun held Azure Blue Pills in their mouths, ensuring they wouldn’t run short of spiritual power during the fight.

Now, their task was simple: kill as many as they could.

The strongest was left to Chu Jie.

The golden dragon claw formed by the Nine Suns Sky-Splitting Claw descended.

Qin Lie’s expression changed instantly. Red light appeared over his body, forming a protective shield.

The golden claw struck the shield, entering a deadlock.

Qin Lie laughed loudly, “How about the power of my Profound Flame Barrier? You think you’re some infamous criminal? You can’t break through my defense. Hmph, looks like I can wipe you out today!”

A cold light flashed in Chu Jie’s eyes as his spiritual power surged, making the golden claw shine brilliantly.

The claw struck down with unmatched force. Qin Lie’s expression twisted—the Profound Flame Barrier couldn’t withstand the onslaught and shattered completely. Its collapse affected him directly, and he spewed a mouthful of blood.

Some nearby tried to help him resist the claw, but none succeeded.

One person swung his sword in an attempt to cut the golden claw, but the blade made no impact. Upon retrieving his sword, he found several nicks along the edge and was terrified.

Others tried to use their defensive abilities to aid Qin Lie, but it was futile.

The golden claw pressed down on Qin Lie’s skull. “Die!”

Breaking through the Profound Flame Barrier, the claw finally struck his body, instantly crushing his head.

With a thunderous boom, it wasn’t over yet—behind Chu Jie, the Ninefold Sun blasted forward, echoing with nine consecutive explosions. Qin Lie’s body was torn apart, utterly dead.

Everyone was stunned. Those who had intended to fight Chu Jie froze—without high-level cultivators, fighting Chu Jie was suicide.

Qin Lie was dead!

“The captain is dead, retreat!” someone shouted.

Chaos erupted; many prepared to flee, while others engaged Duan Kun, but he dominated them, killing two or three.

Many of the Spirit Condensation stage martial artists were formidable, but faced with Chu Jie and Duan Kun, they were like livestock awaiting slaughter—pitiful.

With the Azure Blue Pill dissolving, Chu Jie felt a surge of blue energy flow into his dantian.

His spiritual power recovered rapidly, replenished swiftly. Coupled with the regenerative speed of his Nine Tribulations Physique, his recovery was remarkable.

Now the slaughter truly began. Many of the Spirit Condensation stage martial artists had gathered recently and lacked coordination. As soon as Chu Jie started killing, many tried to escape.

The Universe Treasure Wheel spun furiously among the crowd, slicing through the battlefield. Among the fifty, some possessed treasure artifacts—about ten had them, but all were inferior, merely low-grade.

One such artifact was smashed to pieces by the Universe Treasure Wheel.

“Activate the communication talismans together!” someone shouted—they knew they alone couldn’t handle Chu Jie and Duan Kun.

Chu Jie and Duan Kun continued their rampage—the Universe Treasure Wheel and spindle artifact relentlessly cutting down martial artists, who fell one after another.

At that moment, the remaining twenty triggered their communication spirit talismans—the signal flares. Over twenty flares shot skyward, bursting in midair, creating a spectacular display.

At the heart of the Divine Demon Abyss, the reaction was immediate. Hundreds of experts emerged, racing toward the location of the signal flares.

“Chu Jie, we must leave now. If we’re late, we’ll be caught!” Duan Kun said, seeing so many signal flares. “This many flares might attract true powerhouses!”

Chu Jie nodded, “Alright, let’s go.”

But many corpses still lay on the ground. To avoid waste, he flew the Wild Desolation Cauldron overhead, absorbing the bodies.

After collecting nearly thirty corpses, Chu Jie and Duan Kun fled—the survivors dared not block their way. The complex terrain prevented them from leveraging their numbers, and Chu Jie and Duan Kun’s surprise attack had already decimated the group.

Once Chu Jie and Duan Kun left, the survivors collapsed in defeat. So many deaths proved their incompetence; who knew what punishment awaited from their leaders.

This area could no longer be occupied—they needed to relocate further away. After leaving the rocky zone, they found no pursuers and continued flying.

The fierce battle had drained them considerably. Though they had been taking Azure Blue Pills, their spiritual power was only half of normal, mainly due to the intense expenditure during the fight.

“Should we find a place to rest?” Duan Kun asked.

“Yes, let’s head to that spot up ahead. The terrain is elevated and uneven—it’ll help us hide.”

The two found a hollowed area and concealed themselves. Nearby, others searched for them, but they were only Body Tempering stage martial artists. Only the leader was Spirit Condensation stage.

“Boss, there’s trouble over there—signal flares filled the sky. The losses must be huge.”

The voice came from not far away; Chu Jie frowned. Martial artists were everywhere—this place couldn’t be stayed in for long. They’d have to recover and move on.

“Hmph, if I were there, I could have dealt with those two criminals. These people are useless.” The one called “Boss” was named Zhou Hua, Spirit Condensation stage, third level.

Chu Jie heard everything—they couldn’t hide from his enhanced hearing. As for Zhou Hua’s boast that he could deal with him, Chu Jie merely snorted.

His cultivation placed him among the elite of the Spirit Condensation stage martial artists; ordinary ones were nothing to him.

Chu Jie’s divine sense searched the corpses in the Wild Desolation Cauldron for valuables, soon finding a wealth of items.

There was some mysterious crystal, though not much—everyone carried a little. Then there were cultivation pills, some simply for hunger. Such pills weren’t useful to Chu Jie, who preferred snake meat for its benefits to his physique.

“Over a dozen bottles of Azure Blue Pills—not bad. Now we don’t need to worry about running low,” Chu Jie said happily.

Aside from these, there were miscellaneous items of little value.

Once the corpses had been searched, there was no reason to keep them. Chu Jie used the Wild Desolation Cauldron to deposit them nearby, piling them up.

The two continued to meditate and recover. Once they were ready, they prepared to leave. Now, they decided to stay in each place only briefly, never lingering too long.