One Pound Meat, One More Attribute Point

Wu Yanzi’s expression turned to shock as she halted, the wall before her melted into surging lava. The jet-black flames burned fiercely in the void, warping the air and completely sealing off the path of retreat. She turned around and saw Li Hongxiu gazing at her as well.

The moment their eyes met, Li Hongxiu gently stroked the feathers of the Golden Crow.

"Take her down," said Li Hongxiu, calmly.

Screech!

The Golden Crow flapped its wings, its pupils blazing red.

It spat out a black flame, initially only three feet long.

But upon meeting the wind, it suddenly ballooned into a flaming tornado, filling all the space before it, generating massive suction.

Wu Yanzi mustered all her techniques, her strength erupting as she desperately struggled, but she couldn’t escape and managed only to let out a wretched scream before her body was enveloped and devoured by the pitch-black flames.

Bang!

But it was enough to grievously injure Wu Yanzi, rendering this Yiluan Bureau thousand households powerless to resist.

All the flames were reabsorbed into the Golden Crow while on the lava-covered floor beneath, wisps of blue smoke twisted upwards, and the air filled with the smell of sulfur.

Li Hongxiu walked forward across the blaze. Ever since Su Heng brought back the Golden Crow’s egg and it hatched, Li Hongxiu had been together with the Golden Crow the whole time. Her body was special, having imbibed some of the Crow’s aura, so she did not fear the high temperatures and fierce flames it produced.

But Wu Yanzi wasn’t so lucky.

Moments before, this alluring spy was imposing and charming, but now she was nearly a charred corpse. Her limbs had all been burned by the fierce fire, utterly losing her ability to resist. Only her Heavenly Deceit endowed resilient body was barely clinging to life.

Li Hongxiu’s toe gently hooked onto Wu Yanzi’s side, and with a push, she flipped her over.

"If there’s still a breath in you, then let’s leave it at that," Li Hongxiu said condescendingly as she looked down at her. Even from such an angle, the girl’s cold and detached face remained impeccably stunning.

The reason she spared Wu Yanzi’s life was not due to Li Hongxiu’s compassion.

Instead, it was because she knew about the experiments Su Heng was conducting on the ninth floor of the Demon Suppression Tower. Wu Yanzi was quite powerful, and she might be kept as a test subject. To squeeze out every last bit of utility and avoid waste, Li Hongxiu thought, as a subtle sensation of moisture spread through her toes.

It felt as though a giant snail had crawled over her foot, leaving behind a wet, slimy trail, bringing a wave of discomfort to Li Hongxiu and almost raising goosebumps on her fair skin.

Her elegant brows furrowed slightly as she slowly looked down—

Wu Yanzi astonishingly stretched out her tongue, struggled to turn her face, and licked Li Hongxiu’s toes, savoring the arch delicately.

This individual truly had unusual talents, her snake-like tongue long and nimble. Despite her near-paralysis, she managed to lick up along the girl’s tensed and translucent arch to her ankle, leaving a glistening trail of saliva.

"..."

"..."

Seeing Li Hongxiu looking down at her,

Wu Yanzi’s mouth stretched into an ingratiating smile on her charred visage.

"Let’s forget it..." Li Hongxiu sighed, stepping back, her exquisite face full of revulsion, "Such vermin only waste the air they breathe."

She lightly nudged the Golden Crow’s chin with her hand.

The Golden Crow opened its mouth.

Another burst of flame swept over, reducing Wu Yanzi’s body to a clump of pitch-black char.

The Golden Crow then spread its wings and flew out from the Demon Suppression Tower. The sky suddenly darkened, and a fierce wind tore through the air, as storm clouds gathered. A black sun hung amidst the leaden clouds, igniting the entire sky, as raindrops of raven-feather black fire fell from nowhere.

Each flame was accompanied by a woeful cry of agony and despair.

Whether it was the Heavenly Deceit warriors undergoing sensory metamorphosis or slightly less powerful monster embryo masters, everyone touched by the black fire released from the Golden Crow met the same fate.

They became burning human torches, their flesh falling off like wax. In the end, there was nothing left but piles of bones scattered in the black dust, leaving bloodied and twisted human-shaped impressions on the ground.

...

Swish!

The war started abruptly and ended just as abruptly.

Li Hongxiu reached out to push open the shattered window, and the cold wind blew in from the cloudy sky, lifting the girl’s hair.

Amid the closely packed buildings, a light of fire flitted past and arrived in front of her.

Qin Shunying’s spirited face was glistening with a bit of sweat as she panted heavily. Although she had not sustained any injuries, her appearance alone made it clear that she must have just endured a tough battle, surrounded by many experts.

But the turnaround was too swift, only in a blink, all these experts turned into flying ash...

"This is the power of the Golden Crow, inconceivable," Qin Shunying marveled.

The Golden Crow was the guardian spirit of Yuanxi, and although Yuanxi had perished over two thousand years ago, such a special sentiment,

Still flowed through generations, through culture and bloodline.

The Golden Crow swooped back down from the sky and once again perched on Li Hongxiu’s shoulder. Qin Shunying’s gaze flickered slightly as she reached out to touch it.

But at the moment of contact, her fingertips stung sharply, as if shocked by electricity, and a pink blister suddenly appeared on her fair fingertip.

"So hot!" Qin Shunying grimaced, looking at Li Hongxiu with a hint of envy.

"Quack~ Quack quack~ Quack quack!" suddenly, the Golden Crow raised its head, flapped its wings at Qin Shunying, and let out a few odd caws. Qin Shunying cocked her head with a big question mark popping up on her forehead.

"Is it speaking, what did it say?" Qin Shunying wondered, just thinking aloud, but Li Hongxiu actually understood it.

"Skull Plain..." Li Hongxiu furrowed her brows, translating, "It says it sensed the presence of that demon god in the direction of Skull Plain."

"The Corruption Demon God Marpa, the chief culprit of Yuanxi’s destruction, has broken free from the seal," Li Hongxiu said calmly.

Boom!

The wind outside suddenly grew fierce, blowing the broken window sashes away.

And Qin Shunying’s complexion also turned pale at once.

...

...

...

Skull Plain, Dharma King Monastery.

The battle between Su Heng and the Corruption Demon God Marpa, two monsters, had been going on all night.

Whether it was physical strength or attack power, they had both reached the limits of ordinary human comprehension. They were living calamities, gods of destruction. And such a fight was only about life and death, not victory or defeat. Therefore, they both drove their bodies, spirits, and wills to the limit, testing each other’s capacity for destruction.

But in the end...

Su Heng was slightly superior.

He pressed down on Marpa’s neck, filled with boils, with one hand and lifted it up.

Then he swung his fist down hard.

With a "thud," Marpa’s half face exploded, blood splattered. The fierce impact force swept through half of the monastery, reducing hundreds of houses to ruins. Numerous clouds of dust and smoke rose up, obscuring the moonlight.

Marpa’s shattered body fell heavily to the ground, struggled a couple of times, but failed to stand up.

Crack!

A heavy foot stomped down, breaking ribs.

Su Heng, breathing heavily, had a ferocious smile on his face, "Do you have any last words to say?" Your next chapter awaits on empire

Marpa struggled fiercely a couple of times but failed to break free. Eventually, he chose to give up and just lay on his back on the ground, watching the blood moon that was gradually falling from the sky.

"Hahaha, what a, monster!" The guy suddenly burst into laughter, his thunderous laughter echoing on the battlefield.

"What are you laughing at?" Su Heng pressed down harder with his foot, and the creature’s laughter abruptly stopped.

"Do you know why, over two thousand years ago, the Golden Crow didn’t kill me but chose to seal me here instead?" Though already defeated and unable to struggle,

Marpa’s face was still filled with confident brilliance, as though he had some certainty that Su Heng would not choose to kill him there.

And Su Heng was indeed curious.

Because as he understood it, even the weakened Golden Crow was far stronger than Marpa.

It should have been able to kill Marpa easily, but it did not do so. Instead, it went to great lengths to weaken and seal him in Skull Plain.

"So, what exactly did the Golden Crow do all this for, at such a cost?"