Volcanic Age

I can't just let this go.

While it seemed like they would all just fall apart if he left them alone, the possibility of one of them breaking away and running to a nearby village was just too risky to ignore. He was in a hurry, but he had always been the type to never look away at the sight of something like this.

"Kids."

"Yes," Little Ghost answered, and twenty Phantoms appeared behind her. They had all gathered after finishing their tasks, such as collecting information.

"Let's finish this as quickly as possible."

"We've received your orders."

Zhou Xuchuan's figure blurred and then reappeared in the midst of pandemonium. The Phantoms around him followed with knives in hand.

A tattoo appeared on Little Ghost's skin, and it emitted a dark light. Then, she transformed, becoming an adult woman.

"Bwahahaha!"

No matter when I run into these guys, they're always batshit crazy. Some things would never change, whether it be in his previous lifetime or the present one. If he had to give an example of anything that would never change, he'd say that the cultists of the Demonic Path were one of them.

The Blood Cult and the Demon Cult weren't much different—they were all crazy.

"Let's see… there seems to be a little over a thousand."

Zhou Xuchuan swung his sword with all his might.

Boom!!

A thunderous boom echoed, and with a whir, a blast of fiercely rotating sword aura shot forward—Violet Haze Dawnbreaker.

However, the flashy violet was missing, as he had used Formless Aura, but he had used so much qi that if others could see it, they would all freeze in shock.

The aura spread out in a wide arc.

Second Form—Arc Flower Rain!

"Argh!"

"Ah!"

Dozens of Cultists screamed and fell to the ground. The damage was particularly massive as they were all grouped up. The merely injured cultists were stabbed in the neck or the heart, and they all collapsed with a groan.

The number of cultists on the battlefield began to decrease rapidly.

***

They had no idea what went wrong…

It could be because they trusted the Illusionary Mirage Formation and let their guard down, or perhaps it was a result of some trick that Blessed Existence had used. It could also be because of the Demon Cult's inexplicable madness and obsession, but for whatever reason, the Demon Cult managed to catch up to the Martial Alliance.

"It's the Demon Cult!" Gu Yeyin's warning shout echoed from the rear.

"Damn it! The Illusionary Mirage Formation failed! Their numbers haven't changed at all!"

"Damn!"

"Just what happened back there?"

Curses were heard here and there as the news spread throughout the united main force.

"Are there still eight thousand of them?"

Zhuge Xiuluan wasn't panicking. Instead, she focused on assessing the worst-case scenario. If the scattered Madness-Inducing Poisonous Fragrance were still effective, the situation would grow even worse.

"No!"

Whew.

Someone let out a sigh of relief. However, the face of a certain individual was not so good.

"Exalted Shang Ming! Where are you running away?!" The provocative shouts of the Vice-Cult Leader War Tiger Demon rang through the air.

"There's nothing we can do. Let's prepare for war."

The Demon Cult was too close for them to keep retreating without getting stopped. Thus, they decided to stop their troops and face the Demon Cult head-on.

"They've finally stopped!"

The demon cultists' faces were filled with joy.

"Hahaha!! The boring chase is finally over!"

"Kill them!"

The clash began.

Zhuge Xiuluan raised her eyes and scanned the Demon Cult's forces.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Demon was nowhere to be seen.

She wondered if the Heavenly Demon was saving up his strength for the decisive battle with Exalted Yun Guang.

***

The Demon Cult's Four Great Guardians were split into the four cardinal directions: east, west, south, and north.

Since the Western Domination Guardian and the Southern Yang Guardian were killed, there were only two remaining.

The Northern Death Guardian was forced to retreat due to the Madness-Inducing Poisonous Fragrance, but the remaining Great Guardian, the Eastern Fantasy Guardian, was standing with the demon cult's forces.

"It's the Ghostly Laughing Illusion Demon!"

The Eastern Illusion Guardian, the Ghostly Laughing Illusion Demon.

He was named so because his laughter sounded like that of a ghost's.

"Hehehe."

The Ghostly Laughing Illusion Demon was good at all kinds of illusion and laughing arts.[1]

"Ahehehehe!"

"Hahaha!"

"Kekekekekekekeke!"

Laughter echoed all over the battlefield. It wasn't just the demon cultists. The Martial Alliance members were laughing, too. The sight of dozens, if not hundreds, of people laughing in unison was skin-crawling.

The Eastern Illusion Guardian was cultivating a demonic art called the Vitality Withering Demonic Art. This art could drain one's vitality qi through various methods, eventually leading to death.

Just now, he had used a supplementary laughing art, the Blooming Smile Vikalpa, which, as its name suggested, made people laugh to death.[2]

"Gal!"

The roar of a lion cut off the Blooming Smile Vikalpa. It was the Lion Roar of the Shaolin Temple.

"Hmph. Are you one of those crackpots?"

The Ghostly Laughing Illusion Demon squinted, looking dissatisfied. What he saw in those eyes was the Shaolin Temple's Abbot, Hong Gao.

"Demon Cult's Eastern Illusion Guardian. Today, I will make you kneel before the Dharma."

"Tsk!" The Ghostly Laughing Illusion Demon clicked his tongue with an annoyed face. Illusion arts were especially unsuitable against the Shaolin Temple. He had purposefully avoided any interaction with them, but to think that they had sniffed him out like a dog and blocked his way.

"Well, that's fine. After all, won't it be nice to see those ridiculous monks finally experiencing lust?"

***

Yan Qiuyou smiled at the sight before his eyes.

"The Northern Death Guardian?"

"Why is that bastard here?!"

The Martial Alliance warriors flinched upon seeing Yan Qiuyou.

Yan Qiuyou was supposed to have been left behind with the crazed demons, but he somehow reached the battlefield.

"I came because I'm pissed up to my ears!" Yan Qiuyou replied, shaking his blood-soaked hands. He had given up command of the drugged troops, saying that he couldn't do it anymore. It was honestly ridiculous.

He hadn't run away because he was scared. No, it was just that he couldn't control his temper and left them behind.

"I had to leave them behi—oh!"

Yan Qiuyou threw his neck back sharply. A sword flew from the side and cut through the flesh at the tip of his chin.

"Wei Zhijie!" Yan Qiuyou cheered. "That's right! This is when life is worth living!"

Yan Qiuyou pulled out his sword from his waist and swung it upward with all his might.

Wei Zhijie's expression didn't change at all, and he spun his sword halfway in the air before swinging it at Yan Qiuyou's sword, knocking it away.

Clang!

Sparks flew as the metal clashed.

"Isn't it shameful of someone of your status in the Righteous Faction to be running away with your tail between your legs like that? Hehe!"

Yan Qiuyou was really ecstatic as he launched an offensive.

Looking at how he was precisely slashing out with sword techniques despite being out of his mind made it hard to tell whether he was actually insane or was just pretending to be crazy.

Wei Zhijie countered each and every one of Yan Qiuyou's attacks.

"Sword Captain!"

The Plum Blossom Swordsmen called out to Wei Zhijie in an attempt to help.

"Don't let them interfere!" Yan Qiuyou's shouted, and the demon cultists rushed toward the Plum Blossom Sword Captain.

***

The War Tiger Demon pounced on Exalted Shang Ming.

"Hmph!"

He stretched his arms forward. His fingers were half-curled, like the claws of a beast.

Exalted Shang Ming aimed his sword downward to block the War Tiger Demon's attack, and then he swung it up at a right angle. It looked exactly like a dragon ascending into the heavens.

Clang!

Exalted Shang Ming's sword and the War Tiger Demon's fingers collided.

Their swords and claws, which were their respective specialties, were filled with sword aura and claw aura.

"Great Void Dragon Slaying Sword!"

"Blood-Lusting Excitement-Inducing Demon Claw!"

The two called out their techniques at the same time.

The Kunlun's Sword was in the shape of a dragon, the Great Void Dragon Slaying Sword.

The cultist's hand, which could even crush gold and stone like crushing tofu, was in the form of a vicious claw, the Blood-Lusting Excitement-Inducing Demon Claw.

"What a pity, what a pity!"

The War Tiger Demon licked his lips and imbued his hand with strength.

Creaaak.

Even though he was holding a sword with his bare hands, he was unscathed. He was even tightening his grip as if he planned on crushing the steel.

However, Exalted Shang Ming's sword only shook slightly, and it suffered not even a single crack. In the end, it came down to a showdown of aura between the two.

The first to run out of stamina would lose.

"Hmph!" As spit dripped down his chin, Exalted Shang Ming flicked the War Tiger Demon's hand away. As expected of Demonic Arts. Their power is still brutish.

Demonic Arts had the advantage in a head-on confrontation. In general, Demonic Arts had a high density of stamina, and it had superior burst power as well. He had to avoid a head-on confrontation against such a practitioner.

"Where do you think you're running away?!"

The War Tiger Demon crouched and dashed forward.

This was a bit different from Flicking Bow Moving Shadows, which bent one's body like a bow and used the momentum to bounce away. He flew high into the air as if he had wings and attacked Exalted Shang Ming from the sky.

"Hmph!"

Exalted Shang Ming leaped up, bouncing off the ground without even turning around.

"Haha!"

The War Tiger Demon's eyes flashed as if he had been waiting for it, and before he could even touch the ground, he turned and flew upward.

It was the Winged Tiger Demonic Art, and it allowed one to change directions and move in the air as if the user really had wings. Although it lasted for only a brief moment, the brief moment could give the user a great advantage.

Shing!

The Blood-Lusting Excitement-Inducing Demon Claw pervaded the air.

"Ha!" Exalted Shang Ming dodged by flipping in the air. The Winged Tiger Demonic Art wasn't the only martial art that allowed one to move freely in the air.

The Kunlun Sect had a peerless magic technique called the Eight Great Stances of the Dragon in the Clouds. This technique allowed one to flip over eight times in a single instance to change direction or move.

In comparison, the Winged Tiger Demonic Art could only be done once at a time.

However, its speed and travel distance was better.

Dragon Warding, Tiger Striking.

This was truly a showdown between a dragon and a tiger.

"Ha!"

The War Tiger Demon's arm muscles bulged. The dark aura on the tips of his bent fingers became even darker.

Shing!!

The War Tiger Demon tried to grab the sword and crush it with his Blood-Lusting Excitement-Inducing Demon Claw. Unfortunately, he couldn't reach it; he only grazed it with the tips of his fingers.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

A spark flew where his finger had grazed the weapon, and a slight scratch on the steel was revealed.

Exalted Shang Ming flipped in the air again. Then, he pulled his sword back and prepared to strike once more. He flipped using the Eight Great Stances of the Dragon in the Clouds and unleashed a fierce attack.

It's over!

The thrust left a dazzling beam of light in its wake.

"Haha!"

It was a decisive attack, but it failed to reach the demon. The War Tiger Demon threw himself backward and rolled on the ground to dodge.

The old dragon and the old tiger, who had fallen to the ground, glared at each other while looking for an opening to attack.

"You won't make it back alive today." Exalted Shang Ming glared murderously at the War Tiger Demon.

"Ah…" The War Tiger Demon's lips twisted into a smile. "Your words are just right!"

He lowered himself and rushed forward by straightening his bent knees in an instant.

As the War Tiger Demon approached at a terrifying speed, Exalted Shang Ming tightened his abdomen and gathered his strength.

It's most likely a final strike made with all of his power. I just have to dodge it at the last moment and take advantage of that opening.

Exalted Shang Ming focused on the War Tiger Demon's movements. He completely forgot about all of the movements around him as he closely observed the War Tiger Demon's hands, feet, and even the latter's eyes.

Swoosh!

It was just as he had thought. The War Tiger Demon pulled his arm back and then swung it with all his might while letting out a desperate cry.

I've won!

Swoosh!

Exalted Shang Ming didn't move at all until the last moment when he spun around before the War Tiger Demon's claw could touch him. At the same time, he drew a semicircle with his sword.

His blade was about to cut through the old tiger's neck, but…

"Ugh!" Exalted Shang Ming flinched and spat a mouthful of blood.

"You, cowardly…!" Exalted Shang Ming's blood-stained beard trembled. The old hero who had been protecting the Central Plains from the threat of the Demon Cult's invasion was slashed by a sword from the side.

"Ha, cowardly? What are you talking about?"

The War Tiger Demon laughed bitterly and grabbed Exalted Shang Ming's sword.

Creak.

Crack!

As he put strength into his fingers, the sword's blade, which had lost its strength, cracked little by little.

"Isn't it the specialty of you hypocritical Righteous Faction members to attack jointly without any hesitation, touting that nothing is too much against a cultist? I'm just doing the same thing."

Clang!

The sword in Exalted Shang Ming's hands fell apart.

The War Tiger Demon kicked Exalted Shang Ming in the chest, knocking him down, and then he roared for everyone to hear. "The Kunlun Sect's Exalted Shang Ming is dead!"

The Vice Cult Leader, War Tiger Demon, smirked.

The demon cultists rushed forward like a tidal wave.

"Do you still think that this is your world?"

No!

"This is now the Demon Cult's world!"

1. I still don't believe it, but apparently it's a real thing. ☜

2. Vikalpa is a Buddhist term, and in Korean, it means colored desires in thoughts. ☜