Chapter 398: Chapter 116: Book of Life and Death, Accumulated Corpse Qi
"Jiang Li!"
Cui Jue’s heart sank.
To come here at such a moment, and bringing along Bull-headed Li Mi, a traitor, it was clear that their intentions were not good.
A flash of worry crossed his mind, and the left hand behind his back had already formed over thirty hand seals.
Jiang Li, a bull-headed ghost, and most importantly, that dog. The three of them together posed a lethal threat to him.
"Are you using Yin Qi to lock onto this mansion?" he asked, his face grim as he prepared in secret.
The agents from the Yin Law Department couldn’t be found, and yet Jiang Li and his group had arrived, pointing clearly to where the problem lay. It was the Taiyin Energy within Cui Jue that had shown them the way.
When Tianxuan had injured Cui Jue, he had surreptitiously laid out a method that refined the soul with Yin Qi, making it difficult for Cui Jue to return to the location of the Yin Law Department and constantly marking Cui Jue’s position.
No matter where he was healing in the Divine Capital, he couldn’t escape Tianxuan’s detection.
It was precisely for this reason that the moment Cui Jue disappeared, Tianxuan had sensed it and sent Jiang Li immediately... to retrieve Cui Jue’s Dao Fruit!
Jiang Li on his wheelchair spoke mildly, "Indeed, Master injured Lord Cui and felt guilty, so he kept sensing Lord Cui’s location to be able to rescue him in time if anything unforeseen occurred. I didn’t expect that it would indeed be necessary."
"Just to mention, to prevent thieves from locating Lord Cui using Divination Method, Master has already obscured the Heavenly Mechanism, making it difficult for others to find Lord Cui’s location."
Cui Jue’s heart had sunk to the bottom.
Obscuring the Heavenly Mechanism...
Was this to guard against thieves?
It was clearly to guard against the Yin Law Department.
With Tianxuan intervening, there was no chance for the Yin Law Department to find Cui Jue any time soon.
"Such a pity,"
Jiang Li suddenly changed his expression showing regret, "I arrived too late for the rescue, and Lord Cui has already been harmed by the Devil God Sect. Truly, the heavens are jealous of the talented."
He sighed and shook his head in pity.
Behind Jiang Li, the big dog opened its mouth wide, its canine face showing a murderous intent.
Bull-headed Li Mi puffed up his tendon-packed body, his face a malicious smile.
Unnoticed, the three Qi forces had enveloped the surroundings, clearly sealing off Cui Jue’s escape routes. It was obvious that Jiang Li was delaying with his speech.
Even if Cui Jue managed to flee, he would still be caught eventually, but that risked more complications, so sealing off the escape routes was better.
"Lifeless Curse."
Cui Jue also burst out at that moment, a Dharma Seal fixed behind him, a small figure made of golden straw flying out from his embrace, hovering in front.
Cui Jue spat out a breath of his native Yin Qi onto the straw figure, only to see the face of the figure morphing to look almost identical to Jiang Li’s.
"Youluo Wusheng, Slaying Generals and Snatching Souls."
The already gloomy forest became even darker; thick clouds inexplicably flew over the sky, blocking out the sunlight. Layers upon layers of talismanic curses appeared on the straw figure, densely packed and twisting together like ropes continuously tightening.
This was the Slaying Generals Curse Technique.
Cui Jue, holding the Book of Life and Death, naturally had an advantage in the Nightmare Victory Curse Techniques and could even say that the Dao Fruit Divine Power of the Book of Life and Death was a highly profound Nightmare Victory Curse Technique.
And because the Book of Life and Death was connected to Great Zhou’s Household Registration, with all of Great Zhou’s subjects listed in the book, Cui Jue didn’t need to find a medium to cast spells.
Taking Jiang Li’s lifespan with the Book of Life and Death could exhaust all Cui Jue’s Yin Life, but threatening Jiang Li with a curse was feasible.
"Aoow—"
Xiao Tian, with eyes blazing and fast as lightning, pounced, wrapping crimson Qi around the straw figure like fire, its calf-like body charging straight at Cui Jue.
Yet, despite being seriously injured, Cui Jue still retained some strength. He shook his sleeve, creating a pitch-black light screen out of countless residual spirits, which blocked Sky Dog’s pounce. At the same time, he struck the straw figure with his left hand, still forming seals.
"Die!"
This curse, burning over half of Cui Jue’s Yin Life, was not enough to take Jiang Li’s life but could certainly damage his Three Elements.
Cui Jue looked at Jiang Li expectantly.
As long as he could injure Jiang Li, he could take the chance to escape. Even though he might still be pursued later, to live a moment longer was to have hope.
To live was to have hope.
However—
Jiang Li on his wheelchair slightly swayed as if affected by the curse, then simply raised his hand, releasing Innate Qi.
"Three Points Return to Primordial Qi."
He seemed completely unaffected.
How could Cui Jue know that Jiang Li’s Dao Fruit Ability, "Life Extending Heaven and Earth," had strong resistance against curse techniques, and he had consumed no less than five Ginsengfruits and understood the generation of Wood Qi, his vitality and lifespan were so strong they almost overflowed.
If not for this, how could Jiang Li withstand a curse?
Cui Jue’s movements were discreet, but was Jiang Li unable to perceive them?
Having lost the initiative, Innate Qi shattered the space, striking the Yin Spirit Divine Curtain, and then hammered into Cui Jue’s chest.
Three Points Return to Primordial Qi particularly specialized in breaking defenses, especially those primarily formed of Qi. Seeing an opportunity, Xiao Tian quickly shrunk into a small mass, flew through the gap in the light screen, and pursued relentlessly.
Cui Jue hastily stretched out his hand to form a Seal Technique, his pallid palm wreathed in blue ghost fire, thrusting forward with a handprint that turned into a giant hand, embodying the mechanism of soul-snatching, and hurtled towards the red shadow.
Chilling death qi froze the surroundings; instantly, the air emitted the sound of frost forming, the ghostly hand grasping and seizing the shrunken Sky Dog.
Yet in less than a blink of an eye, a dog’s head burgeoned within the ghost hand, biting down on half of the large hand, with a strong suction force emerging inside its mouth, devouring the life-draining death qi.
For Xiao Tian with the Heavenly Dog Bloodline, nothing that entered its mouth could not be swallowed. Its appetite was unrivaled in the world, with nary a chance of indigestion.
"Netherworld..."
Cui Jue sought to further hinder Xiao Tian, but suddenly discovered that Jiang Li was no longer in the wheelchair in front of him.
"Not good!"
A chill ran through his heart, and his head swiftly spun one hundred eighty degrees, looking behind, his arms bending backwards.
Without a physical body, a ghost has many limitations, but with Cui Jue’s ability, he could twist his body at will.
Sure enough, behind him, Jiang Li’s figure appeared out of nowhere, silent and unnoticed, not even stirring his Divine Sense. Had he not visually seen him, Cui Jue would not have even realized there was someone there.
So eerie, Cui Jue seemed more a spectral ghost than him.
Upon discovering this, Cui Jue struck with both palms, his pale hands turning blue-black, thick Yin Qi flowing over the ghost fire, condensing into black smoke that shifted unpredictably like a small evil spirit emerging in his palm.
"Dharma Realm Seal."
The Yin Qi and ghost fire burst forth violently, like evil spirits from the Underworld, Rashamon prowling the mortal world, brandishing darkness and death.
But the response was the Supreme Yang Heavenly Thunder.
"Divine Sword in a stroke, Ten Thousand Ghosts collapse."
Uttering the Divine Spell, thunder clashed, electric sparks intertwining into talismans, the power of birth, death, and destruction arose at once.
Having comprehended the Golden Qi Kill, Jiang Li had grasped the root essence of thunder—both creating and destroying. Lightning roared in the forest, Jing Lei’s electric fury wildly flashed, blasting the Dharma Realm Seal, and striking Cui Jue’s back.
"Boom!"
The thunder shattered the body, obliterated the Yin Qi, and the Yin God Body encountered Thunder Technique, continually annihilating, even the Yin Qi inside exploded at that moment.
Cui Jue’s orifices all flared with ghost fire. The Extreme Yin Qi clashed with the invading Supreme Yang Heavenly Thunder, unleashing a Vigorous Qi Wave.
"Bang!"
[The judge from the Yin Law Department burst forth like fireworks, dying a gruesome death.]
[Just then, a surge of death qi suddenly emerged, attacking like flames from behind.]
"Hah."
Jiang Li laughed heartily, and the Karma Collection had already revealed a line of text before.
Immediately, gray-white Qi Flames struck Jiang Li, submerging him along with the blast of Qi from Cui Jue’s ruptured body.
"Accumulated Corpse Qi."
A figure approached swiftly, thick death qi spreading under his feet, vegetation around him rapidly decaying.
"Sixth Grade killing Fifth Grade, truly worthy of being hailed as the top talent among his peers, but still... ultimately too young."
The eerie figure surrounded by death qi quickly swept forward, reaching his hand into the swirling chaos.
There was no doubt, his target was also Cui Jue, or more precisely, Cui Jue’s Dao Fruit.
Yet as his hand reached in, the sweeping gale abruptly shifted, bringing with it a killer intent and desolation.
Nearby trees rapidly yellowed their leaves, as if true autumn had finally arrived.
A chilling Innate Qi burst from the chaos; the extreme sharpness and cold made the man’s heart shiver, his figure dodging backwards.
He flickered in mid-air, three beams of light brushing past him, sweeping over the vegetation and bringing decay.
Golden light erupted from the chaos, instantly dispersing the death qi and ghost energy, a figure standing within that golden light, turning around.
"At last, someone from the Taiping Sect."
Jiang Li held a pitch-black book in his hand, casting a sidelong glance at the figure and spoke lightly.
This had been a trap for the Taiping Sect members, but until this figure appeared, it had only drawn out the Devil God Sect, nearly letting Cui Jue escape.
This made Jiang Li somewhat doubt the Taiping Sect’s ability.
But now it seemed, not that the Taiping Sect’s people were incapable, but that he was too aptly Yin, only acting now.
The figure landed, hearing Jiang Li’s words, death qi surged, seemingly representing his inner unrest, a hoarse voice revealing incredulity, "Still hiding strength?!"
Only by concealing strength, retaining at least a third of his power, could he retaliate in time after killing Cui Jue, blocking a sudden attack.
Even though Cui Jue was gravely injured, he still posed a threat to Sixth Grade life, Jiang Li still concealed his strength in dealing with Cui Jue, one could either call it arrogance or confidence.
"If I didn’t hide my strength, how would I lure you out?"
Jiang Li spoke slowly, holding the pitch-black book in one hand while the other reached back, the wheelchair that had always been his conveyance suddenly disassembled into numerous parts, recombining into a dark-colored sword, flying into Jiang Li’s hand.
A desolate wind swept through the wilderness, bringing the solemn air of heaven and earth, dispersing in all directions.
Trees, flowers, the air—Jiang Li’s Qi Mechanism spread to every corner, forming Qi Veins, a Qimen Formation resolutely taking shape.
"Without luring you out, how else to kill you?"