Chapter 138: The Poison King

"Yandong Jue, your Immortal-Slaying Sword Art is nothing special. Seventeen years have passed, and you haven't made the slightest progress!" The female's secondary avatar sneered incessantly. A streak of sword Qi pierced through the central sea of flames, shooting straight ahead with overwhelming momentum.

"Clang!" Yandong Jue's white-robed projection blocked it with an immortal sword, sending the red sword Qi flying back dozens of feet where it burst open in mid-air, scattering into a hundred sword branches like heavenly flowers falling, hissing sharply.

"Shen Yinnan, since you are the Left Envoy of the Myriad Demonic Heaven, what is the point of all this idle chatter? Today, since you and your cohorts have come to court death, it is only fitting by the will of Heaven. I shall now let you witness the true Ten-Extinguishing Immortal Sword!"

Furious, Yandong Jue's avatar suddenly vanished, and his body surged forward, actually merging into the Ten-Extinguishing Sword—true unity of man and sword! The Ten-Extinguishing Sword soared high into the sky, instantly expanding a hundredfold, radiating brilliantly and casting ten thousand streams of crystalline light. Yandong Jue's solemn face appeared upon the sword's body, and gazing directly at Shen Yinnan, he shouted word by word: "The Seven Slashes of the Ten Extinctions: Slaughtering Demons and Exterminating Devils!"

Thousands of rays of light converged upon the Ten-Extinguishing Sword, which emitted a fierce, vibrating hum. A flash of seven-colored light split it into seven distinct blades out of thin air. The seven-colored blades formed a circle, spinning rapidly with a deafening roar. Intense sword intents intertwined, causing the void to crackle and pop. Lightning spread across half of the western horizon—an absolute terrifying terror of a strike, far beyond the imagination of mortal men.

Lin Feng and Chen Yuoxi, who had poked their heads out, had completely forgotten they were in the midst of a battlefield. Holding their breaths, they clutched a handful of earth tightly in their hands.

The demonic witch Shen Yinnan maintained her calm expression. With a cold smile, she raised her chin, a hint of indescribable emotion flashing in her eyes. Suddenly putting away her Lightning-Flowing Fire Sword, she flicked her hand and conjured a Mandarin Duck Jade Hairpin, into which her body then merged. The white radiance of the hair hairpin blazed fiercely, splitting into two as the mandarin and duck parted, crossing each other while also expanding dozens of times.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The seven sword blades descended from the sky one after another, forming a straight line like roaring thunder and lightning as they pierced toward the jade hairpin.

The seven-colored sword Qi blocked the line of sight, surging and roaring as it pierced through the clouds and mist, shooting down into the mountain ranges ten thousand feet below. Boom! The mountains themselves were split asunder!

Crack! Amidst this matchless momentum, a crisp shattering sound reached the ears, causing all the righteous cultivators watching to wear expressions of joy.

The winds and clouds gradually dispersed, and the sword Qi ceased.

High in the sky, the Ten-Extinguishing Sword still trembled unceasingly. Yandong Jue's figure flashed out like lightning, his face as pale as paper, a flicker of pain crossing the depths of his eyes.

The next moment, Shen Yinnan's figure materialized in place. A smile flashed across the corner of her lips, while fresh blood streamed down her neck, possessing a demonic and terrifying beauty. In the palm of her hand, she tightly gripped the shattered fragments of the Mandarin Duck Jade Hairpin. As she opened her hand, the debris scattered and vanished with the wind.

The two stared at each other. Slowly, Shen Yinnan drew her Lightning-Flowing Fire Sword once more. The blood at the corner of her mouth instantly evaporated, leaving behind a dark trace. "Yandong Jue, you truly are a heartless man! Very well, very well! Blazing Fire Heavenly Dipper Sword Array!"

A web of fire descended from the sky, accompanied by roaring lightning and the sharp shrieks of fiery sword Qi, sweeping toward Yandong Jue.

"Three Talents Hand Seal!"

Yandong Jue thrust out a palm, and three hand seals appeared in the void, successively lunging to grab the web of fire. Poof! The first seal vanished instantly; the second followed right behind, managing to slow the Blazing Fire Heavenly Dipper Sword Array by thirty percent before also dissipating. It was not until the third seal that the attack was barely intercepted. By this time, Yandong Jue had already freed himself and evaded the trajectory of the sword array. White light burst forth once more from the Ten-Extinguishing Sword. The corners of his eyes twitched slightly as he suddenly opened his eyes wide and roared, "Slaying Ghosts and Gods!"

"Junior Ninth, keep your eyes on the sixth form of the Immortal-Slaying Sword Art!"

Yandong Jue's voice echoed in Lin Feng's mind. He hurriedly looked toward his master, only to see a solemn expression, utterly devoid of distraction.

The Ten-Extinguishing Sword rose into mid-air, its sword radiance suddenly converging, ceasing its vibration and overbearing arrogance. But immediately after—before one even had time to blink—seven-colored sword brilliance ten times brighter than before erupted violently, shooting straight into the heavens. The scorching and terrifying light burst like an explosion, shooting toward Shen Yinnan. Monochromatic sword Qi, one after another like rainbows or flowing clouds, dazzling and brilliant beyond measure, plunged beneath the clouds. Once again, Shen Yinnan evaded them.

From beginning to end, Yandong Jue had never touched the Ten-Extinguishing Sword. Driving the immortal sword purely with sword intent represented an extremely lofty realm of swordsmanship, reaching the state of Myriad Swords Returning to the Sect. A single step further would lead to the unity of man and sword.

"You two, go quickly and reinforce the other fellow practitioners! What are you standing there gawking for?!" Yandong Jue suddenly shouted coldly. Lin Feng and Chen Yuoxi snapped back to their senses, escaping from the mountain peak and summoning their flying swords. One headed left while the other headed right, but suddenly feeling something unusual in their hands, they exchanged a glance and instantly felt an intense awkwardness: Yuoxi's right hand and Lin Feng's left hand were tightly clasped together.

"I am going to assist Senior Brother Feng and the others." Yuoxi's face turned slightly red with unnatural embarrassment. Driving her startled-phoenix sword, she charged toward Jiang Hongyun's location.

Lin Feng relaxed inwardly and looked over. Among the demonic faction, the Poison King was the most rampant, having already killed or wounded seven or eight righteous masters. His Purple Miasma Poison Array was so potent that no one dared to enter, and they could only fend it off with sword Qi, unable to approach with magical treasures.

"You demonic fiend, are you a disciple of the Poison King of the Extreme Poison Valley?" Lin Feng did not recognize the Poison King, but he drew out his Prison-Fire Chasing-Wind Fan, intending to do battle with this fiend.

"Ignorant junior, this old man is the Poison King, and what of it? Have you come to offer your body as nourishment for poison? Since you look so fair and tender, this old man will let you choose your poison: snake, scorpion, centipede, ant, centipede, bee, or toad. Which one do you choose?"

The Poison King was tall and wore a black cloak. His face was as ugly as mud trodden upon after the rain, and as he spoke, his eyes flashed with an eerie red glow, truly terrifying.

The five Golden Core stage masters surrounding him hailed respectively from the Taiji Courtyard and the Twofold Sword Sect—three Taoists and two sword cultivators. Together with Lin Feng, the six launched a joint assault. Even so, the Poison King remained relaxed and chatty, laughing proudly in the face of the crowd.

"Since you are the Poison King, do you know the whereabouts of your two beloved disciples, Qi Fu and Qi Chan?" Lin Feng looked at the Poison King and smiled faintly.

Upon hearing this, the Poison King's expression changed instantly. Nodding repeatedly, he said with a sinister voice, "Very well, very well! Today, this old man shall avenge this deep blood feud for my disciples! Get lost!"

With a roar from the Poison King, the purple miasma and poisonous mist swirling around his body were suddenly sucked back into his physique. The crowd was overjoyed, preparing to drive their swords forward to finish him off, when the old fiend's body suddenly expanded. His cloak and garments exploded completely, as if he had consumed some potent tonic. His vital energy churned, and a basket-sized lump grew atop his head. At first glance it looked like a rooster's crest tumor, but upon closer inspection, it was a writhing mass of flesh and blood—whatever demonic art it was, it was disgusting to the extreme.

This mass of flesh grew larger and larger, instantly swallowing the Poison King's body whole to form a gigantic, writhing mass of hideous flesh.

"Get back!" someone shouted aloud. Two of the six had already attacked with their flying swords, but it was too late to recall them. The rest hurriedly commanded their swords to form a defensive array in front of themselves.

"Whoosh!" The Red Lotus Karmic Fire surged forth, flying toward the monster transformed by the Poison King. At that very moment, with a loud explosion, the mass of flesh suddenly burst apart. The purplish-black, foul-smelling matter that splattered everywhere devoured swords upon contact and consumed flesh upon touch, making it even more terrifying than the poison of a million-year corpse emperor.

The two Taoist priests from the Taiji Courtyard were turned into pools of blood on the spot, along with the Moyan Sword in Lin Feng's hand. Six magical flying swords were instantly destroyed. Even the Red Lotus Karmic Fire could not block the poison's attack, and both were annihilated in the void.

"Hahaha, how do you like that? This old man's Soul-Corrupting Demonic Fiend divine ability is invincible under heaven! Who dares to block it?" The Poison King reappeared in his true form, holding the Myriad Poison Gourd in his right hand. The purple miasma poison around him was completely gone. With a shake of his left hand, he donned a black robe and summoned a pitch-black poisonous banner, deploying it around himself. The banner surged with netherly yin qi and undulating tadpole-shaped runes—yet another impenetrable magical treasure.

Not a single person present seized this opportunity to stop the Poison King, as all had been thrown into disarray by his previous strike.

"The old fiend's physical body is fragile. Let us join forces to shatter his protective poisonous banner and slay him with all our might; we are bound to succeed!" After transmitting his voice to the remaining three, the Great Majesty and Virtue Universal Dharma Vajra charged forward wielding a trident. At the same time, Lin Feng retrieved the Yin-Yang Inconstancy Shovel and hurled it toward the Poison King.