Chapter 82

(It took almost an hour to upload this chapter, the backend is really lagging, please give me recommendation votes and add to your collection for comfort.)

In the valley, the air was stagnant, the wind had ceased, and a group of demon soldiers stood solemnly before the soul-summoning platform, forming ancient demon script.

Su Qinnian looked ahead, separated by a python demon, was a towering figure with rippling muscles, a demon soldier from the wild elephant clan, manifesting a millstone-sized elephant head that appeared somewhat simple and slow, with a long, thick trunk that seemed to be a steel whip in motion.

If not for his prior insight, Su Qinnian would have been deceived as well; this demon's cunning far exceeded his appearance.

"Spirit Child Sacrifice! Sacrifice for our demon race for ten thousand years!"

The wolf demon suddenly chanted, the various syllables rising and falling, with a unique rhythm that carried the weight of history.

"Spirit Child Sacrifice, sacrifice for our demon race for ten thousand years!"

The demon soldiers followed closely, a hundred or so chanting in unison, an intangible wave began to form above the soul-summoning platform.

A strange mental wave, similar to mental energy, seemed to gather the thoughts of each demon soldier, and under the influence of these ancient syllables, even the mental energy Su Qinnian had spread in the void was subjected to considerable pressure.

"Spirit Child Sacrifice, sacrifice again for our emperor to never perish!"

The demons recited the sacrificial text, the ancient demon syllables gathering mental thoughts, manifesting the mental energy of the demon soldiers in this way.

Su Qinnian reined in his mental energy, avoiding this mental flood, and then saw two rhinoceros demons step forward, working together to lift a palm-sized iron box onto the soul-summoning platform.

Indeed, the two rhinoceros demons were like iron towers, over ten feet tall, their fan-sized hands overlapping, holding the iron box as if carrying a mountain, with fine sweat beads appearing on their rhinoceros horns at the tips of their noses.

Bang!

The iron box hit the ground, making a deafening sound. Su Qinnian raised an eyebrow; how could it be so heavy? Even a thousand pounds would not be so difficult for these two rhinoceros demons with their innate physical strength, let alone such a small iron box. What could be inside?

"Invoke the divine iron!"

The wolf demon solemnly spoke, his fierce eyes rarely showing reverence and fervor.

Prostrate on the ground, the two rhinoceros demons opened the various latches on the iron box, disassembling it to reveal the contents inside.

A thumb-sized iron piece, seemingly withered, full of wrinkles and cracks.

Divine iron?

Su Qinnian frowned. He seemed to have seen this term in some ancient texts, a book called "Notes on Weapon Casting," written by a master weapon crafter. It was not a casting secret manual but a chronicle describing the divine metals and iron of the world, mentioning that the universe has a way of nurturing divine metals and iron, the most precious of which are the nine divine irons.

As for which nine divine irons, the chronicle was vague, as if there were some taboos. The only mention was that divine iron has a spirit, and those who obtain it can achieve enlightenment.

What does achieving enlightenment mean? Proving the Dao of the Primordial Spirit? Or grasping one's destiny? Su Qinnian could not fathom it, but from the looks of it, the fragment of iron on the soul-summoning platform, though not showing any signs, likely had an extraordinary origin.

The sacrifice was ongoing, the demon race's soul-summoning text lacked literary flair, but the primitive and bloody atmosphere could not be concealed.

The way of pronunciation was also different. Su Qinnian's mental energy was sharp, and he vaguely discovered that the reason the demon soldiers' mental thoughts could gather was closely related to this unique pronunciation, even having a cleansing effect on the body, penetrating the flesh, muscles, and skin.

Hum!

On the soul-summoning platform, the iron fragment trembled, as if a giant beast had opened its blood-red mouth. Around the platform, the thirty-six infant corpses used for the sacrifice immediately burst into transparent flames, quickly turning into pure, flawless clear gas. This gas was the innate fetal breath that had not yet dissipated after birth.

Cold light flickered in his eyes, Su Qinnian was enduring, waiting for the most critical moment. He did not want to let any of these over a hundred demons escape.

The clear gas from the fetal breath was all consumed, and the iron fragment, though seemingly unchanged, the next moment, the demons' sacrificial chant suddenly intensified, the mental wave becoming more intense.

A force that made Su Qinnian's soul tremble began to revive. However, Su Qinnian bit his tongue, maintaining clarity. The demon soldiers all showed signs of fatigue, clearly the sacrificial text had a significant mental toll.

Now is the time!

Without hesitation, all the mental energy in Su Qinnian's ancestral acupoint surged out like a mighty river, the second level of the "Mental Control Technique" pushed to its limit. In the eastern part of the ancestral acupoint, the first star position radiated boundless light, and the second star position shimmered with starlight, containing inner light.

Soul Control Technique!

Not targeting a single individual, but all the nearly a hundred demon soldiers except the wild elephant demon soldier at once.

A grand illusion, the sacrificial chant echoing through the universe, the iron fragment reviving, the vast river of time and space opened, and the ancient spirits of the demon race returned to the mortal world.

Clang!

At the same time, Su Qinnian struck, the green iron longsword in his back unsheathed, the blade blazing with intense light. The killing intent in his eyes was so intense it seemed to ignite, like two suns illuminating the world, purifying and burning all evil demons.

"Not good!"

The wild elephant demon soldier roared, discarding his feigned simplicity. His eyes were like copper bells, and a deep blue inner family true qi rose from his body, the true qi of the wild elephant clan surging. Despite being over ten feet tall, he was very agile, twisting his body, his arm sweeping out like a hammer, compressing and tearing the air, creating a sound like fireworks, with a one-inch-long blade of light forming on his fist.

Clang!

A loud noise, the fist and the blade clashed, producing a series of sparks.

"Damn! Razor-sharp blade!"

The wild elephant clan demon soldier grunted, his feet moving rapidly, retreating violently, his fist bloody, the skin on the knuckles cut to the bone.

Su Qinnian's blood also churned. The wild elephant clan demon soldier's strength was too formidable, his inner family true qi far more substantial and refined than the two demon soldiers he had killed earlier. His fist technique was fierce and powerful, managing to break free from Su Qinnian's blade domain and block the nearly fatal blow.

Swoosh!

Su Qinnian did not retreat, opening the five organs furnace, qi and blood surging, the eighth level of the "Turtle Snake Technique" pushed to its peak. The qi and blood stored in the five organs furnace continuously supplied him. He raised his hand, his fingertips emitting inch-long blood-colored qi light, like smoke and mist, striking the wild elephant clan demon soldier with four consecutive finger strikes. The finger light pierced through the air, the true meaning of the "Sun Seeking Finger" vast and powerful, locking onto the wild elephant clan demon soldier.

"Wild Elephant! Wild Elephant!"

The wild elephant clan demon soldier howled, a faint shadow of a blue giant elephant appearing behind him. His remaining intact hand formed a fist, meeting the four finger strikes with a punch.

"Wild Elephant Fist, First Form: Mountain Collapse!"

With this punch, Su Qinnian saw a mountain collapse, a blue ancient elephant awakening from its slumber, its trunk sweeping up a towering tree by the roots.

Fist Technique True Meaning!

Su Qinnian's mind was shaken; he did not expect the wild elephant clan demon soldier to master a second-rate fist technique and have received the true meaning of it.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The true meaning of the "Sun Seeking Finger" was crushed, the finger light shattering into a rain of light. The punch's momentum did not diminish, striking Su Qinnian from the air, without any flourish, only the true meaning of a mountain collapse, aiming to crush him into powder.

Hum!

A long, resonant sword cry, as if from the depths of hell, Su Qinnian's longsword trembled, the long-awaited second strike blooming.

This strike, like light illuminating darkness, was the brightness of the earth and fire, the resilience of a gentleman, the light of the heart that remained unextinguished for a thousand years in the underworld.

A blade of light appeared, silently slicing through the air. At the tip of the sword, an inch-long blade of light condensed into a solid form, crystal clear like blood jade, an unprecedented shadow rising from the depths of the soul.

"Blade Qi!"

Only in time to exclaim, the wild elephant clan demon soldier's body twisted, his fist desperately changing direction, but the strike was too fast, like a beam of light, instantly filling his entire field of vision.

Pfft!

A soft sound, a burst of blood, blood spouting several feet high, the wild elephant clan demon soldier flying sideways, half of his body sliced open, his left arm severed at the shoulder, blue demon blood gushing like a spring. (It took almost an hour to upload this chapter, the backend is really lagging, please give me recommendation votes and add to your collection for comfort.)