Translator: CinderTL

Song Wen’s brow furrowed slightly, genuinely surprised.

Although his cultivation level was lower than his opponent’s, the inherent advantage of thunder magic against corpse cultivators should have at least knocked the Soul Breaking Awl away.

Sensing the opponent’s aura, as deep and abyssal as the underworld itself, Song Wen immediately realized the enemy’s overwhelming spiritual power was the key to their victory.

Yet, the opponent’s cultivation was only one minor realm higher than his own. How could their spiritual power be so vastly superior?

Despite the turmoil in his mind, Song Wen’s offensive never faltered.

He had no time to waste; this battle had to be swift and decisive.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t Song Wen who attacked, but the shadow void.

Unbeknownst to the corpse cultivator, the shadow void’s nine tentacles had already extended from Song Wen’s head, quivering slightly.

Seeing his Soul Breaking Awl gain the upper hand, the corpse cultivator’s expression brightened. He prepared to channel more spiritual power into the awl, aiming to crush his opponent in one final surge. But suddenly, a piercing hum erupted in his mind, as if a thousand iron needles were stabbing into his Sea of Consciousness.

"Aaaah..."

The corpse cultivator let out a harrowing scream.

But the cry lasted only a moment before abruptly ceasing.

His divine soul had been critically wounded, causing him to lose consciousness.

A surge of spiritual power erupted from Song Wen, enveloping the corpse cultivator as he sped away.

He wasn’t in a hurry to kill the corpse cultivator.

The moment the corpse cultivator died, the Six Fiends Hall would sense it.

Song Wen needed to put as much distance as possible between himself and the Six Fiends Hall before making his move.

He traveled at breakneck speed, exiting the Primordial Qi Death Zone and covering millions of miles until he reached a mountain range with sparse Spiritual Qi.

Landing at the foot of a mountain, he entered a small cave.

"Shadow Void, maintain vigilance over the surroundings," Song Wen commanded.

His right hand withered, its fingers sharpening into claws as he plunged them into the corpse cultivator’s chest.

Perhaps sensing the threat to its life, the unconscious corpse cultivator suddenly jolted awake. Its eyelids snapped open, pupils contracted sharply, and it stared in terror at Song Wen before it.

But the light in its eyes quickly dimmed, like a candle burning out.

A hoarse, strangled whimper escaped its throat. Its head lolled to the side, its body stiffened, and it became utterly lifeless.

To prevent any unforeseen complications, Song Wen immediately devoured the corpse cultivator’s divine soul into the Black Hole within his Sea of Consciousness.

At the same time, the spiritual power the corpse cultivator had painstakingly cultivated over millennia through the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art began to flow ceaselessly into Song Wen’s body.

Song Wen fully activated his cultivation technique. The nascent soul within his dantian, ravenous and insatiable, greedily absorbed the incoming spiritual power, propelling his cultivation level higher and higher.

But soon, Song Wen sensed an anomaly.

He had expected that devouring this person’s spiritual power would elevate his cultivation to near the peak of late-stage Void Refinement. To his surprise, his cultivation not only rapidly reached the peak of late-stage Void Refinement, touching an invisible bottleneck, but spiritual power continued to flood into his body.

The corpse cultivator’s spiritual power had yet to be completely drained.

"This person’s cultivation is far more profound than I imagined!" Song Wen’s eyes lit up, recognizing an opportunity to advance to peak void refinement realm.

Under the frenzied operation of the Corpse King’s Rebirth Art, the incoming spiritual power was rapidly assimilated, merging seamlessly with Song Wen’s original spiritual power. The combined energy surged through his meridians like a raging river bursting its banks, roaring and surging with overwhelming force.

Song Wen immersed his entire consciousness in the cultivation technique, guiding the berserk spiritual power to repeatedly batter against the bottleneck.

Instead of breaking through the bottleneck, Song Wen’s meridians began to crack under the relentless assault of spiritual power, sending searing pain through his body. He couldn’t help but groan softly.

Clenching his teeth, Song Wen endured the agony without wavering.

The invisible bottleneck, as solid as bedrock, finally began to loosen under the relentless assault, emitting faint cracking sounds.

"Break!"

With a low roar, Song Wen shattered the bottleneck, which could no longer withstand the pressure.

His aura surged violently.

The spiritual power surging through his meridians converged like rivers flowing into the sea, pouring into his dantian and being absorbed by his nascent soul.

When Song Wen opened his eyes, they seemed to reflect a sea of floating corpses, or perhaps the Nine Nether Springs themselves.

Before he could fully savor his breakthrough, Shadow Void’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind:

"Master, someone’s coming."

Song Wen’s expression tightened instantly, the joy of his breakthrough vanishing.

Flames erupted from his hand, engulfing the mummified corpse before him.

Immediately afterward, he sensed an overwhelming pressure descending.

The newcomer was a middle-aged male cultivator radiating righteous energy.

This caught Song Wen off guard, as he had expected pursuers from the Six Fiends Hall.

Despite this, Song Wen remained vigilant.

In the Southern Nether Continent, the Orthodox Path didn’t need grudges or personal gain to slaughter demonic cultivators. A mere declaration that "demonic heretics deserve death" was enough to justify massacres.

Song Wen couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, lamenting his misfortune.

In this desolate land, where Spiritual Qi was so scarce that even low-level demon beasts were absent, a "senior expert" had inexplicably appeared. This was even more unbelievable than finding a priceless treasure at a street stall.

"Greetings, Senior," Song Wen said, clasping his hands in a respectful bow as he gazed at the cave’s ceiling. His eyes seemed to pierce through the thick rock, reaching the middle-aged male cultivator hovering above the mountain.

The cultivator surveyed the towering peak beneath him with a disdainful gaze, his divine sense sweeping across the landscape without restraint, probing Song Wen’s body with unrestrained scrutiny.

"This venerable one was curious who would break through in such a desolate wilderness. So it’s you, a corpse cultivator. But it figures. You demonic heretics, who spend your days committing deeds that enrage both heaven and man, can only hide in places where Spiritual Qi is scarce."

Song Wen’s heart skipped a beat. This visitor means trouble, he thought grimly.

"Shadow Void, what’s his cultivation level?" Song Wen asked in his Sea of Consciousness.

He could roughly sense that the man was a Body Integration Stage cultivator, but he couldn’t pinpoint his exact level.

"Mid-Body Integration Stage," Shadow Void replied.

"Are you confident you can severely injure him?" Song Wen asked.

"No guarantee. Unless he lacks a Divine Soul Defense Spirit Treasure," Shadow Void said.

Even as Song Wen secretly questioned Shadow Void, the middle-aged male cultivator in the sky had already made his move.

"Demonic path whelp, your life ends here!"

A flying sword materialized before the man, shooting forth like a silver lightning bolt tearing through the heavens. It pierced effortlessly through the rock, leaving a smooth, deep hole as it hurtled toward Song Wen, who was hiding in the cave deep within the mountain.

As if stunned by the earth-shattering sword strike, Song Wen stood motionless, offering no resistance.

The flying sword emerged from the cave ceiling, piercing through Song Wen’s skull and exiting through his lower body.

Song Wen’s physical form exploded into a shower of flesh and blood, splattering in all directions.

Bang, bang, bang...

The bloody fragments struck the cave walls, instantly riddling them with holes before the entire structure collapsed in a thunderous roar. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

(End of the Chapter)

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