"ROAR—"
The powerfully built Wang Song was the first to move!
With no technique whatsoever, like an out-of-control battering ram, he charged the nearest Demon Disciple with a ferocious aura that threatened to crush everything in his path!
His massive fist, carrying a foul wind, smashed toward the head of a Qi Cultivation Third Layer Demon Disciple.
Its speed and force were so immense that the air cracked with a sonic boom.
BANG!
With a tremendous crash, the Demon Disciple's head was smashed like a watermelon, brains splattering everywhere.
After this Demon Cultivator died, because he still had an outstanding loan, a beam of black light descended from the sky, stamping him with the mark of the Holy Loan and guiding the Demon Disciple to his next reincarnation.
"Gahaha!"
Wang Song threw his head back and laughed, a ferocious grin on his face as he licked the crimson blood that had splattered onto the corner of his mouth. His iron fists were unstoppable, specifically targeting Qi Cultivation Third Layer Demon Disciples. In an instant, countless Demon Disciples had met a violent end.
Countless more were forced to accept the brand of debt and reincarnate.
"Brother Wang, impressive!"
Liu Chun, "Gale," was not to be outdone.
His figure flickered, weaving and spinning around the other Demon Disciples. His fists, feet, elbows, and knees became a blur of afterimages, precisely striking every Demon Disciple's vulnerable joints, soft ribs, temples, and other vital points.
Every strike was accompanied by a dull thud and the death of a Qi Cultivation Third Layer Demon Disciple!
...
Similar scenes replayed themselves across the arena.
Wails of agony were incessant as the fighting pit transformed into a bloody Purgatory.
The entire arena was spattered with gore, and the air, thick with the nauseating, metallic stench of blood, was sickening.
Qin Xuan, hiding in the shadows, suddenly shouted without warning.
"Fellow Demon Disciples of the Qi Cultivation Third Layer, unite! Even the strongest eventually tire. As strong as Wang Song and Liu Chun are, can they possibly overcome hundreds of us?"
After shouting this, Qin Xuan quickly lowered his voice, making it high-pitched and sharp.
"Well said! Everyone, let's charge together! I see it all clearly now. We're all going to die anyway, so if we can take a future 'Fierce Soldier' of the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer down with us, it's a huge win no matter what!"
"Enough talk! Wang Song, die!"
Qin Xuan then let out a deep, booming voice, shouting in a resonant tone.
A skeleton of white bone promptly burst from the ground and attacked Wang Song.
"You court death."
Wang Song practiced Taotie's Greedy Yuan Skill, and his Physical Strength was immense. He threw a punch at the white bone skeleton.
However, to his surprise, before his fist even made contact with the white bones, the entire skeleton collapsed into a heap, mixing in with the corpses littering the ground.
It was like punching cotton—all force and no impact. Wang Song was incredibly frustrated.
In the eyes of the other Demon Disciples, however, it looked as if Wang Song had shattered the white bone skeleton with a single punch.
"Pfft! Such incredible power... Wang Song, you just wait! When I reincarnate in my next life, you'll be the first one I take revenge on!"
Qin Xuan wailed loudly, once again using the deep voice from before, but this time it was tinged with weakness before falling silent.
Wang Song: "???"
Under Qin Xuan's provocations, one Qi Cultivation Third Layer Demon Disciple after another met their end.
Finally, one of the Demon Disciples snapped, roaring as he charged at Wang Song.
"Fuck it, I can't take this anymore! We're all going to die anyway, so I'm taking you with me!"
Wang Song killed him with a single punch.
"So what if your Cultivation is high? It just means you took out bigger loans! Wang Song, I'm coming for you too!"
Then came another, and another, and another...
But the last words of even more Qi Cultivation Third Layer Demon Disciples were: "Fucking Holy Sect! Just wait until I reincarnate and cultivate again!"
After killing several Demon Disciples in a row, Wang Song finally realized something was wrong.
'What's going on? This situation doesn't feel right.'
Wang Song was panting, his brow furrowed tightly. His Demonic Essence was beginning to run out.
'It's true that I'm the strongest, but that doesn't mean I can just steamroll everyone!'
The once-feeble Qi Cultivation Third Layer Demon Disciples were now swarming him like a plague of locusts, one wave after another.
The Demon Disciples had been driven into a blood-crazed frenzy.
With the safety net of reincarnation guaranteed, their ferocity had been completely unleashed by Qin Xuan.
Meanwhile, Qin Xuan was hiding in the shadows, preying on isolated Demon Disciples who weren't quite dead yet.
BZZZT!
With a faint tremor, another Demon Disciple was sucked dry by Qin Xuan.
Qin Xuan trembled all over, feeling as if currents of electricity were coursing through his meridians. This tingling sensation of quietly raising his Cultivation was simply incredible!
He too was at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer, but no one knew his true strength.
The benefits of having always kept a low profile were finally showing.
"Heh heh, Fellow Daoist, what a clever trick..."
Just then, a short, wiry, ape-like dwarf appeared beside Qin Xuan. The effects of the Blood Boiling Soup hadn't made his body swell; instead, it had made him slightly hunched, and his movements became unnaturally swift and bizarre.
Qin Xuan's heart went cold.
He found that he couldn't see through the true Cultivation of the dwarf before him!
"Fellow Daoist, this one is Hou Qi. Are you interested in cooperating with me? The two of us ascending the Blood Bone Throne together... wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Hou Qi licked his chapped lips, revealing yellowed teeth. His eyes darted about, his face a picture of cunning and deceit.
"Of course!" Qin Xuan agreed without a second thought.
'As a disciple of the Holy Sect, there's nothing wrong with faking compliance, then backstabbing him in the final stage and turning on him completely, right?'
However, just as this thought arose, the massive ball of light in his mind suddenly flickered, and four Ancient Bamboo Sticks flew out from it.
[Top-Top Lottery: Cooperate sincerely. Go smurfing with the seventh reincarnated body of the Golden Core True Demon and obtain a True Demon Reincarnation Spiritual Artifact. No risk. Great fortune.]
[Middle-Middle Draw: Refuse to cooperate and continue on your own. Your safety will be guaranteed. No gains, no losses. Neutral.]
[Middle-Lower Draw: Refuse to cooperate and ambush Hou Qi with other Cultivators. You will earn the hatred of the reincarnated Golden Core True Demon and may be in mortal danger. Ominous.]
[The Worst Draw: Cooperate deceitfully, then backstab him in the final stage. You will be afflicted with a True Demon's curse and die without a burial place. Great misfortune!]
Seeing the content of the Divination clearly, Qin Xuan's pupils shrank, and a chill shot up his spine.
This ugly, short dwarf in front of him was actually the seventh reincarnated body of a Golden Core True Demon!
'Fuck, it's all the fault of this fucking Holy Sect. They've corrupted a fine young man like me.'
'One should be sincere when cooperating with others. How could I even think of being deceitful?'
Qin Xuan's gaze toward Hou Qi instantly became much clearer. "This one is Xiao Ran. Fellow Daoist, what do you have in mind? I'm listening."
The residual fortune of a Dao path is severed after nine lives.
Generally speaking, for a reincarnated Golden Core True Demon, the first three lives are the easiest to return to the Golden Core Cultivation. Between the third and sixth lives, the residual fortune from their past life can at most guarantee they reach the Purple Mansion Realm.
Hou Qi, however, was in his seventh reincarnation cycle after the fall of his Golden Core. Tainted by the impurities of the mortal world, he had yet to break through the "womb's delusion," and only a sliver of a chance remained for him to return to the Golden Core.
'This man is quite resourceful. I'll still need to be wary while cooperating with him, lest he harbor ill intentions and try to harm me at a critical moment.'
A smile appeared on Hou Qi's face. Both of them were harboring their own ulterior motives.
Although he had not yet broken through the womb's delusion to awaken his Innate Wisdom, the residual fortune from his Golden Core remained. He was protected by a serendipitous destiny, and as long as Hou Qi didn't do anything to court death, reaching Foundation Establishment in this life was practically guaranteed.
"Let's divide the labor. I want to target the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer Demon Disciples, as they pose the greatest threat to us. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Xiao is interested?"
Hou Qi stated his plan.