Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 101

Volume 6 Chapter 101: Fate and Choice (9)

When Xu Qingfan saw the monsters appear in his line of sight, he was taken aback; with the monsters’ speed, from appearance to attack, it all happened in an instant.

At the same time, Little Black realized what it would mean for both him and Xu Qingfan to have the support of the two or three thousand "Dark Crows" in front of them, and quickly increased his power and pressure as Xu Qingfan had suggested.

As Little Black’s power grew stronger, his presence and royal aura became even more intense.

Slowly, about six or seven hundred of the nearly thousand remaining "Dark Crows" in the sky descended to the ground, folding their wings and lowering their heads in a gesture of submission.

These six or seven hundred "Dark Crows" were at the early Earth level, roughly equivalent to human Fake Golden Core Stage cultivators!

Little Black continued to increase his power, pushing it to the limit, but two or three hundred "Dark Crows" gave out unwilling cries, struggling as they flapped their wings rapidly, as if covered by an invisible net, slowly descending to the ground.

This group of "Dark Crows" was at the middle Earth level, similar to human Real Golden Core Stage cultivators.

Seeing that those two or three hundred Earth level middle class "Dark Crows" were about to submit to Little Black, Xu Qingfan felt a surge of joy; with the help of these "Dark Crows," he gained the strength to resist the monsters.

However, at that moment, a change occurred.

There were two changes.

The first change came from the last twenty or thirty Earth-level high-class "Dark Crows" in the sky.

As Little Black was about to take control of the two or three hundred Earth-level middle-class "Dark Crows," those who had been watching coldly finally couldn’t hold back. These "Dark Crows" were originally their subordinates! How could they not feel hate and urgency when they saw Little Black taking them away, knowing they would soon be all alone?

However, the strong aura of a king from Little Black made them hesitate to think about revenge.

But they had other methods.

Suddenly, with the varying cries of the twenty or thirty crows, these "Dark Crows," whose strength was similar to Little Black’s, burst forth with a powerful presence that competed against Little Black’s pressure. Although it wasn’t as rich and pure as Little Black’s kingly aura, their wild nature made it even more domineering. Together, they instantly dispersed Little Black’s force, and the two or three hundred Earth-level middle-class "Dark Crows" seized the chance to break free. Even the six or seven hundred already submitted Earth-level low-class "Dark Crows" began to stir restlessly.

In fact, Little Black was now the king of the "Dark Crows," the strongest among them, and his leadership over the "Dark Crows" came naturally.

If approached differently, if Little Black were to blend in with the "Dark Crows," as they became more familiar with him and acknowledged his kingly identity and strength, it would only be a matter of time before they all submitted.

But now, Little Black was just a stranger to them. Having shown such great strength so soon after appearing, it naturally caused a strong backlash from the "Dark Crows."

Unfortunately, given the current situation, Little Black had no choice but to act this way.

Just as the previously favorable situation was about to change, the second strange event finally occurred.

That was, the monsters that had been chasing for more than ten days finally arrived here.

As the monsters landed from the sky, the moment their feet touched the sandy ground, it seemed the earth shook for an instant, winds and sands rose up, and a fierce fire blazed.

This time, however, seeing Xu Qingfan surrounded by so many "Dark Crows," many of which were quite powerful, the monsters were cautious. They did not rush at Xu Qingfan with roars as before, but instead fixed their eyes on him from a distance. They radiated a tremendous pressure, fierce and wild, both intimidating Xu Qingfan and warning the "Dark Crows" not to act rashly.

It seemed that the sudden eruption of energy from the two or three dozen high-level "Dark Crows" at Earth level was perceived as a provocation by the monsters.

Thus, in a strange twist of fate, Little Black, the "Dark Crows," and the monsters found themselves in an unusual standoff.

The standoff created a heavy and oppressive atmosphere.

Xu Qingfan let out a faint sigh, determination flickering in his eyes, as he moved slowly towards the monster.

Although Xu Qingfan could survive for a while because the monster was concerned about countless "Dark Crows," he knew well that the monster had no intelligence at all. It was only driven by a deep resentment, lacking any ability to think. At that moment, it had stopped because of the "Dark Crows," but with its cruel nature, it would not hesitate for long. When the monster could no longer hold back and charged at him, it would ruin Little Black’s plan to tame those "Dark Crows." Rather than wait for that, it was better for him to step up now.

Before leaving, Xu Qingfan placed a small blue jade box at Little Black’s feet. Seeing Xu Qingfan about to confront the monster, Little Black became anxious and, without caring about competing with the other advanced Earth-level "Dark Crows," squawked at Xu Qingfan to try to stop him.

Xu Qingfan managed a weak smile and sent a calming message to Little Black through their mental link, soothing Little Black’s emotions before he stepped forward, walking towards the monster one step at a time.

Xu Qingfan was not doing this to sacrifice himself so that Little Black could become a true "Dark Crow" king; he did not have such noble intentions. Instead, he understood that whether he could escape from the monster or even defeat it depended on whether Little Black could tame those "Dark Crows." If not, it would not matter; the difference would only be between dying sooner or later.

To help Little Black tame these "Dark Crows," Xu Qingfan needed to act before the monster’s patience ran out, to prevent it from ruining everything.

Until Little Black had fully tamed these "Dark Crows," the only thing Xu Qingfan could do was to buy time, delaying until Little Black succeeded.

Watching Xu Qingfan stagger towards him, the monster paused in surprise. It could sense that Xu Qingfan was at his limit. Why was he not hiding behind the protection of the "Dark Crows" but instead walking toward it willingly?

The monster’s simple mind couldn’t grasp this complicated question. It didn’t need to understand. As soon as Xu Qingfan left the "Dark Crow" area, the monster roared and charged at him. It believed only by tearing Xu Qingfan apart could it relieve the resentment in its heart.

However, just at the moment when the monster lunged at Xu Qingfan, a determined look flashed in his eyes. The black and white energy slowly spread around him and blended together. The distance between the monster and Xu Qingfan was only a hundred steps. With the monster’s speed, this distance could be crossed in an instant. In that brief moment, amidst the merging of the black and white energy, a powerful force suddenly emerged. This force came from Xu Qingfan, but it seemed that the exhausted Xu Qingfan was now giving off a strength several times greater than at his peak.

In worldly novels, there is often a pattern where the main character, after encountering a villain, always seems to be at a disadvantage. Just when on the brink of death, they suddenly unleash an incredible power, defeating the villain in one blow. People attribute this sudden burst of power to the main character’s strong will, which allowed them to break through a bottleneck in a crucial moment. Meanwhile, the villain becomes stiff and cold under the main character’s righteous energy, and other reasons such as good triumphing over evil are also mentioned. Over time, this kind of story structure has become mainstream in worldly novels.

In fact, this situation doesn’t only appear in clichéd stories; it is also very common in the cultivation world.

However, in the cultivation world, this kind of explosion of power is not exclusive to righteous cultivators. In fact, it is even more common for evil cultivators to suddenly unleash strength that is several times greater than usual when they are cornered. This is not because good triumphs over evil, nor is it due to the strong will of these cultivators, but because they have reversed their cultivation methods.

Reversing the cultivation method can allow a cultivator to gain several times their usual strength for a limited time. However, there are many downsides; the duration is short, and afterward, their vitality will be seriously damaged, leading to life force depletion and even soul damage. Even if they defeat their opponent using this method, the user will be unable to recover for a long time, resulting in endless troubles. If the duration is too long, once everything is over, the user will instantly die, their soul dissipating and body collapsing.

Reversing the cultivation method is another term that cultivators use for this technique, which perhaps reflects its true nature better — "Disintegration Method."

The "Disintegration Method," along with the "Self-Detonation Technique," is ranked among the two most feared abilities by all cultivators worldwide, whether against their enemies or towards themselves.

Unless the opponent is overwhelmingly strong, whenever someone uses such a technique, the result is always a draw with no winners.

At this moment, in order to delay the monster and allow Little Black to successfully subdue those "Dark Crows," Xu Qingfan disregarded the terrifying consequences that might arise in the future and boldly used the "Disintegration Method"!

Moreover, what Xu Qingfan is reversing is the "Formula of Life and Death." This cultivation method normally puts a great deal of pressure on the body, and once reversed, the damage to both the body and the soul is much greater than reversing other cultivation methods.

However, similarly, the power gained after reversing the "Formula of Life and Death" within a certain time is far greater than that gained from reversing other cultivation methods.

Xu Qingfan watched in awe as the demon charged towards him. With the life and death energies in his body reversed, his strength had completely recovered after one cycle, and after three cycles, his strength had increased by more than five times.

Compared to the demon whose power was already on par with a peak Nascent Soul cultivator, Xu Qingfan’s strength was still much weaker, but it was enough to buy him some time.

The demon, although surprised by Xu Qingfan’s sudden increase in strength, did not hesitate. After darting beside Xu Qingfan, it swiftly clawed at Xu Qingfan’s head while a dark shadow behind it shot forward like lightning, aiming to stab Xu Qingfan’s chest with its sword tail. Meanwhile, countless eyes on the demon’s body flashed with eerie light, ready to unleash powerful Five Elements Taoist Techniques.

The demon had seen Xu Qingfan escape from under its nose countless times, so this time, upon seeing Xu Qingfan, it unleashed all its power, determined not to leave Xu Qingfan any chance to survive.

However, Xu Qingfan was already prepared for this. The "Five Spirit Bell" transformed into a thick protective shield in front of him. As the demon’s claws met the "Five Spirit Bell," two ancient and melodious bell sounds echoed through the air. The sound was so strong that it caused the demon to pause, and it allowed Xu Qingfan to use the force of the demon’s attack to accelerate his escape.

Over these days, the "Five Spirit Bell" had been battered trying to resist the demon. Now, with Xu Qingfan’s surge in power, it regained its defensive abilities, blocking all the demon’s attacks within three inches of Xu Qingfan.

As Xu Qingfan used the force of the demon to speed away to a distance of a hundred feet, a loud bang erupted. Countless spells and techniques exploded around the demon, creating a deep hole that seemed bottomless, except for the small area where the demon stood. Although Xu Qingfan narrowly avoided the range of the demon’s attacks, he was still shaken by the aftereffects of the explosion.

This kind of power erupting with hundreds or thousands of Five Elements Taoist techniques has happened to Xu Qingfan more than a hundred times in recent days. Even so, each time he sees it, he still feels a shock in his heart. Xu Qingfan calls this method the "Five Elements Explosion."

Looking at the ferocity of the demon, Xu Qingfan sighed softly and took out two items from his sleeve: one was the "Holy Spirit Buddhist Relic," which can restrain demons, and the other was the "World Defying Sword."

Xu Qingfan had already used the "World Defying Sword" many times before. In recent days, to fight against the demons, he had used it at least five times. During this time, he had stabbed it into a demon’s body twice, absorbing a large amount of the demon’s resentful souls and essence. It was now at least three times more powerful than when Xu Qingfan first obtained it. At this moment, holding it in his hands, he felt a strong desire for destruction and evil. Demonic energy surged around the sword, as if covered by a layer of intense black flames. Yet, even so, it still could not effectively harm the demon, as it was still far from its peak form.

However, the "World Defying Sword" was an invaluable treasure, second only to the "Nine Demon Bead" in the demonic path. As Xu Qingfan took it out and thought about the previous two times it had harmed him, a hint of concern flashed in the demon’s magic eye. But the desire to kill Xu Qingfan overwhelmed everything else, and with a roar, it rushed towards Xu Qingfan again.

Xu Qingfan snorted coldly, raising his hand. The "Holy Spirit Buddhist Relic" shot out a beam of golden and white light at the demon. As the demon attempted to dodge, Xu Qingfan did not retreat but charged forward, holding the "World Defying Sword" and quickly rushing towards the demon.

"Clang…"

The sound of metal clashing rang out just as Xu Qingfan was about to stab the "World Defying Sword" into the demon’s body. The demon’s tail blocked it. The structure of the demon’s tail was unknown, as even the sharpness of the "World Defying Sword" could not harm it at all.

In that brief moment, Xu Qingfan had already put away the "Holy Spirit Buddhist Relic," which needed time to regain power and would conflict with the "World Defying Sword." With a swift motion, he shot out several "Spirit Sealing Talismans," sticking them to various parts of the demon’s body. Under the sealing power of the "Spirit Sealing Talismans," it perfectly blocked the "Five Elements Explosion" that the Demon General was about to unleash.

After doing all this, Xu Qingfan did not linger on the battlefield and quickly retreated.

Indeed, the "Spirit Sealing Talisman" only seals for a very short time. As Xu Qingfan retreated a hundred meters away from the monster, the several "Spirit Sealing Talismans" shattered under the monster’s powerful attack, and the "Five Elements Explosion" finally unleashed.

However, this time the "Five Elements Explosion" did not explode within a hundred meters of the monster like before; instead, it gathered together and formed a thick five-colored beam of light that charged toward Xu Qingfan. The fierce energy waves of the beam could be sensed clearly from miles away, causing the space around it to shake violently.

Even with the "Five Spirit Bell," Xu Qingfan did not dare to face it head-on. The yellow light flickered beneath his feet as "Flying Satin" suddenly appeared, carrying him quickly away. From Xu Qingfan’s understanding, while the "Five Elements Explosion" was indeed powerful, the hundreds of mixed Five Elements Taoist Methods were extremely unstable and could not last long.

Sure enough, as Xu Qingfan fled, the five-colored beam only chased for less than two thousand feet before it turned into shimmering light and disappeared into the world.

However, although Xu Qingfan flew quickly, the monster chased faster. After Xu Qingfan saw the beam disperse and let out a sigh of relief, a monster with black wings appeared right above him. Its enormous gaping mouth took up half of its face and shot a black beam made of corrupted death energy toward Xu Qingfan.

Xu Qingfan’s expression turned serious. He quickly flicked his fingers, and dozens of "Life and Death Fingers" suddenly appeared, clashing against the corrupted death energy. As the two forces collided, a thunderous roaring echoed between heaven and earth. The "Life and Death Fingers" were completely defeated, but they slightly weakened the force of the black beam. Taking advantage of this moment, Xu Qingfan narrowly avoided the beam.

However, the monster had many ways to attack. Just as Xu Qingfan had managed to dodge the black beam, he used the "World Defying Sword" to block the piercing attack of the monster’s tail, but the monster’s black wings, stretching five meters long, slammed heavily into him. He couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood and fell far away.

At that moment, the side effects of using the "Disintegration Method" began to slowly show on Xu Qingfan.