Chapter 122: The Seizure

Qiao Qian immediately formed hand seals and cast a spell, his ten fingers flicking rapidly. The Demonic Eye of Heavenly Doom grew calm, and the lingering will and impurities within it were completely purified.

Qiao Qian smiled with satisfaction and said, “The Lich King is indeed cunning, using this man to cultivate the Demonic Eye of Heavenly Doom. Once the plan succeeds, he intends to refine him as well, so he alone can wield the eye. But he underestimated me, Qiao Qian. This Demonic Eye of Heavenly Doom is a gift from me to you. Only those with the Demonic Body of Heavenly Doom can unleash its full power; any other owner would be squandering such a treasure.”

With a snap of his fingers, the Demonic Eye of Heavenly Doom shot into Ye Yu’s brow, as if a dragon had returned to the sea. A surge of pure and fierce deadly energy radiated outward, rolling and then flowing back into Ye Yu’s body.

Ye Yu immediately felt the Demonic Eye in his brow exchanging energy with the deadly qi inside him, merging into one. Now he could command the eye at will, provided he had enough deadly qi.

His heart swelled with joy. Having obtained this legendary treasure would surely give him the upper hand in battle. He respectfully said, “Thank you, Master, for this precious gift. I will train diligently to repay your kindness. Might I also ask you to give Ge Qian a defensive treasure?”

Qiao Qian, seeing Ye Yu’s transformation, was delighted. With the Demonic Eye and the Demonic Body of Heavenly Doom united, Ye Yu’s future achievements would surpass even his own. Hearing Ye Yu’s request, Qiao Qian’s expression shifted. His eyes flickered as he said, “You, my disciple, just received a precious treasure and now you want to swindle another for your beloved? It seems I must keep a step ahead. I have no treasures left, but I can offer him a defensive cultivation method—the ‘Deadly Qi Armor.’ Whether he can master it depends on his destiny and insight.”

With that, he casually tossed a worn and tattered jade slip to Ge Qian.

Ge Qian had a fondness for rare and unusual cultivation techniques. They often brought unexpected inspiration. He smiled faintly and stored the jade slip in his storage pouch, saying, “Thank you, Senior, for the gift.”

At that moment, the entire Red Doom Desert trembled violently, the deadly qi raging and crashing in all directions.

Qiao Qian waved his hand, enveloping Ye Yu and Ge Qian in a faint protective barrier. He remained unscathed, for any deadly qi that struck him was immediately absorbed, incapable of causing him any harm.

He sneered coldly, “I’ve taken his Demonic Eye of Heavenly Doom. The Lich King is indeed furious. But this isn’t over—I still intend to claim the spear tip that belongs to the Weihu Sect.”

No sooner had he spoken than the gray altar at the desert’s center suddenly rose a hundred zhang, runes flickering above it.

The Red Doom Elder, his wild red hair dancing in the wind, sat cross-legged atop the altar, forming hand seals and chanting incantations. The demonic cultivators within the Red Doom Desert screamed in agony, their bodies bursting apart. Their primordial spirits and deadly qi all surged into the altar.

The altar shone with a black radiance, condensing in the air into a teleportation array spanning the void.

The Red Doom Elder raised his arms and knelt, proclaiming, “The Red Doom welcomes the arrival of the supreme, invincible master!”

A destructive pressure that could annihilate heaven and earth rippled through the teleportation array.

Qiao Qian shouted, “Perfect timing! The power suppressing the spear tip is at its weakest now!” The pressure on his body exploded outward, and all the deadly qi in the Red Doom Desert surged back.

He manifested a giant hand of deadly qi, suddenly grasping down towards the ground. A vividly alive deadly qi serpent was caught in his grip. With a brutal squeeze, the struggling serpent burst apart, transforming into a deadly qi spear tip.

Just as he was about to retrieve it, a massive, blurry hand of sorcery force teleported out from the teleportation array, also grabbing hold of the spear tip.

An angry roar echoed from within: “You’re quite the schemer, Daoist. I’ve painstakingly cultivated the Red Doom Desert for a millennium to refine this treasure, yet you come to snatch it away. Since you’ve come, you shall become the desert’s fertilizer!”

Qiao Qian forcefully pulled back, saying, “If your true form came, I might have some concerns. But mere transmitted sorcery? What harm can that do to me?”

Though he spoke boldly, Qiao Qian did not dare be careless. He pressed a finger to the teleportation array, and a hundred-zhang-long white tiger tail phantom appeared in the air, lashing fiercely at the array.

From within the array came a cold snort, and a phantom gray mountain a hundred zhang high was hurled forth, crushing down mercilessly on the tiger tail and Qiao Qian.

Feeling his life hanging by a thread, Qiao Qian immediately projected his primordial spirit out of his body, manifesting his tiger tail. Its dazzling light met the mountain head-on.

A deafening, earth-shaking explosion followed; the mountain shattered, and Qiao Qian’s primordial spirit returned to his body. His blood surged wildly as he thought, “The Lich King’s strength is indeed formidable. Though I am heavily suppressed, his power is only a transmitted Daoist technique. He actually absorbed my full strike. I shouldn’t linger here.”

As he pondered this, the phantom hand suddenly increased its force, pulling back fiercely. The Lich King’s sorcery hand also exerted all its strength, tugging back.

With a loud crack, the spear tip split in two. Qiao Qian seized about seventy percent, the Lich King took twenty percent, and the remaining ten percent shattered and fell to the ground.

Ge Qian watched carefully, waiting for an opportunity. He realized the deadly qi in the spear tip far exceeded the desert’s qi. If he could obtain some, refining it might allow him to condense the Asura Pill.

With this in mind, Ge Qian focused even more intently, awaiting the perfect moment. Then, with a thought, the Seven Emotions Sword Qi he had left within Ye Yu’s body retracted back into his dantian.

Forming hand seals, he cast “Open Pathways,” leaving behind a magical clone. His true body then employed “Secret Passage,” vanishing into the invisible.

“Turning the Corner,” he slipped out of the protective barrier and appeared outside. The violent magical fluctuations and oppressive pressure rendered him immobilized, as if trapped in quicksand. Suddenly, a golden light flashed behind him, and a colossal phantom ten zhang tall with three heads and six arms appeared, mighty as a mountain. Its body was covered in fist-sized scales, surrounded by runes, with lightning crackling across it.

The central head was identical to Ge Qian, while the other two had only outlines, lacking features. Behind it spread a pair of six-colored wings shimmering with thunderous light.

The six-colored wings flapped vigorously, unleashing countless runes that surged forth, greatly reducing the pressure ahead.

Ge Qian immediately used “Deceptive Switch,” redirecting the oppressive force toward the Red Doom Elder, whose eyes darted wildly in confusion. Since the Elder was still in the Spirit Cultivation stage, he could not intervene in the battle. If the conflict spilled over, the Elder would be shattered to pieces, his nascent soul unable to escape.

Suddenly, Ge Qian felt the pressure multiply and dared not slacken. He opened his mouth, spitting out a small shield of deadly qi, which expanded ten zhang high to block the wind.

Seizing the opportunity, Ge Qian used “Deceptive Switch” again. The spear tip fragments falling underground vanished in an instant.

He seized the shards, swallowing them into his dantian. The ruthless deadly qi began ravaging his dantian, as if trying to tear him apart. Eighty-nine sword qi streaked around, forming a furnace of six realms—the Six Paths of Reincarnation—with immense power, temporarily suppressing the deadly qi shards.

Until these shards were fully refined, he could not wield sword qi in defense; otherwise, his dantian would collapse, releasing the deadly qi shards, leading to certain death without burial.

All this took only a few breaths. The Six Paths King returned to his body, leaving only a pair of six-colored wings sprouting from Ge Qian’s back. Using “Turning the Corner,” he flapped the wings with a flash of thunder, returning inside the protective barrier.