Li Shen's feet creak the wooden steps as he made his way up to the second floor of the pavilion.
The noise from Lihua and Li wen’s battle was going strong but after entering the pavilion the noise became fainter and fainter.
His steps produced puffs of dirt that he fanned away with his hand. The smell of molds that he could see festering on the walls of the pavilion filled his nose with a dreadful smell.
Reaching up the steps, the only light that was present was a lamp at the end of the hall, right above the last door.
From that door, a sinister aura was pouring out that caused Li Shen’s eyes to narrow.
His guard immediately went up as he moved forward. His steps echoed out rather loudly in the silence of the pavilion to his dislike.
After coming in front of the door, Li Shen felt the frightening aura coming from this room more intensely but he simply pushed the door and stepped inside.
The room was brightly lit, but it was a stark contrast to a sort of darkness that immediately washed over him. It sent a chill down his spine and caused all his hair to stand on end.
The source this aura felt like the embodiment of evil and vileness.
Li Shen walked forward with an expressionless face into the room. Turning to his left, he saw someone sitting in a cross-legged position with their back facing him.
The person didn’t react to his presence and simply remained motionless.
Li Shen flipped off his hood, and his golden eyes gained a bit of luster. Quickly he saw Demonic Energy flowing out of this person into the world around them. It filled the room and seeped outside of the pavilion.
The distortion of laws he saw was because of this person.
‘Such pure Demonic Qi, is this person…?’
Li Shen didn’t finish this thought as his eyes turned cold as he openly asked.
“Are you the Poison Progenitor?”
The youth’s smooth straight black hair shifted slightly as he turned and asked in his immature voice.
“Hm? Who’s asking?”
“My…”
Li Shen started, but his figure suddenly disappeared.
“...Fist.”
Li Shen appeared behind the youth as he finish. His eyes were wide, and his face was completely dark.
The airflow in the room shifted and his hand seemed to pull all of it causing a small cyclone to appear around his arm.
Like a heavy artillery, Li Shen’s hand shot out at the youth’s head.
BANG!
From the outside of the pavilion, one could see a visible airflow bursting out, causing half of the pavilion to collapse.
Back inside the pavilion, Li Shen was still in a fist stance.
The wind flapped wildly in the room as a small boy that looked around ten years old was seen standing behind him. His robes were motionless as he stared at Li Shen, a hint of annoyance in his eyes.
“I don’t like being interrupted.”
Li Shen turned towards the boy and said.
“Tell someone who cares.”
The boy looked at Li Shen and he raised his small hand.
“I hate when annoying insects are the ones that interrupt me, take responsibility ant.”
His index finger extended and the Demonic Qi in the surroundings awaken.
BANG!
The pavilion further collapsed as Li Shen’s figure could be seen leaping out.
Following closely behind him was a sinister black dragon claw. As it exited the pavilion it suddenly absorbed more demonic energy in the cavern and grew to forty meters in size.
Lihua and Li Wen looked up at the scene in shock.
Around them, most of the infected disciples were killed, while next to them was Xian who was being held down by three of Li Wen’s puppets.
The cavern trembled uncontrollably as the dragon claw sent out ripples of demonic energy.
Li Shen used his Divine Will to keep himself afloat in the air. His expression was serious as he looked at the dragon claw.
“YOUNG MASTER!!”
Li Wen seeing this yelled and his expression turned furious as he moved to head in Li Shen’s direction.
However, the boy at the edge of the pavilion looked down at him and said.
“More ants? How annoying.”
He then motioned to the remaining infected disciples, and a dozen out of them had their cries rang out, as their skin and flesh boiled before turning black. Their white eyes became blood red with pointed claws growing on their fingers.
They longer resembled humans but monstrosities one would find in a kid's horror story.
Li Wen felt their increase in strength and he was shocked. A dozen Core Formation realm cultivators had appeared just like that from the boy's casual wave.
Li Wen looked between them and Li Shen, but before he made a decision he heard Li Shen’s voice in his head.
“Protect Lihua and Xian, I’ll be fine.”
Li Wen hesitated, but only for a split second.
‘Yes, Young Master!’
He was aware that Li Shen wasn’t so weak he would be beaten so easily.
Li Wen turned his focus on the dozen demonic disciples that turned into beasts.
Forming a hand seal, two runes appeared next to him. Out of those runes, two puppets that were the size of two men appeared. Unlike the ones that were summoned before these had numerous rune inscriptions covering their entire bodies.
As they lit up, Spiritual Qi in the surroundings was drawn to them and upon entering their bodies, green runes appeared in their eyes as they awoke. Terrifying mid-stage Core Formation realm aura burst from them before they move to intercept the dozen demonic beasts.
Li Wen didn’t stay still and his mid-stage Core Formation realm aura burst out as he assist his puppet in defeating them.
Meanwhile, Lihua was surrounded by his other puppets fighting off the rest of the infected disciples.
The boy then return his gaze to Li Shen and the dragon claw continued towards him.
Despite the overwhelming pressure of the claw that could easily rip apart normal foundation realm cultivators and give Core Formation realm cultivators a run for their money, he merely looked at it with a relaxed expression before closing his eyes.
Inside his body, what sounded like a shackle being released echoed out and suddenly, a monstrous aura slowly began to emanate from his fleshly body. A slight feeling of invincibility radiated from Li Shen as the space around him began to distort because of the pressure he was releasing.
This was his physical strength after going through his physique tribulation. Inside his body, one could see a golden light and a starry black light mixing as he further called upon his two physiques.
Opening his eyes, Li Shen raised his hand and pushed his palm forward.
His aura burst forth and with a momentum of a heavy mountain it took on the shape of his palm and clashed against the dragon claw.
Immediately, ripples of the clash caused the cavern to tremble even harder until rocks began to detach from the walls.
The claw and the palm fought for dominance in the air, but even after a few seconds none had the advantage.
The boy seeing this casually pointed at the dragon claw. He seemed to cast a different level of this Demonic Daoist spell as it disperse into Demonic Qi before going around Li Shen’s palm to attack him in the shape of large arrows.
Li Shen’s palm turned into a fist and he struck out at the arrows. They all rained forwards to be shattered starting from their tips and then extending to their entire body.
With the view cleared, Li Shen stared down from his high position at the boy still standing on the shattered pavilion.
He began lowering himself, but the boy suddenly formed another hand seal, casting another level of the Daoist spell.
The arrows that were shattered suddenly burst into a deadly poisonous green smoke.
Li Shen didn’t react and only continue to lower himself completely unaffected by the poison.
As he reached further down, the boy formed another hand seal. Inside the green smoke, green snakes suddenly formed and charge towards him.
The aura around Li Shen burst out and blast the green snakes away.
As he got closer to the boy, Li Shen’s expression and pace of descent never changed.
The boy once again formed another hand seal, and the green smoke swirled violently before twisting into a serpent around thirty meters large behind Li Shen.
With its head raised, it let out a cry before charging at him.
Without turning around, Li Shen reached behind him and grasped towards the serpent. It froze mid charge, and as he squeeze his fist, its body burst apart.
The boy watched as Li Shen lowered towards him and came to stop a couple of feet away from him.
Li Shen looked at this deathly pale boy, that looked more like a doll than a human. He open his mouth and said with a frown.
“You aren’t the Poison Progenitor. Brat, who are you?”
**
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