Chapter 36: The Hunter’s Feast of Despair

This was precisely the “Bloody Wind” attack, the initial phase of the “Bloody Wind and Rain” technique, which in the original story represented Su Qin’s most potent maneuver when facing the orthodox sects’ encirclement.

As the Bloody Wind swept through, followed by a drizzling rain of blood, half of the Golden Core cultivators in the Southern Border met their end within this array, making the world realize for the first time the true terror of Blood Dao beast taming.

Such self-created techniques often showed hints of existing divine abilities already mastered.

Over the three days since his awakening, Su Qin had meticulously reviewed the Blood Demon cultivation techniques and practiced the arrays he already possessed.

At last, he had uncovered the key to the “Bloody Wind.”

It was with this very move that Su Qin, in the original story, transformed an almost certain death encirclement into a decisive victory, akin to a ‘fish fry’ (TL Note: A slang term, ‘zha yu ju,’ referring to a situation where one side is overwhelmingly superior, easily defeating a weaker opponent, like ‘fishing for noobs’).

Wherever the Bloody Wind blew, flesh was stripped from bone, and spirits were shattered, souls dispersed.

Yet, despite possessing such a formidable technique, Su Qin was ultimately defeated by his own disciple.

There was no helping it; the demon lord was an exceptionally obsessive individual, determined to cultivate his disciples into the foremost experts under heaven.

Qi Ning, sensing the profound warning of death resonating from the depths of her soul, dared not underestimate the threat in the slightest.

“Severing Strike!”

Following her furious shout, a terrifying sword qi, dozens of meters long, surged forth to meet the strange wind.

As if provoked, the strange wind howled, scattering the sword qi and even shattering its disintegrating fragments into dust, proving that the attacks were ultimately not on the same level.

“Damn it!”

Qi Ning cursed angrily, and, left with no other choice, she weakened the grand array, leveraging its power to meet the Bloody Wind head-on with all her might.

Terrifying energy assailed the Bloody Wind like a torrential rain, yet the wind merely blew calmly, pulverizing every attack.

A blinding, fierce glare swiftly engulfed Qi Ning’s vision.

How could Su Qin possibly let this opportunity slip by?

He immediately activated the Fangs, and after expending almost all his strength, the Fangs successfully pierced the barrier.

It was done!

Su Qin’s face lit up with joy, and just as he prepared to unleash the Blood Demon’s salvation, a voice of praise plunged him into an icy abyss.

“You are indeed a kindred spirit to me.”

Qi Ning had appeared behind Su Qin at some unknown point, her clothes tattered and torn, barely concealing her vital areas.

Her right pinky finger, having been struck by the Bloody Wind, was stripped of flesh, revealing ghastly white sinews and bone.

“What a truly vicious divine ability, yet this isn’t its full extent, is it?”

She had to admit, she had genuinely come close to dying in that wind just moments ago.

Nevertheless, it had all been worth it; the victor had already been decided.

The water curtain had already transformed into its variation, the [Ice Curtain].

With a mere thought from Qi Ning, the water curtain before Su Qin had solidified into three feet of impenetrable ice.

It was stuck; Su Qin’s Fangs were trapped within the Ice Curtain.

Qi Ning showed no urgency, watching Su Qin attempt to retrieve it several times without success, before slowly turning to face him.

At last, she discerned a hint of despair on the demon lord’s face; his eyes were noticeably red-rimmed, his lips subtly trembling, betraying signs of utter defeat.

Under the array’s influence, even a flicker of despair would typically cause one to burst into loud sobs, but the demon lord forcibly maintained a stern expression, refusing to let himself appear too pathetic.

“Truly, how delicious~”

Qi Ning’s body suddenly trembled, her heart pounding wildly, and her alluring, fleshy legs, visible through the rips in her skirt, quivered in unison.

Only by experiencing near-death despair could one truly confront their innermost self.

Reputation, righteousness, grand cultivation ambitions—none held as much importance as living happily, following one’s true heart.

By following her true heart, at least in death, these cherished memories could still bring her some solace.

Her most pressing task now was to torment this little fellow until his Dao heart collapsed, to thoroughly savor his despair.

Once her demon soul clone fully absorbed his soul, achieving Soul Transformation would be seventy percent certain.

A nearly endless lifespan, a guaranteed return to youthful beauty, the body fragrance she had always yearned for… all of these would be hers.

Bitterness swirled in the demon lord’s heart, and he felt a profound sense of wrong.

He had lost, lost utterly, and it felt almost no different than losing to himself.

The opponent’s fighting style was simply too similar to his own; from the very beginning, she had seen all his vital weaknesses with perfect clarity.

Su Qin could only rely on his beast horde and the Fangs, and he harbored a particular fear of exposure to light.

His Fangs, due to his impatience, were now trapped by the suddenly appearing Ice Curtain—a grand array variation never before documented in any literature.

As for his beast horde, Su Qin lifted his head with a somber expression.

In mid-air, a water curtain had appeared out of thin air, dividing the interior of the grand array into two distinct spaces, thus severing Su Qin’s connection with his beast horde.

This was yet another undocumented variation; he had never imagined that the grand array’s water curtain could be controlled and shaped at will.

Qi Ning’s mastery of arrays was clearly not inferior to his own.

The Bloody Wind collided wildly within the upper space, but each time it eliminated a section of the water curtain, the surrounding intact water curtains would converge, seamlessly filling the gaps.

As the total area of the water curtain diminished, the space compressed, becoming so constricted that the array itself struggled to maintain itself, and the Bloody Wind ultimately dissipated powerlessly.

This individual possessed a venomous gaze no less sharp than Su Qin’s own.

He was utterly outmatched; all his vital weaknesses had been exposed, and he was completely suppressed.

Qi Ning licked her lips, her gaze instantly becoming fervent.

Su Qin lowered his head, tears streaming, his erect posture somewhat rigid beneath his imposing demonic cultivator’s robe.

In truth, if he genuinely wished to resist, he could have held out for a little longer.

But it would have been futile; without any means of escape, two resurrections would at most only allow him to endure for an additional two minutes.

His innate spirit wood was no match for a Nascent Soul cultivator, and the physical constitution of a Golden Core Blood Demon still presented a vast chasm compared to a Nascent Soul expert.

However, what truly plunged him into despair was not Qi Ning before him at all.

It was the [Epitaph].

“Died at Immortal Slaying Valley…”

Su Qin muttered the words mockingly to himself; those few simple strokes had, over the past few days, brought him immense mental pressure.

He was unwilling to believe it, yet the current situation truly seemed as hopeless as the text had foretold.

“Is this Immortal Slaying Valley truly destined to bring me more ill than good?”

Su Qin forced a bitter, helpless smile, reluctantly accepting this grim reality.

He straightened his back, silently watching Qi Ning draw ever closer.

“There’s nothing more to say.

It’s just a matter of a single blade, and in eighteen years, another unyielding demon lord will rise.”

However, he had clearly not seen the current situation clearly, for what awaited him was not a blade or sword at all.

Qi Ning gathered her somewhat dull hair into a bun, her slender, voluptuous legs emerging from beneath the confines of her robe.

Traces of time were discernible only in her hair and on her cheeks.

Su Qin stared, a little dazed, failing to notice Qi Ning’s increasingly frenzied expression, nor her progressively flushed ears.

“Sit down, little brother!”

Without a word, Qi Ning exerted immense force, pressing Su Qin to the ground as she savored the astonishment blooming in his eyes.

“What delicious emotions; I want more!”

For hundreds of years, dedicated solely to cultivation, she had never approached the opposite s*x.

Finding herself astride him for the first time, she was momentarily at a loss.

Yet, this was hardly a challenge for her.

Her interest was piqued; after living for hundreds of years without experiencing ‘that kind of thing,’ she had found herself regretting it more and more during her seclusion.

The soft, warm flesh of her buttocks pressed against the demon lord’s chiseled abdominal muscles, enveloping him perfectly.

Something warm and moist gently squirmed against his lower abdomen, making Su Qin groan inwardly.

“Just now, you said I had a strong body odor, and that I was loose, didn’t you?”

Qi Ning was somewhat dazed and giddy, exhaling a fragrant breath as she now regarded the demon lord as nothing more than a toy.

As her voluptuous and soft body shifted upwards, Su Qin instinctively turned his head to the side, only for her to force it back.

“Hurry and partake, then submit a three-hundred-word glowing review!” (TL Note: “Submit a 300-word glowing review” is a common web novel trope, often used humorously or provocatively to imply a demand for positive feedback after a ‘service’ or experience, usually sexual in nature.)