The Plague Demon King realised Ling Xiao’s body was terrifyingly tough. Striking him felt like hitting hard dragon scales, utterly ineffective.
“No, I must find a way. I can’t abandon this place!” A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.
Boom! Ling Xiao and the Plague Demon King’s palms clashed again. In that instant, the Demon King’s arms, formed of dark green liquid, detached from his body and shot into Ling Xiao’s at incredible speed.
“Hahaha, I don’t care if you’re some senior or just a kid playing tricks. After swallowing my plague body, condensed at the cost of a third of my cultivation, you’re doomed!” Though pushed back by Ling Xiao’s strike, the Plague Demon King’s eerie green face twisted into a triumphant sneer.
Ling Xiao frowned, suddenly feeling excruciating pain, as if his insides were being torn apart. He dropped to one knee. “What’s happening?” he asked, shocked.
His golden scale-like armour began glowing green, with green lines creeping across his skin, looking eerie. His body seemed frozen, rigid and immobile.
“Gaga gaga! I am the most terrifying plague incarnate. You may resist my created plagues, but swallowing my body guarantees poisoning. Surrender, kid! Even if I don’t fight you, you’ll die slowly in agony,” the Plague Demon King cackled. “You’re too troublesome, forcing me to sever my arms and sacrifice a third of my body to kill you. Even in death, consider it an honour.”
“You dare harm me!” Ling Xiao, sweat beading on his forehead, roared.
“Gaga gaga, I don’t care if you’re a senior. Forcing me to abandon this place? Delusional! Die with the kid!” the Plague Demon King laughed. “Oh, and your body won’t decay immediately. This plague will slowly erode your soul until it’s completely poisoned, then the body’s mine. Gaga, I don’t know why you chose this kid’s body, but since you did, it must be special. I’ll study it.”
His green liquid body quivered with excitement. Ling Xiao noticed it was much smaller than before—not just from losing a third of it. It had shrunk by over half. Did fighting in his true form cause this? That must be why he needed a body—shrinking reduced his combat strength. He wanted a quick fight for this reason.
“No! Why aren’t you dead?” The Plague Demon King, about to aid the Demon General, noticed the green glow on Ling Xiao wasn’t increasing but fading rapidly until it vanished. He stared in horror, as if seeing a ghost.
“Go to hell!” Sensing something wrong, he attacked, unwilling to let Ling Xiao recover. He didn’t understand why Ling Xiao was immune to his plague body, but he couldn’t afford to think. If Ling Xiao regained his strength, subduing him would be near impossible.
Smack! His newly formed green right hand was blocked by another green hand in midair. Behind Ling Xiao appeared a three-headed, six-armed, green-skinned, blue-haired, three-eyed humanoid shadow, exuding the Plague Demon King’s aura.
“What is that!” The Plague Demon King felt overwhelming fear, retreating dozens of metres, trembling as he stared at the shadow.
“Nine Demon Arts—Plague Demon King!” Ling Xiao smirked, surprised himself. By absorbing the Plague Demon King’s body, he’d created a new Plague Demon King martial soul, starting at the complete soul entity stage, with unimaginable power.
He grew more curious about who created these techniques. Derived from, or perhaps based entirely on, martial souls, they were unparalleled. He’d suspected this before but hadn’t confirmed it. Now, he was certain. To master the complete Nine Demon Arts, he’d likely need to absorb all nine Demon Kings of the True Demon Empire into his Mountain and River World.
He even wondered if the True Demon Emperor and his forces were originally martial souls—souls loyal to a warrior, becoming independent entities upon their master’s death. It was a bold theory, startling even himself.
“Heh, your plague body doesn’t seem so impressive. Can’t even poison me, and you dream of dominating with it?” Though Ling Xiao spoke lightly, he knew the plague was terrifying. Without the Nine Demon Arts, he might have fallen here. This wasn’t a plague ordinary Mortal Realm warriors could resist.
“Senior! Who are you?” The Plague Demon King had doubted Ling Xiao’s act, but now he believed a powerful soul resided in him. How else could he withstand the plague body? Back in his prime, it had killed countless Celestial and Cave Heaven Realm warriors. Though weakened, a third of his plague body should easily kill anyone below Mortal Realm Third Layer, even Fifth Layer warriors couldn’t resist.
“I told you to leave, but you didn’t listen. Now, you can’t escape,” Ling Xiao sneered. “I’ve changed my mind. I’ll fully condense you into one of my martial souls. You should feel honoured!”
“No—!” The Plague Demon King fled in panic, his courage to resist gone. Ling Xiao’s terror exceeded his imagination. He had to escape, or he’d die!
