Volcanic Age

"Benefactor!"

Wang Yi's face brightened.

"Indeed, that young man is…"

This was Sun Yishan's first time meeting the Sword God. He had heard of the young man, but had never seen him in person.

"Zhou Xuchuan?"

Old Man Blood Poison's face twisted horribly.

Even with his hand severed, he showed no sign of pain.

"You arrived sooner than I expected."

The inner area of the Nature Formation, the Human-faced Spider's natural habitat, was always shrouded in darkness, even in broad daylight. Even the Archive, who had navigated this place like it was their own backyard, struggled to make their way through the dense jungle without being able to see anything.

"Kekeke, well.. It doesn't matter. We've achieved our goal anyway."

Old Man Blood Poison stopped his bleeding with a few precise presses on his wrist. He didn't seem to care at all about having lost a hand.

"I heard that the Tang Family's Poison Phoenix was quite skilled at handling poison, but in the end, she's still just a mere bitch."

This is concerning.

Zhou Xuchuan turned his head slightly to check on Luo Xiaoyue. She didn't look well. Tang Hui, who was helping with the detoxification, also had a grim expression.

Seeing the poison master Poison Phoenix struggling, he was worried that both girls were in far worse condition than he had initially thought.

"My Ten Thousand Blood Poison isn't made from some mere insects, but from the poison beasts of Mount Ailao…"

"Shut up."

When Old Man Blood Poison began to brag proudly, Zhou Xuchuan, annoyed, made him shut his trap.

He didn't just interrupt him coldly—his aura surged, engulfing the surroundings with overwhelming pressure.

"...!"

Old Man Blood Poison trembled under the majesty of the Sword God. His previous arrogance and unpleasant laughter vanished in an instant. He was like a mouse before a cat.

BOOM!

As Old Man Blood Poison stood frozen in fear, the ground shook again. The massive Human-faced Spider stomped its feet, snapping him back to his senses and dispelling the terror that had gripped him.

"How insolent!" Old Man Blood Poison scoffed, looking down at Zhou Xuchuan. "Not even you can protect someone while facing this many enemies."

The plan had gone awry, and the destruction of the Mount Hua Sect was now impossible. However, their main objective, the life of Luo Xiaoyue, was still something that could be taken.

"Not only your junior sister but also that bitch from the Tang Family will follow her to the afterlife. They might have been able to live if you hadn't gotten your nose in things that didn't involve you… how foolish you all are."

Helping someone detoxify poison was far more dangerous than most realized. If not done carefully, the poison could transfer to the helper, or they could fall into a state of qi deviation due to an external shock, just as if they had fallen into cultivation deviation while training.

Either way, one's life wasn't guaranteed.

Even if Old Man Blood Poison couldn't defeat Zhou Xuchuan, he could still achieve his goal.

"From now on, everyone focus on defense, not attack. Pay attention to Luo Xiaoyue and Tang Hui and serve as their Dharma Protectors."

"Are you planning on holding out until the detoxification is complete?" Sun Yishan asked.

The spiders themselves were already overwhelming, but now even the Seven Star Division Soldiers had shown up. Even at a rough estimate, there were dozens of them. It was unclear how long they could hold out.

"No."

Zhou Xuchuan swung his sword around and held it in his hands.

"I'll finish this before then."

Bending his knees, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Plum Blossom Butterfly.

Despite the weeds growing up to his ankles and interfering with his movement, he unconcernedly launched his technique. His blade danced like a butterfly fluttering through the air.

"Agk!"

A Seven Star Division Soldier screamed as a thin line split his mask, slicing through his chin vertically.

Amid the blood mist scattering like plum blossoms drifting in the wind, Zhou Xuchuan exuded a bewitching aura as he unleashed Plum Blossom's Seduction, one of the Twenty-four Sword Forms of the Plum Blossom.

As the surrounding scenery blurred, Old Man Blood Poison raised his qi, as if mocking Zhou Xuchuan's arrogance.

From his heart—the middle dantian of the three dantians—blood qi surged through his veins, circulating simultaneously through his meridians.

The blood qi stimulated his brain by traversing through his Baihui acupoint. His eyes, once glinting with madness, gradually turned a deep, eerie red. His pupils expanded and contracted erratically, creating a bizarre, unsettling sight.

"Let this little old man show you my Blood Governance Art."

Old Man Blood Poison's hoarse voice echoed through the forest.

Artificial sensory signals entered his spinal cord through his peripheral nerves. As his sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves clashed, they generated countless signals, which his spinal cord then transmitted to his brain, creating specific wavelengths.

These wavelengths radiated outward, engulfing the surroundings. As they spread, they seeped into the spiders' nervous systems.

Scritch, scritch.

The spiders all trembled at once. The eerie light in their three pairs of eyes turned blood-red.

The signals from Old Man Blood Poison's brain stimulated their blood and controlled their bodies.

Sssssh!

The spiders all shot out spider webs from their spinnerets. The pure white silk spread like a net and covered Zhou Xuchuan.

The combined webbing from dozens of spiders piled up like a mountain of snow, trapping him completely.

"Blood Governance Art!" someone in the Beggar Gang shouted in surprise.

"So that's how he uses the spiders like his limbs!"

Old Man Blood Poison, who had also risen to the ranks of the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven, was a poison master and a sorcerer with incredible talent.

He enjoyed using soul stealing arts, and among the arts he was skilled in, the Blood Governance Art was a peak-ranked sorcery art considered to be the best even within the Blood Sect itself.

The Blood Governance Art generated nervous signals throughout the heart, spreading through the entire circulatory system—both veins and meridians. These signals infiltrated the target's brain, dominating their blood and ultimately seizing control of their body.

That was the horror of the Blood Governance Art.

However, although its ability was powerful, it wasn't absolute.

As the structure of the brains of humans was complex and difficult, the Blood Governance Art didn't work well on those with strong mental fortitude. Moreover, if one cultivated a qi cultivation method with demon-purifying properties like those of the Shaolin Temple, it would be more than useless. It wouldn't have any effect at all.

However, despite these few limitations, the Blood Governance Art was infamous for its terrifying power.

During the Era of War and Chaos in Zhou Xuchuan's previous life, there had been a case where a Transcendent Realm Expert was manipulated and ran wild within the murim's ranks, causing their defeat in one of the wars.

In many ways, it resembled the Blood Demon's Manifestation of One's Path. Of course, strictly speaking, it was inferior.

It's over.

The eyes of Old Man Blood Poison curved like a crescent moon.

The Human-faced Spider was already terrifyingly powerful, but what made her even more formidable was that all of her children were also spiritual beasts.

The stickiness and elasticity of her webbing were far from ordinary. And with so many layers concentrated in one place, escape was impossible.

"Even if you're one of the Seven Empyrean Overlords..."

Bang!

There was a giant web formed of spider silk.

Within it, a hole the size of a person appeared and something jumped out.

"Even if you're one of the Seven Empyrean Overlords what?" Zhou Xuchuan asked indifferently as he emitted sword qi.

Woosh!

He swung his beloved sword, Longyuan, and continued his attack.

A bundle of sword qi filled cutting qi shot forward, and then bent at a right angle, soaring upwards before crashing down.

Countless plum blossom leaves filled the air, disrupting Old Man Blood Poison's vision.

From the fourth technique, Plum Blossom's Lead, to the seventh technique, Plum Blossom's Scattering, the Twenty-Four Sword Forms of the Plum Blossom unfolded in an instant.

Screech!

Scritch!

Screeeeeeech!

The mesmerizing plum blossoms transformed into a rain of blood in the blink of an eye. Numerous sword marks were left on the bodies of the spiders.

"Aaaaah!"

"Ugh!"

It wasn't just the spiders. The Seven Stars Division Soldiers assigned by Destructive Soldier also screamed in agony.

"W-what the…" Old Man Blood Poison stuttered in disbelief.

"How?"

Zhou Xuchuan didn't even look like he had a single speck of dust on him, let alone a spider web.

It was an incomprehensible sight.

"Defensive qi barrier," Zhou Xuchuan answered casually as if nothing had happened. Just before the spider web had been released, he had deployed a defensive qi barrier in a hemispherical shape, blocking the attack entirely. As proof, the massive web—except for the gaping hole around him—remained hollow inside, untouched.

"Aagh!!!"

The formations engraved on Old Man Blood Poison's skin convulsed violently, writhing like insects burrowing beneath his flesh. The blood-red glow of his qi intensified. It seemed to react to emotions.

"Fine, Zhou Xuchuan! Your title, Sword God, isn't an empty one!"

His furious voice echoed through the forest.

"However, I, your elder, who has even surpassed the Blood Demon…"

Squelch!

Old Man Blood Poison's neck snapped back.

What… the…

Zhou Xuchuan had flicked his left wrist ever so slightly, and from within his sleeve, a dagger shot forward, embedding itself in the old man's forehead.

He never could have expected that the Absolute Master of the Righteous Faction, the Sword God, would use a hidden weapon.

His expression as he died was filled with absurdity.

Thud.

His body fell sideways and Old Man Blood Poison, who had been looking down on the group from atop the Human-faced Spider, dropped to the ground.

"Surpassed the Blood Demon?"

Zhou Xuchuan snorted in disbelief.

"Don't insult the Blood Demon."

While the Heavenly Demon was the Heavenly Demon, the Blood Demon was likewise one of the strongest beings in the world.

Whether it was in cultivation or sorcery, Old Man Blood Poison couldn't even match his footsteps.

If he were to fight the Blood Demon again, Zhou Xuchuan wouldn't be able to guarantee the outcome.

Especially the Blood Demon's tricks at the end—they were no different from a disaster.

He had used the artifact called the Black Coffin to steal a body and make it his own.

"Ugh!"

"Old Man Blood Poison has fallen…"

The surviving Seven Stars Division Soldiers were confused. Their expressions seemed to say that they had never expected Old Man Blood Poison to be defeated so easily.

"What should we do?"

"Finish the mission."

Blessed Existence would never allow them to retreat unless Luo Xiaoyue was confirmed dead. If they were to go back like this, only death would await them.

"We kill Luo Xiaoyue even if it means we all die."

"What about Tang Hui?"

"You can give up on her. Prioritize Luo Xiaoyue."

"Understood."

The Seven Stars Division Soldiers gripped their weapons, infusing them with qi. Their eyes hardened with the resolve to fight to the death.

How annoying.

Zhou Xuchuan frowned at the Seven Stars Division Soldiers.

Unless he could create clones as real as those from Nine Grades of the Lotus Pavilion or the Heavenly Demon Domination Steps, dealing with these soldiers would be a problem.

Blessed Existence must have put a lot of effort to achieve this goal, as the Seven Stars Division Soldiers in front of him were all at the Peak or Transcendent Realms.

They seemed to even be good at using formations as they formed groups and dispersed in all directions, preparing their attack.

Although the expedition party was standing guard, letting just one soldier slip past could be catastrophic.

"You annoying bastards! Learn some fear and fuck off!"

Despite being mere foot soldiers, the Seven Stars Division Soldiers possessed exceptionally high cultivation levels. The fact that they didn't let their guard down made them all the more frustrating to deal with.

"Zhou Xuchuan… Stop interfering and just die, please," a Seven Stars Division Soldier said with all his heart.

Hundreds of his comrades had already fallen to Zhou Xuchuan.

While he wasn't particularly sad about his comrades' deaths, he couldn't help but dread the possibility of being the next victim.

"Protect them with your lives!" Tan Xiang shouted emphatically.

"I'll leave it to you."

Zhou Xuchuan glanced at the expedition members and nodded.

"Kill."

One of the Seven Stars Division soldiers gave the order.

Just as the two sides were about to clash, something no one expected happened.

"Ugh!"

A Seven Stars Division Soldier coughed up blood.

"W-what…"

He looked down.

Through the gaping hole in his chest, he could see a spider's leg piercing through him.

Squelch, squelch!

"Aah!"

"Ugh!"

Screams erupted everywhere. Fortunately, they weren't from the expedition party. Every single scream came from the Seven Stars Division Soldiers.

"…!"

Even Zhou Xuchuan's eyes widened in surprise.

The spiders!

The cause of the chaos was the spiders, now free from Old Man Blood Poison's control.

Scritch!

In the darkness where not a sliver of light could enter, a monster crawled out. Then, the number of disgusting spiders gradually increased.

Zhang Xuen let out a terrified scream. Even without turning around, she could feel them closing in—a suffocating, writhing swarm of spiders surrounding them from all sides.

"Human… child…"

It was the voice that had been teasing them just moments ago.

"This is ridiculous!"

"This can't be happening!"

Shouts of shock and disbelief echoed throughout the battlefield.

"Old Man Blood Poison?"

The voice belonged to none other than Old Man Blood Poison, the man presumed dead. The dagger was still lodged in his forehead.

The most shocking thing was his back.

His lifeless body lay on the ground with a massive spider leg piercing straight through his back.

Following the joints of the leg, there was a gigantic spider with a pattern across its abdomen that looked similar to a human face.

It was the Human-faced Spider.

"Thank. You. For. Saving. Us. From. That. Evil. Old. Man. Child."

The martial artists were speechless. They wondered if they were dreaming.

Although it was hard to believe, the Human-faced Spider must have been speaking using Old Man Blood Poison's vocal mechanisms.

Even though it was a spiritual beast, they still found it impossible to believe that a spider could use a human body to speak.

"That. In. Return. I…"

"Give me your neidan."

Zhou Xuchuan imbued his blade with aura.

"Kekekekekeke, as long as you don't struggle uselessly and just give me your neidan, I'll spare you and your children's lives, ohohoho…"

Something felt oddly strange all of a sudden.

Cyncoco's Thoughts

The last bit of laughter is my own addition, but it's really hard to translate the different types of laughs of different types of stereotypical characters.

Basically, Zhou Xuchuan is laughing like an evil robber which weirdos do in novels when they're about to extort the mc.

So it's supposed to be humorous lmao.