Demonic Cultivator: Immune To Common Side Effects - Chapter 67

Chapter 67: The Bloodline Corpse Swarm—What Price Immortality?

Led by Shadow Puppet Yuanji, the group plunged into the God’s Tomb. As they advanced, they sensed the lingering aura from Li Yan’s Golden Core breakthrough.

“Look!” one of them exclaimed.

“That mysterious figure who attained the Golden Core must have been cultivating right here!”

“This tomb is unprecedented. It must conceal secrets of Immortal Cultivation!”

An elder from the Heavenly Evolution Sect pointed to the spot where Li Yan had been meditating.

The Yellow Path Sect elder stroked his goatee, a greedy smile spreading across his face. “For centuries, no one has stumbled upon Immortal Fate and formed a Golden Core,” he declared. “Fellow Daoists, we are all Blood Core cultivators. The cultivators of this world have long yearned for the Immortal Path!”

“If we find Immortal Fate here, what say you to keeping it among ourselves? Just us fellow Daoists?”

His words drew sinister grins from the other Old Ghosts.

“I agree with Elder Wuwei of the Yellow Path Sect,” one of them chimed in. “If Immortal Fate is discovered here, all present shall share it. Let’s keep outsiders away.”

These centuries-old Old Ghosts were united in their selfishness. The fewer who knew about a treasure they discovered together, the better. Each outsider eliminated meant one less competitor for the opportunity.

The twenty-odd Blood Core Realm cultivators, each possessing considerable cultivation, quickly reached an agreement.

In the next instant, their gazes converged on Yuanji.

“As for this Inner Disciple… kill him.”

“Wait, Elders…”

Before Yuanji could finish speaking, True Master Shouyi of the Heavenly Evolution Sect waved his hand, and a surge of Blood Qi obliterated him.

The Shadow Puppet Yuanji didn’t even have time to cry out before he was reduced to a bloody pulp, his flesh splattering against the stone wall.

Li Yan, concealed in the shadows, watched the greedy Old Ghosts with a cold sneer.

Their willingness to share stemmed from pragmatism: each Old Ghost was a Blood Core Realm cultivator, and infighting would be too costly. Yuanji, however, was merely at the Blood Shifting Realm—an easy target to silence.

These old geezers are truly obsessed with achieving immortality, Li Yan thought. Their obsession has driven them to the brink of madness.

Li Yan’s recent formation of a Golden Core had become an irresistible lure. They were convinced that the God’s Tomb held the secret to immortality.

As the Old Ghosts waded through the Blood Pool and began entering the God’s Tomb, Li Yan’s lips curled into a faint smile. “Feel free to trigger all the traps inside for me.”

But as the Old Ghosts ventured deeper into the tomb, the “slain” Yuanji crawled out from the shadows.

He sighed, “Those sanctimonious hypocrites didn’t hesitate to obliterate me.”

“I needlessly wasted three layers of my cultivation power repairing my Shadow Body.”

Li Yan stepped out from the side. Yuanji immediately lowered his head respectfully.

“Master, I’ve lured them inside as planned.”

“Good. Keep watch here and notify me immediately if anything happens.”

“Yes!”

Li Yan instructed Yuanji to guard the perimeter of the God’s Tomb. Taking Su Mo with him, he began to tail the group of Old Ghosts.

Meanwhile, someone had witnessed Li Yan’s every move: the Demonic Eye hanging at his waist, within which resided the Cinder Annihilation Fairy.

As the Cinder Annihilation Fairy observed Li Yan’s actions, she inwardly sighed.

This brat’s smarter than I thought. He’s using others to scout ahead for him.

With his current strength, entering the God’s Tomb alone would be certain death.

It’s not just the Illusionary Realm they have to worry about—there’s a horde of Bloodline Corpses waiting inside too.

Bloodline Corpses?

Li Yan remained outwardly calm, discreetly eavesdropping on the Cinder Annihilation Fairy’s thoughts. Hearing this old senior’s insights might help him avoid hidden dangers.

He formed a hand seal with two fingers and released a shadow, instructing it to follow the Old Ghosts ahead.

The group of Blood Core Realm Daoists were just passing through the outer perimeter, now carpeted with Other Shore Flowers.

Before them yawned a subterranean chasm, its edge teeming with countless corpses.

A crimson tide of Bloodline Corpses knelt at the precipice, prostrating themselves in unison toward the abyss.

These were the very creatures the Cinder Annihilation Fairy had warned them about.

The sheer number of corpses was staggering, yet they remained utterly indifferent to the intruders.

As if bewitched, the corpses knelt in unison, their gazes fixed on the depths of God’s Tomb, enacting some ancient ritual.

Even as elders from the Heavenly Evolution Sect, the Yellow Path Sect, and other major factions approached from behind, the mangled corpses continued to kneel, their bloody hands clasped in fervent supplication toward the abyss.

For untold millennia, they had knelt here, devoutly offering their faith to God’s Tomb.

Leading the way, Daoist Wuwei of the Yellow Path Sect stroked his goatee, his shock barely concealed. “Such a multitude of corpses… truly terrifying!”

True Master Shouyi’s eyes widened as he pointed at the sea of Bloodline Corpses. “Look at the tattered remnants of their robes! These corpses… they’re all Ancient Immortal Cultivators!”

A collective gasp rippled through the elders. “Ancient Immortal Cultivators? After all this time, their bodies haven’t decayed? Their flesh remains intact?”

“For such immortality, what were they truly seeking? What’s the point of becoming these half-human, half-ghoul monstrosities?”

The Elders stared in bewildered silence at the corpse-like Immortal Cultivators kneeling before the Ancient God.

If the price of immortality was to kneel underground for tens of thousands of years, what was the point of it?

Wasn’t Immortal Cultivation supposed to be about defying fate and challenging the very laws of nature?

To attain immortality, these cultivators had transformed into these ghastly beings, the flesh of their knees almost fused to the ground through layers of blood and gore.

Kneeling before an Ancient God?

Just to become this?

Looking further ahead, the sight was even more horrifying.

A blood-red bridge spanned a chasm in the earth.

Closer inspection revealed it was constructed entirely from the mangled flesh and bones of countless corpses.

Faced with this grotesque spectacle, some of the twenty-odd Elders began to waver.

“Is there a flight restriction here?”

“This tomb is too eerie. This old one will pass.”

“To seek the Immortal Path only to become neither human nor ghost… This Poor Daoist bids you farewell.”

Yet most remained tethered by their inner greed.

Daoist Wuwei scoffed, “We old codgers have barely a decade left to live.”

“Better to gamble these withered bones before we meet our end!”

True Master Shouyi joined in the mockery. “This is our chance to become immortals! Those who’ve formed their Golden Cores must have already rushed in ahead of us.”

“Someone’s already clearing the path for us,” Daoist Wuwei added. “What’s there to be afraid of?”

Faced with the goading from Daoist Wuwei and True Master Shouyi, the Blood Core Realm veterans weighed their options and finally decided to take the gamble.

“Let’s go!”

“After you.”

“Elder Wuwei, please lead the way!”

The scheming Old Daoists cautiously skirted the sea of corpses covering the ground, each harboring their own ulterior motives. They pushed and shoved each other forward, half-heartedly stepping onto the fleshy bridge.

The moment their feet touched the bloody span, the corpse-like figures kneeling in fervent prayer suddenly erupted into a frenzy.

As if some forbidden mechanism had been triggered, the Bloodline Corpse horde threw back their heads and howled in unison, shaking the cavern.

One of the corpses began to swell grotesquely, then charged toward the group of Blood Core Realm cultivators.

Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The cavern reverberated with a series of thunderous explosions as Li Yan, hidden in the shadows, grinned widely.

“Those Old Ghosts are really helping me clear the minefield.”

“There’s a flight restriction here. Once you step onto the bridge, the Bloodline Corpses awaken and chase after you, exploding on contact!”

Watching the Elders unwittingly clear the path for him was immensely satisfying. With the corpse horde distracted by them, crossing the bridge would now be much safer for Li Yan.