Chapter 139: The Demonic Cultivator

Leaf Skylark cursed once. After resting for a while, her strength partially returned. She immediately mobilized all her cultivation, and the aura of the Gathering Shape Realm surged forth unmistakably. Summoning a divine rainbow bridge, she fled with all her might in the opposite direction of the Azure Cloud Sect.

The path toward the Azure Cloud Sect was blocked by that elder! Turning around and escaping became Leaf Skylark’s last chance. The elder at the Golden Core Realm instilled no fighting spirit in her at all.

Moreover, even the master of the Immortal Moon Tower had failed to keep him, proving his formidable power!

Because she had fled in haste, Leaf Skylark had not brought any signal-transmitting devices.

She knew well the slim chance of escape this time, yet the overwhelming will to survive drove her to fight desperately. Falling into the elder’s hands would be a fate worse than death!

She could not die—she still needed to find Ye Wuyai and demand an explanation.

Glancing back, she saw the elder still standing there with a sinister smile, sending a chill down her spine. Instantly, she pushed herself to fly with renewed vigor.

Shortly after, the dense forest disappeared from sight.

“Did he not pursue?” Leaf Skylark wondered suspiciously.

Just then, a harsh laugh echoed beside her left ear: “Little girl, keep running! This slow pace won’t do!”

Leaf Skylark’s pupils contracted sharply.

She swung a palm violently to the left. “Hmm?” No one there. Could it be an auditory hallucination?

“Delicious! Didn’t expect the Azure Cloud Sect to have such a rare disciple besides Nalan Susu. Slurp, slurp, slurp…”

This time, Leaf Skylark truly felt someone speaking beside her right ear, as if a breath had been drawn sharply at her neck, a warm breath exhaled onto her skin, making every hair on her body stand on end.

Without hesitation, she struck another palm toward the right.

Her expression grew serious. Yet again, no figure appeared.

Although she clearly sensed someone whispering by her ear, she could see no one.

The methods of a Golden Core Realm cultivator—truly terrifying!

She dared not stop, flying swiftly while constantly scanning her surroundings, maintaining intense vigilance.

The elder continuously shifted forms high above, following her closely. He refrained from attacking because they were still too close to the Azure Cloud Sect’s territory.

Besides, his vitality was waning; he had only a few years left to live. Half a year ago, he had fought the master of Immortal Moon Tower in Ling City. If not for using a secret technique at the cost of an arm, he might have been slain.

After fleeing back to the Scorching Sun Sect, he expected the Chaotian Fragrance Society to come after him. Six months of recuperation passed without incident, so he began hunting Azure Cloud Sect disciples near their territory to sustain his cultivation.

His continued survival was due to a chance encounter granting him the “Blood Weeping” technique, allowing him to continuously replace his blood and extend his life!

This arcane technique was demonic cultivation, which he dared not use recklessly, only practicing it stealthily in secret. Demonic cultivators are universally condemned and exterminated!

Cruel beyond measure, merciless!

This is the nature of demonic cultivation. Though he lacked the power of the blood demon master who ravaged the Immortal Chant six thousand years ago, if his demonic identity were discovered, all cultivators would rise against him.

Initially, he used mortal flesh to delay his life’s decline. Gradually, mortals no longer sufficed.

He then set his sights on cultivators.

Originally, scattered cultivators were his prime targets. But fifty years ago, these scattered cultivators united, forming a force rivaling the Scorching Sun Sect. Thus, his hunting grounds shifted to disciples venturing outside the sect.

Over the past century, countless female cultivators have been tortured to death by him—tens of thousands, if not more.

And that excludes male cultivators.

Such a great demon hidden within Yan Domain went unnoticed only because of his meticulous disposal of evidence.

Time passed relentlessly. Leaf Skylark had lost track of how long she had been flying.

Yet she knew she had already left the Azure Cloud Sect’s territory. Unluckily, the direction she fled was remote, so she encountered no one from any sect.

Still flying swiftly, just as she thought she had shaken off the elder and was about to pause and plan, the elder’s voice sounded again behind her.

“Enough, little girl. You may stop now. You’ve exited the Azure Cloud Sect’s boundaries. Do you really think you can escape me with your cultivation?”

Hearing this, Leaf Skylark’s heart sank. It was clear she could not evade a Golden Core cultivator.

Looking ahead, a massive cliff loomed a thousand meters away, like a vast chasm blocking her path.

Strangely, the cliff bore a hollow cavity hundreds of meters wide, as if struck through by some colossal beast.

The elder’s words made her abandon any thought of fleeing.

Though the Gathering Shape Realm was one step below the Golden Core, the difference was as vast as heaven and earth.

A Golden Core cultivator’s large-scale lethal arcane arts could easily annihilate a hundred Gathering Shape cultivators gathered together, possibly killing them instantly!

This was a qualitative difference.

Until one forms their core, they remain within the realm of mortals; core formation marks the true first step into immortal cultivation.

The Golden Core was also called the Golden Core Dao.

Gathering Shape Realm cultivators had lifespans similar to ordinary mortals, barely reaching a hundred years.

But the Golden Core was different. Upon forming the core and entering the Golden Core Five Viscera Realm, one’s lifespan surged to three hundred years.

Reaching the Golden Core Four Poles extended it further to five hundred years.

Those who cultivated to the Golden Core Dragon Bridge Realm enjoyed lifespans increased by a thousand years.

Throughout Yan Domain, no one had ever reached the Golden Core Dragon Bridge Realm.

And the Golden Core Four Poles numbered only about twenty in total.

The Azure Cloud Sect alone had hundreds of thousands of disciples, with the Scorching Sun Sect nearly as populous, not to mention the Yan Domain’s royal family.

In a small domain like Yan, with millions of cultivators, only a handful—about twenty—stood at the pinnacle.

Not even a fraction.

It was easy to imagine how arduous advancement through the realms was.

Leaf Skylark slowly stopped, surveying her surroundings: mountains, waters, flowers, and trees—it was undoubtedly a fitting place to meet her end.

Coldly, she stared at the elder ten meters away. Her long whip had already coalesced in her hand.

Fixing him with a steely gaze, she assumed a battle stance, silent and unyielding.

“I heard your Azure Cloud Sect has a spiritual body appearing?”

“What!”

His target was actually Dongfang Yanran? Leaf Skylark was shocked beyond measure.