Chapter 37: How Did I Die?

"Last time when the four patriarchs were killed, everyone saw that the tiger demon only obeys Jiang Cheng." "And Jiang Cheng himself is weak and insignificant." Duanmu Hong’s eyes flashed with a killing intent, and he made a gesture of raising his hand to cut down. "If we take advantage of the tiger demon’s absence to eliminate Jiang Cheng now..." Duanmu Zhe clapped his hands heavily and said loudly, "Then the tiger demon will be leaderless!" "Indeed!" Duanmu Hong was full of confidence. The other elders were also excited. "If Jiang Cheng and the tiger demon share a life-and-death equal contract, then once Jiang Cheng dies, the tiger demon will also be erased by the rules simultaneously." "If Jiang Cheng and the tiger demon have a master-servant contract, then after Jiang Cheng dies, the tiger demon will be free and certainly won’t stay in Qinglan Prefecture." "In either case, we can eliminate this major threat of the Feixian Sect!" "There’s no time to lose. Let’s quickly get rid of that kid!" Just as everyone’s emotions were high, the third patriarch of the Duanmu family, Duanmu Yan, frowned and raised a question. "Since the tiger demon isn’t with him, where does Jiang Cheng get the confidence to go to the Red Sun Sect alone?" "This..." "Could it be that he has an inside agent lying in ambush within the Red Sun Sect?" The faces of the elders froze. Indeed, without the tiger demon backing him, isn’t Jiang Cheng courting death by going there? "There’s nothing to hesitate about!" Duanmu Hong slapped the table again. "The fact is the tiger demon isn’t present!" "The fact is Jiang Cheng’s power is weak!" "I don’t care what schemes he has in mind, killing him with one sword will cleanly settle everything!" With that said, he looked around at everyone and slowly raised the sword in his hand. "For this battle, I’ve decided to go alone!" "Big brother, we will go with you!" Duanmu Hong waved his hand, refusing them. "This trip must be secretive, the fewer people the better, and under no circumstances should there be any leaks, or else if that tiger demon finds out..." If anyone saw, wouldn’t the tiger demon seek revenge even if he is freed after Jiang Cheng’s death? Meow meow meow? If the Three-Eyed Tiger knew of their plot and concerns, it would likely pat their shoulders and say, "Bro, don’t hold back, just go for it!" If they succeed, could it owe them a favor? It couldn’t wait for Jiang Cheng to die early so it could peacefully return to the Celestial Demon Domain. "Big brother, if Jiang Cheng truly has a plot, isn’t your trip a certain death?" Duanmu Yan said worriedly. Duanmu Hong stroked his long beard, saying calmly, "If by killing this kid, I can prolong the Duanmu family’s glory, my death is worthwhile." With that, he took out a spiritual artifact and flew up to the sky, quickly disappearing from sight. A tragic atmosphere pervaded the hall, and the elders of the Duanmu family looked at the vast sky, their eyes red. It was as if they, who had always been conspiring against the Feixian Sect, were victims who bravely fought back. At this moment, Jiang Cheng was flying along, constantly complaining in his heart about how vast Qinglan Prefecture was. The direct distance between the Feixian Sect and the Red Sun Sect was over a hundred thousand miles. He felt that the Level 2 Teleportation Skill was indeed necessary to draw. Otherwise, he would die of exhaustion just traveling. Halfway through his flight, a red light, like a shooting star, suddenly attacked from the majestic mountains below. It appeared and disappeared in an instant! Jiang Cheng had no time to react and was hit right in the chest. At the same time, his vision blurred, and his head buzzed. His Sea of Consciousness and divine soul were attacked! Duanmu Hong had been lying in ambush here for half an hour. He chose this location because it was isolated and not easily discovered. Besides, he disguised his appearance. Before making his move, he suppressed his aura to the extreme. Not to mention being unseen, even if someone noticed, they would likely mistake him for a rock or dead object. Once Jiang Cheng appeared, he struck decisively, like thunder shattering stone! At first, he used all his trump cards. He summoned the Duanmu family’s treasured Tier Seven Spiritual Artifact, Blood Transformation Blade, and unleashed a full-force attack with the Fifth Layer of Spirit Platform Realm’s spiritual power! Simultaneously, his divine soul spirit platform also charged into Jiang Cheng’s Sea of Consciousness. As the patriarch of the Duanmu family, Duanmu Hong rarely personally took action in recent years. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t adept at combat. On the contrary, he knew better than most cultivators how to leverage his full power. Little probing, saving trump cards for last? Saying a few pleasantries before striking? No, no, no, that’s foolish behavior. The lion fights the rabbit with all its might, not giving the opponent any chance to breathe, a fatal blow! Only in this way can variables be minimized. Thus, he succeeded. The gap in realms was too vast; Jiang Cheng was instantly pierced through the heart by the Blood Transformation Blade. The meridian and Qi Sea blood vessels around his body were destroyed completely by the accompanying destructive spiritual power at that moment. The divine soul was crushed to pieces by the spirit platform... Following that, he fell down. There was no longer a trace of life. "It’s done!" "Wonderful!" "Patriarch is mighty!" In the distant hall of the Duanmu family, after seeing the images transmitted back by the spiritual artifact on Duanmu Hong, the elders cheered. As if they had fought a long and arduous victorious battle. During the half-hour wait earlier, they had been on edge, sweating bullets. What if Jiang Cheng had trump cards? What if Jiang Cheng’s apparent realm was fake? What if an expert was secretly protecting Jiang Cheng? If they failed, Duanmu Hong being counter-killed was secondary; the Duanmu family would be targeted. But now, their worries were completely laid to rest. "Jiang Cheng is dead, and the Feixian Sect is no longer a threat!" "Hahaha, let’s gather the troops to annihilate the Feixian Sect now!" "Wait a moment, let’s act after the tiger demon leaves!" "Indeed, we still need to patiently wait for the opportunity." The elders remained calm. On the other side, Duanmu Hong was also very calm. After killing Jiang Cheng, he didn’t even reveal himself. Instead, he retreated directly, disappearing into the endless mountains. After striking, he immediately fled far away. It was unnecessary to stay and check; lingering could create unexpected changes, like an outsider passing by. He soon flew out over a thousand miles... Huh, why am I dead? Wasn’t I just happily traveling? The soul-state Brother Cheng looked at his own corpse, utterly puzzled. His first reaction was to look around, to see if there were any passersby. This trip had been spectacularly attention-grabbing, wouldn’t it be embarrassing if people found out he inexplicably died? Seeing no one around, he sighed in relief. Luckily, the image of the brilliant and mighty King Bi was preserved. Then, he finally had time to think about who killed him. There’s no helping it; being able to resurrect allows such willfulness, making death a trivial matter. But from the start, Duanmu Hong had already disappeared without a trace, impossible to find. Brother Cheng thought for a while but couldn’t come to any conclusion. Too many had motives to kill him, Red Sun Sect, Duanmu Family, internally in Qinglan Prefecture, and other surrounding sects... "Ding, host killed, detecting the enemy’s strength..." The system, too, deftly began arranging the resurrection plan.