Chapter 84: Chapter 82: Harvesting Evil Qi

SPURT!

With a bright flash of a blade, the head of the Demon Monk Shan Xin—his eyes still wide with disbelief and terror—separated from his body. It rolled across the ground like a ball, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

Chen Sheng stood with his blade in hand, his face ashen. His chest heaved slightly.

Activating the Blood Evil Demon Talisman was not a simple feat. It consumed one’s own vital blood and required a period of recuperation before it could be used again. As a result, Chen Sheng was not just drained of color; he even felt dizzy and light-headed.

But being able to slay a genuine Innate Expert was well worth the cost.

After all, the gains from this venture would far outweigh the losses.

Glancing at the headless corpse on the ground, Chen Sheng slowly exhaled a long breath.

This ambush and execution had been incredibly difficult.

First, he had used the Sealing Yuan Miasma and Filthy Blood Poison to corrode the monk’s Innate True Qi and Blood Qi. Then, he had ordered a large number of soldiers to besiege him. And finally, he had activated the Blood Evil Demon Talisman to land the fatal strike.

But it was precisely because of his enemy’s power that Chen Sheng’s yearning for strength grew even greater.

’The Innate Realm... It’s truly something to aspire to!’

Chen Sheng’s instant-kill of the fiend left all the soldiers momentarily stunned. Their gazes on him became filled with an even deeper reverence. After all, they had all witnessed firsthand just how terrifying the fiend had been.

Two Military Camp commanders had been wounded with ease.

And a full quarter of the soldiers had died at his hands.

Yet this terrifying fiend had crumbled before the Grand Commander. They hadn’t seen exactly what technique Chen Sheng used; they only saw the fiend suffer a devastating blow, and then, his head was severed.

"The Commander is mighty!"

Li Huai Sheng was the first to react, roaring at the top of his lungs, his voice trembling with excitement.

"The Commander is mighty!"

"The Commander is mighty!"

In an instant, a tsunami of cheers erupted within the Military Preparation Camp, seeming to scatter the gloom of the night and drive away the fear that had gripped the soldiers’ hearts.

Chen Sheng forced down his body’s weakness and raised a hand to quiet the men. His voice was firm as he announced:

"Tonight, every soldier who fought is rewarded five taels of silver. The wounded, ten taels. For those who tragically fell in battle, fifty taels. If anyone dares to embezzle so much as a single coin, they will be punished severely and without mercy!"

Chen Sheng’s voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly to the ears of every soldier present.

"Victory to the Commander!"

"Victory to the Commander!"

An even more fervent wave of cheers erupted, the soldiers’ faces flushed with excitement and elation.

Even though they hadn’t gotten the five hundred taels for killing the fiend themselves, this was more than enough to satisfy them. After all, Commander Chen’s word was gold. This had been true when they annihilated the Black Snake Water Stronghold, and when they wiped out the Gao Clan.

Not a single coin of the promised rewards from those operations had ever been embezzled.

"Furthermore, get all the wounded to the infirmary at once."

Chen Sheng’s gaze swept across the crowd, over the surrounding devastation and the casualties, before finally settling on Li Huai Sheng.

"You will handle all of this."

"Yes, sir. Your subordinate obeys."

Li Huai Sheng’s expression was solemn; he did not dare to be negligent.

Chen Sheng gave a slight nod and said no more. He bent down, grabbed the Demon Monk’s headless corpse, and hooked Shanxin’s head with the tip of his blade. With steady steps, he walked toward one of the tents in the Military Preparation Camp, allowing no soldier to accompany or help him.

Under the cover of night, his pale complexion was not obvious. The surrounding soldiers saw him coming and quickly made way, saluting as they watched his back until he disappeared into the tent.

.....

Inside the tent, the candlelight flickered.

Chen Sheng took a jade vial from his robes and swallowed the longan-sized Blood Nourishing Pill inside, which exuded a medicinal fragrance. It was an Elixir he had prepared in advance to replenish his depleted Blood Qi.

The Elixir dissolved in his stomach, transforming into warm currents that continuously nourished his depleted Blood Qi. A short while later, a touch of color returned to his ashen face.

After meditating for a moment to regulate his breathing, Chen Sheng opened his eyes, his gaze landing on the corpse of the Demon Monk Shan Xin.

He had forbidden anyone from touching the corpse for two reasons. First, he didn’t want the Red Lotus Evil Qi to be discovered. Second, he couldn’t let the Demon Monk Shan Xin’s identity be exposed. That was why he had taken the head with him—to destroy it.

The reason was simple: the Golden Spring Temple was too powerful.

Shanxin was a wanted man for stealing the Red Lotus Evil Qi from the Golden Spring Temple. If they were to learn that Shanxin had died by his hand, they would very likely come demanding the stolen treasure.

Even as a court official, an eighth-rank commander, he stood no chance against a top power in Ning’an Prefecture like the Golden Spring Temple.

Rather than deal with the headache later, it was better to clean up all loose ends now.

The only remaining worry now was whether the last remnants of the Gao Family would leak this information.

Sweeping aside these distracting thoughts, Chen Sheng focused his attention on three items lying next to Shanxin’s corpse. He had just retrieved them from the body.

The first was a fist-sized, Blood-Colored Jade Pendant that radiated a bone-chilling cold. The pendant was pure crimson, and within it, a vivid red lotus drifted lazily. This was unmistakably the high-grade Red Lotus Evil Qi.

Just by getting close, he could feel the Yin Fiend Qi contained within.

He couldn’t imagine how the Golden Spring Temple had cultivated such potent Yin Fiend Qi.

The second item was a sheet of golden foil, as thin as a cicada’s wing yet incredibly resilient. A golden figure materialized on its surface, its form covered in densely packed, minuscule script.

This was his second objective for this entire operation.

The Innate Advanced Technique for the Golden Bell Body Refining Technique.

The Six Extremes Golden Bell Technique!

This was an Innate Realm Technique, impossible to cultivate for anyone below the Innate Realm. Only after one had perfected the Golden Bell Body Refining Technique could they begin to practice this advanced Cultivation Technique.