Chapter 173: The Right to Be Willful
Editor: Atlas Studios
In his eyes that were covered in the Nine Nether spiritual qi, Jiang Li could see that even if he suffered such a blow and his central nervous system was completely destroyed, Ding Chuyi’s soul still did not intend to leave his body.
His limbs were still waving in vain as he persevered in attempting to continue attacking Jiang Li.
At this point, even a blind person could tell that something was wrong.
How could this be considered a human?
This situation was much more sinister and strange than zombies and ghosts!
“Elder Situ, aren’t you going to explain yourself?”
The Shu Mountain sword cultivators, who had always been the leader of the righteous path and had always flaunted their morals in the human world, also took out the bearing of the number one sect in the Great Mountain Region and questioned the other party first.
However, this time, the Hundred Tempering Mountain did not seem to intend to give face to the number one sect of the region.
“Peak Master Wei, I don’t understand what you mean. The disciples under us are sparring normally. What’s there to explain?”
Situ Tingxin pretended to be confused. Since he dared use such a method in the ring, he was not afraid of being discovered.
With the size of the Hundred Tempering Mountain, even if there was a little bit of corruption, it would still be “forgiven” by this world.
“You call this a normal sparring match?”
“You know better than anyone what’s going on with your disciples! What’s the difference between the Hundred Tempering Mountain and the Demon Sect for doing this to your disciples?”
Elder Wei glared at him, but it was obvious that he, who had not scolded anyone in hundreds of years, was not very good at talking.
His words were not very sharp.
“Peak Master Wei is worrying too much. I also did not expect that there was actually someone secretly cultivating a demonic technique among the disciples.”
“Peak Master Wei and everyone, don’t worry. After the competition ends, I’ll definitely personally investigate this matter and punish the disciples involved.”
Situ Tingxin obviously knew this well. With just a few words, he pushed the responsibility to his disciples, clearing himself and the sect completely.
“Hmm? What a pity. Looks like that disciple is afraid of the sect’s punishment and has already chosen to end his life. Peak Master Wei should be satisfied now, right?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ding Chuyi, who was skewered by the wooden spike, swelled up like a balloon.
Without waiting for anyone to react, the ball-like body suddenly exploded!
The blood mist and flesh fragments that carried intense poison instantly enveloped the entire combat ring. Even if he died, this fellow wanted to give Jiang Li another fatal blow!
“Situ Tingxin! You!”
“Hmph! Your Hundred Tempering Mountain better watch out!”
“The challenge has ended. Go save him!”
Peak Master Wei was completely certain that the Hundred Tempering Mountain was stirring up trouble again, but he did not have any evidence on the surface. From his standpoint, it was indeed impossible for him to let his sect and the Hundred Tempering Mountain start a war over such a matter.
Regarding this, all they could do was to get the medical practitioners present to quickly save the participants.
“There’s no need for Peak Master Wei to worry about this. You should first take care of your Shu Mountain’s matters.”
Situ Tingxin smiled in his heart. His words implied something, and Elder Wei faintly felt that something was off, but he did not probe deeper.
On Jiang Li’s side, he was not feeling too good at this moment.
As it turned out, suicide attacks were always the most troublesome type.
This was because the enemy had no reservations and could use everything they had!
Ding Chuyi was only an ordinary disciple at the late-stage Qi Refinement realm. There was a high chance that he was the type who relied on low-grade medicinal pills.
Others were not like Jiang Li who could retain his status forever after eating a medicinal pill.
If an ordinary person wanted to quickly increase their cultivation through those ordinary medicinal pills that were not too expensive, they could only consume large amounts over a long period of time.
However, Jiang Li knew very clearly how troublesome the accumulated pill toxins and other side effects were.
Originally, such an opponent should be someone he could easily destroy. It was impossible for it to cause him any trouble.
However, in reality, Ding Chuyi was only a tool, a medium!
The fact was that Jiang Li was actually going against the alchemists of the Hundred Tempering Mountain.
They used the Five Internal Organs Pill Flame at first and the Fire Poison Blood Sword after getting close to him, and finally the self-destruction of the blood poison. These were all killer moves that the alchemists of the Hundred Tempering Mountain had painstakingly stuffed into Ding Chuyi’s body.
Any of these killer moves could easily kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Especially the final self-destruction, the power was truly shocking.
At this moment, in the ring that was covered in blood mist, a huge wooden dragon was coiled on the ring without moving.
However, the Wood Dragon’s body was also covered in bumps and bruises. Clearly, it had just been summoned and was used as a shield.
Before the explosion just now, Ding Chuyi’s body showed signs of swelling in an extremely short period of time.
Jiang Li, who had not completely let down his guard, immediately reacted.
He used the Demon Awakening Technique to create a wooden dragon and protect himself.
Then, a violent explosion occurred.
The power of that explosion far exceeded the combined energy of a Qi Refinement realm cultivator. Even Jiang Li’s Wood Dragon could not completely resist it!
His body hurt a few times.
It was actually a few sharp bone fragments. Under the influence of the self-destruction shock wave, they penetrated the wooden dragon and struck his body.
After the shattered bones collided with Jiang Li, they were directly bounced back to the ground.
However, even though it clearly did not break through his defense, the fierce poison actually penetrated his defense and touched Jiang Li’s skin.
Although it was removed in a second by the Cleansing status, Jiang Li still had a Poisoned status that deducted 20 health points per second.
Even with Jiang Li’s resistance, he was still poisoned. It could be seen how terrifying the poison attached to the person was.
It was unknown how Ding Chuyi carried this kind of poison previously. If it was an ordinary cultivator, they would have turned into a pool of blood in minutes.
After removing this slightly uncomfortable status, Jiang Li reached out and patted the wooden dragon that was protecting him.
Under the infusion of the Nine Nether spiritual qi, the parts of the Demon Wood Dragon that had already been corroded by the bloody fog quickly regenerated.
Immediately, the ferocious dragon raised its head, opened its mouth, and a gust of cold wind swept out.
This was the Yin Wind Art, Jiang Li had used the wooden dragon’s mouth to execute it.
Jiang Li never paid attention to expenditure when he executed his techniques. A surging cold wind constantly blew past the entire arena, and the dense blood mist was blown away into the distance, causing a large area of the surroundings to be corroded.
The constantly dissipating pus and blood fog forced the few medical cultivators who wanted to save him to stay away from the ring, including Senior Sister Qi Yu.
It was not until the elder of the Rejuvenation Hall used the Cloud Rain Technique and waved his hand to create a dark cloud that a partial rain fell on this place that the troublesome blood fog was finally washed away.
The coiled wooden dragon automatically dispersed, revealing Jiang Li who was standing within.
Fortunately, Jiang Li was currently unscathed. Only then did everyone in the Scripture Storage Valley heave a sigh of relief.
Jiang Li cupped his hands and bowed to the sky, and then he lightly leaped onto the wooden dragon’s head.
The huge wooden dragon actually could not fly, but it slithered up the steps of the mountain in circles. Its speed was not slow.
The opportunity to challenge him had already ended. They were all in the Qi Refinement realm, so no fool would design the kind of brainless rule that required one to defeat a hundred people in a row to reach the top.
Therefore, the staircase above was no longer obstructed.
This bit of climbing height was clearly not worth mentioning to Jiang Li.
Before long, Jiang Li who was standing on the wooden dragon had already arrived at the peak.
A thin layer of fog lingered around him. Looking at the small crowd at the foot of the mountain, Jiang Li could not help but feel proud and heroic.
Seeing such a vast scene, some people would recite poems and draw emotional sighs. Some people would forget their worries and throw away their worries, while others would think of unrealistic ambitions.
Mine! Mine! One day, everything in front of me will be mine!
That emotion seemed to have stimulated the few drops of dragon blood in his body. While the blood in his body was boiling slightly, the wooden dragon under his feet also underwent an inexplicable change.
Its eyes that were lit up by spiritual qi seemed to have a little more intelligence in them.
Roar! Roar!
A loud and clear dragon roar that had a wooden texture and a thick and penetrating force roared from the wooden dragon’s mouth.
A unique frequency vibrated the air and spread into the distance.
That voice seemed to have come from the distant ancient times. It was ethereal and shocking, and it possessed a power that struck directly at the heart.
This indicated the birth of the first true Wood Demon under Jiang Li, and it was also announcing that Jiang Li had ascended the highest ring of the stairway.
“Is… is that a dragon?”
“Lord Jiang Li actually rode a dragon to the top! Could it be… could it be that he’s the reincarnation of a deity!?”
The cultivators at the foot of the mountain were in an uproar, and they were greatly shocked by the wooden dragon beneath Jiang Li’s feet and the dragon roar from before.
It looked like an ancient dragon had reappeared. Coupled with Jiang Li’s absolutely formidable strength and talent,
not to mention rogue cultivators, even many ignorant sect disciples could not help but have such doubts.
Could Jiang Li really be the reincarnation of an ancient Immortal or Buddha? It was not entirely impossible in the cultivation world.
The image of the Demon Wood Dragon was really too similar to the legendary True Dragon.
After all, there was dragon blood as the catalyst and it was Jiang Li’s intention. If not for the leaves on his tail that could not be removed, this thing could have grown even more similar.
Of course, such rumors would only spread among ignorant low-level cultivators.
The dragon roar from before was indeed stimulated by the dragon blood in Jiang Li’s body, but that voice did not carry much strength. It was only a clumsy imitation that was similar to a descendant carrying dragon blood.
Moreover, although the size of the Demon Wood Dragon was not small, it was still a big question whether its actual combat strength could defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
It was just a hollow puppet used to create a cool scene.
However, Jiang Li originally did not expect this wooden dragon to do anything. It was already a pleasant surprise that he could successfully awaken it and hold the fort.
After enjoying the cheers and glory that belonged to him, Jiang Li was temporarily free.
Next, only the other nine people in the top ten had the right to challenge him.
Before passing the ladder challenge, the list of the other nine people had not been finalized.
Therefore, before this ranking was confirmed, there was actually no need for him to stay on the arena at the top of the mountain.
Leaving behind the Demon Wood Dragon to bathe in the essence of the sun and moon on the mountaintop, Jiang Li decisively jumped back from the mountaintop that disappeared into the clouds.
After creating an exaggerated hole in the ground, he landed steadily. The dust on his body automatically disappeared. If not for the existence of the hole, this jump would have been as if nothing had happened.
After returning to the contestant area and encouraging a few familiar faces, he ran to the Scripture Storage Valley’s seats to watch the battle.
As soon as he returned, all the senior brothers were filled with intense indignation. Anyone could tell that the fellow from the Hundred Tempering Mountain had ill intentions and was cheating to try and kill Jiang Li.
However, the friction between large sects naturally could not cause an all-out war without a word. There were still many things to take into account.
However, the seeds of conflict had already been planted. No one could say for sure what would happen in the future.
The hot-tempered Head Elder of the Demon Vanquishing Hall was surprisingly quiet this time.
All he did was compliment Jiang Li and stayed silent afterwards.
However, Jiang Li could sense the enormous flames of rage that were suppressed like a silent volcano from his master’s red tattoos.
Perhaps because the matter would definitely spiral out of control once he stepped forward, he did not stand up for Jiang Li under the persuasion of the other two Head Elders.
Elder He had always liked to reason with his fists. At that time, when both sides fought, the grand event of the cultivation world of the Great Mountain Region would probably become the first tragedy in a hundred years.
After all, Elder He was currently sitting in the seat of the Head Elder of the Demon Vanquishing Hall. He could no longer be as willful as he was back then.
Jiang Li looked in the direction of the Hundred Tempering Mountain, the light in his eyes flickering.
He, Jiang Li, was still young and had the right to be willful…
Next up was Shenshan Qiuhua.
With the support of the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak, the injuries she had suffered a few days ago had already completely recovered.
Moreover, because of her injuries that time, she still wore a protective artifact under the intense request of the sect elders.
Although the cultivators she faced were not weak, there was still a certain gap between them and the ones Jiang Li faced.
Relying on her exquisite Fire Water Sword Technique, Shenshan Qiuhua still passed through the three consecutive battles and successfully stood on the second ring that was only inferior to Jiang Li’s.
As for the third ranked disciple of the Scripture Storage Valley, Mu Luo, it was not so smooth.
His strength was originally weaker than top Qi Refinement cultivators, and he was only temporarily ranked third because of Jiang Li.
In the official challenge, he finally showed signs of weakness.
He had barely defeated a challenger and lost in the arena.
It seemed that as sword cultivators, the difference between practicing the Shu Mountain Sword Technique and not practicing it was still huge. He did not know what this guy was thinking when he chose to join the Scripture Storage Valley.
Then, it was the intense competition for the third ring’s qualifications.
The cultivator who defeated Mu Luo turned around and was defeated by the others. The qualifications for the third ring changed like flowing water.
After fighting for more than ten rounds, it was finally taken by an external cultivator from the Immortal Ascension Pavilion.
This cultivator’s situation was similar to Huangfu Tai’s. His strength was slightly stronger, and it was said that he even possessed a special physique. Under the enhancement of a pile of artifacts, he was an invincible existence to most Qi Refinement cultivators.
With the curtains drawn, the sky had already completely darkened.
The competition today had come to an end, and after Jiang Li was carefully examined by the senior sister of the Rejuvenation Hall, he returned to his small courtyard.
However, just as he was about to cultivate, he received a call on his communication spirit stone from Yan Hong.
“What? The Southern Seal Kingdom was slaughtered? The Shu Mountain sword cultivators did it?”
