The Demon with Holy Radiance-Chapter 156 - 141: Courtesy Demands Reciprocity, a Scripture Defector Association Group Mission Report?

At that moment, the other members of the Scripture Defector Association were still on the outskirts of the Jueyun Sect. The distance left to travel was not great.

But the sudden appearance of a Corpse Transformation Realm Great Demon Fiend had stopped them all in their tracks, their expressions grim.

Even though all seven of them had Cultivation Levels in the Visceral Stone Realm, and some had even reached the Late Stage, they knew that even by joining forces, they would be absolutely no match for a Corpse Transformation Realm Great Demon Fiend.

If the gap between the Primordial Feeding Realm and the Visceral Stone Realm was like the difference between the clouds and the mud...

...then the gap between the Visceral Stone Realm and the Corpse Transformation Realm was a chasm with no end in sight.

Anyone who entered the Corpse Transformation Realm, be it a Cultivator or a Demon Fiend, could amplify both the power and the price of their own Techniques, making them far too powerful for any Visceral Stone Realm practitioner to oppose.

They had only been stopped for a moment, but in less than two breaths, a horde of Sword-Hugging Demon Fiends had completely surrounded them.

The massive, human-faced Demon Fiend whipped its spiked tentacles as it rapidly closed in on them. All plant life and living creatures in its path, tainted by some strange aura, rapidly withered and decayed.

"Prepare to kill yourselves!"

Seeing that the situation was dire and they were completely trapped with no hope of escape, Broken Hand said in a low, grim voice.

It was the only way to preserve their lives.

Although they would lose much by doing so—they couldn't even take back the Forbidden Artifact Fragment they had obtained from the Demon-Banning Stele—they had no other choice right now.

As long as they were alive, there was hope. The whole reason they had joined the Scripture Defector Association was to one day reverse the fate of their Innate Flesh Mushroom upon reaching the Corpse Transformation Realm.

If they died for real now, it would all be meaningless. And naturally, no one was willing to sacrifice themself for the others, especially when there was a way out.

Still, everyone present couldn't help but feel incredibly envious of Yang An. He had managed to break through the tight encirclement of Demon Fiends all on his own; even a Corpse Transformation Realm Great Demon Fiend had failed to stop him.

'What a powerful and reckless madman!'

"I'm going to throw out the Forbidden Artifact Fragment to draw the attention of these Demon Fiends. Get ready!"

Broken Hand said grimly.

Watching as more and more Sword-Hugging Demon Fiends closed in and the Corpse Transformation Realm Great Demon Fiend drew ever nearer, they all just nodded in silence.

The time it takes for half an incense stick to burn was almost up, but it was clear they couldn't wait that long.

Broken Hand took out his Storage Magical Artifact, which contained the Forbidden Artifact Fragment. After everyone had given their assent, he immediately prepared to channel his Mana and hurl the Storage Magical Artifact, fragment and all, away from them.

But just as he was about to channel his Mana, a flash of light streaked across the distant sky from the corner of his eye. A sound like the very air being torn apart seemed to rip through the sky.

He wasn't the only one; all the members of the Scripture Defector Association saw and heard it.

That aura...

In an instant, the look on everyone's faces changed completely!

"Oh no! Run! RUN!"

Broken Hand roared with all his might. Within the encirclement of Sword-Hugging Demon Fiends, the group, who had just been resolved to kill themselves, suddenly threw all caution to the wind and sprinted for their lives back the way they came.

There were relatively fewer Demon Fiends in that direction. Everyone unleashed their most powerful techniques to strike down droves of Sword-Hugging Demon Fiends, willing to risk their bodies being pierced by countless foes if it meant they could escape.

And just as the group began their frantic sprint back the way they came, while the countless Demon Fiends thought they were making a desperate last stand...

Suddenly!

A brilliant light erupted from the human face of the Corpse Transformation Realm Great Demon Fiend, its scorching, terrifying radiance instantly engulfing everything within a hundred-zhang radius.

The light blossomed, instantly enveloping the Great Demon Fiend and hordes of Sword-Hugging Demon Fiends. Even some of the Demon Fiends at the very edge were vaporized and dissolved in an instant.

Demon Fiends, plants, rocks... everything was devoured!

It was like a scorching sun had suddenly risen on the plains beneath the night sky, trying to illuminate the darkness and turn it into day. The brilliant radiance was so intense that the night itself could not conceal it.

For a moment, everything seemed to fall into a realm of silence.

Beneath the light, all things turned to dust in complete silence.

After a few breaths, the light dissipated. Where the Demon Fiends had been concentrated, innumerable Sword-Hugging Demon Fiends had been reduced to cinders, leaving behind a temporary, high-temperature vacuum in the shape of a terrifyingly perfect circular crater.

The only one left in the area was the Corpse Transformation Realm Great Demon Fiend with its giant human face, though its condition was not much better.

More than half of its face had melted away, leaving a charred black mess from which dark red flames licked outwards.

Not a single one of its once-dense spiked tentacles remained; all of them had been turned to black ash.

Despite this, countless fleshy buds were already writhing frantically over its ruined face. New flesh and blood rapidly grew over the charred areas, and the spiked tentacles quickly regenerated.

But seeing that almost all of its Sword-Hugging Demon Fiends had been lost in the blast, and that even the members of the Scripture Defector Association had vanished, a frenzied rage contorted its hideous, terrifying face.

A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar of fury echoed out. Its newly regenerated tentacles began to frantically destroy everything in the vicinity, as if venting its rage.

Meanwhile, several thousand meters away, Yang An slowly lowered Bow Lady. The fleshy tumor on his back, formed from the Meat Beast Essence Stone, was also rapidly crumbling into ash.

But a thrilled smile spread across his face.

'That Corpse Transformation Realm Great Demon Fiend's sneak attack nearly prevented me from escaping the Jueyun Sect. I've reached a safe location now, and in just a few more breaths, the Workshop Master will activate the vessel teleportation.'

'How could I possibly not get revenge for that!'

'If I don't get my revenge now, I might never get the chance again. With my personality, where I repay every single slight, I absolutely had to give that Great Demon Fiend a parting gift.'

'It's just common courtesy!'

'As for the other members of the Scripture Defector Association, I did actually consider them before loosing that surprise arrow. If they got caught in the blast, those guys probably couldn't have withstood the power of my shot.'

'This time, in order to give that Corpse Transformation Realm Demon Fiend a truly grand gift, I had Bow Lady activate a four-times amplification. It consumed four-fifths of my Mana in an instant, leaving me with very little to spare.'

'Even the Meat Beast Essence Stone, which should have lasted a while longer, started to crumble at an accelerated rate.'

'But then I remembered that we all have vessel bodies. Those guys aren't stupid. Surrounded by that many Demon Fiends, they were guaranteed a gruesome death if they fell into that Corpse Transformation Realm Great Demon Fiend's clutches.'

'They would definitely kill themselves beforehand. It was the only way to get out unscathed.'

So, naturally, Yang An felt no psychological burden.

'Of course, it would have been best if those guys reacted quickly enough to escape. But if they couldn't, I was sure they'd be able to kill themselves before they could no longer bear it.'

'At least I didn't have to worry about the Demon Fiends, because their fate was sealed—death!'

'Which meant there was even less to worry about.'

"Kid, I've really got to say, I love this 'an eye for an eye' personality of yours!

But aren't you afraid that Corpse Transformation Realm Great Demon Fiend will chase you down, tear you to pieces, and swallow you whole?"

Surprisingly, Bow Lady didn't call Yang An a 'little bastard' this time. It seemed his actions had been very much to her liking; even her tone was extremely excited.

"If it could come out, it would have come out already!"

Yang An said with a laugh.

The fact that the Corpse Transformation Realm Great Demon Fiend hadn't chased him after he left the bounds of the Jueyun Sect had led Yang An to a guess.

It wasn't that the Great Demon Fiend didn't want to give chase, but that it was probably unable to leave the Jueyun Sect's territory. Otherwise, how could he have escaped from a Corpse Transformation Realm Great Demon Fiend's clutches so easily?

And even if he was wrong and the Demon Fiend could give chase, Yang An had timed it perfectly, firing the arrow right before the Workshop Master's vessel teleportation was set to activate. The remaining time was more than enough for him to get away safely.

'Two breaths left!'

Yang An slung Bow Lady back over his shoulder and quietly waited for the Workshop Master to activate the vessel teleportation.

Once two breaths had passed, Yang An's vision suddenly went black, and the sensation of a sudden fall returned.

It was still like being trapped in a narrow, cramped space. The surfaces pressing against his body were incredibly soft and felt like they were covered in a slick, slimy mucus as he plummeted downwards.

The sensation was exceptionally nauseating, as if he himself had turned into some kind of strange object.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but when the scene before his eyes returned to normal, he found himself back in his familiar lodgings, looking at his familiar surroundings.

He was back!

Yang An hurriedly checked his belongings. Bow Lady and his Storage Magical Artifact were there, the Meat Burial Talisman was safe and sound, and the six gold secret markings on his hand were completely unchanged. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

This trip to the Jueyun Sect had been full of surprises and dangers, but the rewards had been very gratifying. It was well worth the journey.

He took off Bow Lady and set her on the floor, then sprawled out on the ground himself, spread-eagled like a starfish.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't tired; at the very least, he was mentally exhausted.

But now that he was back, Yang An already had a plan for what to do next.

'I need to master the Celestial Gnomon Body and the other two Techniques I acquired as soon as possible. Then I'll fuse them with my Dao of Destiny Technique for a huge boost to my Cultivation Level. After that, I have to get the opportunity to perform visualization on the Earth Spirit Stele from that old geezer as fast as I can.'

'The Corpse Transformation Realm feels like it's right around the corner. The rest is just a matter of following the steps.'

After resting for a while, Yang An sat up. He prepared to cultivate his Techniques, wanting to accumulate enough Celestial Gnomon Light as quickly as possible and master this Daoist Technique to a proficient level.

But just as he was about to resume absorbing the Celestial Gnomon Light, he felt a strange stir from the Tree of Flesh and Blood.

'A new message has arrived!'

'Is it from the Workshop Master, or someone else? Did something else happen?'

Suspicious, Yang An sent his consciousness into the Tree of Flesh and Blood. The moment he entered, he saw seven fruits of different shapes hanging in a row on the tree.

It wasn't the Workshop Master, but the other members of the Scripture Defector Association.

'It's just as I guessed. Those guys aren't idiots, they were sure to find a chance to escape,' he thought.

'It looks like they returned to their main bodies and immediately reported the events at the Jueyun Sect to the Workshop Master.'

'Is this a collective mission report for the Scripture Defector Association? I didn't realize there was such a rule.'

Yang An hurriedly opened the messages they had sent, wondering if he should also send a report to the Workshop Master since everyone else was.

But after opening the messages, Yang An was stunned.

Broken Hand: "Workshop Master! I strongly demand that you kick that madman He Tou out of the Scripture Defector Association!"

Black Egg: "I strongly demand He Tou be kicked out of the Scripture Defector Association! He's a lunatic!"

Sheep Horn: "I strongly demand that you kick that madman He Tou out of the Scripture Defector Association!"

Scalp: "Workshop Master! Where in the world did you find a madman like him?! Kick him out already!"

Heart: "We nearly died because of him! That damn bastard!"

Yang An: "..."

Workshop Master: "..."