NOVEL NEXT Chapter 91: Killing Upon Killing 4
The Fire Heart Sect had quite a bit of property, especially compared to the Cloud Dream and True Light Sects since they were the second most powerful cultivator force in this small pseudo-region after the Black Heaven Sect.
Li Ling reached another spirit stone mine which was farther away from the sect but had a bigger structure and mining output than the one where he enslaved Majin One. Here, around the same number of Fire Heart Sect disciples had been sent to defend, this time with a far stronger loadout since there were two Body Foundation practitioners and more peak Mortal Flesh disciples rather than middle or early-stage weaklings.
However, the outcome was the same regardless.
Hovering above the group on the Mountain Splitting Blade, Li Ling did not even deign to descend and engage them head-on like the first time. Not only was his time limited, but he also did not see the need to be so wasteful when he had already evolved his methods to the next level.
While the enemies below pointed at him and entered battle stances, unveiling their Fire Qi or Fire Aura, Li Ling simply sucked in a deep breath and blew out a stream of bright orange fire that spread downwards like a torrential wave, engulfing everything below in one go.
The Mortal Flesh folks did not even have the chance to scream or beg, turned into ashes on the spot, their various defenses completely useless against this perfected second realm daoist art from a perfected second realm qi cultivator.
｢System Prompt: You have gained 164 Slaughter Points.｣
The Body Foundation fellows did have some better luck because the Fire Stream Art was an AOE, not a direct hit like the previous Fireball Technique. So even though it was one realm higher, its intensity had been spread out to cover the area of effect, giving them a slightly higher chance of survival.
Too bad they were not strong enough to grasp it, as the first Body Foundation warrior lost his clothing and the top layer of his skin, exposing his muscles and flesh to the flames which caused him to scream endlessly. Doing so then introduced flames into his mouth, which went down to his organs, doubling the agony and sealing his fate as he fell down in death.
｢System Prompt: You have gained 20 Slaughter Points.｣
The second one was a bit stronger and luckier, having been near the entrance of the mine, so after activating a talisman and a semi-magic artifact shield, he dove into the cave and managed to survive the wave with a case of light burns all over his body, his expression one of pain.
But he did not even have time to assess the damage done by Li Ling to their forces when the young man appeared before him, still riding the flying sword. Seeing his foe right before him, imperiously folding his arms behind his back with a disdainful smile, this Body Foundation warrior tried to muster the will to resist.
However, Li Ling's next words extinguished that attempt immediately. "Submit to me or die."
Hearing this, the fellow's mouth fell open and his eyes widened with pleasant surprise. After all, on a War of Annihilation, many even hoped to be able to beg for their lives, even as slaves, just to survive the mark of inevitable demise.
As for the fact that their group had a hiding place organized by the Sect Master, this fellow found it far less appealing than following Li Ling. After all, being with Li Ling, an orthodox disciple of the Six Paths Demon Sect, meant that he would definitely survive as he was the young man's property, but going to that hiding place only offered a very small chance of survival.
Immediately, this warrior knelt upon thinking this. "I am willing!"
Li Ling nodded with satisfaction. "Good, now let down your guard. I am going to place a restriction on you so that you don't betray me."
The face of the Body Foundation warrior did not even change, because without such a restriction, how could Li Ling possibly trust him? More importantly, if Li Ling went away and left him to do a task without some form of restriction, how would he prove to another passing Six Paths Demon Sect disciple that he belonged to one of their own and should not be killed?
As such, when Li Ling made the Big Dipper Seal and flicked a finger, sending a glowing 'M' symbol into the forehead of the Body Foundation warrior, it bypassed his Sea of Consciousness and planted itself right in the depths of his spiritual space and his soul, taking effect immediately.
The manifestation of this was subtle, with a certain light in the fellow's eyes shifting. It did not diminish nor increase, just changed in focus to something other than what was the default.
"Rise. You are now Majin Four, and your duty is to freely and destructively mine all the spirit stones in this mine, as well as your other small-scale mine at this location." Li Ling ordered as he sent a mental image of the first mine he cleared.
Majin Four stood up and bowed. "Easily done, My Lord. When I have them, where should I bring them to?"
"Come to your sect's headquarters. Don't disappoint me." That was all Li Ling said before taking off, hurrying to the next battleground.
As for Majin Four, he quickly put the fellow to the back of his mind. Now that he had a transcendent mind-controlling method that even affected the soul, Li Ling planned to use it well to get subordinates who could do things for him competently, and since using the daoist art was so taxing, he devised an easier method.
Rather than brute-forcing a mental battle—which he would win but was still extremely tiring—it was best to get them to surrender and let him control them willingly, which reduced his burden by more than 90%. After that, he only had to worry about the 'maintenance cost' of the Dao Soldier Technique since he could currently support only ten Dao Soldiers at the same realm as himself.
As the Dao Soldier Technique was cast from a mixture of qi and spiritual cultivation, Li Ling was considered to be at the second realm for this, which was why he could enslave such Body Foundation fellows with ease.
And now with the Fire Stream Art, he could clear foes and enslave one powerhouse to handle cleanup and extraction, making sure he did not miss any wealth whatsoever.
The Fire Heart Sect had four more spots: two medicinal gardens, one branch set up in a mortal kingdom to find prospective disciples, and one small cultivator market even more pathetic than the outer area of Number 9 Qing Shan Market.
When he reached the Medicine Gardens, Li Ling spared some time for the Mountain Splitting Blade to make a round through the necks and bodies of the Mortal Flesh disciples while he battled the singular Body Foundation experts head-on, eventually subduing them to form Majin Five and Majin Six.
｢System Prompt: You have gained 132 Slaughter Points.｣
｢System Prompt: You have gained 125 Slaughter Points.｣
Taking his Slaughter Points, Li Ling ordered the two newly inducted members of the Majin family to harvest all the ripe medicinal herbs while destroying those yet to ripen, regardless of their preciousness. After all, no unripe herb could be used or sold, and Li Ling was not kind enough to do the work clearing those fellows and let some lucky guy pass through then claim them later on.
At the mortal city, which was quite bustling with life as the mortals were unaware of the kill order but had heard that an evil demonic force was harvesting lives aplenty, they were a mixture of fearful and hopeful. Fearful that one day, those evil demonic immortals would come to harvest them, and hopeful that their small city, overlooked by a sect, would be spared.
After all, immortals were friends with immortals, right? The evil immortal force slaughtering mortals wouldn't actually want to offend the immortals stationed in their city for something as small as them, right?
The Fire Heart Hall was established in the center of this city, near the governor's mansion. At this moment, the sound of thudding and painful screams sounded from the open bedroom of the governor, as the Hall Master, a Body Foundation level four fellow, was currently venting his fear and heat on the governor's wife who had practiced some basic martial arts.
The Governor, a middle-aged man with a goatee, was ashen-faced outside the room, watching his rather attractive madam being ravaged with wide eyes, tears flowing down due to helplessness. Beside him, his son was pressed to the ground by some Fire Heart Sect disciples, still struggling after seeing his mother being ravaged, but his mere martial arts could not stand up to body cultivators.
Meanwhile, the nearby Deputy Hall Master, who was a Mortal Flesh peak, was sneakily fondling the ripe daughter of the Governor, who was next to go after her mother was 'done'. She could only stand there and shiver with terror because the sounds her mother was making were not from pleasure, but agony, as if her insides were being scorched.
And knowing the reputation of these Fire Heart Hall monsters, the young lady knew that that was exactly the case. Like any sensible person, she was not thrilled at all at the idea of what was the equivalent of a searing hot meat rod being inserted into her genitals.
While this scene elapsed, Li Ling was standing beside the group casually, watching the scene with a furrowed expression on his face. None in the room noticed him thanks to his Spirit Isolation Mantra, which completely sealed his body's fluctuations.
Eventually, he broke the strange silence—which wasn't so, as there was the sound of roaring from the rebelling son, sobbing from the dad and daughter, and screams from the mother—with a simple question.
"This thing… is it really fun?" Li Ling asked with a deep frown.
The shock and terror of everyone involved in this scene were displayed on their faces as they turned to regard Li Ling, who had been here, in their midst, the entire time without them noticing! To the mortals, this meant nothing, but the Fire Heart Sect disciples knew that this meant the gap between them and this person was as vast as the sky!
However, they outnumbered Li Ling, and due to how carelessly he came to stand among them, he was also surrounded by them. This caused these relatively fearless body cultivators to manifest their Fire Qi and strike out at Li Ling, aiming to suppress him quickly while the going was good.
Li Ling just slapped the incoming fist away without even manifesting his Blood Qi, causing that warrior's arm to explode into blood mist and spray all over the face of the Governor and his son, who were still in shock. Before his assailant could wail in agony, the dormant Mountain Splitting Blade that had been hovering at the top of the hall, near the ceiling, spun downwards like a fan and chopped off the fellow's head, causing a fountain of blood to spray out.
｢System Prompt: You have gained 7 Slaughter Points.｣
This caused the hallways to become quiet as everyone froze, understanding that a death god had appeared among them and could reap their lives with ease at any time. Right now, their only hope was their elder within the room who seemed to be done with his 'therapy', robing up as he walked out.
As for the Governor's wife, she simply lay in the bed weakly, her life unlikely to persist as a trail of smoke emerged from her genitals that carried the smell of burnt flesh. Meanwhile, the Body Foundation practitioner, who was a rather old fellow with a slightly stooping back and grey hair, came to stand before Li Ling, his eyes staring at the young man coldly.
"What do you want, brat?" The Fire Heart Hall's Hall Master asked fearlessly, knowing that Li Ling, regardless of whether the young man was a second realm qi cultivator or body cultivator, was dead after allowing him to come so close to his position.