Chapter 112: The Relentless Onslaught of Ogre

A thick spray of blood erupted relentlessly, like a fountain forcefully bursting forth.

The entire main hall was steeped in a nauseating stench of blood, nearly making one sick to the stomach.

Inside the grand hall of Bailang Hall, a roaring gust swept through the corridor, leaving everyone shivering with an icy chill.

Ogre…

Ogre! Oh, Ogre!

The mere mention of his name was enough to strike fear into the hearts of men!

A ruthless, bloodthirsty fiend!

The deputy standing beside the Bailang Hall master trembled uncontrollably, his face as pale as death and his eyes shrunk to the size of green peas.

He stared in shock as the hulking, mountain-like form of the Bailang Hall master had his head twisted off in one swift, casual motion.

The wild cascade of jet-black hair whipped about like lightning, accentuating the charming Cute Cow Mask… as if he were an unbridled demon on the battlefield!

“You… you…”

The deputy stammered in terror; the very name of Ogre, notorious for his brutality, sent shivers down his spine.

Every faction under the Fisher Gang had been massacred by Ogre, yet the gang remained utterly powerless against him!

Now, with Ogre stepping into Bailang Hall, it was finally the hall’s turn to suffer…

The deputy was overwhelmed by despair—Ogre’s arrival was completely unforeseen, as if he had materialized right beside the hall master.

Cultivating the Art of Corpse Nurturing to the pinnacle of cursed corpse form, the Bailang Hall master, who was barely on the verge of stepping into the state of Cursed Iron Corpse, was effortlessly decapitated by Ogre…

As if snapping off a feeble chicken’s head was child’s play…

Ogre was ten, even a hundred times more terrifying than the rumors had ever suggested!

Beneath his mask, Li Che’s eyes burned with a chilling, emotionless glare.

These people…

They all deserve death.

His gaze connected with the Cosmic Chessboard, causing the seal of the Eight Extremes Corpse Curse to quake violently; an invisible miasma of death emanated from him.

It rendered the corpse curse seals on these unfortunate souls strikingly clear in his eyes!

This was both a gift from the Corpse God Sect and a insidious trap – those seals required the nourishment of death qi to break through.

But whence did this death qi come?

Just like the Bailang Hall master—through cold-blooded murder… even cannibalism!

Boom—!

As his blood surged forth, the deputy lost all desire to fight for his life; his only thought was to run!

The Bailang Hall master had said that once Ogre appeared, someone would surely come to challenge him… but where?

Where is that someone?!

“Where are they?!”

The deputy roared in panic.

Then, his body seized up; it felt as though an unseen hand had clutched his throat. An overwhelming, high-tier divine aura rippled over him, freezing him in place completely.

What a terrifying divine presence…

He could feel his own divine essence trembling, unable to muster even a trace of movement, utterly suppressed by the superior condition.

Then he noticed behind Ogre a blazing, sun-like grinding wheel of divine foundation rising.

Its rotation unleashed countless flashes of blade-like energy, sweeping through the hall like bamboo leaves caught in a wild, howling storm.

Puff, puff, puff, puff—

In an instant, every top fighter within Bailang Hall perished!

Li Che briefly entered his Ascension Stance—a state so fleeting that the Temple Spirit had no time to replenish its divine aura—allowing him to absorb essence in one precise, swift motion.

Clenching his fist, he drew in countless divine essences from the corpses, coalescing them into a Divine Chess Piece that he absorbed into the Cosmic Chessboard.

His formidable Divine Perception swept over the bodies, scavenging the Qian Kun Jade from the two deputies he had slain and from the headless corpse of the hall master.

Killing without plundering the bodies—what’s the point? It’s just like leaving a dead fish to rot!

“Ogre—!!!”

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Just as Li Che finished gathering the remnants, a horrifying aura burst forth from outside Bailang Hall!

It was… the divine presence of a cultivator from the Illusory Form realm!

It swept in like a deity descending from afar, its divine pressure intent on obliteration.

And then, accompanied by a terrifying, rushing sound, a divine archer launched a lethal arrow straight at him from a distance!

That arrow, wrapped in a roaring torrent of blood and fueled by a perfected divine foundation, was formidable beyond measure!

Truly, a tremendously powerful arrow!

It sealed off every possible escape route for Ogre!

But this wasn’t the first time Li Che faced such a masterful divine archer from the Divine Guard Army—whose archery far eclipsed even his own 【Chenkū Baigui Fenglei Arrow】!

Moreover, this divine archer was extraordinarily powerful—a Grandmaster-level cultivator with a consummated divine foundation, on the brink of entering the Illusory Form stage.

His arrow was even more fearsome than a barrage of cannon shells!

In terms of sheer explosive force, it even outperformed his 【Namo Celestial Craft Barrett】!

The Namo Celestial Craft Barrett boasted impressive range, speed, and piercing power, enhanced by the vicious Dragon Tooth Bodhi Bullet forged from Bodhi Blood Tears…

It unleashed horror on an unimaginable scale!

Yet in explosive might, nothing could match the arrow of the divine archer, imbued with a Grandmaster’s true qi and perfected divine foundation.

Two overwhelming assaults rained down—one from a Fisher Gang Illusory Form expert, and the other from a Divine Guard Army archer!

They struck almost simultaneously, like bolts of striking lightning!

The sheer oppressive force was nearly suffocating!

Boom—!!!!!!

The monstrous explosion erupted like a towering mushroom cloud, shaking the ground with raucous tremors and splintering it into endless, crisscrossed cracks, as though the very earth were convulsing.

The Jiulong River, dozens of zhang away, erupted in turbulent, agitated waves, as if a furious dragon roared within its depths!

The meeting hall of Bailang Hall collapsed in an instant, plunging into a deep pit with shattered walls and gigantic, web-like fissures twisting menacingly.

Amid the rolling dust, a figure appeared, stepping lightly as if unfazed, and passed by with a casual flick of the sleeve.

A gust of wind stirred up, dispersing the floating dust entirely.

Revealing the grim scene within the abyssal pit.

There stood an elegantly robed old man, arms crossed, suspended in mid-air—a clear display of a cultivator from the Illusory Form realm.

It was Liu Jinsong, one of the two deputy leaders of the Fisher Gang’s Illusory Form faction.

Another figure, radiating overwhelming energy and clad in golden armor that shimmered in the sunlight, landed at the pit’s edge.

“He escaped… again,” murmured the observer.

This man was Jiang Du, the divine archer of the Divine Guard Army.

Both he and Liu Jinsong were top-tier experts in Jingguang City; yet, despite their combined might, Ogre had once again slipped away.

Liu Jinsong descended gracefully, his elegant attire billowing in the wind, his eyes narrowing coldly. “What a slippery Ogre, evading capture like a loach…”

“Always striking from the shadows—kill and vanish immediately! Vicious and cunning!”

“Some even call him a hero for slaughtering innocent Fisher Gang members… utterly ruthless, cowardly, nothing more than a rat!”

Liu Jinsong roared in fury.

For a cultivator of the Illusory Form realm to be outwitted repeatedly by someone at the initial divine foundation stage was an utter farce!

His anger was entirely justified.

Jiang Du lowered his crimson longbow and shot a scornful glance at the incensed Liu Jinsong, muttering under his breath.

The carnage wrought by Ogre—what kind of vermin were those people? As the Fisher Gang’s deputy, Liu Jinsong was well aware of their despicable nature.

They exploited the common folk and committed heinous acts—murdering and even feeding people to fish… utterly cruel!

Those people had it coming.

Then why was Ogre, who had slain countless individuals, hailed as a hero by some, earning a commendable reputation?

Isn’t it all because his ferocity only highlights the filth of his peers?!

“This Ogre must have mastered a unique divine transference technique, and his Breath Convergence is remarkably advanced; otherwise, he couldn’t have evaded our combined divine blockades so effortlessly.”

Jiang Du’s golden armor clanged as he spoke in a deep, resolute tone.

Liu Jinsong snorted coldly, his face contorted in disgust.

The Fisher Gang… had lost yet another faction!

Bailang Hall, once the Fisher Gang’s dark, ruthless enforcer known for its swift and precise brutality, had been utterly crushed by Ogre.

In less than ten days, the forces under the Fisher Gang had suffered massive casualties.

Liu Jinsong’s eyes flickered with a murky, unsettling light.

Mainly because…

Every soul slain by Ogre bore the Corpse Curse Seal bestowed by the Corpse God Sect!

Ogre was specifically targeting the disciples of the Corpse God Sect!

Could it be mere coincidence?

Once or twice might be chance, but every time Ogre struck, someone marked with the seal among the Fisher Gang’s ranks was culled!

It simply couldn’t be accidental.

“He’s focusing on the Corpse God Sect! He’s single-handedly taking them on!”

“You lunatic—this Ogre…”

“Truly a mad bull!”

……

……

“Utterly unbridled and brazen beyond measure!”

“I really…”,

“I just can’t help but admire him!”

Temple Guardian Division.

Zhang Lianhao examined the intelligence on Ogre brought by Hong Yong and Shi Lei, his eyes glittering as he pounded the table with excitement.

The Fisher Gang had lost yet another faction at Ogre’s hands, and according to reports from the Temple Guardian Division, even the Bailang Hall master was a disciple of the Corpse God Sect!

“Can this Ogre really discern who has pledged allegiance to the Corpse God Sect?”

“He’s specifically hunting down the sect’s disciples—trying to single-handedly counter the Corpse God Sect’s infiltration of Jingguang City?!”

Zhang Lianhao rose, pacing with his hands clasped behind his back.

His face blushed with a mix of excitement and agitation.

Does the Temple Guardian Division not know about the Corpse God Sect’s deep infiltration?

They do, but they dare not act rashly since no one can tell who has been corrupted—the Corpse Curse Seal is invisible.

Intelligence gathered from sacrificed spies revealed that when the Eight-Armed Yulian Furious Third Prince incited a riot in the Bizarre Temple, fighters from the Temple Guardian Division, the Imperial Watch, and the Divine Sect Branch were busy suppressing the chaos while their agents infiltrated many high-ups in Jingguang Mansion…

Now, both the supervisors and governors of the Temple Guardian Division were occupied quelling the Third Prince’s rampage.

Thus, the number of strong members in Jingguang City’s Temple Guardian Division was severely lacking…

That was also why Zhang Lianhao dared not act arbitrarily.

Mainly because they hadn’t conclusively identified which high-ups in Jingguang Mansion had been tainted by the Corpse God Sect…

He dared not make a move!

Moreover… some high-ranking members of the Divine Guard Army had also been infiltrated—an even graver matter!

After all, while the Temple Guardian Division boasted many experts, their military might paled in comparison to that of the Divine Guard Army in Jingguang City.

“What a formidable Ogre…”

“Truly a hero.”

Zhang Lianhao declared with unbridled passion.

Although… such rampant, lawless slaughter, disregarding all rules, was highly disfavored by the authorities.

From his perspective, however, and that of the Capital’s common folk, Ogre was a genuine bane dispelling evil!

Ogre’s sheer bloodthirst forced the Fisher Gang into submission.

“I envy his unabashed nature…”

Zhang Lianhao truly envied how, once he donned his official robes, he was shackled by duty.

“This Ogre’s agility suggests he might have mastered a divine transference technique, but now that he’s exposed, everyone is on guard—his capture is imminent.”

Zhang Lianhao halted his pacing and stood right by the window.

He gazed out at the dark, cloud-laden skies, heavy with the promise of spring rain.

……

……

A light, misty rain shrouded the Capital, a city built by the river, in a veil of haze.

It evoked a traditional landscape painting, with elegant eaves and upturned rooftops exuding poetic charm.

Imperial Watch, Cliff Treasure Tower.

In the workshop.

Li Che clenched a pristine white Feilei Chess Piece in his fingers as he returned.

Though the stench of blood still clung to him, a sudden jolt forced all that blood to condense into a crimson orb, which he promptly tossed into a jade bottle before sending it into Qiankun Space.

He lit incense, filling the workroom with a subtle, soothing fragrance.

Removing the Ogre mask and shedding his black robe, his imposing figure returned to normal, revealing once again the gentle, honest demeanor of Li Che.

Exhaling softly, Li Che’s mind was calm and undisturbed.

He had set his sights on the Fisher Gang, but instead of targeting their Black Snake Gang first, he struck at the other factions—swiftly executing anyone marked with a Corpse Curse Seal.

The moment he detected the seal, Li Che would strike without hesitation, unleashing a storm of thunderous explosive power.

To his surprise, the Fisher Gang was almost entirely soaked in the corruption of the Corpse God Sect – their defenses riddled with holes, almost inviting the sect’s infiltration.

It must have been sanctioned by the gang’s high command.

“Fisher Gang… are they staging a rebellion against Jingguang Mansion?”

Li Che’s eyes flickered with quiet intensity.

But he was too indifferent to ponder it further.

Whether the Fisher Gang rebelled or not was of no concern—he only sought unrestrained freedom, and since the gang had no honor, Li Che was unleashing his inner Ogre.

Seated cross-legged, Li Che tallied his gains; in truth, the spoils were modest—his true focus lay in Divine Crystals.

“So stingy…”

He frowned as he muttered that the Bailang Hall master possessed a mere five Tendu Divine Essence Crystals—an insult to fortune.

Over the past ten days, Li Che had transformed into Ogre, hunting down every faction under the Fisher Gang; any cultivator bearing the Corpse Curse Seal from the Corpse God Sect was ruthlessly eradicated.

In total, he collected thirty-two Tendu Divine Essence Crystals—even if not a fortune, it was something.

Li Che couldn’t help but sigh; after all, Divine Crystals were the lifeblood of cultivation, and gathering thirty-two was a no small feat.

“Still, the Corpse God Sect’s emissaries are far richer… one Tendu Divine Essence Crystal could nearly break me.”

He murmured, lost in thought.

Strangely, throughout his rampage as Ogre, he hadn’t encountered even one emissary of the Corpse God Sect.

A new thought stirred, and fleeting images of light danced before his eyes.

[Dao Fruit: Xiangong (lv3 79%) • Dragon Elephant Vajra (lv3 25%) • Pure Heart (LV3 5%) • Chess Sage (lv2 58%)]

The maturity of his Dao Fruits had increased significantly!

Xianggong improved only marginally—no new divine statues had been carved. However, Dragon Elephant Vajra, honed through relentless battle, had progressed nicely.

Once Pure Heart reached LV3, its improvement slowed dramatically; even if he absorbed every remaining Tendu Divine Essence Crystal, it would barely nudge its proficiency by 5%.

Tendu Divine Essence Crystals were extremely inefficient—ten of them yielded just a 1% improvement.

Perhaps after Pure Heart absorbed the fine grains of Tendu Divine Essence, these coarse crystals were no longer palatable.

It forced him to seek higher-quality Divine Crystals.

Only Eight-Armed or Seven-Element level Divine Crystals could be absorbed?

Fortunately, Pure Heart extracted the divine aura at astonishing speed; Li Che then transferred the extracted Tendu Divine Essence into the divine foundation of 【Three-Eyed Furious True Lord】. Although it required further refinement, the overall process was greatly accelerated.

After ten days of refining ten Tendu Divine Essence Crystals, he advanced the divine foundation of 【Three-Eyed Furious True Lord】 into the Divine Foundation realm!

What thrilled Li Che most, however, was the 【Chess Sage】 Dao Fruit…

With every kill, the accumulation of divine chess pieces and increased use of Feilei Chess Sage and the Cosmic Chessboard significantly boosted its maturity!

The maturity of the 【Chess Sage】 Dao Fruit had reached an impressive 58%!

Truly, nothing surpassed the exhilaration of battle for rapid advancement.

Li Che was filled with resolute determination.

After tidying up, he stood, muscles creaking and joints crackling in a symphony of power.

Clenching his fist as swirling currents of qi and blood intertwined, Li Che began his martial cultivation in the courtyard.

He practiced Divine Mains cultivation as described in the ‘Dajing Town Temple’s Supreme Prison Lotus Channeling Shenmai Technique’, which centered on transformative divine changes.

The extent of one’s divine transformation dictated the strength of their qi, inner energy, and overall vitality.

To break through to Grandmaster, a cultivator’s divine veins must integrate the essences of three martial art realms to achieve threefold transformation.

Harmony was the bare minimum; those who advanced to become true qi Grandmasters remained at the lowest echelon.

After that came the Six Transformations and Nine Transformations of the divine veins.

These stages required the integration of six, then nine martial art realms respectively.

The difficulty was simply beyond compare!

For any martial artist, mastering a single technique to its final transformation demanded an inordinate amount of time and effort.

Martial arts were divided into minor, medium, and major realms—each with its unique path to transformation.

Many divine vein cultivators spent their entire lives struggling to master just three techniques, never reaching Grandmaster.

Yet rumors spoke of a mysterious Lingwu Pill within the Divine Sect that could enhance martial comprehension, accelerating one’s path to transformation.

This was why major sects easily produced Grandmasters.

But for ordinary divine vein cultivators, the Grandmaster breakthrough was nearly impossible.

Without becoming a Grandmaster, one’s divine appearance would forever remain out of reach—a vicious cycle with no end.

In the workshop, the howling wind gradually subsided, leaving only a latent surge of potent qi and blood.

Li Che opened his eyes as if dark clouds had burst into brilliant light; his eyes shone like two radiant stars.

“Both White Tiger Turbulent Wind Fist and Eight-Strike Bone Shattering Spear have fused with my divine veins at the transformation level…”

“Next, Python Dragon Cannon, Cloud Yao’s Nimbus Leap, and Chenkū Baigui Fenglei Arrow have reached the master level, with the Furious True Lord Three-Blade Saber soon to follow…”

“And don’t forget the Mitrā Golden Garment, which has also attained master level—each only a step away from complete transformation.”

“But among all my martial arts, I wield only seven techniques; for my divine veins’ Nine Transformations…I’m short of two.”

Li Che pondered this with a furrowed brow.

Possessing the 【Dragon Elephant Vajra】 Dao Fruit, Li Che was naturally determined to achieve the divine vein’s Nine Transformations and ascend to Grandmaster with flawless precision.

Yet, even for him, advancing to the divine veins’ Nine Transformations was an almost insurmountable challenge.

“Ah, and there’s also the ‘Seven-Element Divine Eagle Technique’ from the Imperial Watch—within it lies the profound martial art ‘Thousand-Hand Divine Eagle’. I’m not quite there yet…”

“That means I’m still one transformation short in martial art realm.”

Li Che concluded his cultivation session, standing serenely as qi and blood swirled around him like a blossoming hell lotus.

“What about the Corpse God Sect’s martial art?”

He recalled the Divine Martial Technique ‘Corpse God Death Smoke Finger’ he had acquired from a Corpse God Sect emissary—a technique fueled by death qi.

And of that, Ogre had no shortage of death qi.

Li Che exhaled deeply.

In that case, it’s decided—I’ll cultivate it!

The foundations for the divine veins’ Nine Transformations were now complete!

These days, facing the Fisher Gang, Ogre had no choice but to strike stealthily—kill and then escape.

And he only targeted the minor factions; challenging the high-level members was another matter entirely.

After all, the leader of the Fisher Gang was a bona fide Illusory Form cultivator, and both deputy leaders were Grandmasters…

Even under his Ascension Stance, facing an Illusory Form expert was an exceptionally daunting task.

While the Temple Spirit boasted unmatched prowess at its level, against an Illusory Form cultivator free from divine foundation constraints, the suppressive effect of the Ascension Stance diminished, making victory uncertain.

Yet, Li Che believed that a brief skirmish might still play to his favor.

However… Jingguang City was teeming with formidable experts. Once encircled, the peril would be immense.

Li Che’s strategy was to stay cautious; even as he unleashed his inner Ogre and reveled in carnage, ensuring his own safety was paramount.

Exhaling a wisp of murky air, Li Che walked to the window.

Gazing at the Jiulong River as its waters hurled against rugged cliffs, his eyes shifted with intensity.

From a distance, it appeared as if he could see through the thick city walls to a grand, Bizarre Temple standing defiantly by the river’s heart.

He sighed deeply.

“The Temple Spirit’s power… is running dangerously low.”

“I want to absorb it.”

……

……

Late at night, at Fisher Gang Headquarters.

A majestic, bare-chested old man with a flowing, curly beard sat on a grand chair, his eyes wide with fierce malice.

The entire room was shrouded in a suffocating silence and oppressive gloom.

Deputy Leader Liu Jinsong and another deputy, Zhao Xunqi, fell into a heavy silence.

“Million Gambling House, Bailang Hall… all seven factions under the Fisher Gang have been slaughtered and eradicated!”

“Now, the Fisher Gang is in a state of panic; many are even considering leaving the gang!”

“An Ogre—who isn’t even an Illusory Form cultivator—has thrown the entire gang into chaos!”

“Damn it!”

The Fisher Gang leader banged his hand down; his awe-inspiring divine might instantly expelled all air from the room with a violent gust.

“Where are the Corpse God Sect’s people?”

“The ones slain were all marked with the seal before Ogre took aim…”

“How can Ogre pinpoint those with the seal so precisely?!”

The gang leader glared fiercely at Liu Jinsong.

“Could it be that Ogre is one of the Corpse God Sect? Damn it, is he using that as an excuse to deliberately decimate our gang?!”

Liu Jinsong, who was in charge of liaising with the Corpse God Sect, looked momentarily pale.

There was no way Ogre could be one of them—the leader must remain calm!

Dressed in elegant attire, Liu Jinsong clasped his fists, exhaled, and his face turned grim.

“There is no chance that Ogre is one of them. Leader, please stay calm…”

“And as for the many emissaries of the Corpse God Sect who remain hidden…”

“It’s because…”

Liu Jinsong’s face twitched noticeably.

“The Spring Equinox is approaching.”

“Li Qingshan will be returning soon.”

During his streak of daring escapades, please support with monthly votes, recommendations, and ongoing followership! Many thanks from Old Li!