Chapter 309: Chapter 277: The Withered Bone Demon Monarch’s Avatar?_2

“Let’s not discuss that; focus on recovery. Although we’ve activated the Hidden

Spirit Array, it’d be terrible if the Withered Bone Demon Monarch were to arrive,” Li Cheng changed the subject.

Kong Lianqing remained silent.

Li Cheng also closed his eyes, concentrating on running his Cultivation Technique at full power to refine the Decaying Bone Demon Poison.

However, a curiosity lingered in Li Cheng’s heart. With Kong Lianqing looking so beautiful when she smiled, why didn’t she smile more? Always wearing a cold expression, yet she was not short of words.

Women who are not short of words usually smile quite often.

The next day, as dawn broke, Li Cheng exhaled a turbid breath. He had completely refined the Decaying Bone Demon Poison and made progress in his cultivation.

Kong Lianqing had also mostly recovered, but Yin Yue was still unconscious. Li

Cheng inspected her and saw that Yin Yue was recovering well.

“Miss Kong, I’ll trouble you to look after Yin Yue while I bury the villagers,” he

said.

Kong Lianqing nodded slightly, her expression cold and silent.

Li Cheng buried all the bodies beside the ancestral hall and used the Earth Rules to form a stele about three meters high. Standing before the stele, he sighed inwardly.

To be honest, Li Cheng wasn’t very angry. After so many years of practice, he had learned to see life and death philosophically.

If he encountered the Withered Bone Demon Monarch in the future and his cultivation was sufficient, he would simply kill him.

“Someone is coming!” Kong Lianqing’s voice rang out.

Li Cheng turned, seeing an old man ten miles away from the Array meticulously searching, looking for something.

Soon, the old man noticed the Hidden Spirit Array and flew up to the front of the Array, shouting, “Wang Ping, you done? Come out!”

Li Cheng and Kong Lianqing exchanged puzzled looks. This person was looking for Wang Ping-could it be the Withered Bone Demon Monarch?

After all, Wang Ping possessed his poison.

“What now? Do you think a second-level Formation can stop me? Or are you planning to cross the river and demolish the bridge?” the old man continued.

Kong Lianqing looked towards Li Cheng, “This person’s cultivation is only at the early stage of True God Realm; he can’t possibly be the Withered Bone Demon Monarch. However, he might be a clone or a disciple of the Withered Bone Demon Monarch. With the Array’s support, we are in an impregnable position. Should we let him in?”

She had witnessed the power of the Hidden Spirit Array and, suspecting the old man to be a clone of the Withered Bone Demon Monarch, naturally did not wish to let this opportunity slip away.

Li Cheng nodded and opened the Array.

The moment the Array opened, the old man seemed to check something but still flew in, sneering, “The Decaying Bone Demon Poison didn’t kill you? You didn’t get affected?”

Sizing up the old man, Li Cheng said, “Judging by your words, you deserve to die!”

The mention of the Decaying Bone Demon Poison left no doubt that what Li Cheng had previously suspected was true. Whether the old man was a clone or a disciple of the Withered Bone Demon Monarch was no longer important!

In an instant, Li Cheng fully activated the Hidden Spirit Array. As its formidable pressure locked the old man in place, countless sword lights converged within the Array, all aiming for the old man!

The old man looked surprised, having thought that his opponent would first ask something, but little did he expect Li Cheng to act so decisively?

It was too late for further thought. The old man quickly tried to summon his Divine Power to break free from the Array’s suppression but clearly underestimated its power. For a moment, he struggled to escape as the countless sword lights bore down on him!

The Sword Qi was like a deluge, relentless, and soon shattered the old man’s Protective Divine Power; the subsequent sword lights pounded mercilessly into him.

The old man’s clothes were torn to shreds, and to everyone’s surprise, beneath the robes, there was a Skeleton exuding a deep, dark luster, resembling black jade.

This Skeleton, no matter how the Sword Qi swept over, was completely indestructible!

“No wonder he dared to come in; this skeleton of his must belong to a Divine Monarch or even a Divine King. A second-level Array can’t break it,” Kong Lianqing’s eyes showed a hint of seriousness.

“Haha, just stand here and make your move!” the old man laughed loudly.

He had already sensed that it was a second-level Array, but he still entered. He wouldn’t have taken the risk without sufficient confidence.

A feeling of dread settled in Li Cheng’s heart. This was bad!

“Hehe, boy, I came specially for you! Won’t you cease your attacks?” the old man said again.

Li Cheng stopped the assault. “Hidden Spirit Village has no wealth, no powerful people, what could possibly catch your eye to justify killing an entire village?”

“I told you, it’s because of you!”

“Let’s be direct. Surrender half of your Soul origin obediently and follow me hereafter. You won’t lack benefits,” the old man said.

Kong Lianqing, her eyes filled with worry, quickly looked at Li Cheng, seemingly anxious he might agree.

And of course, the old man did not miss her reaction.

The elder smiled playfully and then said, “Originally, I just intended to casually snatch away those seventy-two divine artifacts of yours. After all, they are worth seven or eight hundred thousand divine stones, but since you are still alive, I have changed my mind!”

“From now on, you will be my Artifact Refiner!”

A couple of days ago, as he was passing by and drawn by the aura of the divine artifacts, he arrived at Hidden Spirit Village. He happened to see Li Cheng crafting those divine artifacts and Wang Ping, filled with resentment, cowering in a corner of the village, so he approached Wang Ping.

It was simple, a vial of Decaying Bone Demon Poison and two antidotes, no threats required, and Wang Ping agreed to do the job.

In his view, he could easily profit from those many divine artifacts without lifting a finger.

But now that Li Cheng was still alive, of course he had to change his mind. Subjugating Li Cheng to refine artifacts for him would be like having a mobile

ATM.

Li Cheng’s anger surged up. Wipe out a village for divine artifacts worth seven or eight hundred thousand divine stones?

And he had the audacity to fancy having his soul origin?

“You deserve to die!”

Li Cheng bellowed, reaching out to grasp the seventy-two divine artifacts and directing them into the core of the formation, along with the previous nine. Now, with eighty-one of them gathered, the formation’s power surged!

“Slash!”

Blade light and sword qi ran rampant. Under Li Cheng’s extreme control, they merged into one blade and one sword, slashing towards the elder!

Bang!

Flesh flew from the elder’s face, revealing a complete skeletal form, but his very bones remained undamaged!

Upon seeing this, Kong Lianqing transmitted her voice, “It seems the rumors were true, the Withered Bone Demon Monarch did indeed slay a Divine King and used the Divine King’s bones to create a clone—this one in front of us!” “Even though this clone’s cultivation is at the early stage of the True God Realm, the skeleton itself is the genuine Divine King Bone!”

Li Cheng continued to attack with all his might. Unable to break the Divine King Bone, he could try to directly attack the Divine Soul. After all, the soul’s strength was also at the early stage of the True God Realm, and the Hidden Spirit Array was fully capable of killing him.

But with the skeleton for protection, it could withstand his attacks indefinitely. As long as it stayed inside, it wouldn’t be harmed.

“Do you have any more Soul Extinguishing Needles?” Li Cheng transmitted his voice.

Kong Lianqing shook her head. “If I did, I would have dealt with him already! Li Cheng, I’m afraid we might have to run.”

Given the elder’s cultivation and the strength of his skeleton, if he made a move, Li Cheng and Kong Lianqing would have a difficult time defending themselves. With the strength of his skeleton, a simple backlash could break free from the formation’s suppression; there was no need to stay still and get beaten.

Li Cheng had been in the Divine Realm for too short a time and had no deep foundation or powerful methods.

But as for fleeing, how could Li Cheng be willing?

Grinding his teeth inwardly, Li Cheng stopped the array’s attack and stepped towards the elder.

“What are you doing?” Kong Lianqing hastily asked.

“Ha ha, have you seen reason? Just hand over half your soul origin, and I shall not hold the past against you,” laughed the elder.

Li Cheng had already walked within three yards of the elder, “I’ve always been clear-headed!”

Before his words faded, the elder suddenly felt the scenery before his eyes shift. He was no longer in the dilapidated village but had arrived in a sea of fire! “Domain!” the elder nodded, “What can that do to me?

The flames roared, overwhelming gravity surged, and various laws emerged, indeed posing no threat to the elder.

After all, he possessed a Divine King Skeleton, and his soul, protected inside the skull, was unharmed within the domain.

With a stomp, the elder shattered the domain, and both of them were back where they started.

“Since you will not submit, then die!”

With a step, the elder released a sinister black light that instantly swept across the entire Hidden Spirit Array.

Suddenly, both Li Cheng and Kong Lianqing felt dizzy and a wave of weakness swept over their bodies!

“Poison…” Kong Lianqing staggered and fell to the ground, and Li Cheng wasn’t faring much better.

“Something’s odd, it seems he can’t make a move; otherwise, there’d be no need for poison,” Kong Lianqing transmitted her voice.

Li Cheng also noticed, responding, “He must not have fully assimilated his Divine Soul with the Divine King Bone. Forcing a move would surely bring backlash from the bone. That’s why he used poison.”

“If that’s the case, perhaps there’s a way!” A glimmer of hope appeared in Kong Lianqing’s eyes.

Li Cheng looked at her doubtfully, only to see her extract a Jade Talisman and, using the last of her strength, crush it!