Dual Cultivation In Martial Peak

Chapter 83: Backlash!

'It was all my fault…'

Meng Wuya felt his heart drop when he stared at Su Mu's limbless corpse, which was on the ground with a hole ripped through his chest.

The young man who did things that amazed everyone around him was now in such a pitiful state, completely lifeless.

'I shouldn't have forgotten that despite his accomplishments, at the end of the day, he was but an inexperienced cultivator…'

The fact that Su Mu inherited a 3rd Order Saint Realm Cultivator's inheritance, along with his other talents in swordsmanship and cultivation, made Meng Wuya forget that he was a youngster who hadn't even lived for two decades yet.

'The one who unlocked the seal on my cultivation wasn't the brat himself, but his master…'

Meng Wuya was too focused on what Su Mu could have been like in the future and forgot who he currently was.

He mistook Su Mu's ignorant confidence in his abilities at face value, believing the latter meant what he said.

However, it was foolish to expect something like that from a young cultivator who had barely seen the world with his own eyes.

'How will I face Chang'er after this…'

An old fox like Meng Wuya could move forward from things with some time, but his disciple was bound to be heartbroken for life.

He knew how much Xia Ning Chang cared for Su Mu, and even the thought of delivering this news to her broke his heart.

"Don't look away from me, Old Man!"

The Tyrannical Force King charged towards Meng Wuya, bringing both of his hands together and interlocking his fingers above his head before smashing them forward.

"Scram!"

Meng Wuya roared in anger, launching his palm towards the enemy with no restraints.

BOOM!*

"Hahaha! That's more like it!"

Tyrannical Force King laughed, intercepting the palm with an attack of his own, which threw his body dozens of meters back.

However, before he could crash into the ground, Shan Qing Luo's ribbon artifact caught him and threw him back towards Meng Wuya with an even greater force.

'This again…'

Meng Wuya retreated, and the Tyrannical Force King's attack landed on the ground.

On the other side of the Hidden Cloud Peak, Thunderbolt Beast King crouched down in front of Su Mu's corpse and checked his robes.

"He destroyed all the pills before his death. Spiteful to the very end…!" He clicked his tongue, throwing away the bottle of burned pills on the ground before looking around again. "He even hid his sword amidst our fight…"

Even though the Asura Sword was only a Heaven-Grade Artifact, something that wouldn't be of much use to a Transcendent Realm Cultivator like himself, it was still a valuable treasure nonetheless.

And from how well it performed in Su Mu's hand, Thunderbolt Beast King believed it might even hold some unexplainable secrets.

"I'll look for it later…"

He took out some healing pills of his own and tossed them inside his mouth before flying towards the ongoing battle between the three Transcendents.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"No matter how special he was, but to be beaten down by a mere Immortal Ascension Realm brat! Pathetic!"

"If any of you fought him alone, you'd be dead…!" Thunderbolt Beast King shot Tyrannical Force King a fierce glance, but the latter only laughed at it. "That brat was an inhumane monster much worse than the Demon Lord himself!"

Both Shan Qing Luo and Tyrannical Force King paused at those words.

They knew how much of a monster one needed to be to damage the Thunderbolt Beast King to such an extent, but for him to compare that young man to the Demon Lord.

All of the Evil Kings experienced Yang Bai's otherworldly strength with their own eyes when he defeated all six of them at the same time with one of his hands behind his back.

"The reason I went so far to kill him was because letting him grow was simply too dangerous!"

It was regrettable to lose an eye and hand, but the Thunderbolt Beast King believed it to be a reasonable price in exchange for such a talented individual's life.

"Let's finish this and take Xiao Fu Sheng away with us… The Demon Lord awaits our return!"

'This is bad…' Meng Wuya frowned.

Even if the Thunderbolt Beast King was injured, all of his True Qi hadn't disappeared, so it'd be incredibly difficult for Meng Wuya to escape, much less avenge Su Mu.

Only if his cultivation wasn't sealed, he'd have trampled over the entire Ash Grey Cloud Evil Land like the ants they were, and Su Mu wouldn't have died!

Men Wuya gritted his teeth in anger, defending against the combined assault of Thunderbolt Beast King, Tyrannical Force King, and Shan Qing Luo.

He needed to find an opening and kill one of them in a decisive attack on their weakest member, but from how cautious they were, that didn't seem possible.

'If I had known this would happen, I would've used 'that' artifact from the start…'

Meng Wuya had a Saint Grade Palace Defence Artifact that even a 1st-Order Saint Realm Cultivator had no hopes of breaking through, much less three Transcendents.

However, it was already too late.

The Palace Artifact couldn't be used when the enemy was already near him since it would hold them inside the barrier, too.

"Go to hell, Old Man!"

Meng Wuya guarded against the combined attack of the Tyrannical Force King and Shan Qing Luo, unable to pay any attention to the Thunderbolt Beast King, who attacked him from the side.

'It's difficult to escape this attack. Then, let's kill this bastard…'

No matter what he did, one of the attacks was bound to damage Meng Wuya, so he decided to use this moment and kill the Thunderbolt Beast King.

'At the very least, I'd my right arm, but...'

If it meant avenging Su Mu, Meng Wuya didn't mind losing an arm.

"Haah…!"

Meng Wuya condensed his Qi and prepared to launch the highest grade of Secret Art he could with his currently unsealed cultivation.

However, moments before he could activate it—

"Blegh—!"

The Thunderbolt Beast King, who was already grievously injured, coughed a mouthful of blood, and his wide eyes slowly moved down towards the sword that pierced his stomach from behind.

It was the Asura Sword.

"I—Impossible!"

Everyone's eyes widened at the scene, and their movements stopped involuntarily.

"Brat—!!!"

Meng Wuya couldn't believe his eyes either, not when he saw Su Mu standing behind the Thunderbolt Beast King.

Blood dripped from the corner of Su Mu's mouth, and there were some injuries on his body, but other than that, all of his limbs were completely intact.

"How…?"

Even Tyrannical Force King and Shan Qing Luo were no exception, with shock apparent on their face. After all—

"What in the heavens…"

Not only did they witness his vitality disappear themselves, but Su Mu's corpse was still at the Hidden Cloud's Peak other side, lying inside the crater with no movements or signs of life.

The Thunderbolt Beast King surged his Thunder Qi to the best of his abilities, launching his body forward and away from the Asura Sword.

"Is this… A dream?"

"I'd much rather have a beautiful woman dreaming about me than an old man like you, Treasurer Meng…"

Su Mu smiled at Meng Wuya, and although the latter would've been angry at such comments any other day, he remained silent.

"How—?!"

The Thunderbolt Beast King wanted to use his True Qi to stop the bleeding in his chest, but he couldn't.

Su Mu's sword had destroyed his Dantian, and he could already feel his Qi disperse from his body as his previous injuries started to bleed again.

His body trembled in fear.

'I'm also near my limit…' Su Mu flickered the Asura Sword, causing all the blood on it to splash on the ground. 'And the backlash would hit any minute now…'

A hazy orange glow appeared around the Asura Sword, and Su Mu charged towards the Thunderbolt Beast King without delay.

[Seven Divine Steps: Second Step.]

"Keuk—!"

Blood poured out of Thunderbolt Beast King's mouth when the Asura Sword pierced his heart.

"I must thank you, Thunderbolt Beast King… Despite that insignificant cultivation, you made me realise how held up I was by the accomplishments of the past…" The Martial Dao True Intent that covered Su Mu's sword burst forth, quickly spreading through his enemy's body. "Be honoured of your death. I paid a considerable price to survive this encounter…"

"You—!"

Before Thunderbolt Beast King could finish his final words, the Martial Dao True Intent had corroded his entire body, turning it into ashes.

Hence, he became the first Transcendent Realm Cultivator to die from the Martial Dao True Intent of an Open Heaven Realm Cultivator.

Meng Wuya, Shan Qing Luo, and the Tyrannical Force King felt shivers down their spines.

They couldn't feel any upper limit to the destruction and corrosion caused by Su Mu's Martial Dao True Intent.

However, that wasn't the sole cause of their fear.

ROAR!*

The clouds surrounding the entire Medicine King Valley darkened, and the Word Energy focused above the Hidden Cloud Peak, creating a storm of thunder.

"A World Baptism… Is that brat breaking through?"

"Don't be stupid!" Shan Qing Luo reprimanded the Tyrannical Force King. "A 1st Stage Immortal Ascension Realm can't directly break through to the Transcendent Realm!"

Only Meng Wuya understood what was happening.

The heavens were angered.

'This isn't enough…' Veins bulged on Su Mu's forehead, and the Martial Dao True Intent around his sword thickened even more. 'Faster…'

He enhanced his body to the limits with Sword Qi, turning towards Shan Qing Luo and Tyrannical Force King while holding his sword like a spear before throwing it towards them.

The Asura Sword turned into a beam of orange light, but as Su Mu had expected, Shan Qing Luo and Tyrannical Force King easily avoided it because of their massively superior cultivation bases.

Su Mu would have made a snarky remark under normal circumstances, but before he could—

"Cough—!"

He coughed a mouthful of blood as he felt the muscles inside his body being torn apart forcefully, soon falling to his knees.

'Out of all my techniques, this one's backlash is the worst…'

He focused all of his True Qi to protect his bones and organs from collapsing on themselves.

"Hah!" The Tyrannical Force King snorted at Su Mu's current state. "Even if you have such a destructive Martial Skill, it's pointless if it won't hit anyone!"

"Brat—!"

Meng Wuya was about to rush and help Su Mu, but he stopped upon hearing the latter's telepathic message.

{You'll get caught up in the World Baptism… Run away!}

{I'll take you with me!}

{I triggered this World Baptism… The heavens won't rest until I face it head-on. Leave and come back after the baptism ends if you want to save me!}

The heavenly way was fair. If someone broke the rules, they would be punished no matter what.

Meng Wuya knew that. The skill Su Mu used to kill the Thunderbolt Beast King triggered such an intense World Baptism, so he had no choice but to suffer the consequences of his actions.

"Damnit..!"

Meng Wuya clicked his tongue and started flying away from the Hidden Cloud Peak, following the path Aunty Lan took while escaping with Xiao Fu Sheng and Xia Ning Chang.

"Pfft…! Hahaha!" The Tyrannical Force King laughed when he saw Meng Wuya escape with his tail between his legs. "Hey, brat! That old man abandoned you after you saved his life! I have no idea what trick you used previously, but it won't work this time!"

'That's not it, dumbass…' Shan Qing Luo exchanged glances between Su Mu and Meng Wuya. 'The old man was about to help that youngster, but he stopped out of nowhere and decided to escape...'

That was something she picked up.

'It was most likely a telepathic message. Then, this World Baptism might not be...'

Shan Qing Luo noticed Su Mu turning in their direction with blood dripping from his eyes.

Upon noticing the look in his eyes, she didn't wait for another second, and without even warning her fellow Evil King, she started flying away from the Hidden Cloud Peak.

"Pathetic bitch!" Tyrannical Force King shouted when he noticed Shan Qing Luo escape. "Are you too scared of a brat on death's door?!"

[Seven Divine Steps: Second Step.]

"She's scared of the heavens, as all mortals should be…"

The Tyrannical Force King's eyes widened when he heard Su Mu's voice behind him, but before he could react—

BOOM!*

His body crashed into the ground, creating a large crater underneath.

"Weak attacks like this won't harm my physical body!"

Amongst the Six Evil Kings, the Tyrannical Force King boasted the strongest physical strength and durability because of superior his Body Refining Technique.

Attacks from an Immortal Ascension Realm would never even scratch him!

"I know…" Su Mu landed next to his enemy, tossing another healing pill inside his mouth. "That's why I worked so hard and prepared something even better…"

"Don't look down on—!"

Tyrannical Force King was about to punch Su Mu, but before he could—

Crackle!*

Thunder cracked in the sky above their heads, and he felt chills all over his spine.

"Let's see which one is stronger…" In a moment of surprise, Su Mu wrapped his hands around Tyrannical Force King's neck, sticking to his back like a parasite. "Your physical body or my tenacity…"

"Get away from me, bastard—!"

Tyrannical Force King finally realised that the real danger from which Shan Qing Luo and Meng Wuya ran away was never Su Mu, but the heavens itself!

But alas, it was already too late.

"AAAAGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Thunder repeatedly struck down the ground, and the Tyrannical Force King shouted in pain and agony. He could feel his flesh and muscles burning at every attack.

And the fact that Su Mu used his body as a meat shield to lessen the impact on himself made it even worse.

Each strike of thunder felt much worse than the attacks Tyrannical Force King survived against the Demon Lord himself, and for the next hour, his agonising shouts echoed through the Medicine King's Valley.

.

.

.

'I survived… Somehow…'

Lying inside a large crater next to the Tyrannical Force King's dead body, Su Mu barely held on to his consciousness.

He knew that if he passed out now, he'd die.

The healing properties of the Saint Grade pill he took before the World Baptism had already been destroyed when the pill burned inside his stomach, and he couldn't move his body anymore to take another one.

In times like these, he missed having a Monster Beast companion around.

'I was too full of myself until now…'

Su Mu knew he no longer possessed the absolute strength he held in his previous life, and he had accepted that fact after his reincarnation.

However, a part of him failed to comprehend the dangers of being weak after not facing any difficulties for a while.

No matter how much knowledge one had, the thing they'd need to survive was strength.

He had forgotten that since he never encountered any real dangers in his new life until now.

His past accomplishments meant nothing if he were to die in this life.

'Where the hell is that old man?'

Meng Wuya should have arrived at this place three minutes ago, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Moments after that thought passed through his head, Su Mu heard the old man's voice from afar, "Brat!"

'What kind of World Baptism causes such destruction…'

Meng Wuya held his breath when he noticed the now-destroyed Hidden Cloud Peak, which had turned from a beautiful mountain to a pitch-black, mountain-sized crater.

{Stop admiring the scene, you senile old man…}

Meng Wuya's eyes met Su Mu, and the latter continued in his telepathic message.

{My sword should be near the Pill Saint's Peak… It has a single pill attached to it... Bring them back and feed one to me…}

Even though it was a telepathic message, Su Mu's voice was extremely weak, which caused Meng Wuya to rush towards the Pill Saint's Peak instantly.

He had witnessed how potent the healing pills Su Mu consumed during his battle against the Thunderbolt Beast King were, which surpassed any medicine he had on him currently.

'Seriously…'

It only took Meng Wuya half a minute to rush over and return with the Asura Sword.

"Don't die on me, brat!"

He hurriedly turned the healing pill into powder and fed it to Su Mu with some water.

After giving him the pill, Meng Wuya anxiously waited for a response from Su Mu.

He was confused by the situation, but he held back from asking anything right now.

Even now, Meng Wuya could find traces of Su Mu's 'corpse' scattered on the other side of the large crater.

The body wasn't fake.

It also belonged to Su Mu. There was no doubt in Meng Wuya's mind.

"Stop staring at me…" Su Mu groaned after feeling the pill's medicinal properties taking effect within his body. "It's uncomfortable…"

"Since you have the strength to make remarks like that, you'll be fine…" Meng Wuya heaved a sigh in relief. "You pushed things a little too far…"

"It was necessary…"

"Now that your life is out of immidestely danger, I have something to ask…" Meng Wuya stared at Su Mu with a slight frown. "What kind of techniques were those?"

"Not now, Old Man. I need some…"

The exhaustion from his battle finally caught up with Su Mu, and he fell asleep even before finishing his sentence.

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Words: 2966