Chapter 37: Your Karma, Now Belongs to Me!
Pinned to the ground, Fly Boy tilted his head at an unnatural angle upon hearing Jiang Yan’s words. His face, covered in blood, twisted with hatred as he snarled:
“You’re too arrogant, only relying on a sneak attack…”
“Only the weak make excuses. The strong remain silent…”
Jiang Yan interrupted him, overlooking Fly Boy as he calmly stated:
“Because I, who am strong, am dominating you!”
“Hiss—”
As his words fell, the crimson light in the eyes of the Dual-headed Shadow-Eating Serpent intensified.
The shadows flowed like a tide, spreading outward.
Chi chi!
Another hooked tail began to coil around Fly Boy’s neck.
The sharp sickle blade touched his throat, drawing a thin line of blood as tiny beads emerged densely.
Fly Boy instantly realized Jiang Yan’s intention. Panic flooded his expression as he roared:
“You dare!?”
Crack—
Fly Boy’s head rolled to the ground, eyes wide in disbelief. And then—
It was swallowed whole by the Shadow-Eating Serpent.
Chi chi!
With the sound of chewing, from the broken wound where one of its heads had been, shadowy flesh began to sprout clusters of budding meat and slowly regenerate the damage.
“Hiss hiss!”
The crimson eyes of the Dual-headed Shadow-Eating Serpent grew increasingly greedy, surging with the desire to devour everything.
The strong were its nourishment.
And Fly Boy was one of its delicacies!
So, the Shadow-Eating Serpent retrieved the hooked tail that had pinned Fly Boy, brought it to its mouth, and just as it was about to swallow it—
Bang!
Fly Boy’s broken body suddenly tore apart. But no blood or flesh splattered.
Instead, shredded human leather fluttered into the air.
A black shadow burst out from within, appearing above the Shadow-Eating Serpent’s head.
It was Fly Boy!
“Damn it!!!”
Now, he no longer resembled a child. He had transformed into a giant fly with crimson compound eyes and a brown body, his gaze brimming with deep hatred.
This was the precious human-skin garment he had purchased from a tanner.
Once worn, it allowed him to conceal both his true body and demonic aura, enabling him to blend easily into human society and evade pursuit from powerful History Walkers.
But in truth, Fly Boy never liked turning into human form. Just as humans wouldn’t enjoy turning into something edible.
It was merely because Lord Gaoshan, master of Shaolao Mountain, often preferred to maintain human form.
Every time Fly Boy paid homage to him, he would crawl on the ground, gazing up at Lord Gaoshan sitting aloof and solemn on his throne, overlooking the demons below.
After donning the human-skin garment, Fly Boy often fantasized about becoming a powerful demon like Lord Gaoshan.
Commanding all demons, ruling over a domain.
Thus, he had always cherished the garment dearly, nourishing it daily with oils refined from living humans.
Even the slightest damage or scratch would cause him pain.
But now…
The human skin was destroyed…
And his dream had been dismantled by Jiang Yan!
Fly Boy burned with rage, but he did not act recklessly.
Because during the disturbance when Shaolao Mountain clashed with the real world, he had been affected and suffered significant injuries.
Even after devouring many History Walkers, he had only recovered half of his strength.
Equivalent to early Foundation Establishment Stage.
So this time, he had feigned death, lowering his opponent’s guard—all to approach the Shadow-Eating Serpent and strike.
‘This guy relies solely on this external avatar. Once I crush the remaining head of that serpent, then… I’ll make you suffer a hellish torment!’
Filled with venomous hatred, Fly Boy opened his grotesque mouthparts and let out a sharp, explosive screech:
‘Killer move—Spirit Fly Stab!’
Hiss hiss!
The insect wings on his back vibrated at high speed as his figure turned into afterimages.
Several sharp insect limbs, like iron spears, aimed at the head of the Shadow-Eating Serpent.
They were so sharp that they directly tore through the air, stirring up an almost tangible flow of force.
A full-powered strike—enough to instantly kill someone at early Foundation Establishment Stage!
Let alone a mere serpent formed from shadow!
“You ruined my human skin—go to hell!”
Fly Boy growled, killing intent surging.
Ding!
However, the expected feeling of cutting through flesh never came.
Instead, a crisp sound rang out, sending numbing shockwaves through his limbs.
Fly Boy’s expression froze, and he roared:
“How is this possible?!”
His insect limbs had indeed struck the Shadow-Eating Serpent, but only struck.
They were blocked by a faint protective golden light on its surface and couldn’t penetrate even a little.
“Vajravārāhī Tummo Seal!”
Fly Boy uttered each word slowly, yet could not comprehend.
Why...
Would a Shadow-Eating Serpent also practice the signature ability of the Corpse-Dissolution Court?
How could it possess such mastery without any signs of Vajravārāhī mutation?
Was Vajravārāhī insane?
“Hiss—”
But the Shadow-Eating Serpent gave him no time to think. It opened its abyssal jaws and bit down.
Although Fly Boy flapped his wings quickly to dodge, several of his insect limbs were still bitten off.
Drip! Drip!
Dark green insect blood fell to the ground from his wounds.
Fly Boy quickly staunched the bleeding, but his limbless appearance looked extremely wretched.
Even if he didn’t want to admit it, everything before him had slipped beyond his control.
Jiang Yan’s calm voice echoed:
“Your fear is far more interesting than your current pathetic state.”
A single sentence made Fly Boy’s gaze darken.
He had always been the one toying with others, yet today he had become the plaything.
From the seat, Jiang Yan felt the other’s anger. His expression was void of joy or sorrow, and his gaze was as indifferent as a calm sea, concealing turbulent undercurrents. He whispered inwardly:
“So why… did you have to force me?”
He had only wanted to return home safely, have a good sleep, wake up to eat food cooked by Yin Yiyi, obtain his cultivation method, and pass through the new Diseased Domain.
Upon sensing danger, he immediately chose to flee, avoiding trouble.
He just wanted to live a peaceful and simple daily life.
But this idiot Fly Boy kept chasing after him.
Since there was no way to avoid it, he gave it his all.
He directly sacrificed one head and all of his blood energy to activate the skill [Devoted Assistance], exchanging it for Foundation Establishment Stage combat strength.
The overwhelming battle intent should have thrown him into a berserk state, but the dual effects of the Sanskrit Sword Buddha Arm and the Ash Lamp forcibly calmed him.
Two completely opposing extreme effects intertwined, and especially after the Ash Lamp was born, the immense soul power that far exceeded his own rank placed him in a special state.
His intelligence greatly increased, emotions faded, and he could maintain absolute rationality at all times, with terrifying computational power.
In his eyes, all matter and life in this world became pieces and chips on a chessboard, ready for sacrifice.
It was as if he gazed down at the world from a higher-dimensional perspective of the Immortal Gods, coldly observing the workings of all things.
And it was in this state of ultimate rationality that Jiang Yan understood...
How shallow his understanding of the Dark God Embryo truly was.
It nurtured all things and could also unify all things into one.
All its offspring were pieces in its hand, extensions of its will.
They could merge with each other and naturally could stack upon one another.
Theoretically, with enough offspring and countless attribute stacks, it could create a mythical lifeform capable of devouring the entire world.
Even Immortal Gods could become prey.
Only, to reach that point, it required an immense amount of nourishment.
“Let’s call it... Overlimit State, or perhaps Warlord Mode for now.”
This thought flashed through Jiang Yan’s mind as he looked at the scarred Fly Boy and said plainly:
“It’s time to end this.”
“Arrogant!”
Fly Boy roared, “So what if you have Vajravārāhī’s blessing? I’ll still shatter you!”
Just as he prepared to use his high-speed movement to launch successive strikes on the Shadow-Eating Serpent, aiming to break through with point-to-surface precision, his body suddenly trembled.
Fly Boy looked down.
Numerous wounds pierced by the hooked tail began to rot rapidly, thick shadows flowing within them, corroding his flesh.
“No! The hook is poisoned!”
Even though Fly Boy was a naturally filthy fly demon, and had suppressed it immediately, facing such potent venom, his flesh still dissolved quickly and spread throughout his body in the blink of an eye.
At this moment,
His already injured body took a further blow.
“Despicable human! If you have the guts, fight me in a fair duel!” Fly Boy’s face twisted with humanlike hatred.
But the only response to his accusation was the Shadow-Eating Serpent’s relentless tearing and pursuit.
The hooked tail kept piercing through.
Fly Boy was completely stifled and could only dodge passively.
Despite having strength, he couldn’t even exert thirty percent of it.
“Losers always find excuses for themselves.”
Jiang Yan’s heart remained unmoved. Facing a stronger opponent than himself, it was not just about improving oneself—but exhausting every method to weaken the enemy.
To utterly crush the opponent with overwhelming advantage, leaving no room for reprieve.
Pa!
Jiang Yan snapped his fingers.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The shadows on the ground surged, transforming into countless arms that howled forth.
Fly Boy dodged them one by one and was about to sneer, but through his compound eyes he saw that those arms were interweaving into a net, blocking all escape routes.
“Damn it!”
The Shadow-Eating Serpent advanced step by step, its abyssal jaws already inches from him.
Boom!
Facing certain doom, Fly Boy let out a cold snort. Dozens of white flies the size of palms burst out from within his body, radiating white light.
They blocked the path before him, then—
Detonated in an instant!
Boom rumble rumble!
The spiritual energy explosion instantly enveloped the Shadow-Eating Serpent, fracturing and sinking the ground within a radius of several dozen meters.
Dust surged, engulfing the Shadow-Eating Serpent.
“Damn brat, you actually forced me to detonate most of my Spirit Flies. These are treasures that may not even be born from hundreds of cycles of my fly swarm.”
“But even if this serpent bears the Vajravārāhī Seal, it’ll still suffer injuries. I’ll just go feed on some humans to recover my high Foundation Establishment strength, and then I’ll come back for revenge!”
Fly Boy seized the moment, shrinking to the size of a common fly and blending into the remaining swarm, preparing to flee in the chaos.
Before leaving, his crimson compound eyes swiveled, locking on Jiang Yan—ready for any last trick.
And to remember this enemy.
“You’ve forced out your final trump card, huh?”
Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes. The moment he had been waiting for had finally come.
He hadn’t stayed seated for the sake of looking cool. It was because after sacrificing the Shadow-Eating Serpent’s head and his own blood energy to gain Foundation Establishment power, he no longer had the strength to stand.
Fortunately, after the Shadow-Eating Serpent devoured the fly swarm and Fly Boy’s limbs just now, it had fed back a good amount of vitality, allowing him to recover a bit of energy.
He still couldn’t fight intensely, but it was just enough...
To swing a sword!
“A true swordsman is never attached to the weapon itself. One doesn’t even need to grip it personally.”
Jiang Yan slowly extended his hand and grasped at the void.
“Idiot!”
This sudden movement made the distant Fly Boy sneer inwardly.
Did this guy think he was some bigshot at the Ancient Talisman level who could crush him from afar through domain power?
Wait!
Fly Boy suddenly realized—
The beheaded serpent body that had been guarding Jiang Yan had vanished.
“Where is it?!”
A bad premonition rose in his heart. He whipped his compound eyes around and saw—through the fading dust—the Shadow-Eating Serpent emerging from shadowy illusion into solid form.
Shadow transformation to evade physical damage!
Brilliant golden light flared around the Shadow-Eating Serpent as it roared forward.
Through the perspective provided by the Ash Lamp, it had easily locked onto Fly Boy’s Life Lamp among the swarm of flies.
Then,
Its abyssal jaws snapped shut!
“How did it find me?!”
Fly Boy was shocked. He had no choice but to revert to his true form, swinging several insect limbs to drive it back. Yet after the clash, there was no resistance—only deeper penetration.
As if plunging into scalding sludge.
Fly Boy looked closely and saw the golden light on the Shadow-Eating Serpent’s body beginning to melt. Like burning plastic, it stuck to his body.
This was...
Tummo Fixation!
Vajravārāhī—supremely firm, yet also supremely gentle!
Tummo within the heart, entangling all things.
“Get off!!!”
Fly Boy panicked.
No matter how he struggled, he couldn’t break free. So he decisively severed his own limbs and released his final Spirit Flies to charge toward the Shadow-Eating Serpent, exploding them to blast it away.
He flapped his wings and turned to flee, but...
It was too late.
Chi chi!
Another headless serpent body emerged from Fly Boy’s shadow. Countless threads of shadow spread from its shattered wound.
They interwove continuously at the broken wound, transforming into dozens of pitch-black arms—as if the vengeful spirits slain by Fly Boy were returning from the underworld.
A manifestation of karmic retribution.
They converged, the arms overlapping layer upon layer like a flower of hell,
Slowly blooming.
The scene was eerie yet carried an inexplicable beauty.
Chi chi chi!
At the end of the broken serpent body, a three-meter-long Sanskrit Sword emerged, held by numerous arms gripping the hilt.
At the same moment, Jiang Yan’s fingers curled in the void, mirroring the motion.
His eyes lowered as he softly recited:
“Though hundreds of thousands of eons may pass, karma once made shall not perish. When conditions meet, retribution shall be received.”
Weng!
The blade trembled and buzzed incessantly.
The Sanskrit script on its surface lit up one after another, converging into a dim Buddhist radiance, dispelling the darkness within the forest.
Yet the one wielding the sword came from an even deeper darkness.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The air surged violently, stirring a sudden gale that swept through the forest.
In that moment,
Leaves rustled furiously,
Tree trunks swayed and moaned,
The corpses piled on the Corpse Mountain shifted and fell.
All these sounds blended into a unique symphony.
It rang in Fly Boy’s ears. And in that moment, he understood the name of the mysterious melody—its name was...
Death!
“Diamond Slash!”
Jiang Yan swung his arm down, like a Buddha delivering judgment upon the mortal world.
Hiss hiss!
The headless serpent body danced as countless arms swung the sword downward.
The wind howled, Buddhist light bathed all beings.
It became a dazzling swastika-shaped sword aura that swept forth.
“No! Spare me! I’m willing to surrender my Foundation Establishment...”
Fly Boy screamed hoarsely for mercy. But even if he exhausted all his strength, he couldn’t halt the instant of the slash. He could only watch helplessly as his body was pierced through and torn into pieces.
His shattered body fell, and the Shadow-Eating Serpent swallowed him in a single gulp.
Fly Boy—dead!
Jiang Yan slowly withdrew his hand as the flame on the Ash Lamp flickered, capturing Fly Boy’s soul. He spoke softly:
“Your karma... now belongs to me.”