Chapter 104: Reaching the Heavens! Transforming into an Insect!

When Shang Lu took out the Nuo mask and put it on, Qiu Haishan, though surprised, was not panicked. Although he did not practice the path of the Nuo mask, there were many branches of witchcraft within the Witch Academy, and he had at least some understanding of it.

The moment Shang Lu donned the mask, Qiu Haishan recognized it was not a formal one. Even if worn, the power borrowed from the gods through such a mask would be limited. According to Qiu Haishan’s assessment, with Shang Lu’s cultivation at the mid-stage of the Meridian-Opening Realm, the power gained from sacrificing blood essence would, at most, elevate him by one major tier, reaching the peak of the Marrow-Cleansing Realm.

His giant snake, however, despite not yet successfully transforming into a jiao-dragon, possessed the strength of a practitioner in the Qi-Refining Realm. Killing Shang Lu would be no problem at all. Once Shang Lu was dead, he could force the giant snake to devour Feng Boyuan, return it to the Dragon Transformation Pool, and have it spit out the jiao-pearl to complete the final stage of the ritual. He would still obtain the pearl and achieve his breakthrough.

In Qiu Haishan’s eyes, his concern was not Shang Lu, but the risk of the snake breaking free from his control during the process. That was why he had hesitated to unleash the creature. The giant snake was unwilling to be the "catalyst" for his breakthrough; it constantly sought to escape his command and even turn to devour him. If not for this desperate situation, Qiu Haishan would never have let the snake leave the pool. It would not only jeopardize the progress and success rate of the transformation but also provide the snake an opportunity to break free.

Yet, Qiu Haishan had never imagined that the power Shang Lu borrowed from the Mountain-Opening Barbarian General after donning the mask would far exceed his estimates. This level of power was far beyond the peak of the Marrow-Cleansing Realm; it had reached the level of a perfected Qi-Refining master!

Not only Qiu Haishan but Feng Boyuan was also stunned. How could Shang Lu borrow power at the perfected Qi-Refining level? Was he not merely at the mid-stage of the Meridian-Opening Realm? How could he borrow so much power? How much blood essence had he sacrificed, and where did he get such an immense amount?

Neither Qiu Haishan nor Feng Boyuan could have guessed that inside Shang Lu’s body lay a Temple of the Five Viscera. They could never understand that within this temple sat a Spleen Deity statue capable of generating blood essence and a Liver Deity statue that stored it. A normal mid-stage Meridian-Opening cultivator could only sacrifice their own blood essence, limiting the divine power they could borrow. Shang Lu, however, could sacrifice the essence stored within the Liver Deity statue as well. The power he wielded could naturally not be judged by conventional standards.

Just as Shang Lu struck the giant snake to death with three punches, a halo of light flew out from its mouth. It was the unformed jiao-pearl. Seeing this, Shang Lu intended to take advantage of the Barbarian General’s power to seize the pearl and kill Qiu Haishan. Unexpectedly, the jiao-pearl seemed sentient; it flew straight toward Qiu Haishan.

Qiu Haishan, pushing himself to the limit and burning his life force to gain power, formed a seal with his hands, opened his mouth, and snatched the pearl before Shang Lu could reach it. The moment the pearl entered his body, it erupted with tremendous force. Qiu Haishan immediately channeled this energy, connecting the three small cycles of heaven, earth, and humanity within his body to form a Great Cycle. This generated a new witch meridian and opened his Heavenly Gate, granting him a glimpse of the path to the Heavens.

Seeing this, Shang Lu visualized the White Tiger in his mind, pushed his speed to the limit, and charged at Qiu Haishan to kill him.

"Get lost!" Qiu Haishan roared. His two hands detached from his body and flew out like two venomous snakes, attacking Shang Lu. After swallowing the jiao-pearl, Qiu Haishan’s witch power had recovered to a certain degree. Shang Lu had not expected that, aside from using paper dolls and ghost hands, Qiu Haishan could command his own limbs as if they were magical artifacts. These hands were not only as hard as iron but possessed immense strength and could even execute witchcraft—it was deeply unsettling. Although Shang Lu had borrowed divine strength, he found himself unable to break through the entanglement of those two hands.

Without his hands, Qiu Haishan focused entirely on digesting the jiao-pearl. The violent energy surged through his body, causing thick, bulging veins to appear across his face and skin, looking like hideous centipedes crawling all over him. Qiu Haishan’s expression was one of agony, but after only a few breaths, the pain vanished, replaced by euphoria and ecstasy. The severed limbs, held together by witch power, grew back, and two new arms sprouted from his shoulders. As for the old hands, they were still fighting Shang Lu, with one already torn to shreds.

"Hahaha! It’s done! I’ve done it! I have glimpsed the Heavenly Gate! I have stepped into the Heavenly Realm! I can live for another hundred years..." Qiu Haishan cackled hysterically, as if he had lost his mind rather than achieved a breakthrough. The next moment, his blood-red eyes turned toward Shang Lu and Feng Boyuan, and he sneered, "You two nearly ruined my plans! I will refine you into human pills to stabilize my newly broken-through cultivation, and it shall be your chance to atone for your mistakes..."

Before Qiu Haishan could finish speaking, his body underwent a drastic change. His physical form could not withstand the power of his breakthrough; like a candle melting in high heat, his flesh began to slough off rapidly.

"What is happening? Why is this happening?"

"I have clearly broken into the Heavenly Realm, why is this occurring? You wretched Heavens, are you playing with me?"

"I refuse! I refuse this—!"

A terrified Qiu Haishan screamed wildly, reaching out to scoop up his own melting flesh. But it was useless. Even his hands melted into putrid mush and fell to the ground. In an instant, Qiu Haishan’s body completely disintegrated, dissolving into a pool of gore and blood.

A semi-transparent black shadow flew out from the remains, emitting a piercing shriek. It was Qiu Haishan’s soul. After escaping his decaying body, the soul lunged straight at Shang Lu, intending to seize his body!

"Watch out, he’s trying to possess you—" Feng Boyuan shouted, fearing Shang Lu could not see the soul.

Shang Lu formed a strange seal with his left hand, pointed his right hand at the incoming soul, and roared, "Transmute into vermin!"

Both Qiu Haishan and Feng Boyuan felt the hidden realm tremble. Eerie forces were drawn in by Shang Lu from all directions, enveloping Qiu Haishan. His powerful, violent soul was instantly transformed into a plump maggot. Before Qiu Haishan could break free from the bizarre transmutation spell, Shang Lu lunged forward, grabbed the soul-turned-maggot, and swallowed it.

As the soul entered his abdomen, the Temple of the Five Viscera shook violently. Inside the temple, the sacrificed Qiu Haishan reverted from a maggot to a soul. He struggled and roared on the altar, trying to break out of the temple, seize control, and complete the possession!