Chapter Seventy-Six: Nezha!

“Hmph~”

As the three men charged forward, Yang Ye did not move, but Long Xiaoqing let out a cold snort. In a flash, she darted in front of them, blocking their way.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three heavy collisions rang out in quick succession. The three cultivators at the Stellar level were sent flying backwards, crashing into the crowd.

“Ah—!”

A cry of alarm rose as the three landed—blood was streaming from their seven orifices; they were already dead.

Among them, one was at early Stellar stage, two at mid Stellar stage! Even working together, they had been slain in a single exchange!

Such combat strength—she was even more formidable than the super-stellar beast guarding the passageway!

Yang Ye was shocked as well. Long Xiaoqing’s current strength and speed were at least ten times greater than before! In that instant, Yang Ye saw her land more than ten punches on each of the three men, every blow carrying lethal force. Even he would have had a hard time dodging such an onslaught, even without his Solar Gauntlets.

Seeing the fear in the eyes of the other cultivators, Long Xiaoqing sneered, “You’re all too weak!”

With that, she strode toward Benny and his father, Cory Houston.

“Go! Now!” Suddenly, Cory shouted, grabbing Benny by the arm and hurling him upward. Then he charged straight at Long Xiaoqing.

Cory Houston was trying to save Benny’s life.

But Long Xiaoqing would not allow it.

Wham!

As Benny was flung into the air, Long Xiaoqing flashed up, delivering a whip-like kick to his chest.

With another crash, Benny’s corpse slammed to the ground, broken into pieces.

“Ah—!” Cory, having missed his target, let out a cry of agony as he watched his son killed before his eyes.

“Now, it’s your turn.”

After landing, Long Xiaoqing pointed at Cory Houston, her tone indifferent.

“Heh heh!” But Cory grinned coldly. At the same time, a fierce and chaotic surge of starlight erupted from within him.

“No! He’s going to self-destruct!”

“Damn it!”

The cultivators scattered in panic. The detonation of a Stellar-level cultivator might not match a nuclear bomb, but it could easily bring down this cave.

At that moment, the Americans present cursed Cory bitterly. If he wanted to die, so be it—but did he have to drag everyone else down with him?

“Self-destruct? Not so easy!”

Long Xiaoqing spoke icily and, in a flash, appeared before Cory. She reached out, her hand piercing through his chest.

When she withdrew her hand, she was holding a sphere about the size of a ping-pong ball, radiating intense light.

Its surface was covered in fine cracks.

Clearly, this was the Stellar Core from Cory’s star sea!

Long Xiaoqing slowly tightened her grip, and the core shrank correspondingly, the cracks gradually closing.

“For you.”

Once the core stabilized, Long Xiaoqing tossed it to the beast guarding the passage.

The beast opened its jaws and swallowed the core whole.

Cory, still standing, looked down at the gaping black hole in his chest, a look of bitter unwillingness on his face as he collapsed to the ground.

“A devil!”

“A monster!”

“She’s not human—she’s not human!”

The cultivators were terrified by what they had witnessed; many shrank into the corners of the cave, screaming in panic.

Since cultivation had appeared on Earth, no one had ever heard of extracting another cultivator’s core directly from their body. It was beyond anything they could imagine.

To them, only the Devil, only Satan, could perform such a feat.

Dressed all in black, with an angelic face—was she not the very image of the fallen angel Satan from legend?

“Ignorant fools.”

Watching the terrified cultivators, Yang Ye shook his head.

“Husband, shall I kill them all?” Long Xiaoqing swept her gaze over the American cultivators, her tone playful.

Yang Ye joined her, shook his head, and said, “You’ve frightened them enough—there’s no need.”

With that, he took her hand and led her toward the passage.

As they passed the beast guarding the entrance, it glanced at them, then turned its cold gaze back on the group of cultivators.

At the end of the passage, Yang Ye saw another corridor to the left. They walked down it for several dozen meters, and an elevator appeared before them.

Then the child’s voice rang out: “Welcome to my laboratory!”

As the voice faded, there was a chime and the elevator doors slid open.

Yang Ye frowned slightly and led Long Xiaoqing inside.

The elevator dropped rapidly, then slowed to a halt. With another chime, the doors opened.

Before Yang Ye’s eyes spread a bright and spacious chamber.

All around were cylindrical transparent containers of various sizes, each holding specimens of different Earth creatures.

In addition to the specimen containers, there was a profusion of electronic equipment, with indicator lights of every color blinking incessantly.

It looked very much like a large laboratory.

Yang Ye led Long Xiaoqing out of the elevator and into the lab.

Suddenly, with a rush of wind, a boy of eight or nine appeared before them, dressed in a red vest, with short hair and a chubby face.

Yang Ye’s eyes went wide with surprise—for the boy had four arms.

“Hello! My name is Nezha!” The boy looked them over and extended a hand to both Yang Ye and Long Xiaoqing.

Nezha?

Yang Ye, stunned, shook the boy’s hand.

Long Xiaoqing, however, gazed at the boy expressionlessly.

The boy awkwardly withdrew his hand, then smiled and said, “Look at me—don’t I look just like the Nezha from your myths and legends?”

“A little,” Yang Ye replied coolly.

“Are you a puppet?” Long Xiaoqing asked.

The boy glanced at her, grinned, and clearly agreed.

At that moment, Long Xiaoqing struck out like lightning, grabbing the boy by the neck and lifting him into the air. She turned to Yang Ye: “Husband, drip your blood on his head. Make him recognize you as master!”

“Sigh—” The boy heaved a long sigh, looking helpless. “I knew it! I just knew this would happen!”

Long Xiaoqing said, “You’re a puppet. Isn’t this the day you’ve been waiting for?”

The boy replied, “Even so, I have my own consciousness. Who wants to be someone else’s slave?”

Yang Ye took off his Solar Gauntlets and, using his thumb nail, nicked his forefinger, letting a drop of blood fall onto the boy’s head.

As the blood seeped into his scalp, the boy’s previously pale complexion flushed with color.

“Master, you’re amazing!”

He raised all four arms, giving Yang Ye four thumbs up.

“Why do you say that?” Yang Ye asked, smiling.

The boy replied, “Because if you’d hesitated out of pity, you’d never get another chance! I’d just go find the next master—sorry, that’s just how my programming works.”

Long Xiaoqing dropped the boy to the floor.

He didn’t mind her roughness; picking himself up, he looked at Yang Ye with pride. “Master, welcome to Nezha’s Biological Laboratory! Did you see the beast outside? Impressive, isn’t it? I created it myself.”