Feng Yu was still confused, “I don’t get it. Are you saying it can kill Long Di!?”

“Well…” she hesitated at this part.

“That’s not out of the question,” she admitted. The mood changed as her expression turned grave. “What do you know about black cats?”

****

“Black cats?” Feng Yu didn’t know much about the Shidashi Maos. She was only aware of their widespread infamy, but not much else.

“The Nether Immolation War Temple is a group of battle-hungry maniacs that have a unique cultivation method, the Demonic Divine Masochistic Battle Lust Technique.”

“I refuse to believe that’s a thing,” Feng Yu immediately took on a Long Di-like expression and revealed her stance.

“Long Di is really rubbing off on you, isn’t he?” Yaomu Shou noticed a change in their little group’s mannerisms courtesy of a dead-faced, petty as hell prick who took pride in all of those things.

“I could say the same about you,” Feng Yu advised.

“Really?” Yaomu Shou didn’t notice any changes in herself, but maybe Long Di really did affect her in ways that she herself didn’t realise.

“Wait, don’t distract me!” She found that her attention span was about as small as Long Di was awkward… so infinitesimal.

She went on after catching her initial train of thought, “Their cultivation is a derivative of the Shidashi Mao’s innate divine ability to come back to life stronger after death. Because of this, they not only worship war but the Shidashi Mao as well.”

“What does this have to do with Black Cats?” Feng Yu wasn’t sure where she was going with this.

“I’m getting to that,” Yaomu Shou stated as she urged the Super Donkeys on.

“For something to truly come back to life, as a Shidashi Mao does, is in defiance of the heavenly daos. Because of this, they incur extremely strong karma, and anything attached to them is infected by that karma as well.”

“What’s karma?” Feng Yu blushed when she realised how much she didn’t know, but she couldn’t let that stop her. After all, Yaomu Shou was telling her all this for a reason.

Yaomu Shou gave her a bitter smile at this, “You’ll know when you grow stronger. In any case, a Shidashi Mao can stimulate its bloodline through the bloodlust it's radiating, which will turn it into a Black Cat. Turning into this will result in a Shidashi Mao’s strength experiencing a significant boost, but the karma in its body will rise many times over infecting even the land it treads upon.”

Feng Yu paid great attention to everything that Yaomu Shou said. Even though she didn’t know what karma was, just the gravity that Yaomu Shou gave off when she spoke of it revealed its significance.

“I have seen lands that a Black Cat passed through several hundred years ago, and not even a blade of grass can be seen growing there. The heavenly daos do not permit it.”

At this revelation, Feng Feng Yu was taken aback by this information.

What kind of creature was so hated by the heavens that not even the land it walked upon was spared by the heavenly daos!?

“Then… why are we heading there? Why are you taking me and not everyone else?” Feng Yu finally asked.

Yaomu opened her mouth to speak, when suddenly…

Dum!

A great pressure descended overhead as dark clouds converged once more above the skies in the distance. This was the direction of the Nether Immolation War Temple.

“We need to hurry quickly!” Yaomu Shou urged the Super Donkeys on even more.

…

Krrrsh!

Thud!

A dull sound came from behind Long Di as two corpses thumped down on the ground behind him.

“Ugh!”

A low grunting sound could be heard a short distance behind him as Commander Da Jun finally apprehended his subordinate.

He then looked at Long Di and flashed the latter a thumbs-up to let him know that everything here was fine.

Long Di gave him a half-assed nod in response. ‘Although their fight wouldn’t change much of anything, I do appreciate his enthusiasm. I should give him a prize after all this. Something tells me I’ll need his help in the future. Oh well…’

“Aah!”

A shout of pain sounded out and Long Di could see the Shidashi Mao tearing another elder to shreds.

Its mouth dripped blood and pieces of flesh could be seen stuck between its teeth. Its eyes were red and its fur was a disturbingly dark shade of red, almost black.

Dark clouds had long collected overhead, and there was an ominous feeling hanging in the air.

“Meow!”

Long Di’s brow rose at its battle cry. ‘Kill? I guess its killing instinct has erupted or something, but it seems to be going mad or berserk. Its fur isn’t like what it was before, either.’

Long Di’s thoughts mirrored many other people, especially the lone elder who faced it now. This was the chief elder.

He was the third most powerful expert within the Nether Immolation War Temple, but even he was bleeding profusely from several wounds inflicted by the Shidashi Mao.

Despite this, there was a maniacal grin on his face as the runes on his body shone with a powerful scarlet glow!

Boom!

He took one step forward and stomped on the ground, creating a powerful quake, “Is this all you’ve got!?”

Shu!

The Shidashi Mao answered his taunt by rushing toward him. In an instant, it disappeared before reappearing right before him.

“Raging Fist!”

Bang!

The attack landed squarely on Lord Whisker’s head with a powerful smash which sent it flying back at an insane speed!

Long Di took all this in with full interest, “Raging fist? Man, their freak flag isn’t just flying, it’s practically dancing up and down the pole it’s on.”

Shu!

The chief elder pressed his assault by launching himself toward Lord Whiskers. Both hands came together overhead as they released a fierce glow under the stimulation of his somatic essence.

“Aaaaarrgh!”

His roar echoed across the plains as he brought his attack down with devastating effect!

Suddenly, Lord Whiskers opened its mouth to reveal a glowing, imperfect, sphere-like object.

The chief elder’s expression went grave in an instant but he couldn’t pull back, he dug even deeper into his attack!

“War Hammer!”

Boom!

Another explosion went off that shook the plains even more as the two attacks exploded on impact with each other.

The shockwave spread at a frightening pace, compelling Long Di to shield himself.

Bang!

He rushed over to Commander Da Jun and brought out the Destiny Scale, which landed on the ground with a loud thud.

Commander Da Jun was frightened by the aura the Destiny Scale gave off. “What is th-”

“Get down!” Long Di pushed his head down, which ended up shoving it into Captain Zhang, who lay incapacitated below him.

Rumble!

The shockwave arrived and tore up the earth all around them! The shaking was so intense that even a demon with a powerful body, like Commander Da Jun, felt like he wanted to throw up.

It took a while for the explosion to die down, but once he did; he called back the Destiny Scale.

The scene before them was one of widespread destruction. The earth was filled with deep cracks all around.

“A-Are they both dead?” Commander Da Jun surveyed the scene with an expression of awe and fear.

Long Di didn’t answer him, he just took a look around before choosing a path to take, “Stay here.”

Shu!

Leaving these words behind him, Long Di took off. It was hard to see due to the dust that had yet to settle for miles around, but his spiritual force helped him to navigate the now hazy terrain.

Chichichichi!

Phwish!

He could hear the sounds of wriggling flesh, followed by a sudden descent of killing intent.

It was wild and uninhibited and Long Di knew that whatever was happening to Lord Whiskers was something that could very well have him in its crosshairs, so he needed to move fast!

Not too long after, he exited the dust cloud and appeared before the Nether Immolation War Temple.

The walls that surrounded it were filled with cracks. Its large gates were open just a crack.

This was most likely how far they were able to close it before the explosion descended upon them.

Creak…

Long Di’s ears pricked up when he saw the old gates still closing.

“Nope.”

His speed kicked up a gear as he raced towards the open gap. He wasn’t at his peak state at the moment and if he could avoid using any more of this strength to break down a gate, that would be for the best.

Shu!

Bang!

He made it by the teeth of his skin as the gates closed with a loud bang. As soon as he was inside, he saw hundreds, if not thousands, of Nether Immolation War Temple disciples staring at him.

Some were staring at him with a look of what appeared to be admiration, whilst others stared at him with a lustful look on their faces.

It didn’t take him long to find the ones that he came here for.

In so doing, he asked a question that seemed all too apt for what took place. “Did you pray to your God for the unholy devastation that I rained down upon you?”