Chapter 727: Echo 4: First on the Heavenly Ranking

He He Lingchuan remembered that when the Lady Mitian Mirror revealed the black line on Shao He Jian's shoulder, it required a bowl-shaped artifact; yet when he looked at the golden line on Zhu Zhu Xiuer, he had not borrowed any tools. Was it because the divine abilities of the Hundred Battles Heaven were different, or because He He Lingchuan himself was unique? He shouldn't have had this ability before.

A thought stirred in He He Lingchuan's heart, and he suddenly drew the Floating Life Blade.

A cold glint flashed in his hand, and Zhu Zhu Xiuer's eight claws tightened as she asked vigilantly, "What are you doing?"

"Don't move, let me try." He He Lingchuan channeled a bit of power, and a layer of red light swept across the Floating Life Blade.

This was the first time he had tried using the Great Wind Army's primordial power in the mortal realm.

He raised the blade toward the golden line, very lightly and slowly, so as not to cause a misunderstanding with Zhu Zhu Xiuer.

When the Floating Life touched the golden line, it actually had the texture of a physical object; the golden line was even swayed by it. He He Lingchuan felt reassured—it was going to work!

But cutting the golden line was not as easy as he had imagined; it was like a small knife sawing through steel wire, tough and hard.

With the sharpness of the Floating Life, it took over a dozen cuts to sever it completely! After breaking, the golden line was no different from an ordinary thread, quickly dissipating into the bright light.

The causal line secretly placed by the Heavenly God was thus eliminated!

He He Lingchuan couldn't help but laugh heartily, feeling relieved: "Done!"

So, the "Void-Breaking" effect of the Floating Life could be used this way? Both Dong Rui and Zhu Zhu Xiuer could not see the golden line, so they were very surprised: "You can cut it with a blade?"

"It seems so." He He Lingchuan patted Zhu Zhu Xiuer—ouch, it was prickly—"All set. I think the Heavenly God's tracking divine art should be ineffective now."

The Floating Life Blade might not have had the ability to cut the thread of fate before, but don't forget, he had just retrieved the lid of the Great Great Great Fanghu from Xushan!

Pot + lid—now that this divine artifact was complete, it should have gained some marvelous functions, right? He really wanted to see with his own eyes the expressions of the Heavenly God and the Demon Emperor when they discovered the thread of fate had been cut.

Having pulled the rug out from under them again, they must hate him to the bone.

Oh right, they probably didn't even know who he was.

He He Lingchuan smiled even more comfortably.

Next, the two mounted their steeds and switched to land travel.

Dong Rui's rotten face was hidden by a human-skin mask, so others couldn't see anything unusual, but Zhu Zhu Xiuer's size could not be hidden. He believed the arrest warrant issued by Lingxu City for it would soon spread throughout Between Beijia, so He He Lingchuan intentionally avoided the main roads, traveling specifically through towering mountains and steep ridges to avoid exposing their tracks.

The rock sheep could stroll leisurely on rugged mountain paths, and the mule-beast He He Lingchuan had spent a large sum to buy for Dong Rui was not slow either. This man, having a new face, was willing to show off outside, occasionally running near post stations and villages to replenish food and water, and incidentally gathering information.

When he returned, he said that because they had poked a hornet's nest, the officials coming and going on the main roads were as numerous as hornets. Checkpoints were extremely strict, and avian demons were always circling in the sky, looking for suspicious characters like them.

The drastic changes in Xushan and Lingxu City were like detonating a bomb in the heart of the empire; the aftershocks of the explosion and the fury of Between Beijia were only just beginning to spread outward.

The imperial capital had been stable for six hundred years; it was time to experience the bitterness of turmoil.

Xushan was the sacred mountain in the hearts of the people of Lingxu City, and even the citizens of Between Beijia. Having suddenly suffered such a disaster, one wondered how much suspicion it would incite.

With public opinion surging, how much effort would the Tiangong and the Royal Court have to spend to suppress it?

Everyone said the Heavenly God was omnipotent; why then had the Heavenly God's own earthly residence been burned to the ground by someone?

This incident had a deeper, broader, and more thought-provoking impact than the Anti-Aging Pill case or the downfall of the Qingyang State Preceptor.

Of course, for a habitual fugitive like Dong Rui, deceiving the eyes of the officials was a trivial matter.

Zhu Zhu Xiuer used only one sentence to dispel his smugness: "Has my arrest warrant been posted? What level is it now?"

Dong Rui's smile vanished instantly, and he said unwillingly: "It's posted. You are now second on the Heavenly Ranking of the arrest warrants."

The spider demon had destroyed the Spirit-Gathering Array and caused the volcanic eruption of Heavenly Pivot Peak—an unforgivable crime! Therefore, it had jumped directly from the Earth Ranking into the Heavenly Ranking.

As for him, he had only done logistics work during this operation and never showed his real face. Because Nian Nian Zanli had taken the blame, he was no longer wanted.

D-damn it, he had been completely upstaged by Zhu Zhu Xiuer.

"The third place on the Heavenly Ranking has also been updated, called 'Du Feng'; it's probably that immortal bird that released the tornado."

He He Lingchuan found the name a bit familiar. Did these avian demons all like to use "Wind" in their names?

"Yes, that's it." Zhu Zhu Xiuer shook its sharp claws.

"Then what about the first place on the Heavenly Ranking?"

"Don't know." Dong Rui thought for a moment, "It wasn't posted."

He He Lingchuan smiled and raised his hand: "The top spot is right here."

Dong Rui was unconvinced: "What a thick skin! How do you know the position of the chief culprit is definitely yours?"

"They don't know who I am, nor do they know what I look like, so how could they issue an arrest warrant?" Should they put a question mark on the portrait? "If they can't issue an arrest warrant, it means it's me."

Dong Rui scoffed.

"Unconvinced?" He He Lingchuan counted on his fingers, "Who obtained the intelligence on the array eye?"

The data and details for building the array eye were all in the mind of the retired official Zai Fu Kua. If conventional interrogation methods were used, even if they were silenced afterward, it would likely alert the authorities. Once the Tiangong raised its guard, the difficulty of He He Lingchuan's success would have at least doubled.

But He He Lingchuan used the Nightmare to extract the information, and it was done without anyone knowing, even Zai Fu Kua himself had no memory of it.

"Second, who got the hide of the Thunder-Bearing Beast and made it into a Thunder-Repelling Plate?"

Dong Rui curled his lips.

Thunder-repelling magic artifacts were already rare, and ordinary goods simply couldn't withstand the "Thunder Pool" at the eye of the Spirit-Gathering Array. Fang Fang Canran had held the Dunyuan Auction for many years and had seen all kinds of rare treasures, but he had only found one barely qualified thunder-repelling artifact, and he wasn't even sure if it could be used to invade Xushan.

If the Void Realm hadn't just opened, and if the Thunder-Bearing Beast hadn't just happened to be fighting to the death with the leader of the beastless, where would He He Lingchuan have gone to pick up the hide of a Thunder-Bearing Beast to make a Thunder-Repelling Plate?

This guy's luck was just too good.

"Third—" He He Lingchuan held up his third finger, "And who calculated the position of the Heavenly Net Star?"

Dong Rui was speechless.

This point was indeed remarkable; even now, he didn't understand how He He Lingchuan had managed it.

The Great Great Great Fanghu was He He Lingchuan's deepest secret; he would not tell anyone that he had requested outside help.

"There are many other considerations and details I won't even mention." He He Lingchuan curled his fingers into a fist, with only his thumb pointing at himself, "Actually, all these coincidental opportunities aside, the key is the person. If others did it, they would die one by one; when I do it, it's guaranteed to succeed."

Zhu Zhu Xiuer suddenly said: "Fang Fang Canran is also quite good, but without you, he wouldn't have been able to launch it even if he waited another hundred years."

He He Lingchuan gave it a thumbs up: "Daughter, your judgment is truly high!" And very honest! Dong Rui wanted to roll his eyes, but had no way to refute it, so he could only watch him look smug.

(End of chapter)