Chapter 53: The Fish Bait That Saves Itself, the Mantis That Catches the Cicada
The wild wind howled, and the slanting rain pattered down from the high sky.
It washed over the mortal world!
The entire Golden Splendor Pavilion seemed shrouded in rain curtains, the rain striking it and bursting forth countless hazy glimmers!
The hovering pavilion's curtains fell and danced wildly; amidst the howling gusts kicked up by the rainstorm, they writhed like twisted dragons soaring and dancing.
Si Mubai's face was ashen, his expression full of tears about to fall, like a wronged young maiden who would burst into tears at the slightest touch.
He took his seat in the hovering pavilion that had been booked long ago.
As one of the Three Young Masters of Feilei City, he previously never needed to book in advance, but after being severely wounded by a mysterious cultivator, his divinity was shattered, and moreover news spread that his grandfather had also been gravely injured, his divine foundation near breaking……
Now he must reserve ahead of time to come to the Golden Splendor Pavilion.
The charcoal stove boiled the water, which churned up and down; the fine spring tea he tossed into the pot, and the fried dry tea instantly unfurled, its verdant essence blooming like a flower.
The strong tea fragrance mingled with the hallway breeze and vapor, weaving and filling the air.
Si Mubai's eyes sank low, even a hint of ferocity—Guo Zhan had died…… He had suffered grave wounds, his divinity struck down, falling from the realm of 'Nurturing Like River'.
But this was not what troubled him most—when leaks come, it rains nonstop; his grandfather, who had gone to track down the killer for him, reached the Guiyi Miao in the outer city, only to suffer grave injury, his divine foundation on the verge of shattering, leaving him nearly crippled.
If he never used his divine foundation's power in this life, he could still scrape by for a few years, awing the various clans of Feilei City, but once he employed it, death would be certain.
The worst part was that the news of his grandfather's damaged divine foundation actually spread throughout Feilei City.
The Yang, Xu, An clans and the government…… each stared at the Si clan, about to lose its grandfather's stabilizing presence, like eying a fragrant, mouth‑watering slab of roasted meat.
"The divine cultivator who attacked me, a Four Sovereigns‑level 【Furious Crown Prince】, could not have come from Feilei City; he must be from the Divine Sect."
"Calculating the dates, in another year the Divine Sect ought to send people to recruit Spirit Children, but given the changes in the Soul Infant Sect and the Guiyi Miao, the Divine Sect would surely have noticed, and sending people early is understandable."
"Feilei City is ultimately just a small town; the 【Grief‑Weeping Spirit Suppressor】 I cultivate is already the finest divine art in Feilei City, yet it is only Nine Luminaries level—far, far below the Four Sovereigns……"
Si Mubai clenched his fists; though he was clearly angry, tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes.
Not long ago, he had forced Zhao Chuanxiong to act as bait, to lure that Ox Demon.
But now, it seems karma has turned full circle—he too is being forced to act as bait……
At this moment, Si Mubai also somewhat understood Zhao Chuanxiong's feelings.
Being bait…… one could be devoured at any moment.
To hang one's life on a hook, wandering the edge between life and death……
This truly tests one's state of mind and courage.
Si Mubai forced himself to calm down, yet when the peerless courtesan personally handed him a cup of tea, his fingers trembled uncontrollably, betraying his emotions.
Si Mu Bai forced himself to calm down, but that peerlessly beautiful courtesan personally poured him a bowl of tea; when he picked it up, his fingers trembled uncontrollably, betraying his emotions.
Rose again, then fell.
But when the curtains rose once more, he saw around the Golden Splendor Pavilion, one after another masked figure seeming to appear out of thin air, overwhelming divinity bursting from their bodies.
There were sword lights swirling, stirring the thoughts; there was fury raging heaven‑high, like a Buddha; there was a chilling intent like a jeweled vajra.
They wore all kinds of masks—tigers, leopards, goats……
Perhaps it was the gust stirred up by the Ox Demon criminal's cute ox mask.
Thus, the covert criminals hiding their names within Feilei City have grown accustomed to wearing a mask.
Si Mubai looked at these people; his hand no longer trembled, he merely seemed to both cry and smile.
"Xu Helì, An Ruosu, Yang Kaihe…… Don't think that wearing those masks hides your identity from me."
"Your divinity—even if you were reduced to ashes, I would still recognize it; wearing a mask is merely self‑deception."
"Since you dare to encroach upon my Si clan, why not do it openly and aboveboard?"
Si Mubai said coldly.
However, no matter how he shouted and questioned, only his voice echoed in the heavens and earth.
However, no matter how he shouted and questioned, only his voice echoed between heaven and earth.
Si Mubai's gaze flashed with a fierce light all over; the next instant, nine palm‑sized Grief‑Weeping Spirit Infant wood carvings slipped from his sleeve, and with a flick they hovered in midair.
"Since you've come…… then all of you shall die!"
And at the instant he flung forth the nine Spirit Infant wood carvings.
Si Mubai's white robes billowed as he shot upward, then his whole body plunged downward, slamming into the rain curtain; divine aura burst forth explosively, he employed his divine secret art, his very self becoming like a tear sliding from a cheek, merging into the rain.
He fled at breakneck speed outward from the Golden Splendor Pavilion!
Si Mubai now had only one thought!
Si Mu Bai now had only one thought!
Bait, too, must save itself!
Let the two Meridian‑Passing martial artists and the nine Spirit Infant little devils entangle them.
He only needs to fight desperately to escape!
The Si clan is finished……
All he needs is to carry his grandfather's shattered divine foundation fragments, flee the inner city, reach the outer city, and meet with the prearranged Soul Infant Sect……
Then the Si clan would have a chance to rise again!
The Si family now had a chance to make a comeback!
Can live!
……
……
The Golden Splendor Pavilion is in chaos.
Powerful divine aura surged outward from within, and furthermore there appeared four enormous, immeasurable phantoms resembling millstones looming in the sky……
Powerful divine aura surged outward from within, and furthermore there appeared four enormous, immeasurable phantoms resembling millstones looming in the sky……
The rainwater seemed to have congealed, unable to fall a single drop.
It was as if four deities fought in the high heavens, their four-wheel millstones like the blazing sun overhead, dispelling darkness and making the human mind extraordinarily bright!
Ordinary people inside the Golden Splendor Pavilion all suffered; their emotions were stirred, swinging wildly—crying, laughing, raging… subjected to myriad torments, uncontrolled, like devout believers having their seven emotions manipulated.
After such violent emotional swings, they would bleed from the mouth and nose and faint.
Those with bad luck died on the spot.
When Divine Foundation cultivators clash in battle, ordinary people… inevitably suffer collateral damage.
Raindrops the size of soybeans fell on the blue‑stone road, emitting a continuous "patter‑patter" sound.
The chaos in the Golden Splendor Pavilion lasted who knows how long, just like this sudden thunderstorm that poured down with rumbling, the drizzle washing down relentlessly, showing no sign of abating—instead it grew ever stronger.
Li Che stood in a dark alley, wearing a bamboo hat, letting the rain wash over him.
He stared fixedly at the Golden Splendor Pavilion, watching from afar the battle of the Divine Foundation cultivators, his heart feeling slightly heavy…
Divine Foundation cultivators are truly mighty; their control of divinity makes human will utterly unable to resist, giving them absolute dominance over those beneath them.
No wonder that once one attains Divine Foundation, one's status in a city becomes supreme, capable of founding a lasting clan.
Divine Foundation cultivators' command over the omnipresent divine particles exceeds imagination; every gesture wields unfathomable power.
Even a Blood Exchange martial artist, in vivid description, is no more than an ant.
Such a battle…… Li Che never chose to enter the Golden Splendor Pavilion; instead he lay in wait outside, silently observing the situation.
The spot he chose to lie in wait was the road from the Nei Cheng to the Wai Cheng; if Si Mubai could escape alive, this would be his necessary route.
If he were not dead, Si Mubai would surely have to leave the city from here…
Li Che could then observe the situation and choose when to intervene.
Suddenly.
Li Che's chest throbbed as the 【Immaculate Heart】 leapt wildly, sensing the intense undulations of divinity sweeping across heaven and earth, accompanied by wailing sorrow.
【Anger Cry Suppress Ghosts】 divinity!
Li Che narrowed his eyes, his blood and qi drawing inward ever tighter, yet his gaze flashed like lightning as he stared fixedly, his heart filled with doubt…
Soon he noticed a tiny, nearly imperceptible pouch of water rising from the puddles on the ground, gathering extremely intense Anger Cry divinity, racing forward at great speed, breaking through the waves along the long street!
Were it not for the Immaculate Heart's Dao Fruit sensing and capturing divinity, relying solely on his own martial cultivation…
Li Che would have noticed nothing at all!
Someone has escaped!
Escaping by merging into the water…… such an uncanny method must be that of a divinity cultivator.
Who is it?
At this critical juncture, whoever needs to escape also carries such intense Anger Cry divinity…
Most likely it is Si Mubai!
Is it him?
Regardless of whether it is him…… at this critical juncture, whoever needs to escape, Li Che will not let them go!
Better to kill the wrong than to let them go!
Li Che felt only that heaven and earth had fallen silent, his chest throbbing as the 【Dragon Elephant Vajra】 leapt, sounding like exploding bells and drums.
Having cultivated the Six Transformations Blood Exchange Method to perfection, his blood and qi surged and boiled upward!
In the snap of a finger!
Li Che's concealed breath‑holding and bone‑hiding aura instantly tore apart; his black hair flew wildly, his frail body suddenly swelling and rising!
Nine major tendons twitched like angry flood dragons, the tiger‑like roars of his bones and tendons ringing without cease!
His elastic clothing instantly expanded; every inch of exposed skin seemed to glow, revealing the bruised veins beneath the membrane!
His eyes blazed fiercer still, like two great suns!
As if the wrathful gaze of a god‑Buddha!
The second shackle bursts open! 【Wrathful Vajra】!
Hiss…
The torrential rain soaked through, instantly evaporated by the scorching heat of his blood and qi!
Li Che took out the Calf Ox Mask and covered his face…
His aura instantly became like a reclining god‑Buddha; in a flash he rose, his aura shooting up to the heavens!
Then, he took a heavy step!
The water in the alley was initially silent; only after Li Che darted out did the thick puddles on the blue‑stone slabs suddenly surge upward, rising straight to nine feet high!
Thunder cracked, shaking the dark clouds above!
After the thunder faded!
Li Che then appeared above a cluster of fierce divinity hidden like a swimming fish in the deep water pooled along the long street!
His 2.2‑meter‑tall stalwart frame smashed through wind and rain; beneath the Calf Ox Mask, his two eyes gazed down coldly and ruthlessly, his raised foot stomping down as violent blood and inner energy intertwined…
He came down heavily!
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