Chapter 351

The Three Purities also exchanged glances.

If it were the old days, being fellow saints, they should have appeared to meet and exchange pleasantries.

However, after the initial debate on the Dao, and the direct confrontation when the Demon Race slaughtered humans,

at present, the Three Purities still harbor deep resentment in their hearts.

Therefore, they merely speculate about Chen Ku and the others' intentions, without preparing to appear.

Finding no answer through thought, Laozi simply formed hand seals and began to deduce.

After a moment, his expression shifted slightly.

"Hmm?"

"Those three from the Buddhist sect seem to be searching for something."

"But... they do not know what it is."

Laozi said this in a low voice.

Although he did not control the laws of time, he had also reconstructed some of the movement trajectories of Chen Ku and the others.

However, that cluster of fortune, or rather the false Zhunti, ultimately existed only within the scroll of time.

Thus, Laozi's deduction ultimately bore no fruit.

Exchanging a glance, the three could only carry their doubts and fall into silence once more.

Outside Kunlun Mountain!

After a long while, Chen Ku and the others also came to their senses.

Zhunti calmed down.

Chen Ku spoke again, saying:

"Not far from here, there is a place where wolf demons reside."

"Previously, when forging the Slaughter-Witch Sword, that wolf demon clan also contributed greatly."

"Going there, we might still be able to uncover some clues."

As he spoke, Chen Ku's gaze had already turned toward a certain direction.

Upon hearing this, Jieyin and Zhunti nodded without hesitation, agreeing.

Although back then the Demon Race forged the Slaughter-Witch Sword targeting humanity,

the appearance of that false Zhunti has also made Jieyin Zhunti unable to remain uninvolved.

The two are also resolved to investigate thoroughly and uncover the full truth.

However, before the three set out, Jieyin thought of something else.

He immediately formed hand seals, actually tracing out the paths of numerous formations, imbuing them upon the three.

"The Three Purities must have already sensed our arrival here."

"Using formations to block their holy awareness, to prevent them from secretly intervening and obstructing our investigation."

Jieyin then spoke to explain.

It must be said, Jieyin's consideration is also extremely thorough.

After all, at present we cannot yet determine whether the Three Purities have any connection to this matter.

Doing this ensures absolute safety.

Under the cover of the formation, the three then set out again, escaping directly via spatial divine abilities.

Not long after, they also arrived at the wolf demon habitat Chen Ku mentioned.

This is a remote mountain valley.

Having endured the previous great battle, the valley still retains some traces of bloody odor, not yet completely dissipated.

Skeletons lie scattered across the ground.

Time reversal is activated once more, and the scene within the scroll of time begins to shift accordingly.

In the picture, only scattered limbs and severed arms are seen, flesh and blood strewn about.

Meanwhile, large masses of flesh and blood coalesce, reforming into the physical bodies of the Wu Clan.

At the same time, numerous Li Jian are drawn from within the bodies of Wu Clan beings, returning to the hands of the demon wolves.

Broken spiritual treasures are also reforged at a visible speed, restored to their complete state.

Witnessing this, Jieyin could not help but exclaim in amazement.

"Time reversal, truly a profound and exquisite method."

"Worthy of being among the top ten time laws within the Three Thousand Great Daos."

Not bad!

Jieyin knows that the scene now appearing in the scroll of time is precisely due to time reversal.

Chen Ku is doing this not to deliberately display his abilities.

He is seeking the place where the demon wolf clan first discovered the secret of the Slaughter-Witch Sword.

Finally, at a certain moment, Chen Ku's expression shifted.

The starting point of the great battle has already appeared.

With a thought, time shifted to forward flow.

And this time, the scene allows for clearer observation.

The Wu and Demon clans have always harbored deep enmity, immortal and irreconcilable.

Therefore, when the Wu Clan and the demon wolf clan met here, a disagreement immediately led to outright war.

In the midst of the battle, a being of the demon wolf clan, whose weapon had once been stained with human resentment, unknowingly transformed into the Slaughter-Witch Sword.

With a single strike, it pierced through the Wu Clan's proud fleshly form, utterly destroying it.

Thus, the demon wolf also discovered the mystery of the Slaughter Wu Sword.

The three watched the scene in the time scroll, yet noticed nothing unusual.

Everything seemed to be merely an ordinary conflict between the Wu and Yao clans.

"Could it... really just be a normal great war?!"

Chen Ku muttered to himself, half-believing and half-doubting.

Then, his eyes narrowed, and he simply continued reversing time, tracing back to an earlier moment to see if anything else had occurred.

Indeed!

This time, time reversed for a moment.

Zhunti's pupils shrank sharply, his face changing dramatically.

"It appeared again!"

"That mass of vapor also appeared here before."

Just as Zhunti had said.

In the time scroll, that familiar strange vapor reappeared, hidden among the myriad tree shadows.

Like the false Zhunti before, that vapor made no movement at all, not even taking human form.

After a long while, it vanished abruptly.

But shortly after that vapor disappeared, the myriad beings of the Wu Clan entered this place.

This then triggered the great war with the demon wolf clan.

Watching this, Chen Ku suddenly understood.

"Ah!"

"Earlier I was still puzzled—why would the Wu Clan enter the demon wolf's territory so precisely, neither favoring nor avoiding?"

"It seems that behind this, that strange vapor also played its part in stirring things up."

Chen Ku finished speaking.

Beside him, Zhunti spoke even more firmly:

"That vapor, and the one impersonating me, must be the same existence."

"It seems the Ten Suns in the Sky, the Slaughter Wu Sword, and other great calamities are inseparable from it."

"Moreover, even if that vapor makes no move, wherever it passes, disaster must follow."

"Then... what exactly is this existence?!"

At the end of his words, Zhunti frowned tightly, his face showing deep thought.

In the primordial world, all things possess spirit.

Things like rosy clouds and immortal light, after gaining sentience and taking human form, are not surprising.

Like Red Cloud, who was formed from the first auspicious cloud of heaven and earth.

But that vapor possesses the power to provoke calamity.

This left Jieyin and Zhunti greatly astonished—truly unheard of.

No need to say more; as the strange vapor in the time scroll vanished, this investigation likewise had to stop here.

By now, Jieyin and Zhunti could not help but feel somewhat lost.

Strange!

All of this seems too strange.

Even sages feel somewhat helpless.

But Chen Ku did not give up.

"If that's the case..."

"Then let us look again—was there anything abnormal about Xiu Liu's death?"

But regarding this, Zhunti first froze, then spoke:

"Xiu Liu's death had nothing abnormal."

"Before, I had already seen everything from beginning to end."

"It was merely the Xuang Huang Sword of Ying Long, stirring the killing qi within Xiu Liu's body, causing his body to explode."

Zhunti spoke with firm conviction.

However, upon hearing this, Chen Ku said thoughtfully:

"Perhaps it is not so simple."

"The Xuan and Huang qi are the primordial qi of heaven and earth, the harmonious qi—how could they provoke killing qi to riot?"

Upon saying this,

Zhunti froze instantly.

"The Xuang Huang Sword cannot possibly provoke a riot of killing qi?!"

Yes!

I had overlooked this point earlier.

Indeed, it was what I saw with my own eyes: at the very moment Ying Long drew the Xuang Huang Sword, Xiu Liu's breath surged violently from within to without.

This led me to naturally believe the Xuang Huang Sword stirred endless killing qi, brutally bursting Xiu Liu's flesh.

Now Chen Ku's words awakened me like a dreamer, making me realize this matter indeed holds something strange.

Without further words, the three again headed toward the place where Ying Long and Xiu Liu had fought before.

In the time scroll, the scene of Xiu Liu's death reappeared.

"Indeed!"

"When Xiangliu died, there was the aura of the Slaughter Witch Sword."

"But it was extremely faint......"

Chen Ku said thus.

Jieyin Zhunti perhaps could not sense it.

But Chen Ku controlled the law of time, and was not limited to only seeing the scenes in the time scroll.

At the same time, at the instant Xiangliu died, he sensed a trace of the Slaughter Witch Sword's aura, extremely faint, even difficult to perceive.

Upon these words, Jieyin Zhunti was instantly greatly shocked.

"What? Xiangliu truly died beneath the Slaughter Witch Sword?"

"But... why can we see no trace of the Slaughter Witch Sword's existence?!"

The two spoke thus, heads full of fog.

Upon hearing this, Chen Ku did not respond, but continued to reverse time, repeatedly reenacting the scene of Xiangliu's death.

At a certain moment, his gaze suddenly tightened.

"Stillness!"

Word becomes law!

Time suddenly stilled.

And the scene in the time scroll also froze at the moment before Xiangliu's physical body exploded.

No!

More accurately, it was frozen at Xiangliu's shoulder position.

At this moment, there, a trace of cold light, imperceptible, was faintly flashing.

Jieyin Zhunti also finally sensed the abnormality.

"That is.... a fine needle?!"

Jieyin spoke, full of doubtful uncertainty.

And Zhunti reacted faster.

"Could it be some treasure used for ambush?!"

"Is it precisely this fine needle that caused Xiangliu's death?!"

Zhunti thus speculated.

In the primordial heaven and earth, there indeed exist some items used for ambush, extremely difficult to detect, vicious treasures.

For example, in the hands of the Yuanshi Sage, there are such treasures as the Soul-Devouring Needle and Heart-Piercing Nail.

Once unleashed, they are extremely small, ordinary people hard to see.

But Chen Ku's subsequent response, however, startled Jieyin Zhunti again.

"Hehe, it is not some treasure used for ambush."

"Perhaps... calling it the Slaughter Witch Needle would be more appropriate!"

Slaughter Witch Needle?!

Jieyin Zhunti was utterly dumbfounded.

Not?!

The Witch Clan forged, is it not the Slaughter Witch Sword?!

How did this so-called Slaughter Witch Needle appear again?!

The two were momentarily unable to react, their brains completely crashed.

"Such a Slaughter Witch Sword, certainly was not forged by the Demon Race."

"But someone took advantage, concealing the Slaughter Witch power within a tiny fine needle."

"And the Witch Clan, being burly in physique, with indestructible flesh, even if pierced by this Slaughter Witch Needle, would not notice."

"Truly a excellent means to kill invisibly."

Chen Ku said thus.

Upon hearing this, Jieyin Zhunti could not help but nod.

Not bad!

In some sense, this Slaughter Witch Needle, even compared to the Demon Race forged Slaughter Witch Sword, has even more astonishing effect.

Thus, the cause of Xiangliu's death, finally clarified.

Initially, Yinglong unleashed the Xuanhuang Sword, merely igniting that Slaughter Witch Needle.

Thus, the Slaughter Witch power within was released, causing Xiangliu's internal murderous qi to surge violently, self-destructing and dying.

Immediately after, Jieyin Zhunti also became more doubtful.

"But... who exactly would commit such a vicious and treacherous act?"

"And who bears such enmity with the Witch Clan?!"

Zhunti said thus.

Or more bluntly, exactly which powerhouse silently inserted that Slaughter Witch Needle into Xiangliu's shoulder?!

Regarding this, Chen Ku had no hesitation.

"Fate Communication!"

He directly deployed this divine ability great technique.

This is to take Xiangliu's fate as a guide, tracing all during his time in the world.

Not long after, another illusion appeared before Jieyin Zhunti's eyes.

Witch Clan, Fire Tribe!

In the scene, Xiangliu was full of vigor, his body twisting and turning as he sparred with a Wu Clan being of the fire tribe.

Both were incredibly strong, each punch landing solidly.

Such sparring was nothing remarkable, a common sight.

But during the match, the unnamed Wu Clan being suddenly struck Xiangliu's shoulder with one palm.

Chen Ku clearly saw that, between its fingers, it held a small Slay-Wu Needle.

Watching this scene.

Jieyin and Zhunti stared at each other, somewhat dumbfounded.

"That Slay-Wu Needle — it was actually a Wu Clan being that stabbed it into Xiangliu's body?!"

"This... this... Xiangliu was actually killed by one of his own?!"

This result once again greatly exceeded Jieyin and Zhunti's expectations.

But Chen Ku appeared quite calm.

"That was not a Wu Clan being."

"It was merely that strange power taking shape again."

No need to think — Chen Ku could make this judgment easily.

After all, Xiangliu, as one of the eight great Wu Clan shamans, possessed strength beyond compare.

Only beings like Chiyou and Jiu Feng, other great shamans, could match him in combat.

But the figure seen earlier was clearly not any of the great shamans.

Then there was only one explanation.

That strange mist, or rather that power, had taken the form of a Wu Clan being and deliberately controlled its strength to be nearly equal to Xiangliu's.

Only then could it strike unseen, slipping in that Slay-Wu Needle.

Jieyin and Zhunti nodded, agreeing with Chen Ku's analysis and judgment.

"But... why go to such great lengths with this mysterious power?!"

Zhunti voiced his doubt once again.

As for this, Chen Ku had long anticipated it.

He let out a cold laugh and replied without hesitation:

"The goal... naturally to frame Yinglong and sow discord between our Western Buddhist Sect and the Wu Clan."

"And clearly, this scheme has almost succeeded."

Hearing this, Jieyin and Zhunti were shaken.

Damn it... after all this, the other side is still targeting our Western Buddhist Sect?!