Chapter 298: 298. Chapter 298: Oath, Living Corpse

298. Chapter 298: Oath, Living Corpse

The primordial god's essence blood stored in Mount Buzhou—since we have already taken it, let us take half and give it to the Heavenly Court; do not complain that it is too much.

In any case, should those future innate deities try to drive us out to battle the Heavenly Court, they will make up for what we are now giving.

We can even be bolder, after all the Heavenly Court has long dominated the Wilderness; the Wu Clan, compared to it, is inevitably too immature and weak, so they ought to give us more support.

Houtu wore a faint cold smile; in today's Wilderness, the Wu Clan has the qualifications to wait for a good price, and at least aside from the Wu Clan, no one dares to show a fighting spirit toward the Heavenly Court.

Although Di Jiang felt a twinge of pain, he still agreed and made up his mind: if what Houtu said is true, he will surely strike a heavy blow!

In the Chaos, Zhunti fled at top speed, gritting his teeth, looking back at the relentlessly pursuing Minghe, he could not help shouting angrily:

Minghe, do you really think the people of the West have no guts? After fighting for three yuanhui, you still aren't resigned?

If you continue to be obstinate and ignorant, I will surely bring about your demise in a broken net! By then, I want to see whether your twelfth-grade innate karmic fire red lotus can withstand the power of primordial annihilation!

Minghe stood upon the lotus pedestal, wielding the Yuantu Abe twin swords, heedless of Zhunti's threat, and even had the leisure to say:

Please try, I stand upon the lotus pedestal; all evils retreat, myriad laws do not invade—if you are like that, you would actually save me considerable effort.

Seeing Minghe not taken in, Zhunti could only curse his deceit in his heart, then after thinking, he spoke again:

Those few little demons you summoned are at most Great Luo Heavenly Demons in cultivation; even if they possess some miraculous power, they can only detain my elder brother for a moment. But surely the time left for you now is not much either.

By then, my elder brother will break those demonic methods, and my two elder brothers will join forces; you will likely be unable to escape, so you might as well leave now—I swear I will not hold it against you.

Moreover, I and my elder brother are as close as brothers; if you kill me, you will surely incur his grudge, needlessly creating an enemy, which is improper.

Even if you take the Primordial Purple Qi from my hand, my elder brother, a heaven-ordained sage, will certainly enter the Primordial Origin before you.

If it truly comes to that, how could you have any chance to live? You are among the foremost of the innate deities, cultivating the divine path, and you are not without the possibility of proving the Dao.

Sages are at most equal to the Primordial Origin Infinite Luo Heavenly Venerable God, and may even be inferior; for such an opportunity, provoking a heaven-ordained sage is hardly profitable.

Fellow Daoist Minghe, please reconsider; do not be further deluded by those demonic arts.

Zhunti's last words blamed Minghe's pursuit and killing of him entirely on demonic deception, and he further promised to swear an oath, absolutely not to investigate.

This inevitably stirred some hesitation in Minghe, after all Zhunti's words were not without reason; a few Great Luo Heavenly Demons, even with miraculous means, could only sustain Zhunti and Jieyin for three yuanhui at most, which is likely their limit.

At present Zhunti shows no sign of exhaustion; if we truly drag this out, allowing Jieyin and Zhunti to meet, I fear I will not fare well either.

Moreover, he already had a retreat plan, as Zhunti said: the divine path of Primordial Origin is still possible in the Wilderness; the good opportunity has been lost, so it seems unnecessary to continue targeting Zhunti.

As for the deal with those who are visible joy, etc., Minghe never kept it in mind; his original promise was stated beforehand: he would fulfill it only after obtaining the Primordial Purple Qi.

Now, if he gives up, it will have little effect on him; fame is something Minghe has never had and never cared about.

Zhunti noticed that the Yuantu Abe twin swords in Minghe's hand had lost their sharpness, realized Minghe was wavering, and instantly overjoyed, he continued to press the attack:

If you do not believe me, I can right now swear an oath: if you withdraw, I will never again covet the Primordial Purple Qi in my and my elder brother's hands, and my two elder brothers will absolutely not pursue the matter!

If violated, one will suffer the Great Dao's grinding torment; in any cultivation, heavenly demons will disturb, and those who cultivate my path will also suffer!

As Zhunti's words fell, Minghe immediately halted his stance, after a brief hesitation he sheathed the Yuantu Abe twin swords.

Glancing at the disheveled Zhunti, Minghe's face showed a struggle; then suddenly several blood shadows flew into his body.

Before Zhunti could see clearly, Minghe waved his twin swords, and the bloody sword qi obliterated the blood shadows; he then curled a smile and said:

I thank Fellow Daoist Zhunti for the reminder; earlier, in a moment of carelessness, I was actually deceived by a villain, whose magic clouded my mind, committing such a fault—this is my apology to you, Fellow Daoist.

Having said that, Minghe gave Zhunti a half-smile stare, while Zhunti cursed in his heart:

"What a wicked scoundrel—clearly he himself covets my humble Primordial Purple Qi, yet he pulls such a shoddy trick!"

Zhunti cursed in his heart, but his face showed a tolerant, compassionate semblance, as if he were pleased for Minghe, and he said with a smile: "The demonic path was opened by the Demon Ancestor Luhou; its profundities are secret, unknown to outsiders. Fellow Daoist Minghe, a moment's inattention, being harmed by a villain, is also normal."

This is merely an unintentional act; Fellow Daoist, you need not worry further. We are of the same sect; our affection is something outsiders cannot know—how could I hold your fault against you?

Upon hearing this, both Zhunti and Minghe felt sickened to the point of suffocation, yet they forced a cheerful appearance, wearing false smiles.

Seeing that the matter could not be done, Minghe also grew lazy of maintaining this show of deep affection and righteousness, he clasped his hands and said: "This time is Minghe's fault; harming you, Fellow Daoist, is indeed improper. However, I have been away from the Sea of Blood for a long time, and there are many affairs there; Fellow Daoist, if you are free someday, you may come to the Sea of Blood to find me, and I will certainly give compensation."

Seeing Minghe about to leave, Zhunti also felt a bit relieved, and quickly smiled:

"Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand; this incident is demonic deceit, not your fault. We are both victims of it—how can we speak of compensation?"

"Fellow Daoist, you have been away from the Wilderness for a long time; affairs in the Sea of Blood are complicated, so you had better go first. I still need to turn back to seek my elder brother, so I will not travel with you."

How could Zhunti possibly believe Minghe's promise of compensation? In the Sea of Blood, aside from the spiritual treasure in Minghe's hand, there is nothing else of value.

If he truly believed Minghe's words, then when he goes to the Sea of Blood, what awaits him might well be the great formation there.

Earlier Zhunti had sworn an oath, but Minghe had never promised not to covet the Primordial Purple Qi again.

Minghe had long anticipated Zhunti's words; thus he bowed and said:

"Good, Fellow Daoist, you are magnanimous!"

As his words fell, Minghe turned and departed, without the slightest intention to linger.

A streak of blood-light sliced through the Chaos; Zhunti watched it silently, and after the blood-light had gone far, he then fiercely leaned against a mass of chaotic airflow and cursed:

"You son of a bitch, you are this ferocious—truly a blood beast spawned from the turbid current, devoid of humanity!"

After Zhunti finished cursing, he began to murmur in place, occasionally lightly touching his wound with his hand, and lamented bitterly:

"We were already poor; the Heavenly Court is no good thing, turning our Daoist temple into a battlefield—not to mention constructing an imperial villa upon it—truly bullying us excessively!"

"And now we encounter Minghe this wicked scoundrel; pity my golden body has not yet been completed, and he has shattered it utterly clean—truly heinous!"

After a long while, Zhunti finally saw a golden light coming from afar, his heart instantly relaxed considerably; he saw the arriver—it was Jieyin.

Jieyin hurried over, seeing that Zhunti had no serious injury, he felt relieved; before he could speak, he heard Zhunti ask: 'Elder brother, what did you gain this time?'

Jieyin startled at the words; the two elder brothers had fallen into such perilous ground, yet Zhunti did not ask why he had come only now, nor mention his own sufferings, and his first utterance was about what he had earned. Seeing Jieyin silent, Zhunti's face grew even more bitter, and he lamented:

"We have suffered this calamity, pointlessly losing much, actually gaining nothing to compensate—truly bitter! How unjust Heaven and Earth are, to treat us so meagerly!"

Seeing this, Jieyin hurriedly pulled Zhunti up from where he leaned against the chaotic airflow, comforting him: 'Junior brother, take heart, take heart; we are not empty-handed—look at this spiritual bead in my hand; is this not a gain?'

"Those six heavenly demons truly possess means, their cooperation is eerily tacit; I, the elder brother, could not easily overcome them, so I expended extra effort and refined them into this spiritual bead."

"You do not know, but those six demons are indeed fated with us, secretly aligning with our path; after we return, converting them can also fill the void in our Great Dao."

Hearing Jieyin's words, seeing that his own losses could be made up, Zhunti then ceased his lament, rose, and together with Jieyin hurried into the Wilderness.

During their walk, the two kept comforting each other; after all, since their birth, aside from gaining a strand of Primordial Purple Qi in the Purple Azure Palace, they had never had any good fortune. Even this Primordial Purple Qi now brought them trouble; such a situation had long become routine for them.

At this moment on Xifang Dalu, a withered corpse staggered about, walking unsteadily.

One could see the corpse's chest and abdomen torn open, its viscera empty, it had no face, and nothing could be seen outside; occasionally, an ordinary stone by the road could trip it.

Moreover, a dangerous and eerie aura emanated from him, causing wild beasts in the distance that wanted to try hunting him to dare not approach.

Wherever his body touched, the ground instantly withered; even after a thousand years, no grass or trees would grow.

Occasionally, a living creature passing by would step on its footprints; the pits left when it fell would gradually become eerie.

Feeding on the foul blood of rotting corpses, its visage was hideous and its form withered; later, a great cultivator noticed it and gradually cleared away these stains.

However, although this corpse could neither speak nor see, its flesh was extraordinarily strange; even an ordinary Golden Immortal's strike could not wound it.

Yet ordinary mindless stones, trees, and grasses could instead cover its body with wounds, bruising its flesh and blood, and though it could not kill it, this greatly hindered the corpse's movement speed.

Yet the corpse seemed to have some goal, continually advancing in one direction, undeterred by wind or rain.

Prolonged exposure to sun and rain made its stench unbearable, yet contact with the rainwater on its body had no effect on other living things—also strange.

The corpse gradually entered a cave dwelling; the formations and restrictions set outside could not impede it in the slightest, nor give any warning.

The corpse's pace suddenly quickened, and as it entered the cave dwelling, a person inside opened their eyes.

That person wore a black robe embroidered with Cangwu leaves, showing their extraordinariness, yet their countenance was dark and gloomy, making one feel dread at the sight.

Moreover, the closer the corpse got to the person, the swifter its steps became; seeing the corpse approach, the person showed no intention to evade, as if they had expected it.

The person spoke lightly:

"You have quite the method; it's normal that the formations and restrictions outside cannot stop you, and I never hoped they would, but I never imagined I couldn't even give a warning."

"You also have ample perseverance; this place is almost as far as where you fell into the anomaly years ago, I don't know how distant, yet you can only go step by step, which is indeed hardship."

"However, it seems that falling into the anomaly back then also gave you many benefits; otherwise, with you sealing your seven apertures and pulling out six roots to keep the outside world from disturbing you, you should not have been able to find me."

Before seeing the person, the corpse had been extremely anxious; upon meeting the person, however, it became much calmer.

In response to the person's words, the corpse merely waved its hand, pointing to its empty abdominal cavity where the six viscera once were.

Seeing this, the person snorted contemptuously and continued: "Back then, you sought the Dao and willingly abandoned us; that still shows some conscience, for you awakened our spiritual awareness—this I consider a debt I owe you."

"But now you have emerged from the anomaly and wish for us to return to your body, yet we have long possessed wisdom and been independent for many years—how could we willingly accept that?"

"Your search is in vain; we will not contend with you for the position of Demonic Dao Sovereign, for your Dao alone is sufficient without our joining."

The corpse merely shook its head, pointed to its six viscera, then placed its palms together in a gesture of greeting, and immediately clasped its hands.

The person said nothing in response, but the corpse sensed it, pointing its right hand to the sky, clenching its left hand, then extending the index and middle fingers to mimic climbing a ladder.

The person, however, seemed not to approve of the corpse's action, merely shaking their head and saying:

"You only have this idea now, which is rather late. At this time in the Primordial Wasteland, the Heavenly Dao has already been perfected; you have no opportunity, and neither do we."

The corpse shook its head, pointed to itself, then to the sky, and waved its hand, indicating that the person had misunderstood its intention.

It then reached out, grasped a clump of cloud, casually kneaded it in its hand, and fabricated the scene of the Nine Heavens of the Heavenly Realm.

Seemingly worried the person might misunderstand, it again took a clump from the cloud, spread it into the tenth heaven, and then inserted its fingers into that tenth heaven.

Seeing this, the person pondered a moment, but ultimately shook their head and said:

"You want to open another heaven, like the Demonic Ancestor Luo Hou did at first, but it's still too late, and moreover it's not feasible."

"After you fell into the anomaly, the Demonic Ancestor had already opened a heaven beyond heaven, but it was later destroyed; this already shows the method is impossible."

The corpse, apparently annoyed by the person's repeated rejections, pointed at the person, then at its own head, and waved its hand, as if cursing the person for being brainless.

Seeing this, the person felt a bit doubtful, suddenly took interest, and asked: "If you are not trying to open another heaven, then what do you mean?"

The corpse originally wanted to continue the gesture, but seemed to feel explaining would be too difficult; helplessly, it kneaded the prepared cloud into a ball, pointed to its chest, and then let the cloud dissipate and recondense in its hand.

The person then became fully interested and asked:

"Do you intend to establish this Demonic Dao Heaven in the formless and substance-less? But how would you do that? Our magic shares the same source, and I don't know you still have this means."

At this point, the corpse no longer wished to continue explaining; it merely pointed to its abdominal cavity, as if urging the person.

The person, however, let out a long breath and sighed: "You know I will not return; if you had seized me by force when you first arrived, you would surely have succeeded by now."

"Unfortunately, you have given me a chance to react, and I fear I cannot fulfill what you wish; farewell."

As the person's words faded, their presence vanished from the cave dwelling, leaving only their silhouette gradually dimming where they stood.

The corpse was not surprised by this; it merely pointed to its abdominal cavity and repeatedly clapped its hands, the sound echoing in the cave.

Soon after, a black silhouette could be seen flying repeatedly toward the cave from outside, twisted and blurred; upon closer look, it was none other than the person just seen! Their expression of terror had not yet faded before they fell into the corpse's hands.

The corpse had no face, its entire visage blank; yet after the person fell into its grasp, it seemed able to sense the joy emanating from the person's body.

One hand held the person while the corpse used its other hand to dig open its abdomen, revealing its empty interior.

The space was not large; withered muscle and blood strands were still visible, the person grew ever more frightened, but the corpse paid no heed, shoving the person straight into its belly.

The person had barely touched the interior space before turning into a black light that sank in, leaving no trace; meanwhile, the wound on the corpse's chest and abdomen instantly healed, no longer showing as before.

Just as the corpse was about to turn and leave, it heard the person's voice echoing from within its belly: "You have fallen into my trap! I know you escaped the anomaly and surely made preparations; this flesh shall be mine, and I will surely follow your Dao, to repay your hard-won effort."

The corpse slowly lowered its head, looked at its own abdomen, reached out to touch it, saw no opening above, and then walked out indifferently.

However, scarcely had it stepped out of the cave when the person inside its belly exclaimed in surprise:

"This is wrong; how can this be? According to my calculations, I should be the one controlling this flesh—why is there no change?"

"What trick have you employed? Why do I clearly feel my magic is still effective, yet I cannot make it work?"

The person kept questioning from within the corpse's belly, but the corpse ignored it, simply walking forward; unlike before, its steps had become much lighter.

Nevertheless, it still often tripped over pits, stones, and wood along the way, its flesh injured by plants and trees.

Each time this happened, the person inside would cry out in pain without cease, while the corpse paid it no heed.

PS: This is a 5000-word big chapter; brothers suddenly cast many votes, today I repaid 1000 words, yet still short 2000 words! I'll continue the day after tomorrow! As long as you have votes and tips, I will update with full force! (End of chapter)