Chapter 227

A huge rock cavern.

The circular rock cavern is several li in diameter and over ten li high; above it is a huge dome studded with many luminous crystals that cast a hazy light illuminating the entire cavern.

The cavern has two entrances; one passage possibly leads directly to the underground water system, from which white water mist continually drifts out.

The light from the luminous crystals on the dome and the luminous mushrooms and vines clinging to the rock walls continually refracts in the white mist, sending out threads of multicolored light that shine in all directions, making the stone grotto seem ethereal and elusive.

In the center of the stone grotto is a teleportation array a hundred meters in diameter; a few dwarves wearing black chainmail stand beside it, their faces covered in dense black embroidery patterns twitching into a grimace, hideous and terrifying.

On the rock walls, every seven or eight zhang high, a ring of openings has been dug.

The openings vary in size; inside them stand neatly arranged warriors holding strong bows and heavy crossbows, and in some larger openings are placed heavy weapons such as mechanized bed crossbows.

Moreover, some petite dwarves and gnomes hold weapons such as the magical firearms made by Lu Ji.

Compared to the exquisite magical firearms crafted by Lu Ji, the weapons held by these dwarves and gnomes have larger calibers; some oversized firearms have barrels almost as thick as a sea bowl and over two meters long, towering far above the dwarves and gnomes themselves.

Ring after ring of openings extends up to a height of two li above the ground.

Roughly calculated, the warriors hiding in these openings with various ranged weapons number at least ten thousand.

Inside the stone grotto there are two entrances; one passage continually exhales white mist, and following the other passage outward for about a hundred meters, a square stone chamber has been opened on one side of the passage.

In the spacious stone chamber, thick animal pelts are laid down, upon which are stacked flowing, iridescent spider-silk brocade, and gauzy curtains hang all around.

Within the gauze curtains, a handsome youth over two meters tall, with ink‑black skin and two tiny dragon horns on his forehead, twitches and cries out in a frightened whisper: "Xuan Zhu, slow… slow… let me rest a bit, rest a bit…"

Xuan Zhu sits smiling beside the youth, her fingers lightly sliding over his neck, her sharp nails continually scraping near his carotid artery.

"Lord Hei Jiao… this won't do; we agreed to enjoy seven days and seven nights together… and it's only been a few days?" Xuan Zhu chuckles with a "pfft," then flips over and sits on Hei Jiao's body.

"Don't stop… continue… I want more!" A faint pink hue shimmers beneath Xuan Zhu's ice‑white skin as she grips Hei Jiao's neck with both hands, feigning coy annoyance while shouting loudly.

Hei Jiao's body shakes violently, the corners of his mouth twitching; though he wants to break free, his body has completely lost his control and reacts on its own.

After a quarter of an hour, accompanied by a painful howl, a trace of white foam seeps from the corner of Hei Jiao's mouth.

"Lord Hei Jiao… weren't you said to be a half‑dragon with the purest black dragon bloodline?" Xuan Zhu rises slowly, gives Hei Jiao's shoulder a light kick, and a flicker of contempt crosses her eyes: "The legendary black dragon… is this all it's got?"

A flush rises over Hei Jiao's black skin; he grits his teeth and stares at Xuan Zhu, wanting to say something for the dignity of his race.

But thinking of Xuan Zhu's methods over these days…

Hei Jiao shudders, lowers his head, and submits completely.

This is a woman more terrifying than any legendary demon; her methods are simply…

Hei Jiao truly comes to know what it means to have his marrow drained dry of pain… yet, amidst that boundless agony, he also experiences a joy as limitless as the legendary paradise.

"You… fairy… wait for me; when I return to the Dark Sanctum and take three Dragon Blood Fruits to strengthen my physique, I will surely give you what you deserve." Hei Jiao's lips move for a while, then he snorts in angry embarrassment.

"I'll be waiting for you… you'd better not break your promise… hehe… Dragon Blood Fruit?"

Xuan Zhu smiles at Hei Jiao, ponders for a moment, then shakes her head: "But I have a more fun game; do you want to try it?"

Hei Jiao stares at Xuan Zhu in astonishment: "What game?"

Hei Jiao's body twitches involuntarily.

Xuan Zhu kneels beside Hei Jiao, gently massaging his temples: "You see, I found you because you are one of the few most exalted sons of the Dark Guild…"

A hint of mockery flashes at the corner of her mouth; Xuan Zhu looks at him with the disgust a normal person feels toward a pile of dog‑shit, and presses her fingers firmly into his skull, massaging it repeatedly.

"I want you to help me find out what those fellows are up to, then set an ambush and capture them alive," Xuan Zhu says with a smile.

"I've already done that…" Hei Jiao says wearily, closing his eyes and speaking dazedly: "This place is a special outpost of my Dark Guild… dedicated to scheming against those big clients worth our scheming…"

"For hundreds of years, no one has ever escaped from here; the moment they step out of the teleportation array, ambushes erupt from all sides, striking with full force—even if their bodies were made of iron, they would be smashed to pieces."

Xuan Zhu smiles and nods: "That's why I sought you out; the Dark Guild's arrangements may be shameless, but I like them."

She sighs, recalling the terrifying might of Zhu Rong's explosion and the others on that day.

She murmurs: "But whether the rabble you've mustered can deal with them… remains a question."

Hei Jiao snaps his eyelids open, glances askance at Xuan Zhu, and growls low: "Woman, I admit you've given me boundless pleasure… you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen… but that doesn't mean you can doubt the power of our Dark Guild!"

Hei Jiao lifts his head arrogantly and sneers: "As soon as I act, they must die… even if they survive this time, if I unleash the true power of the Dark Guild, they will surely die without doubt."

Xuan Zhu nods with a smile, her fingers pressing slightly harder against Hei Jiao's temple.

"I understand, I understand, the Dark Guild is truly remarkable… but you say, if they really manage to escape this ambush…" Xuan Zhu smiles and says: "Then it proves that the forces directly under your command cannot deal with them."

Hei Jiao lets out a cold snort: "Then I'll have my father step in."

Xuan Zhu purses her lips and says softly: "What a hassle? Besides, you'd have to go back and ask the old-timers of the Dark Guild… but I have a much simpler method."

Hei Jiao's eyes widen: "What method?"

Xuan Zhu smiles faintly, her long slender fingers suddenly stabbing into Hei Jiao's temple; the tips of her two fingers meet inside his brain, a point of cold light flashes from her fingertips, and a terrifying chill instantly freezes his skull, his life pool, and the soul nurtured within it.

"You're dead… the old-timers of the Dark Guild will surely come to avenge you…"

Xuan Zhu gives a slight smile and hums softly: "Do you think I had you order the killing of that serpent‑person who helped them for no reason?"

"Because I'm a woman, I'm petty… anyone who offends me must die."

"Although you haven't offended me, you haven't pleased me either… I'm seething with anger… if you don't die, who will?"

She pulls out her fingers, puts them into her crimson lips and lightly sucks, then Xuan Zhu bursts into laughter: "Surely delicious, Cangyou—remember this, from now on my menu will include the brain‑juice of high‑bloodline half‑dragons… heh, these foolish mortals!"

She rises, crushes Hei Jiao's left arm with one grip, and removes the bracelet he wore on his wrist.

A tap of her finger sends countless fine threads of cold light writhing across the bracelet; in the next instant it opens, a glint of cold light flashes in Xuan Zhu's eyes, and she quickly examines everything inside.

"Tch… mortals are just mortals… what junk is this? …but this black dragon horn is not bad… is it an heirloom from which of your ancestors?" Xuan Zhu pulls from the bracelet a black dragon horn over three zhang long, pitch‑black and glowing like crystal, with eighteen forks, and smiles satisfied.

"Hmm, this dragon horn is excellent material even for us, extremely hard to obtain."

"Especially, black dragon horns naturally resonate with water and yin‑cold energy; forging them into an extreme‑cold divine weapon is more than sufficient."

Smiling, Xuan Zhu slips the bracelet onto her own wrist, picks up a gauze scarf and wraps it around herself, then strolls leisurely out of the area covered by the gauze curtains.

Transforming into a Cangyou several meters long, it crawls in the stone chamber; upon seeing Xuan Zhu, it opens its mouth and silently flicks its tongue.

"Let's go, the time is about right," Xuan Zhu chuckles. "If they succeed, we'll return to wipe out these Dark Guild folk and take our captives… if they fail…"

Xuan Zhu lightly laughs and points at Hei Jiao's corpse: "His father ought to be stronger than him, right? Heh, I'm really looking forward to it… these mortals are actually kind of interesting."

In the stone cave, on the teleportation array, strands of hazy light rose.

The void trembled, wave after wave of faintly visible spatial ripples like water spreading outward in concentric circles.

Beside the teleportation array, several dwarves emitted sharp whistles, simultaneously raising the faintly glowing teleportation array control talismans in their hands, staring unblinkingly at the hazy figures within the array.

This was something they had done many times.

They were very familiar with every aspect of the teleportation array.

They knew that as long as they interrupted the transmission at the very last moment, the spatial backlash would inflict massive harm on anyone inside the array.

Then, tens of thousands of elite troops arranged by the Black Horn unleashed a barrage of various high-powered ranged weapons.

They had once used this method to kill two experts above the Life Pool.

And the number of Life Pool Realm experts who had fallen to such underhanded tactics numbered in the hundreds.

Wu Tie and the others only felt waves of dizziness, hazy gloom all around, and immense pressure pressing from all sides.

This time their transmission distance was too great, the array imposing tremendous pressure on them; Wu Tie, Old Iron, and the sturdy Iron Big Sword were naturally unaffected, while the Magic Chapter King had been crushed into a ball of flesh, yet he felt no discomfort.

Even the others, as sturdy as Mountain Shield, couldn't help but let out low, pained cries.

Thus, Old Iron directly summoned the Reincarnation Tower—a three-foot-tall black pyramid phantom hovering above his head, emitting black divine light that enveloped everyone.

Under the shroud of that black light, the surrounding spatial pressure dropped to near zero, allowing the group to travel through space unharmed for an unknown duration.

Perhaps it was an instant, or perhaps a quarter hour, or maybe heaven knows how long……

The surrounding chaotic space suddenly steadied; everyone's feet touched solid ground, and the dizzying disorientation vanished without a trace.

Transmission complete, they had arrived at the nearest point to the Three Linked Realm……

Wu Tie and the others had just flashed this thought when the surrounding multicolored spatial energy suddenly collapsed.

The spatial transmission, which would have ended in the final moment, was forcibly terminated; the companions' surrounding spatial energy could not fully calm, the array relinquished its control over spatial energy, and immense spatial pressure crashed down like dozens of mountains.

Had they been ordinary people, this blow would have reduced them to ashes.

Wu Tie and the others only felt their bodies grow heavy; Old Iron angrily shouted, "Someone's scheming—be careful!"

The Reincarnation Tower emitted a somber black light, forming a semi-transparent black pyramid that firmly shielded everyone.

The Reincarnation Tower had other wondrous uses; it was not merely a defensive artifact. After all, it was Osiris's second life-bound divine instrument, possessing the power to let the dead be reborn and to create life forms miraculously.

Between life and death lie great terror and great fortune.

Such terror, such fortune, is power, is might.

The surrounding spatial turbulence could not shake the Reincarnation Tower; the somber black light remained unmoving.

Wu Tie's gaze was like a blade as he looked toward the several dwarves standing beside the teleportation array, clad in black mail armor that emitted hazy light from its surface, blocking the leaking spatial energy.

Those dwarves' faces twisted into a grotesque mass, hideous and terrifying, like several evil spirits standing there.

Before Wu Tie could act, the Witch Girl let out a soft rebuke; the Moon Trace turned into a wisp of somber moonlight that swept out, a "pfft" sound slicing the dwarves' necks, instantly sending several twisted heads flying skyward as blood spurted far away with the surging spatial force.

"Witch Girl, don't kill without explaining clearly!"

Wu Tie gently patted the Witch Girl's cheek, then he seized the White Tiger Split and hurled it forward with force.

The White Tiger Split suddenly enlarged, becoming a thick rod as wide as a water tank and over a hundred meters long.

With a booming "Boom," the White Tiger Split smashed into the rock face before Wu Tie.

A dozen cave entrances were shattered by a single strike of the White Tiger Split, and the several hundred Black Horn lackeys inside were instantly reduced to ashes.

"An ambush… the Dark Guild truly can't be trusted!" Old Iron bellowed, veins bulging: "Brothers, get them!"

Mountain Shield reacted, letting out a low roar as he crouched and slammed both hands into the ground.

The earth shuddered violently; flaming magma steles rose from all directions, forming a thick barrier that enclosed everyone.

Tens of thousands of Black Horn minions from all sides screamed in unison.

Countless arrows and volleys of shot rained down like a storm.