Chapter 298

Great Jin Divine State, Demon-Subduing Hall.

The black-clothed middle-aged man sat behind Chang'an, processing piles of documents like a small mountain.

Suddenly his brows furrowed; he threw down the slender purple jade cinnabar brush in his hand and sprang to his feet.

"A sudden urge, a feeling of unease—could something have gone wrong somewhere?"

His left hand hidden in his sleeve, the middle-aged man's five fingers moved quickly.

Light flashed in his eyes as he rapidly calculated the major and minor affairs of the Demon-Subduing Hall these days, considering every possible place where problems might arise.

Everything was in order, without omission.

The middle-aged man's face grew grim.

My sudden hunch must mean something is wrong somewhere, but since I can't pinpoint the problem, the issue is serious.

After a moment's thought, the man swept his sleeve and walked into the rear hall of the Demon-Subduing Hall.

The inner second hall was empty, containing only an offering table in the center; on it stood an incense burner with three sticks of pure incense sending up green smoke. Beside the small tripod incense burner lay a thick volume of golden-page scripture, supporting a Dharma sword, a small bronze round mirror, a small bronze box, and six black-and-white command arrows.

The middle-aged man approached the offering table, bowed three times with solemn respect, then opened the bronze box.

Inside the box was a mottled tortoise shell and six blackened copper coins with indistinct markings. He placed the coins into the shell, solemnly shook it several times, then the coins shot out of the shell, emitting spiritual light as they hovered before him.

"Underground... Ah Xiu has met with trouble?"

The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows: "The demon underground isn't strong; with Ah Xiu's cultivation and thirty-six heavenly soldiers, how could something happen?"

The middle-aged man's face darkened; he set down the tortoise shell and six copper coins, clasped his hands behind his back, walked three circles around the offering table, then suddenly lifted his head: "Ah Quan, Ah Shan, you two come in."

Two tall youths in black robes and high caps entered the hall swiftly, bowing solemnly to the middle-aged man.

"Ah Xiu has met with trouble; his body and spirit have separated, likely his divine fetus was seized by a soul-hooking technique, his spirit imprisoned. You two, bring more men, go rescue him." The middle-aged man gave the order calmly.

One of the tall youths' expression changed slightly; he whispered, "Hall Master, our cultivation has already half-stepped out of the Fetal Storage Realm; if we step into the underground, we'll likely be detected immediately."

"Take the secret passage of my Demon-Subduing Hall." The middle-aged man waved his hand, solemnly saying: "Someone will meet you there; the Xi Clan will not notice you. Remember this: Ah Xiu must be rescued, and we must also find out exactly what happened to him."

The two tall youths clasped their fists, bowed deeply to the middle-aged man, then turned and walked out of the hall.

The middle-aged man watched the youths' backs, fell silent for a moment, then suddenly clapped his hands.

"Go to the Spirit Treasure Hall, in my name, requisition four great-power spirit treasures to carry." The middle-aged man said calmly: "Remember, remember, be sure to have two soul-protecting treasures. Ah Xiu, learn from the past—do not let down your guard."

"Yes." The two men did not turn back, merely paused their steps, solemnly acknowledged, then their bodies seemed to melt away in a clear breeze and vanished.

The middle-aged man nodded slowly.

He turned, looked at the offering table, and softly said: "Yin Yin, I have a vague sense of unease. Hmm, I must guard against it, I must guard against it."

"How many years has it been since such a thing happened? Two members of the Ice Spirit Clan have been ambushed, humph."

After taking a deep breath, the middle-aged man pinched three sticks of pure incense from the corner of the offering table, lit their tips, inserted them into the burner, bowed three times solemnly before the table, then took out the tortoise shell and six copper coins again.

"Clang, clang, clang"—he shook the tortoise shell vigorously; the six copper coins flew out, spinning wildly before him. He watched the coins' trajectories, his fingers moving rapidly.

After a long while, he finally said in a low voice: "Bu Ming, follow Ah Shan and Ah Quan to ensure their safety. If possible, rescue Ah Xiu; if he has already been killed, help him take revenge."

In the burner, the six sticks of pure incense blazed up rapidly.

Vast blue smoke shot upward, forming a misty cloud that enveloped the offering table. From the smoke came a low roar; a towering figure over ten zhang tall, clad in heavy armor, with a helmet bearing two spear-like horns, emerged silently from the mist.

"Hmph!" The tall figure let out a low growl, hands on hips, looking down on the middle-aged man from above, his eyes flashing with fierce Blood Light.

"Go, go, Bu Ming, act as you wish this time—I will not obstruct any of your actions." The middle-aged man chuckled at the towering figure, saying softly: "Feel free to enjoy the blood feast, but remember: do not wreak havoc on the territory of the Great Jin Divine State."

"Act as you wish?" The towering figure, Bu Ming, muttered vaguely.

"Act as you wish!" The middle-aged man laughed brightly: "Right, remember this person's aura—he is the one who killed Hei Luo."

A fingertip flicked, an extremely fine wisp of subtle qi rose and was swallowed whole by Bu Ming.

Wu Tie slew Hei Luo; the Demon-Subduing Hall Master, being able to place the Demon-Subduing Soul Seal on Wu Tie, could naturally capture a wisp of Wu Tie's aura for Bu Ming to track.

Bu Ming inhaled deeply, then a gust of wind rose from the ground, his massive form vanishing without trace.

In the high sky a thunderclap roared past; the tiles on the Demon-Subduing Hall trembled violently, emitting a loud "hualala" sound. A sudden downpour poured down, thumb-sized raindrops striking the tiles with a dense patter.

Wind drove the rain, lashing the earth.

Inside the Demon-Subduing Hall, a low voice suddenly sounded: "This is my next task for the Demon-Suppressing Hall—your Demon-Subduing Hall's reach is too long."

The middle-aged man laughed: "Quick hands gain, slow hands lose—brothers, why quibble over such things?"

The low voice murmured: "That's true, but Ah Xiu, whom you sent out, now faces death—how will you explain it to his father? Though a collateral branch, he is still our brother."

The middle-aged man sighed lightly, hands behind his back, fingers gently rubbing each other.

"The wind and rain are coming." Obviously unwilling to discuss Ah Xiu further: "I feel a great storm is imminent."

"Where is any storm?" The low voice sneered: "Thinking that knowing a few divination tricks lets you peek at heavenly secrets and grasp the mysteries of the cosmos? Strength—absolute strength decides everything."

After a few cold laughs, the low voice muttered: "My Demon-Suppressing Hall has also mobilized; let's see who earns merit this time."

The middle-aged man nodded, his body flickering to the outer gate of the Demon-Subduing Hall, where he stood on the high stone steps, gazing at the square before the hall shrouded in wind and rain.

Across the vast square, at the gate of the Demon-Suppressing Hall opposite, a similarly robed and capped middle-aged man appeared out of thin air.

The two stood with hands behind their backs, watching the rising steam on the square, both falling into silence.

In the passageway, Wu Tie and Lao Tie hurried through.

From time to time, Sima Xiu's screams would burst from within Wu Tie's body: "Let me out! Damn it, you dare to lay hands on me?"

Whenever that happened, Wu Tie would halt his evasion, unfurl the Soul-Scattering Banner, and activate the Northern Dipper Soul-Slaying Sword to hack wildly inside the banner.

Sima Xiu is a Fetal Storage Realm expert; his spirit lake has transformed into a divine fetus, a blood‑rich figure surrounded by water, fire, wind, and thunder phenomena, looking mighty like a deity.

Judging by the firmness of the divine fetus alone, Sima Xiu far surpasses You Cang and You Jieya.

After being toyed with by Wu Tie for days, his divine fetus suffered massive vital‑energy damage, yet Sima Xiu still managed to shout loudly with spirit.

Seven sword lights crisscrossed and struck Sima Xiu's divine fetus; he let out a mournful cry, the blood‑red figure instantly scattering into light.

Sima Xiu curled into a ball, shouting at Wu Tie: "You dare destroy my body, harm my divine fetus, ruin my Dao foundation—Great Jin Divine State and I will not die until you do! Do you know I am of the Demon-Subduing Hall?"

Wu Tie rubbed the long banner with both hands.

Divine light flickered within the long banner, great strands of divine light rolled and wrapped around Sima Xiu.

Soul‑seizing divine light and soul‑scattering divine light swept in; Sima Xiu's soul rose, tumbling up great clouds of blood‑colored mist, he cried out in pain, unable to utter any further threats.

"Keeping you alive is to wait for your companions to come rescue you; don't think I'm afraid of your Great Jin Divine State." Wu Tie looked at Sima Xiu inside the banner and chuckled, saying softly, "I'm curious—how many people will the Demon‑Subduing Hall send to save you?"

Sima Xiu remained silent, merely glaring fiercely at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie burst into loud laughter, then summoned a thousand‑zhang‑long vertical golden light that shot forward along the passage at great speed.

Lao Tie followed closely behind Wu Tie as a great whirlwind kicked up black sand, howling as it swept the entire passage.

While flying, Wu Tie took out the bodily fragments left by the self‑shattered giant god soldiers, his ten fingers trembling rapidly, shattering those metal pieces bit by bit.

According to Lao Tie, the material used for these giant god soldiers is far superior to the raw material of Lao Tie's own body back then; it is a top‑grade divine metal infused with primordial chaos aura, and its properties in every respect are terrifying.

Piece by piece, the giant god soldier fragments shattered, and strands of magnificent light continually poured into Wu Tie's entire body.

Wu Tie's bones radiated high heat as a vast strange energy flowed through them, repeatedly cleansing his skeleton; his bones constantly emitted faint "squeak" sounds, signifying continual compression and growing strength.

Scorching currents swept over his body; the terrifying heat repeatedly threatened to shatter the evil power of the Demon‑Subduing Soul Seal directly, and Wu Tie, time after time, forcibly restrained it, barely suppressing the heat's rampage and barely allowing the seal's power to remain entangled within him.

This is the beacon he uses to lure pursuers from the Great Jin Divine State's Demon‑Subduing Hall; he cannot let it simply be dispelled.

All the while flying, Wu Tie continually absorbed the essence from the giant god soldier fragments; in just a few days his physical strength grew considerably stronger.

Moreover, as his bones strengthened, his life pool seemed to become more stable and vast, with several billion threads of light spiraling and dancing within it, constantly entwining heavenly‑earthly primal energy as it shuttled through Wu Tie's soul.

Wu Tie's soul grows stronger every second; the brighter the light, the more faintly various patterns appear within it.

In the immense life pool, zhang‑deep mana crystals had accumulated; beneath the crystal‑clear, water‑like mana crystals, a phantom resembling a bright moon—the Creation Jade Butterfly—flickered in and out, shedding a soft glow that illuminated the entire pool.

These giant god soldier fragments are practically top‑tier catalysts, boosting Wu Tie's cultivation efficiency several‑fold in just a few days.

Yet these fragments are extraordinarily resistant to consumption; after spending days, Wu Tie had managed to digest only six of the giant god soldier pieces.

All the way, no one spoke, and the forces of the Great Jin Divine State never appeared.

Wu Tie and Lao Tie's escape light was astonishing; that day they finally arrived at the region marked as the edge of Wu Domain on the map given by Zhu Rong Bao Yan.

Bursting out of a narrow passage, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

A mighty river surged from left to right, its banks lined with cliffs tens of thousands of feet high, covered in faintly writhing, snake‑shaped carnivorous vines.

These terrifying vines range from a dozen zhang to over a thousand zhang in length, as thin as an arm or as thick as a water jar; their black surfaces bristle with blood‑red spikes, clearly not something to provoke lightly.

Countless fireflies wove nests within those carnivorous vines; these tiny silk‑pouch‑like nests glittered in the darkness, illuminating the steep cliffs.

By the light of those fireflies, one can see the opposite bank of the river, dozens of miles wide, where a black‑arched cave a thousand zhang high gapes in the cliff.

A crude stone watchtower stood squarely in the center of the cave mouth; its hundred‑zhang‑high shaft bore several stone beams jutting out, each topped with a massive stone vat filled with grease, a arm‑thick wick blazing fiercely and emitting a blinding light that lit the surroundings.

A burly man stood atop the watchtower, holding a huge wine jug in his left hand and a roasted beast leg in his right; his eyes glowed faintly gold as he ate and drank while continually scanning the surroundings.

As Wu Tie and Lao Tie had just burst from the passage, that burly man had already fixed his gaze on them.

"Hey, a live person… stranger, I don't know you—let's rough you up a bit."

The man's face was flushed, obviously a little drunk; he waved the beast leg and roared in a deep, muffled voice.

Below the watchtower, inside a stone hut, a man wearing only a loincloth of animal hide came out, glanced at the far‑bank object and Lao Tie, furrowed his brow, and muttered, "Hmm, one so delicate‑skinned shouldn't be of our kind…"

The next second, the man drew a stone axe.

With a "whoosh," the stone axe shot through the air, whistling past three inches above Wu Tie's head before slamming heavily into the stone wall behind him.

"Kid, what are you doing? State your identity and purpose, or the next axe will split your skull."