Chapter 806

Ink Bamboo Dyke, in the lake.

In the southern reaches of the Blaze Dynasty lie vast marshes and lakes; among them, one called White Goose Lake is especially immense, its misty waves boundless, its billows magnificent—like a sea. The lake teems with dragons, snakes, and giant turtles, its aquatic products abundant, a veritable treasure land.

Ink Bamboo Dyke spans nearly a hundred li; its terrain is like a well, the floor of the dyke lies tens of zhang below the lake surface, and a circular embankment encircles it, thereby cutting off the lake water.

Inside Ink Bamboo Dyke, countless varieties of ink pearls are planted—each stalk tall and thin, only as thick as a thumb, the ink bamboo reaches nearly a hundred zhang in height; the treetops far surpass the surrounding circular dam, so from afar it looks like a bamboo forest growing on a small island, with no trace of human activity visible.

Dozens of exquisite lodgings are scattered amid the bamboo grove; the bamboo leaves, hard and crystalline like jade, sway in the wind, striking each other and issuing a clear, bell-like 'ding-ding' sound.

Occasionally, when the wind grows too strong, the ink bamboo leaves fall; heavy as they are, they slice through the air like flying knives, a faint tearing sound, and with a 'hiss-hiss' they embed themselves in the ground—four to five cun long, narrow leaves can sink half their length into soil as hard as refined iron.

Within Ink Bamboo Dyke, ordinary people can hardly survive; a careless brush with three or five bamboo leaves puts their lives in jeopardy.

Simply put, there are no ordinary people here.

Ink Bamboo Dyke is a secret traveling palace of Feng Rong; its maids and guards are all cultivators at the Human God and Earth God levels, while the few senior eunuchs overseeing affairs possess Heavenly God strength.

Thus one often sees groups of maids and guards walking the bamboo paths; great swaths of bamboo leaves fall like rain, piercing their bodies, emitting a crisp 'ding-ding' and spraying sparks.

At regular intervals, maids specially come to gather these fallen ink bamboo leaves, then refine them into flying daggers via secret arts, integrating them into Ink Bamboo Dyke's grand defensive formation.

In an exquisite bamboo pavilion, Pei Feng stood at the window, her face gloomy.

Two women, appearing to be over forty, quite beautiful yet harboring a sharp, spiteful air, one with a slap mark on her face, stood resentfully at a distance, chattering at Pei Feng with a 'jee-jee-chah-chah'.

"Miss, having arrived at Ink Bamboo Dyke, even if you come from a noble background, you ought to rein in your temper—no matter how exalted your status, can it compare to our master?"

"The maidens sent here are all those our master has taken a liking to. As long as you obey meekly, you'll enjoy riches and honor beyond your wildest dreams."

"So, listen to us grannies' advice and obediently change your clothes… What's the point of still wearing battle armor and war skirts here?"

"To speak bluntly, you've taken the White Lotus Tranquility Pill—a supreme Dao treasure used by the White Lotus Sect to punish wayward disciples, making them face the wall and reflect; even with heavenly abilities, after taking it you cannot exert the slightest power… So, dressed in that battle armor and war skirt, who are you showing off for?"

Pei Feng whirled around, black qi spurting from her palm, and she waved her slap at the two chattering grannies.

The two old women shuddered, exchanged a glance, then resentfully turned and left.

"Alas, those who don't heed the elders' words will suffer before long… When our master arrives, you'll have a fine time, you little vixen."

"Hmph, how many chaste and heroic women have come to our Ink Bamboo Dyke, only to end up obediently letting the master toy with them? Hey, let's see how many more days you can work miracles."

"Besides, those White Lotus Sect scholars are getting less reliable by the day—can even the White Lotus Tranquility Pill go wrong? This little vixen, how does she still have strength to strike? If not for that Thousand‑Li Cloud‑Smoke Lock binding her, she'd practically be able to fly to heaven!"

The two old women walked away muttering, utterly unconcerned that Pei Feng might seize the chance to flee.

Pei Feng drew a breath, furrowed her brow, and placed both hands on the window lattice.

Wisps of black smoke rose from within her, as if she could sense a trace of power, but a flash of white light crossed her brow, and the black aura around her vanished completely.

With the aid of the Minor Six‑Ren Secret Demon Body, Pei Feng could barely muster the strength of a Divine Lord; thus, just now those two old women chattering before her were struck senseless by a few of her slaps.

But that's all she could do—aside from striking people, she could hardly employ any divine abilities or secret arts; her entire mana seemed to have disappeared entirely.

Especially……

Pei Feng frowned, braced her hands on the window lattice intending to leap out, when suddenly a puff of smoke flashed, an extremely fine noose appeared around her neck, and a tremendous force yanked her back into the bamboo pavilion.

Moreover, a thread of lightning flickered on the noose, causing Pei Feng's whole body to flash with electricity; she collapsed to the ground, curled up, gritting her teeth and enduring it in silence.

The Thousand‑Li Cloud‑Smoke Lock—this secret treasure is formless and traceless, soundless and colorless; Pei Feng exerted all her strength yet could find no trace of its existence.

But whenever Pei Feng tries to leave this bamboo pavilion, the Thousand‑Li Cloud‑Smoke Lock immediately attacks her.

"Blaze Dynasty…" a shadow crossed Pei Feng's face; she slowly rose, hands behind her back, and began to pace within the bamboo pavilion.

She wasn't worried about her own safety, nor about anyone doing her harm.

She had inherited the Legacy of the Primeval Demonic Phoenix, a tremendous terror tasked with destroying heaven, earth, and the universe.

The Primeval Demonic Phoenix's apocalypse is not merely destruction; it is a sacrifice. It seeks to offer the entire world as an offering to the supreme 'Destruction' in its heart, thereby gaining boundless power.

By using world destruction as a means, undergoing rebirth from ruin, letting one's 'Dao' reach the ultimate perfection of great completion, thus transcending the mundane to enter sagehood, becoming an existence mightier than the legendary 'sage' and a more perfect form of life—this is the Primeval Demonic Phoenix's 'Dao'.

Such a Primeval Demonic Phoenix with lofty ambitions possesses several desperate measures; no matter Pei Feng's current cultivation, once unleashed they can drag those around her into mutual annihilation, even reducing a region of billions of li to utter void.

If the master those two old women spoke of dares to reach out his claws at Pei Feng, she would not mind dragging him, along with countless Blaze Dynasty subjects, down to death with her.

"Wu Tie." Pei Feng murmured the name of the person she worried about.

"No matter what, nothing must happen… If Wuguo truly insists, and if they cannot withstand it, then what if we give in to them?" Pei Feng slapped the square table before her to pieces, gritting her teeth as she muttered: "In any case, you must not come to harm; otherwise I will find a way to drag all the high officials of Blaze Dynasty… to bury you with me."

As Pei Feng was thinking of the nefarious matter, the two old women wiped powder over their faces, covering the slap marks, swayed their waists, and a few serving maids with peach‑blossom complexions, walking with alluring grace, entered.

"Oh dear, I say, young lady, why are you so fierce? Do you know how much this table made of million‑year‑old blood coral costs? It's a tribute, a tribute… How could you, how could you just smash it?"

The two old women looked at the shattered small square table with shock and anger.

Yet in their eyes lay deep dread—this million‑year‑old blood coral is harder than diamond; ordinary nine‑fold refined immortal weapons cannot break it, making it a top‑grade heaven‑earth treasure.

They asked themselves: their skulls lack the sturdiness of that blood coral; compared to the table, their brains are as fragile as tofu.

Had Pei Feng just struck their heads like that…

The two shivered violently, their faces turning eerily strange.

"Nevertheless, do as you please, be happy… Later, when our master arrives, if you keep this temper, you'll have bitterness to eat."

"Time to eat, time to eat… Look at the fine wines and dishes we have here—oh my, where could you see such things outside?"

"Look at this plate of goldfinch tongues—made entirely from the tongues of thousand‑year‑cultivated goldfinch demons… To produce this tiny plate, one must slay eight hundred thousand‑year‑old minor demons."

"And this plate of jade‑fat cream—it can only be gathered from the tiny amount of ovarian jade‑fat inside thousand‑year‑matured forest frogs, requiring the slaughter of hundreds of such cultivated frogs to yield a single plate."

Several maids brought up eight dishes and a soup; the two old women proudly enumerated the preciousness of these foods, making Pei Feng frown outright.

These eight dishes are each made from a part of the body of a great demon that has reached cultivation maturity, at least a thousand years old.

These eight dishes alone required the killing of at least four to five thousand cultivated thousand‑year‑old great demons!

Pei Feng didn't think these eight dishes were particularly precious; from them she sensed only overwhelming resentment and karmic evil.

The Primeval Demonic Phoenix is most sensitive to such negative energies, and Pei Feng even saw faint wisps of unsettled souls flickering over the dishes.

With such ghostly stuff, who still has an appetite?

"Utterly devoid of conscience. Inhumane." Pei Feng said to the two old women, giving that assessment of the dishes.

"Utterly devoid of conscience. Inhumane." Pei Feng looked at the two old women and gave that assessment of the dishes.

Two old women were stunned, then stomped their feet in fury, and began spitting saliva wildly at Pei Feng.

Ah ya ya ya, never seen such an ungrateful person.

These dishes, do you know how much they're worth? Do you? Out there, even a prefect wouldn't often get such a feast!

These dishes, if taken regularly, can beautify the complexion, nourish the body, and greatly enhance all bodily functions, even awakening some innate divine abilities!

How dare you speak of losing all conscience? You, you, you, miss, with such arrogance, you'll regret it later!

Black qi again seeped from Pei Feng's body; she coldly stared at the two old women who spoke nonstop, and snapped in a cold voice: 'Get lost… or die!'

With a bang, Pei Feng struck again, shattering the armchair carved from million-year-old blood coral into pieces.

The two old women and several flirtatious maids were startled, hastily setting down the eight dishes and one soup, and fled the bamboo pavilion in disarray.

Pei Feng looked at the dishes placed on the table beneath the zither stand and the pot of fine wine, shaking her head.

These eight dishes and one soup were simply inedible, and this pot of wine, said to greatly enhance magical cultivation, was also undrinkable.

This pot of wine is named 'Thousand Tiger Fierce'; it requires capturing a thousand live tiger demons with cultivation, using a secret art to stir their qi and blood, condensing their essence into a tiger's heart, then piercing the heart to infuse the wine with their most potent quintessence, blending it with dozens of rare herbs, then refining and cellaring it for a hundred years.

Only one vat of 'Thousand Tiger Fierce' can be produced from a thousand tiger demons, a vat weighing no more than a hundred catties, so this pot is exactly one catty.

Within this pot lies the condensed essence of ten thousand-year-old tiger demons… How could Pei Feng, with her temperament, possibly drink it?

Even if this pot could grant one thousands of years of cultivation out of thin air, Pei Feng still could not bring herself to drink it.

The two old ladies wanted to show Pei Feng the prosperous grandeur of Feng Rong, hoping to lure her with wealth and supreme enjoyment, but they had chosen the wrong target.

They also got Pei Feng's identity wrong.

Pei Feng is essentially a 'prisoner of war', completely different from the beauties Feng Rong had painstakingly gathered.

The embankment of Ink Bamboo, rising about ten zhang above the water surface, is entirely forged from ten-thousand-year seabed silver sand, extremely hard and possessing remarkable water‑repelling properties. Its circumference spans hundreds of li, its top width nearly a hundred zhang, and each day a thick mist floats over it, almost perfectly merging the embankment and the lake.

A squad of a hundred guards with human‑god level cultivation, wearing strange armor made of ink bamboo leaves, walks lightly atop the embankment.

They chuckle, discussing what dishes the kitchen could prepare tonight, how many kinds of fine wine and fruit could be served.

Guarding Ink Bamboo is truly one of the easiest, most pleasant posts in the world.

They are Feng Rong's trusted confidants; deep in White Goose Lake, in the heart of the Flame Dynasty, all surrounding lands are prosperous prefectural seats of the Flame Dynasty, with absolutely no danger. Guarding here comes with extremely generous treatment, yet they never need to lift a weapon in battle; their daily food, clothing, and necessities are the finest in the world.

From time to time, Feng Rong also dispatches a batch of charming young ladies for these trusted guards to enjoy.

Such a life is most nourishing, most nourishing indeed!

So nourishing that these human‑god level guards, along with several earth‑god and heaven‑god leaders among them, have grown plump and pale, their every movement resembling that of a well‑off, carefree gentleman, completely lacking their former sharpness and vigilance.

Several huge ripples surged from beneath the lake straight toward Ink Bamboo, but even as the ripples neared the embankment, the guards still noticed nothing.

Suddenly a tremendous roar erupted, and the surface of White Goose Lake was thrown into towering waves; several silvery‑white giant elephants, each bearing four massive tusks, burst from the lake bottom, rolling with water.

These giant elephants stand thousands of zhang tall; as soon as they break the surface, they open their huge mouths.

Black, green, red, and gray demonic qi spews from their mouths, and in the snap of a finger tens of thousands of terrifying, bizarre apparitions appear above Ink Bamboo.

A tall woman clad in a blood‑red long robe, wearing a blood‑red half‑armor, her face exquisite yet exuding myriad demonic evil airs, wields a blood‑red long halberd, points it fiercely at Ink Bamboo from mid‑air.

'Charge in, leave no chicken or dog behind… all jade tablets, documents, letters, etc., must not be omitted.'

'Swift battle, swift decision—we have at most half an incense stick's time!'

'Quick, charge in!'

Behind the tall woman, a blood‑colored phantom peacock lets out a heaven‑shaking cry; the blood‑colored peacock suddenly unfurls its tail, countless blood‑red eyes glittering on its feathers.

Blood‑red light blankets the sky, pouring down; a heaven‑god level guard captain lifts his head, gazing at the blood‑red divine light falling like a torrential rain, and cries hoarsely: 'Western Demon Kingdom, Lord of Blood Hell Mountain… Blood Hell Annihilation Divine Light!'

A beam of Blood Light pierces the heaven‑god captain's forehead; his body 'pops' and explodes into a mist of blood, not a trace of his soul escaping.