Chapter 824

Pain!

When the Three Powers Ruler struck down, a point of innate spiritual light inside Bai Su Xin suddenly cried out in pain.

Wu Tie was greatly anxious.

Bai Su Xin is tied to Pei Feng's whereabouts; he cannot die.

Forcibly pressing down the restless black sword in his hand, Wu Tie's mana surged wildly into the Primordial Crown. Threads of spiritual light enveloped the surrounding area within a radius of a thousand zhang; within this range, time was forced to flow backward.

Bai Su Xin's cultivation is astonishing; he has faintly reached the pinnacle of the Divine Realm, even catching a glimpse of the great realm above it.

Trying to reverse the time related to Bai Su Xin, Wu Tie felt extremely strained; with his current cultivation, his mana was consumed as swiftly as an avalanche, and in a moment his entire mana burned out.

Bai Su Xin's body, whose skull had burst, recovered fully; his shattered soul also restored, and even the arm severed by the black sword had healed as before. However, the black sword's killing intent was too fierce; Bai Su Xin's right arm regenerated, yet a dreadful sword intent still clung to it, continually tearing tiny wounds across his body.

Bai Su Xin has never suffered such hardship in his life.

Especially, he almost was killed by a single strike of the Three Powers Ruler.

Bai Su Xin's Dao heart nearly collapsed; he looked at Wu Tie in panic, his whole body trembling like chaff in a sieve.

Wu Tie could not finally control the black sword in his hand; the four ancient seal characters 'Slaughter and Seal' on the black sword lit up, a black sword aura swept across the void, shattering tens of thousands of White Lotus Sect disciples' swords, and invisible essences were swallowed by the black sword.

Each of these White Lotus Sect disciples came from distinguished families; even their worst swords were heavenly divine weapons nurtured by their ancestors for thousands of years.

By swallowing them, the black sword ingested tens of thousands of formed Dao patterns.

These swords were forged from various supreme materials; after being nurtured for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, their quality underwent tremendous change, each sword becoming a divine weapon that ordinary people dream of.

Now the black sword was finally satisfied; it obediently lay in Wu Tie's hand, its body lightly trembling, like a well-fed cat lazily swaying its tail.

Wu Tie's head bore a flying long-handled sickle; the Dark Soul God Clan's supreme artifact lightly waved, and tens of thousands of White Lotus Sect disciples cried out in anguish. They had already been gravely wounded by the black sword, their bodies nearly shattered, and their souls suffered great harm.

Facing the Dark Soul God Clan's supreme artifact specialized in harvesting souls, they had no power to resist; a light hook of the long-handled sickle pulled out their souls together with their vital essences, which flew out of their bodies, wailing toward Wu Tie.

Tens of thousands of White Lotus Sect disciples, before everyone's eyes, suddenly turned into drifting ash.

Only in midair did strands of souls, condensed like living beings and wrapped with a speck of innate spiritual light, stream toward Wu Tie like a flood.

Above Wu Tie's head, similarly one of the Dark Soul God Clan's supreme artifacts, the skull crown, slowly appeared. The ferocious skull on the crown opened its mouth and drew in a deep breath, swallowing the souls of tens of thousands of White Lotus Sect disciples, which wailed as they were imprisoned within the crown.

Wu Tie gave a cold snort; with a thought, strands of black flame spewed from the skull crown, causing tens of thousands of White Lotus Sect disciples to scream in pain.

"Demons, heretics!" Behind Feng Rong, a force of less than ten thousand imperial troops had already laid out the Sparkfire Grand Formation; they each sprayed their lifeblood essence, causing the sparkfire in Feng Rong's hand to swell to nearly a hundred zhang in size.

Crimson light shone across the void, but at a distance of several hundred zhang from Wu Tie, it was blocked by the murky black qi emanating from the skull crown, unable to approach him in the slightest.

"Well, yeah, you can say I am indeed a demon… tsk, I can't explain it, and I'm too lazy to." Wu Tie looked up at the long-handled sickle and skull crown above his head, shook his head, unwilling to waste words.

Even Bai Su Xin's own White Lotus Sect forefather could be slandered as a heretical demon, let alone him.

Anyway, mouths grow on other people; they can say whatever they like, right?

Bai Su Xin let out a hoarse long whistle and hastily retreated.

His Dao heart had collapsed, but his instinct remained. Bai Su Xin is certainly no martyr who dares to face righteousness and die heroically; at his core, he is an extremely refined egoist.

Therefore, with the souls of tens of thousands of White Lotus Sect disciples imprisoned by Wu Tie, Bai Su Xin thought not of breaking the skull crown to rescue these close disciples, but of retreating, fleeing, first getting himself to a safe place before anything else.

But no matter how fast Bai Su Xin ran, he could not outrun Wu Tie.

At this moment, Wu Tie had spent over ten thousand years in the temporal boundary, having deduced the three thousand great Dao and the eighty-four thousand side paths to the tenth heaven of the Divine Realm.

Although Wu Tie is still an empty water barrel, his mana not yet filled to the level expected of a tenth-heaven Divine Realm cultivator, his supernatural abilities already surpass ordinary people.

The void suddenly folded; Wu Tie appeared beside Bai Su Xin out of thin air and grabbed his neck with one hand.

Bai Su Xin's surging mana flared; he was about to activate a secret technique to break free from Wu Tie's palm, but Wu Tie's hand suddenly became like an invisible black hole, and Bai Su Xin's mana poured out rapidly along Wu Tie's palm with a rushing sound.

Moreover, various senescent, withered, deathly, extinction-like negative qi swarmed in, and Bai Su Xin's body suddenly exhibited the state of the Five Declines of Heaven and Man.

His hair turned gray-white, his beard fell out, his skin became dry and shriveled, his body secreted oily sweat, grime spontaneously appeared on his skin, a faint stench came from his armpits. Bai Su Xin opened his mouth, and a foul odor blasted his face; his whole being seemed to turn into a pile of fermenting garbage, full of the loathsome aspects of utter decay.

This had nothing to do with his mana cultivation; it was entirely a suppression at the level of the Great Dao's law.

No matter how Bai Su Xin struggled or resisted, it was like a naive child telling lies before a wily old adult; every lie was exposed at the slightest poke.

In just a breath's time, Bai Su Xin's mana drained completely, leaving not a trace anywhere in his body.

His whole person became damp and clammy, smelly and steaming, aged and decrepit, completely transformed into another.

Originally, Bai Su Xin had over a hundred formidable White Lotus Sect secret treasures protecting him; activating any one would cause Wu Tie considerable trouble and could even give Bai Su Xin a chance to escape.

However, under Wu Tie's mighty righteous aura, not a single one of those hundred-odd White Lotus Sect secret treasures obeyed Bai Su Xin's commands.

Wu Tie's grip made Bai Su Xin's neck crack with a 'ka-ka' sound; he coldly shouted, "Where is Pei Feng?"

Bai Su Xin opened his mouth and looked toward Feng Rong.

No matter Bai Su Xin's usual myriad transformations and endless methods, he now had no recourse.

Tens of thousands of disciples were utterly annihilated, he himself had fallen into the enemy's hands, his secret arts and divine abilities were utterly useless, and he was completely suppressed by the enemy in every aspect…

Bai Su Xin wanted to cry.

But crying was not an option; with no time for tears, figuring out how to save himself was the most urgent matter.

"Release me, old man, and I guarantee her safe return…" Bai Su Xin drew a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Old man, I pledge by the title of White Lotus Sect Sect Elder that as long as the Martial King ensures my and my disciples' safety, Consort Pei Feng will surely be safe."

Wu Tie grasped the long-handled sickle; the extremely long sickle transformed into a few inches long, and Wu Tie held the tiny, black-smoke-wreathed sickle, viciously slicing through Bai Su Xin's body.

The Dark Soul God Clan's supreme artifact inflicts barely any harm on the flesh, but specializes in slaying souls.

Bai Su Xin felt his soul as if being sliced by a thousand cuts, an indescribable fierce pain surging; his already withered, rotting body instantly oozed countless foul-smelling sweat, and he shrieked hoarsely, "Martial King…"

Wu Tie coldly said, "Now you know I am the Martial King? Am I a heretical demon?"

Bai Su Xin gave a dry laugh: "The Martial King is a true man of integrity, a towering gentleman; how could he be a heretical demon?"

Wu Tie swayed the sickle in his hand: "These are the kind of artifacts only heretical demons possess?"

Bai Su Xin gave a dry laugh: "They must be divine weapons the Martial King seized after subduing demons."

After licking his lips, Bai Su Xin said gently: "Between heaven and earth, people may be good or evil, but tools have no good or evil… the demonic weapons of heretical evildoers, once in the hands of a benevolent ruler like the Martial King, become righteous weapons that rectify the world."

Wu Tie laughed: "Then, are you still negotiating terms with me? Hmm? Release you and your legion of disciples, and only then can Consort Pei Feng return safely?"

Bai Su Xin's eyes darted around rapidly.

He is now withered and gaunt to an extreme degree; a turn of his eyes makes it seem as if they might fall out of their sockets.

He gave a dry laugh, and Bai Su Xin said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty the Martial King, rest assured, Consort Pei Feng…… no, Empress Pei Feng will surely return safely; I guarantee it with my life…… but Empress Pei Feng has been temporarily placed by my nephew in Ink Bamboo Pond."

Wu Tie's bloodshot eyes turned toward Feng Rong.

Feng Rong had a huge flame fire hovering above his head; its warm, rich light illuminated his body, but his heart felt a chill.

He stared blankly at Bai Su Xin, who had been captured alive by Wu Tie, unable to believe what he saw and heard.

The White Lotus Sword Formation of Bai Su Xin, formed by tens of thousands of White Lotus Palace disciples, was actually broken through by Wu Tie alone.

Tens of thousands of White Lotus Palace disciples had their physical bodies shattered, and not a shred of their innate spiritual light was left free—Wu Tie seized it all.

And Bai Su Xin ended up as Wu Tie's captive.

The current sect leader of the mighty White Lotus Palace…… he, Feng Rong, is the greatest reliance in his bid for the God Emperor's throne.

Just like that…… seized by Wu Tie…… as if pinching a chick, held in his hand.

Seeing Wu Tie stare straight at him, Feng Rong blurted out: "Hey, barbarian…… is that barbarian woman still in my hands?"

With a "sish" sound, Wu Tie put down the small sickle, snatched up the black sword, and struck Bai Su Xin with it.

Bai Su Xin's thighs were severed at the base, and a earth‑shattering wail rang out; Bai Su Xin screamed hoarsely: "Feng Rong, you little bastard…… if I die here, uncle, you will never again have a chance at the throne…… just wait for Feng Shang's vicious little brat to settle the score with you later!"

Feng Rong shuddered violently, and only then did he come to his senses.

On his usually haughty face, a strange, obsequious, and servile smile suddenly appeared; his back, normally ramrod straight as if suffering from ankylosing spondylitis, inexplicably bent a little.

Feng Rong, unaccustomed to this, cupped his fists toward Wu Tie in a salute: "Martial King, everything can be discussed, everything can be discussed; as long as my uncle is safe, any matter can be negotiated…… I will now issue orders to respectfully escort Empress Pei Feng back safely."

He gave a dry laugh, and Feng Rong's face suddenly turned extremely ugly.

He said in a thin voice: "Just, this place is too far from the Flame Dynasty; sending a message might take one or two months…… as for sending Empress Pei Feng back…… back…… this……"

From the continent where the Flame Dynasty lies to this Three Kingdoms Continent, even a being of full cultivation as a King God—such as the mighty Brahma Dragon, Brahma Kun, White Deer, and White Crane—would need to fly at full speed for over three years, even if the journey were smooth and unobstructed.

Sending Pei Feng back sounds simple, but in fact……

Wu Tie said coldly: "How did you come here?"

Wu Tie recalled that huge bell shadow…… Qing Feng said, that is called the Heavenly Origin Divine Bell, the Flame Dynasty's national treasure!

Feng Rong caught the meaning in Wu Tie's words, and he hurriedly shook his head: "Impossible, absolutely impossible; I could never let my imperial father use the Heavenly Origin Divine Bell to bring her back…… I absolutely cannot let my imperial father know about this place……"

Feng Rong suddenly shut his mouth, his complexion growing ever uglier, like a mold‑covered zombie's face.

Feng Rong suddenly realized that no matter how he tried to conceal it, whatever happened here could not be hidden from anyone in the Flame Dynasty.

Bai Su Xin's disgrace, the defeat of the White Lotus Palace disciples, and the fact that Feng Rong had been driven to a desperate, corner‑rat situation…… Feng Rong suddenly felt like crying. In the history of the Flame Dynasty, when has there ever been such a shameful crown prince?

Even if he lost to the four great enemy nations bordering the Flame Dynasty, Feng Rong would accept it—just how strong is that state formed by the four great demons and monsters!

But to lose to Wu Tie…… this obscure barbarian king of a small state…… Feng Rong cannot afford to lose face like that.

"Impossible, Your Majesty the Martial King." Feng Rong said slowly to Wu Tie: "My imperial father would certainly never issue an edict to use the Heavenly Origin Divine Bell to send Pei Feng back…… that is absolutely impossible."

Wu Tie stared coldly at Feng Rong, the black sword in his hand aimed at Bai Su Xin's temple.

Bai Su Xin opened his mouth wide, his gaze dull and fixed on Feng Rong: "Feng Rong, my worthy nephew…… if I die here, you……"

Feng Rong's body trembled, cold sweat pouring out all over.

Suddenly, a tremendous roar like heaven and earth splitting rang out.

Across the territory of the original Great Jin Divine Kingdom, mountain ranges and rivers, countless streams and veins of earth and spirit, all trembled at once.

A mighty, irresistible force of heaven and earth gathered from all directions, and in an instant it formed above Wu Tie and the others a huge Map of the Realm and State spanning tens of thousands of li.

The immense pressure of heaven and earth howled down from the heights; with a great bang, the flame fire hovering above Feng Rong's head blazed brighter, forcibly blocking that tremendous heavenly pressure.

Feng Rong spat out a mouthful of old blood that flew far away; behind him, fewer than ten thousand imperial guards all vomited blood, their bones cracking continuously.

"Who is it?" Feng Rong shouted angrily.

"Xi Yao, you…… bastard!" Wu Tie lifted his head, gazing at the faint outline of Xi Yao's figure within the huge Map of the Realm and State.