Chapter 10 Using a borrowed knife to kill

The old ancestor was determined to die.

Fang Zhuo, reminded by Duan Jiuyou, hurriedly told her to wait a moment and then went to the kitchen.

There was a hidden door. Fang Zhuo knocked twice with his fingers, and two short, rough-looking "kitchen helpers" quickly crawled out.

Their faces were pale, their eyes were red and their cheeks were swollen; it was impossible to tell whether they were human or beast.

These two should be Fang Zhuo's eldest and second eldest brothers. When Fang Zhuo first entered the tenth realm, he was physically weak and was taken in by these two. They treated Fang Zhuo's illness and injuries, but in doing so, they were subtly taught by Fang Zhuo the secret method of nourishing oneself with food.

The two brothers, who were originally honest and law-abiding, began to eat people and capture people for Fang Zhuo to eat. Over time, they accumulated too much miasma in their bodies, which they could not dissipate, and thus they became this inhuman and ghostly appearance.

Fang Zhuo would sometimes "dress" them up and sew them back to their original human form, but lately he was at a loss. These two had eaten too much, and all the miasma had accumulated in their skin, making it difficult to sew them back to human form.

Fang Zhuo pointed to the stove pit, and the two brothers squatted down to burn firewood, their eyes constantly glancing out of the yard. Although they didn't look like humans, they still had human thoughts.

One of them lowered his voice and asked Fang Zhuo, "Did you find out who this person outside is?"

The people Fang Zhuo brought back were either eaten or stewed. The two brothers asked about their origins in advance so they could control the heat. If someone was hard to eat, they would turn up the fire and stew them until they were cooked through. If someone had tender skin and meat, they could simply tear them apart and serve them.

Fang Zhuo glanced outside the courtyard and said thoughtfully, "They say she's from the turtle clan, and the Dharma images of her disciples that day did indeed resemble those kinds of creatures. However, this girl doesn't have any evil aura; she doesn't seem like someone who should have entered the tenth realm at all."

“You don’t look like it either.” “Brother Fang” said without emotion, “These days, the worse the people are, the more they have the faces of good people. Besides, this Ten Realms is blocked by a Heavenly Sea Stone Gate. People inside can’t get out, and people outside can’t get in. If they hadn’t committed any crimes, would they have fallen here?”

"Big Brother" didn't know that while it was true that one couldn't freely enter or leave the Ten Realms, the impregnable Heavenly Sea Stone Gate had an unstoppable "natural enemy"—the Earth Breath Mountain Ao Clan. Their back armor was incredibly tough, and once they transformed into their Dharma forms, they could even support the heavens and earth. How could such a powerful and resilient race be blocked by a mere stone gate?

Duan Jiuyou's trip to the Tenth Realm was effortless. Thirty disciples lifted a corner of the stone gate, and after they all entered, it remained intact.

"Can you swallow it?"

The second brother and the eldest brother had different concerns. On the day the Turtle Clan and the Emperor Jiang made their move, he happened to be hunting in Xianwei Mountain and witnessed Duan Jiuyou fighting against the Formless Formation with his own body.

"Second Brother" said, "Even the Emperor Jiang couldn't beat her."

"Who told you I was going to devour her?" Fang Zhuo moved a stool with his foot and sat down, gesturing for them to keep their hands busy tending the fire.

Fang Zhuo said, "If even the imperial capital can't do anything about it, why should I bother with it? Besides, the turtle clan's shell is extremely tough; even if the fire is blazing, it won't be easy to chew."

The second brother asked, puzzled, "If you didn't come here to eat her, why did you invite her to your house?"

"If I can't eat her, isn't there still the Imperial Frontier?" Fang Zhuo said with a deep look in his eyes. "Countless people from the Imperial Frontier have killed me to make food. If I don't get rid of them, will I have to find food for myself?"

After Fang Zhuo entered the Tenth Realm, he developed the Supplementing Clan based on the two Fang brothers. They acted discreetly and cautiously. Once they were full in one place, they would move to another place to change their appearance. He knew that this method of consumption could not be exposed to the light, so he proceeded step by step, hiding in the shadows. Just when he was about to become a large and powerful clan, the Imperial Frontier arrived.

This sickly-looking leader of the Wilderness Clan never intentionally killed any predators, but he always waited until the ordinary hunters had dispersed before casting his formation. You might say he was lazy and indifferent to human life, yet he killed only Fang Zhuo's men; you might say he was "charitable," yet he never directly engaged in battle with Fang Zhuo's side.

"So the third brother wanted to use that girl to kill Di Jiang."

"Second Brother" still uses the same way he addressed Fang Zhuo when he was a person.

"Not only should we kill them, we can also eat them." Fang Zhuo's face showed longing, his eyes, which were hidden in the shadows, were as black as ink. "The strongest ruler of the Three Realms, even if he only has 30% of his divine power left, is still an ultimate delicacy."

The two unattractive "cooks helpers" cooked three dishes for Duan Jiuyou, and judging from Fang Zhuo's observation, they were probably not very tasty.

Fang Zhuo eats people and rarely eats real food. When he stuffs food into his mouth, it's no different from chewing grass or eating dirt. He lost his sense of taste a long time ago, so even the most strongly flavored dishes taste like plain water to him.

Seeing that he had eaten a mouthful of chili peppers without changing his expression, Duan Jiuyou picked up a piece of chili pepper with his chopsticks. After taking a bite, he finished the whole pot of water in front of him.

"You have no sense of taste?" Duan Jiuyou asked, a look of doubt in his eyes.

Fang Zhuo was prepared for this. He put down his chopsticks and explained, "My true form is the Yuanshan Snake. Food, whether good or bad, is just food to fill my stomach. Is the dish not to your liking? Should I reheat it and adjust the saltiness?"

"No need for that," Duan Jiuyou waved his hand.

The Yuanshan snake indeed has no sense of taste. One of her old friends was from the Yuanshan clan. When she was young, she traveled with him through the mortal world. At the dinner table, her old friend, like Fang Zhuo, chewed without any expression.

If you ask your old friend to cook, it's even worse. He can't tell the saltiness of the food, and he doesn't know how much seasoning to add. You often end up eating by yourself while everyone around you frowns helplessly.

Duan Jiuyou, recalling his old friend, unconsciously transferred this goodwill to Fang Zhuo. Then he heard Fang Zhuo say, "Does the young lady have some grudge against the Lord of the Great Wilderness? I've seen the two of you fighting, and it seems impossible to determine a winner."

Duan Jiuyou felt a little melancholy when this matter was mentioned. He said to Fang Zhuo with a mix of truth and falsehood, "The dog clan he mentioned to me, I killed his people, so naturally he doesn't like me. I want him to obey, but he refuses. I can't hurt him. Why is he so stubborn?"

Fang Zhuo only half understood what Duan Jiuyou was saying. She spoke unclearly, and Fang Zhuo didn't want to ask too many questions, since he had far more secrets than Duan Jiuyou.

So, following Jiuyou's words, he said, "Dijiang's true form is a Hou, protected by divine energy, making him indeed difficult to kill."

The two were talking about completely different things. Duan Jiuyou's "cannot be hurt" meant that she couldn't let Di Jiang die, while Fang Zhuo meant that she wanted Di Jiang dead.

"As for disobedience..." Fang Zhu pondered, "Does the young lady intend for him to be at her sole command?"

"I guess so, but you know him, he's stubborn and has a ton of bad habits. You know what? He eats candy, and he always has a pocketful of little candies under his soft pillow. I even felt them when I slept with him last time."

Did you even sleep with him?

Fang Zhuo looked at Duan Jiuyou in surprise. His thoughts, which had been clear, became confused again. He wondered if it was still his old flame.

If he were to use her to kill Di Jiang, wouldn't there be some unexpected events? What if she turned against him halfway through? Wouldn't he be losing more than he gained?

"He bullied me!" Duan Jiuyou suddenly shouted in a high-pitched voice.

Fang Zhuo served Duan Jiuyou Qionghua wine with her meal. Duan Jiuyou drank it like sweet soup. She rarely drank alcohol, and after a few cups, she felt lightheaded.

"He also orders me around. I try to win him over, but he treats me coldly. I love him but he doesn't love me back. It's all in vain. I'm just suffering for nothing!"

Duan Jiuyou's unrequited love is her son's "son." She is confused and misuses idioms, causing Fang Zhuo to directly imagine her relationship with Di Jiang as a drama of a heartless man and a devoted woman.

Now, the lovestruck woman is determined to kill the unfaithful man, especially with such clenched teeth, as if she wants to devour him alive.

Seeing that the opportunity was good, Fang Zhuo asked, "Does the young lady know about the Slave Heart Stone?"

Duan Jiuyou paused and said, "That legendary obedience stone, forged from the hearts of ten thousand people?"

Duan Jiuyou is a "living fossil" in the Heavenly Realm. Except for not being able to predict the future like Little Yellow Lord, he can tell most of the secrets and legends off the cuff.

This thing was an evil artifact created by Cang Duo, the high priest of the Yuanshan tribe. At the time, he was very prestigious within the tribe, but his greed was insatiable. He wanted everyone to serve him, and to satisfy his desire for control, he didn't hesitate to use the hearts of 30,000 believers in the tribe to forge the Slave Heart Stone. Duan Jiuyou's old friend from the Yuanshan tribe deeply abhorred this. Whenever someone around him mentioned this matter, he would spit twice and curse Cang Duo for his disregard for human life and for smearing the Yuanshan tribe.

Duan Jiuyou hiccuped as he composed himself and asked, "Are you a descendant of that high priest from Yuanshan?"

Fang Zhuo just mentioned that his true form is the Yuanshan Serpent. The Yuanshan High Priest was banished to the Tenth Realm 300,000 years ago. Based on the timeline, he is very likely from the generation of Fang Zhuo's grandfather.

Fang Zhuo's expression changed drastically, and she nervously buried her head in her food. Duan Jiuyou, seeing this, understood what was going on. Fang Zhuo, fearing she might misunderstand, hurriedly explained, "I only thought of this thing because I saw the frequent misfortunes of the beast hunters. The Imperial Territory rules the mountains, and since the Ten Realms, they've disregarded the lives of others. One of my uncles died tragically under the Imperial Territory's Formless Formation. He had an elderly mother, a wife, and children... I... I..."

Fang Zhuo gripped the chopsticks in her hand tightly.

"The Slave Heart Stone is in your hands." This time, Duan Jiuyou didn't use a question.

“…Yes.” Fang Zhuo nodded heavily, took out a stone from his pocket, and handed it to Duan Jiuyou.

He was indeed a member of the Yuanshan clan, but not a descendant of Cangduo. He obtained the Nuxin Stone only after he swallowed Cangduo.

However, this thing was not easy to control. Fang Zhuo was not the original owner, and the Slave Heart Stone did not obey his commands at all. Fang Zhuo racked his brains to figure out how to use it, and finally found a clumsy and laborious method.

Fang Zhuo said, "As long as you put the stone close to the other person's chest, it will penetrate their heart. At that time, the slave's heart will enter the body, and they will be controlled by you. No matter what you ask them to do, they will obey without question."

Duan Jiuyou held the Slave Heart Stone up to the moon and examined it, discovering that it beat like a heart. He then asked, "Since you have the Slave Heart Stone, why don't you deal with the Imperial Frontier yourself?"

Fang Zhuo spoke frankly: "I have no opportunity to get close to him, and I know I don't have the ability. You are a girl with amazing strength, so I think you can accomplish this."

"So you invited me here today just to use me to kill Di Jiang?"

Fang Zhuo looked embarrassed, and Duan Jiuyou continued, "How can you trust me so much?"

“You saved my life and the lives of all the hunters in the mountains, so of course I trust you.” Fang Zhuo said sincerely, putting down his chopsticks and kneeling beside Duan Jiuyou. He said, “Although the Nuxin Stone is an evil object, it will not take people’s lives. I only ask you to control Dijiang and prevent him from harming the people in the mountains again, so that Nianwei Mountain can remain a pure land.”

Duan Jiuyou looked at Fang Zhuo, who was lying prostrate at her feet, but didn't tell him to get up or help him up. She was still drunk and her mind wasn't very clear. She didn't think that controlling an imperial territory would make Xianwei Mountain a paradise. Hunters often fought for prey, and there were often deaths and injuries.

But when it comes to obedience, she does need Di Jiang's obedience now. If he is willing to do whatever she wants, then many things will become much simpler.

Duan Jiuyou stretched out her legs like a gluttonous old man who had just eaten his fill, clasped her hands in front of her abdomen, and clutched the Slave Heart Stone. The moon was obscured by clouds, leaving only the light of a gauze lamp on the dining table. Fang Zhuo couldn't figure out what Duan Jiuyou was thinking. She only saw that half of her face was covered in shadow, as if she was discussing something or struggling with some problem.

Fang Zhuo dared not urge them, and waited quietly without making a sound. He had added something to the pot of Qionghua wine, not much, just enough to increase the concentration of the wine and make it better arouse people's emotions.

Duan Jiuyou was only slightly tipsy before, but now she was becoming increasingly dazed. She blinked, unable to pinpoint what was wrong, but she felt that the idea of ​​controlling the imperial territory with the Slave Heart Stone was unusually active in her mind.

If Di Jiang listened to her in everything, then ten thousand good things would be carried out very easily. Duan Jiuyou moved his fingers, as if he had a puppet on a string in his hand. Its name was Di Jiang. She told him to go east, and he dared not go west. She told him to go north, and he dared not go south.

She was in a good mood and slowly shifted her gaze to Fang Zhuo, her eyes firm and bright.

"Then I'll borrow this stone from you and return it to you later."