Chapter 217 The Devil's Burial Mountain
When the third morning came, the flame in Wen Yao's hand went out.
She moved her fingers very slowly, causing the charred skin to fall away and regenerate into fair skin. A miracle, like a dead tree reborn, spread from her fingertips to every part of her body. Within seconds, the scorched corpse disappeared, and from the ashes emerged a naked, white-haired woman, her skin as delicate as a newborn baby's.
She reached out, and the prepared Locust knelt beside her, handing her a black robe embroidered with red. The Blood Knights had sewed this cheongsam-like garment from the skins of exotic beasts as a gift for the Master's resurrection.
"Congratulations, Lord Wen Yao, for your improved strength." Huang Li said.
Wen Yao glanced at her and said, "So attentive, you're so anxious to sleep in my bed?"
Huang Li, a man who could read a person's expression, quickly dressed Wen Yao and combed her hair with the bone claws on his back. "If I can please Master Wen Yao, I would gladly do it, not only in the bed, but also in the wild woods, in the mud, in front of everyone. However, today's congratulations are mainly to congratulate you on your great improvement in cultivation. After this ordeal, the pure fire of the Knights of Discipline will no longer be able to harm you."
"You are quite intelligent and can see my intention." Wen Yao said with a half-smile, "But if you dare to neglect your business, I will skin you alive."
She reached the edge of the barrier and saw Fuhuo and Jiaodu circling it with bone hammers and bone whips. The bones from which these weapons were crafted were the "eggshells" from their early days as hungry knights, and most Blood Knights chose these as their first weapons after their ascension.
Within the barrier, there was no sign of the group, only layers of fortifications erected overnight and the timid settlement warriors who had stayed behind to scout. Unsurprisingly, Wen Yao could smell the presence of the "brave men" near the sacred pillar. They were clearly prepared for a desperate fight, waiting only for the barrier to be breached.
And the most important flaw...
Wen Yao calculated with his fingers and said with a smile: "It seems that you won't be able to wait for the second good master. You will get a new useless subordinate."
"We don't need this kind of trash, do we?" Huang Li said, "Why don't you eat her? After all, she's our mother's bloodline. It would be a waste to let her rot here."
The resistance of the Celestial Demon's core reached a critical point last night, then fell silent due to its dying state, but is now steadily rising again. That fool must have used some demonic trick to feign death and resisted for a while. Since he hasn't yet ascended, he likely destroyed the core on his own initiative. A Blood Knight without Xu Lie's heart is naturally useless. The Wanhua Immortal Clan has no need for such a waste.
"Let's talk about it after we've had enough fun." Wen Yao walked away, "Break the wall and massacre the city within half a day."
"yes!"
Locust Li obeyed the order and rushed out to join the siege of the barrier, her weapon wielding a purple spear. "Lord Wen Yao has ordered that this sacred pillar be destroyed within half a day. You better step up!"
The orange-haired Fu Huo swung his bone hammer and rolled his eyes: "Sister, is Master Wen Yao testing us?"
"Stop talking too much. The lady will naturally have her own arrangements!" Huangli scolded.
The one holding the bone whip gave a cunning and bitter smile: "But this sacred pillar's barrier is extremely strong. I'm afraid it will take a whole day and night of continuous fighting to break it, let alone half a day..."
Huang Li was at a loss for words. She knew her compatriots were right, but she was afraid of offending Wen Yao and being labeled incompetent. However, Wen Yao had already arrived. A single glance from her made the three Blood Knights halt their attacks, and she struck the Holy Pillar's barrier with her own palm.
A new bloody handprint appeared on the barrier, and Wen Yao's expression changed slightly. The strength of the tattered barrier had increased dramatically overnight, becoming almost the same as it was two days ago.
"The core of the Holy Pillar has been replaced... Who are you?!"
The banshee's cry pierced the barrier and reached the center of the settlement. A calm and peaceful voice echoed from afar, as if prepared.
"You seem to have forgotten that there is a Senluo sacred tree in this settlement."
At the core of the sacred pillar, a fresh green sprout swayed in the wind. This sprout, more than a man tall, had tiny hands woven from vines. Its lower body was a stone-like seed, a stone seed that had already sprouted.
Senluo Sacred Tree Sephiroth 2, Fenya. Specializing in healing and rallying the collective strength of allies, it has always served as the core of many allied formations. After its transformation, the Sacred Tree has unleashed even greater power, replacing Ji Huaisu as the core of the Sacred Pillar.
"Where's that knight?" Wen Yao grabbed Huang Li's neck, "Where did she go?!"
Locust Li replied in panic, "She's been inside the settlement the entire time! My subordinates have been monitoring the surroundings since the transformation, and no one has escaped..."
Wen Yao slapped her in the face: "You're a bunch of blind men! What are you still standing there for? Go and chase them!"
"Who are we chasing?" Huang Li said subconsciously.
"That Discipline Knight has already run away, and there's no need for the others to stay here! What do you think they did?" Wen Yao was so angry that he started laughing. "Where else can they go now?!"
Locust's expression changed drastically, and they hurried out. They were all lustful demons who came to the wilderness with a mission, and they certainly knew the legend of the slaying of the Demon King.
Fenya laughed heartily, while Gulbo, standing beside her, blew a small leaf horn. The warriors of the settlement, those who had always believed in Qingxia and the Warrior Captain, endured the intense pain and stood forward. They lined up at the settlement's exit, playing their ancient instruments.
It was a ritual passed down through generations in the settlement, a war song blessing those heading out to battle. The sonorous music soared into the sky, carrying the warriors' mighty roars far, far away.
"——Warrior-Captain, fellow brave warriors, I wish you all great military luck and victory!!"
To the west of the settlement, memories of the ancient battlefield resurface. A sudden, icy cart emerges from the lingering mist, hurtling past the dark, box-like camp at an unmatched speed. This is Camp Number 3 on the ancient battlefield, nestled against the mountain. The ice cart is now deeper than it was on the day of the rescue operation, yet it continues to accelerate, unfazed. The driver is none other than the red-haired knight, her reins tied to her back, running at the speed of her life.
"Very good, Qingxia, hold on!" Ji Huaisu shouted, "We're almost there, keep running!"
"Huh... I... will!" Qingxia spoke haltingly, "Qingye... is he awake?"
"The one who just woke up said that he saw his grandparents again."
The car window was up, and Qingye was half exposed outside the window, half dead like a poor hound with severe motion sickness. She had experienced an overly harsh and overloaded work last night, and she had just woken up.
With three Blood Knights surrounding the settlement, it was impossible to escape without warning. However, one person in the group could make this impossible a reality. Qingye's Mist Transmigration technique could ensure he remained undetected, while his Mist Concealment technique could temporarily obscure the whereabouts of others. Therefore, the first step in the plan was for Qingye to conduct several stealth missions alone, ensuring he could lead each person out of the settlement undetected.
"Honestly, I was completely delirious by the end. When I was invisible, I saw many Bone Prayer monks waving at me and asking when I joined." Qing Ye was barely breathing. "And Qingxia was really heavy...even heavier than Sister Huaisu..."
"Hey! Is this a comparable level?! Can Qingxia and I be compared?!" Ji Huaisu was furious.
"Just say it..." Qingxia nodded reluctantly, "I... still have to be gentle..."
"Shut up you ton-weighing centaur!"
"Ah, jealousy~"
Shax wanted to plug his ears to block out the noise, but he had no earplugs.
"One woman is worth a hundred ducks," he said. "We have three hundred ducks here now."
"Stop talking, the duck is driving, she just flapped her wings and you fell off." Vander rolled his eyes, "Dude, are you okay? Are you still breathing?"
Chu Hengkong folded his arms across his chest, lying flat on his back in the carriage, looking like a body resting peacefully in the ground. It took him nearly ten seconds to open his eyes and speak.
He was startled by a loud bang, and blood gushed out of his mouth like a fountain, staining the entire carriage red. The overwhelming force blew Chu Hengkong upside down and slammed him against the roof. Ji Huaisu quickly grabbed his partner, otherwise the ice sled would have had a third hole.
"Fand, let me confirm again, is it a heart you transplanted to him? And not a one-ton magic bomb?" Ji Huaisu asked.
"These two things are essentially the same," said Vander. "The difference is that the former is dozens or hundreds of times more powerful than the latter."
"I'm sorry..." Qingxia said in a small voice.
"It's okay." Chu Hengkong managed to say, "I'm almost used to it. I'll be able to move soon."
"If you can't move before the Banshee catches up, I'll throw you out like a grenade." Shax threw out several scopes, which transformed and flew into the air. "First team, wait for my signal! Be ready to dismount and cover your retreat at any time!"
They'd been stealthing since the first half of the night, and it was already morning. Wen Yao's routine over the past three days meant she should have noticed something was amiss. The characteristic of Seismic Point 4 on the Path of Destiny Return to Oneness was speed; she was bound to outpace the three Blood Knights. Perhaps Wen Yao was already on top of the ice sled, waiting to pelt these laughing idiots with a poisonous ball.
Therefore, the second half of the plan was to use their lives to buy time. Two groups of people would hold Wen Yao back one by one, send hope to the mountains, and then bet on the weapon to appear.
Shax was silent for a long moment. "...Team One doesn't need to get off the bus."
Fander felt like dying: "Come on? They've all caught up so quickly?!"
"See for yourself." Shax tossed the telescope to it. Finder peered through the scope and saw a gray fog swirling in the distance, thick as a gaseous ocean. Without them noticing, the fog of history had thickened dozens of times, like a barrier enveloping Yingshi Town. It was impossible to discern direction in such a thick fog; he could almost imagine the banshee cursing in it.
Vander raised his tentacle high: "Hurray! The tide of fate has appeared! After a lifetime of bad luck, finally for once we get lucky!!"
Chu Hengkong didn't believe that his bad luck would disappear at this critical moment. He tried to look up and out of the window, and happened to see a black priest's uniform disappearing in the fog on a peak deep in the mountains.
The killer laughed. For the first time since they met, he felt that the skeletons had their merits.
"Go to that mountain!" He pointed to where Bernfar disappeared. "It's right there!"
The ice chariot drove straight ahead, away from the mist, into the eerie, ancient mountains. Behind these mountains lay the nightmare city of Vansalar, the final barrier before the Demon King's castle, defended by cursed thunder and limb spiders. However, after the Kingdom of Despair unfolded, the old messengers, as good as dead, had not yet recovered, creating an opportunity for the group.
The surrounding rocks were a strange ochre-red, and bursts of shrill laughter occasionally emanated from the mist, reminding them of the mad demon king. The deeper they went into the mountains, the more intense the uncanny chill grew. It was as if an invisible killer held a sharp knife to their foreheads, and the slightest misstep would spell death.
Finally, the ice cart stopped, and they arrived at the mountain. A dark, lightless cave led deep into the mountain, but beyond that, nothing unusual could be seen. There was no sense of magic, no murderous intent. If Chu Hengkong hadn't insisted on coming here, they would have undoubtedly ignored this mountain range.
Vander stared at the cave intently. It seemed to have discovered something, and its silver tentacles trembled slightly.
"It's here." Vander murmured, "Only one person can enter."
"Let's..."
"No." The Eye Demon said in a daze. It saw something that others could not see. "There was only one person. Because he went in alone at that time. You can't go against his longing for him!"
"Then let the person who is best at creating miracles go." Ji Huaisu shrugged. "Akong, do you want me to help you?"
"Trust me."
Chu Hengkong smiled and reluctantly began to walk. He stopped in front of the cave to look at his comrades who had lived and died together. Qingxia waved weakly at him.
"I believe you!" she cried.
"Wait until I come back to save the world."
He entered the cave. Everything around him was perfectly normal, his human nature untouched. Yet, the heart of the Celestial Demon's furnace vibrated within his chest, his bones trembling, his blood freezing, even the tentacles within his arm of disaster tensed uncontrollably. It was as if all the outsiders had sensed unease, every part of their bodies screaming for escape. He focused his mind, closed his eyes, and walked forward. He walked for an unknown amount of time, until even the sound of rolling stones became a hollow echo.
Chu Hengkong opened his eyes. Deep within the mountains, a long black sword lay embedded. Wedged among the rubble, the blade a dull black, the handle swathed in dirty bandages. Dust, accumulated for who knows how long, obscured the inscription on the blade. It seemed to have slumbered for an eternity, so long that even its surroundings had forgotten it, so long that even it had forgotten its own name.
He took a step forward, silently reached out, and grasped the ancient long sword.
The long sword came alive.
(End of this chapter)
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