Chapter 106
On Mount Cuiwei, Chonghua ascended the high platform step by step. On both sides of the stairs stood demons dressed in magnificent robes, respectfully holding sacrificial offerings with both hands, looking at Chonghua with utmost piety.
Shi Yunzhou and Zhou Xuanzhi, as sacrificial offerings, had been bound hand and foot and thrown beside Shi Wanqing, who was lying on the sacrificial altar. After struggling for a while, the two finally sat down back to back, their bound hands trying to untie the ropes from each other's backs.
Shi Yunzhou was still somewhat grateful to Chonghua for his love and respect for his master, and to show his sincerity, Chonghua only used ordinary ropes. However, this could also be interpreted as Chonghua not taking them seriously.
The moment Chonghua reached the offering table, the ropes were untied by the two men. Chonghua glanced at them, as if he had expected it. He continued his work calmly.
After he lit the incense, someone came up to the high platform. This was a forbidden area for the demons; no one except Chonghua had ever been to this location. His fellow disciples observed the person; his face was filled with anxiety. It made sense; who would disturb Chonghua at this moment unless it was something extremely important?
After placing the incense sticks in the incense burner, Chonghua turned slightly to the side and asked, "What is it?"
The man glanced at the two brothers sitting there and then replied, "Your Excellency, the Immortal Sect has closed the passage to Guancheng."
Chonghua's expression changed slightly. He turned to look at the man, whose back was bent so low he was almost kneeling. Chonghua sneered and glanced at the sky.
He reached out as if to catch something, and said, "Let them be, look, it's raining."
The two people standing nearby looked up at the sky. The sky, which had been clear just moments before, was now covered with dark clouds, and a few drops of rain were indeed falling.
Chonghua's subordinates relaxed and became happy. One of them knelt on the ground and shouted, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, your wish has been fulfilled!"
Below the platform, the demons knelt and congratulated in unison: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, your wish has been fulfilled!"
All the demons present wore smiles, except for Zhou Xuanzhi and Shi Yunzhou, whose faces showed bitterness. This was probably their last chance to stop Chonghua.
Chonghua was immersed in the joy of success when, at his happiest moment, a sword came from the side and stopped an inch from his temple.
Chonghua turned and smiled at the two men. They were startled; they hadn't expected Chonghua to be so prepared. Meanwhile, Chonghua's subordinates stood up, swords drawn, ready to rush at the two brothers, but Chonghua stopped them.
Zhou Xuanzhi sheathed his sword and stood side by side with Shi Yunzhou. The swords in their hands were pointed directly at Chonghua.
“Even if I were unprepared, you wouldn’t be a match for me.” Chonghua stepped out from behind his subordinate, patted him on the shoulder, and indicated that he shouldn’t worry about them, as everything was under his control.
He added, "Your master is lying here. He taught you for several years. Don't you have any gratitude for him?"
Shi Yunzhou angrily retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting? If my master knew you resurrected her using such a method, she would rather die herself. What are you up to?"
Without wasting words, Zhou Xuanzhi rushed forward to kill Chonghua, but was stopped by Chonghua's subordinates. The two fought back and forth on the platform.
In just a few moves, Zhou Xuanzhi felt the gap between himself and his opponent. No wonder even the people around Chonghua, plus Shi Yunzhou, couldn't defeat him. But he didn't know why his opponent didn't go for the kill, as if he were toying with him like a child.
Chonghua only glanced at the fight and said calmly, "They are still useful to us. Don't hurt them."
Shi Yunzhou no longer cared about exchanging harsh words with his opponent; he drew his sword and joined the battle.
With Shi Yunzhou's arrival, Zhou Xuanzhi instantly felt the pressure lessen. However, he didn't relax for long. Once his opponent had gauged their skill levels, he held nothing back; each clash of their weapons left his hands numb. Yes, they were now both wielding swords with both hands.
Chonghua was not interested in their fight. He continued with what he was doing. He was here today to offer sacrifices to the heavens and to resurrect Master Wanqing. No one and nothing could interrupt him.
Suddenly, an arrow flew towards him, stopped right in front of him, and then shattered into pieces. Zhou Xuanzhi, who was standing to the side, suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Chonghua watched everything coldly from the side. He suddenly spoke up, "I told you not to kill them, but you really showed them mercy."
The guard finally discovered what Zhou Xuanzhi had done. He kicked Shi Yunzhou away and quickly appeared in front of Zhou Xuanzhi, slashing at him with his sword. Zhou Xuanzhi immediately swung his sword to block. Sparks flew as the weapons clashed, and Zhou Xuanzhi staggered back several steps before stopping.
The guard was unharmed, so he immediately chased after him and once again raised his sword to slash at Zhou Xuanzhi.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shi Yunzhou launched several hidden weapons in succession, but unfortunately, they were all blocked by Chonghua. He turned around, frowned, and looked at Shi Yunzhou with great impatience: "How come you immortal sect disciples are learning to use hidden weapons like us demons? You've been corrupted by those demon cultivators!"
With a wave of his hand, Chonghua created a large hand that appeared out of thin air, grabbed Shi Yunzhou by the neck, and lifted him into the air. "Since that's the case, today I will teach you a lesson on behalf of your master."
A whip appeared between his index and middle fingers and lashed out fiercely at Shi Yunzhou's body. The whip was invisible on the outside, but it sent a jolt through his internal organs.
“Master said that there’s no need to be particular about methods when dealing with demons. As long as you can be killed, any method is acceptable.” Shi Yunzhou said as he grabbed the whip.
The moment his hand touched the whip, the skin on his hand tore open, and blood flowed down the whip, staining Chonghua's fingers.
Chonghua released his grip in disgust, shaking it off with obvious disdain. "Your master will be back soon, so you should just kneel here and pray!"
The hand that appeared out of thin air suddenly vanished, and Shi Yunzhou, who had been caught in mid-air, fell to the ground. For a moment, he felt as if he was about to die. It took him a long time to come to his senses after lying on the ground. This Chonghua was truly difficult to kill; even if he and his senior brother were combined, they wouldn't be enough for him to practice on.
Thus, Zhou Xuanzhi and Shi Yunzhou were tied up again. The guard carried one person in each hand and brought them to Chonghua. Chonghua had already completed all the steps. The next step was to cast a spell to extract the souls of the two men and perform a ritual to repair their souls.
As Chonghua raised his hand above his head, Zhou Xuanzhi glanced at her master lying on the bed. For her master's sake, she was willing to die. The moment her master returned, she would kill Chonghua to avenge her worthless disciple! She would stop him for the sake of the people!
Zhou Xuanzhi slowly closed his eyes, awaiting death.
Suddenly a voice came from behind, "Your Excellency, please wait."
Upon hearing this voice, Chonghua abruptly stopped his ceremony and turned back to look at the man with anger.
Zhou Xuanzhi noticed that Chonghua's expression was very unpleasant. He turned around and saw a man who had also walked onto the sacrificial altar, which was considered a forbidden area by the demons.
The guards nearby clearly wanted to attack the man, but Chonghua stopped them, gesturing for them to leave so he and the man could be alone.
Shi Yunzhou stared intently at Yue Ze. Surely he couldn't have come to rescue someone at this time! He had no connection with him, and his senior brother was even less so; he didn't even know this person.
Yue Ze glanced at the two people kneeling on the ground, then shifted his gaze to Shi Wanqing on the bed. Seeing Yue Ze scrutinizing Shi Wanqing like that, Chong Hua subtly blocked his view, and asked coldly, "Didn't you go to the Immortal Sect? Why are you here now trying to stop me?"
Thinking of the previous unpleasantness, Yue Ze changed to a lighter tone and handed a silver bracelet to Chonghua, "I got this back for you."
The bracelet undoubtedly carried the aura of Shi Wanqing, and it even contained a wisp of her soul. This soul had been well-nurtured. With this, Shi Wanqing could be brought back directly, without needing to sacrifice the lives of everyone in the world for her; all that was needed were the two people lying on the ground.
Chonghua took the bracelet and asked, "Are you trying to make me give up on this method?"
Yue Ze waved his hand, looked into Chong Hua's eyes, and asked, word by word, "Do you think the person you exchanged for the lives of half the people will live as you wish?"
Chonghua gripped the bracelet in his hand and looked at the two people on the ground. If they hadn't been so useless and had protected Shi Wanqing at that time, Shi Wanqing wouldn't have died! Why would he have had to scheme for over two hundred years?
However, it would be suspicious if he said he didn't want it after it was delivered in person at this time. He asked warily, "What do you want?"
Yue Ze asked directly, "Does Your Majesty still remember a demon named Rong Xi?"
Hearing that name, Chonghua's chest ached again. If he hadn't been injured by Yue Ze, why would Yue Ze stand in front of him and speak to him like that? He himself didn't even notice that his expression turned fierce after hearing "Rong Xi."
Chonghua looked at Yue Ze standing in front of him and asked warily, "What is your relationship with him?"
“I have no relation to him, but the Immortal Sect does. He is the eldest disciple of the Exorcism Division in the capital, and the future beloved of the Exorcism Division’s leader,” Yue Ze said, pointing in the direction of the capital.
The two kneeling on the ground doubted their ears. What? The chief disciple of the Exorcism Bureau was a demon? And Su Liyue actually liked him? But what did this have to do with the demon race?
This was also Chonghua's question. He really couldn't understand when Yueze had become connected with the Exorcism Bureau. "Why are you interested in such a monster?"
Yue Ze spread his hands, "You can threaten that person, Lord. Don't you want to enter that city?"
Chonghua ignored Yue Ze and went to Shi Wanqing, placing the bracelet on her wrist. He reverently took Shi Wanqing's hand and then reached out to tidy the stray hairs on her cheek.
Zhou Xuanzhi and Shi Yunzhou were furious to see Chonghua treat their master's body this way, and wanted nothing more than to rush up and beat him to death. But this time, the demon guard used the Immortal Binding Rope, and they couldn't break free no matter what they did.
Unbeknownst to them, Yue Ze had appeared behind them. By the time they noticed, he had already spoken, “What is the reason for your anger? Is it because he treated your master this way? But he loves your master, he loves him very much.”
Shi Yunzhou wanted nothing more than to bite the person behind him to death. He growled viciously, "Shut up! My master will not tolerate such slander from you!"
Yue Ze nodded. “That’s how it is. Do you two really want to kill him now?” He pointed at Chonghua and asked the two brothers.
Zhou Xuanzhi turned around warily and asked, "What do you mean?"
Yue Ze whispered in their ears, "I'll give you a chance. Let's kill him together!" After saying that, the Immortal Binding Ropes on the two fell to the ground. Chong Hua was still immersed in the joy of Shi Wanqing's imminent return and did not notice the three people behind him at all.
"My Lord," Yue Ze suddenly asked, "Should I be the one to deal with that monster?"
The two had just stood up when Yue Ze's voice startled them so much that they almost knelt down. But Chong Hua didn't turn around; he simply tossed a jade pendant into Yue Ze's hand.
Holding the jade tablet, Yue Ze's tone suddenly hardened, "Chonghua, even so, you still won't let the people of the world go?" Yue Ze was very distressed. He had already sent Shi Wanqing back, so why was he still using the people of the world as sacrifices?
It was only then that Chonghua realized something was wrong. He had just turned around when Yueze swiftly appeared in front of him and plunged a sword into Chonghua's body.
Chonghua reacted almost immediately, and plunged a dagger into Yueze's body.
It all happened so suddenly that the two people present didn't even have time to react before they were both lying on the ground.
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