Chapter 217 : Slaughter
Chapter 217: Slaughter
The three Inspectors of the Six Doors Authority each had their own grand hall for official business. The one where Hong Yuze worked was called Zeshi Hall. He enjoyed quietude, so aside from the two guards at the entrance, there was no one else inside.
When Hong Yuze was ambushed, only Su Zhi Ning was at his side to witness it.
Buzz!
The longsword strapped behind Su Zhi Ning’s back flew out of its scabbard, landed firmly in her palm, and cleaved down toward Ruan Caihong’s head.
Her reaction could not be called slow, and her strike could not be called hesitant.
But Ruan Caihong did not dodge or evade. The sword, infused with her full strength, landed squarely on his forehead.
Clang!
Su Zhi Ning felt a massive recoil force surge from her blade. That strike had felt as if it had landed on something impossibly hard. This startled her greatly.
After all, this sword was the embryo of a peerless divine weapon. Under her infusion of gang yuan, its sharpness was unmatched—capable of slicing through refined steel like tofu.
Yet this man blocked it with flesh and blood alone.
“You’re from the Nine Nether Sect?”
Su Zhi Ning retreated quickly. She had already realized this man practiced the Nine Nether Grand Art and cultivated it to such a high level that he had fused his life-bound artifact into his own body. His flesh now bore the qualities of that artifact, allowing him to take her full strike head-on.
“Heaven’s Path Alliance?”
At this moment, Ruan Caihong had completely subdued Hong Yuze. Turning his head toward Su Zhi Ning, a strange glimmer flashed in his eyes.
The moment Su Zhi Ning met his gaze, she felt something wholly different from yesterday. Linking it with what he had just said, she immediately understood. “You are not Ruan Caihong!”
“Ruan Caihong,” realizing he had slipped up, stopped speaking. He swung his wide sleeve.
“Enemy attack!”
Su Zhi Ning gathered her strength and shouted loudly, her voice echoing far into the distance. The very next instant, a terrifying gang yuan surged toward her. Alarmed, she dodged swiftly.
But that terrifying gang yuan clung to her like maggots on bone, chasing faster and faster.
After several evasions, she grew more and more disheveled. Suddenly, her back took a direct palm strike, and the gang yuan within her body was sealed instantly. She collapsed onto the ground.
A large hand pressed down on her crown. Ruan Caihong stepped out from behind her, a trace of smugness curling at his lips. “Enjoy your dream.”
This disciple of the Heaven’s Path Alliance was too troublesome to kill outright. If she died, it might draw out the old monsters of the Heaven’s Path Alliance—something highly unfavorable to his grand plan.
After that, Ruan Caihong headed toward the exit of the hall. The two guards still stood faithfully outside, as if they had heard nothing of Su Zhi Ning’s alarm.
“The Six Doors Authority, nothing more than this!”
After walking two steps, “Ruan Caihong” shimmered as if covered in drifting light. In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into Hong Yuze’s appearance.
Next was Zhong Danyang.
He flicked his sleeve leisurely and strolled toward the core location—the Demon Suppression Hall.
That place had been left behind by the Demon Suppression Division of the previous dynasty. It was rumored a Secret Realm lay within, but ever since the division’s destruction five hundred years ago, the realm had never opened again.
Because of this, the Six Doors Authority in Qingzhou City had long been suppressed by the Eight Righteous Gates.
The Eight Righteous Gates controlled Secret Realms—and more than one.
When “Hong Yuze” arrived at the Demon Suppression Hall, the guards barred his way. “Lord Hong, please halt. Lord Zhong is not inside the hall at the moment.”
He said nothing, merely swept his gaze over them. A white light flickered in his pupils, and both guards instantly fell into a daze, stepping aside of their own accord.
The great doors rumbled open.
“Hong Yuze” strode into the hall, the doors closing shut behind him. Suddenly, an ancient dragon-head sculpture at the side of the hall lit up. Its vertical pupils shone with a dim light, casting upon his body.
A wave of twisted light flashed over him, and he reverted into the form of an ordinary-looking middle-aged man. This was his true appearance.
Fang Lue muttered to himself, “They say the Demon Suppression Hall can pierce through all illusions. Indeed formidable.”
Even the Mirage Pearl illusions he created—capable of deceiving even Divine Repository experts—had been exposed beneath the Candle Dragon Eyes of this hall.
Luckily, the Demon Suppression Division no longer existed. He thought with relief. Otherwise, with just his First Grade cultivation, trying to intrude here would be sheer lunacy.
The Demon Suppression Division of the old dynasty had been far stronger than today’s Six Doors Authority. That organization existed solely to suppress the Cult of Eternal Life. The cult’s three major branches were all eradicated by the division in alliance with the Heaven’s Path Alliance and other forces.
Only then had the world enjoyed five centuries of peace.
The Demon Suppression Hall now stood empty, occupied by Zhong Danyang. Without his summons, no one else could enter.
With hands clasped behind his back, Fang Lue walked toward the rear of the hall.
Before long, he reached a courtyard behind the hall. A colossal banyan tree grew there, its trunk requiring more than a dozen men to encircle. No one knew how many centuries it had stood.
“This is it!”
Fang Lue’s tone brimmed with fanaticism.
Flipping his hand, he produced a black token and raised it high. Instantly, space quaked, and the immense banyan tree shuddered violently, though no wind stirred.
“Who dares trespass here!”
A furious voice rang out. A figure shot forth from within the hall, so fast it seemed to shrink the ground to inches.
It was Zhong Danyang, interrupted from his seclusion by the spatial disturbance.
The sight of the man beneath the banyan—and the black token in his hand—made his heart lurch violently.
Facing the Divine Repository expert Zhong Danyang, Fang Lue, with only First Grade cultivation, revealed an eerie smile. Suddenly, the great banyan split open, forming a dark, yawning hole.
A passage into who knew where.
Zhong Danyang’s face lit up with wild joy—it was the entrance to the Secret Realm!
Swish!
In a flash, he darted inside, just a breath slower than Fang Lue, vanishing within.
The banyan’s opening sealed itself shut, restoring everything to normal.
The courtyard grew tranquil again, save for the rustling of leaves in the breeze.
…
Second floor of the prison.
Zhang Dingce was filled with despair. Never had he imagined someone would storm the prison to stage a jailbreak in this era of peace.
Nor could he fathom how these two had gotten inside.
Though many of his colleagues had grown slack, how could they possibly allow two unfamiliar Third Grades to slip in unnoticed?
What were those people even doing?
Not just him—everyone present likely thought the same. They knew death awaited them here today.
Their side had only one young Lord Gu. Though also Third Grade, his cultivation must still be shallow. Alone, how could he face two opponents?
And aristocratic scions like him—how would they ever value the lives of common folk? If battle truly erupted, the aftermath alone might kill them all.
Amid such dread, the two intruders struck. The pair worked seamlessly, one with a saber, the other with a sword. Their gang yuan was dense and powerful, aimed naturally at the sole Third Grade present.
As long as that lone threat was removed, no one else in the prison could stop them.
Clang!
The narrow passage left Chen Ming no room to evade. He was forced to meet the strike head-on, only to feel an indescribable force crash into him, sending him flying.
“A divine weapon!”
The swordsman glanced at his treasured blade, now marred with a grain-sized chip, and greed flashed in his eyes. He shouted, “Junior brother, this divine weapon is mine!”
He then pursued Chen Ming frantically, fearful his companion might seize it first.
His saber-wielding junior brother curled his lip in annoyance. “I don’t even use a sword. How could I snatch yours?”
He slowed his pace. From the earlier exchange, he had already seen the young man’s strength was nothing impressive, far beneath his senior. His senior could handle this alone.
So he said, “This one’s yours. I’ll find Martial Uncle first.”
“Thanks, junior brother! Next time I’ll get you a fine saber.”
The swordsman laughed loudly, his long blade slashing at Chen Ming like a torrential storm.
Soon, only the two of them remained in the passage.
The other underlings and jailers had long scattered, terrified of being swept up in the fight.
“Brat, hand over your divine weapon, and I’ll grant you a swift death.”
The swordsman avoided clashing directly with Chen Ming’s blade, unwilling to damage it further. Yet this also left him unable to finish Chen Ming quickly. He roared furiously.
But then Chen Ming suddenly shouted, “Catch!”
And actually tossed the divine weapon toward him.
What a coward!
Indeed, master had said these aristocratic youths were nothing but cowards.
The man’s heart soared with glee as the weapon flew into his grasp. He already imagined refining it into his life-bound artifact, raising his cultivation drastically, perhaps rivaling his Martial Uncle—unmatched among peers.
Suddenly, a blade-drawing sound rang out.
Ah yes, that brat still had another sword.
From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a blazing sword light surging toward him. It burned like fire, dazzling as the sun. It devoured his vision, his mind, his very soul.
An instant later, the flames consumed him. He perished before even turning a thought.
【You have slain an LV73 enemy. Gained 260,000 experience points.】
This was Chen Ming’s first time using the Controlling Artifact Art to command the Phoenix Cry Sword, instantly slaying a Third Grade.
He could have killed the man directly in a head-on fight. But out of caution, he employed trickery instead.
It had already become his instinct in battle.
Moreover, to avoid exposing the secret of the Phoenix Cry Sword before others of the Six Doors Authority, he had waited until all had fled before striking.
After piercing the man’s heart, the Phoenix Cry Sword flickered faintly with purple light. Within moments, Chen Ming was able to view the man’s memories through this peerless divine weapon.
“As Zhou Yilan said, their superiors are three masters, all First Grade. They have over a dozen disciples, three of them at Third Grade…”
He combed through the memories, seeking useful information.
“Got it!”
“So that was their plan… the strongest grandmaster would target Hong Yuze…”