Chapter 926: Pulling Back the Curtain
Hellfei was terrifying, surrounded by roiling black mists of poison. As for the words that had just been spoken, they came out of Xu Qing’s mouth, but simultaneously, out of Hellfei’s mouth.
First filth: godfire’s smoke rises and converges impurities.
Feng Lintao, who was speeding through the passageway after having just destroyed the barrier, suddenly shivered. Then his face fell as he realized that black splotches of impurity were popping up all over him.
Second filth: god soul’s desire builds and converges mortality.
Next, he felt like all of his sensations were being stripped away.
Third filth: god body decaying and building rot.
The black splotches on his body began to rot, and his flesh started falling off. His bones started to decay.
Fourth filth: god shrine covered in dust and losing brilliance.
Feng Lintao screamed as he sensed that his dao foundation, which was already unstable thanks to the recent detonations, was crumbling. And yet, the curse wasn’t over yet.
Fifth filth: godly nature is filth loses wisdom.
Sixth filth: godly fate births curses and severs life.
A power that could eradicate the soul rose within him. Feng Lintao felt like an evil ghost as his flesh blurred and rotted, and he began to emanate a stench like that of a corpse. But then, he abruptly lifted his hand and smacked it down on his chest, causing a mass of rotting blood and innumerable howling souls to burst out of him in terrifying fashion.
It was the blood and souls of 20,000,000 fellow members of his species that he had sacrificed and assimilated to become a full-blooded Fardark. Those that still remained had to be abandoned at this moment.
As the blood and the souls spread out, new wings formed behind him, and a third eye appeared on his forehead. The rest of the curse began to dissipate naturally, thanks to him forcing it out. Then he flapped his wings and shot toward the end of the passageway.
Though he had successfully suppressed Xu Qing’s deadly curse, his momentum had been interrupted. Therefore, just as he was about to burst out of the passageway, Yue Dong also flapped her wings and chased after him. She also performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing dozens of warding spells to appear in the passageway. She had obviously put them in place when she came through the passage as the last to enter. And now they were being activated to block the path of Feng Lintao.
Despite being slowed down by the warding spells, Feng Lintao had bought enough of an advantage to reach the other end of the passageway his ancestor had created. Except....
The moment he burst out into the open, Yue Dong accelerated dramatically, passing him and planting herself between him and the golden rat.
His plan was foiled. Acting without even thinking, he simply fled.
However, that was when Lan Yao appeared and blocked his path upward.
Next, Xu Qing and the Captain appeared. However, instead of launching deadly attacks at Feng Lintao, they shot toward the cave above. For them, this entire scenario involving the other three was simply a good opportunity to make an escape. As a matter of fact, it had all been set up by Xu Qing and the Captain in the passageway.
Otherwise, Xu Qing would never have used Six Filths of the Gods. He actually didn’t want Feng Lintao to simply die. Keeping him alive was the best option, that way he could buy time while also preventing Feng Lintao from freeing the golden rat.
As for how the fight ultimately played out with the others, it didn’t matter to Xu Qing. He and the Captain knew that they had already profited handsomely, and now was the time to get away before the situation turned bad.
However, even as Xu Qing and the Captain flew up into the air and were about to make their escape, a barrier appeared noiselessly in front of them. It was a silver web made of innumerable sparkling and translucent white threads. And it covered the entire top of the cave. It pulsed with a terrifying pressure as well as the power of an incredible sealing mark. In fact, it seemed even stronger than the power unleashed by Feng Lintao’s major world detonations.
If that were all there was to it, it might not have been a big deal. Xu Qing and the Captain still had the emperor’s corpse. If they entered it and used its power, they could break free if they paid enough of a price. Except... that there was a paper talisman on the sealing mark. It was silver, and the words on it were very clear to see. However, the meaning of the words was difficult to decipher, although it was clear that the thing was pulsing with a very holy aura. It wasn’t the aura of a god. Rather, it was... the aura of a Grand Emperor!
Xu Qing and the Captain both reacted with visible expressions of surprise. They didn’t need to take time thinking about where this sealing mark came from. It was obvious that it had secretly been put in place by Yue Dong.
She and Lan Yao had acted in perfect unison to carry out their plan. Given the effects of karma, it seemed very unlikely that she had acquired a treasure like this by stealing it. After all, a talisman like that was simply too valuable.
“Don’t be in a rush to leave, Fellow Daoists,” Yue Dong said coolly. “That sealing mark isn’t there to target you. It’s to make sure Feng Lintao doesn’t escape. Once the two of us kill Feng Lintao, I’ll remove it and let you go. By the way, if you can lend a helping hand, we should be able to kill him faster. That would be ideal. After all, the golden rat... is going to break free soon.”
Behind her, the golden rat was visibly struggling. Although Lan Yao had said she could keep it trapped for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, it was clear the mirror wouldn’t hold out much longer.
Xu Qing and the Captain both felt their hearts sink. Both of them had to admit that these three cultivators from the holy lands weren’t just strong, and didn’t just have a lot of magical treasures. They were also extremely clever, and all of them had harbored many ulterior motives that they kept hidden until the last minute. Even one slip-up when dealing with people like this could ultimately lead to death.
Meanwhile, Feng Lintao saw what was happening, and his face grew more ashen. His eyes also gleamed with despair. Laughing bitterly, he said, “A holy ancestor’s sealing talisman? It takes a lot of battle credit to buy even one of them back home.... How could I ever have guessed that you would actually purchase something like that just to deal with me, Fellow Daoist Yue Dong?
“We have a slight conflict relating to profit and loss. You already have the prize in hand. Yet you’re still using a sealing mark like that to try to kill me? It’s truly a surprise. We don’t have any deep animosity between us!!” By the time Feng Lintao finished speaking, his eyes were crimson and he was nearly shouting.
“No deep animosity? Is that so?” Yue Dong’s eyes shone with killing intent. There was no longer any trace of gentleness in her expression, just profound hatred. In fact, she looked ready to eat someone alive. “You have Devilbird blood, Fellow Daoist Feng! And the two of us sisters figured out years ago exactly where you got it!
“Did you really think you could keep it a secret? That no one would find out? The truth is... she had two older sisters! Us! She just didn’t tell you! The reality is that all of the treasures on this mission were secondary. Our main goal was to deal with you!”
Lan Yao gritted her teeth, then shot toward Feng Lintao. Yue Dong did the same. Booms rang out as the three of them started fighting.
Feng Lintao was already badly injured, and though he was able to defend himself, he coughed up one mouthful of blood after another.
Up in midair, just beneath the sealing mark and the web, Xu Qing and the Captain looked on grimly. They didn’t want to get involved, but they could see the golden rat struggling with increasing vigor. If it broke free.... They exchanged a glance, and could both tell what the other was thinking. They had that egg, and if the golden rat broke free, they would be first on its list to destroy.
There seemed to be only one way to get free, and that was to help Lan Yao and Yue Dong.
Furthermore... it seemed that there was some karma at play between the two young women and Feng Lintao. Although the details weren’t clear, it seemed that they were trying to avenge their younger sister, and that gave a glimpse into their character.
Xu Qing and the Captain exchanged another glance. The two blinked, and then their eyes shone with determination.
“Bastards like that deserve to die!” the Captain shouted. Then he added, “Immortal ladies, we’ll just stand here and wait!”
In response, Feng Lintao’s face turned even paler. In his practice of cultivation up to this point, he had experienced many deadly crises. But he hadn’t faced many crises as deadly as this one. Given his personality, he was usually the one targeting others. But now it seemed he was the target. And it was all because his sageheaven god vine had been eaten....
The thought caused veins to bulge on his forehead, and more pressure to build up inside him. He again forced the pressure away, and made himself stop thinking about things that would drive him mad. As he fought back, he was shoved backward over and over again. He coughed up numerous mouthfuls of blood, and looked like he was about to sink into the depths of despair.
However, at the same time, he was rapidly analyzing the situation, and came to the conclusion that if he wanted to free the golden rat, he was going to have to detonate another major world. Except, he had already detonated two. If he detonated a third... his cultivation base would truly be at the two-world Smoldering God level.
Given that he might die, he could theoretically accept that. Except, if he detonated that third world, and then managed to free the golden rat, then he would be even weaker than he was right now.
And that meant that the possibility of taking advantage of a crisis for personal gain would be smaller than ever. The more likely outcome would be that he would be spinning a cocoon around himself , and would ultimately end up dead at the hands of the golden rat. And there would be other prices to pay for a detonation.
If there was really no other option at hand, he would do it. At the very least, he could make sure to take a few of his enemies out with him. In fact, between the detonation of a major world and the golden rat, he might even be able to kill all of his enemies here.
Except, those two humans are intriguing.... Do they really have an idea of what’s going on? And given what they just said.... Was that for my sake? Are they trying to reveal that they know I can get free??
Eyes glittering, Feng Lintao spat out a pearl, which was a life essence magical treasure. The moment it appeared, it started spinning rapidly as it shot toward Lan Yao and Yue Dong.
Then Feng Lintao spun in place and shot toward Xu Qing and the Captain.
Lan Yao and Yue Dong acted in unison to destroy the life essence magical treasure. However, it did its job of blocking their path.
Feng Lintao was coughing up blood like mad, and his aura was weakening dramatically as he flew toward Xu Qing and the Captain.
Yue Dong spoke in both grief and indignation as she said, “Fellow Daoists! Please, will the two of you help us? We don’t need you to kill him, just stop him!”
She and Lan Yao were already chasing after Feng Lintao.
Killing intent flared in the eyes of Xu Qing and the Captain as they chose to help the two young women. Both launched attacks at Feng Lintao.
As for Feng Lintao, his eyes burned with madness. He was taking a huge risk! There were some things he couldn’t speak out loud, as if he did, it would reveal his trump cards. He was betting that these two would be able to read the bigger picture. After all, if they helped the two women kill him, then they would immediately be facing the two women as enemies. They were sealed in here, and also had to consider the golden rat. But if Feng Lintao survived and escaped, then the two women would have to chase after him. It was really the only way for the two humans to ensure their survival.
Just as Feng Lintao ran into the attacks of Xu Qing and the Captain, the two of them dodged to the side to clear a path.
Yue Dong and Lan Yao were visibly shocked.
Feng Lintao didn’t hesitate at all. He barreled forward to the sealing mark, where he detonated his third major world. At the same time, he waved his hand to produce a Grand Emperor’s talisman that looked just like the one in the sealing mark.
Backed by the power of the world detonation, it became a stream of silver light that smashed into the sealing mark and punched right through it. Feng Lintao reached it in an instant.
Xu Qing and the Captain didn’t hesitate to turn into bright beams of light that shot through the opening.
And thus, the three of them escape into the open.
As they sped off into the distance, Yue Dong and Lan Yao appeared outside the sealing mark. Looking at the three fleeing enemies, their expressions became very unsightly.
“Was my wording too on the nose?” Yue Dong said grimly. “Or did I seem insincere because I don’t actually have any younger sister? Or did they detect my innate ability?
“If the two of them believed me at all, then my innate ability should have convinced them that I was after revenge. They shouldn’t have realized I was plotting against them, and I should have been able to use their emotions to control them. And my innate ability seemed to be working on them before.
“As for the secret treasure in Feng Lintao’s soul, it’s the legacy of the Fardark holy ancestor, which is why my innate ability is only partially effective on him. He probably believed that I have a sister who he stole blood from. But once he starts thinking about it, he’ll suspect the truth.
“This is the first time I’ve met someone in my own cultivation level who my innate ability failed to work on, much less someone lower than me....
“What a pity. Those two humans would have made great flesh puppets. And I’d say there’s an eighty to ninety percent chance they’re the ones responsible for the missing holy fardark nectar! What a pity. What a real pity....”
She turned to look at Lan Yao with cold eyes. It was as if, to her, Lan Yao wasn’t a person, but rather, a flesh puppet whose emotions she could control.
Lan Yao didn’t seem to hear Yue Dong’s ramblings. She gritted her teeth and looked angrily in the direction Feng Lintao had fled.
“Those two humans deserve to die. And Feng Lintao deserves to die even more. Thankfully, we dug up that evidence about him. We’ll definitely put him to death and avenge our sister!”
Her eyes were crimson and full of vicious hatred.