Chapter 252: Merits

As the colossal sphere of lightning had shrunk into a single point and exploded moments ago, Dongbo Xueying witnessed the three priests plummeting and the bronze coffin being hurled into the distance.

He hesitated for only a moment before making his decision.

“This bronze coffin remains utterly unscathed even after such a powerful explosion! Attempting to open it and destroy the physical body inside might still bring some complications. So instead…” Dongbo Xueying merely shifted through the Void, appearing near the bronze coffin. Then, he extended his hand into the real world and grasped one corner of the coffin.

He then dragged it straight into the Void!

“Let me take it away first!” Dongbo Xueying glanced at the furious and maddened visage of the Great Demon God’s head displayed on the dark red armor worn by the three priests and couldn’t help but sneer, feeling a surge of exhilaration in his heart.

Grasping the bronze coffin, Dongbo Xueying immediately initiated high-speed teleportation and soon arrived inside the Ding Jiu Warship.

In the main hall of the Ding Jiu Warship’s cabin, Palace Master Chen was already there.

Dongbo Xueying then stepped directly from the Void, dragging the massive bronze coffin with one hand.

“Xueying!” Palace Master Chen was elated. “Well done! Excellent! Our greatest objective this time has already been completed. Next, we will attack the headquarters of the Demon God Cult. We’ll probably need you, Dongbo Xueying, for that…”

“No rush, I need to save someone first!”

Without delay, Dongbo Xueying’s figure twisted again, re-entering the Void.

…

He arrived at the secret punishment chamber within the headquarters of the Demon God Cult at the fastest possible speed. Upon seeing Puyang Bo, bound and emaciated to the point of skin and bones, he finally exhaled in relief.

What he had feared most before was…

Would the Demon God Cult, in desperation, kill Puyang first?

But the physical body of the Great Demon God’s avatar was of utmost importance! Once that body fully matured, if the Great Demon God truly succeeded in descending into this world, it could bring an unprecedented catastrophe upon the Xia Clan. Even newly ascended gods would be powerless against the Great Demon God’s avatar. Thus, at that time, he had not hesitated to leave Puyang behind, prioritizing the destruction of the spatial formation array before chasing after the three priests!

Now that he had secured the physical body of the Great Demon God’s avatar, having achieved a great feat, he rushed immediately to rescue Puyang.

“I was overthinking! The Demon God Cult now is likely focused on resisting the attacks of our Xia Clan’s Transcendents, paying no mind to a mere Flying Sage-level Transcendent.” Dongbo Xueying smiled slightly. He reached out and grabbed Puyang Bo’s body, lightly touching the chains binding him. The chains disintegrated into dust, and Puyang Bo was pulled into the Void. As Dongbo Xueying held Puyang Bo, feeling his skeletal frame, he felt a pang of sorrow and guilt. He had watched helplessly as Puyang endured six years of punishment!

Whoosh.

He swiftly returned at high speed.

“Hmm?” Within the Void, Puyang Bo’s consciousness gradually began to recover. After years of torment, his entire being had long since become numb, his body seemingly no longer his own. Even his soul had suffered repeated devastations. Yet he had clung to a single belief—

Never bow down!

Never bow down! As long as he did not yield, there was still hope!

This fragile belief had sustained him until today.

“Palace Master,” a faint voice came from outside, distant and ethereal, as if from the heavens.

“Puyang Bo… his condition is critical. His soul has been sealed and repeatedly tortured. Wait a moment—Mountain Master He is coming soon! He is the most formidable Transcendent mage, the one most capable of saving him!”

“Mountain Master He, hurry and save Puyang!”

“Brother He, saving Puyang is the priority! The headquarters of the Demon God Cult is protected by powerful arrays, making it difficult to attack. There’s no rush for now. I’ll take temporary command of the Ding Jiu Warship. Once you’ve saved Puyang, you can resume command.”

“Understood, leave it to me!”

The voices from outside seemed faint.

Puyang Bo tried to open his eyes but could not.

Inside the grand hall of the cabin,

Dongbo Xueying watched Puyang Bo lying on a temporary bed summoned from his storage ring, while Mountain Master He was already treating him.

“Puyang,” Dongbo Xueying’s heart was filled with guilt and sorrow. As a warrior cultivating battle energy, he was helpless when it came to soul-related injuries.

“Xueying, don’t blame yourself. This was our plan from the beginning. You did nothing wrong! In fact, you’re the one who saved him!” Palace Master Chen comforted him.

“I could have saved him but didn’t. I don’t regret my decision, but I feel terrible about it.” Dongbo Xueying shook his head.

At this moment, in the projection displayed in the center of the hall, one Xia Clan demigod after another had already appeared.

The Ding Jiu Warship had descended and was now hovering close to the Demon God Cult headquarters below. It had begun deploying multiple techniques, coordinating with the arriving Xia Clan demigods to launch an assault on the headquarters below.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Due to the previous explosion of the colossal lightning sphere, the surrounding mountains and rivers had already been reduced to nothingness. The headquarters of the Demon God Cult had been fully exposed. The massive hexagonal fortress now displayed countless runes on its surface, with layers of arrays completely blocking all attacks from the Xia Clan.

By now, a single breath of time had long passed. Although the three priests had encountered some resistance at the end, they had still managed to escape.

After all, the three priests were too fast and too powerful! With spatial barriers in place, even the Xia Clan’s demigods were unable to teleport, so they could only attack from afar.

“Xueying, attacking the headquarters of the Demon God Cult is quite complicated,” Palace Master Chen said. “I’ve already notified the Earth Temple. They are mortal enemies of the Demon God Cult and will also pour all their strength into attacking the headquarters. However, I suspect they won’t be able to infiltrate directly inside… which means we’ll need your help. You must infiltrate the interior and do as much destruction as possible!”

“Alright.” Dongbo Xueying nodded. “Also, the four Divine War Soldiers will accompany me for now.”

“Fine.” Palace Master Chen’s face lit up with joy.

With layers of arrays, a frontal assault would be extremely difficult.

Breaking in from the inside would be much easier. Palace Master Chen had previously seen that one of the Divine War Soldiers had been disguised as a black-gold humanoid. Others hadn’t realized its significance, but Palace Master Chen knew clearly—he had only assigned one Qing Armor Guard. How had Dongbo Xueying obtained a black-gold humanoid? Considering Dongbo Xueying’s infiltration techniques and his previous mention of attempting to enter the Black Wind God Palace, Palace Master Chen had guessed… Dongbo Xueying must have already obtained the treasure from the Black Wind God Palace.

Palace Master Chen was quite pleased about this, for compared to the old Black Wind Ancestor, Dongbo Xueying clearly held the Xia Clan in much higher regard.

“Xueying can infiltrate?” He Shan, of such a high cultivation realm, had easily dispelled the soul seals and punitive talismans placed on Puyang Bo by the Demon God Cult. He was now merely soothing and gradually repairing the damage to Puyang Bo’s soul. Upon hearing their conversation, he couldn’t help but feel astonished.

“Xueying?” Palace Master Chen turned to Dongbo Xueying.

“There’s no need to hide anymore. The Demon God Cult already knows, and our enemies are aware of my methods. There’s no point in concealing them from our allies.” Dongbo Xueying said.

“Xueying possesses a unique infiltration and reconnaissance technique—it’s another Second Grade True Intent that he has mastered. It was precisely by relying on this technique that we were able to locate five Demon Generals and the headquarters of the Demon God Cult.” Palace Master Chen explained. “And it was also thanks to Xueying that we relatively easily captured the physical body of the Great Demon God’s avatar.”

Dongbo Xueying added, “If it weren’t for the Ding Jiu Warship blasting the bronze coffin away, I wouldn’t have had the chance to act.”

“Don’t be modest,” Palace Master Chen laughed. He knew full well how great Dongbo Xueying’s contribution had been!

He Shan was momentarily stunned.

Another Second Grade True Intent? Discovering five Demon Generals and the headquarters of the Demon God Cult? And even the physical body of the Great Demon God’s avatar?

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Soon, the other four Divine War Soldiers arrived.

“I’ll be off first.”

Without bothering to explain further, Dongbo Xueying waved his hand and retracted the four Divine War Soldiers.

Whoosh.

Dongbo Xueying’s figure instantly twisted and vanished.

Seeing Dongbo Xueying disappear right before his eyes, He Shan was even more amazed. His cultivation level could only vaguely sense that Dongbo Xueying had entered another hidden space. How long had he cultivated his divine heart? And how much insight had he gained into the mysteries of divine artifacts? Only with such achievements could he barely sense Dongbo Xueying’s presence.

“Incredible,” He Shan praised, then hurriedly asked, “Quickly, tell me what’s going on. What’s this about the physical body of the Great Demon God’s avatar?”

“You first save Puyang Bo. I’ll explain everything to you later,” Palace Master Chen said.

“All the sealing talismans on Puyang Bo have already been removed. I’m now repairing the injuries to his soul. He’ll be up and about soon. You must believe in the resilience of a Transcendent life!” He Shan urged. “Now, please tell me quickly!”

“Alright then,” Palace Master Chen finally began recounting many things that only he and Dongbo Xueying had known. Only then did He Shan fully understand the immense feat Dongbo Xueying had accomplished.