Chapter 318: Defying Fate (Part 23)

In the ninth underground level, alarms suddenly blared.

This was a danger alert, a signal only activated when the defense system was under attack and severely damaged.

“Report, team leader! Someone has sabotaged the defense system and the circuits in the engine room. The backup power in the engine room has already been activated.”

“Report, team leader! The Invisible Shielder is down…”

“Report, team leader! Poison gas detected in the control room!”

Several members of the Xuan Group, wearing yellow lab coats, rushed in frantically, delivering a series of urgent reports.

“Element Girl, you head to the control room. I’ll go check on the Invisible Shielder!”

Yi Tianwen’s heart sank. He quickly turned and ran toward the Invisible Shielder’s room.

Inside the room, two female members of the Xuan Group were in a panic. The Invisible Shielder was convulsing on the bed, blood flowing from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He barely struggled before dying.

“Damn it! You two come with me…” Yi Tianwen was furious. He immediately turned and strode toward the adjacent room. He had already guessed it—this must have been the Wheelchair Prophet’s betrayal, definitely him who had told Shui Miao how to defeat the Invisible Shielder.

And indeed, Shui Miao had unleashed his immortal energy, suddenly attacking the walls and severely injuring the Invisible Shielder. Once the defense was breached, Shui Miao sensed the underground situation and immediately channeled his Soul Devouring energy underground, taking the Invisible Shielder’s life. Then, with practiced ease, he attacked the engine room, triggering a chain reaction of alarms.

Chaos erupted underground while the surface remained silent, with Lao Guan and King Gang still locked in battle.

“He’s gone?”

Yi Tianwen flung open the door and found that the Wheelchair Prophet and two female members of the Xuan Group were missing.

“Dare to betray me and still think you can run?” Yi Tianwen immediately turned to one of the female members and ordered, “Go to the control room and issue an orange alert! Seal all exits and mobilize everyone—find and kill that traitor, the Wheelchair Prophet!”

“Bang!”

As Yi Tianwen finished speaking, an explosion erupted from the direction of the surveillance room, plunging the entire basement into darkness.

Shui Miao had destroyed the backup power.

Without electricity, many things couldn’t function.

The alarm system was no longer operable.

Yi Tianwen picked up the walkie-talkie, about to speak, when Shui Miao’s voice suddenly echoed in his ear: “Yi Tianwen, you’re really impressive! I actually admire you a little. You almost tricked me, but in the end, you still fell just short. Now it’s my turn to strike back!”

“Hmph! Shui Miao, have you ever heard the saying ‘It’s easier to deal with the King of Hell than his minions’? Don’t get too cocky. I’m a centuries-old ghost. I come and go without a trace. If you push me too far, I’ll abandon this body and go after your loved ones and friends. Even if I can’t defeat you, I can still destroy them!”

Shui Miao had nothing to fear—he was a ghost by nature. If he wanted, he could abandon his current body at any moment.

“…”

Yi Tianwen had to die!

Shui Miao immediately severed the mental connection with Yi Tianwen and opened his eyes, walking directly toward King Gang.

At the same time, Lao Guan quickly retreated and collapsed onto the ground.

Shui Miao withdrew his immortal energy, ready to quickly wrap up the situation.

King Gang, in a frenzy, roared at Lao Guan, “Get up! Fight again!”

Approaching King Gang, Shui Miao said directly, “Stop shouting. How about becoming my little brother?”

King Gang was in the middle of a fight when Lao Guan suddenly stopped. He hesitated slightly, then suddenly threw a punch toward Shui Miao’s face, shouting, “Are you asking for a beating?”

King Gang’s punch wasn’t particularly fast, but it carried immense force, like a mountain crashing down. Anyone hit by it would surely die.

But Shui Miao didn’t move!

Metal governs strength and destruction.

Shui Miao focused his metal-type immortal energy entirely on his face, preparing to clash head-on with King Gang.

Everyone saw a triangular golden light appear in front of Shui Miao, the color deepening and intensifying. When King Gang struck, there was a loud crack…

Shui Miao couldn’t withstand the immense impact and was forced to take a couple of steps back.

King Gang, however, screamed in pain. His hand was broken, blood gushing out, his knuckles split open and mangled.

Protected by his immortal energy, Shui Miao suffered no serious injuries.

But this punch taught Shui Miao a lesson. He realized he should have used a safer, more effective method against King Gang—such as shaping his metal energy into needles or blades, or even forming an ethereal sword and controlling it the way he controlled Lao Guan. Why had he foolishly chosen to clash directly?

Still, the fact that Shui Miao had withstood King Gang’s punch left everyone in shock.

“Damn it!” King Gang shouted. “What kind of sorcery is that? Why did it feel like I punched an iron spike?”

“Indeed a mighty man. Truly admirable,” Shui Miao exhaled deeply. He waved his hand and sent a light blue surge of water energy to wrap around King Gang’s fist, quickly healing his wounds. Then, turning to the crowd, he bowed and said, “Everyone, I have no grudge with you all. I’m just an ordinary cultivator searching for my grandfather. I was tricked by Yi Tianwen. Though he appears to be your Xuan Group leader, in reality, he’s an ancient ghost with over a hundred years of cultivation. He wants to capture me and take over my body, along with everything I possess. I admit he’s truly wicked. Earlier, he even offered to make me deputy leader of the Xuan Group. Now, I only want to expose this old ghost—I have no intention of fighting any of you. So please, don’t stand in my way.”

Shui Miao waved again, recalling the healing energy from King Gang’s fist.

King Gang stared at his hand in disbelief. In just a few seconds, the pain was gone, and his wounds had completely healed!

“Everyone, I believe this cultivator’s words. Yi Tianwen, aside from being cunning and scheming, doesn’t really have any true power,” Old Uncle Huang stepped forward. He couldn’t directly address Shui Miao as “master” in front of everyone, so he chose to sway the group from his own perspective.

Old Uncle Huang was highly respected, second only to Yi Tianwen.

When he spoke, many who had stubbornly intended to fight Shui Miao relaxed their stance.

King Gang also stepped forward, saying in a deep voice, “This brother of mine clearly distinguishes right from wrong, acts openly and honestly. I’ve never respected anyone in my life, but today, I truly admire you. Ha! Healing a broken bone and wounds in just a few seconds—Yi Tianwen definitely couldn’t do that!”

Afei and Xiao Ju also stood up, battered but their expressions toward Shui Miao softened.

However, Shui Miao had no intention of healing their injuries.

“Clap! Clap! Clap!”

Suddenly, a rapid knocking on the door echoed. Due to the power outage, all doors were locked.

Shui Miao turned and waved his hand, immediately channeling his immortal energy to open a hidden door next to the elevator.

Everyone saw two female members of the Xuan Group in yellow lab coats carrying a wheelchair out.

On the wheelchair sat none other than the Wheelchair Prophet.

The two women looked extremely anxious and frightened. One of them cried out, “Quick, help us! They’re chasing us…”

From the stairwell behind the hidden door came a series of rapid footsteps…

Shui Miao immediately channeled his metal-type immortal energy, forming three floating swords around his body as he stared at the entrance of the hidden passage.

The two female members pushed the Wheelchair Prophet behind Shui Miao, finally exhaling in relief.

The footsteps behind the passage suddenly stopped.

Before long, five little girls, identical in appearance but differing in color—gold, wood, water, fire, and earth—suddenly appeared at the entrance.

Could these also be the Five Elements?

Shui Miao’s eyes flickered with confusion. He had never encountered elemental clones like this before. They felt both familiar and foreign. He couldn’t help muttering, “Could there be other forms of the Five Elements in this world besides the Holy Elemental Spirits?”

Hearing Shui Miao’s muttering and seeing the five little girls, the Wheelchair Prophet quickly warned, “Shui Miao, be careful! These five are all manifestations of Element Girl’s consciousness. She’s hiding in the stairwell, and she fears sunlight the most…”

“You traitor!” shouted the red Element Girl, immediately unleashing a ball of flame toward the Wheelchair Prophet.

Seeing this, Shui Miao quickly released his Soul Devouring energy to envelop the flame.

Upon contact, Shui Miao discovered that the flame was just ordinary fire, albeit heavily saturated with yin energy, nothing particularly special.

“Ahh!”

Seeing her flame devoured, Element Girl was shocked. The five clones spoke in unison, “What sorcery is this? How can you absorb my fire element?”

“Fire element?”

Shui Miao raised his eyebrows. “What fire element? It’s just regular fire-type immortal energy, only with heavy yin energy. Fundamentally, it’s still immortal energy.”

“Element and immortal energy are essentially the same, just different terms. But hers is indeed unique, likely due to the heavy yin energy you mentioned,” the Wheelchair Prophet added, analyzing, “However, Element Girl is truly different. She can control the Five Elements without cultivation. Such a freak is extremely rare. I suspect she might be a witch from the underworld reincarnated.”

“You traitor! You dare speak ill of me?” Element Girl angrily pointed at the Wheelchair Prophet. “You betrayed Uncle just to avoid being in a wheelchair yourself. You tricked me into being your pawn—you’re so evil! Today, I must destroy you!”

As her words ended, the five Element Girl clones merged into one, instantly transforming into a mass of chaotic energy rushing directly toward the Wheelchair Prophet.

“Bad! This is her ultimate technique. Shui Miao, be extremely careful!”

The Wheelchair Prophet was shocked. He knew the power of this chaotic energy all too well, and his face turned pale with fear.