“Master, since both sides stick to their own stories, why not just take them back and let the military judge settle the dispute?”
Bai Yulian’s eyes flickered, and she suddenly suggested.
“Fine!”
It was a minor matter, so Hong Lianshengmu nodded slightly. However, this sight made Huang Ying’s heart sink: “The three fierce warriors from Lianshan have contributed greatly to the army and have now risen to squad leaders. Moreover, they are on good terms with the guards, receiving biased favor. Going back means death, or at the very least a tragic fate!”
Just as she was thinking of risking her life for a final attempt, the voice of the young Daoist who had spoken earlier came over:
“Wait!”
Hong Lianshengmu and Bai Yulian immediately fell silent, much to Huang Ying’s surprise. She had originally thought this Daoist was merely a junior, but now it seemed he was actually the highest-ranking person in the group.
Soon after, she felt the Daoist’s gaze wandering between herself and Li Xiuyun, which made her inwardly curse again. However, since this was her only chance for survival, she had no choice but to endure humiliation.
“Hehe… quite the two pretty young ladies!”
Wu Ming wore a lecherous grin on his face: “Perfect to become my cauldron maidens for cultivating the Nine Revolutions Reversal Elixir technique! And those three strong men behind are also full of vitality; make them my boys too!”
“Old pervert!”
Seeing this, both Hong Lianshengmu and Bai Yulian inwardly cursed, but said nothing more.
After all, they were devilish girls who acted recklessly without restraint. To them, it was perfectly normal for Wu Ming to take two women for cultivation and three strong men to kill their souls and refine their spirits for devilish techniques.
“Not good, just escaped the wolf’s den, only to fall into the tiger’s mouth!”
Huang Ying secretly gripped the hilt of her sword tightly. Just as she was about to act, Qiao Da and the others shouted first: “You evil fellow! We are all under the command of King Yi, how dare you act like this?”
They were quite aware that the boys of such devilish sects were no different from test subjects. Whether it was swallowing toxic pills or experimenting with evil techniques, there were all sorts of methods that could turn healthy people into something neither human nor ghost. And even after death, their bodies and souls might still be used, leaving them no peace in death.
Suddenly, a fierce surge of vitality erupted from them, almost comparable to that of a Grand Master.
“You want these two women? We’ll gladly give them to you! The mountains and rivers will remain, we’ll meet again in the future!”
After Qiao Da played the villain, Qiao Er immediately stepped forward to play the good guy, seeing that capturing a woman might cost them their lives.
Such a display of intimidation and appeasement might have been enough for Hong Lianshengmu and Bai Yulian to let go lightly, but unfortunately for them, they encountered Wu Ming!
“Hehe… The people the Daoist has taken a liking to can escape from the palm of my hand?”
Wu Ming stretched out his right hand and grabbed fiercely, five streams of black qi nearly covering the sky, giving Lianshan’s three villains the feeling that the sky itself had darkened: “Five Ghosts United Grasp!”
“This Daoist is mad, extremely vicious!”
Lianshan’s three villains were quite frustrated, encountering someone like Wu Ming who was even more unreasonable. Qiao Da immediately roared furiously, his thick vitality surging into the sky, breaking through the Five Ghosts’ dark canopy.
“A martial arts Grand Master, vitality like a blazing furnace!”
Hong Lianshengmu and Bai Yulian cried out in astonishment.
Even for such high-level experts, within ten zhang, it would still be extremely dangerous.
“One act, no second thoughts! Kill them all!”
Qiao Da roared, and in one leap, covered several zhang in an instant, soaring into the air, grabbing at Wu Ming’s face.
This was the might of a martial artist; within three steps, one could rival a nation!
“So what if you’re a Grand Master? Kneel before the Daoist!”
But Wu Ming had long known they were reincarnators, and with his heavenly eye, he knew their strength’s depth. How could he be assassinated unexpectedly?
“Hehe!”
Just as the strike was about to land, Qiao Da suddenly found a skull appeared in front of him, grinning hideously with its mouth wide open.
“Wu magic artifact?”
Qiao Da sneered contemptuously, changing his palm into a claw, blood droplets emerging between his fingers: “Break it!”
Martial artists’ vitality was yang and strong, and even more so for a Grand Master’s essence blood; any ordinary artifact would lose its power upon contact.
But suddenly, a martial instinct made Qiao Da’s hair stand on end. Without hesitation, he retracted his claw and retreated.
Zhi la!
In the blink of an eye, he saw his blood droplets fall onto the forehead of the skull, emitting a puff of white smoke. Yet the skull remained undeterred and bit down directly.
Ka cha!
The bite was too fast. Despite Qiao Da already withdrawing his hand and retreating, a terrifying tooth mark still appeared on the back of his half-hand, with a bit of bluish-black color continuously spreading.
“Corpse poison?”
Qiao Da roared in anger, controlling his blood flow, and several blood arrows flew from the wound.
“This reaction is a bit more alert than that of the Seven Soldiers Master, not bad for a martial arts Grand Master. Pity it’s still of little use…”
With the Yuan Ling body and the Yuan Nu Tian Zhu Yuan Shen, Wu Ming’s current realm had already entered the profound and unfathomable state of the mysterious. With a sigh, he waved his sleeve again, sending out several phosphorescent green snakes from his sleeve, hiding a black light within.
“Blood Battle in All Directions! Kill!”
Despite being poisoned, Qiao Da still displayed extraordinary skills. He took a deep breath and struck eight palms fiercely, extinguishing the phosphorescent green snakes. However, the skeleton spirit flew up, spewing toxic gas, making him dizzy and disoriented. A black beam emerged from under his feet, quickly entangling him.
“Yin Binding Rope?! Never thought my junior brother had perfected this!”
Hong Lianshengmu cried out in astonishment, watching as Qiao Da was wrapped up like a dumpling, his face turning bluish-black, and indeed kneeling stiffly.
“Ahh!”
“Cousin Da!”
“Use the treasure! Fight to the death!”
In the blink of an eye, the most skilled martial artist, Qiao Da, was captured, which shocked Qiao Er and Qiao San beside him. Just as they were preparing to fight desperately, the ground behind them broke open, several black thorns flying out, piercing through their flesh.
Pu! Pu! After these two sounds, the two immediately fell down.
Their martial arts only reached the level of a Master, and against Wu Ming’s ambush, they were even more helpless. In one move, their vitality was broken, and they felt numb all over, unable to even move a finger.
“In one wave of his hand, he captured one Grand Master and two Masters, not even giving them time to use their props?”
Huang Ying’s cheeks were drenched in cold sweat, her heart filled with indescribable fear: “Who exactly is this old demon? Such a terrifying presence, he could easily go down in history! The Honglian Sect? Why don’t I remember anything about it?”
“Hehe! Tie them up and feed them triple the dose of ‘Lost Soul Powder’…”
Wu Ming, with the demeanor of a high-ranking heretic, pointed at Qiao Da again: “This man is a Grand Master, give him ten times the dosage!”
“Understood!”
These Honglian Sect disciples might not be good at magical duels, but they were quite efficient in handling chores. They immediately stepped forward, binding them tightly with ropes, grabbing them like pigs.
“Junior…”
“Master…”
Hong Lianshengmu and Bai Yulian, standing nearby, were stunned, begging with their sweet voices.
“Two Masters! One Grand Master!!!”
Hong Lianshengmu’s eyes sparkled with excitement: “Every drop of their blood is a treasure. How many powerful magical artifacts can be forged from it? Especially the soul of a Grand Master. If I use it to consecrate my Five Poisons Peach Blossom Miasma, not only could the power be enhanced, but it might even become immune to the martial artists’ vitality…”
“Haha… After the Daoist finishes using them, I’ll be sure to leave you a bit. No need to rush, no need to rush!”
Wu Ming laughed maniacally. Judging from his recent performance, he was indeed a terrifying demon patriarch!
Then he turned to Huang Ying and Li Xiuyun: “What? Do these little girls still want to fight?”
“Esteemed Daoist?”
Huang Ying gritted her teeth: “If you insist on bullying the weak, even if my sister Xiuyun and I must die, we won’t make it easy for you…”
“Don’t talk about life and death so easily…”
Wu Ming grinned wickedly: “Little girls don’t know better, thinking that death will end everything? Let me tell you, this old immortal is an expert in refining corpses and souls. When the time comes, I’ll extract your soul, refine your body into a beautiful concubine, and still be able to enjoy you while you watch…”
Kuang dang!
Huang Ying’s face turned pale, and her sword fell to the ground in fright.
She had long heard of such terrifying magic in the heretical sects, capable of making people wish for death but unable to attain it. Now, she dared not even think of committing suicide, for fear of her soul being captured and tortured endlessly, which would be even more painful than the body.
“This is a clever little girl… Hehe, don’t worry, once this old immortal finishes dealing with these three, I’ll come and keep the two little beauties company!”
Wu Ming sneered with a sinister smile, full of confidence as he waved his hand: “Let’s continue on our way!”
“Please, ladies!”
Bai Lian laughed and stepped forward.
“Sister, let’s go!”
Huang Ying gritted her teeth, feeling slightly relieved that she wouldn’t be harmed immediately, and helped Li Xiuyun onto a horse, heading toward General Yi’s camp of Han Hulin.
…
“The Holy Mother has arrived!”
“The Holy Mother has arrived!”
After traveling a short distance, they saw a vast military camp with banners stretching far and wide, and over ten thousand soldiers in armor. After Hong Lianshengmu appeared, she even drew cheers from the troops.
“So the Honglian Sect’s faith has actually spread into the army…”
Wu Ming’s mind stirred as he saw Hong Lianshengmu’s face light up with satisfaction, and she glanced at him.
He knew that this woman had nearly lost her Dao heart after witnessing his divine might, and now that she was back on her home ground, she was subtly showing off her power against him by leveraging the army’s qi. However, he simply smiled and chose not to confront her.
“Holy Mother, please wait a moment while I go inform the general!”
A gatekeeper officer shouted loudly and quickly ran off.
Before long, the camp gates opened, and a tiger general emerged surrounded by his personal guards, his face showing joy: “Has Jing Juan arrived?”
Wu Ming looked closely and saw that this general had thick eyebrows and big eyes, a face full of ferocity, and a face full of coarse flesh. His two eyebrows were almost connected, likely the origin of his title “One Eyebrow King.”
Above his head, black and red qi gathered, forming clouds, with golden and green hues within, quite extraordinary. Moreover, a beam of starlight fell down, merging with his fortune, manifesting a fierce form.
Indeed, this man is a shooting star amidst the chaos of the times! Could he be the deputy commander of Luohou?
(Note: “副命” is translated as “deputy commander” based on context, assuming it refers to a military or leadership position. If “Luo Hou” is a proper name, it’s kept as is. If it’s a title, it could be adjusted accordingly, e.g., “the Marquis of Luo.”)
Wu Ming pondered carefully. This omen was somewhat inferior to Li Rubi, whom he had encountered before. He sneered inwardly: “Back then, Li Rubi’s ancestor ignited the dragon vein, and he himself was the true destiny of the Greedy Wolf, a celestial star general descended from heaven. Yet his audacious claim to kingship greatly diminished his fortune. As for you, a self-proclaimed king in chaotic times—half-baked, with overwhelming calamity looming outside—you are soon to face a great disaster…”
Of course, on the surface, he was respectfully polite, dismounted, and bowed: “This Daoist greets the Great King!”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage