Chapter 264: Chapter 251: 9-Heart Demon Fruit Tree
"I object!" Nie Yun feigned a look of indignation. "When we encountered the Dark Gold Cold Stream, Young Master Qii Yang charged to the very front. When we killed the Beast King, I led the charge. Brother Ouyang is a Soaring Water Master, so he can’t take risks, and the rest are all women. No matter how you slice it, it should be Brother Muu’s turn to step up, right? Why are you making me go to the front again?"
"Me step up? Are you blind?" Muu Shengxue sneered coldly. "Have you not figured out your own place? If you go in now, Brother Ouyang might still be able to part the water around you so you can recover some True Qi. Otherwise, without a Soaring Water Master’s help, you can just wait to be trapped here until you die!"
"What did you say?" Nie Yun’s face was a mask of fury. "Young Master Qii Yang, we are an alliance. I exhausted myself killing the Beast King earlier and didn’t get any benefit from it, but let’s not even talk about that. Right now, my True Qi is depleted and I’m heavily injured. Even if you won’t help me heal, are you really not going to let Brother Ouyang help me recover my True Qi?"
"Don’t be hasty. I never said I wouldn’t let you recover," Qii Yang said in a sinister tone. "Someone has to brave this Gate of Hell, right? If you obediently go inside and ensure everyone’s safety, Brother Ouyang will naturally part the seawater for you, giving you time to recover your True Qi!"
"You..." Nie Yun pretended to be burning with rage, turning his head to look at Ouyang Cheng. "Brother Ouyang, is this what you want, too?"
"Young Master Qii Yang is our leader. His words are naturally my own. It takes energy for me to part the seawater for someone. If a person is completely useless, I certainly won’t waste my strength for nothing!"
It was obvious Ouyang Cheng had conspired with Qii Yang and Muu Shengxue beforehand. He stretched lazily as he spoke nonchalantly.
Underwater, an Ultimate Venerable Powerhouse not only had to resist the pressure of the seawater but also constantly fight against buoyancy. Under these conditions, it was impossible to cultivate with peace of mind to replenish one’s True Qi. To recover, one could only rely on a Soaring Water Master to part the sea. Right now, Ouyang Cheng was the only Soaring Water Master among them. In everyone’s eyes, his refusal to help was tantamount to a death sentence for Nie Yun.
"Fine, fine! You’ve gone too far!" Hearing the three of them gang up on him, Baihua Xiu was furious. "Yun Tong, let’s go. We can do without this treasure!" She grabbed Nie Yun’s hand, about to leave.
"Leave? Too much is at stake here. You think you can come and go as you please? Hmph. Baihua Xiu, I won’t say much about Yun Tong being a Loose Cultivator, but I recall you’ve established a small Sect, haven’t you? The Baihua Sect, I believe it’s called. If you leave now, I wonder if your Baihua Sect will be able to last for very long..."
Qii Yang’s words dripped with a blatant threat, implying that if the two of them left, they would suffer his insane retaliation.
"What are you trying to do?"
Baihua Xiu gritted her teeth.
"I won’t stop you if you leave today. However, you should be well aware of my Qii Family’s power in the Divine Holy Empire. If you don’t want your precious Baihua Sect to be razed to the ground, feel free to leave right now! Of course, this isn’t a threat. I, Young Master Qii Yang, am quite a man of my word! This is merely a warning to those who would desert us on the battlefield!"
Qii Yang delivered this threat without any attempt to disguise it.
"You... Despicable!" Baihua Xiu’s face alternated between red and white. She was so angry her lungs felt like they would explode.
She couldn’t fathom it. ’How could the once refined and gentlemanly Young Master Qii Yang be so ruthless!’
"Baihua Sect Master, don’t worry about me. Since they want me to go in and scout the path, I’ll go."
Nie Yun stopped Baihua Xiu with a grunt.
"Now that’s more like it!" Qii Yang laughed and casually tossed a jade bottle to Nie Yun. "This is Seeking Red Powder, something I had specially made. Just sprinkle a grain wherever you pass, and it will dye the surrounding seawater red. The color is long-lasting and won’t dissipate. We will follow the red trail!"
"Yun Tong, this is the Gate of Hell. It’s fraught with danger, and your True Qi is almost completely depleted..." Baihua Xiu said anxiously, lowering her voice. "If it really comes to it, we can just fight our way out. We can just relocate the entire Baihua Sect if we have to..."
"No need. Don’t worry, I’m fine. At worst, I’ll just take it one step at a time." Casually accepting the jade bottle, Nie Yun saw an irrepressible look of concern on the face of this usually cold beauty. He almost blurted out the truth about his disguise, but after a moment’s thought, decided it was better to keep quiet.
’Even though I now know they’re looking for the Demon Saint’s corpse, this place is just too big and riddled with traps. Rather than groping around blindly, it’s better to stick with Qii Yang. He must have a map or something, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to find this place.’
"Hurry up and get to the front!"
Seeing the young man’s helpless expression, Muu Shengxue was incredibly smug and roared again.
"Hmph!" Nie Yun couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on him. He turned and walked toward the pitch-black gate before him, entering it in just two steps.
"Young Master, that guy’s True Qi is severely depleted and he’s heavily injured. He’s almost certainly going to die in there, right?" Muu Shengxue sent via Sound Transmission, a smug look on his face as he watched the young man enter the gate.
"Don’t worry, there’s no way he’ll survive. He’s just an insignificant clown. Even if he gets lucky and survives, I’ll kill him after I’m done using him."
Qii Yang waved his hand dismissively, his eyes filled with contempt.
’Before, when Nie Yun’s methods were aggressive and his strength seemed to reach the heavens, I was still somewhat wary of him. But now, with his True Qi nearly gone, he doesn’t even dare to resist under such pressure. It’s obvious he has no trump cards left. In my eyes, a person like that is no longer frightening—he’s just a tiger with its fangs pulled.’
’And a tiger with pulled fangs must be killed quickly. Otherwise, once its fangs grow back, I’ll be the one to suffer.’
"Young Master, after you cripple his Cultivation, I hope you’ll hand him over to me!" A venomous glint flashed in Muu Shengxue’s eyes.
"I know you have your methods. I’ll give him to you then. Torture him well," Qii Yang nodded. "Heh, we’ll make an example of him to show everyone that my words cannot be defied. To defy me is to court death!"
"Rest assured, Young Master. I’ll make sure he’s in a state where he can neither live nor die!" At this happy thought, the corners of Muu Shengxue’s mouth curled up, as if he could already see Nie Yun, his power crippled, kneeling before him and begging for mercy.
"Let’s hurry and follow."
Ignoring Muu Shengxue’s excitement, Qii Yang took the lead and swam inside, following behind Nie Yun.
’Letting me come in first? That suits me just fine. Hmph, I’ll take every last thing and leave you guys to eat sand in my wake!’
After entering the pitch-black gate, Nie Yun smiled faintly. He activated his Soaring Water Talent and immediately shot forward like a fish.
’Since Qii Yang insisted I come in, this must be the right path. I’ll just go on ahead, take whatever I see, and stop if I encounter danger. With no one knowing I’m a Soaring Water Master, I could sell them out and they’d probably help me count the money!’
’These people might be so-called geniuses in Guangming City, but in my eyes, they’re nothing more than insignificant clowns. Playing them for fools will be a piece of cake.’
’Soaring Water Qi, sense the surroundings. The flow of the water is all within my grasp...’
After swimming swiftly for a while, once he was out of Qii Yang’s and the others’ sensory range, Nie Yun suddenly spread his Soaring Water Qi, letting it ripple outwards through the seawater.
The saying "anywhere with water is a Soaring Water Master’s backyard" was indeed true. As his Soaring Water Qi spread out, the location of every trap and mechanism became crystal clear, just like when he had used his Tracking Qi to navigate the mists. A place of certain death for others was like his own backyard to him.
’Heh heh, you want to follow me? I’ll give you something fun to follow, then!’
After entering the Gate of Hell and bypassing several traps, Nie Yun suddenly chuckled as an idea popped into his head.
With a flip of his palm, he took out the bottle of Seeking Red Powder that Qii Yang had given him. He casually took out a drop and tossed it right above a trap.
’Since they made me scout the path, wouldn’t I be letting them down if I didn’t create a "fun" path for them?’
’As for whether this would harm Baihua Xiu, that wasn’t a concern. Qii Yang and the others didn’t know he was a Soaring Water Master, so they would naturally be very confident in the path he took. In their rush to be the first to get the treasure, they would definitely charge at the front. By the time they suffer a major loss and realize what’s happening, it’ll be too late!’
’Of course, it was impossible to know if Ouyang Cheng would also use his Soaring Water Qi to sense the surroundings, discover the plan, and stop Qii Yang.’
’However, based on my observations, that Ouyang Cheng is no saint either. He would probably be delighted to watch Qii Yang suffer. Even if he did discover the trap, he likely wouldn’t say a word!’
’This whole group is just a bunch of hypocrites putting on a friendly facade. It would be a miracle if a combination like this survived for long!’
After placing the Seeking Red Powder, Nie Yun chuckled and quickly moved forward.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
He dodged two more traps in quick succession. Just as he was about to continue forward, Nie Yun suddenly heard a rumbling from the ground ahead, and a large group of figures in black armor leaped out from beneath the floor.
These armored figures appeared completely lifeless, walking forward slowly and ponderously. With each step, the ground trembled, displaying their immense power.
’Puppets? Demon Race Puppets? This Demon Saint really went all out!’
Nie Yun was stunned to see these things that looked human but were devoid of any life.
The Demon Race possessed a special method for refining Puppets. They would capture living people and use a special technique to turn them into mindless beings, preserving only their strength and combat instincts.
These Puppets would only follow orders to fight, completely fearless of death. To prevent them from taking damage, they were always clad in heavy armor.
’Although the armored figures look clumsy, once they start fighting, even I would just have to take a beating.’
’No head-on fights. I’ll get past them first!’
His Soaring Water Qi controlled the seawater to form whirlpools, trapping the Puppets inside while he shot forward like a fish.
When it came to escaping in water, a Soaring Water Master was invincible against others of the same level. Nie Yun’s current speed was something that even an ordinary Heaven-Seizing Creation Secret Realm powerhouse couldn’t match, to say nothing of these mindless Puppets.
After traveling for several miles, he smelled a faint fragrance. Looking up, he saw a tall tree slowly come into view.
’The Nine-Heart Demon Fruit Tree? It really is here!’
As soon as he got a clear look at the tree’s appearance, Nie Yun knew it was the Demon Fruit Tree he had been looking for. His eyes lit up, and an irrepressible smile spread across his face.
