Chapter 563: Divine Repository, Open! (I)
Bang!
Inside a great hall, a sturdy table made from Spirit Azurewood exploded apart with a thunderous crash. Woo Yixuan glared at Ning Ji'an with an ugly expression and demanded, "Where's Xiao Yu?"
Woo Yixuan shouted angrily, "I waited like hell in the demon cave for more than a month and never even saw Xiao Yu once! You'd better explain this clearly. Where the hell is he?"
Although his strength was inferior to Ning Ji'an's, his momentum qi showed no trace of fear. Years of spoiled and arrogant behavior had left him utterly lacking in respect, even when facing someone stronger than himself, like Ning Ji'an.
Ning Ji'an looked at the furious Woo Yixuan and spoke calmly as if nothing had happened. "Things changed unexpectedly. I didn't think he would fail to show up either. The fault does lie with my information. To make up for it, I've already tracked down Xiao Yu's latest whereabouts."
Woo Yixuan's attitude might have intimidated ordinary martial artists without backing, but to Ning Ji'an, who also came from an ancient martial esteemed family, it was nothing more than impotent rage.
"Heh. You think I'll still believe you?" Woo Yixuan sneered.
He had come here specifically to demand answers. Damn it, because of this bastard's false information, he had spent all that time suffering in the demon cave. Was that hellhole even fit for humans to stay in? It was pitch-black year-round, and the thick demonic qi that permeated every corner made him feel like he was trapped inside a cesspit. Just thinking about it disgusted him.
"This time, there's absolutely no mistake. I got word from a friend about Xiao Yu's latest movements. He entered a space-time node guarded by the Demon-Suppressing Army. This is the location of that space-time node. You can send someone to verify it yourself," said Ning Ji'an. With a movement of his spiritual sense, he transmitted the location directly to Woo Yixuan.
Ning Ji'an had been keeping tabs on Xiao Yu for quite some time. He knew all about Xiao Yu leaving Yanwu City and heading to the demon cave. Originally, he had assumed Xiao Yu would meet up with Han Ge and the others before entering the space-time node together to compete for the opportunity tied to the rule fragments.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Yu never went there at all, which caught Ning Ji'an somewhat off guard. Curious about Xiao Yu's true movements, he had deliberately sent people to investigate, and by sheer coincidence, they had uncovered Xiao Yu's actual whereabouts.
"Fine. I'll trust you one more time!" Woo Yixuan paused briefly before viciously adding, "But if you lie to me again, I'll make damn sure you understand the consequences!"
He had originally decided never to trust Ning Ji'an again. However, this information was simply too easy to verify. A single inquiry would be enough to determine whether it was true or false.
"Wait." Woo Yixuan suddenly stopped and turned back with an unfriendly expression. "Xiao Yu's been in the demon cave for so long. Is he really still there? Don't tell me he already left ages ago and you're sending me on another wild goose chase."
Having already been tricked once, Woo Yixuan no longer trusted Ning Ji'an in the slightest. Even if the information itself was real, he suspected there might still be some hidden trap involved.
Ning Ji'an probably did not dare scheme against him openly, but wasting his time and making a fool out of him was another matter entirely. Judging others by himself, Woo Yixuan knew perfectly well that if their positions were reversed, he would absolutely do the same thing, perhaps even worse. Because of that, he had no doubt Ning Ji'an was equally capable of such behavior.
Ning Ji'an smiled faintly and said, "Oh, there's something I forgot to mention."
Ning Ji'an had always looked down somewhat on this spoiled young master of the Woo Family. Woo Yixuan's aggressive attitude in barging over to demand answers today had irritated him, so he had deliberately concealed part of the information and intended to send Woo Yixuan on a pointless trip. What he had not expected was that this wastrel had actually become a little smarter this time around. It seemed that taking a few beatings really could help someone mature.
"Damn it, I knew you were screwing with me!" Woo Yixuan cursed furiously.
Woo Yixuan clenched his fists, seized by the urge to punch the smiling bastard standing before him. In the end, however, he forcibly restrained himself. Ning Ji'an was also the heir of an ancient martial esteemed family. If he started trouble first and got beaten up for it, the Woo Family would never back him.
More importantly, Woo Yixuan at least possessed enough self-awareness to know he was no match for Ning Ji'an. Every shift in Woo Yixuan's expression and movement fell neatly into Ning Ji'an's eyes. The corners of Ning Ji'an's lips curled upward slightly, and a trace of mockery and amusement flashed through his gaze.
"My apologies. I genuinely forgot," Ning Ji'an said with a smile, though there was not the slightest hint of apology on his face.
To Woo Yixuan, it felt as though Ning Ji'an was openly provoking him, yet all he could do was grit his teeth and endure it.
A powerful craving for strength surged within Woo Yixuan's heart. Damn it, after this, I'm definitely going to train seriously and crush every last one of you bastards beneath my feet!
"Xiao Yu entered that space-time node more than a month ago and still hasn't come out. I imagine he's already dead by now," Ning Ji'an said leisurely, as though discussing something utterly insignificant.
He was in quite a good mood. The moment he learned that Xiao Yu had remained inside the space-time node for over a month without emerging, Ning Ji'an had already sentenced him to death in his heart. That place was the demon realm! The omnipresent yao will there was vastly stronger than the yao will invading this world. The Divine Power Crystal was indeed highly effective, but at best it could only greatly reduce the erosion of the yao will on cultivators. It could not completely block it out.
If one endured the erosion of the yao will for too long without purifying or expelling it in time, cultivators would quickly go mad and become assimilated into the demon realm as yaos themselves. Martial artists possessed stronger resistance than immortal cultivators, but that place was still the demon realm. Entering it was equivalent to invading another world entirely.
As outsiders stripped of the protection and blessing of the Heavenly Dao's will, they would see their resistance to the yao will drastically weakened. No matter how strong a martial artist's resistance was, even a peak Divine Repository realm martial artist could not last more than a month in there.
"You mean he's dead?" Woo Yixuan was briefly stunned when he heard the news.
This was far too sudden. He had already come up with hundreds of ways to torture Xiao Yu, yet the man had just died like that? Damn it, that was letting him off way too easily!
Ning Ji'an took a sip of wine and smiled faintly. "Most likely. If he can still return alive after this, then that would truly be extraordinary. At that point, I'd become very curious about the secret treasure he might possess."
A new table had already condensed before him, formed entirely from energy. Fresh fruit and snacks had just been brought over by the attendants.
Woo Yixuan let out a cold snort and threw out one last threat before turning to leave. "Hmph. After deceiving me again and again, you can forget about the Martial Legacy Secret Ground. If you dare hide anything or trick me again over this matter, I'll make sure you regret it!"
However, Ning Ji'an's final words stirred another thought in Woo Yixuan's mind. Perhaps Xiao Yu was not dead after all?
Maybe Xiao Yu really does possess some powerful secret treasure... Or perhaps he encountered some heaven-defying opportunity in the demon realm? Woo Yixuan muttered inwardly.
He planned to send people there to keep watch. If Xiao Yu really emerged alive, they would report back immediately, and Woo Yixuan would dispatch men to intercept him at once. When that time came, whatever secrets Xiao Yu possessed would all become his!
***
Inside the demon cave, within the space-time node at the chaotic void where the two worlds bordered each other, the rule energy filling the void remained incomparably violent. Black winds howled endlessly without pause. Below, within the lake formed by dense demonic qi fused with all kinds of violent rules and energy, a dazzling golden radiance suddenly erupted.
The golden light bloomed from within the energy lake, dyeing a region nearly three hundred meters across atop the pitch-black surface in brilliant gold. Lin Zheyu's eyes remained shut, his expression twisted in agony. Vast amounts of golden blood qi billowed around him, merging with the violent surrounding energy and producing sharp sizzling sounds.
The blood qi within his body had become so dense that even his immensely powerful physique was beginning to struggle under the strain. A terrifying sense of swelling spread through him. Lin Zheyu felt as though he had overeaten to the point of bursting, his entire body painfully bloated by the endless torrent of blood qi power surging from his essence and qi divine repository.
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