Chapter 47

The two Siying Bells seemed to resonate with each other as the new sounds blended with the old, and the continuous ringing quickly spread throughout Weiguang Heaven.

The array barrier enveloping Weiguang Heaven seemed to sense this, actually beginning to tremble slightly in response.

Huang Ying was first startled, but this surprise quickly turned into discomfort.

A look of pain crossed her face as she clutched her ears and crouched down.

Although Wu Ming and the others had not yet lost their composure, they all frowned.

The fox pulled her ears back flat against her head, instinctively turning away to leap into Xie Chang'an's arms, burying her head inside like an ostrich to block out the bell chimes that, though initially pleasant to the ear, pierced straight through to the spiritual consciousness.

Xie Chang'an casually used her Fengchan Brush to sketch a few mountain peaks, making them suffice as a barrier.

She found this brush truly remarkable, as it was actually capable of blocking half of the bell's sound.

After a long while, the ringing finally gradually subsided.

Those with lower cultivation levels present were already drenched in cold sweat, their complexions deathly pale.

Huang Ying and several maidservants leaned against the pillars, collapsing weakly to the ground, panting as they slowly pushed themselves back up.

Yet at that very moment, Murong suddenly blew into a palm-sized horn he held in his hand.

*Woo————*

The sound was muffled, resembling the cry of some gigantic creature, completely different from the earlier bell chimes. Yet like a heavy hammer striking a massive drum, this blow caused everyone's heart to leap violently in their chests.

Xie Chang'an whipped her head around!

Ghastly wind.

Ghastly winds from all directions broke through the barrier array of Weiguang Heaven and swept inward.

All the golden osmanthus flowers rapidly faded to a grayish hue in an instant, the branches laden with dense clusters of blossoms withering and decaying at an extraordinary speed. Even the originally bright sky turned gloomy and murky, an aura of death overwhelming the realm as it extinguished every single candle flame at the banquet.

The fox acutely raised her head from Xie Chang'an's embrace, her ears perking up.

"What is coming?"

She soon found out.

Massive shadows gathered like dark clouds, utterly silent, carrying an icy, deathly aura with the crushing weight of Mount Tai.

The guests seated here included both demons and ghosts. Except for Xie Chang'an, all the others were already accustomed to the perennial, eerie, and lifeless gloom of the Zhaogu Realm. Yet suddenly coming into contact with such an overwhelming concentration of death qi, everyone still could not help but show expressions of discomfort.

Some with weaker cultivation foundations had already been injured while crossing the lake earlier, and now, threatened by the oppressive death qi, they directly vomited blood and passed out.

Black vapor immediately covered them, eroding them away bit by bit until not even dust remained.

The crowd was struck with extreme terror, launching counterattacks one after another. However, after the black vapor was temporarily beaten back, it roared and lunged forward once more!

A demon cultivator was caught off guard and dragged into the black mist, disappearing instantly. Their miserable scream was cut short, vanishing completely.

"Are those the wandering souls that besieged you last time?" the fox asked in bewildered shock. "How can they possess such terrifying power?!"

The army of wandering souls last time had merely surrounded them slowly, using ghostly qi to intimidate Xie Chang'an and Zhedie. The power of these entities now was simply on a completely different tier from the previous encounter, separated by a gulf as vast as heaven and earth.

The wandering souls, which previously could barely maintain a human shape, had now turned into masses of dark vapor of varying shades of depth. At Murong's horn call, they obeyed commands as smoothly as one's own limbs, even breaking through the array deployed by Juxiang and instantly destroying the brilliant beauty of Weiguang Heaven.

Xie Chang'an said in a low voice, "Those wandering souls have been refined."

Thousands upon thousands of wandering souls had all been refined by Murong into the black vapor before them, roaring and surging incessantly, silently recounting all the lingering grievances and hatreds from their lifetimes.

The resentment originally imprisoned within their souls had been thoroughly shattered and thrown back into the crucible to be forged anew, ultimately fusing into a colossal monster.

"Do you like this birthday gift of mine?"

Murong raised his hand and flicked his fingers.

Several maidservants who had previously remained unnoticed in the corners immediately took action, killing their own companions.

Even around Huang Ying's neck, an extra sword appeared.

Huang Ying looked at the purple-robed maidservant holding the sword, her face flushing crimson with rage. "How dare you betray our master!"

Murong smiled. "Wise birds choose superior trees to nest in. Juxiang has played the bald donkey for so long that he actually started abstaining from meat and flesh, convincing himself he is a true Buddha's son. Yet his subordinates are all demons; how can they advance their cultivation without consuming humans? Could it be that everyone is supposed to accompany him in acting like a bald monk? I merely gave them another choice."

The fox wanted to watch the spectacle while simultaneously fearing collateral damage. She rested her chin on Xie Chang'an's shoulder and craned her neck to peer out, pushing the traits of clinging to life and avoiding disaster to their absolute limit.

The corners of Xie Chang'an's mouth twitched slightly.

Yet it was not because of the fox, but because she caught sight of someone.

Among the female attendants who had defected, one intentionally or unintentionally turned her head, and from an angle hidden from the others' view, she winked at her.

The light in those eyes was so familiar that it instantly reminded her of the times the two of them had once been daring and fearless enough to brandish their swords and hack at the Dianxian Score.

Xie Chang'an remained expressionless, shifting her gaze away with practiced nonchalance.

The festive banquet was stripped of its lively and dazzling facade, exposing the grim essence of a genuine hell.

Those guests who had originally come for their own interests were turned into food for the wandering souls in the blink of an eye.

Nearly half of the maidservants under Juxiang's command had betrayed him, while the other half were either dead, wounded, or held hostage by the traitors.

Following the screams and bloodshed, the slaughter came to a temporary halt. Murong stopped blowing the horn in his hand, and the wandering souls paused their assault as well, forming a standoff with the surviving crowd.

"Hand over the Siying Bells," he said to Juxiang.

Wu Ming had been watching coldly from the sidelines all along. Given his temperament, the only reason he had tolerated it until now without erupting was simply because he had long since been displeased with Juxiang anyway, preferring to remain a quiet observer and let two tigers fight.

Although the Zhaogu Realm was a dragon without a head where nobody submitted to anyone else, Juxiang possessed the strongest power and had gathered a massive following by masquerading as a Buddhist cultivator, making him vaguely the leader of all demons.

For such a birthday banquet, everyone had to give face; when it was said that Siying Bell fragments were being collected, people rushed to present them.

While the other major demons showed no outward signs, how could they truly submit in their hearts? They had merely been waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

Juxiang still sat high upon the lotus platform, gazing at Murong as he slowly rolled his prayer beads between his fingers.

Murong was naturally cunning and suspicious by nature. Seeing the other's reaction to be overly calm, he had already raised his vigilance to the absolute maximum.

"I only want the Siying Bells and have no intention of implicating the innocent. You surely wouldn't want the rest to accompany you in your—"

Before the word "burial" could leave his lips, he suddenly felt something was amiss!

An intensely dangerous intuition seized his heart, and Murong whirled around fiercely to strike with a palm!

The force of his palm whipped up a gale across his entire body, yet it failed to push aside the Vajra Pestle that was mere inches away!

This was Juxiang's weapon and magical treasure!

Ever since he began masquerading as a Buddhist cultivator, he had transformed his original weapon into a Vajra Pestle, for which he was frequently mocked and ridiculed behind his back by other major demons. Yet at this very moment, as Murong looked upon this Vajra Pestle, he could not manage even a hint of a smile.

Golden light cleaved through the fierce wind, striking straight into his heart!

Murong's reaction had already been fast enough, but Juxiang proved faster by a full three parts.

Murong let out a muffled groan, raising the horn as if to sound it once more.

Yet Juxiang afforded him no such opportunity at all.

The Vajra Pestle that had pierced straight through his chest instantly shattered into pieces, shooting out from the back of his head and his limbs to hoist him bodily into the air and nail him firmly to the wall behind him!

Murong's eyes widened slightly, panting heavily as blood flowed down along his wounds, tracing intricate and horrifying patterns across the wall.

"You..."

He understood now.

He had fallen into a trap from the very beginning.

The Juxiang on the lotus platform had不知何时 (unbeknownst when) been replaced by a clone, remaining completely motionless from start to finish, whereas the true Juxiang had long since concealed himself behind him, waiting for this fatal strike.

The others had never expected Murong to be dispatched so cleanly and decisively, leaving them momentarily dumbstruck in disbelief.

"He has actually mastered a true-and-false indistinguishable bodily avatar?"

The fox muttered, clearly struggling to accept that Juxiang's cultivation had quietly reached such heights.

"Could he have secretly obtained some formidable magical treasure?"

Looking over at Wu Ming's expression, it was exceptionally unsightly as well.

Previously, these major demons could only accept that Juxiang was slightly superior to them. Now, suddenly discovering that the man might be far beyond their reach, the psychological gap was nothing short of massive.

While everyone's thoughts raced like lightning, Juxiang did not halt his actions. He forced out Murong's demon core and, rather than consuming it, crushed it directly to pieces.

The fragments flew out from within Murong's body, reforming into the Vajra Pestle in midair. Seized by Juxiang, it drove once more into the space between the other's brows.

With his inner core and primordial spirit shattered, Murong vomited a large mouthful of blood and finally breathed his last.

To his dying day, he never understood the reason why his calculations had fallen just short.

Silence.

Not a single person uttered a sound.

When Murong had coordinated from within and without to summon the army of wandering souls earlier, everyone had been caught completely unprepared.

Yet in the span of a breath, a renowned major demon of the Zhaogu Realm had thus perished at Juxiang's hands.

Clutching the blood-drenched Vajra Pestle, Juxiang turned around to survey the gathered crowd.

Beneath his golden-threaded cassock, half of his robes were stained red, yet his expression remained dignified and refined, akin to a Buddha stepping forth from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

Noticing that his gaze had landed upon him first, Wu Ming frowned inwardly and spoke with reluctant disfavor, "I have no ties to Murong, nor will I lay hands on the Siying Bells."

Juxiang said nothing, nor did he shift his gaze away.

Huang Ying sneered, "When Murong made his move earlier, Senior Wu stood by with folded arms and watched indifferently. If there was no collusion, how can you guarantee that once it was finished, Murong wouldn't have turned on you?"

Wu Ming flew into a rage. In the past, what qualification did this little servant have to act presumptuously before him?

Yet Juxiang remained silent, continuing to fix his gaze upon Wu Ming, as though Huang Ying's words represented his very intent.

The Vajra Pestle in his hand was still dripping blood, gripped by white and slender fingers that exuded a bizarre, eerie aesthetic.

Wu Ming clenched his jaw, endured the insult, bowed slightly, and chose to yield temporarily.

"I am willing to enshrine you as the lord of the Zhaogu Realm, and swear by blood that from this day forward I shall never provoke nor oppose you."

With a smile that was not quite a smile, Juxiang finally averted his gaze, looking toward Xie Chang'an and the fox.

The fox instantly jolted awake, leaping down from Xie Chang'an's embrace.

"I am certainly not in cahoots with them!"

Juxiang's expression was gentle, yet it carried an invisible pressure. The fox attempted to resist, only to trigger her old injuries. Her form swayed slightly, and she coughed up a mouthful of heart's blood. The pressure not only failed to lessen, but grew increasingly heavier.

Terror gripped her heart, granting her a renewed understanding of Juxiang's strength.

Although Xie Chang'an felt no such pressure, she perceived the danger from the fox's reaction and was just about to step in to help defuse the situation when the fox preemptively cried out.

"This time I came not merely to offer birthday congratulations, but to present a grand gift to the Buddha's son! The person beside me is a fake Ghost King, and she also carries a sword that is a celestial-grade magical treasure. I went through untold hardships to coax her here specifically to offer it as a birthday surprise for the Buddha's son!"

With that, she twisted her head around to cast frantic winks at Xie Chang'an, her fox face twisted almost as if she were suffering a stroke, seemingly urging her to recognize that the wise submit to circumstances and hurry to utter a few soft words to smooth things over.

Xie Chang'an: ...

Yet could such a god of slaughter be easily smoothed over?

Among the treasures of the world, celestial-grade ranked supreme, followed by unique treasures, and then the superior, middle, and inferior grades.

Upon hearing the words "celestial-grade magical treasure," numerous gazes instantly converged upon Xie Chang'an.

Yet Juxiang showed no surprise, nor did he display any intention of seizing the treasure, merely sweeping a glance over them before walking toward the female attendants who had betrayed him.

The fact that he had instantly slain the major demon Murong just moments prior served as a tremendous deterrent to these traitors; some who had attempted to run were frozen in place on the spot, while others had already collapsed limply to the ground.

Juxiang continued to execute them one by one, turning a deaf ear to their weeping and pleading.

Zhedie, disguised as a purple-robed maidservant, was hiding in a corner, but he could no longer conceal himself now. As Juxiang continued his slaughter, he would soon reach him. His heart sank slightly as he hesitated over whether to expose his identity.

A sword was extended, blocking the space between him and Juxiang.

Juxiang lifted his gaze, silently staring at the newcomer.

"This person is my friend."

Xie Chang'an spoke as casually as though commenting on fine weather suitable for a spring outing.

"Your Buddha's son is fake, and my Ghost King is fake as well. Might as well grant me this bit of face."

The fox held her breath, thinking to herself that this fierce star had just slaughtered a circle of people, yet you not only poked holes in the fellow's Buddha's son identity but spouted utter nonsense—how could he possibly grant you face?

However, Juxiang gazed at Xie Chang'an for a moment, and actually lowered the hand he had just raised.

The fox dropped her jaw, feeling she had encountered an insoluble mystery of a lifetime.

Yet immediately following that, an even greater insoluble mystery arrived.

Juxiang actually curved the corners of his lips and smiled at Xie Chang'an.

There was no murderous intent, no tyranny, and no mockery.

It was a gentle and harmless smile.

The fox was terrified.

She pondered whether these two might be old acquaintances, yet judging by Xie Chang'an's expression, it clearly did not look like it.

Rife with questions, the fox was just about to say something when she suddenly heard a chiming sound.

Interrupted earlier by Murong's horn, the Siying Bells, which had grown quiet, rang out once more.