Chapter 235: Chapter 195: Dragon Tornado (5K)_3
Everyone was at a loss for words, unsure how to comment.
Ji Xingwang opened his mouth, hesitated for a long time, then said, "Cultivator Lu, what if the Mutated Object targets the Divine Soul?"
"That would be even better." Li Ang smiled faintly. "The special thing about that Cultivation Technique is that it can not only isolate pain but also turn pain into pleasure. To you, the Bronze Earthenware Vessel may be a tomb for the living, but to me, it’s nothing more than a pleasure dome."
The expressions of the others were quite something to behold, but Li Ang spoke as if nothing troubled him. "Chu Haoman’s plan was simply for him and Wang Linian to lie in the Bronze Earthenware Vessel, to erode the grudge over the cycle of reincarnations. But everyone has their limits. No matter how strong-willed you are, facing the deep hatred passed down since the Shang Dynasty, you won’t last long. Trying to endure forcefully might even leave you dazed and dull, completely unconscious. The worst-case scenario is losing control over your emotions and still harboring grudges, effectively setting off the Bronze Earthenware Vessel early—the probability of that is not low. I am different. Whether it is ignoring the sense of pain or transforming it into pleasure, both abilities will allow me to hold out for a very long time. So, let me give it a try this time."
"..."
Chu Haoman stared with eyes wide open, taking over ten seconds to come to his senses. He exchanged a glance with Wang Linian. "Fine, fine then..."
"There we go." Li Ang nodded satisfactorily, took big strides forward, and casually said, "By the way, you all should stand back later. Also, if we manage to get out, my reward is to be quadrupled—this isn’t just for getting you out; it also includes the reward from the Taiyuan Wang Family for saving Taiyuan County."
Chu Haoman was caught between laughter and tears, while Wang Linian squinted his eyes. "If you can save Taiyuan County, not just quadruple, but ten times the reward would be entirely possible."
"Good, then it’s tenfold. I’ll have someone inform you of the delivery method when the time comes." Li Ang nodded, then looked at Wang Linian and said, "Lastly, let’s keep things separate. The Wang Family’s reward is one matter, and you stabbing Liao Kaifeng and Yan Yan in the back is another. I am a professional and ethical hired Cultivator."
Wang Linian nodded. "Fine. If we get out, I will give four times Liao Kaifeng’s and Yan Yan’s original reward to their designated beneficiaries in the Ghost Market. I’ll also personally spread the news in the Ghost Market that I killed them. If their friends or relatives seek revenge, let them come."
"Hmm." Li Ang nodded noncommittally, stepped past the two, went through the stone door, and arrived at the end of the tunnel.
The three curved feet of the Bronze Earthenware Vessel penetrated the thick rock layer, hanging down from the tunnel’s dome. Beneath it lay a pile of charred human skeletons, like a small mountain.
CRACKLE. CRUNCH.
Li Ang climbed the mountain of bones, reaching the top, where he saw a door at the base of the Bronze Earthenware Vessel that opened from the outside.
The moment he pulled the door open, a thousand ghostly wails unlike any human sound burst forth from the Yan, along with billowing mist. Ghostly fire ignited on the mountain of bones below.
"Tch." Li Ang shook his head, leaped into the Yan, and firmly closed the bronze door.
THUD!
With a resounding sound, silence returned inside the Yan. Sitting before Li Ang was a small, scorched, oil-stained, withered body.
Zhuo Lu.
Li Ang took a deep breath. Zhuo Lu’s body had perished three hundred years ago, but her remnant was still trapped here, neither alive nor dead, suffering eternal torment.
"It’s all over now." Li Ang reached out and gently closed her eyes. "Sleep now."
Gradually, a flurry of sounds arose in his ears: the slash of knives, the hack of axes, the burn of fire, the torment of drowning...
The wails of countless dying people surged from all directions. Resentment materialized into a black mist, slowly settling and enveloping everything like a shroud of cloth.
Suffocation, agony, despair.
If a normal person were in this place, they would likely suffer a mental collapse in less than fifteen minutes.
Li Ang sat cross-legged, observing the changes in his surroundings, his expression still calm and composed as he assessed the situation. Tch, looking at the degree of materialization of this resentment, after a dozen more such cycles, the entire Bronze Earthenware Vessel will likely be blown apart. It would blast Qi Shui Hollow sky-high and turn Bingzhou into a demonic kingdom on Earth. Chu Haoman’s original plan was nothing more than adding fuel to the fire...
CRACKLE.
His body swelled, rapidly at first, then faster. The bamboo hat and straw coat he was wearing were stretched open and torn apart by the Mo Si, transforming him from a human form into a large clump of tangled threads.
CLANG!
Hundreds of threads shot out, nailing themselves to the inner walls of the Bronze Earthenware Vessel. The next moment, a blue flame ignited on the surface of every Mo Si.
Upon contact with the black fog of resentment, the blue flames erupted into an intense blaze, as if oil had met a fierce fire, burning with hundreds, even thousands, of times more efficiency.
BOOM!!!
The entire Bronze Earthenware Vessel was engulfed in fierce blue flames. Qi Shui Lake above boiled violently. Countless black fish in the water were swept by the blue flames, reverting from their physical forms to a misty state, then annihilating and dissipating.
The tunnel shook, and the earth trembled. Yu Yong and the others watched in bewilderment as all this unfolded. Only Ji Xingwang’s eyes suddenly contracted as he recognized the nature of the blue flames. "Karmic Fire! He’s using Karmic Fire to ignite the resentment within the Bronze Earthenware Vessel!"
"What?!" Chu Haoman reacted instantly. "No, that’s not right! This will only cause the resentment to erupt all at once! We must stop him!"
"It’s too late." Ji Xingwang waved his palm, generating a repulsive force, and forcibly pulled back Chu Haoman, who was about to rush towards the end of the tunnel. "Once the Karmic Fire is lit, it will not cease until the resentment is gone. Go!"
Now was not the time to quibble about whether Lu Xiu had deceived them or not. Ji Xingwang and the others sprinted back along the way they came. The Qi Shui Village villagers they passed were already unable to maintain their forms and dissipated one after another. They had relied on the Bronze Earthenware Vessel for their very existence. Now that the Bronze Earthenware Vessel was ignited by Karmic Fire, they naturally faced only the fate of disintegration.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
At this moment, the Bronze Earthenware Vessel erupted like a volcano, spewing forth raging flames. Centuries of accumulated sins were burned to ashes in the Karmic Fire. Qi Shui Lake evaporated completely, and the rocky strata of the lakeshore melted from the intense heat, flowing wildly like magma.
Wang Linian and the others hastily escaped from underground. Chu Haoman, held in Ji Xingwang’s hand, looked back unwillingly. He saw a thousand-foot-high column of blue fire rising among the distant mountains. Clouds floating in the sky were also swept along by the fire column. They turned into an increasingly thick Fire Dragon tornado, twisting wildly in the high skies and sprinkling fire rain over the mountains.
"No..." Chu Haoman let out a painful groan. An immeasurable amount of resentment ignited by the Karmic Fire. The aftermath could scorch everything within a fifty-mile radius of Qi Shui Hollow to the ground, turning it into a pale wasteland where nothing could grow nor any living being could reside. At worst, it could even affect an area up to a hundred miles around—the entire Bingzhou City and nearby towns and villages might not survive. More importantly, with so much resentment spreading across Hedong Road, who knew how many new mutations would arise in a few years, or how much damage they would cause.
"Wait... What is that?" Wang Linian’s voice brought Chu Haoman back to his senses. He looked intently and saw that the towering Fire Dragon tornado behind the mountains was gradually descending, sinking slowly.
「 」
Inside the Bronze Earthenware Vessel, countless Mo Si, having completely lost their human shape, ignited Karmic Fire. Simultaneously, they extended threads outside the Yan, forming a gigantic drill bit at its base. Using the Mountain Rat Claw for the last time, they swiftly drilled downward, aiming to bring the Bronze Earthenware Vessel to the depths of the earth, far from humanity, before it exploded completely.
Above was the blazing Karmic Fire tornado; below, the frantically rotating Mo Si drill bit; and in between was the Bronze Earthenware Vessel, its surface continuously cracking, on the verge of collapse.
It was a race against time. The entire safety of Taiyuan County hung in the balance.
Alas, it’s only a Level 1 Mutation, and the Cultivators from the Candle Cloud Realm won’t make a move, leaving a small cultivator like me to take the brunt.
The Mo Si emitted an indistinct sound, then resolutely contracted and tightened, forcefully flipping the Bronze Earthenware Vessel onto its side and then slamming it upside down, embedding it deep within the profound rock strata.
The next instant, the Bronze Earthenware Vessel could no longer withstand the Karmic Fire burning from within and exploded underground.
The deafening sound traveled and transmitted along the ley lines. Chu Haoman and the others, who were on the verge of escaping Qi Shui Hollow, were engulfed by the swirling Flying Sand and Stone, buried beneath a layer of earth.
Meanwhile, the common people of Taiyuan County in Bingzhou watched in fear and anxiety as the earth beneath them shook gently, clueless as to what had happened.