Chapter 140: Crimson Dragon

This action startled Xu Zhi, leaving him only stammering and unable to utter another word.

The lean Daoist at the head of the group, adorned with a short, goat-like beard, was named Jiao Jizhong.

Before Xu Zhi lost his influence, the two had shared a certain fondness for the arts of alchemy and metallurgy, and as a result, they had maintained a cordial and friendly relationship.

However, once the rumors spread that Xu Zhi had fled out of cowardice and caused the death of Elder Gu Jun’s only son, his reputation was instantly ruined. Within the sect, those who habitually fawned over the powerful and trampled the weak seized the opportunity to kick him while he was down.

It was precisely at that time that Jiao Jizhong quietly severed all ties with Xu Zhi, avoiding any further contact out of fear of being tainted by his bad luck.

"I... I..."

Under the piercing gazes of Jiao Jizhong and his companions, Xu Zhi sensed that his current predicament boded ill and forced himself to speak.

A young man in green suddenly sneered, interrupting him.

"Senior Brother Xu, we respect you for entering the sect early and holding a higher seniority, which is why we have protected you all along! But having gone to such lengths for your sake, surely it shouldn't be too much to ask for a little human favor in return?"

"It is only right, perfectly right... But Junior Brother Zhang, which of my possessions have you set your sights on this time?"

Xu Zhi forced a stiff smile, cupping his hands in a bow as he replied.

"I heard that in order to descend into the nether abyss, Senior Brother specifically parted with two talismanic artifacts to acquire a flying sword named 'Vein Dwelling'? Would you be willing to part with it?"

The youth in green exchanged a glance with the others.

Instantly, the surrounding Xuanzhen Sect Daoists understood his intent. With hidden chuckles in their hearts, they stepped forward in unison, silently forming a tight circle around Xu Zhi.

"The Vein Dwelling sword? Junior Brother Zhang, how did you come to know of this?" Xu Zhi was taken aback.

"If you want no one to know, you must do nothing; I have my own ways! That flying sword in your hands is merely a bright pearl gathering dust. Why not present it to Senior Brother Jiao as a small token of your sincere gratitude?"

The youth in green smiled faintly and said, "Had it not been for Senior Brother Jiao's righteous intervention, you likely would have lost your life yesterday, Senior Brother. How else would you be standing here arguing with me? Such profound kindness cannot go unrewarded!"

Even with Xu Zhi's normally mild temperament, hearing these words stirred a deep sense of anger within him, causing him to frown.

Yesterday.

It was clearly Jiao Jizhong and his group who had been pursued by nether ghosts, only to happen upon Xu Zhi traveling alone and forcefully drag him down with them, pressing him into service like a conscripted laborer.

Under such circumstances, where was the kindness to speak of?

"Knowing it would come to this, I should have sent word to Junior Brother when descending into the nether abyss! I should have let him make the decision. I deeply regret trusting others so lightly!"

Faced with this situation, Xu Zhi felt profound shame and inwardly cursed himself in bitter frustration.

At its root, Xu Zhi's descent into the nether abyss was the result of a muddle-headed rumor he had blindly followed.

Long before the *Luoxian Lead Boat* entered the nether abyss, Director Zhang from the sect's affairs office—who had previously been on good terms with Xu Zhi—visited him late at night, claiming there was a lucrative task he wished to assign to him.

Not only was the task exceedingly simple, but upon its completion, it would also yield a vast sum of talismanic coins for his cultivation.

Having long lived in poverty, Xu Zhi was naturally overjoyed upon hearing this and agreed without hesitation.

After inquiring in detail, Xu Zhi finally learned the nature of the task Director Zhang had arranged for him: he was merely to accompany the Daoists of the affairs office aboard the *Luoxian Lead Boat* to transport a group of fellow disciples into the nether abyss.

Indeed, this was no grueling task; on the contrary, it was a pleasant one.

There was no need to fight for one's life against nether ghosts, nor was any strenuous effort required. One simply had to channel their embryonic breathing into this secret treasure, and there would be nothing else to monitor.

At most, it would merely consume a few more days aboard the lead boat...

Though he had wondered how such a favorable assignment could possibly fall to him, Director Zhang's words were sincere. Remembering their years of friendship, Xu Zhi figured he would not be deceived, and thus he enthusiastically accepted.

However, precisely because it was such an enviable task, even the Daoists serving within the affairs office were scrambling and fighting for it.

If word leaked out, complications would inevitably arise.

Following Director Zhang's repeated admonitions, Xu Zhi kept his lips sealed, not uttering a single word, and even refrained from mentioning it to Chen Heng.

Yet Xu Zhi did not know that Yan Ping had already bribed Director Zhang—who was supposedly on good terms with him—with a manual on alchemy.

The so-called task of piloting the *Luoxian Lead Boat* was naturally a complete falsehood.

As for the true reality, it was merely a ruse to lure him into the nether abyss and then take his life at the first opportune moment.

Although Director Zhang hesitated repeatedly in the end and, mindful of their past friendship, chose not to take Xu Zhi's life with his own hands, he nonetheless cast him off the *Luoxian Lead Boat*, leaving him to fend for himself.

Amidst all the wandering and hardship, perhaps due to good fortune, Xu Zhi had managed to survive until now by hiding and evading danger.

Knowing that Chen Heng was currently within the nether abyss, Xu Zhi naturally wished to reunite with him as soon as possible. Yet how boundless and vast was the nether abyss?

After searching exhaustively and painstakingly, not only had he failed to find Chen Heng, but yesterday he had instead run into Jiao Jizhong and his band of thugs, becoming ensnared to travel with them.

One might truly say he had just escaped the tiger's den only to enter the wolf's lair.

"The Vein Dwelling sword... I have other uses for it. Might my fellow disciples permit me to substitute something else?"

Xu Zhi took a step back, but Daoists surrounded him tightly on all sides; there was nowhere left to retreat. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke helplessly, "I am willing to offer talismanic coins as a token of respect. Would that be acceptable?"

"Talismanic coins? Senior Brother Xu, it's not that we look down on you, but those few pathetic coins in your cosmos pouch right now—what are they even good for? They wouldn't even buy you a seat to drink a bowl of spiritual tea!"

A short, plump man clad in apricot-yellow robes let out a sneer.

"Yesterday, when we were being hunted by nether ghosts, it was Senior Brother Jiao who braved all opposition to save your life! How can you be so ungrateful, Senior Brother? This is hardly the conduct of a gentleman. To think you have read so many books of poetry! Have you crammed all that learning into a dog's belly?"

"You..."

Xu Zhi's gaze darkened.

Ever since being coerced into traveling with Jiao Jizhong's group yesterday, they had used the debt of his saved life as an excuse to extort the wealth from his cosmos pouch.

Seeing that the situation favored them and that he was at their mercy, Xu Zhi could only swallow his pride and let them have their way.

His already modest financial resources had been thoroughly plundered, leaving him utterly destitute.

"Human greed knows no bounds! Had I known it would come to this, I should have turned tail and run the moment I laid eyes on them yesterday!"

Xu Zhi's mind raced through various thoughts, yet none yielded a good solution.

Noticing his silent demeanor, the youth in green raised his eyebrows, a flash of anger appearing on his face as he scolded harshly,

"Xu Zhi, it is out of respect for your status and dignity that we still call you Senior Brother Xu! Without that respect, what kind of trash are you? With Senior Brother Jiao present, how dare you continue to be so stubborn?"

He flicked his sleeve and said coldly,

"I ask you this: will you hand over the Vein Dwelling sword or not? If you dare to stall and dawdle any longer, don't blame your master here for being discourteous and teaching you a harsh lesson right now!"

Something within his sleeve seemed to be primed, radiating wisps of greenish flame. Though the intense heat had yet to be fully unleashed, it was already enough to make one's skin prickle with discomfort.

Seeing the youth in green take the lead, the surrounding crowd began to clamor noisily, each reaching into their sleeves with deeply hostile gazes.

Surrounded by this pack of wolves, Xu Zhi turned pale with fright.

For a moment, he did not know whether he should beg for mercy or attempt to carve out a bloody path, and he froze stiff in utter shock.

At that very moment.

Jiao Jizhong, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, smiled faintly and suddenly spoke.

"Impudent! Is this how you treat Senior Brother Xu? Hurry up and offer an apology!"

"Senior Brother Jiao..."

The youth in green blankly turned his head, blinked as he met the inexplicable smile on Jiao Jizhong's face, and then, a moment later, seemed to comprehend something. A cold smile curled the corners of his lips.

"Senior Brother Xu, our temperaments are rough and unrefined. Do forgive us, do forgive us..."

Scattered voices of apology rang out.

Seeing this group suddenly turn so docile, Xu Zhi had yet to process what was happening when Jiao Jizhong parted the crowd, stepped to his side, and smiled.

"Senior Brother, as the saying goes, a magnanimous person does not hold a grudge against petty actions—please don't take it to heart! With the nether abyss being so perilous, you and I, as fellow disciples, must join forces and work together to find a path to survival in this dead zone. Would you not agree?"

Jiao Jizhong's words carried a veiled threat.

Even though Xu Zhi could hear the underlying meaning, he could only pretend ignorance, nodding repeatedly in agreement.

Seeing his cowardly and spineless demeanor, completely devoid of the backbone expected of a cultivator, Jiao Jizhong felt even greater contempt, the disdain in the depths of his eyes growing all the stronger.

"Senior Brother was a clever man in the past, and he's no less so now. A good thing, truly a good thing! Only clever people live long lives!"

Jiao Jizhong patted Xu Zhi heavily on the shoulder. Then, ignoring Xu Zhi's awkward expression, he instructed the crowd,

"From the torture of other wandering ghosts, we've learned that the stubborn old ghost known as Gao Pi is exceedingly ferocious—he has slaughtered more than a couple of Purple Mansion-realm experts. Fortunately, what we encountered yesterday was merely this old ghost's vanguard troops with limited abilities; otherwise, we would have been done for.

"For now, let's find a place to rest.

"I refuse to believe Gao Pi can guard the entrance cave of Wuyun Wild day and night! Once he lets down his guard, we will charge together and storm into the cave!"

Through interrogating the wandering ghosts of the nether abyss, they had learned that the master of Wuyun Wild, Ding Xian, was a practitioner of purity and tranquility. Not only did he abstain from consuming flesh and blood, but he even maintained a benevolent stance of protecting the immortal cultivators from outside the nether abyss.

To living mortals of flesh and blood, he was truly a benevolent figure!

In a perilous death zone like the nether abyss, Wuyun Wild was undoubtedly a sanctuary where one could preserve their life!

Pity that the cave leading into Wuyun Wild had already been sealed off by Gao Pi and an army of fierce ghosts and resentful spirits, guarded as if it were an iron fortress.

When Jiao Jizhong had led the group to force their way through once, not only had they failed, but they had also nearly alerted Gao Pi, nearly resulting in total annihilation.

Hearing Jiao Jizhong's words, the youth in green and the others responded in unison, clearly showing that he held immense authority among them.

"Let's go. We cannot rush this matter; that Gao Pi cannot guard the cave for eternity!"

Jiao Jizhong chuckled, conjuring a stream of escaping light and plunging straight toward the southwest.

"Let's go, Senior Brother Xu!"

The youth in green chuckled maliciously, gestured with his hand, and—along with a plump Daoist—flanked Xu Zhi on the left and right, trapping him in the middle.

"The nether abyss is so dangerous; we fellow disciples ought to pull together in the same boat, right or wrong?"

"Right, right..."

Xu Zhi's face darkened, and he helplessly agreed.

"Such a good-for-nothing! How could someone with this kind of temperament manage to cultivate 'Ten Steps, One Kill'? How unfair the heavens are!"

Sighing inwardly, the youth in green gave a shout and, in a flash, transformed into a rainbow of light, closely tailing Jiao Jizhong.

Half an hour later.

Streaks of escaping light quietly descended before a pitch-black mountain cliff that soared as high as the heavens. At its lushly wooded base stood a row of temporarily excavated stone chambers, clearly the dwelling place of Jiao Jizhong's group.

Upon arrival, the youth in green and the others paid Xu Zhi no further heed, simply walking off toward their respective stone chambers to enter and regulate their breath.

"Wolves ahead and tigers behind—what kind of situation is this! Junior Brother, where on earth are you?"

Xu Zhi let out a long, wistful sigh. After standing in place for a long while, he entered a stone chamber as well, silently closing his eyes in meditation.

The nether abyss possessed no alternating cycle of day and night, nor was there the slightest trace of natural light; it was eternally pitch-black and profound.

Roughly an hour later.

Xu Zhi, sitting in meditation, suddenly twitched his ears as if catching some unusual sound.

He silently lowered his body, formed hand seals with his fingers, and held his breath.

At first, it was merely a few chaotic and disordered noises.

After a few breaths, the sounds reaching his ears gradually grew clear...

"Why did Senior Brother stop me earlier? That Xu Zhi is nothing more than a broken-backed dog who doesn't even dare bare his teeth! Why fear him?!"

Xu Zhi heard the youth in green speak.

"Although he is cowardly and timid, he is nonetheless a swordsmanship prodigy who has cultivated the realm of 'Ten Steps, One Kill'! A cornered dog will vault over a wall, and a cornered rabbit will bite!

"If we use force, we will inevitably lose a few brothers; this must be handled slowly. Junior Brother's actions just now were far too rash!"

Jiao Jizhong smiled and said,

"I have coveted his 'Vein Dwelling' sword for a very long time, harboring this thought ever since we were in the sect! Rest assured, tomorrow we will prepare some wine and food, invite him to a banquet under the guise of making peace, and then..."

"Are you planning to slip some poison into the wine to dispose of that scoundrel?"

asked the youth in green.

"Junior Brother truly understands me!"

The ensuing conversation entirely revolved around how to scheme and plot against him.

Hearing them discuss how to take his life, Xu Zhi's palms trembled slightly, veins bulging as blood rushed to his face.

After an unknown length of time.

Xu Zhi abruptly broke his spell, abruptly grabbing his sword and rising to his feet!

"The Heaven-Sent Demon Monarch slays the unjust, the unjust kill the unjust, the unjust slay the unjust yet again, until all injustice is slain to bring peace!"

Recalling these words that Chen Heng had casually uttered during a banquet, Xu Zhi chewed on them carefully once more at this moment. He felt as though he had achieved a sudden enlightenment, and his heart instantly grew light and clear.

"Junior Brother, I previously thought the words you spoke were far too ruthless and feared they would mar the harmony of heaven and earth. Now, at last, I understand!"

Reflecting on how he had originally harbored no enmity whatsoever with Jiao Jizhong and the others—being dragged along and extorted for money was one thing; he could have endured it and let it pass.

But now.

They were even plotting to take his life...

Xu Zhi's expression flickered between shades of light and dark. After hesitating for half a moment, he finally gritted his teeth, clutched his sword, and quietly stepped out of the stone chamber.

A dismal wind howled across the pitch-black, gloomy world, as dark as if one could not see one's own hand before their face, while a stagnant, oppressive atmosphere spread heavily.

Stepping out of the chamber,

brushed by the bone-chilling, desolate cold, Xu Zhi involuntarily shivered, and the boiling intent to kill that had just risen in his heart began to slowly subside.

"No..."

He gripped his sword hilt tightly, roaring inwardly to bolster his courage, and forcefully hardened his gaze.

The time it took to burn two sticks of incense passed.

Just as Jiao Jizhong and his companions finished their scheming with satisfaction and began to disperse,

suddenly, the youth in green glanced toward one side and let out a strange, frantic squawk.

"Look!"

Following the direction of his pointing finger, they saw that at some unknown point, the stone chamber where Xu Zhi resided had become completely empty, devoid of a single shadow.

On the stone wall, several lines of text had been carved using a sword.

"Today you plotted against my life; I let bygones be bygones. Should there be a next time, don't blame Xu for being discourteous!"

Amidst the astonishment of the crowd, Jiao Jizhong slowly strolled forward and recited the carved inscription.

His expression shifted through various shades before he spat fiercely, saying with disdain,

"Fled? When? He managed to slip away without even my noticing—it seems he still has some skill after all!"

"Senior Brother Jiao?"

The youth in green anxiously asked, "What should we do?"

"What do you mean, what should we do? Since we've torn off our masks, we'll kill him and seize his flying sword!"

Jiao Jizhong sneered derisively.

"Since he already perceived the anomaly yet still lacked the courage to make a preemptive move, he is truly a cowardly scoundrel! Lacking even the guts to draw his sword and kill, he is merely a soft persimmon, to be molded however I please!"

With that, a yellow cloud gathered beneath his feet, lifting his body into the air.

"Find him! Bring me his head!"

The youth in green and the others chorused their assent, transforming into streaks of escaping light as they searched in all directions.

Meanwhile, while this group scoured the mountains and sea,

elsewhere, Xu Zhi, who had been running frantically, was suddenly reeled into a wondrous void.

Daylight was bright, and starlight shone as bright as day—

"Ever since you entered this nether abyss, I have been watching you."

"...Ah?"

A terrified Xu Zhi heard this inexplicable voice and was startled out of his wits.

"The Xu family of the Red Dragon generation after generation have been heroes, every single one of them peerless immortals and talents, to the extent that even when Crown Prince Changming was on the throne, he could not suppress them with sheer force..."

After a brief, gloomy silence,

that inexplicable voice finally sounded again, crying out in a despair-driven manner, with a faint trace of sobbing in its tone:

"Then how did it fall to someone like you to turn out into this ghostly appearance?! What kind of evil karma has the heavens committed?!

"I beg you, don't tell me! You are the only seedling left?!"

"What?" Xu Zhi was momentarily dazed and at a loss.