#360 - Origin healed, new crisis
"Little Miss, this butterfly is so pretty! Catch it quickly, hehe."
"Coming, coming, watch me, hee hee!"
… …
On Mount Zongwang, the joyful laughter of Chan'er and Su Xiaoxiao echoed.
Jun Wuxie was in the house, mending his injured body.
It was now afternoon, and apart from the cracks in his origin, all other physical problems had recovered to their peak state.
Looking inward, at the crack in his origin that was as thick as a chopstick, he couldn't help but sigh.
Originally, it would have taken at most two or three days to heal completely.
In the current situation, it was estimated that he would have to wait until the Chaos Beginning Bone had regenerated halfway before it could heal.
He composed his mind and began to draw and absorb the power from the Chaos Source Stone.
"Origin injuries are truly too damaging. This problem must be completely resolved, otherwise, I will never be able to engage in high-intensity combat again!"
He thought to himself.
With his current origin injury, if he were to use two forbidden techniques superimposed again, he had no doubt that his origin would be shattered, and what awaited him then would be death.
… …
At the same time, in the Great Zhou Capital, prison carriages were pulling iron cages, parading on the streets.
Locked in the cages were the eight patriarchs, as well as important high-level figures from their families, all wearing shackles and fetters.
"Traitors!"
"Betrayers!"
"Beasts, smash them to death!"
… …
On both sides of the street, there were crowds of people, each carrying a basket filled with rotten eggs, rotten tomatoes, rotten cabbage, and rotten sweet potatoes, shouting angrily and throwing them at the iron cages.
Some people even carried chamber pots and poured them on the eight patriarchs.
Some even carried buckets of manure and splashed it on them.
For a time, the entire street reeked, but the people seemed not to smell it at all, each as if injected with chicken blood, their eyes spitting fire, wishing they could bite off a piece of flesh from the bodies of the eight great families.
The people's anger was ignited and difficult to extinguish.
The people of the eight great families occupied high positions, receiving court salaries for generations, wantonly accumulating wealth, and living a luxurious life that ordinary people could not even imagine.
In the eyes of the people, having enjoyed far greater treatment and resources than ordinary people, they should bear the responsibilities and duties they should fulfill.
But these bastards not only failed to perform their duties but also colluded with the Black Demon Sect of Xilin, attempting to subvert Great Zhou, deserving divine punishment!
"You lowly people, you lowly people!"
The eight patriarchs roared heart-wrenchingly. This kind of humiliation was more unbearable than killing them.
In the past, they were high above, and who wouldn't bow their heads when they saw them?
But now, they were actually being splashed with manure on the street.
As a result, as soon as they opened their mouths, their faces were filled with excrement and urine, so disgusting that they were about to vomit bile.
In the end, the people of the eight great families were escorted to the central square of the capital.
They were tied to pillars and exposed to the scorching sun.
When Ji Liufeng arrived, these people were subjected to extreme torture, being publicly dismembered.
The executioner's technique was very skillful, cutting off pieces of flesh from their bodies one by one, without letting them die before a thousand cuts were made.
Miserable screams echoed throughout the square.
But the surrounding onlookers cheered excitedly.
… …
On the third day, the assets seized from the homes of the eight great families were inventoried.
The amount was simply staggering.
Tens of trillions of gold coins, plus various antiques, treasures, resources, and so on, worth hundreds of trillions of gold coins!
Seeing this number, Ji Liufeng's face turned pale, and he slumped down, not recovering for a long time.
He trembled with anger!
Assets of hundreds of trillions!
In such a large country, how much capital did the national treasury have after so many years?
Any one of these eight great families was richer than a country!
How much national wealth had they embezzled and how much people's wealth had they plundered over the years to accumulate such terrifying wealth?
"Your Majesty… …"
Long Yi looked at him worriedly from the side.
"Long Yi, tell me, am I incompetent? The eight great families have accumulated so much wealth, and I was completely unaware! I am ashamed of the people of Great Zhou!"
"Your Majesty, the eight great families have been in high positions for generations, and their power is deeply rooted. Many things are done seamlessly. This is not Your Majesty's problem… …"
"No, Long Yi, you are wrong. I sit in this position, and any problem in the country is my responsibility. It is my incompetence! It is time for my Great Zhou to undergo a detoxification and healing process. No matter what price we pay or what obstacles we encounter, I will remove the tumors one by one!"
… …
On Mount Zongwang, Su Ji and others had been paying attention to the eastern region.
It had been two days.
The sky was getting redder and redder, and the range had more than doubled.
Looking from afar, that sky seemed somewhat distorted.
"This temperature is truly astonishing. The heatwave has caused the spatial distortion phenomenon. From this, it can be seen that the temperature in that area has probably reached over ten thousand degrees!"
Mo Xiangzong's Nalan Jie said this.
At this moment, Su Ji's expression moved slightly.
He took out the communication jade talisman, and the light of runes lit up on it.
Strands of light mist merged into his palm, and a large amount of information poured into his mind.
He looked at the crowd and said, "That area is located on the edge of the Dragon Ridge Mountains near Qingyang City. A sea of extraordinarily high-temperature special magma suddenly appeared there the night before yesterday. Someone saw a huge fire dragon appearing in the magma sea. Besides the fire dragon, there is also a fire lotus!"
"What?"
Nalan Jie and Ling Yu stood up in shock.
A dragon?
That was something no one had ever seen!
Nalan Jie exclaimed: "A dragon! A powerful creature that only exists in ancient books, a legendary sub-divine beast! What kind of sub-divine beast and what level of talent does its bloodline correspond to in humans, no one in the world knows!"
"Even if that fire dragon's bloodline is not pure, it is at least a sub-sacred beast level, equivalent to a quasi-ancient king level in humans! Moreover, it certainly doesn't look like a young dragon!"
"That's right!" Su Ji nodded and said: "Now all the forces in the Eastern Wilderness are paying attention. The news has even spread to other continents. Currently, some overlord-level and quasi-overlord-level forces are sending people there to pay attention to the development of the situation. According to the news obtained by my sect, that fire dragon seems to be running out of life and is extremely weak, but even so, I am afraid it is no weaker than a Sect Emperor!"
"So, the fire dragon was originally at the eleventh level, equivalent to a Saint Sect realm expert in humans?"
The muscles on Nalan Jie and Ling Yu's faces twitched a few times.
An eleventh-level fire dragon with a bloodline strength of at least a sub-sacred beast, how terrifying would it be in its prime?
Plus its unique powerful body and its occupation of the home field advantage in the sea of magma, I am afraid that ten human Saint Sects would not be able to do anything to it.
Su Ji nodded and said: "Your Mo Xiangzong and Yu Lingzong probably also have people rushing there to pay attention to the development of the situation. Obviously, all forces are now waiting for the fire dragon to become weaker, and then they can send Sect King realm experts to hunt it down."
"What is that fire lotus?"
Nalan Jie and Ling Yu asked.
"It is not clear yet. The fire lotus has only appeared twice, for a very short time, and then it sank into the sea of magma. What the eleventh-level fire dragon guards is not a common thing, it must be a peerless treasure."
"This time, I don't know which force will benefit from it. The fire dragon's body is a treasure."
Su Ji shook his head: "The treasure is indeed a treasure, but without paying a huge price, wanting to obtain the fire dragon's body is probably not very possible… …"
… …
Ma Ben, Xiong Da, and Qing Li had been listening quietly from the side, without making a sound, but their hearts were very uneasy.
It really was that place!
This completely coincided with what was recorded in their clan's ancient books.
The clan's ancient books recorded that there was a dragon in that place, guarding something legendary.
It was that thing that, through the vast earth, derived the essence of scorching flames, affecting the territory of their half-demon race, making those areas difficult to produce other spiritual essences besides fire-attributed spiritual essences and treasures, greatly affecting the development of the half-demon race.
"Is that thing that affects our half-demon race the fire lotus that Brother Su Ji is talking about?"
The three of them discussed secretly.
"The current situation is that all the human forces are watching. They know the power of the fire dragon, so they are waiting for the weakest moment of the fire dragon. At that time, the fire dragon may be weakened to the point equivalent to the Sect King realm."
"They don't want experts in the Sect Emperor realm to participate in it, after all, the death of a Sect Emperor is also a huge loss for the overlord force. Moreover, wanting to obtain the fire dragon's body, the death of a Sect Emperor is far from enough."
"So, their calculation is to use Sect King experts to wear down the fire dragon. At that time, even if the fire dragon goes crazy and sublimates in its weakest state, the loss will only be a Sect King, not a Sect Emperor. In the end, as long as they can obtain part of the fire dragon's body, the gain will be far greater than the cost."
"Hmph, with their nature, they will inevitably kill each other to snatch it. This time, we, these half-demon races, must seize the opportunity to completely resolve the predicament we have faced for many years."
"That fire lotus must not fall into the hands of others, otherwise, it may be used to deal with our half-demon race in the future! It is best if it can fall into the hands of Brother Wuxie, and he is a disciple of the Military Saint. With the rules set by the Military Saint, experts above the Sect King of various forces will not take the initiative to attack him. What he has to face is only the fire dragon and the sea of magma!"
"Indeed, Brother Wuxie's participation in this matter inherently occupies a favorable condition. I think this matter is feasible!"
"However, whether he is willing to participate is another matter. Let's tell him the whole thing clearly, without any concealment, and let him make his own choice."
Ma Ben, Xiong Da, and Qing Li discussed secretly and reached an agreement.
… …
Time passed day by day.
The sky in the east was getting redder and redder.
Qingcheng Town was shrouded in unbearable heat, with all the nearby vegetation withered, and frequent fires breaking out in many places.
The people of the entire city had begun to relocate.
Ji Liufeng had long issued an imperial decree, ordering the garrison troops around Fengtian City to assist the residents of Qingyang City in relocating to Fengtian City.
However, the four major families of Qingyang City did not choose to relocate to Fengtian, but instead, with their families in tow and dozens of carts of belongings, embarked on a long and arduous journey to the capital city of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
… …
On Mount Zongwang.
Jun Wuxie had not appeared for more than ten days.
During these days, he had been cultivating, absorbing and assimilating the power of the Chaos Source Stone.
“The origin wound has finally healed…”
He examined his own condition and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
Now, half of his spinal column had turned pure gold, with dense, flashing chaotic light of innate bone inscriptions on the bones.
His flesh was filled with golden light, with the energy of chaos flowing within.
“The Chaos Essence is truly powerful, especially for tempering the physical body. My Destiny Star is also more solid!”
He stretched his body slightly and felt that every inch of his flesh and blood contained infinite power.
This feeling made him excited.
Half of the Chaos Beginning Bone had been reborn, and he originally thought that it would allow his talent to grow and step into the second level of the Myriad World King.
But what he didn't expect was that he had now stepped into the peak of the fourth level of the Myriad World King!
The higher the degree of rebirth of the Chaos Beginning Bone, the purity and quality of the derived Chaos Essence increased geometrically!
“Sister Qingxue, what is above the Myriad World King, is it the legendary level?”
He was now full of anticipation. If things continued like this, when the Chaos Beginning Bone was perfectly reborn, breaking through the Myriad World King level should not be difficult.
“Yes.”
Ye Qingxue's weak voice sounded in his mind.
Jun Wuxie's heart tightened: “What… what's wrong?”
“The suppression of the power of darkness that day consumed a lot of energy. The 'Heaven' inside the second layer took the opportunity to counterattack, trying to break free from the seal. I have been strengthening the seal these days, but now it seems that the situation is very bad…”
“How could this happen? I haven't felt any movement from the Town Universe Tower these days?”
“In order to prevent affecting your restoration of the origin, I forcibly isolated the connection between the Town Universe Tower and you. Now, the 'Heaven' on the second floor is temporarily silent. He is accumulating power. With my condition, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on for much longer…”
“Then what divine metal is needed to repair the second layer of the Town Universe Tower, where might it appear, tell me!”
Jun Wuxie's heart sank. He knew how terrifying the existence inside the Town Universe Tower was.
If that kind of existence really broke free from the seal, he would be dead, and the heavens and worlds would be reduced to ashes!
Moreover, listening to Ye Qingxue's weak voice, he felt very uncomfortable.
This woman, who was usually sharp-tongued, even consumed her power to forcibly disconnect the Town Universe Tower in such a weak state, just to avoid affecting his recovery from the origin wound…
