Chapter 396 - 70: The Siege

Zhu Ju’s plan was simple.

He would rely on the influence of Huike, one of the Three Sages, in the Grotto Heaven World to provide shelter for the Grotto Heaven Natives.

In exchange, he would receive various resources.

As for Pei Jingque...

The two of them were connected by their auras, allowing them to sense each other even from a great distance. He knew that Pei Jingque was on his way.

And so,

He would run his ’business’ while waiting for Pei Jingque, ensuring no time was wasted.

He never expected,

to run into this kind of trouble.

"SWOOSH!"

Huike pressed his palms together and shot into the sky, his body emitting a faint Buddhist light. The vertical eye on his forehead had also opened.

The bowl in his hand echoed with the sound of ten thousand people chanting sutras.

"Sigh!"

Zhu Ju sighed helplessly. With a gentle flap of the Wind and Thunder Blade Wings on his back, he started later but arrived first, shooting past Huike.

He said:

"Master, you’ve never seen a Golden Core Grandmaster. You don’t understand how powerful someone with that level of Cultivation is."

"If things go south, don’t worry about me. Just save yourself."

"Unacceptable," Huike said, shaking his head with a solemn expression.

"This matter started because of me. How could I abandon a fellow cultivator?"

"Heh..." Zhu Ju chuckled lightly. He flashed forward, appearing before the bloody light, and cupped his fists at the newcomer.

"Zhu Ju of the Bright Void Sect. May I ask which Elder from the Blood Demon Sect you are?"

"Zhu Ju?"

The bloody light solidified, revealing a graceful figure.

A smooth, blood-red cape danced in the wind. Her delicate features seemed meticulously carved by a master artisan, and her graceful figure was perfectly proportioned. The woman before them possessed an extremely dangerous allure.

She looked at him with great interest.

"I’ve heard of you. A mere Dao Foundation Cultivator who has mastered the Sword Qi Thunder Sound Divine Technique. Quite a remarkable person."

"So it’s Elder Guu."

Seeing her clearly, Zhu Ju’s eyes narrowed, and a sense of vigilance grew within him.

Guu Qinghuan the Merciless!

It was said this woman had an extraordinary background. She was the direct daughter of a certain Noble Family in Dazhou and had lived a pampered life since birth. Then, for some unknown reason, her personality changed drastically. She slaughtered her entire clan and joined the Blood Demon Sect, eventually achieving the Golden Core.

Most Cultivators from the Blood Demon Sect were eccentric, cruel, and bloodthirsty, but there were some relatively normal ones among them.

But,

Guu Qinghuan was definitely not one of them.

"Elder."

Though his mind was racing, Zhu Ju’s expression remained calm as he cupped his fists and spoke.

"It is a virtue to be merciful when one can. Elder, would you consider showing us leniency? We are willing to pay a corresponding price."

"Price?" Guu Qinghuan couldn’t help but laugh.

"You think you’re worthy of bargaining with me?"

"Did you think they could escape? Or... did you think you could leave here alive?"

Zhu Ju’s heart sank.

Just as he’d expected.

She had no intention of letting anyone here go.

Behind him, Huike had also arrived.

Huike knew the outsiders included a Golden Core Grandmaster, and he had heard from Zhu Ju just how powerful Golden Core Cultivators were.

But he had never personally experienced such power.

With her petite figure, Guu Qinghuan looked like a sweet and gentle girl next door based on her appearance alone.

But as she hovered in mid-air, her Golden Core spun within her, and the countless energies of heaven and earth seemed to revolve around it.

Her vast might was like a river of stars in the sky. Just by standing there motionlessly, she exerted an unprecedented pressure on Huike.

Six Paths—Deva Path!

"BUZZ..."

The vertical eye on his forehead snapped open, and the phantom of a Buddha leaped out, seating itself cross-legged in the void.

"Eh?"

Guu Qinghuan raised an eyebrow, looking at Huike thoughtfully.

"You’re a bit different from the others in this Grotto Heaven World. A little stronger."

’If the Jade Void Cave Heaven had dozens or even hundreds of experts like this, even a Golden Core Grandmaster would have to lie low.’

’However...’

"Interesting!"

Her beautiful eyes narrowed.

"Your eye... you must possess a purer bloodline of the Three-Eyed Divine Race."

"Elder," Zhu Ju said, flashing in front of Huike.

"Is there really no room for discussion?"

"Discussion?" Guu Qinghuan sneered.

"You’re also..."

Hm?

Before the word "worthy" could leave her lips, her eyes twitched. In that instant, her senses took in everything within a half-mile radius.

Silent ripples spread through the empty space behind her, and a figure holding a short staff slowly materialized.

The figure swung the short staff, striking at her back.

Before it even hit, her Golden Core, formed from the condensation of her Essence, Qi, and Spirit, sent out a warning. This was an attack she absolutely could not block head-on.

Void Shifting!

Guu Qinghuan’s beautiful eyes narrowed. Her Golden Core spun rapidly, and the Blood God Sword, a Middle Grade Magical Treasure, leaped from her Dantian. It collided with the incoming staff, striking it over a thousand times in the instant of contact.

To a Dao Foundation Cultivator, ’Wukong’s’ speed was like a flash of lightning, but in the eyes of a Golden Core Grandmaster, it was nothing special.

"CLANG..."

A crisp collision rang out.

A shockwave visible to the naked eye instantly pushed back the clouds for dozens of miles, revealing the vast, starry sky.

From the impact, ’Wukong’ was thrown backward, its arm flying up high and leaving its chest completely exposed.

For the first time, the Outer Body Incarnation’s sneak attack had failed. Moreover, its momentum was shattered by a single blow, putting it at a disadvantage.

’Damn!’

Zhu Ju’s expression darkened, and the Ten Directions Cross Sword shot out with a clang.

Sword Qi Thunder Sound!

Ten Directions Killing Dao!

In an instant, dozens of streaks of Sword Light crossed several miles, completely enveloping the hundred-zhang area around Guu Qinghuan.

A tangible killing intent rained down, blanketing everything.

"Hm?"

Guu Qinghuan’s beautiful eyes flickered. In just a few short moments, she had sensed danger twice.

The crucial part was, the danger came from someone she had originally looked down on.

’Sword Qi Thunder Sound?’

’Sword Qi Thunder Sound alone isn’t enough to threaten a Golden Core Grandmaster. But add to that a top-tier Sword Control Method and a Magical Treasure with considerable killing power... and it becomes a different matter entirely.’

"WHOOSH..."

With a light shake of the cape on her back, Guu Qinghuan’s entire body abruptly exploded into a mass of viscous blood. It was like a squid with countless tentacles, which it whipped wildly in all directions.

"BANG!"

The Might of the Golden Core erupted at that moment. The terrifying explosive force made even the Ten Directions Cross Sword cry out in sorrow.

Just then, the Buddha that had emerged from Huike’s forehead slowly extended its index finger, pointing from afar at the bloody light in the sky.

Its movement seemed slow, yet was incredibly fast.

"Freeze!"

A vast voice descended from the heavens like a divine decree, and for a moment, everything came to an abrupt halt.

Even the flawless Golden Core, which contained hundreds of years of a Cultivator’s Cultivation, stopped spinning.

Even if only for an instant.

’An opening!’

Zhu Ju’s eyes lit up. He swallowed the Innate Spiritual Milk he had been holding in his mouth and furiously commanded the Ten Directions Cross Sword to attack.

In a single moment, dozens of streaks of Sword Light diced the hundred-zhang area into tens of thousands of fragments. The crisscrossing Sword Light lingered, unceasing.

Meanwhile,

Wukong let out a low roar and viciously smashed its Winding Dragon Staff down onto the body of the Blood God Sword.

The Power of its Physical Body at the Body Refining Fifth Realm, combined with the mountain-like weight of the Winding Dragon Staff, erupted, causing the Blood God Sword to let out a sorrowful cry.

"CLANG..."

The Flying Sword was knocked back.

With a flicker, Wukong charged into the bloody light. Gripping the staff with both hands, it executed a vicious, sweeping swing.

This one swing could split mountains and part seas.

The ferocious power caused the air to explode, creating a massive mushroom cloud on the battlefield.

The bloody light dimmed instantly.

But the remaining bloody light was like a thousand nimble Swimming Fish, weaving through the Sword Light to rapidly coalesce back into a physical body.

"I admit, I underestimated you. However..."

"DIE!"

A shrill, furious roar echoed across the sky. A terrifying pressure surged toward them like a tidal wave, making both Zhu Ju’s and Huike’s hearts sink.