Chapter 552 - 552: The News Spreads

With Chu Qingyun's current strength, amplified by the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern, executing the Thrusting Sword Technique now would, at most, only cause his arm a bit of pain. He would no longer suffer the severe backlash he had before.

Although the Thrusting Sword Technique couldn't match the power of the Thunder Sword or Lightning Sword, its advantage was speed, which made it perfect for this situation.

After suddenly striking and killing a Level Eight Martial Spirit, Chu Qingyun immediately pulled the body to his side. He pressed a palm against it, and the Devouring Power in his hand instantly erupted.

This Level Eight Martial Spirit had just died, so his Primordial Power wouldn't dissipate too quickly.

With no resistance, in less than ten seconds, the Devouring Power reduced his entire body to a few withered bones and ashes that scattered in the wind.

And the Primordial Liquid in Chu Qingyun's Qi Sea increased once again.

He had also formed another Blood Pill.

Nearby, Luo Jingwen and the six remaining men were all stunned into silence.

Chu Qingyun had taken the initiative, felling a Level Eight Martial Spirit in a single blow, which was already shocking enough.

But what happened next?

The Level Eight Martial Spirit's body had rapidly withered and decayed in just two or three breaths, turning into nothing but bones and ash!

An uncontrollable fear began to sprout in the hearts of the six men.

"Iron Thread Ten-Star Vine!"

Seizing the moment while they were still stunned, Chu Qingyun instantly unleashed his Martial Soul.

A towering Martial Soul Illusion rapidly condensed behind him. Six vines shot out, growing at an explosive rate, and in the blink of an eye, they had bound Luo Jingwen and the other six men.

"Dammit!"

"Get him! Kill him! Kill him now!"

Luo Jingwen snapped out of it and began to roar, struggling with all his might.

The other five men also snapped back to their senses. They each channeled their Martial Souls or Primordial Power, using every technique at their disposal to try and break free.

"Brat, you dared to attack first! You're dead!"

"Trying to control all six of us with a mere Tier Four Martial Soul? You must be dreaming!"

As he spoke, the strongest of them—the other Level Eight Martial Spirit—was already on the verge of breaking free from the vine's restraints.

A single vine, indeed, couldn't hope to restrain a Level Seven or Level Eight Martial Spirit for long.

However, Chu Qingyun suddenly smiled.

"Who said I needed to completely control you to deal with you?"

"Great Devouring Palm!"

Chu Qingyun let out a soft cry in his mind, extending a palm and pressing it toward the air in front of him.

A massive amount of Devouring Power instantly surged from his palm. It condensed and took shape, forming a black cylinder that rapidly expanded outward.

"Wh-what is that!?"

"No!"

All six men were terrified.

They immediately began to struggle even more violently.

But it was no use. The Devouring Power expanded too quickly. Before they could break free from the Iron Thread Ten-Star Vine, the black cylinder had already swallowed them.

The four Level Seven Martial Spirits vanished into the black cylinder without a sound.

The Level Eight Martial Spirit unleashed his Primordial Power and struggled for a moment before he, too, fell silent.

Only Luo Jingwen, the Level Six Martial Spirit, was spared. Chu Qingyun controlled the vine and flung him away, allowing him a temporary escape from being devoured by the black cylinder.

The black cylinder quickly dissipated.

After retracting the Devouring Power, Chu Qingyun grunted and let out a long breath.

Using the Great Devouring Palm required unleashing a huge amount of Devouring Power at once, which placed a considerable burden on his body.

Now, Luo Jingwen's five subordinates had vanished as if into thin air, leaving behind only a few piles of bone and ash.

As for Luo Jingwen, his face was deathly pale with fright, and his teeth were chattering uncontrollably.

In a single move, he had turned one Level Eight and four Level Seven Martial Spirits into nothing but ash.

The shock of this Great Devouring Palm was far more powerful than when he had devoured the first Level Eight Martial Spirit!

By now, Luo Jingwen was scared out of his wits. He had even forgotten to struggle.

Chu Qingyun controlled the vine, wrapping it around Luo Jingwen again and again until he was tightly bound. Then, he yanked him over and slammed him onto the ground, shocking him back to his senses.

"Luo Jingwen, do you still want my sect Token?"

Chu Qingyun planted a foot on his chest and asked with a cold smile.

"N-no, I don't want it anymore! Spare me! I'll never dare to do this again..." Luo Jingwen pleaded, his face a mask of misery.

'Spare you?'

A cold glint appeared in the depths of Chu Qingyun's eyes.

'He's seen my Devouring Power, my greatest secret. How could I possibly let him go?'

However, Chu Qingyun didn't voice this thought. Instead, he asked, "You said before that everyone in the entire Molten Rock District is looking for me. What's that about?"

"Well..."

Luo Jingwen stammered, clearly unwilling to cooperate.

"Not talking?"

Chu Qingyun sneered. A thread of black Devouring Power suddenly emerged from his fingertip. Like a black string, it floated gently before Luo Jingwen's eyes, swaying back and forth.

The sight of this terrifying black power made Luo Jingwen's legs go weak with fear.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

"Yesterday, a rumor started spreading that a new Outer Sect disciple named Chu Qingyun had a sect Token with over ninety thousand Saint Extreme Points, and that he was here in the Molten Rock District."

"No one believed it at first, but then some people who had just arrived from the sect confirmed it."

"The news spread like wildfire. By now, probably everyone in the Molten Rock District knows. They're all out looking for you, trying to steal your Saint Extreme Points."

"But most of them think you wouldn't have gone deep into the Molten Rock District, so they're searching the outer areas. I brought my men in here just to try our luck... I never expected..."

At this, Luo Jingwen looked like he wanted to cry but couldn't even shed a tear.

He'd been the first to find Chu Qingyun and thought he'd hit the jackpot. He never imagined he'd run into the grim reaper instead.

"Who was the first to spread this news?" Chu Qingyun asked.

"I heard it was Zheng Tianrong and his group at first, but Zheng Tianrong has no standing in the Outer Sect, so not many people believed him."

"But later, Chen Yi, Anfu, and Shao Hua Yang started saying the same thing, and people began to believe you were really in the Molten Rock District. After all, the three of them are..."

Luo Jingwen trailed off, seeming afraid to continue.

"Are what?" Chu Qingyun threatened him with the Devouring Power again.

Luo Jingwen swallowed hard. "Many of the truly powerful people in the Outer Sect know... the three of them are Elder Huang's men..."

Elder Huang!

Chu Qingyun snorted coldly. 'I can't believe that old bastard got involved in this too.'

He had asked all the questions he needed to. There was no longer any use in keeping Luo Jingwen alive.

This was the kind of man who, every other word, threatened to feed people alive to Molten Beasts, to make them wish for a death that would not come. He was clearly no saint.