Chapter 350 - 341: Schemes from All Sides, Rampaging in the Earth Palace

Chapter 350: Chapter 341: Schemes from All Sides, Rampaging in the Earth Palace

Helu’s gaze wasn’t on Wuhuan Che, but on the Dragon Robe he wore.

Unlike his own Prince’s Robe, Wuhuan Che’s Dragon Robe was a brilliant gold. In addition to the five-clawed, coiled dragon pattern, it was embroidered with the Twelve Symbols—the sun, moon, and stars—which were forbidden on a Prince’s Robe.

Helu watched, mesmerized. He had already imagined himself in that robe countless times.

"My Prince."

A voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzzing reached his ear.

Helu retracted his gaze and turned his head slightly, spotting Helian standing some distance away, her lips barely moving.

His face expressionless, he stepped out from the procession. Completely ignoring the stares of others, he walked with Helian to a spot a good distance away from the Celestial Altar Grand Sacrifice.

"Have you verified it?"

Helu asked Helian, who had come to report, his tone indifferent.

Helian nodded, her expression grim. "He stopped me and wouldn’t let me inspect each one.

He claimed to have planted the Ghost Dragon Beard on all five Demon Officials, but I don’t know how much of that is true..."

"If even half of it is true, that’s enough."

Hearing this, Helu sneered. "I already knew he wouldn’t be completely honest, which is why I ordered him to prepare five.

In truth, we only need two or three. That will be enough for the awakened Ghost Flood King to break through the First Grade bottleneck and completely suppress the Royal Banner’s Blood Bat...

He has the Nine Demon Officials of the Lower Five Banners under his command. Even if he’s determined to feign compliance, he wouldn’t dare fail to prepare at least two or three."

"Your foresight is godlike, my Prince."

Helian was quick with the flattery. Then, as if remembering something, she said, "Your servant, Lian Nu, makes a bold request. In the future, could you perhaps gift Fu Lingjun to me...?"

Helu glanced at her and smiled. "I know you have a taste for handsome men, but there’s no need to be so impatient. He is of great use to me right now. After everything is done, you can do with him as you please.

For now... if you have the means to lure him into your bed yourself, I won’t stop you."

"Thank you, my Prince."

Helian offered a sweet smile and a curtsy, but her beautiful eyes held not a trace of joy—only pure resentment and venom.

After they were finished with that topic, Helian added, "There is one more matter to report, my Prince.

On my way here, I received a report from my subordinates. They’ve found signs of significant Banner-cutting Alliance activity outside the city..."

"Oh?"

A glint appeared in Helu’s eyes. He mulled it over for a moment before speaking slowly.

"The Royal Banner has been aggressively arresting those traitors from the Banner-cutting Alliance lately. They’ve caught eighty, if not a hundred, of their alchemists. For them to dare show their faces now means they must be after this Grand Sacrifice."

"Keep this quiet."

Helu ordered with a detached expression, "Go arrange for your subordinates to inform the guards at the city’s checkpoints... When the time is right, tell them to loosen security. Let those people get in..."

Helian immediately understood the deeper meaning behind Helu’s command.

Her lovely eyes glanced toward the distant sound of ritual prayers before she answered with deference.

"Yes."

....

「Outside Yingjing.」

Upon an unremarkable earthen mound.

A deep pit had been freshly dug at its base, the excavated soil piled high beside it.

Suddenly...

BOOM!!!

A muffled explosion echoed from the pit, as if something had detonated deep underground. The ground trembled, and fresh, damp soil continuously trickled down the mounds.

The girl standing at the edge of the pit widened her eyes, staring intently at the crumbling opening...

Finally, a dust-covered figure scrambled nimbly out of the pit.

The girl let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Pah!"

The moment the figure was out, he began to vigorously shake the dirt off himself, spitting repeatedly onto the ground.

"Damn it, I was almost buried alive down there.

Good thing the tunnel the Banner Dogs dug was sturdy enough to hold for a bit..."

A sturdy, broad-chested young man with thick eyebrows and large eyes wiped his mouth with his sleeve, grumbling nonstop.

The girl helped pat the dust off him as she asked, "Enough complaining. Did you destroy the array node?"

"Obviously."

The young man grinned, puffed out his chest with pride, and declared, "I planted the explosives myself! With a blast like that, I don’t care if it’s an array core or a donkey’s core, it’s been blown to smithereens!"

"Hmph!"

Hearing his vulgar language, the girl’s pretty face flushed, and she couldn’t help but scoff at him.

Still, the worry in her eyes eased slightly.

"The Banner Demons’ Magic Sacrifice Array has a total of one hundred and eight nodes. We’ve only found seventy-four, and more than half of those are inside the city.

I don’t know if our plan will succeed this time."

The girl spoke softly, her expression full of worry.

The young man stopped dusting off his clothes and comforted her, "Don’t worry. Seventy-four nodes... even if we only destroy half, that’s more than enough to make those Banner Dogs suffer.

Once the array weakens, all the Demon Lords they worship will break free and start eating their own Manchus. Now *that* will be fun to watch..."

As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something. "By the way, where’s Elder Li? I saw him leave with everyone this morning..."

The girl answered, "Uncle Li went into the city. He’s probably planning to take advantage of the chaos to capture some Manchus to use for healing and Alchemy."

Hearing this, the young man’s eyes lit up, and without another word, he started running toward Yingjing City.

"Where are you going?!"

The girl shouted after him anxiously.

Without looking back, the young man shouted, "To find Elder Li and help him, of course!

Doesn’t he always say I’ve got no balls?

Well, today I’m going to show him—

that I, Bu Xingtian... have the biggest balls of all!!"

With that, he let out a great laugh and broke into a mad dash across the plains.

The girl stomped her foot in exasperation, but after a moment’s hesitation, she hurried after him.

.......

WHOOSH—

The terrifying sound of displaced air rumbled and echoed throughout the vast, empty Earth Palace.

Fu Juemin’s fingers dug like hooks deep into the body of the Human-Faced Demon Python. Aided by the four Fire Centipede legs impaling it, he used his terrifying strength to lift the entire creature and swing it around like a pinwheel.

The human face on the Demon Python’s neck was already a mask of horror and disbelief. Its shriek became a continuous, high-pitched wail as its thick, incredibly long body swept across the ground like a whip—

CRASH!

Several demonic figures were caught off guard and sent flying. The few Demons that managed to dodge scrambled away in a pathetic retreat.

Fu Juemin casually tossed aside the half-dead Human-Faced Demon Python. With a press of his foot, the surrounding scorched earth shattered, and he shot forward.

His form stretched into a long, blurry crimson line in the air. From above, one could clearly see this line of fire rapidly closing in on one of the Demons.

In his Flame Monarch state, the terrifying aura of a top-tier Great Demon made the fleeing Red-faced Yellow Ape’s scalp tingle with fear. It let out a series of sharp shrieks, like a terrified woman.

Seeing the crimson shadow behind it drawing ever closer, it knew there was no escape. A vicious glint flashed in its eyes, and it skidded to a halt.

SLAM! It smashed its abnormally thick arms into the ground. Its fingers dug into the earth, and with a great heave—

KRA-KA-KRAK...

A huge slab of rock several meters in diameter began to crack and loosen, as the beast tried to rip it straight from the ground.

But before it could fully pull the massive rock free—BANG!

The pursuing crimson line shot straight through its chest!

The Red-faced Yellow Ape’s five-meter-tall body froze. Its fingers went slack as it stared down at the enormous, bloody hole in the center of its chest. The edges were charred black, with wisps of flame still clinging to them. For a brief moment, its eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.

The next instant,

with a THUD, it collapsed limply, landing right on the flaming trail on the ground.

Meanwhile, Fu Juemin, having instantly killed the Red-faced Yellow Ape, felt a great surge of intangible power pour into him from afar. The Golden Energy on his status panel flashed, and his speed, instead of slowing, actually increased.

Like a blazing crimson meteor skimming across the ground, he slammed into a six-legged, fast-running Two-tailed Giant Crocodile up ahead.

BOOM!

Under the terrifying force of the impact, the abdomen of the Two-tailed Giant Crocodile, struck in the side by the "meteor," erupted in a massive fireball.

Its massive, ten-meter-long body was sent flying by the horrific impact.

It tumbled sideways through the air for several rotations before crashing heavily to the ground moments later!

HUUU—

Fu Juemin came to a sudden halt, the four flaming legs on his back extending gracefully. He took a deep breath and, without pausing, strode toward the fallen Giant Crocodile.

Behind him, a long, charred trench smoldered with crimson embers.