Chapter 513: Seen Through (Part 2)

Chapter 513: Chapter 338: Seen Through (Part 2)

Nine is the ultimate number, and Heaven and Earth represent the cosmos.

In theory, this Divine Technique, an Ultimate Skill, could seal anything in this world—as long as the user was powerful enough to endure the backlash.

Including life and death itself.

But sealing life and death exacted a tremendous toll, even for someone of a much lower realm.

HUMMM!!

Jin Ce’s body began to change. A cloud of dark, foul energy erupted from thin air and enveloped him, causing the golden patterns on his skin to dim and recede. Tainted by this black Qi, his body seemed to shrivel rapidly, his once-powerful aura weakening by the second.

The next moment,

ROAR!!

A deep roar erupted. A brilliant golden light exploded from his body, faintly taking the Form of a Golden Dragon. It instantly blew away the surrounding black Qi, and his shriveled body rapidly returned to normal, his aura as strong as ever.

The cost of using the Nine Seals of Heaven and Earth had been nullified by the Golden Dragon.

The Incense and Candle Dao’s Dragon Qi Body Protection!!

This was the true reason why the Six Pillars of the Court, appointed by the Emperor himself, were so feared.

「Meanwhile.」

Beiyuan Street, Rong City. The Lucky Inn, Room 13.

A stocky man in a yellow Xiezhi Robe and a group of his Celestial Net Department subordinates stood guard at the door, their expressions grim as they awaited further instructions from their superiors.

Just then,

CRACK! CRACK!!

A sudden noise from inside the room startled the guards.

“What’s happening?!”

Everyone immediately peered into the room and witnessed an unbelievable sight.

The hunched corpse was slowly stretching out. Its shriveled skin was rapidly plumping up, its hair was growing back, and even the old clothes on its body were turning brand new.

WHOOSH!!

In less than ten breaths, the shriveled body was completely restored. As the men stared as if they had seen a ghost, it abruptly stood up.

Tall and slender, with fair skin, Ning Qiyang’s striking face wore a look of confusion.

Then, her final living memories surfaced in her mind.

‘I’m already dead. Did that lord use some method to bring me back to life?’

Ning Qiyang understood. She could feel the power sustaining her life rapidly dissipating from within her body.

Clearly, this state wouldn’t last long.

Even with Jin Ce’s power, he couldn’t truly reverse life and death and resurrect a dead person. At most, he could sustain this state for a short while before it was ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Realizing this, an indescribable feeling welled up inside Ning Qiyang. The knowledge that her time was short would have instantly driven an ordinary person to madness.

However, her will was strong. She knew she had been briefly resurrected because there was still something she needed to do.

Ignoring the dumbfounded stares from the men outside, she suddenly thrust her hand into her own chest.

SQUELCH!!

Her fingers sank deep into her chest. When she pulled them out, scalding heart’s blood spurted onto the floor, where it flowed as if alive, rapidly forming a complex Technique Array.

This was a communication Technique that had been sealed in her heart, to be used only in the most dire of emergencies. Once formed, the Technique would draw on most of the Primordial Qi in her body to generate a powerful barrier-breaking effect, allowing her to contact the outside world even from within a powerful restrictive seal.

The other end of this Technique was in Jin Ce’s hands.

“Si Snake, you have half a quarter-hour of life left. Tell me what you encountered.”

Jin Ce’s voice echoed in Ning Qiyang’s mind.

The Technique took effect, and because Jin Ce was already prepared on the other end, the two were able to converse directly.

“This is what happened…”

Ning Qiyang paused to collect her thoughts, then replied to Jin Ce in her mind, describing everything she had encountered in as much detail as possible.

The half a quarter-hour passed quickly, and Ning Qiyang could feel the power sustaining her life reaching its limit.

“Do you have any last words?”

Jin Ce’s voice sounded in her mind.

‘Last words?’

A dazed look flickered in Ning Qiyang’s eyes. She wanted to say something, but now, with a thousand thoughts racing through her mind, she couldn’t get a single word out.

And just like that, her time was up.

Her body grew weak, her hair began to fall out, and her skin started to shrivel once more.

“The Court will care for your family. We will avenge you. Your deeds will be remembered. When we return, we will petition His Majesty to have you enter the True Spirit Hall. One day, you may even be granted the title of City God. Go in peace.”

In her final moments, Jin Ce’s calm voice echoed in her mind.

“Thank you, my lord.”

A look of relief spread across Ning Qiyang’s withered face. Her body then collapsed to the ground, curling back into a hunched ball. All signs of life vanished, leaving her exactly as she was before.

This bizarre scene left the Celestial Net Department men guarding the door utterly dumbfounded. Only the stocky man in the yellow Xiezhi Robe was the first to recover. He turned to the others and said,

“Forget everything you saw today. This is strictly confidential. Not a word to anyone.”

「Back at the South Mansion Garrison Command.」

The golden patterns on Jin Ce’s body receded, and he returned to his usual form as an immaculately handsome young nobleman. He relayed the intelligence Ning Qiyang had provided to the other two men present.

“A power created by combining an evil artifact with an Escape Technique? Opening Gates in different locations to pull Believers into one place? No wonder my previous investigation came up empty, only locking on to a few low-level Believers.”

“To be able to achieve that… their skill is practically godlike. This organization seems to have more than one master of Divine Techniques. Where did so many of them come from?” Ten Thousand Laws Inference said with a frown.

“It’s certainly tricky,” Yang Zhongyuan said in a low voice, “but this intelligence is critical. We can infer that the enemy is attempting a large-scale blood sacrifice of their Believers, which suggests they’re trying to move the main body of their Evil Cultivation, not just hide from our investigation. And now that we know about their Escape Technique, we can expand our search area accordingly. I believe we’ll have results soon. They can’t hide for much longer.”

“I doubt they intended to hide much longer anyway,” Jin Ce said coolly. “A large-scale blood sacrifice of Believers is impossible to conceal, as is moving the heart of an Evil Cultivation. I suspect these people are looking for a fight.”

“The Mid-Autumn Festival is just a few days away,” said Ten Thousand Laws Inference. “I suspect they plan to make their move then. On a day when yin energy is at its peak, outbreaks of Yin Qi will occur everywhere, which would be the perfect cover for the disturbance caused by moving the core of their Evil Cultivation.”

“Even with this lead, it will be extremely difficult to root them out in time,” Yang Zhongyuan said helplessly. “I fear we may fail to carry out His Majesty’s decree.”

“This organization’s strength has exceeded our expectations. I will report this to His Majesty personally. For now, search with all your might. If we find nothing, then we will face them during the Mid-Autumn Festival and settle this once and for all.”

Jin Ce’s expression was calm as he spoke, but a sharp light glinted in his eyes.

…

…

「At the same time.」

Outside the walls of South Mansion’s capital, a party from the Red Heart Sect arrived at their destination. They had set out from Guming County three days prior.

The group was led by Qiu Qing himself and included three Stewards, five disciples at the Refining the Internal Organs realm, and ten disciples at the Blood Strengthening realm.

Zhao Xuanqi was one of these ten Blood Strengthening disciples.

He was still oblivious to the dangerous undercurrents swirling throughout Heqing Dao, set to erupt during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Instead, he was gazing in fascination at the city before him.

The towering city walls were nearly fifty meters high, stretching as far as the eye could see. The city gates stood majestically, and even from outside, he could see a constant stream of merchant caravans and bustling crowds converging from all directions.

Compared to the capital of Heqing Dao, Guming County truly was nothing more than a tiny backwater town.