Chapter 257 - 131: Subduing Si Rumeng

Chapter 257: Chapter 131: Subduing Si Rumeng

As Demonic Qi poured in unabated, the original golden glow on the Bronze Buddha Lamp’s surface was suppressed, giving way to swirls of eerie black gas.

The runes on the lamp’s body flickered violently.

Under the forceful influence of the Demonic Qi, the runes twisted and re-formed, vaguely outlining a distorted, blurry character: "Jiang."

Domineering. Tyrannical.

Ji Hongyuan’s beautiful eyes widened as she watched from the side, her heart reeling in shock.

She had lived for countless ages and witnessed innumerable Treasure-Stealing Skills, yet she had never seen such a brutish and unreasonable seizure.

This wasn’t refining. It was devouring.

It was a complete rewrite.

A divine artifact of this caliber possesses its own Law of Life Chart. Even a mere wisp of its flame should be intrinsically linked to its master’s life.

An ordinary Cultivator wouldn’t even be able to snatch it. If their Divine Soul so much as touched the wick, it would likely be burned to cinders.

One could either destroy it outright or have its owner reclaim it.

Its ownership should never be usurped by a third party.

And yet, under the corrosion of Jiang Mu’s Demonic Qi, this very lamp was being forced to change masters.

’He just... snatched it, plain and simple?’

’Just what secrets is this little fellow hiding...’

A hint of wariness flashed in Ji Hongyuan’s eyes. ’He can even forcibly change the master of a Magical Artifact tied to a Life Chart. He’s simply a freak.’

Of course, if she knew that this character before her had once forcibly demolished and remodeled a Twelfth Realm expert’s Grotto Heaven Dao Mansion to his own liking, her jaw would have probably hit the floor.

RUMBLE—!!

Just as the Buddha Lamp was about to change masters, the stone house suddenly began to tremble violently.

It felt as if an earthquake had struck.

The overhead beams groaned under the strain as dust rained down from the ceiling.

Jiang Mu’s expression faltered. His palm still pressed against the Buddha Lamp, he said in a low voice, "Such a huge commotion? Did we alert that Black Mountain fellow?"

"Obviously!"

Ji Hongyuan snapped back to her senses, a grave expression appearing on her enchanting face.

"You’re trying to steal his most prized possession. If he didn’t react, he’d have to be dead. But you don’t have to worry..."

She glanced around, sensing the terrifying pressure that was sealed outside, and the corners of her lips curled into a gloating smile.

"The name on the ’deed’ to this place is almost yours. The rules have changed. Black Mountain might be powerful, but as long as this Buddha Lamp changes masters, he cannot force his way in here."

Jiang Mu breathed a sigh of relief at her words.

After all, if an expert of that caliber were to show up, he’d be instantly obliterated.

He was just about to push through and complete the refinement.

But in the next moment, something went wrong.

The once-brilliant, pure-white flame on the Buddha Lamp’s wick suddenly flickered as if starved of fuel, its light dimming at a visible rate.

The sacred aura that had filled the room began to rapidly fade away.

"Something’s wrong!"

Ji Hongyuan’s expression changed as she exclaimed, "He’s forcibly withdrawing the Incense and Candle Power from the Buddha Lamp!"

Jiang Mu’s heart skipped a beat.

His Demonic Qi could only refine the Magical Artifact itself.

In other words, the lamp’s physical materials and its ownership.

But the "oil" fueling the lamp—the Incense and Candle Power offered up by the common people—genuinely belonged to Black Mountain.

Since Black Mountain couldn’t get in, he intended to drain the "oil" dry!

Without that power as fuel, the Buddha Lamp would be nothing but an empty shell.

Not only would its power be drastically reduced, but more critically, Yu Xiaoqian and the others, who relied on this Incense and Candle Power to maintain their forms, would have their souls scattered.

"What should we do? Can we intercept it?" Jiang Mu asked.

Ji Hongyuan shook her head, her brow furrowed. "There’s no way. That power was contributed by his followers; it’s linked directly to his consciousness. Unless..."

She paused, her gaze turning solemn.

"Unless there’s a great personage who is currently, or was once, worshipped by the masses and possesses the right to bear the power of faith. Only such a being would have the ability to intercept it and forcibly claim this stream of incense power for themselves."

"A great personage, current or former?"

Jiang Mu’s mind raced. His gaze suddenly fell upon the peerless queen beside him, and he sized her up.

"You’re the Zombie Queen, right?"

"The tens of thousands of little zombies on your White Deer Peak must worship you every day. Isn’t that a form of faith? Can’t you absorb this?"

"What the hell do you know?!"

Ji Hongyuan rolled her eyes irritably, an act that was somehow still full of flirtatious charm.

"I am indeed worshipped by countless corpses, but that is a form of Yin Miasma. This power, on the other hand, is offered by living people. It’s mixed with the righteous energy of the mortal world and the power of worldly thoughts—it belongs to the faith of the righteous path."

"I am a being of Yin. To me, this stuff is lethal poison."

"If I tried to absorb it by force, the Yin and Yang would clash, and I’d most likely explode and die. Forget this Clone of mine—even my true body would suffer a devastating blow!"

Seeing the Buddha Lamp’s flame grow ever weaker, Jiang Mu steeled himself and said in a low voice:

"Then what if we use a filter?"

"A what?" Ji Hongyuan froze, not understanding the strange word.

"My point is..."

Jiang Mu stared at her. "Could you act as a conduit? I have a way to use your body to draw out this power and absorb it myself."

’Ji Hongyuan is a zombie, her body is filled with Yin Miasma and deathly energy.’

’And his Demon Slot had already been proven effective back when he dealt with Beitang Batian.’

’It couldn’t just absorb Demonic Qi...’

’It could also absorb the deathly energy from a zombie’s body wholesale.’

’So, Jiang Mu’s logic was simple.’

’He would have Ji Hongyuan absorb the power first. Then, before it had a chance to kill her, he would use his Demon Slot to suck that power, along with her own yin energy, right out of her.’

’As long as he was fast enough, it was a perfect loop!’

"You brat..."

Ji Hongyuan understood what he meant. Her beautiful eyes narrowed. "You’ve got some nerve, daring to use me as a mere tool?"

"You don’t have a choice, and neither do I."

Jiang Mu looked her straight in the eye. "Trust me, just this once. I promise I won’t let you get hurt. Besides... you might even get something out of it."