Chapter 318: It Was Ning Zhuo Who Harmed Me
Zhuan Ji Secret Pavilion.
"Damn it, what exactly does the real exit look like? So frustrating!" Chi Dun rushed forward furiously, crashing through door after door.
But behind each door, there was another secret pavilion.
Secret pavilion, secret pavilion, secret pavilion... Chi Dun suspected he had fallen into an endless loop.
"If I had known it would be like this, I might as well have stayed guarding Huoshi Immortal City, battling the Scarlet Flame Beasts!"
But there was no other choice.
This was a direct order from Meng Kui!
"Hmm?"
After barging into another secret pavilion, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he saw a shadowy demonic cultivator.
The shadowy demonic cultivator opened a door and disappeared in a flash.
"Where do you think you're going!" Chi Dun was overjoyed and quickly gave chase.
He chased through three secret pavilions in a row, and the shadowy demonic cultivator seemed to have a clear goal. Every time he chose a door, it was without hesitation and with a sense of purpose.
The distance between them gradually shrank.
Chi Dun finally caught up to the shadowy demonic cultivator.
He unleashed a full-strength punch, so powerful that the air exploded with the force of his fist.
In mid-air, the shadowy demonic cultivator turned around, raising his arm to block.
Boom!
With a loud bang, the shadowy demonic cultivator was sent flying even faster.
Meanwhile, Chi Dun stayed where he was, gritting his teeth.
A large orange-yellow talisman was imprinted on his chest, and its edges were spreading out, forming a powerful sealing force.
Chi Dun's eyes were filled with blood, and his entire being was consumed by rage and shock!
He pushed his Golden Core-level mana to its limit, his muscles bulging, heat rising from his body, and his veins protruding like dragons.
With all his strength, he slowly lifted his head. This small motion of lifting his head was as difficult as lifting a mountain due to the sealing force.
Chi Dun didn't care about any of that, though. He stared fixedly in the direction where the shadowy demonic cultivator had fled, roaring in his heart, "It's him!"
Even though it had only been one exchange of blows, Chi Dun immediately realized that this was the same shadowy demonic cultivator he had fought and chased into the Huoshi Forest before!
"I can't believe I found you, damn it!!!" Chi Dun roared loudly, exerting all his strength to shatter the sealing talisman on his body.
Blood spurted from his mouth and nose.
But he ignored it completely, his heart full of rage, as he charged toward the direction where the shadowy demonic cultivator had disappeared.
Bang, bang, bang.
The sound of crashing doors and closing doors blended together.
"Who’s there?"
A Golden Core disciple from the Purple Heaven Pavilion was also exploring the secret pavilion.
Within the range of his spiritual sense, a cultivator with a Golden Core aura suddenly barged in.
"A shadowy demonic cultivator? Heh, I’m one too!"
The disciple from Purple Heaven Pavilion grinned, but his smile quickly vanished when he realized the person was rushing straight towards him.
With a serious expression, the disciple from Purple Heaven Pavilion immediately became fully alert.
The next moment, the shadowy demonic cultivator burst into the pavilion, and the two faced each other.
Without stopping, the shadowy demonic cultivator chose the door to his left and entered without hesitation.
Just as the disciple from Purple Heaven Pavilion was about to relax, his spiritual sense detected another Golden Core cultivator.
It was Chi Dun!
He became alert again.
After all, this time, he was disguised as a shadowy demonic cultivator.
Chi Dun saw the disciple from Purple Heaven Pavilion but didn’t care at all, rushing straight into the left door.
Under the coverage of Chi Dun’s spiritual sense, he had already detected the strong aura of the Purple Heaven Pavilion disciple, but his eyes remained locked on the shadowy demonic cultivator from before.
Seeing Chi Dun rush off in a hurry, the disciple from Purple Heaven Pavilion relaxed once more.
He was about to continue his exploration when he suddenly changed his mind. He had no real leads anyway, and from the way Chi Dun looked so serious, it might be worth following him!
Chi Dun was still within the range of the disciple's spiritual sense, and the latter quickly followed.
The pursuit continued.
"Quick, help me block the shadowy demonic cultivator ahead!"
Chi Dun's spiritual sense detected a Meng family Golden Core cultivator, and he immediately sent a message asking for help.
The Meng family Golden Core cultivator, who had been defeated and forced to flee due to Zheng Jianlian’s betrayal, had just taken some medicinal pills and was resting.
Receiving Chi Dun’s message, he promptly cooperated.
The shadowy demonic cultivator was entangled by the Meng family Golden Core cultivator, allowing Chi Dun to catch up once more.
The three began to battle in the secret pavilion!
Bang, bang, bang.
Thick black smoke exploded, poisoning their spiritual senses.
Within the smoke, countless black pythons weaved through the battlefield, forcing Chi Dun and the Meng family Golden Core cultivator to retreat repeatedly.
The ferocity of the attacks made even the Purple Heaven Pavilion disciple, who had approached the battlefield, slow down.
The shadowy demonic cultivator temporarily repelled his two opponents and slipped away.
Chi Dun and the Meng family Golden Core cultivator shook off the black smoke and continued to pursue relentlessly.
Suddenly, Zhu Xuanji appeared within their spiritual sense range!
The Meng family Golden Core cultivator was full of suspicion.
But Chi Dun was overjoyed.
Logically speaking, the Meng family and Zhu Xuanji had already fallen out. But Chi Dun, being a physical cultivator, didn’t think much of it and directly sent a message: "Detective Zhu, ahead is the shadowy demonic cultivator who escaped into Huoshi Forest!"
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Xuanji’s eyes lit up with a sharp gleam, and he immediately set off.
He too joined the chase.
However, he was farther behind than Chi Dun and the Meng family Golden Core cultivator.
The pursuit party was growing!
Another shadowy demonic cultivator appeared within their spiritual sense range.
Chi Dun and the Meng family Golden Core cultivator didn’t recognize him, but Zhu Xuanji knew his true identity.
"Brother Zhou, stop that person at once!" Zhu Xuanji sent a message through his spiritual sense.
Zhou Nongying, disguised as a shadowy demonic cultivator, naturally needed his allies to know about it, especially Zhu Xuanji. Otherwise, being killed by his own people would be too tragic.
Receiving the message, Zhou Nongying immediately tossed out a formation disk, which set up a formation in an instant, blocking the door.
The shadowy demonic cultivator opened the door and fell right into the formation.
Just as Zhou Nongying was beginning to smile, it froze on his face in the next moment.
He watched in shock as the formation distorted, the patterns twisted, and the air rippled, allowing the shadowy demonic cultivator to pass through effortlessly.
"Divine Ability—Escape During Battle?!"
Zhou Nongying was deeply shaken.
Almost all of his learning had been poured into formations.
A shadowy demonic cultivator with such a divine ability was his worst enemy!
The shadowy demonic cultivator charged at him directly.
Zhou Nongying's heart raced, his fighting spirit faltered, and instinctively, he retreated explosively to the side, widening the distance.
In doing so, he gave up the door behind him, and the shadowy demonic cultivator pushed it open and entered.
Realizing what had happened, Zhou Nongying didn’t dare pursue and hurriedly began dismantling the formation to avoid blocking his own people.
Though setting up the formation had been easy, taking it down was relatively difficult, and he was immediately racing against time, fumbling in haste.
Zhu Xuanji learned through spiritual communication that the shadowy demonic cultivator possessed the divine ability to escape during battle, and his heart sank.
Countless clues swirled in his mind, and there were signs they were beginning to connect.
At this moment, a spiritual message arrived—it was from the shadowy demonic cultivator himself, contacting Zhu Xuanji: "Detective Zhu, instead of chasing me, why don't you investigate the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit?"
"You should know: over the years, Gong Ling has exploited small loopholes in the permissions to modify the Lava Immortal Palace. It created several passages from the mana pool, seemingly stealing mana bit by bit for some unknown purpose."
Zhu Xuanji was startled, immediately thinking of the Wanli Dragon.
He snorted coldly, continuing his pursuit.
At the same time, Zhu Xuanji sent out two spiritual messages: one to tell the shadowy demonic cultivator to stop and submit to an investigation, and another to inform Zhu Zhen of this crucial lead.
Zhu Zhen was overjoyed when he received the news: "Brother, I had noticed some structural oddities during my investigation, as if they had been added temporarily. If I follow this lead,
I might be able to find the hidden Wanli Dragon!"
He immediately took action.
His movement completely alarmed the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit!
"What is Zhu Zhen looking for?"
"Why aren't you dealing with the beasts or fighting the other Golden Cores? What are you searching for?!"
Zhu Zhen’s goal was so clear—he was following the mana passages and tracing the clues.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was suddenly ablaze with anxiety.
It was frantic!
"I’ve been exposed!"
"The Wanli Dragon has been exposed too!!"
"Damn it, when did the Zhu family learn this secret?"
It wanted to escape now, to dive into the Wanli Dragon and flee.
But it couldn’t!
The Lava Immortal Palace still bound it, and it couldn’t break free.
"That useless fool, Meng Chong!" it roared in fury, enraged.
Meng Chong was already at a complete disadvantage in his battle with Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo had released several mechanical creations to shield himself, fending off Meng Chong’s relentless attacks, while he himself stood before the door, assembling planks.
Seeing this, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit fell into despair.
It was extremely agitated, fully aware that Meng Chong was doomed to lose.
To resolve the crisis, it had to break through once more!
With no other choice, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit mustered its courage and broke through its limits, contacting Meng Kui directly!
"Meng Kui, if you don't act now, it will be too late!!"
"Who is this?" Meng Kui was surprised.
The next moment, he smiled faintly, "Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, you've finally stopped playing dead and contacted me. Don’t worry, everything is under my control..."
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit roared in rage, cutting him off, "Idiot! You don’t even know, that Ning Zhuo..."
Just as it said this, a flaming guillotine suddenly took shape.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit couldn't move, its neck exposed for execution!
The guillotine fell ruthlessly, beheading the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit once again, severing its head from its body.
The dragon's head, eyes wide open, rolled to the ground and then dissolved into specks of spirit light, drifting away.
The Lava Immortal Palace strictly prohibited the disclosure of information about cultivators. In its desperation, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had violated the rules, and before it could finish speaking, it was beheaded and severely wounded.
The information it had tried to reveal was also abruptly cut off.
"Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit?"
Meng Kui’s calls received no response.
In that instant, his heart trembled!
"I’ve been blinded by fortune, thinking everything was under my control."
Though the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit hadn’t said much, it was enough for Meng Kui, famed for his strategic insight!
He took this opportunity to break through the veil of fortune and cleared his mind completely.
He intended to use his divine abilities and once again analyze the battlefield's flow of fortune.
The timing was off!
Meng Kui had a premonition that victory was slipping from his grasp. He calculated repeatedly, frowning more and more deeply.
In the Lava Immortal Palace.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit panted heavily, its vision gradually returning.
Its size was less than thirty percent of its original form, its entire body dim and lifeless, still shaken and exhausted.
Meng Kui’s spiritual sense sent message after message: "Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, if you want your freedom, you must cooperate with me! You should know, Zhu Xuanji has already uncovered your treachery!"
"It was Ning Zhuo who harmed me!"
At this point, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit could only think about how Ning Zhuo had given Zhu Xuanji that piece of paper, that poem!
How could it not realize by now that this was all Ning Zhuo’s scheme?
"So, you're bullying me because I don’t understand literature?!"
"Right in front of me, scheming against me. How hateful, too hateful!"
Meng Kui took a deep breath and cast a powerful spell.
Two hands made of mana abandoned their positions on the frontlines and flew toward the electric wall formed by the secret pavilions of Zhuan Ji. They dissolved automatically, eroding the secret pavilions.
Using the technique—Present Retribution!
In this world, karma always comes; it is not that it won’t, but that the time has not yet come.
(End of the Chapter)