Chapter 19: Perception

  "None of you dare to come?" Standing still in the crowd, looking around with a scornful gaze, "You don't even dare to step forward, then don't block my way!"

  "Who says I don't dare? Just wait for me to meet you in the future!" As soon as he finished treating his own injuries, Wen Wudi received the news and rushed over without stopping. He didn't expect that as soon as he arrived, he would hear such arrogant words.

  He suddenly turned around, looking at the newcomer with a fierce gaze. The man appeared to be only in his thirties, with piercing eyes that seemed to exude an aura of power; at this moment, he was staring at her with a fierce killing intent. He wore a silver general's armor, which reflected a dazzling light under the moonlight. A long sword stood upright, almost as tall as an adult, with various precious stones inlaid on it, and on the hilt was a striking "enemy" character. It wasn't until her gaze swept down that she discovered the man in front of her was also at the Earth Realm level.

  "Hmph! A mere hill of bandits, with such deep guilt, yet you still refuse to surrender?" Wen Ren heard the sound of footsteps approaching, and wherever he passed, people scattered to make way.

  "Hah~ Heavy with guilt? Who among you dares to say they have no blood on their hands? Now, coming to condemn me with such grandeur, do you really think of yourselves as good people?" Chong Yao flashed in front of Qing Kuang, retorting without giving an inch.

  Only she and Chong Yao were left on this side, the Poisonous Maiden had died at her hands, that hurried horseman also lost his head, while more and more people came rushing over upon hearing the news, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night!

  "Phooey! How dare you mention us in the same breath as your heretical and evil ways!" He Dahai spat, his face also showing a momentary unnaturalness.

  Irritation rising, she gazed impatiently at the people around her, she didn't have that much time to waste here!

  He looks like he's smiling but isn't really, his heart is actually full of sinister intentions. No matter what, I won't let him go back to that dark and hopeless place again!

  But just as this thought flashed through his mind, a large group of people arrived, and now they were evenly matched.

  "Your Majesty!"

  "Your Majesty!"

  "Hua Ji, Hong Zhu has arrived late, please forgive her Majesty's sin!"

  "Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

  A large group of people suddenly knelt down to the ground, and the situation changed again. It was Huajie and Hongzhu who had come to respond after receiving the news earlier.

  "Get rid of them immediately!" The tears at the corner of his eyes became even more sinister, and Chong Yao's body was cold all over, forming a stark contrast with his bright red clothes.

  "Yes, Your Highness!" With a crisp movement, Hana-ko stood up and with a wave of her hand, all the subordinates who had been following her joined the battle.

  As for Huā Jī, she was jumping to the edge of the crowd, petals falling from the sky, mixed with a strange fragrance. What should have been a heavenly scene on earth, however, combined with the humming sound of the red spider, all turned into deadly weapons. The devilish sound pierced people's ears, tormenting them to the point of unbearable suffering. Even if they used all their strength to cover their ears, the sound still drilled into their eardrums; when they rolled on the ground in agony, the delicate flower petals that had just touched their skin turned into water and seeped into their blood, and in the blink of an eye, people were suffering unbearably and dying one by one.

  "How are you? Can your body still take it?" He asked with a hint of concern, looking at Qing Kuang. He had seen the scene where Du Ni died earlier. In fact, even if this person in front of him didn't make a move, he wouldn't let that self-willed person off easily.

  "In five days, you've already used up one day." Since she had a helper, she could naturally check the poison in her body.

  "I'll keep my promise, you just take care of yourself!" He turned and left, those small fish and shrimp he could ignore, but what about the five Tianxuan realm cultivators?!

  The piercing sound disturbed everyone, and even the invincible one couldn't bear the pain. Using spiritual power to block it, but that devilish sound persisted in tormenting him. Blood flowed out of his ears, even seeping through the gaps between his fingers. Countless corpses chased after him for revenge, and widows and orphans who had lost their loved ones also demanded his life with ferocity. Although he knew this was all an illusion, his mind was still thrown into turmoil. People in similar situations were not few in number; those who had lost their minds begged for mercy nonstop, tears and snot everywhere, revealing that they too had committed many wrongdoings in the past.

  The dark spiritual power built a barrier, and the light madness was not hindered. Those few Tianxuan realm cultivators only furrowed their brows, silently reciting the quiet heart mantra, with an almost imperceptible Buddhist aura on their bodies, isolating the demonic sound from outside.

  "Hurry up and hand over the Buddha's relics!" The five people stood at each corner, surrounding Chong Yao. However, the demonic man just smiled coldly, his spiritual power surging violently, unexpectedly revealing a rare Light System! A strong practitioner of the Tian Xuan boundary in the Light System! For so many years, no one could understand why this honor, which only the most sacred people can sense, would be bestowed upon a great demon lord. But people have forgotten that no one is born to become a demon lord, those who take the wrong path are often forced to do so.

  "The sun and moon have lost their light!"

  In an instant, the small woods on the outskirts were as bright as day, with dazzling light pouring in, enveloping everything. It was so bright that one couldn't open their eyes, and even the moon dimmed.

  Darkness, devouring everything!

  Light, embracing all!

  Compared to other attributes, these two are obviously more powerful. The five Tianxuan realm cultivators who chased after him from Foyuan Mountain were completely suppressed, and as a fellow Tianxuan realm cultivator, Chong Yao was able to single-handedly defeat the five of them. No wonder so many people were mobilized just to capture one person. In the vast whiteness, there was only a hint of blackness, but that dark and furious spiritual energy was being suppressed. Feeling this anomaly, Qingkuang's eyes widened in disbelief - the dark spiritual energy that had been troubling her for so long, even the Buddha relic, were now as meek as a mouse seeing a cat, without any of their usual arrogance. How could she not be shocked?

  "Go!" The figure flashed by, Chong Yao beckoned and left hastily, Hua Ji and Hong Zhi also closely followed behind him.

  "What about those people?" Looking at the vast whiteness, a gentle and wild inquiry slipped out. It seemed like there were only a few of them left, with everyone around disappearing without a trace, leaving only the sound of breathing in their ears.

  "Leave first and talk later, let them off for today." Chong Yao followed closely behind him and quickly left. He wasn't really afraid of these people, but there were more important things than taking their lives. Seeing that he was gone, the industries under Chong Men's name were invaded by others, so it was even more important to return first. However, "a gentleman seeks revenge, even if it takes ten years" - this had nothing to do with Chong Yao. Let these autumn grasshoppers jump around for two more days!

  When everyone came to their senses, where was anyone in front of them? In that instant, all their spiritual power had been sealed away, as if they were in the middle of a vast ocean, and that bit of resistance was like a small disturbance, unable to stir up even a ripple. Indeed, this unique property had put them at a disadvantage from the starting line, and now with the Great Wisdom Master having passed away, it would be even more difficult to subdue this demon king.

  No matter how they sighed at the loss of opportunity or felt ashamed of their inferior skills. The group of young people left smoothly, and someone had already picked them up three miles away.

  "You're actually a Light System?" Ling Kuang asked, only now that the crowd had stopped in their tracks. Previously, even though she had rescued this person, she hadn't grasped even a hint of his spiritual power attributes, and today was also her first time seeing it.

  The two women standing beside him, Huā Jī and Hóng Zhū, finally took a closer look at the people around their master. Both were dressed in red robes, but the aura surrounding this young girl was vastly different from that of her master - one was cruelly enchanting, while the other was icily stern. Upon closer inspection, she had willow-leaf-shaped eyebrows, delicate features, and a pair of striking red eyes, a small nose, and beautiful lips, except for a chin that was too pointed, making her look rather gaunt. However, one could overlook her appearance... how did this girl end up with their master? And judging from their master's attitude, he seemed rather gentle towards her... This was something that had never happened before!

  "Hmm, Light attribute!" As he said this, Chong Guang's heart was filled with bitterness. The spiritual power attribute that everyone sought after but couldn't obtain actually appeared on his body, a demon head. It was truly an irony beyond words. "What, you're very surprised?"

  "No." She was astonished, but it wasn't because of this person's spiritual power attribute, rather it was her own body's problem.

  Seeing the two having nothing to say, Huā Jī finally took the opportunity to interject. From this point on, it can be seen that she is much stronger than Dú Jī.

  "Your Highness, I heard that you were with the Poisonous Maiden. Where is she?" She hasn't seen the Poisonous Maiden since just now!

  "Hmph! A person who overestimates their own abilities will die with no regrets!" A fierce glint flashed in his peach blossom eyes, and his voice was icy cold. In his life, he hated two kinds of people the most: one was hypocritical scoundrels; the other was foolish people who didn't know their own limits. People like this would still be asking for it even if they died.

  She had experienced the wrath of Chong Yao countless times, and Hua Gongzi didn't dare to say more. But she never thought that Du Gongzi would actually die? And who was it that killed her? If Hei Ya found out, he definitely wouldn't let it go easily.

  They mounted their horses and finally settled down. However, when it came to the Poisonous Maiden, Chong Yao asked another question, "How's your poison?"

  "It's nothing." The detox process was a bit of a hassle, but she didn't mind.

  "When you get back, find someone to take a look at it for you. It was my mistake earlier, sorry!" The somewhat stiff apology was already the best effort that Chong You could muster up. If he had known that Du Jun would make his move, he might as well have done it himself! Clearly, the seductive man had already figured out when to make his move.

  "I can handle it, you have four days to help me find someone." The slightly more obedient dark spiritual power no longer made her so miserable, and her reckless tone was somewhat softened.

  "Alright, you don't have to keep rushing me." If someone had dared to repeatedly urge him like this before, that person would have been dead a long time ago.

  Until the carriage returned to calm, Hana and Kurenai exchanged a glance. The two naturally heard every word clearly. Poisoning? The one who could poison someone was naturally Dokuro, so was this the cause of Dokuro's death? Then who exactly moved their hand, the master or that red-clothed girl?

  The horse carriage rumbled along, driving forward under the moonlight. Luon was cautious, and Hua Gongzi was much stronger than Du Gongzi. Along the way, they narrowly escaped being caught by others, and nothing else exposed happened.

  The famous Chongmen is located at the intersection of four countries, and Cangtai Peak is where Chongmen is. The common people always say "the soul is broken at Cangtai", one is to say that this Cangtai is treacherous, not anyone can go up and come back unharmed; the second is to say that it is Chongmen, it is said that the people of Chongmen are all ruthless killers, they see people and kill them, without any rationality. So within a hundred miles around, there will be no human habitation, fearing that if one is not careful, encountering someone from Chongmen would mean certain death. However, whether this is true or just rumors spread by the common people, becoming more and more exaggerated as they are passed on, cannot be known.

  However, on this day, the place that was compared to hell by the common people slowly appeared with a horse-drawn carriage, which finally had to stop on the small road, only because the front was too steep and the horse-drawn carriage could no longer go up.

  "Your Highness, we've arrived." With a flip of her body, Hana jumped down and stood to one side, respectfully lifting the curtain. She didn't say much, nor did she do anything excessive, which was why she had been able to stay by Sōyō's side for so long.

  "Come down!" Chong Yao jumped off the horse carriage first, and then called out to the Light Rogue inside.

  Jumping down from the carriage, he began to look around. The majestic mountain peaks were faintly visible, as if they were about to pierce the sky. Countless pine trees of varying heights surrounded him, and when the morning mist dispersed, his eyes were filled with lush greenery, giving off an air of grandeur that seemed to touch the heavens and hold up the sun. However, amidst this natural scenery, there was no sign of the Chongmen Gate anywhere. It made sense, for if it were so easily discovered, the Chongmen would not be a place that everyone feared.

  "We're off!" Looking at the mountain peaks in front of him, Chong Yao took the lead and flew forward, Hua Ji followed closely behind, while Hong Zhi went to deal with the horse carriage. Closely following, Qing Kuang also caught up, leaving only a red afterimage in the green mountains.

  They walked halfway around the mountain before stopping, and the route they took was a series of arrays. Even if she saw it with her own eyes, Xiaoyao wouldn't ask too much, after all, it was someone else's business and had nothing to do with her. Unbeknownst to her, Huajie had already taken several discreet glances at her, this being the first time Master had brought an outsider on this route, did Master really trust this young girl that much?

  Looking at the ordinary pile of rocks in front of him, Qing Kuang waited quietly for their move. The original rock pile turned out to be a disguised door, it seems that there are many capable people inside this cave who can fake reality. Chong Yao took the lead and walked in first, Hua Ji waited on the side until Qing Kuang also went in, then she sealed the stone gate again.

  The curved passageway had a row of fist-sized night pearls on the top, shining brightly. Just for lighting, such a large scale, the wealth of this noble gate can be seen at a glance. After passing through countless forks in the road and dodging all sorts of strange mechanisms, this passage finally came to an end.

  Suddenly, the grand hall stands majestically before me, with countless flowers paving the road, red as fire, covering the fine white jade on the ground. Countless people stand on both sides, apparently having waited for a long time.

  "Welcome, Your Excellency!" The crowd shouted in unison with neat and uniform movements.

  In front of his subordinates, Chong Yao was completely unceremonious and the gentleness he had shown to Qing Kuang earlier had vanished into thin air.

  "Hmph! What's the use of raising you all, you're all just trash!" The intense killing intent pressed down on everyone, not daring to lift their heads.

  "Please calm down, Your Majesty..." For a moment, everyone was silent as if they were frozen in fear. The Emperor had been imprisoned for almost a year and their rescue efforts had made no progress, so it was understandable that the Emperor was angry.

  "Bring all of them to me to receive seventh-level punishment, don't even think about escaping!"

  "Yes, Your Majesty..." The crowd, who were originally frightened, all let out a sigh of relief. From the ninth level of punishment to the first level, it seemed that His Majesty was being unusually lenient. However, they had no idea what kind of calculations were going on in Chong Yao's mind.

  As for what's happening in front of him, Lin Feng wasn't very interested and instead went to find the antidote herbs first. After all, it was better to get rid of the poison as soon as possible.

  "Hey, are you all going to the medicine field?" Since the dead woman could use poison, there should be some medicinal herbs here. If we can find her alchemy lab, that would be best. If it were in the past, she wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble - eating a fruit and drinking some spring water would have solved everything. But once the dark spirit pearl on the spiritual foundation absorbs external energy, I'm afraid it will rebel again.

  The people who had fallen to the ground were now wide awake, they had just seen their master bring back a strange woman, and now this woman dared to speak to their master in such a tone, what was her background?

  "Hua Ji, take her to the medicine field." Suppressing the anger in his heart, Chong Yao finally instructed, it seems that this person still has a way with that poison.

  "Yes, Your Highness! Ah... Miss, please follow me." Hanagi hesitated for a moment before bowing respectfully and inviting her to follow.

  She nodded slightly, and lightly followed him up the steps, completely ignoring the crowd of people behind her who were almost dying of curiosity. After all, except for the women in the imperial harem, this was also the first time the master had brought someone back, could it be that the master's heart was racing with excitement? If the master wasn't still fuming at the moment, they really wanted to lift their heads and take a look at what the woman looked like!

  All along the way, pavilions and towers rise one after another, with small bridges spanning crystal clear waters that seem to be in a hurry. I really don't know where the water on this towering mountain comes from. Under the bridge, there are occasionally several golden fish swimming by, glancing at them before leisurely swimming away. On both sides of the road, bright red flowers are planted, but their names cannot be called out. When the clear wind blows, a large wave of flowers flashes by, with the red color dazzling and stunning, making people's hearts beat faster.

  "Right ahead is the medicine field, please help yourself." Even though she was leading the way in front, Huā Jiě was always mindful of Qing Kuáng's every move, calm and composed. Even after seeing so many rare treasures, not a hint of covetousness showed on her face. Hmm, not bad!

  A burst of medicinal fragrance wafted over, but before Qing could lift his foot to enter, he heard someone hurrying over, calling out as they walked, "Qing'er, Qing'er... is that you back?" The man's loud voice couldn't conceal the joy in his tone, and he had rushed over here as soon as he returned!

  It was Hana who heard the owner of this voice, slightly furrowed her brow and secretly called out "bad luck!" It's Kuroba!