Chapter 2: Chi You Drinks Bitterness and Loses at Huangquan

  A bleak night finally descended in the dead silence, and Gaoyang, which had been shrouded in gloomy clouds for several days, unexpectedly welcomed a rare moon tonight.

  The moon is high in the night sky, casting a hazy moonlight that seems to be reluctant to witness the tragic scene of the battlefield. The battlefield is littered with corpses of the dead, and fresh blood has stained the entire land of Zhuolu red.

  At this time, in the Wu Shen Temple inside Zhuolu City, an elderly man with white silver whiskers was looking at the miserable scene in the Jiuyao mirror hanging from the beam of the temple. He shook his head helplessly and sighed despondently: "It seems that my Jiu Li tribe's fate is exhausted... Alas, is it heaven's will to destroy my Jiu Li tribe?"

  "What was that sound that could awaken my sleeping heart in the midst of anxiety and terror?" Chi You, who had been asleep for several days, suddenly struggled to get up from his tiger skin throne.

  "The voice of the God of War came from the Yellow Emperor's camp, causing our warriors to lose all resistance and be slaughtered and butchered by the Yan Huang coalition." Lao Si hastily walked to Chi You's side and supported him, saying with a pained heart.

  "How long have I been asleep? High Priest."

  "Ten days and ten nights, is that it?" Chi You let out a long sigh, his whole body trembling as he closed his eyes. Two lines of clear tears had already flowed from his eyes like a stream. In his mind, he couldn't help but recall the great battle with Huang Di half a month ago. What a brutal fight that was!

  Half a month ago, Yuan Yao Buxia Mitian covered the sky with a thick fog. Under the cover of the thick fog, he led eighty-one sworn brothers to capture Huangdi in the fog and end the war. Unexpectedly, Xuanyuan turned out to be much more formidable than he had imagined.

  Two men fought for five days and five nights, from the sky to the underground, and then from the sixth earth to the sea. Although they killed Huangdi's heavenly woman Ba, their own eighty-one brothers also paid the price of life and were all killed by Huangdi and Ba.

  Until the Wu Shen hammer shattered Huangdi's Xuan Yuan sword and the Lei Shen axe broke until the two exhausted their physical strength, both were severely injured, and the battle finally came to an end.

  "Hurry up and pass on the magic, or it will be lost forever." Chi You suddenly opened his eyes and shouted loudly.

  "The four great demon generals, including the God of War, have all fought to their deaths." The old general cried out in anguish, his white hair standing on end, clearly having reached the depths of sorrow.

  "Are you not going to die, huh? I know that, right?" Chi You muttered to himself, lowering his head. Just then, the sharp horned hat on his head suddenly fell off with a 'clatter'.

  He saw his helmet fall to the ground, Chi You was stunned for a moment, then suddenly raised his head, his eyes bursting with sharp light, and his killing intent soared as he looked at Lao Si, asking in a low voice: "Where is Yuanying? Where is the tenth generation of the Ghost King Yuanying?"

  Jian Wushen's eyes made his old servant's body tremble as he quietly walked to the front of the Jiuyao mirror without answering.

  He only saw that with a big sleeve, the ghost king Yuan Ying was entangled with a black-robed man holding a golden knife. The black-robed man's movements were extremely fast, and his eyes shone with a blood-red light in the dark night. Every move of the golden knife was aimed at Yuan Ying's vital points, and it was clear that Yuan Ying could only defend himself without any strength to counterattack.

  "It was him after all." Chi You shook his head, let out a long sigh, closed his eyes and sat back calmly on the throne.

  "Wugou, your body has not yet recovered from the severe injury. Let's hurry up and leave tonight! Flee back to our Jie tribe's old territory, okay? Our Jiuli tribe cannot be without you!" The aged Laozi suddenly knelt in front of Chiyou and begged sorrowfully.

  Chi You closed his eyes and did not respond. At this time, he was very sad in his heart. Now that he's going back, how can he bear to face the ghosts of his ancestors? So many sons and younger brothers died on the battlefield, where does he still have the face to meet the spirits of his ancestors?

  "Alas - could I be wrong?" Chi You asked himself in his heart.

  Chi You was clearly a man with great ambitions from a young age, unwilling to submit to others. That year, the torrential floods in Gulu Mountain uncovered many copper mines, which he collected and used to manufacture swords, armor, spears, and halberds. From that year on, his great ambition began to take shape, and it was also the year when he annexed nine vassal states in one breath.

  Can't forget those brave warriors who died on the battlefield, they fought bravely but ended up dying in a foreign land. For this reason, I had Old Sai Ming hurry to perform the ritual of guiding the spirits back home with the soul-guiding banner and brought back the sons who died in a foreign land to their hometown. However, even if my own sons and clansmen were sent back to their hometown, they still lost their lives in the end. What did they ultimately gain?

  "Cough...cough..." Chi You, who was sitting on the throne, suddenly burst into violent coughing.

  After a fierce cough, he spewed out fresh blood and said to Lao Si: "The High Priest may... maybe I was wrong."

  "God of War, you have an immortal soul. As long as you are here in our Ghost Country, our Jiuli tribe will definitely be able to revive and compete with Huangdi again! Hurry up and go!" Lao Si begged Chi You once more.

  Chi You shook his head and sighed, "Although I have an immortal soul as the Grand Priest, with my current power, I am absolutely no match for that black-robed man with red lights flashing in his eyes in the Jiuyao Mirror. Escaping would also be futile; otherwise, my escape would bring catastrophic disaster to my own people."

  "Bu Wu Shen, although you have lost eighty-one brothers, the four great demon generals and nine marshals, as well as Gui Wang Yuan Yao, but you still have the most powerful seven great Xuanwu Protectors. They will definitely be able to protect you and ensure your safe escape from Zhu Lu." Lao Si's eyes seemed to see hope again, excitedly saying to Chi You.

  "High Priest, you go and summon the seven Xuanwu guardian deities to enter the temple!" Chi You spoke with great difficulty, sitting weakly on the throne under heavy injury.

  It won't be long before seven tall figures wearing black and white robes walked into the Temple of Martial God.

  Seven people came to Chi You's side and knelt down with a "thud", saying in unison: "Master, please let us protect you and leave this place."

  Chi You slightly opened his eyes and beckoned to the seven people with a wave of his hand, signaling them to approach. After Chi You whispered something in the ear of the guardian deity, the seven people suddenly knelt down again and said in terror: "Your subordinates dare not obey."

  "Hmm?" Chi You asked in a tone that was absolutely impossible to resist.

  "How can we subordinates just watch as our master dies in Zhuolu? Please, Master, give us the order to protect you and leave Zhuolu."

  "Must I tell you a second time? Hurry up and protect the remaining tribesmen, get them out of here to Nanman!" Chi You shouted.

  Seven people saw Chi You's words without room for negotiation, and they all knelt down on the ground in fear, saying: "We will strictly follow the master's orders. To show our loyalty to the master, we now make a solemn oath in front of the master that if we betray the master and do not rescue the master as our lifelong mission, we will suffer the curse of seeking life but unable to live, seeking death but unable to die, and finally dying with our bodies rotting."

  After finishing speaking, he took big strides and left the Wu Shen Temple.

  At midnight, the coalition forces of Yan and Huang finally launched a general attack on Zhuolu City. There were no more Jiuli people in the city, only an empty city. The besieged and water-tight Zhuolu City was somehow escaped by those Jiuli people, but it is unknown what method they used to escape.

  Inside the Temple of Martial God, Chi You sat quietly on the throne, watching the black-robed man approach step by step. His face was expressionless.

  "Chi You, your time of death has arrived." The man in black said coldly.

  "Night has fallen and you've finally arrived. I've been waiting for you for a long time. Are you here on behalf of your master?" Chi You said with a smile.

  "You're not bad, Xi you will inevitably perish for your numerous unjust deeds. You are guilty of murdering innocent people of the Chinese nation, which is inhumane; using demons to wage war is unjust; letting your own people die for your personal gain is disloyal; and killing your own father is unfilial. Say whatever you want before you die!"

  "Unexpectedly, unexpectedly, Xuan Yuan Xiao Er actually has a helper like you. You were originally destined for Nirvana, why did you want to intervene in this war?" Chi You's words carried some resentment.

  "Yes, I am the phoenix of Nirvana, reborn to make my life more radiant. But my Nirvana is for Xuan Yuan because this is my fate."

  "Oh, since this is the fate arranged by heaven for you, what can I say? I only want you to spare my clansmen and not pursue them. If it weren't for Yan Emperor's concubine, Queen Ears, who wronged me, Ah Wu, and his eighteen villages, how would I have started this dragon-slaying war?" Chi You pleaded.

  "It's none of my business what happens to your people. I only care about you and my own destiny. As for how the Xuan Yuan Emperor and the Flame Emperor decide to deal with your people, that's not my concern." The black-robed man's words were as cold as ice, and he didn't answer Chi You's question.

  "So what do you plan to do with me?" Chi You said calmly.

  "It's simple, as per my master's wishes, I will have you buried separately in the farthest corners of the earth and sea. Knowing that your soul is an undying one, I will cast it into the gates of hell, sealing it forever." The black-robed man said calmly.

  "So you think it's that easy? Aren't you afraid I'll escape from the underworld and wreak havoc on your world again?" Chi You retorted.

  "I will accompany you because this is my fate, even if the seas dry up and the stones crumble, heaven and earth are desolate, for thousands of years and ten thousand generations."

  The man in black slowly drew out the golden dagger that had been screaming incessantly from his waist, and a red glow suddenly burst forth from his eyes. The atmosphere inside the Xuanwu Hall instantly became filled with an intense killing aura.

  "I see," Chi You said, finishing his sentence and quietly closing his eyes.