"The effect is quite good." Zhao Xing looked at Wu Mei's miserable state and couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.
At the end of October, he had visited Old Chen's estate and seen a new plant in the pear orchard—Firecracker.
At that time, he had only seen it at the Gathered Essence Second Level.
This was because in the south, the growth limit of Firecracker would be reduced; as the saying goes, "Oranges grown south of the Huai River are sweet, while those grown north are bitter."
In reality, Firecracker could generally grow to the Gathered Essence Fifth Level.
It had high requirements for the earth's veins and must be in a 'Fire Element Earth Vein.'
Once Firecracker reached the Fifth Level, its bamboo joints contained an incredibly violent Fire Elemental force.
The color of the bamboo's surface would change from green to red. After going through the 'killing green' process, when it sensed the condensed vital Qi, it would easily explode.
Although Long Xiao came alone, he brought a hundred Fifth Level Firecrackers from the Divine Might Army for Chen Shijie.
Chen Shijie had also planted quite a few young bamboo plants himself.
At that time, Zhao Xing took a small portion of the seedlings to try planting them himself.
However, Old Chen thought it was too dangerous for him to plant them, so he only gave him one to try his hand at.
What was prepared in this room were all products from replanting, which were at the level of Gathered Essence Third Level.
However, at Zhao Xing's strong request, Chen Shijie still gave him a Firecracker of the Fifth Level.
After being cut into ten segments, Zhao Xing buried them around the fence.
The segment that Wu Mei stepped on was one of them.
"Not dead on the spot; this person's physique must have reached the Eighth Grade." Zhao Xing stared at Wu Mei.
The explosion of the Fifth Level Firecracker naturally had a standard: external force pressing down and the strength of the vital Qi.
If it was below the Eighth Grade, or merely at the Ninth Grade, it might not even trigger an explosion.
Once the concentration of vital Qi contained within the body reached the Eighth Grade, the internal Fire Elemental force would ignite, as if finding an outlet, igniting this mass of vital Qi at the moment of explosion.
Thus, Wu Mei's legs were now very difficult to heal.
Moreover, the more she circulated her vital Qi to repair her body, the worse her injuries became.
Zhao Xing could also actively detonate the remaining Firecrackers; although he didn't use the Subterranean Palace Technique, the Earth Store Returning to Origin was enveloping the surrounding area.
Now, there was a minefield around the small courtyard!
"Poof!" Wu Mei pulled out her knife, slicing away the flesh and blood from her bones, while also stripping away the bamboo pieces embedded within.
After discovering the poor healing effect, she decisively chose the most direct method.
Time was life at this moment.
"Ahh!" The pain made her suffer immensely; could cutting her own flesh and scraping her bones not hurt?
"You little bastard! How dare you ambush me..." Wu Mei's eyes were filled with resentment.
"Do you have anything valuable on you?" Zhao Xing's voice drifted with the wind. "Did you bring the Breaking Boundary Needle, or the Mysterious Heaven Mirror, or the Soul Guarding Garment?"
Hearing this, Wu Mei was momentarily stunned, forgetting the pain, and instinctively replied, "No, how do you know..."
"Didn’t bring it?"
"Then what are you living for?"
Whoosh~ Zhao Xing's voice accompanied the cold wind, sounding somewhat chilling. Taking advantage of Wu Mei's time spent cutting flesh and scraping bones, the cold wind swept toward her body.
The cold wind seemed to drill into Wu Mei's body from every pore, as if the wind was directly scraping at her soul.
"Hiss~"
Wu Mei shivered, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
This kind of coldness on the soul made her unable to clear the aftereffects brought by the Firecracker, forcing her to retreat while a mass of fiery red blood evil surged around her.
The blood evil protected her body, resisting the erosion of the cold wind.
"Patak~"
A drop of rain fell on Wu Mei's forehead.
"Rain, it's raining?"
Wu Mei looked up, her scarlet and enchanting eyes raised.
She saw a pitch-black cloud above her head that had appeared without her noticing, blending completely with the night.
When did this cloud form?
Why did this cloud form a black vortex?
This is...
"Patak, patak~"
The icy raindrops interrupted Wu Mei's thoughts.
Cold, too cold.
If the cold wind was a chill on the soul, then the icy rain was a chill on the body.
Wu Mei could originally exert the strength of the Eighth Grade; whether in physique or spells, she was enough to rival the Eighth Grade of the Great Zhou.
But now, she found herself as weak as a clerk! And she was continuously growing weaker!
"Mysterious Heaven Blood Evil! Blood Spirit Protecting Body!"
"Divine Sovereign Seizing the Soul, attach to my true body!"
The blood evil on Wu Mei's body surged, resisting the cold wind and icy rain while her body began to emit a layer of fine crimson blood.
The blood flowed, enveloping her skin and flesh, as if something wanted to break out of her body.
"Transform? Can you transform?"
Zhao Xing spread his five fingers, lightning coiling around his fingertips, quickly forming a hand made of thunder, which swiftly pressed against the blood evil on Wu Mei's body.
"Boom!"
The blood evil was torn open, revealing Wu Mei's bloody muscles.
"Poof!"
The purple hand curled its fingers and quickly jabbed into Wu Mei's abdomen.
The speed at which the blood evil spread suddenly halted, as if the rotating gears had been jammed.
"Boom~"
The thunderous hand changed direction and struck again, first blasting open the protective blood evil, then curling its palm and extending its fingers.
It jabbed at six key positions on Wu Mei's body.
"Divine Court, Divine Que, Divine Path, Guan Yuan, Stone Gate, Yin Jiao... where's the last position?"
"Forget it, just poke the last one randomly."
Zhao Xing couldn't remember clearly, but these six critical positions were enough to interrupt her transformation.
"You..." Wu Mei's face showed horror.
She had just sensed the danger and immediately unleashed her full strength, using the secret technique of the Mysterious Heaven Sect, wanting to reveal her trump card for a fight.
But Zhao Xing's thunderous hand interrupted her spellcasting.
After all, I am from the Mysterious Heaven Sect; how does he know so much?
Wu Mei couldn't understand, but she was greatly shocked.
"Stop poking, please stop poking..." Wu Mei's voice carried a sob.
"I shouldn't die here; I should be taking you back... please stop poking."
"Come with me; you will definitely be valued in the Mysterious Heaven Sect. I never intended to kill you; I just wanted to take you away... please stop poking."
Wu Mei pleaded desperately.
The blood evil on her body was as thin as a cicada's wing, and the Blood Spirit attachment was completely interrupted.
Having lurked for over a decade, it was all for this operation.
Unexpectedly, it turned to dust; the mission was unfulfilled, and she was left here.
Unwilling, she was truly unwilling.
Unlike other Mysterious Heaven Sect personnel, some were willing to die as their time approached, while others were manipulated and brainwashed, losing their self-awareness.
But Wu Mei's consciousness was entirely autonomous.
She still had a strong desire to survive.
"Come with me; come with me..." Wu Mei raised her hand, and a needle broke free from her flesh.
It aimed for Zhao Xing's Tian Ling acupoint.
The Breaking Boundary Needle was her last desperate move.
"How insidious, I knew you brought it." Zhao Xing muttered.
The Breaking Boundary Needle passed through his body and nailed itself to the door behind him.
Buzz~
The phantom disappeared, leaving only a coldly gleaming bead on the ground.
A Fourth Level East Lake Pearl projection.
"You tricked me; how insidious..." Wu Mei saw this scene, her hand drooped, her words unfinished, filled with intense unwillingness as she collapsed to the ground.
If she had hit Zhao Xing with the Breaking Boundary Needle, she could have immediately controlled him and turned the tables, making him take her away.
With this last desperate move failing, she knew there was no hope left.
Having lurked for over a decade, she had relied on hope to survive.
With hope dashed, Wu Mei completely lost her resistance, her soul shattered by the cold wind.
"I did deceive you. At your level, you must have brought the Breaking Boundary Needle. Just a different style. I asked if you brought it, just to prevent you from sensing danger and retreating, making you think you could control my body with the Blood Spirit Needle and walk out of the courtyard, giving you hope for a comeback." Zhao Xing thought silently.
He looked at the dark red nail nailed to the door.
The material of the nail was extremely special, neither gold nor gold-like, and it was wrapped in a substance that resembled flesh tendons.
The Blood Spirit Needle was a type of Breaking Boundary Needle and one of the classic treasures of the Mysterious Heaven Sect.
Its effect was not aimed at the soul but at the flesh.
"This nail," Zhao Xing didn't dare to touch it, just watching from afar, "can bypass a person's soul and directly control the body."
"Once shot, it is equivalent to losing control of the body; although the consciousness remains awake, the body is controlled by the Mysterious Heaven Sect."
The Mysterious Heaven Sect could successfully abduct people because of the Blood Spirit Needle's contribution.
Although the Temples of Divinity across the Great Zhou mostly only scanned within the city, during the Moon Festival or emergencies, they would expand their search range.
Using methods to control the soul to take people away could easily be detected by the Yin Spirits.
But the Blood Spirit Needle controls the flesh, leaving the three souls normal, so it naturally wouldn't be detected as abnormal.
"Once hit by the Blood Spirit Needle, the next step can still change the movement of flesh and bones, achieving an easy transformation effect."
"It can be said that even standing in front of you, you wouldn't notice."
This could be considered a super version of an item, a treasure that could only be refined during the ancient sect era.
The Outland Sects relied on some ancient era's inheritance to disturb the Great Zhou beast.
"Meow~" The mountain cat was also watching that needle.
"Don't eat it; do you want to become a dead cat?" Zhao Xing glared at the mountain cat.
The mountain cat immediately shrank its head and took a step back.
Then it wouldn't eat it; it wasn't that hungry anyway.
Outside the ruined factory, on a high hillside.
At this moment, Chen Shijie, Tang Wanchun, Xue Wenzhong, Pang Yuan, Gao Linong, and other officials from the Agricultural Affairs Bureau had already been surrounded.
"Lord Chen." As Pang Yuan and Tang Wanchun, who had broken free from the Nightmare Evasion Technique, woke up and saw this scene, they all looked at Chen Shijie, "The demon invasion; isn't this assessment over? Why are they still here? What's going on?"
"Oh, it's nothing; they are not fake; they are real." Chen Shijie smiled, "Everyone, it's time to earn some political merit; these are all genuine Mysterious Heaven demons."
"???" Hearing this, the officials from the Agricultural Affairs Bureau were directly dumbfounded.
Do we look like we can fight?
You are from the military's Agricultural Affairs Bureau; we are not!
"I knew there would be no good outcome following this bastard Chen Shijie." Gao Linong felt his scalp tingle at this situation, "A few years ago, he made me suffer enough here, and now he has attracted so many Mysterious Heaven Sect demons."
"Lord Chen, you and the county lord must have communicated, right?" Tang Wanchun's tone trembled slightly, "Is there a large army ambushed outside?"
"No." Chen Shijie looked at the encroaching circle.
"…You bastard Chen Shijie!" Gao Linong couldn't help but curse. In his heart, he instantly cursed Chen Shijie's ancestors for eight generations, feeling that he was doomed this time, not caring about any superior or not.
Pang Yuan and Tang Wanchun also felt resentful but remained half-convinced, thinking that Chen Shijie couldn't easily put himself in danger.
Xue Wenzhong, however, was very calm; he had come to terms with everything.
A thundercloud suddenly appeared in his palm, and then with a gentle flick, the thundercloud began to swirl around him.
One cloud, two clouds, five clouds, ten clouds...
A total of thirty-two thunderclouds not only protected him but also surrounded his colleagues.
"Serving the lord's interests, sharing the lord's worries; Outland Sects, everyone deserves to be punished." Xue Wenzhong said solemnly.
"Forget it; it's just death." Tang Wanchun and Pang Yuan began to cast spells to block the enemy.
The Four Celestial Methods and Earthly Advantage spells instantly filled the entire hillside.
Although their levels were one realm lower than the Eighth Grade experts brought by the Falcon, under their desperate spellcasting, the Mysterious Heaven Sect actually moved extremely slowly, and once they entered within a hundred meters, their mobility greatly decreased.
"Hahaha, I didn't expect my Earth Penetrating Technique to be so powerful; take another strike from me!" Gao Linong called down lightning toward one of the shadows.
The lightning indeed struck the opponent, causing them to stiffen in place, and not only that, but they even emitted a burst of fiery red light.
"Misjudged; not Eighth Grade?" Tang Wanchun's eyes lit up upon seeing the opponent so easily defeated.
"Gao Daren, you are overthinking it; it's not that you are strong, but they have weakened." Xue Wenzhong glanced at the ground and then at Chen Shijie. "What a good Subterranean Palace."
"Xue Lao has a keen eye." Chen Shijie smiled slightly, then stopped pretending.
Suddenly, the entire hillside's perimeter cracked open, forming an encirclement.
Then a line of fire ignited, bright flames erupting from the ground, reaching four meters high, forming a wall of fire.
"What? Fire Elemental Earth Splitting Technique, and this gathering force; is it the Subterranean Palace Technique?!" The Falcon Guardian sensed the heavy pressure on him and was shocked, while the other Eighth Grades found it difficult to move, each step feeling as if they were carrying a mountain.
And just as they stepped within a hundred meters, the ground suddenly bulged.
"Bang!"
A massive Fire Elemental force exploded!
One of the black-clad men stepped on a Firecracker and was instantly blown away!
"What? Stop!" The Falcon Guardian looked at his subordinate, who had lost both legs, half his body gone, clearly not surviving.
"Mysterious Heaven's True Law, North Dipper Ascending Dragon!" The Falcon Guardian shouted.
The black-clad men beside him began to chant in unison.
"Mysterious Claw!" One black-clad man grasped the air with one hand, producing a green battle knife.
"Mysterious Horn!" The second black-clad man had a golden horn appear before him.
"Extreme Wing!" The third black-clad man had a gauntlet form above his head.
"Mysterious Yin!" The fourth black-clad man had a bright moon appear around him.
"Yuan Pin!" The fifth black-clad man embraced a pearl with both hands.
"Flying Dragon!" The sixth black-clad man expanded, a fierce dragon head enveloping his entire body.
The Falcon Guardian immediately unleashed the North Dipper Ascending Dragon formation of the Mysterious Heaven Sect, and along with the Falcon, the seven of them seemed like a flying dragon descending to the ground, chasing the sun and moon.
The surrounding wall of fire was instantly pressed down to two meters, and the buried Firecrackers, after being stepped on, surprisingly did not explode, greatly reducing the restraints, and the mobility of several people immediately increased.
"Chen Shijie, I didn't expect your talent to reach the completion of the Spirit Bridge at over thirty years old, but my Mysterious Sect needs talents like you!" The Falcon Guardian shouted, "Act quickly!"
"Lord Chen!" Tang Wanchun saw these demons suddenly become lively and said with red eyes, "Does the county lord and the East Lake Army really not know?"
"They are not here." Chen Shijie said lightly, "But I have a Sword Cultivator."
"A Sword Cultivator? What Sword Cultivator?" Pang Yuan was puzzled.
Chen Shijie simply pointed.
The ground cracked open, forming a two-meter-square deep pit, dark and bottomless.
Just as they were confused, a beam of sword light shot out from the pit.
"Damn it, I almost suffocated down there; next time, don't bury me so deep!"
A rough voice came from the ground.
Then this golden sword swam through the air like a fish.
Once the golden sword emerged from the hole, it immediately shot toward the Mysterious Heaven demons below the hillside.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
The golden sword imprinted itself in the eyes of everyone from the Mysterious Heaven Sect, and the Falcon Guardian's pupils widened as he desperately tried to resist, realizing the danger, but his limbs couldn't keep up.
"Poof, poof, poof, poof, poof, poof, poof!"
The golden sword pierced through his head, and at the same time, the heads of the others also appeared with blood holes.
"Thud!"
In an instant, all seven fell to the ground!
"Clang!"
The golden sword traced a perfect arc, landing in Long Xiao's raised hand.
"This..." Tang Wanchun and the others were stunned upon seeing this scene. "Is this a Martial Artist?"
The rough Martial Artist had such power and was so handsome?
"As everyone knows, a Martial Artist is a Martial Artist, and a Sword Cultivator is a Sword Cultivator." Long Xiao coolly sheathed his sword, then his expression changed, "Who just cursed my brother?"
"Swish, swish~" Tang Wanchun and Pang Yuan simultaneously looked at Gao Linong, decisively selling out their teammate.
"I..." Gao Linong immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
"He just spoke without thinking; don't mind it too much." Chen Shijie looked ahead, "There are still big fish; quickly follow my wind to search."
"Understood." Long Xiao put away his intimidating demeanor and swiftly leaped down the hillside.
In Peaceful Town, at the Maple Leaf Manor, beneath the blood pool altar of the rockery.
At this moment, a purple-robed phantom floated above the blood pool, with red light occasionally flying back, merging into the phantom's body; this was the return of the soul after an invasion.
"Failed." The purple-robed phantom sensed the commotion above, "A large number of officials have returned; this operation has completely failed."
In his perception, Minister Li led a large number of East Lake Army, forming a larger encirclement, coming from afar to counterattack.
It was evident that this operation was premeditated.
"To dare to take risks, using oneself and many officials as bait, quite ruthless and decisive." The purple-robed phantom knew he should abandon this avatar.
However, he was waiting for all the souls to return; failure was not terrible; he wanted to retrieve the souls, sense everything that happened, and summarize the details of this failure.
"What a firm will; ten years in the army, never once asking for divine help?" The Blood Spirit Sovereign, after retracting a red light, also learned of the conversation with Chen Shijie in the dream. "It's a pity; I can't take him away."
Whoosh~ Another red light flew back, but this time it was much weaker, as if it had consumed too much, appearing thin, barely half of the previous light mass.
"Hmm? Why such a large consumption?" The Blood Spirit Sovereign opened his mouth in confusion and swallowed the red light.
Then in his mind, he saw a fenced courtyard, where a disheveled young man was none other than Zhao Xing.
"What? This bastard!" The Blood Spirit Sovereign's blood pressure rose upon seeing half of it.
Sorry for the delay; my schedule has been a bit off. I will correct any typos later. With 3000 monthly votes, there will be an additional update this month.
(End of Chapter)