Chapter 358 - 217: Six

Chapter 358: Chapter 217: Six

"This—"

Niu Zhong was dumbfounded, his trembling finger pointing at Su Mu, utterly speechless.

That enormous Lapis Lazuli Mountain... was gone?

It had just vanished into thin air?

He blinked hard.

Where the Lapis Lazuli Mountain once stood, there was now nothing but a massive pit, with no trace of the original mountain in sight.

’It’s really gone!’

"I knew it..."

Lv Lake muttered to himself, looking as if he had expected this all along.

’After all, anything involving Su Mu could never be judged by common sense.’

’An entire Lapis Lazuli Mountain, gone just like that.’

It wasn’t just the Three-headed Demon who was stunned.

Lu Mingyang and his men were also caught off guard. Their hands suddenly met with empty air, and they stumbled and fell to the ground.

They stared blankly at the giant pit, momentarily confused about what had just happened.

Forget Lu Mingyang and his men; even Xu Chongyuan and the other Taiping Captains sat up in shock.

They had no idea what had happened either.

Of all the humans and demons present, only Su Mu and Zhang Zhongmei knew what had really transpired.

Shi Ziran and Xu Chongyuan had guessed part of it, but they still couldn’t quite believe it.

After all, if they told anyone what happened, who would even believe them?

Su Mu closed his fist, concealing the ring in his palm, and did not show it to anyone.

A smile touched his lips.

’It worked!’

"Lord Zhang, you did it."

Su Mu said with a smile.

Zhang Zhongmei let out a hearty laugh, but after just two chuckles, his eyes rolled back and he fainted again.

"He’s just overjoyed. Let him sleep it off, and he’ll be fine."

Shi Ziran said, subconsciously tightening his grip on the remaining rings in his hand.

’How could he not understand the value of these rings now?’

’If they were truly Space Rings as he suspected, their value would be immeasurable!’

’To put it bluntly, his own life wasn’t even as valuable as a single one of these rings.’

’But now wasn’t the time to think about that. He absolutely couldn’t let anyone else know about the rings’ existence.’

A murderous glint flashed in Shi Ziran’s eyes.

’Besides his master, Zhang Zhongmei was likely the only other person who knew about this.’

’Should he kill Zhang Zhongmei? Then no one else in the world would know.’

Although Shi Ziran had acknowledged Su Mu as his master, he came from the Fragrance Sect, and his old habits sometimes resurfaced subconsciously.

Killing a person or two was no big deal to him.

He subconsciously glanced at Su Mu, only to find Su Mu looking at him with a calm expression.

Shi Ziran’s heart froze, and the murderous intent in his eyes vanished instantly.

’Right. With his master’s status, there was no need to kill someone to silence them.’

’He was no longer a Dharma Guardian Envoy of the Fragrance Sect. His master was a Fifth-Grade Taiping Captain of the Da Xuan Taiping Bureau.’

’Arguably the most powerful Taiping Captain in the entire Da Xuan Taiping Bureau.’

’With his master’s status and power, how many people in the world could possibly snatch his Profound Weapon from him?’

’Unless those bigwigs in the Taiping Bureau were completely shameless.’

’But the Taiping Bureau had always had an excellent reputation. The Marquises wouldn’t be so shameless as to steal his master’s Profound Weapon.’

"Niu Zhong, the mountain has been moved. What do you have to say?"

Su Mu merely glanced at Shi Ziran before shifting his gaze to Niu Zhong and speaking coolly.

"How did you do it? Where did the Lapis Lazuli Mountain go?"

Niu Zhong blurted out subconsciously.

"How I did it isn’t important, and where it went isn’t important either."

Su Mu said calmly, "This second trial was only about moving the mountain. You don’t need to worry about how I did it. Just tell me, has the mountain been moved or not?"

Niu Zhong opened his mouth.

’Could he say it hadn’t been moved?’

’Such a massive mountain was gone. He couldn’t lie even if he wanted to.’

’This was a contest between the Da Xuan Envoy and the Demon Court. Cheating would only bring shame to the Demon Court and wouldn’t change a thing.’

Niu Zhong’s mind was in turmoil.

He remembered the National Preceptor’s assessment of him, as told by Tushan Hanyu.

’Lacking in true courage, unfit for great responsibility.’

He also thought of the bottom line the Saint Venerable and the National Preceptor had given him.

’Of the three trials, as long as he won one, his mission would be considered complete.’

’Am I, Niu Zhong, only capable of this much?’

Despair filled Niu Zhong’s heart.

As the Eighteenth Crown Prince of the Demon Court, he had always considered himself—to use a human phrase—a dragon among demons.

And in fact, among the demons of his own age in the Demon Court, there were truly few who could compare to him.

’Even that cunning white fox, Tushan Hanyu, was a step beneath him, wasn’t she?’

But now, Niu Zhong felt his entire worldview collapsing.

’It turned out he wasn’t some dragon among demons at all; he was just an ordinary demon.’

’This was all he was capable of.’

’Of the three trials, he could only win one.’

"The second trial... you win."

As Niu Zhong spoke those words, he felt as if his entire world had crumbled.

He could even hear a CRACKLING, shattering sound in his ears—the sound of his own beliefs breaking apart.

"Yes!"

All the Taiping Captains waved their fists in excitement.

They had won two trials!

Regardless of whether they won or lost the third trial, they could now bring the bodies of the two Marquises home.

Lu Mingyang and the others also had looks of great joy on their faces.

They didn’t have as deep an attachment to the bodies of the two Taiping Bureau Marquises, but winning a trial was equivalent to saving a state’s land for Da Xuan.

"The third trial is—"

Niu Zhong began, gritting his teeth.

"No rush."

Before he could finish, Su Mu interrupted him.

"We can discuss the third trial tomorrow morning."

Su Mu said coolly, "Da Xuan Envoy, make camp, light the fires, and rest."