Chapter 582: Apostle

「Half a month later.」

「At the foot of a tall mountain.」

“ROAR!”

The roar was deafening. Surrounding trees toppled over, and an aura of life dissipated.

“The bloodline of the Exotic Beast Zouwu.”

Zhu Ju stood beside the enormous corpse. He made a pressing motion with one hand, and the Essence and blood within the body were rapidly devoured by him.

In the blink of an eye, the mountain-sized corpse rapidly shriveled, shrinking by nearly half.

He took a deep breath and withdrew his palm.

‘There aren’t many Demons here, but there’s no shortage of Exotic Beasts and Spiritual Objects with High-Level Bloodlines.’

The reason why there were so few Demons was simple.

The Emperor’s Liquid couldn’t cross over into this realm, so it was naturally rare for Demons to gain sentience.

Back then, the Luh Wu Demon Venerable had collected many unusual bloodlines and placed them in this Divine Mansion. Their descendants were still here.

‘In that case, the Jianmu must have also been part of Luh Wu’s collection. It just so happened to gain sentience in the millennium after his death.’

‘Truly worthy of an Immortal Grade Spiritual Plant. The moment it gained sentience, it became a First-Grade Great Demon.’

Closing his eyes, Zhu Ju contacted Ming Nianwei, who was far away.

“How are things on your end?”

“Master.”

Ming Nianwei’s response was swift.

“We’ve found a fragmented Immortal Mansion. We just drove off a group of Loose Cultivators who had mistakenly entered the Divine Mansion.”

“Hmm…”

“Master, the Luh Wu Divine Mansion is different from any Divine Mansion I remember. This place is… strange.”

As Li Chengxia, a Commandery Princess and one of the world’s top Mages, she had naturally visited Divine Mansions before—and more than just one.

But no Divine Mansion she had ever seen was as vast as the Luh Wu Divine Mansion. That was one thing, but the number of living creatures and things within the Luh Wu Divine Mansion was astronomical.

So many that it beggared belief.

This wasn’t normal at all!

A Divine Mansion is equivalent to a Super Grade expert’s creation from the void; it starts as a stretch of chaos, devoid of life.

All the creatures and objects within must be plundered from the outside world, so their numbers and variety are naturally limited.

Furthermore, the Luh Wu Divine Mansion contained many fragmented Immortal Mansions, which also didn’t fit with the Luh Wu Demon Race’s identity.

Zhu Ju looked up at the tall mountain in the distance and nodded thoughtfully.

“Along the way, I’ve encountered more than a dozen types of Exotic Beasts, many of which possessed the bloodlines of Ancient Divine Beasts.”

“Luh Wu…”

“In ancient legends, he was the Divine Beast who guarded Kunlun Mountain, and also the Ancestor of the Mountain God.”

“Kunlun Mountain?” Ming Nianwei’s voice was tinged with curiosity.

“What kind of place is that?”

“The residence of the Celestial Emperor in primordial times, and an Immortal Dao Holy Land in more recent antiquity,” Zhu Ju explained.

“Let’s put that aside. When can you get here?”

“Well…” Ming Nianwei hesitated for a moment.

“Miss Zhou wants to look around a bit more. We should be able to rendezvous with you in about half a month.”

“Half a month.” Zhu Ju nodded in understanding.

“Alright. I’ve found a node. It’s still small, but in half a month, it should be just large enough to pass through.”

“I have things to attend to here. Talk later.”

He cut the connection and looked into the distance. His senses picked up more than a dozen auras rapidly approaching.

One of them was rather familiar.

“WHOOSH…”

A fierce wind stirred as a dozen or so figures burst through the foliage, appearing before him.

A man and a woman among them, dressed in the attire of True Martial Sect Inner Sect Disciples, were sprinting at an astonishing speed.

“Big Brother!”

The woman’s eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Zhu Ju, and she cried out in alarm.

“What are you doing here?”

With a flash, she broke away from her companion, darted to Zhu Ju’s side, and started pulling him away.

Behind them.

Powerful auras arrived one after another; among them, Seventh-Grade and Sixth-Grade cultivators were actually considered weak.

“Junior Sister!”

Ji Wenchang was also surprised to see Zhu Ju, but when he saw Zhu Shuang’er break away from him, his expression immediately darkened.

“Forget him! We have to run!”

“…No.” Zhu Shuang’er’s eyes flickered.

“You go on ahead, Senior Brother. We’ll… regroup if we make it out.”

“You!”

Ji Wenchang stomped his foot. Seeing their pursuers about to catch up, he shot Zhu Shuang’er one last, harsh glare before turning and hurrying away.

They weren’t the only ones being hunted; there were others, who appeared to be Loose Cultivators.

As for their pursuers.

Their auras were distorted and chaotic, yet immensely powerful—completely different from anyone he had ever seen before.

“Who are they?”

Zhu Ju asked curiously as Zhu Shuang’er pulled him back.

“Are they human or Demon?”

“Dragon Abomination Apostles,” Zhu Shuang’er said, her expression grave.

“Martial Artists and Demons who pledge allegiance to the Dragon Abomination Sect have the seed of the Dragon Abomination planted within them. Their power grows by leaps and bounds, but they lose their humanity and gradually become monsters.”

“Oh!”

Zhu Ju raised an eyebrow.

“So that’s how it is?”

“The Dragon Abomination is one of the most evil things in existence. Even the inherently savage Dragon Race wouldn’t tolerate it,” Zhu Shuang’er said hurriedly.

“Big Brother, I’ll find a way to hold them off. You need to run. Get as far away as you can.”

“No need to be so tense,” Zhu Ju said.

“There are plenty of others for them to chase; not many will come after us. Where did your Brother Yuan go?”

‘With Yuan Henshui’s Fifth-Grade Peak Cultivation and his top-tier Qi Blood Divine Weapon, he should be able to handle this kind of trouble.’

“Brother Yuan split up from us as soon as we entered the Divine Mansion. He went off to find some ‘fated opportunity,’ as he called it.”

“I see…” Zhu Ju nodded.

“How did you end up running into the Dragon Abomination Apostles?”

“A short while ago, a Spiritual Light erupted on a nearby mountain, so we came to investigate,” Zhu Shuang’er said with a wry smile.

“Now it’s too late for regrets.”

“Same here,” Zhu Ju said with a smile.

“I saw the Spiritual Light as well. A Curious Object must be manifesting. This Divine Mansion certainly hides a lot of treasures.”

“Mmm…”

“They’re here!”

Zhu Ju had long since heard of the infamous Dragon Abomination.

He was said to have clawed his way out of his mother’s womb at birth, immediately drawing down a heavenly tribulation. In his youth, he already had the strength and Cultivation of the Upper Three Grades, and he reached the Super Grade at a tender age. Alas, his nature was savage. He killed his brother and father to devour their Dragon Race bloodlines, prompting the entire East Sea Dragon Race to hunt him down and expel him from their kind.

It was because of him that Prince Yong’an, who guarded the East Sea, met his end, plunging the Island of Continuous Mountains into decades of turmoil.

Now, he had even colluded with the Mang Mountain Demon Saint to stand against the Divine Dynasty.

Only two Dragon Abomination Apostles charged toward them. They had humanoid forms, but reeked of Demon Qi.

Fifth Grade!

Their Cultivation was Middle Fifth Grade. Their Qi Blood was so chaotic and distorted that a single glance was enough to make one feel uneasy.

“Big Brother, run!”

Zhu Shuang’er cried out as the Longsword in her hand flashed forward. The air instantly filled with a watery mist.

Profound Water Drip Sword!

True Martial Demon Suppression Technique!

Her Qi Blood flowed as gently as water, yet could erupt with the violence of a tidal wave. As she executed her Sword Formulas, the air filled with a shower of water droplets.

Though seemingly soft and harmless, these droplets could effortlessly pierce metal and stone, possessing astonishing killing power.

With thousands of droplets surging forward, combined with the Qi Blood Divine Weapon in her hand, an ordinary Fifth-Grade expert would be no match for her.

This was the power of a top-tier legacy.

Unfortunately, her opponents were also extraordinary, and their Cultivation was even more profound.

The two Dragon Abomination Apostles were wreathed in Black Wind. As their fists and palms met, the rampaging Powerful Qi instantly cleared a hundred-zhang area around them.

Trees splintered and rocks shattered. Zhu Shuang’er felt a sweet tang in her throat; she had already sustained a minor injury.

‘Damn it!’

Before she could even collect herself, the two figures were already upon her.

“SWOOSH!”

A Five-Colored Divine Light descended from the heavens, freezing the pouncing figures in place. An invisible force pulled Zhu Shuang’er back several steps.

“Allow me.”

Zhu Ju shook his head gently and flicked a finger toward the Five Elements Mountain before him.

“Go!”

The Five Elements Mountain shuddered violently. In an instant, it swelled to the size of a house and shot toward the two Dragon Abomination Apostles as a streak of five-colored light.