Chapter 578 - 523: Showdown

Chapter 578: Chapter 523: Showdown

’Extreme Yin... he probably didn’t perish...’

Chu Mu recalled the events. After he had intervened to save Extreme Yin, they had endured a bitter battle and ultimately held on until the Blood Evil Array was broken.

After he went into hiding, the Extreme Yin True Master had also vanished without a trace.

Later, when the City Defense Array fell and that Nascent Soul from the Chen Family made his move, many Cultivators perished. However, from what Chu Mu had seen at the time, there was no sign of Extreme Yin.

After a moment of contemplation, Chu Mu’s gaze returned to the two treasures floating before him.

The Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame and the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

The profound mysteries of the Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame were, of course, beyond question.

If he used his Great Sun True Flame as a core to devour this flame, his Great Sun Scripture would surely undergo another leap in progress. His Supreme Yang and Firm Method would also become vastly more profound and powerful.

As for the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, although he didn’t cultivate the Ghost Dao, this special treasure forged from a Corpse Mountain Blood Sea was in itself a massive resource.

Even if he were to trade it with a Ghost Dao Cultivator, its value at auction—as high as tens of thousands of Upper Grade Spirit Stones—would be enough for him to gather a vast amount of resources needed for his Cultivation.

After a thorough inspection, just as Chu Mu was about to place the two treasures into his Storage Space, a thought seemed to strike him. His Divine Sense flowed out, probing into the Qiankun Bag at his waist.

Inside, Wangcai was slumbering and healing, lying prone in a corner. And as for the Corpse Puppet...

It had taken a direct blow from a Nascent Soul Great Cultivator for him. Its unparalleled physical body had shattered. Once a towering, hundred-zhang figure, all that remained was a mangled half-torso. Its bones were stark white, its flesh shredded. It looked like a heap of rotten meat, collapsed inside, its original form barely recognizable.

As if sensing Chu Mu’s attention, an intense desire to survive seemed to surge into Chu Mu’s mind through the esoteric master-servant contract between them.

Chu Mu’s expression remained calm. In an instant, he suppressed and dispelled the sensation that had risen in his mind. His Divine Sense then withdrew from the Qiankun Bag.

He looked again at the Ten Thousand Souls Banner before him, a contemplative glint appearing in his eyes.

Vile creatures like Corpse Puppets always had tenacious life force.

Take his Corpse Puppet, for example. Though it was now just a pile of rotten flesh, its injuries wouldn’t be difficult to heal if it had a sufficient supply of Blood Qi, or other suitable energies like Corpse Qi and Evil Qi.

The problem was, for a Tier Three Corpse Puppet that could run rampant against almost anyone below the Nascent Soul realm, healing such severe injuries would require an absolutely immense amount of Blood Energy.

Chu Mu glanced in the direction of Bazhou. With the fall of hundreds of thousands of lives, the Blood Qi over Bazhou City was soaring into the sky!

If he placed the Corpse Puppet in Bazhou, nourished by the city’s overwhelming Blood Qi, it would undoubtedly recover from its injuries within a few years.

But... the fact that his Corpse Puppet had been injured was no secret. Every Cultivator in Bazhou City had personally witnessed the Qing Cang Ancestor’s strike.

If he could think of using Bazhou’s Blood Qi to nourish the Corpse Puppet, the Chen Family could naturally think of it too.

Given how much the Chen Family hated him, it was impossible that they wouldn’t be on guard.

If he were to enter Bazhou again anytime soon, it would be akin to walking into a trap.

’Or... the Ten Thousand Souls Banner?’

Chu Mu raised his hand, and the Ten Thousand Souls Banner hovered before him. With a tap of his finger, a seal placed on the banner’s surface for the auction shattered. After a flicker of insignificant light, a dense Ghost Qi erupted violently.

In just an instant, the surging Ghost Qi materialized into countless ghouls and Resentful Souls, filling the Secluded Meditation Chamber. An untold number of them swirled around Chu Mu as if they had seen a delectable meal, conjuring ghastly apparitions and Ghosts while roaring and lunging at him with bared fangs and spectral claws.

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort from Chu Mu, a flash of crimson flickered past. The churning, dense Ghost Qi in the chamber was instantly compressed by an invisible force and shoved back into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

’Were these Divine Souls collected from the Demon Suppression Islands?’

Chu Mu raised an eyebrow, lost in thought.

Judging from the ghouls and Resentful Souls that had just emerged, most were strange and varied Demon Souls. While there were human souls, they were clearly in the minority.

Such a vast number of Demon Souls... looking across the entire Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World, at least in recent years, only the Demon Suppression Islands could have produced them.

The only ones who could have collected so many Demon Souls were obviously the Chen Family, who controlled the Demon Suppression Islands.

Every Beast Tide meant the fall of countless Demon Beasts, with Blood Qi soaring to the heavens and innumerable Residual Souls left behind.

After every battle, the Chen Family was responsible for cleaning up the battlefields. Assembling this Ten Thousand Souls Banner would not have been a difficult task for them.

As he pondered, Chu Mu pointed again. A streak of crimson transformed into a chain and plunged into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. Immediately, a baring-fanged, claw-waving Demon Soul was dragged out from the banner by the crimson chain.

With a sweep of his sleeve, he sent the Demon Soul into his Qiankun Bag. There, Corpse Qi surged, and before the Demon Soul could even react, it was engulfed and completely devoured.

’Ghost Qi, souls... they work too...’

The answer was clear, but Chu Mu’s expression didn’t change.

The Corpse Puppet was of great use to him, but it also posed a great threat.

The instinct to devour its master was almost unchangeable.

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner, a Supreme Treasure, was equally rare.

He pondered for a moment but couldn’t come to a decision.

Finally, his gaze shifted and settled upon the closed door.

Aboard the Flying Boat, a mere door and its Array Prohibition were practically nonexistent to him. A single door could not block his view of the three people sitting in the main cabin.

Chu Mu watched for a moment, then with a sweep of his sleeve, the door to his Secluded Meditation Chamber—which had been shut for nearly half a year—swung open.

In the cabin, the three seated individuals quickly rose and bowed respectfully. "Junior greets Senior."

"You may dispense with the formalities."

Chu Mu nodded slightly. "There was an unexpected turn of events in Bazhou. I was not lightly injured, so I entered seclusion to recuperate, which delayed you all for some time."

"Now that the matter of Bazhou is concluded and we have reached the overseas region, you can all be considered safe for the time being."

After speaking, Chu Mu swept his sleeve. The Array Prohibition that had been isolating the Flying Boat from the outside suddenly rippled, and a fluorescent portal appeared.

Chu Mu said no more, silently watching the three of them, waiting for the response he hoped to receive.

If it didn’t come, then he couldn’t be blamed. ’One could only say... only those who understand the times can be considered truly outstanding.’

Seeing this, Zhao Shuang and the other two exchanged glances. The portal was right before them. Stepping through meant freedom in the outside world.

But the question was, did they dare to leave?

The three remained silent for a moment before Zhao Shuang stepped forward, mustered her courage, and bowed with her hands clasped. "Senior, this junior has a request!"

Hearing this, Chu Mu finally revealed a smile and chuckled. "Miss Zhao and I can be considered old acquaintances. Whatever it is, you can just say it. There’s no need to speak of requests."

"Junior..."

...