Chapter 732 - 189: Emotional Silk Severed, the Killing Trap Begins

He spoke at an incredible speed, hardly daring to pause, afraid that if he stopped, he'd be frozen solid by that icy gaze.

Chu Fan didn't say a word. He just flipped his wrist.

An archaic, three-legged small cauldron appeared in his palm. Its body was etched with faint Five Elements patterns, looking rather unremarkable.

"Don't move," Chu Fan's voice was as flat as ever. "Move, and I'll kill you."

The smile on Xia Qiu's face froze solid. It felt as if the blood in his veins had turned to ice.

The next moment, Chu Fan gave the small cauldron a gentle toss.

RUMBLE!

The small cauldron grew as it flew, instantly transforming into a behemoth dozens of yards across. Its mouth faced down, casting an immense shadow that enveloped both him and Chu Fan.

Runes on the cauldron's body lit up in sequence. Five-colored light—gold, cyan, blue, red, and yellow—swirled around it as a pressure as heavy as a mountain suddenly crashed down!

'Flee!'

'Flee now!'

His survival instinct roared madly again, but Chu Fan's words, "Move, and I'll kill you," were like the most terrifying curse, binding his Divine Soul.

His feet seemed rooted to the ground as he watched, wide-eyed, as the giant cauldron that seemed capable of suppressing heaven and earth came crashing down.

BOOM!

The cauldron's mouth touched the ground, but there was no earth-shattering impact, only a blur of light and shadow.

When Xia Qiu came to his senses, he was already in a strange Five Elements Space.

Beneath his feet was solid yellow earth. Above his head floated swirling, five-colored clouds, and the air around him was filled with a dense but docile Five Elements Spiritual Mechanism.

However, the space itself contained a powerful restrictive force, making him feel as if he were trapped in a swamp. Every movement felt sluggish and heavy.

"Lord... Lord Chu, what... what is the meaning of this?"

Xia Qiu's voice trembled violently, his face ashen. He stammered, "My Sword Heart Island... has always been on good terms with the Demon Suppression Bureau. For this trip to the Secret Realm, my master also instructed me that if I encounter fellow cultivators from the Demon Suppression Bureau, we should watch over and help each other... um..."

His words came to an abrupt halt.

He saw that Chu Fan was completely unfazed by the power of the Five Elements Cauldron. A small banner appeared in his palm.

The banner's surface was neither cloth nor silk. The faint images of countless pained, twisted faces swirled within it, emitting a terrifying aura that was cold, deathly still, and soul-stealing.

"...The Ten Thousand Souls Banner!"

Xia Qiu's pupils contracted. A chill shot up from the base of his spine to the crown of his head, and he staggered back three steps in shock.

'A dignified Demon Suppression Guard, using such a Demonic Magical Treasure?'

Under his gaze, countless images of Fierce Souls could be faintly seen on the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, roaring ceaselessly!

'Chu Fan... just how many Fierce Souls and Spirits has he devoured with that Ten Thousand Souls Banner?'

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner hadn't even been activated, yet he, a peak Bright Heart Realm cultivator, was already trembling all over, a chill seeping into his very core!

Then he saw Chu Fan simply wave the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in his hand casually in the direction of Hong Mei'er's corpse.

"WUUUUU—"

A long, shrill ghostly cry echoed out, seeming to rise from the deepest abyss.

Above Hong Mei'er's corpse, a faint red phantom—its features distinct but filled with venomous resentment and terror—struggled as it was ripped out. It let out a silent scream before finally being devoured by the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

On the banner's surface, another blurry, pained face seemed to appear.

Only then did Chu Fan turn back, his gaze falling upon Xia Qiu once more. The horrifying Ten Thousand Souls Banner continued to rotate slowly above his palm.

"Become an ally of the Demon Suppression Bureau..." Chu Fan began, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather, "or, join Hong Mei'er inside the banner."

He paused, then clearly enunciated two final words: "Choose one."

The air froze.

The dense Death Qi in the Five Elements Space seemed to turn into a thick, sticky substance, clogging Xia Qiu's mouth and nose.

The chilling Death Qi emanating from the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, intertwined with the silent, desperate scream of Hong Mei'er's soul as it was torn away, sent an icy chill through Xia Qiu's entire body!

'Join Hong Mei'er?'

'Suffer eternal torment inside the Ten Thousand Souls Banner?'

"I choose the first one!"

Xia Qiu roared with almost all his strength, his voice hoarse and distorted.

"Very good." There wasn't the slightest hint of satisfaction on Chu Fan's face, as if this were merely the expected answer.

He strode toward Xia Qiu, stopping less than three feet away.

Chu Fan's lips moved as he chanted an incantation. At the same time, he raised his right hand, a dark-red Spiritual Light glowing at his fingertip, and began to draw in midair.

Complex and bizarre Runes flowed from his fingertip, emitting an aura of contract and bondage.

In a few moments, a blood-red Array about five feet in diameter slowly coalesced at their feet.

The flowing light cast an almost demonic glow on their faces.

In the center of the Array, bloody light rose and intertwined, finally forming a translucent, blood-red contract that hovered in midair.

The terms on the document were written in an ancient demonic script that Xia Qiu could not fully recognize.

But as he stood in the middle of the Array, the once-indecipherable words were clearly imprinted into his mind.

"A... a master-servant contract?"

Xia Qiu froze on the spot. He snapped his head up to look at Chu Fan, his eyes filled with astonishment and the last vestiges of resistance.

"Lord Chu... didn't you say... an alliance? Why this kind of contract..."

"This is the alliance I want," Chu Fan's voice was hard as iron, cutting him off. "Or did you want an alliance like the one between your Sword Heart Island, the Profound Ice Palace, and the Wuji Sect?"

"Calling each other brothers and joining hands to fight other sects and Noble Families on the surface, while secretly plotting against each other, each with your own ulterior motives."

"All of you coveting the so-called 'Immortal Demon Blood,' just itching to stab each other in the back?"

"You..." Xia Qiu's face turned deathly pale in an instant, his lips trembling. "The Demon Suppression Bureau... you already knew?"

"More than just 'knew'?" Chu Fan scoffed, his laughter devoid of any warmth, holding only the indifference of one who sees through everything.

"I also know that old fiend from the Zhang Family used the 'Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique' to sneak a Soul Division into this Profound Origin Secret Realm."

"He sees all of you—including those 'geniuses' from his own Zhang Family—as nothing but blood food to enhance his cultivation!"

"Blood... blood food? A Soul Division sneaking into the Profound Origin Secret Realm? How is that possible!" The corner of Xia Qiu's eye twitched violently. The chill was bone-deep, sinking into his very marrow.

"The Zhang Family is the number one Noble Family in Qing Province City, and Elder Zhang is highly respected. How could he..."