Chapter 784: Separate and Die

Chapter 784 -714: Separate and Die

The only thing Tu Xiao’an cared about was whether Luo Ziyun was alright.

But the mocking voice had vanished and didn’t return.

Tu Xiao’an waited for what felt like an eternity, so furious he wanted to curse someone out.

The voice was clearly just toying with him.

It had completely ignored his most critical question.

‘Fucking hell. You just better hope I don’t find you.’

‘With my current strength, what is there to be afraid of?’

‘Let’s see if you’re a Rank Four being, you bastard.’

‘Hiding from me like this… you’re just asking to die.’

The stone hall before him was completely empty, save for the suspended human head. There wasn’t a single place to hide, even if one wanted to.

There wasn’t even a body to go with the head.

The voice had told him to press on. Tu Xiao’an searched and found a corridor on the upper left, enclosed by jade railings. It was the only way forward.

It likely led deeper into the Azure Stone Hall.

“Let’s go.”

With a low grunt, Tu Xiao’an strode quickly toward the corridor.

“My lord!”

Suddenly, Feng Linjie froze. He let out a short, spasmodic breath and stood rooted to the spot.

Tu Xiao’an spun around. One look at the man’s face and he understood. A cold sneer touched his lips. “You’re afraid of dying, aren’t you? Afraid that if you go any deeper, your head will be the next one hanging up there.”

Feng Linjie gritted his teeth. “That’s right. I don’t want to die. With your strength, my lord, my presence makes no difference. Please, allow me to stay behind.”

“Allow you?” Tu Xiao’an’s voice was light and full of contempt. “Suit yourself. I won’t force you if you’re too scared to go in. But you might not be safe staying here, either.”

A look of delight crossed Feng Linjie’s face. “You don’t need to worry about me, my lord! Go and save the others! Lord Qin and Lord Luo might still be alive!”

‘Worry about you? Heh…’

Tu Xiao’an couldn’t be bothered to spare Feng Linjie another glance. It was the first time he had ever seen a mighty War God with such a high Cultivation be so terrified of death.

He turned, entered the corridor, and disappeared from sight.

Alone in the hall, Feng Linjie heaved a heavy sigh of relief. He looked up at the bloody head and said grimly, “Brother Canglin, you died for humanity. I won’t let your death be in vain. Once I get out of here, I’ll report this to the authorities and make sure your greatness is recognized.”

With that, he gave a small bow toward the head, then turned and walked toward the Light Sect.

Since he had entered through the Light Sect, he would naturally leave through the Light Sect.

Feng Linjie wasn’t a fool; why would he just wait there?

He didn’t want to stay in this Azure Stone Hall. Even though he hadn’t seen any monsters, the single severed head and the formless, oppressive atmosphere were enough to make him feel suffocated.

All he wanted was to live. Cultivation was not an easy path, and life was precious.

‘Let someone else handle all that heroic business.’

He had only taken a few steps when his expression changed drastically. The Light Sect had vanished right before his eyes.

He couldn’t get out.

“My dear guest, why are you in such a hurry to leave? Was my hospitality not to your liking?”

The mocking voice from before spoke again. Feng Linjie’s face turned deathly pale. He stood frozen, feeling cold sweat trickle down his spine.

An eerie young man materialized out of thin air. A wicked smile played on his lips as he walked toward him, surrounded by a swirling mist of blood that scattered like cherry blossoms.

The sight was utterly bizarre.

“What kind of monster are you?”

Feng Linjie’s Three-foot Azure Blade suddenly appeared in his hand as he adopted a defensive stance.

‘Damn it, what’s his game? He didn’t show himself before, but now he does?’

“Don’t be afraid. Don’t be so nervous,” the eerie man said, opening his mouth. A huge, scarlet tongue slithered out, extending endlessly. “You know, the more you act like this, the more… excited I get.” But the tongue didn’t lash out toward Feng Linjie.

Instead, it shot toward the bloody head suspended in the air.

The tongue wrapped around the bloody head and pulled it into the youth’s mouth. He began to chew and tear at it, savoring the taste, enjoying it.

He ate it as if it were some rare delicacy.

In that instant, there was only silence, punctuated by the frantic pounding of Feng Linjie’s heart.

Witnessing such a cruel scene was too much, even for a High Rank War God like Feng Linjie.

The eerie youth before him was clearly an unbelievably terrifying Exotic Beast.

As he ate the bloody head, he stared at Feng Linjie, a gaze that made goosebumps erupt all over his skin and his scalp tingle with dread.

“Do you know why I ate this head?” the eerie youth asked with a smile.

Feng Linjie kept his sword pointed at the creature, his face grim. He didn’t say a word.

“Because of you,” the youth said. “Because you showed up, this head’s purpose has been fulfilled. And now, the one on your shoulders can take its place.”

The corner of the eerie youth’s mouth twitched into a wicked smile. Like a Nether God from the Nine Nether Purgatory, he began to move, slowly closing in on Feng Linjie. With every step, his features grew more ferocious. He didn’t emit any particularly terrifying aura, yet his presence was suffocating.

“You want to kill me… You want to hang my head up there.”

Feng Linjie finally understood what Tu Xiao’an had meant earlier. ‘You might not be safe staying here, either.’

Indeed. By staying behind alone, by abandoning his powerful protector, he had become an easy target.

After all, picking on the weakest target was a universal tactic.

“It won’t be that easy to kill me!”

A powerful War God’s aura erupted from Feng Linjie’s body. An Energy Light Shield enveloped him as his azure longsword flared with a light so brilliant it could make the stars and moon pale in comparison. The powerful fluctuations rolled off him like the boundless, surging waves of a vast ocean!

“Not bad, not bad. You have some strength,” the eerie man said, looking even more pleased. He stuck his tongue out again and licked his lips a few times, the gesture radiating danger.

A moment later, the battle erupted. 「Ten minutes later.」

Feng Linjie’s longsword clattered to the floor. His bloody head now hung in the air, high in the great hall of the Azure Stone Hall.

It was an exact replica of the scene from before.

In his final moments, Feng Linjie was filled with regret. He shouldn’t have been such a coward. He should have clung to the Snake Emperor’s protection.

To end up alone after entering the War Relics… what a foolish mistake.

But alas, there were no second chances in this world. You only get one life.

Even a High Rank War God didn’t have a second life to spare.

‘Besides,’ he thought in his final moments, ‘it was so strong… inhumanly strong.’

. . . . . . . . . . .

Tu Xiao’an proceeded down the corridor, traveling deeper and deeper inside. The passage gradually widened, and a sinister wind gusted toward him, so chilling it felt as if a Fierce Ghost were whispering right in his ear.

Hmph!

He snorted coldly. The skilled are always bold.

If Tu Xiao’an had been a coward who feared death like Feng Linjie, he never would have become the Snake Emperor of the Yaoling Mountain Range.

‘Ziyan, where in the world are you?’

When he first arrived in X City, Tu Xiao’an’s goal had been to seal the War Relics. But now, finding Luo Ziyun was far more important.

He knew what his priority was.

He reached the end of the corridor. As he stepped out, the scene before him changed completely. He was now looking at a bizarre swamp world.

A strange look crossed his face. ‘This Azure Stone Hall is big, really big,’ he thought, ‘but no matter how big it is, this is just ridiculous. There’s a swamp inside of it?’

As far as he could see, the landscape was a muddy mire with black bubbles rising to the surface. The swamp was surrounded by tall mounds of black earth.

It looked solid enough to walk on, but he doubted anyone would dare try.

One wrong step, and you would likely be swallowed whole.

Tu Xiao’an narrowed his eyes. In the very center of the Black Swamp, he could see a white pavilion. And inside the pavilion sat the figure of a beautiful woman.

Her back was turned to him.

‘Ziyan?’