Chapter 785: Pulling Out a Head

Chapter 785 -715: Pulling Out a Head

The figure in the white pavilion was truly beautiful, captivating even from behind. One look was enough to make someone fall in love.

However, Tu Xiao’an couldn’t be certain that the woman in the pavilion was Luo Ziyun.

‘It has to be her. She was in the first group to enter, and she’s the only woman… unless there are other women in the War Relics.’

Tu Xiao’an tried shouting a few times but discovered his voice couldn’t travel at all.

His voice died just ten meters out, stopping abruptly. It was incredibly strange. There wasn’t even an echo.

What was even more incredible was Tu Xiao’an’s discovery that the Black Swamp contained a strange Forbidden Power that prevented anyone from flying.

In other words, the only way across was to walk.

Tu Xiao’an looked up, his brow furrowed. He gathered his strength and leaped into the air, but the instant his feet left the ground, a powerful and mysterious force dragged him back down.

He, a mighty Level 39 Demon King, couldn’t even manage a simple high jump.

Shocked and bewildered, Tu Xiao’an wore an expression of complete disbelief. He simply couldn’t wrap his head around it.

‘My voice won’t carry, and I can’t fly.’

Anyone with half a brain would turn and run from a damned place like this, getting as far away as possible.

It was too bizarre, too unnatural.

But Tu Xiao’an couldn’t turn back. He could only press forward.

The one silver lining was that, aside from those two restrictions, his powers didn’t seem to be limited.

Otherwise, this Black Swamp would be truly terrifying.

Faintly, Tu Xiao’an sensed a current of Qi flowing through the air above the Black Swamp. But this current didn’t flow upward; it flowed down.

It was like an enhanced version of gravity.

Nothing could fly over it, not even a fly.

Tu Xiao’an hesitated for a moment. He gazed at the beautiful figure in the pavilion, took a steadying breath, and stepped into the Black Swamp.

After one step, Tu Xiao’an found the swampy ground was surprisingly firm; it didn’t immediately suck him in.

‘It seems walkable.’

Reassured, Tu Xiao’an slowly made his way toward the white pavilion. After a few hundred steps, however, he noticed the ground growing softer and softer. It was like a vortex; one misstep and he would be swallowed whole.

“You think this is enough to stop me?”

Tu Xiao’an raised his chin slightly, though it wasn’t clear who he was talking to. Then, a deep blue aura flared to life around him.

With Tu Xiao’an at its center, an Ice Seal instantly covered the Black Swamp.

It was just like a river freezing over with thick ice in the dead of winter, solid enough for a person to walk on.

“Help me… Save me… I can’t hold on much longer…”

Suddenly, a faint voice cried out, laced with terror and despair.

‘Someone’s in the swamp?’

Tu Xiao’an immediately scanned the area and, to his surprise, spotted a human head about thirty feet away. A tendril of the Ice Seal’s blue ice was already spreading toward it.

“Help me… Quick, help me!”

With a thought, Tu Xiao’an quickly halted the Ice Seal. He walked over and saw it was a man.

He was a middle-aged man, his entire body submerged in the swamp with only his head visible. His face was a ghastly shade of purple and red, and he looked to be in a wretched state.

“Are you the War God who came in with Director Qin from X City?” Tu Xiao’an asked hurriedly.

‘Finally, a living person. That’s a rare sight.’

The man’s voice was frail. “Yes, that’s right! I am Xuanyuan He, the High Rank War God ranked fifteenth on the official Heaven’s List. Please, get me out of here!”

Tu Xiao’an didn’t rush to save him, but continued to ask, “Did you fall in yourself, or were you buried here by someone?”

Xuanyuan He hesitated, then said shamefully, “The latter. That monster… it was too powerful. It was nothing we could handle.”

“What exactly is this monster in the War Relics?”

Xuanyuan He shook his head. “I don’t know. I only caught a glimpse of it. Before I could see it clearly, I was buried here.”

Ugh…!

‘That useless?’

‘So these War Gods are all just for show, huh?’

One War God’s head was left hanging gruesomely, and another was buried alive with just his head sticking out.

Still, this one was lucky. At least he was alive.

‘I should probably set off some firecrackers to celebrate.’

“Tell me, is the person in the pavilion up ahead Luo Ziyun?”

“Pavilion?” Xuanyuan He wanted to turn his head to look, but he couldn’t even perform such a simple action.

He clearly didn’t know there was a pavilion standing elegantly in the swamp.

Tu Xiao’an tried a different approach. “Where is Luo Ziyun?”

“Lord Luo, you say?” Xuanyuan He said, panicked. “I don’t know. We were separated the moment we entered the stone hall of the War Relics. As soon as I stepped through the Light Sect in the stone hall, I appeared here in this swamp.”

‘So the four of them were separated after entering the Light Sect.’

‘So here’s the question: does that mean entering the Light Sect doesn’t always lead to the main hall?’

‘Could it teleport people to different environments within the War Relics?’

Tu Xiao’an mused on this. ‘But why didn’t that happen to me and Feng Linjie?’

‘We both appeared in the main hall.’

“Sir, can you please get me out before you ask any more questions? I can hardly breathe!” Xuanyuan He was fighting the urge to curse him out.

‘Doesn’t this guy have any situational awareness?’

Tu Xiao’an gave an awkward smile. He had gotten a bit carried away.

“Getting you out should be simple. Watch this.” Tu Xiao’an brought his foot down hard on the Black Swamp.

Normally, the force of his stomp should have been enough to blast Xuanyuan He right out of the muck.

But after a moment…!

Xuanyuan He stared at Tu Xiao’an with wide eyes.

“…”

He was still buried in the swamp, only his head exposed. Nothing had changed.

Tu Xiao’an was dumbfounded.

‘This pathetic swamp mud actually negated his power?’

‘Unbelievable.’

In other words, it was as if the force from his stomp had been completely absorbed.

“Sir, you may not know this, but this swamp is bizarre. It’s shrouded in some kind of mysterious forbidden power. External force is useless.”

‘Xuanyuan He again felt the urge to curse. ‘If one stomp was all it took, did he really think I, a mighty High Rank War God, wouldn’t have been able to get myself out?”

‘Does he take me for a three-year-old?’

“So what now? Don’t tell me I have to dig you out,” Tu Xiao’an said, exasperated. This damn place was really something else.

Everything about it was just bizarre.

“I’ll have to trouble you, Sir.”

Tu Xiao’an’s face twitched. “I think I’ll just pull you out instead.”

‘Dig? That would be so messy!’

“As long as you can get me out, any way is fine.” Xuanyuan He’s eyes were full of hope.

So, Tu Xiao’an placed his fair-skinned hands on Xuanyuan He’s head and began to pull.

His strength was immense, that went without saying, yet he couldn’t pull Xuanyuan He out right away.

It was surprisingly difficult. Like trying to pull a stubborn radish from the ground, he didn’t pop out right away.

“ARGH…”

As Tu Xiao’an yanked hard on his head, Xuanyuan He let out a bloodcurdling scream.

“Just bear with it.”

Having his head grabbed and pulled with such force was agony for Xuanyuan He.

But Tu Xiao’an had no other choice.

He pulled for a full five minutes.

Tu Xiao’an took a deep breath, and immense power surged through his body.

“Haha, it’s out!”

Tu Xiao’an stood up, holding Xuanyuan He’s head in his hands.

Hm?

‘Something’s not right.’

Suddenly, Tu Xiao’an froze. He let out a short, sharp gasp. He had pulled it out, yes, but not all of him. It was only Xuanyuan He’s head.

GUSH…!

From the swamp, a geyser of fresh blood sprayed into the air.

Just like a fountain.

Xuanyuan He’s eyes were wide with shock, his face suddenly drained of all color. He opened his mouth, trying to speak, but it was as if his throat was stuck.

And then… he went still.

‘Did I… just kill him?’

Holding Xuanyuan He’s head, Tu Xiao’an froze as if turned to stone. He stood there, utterly bewildered, like a statue carved from clay.