The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron

Even though Su Yu had some doubt, he did not have time to scrutinize it any further. He started searching for the exit by following the glow released by the scroll.

Time passed slowly. Su Yu did not know how long he had been in this place before he found a hole above his head. A faint aura from the outside world was slowly making its way in through the hole. It must be the exit!

Su Yu was elated. He was about to go through the hole when he suddenly heard a faint dialogue.

******

Deep underground, on an abandoned island.

Qi Ming and the elder in the painting sat facing each other. Between them was the three-zhang-tall body of the Ghost King.

"I am going to use the spell and send you into the body of the Ghost King," said the elder. "I will inject vital energy into your body, guaranteeing that you can block the ghost energy for a joss stick's time. Within that time, you have to find the Mysterious Heavenly Map. If not, you need not think about returning." He coldly pointed between Qi Ming's brows, injecting a shred of spirit energy.

Qi Ming understood. "Yes! Master! I shall have no regrets if I can help you regain your cultivation level."

"Humph! You were willing to become my servant back then firstly because you were imprisoned by me and secondly because you also wish to enter Jiuzhou through me. No worries. After all this is done, I naturally can take you into Jiuzhou with me." The elder in the painting let out a soft grunt. "All right, I am going to begin casting the spell."

The elder gave a low grunt, and the ground below the three of them started to glow with waves of light. Ghost energy spouted from the chest of the Ghost King, forming a palm-sized vortex. Qi Ming's body flickered before he was devoured by the vortex.

Whoosh—

Qi Ming had just entered when he realized the violent ghost energy was suppressing all of his spirit energy. Only the shred of vital energy in his body ensured that he remained unaffected.

"So, this is the inside of the Ghost King's body?" he said. "With such ghost energy, that Black Snow Devil King would definitely have died. If I can find the Mysterious Heavenly Map early, I can try searching for his corpse. It is rumored that this person is in possession of many treasures, especially that high-grade divine artifact…"

But at this moment, a cold, mocking voice floated into his ears.

"Thank you for thinking about me, Shopkeeper Qi," said Su Yu. "Unfortunately, I was unable to die here."

Qi Ming's body turned rigid. His face went pale, and he nearly lost his voice in shock. "Black Snow Devil King… You—you are not dead? Impossible!"

Whoosh—

The ghostly fog rippled, parting to form a walkway as a person appeared. It was Su Yu.

Qi Ming's expression was unstable. His eyes squinted when he saw the glowing scroll in Su Yu's hands.

Qi Ming did his best to collect himself, putting on a friendly expression. "What are you talking about, Black Snow Devil King? I am relieved that you are not dead! If you had really died, I would be blaming myself."

Su Yu had a faint smile. "Is that so?"

Qi Ming laughed in embarrassment. "Of course! Since Sir Black Snow is fine, you can leave this place with me. Miss Xin is still waiting for us in the outside world."

After saying this, he walked forward naturally and reached for Su Yu's shoulder as if he was about to leave with him. But when he neared, his friendly expression suddenly changed, revealing a ferocious look. His palm turned into claws slashing at Su Yu's wrist.

"Shopkeeper Qi, what is the meaning of this?" Su Yu said as he evaded and retreated.

Qi Ming let out a cold laugh. "Since you are not dead yet, I'll send you on your way!"

"You think so?" said Su Yu.

At this moment, Qi Ming realized that a cold expression had replaced the Black Sno Devil King's faint smile. His heart pounding, Qi Ming felt a bit uneasy. But remembering the difference in their abilities and how this place suppressed spirit energy, he pushed away his unease and grabbed Su Yu's wrist!

Exerting force with his fingers, he attempted to pinch Su Yu's pulse. But as he exerted force, he realized that it was like grabbing a piece of steel. No matter how much force he used, he was unable to move the other party!

"Your… Your body! What is this?" Qi Ming gasped, releasing his grip as if he had touched lightning.

But in the darkness, Su Yu's hand speedily reached for him, gripping Qi Ming's arm. His cold face ignited with killing intent. "I think you have pinched enough."

Su Yu exerted force in his fingers, and a crack could be heard. Qi Ming's bones were fractured.

Qi Ming let out a pathetic wail, trying his hardest to free himself from Su Yu and escape. But Su Yu's grip was like iron, securely latched onto him.

"You—you wish to kill me?" Qi Ming was shocked.

Su Yu calmly said, "What do you think?"

Qi Ming's feared for his life, his eyes reflecting his state of horror. "Wait! My master is just outside! If you kill me, you might not be able to leave this place alive. If you swear to spare me, I can ask my master to spare you! There is no benefit in killing me, but not killing me might save your life."

Su Yu nodded. "That makes sense."

Qi Ming let out a sigh of relief, "If that is the case—ack!"

Su Yu struck, snapping his neck.

Qi Ming was a crafty man. It would not be wise to band with him. Furthermore, he was a servant. What right did he have to plead with his master?

After confirming that Qi Ming was dead, Su Yu inspected his body. He had nothing on him.

Su Yu pouted. "To be this poor despite being the shopkeeper of the Golden Light Pavilion is surprising indeed." With the flick of his fingers, a small ball of fire engulfed Qi Ming's body, reducing it into ash.

Just as Su Yu prepared to leave, he suddenly noticed a thin strand of hair in the ashes, undamaged by the fire! At that moment, Su Yu was certain that it was not a strand of hair, but a treasure that could withstand intense heat.

Picking it up, he placed the strand on his palm. Su Yu enveloped the shred with weak soul power. At that moment, the soul power was absorbed into an unknown space.

The space was narrow—about the size of a parcel. It was not even half the size of the Cosmos Mirror. But this narrow space was filled with various treasures!

Nine complete immortal-level techniques! Five divine artifacts! Multiple amulets. There were more of the Broken God Amulets he had seen before. There were also two red lightning amulets that were left over from the previous fight. Additionally, there were eight bottles of varying elixirs. Such a vast collection was five to six times more expansive than Su Yu's own!

"Huh? Xin Wuhen's Cicada Cloaked Wings!" Su Yu said as he suddenly recognized Xin Wuhen's item amongst the divine artifacts. His expression turned grave. "This woman, Xin Wuhen, is mysterious. Her abilities do not pale in comparison to a Human King. If she has fallen, it could not have been Qi Ming; the master he spoke of must have killed her!"

Considering for a moment, Su Yu could only imagine the abilities of Qi Ming's master.

"He must be a Half God level fighter!" said Su Yu. "After all, if he is a Fairy Realm level fighter, why would he spend this much effort dealing with the Ghost King? All that is left that can kill Xin Wuhen is a Half God level fighter!"

His heart sank. Even though Su Yu had experience fighting the Half God level Asura, it was after he had borrowed Sheng Ge's power. The difficulty of overcoming a Half God alone was not a matter to take lightly.

Su Yu slipped into deep thought. He calculated the outcomes of facing this master, his expression changing with each idea.

Finally, he had a glint in his eyes. His figure turned into an afterimage, charging into the cavity.