Chapter 261 - 131: Subduing Si Rumeng

Chapter 261: Chapter 131: Subduing Si Rumeng

"I spared you only because I have use for your abilities. I want to use you to find the real culprit behind all this, the one called Black Mountain."

"You’d best cooperate."

"If you fail to satisfy me in the future, or if you dare to harbor any treacherous thoughts... I won’t hesitate to truly kill you and scatter your very soul to the winds."

Si Rumeng was sprawled on the ground. When she heard this, her delicate body trembled slightly.

She slowly raised her head. Her eyes, once filled with hatred, now flashed with a deeply hidden malevolence, but it was quickly veiled by a thick layer of sorrow and grief.

She lowered her gaze, her voice soft and submissive.

"Yes... This servant... understands."

Her words were respectful, but Jiang Mu could hear the suppressed resentment within them.

He paid it no mind. Turning to gaze at the heavy darkness outside the ruins, he suddenly said,

"There’s no need to keep the other female ghosts here. I’ll get rid of all of them. It’ll save me the trouble of disciplining them later."

"What!?"

Si Rumeng shot her head up, her pretty face changing drastically. "What... What did you say?"

Seeing Jiang Mu’s cold expression, Si Rumeng struggled to crawl over to him and grabbed his sleeve, her voice pleading,

"They... They were all pitiful people when they were alive."

"They were forced to become ghosts; their circumstances were beyond their control... Master, why must you be so heartless? That girl, Xiaoqian... she’s so innocent! She’s never harmed anyone!"

"Since you’ve already subjugated me, why do you have to wipe them all out?!"

"I’m from the Demon-slaying Bureau,"

Jiang Mu’s gaze was remote, his voice devoid of emotion,

"Slaying demons and exorcising ghosts is my duty. Demons and ghosts walk a different path. Keeping them around is a disaster waiting to happen. To pull out the weeds by the roots is the only proper way."

Of course, Jiang Mu was just trying to scare her.

He had no intention of killing the foolish but kind-hearted Yu Xiaoqian.

He just wanted to use this opportunity to manipulate Si Rumeng’s psyche again, to see how she truly felt about the other female ghosts—whether she was merely using them or genuinely cared for them.

When Si Rumeng heard this, a wave of despair washed over her.

She was suddenly reminded of her younger sister.

Years ago, another man, also wearing the uniform of the Demon-slaying Bureau, had brandished his butcher’s knife with the same cold indifference and killed her beloved younger sister.

"Heh heh..."

Si Rumeng laughed bitterly. "You’re right... You people from the Demon-slaying Bureau are nothing but a pack of heartless beasts!

In your eyes, a demon is a demon, and a ghost is a ghost. What distinction is there between good and evil?

Go on, kill them... Kill them all..."

She closed her eyes. "You might as well kill me too. Otherwise, one day, I will kill you!"

Jiang Mu chuckled. "Not bad. You do have some conscience. If I really wanted to kill you all, why would I go through so much trouble? Wouldn’t it be easier to just cut off your supply of Incense and Candle Power?"

Si Rumeng froze, her expression strange. "You were lying to me?"

Just as Jiang Mu was about to say more, a loud RUMBLE echoed out. The ground began to shake violently, as if in a massive earthquake.

A cracking sound even came from the sky above.

Jiang Mu looked up.

He saw that the once pitch-black night sky was now being torn apart like a piece of cloth.

And beyond that rift, a black, giant hand—so colossal it was impossible to describe, blotting out the sky—was slowly reaching down. It carried a terrifying aura of utter destruction as it began to completely envelop this small world.

"This is..."

Jiang Mu’s pupils contracted sharply.

Si Rumeng’s face paled, and she shrieked,

"It’s Black Mountain! He’s going to destroy this place! He’s going to destroy this entire space and obliterate us all!!"

Jiang Mu’s brows knitted tightly.

’I thought stealing the Buddha Lamp, changing its owner, and blocking Black Mountain outside would solve everything.’

’I never expected this guy to be so ruthless.’

’Since he can’t get in, he’s just going to use his Great Divine Abilities to crush this independent space from the outside?!’

’Talk about playing dirty.’

’It’s over...’

Watching that sky-blotting hand slowly close, only this one thought remained in Jiang Mu’s mind.

’This is an independent space created by a master.’

’If it shatters, everything inside will be reduced to nothingness.’

’Escape?’

’Where could I possibly escape to?!’

As the suffocating presence drew near, Jiang Mu suddenly turned his head. His gaze pierced through the swirling dust to lock onto Si Rumeng, who was collapsed limply on the ground.

"If I draw out the Incense and Candle Power that’s suppressing you and let you return to your peak strength, can you hold back this hand?"

Si Rumeng was taken aback, a flicker of astonishment crossing her bewitching face.

She looked up at the massive black hand that seemed about to crush the very sky, then looked down at her own trembling hands. Her red lips tightened, and she finally gave a firm nod.

"I can try. But—"

She raised her phoenix eyes, her messy white hair sticking to her sweat-dampened cheeks. A mocking and provocative look appeared on her face,

"Do you dare let me recover my strength? Once a Tier Eight Great Demon breaks free, the first one she might kill... is you."

"Why wouldn’t I dare?"

Jiang Mu smiled faintly.

’What a joke. This Buddha Lamp has been completely modified by my Demonic Qi. I write the rules now.’

’As long as the lamp is in my hands, this woman’s life is in my hands.’

’Besides, I already sensed from the Buddha Lamp’s feedback that her very essence is severely damaged. This so-called recovery of her strength would be nothing more than a final burst of brilliance from burning out her remaining potential.’

"BOOM—!"

The sky above let out a mournful cry, as if unable to bear the strain.

The sky-blotting black hand had already descended to mid-air, and the spatial barriers were cracking and shattering inch by inch.

The shadow of death loomed over every inch of the land.

’No time for nonsense!’

A sharp glint flashed in Jiang Mu’s eyes. He formed a hand seal and activated the Bronze Buddha Lamp in his grasp.

"Withdraw!"

Following his low shout, the Buddha Lamp flared with brilliant light, and a powerful suction force erupted from it.

Si Rumeng’s delicate body shuddered.

Faint golden streams of Incense and Candle Power, which had been wrapped around her like shackles, were forcibly pulled away and funneled into the Buddha Lamp.