Chapter 2206 - Using Authority to Oppress Others

The dome of heaven was covered in dark clouds. They made the Barren Mountains of Divine Calamity seem even stranger and more unsettling.

As Su Yi and his companions traversed the mountains, they passed numerous potentially lethal threats.

There was a mountain covered in five-colored divine radiance. When the light swept outward, it could tear the sky to pieces and pierce even a god’s soul.

There were swarms of blood-colored moths. Each was only about the size of a palm, but if surrounded, not even a Greater God could escape. The moths would drain every last drop of their blood and transform them into a dried-up corpse.

There were ancient forests with towering trees. The woods emanated waves of life energy, but they remained utterly still.

That is, until someone ventured inside. Then, the dense cover of trees would sprout countless tentacle-like roots and branches, which pierced the bodies and souls of interlopers and devoured their vitality like mad!

Everything was perilous, strange, and terrifying. A moment’s incaution could cost even a Greater God their life.

But Huang Changting had obviously come prepared, and he was carrying numerous wondrous secret treasures. Under his leadership, the group managed to avoid all of these potentially lethal threats, startled but unharmed.

Two hours later.

Weng!

A bronze compass quivered in Huang Changting’s hands, its needle spinning continuously before finally pointing to the right.

Huang Changqing couldn’t help but exclaim, “Interesting! This is the first time that the Grand Dao Heaven-Guiding Compass has sensed good fortune since we entered the Barren Mountains of Divine Calamity!”

The group’s spirits soared.

Qian Hu’s gaze heated up. “Vice Palace Master, does that mean that some sort of wondrous good fortune is hidden nearby, and that it alerted the Grand Dao Heaven-Guiding Compass?”

The Grand Dao Heaven-Guiding Compass was a wondrous, unfathomable treasure, one of the Nine Wondrous Treasures of Qingwu Divine Court. It could sense the fluctuations of fate in the surrounding area and predict both blessings and misfortunes.

Its needle could point in four directions: auspicious, good fortune, danger, and calamity.

It was incomparably accurate, too!

Huang Changting had used this wondrous treasure throughout their expedition into the Barren Mountains of Divine Calamity. With it, he’d predicted numerous hidden perils.

“That’s most likely the case,” Huang Changting said with a smile. “Although this journey is perilous, there’s no denying that we’re in the right place! Come on, let’s go have a look.”

With that, he led the group ahead. Soon, a black, barren plain came into view between the mountains.

Layers of black clouds hovered over the dark plains, and nothing grew on the ground below, not even an inch of grass. The ground was completely bald, with no sign of life whatsoever.

The group could dimly discern a stretch of ruins visible through the fog, deep within the barren black plains.

A dilapidated Daoist temple stood amidst the ruins.

“What’s a temple doing in a place like this?” exclaimed Qian Hu. “Vice Palace Master, don’t tell me the good fortune is hidden in that temple?”

“That’s most likely the case.” Huang Changting looked down at the Grand Dao Heaven-Guiding Compass and saw that its needle was shaking violently. It was pointing at the temple standing amidst the ruins.

Huang Changting promptly led the group into that black, barren plain, but he came to an abrupt halt when they were still ten thousand feet away from the Daoist temple.

Dark clouds hovered overhead. The atmosphere was stifled and oppressive.

Especially when the group neared the run-down temple. Their hearts palpitated inexplicably, and chills ran down their spines.

It seemed some sort of unpredictable peril lay in wait within the temple.

“Vice Palace Master, are you sure there’s good fortune in there?” Qian Hu said in a low voice.

The temple’s eaves had collapsed, its window lattices had shattered, and its walls were completely smeared in dried blood.

The door was tightly shut, and a worn-out copper bell hung from the gates. Nothing moved.

It wasn’t all that unsettling a scene, yet for some reason, even just gazing upon it from afar made them thoroughly uncomfortable, and their hearts quivered with fright.

“Of course!” Huang Changting said with staunch conviction. However, his gaze was considerably more solemn than before.

“Xiao Jian, you...” Huang Changting turned to look at Su Yi.

But before he could finish his sentence, Su Yi shook his head. “You want me to be the first to risk myself again? No way!”

Huang Changting’s expression darkened. He said coldly, “How dare you refuse to obey orders?”

Su Yi said calmly, “We came to the Barren Mountains of Divine Calamity to search for our target, not to help you seek out good fortune. Even if I refuse such an order, there’s no way the sect will find fault with me.”

“You..” Huang Changting was furious, and his face was ashen. He said slowly and clearly, “I told you to go, so you must go! Refuse, and I’ll kill you on the spot!”

Qian Hu said sinisterly, “Xiao Jian, investigating that Daoist temple is of the utmost importance if we’re to find our target. Refusing to obey the vice palace master’s orders is a defiance of the sect’s rules! If you don’t want to die, get going immediately!”

The other three looked at Su Yi sympathetically. It was immediately obvious to them that Huang Changting was targeting Xiao Jian.

He was using his authority to oppress him!

Su Yi looked at Qian Hu and Huang Changting, but in the end, he said nothing. He just walked toward the Daoist temple.

“It seems you know what’s good for you!” Qian Hu laughed coldly. He looked quite smug.

Huang Changting spat. “You’re a deacon, yet you dared talk back to me. You truly need to be taught a lesson. Had you refused just now, I’d have beaten you to a pulp and forced you to kneel in penance!”

He said this out loud; he obviously didn’t mind if Su Yi overheard.

Rather, he was deliberately mocking Su Yi and trying to take him down a peg. The three Wandering Night Gods fell silent, but inwardly, they sighed.

This is called abusing one’s power and privilege to oppress others. Who’d dare to disobey?

Su Yi, meanwhile, continued ahead, entirely unperturbed. His expression didn’t so much as ripple, save for a glimmer of murderous intent in the depths of his gaze.

He walked into the ruins, then arrived at the temple gates without running into the slightest danger.

But when Su Yi looked up at the copper bell hanging over the gateway, something unexpected happened.

The copper bell let out an ear-splitting ring.

Off in the distance, the gods’ souls quivered, and they shook from head to toe. They felt as if they’d taken a heavy blow. The weakest among them, the three Wandering Night Gods, felt their vision go black, and their minds buzzed.

The tightly shut temple doors seemed to come to life, like a beast opening its gaping maw to devour Xiao Jian whole.

All of them looked stricken, and all of them freaked out.

When they next looked at the gates, they were tightly shut once more, and the bell had sunk back into silence. Even its echo had faded away. Everything was just as it had been before.

Except there was no longer any sign of Xiao Jian!

“This... Don’t tell me that something happened to Deacon Xiao?” one of the Wandering Night Gods stammered.

“Who knows what happened just now?” Qian Hu frowned. “But it seems... Xiao Jian’s in trouble this time!”

“Strange. This place is supposed to hide good fortune. How could something so inauspicious have happened out of nowhere?” Huang Changting’s expression filled with uncertainty.

If something happened to Xiao Jian, he’d struggle to avoid blame. The sect would talk, and he’d be severely punished.

But... that was the extent of it. Huang Changting was certain that Third Elder Ku Zhen wouldn’t be too upset with him.

The one woman in the group, Chu Bi, couldn’t help but ask, “Vice Palace Master, are we going to save Deacon Xiao?”

“Save him?” Qian Hu laughed derisively. “How are we supposed to do that? That temple is a terrifying, inauspicious place. What if we all get ourselves killed trying to save him?”

“But...”

Chu Bi was just about to say something when Huang Changting shook his head. “Chu Bi, all of us want to save Deacon Xiao, but this place is too dangerous. We have to leave as soon as possible!”

He’d only just said this when the Grand Dao Heaven-Guiding Compass’s needle suddenly revolved, then landed on the section marked “inauspicious.”

Beads of cold sweat appeared on Huang Changting’s forehead, and he completely lost his cool.

The compass could predict auspicious portents, good fortune, danger, and calamity. Of them, “danger” wasn’t so bad. It was at least avoidable.

But “calamity” represented bloodshed and disaster!

“Retreat! We have to leave as soon as possible!” Huang Changting bellowed and tried to lead the group away.

Boom!

A glittering silver air shot through the air, flying explosively toward Huang Changting. Huang Changting roared in fury and drew a copper mirror. It just barely managed to block this attack.

However, the impact sent him flying backward, coughing up blood.

When Qian Hu and the others saw this, they were stunned. All of them were immediately on guard.

It was then that they saw that a dozen-or-so people had appeared in the distance.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The leader of the group was an old man in purple robes. His whole body emanated blood-colored divine radiance.

He held a hideous, enormous bow carved out of bone. One look at his weapon, and it was obvious that he was the one who’d fired that arrow just now.

“Nie Wuxiu!” Huang Changting roared in fury, his face ashen. “How dare members of the Red Dust Demon Lands attempt to assassinate us here? Aren’t you afraid of retribution?”

He recognized the purple-robed old man as Elder Niu Wuxiu of the Red Dust Demon Lands, a Fortune Realm Greater God!

Nie Wuxiu laughed. “I’m sure you know that if I’d wanted to kill you, you could never have blocked that arrow.”

Huang Changting’s expression was unsightly, but he couldn’t deny it. He knew how strong Nie Wuxiu was!

“What are you trying to do?” Huang Changting took a deep breath and said gravely. “Surely you aren’t looking for trouble for no reason?”

“Of course not.” Nie Wuxiu gestured to the Daoist temple standing amidst the distant ruins. “I’d like all of you to do me a favor and have a look around the ruins. Help me find a safe path.”

Huang Changting, Qian Hu, and the others were stunned, then furious.

This old man wants us to risk ourselves on his behalf!

“Refuse, and don’t blame me for my poor manners,” said Nie Wuxiu, striking his bow. His tone was cold and indifferent. “Right, there’s something I forgot to tell you. Here in these black plains, treasures used to call for reinforcements don’t work. Don’t believe me, and you’re welcome to try it for yourselves.’

What?

Huang Changting and the others’ hearts sank.

The talismans they carried in case of an emergency were their main source of confidence. If their lives were in danger, the two high elders standing outside the Barren Mountains of Divine Calamity would rush to their aid immediately.

But if the talismans didn’t work... They were finished!

“I’ll count to three. If you don’t get started by then, I wouldn’t mind driving you like livestock and herding you into the temple,” Nie Wuxiu said icily.

He was incomparably tyrannical and domineering. He’d just ordered them directly to their deaths.

The experts of the Red Dust Demon Grounds gazed coldly at Huang Changting and his companions, their gazes tinged with playfulness and cruelty.