Chapter 543: The Demonification Pool

A human head rolled to the floor with a muffled thud.

The woman in phoenix robes looked uncertain and terrified. The blood drained from her beautiful face.

She’d seen her fair share of the world, but the overbearing, cold-blooded methods Su Yi had just displayed shocked her to the core. Her delicate frame quivered uncontrollably.

“Want to live?” asked Su Yi.

She nodded, her head bobbing up and down like a pestle crushing garlic. She said frantically, “Please, keep your promise and spare my life.”

Xuan Ning watched this play out, not the least bit surprised.

The moments between life and death were terrifying.

When truly faced with death, never mind Spirit Dao cultivators; even Imperial Realm experts whose prestige shook the heavens often gave in to fear and clung to life.

Rather, ordinarily speaking, the higher someone’s cultivation boundary, the more they treasured their life. Experts were unwilling to fall in pursuit of the Grand Dao. They couldn’t bear to see the reputation, authority, and power they’d built up over the course of their lifetimes destroyed.

Of course, there had never been a shortage of those truly unafraid of death, either. It was just that those who faced both life and death with calm equanimity were in the minority, that’s all.

“Abandon all resistance and let me search your soul. Once I’ve confirmed that you aren’t lying, I’ll naturally let you go,” Su Yi said flatly.

The woman hesitated briefly, but she nonetheless gnashed her teeth and agreed.

Before long, Su Yi’s divine sense shot out and probed her soul. The woman’s rosy lips parted, and she let out an unwitting moan, seemingly in panic or terror. Her eyes dulled as she sank into a daze.

Shortly after, Su Yi withdrew his divine sense, his expression a bit strange.

The woman in phoenix-patterned robes hadn’t lied to him. Only main-line descendants of the Huan Family knew where their ancestral ground was located.

However, the woman’s memories contained an enormous abundance of scenes of dual cultivation. The memories were so vivid and colorful that they surprised even Su Yi.

He wouldn’t have guessed that such a dignified-looking woman was so lewd and licentious behind closed doors. She wasn’t just involved with Huan Shaoyou; she had secret affairs with quite a few older members of the Huan Family too…

It was through her “beauty” that she climbed up the ranks and established herself in the Huan Family. She now wielded definite authority.

Furthermore, Su Yi finally understood why the Huan Family wanted to capture Ge Qian alive. They ultimately just saw him as a chess piece; they wanted to insert Ge Qian by his side as a double agent. He could then coordinate with Huan Shaoyou after entering Sumeru Immortal Island to trap and kill him.

“Fellow Daoist, do you… believe me now?” The woman in phoenix robes had already regained awareness, and she spoke in a quavering voice.

“You can leave.” Su Yi waved her away.

He wasn’t the type to break his word, and besides, with her methods, it wouldn’t matter if she tried to get revenge; she couldn’t stir up any great waves.

“Many thanks, Fellow Daoist!” she said gratefully.

She paused, then tentatively turned and left. It was only after she left the residence and saw that Su Yi wasn’t giving chase that she let herself believe she’d escaped this calamity, and she fully relaxed.

Suddenly, Su Yi’s voice rang out. “Are you going to look for Huan Shaoyou?”

Her entire body went rigid. A moment later, she whispered, “I’m not certain if I can contact him or not, but… I have no choice but to contact him. Otherwise, if he finds out I betrayed him, the consequences… will be more than I can bear.”

Her voice was full of dense bitterness and helplessness.

.

So what if she was a Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivator?

In a predicament like this, her life was out of her hands!

Su Yi’s voice rang out once more. “If you see him, tell him I’m eager to see him again when we proceed to Sumeru Immortal Island.”

“Yes.” The phoenix-robed woman lowered her head and agreed.

A long time passed, but Su Yi said no more. Only then did she scamper off.

“After I arrive at Sumeru Immortal Island, I’ll be sure to cut Huan Shaoyou down for you,” Su Yi said casually.

Xuan Ning said gravely, “Master, I’ve long since heard stories of the Huan Family’s power and influence; they’re strong enough to contend with the Great Xia’s imperial family. If this will lead to trouble, you’d…”

Su Yi smiled faintly. “What? Little turtle, don’t tell me you think I’m no match for the Huan Family just because my cultivation isn’t what it once was?”

Xuan Ning hurriedly shook his head. “I wouldn’t dare think such a thing. I just don’t want you to trouble yourself on my account.”

“Enough. Gather up the spoils, then let’s go back and talk,” ordered Su Yi.

“Yes, sir.” Xuan Ning deftly got to work.

Soon, master and apprentice left, taking the unconscious Ge Qian with them.

Shortly after they left, Weng Jiu arrived leading a group.

When he took in the carnage and devastation throughout the residence, he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh. “This is equivalent to declaring war against the entire Huan Family…”

Later that night, he reported the incident to the Xia Emperor.

The Xia Emperor sank into silence, and his eyes glinted with cold light. “Pass on my orders. Any member of the Huan Family who enters Nine Tripod City is to be kept under surveillance. Should any of their experts dare cause trouble, they are to be killed without exception, regardless of their reasons!”

His voice was calm, but it emanated murderousness.

Weng Jiu was briefly stunned. He whispered, “My lord, I’m afraid the Huan Family will view this as a declaration of war.”

The emperor only snorted coldly. “The Huan Family knows full well that Su Yi is under my protection, yet they still dared to act against him in Nine Tripod City? They’re giving me no face at all!”

His tone carried a hint of fury.

He paused, his expression dark. “Share my orders directly with the Huan Family. If they dare cast aside all pretenses of cordiality heedless of the consequences, we’ll just have to go to war!”

After a lengthy silence, Weng Jiu said, “Your servant understands.”

The emperor’s attitude made him completely certain of one thing: in the emperor’s heart, Su Yi’s importance far exceeded the entire Huan Family!

He would protect Su Yi, heedless of the cost, even if it meant war against the Demonic Huan Family!

…..

The night gradually deepened.

The Azure Province.

Deep in the mountains, there was a cluster of palaces built halfway up the mountainside. They were shrouded in mist and only dimly discernible.

Inside one such palace,?Huan Shaoyou was fully immersed in a pool of blood.

The blood pool was about ten feet across, and twelve bronze pillars stood around its four sides. Their surfaces were carved with different unparalleled, vicious totems.

Bi’an, Yazi, Bifang, Zhenhou, Ba Serpents, Sky-Swallowing Sparrows…

There were twelve different types in total.

And there was a groove at the base of each pillar. Fresh blood flowed down through the pillars, through the grooves, and into the blood pool.

The entire blood pool was shrouded in mist, and a startling, terrifying atmosphere permeated the air.

This was the Demonification Pool.

One of the Huan Family’s most important locations.

Only main-branch descendants of the Huan Family, those with Heavenly Demon True Blood, could undergo quiet cultivation within the Demonification Pool and absorb the True Spirit Demon Blood gathered within!

Huan Shaoyou suddenly opened his eyes.

Whoosh~

The True Spirit Demon Blood within the Demonification Pool surged into his body. His split bones, snapped tendons, and battered organs reformed, brimming with renewed life force!

As he absorbed more and more True Spirit Demon Blood, Huan Shaoyou’s aura grew stronger and more terrifying!

In just a few blinks of the eye, he’d absorbed more than half of the True Spirit Demon Blood in the pool.

“Enough. If you keep going, even with the power sealed within your body, you won’t be able to suppress all that demonic blood,” said an aged voice.

The speaker was a gaunt, disheveled, bare-footed man in white. He seemed to appear out of nowhere.

He stood with his hands behind his back and looked down at the young man in the Demonification Pool. Whenever he opened his eyes, visions of mountains of corpses and oceans of blood appeared; his gaze was utterly imposing.

Huan Shaoyou licked his lips; it seemed he hadn’t quite gotten his fill. Nonetheless, he rose from the Demonification Pool and Said, “Third Great Uncle, I can tell that this setback has enabled my cultivation base to undergo metamorphosis within the Demonification Pool; it’s as if I’ve been reborn. My foundations and cultivation are at least fifty percent stronger than before!”

His purple hair fluttered about him, and his face shone with excitement. “If I wanted to, all I’d have to do is unseal the power within me, and I could immediately trigger a tribulation and break into the Spiritual Manifestation Realm!”

The white-robed elder said expressionlessly, “The power of the Demonification Pool was left here by your grandfather, the Demon Emperor Heavenly Avarice. How could its effects be ordinary? I’ll just ask you this: with your current power, could you contend with Su Yi?”

Huan Shaoyou’s eyes narrowed. After a moment’s silence, he said, “Great Uncle, I won’t lie to you. Even now, it’s hard to say whether or not I could defeat Su Yi.”

He paused, then added, “But he’s currently just in the Origin Palace Realm. So long as I seize a stroke of fortune after entering Sumeru Immortal Island, I can achieve a true, perfect breakthrough, prove my Dao, and enter the Spiritual Manifestation Realm. When the time comes, killing the likes of Su Yi will be as easy as turning over my hand!”

The white-robed elder nodded. “Su Yi is indeed an extraordinary, heaven-defying figure. Thirty thousand years ago, even imperial-level orthodoxies would view him as a peerless genius, the type that can only?be happened?upon by chance. However, it’s for that very reason that we cannot leave him alive.”

Huan Shaoyou’s eyes shone with murderous light. “Third Great Uncle, please rest assured. I’m well aware that if Su Yi rises to prominence, he’ll present an enormous threat to the Huan Family. After entering Sumeru Immortal Island, I’ll be sure to scatter his ashes to the wind and avenge Fourth Great Uncle!”

His fourth great uncle, Han Tianzhong, as the Spiritual Integration Realm primordial spirit Su Yi slew yesterday at the Orchid Terrace Dharma Assembly.

“It’s good you understand. Tomorrow, you’ll proceed to Sumeru Immortal Island. Remember to take the talisman your grandfather left you. Even if something unexpected happens, so long as you have that talisman, you can destroy Su Yi with ease.”

The white-robed elder then turned and left. “Go on. Don’t do anything to disgrace the Huan Family, and don’t let the people of this world think that we cannot recover our former glory after thirty thousand years of the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness.”

“Understood!” Huan Shaoyou took a deep breath, turned, and left the palace.

When he returned to his residence, an elderly servant reported, “Young Master, I just received word that the operation targeting Ge Changling in Nine Tripod City failed.”

Huan Shaoyou was stunned, and his expression immediately darkened. “How could so many Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivators fail to defeat a single Ge Changling!?”

The elderly servant lowered his head, not daring to meet Huan Shaoyou’s gaze. “They say that Su Yi got involved. He killed five people in rapid succession—He Changying, Cui Heng, Li Hanmu, Daoist Master Hong, and Bai Xiuyuan. He even reduced our base in Nine Tripod City to ruins, and we suffered grievous casualties. Only Madam Ruowen was fortunate enough to escape with her life. She’s the one who delivered this message. It’s… most likely true.”

By the time the servant finished his report, Huan Shaoyou’s eyelids were twitching. His beautifully handsome face was ashen and unsightly to the extreme.

Su Yi!

You, again!?