Chapter 822: Death By A Single Sentence

Amazingly, the furnace actually shrank to about one meter in height.

“Huh? Smaller, make it even smaller,” Li Xiaofei quickly said.

The furnace spun and shrank again. Now it was only about twenty centimeters high. It now looked like a miniature pagoda in his palm. Li Xiaofei was delighted.

Could this thing be a spiritual treasure like the Ruyi Golden Cudgel? One that could change size at will?

He experimented a bit more. Sure enough, the furnace could grow and shrink according to his will. While thrilled, Li Xiaofei couldn’t help feeling a bit puzzled.

What’s going on?

It was clearly responding to his control. But he hadn’t performed any refining or binding rituals, had he? Holding the now-miniature furnace in his palm, he turned toward the skeletal remains of the young Daoist.

He could more or less infer what had happened. The child must have hidden in the well to escape a terrifying pursuer. Unfortunately, his injuries were too severe, and the poison from the black substance too deadly. In the end, he didn't survive.

He must have been someone from Heaven. But what kind of creature could not only kill him, but leave claw marks strong enough to shatter the furnace?

A Reaper?

Li Xiaofei pondered for a long while. Finally, he gently and carefully laid the child’s skeleton back in the hidden chamber.

“Rest well, senior,” he murmured. “I will take the treasure you guarded with me. I’ll use it for righteous purposes.”

Li Xiaofei bowed silently. Then, with the mute girl and the Black Emperor by his side, he walked out of the hidden tunnel.

Boom!

Li Xiaofei struck the stone wall with the furnace. The rocks shattered and collapsed, sealing off the narrow passage.

“Rest in peace,” he said softly. Then, the three of them leapt back toward the mouth of the well.

***

“Haha, what a coincidence, bitch. We meet again.” On the surface, Husi’s face was brimming with smug delight. “Hand over that metal fragment... Haha, let’s see who can save you this time.”

Desperate to return the humiliation, he had been itching to find Li Xiaofei ever since acquiring the treasure, but he still had a mission to complete. The ruins of Heaven were filled with all sorts of treasures, so the two elite members of the Mythic Mercenary Group hadn’t gone out of their way to seek revenge.

But fate had its own sense of humor. Enemies were bound to cross paths again. They had run into Chu Xiang and Hua Dongcheng once more. Chu Xiang began to panic.

“What do you want?” she asked warily. With a note of warning in her voice, she added, “Brother Li is nearby. You really think you can lay a hand on me? Be careful. This time, he might not spare you.”

“Brother Li? Haha, that worthless bastard?” Husi burst into wild laughter as he said, “He’s here too? That’s perfect. I let him off last time, but if he dares show his face again, I’ll crush him with one finger. Just like squashing a bug. Come on, where is he? Let him come out!”

No sooner had his words fallen—

Whoosh!

A sharp sound sliced through the air. Li Xiaofei soared out of the well, accompanied by a girl and a dog.

“You were looking for me?” he asked, eyes locked on Husi.

For a split second, Husi flinched. The memory of his previous beating still haunted him. But then he remembered his trump card, and straightened up proudly.

“That’s right, haha! Just in time, Li Xiaofei!” Husi immediately summoned the hexagonal metal shard. “You humiliated me before. Now it’s time to settle that debt properly.”

The hexagonal metal shard radiated a divine light, releasing a terrifying pressure. The sight drained the color from Chu Xiang’s face as she immediately sensed danger.

So this man had also found his own opportunity and obtained a powerful treasure of his own. This is bad.

Li Xiaofei’s eyes sharpened in an instant. He immediately recognized the hexagonal shard; it was clearly one of the missing fragments of the alchemy furnace.

“Haha, surprised, aren’t you?” Husi was brimming with arrogance. “Now, kneel and beg for mercy. Maybe I’ll consider sparing your life and letting you serve me.”

Li Xiaofei replied disdainfully, “Clown.”

Enraged, Husi shouted, “Fine! Since you refuse a toast, then drink the forfeit! Die!”

He immediately activated the hexagonal shard. It transformed into a terrifying streak of light and shot toward Li Xiaofei like a blade from the heavens.

“Watch out!” Chu Xiang cried out in alarm.

But Li Xiaofei simply lifted the miniature alchemy furnace in his palm and tilted it.

Ding!

A crisp metallic sound rang out. The terrifying hexagonal shard, which had carried the might to shatter heaven and earth, was drawn toward the small furnace like iron to a magnet, and embedded itself neatly into its side.

The overwhelming pressure vanished in an instant. Now, only seven of the nine damaged spots on the furnace remained. This sudden reversal froze the triumphant grin on Husi’s face.

“You... what did you do?” Husi stared at the alchemy furnace in Li Xiaofei’s hand. “That... what is that thing?”

Li Xiaofei ignored him, his attention fixed on the miniature furnace. Now that another fragment had been restored, the web-like cracks on its surface seemed to fade slightly.

It’s repairing itself. Could it possess a spirit?

The thought made Li Xiaofei increasingly aware that this furnace was no ordinary treasure. It had to be among the most precious of artifacts even within Heaven. But just then, another unexpected change occurred.

Buzz... buzz... buzz...

A strange vibration emanated from Fei Lun’s body. His face flushed red with panic and alarm as he appeared to be struggling to contain something. But in the end, a streak of light burst out from beneath his armored robes and shot straight toward Li Xiaofei.

Ding!

Another familiar, crisp chime rang out as a second metal shard embedded itself perfectly into another broken section of the small furnace. Li Xiaofei was both surprised and delighted.

So Fei Lun had been hiding a third shard all along. Now, only six damaged spots remain on the furnace.

Husi and Fei Lun began trembling uncontrollably. They couldn’t understand what had just happened. To them, it looked as if Li Xiaofei’s mysterious treasure had completely overpowered the metal shards they believed to be invincible.

They had walked straight into a trap. The two turned to flee. But Li Xiaofei was already there, cutting off their escape. There was nowhere left to run.

Thud.

Both men dropped to their knees, begging for mercy. A flicker of killing intent flashed in Li Xiaofei’s eyes. These two could only spell trouble. Had he not been fortunate enough to find the miniature alchemy furnace, guided by Ishihara Masami, he might already be dead at their hands.

Whoosh.

A flash of blade light swept out, cleaving Fei Lun in twain. His body disintegrated into a cloud of ash and vanished completely from the world. Li Xiaofei turned to Husi.

“Don’t kill me! Please, don’t kill me!” Husi cried, kowtowing so frantically it sounded like pounding drums. “I’ll atone, I swear! I’ll do anything, just don’t kill me!”

Li Xiaofei held the small furnace aloft in one hand and said, “I know a secret about you.”

Husi froze in confusion.

Li Xiaofei said, “I saw you die. You died in the Heavenly River. Your flesh dissolved, your bones sank, and some water beast devoured you whole. You died a long time ago.”

A look of disbelief spread across Husi’s face as he said, “That’s impossible. I crossed safely. I... I—”

But dark blood began streaming from his eyes mid-sentence. Both eyeballs fell from their sockets, splattering on the ground as two masses of mangled flesh.

Husi didn’t even seem to feel the pain, only that his eyes itched. He reached up to rub them, and the flesh on his face began melting, dripping like wax from a burning candle. His hands followed next, the skin and flesh dissolving instantly, leaving only white bone behind.

“I... I died?”

Those were his final words. His entire body melted away, until only a white skeleton collapsed onto the ground. The sheer horror of the scene made Chu Xiang, standing nearby, instinctively cover her mouth in shock.