235: You are dying

Chapter 233: You Are Going to Die

"General!"

With the death of the White Lotus Saintess, the destruction of the entire White Lotus Sect was only a matter of time.

Afterwards, the Longxiang Army continued their offensive. Accompanied by loud shouts of "The bandit leader is dead, those who surrender will be spared," the members of the White Lotus Sect were instantly wiped out.

Apart from a small fraction of die-hard fanatics of the White Lotus Sect who managed to escape, the remaining cultists were either killed or raised their hands in surrender.

Soon, the entire Guangqing City returned to peace once more.

Xie Jiuque found Xu Mujun, who was holding his breath and condensing his Qi to perceive something, and said respectfully, "We have already collected the corpse of the White Lotus Saintess, along with the Magical Artifacts and Storage Pouch obtained from her person, gathering them all here."

Xu Mujun looked over and saw a few items placed on the wooden trays held by two Longxiang Army soldiers behind him.

They were a fist-sized white lotus, half of a Flying Sword, a piece of gauze, and a Storage Pouch embroidered with a white lotus.

Xu Mujun nodded and said, "His Majesty once granted this general the authority to dispose of the spoils of war as I see fit. Unfortunately, the White Lotus Saintess was far too powerful this time, and her Magical Artifacts were completely destroyed. Even if we wanted to use them, we couldn't."

"As for this Storage Pouch…"

He shook his head again and said, "None of us are Cultivators, so we simply cannot open it."

"Have it sent back to the capital by a fast horse. Perhaps only… Who is there?!"

He suddenly let out a stern shout and looked toward a figure on his left.

However, the left side was completely empty; in the distance, only a few Longxiang Army soldiers were standing guard.

Xie Jiuque asked curiously, "General, you…"

"Hmm?"

Xu Mujun furrowed his brows and grabbed with his hand. A bloody streak of Saber Qi immediately burst forth, slashing toward the empty space in the distance—to be precise, straight into the ground.

"Get the hell out for this old man!"

"Boom!"

The Saber Qi surged horizontally, instantly carving a huge crater into the ground not far away.

This sudden turn of events immediately drew the attention of numerous Longxiang Army soldiers, who quickly swarmed over.

"Protect the General!"

"Who goes there!"

"General, you…"

"Hahaha…"

Suddenly, a loud laugh came from within the dust and smoke.

Faintly, everyone saw a tall figure stepping out from it.

Xu Mujun's expression grew extremely cautious. He could clearly sense that the aura emanating from the incoming person was extremely dangerous.

As the dust and smoke dissipated, a large man with bronze-colored skin, apricot-yellow pupils, and draped in animal skins strode out.

"You must be Xu Mujun. As expected of the God of War of Great Yu, you were even able to take down that bitch of a White Lotus Saintess!"

Xu Mujun furrowed his brows and asked, "Who are you?"

"Me?"

The large man flashed a row of white teeth and said, "Ten Thousand Beasts Boundless Sect, Xiong Gang!"

"Ten Thousand Beasts Boundless Sect?"

Xu Mujun hesitated and asked, "A Cultivator?"

"Correct."

"What is your purpose in coming here?"

"Hehehe…"

Xiong Gang chuckled and said, "Your reputation has been huge these past few years. Even though I live in seclusion in the Savage Valley, I still occasionally hear people mention you."

"I don't understand military tactics or strategies, but to be able to elevate your martial arts cultivation above the Innate Realm in a place like the Land of Absolute Spirit makes you truly the first person in history."

As he spoke, he stretched his body, and a series of bone-grinding and colliding sounds immediately rang out, extremely clearly.

"When I became a Cultivator, I was also once a Martial Artist."

"Now I am simply itching for a match upon seeing a fellow expert. Xu Mujun, would you care to spar with this Xiong?"

"A spar?"

Xu Mujun frowned and said, "Not interested. This General has important matters to attend to."

"Important matters?"

Xiong Gang said disdainfully, "Isn't it just that old bastard Tuoba Wufeng and Tianlong Temple? As long as you agree to a few conditions from this Xiong, this Xiong will help you wipe them out!"

Xu Mujun's eyes lit up slightly, but he quickly said, "Why should this General believe you?"

"Believe?"

Xiong Gang thought for a moment, reversed his hand to grab, and a piece of folded paper appeared in his palm, which he casually tossed to Xu Mujun.

"After reading this letter, you will understand."

The letter whistled through the air, shooting right in front of Xu Mujun in an instant, where he grabbed it with one hand.

After giving Xiong Gang a deep look, Xu Mujun slowly opened the folded paper. The contents were very simple, and he finished reading it within a few breaths.

"General?"

Xie Jiuque asked doubtfully. Xu Mujun nodded and returned the letter.

"So it's a letter written to Brother Xiong by the Old Celestial Master. Brother Xiong is heading to the capital on this trip down the mountain, it seems we are colleagues now?"

"Colleagues?"

Xiong Gang's eyes brightened as he said, "In this Xiong's eyes, only those of comparable strength can be considered colleagues!"

"Fight a match with me. Win against this Xiong, and this Xiong will acknowledge you as this colleague."

"No rush."

Xu Mujun waved his hand and said, "Didn't Brother Xiong just say there were a few requirements? This Xu is all ears."

Xiong Gang unceremoniously pointed at the relics left behind after the death of the White Lotus Saintess and said, "Those things are of no use to you anyway, just give them all to this Xiong."

Xu Mujun shook his head and said, "Logically speaking, this Xu can dispose of these spoils of war as I please, but these items are precious and need to be presented to Your Majesty before a decision can be made."

"The Magical Artifacts are damaged. Even if your emperor has heaven-defying abilities, he cannot repair them in a place like this Land of Absolute Spirit."

Xiong Gang said unceremoniously, "Instead of that, you might as well give them to this Xiong, which can also be considered forging a good affinity."

"As for that Storage Pouch, isn't it fine to just hand it over to your emperor?"

"Damaged Magical Artifacts? I wonder what Brother Xiong intends to use them for?"

"The Cultivation Technique practiced by this Xiong is a bit special and requires a large number of Magical Artifacts."

Xiong Gang stopped halfway through and then said, "Forget it, this Xiong will give you another reminder."

"What reminder?"

"You… are going to die soon."

As soon as these words fell, Xu Mujun furrowed his brows slightly, and the surrounding personal guards also exchanged glances in dismay.

"What do you mean?"

Xiong Gang said indifferently, "You forcefully stepped into the Realm above the Innate with a Mortal body, absorbing massive amounts of Spiritual Qi, yet you cannot store it."

"Being able to use it temporarily relies entirely on your own blood and Qi. This technique… consumes lifespan to an extreme degree!"

"Furthermore, using your own Divine Thought to stir the rules of heaven and earth inflicts even greater damage to your Divine Soul."

"If you stop right now and no longer make use of the Realm above the Innate, you can live for another ten years."

"But if you continue to use it, every time you use it, your lifespan will decrease… until you perish!"

Xu Mujun said calmly, "I see. Is the martial arts will actually the power of Divine Thought?"

"Aren't you worried?"

"Why be worried?" Xu Mu asked in return, "As a soldier, one should naturally return with their corpse wrapped in horse hide."

"Ten years of lifespan? This General thought there was only one or two years left."

"You knew?"

"I vaguely sensed it."

"Then why did you forcefully kill the White Lotus Saintess?"

"For Great Yu, for the common people, and for the world, nothing more."

"You…"

Xiong Gang fell silent, let out a long sigh, and said, "Forget it. This Xiong has a method here that can slightly prolong your lifespan. I wonder if you dare to use it?"

"What method?"

"Blood-Changing Pill!"

"Blood-Changing Pill?"

"Correct," Xiong Gang said. "This Medicinal Pill is refined using the entire body's essence blood of a Spirit Beast or a Yao Beast, and it contains extremely strong Evil Qi of a Vicious Beast."

"After ordinary Cultivators consume it, it can stimulate their blood and Qi to surge and flourish, replacing their entire bloodstream with tainted blood possessing Evil Qi, allowing them to erupt with extremely powerful strength in a short period of time."

"As for a Mortal eating it… they will surely explode and die!"

"But as for you… you are above the Innate, and your so-called martial arts will can ensure that you won't explode. In this way, you can repurify your Mortal blood to achieve the effects of strengthening your blood and Qi and increasing your lifespan. How about it?"

Xu Mujun's eyes flickered as he said, "A Medicinal Pill that causes a Cultivator's strength to skyrocket, huh… Very well, those relics of the White Lotus Saintess belong to Brother Xiong."

"Hahaha… Good, how straightforward!"

Xiong Gang laughed aloud and reached out with a grab, a suction force suddenly emanating from his hand.

The three Magical Artifacts—the white lotus, the Flying Sword, and the gauze—held by the Longxiang Army soldiers were instantly pulled over and grasped in Xiong Gang's hands.

As for the Storage Pouch, it was left right where it was.

After grabbing these three Magical Artifacts, Xiong Gang held the miniature white lotus and examined it closely for a moment before actually stuffing it directly into his mouth. Using his white teeth, he bit off a small piece with great effort and began to chew carefully.

"This…"

Everyone exchanged dismayed glances. Could it be that this was how Cultivators practiced cultivation?

More than a dozen breaths later, Xiong Gang was still chewing, but the speed had become much faster.

"Let's go, Brother Xu. Let this Xiong see how much weight this strength above the Innate truly holds. Hahaha…"

With that, his entire person strode rapidly toward the outside of the city. As for Xu Mujun, after giving instructions to have the Storage Pouch delivered to Your Majesty as soon as possible,

he glanced at Xiong Gang's retreating figure and also gave chase.