178: Tie Zhu's advancement and the Ye family's "stepping stone"

Jin Capital, the Ye family's side courtyard "Listening Wave Villa."

Inside the secret chamber, a heart-palpitating wave of Spiritual Pressure was slowly receding.

Zhou Wannian (Han Li) looked at the brand-new Puppet before him, a flash of satisfaction in his eyes.

Originally deep blue all over and covered in ice crystal armor, [Tie Zhu] had undergone some subtle changes. On its chest, joints, and core head area, it was now covered in a layer of deep black matte metal—a new type of armor fused with [black void meteoric iron].

"Tie Zhu, initiate 'Void Devour' mode test."

"Yes, Master."

Tie Zhu's electronic eyes turned from blue to red.

Zhou Wannian raised his hand, and an "Azure Essence Sword Streak" with power equivalent to the Late Core Formation Stage shot out, piercing straight toward Tie Zhu's chest.

*Buzz.*

There was no crisp sound of metal clashing.

The moment the sword streak touched that layer of black armor, it was like a clay ox entering the sea, vanishing instantly as it was absorbed. Instead, the reactor on Tie Zhu's chest lit up with an even more dazzling glow.

"Energy absorption rate 30%," Tie Zhu reported. "Armor integrity 100%."

"Good stuff."

Zhou Wannian praised.

"These three hundred thousand Spirit Stones (stolen) were well spent. With this layer of armor, Tie Zhu is a Spell-immune mobile fortress unless it's subjected to powerful Spell bombardment from the Middle Stage Nascent Soul or above."

To the side, Purple Spirit was organizing the "spoils of war" Zhou Wannian had brought back last night. She looked at the familiar folding fan (the Lifebound Treasure of the Taiyi Sect's Young Lord) and then at Zhou Wannian with a strange look in her eyes.

"Husband, this 'Li Feiyu'... his reputation in the Great Jin has been quite loud lately."

"I heard the Taiyi Sect has offered a reward of five hundred thousand Spirit Stones for his capture."

"Is that so?"

Zhou Wannian innocently took the folding fan, casually wiped away the Divine Sense mark on it, and threw it into the void heaven cauldron as fuel.

"Then I can only wish this Fellow Daoist Li good luck. People who keep such a high profile usually don't live long."

"Unlike us, who are honest and dutiful, only wanting to be a responsible Guest Elder for the Ye family."

Purple Spirit couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.

Just then.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

A knocking sound came from outside the courtyard gate.

"Elder Han, I am the Ye family's Seventh Elder, Ye Zhao. By order of the Grand Elder, I invite Elder Han to the discussion hall for a talk."

...The Ye family discussion hall.

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

Besides Zhou Wannian, three other Cultivators with deep auras sat in the hall.

One was a fat Daoist with a ruddy face wearing a Daoist robe, his cultivation at the Late Core Formation Stage.

One was a cold-faced old woman in black with poisonous snakes coiled around her, her cultivation at the Late Core Formation Stage.

The last one was the Ye family manager seen that day, Ye Seven, with a cultivation at the Middle Stage Core Formation.

Seeing Zhou Wannian enter, the fat Daoist and the old woman in black only gave him a cold glance, their expressions arrogant.

In their eyes, an Early Stage Cultivator like Zhou Wannian was merely there to make up the numbers.

"Elder Han is here, please sit."

From the main seat, a dignified middle-aged man dressed in a purple-gold python robe spoke. There were no spiritual energy fluctuations on him, yet as he sat there, even the two Late Core Formation Guest Elders subconsciously sat up straighter.

The Great Jin imperial family, the Ye family's Grand Elder—Ye Rui.

Although he could not Cultivate, he possessed the imperial heritage sufficient to slay Nascent Soul Cultivators.

"I have invited you all here today for one of my Ye family's 'ancestral secret lands'."

Ye Rui got straight to the point without much nonsense.

"That secret land is located in 'Stony Abyss,' three thousand miles west of the Jin Capital. Recently, the Seal has loosened, and some things that shouldn't have come out have escaped."

"We need you all to assist Elder Ye Seven in re-strengthening the Seal and clearing out the Yao Beasts inside."

"Upon completion, each person will receive twenty thousand Spirit Stones, plus any one Magic Treasure of their choice from the imperial treasury."

"Twenty thousand Spirit Stones?" The fat Daoist's eyes lit up, and he flicked the fly-whisk in his hand. "Grand Elder, rest assured! Since I, 'Immortal Chi Huo,' have taken the salary, I will naturally help the Ye family share their burdens. Mere Yao Beasts, I'll just burn them all with a single fire."

The old woman in black also nodded gloomily, "I have no objection either."

Only Zhou Wannian held his teacup, his eyes shifting slightly.

An ancestral secret land?

Strengthening a Seal?

He felt the fragmented map in his sleeve that he had stolen from Bai Qifeng.

Stony Abyss... that location seemed to correspond exactly to an outer node of the Kunwu Mountain Seal.

"It seems the Ye family wants to use this node to test the strength of the Kunwu Mountain Seal."

Zhou Wannian sneered inwardly.

This was hardly about clearing out Yao Beasts; it was clearly about being a "pathfinding stone."

However, this suited his intentions perfectly.

"I have no objection either." Zhou Wannian put down his teacup, still maintaining that harmless appearance... Half a day later.

A small flying boat bearing the imperial emblem, carrying a party of five (led by Ye Seven, plus three Guest Elders and a Formation Master), quietly left the Jin Capital.

Stony Abyss.

As the name suggests, this was an abyss covered by countless strange rocks, shrouded in mist all year round with constant gusts of Yin Qi.

"Everyone, we've arrived."

Ye Seven controlled the flying boat to land at the edge of the abyss.

"The entrance is ahead. Due to terrain restrictions, the flying boat cannot enter; we need to proceed on foot."

The group filed out one by one.

As soon as they entered the abyss, the temperature around them plummeted.

"Hiss... this Yin Qi, how is it even heavier than the Ghost Resentment Land in the Chaotic Star Sea?" Zhou Wannian thought to himself.

The Yin Qi here wasn't pure; it was mixed with an ancient, decaying scent, even carrying a hint of... Devilish Qi.

"Watch out!"

Immortal Chi Huo, walking at the very front, suddenly shouted.

Over a dozen dark shadows suddenly rushed out from the mist ahead.

They were over a dozen monsters the size of oxen, composed entirely of rock—[Stone Roar Beasts].

Moreover, the eyes of these Stone Roar Beasts were blood-red, clearly mutated by some kind of Devilish Qi erosion.

"Roar—!!!"

The monsters roared, the sound waves shaking loose rocks and making them tumble.

"Vile beasts!"

To show off in front of the Ye family, Immortal Chi Huo struck first.

"Red Lotus of Scarlet Fire!"

He flicked the fly-whisk in his hand, which transformed into a fiery red whip, whipping up a sky full of raging flames as it lashed toward the foremost Stone Roar Beast.

*Bang!*

The Stone Roar Beast was sent flying, its rocky surface burnt red, but it didn't shatter. Instead, its ferocity was triggered, and it lunged forward even more crazily.

"Eh? So hard?" Immortal Chi Huo was stunned.

"Let this old woman handle it!"

Poison Granny sacrificed two small emerald-green snakes, which darted like lightning into the Stone Roar Beast's mouth, nose, and other orifices.

"Hiss, hiss—"

The Stone Roar Beast rolled in agony, turning into a pool of black water after a moment.

"Poison Granny has impressive methods!" Ye Seven praised.

The two displayed great Divine Might, quickly clearing out most of the monsters.

Meanwhile, Zhou Wannian remained at the back of the group, occasionally throwing a couple of Fireball Spells, looking very much like he was just slacking off.

"Hmph, as expected, just someone idling through the days."

Immortal Chi Huo looked back at him with a face full of disdain. "How did the Ye family recruit such a waste as a Guest Elder? He takes forever just to fight a stone monster."

Zhou Wannian turned a deaf ear to this.

His attention was entirely on the depths of the abyss.

There, an extremely subtle spatial fluctuation existed.

Furthermore... the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder inside him was faintly pulsing.

"Down there, there is true devilish qi."

Zhou Wannian's eyes narrowed slightly.

"It seems the mess the Ye family has stirred up this time is no small matter."

...Two hours later.

The group finally fought their way to the bottom of the abyss.

There were no strange rocks here, only a solitary, half-collapsed ancient stone pavilion.

And in the center of the stone pavilion was a dried-up well.

Dense black Qi was continuously billowing out from the dried well, morphing into various hideous faces.

"Is this the Seal node?"

Ye Seven looked at the well, his expression grave. He took out a set of already prepared Formation Flags from his robe.

"Everyone, I am going to set up the 'Four Symbols Devil-Locking Formation' to re-Seal this well. I ask the three Fellow Daoists to act as my Protectors, guarding the 'Qian, Kun, and Li' positions. You must not let the black Qi break out!"

"No problem!" Immortal Chi Huo and Poison Granny each took a side.

Zhou Wannian silently walked to the remaining "Li" position.

"Rise!"

Ye Seven inserted the Formation Flags into the ground, and a golden light barrier rose, attempting to suppress the black Qi at the well's mouth.

"Roar—!!!"

The moment the Formation was activated.

An angry roar suddenly echoed from the bottom of the well.

That was no beast's howl.

It was... a Devil's Howl!

*Boom!*

The black Qi at the well's mouth instantly surged tenfold, transforming into a massive black devilish hand that slammed ruthlessly against the newly risen light barrier.

*Pfft!*

Ye Seven bore the brunt of it, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and the Formation Flags nearly slipped from his hands.

"Not good! The thing below is too strong! Quickly, help inject spiritual power!"

Immortal Chi Huo and Poison Granny hurriedly channeled their magic power.

But that devilish hand possessed infinite power, actually tearing a hole right through the Formation's light barrier.

*Whoosh!*

A black devilish shadow rushed out through that opening.

It didn't bother with Ye Seven, nor did it pay attention to Immortal Chi Huo, who had the highest magic power.

Instead, it charged straight toward... the seemingly weakest one, Zhou Wannian, who was standing at the "Li" position.

"Jie jie jie... what fresh blood food!"

The devilish shadow let out a piercing shriek, transforming into a bloody maw, intending to swallow Zhou Wannian in one gulp.

"It's over!"

Ye Seven closed his eyes in despair.

A Loose Cultivator at the Early Core Formation Stage facing this suspected Nascent Soul-level Ancient Devil's Remnant Soul would absolutely be killed instantly.

Immortal Chi Huo and Poison Granny also wore expressions of schadenfreude.

"Better a Fellow Daoist die than me; this kid will be the scapegoat, and we can make our escape!"

However.

At the very moment the devilish shadow was about to devour Zhou Wannian.

*Sigh.*

A soft sigh.

The youth in green, who had been acting timidly all along, slowly raised his head.

In his eyes, there was no fear.

Only a hint of... excitement from seeing top-grade nourishment.

"An Ancient Devil's Remnant Soul?"

"Just right, my Ti Hun Beast... is hungry."

Zhou Wannian didn't dodge.

He simply patted the unremarkable spirit beast pouch at his waist.

"Come out and eat."

"Roar—!!!"

A roar even more savage and primitive than the devil's howl erupted from the spirit beast pouch.

A flash of yellow light.

A small monkey with a large nose and green fur all over appeared on Zhou Wannian's shoulder.

Facing that terrifying devilish shadow, the little monkey wasn't afraid; instead, it excitedly beat its chest.

Then.

Its nose gave a sudden, powerful sniff.

*Whoosh—!!!*

That previously insufferable devilish shadow became like dust locked onto by a vacuum cleaner.

"No! What kind of ghost thing is this?! A Xing Beast?! No—!!!"

The devilish shadow let out a shrill scream, struggling desperately.

But under the Ti Hun Beast's innate Divine Ability that specifically countered ghosts and devils, it couldn't even hold out for a single breath.

*Slurp.*

The entire devilish shadow was sucked into the little monkey's large nostrils.

*Burp~*

The Ti Hun Beast let out a satisfied burp, patted its belly, and crawled back into the spirit beast pouch with a look of contentment.

Once again... the entire scene was dead silent.

Ye Seven's Formation Flags dropped to the ground.

Immortal Chi Huo's jaw dropped open.

The snakes in Poison Granny's hands were so frightened they retreated into her sleeves.

What the hell kind of Spirit Beast was that?!

Swallowing an Ancient Devil's Remnant Soul comparable to the Nascent Soul Stage in one gulp?!

Zhou Wannian patted his sleeves and turned to look at the three dumbfounded people, revealing that familiar, honest smile.

"Ahem, well..."

"This is probably my 'family secret technique' as well."

"This Devil Head tasted pretty good... Oh, no, I mean this Devil Head was too weak."

"Manager Ye, are we still repairing the Formation?"

Ye Seven swallowed hard, looking at this harmless-looking youth. Cold sweat instantly drenched his clothes.

He finally understood why the Young Miss valued this person so highly.

This was no Guest Elder... this was clearly a... Great Buddha they had invited!