Chapter 2882: A Clue to the Key |
An oppressive atmosphere hung over heaven and earth.
Who’d dare to disregard a River Ancestor’s threats?
“Su Yi and Wang Zhiwu, how about we join forces to kill River Ancestor Shen Xiao first?” Lu Shi suddenly transmitted. “I know you both have hidden cards. I do, too. If we work together, we have nothing to fear from that old bastard!”
Wang Zhiwu’s gaze shifted. He was rather tempted. After all, River Ancestor Shen Xiao was being utterly overbearing, and he presented the greatest threat. It would naturally be best to get rid of him first.
He glanced imperceptibly at Su Yi. He obviously planned to follow Su Yi’s lead.
Su Yi pondered briefly, then transmitted, “Return the Writing Brush of Genesis first, and I’ll naturally consider it.”
Lu Shi’s brow furrowed. Trying to seize this opportunity to extort me? Forget about it!
The Writing Brush of Genesis was a mystical treasure with unbelievable, wondrous applications. It was, for instance, enormously useful for deciphering the stele’s Dao Markings.
How could Lu Shi just give it up?
Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh coldly. “If you don’t give it to me now, don’t blame me for my poor manners.”
Lu Shi’s eyebrows rose. “If you attack me now, aren’t you worried that you’ll only benefit River Ancestor Shen Xiao?”
Su Yi said casually, “I used a secret method to record everything you said just now. What do you think River Ancestor Shen Xiao would say if he heard our conversation?”
Lu Shi didn’t know what to say. Since when was that son of a bitch Su Yi this shameless?
“Will you give it to me or not?” asked Su Yi.
Lu Shi was inwardly stifled, so angry that he wanted to cough up blood.
But before he could respond, Su Yi shook his head. “Don’t be angry. River Ancestor Shen Xiao can hear every word we’re saying anyway.”
Lu Shi’s heart shook. His gaze landed on the distant River Ancestor.
The seemingly youthful man swathed in starlight was gazing playfully back at him.
“Keep talking,” said River Ancestor Shen Xiao. “I’ll take these as your last words and send you on your way after you’ve finished.”
Lu Shi’s expression was instantly incomparably unsightly. He pointed at Su Yi and cursed. “Su Yi, how could you be so fucking shameless?”
Wang Zhiwu clutched his stomach and laughed. He finally understood that Su Yi had screwed Lu Shi over.
“I’m shameless?” Su Yi laughed coldly. “When we made our bet, you swore to give me the Writing Brush of Genesis if you lost, only to renege on your promise. I’m nowhere near as shameless as you!”
Lu Shi’s face was ashen, but just as he was about to argue, River Ancestor Shen Xiao said, “Don’t argue. You’re going to die anyway, and if he doesn’t provide leads to the Key to Endless Tribulations, he’ll die, too.”
The atmosphere was instantly stifled.
As a River Ancestor, there was no way Shen Xiao would let Su Yi and the others go over a few words.
“Are you happy now, Su Yi? You thought you could borrow Ol’ Shen Xiao’s hands to kill me, but he isn’t susceptible to your schemes!” Lu Shi said with a cold laugh.
Su Yi took out a jug of wine and had a sip. “Let’s put it like this. If he kills you, I’ll help. I can guarantee you won’t get any opportunity to run away.”
Lu Shi didn’t know what to say. I’ve never seen someone so willing to suffer just to hurt other people. He’s simply frenzied!
River Ancestor Shen Xiao took all of this in with bemusement. They were turning on each other even at a time like this. It was obvious that their grudge ran deep.
But he couldn’t be bothered with any of that, so he just got straight to the point. “So, you really don’t plan to give me any leads in exchange for your lives, huh?”
Boom!
He took a step forward, and his wings unfurled. A boundless starscape appeared behind him, starlight pouring down like a waterfall. His ancient, primeval aura blanketed the entire landscape.
Everyone stiffened. They could keenly sense River Ancestor Shen Xiao’s aura locking down the entire area. There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide!
“Esteemed River Ancestor, we’re all here for the Key to Endless Tribulations. What need is there to go to such lengths?” River Emperor Winged Dragon couldn’t help but say.
Bang!
Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, a burst of silver light sent him flying backward, blood spurting from his mouth and nose.
“I know that you’ve maintained a bond with the River Ancestor of the Dark Severing Forbidden Zone, but would you believe me if I said that the old ape will at most grumble if I kill you?”
River Ancestor Shen Xiao glanced at River Emperor Winged Dragon. Chills coursed down River Emperor Winged Dragon’s spine, and his expression shifted erratically. He no longer dared to speak.
Su Yi held a jug of wine aloft, looking as calm and composed as ever.
Wang Zhiwu held the Book of Legends, the depths of his gaze blazing with the will to fight.
Innocence, meanwhile, stood there pitifully. It was easy to feel sorry for her—that is, unless you noticed the blood-red, murderous sin power surging in the depths of her gaze.
As for Wei E… He’d long since been scared out of his wits. He was quivering from head to toe.
“I’ll start with you.” River Ancestor Shen Xiao pointed at Lu Shi. “Give me a satisfactory lead or die!”
Lu Shi’s expression darkened. He was so angry that he almost coughed up blood. “Why start with me?”
River Ancestor Shen Xiao said expressionlessly, “One.”
“Two.”
But before he could continue, Lu Shi flipped his palm, and the Writing Brush of Genesis floated into the air. He gnashed his teeth. “With this treasure, I can restore the stele’s damaged markings. Is that enough to buy my life?”
Su Yi recognized the Writing Brush of Genesis at a glance. His brow furrowed slightly. He really is untrustworthy. That treasure is rightfully mine, but now he’s offering it to someone else to buy his life! How shameless is that!
“It’s enough!” River Ancestor Shen Xiao stretched out his hand and grabbed. The Writing Brush of Genesis landed in his palm.
He examined it briefly, then said, “But you cannot leave until we’ve proven that this treasure does what you say it will.”
Lu Shi glowered but said nothing.
Wang Zhiwu hurriedly transmitted, “Lu Shi is up to something. He obviously has other plans. Don’t let him trick you!”
Su Yi inclined his head slightly. He, too, had realized that Lu Shi had other reasons to be confident. Otherwise, how could someone like him give up the Writing Brush of Genesis so easily?
He was obviously plotting something!
“Your turn.” River Ancestor Shen Xiao looked at Su Yi.
Wang Zhiwu frowned, while Innocence’s eyes flashed with murderous light.
River Ancestor Shen Xiao was entirely unperturbed. He just looked at Su Yi. “Just like before, I’ll give you until the count of three…”
But Su Yi laughed. “No need to count. Just attack.”
River Ancestor Shen Xiao’s eyebrows rose.
But then, a cold, clear, female voice rang out. “I know where the Key to Endless Tribulations is hidden!”
River Empress Peacock shot toward them, then arrived in front of Su Yi.
She was in a semi-human form. Her snowy skin glowed with strange markings reminiscent of tattooed plumage. They lent her a cold, unearthly charm.
Everyone reacted to her arrival. After all, they naturally knew that she was the only one with solid leads to the key’s location. Now, she’d finally shown herself!
Su Yi inwardly sighed in relief. He’d finally found River Empress Peacock. All was well so long as she was still alive.
“I have just one condition. Don’t hurt Fellow Daoist Su.” River Empress Peacock looked at River Ancestor Shen Xiao. “Hurt him, and I guarantee that none of you will ever find the Key to Endless Tribulations!”
Everyone was stunned. None of them had anticipated that Su Yi and River Empress Peacock knew each other. It was now obvious that she’d revealed herself to save him!
She was even willing to share the key’s whereabouts to ensure Su Yi’s safety. She was giving up far, far too much.
Su Yi realized this, too, but he found it a bit frustrating. He was already displeased that she’d decided to act on her own; she clearly didn’t think of him as an ally. Yet now, she’d come out into the open to save him. Any lingering displeasure Su Yi felt vanished in a puff of smoke.
River Ancestor Shen Xiao smiled. “I can agree to that! You’re the one I’ve been waiting for. I couldn’t care less whether these people live or die!”
River Empress Peacock pointed at the stele. “The key is hidden in the stele. Only by deciphering it can we find the source of the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone. There, we’ll find a place called the Cave of Obsession. It’s where we’ll find the vital source of River Ancestor Lu Shu, the one whose bones we now stand on. The Key to Endless Tribulations is hidden in the Cave of Obsession.”
The whole area was silent as everyone listened with rapt attention, their expressions shifting.
River Ancestor Lu Shu was a peerless existence from the Primordial Era. His true body resembled a horse, but it was striped like a tiger’s. He had a white head and a red tail.
On the River of Destiny, River Ancestors from the Devastation were commonplace, but those who’d proven their Daos during the devastation were, without exception, some of the mightiest in the River of Destiny.
River Ancestor Lu Shu was one of the few.
It was his bones that supported the Spirit Treasure Celestial City, and his shattered heart that formed the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone! It was just that no one had anticipated that the Key to Endless Tribulations would be in this vital source, a place called the Cave of Obsession!
“River Ancestor Lu Shi’s life force and vital source have long since vanished. How could they possibly still exist?” River Ancestor Shen Xiao suddenly asked with a frown.
River Empress Peacock said coldly and calmly, “These are River Ancestor Lu Shu’s bones. His heart remains, so why can’t his vital source?”
River Ancestor Shen Xiao had nothing to say to that. He pondered briefly, then said, “So the markings on the stele are a clue to the Cave of Obsession’s location?”
“That’s right,” said River Empress Peacock. “I hid in the Abhorrent Evil Origin Zone because I wanted to see if anyone could decipher the markings. That way, I could enter the cave, too.”
She looked at Lu Shi. “Now, I’m certain that he can do it.”
Lu Shi’s expression was unsightly. “But I no longer have the Writing Brush of Genesis!”
He was inwardly furious and overcome with frustration. Given just a little more time, he’d have restored and deciphered the stele’s markings. He could definitely have found the Cave of Obsession then, and the Key to Endless Tribulations, too.
It’s all that bastard Wang Zhiwu… No, it’s Su Yi’s fault! If they hadn’t shown up, how could I possibly have been forced into such a passive position?
River Ancestor Shen Xiao examined the brush, his eyes flashing as he pondered in silence.
When Wang Zhiwu saw this, his heart sank. He looked at Shen Xiao and asked, “What, now that you’ve gotten the answers you wanted, are you planning to silence us?”
The others’ expressions shifted.