Chapter 1550: Lu Ling, Prisoner, Laughs Madly
Song Wen lightly kicked off the air.
Instantly, a crimson tidal wave erupted from beneath his feet, surging downward like a breached dam, crashing toward the approaching bat demon beast.
The demon beast clearly sensed the terrifying power contained within the blood sea, its pupils contracting sharply.
It frantically flapped its wings, conjuring gusts of dark wind to meet the descending crimson tide.
This maneuver served two purposes: to impede the blood sea’s advance and to halt its own upward momentum, allowing it to turn and flee.
However, it had gravely underestimated the blood sea’s might.
The dark winds it conjured merely stirred ripples across the crimson surface, failing to halt its relentless descent.
Moreover, the distance between them was too short for the demon beast to react further before the blood sea engulfed it.
The crimson tide roared past, instantly swallowing the bat demon beast whole.
The creature thrashed desperately within the blood sea, its wings and claws flailing wildly. But not all demon beasts possessed the pure True Dragon Bloodline like the Ghost-Faced Demonic Python, whose physical body rivaled that of an eighth-tier demonic beast.
No matter how fiercely it struggled, the bat demon beast couldn’t break free from the blood sea’s crimson embrace.
Instead, the blood sea surged from all directions, crushing its body, organs, skull, and soul…
Having dealt with this troublesome beast, Song Wen noticed that Lu Ling had already fainted, unable to withstand the shadow void’s divine sense attack.
Without lingering, Song Wen wrapped Lu Ling in a blood-colored tentacle and plummeted downward, swiftly departing.
He soon returned to Yin Spring Cave, arriving at the Yin Spring nestled in the heart of the Stone Bamboo Forest.
Rong Shao was already waiting there, Tu You lying nearby.
Tu You’s injuries were severe. In addition to the shattered right chest and missing right arm inflicted by Song Wen earlier, both his legs had been cleanly severed at the knees, the smooth cuts clearly made by Rong Shao’s natal flying sword.
Furthermore, Rong Shao, wary of any hidden tricks Tu You might still possess, had activated the pagoda he had previously used for defense. The pagoda hovered above Tu You, emitting a cyan glow that pinned him in place, rendering him utterly immobile. Tu You could only glare at Rong Shao with fury and terror.
When Rong Shao saw Song Wen arrive, and noticed Lu Ling wrapped in a blood-colored tentacle behind him, a faint smile flickered across his face.
“Fellow Daoist Gu Huang, I knew that with your intervention, Lu Ling would have nowhere to escape.”
“Fellow Daoist, you flatter me,” Song Wen replied casually, offering a perfunctory courtesy.
He then tossed Lu Ling beside Tu You, but instead of retracting the tentacles binding Lu Ling, he split a branch from the tentacle, wrapping it tightly around Tu You.
“Fellow Daoist Rong Shao, please withdraw your spirit treasure.”
“Very well,” Rong Shao said, retracting the pagoda.
Song Wen approached Tu You, gazing down at him from above.
“Answer my questions truthfully, and I’ll spare you some torment before your soul scatters and spirit vanishes.”
“You can’t kill me! I’m an Outer Sect Elder of the Divine Blood Sect. If I die, the Divine Blood Sect will never let you off!” Tu You blustered, his words fierce but his eyes betraying deep fear.
Snap!
Another tentacle branch split off, lashing across Tu You’s face like a whip.
The entire left side of Tu You’s face was instantly reduced to a bloody pulp, the jawbone faintly visible beneath the mangled flesh.
“I told you, answer my questions truthfully, and you’ll suffer less torment,” Song Wen’s voice rang out, cold and indifferent.
“Please… don’t kill me…” Tu You’s facade of toughness crumbled completely as he pleaded in a broken voice.
Snap!
Another lash of the whip-like tentacle struck flesh, this time across Tu You’s right cheek.
“Don’t make me repeat myself. If you don’t answer truthfully now, you’ll lose your chance. I’ll extract your divine soul and torture it slowly,” Song Wen said, his voice icy.
“I… I’ll talk. What does Your Excellency wish to know?” Seeing that neither threats nor pleas would work, Tu You had no choice but to comply.
“You and Lu Ling have been guarding this Yin Spring Cave for the Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushroom, haven’t you? Waiting for it to mature into a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Medicine so you can harvest it?” Song Wen asked.
“Exactly as Your Excellency says,” Tu You replied. “Lu Ling has reached the peak of the Body Integration Realm and desperately needs the Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushroom to break through to the Great Ascension Realm. Originally, only Lu Ling was here, but I stumbled upon this place and met him. He needed someone to handle miscellaneous tasks, so I stayed to curry favor with him, unlike the others who left when the entrance to Fallen Demon Valley was about to close.”
“These piles of bones in the Yin Spring Cave… are they the work of you two?” Song Wen pressed.
“Not entirely,” Tu You said. “Most of the bones were left by previous cultivators who tried to accelerate the mushroom’s growth. This Yin Spring has a unique property: when fresh blood and flesh are added, its Yin Energy becomes purer and more concentrated.”
“How much longer do you think it will take for those two Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushrooms, which are already over nine thousand years old, to mature into Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Medicine?” Song Wen asked.
“That… I wouldn’t know. The formation near the Yin Spring and the practice of throwing flesh and blood into the spring were both Lu Ling’s doing. I have no idea how effective either method is at accelerating the growth of the Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushrooms,” Tu You replied.
“Then do you know of any other methods to accelerate their growth?” Song Wen pressed.
“I’m afraid I don’t. The Divine Blood Gate strictly forbids disciples from entering Yin Spring Cave or coveting the Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushrooms within Fallen Demon Valley without sect permission. They are also prohibited from investigating any secrets related to the Yin Spring or the mushrooms. My knowledge of this place is no greater than yours, Elder,” Tu You explained.
Song Wen scrutinized Tu You intently for a moment before speaking slowly.
“I hope everything you’ve said is the truth. I will ask Lu Ling the same questions later. If I detect even the slightest falsehood in your words, I will make you suffer the torment of your divine soul being burned.”
“I wouldn’t dare! Every word I’ve spoken is the truth,” Tu You hastily assured him.
Ignoring Tu You, Song Wen used his tentacle to inject a stream of spiritual power into Lu Ling’s body.
Lu Ling slowly regained consciousness.
After glancing around, he immediately understood his situation.
Yet his eyes showed no fear, only wild laughter.
“Hahaha… You truly dare not kill me! If I die, my soul lamp will extinguish, and the sect will immediately know something has happened in the Fallen Demon Valley. They’ll send a Great Ascension Stage cultivator here at once. By then, you’ll never get your hands on the Ten-Thousand-Year Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushroom!”
“It seems Fellow Daoist Lu Ling believes he has accounted for every possibility. But…”
Song Wen slowly crouched down, his face inches from Lu Ling’s, and continued, “But you’ve overlooked one thing. I can wait. I’ll wait until the Nine Aperture Profound Connection Mushroom has grown for ten thousand years before making my move! By then, even if the Divine Blood Gate discovers what’s happened here, what can they do to me?”
(End of the Chapter)