"Creak——"
The cauldron lid pressing on it was slowly pushed open, and the dazzling sunlight shone straight down.
Immediately, the cauldron lid flew up, spinning and getting smaller and smaller, and finally fell into the hands of an old man.
A group of four people stepped on the clouds and fog, and slowly landed in the center of the giant cauldron.
Although the postures of the four people are elegant and free, if you look carefully at their expressions, they all have serious faces and are filled with gloom.
The old man in a purple robe at the head was the Demon Lord. He glanced at the mess on the ground angrily, and his voice was cold to the bone:
"Where are the people? Why are there so few?"
Zi Dou, who was behind him, quickly reported: "To inform our ancestors, a total of more than 500 remains were found at the scene, including small and half-broken limbs. The total number should not exceed 550 people. There are four corpses of the men in black, all of them are dead." He suffered several wounds on his body and must have died due to the siege..."
"Only four people?" The Demon Lord's voice was low, as if without any emotion: "Where are the other six people? Where did the tens of thousands of prisoners go?"
At this time, Gu Zheng, who was checking not far away, hurried over, holding a black stone in his hand:
"Lord Holy Lord," the Nascent Soul True Monarch knelt down with a plop, and said in panic: "Those traitors have probably escaped, escaped!"
Demon Lord's eyes fell on the stone: "High-grade Kongming Stone? Do you mean that they left through the teleportation array?"
"This is my initial inference." Gu Zheng responded honestly.
"Impossible!" Demon Lord said angrily: "This Fortune and Longevity Cauldron of mine is a space of its own! How can it be possible for these ant-like prisoners to arrange a teleportation array that can pass through the space barrier!"
"Gu Zheng, I ask you, do you have this ability?"
"This subordinate is incompetent," Gu Zheng said with his head lowered, "It's just..."
He waved his hand and picked up a piece of gravel the size of a millstone from a distance, one side of which was engraved with complicated runes:
"Holy Lord, please take a look," he pointed at these runes and said: "I have never seen these runes before. At first glance, they are simple and ancient. However, after careful consideration, the more I look at them, the more mysterious they become. Although I don't understand the meaning for a while, I can't help but look at them." Its direction is most likely related to space..."
"My subordinates speculate that among these prisoners, there should be people who are proficient in ancient formations. Although the Fushou Cauldron is an independent space, it actually has many flaws and is greatly affected by this world. Therefore, even some low-level monks have arranged this A teleportation array that travels through space is not impossible..."
Gu Zheng is the number one person who refines weapons in the Mountain Domain, and almost all those who are proficient in weapon making are not good at formations. In fact, he is also the number one person in the formation, otherwise the layout of the entire Fushou Cauldron formation would not be handed over to him. He'll do it.
The Demon Lord is not someone who knows nothing about the formation of battles. Hearing this, he grabbed the gravel and put it in front of him to examine it for a while. Then he took the Kongming Stone and looked at it carefully. His face suddenly changed:
"Huang Ji?"
Gu Zheng didn't know who Huang Ji was, so he looked at the Demon Lord blankly and didn't dare to say anything.
Yang Zhen didn't know that the high-grade Kongming Stone he obtained from the underground palace actually had a mark carved by the old man Huang Ji, allowing the Demon Lord to guess its origin at once.
So due to a strange combination of circumstances, Demon Lord believed 90% of Gu Zheng's speculation.
"Is it possible that there are still relics left by Huang Ji in our mountain domain?" He thought secretly.
Gu Zheng looked up and saw the Demon Lord's face, which seemed to be no longer as angry as before, so he boldly continued:
"My subordinates believe that this matter may be related to the dongxiao witch..."
"Huh?" Demon Lord looked back with a dull look.
"In recent years, there have been several cases of missing untouchables in various places. At the invitation of Lord Zidou, I went to the scene to investigate," Gu Zheng said methodically: "My subordinates and Lord Zidou agreed that the witch named Dongxiao , these untouchables should be sent away by teleportation. However, no traces of the teleportation array were left at the scene. This time, it should be the first time that they exposed the appearance of this teleportation array..."
"Zidou, what do you have to say?" Demon Lord interrupted his story and turned around to ask.
Zi Dou listened nearby for a while. When he heard his ancestor calling him, he hurriedly knelt down and said:
"Ancestor, I'm guilty! Master Gu's speculation, I think it makes sense."
Suppressing, apprehending, and hunting down rebels in various places is the responsibility of Zi Dou, the general manager of Fuyao Palace. The most important thing among them is the missing person in recent years.
Unexpectedly, he didn't have a clue yet, but they had already reached the foot of Fuyao Mountain, and even secretly took away tens of thousands of monks, ruining the ancestor's important event.
The Demon Lord looked at this unsatisfactory junior and was so angry that he cursed:
"You incompetent guy! When you have nothing to do, learn more formations and alchemy. Don't stay in the house and fool around with those women!"
"yes."
"To set up such a teleportation array, more than one piece of material is used. How were these things brought in?" After a while, the Demon Lord continued to ask.
Several people looked at each other.
Zi Dou had just been scolded by his ancestor, and he hurriedly said: "Ancestor, the prisoners have been searched a long time ago, and they are still in shackles, so they cannot do such a thing. The one who is most suspicious is the one who entered last. Several Zifu!"
Standing a few feet away, Zhenjun Hanrui, who had been looking dazed, his delicate body trembled involuntarily.
The Demon Lord seemed as if he hadn't seen him, and asked with a sneer: "Zidou, how many of the ten men in black were sent by you? How are they doing now?"
"Haier sent two people," Zi Dou pointed to the remains of two men in black not far away: "They are all dead."
"Where is Lord Gu Zheng?"
"My subordinates secretly sent someone," Gu Zheng also pointed to a corpse on the ground: "He is also dead."
"A bunch of trash!" Demon Lord was furious and turned around to look at Han Rui:
"Master Han, it was your suggestion to send the Zifu assassins to the furnace to speed up the refining process. I also entrusted this matter to you. Tell me, where are the people you sent? ?"
"I heard that there is a man named Huzan, who has perfect cultivation in Zifu and is the most powerful. Where is his body?"
"Lord Holy Lord, my subordinates sent two people..." Han Rui said in a trembling voice: "They are not dead."
As he spoke, he took out two soul tablets made of white jade from the ring.
Zi Dou walked over and grabbed it, handing it to the Demon Lord with both hands.
The demon master took one of the cards and saw a black mist lingering in the middle of the white jade card. The color was already very dark, but if he looked carefully, he could see that the black mist was still rotating slowly.
"The soul is extremely weak, it seems that the injury is not serious!" The demon lord sneered, pressed his palm on the middle of the jade tablet, injected a spell, and closed his eyes to sense it.
After a while, he opened his eyes, with a slight surprise on his face: "I really underestimated these ants, they have actually exceeded the range of five thousand miles..."
The sensing range of the soul card is related to the material used to make the soul card, the strength of the soul, and the cultivation level of the sensor. With the Demon Lord's ability, the maximum sensing range of this soul card was five thousand miles, but he found nothing.
He threw the Soul Card to Zi Dou: "Haosheng, take it. With these two Soul Cards in hand, no matter where they escape to the ends of the earth, you have to find them for me!"
"Yes!" Zi Dou promised loudly.
"Did the other five death row prisoners leave any soul cards?"
"Well," Zi Dou said with a perplexed look on his face, "I didn't want them to live, so I didn't leave their soul cards."
"Hu Tu!" Demon Lord wished he could kick him.
But this was only an afterthought for him. Zi Dou was actually right. No matter how many prisoners those men in black killed, they would all die in the end.
The Demon Lord uses human monks as furnace materials to refine the water of life to extend his life. This matter is highly taboo. Once leaked, it will cause great panic and resentment among the human monks. Naturally, the fewer people who know, the better. How could these people be spared their lives?
Since death is inevitable sooner or later, why bother making a soul card?
But no one expected that among these five people, except for one who was killed by Yang Zhen because of his murderous nature, the other four actually escaped!
"Capture Huzan's two tribesmen and kill them all, leaving no one behind!" the Demon Lord said with murderous intent.
"Yes!" Zi Dou responded again.
Since entering the giant cauldron, Demon Lord has been discussing the problem calmly and analyzing the reasons, and he doesn't seem that angry. Until this moment, the words "Kill them all, leave no one behind" finally revealed to everyone his inner anger and undisguised murderous intention!
The cold face is like ashes, and the delicate body is shaking like chaff.
"Master Han, what else do you have to say?" Demon Lord stood with his hands behind his hands and looked at the woman coldly.
"I don't know who I am, and I missed the important event of the Holy Lord. I deserve death!" Han Rui took off the emerald crown of phoenix pearls on her head, took off her red gauze dress with golden silk, her hair was disheveled, and she knelt on the ground in white clothes. His head was pressed tightly against the ground, with tears streaming down his face.
Although there were no witnesses or physical evidence, it was clear at a glance that Huzan must have quietly brought in various materials, and then joined forces with several other men in black to kill several undercover agents who were in the way. Then a teleportation array was built and everyone was sent away.
Even if Han Rui wanted to argue and had checked the storage bags of Huzan and others before the incident, what was the point?
Huzan was the subordinate she sent out, he was the strongest and he was not dead yet. If he said he was not involved, who would believe it?
If the most reasonable explanation for something has been found, any excuse you make will be regarded as a refusal to admit guilt in the eyes of others.
That will only bring greater disaster.
It is better to honestly admit your negligence and be humble, and maybe you can get a good result.
Moreover, it's not like she has nothing to rely on.
…
The Demon Lord looked at her expressionlessly, but he was weighing things over and over in his mind.
According to his original intention, regardless of whether Han Rui made such a big mistake intentionally or unintentionally, he would be killed!
But, can he kill?
He has refined the water of life twice, but has only harvested more than 60 drops so far, which can only extend his life for a period of time.
How could he just give up?
However, if he continues refining, except for the woman in front of him, he will never be able to find another person who is proficient in alchemy in the entire mountain domain. There will be no second person who can drive the Fortune and Shou Cauldron for him and refine the Life Principle. water.
Except for a very few, all the various arts of cultivation such as alchemy, talisman formations, etc. are mastered by the human race. The demon race has neither talent nor interest in learning.
Just like Gu Zheng, he is also irreplaceable in the tools and formations, so if the refining failed the first time, he could only symbolically punish the opponent with hundreds of thousands of spirit stones as punishment.
"Do you really think that I don't dare to kill you?" The face of this supreme venerable in the mountain domain changed several times, and his murderous intent was almost ready to burst out.
In the end, reason defeated impulse. He sighed and slowed down his voice:
"Han Rui, you are an old man who has been with me for hundreds of years. I, I, can trust you!"
As soon as these words came out, Han Rui could no longer suppress the grievance in her heart and burst into tears.
She walked on her knees all the way to the Demon Lord, hugged his thighs, and cried heartbrokenly. While crying, she kissed the old man's legs and backs with her lips, tears streaming down her face.
This is a custom here in the Mountain Realm, usually when children do something wrong and apologize to their parents.
At this time, Han Rui, the majestic Nascent Soul Lord, was like a young girl who had been scolded by her parents, sobbing.
The Demon Lord's tense face gradually softened, he stretched out his hands to caress Han Rui's hair, and sighed:
"Chi'er, although you are from the human race, in my eyes, you are just like Zi Dou, so why are you not my descendant?"
"If you work hard, I will not treat you badly, and Gu Zheng, you are the same. After the refining of the water of life is completed, you two will seal the territory and split the land, each taking a territory to build an empire. I will never break my promise!"
Han Rui didn't answer, just hugged her thighs and cried harder.
Gu Zheng knelt down in fear and fear at the side: "The Holy Lord loves you so much, how dare I refuse to die in service? We will spare no effort to refine the water of life to help the Holy Lord enjoy eternal blessings and immortality!"
…
After a long time, this good show of kings, saints and ministers finally came to an end.
Han Rui put down the baggage, her eyes were still red, but finally there was a blush on her face.
The aftermath is still going on.
"How many foundation-building prisoners are left in custody?" Demon Lord asked.
"Reporting to our ancestors, there are still more than 7,500 people." Zi Dou replied.
"Quickly match the quota of 10,000 people."
"yes!"
"When is the next auspicious day of the zodiac?" Demon Lord looked at Han Rui kindly.
The use of the Fushou Cauldron involves the rules of the world and is vaguely related to the way of alchemy, so Han Rui has the most say.
Just as the woman was about to speak, she suddenly found Zi Dou opposite her winking at her and quietly extending a finger.
She suddenly realized that although the Demon Lord did not have a time limit, the 2,500 people who made up the difference obviously could not be completed in a day or two, but would take at least a month.
So she calmed down and said: "October 10th not only has the meaning of perfection, but it is also one of the five rich days. It generates strong metal, which is conducive to the operation of the fortune and longevity tripod with red copper and fine gold as its main body. In addition, metal generates water. , when gold is prosperous, the water will be sufficient, and the output of the water of life will be abundant and sufficient."
"Okay!" Hearing these words, Demon Lord felt very happy and nodded repeatedly: "Then it will be the tenth day of October! Zi Dou, you have one month to gather the number of people, and there must be no mistakes!"
"Yes!" Zi Dou glanced at Han Rui gratefully and quickly agreed.
"Gu Zheng, tomorrow you go to my treasury and get nine more top-grade spiritual stones." Demon Lord continued to order.
Although most of the top-quality spiritual stones in the formation are still there, they are no longer enough to withstand a complete operation.
"yes!"
After everything was settled, Demon Lord stood up and prepared to leave, but saw Gu Zheng's lips pouting, as if he still had something to say.
"What else can you do?"
"This," Gu Zheng hesitated for a moment and said, "This teleportation array and the runes on it, I still want to think about it."
"Then I'll give it all to you, take it back..."
"Holy Lord," Gu Zheng said hurriedly: "I want to stay in the cauldron and study."
"Why is this?" Demon Lord frowned imperceptibly.
Gu Zheng lowered his head and did not pay attention. He explained: "This teleportation array has been blown up. However, depending on the degree of fracture of each stone and the distance from the center of the explosion, although it cannot be 100% restored, the restored part is still possible. It's possible. I want to stay here and try to restore the original appearance of this teleportation array so that I can learn..."
The Demon Lord's brows became more and more furrowed, and anger flashed in his eyes.
Gu Zheng still didn't know, but perhaps to enhance his persuasion, he finally said: "After the teleportation array is restored, there may be a slight possibility that I can find the whereabouts of those untouchables."
The last words moved the Demon Lord.
"Okay!" he said, "I will give you one month."
