Starting from the Tiger Demon Yaksha, the demon immortality

Chapter 276 285 Golden Essence Apology, Brotherly Love and Respect

"Second son!"

Ge Congzhou was extremely shocked and furious as he watched the red dragon swallow Zhu Youzhen whole.

Zhu Quanzhong was most famous for his lust and his vengeful nature.

Although he didn't care much about his own children, if someone killed them, he would definitely seek revenge a thousand times over.

Ge Congzhou had witnessed similar incidents more than once, so he was even more aware of the impression he would leave on the Prince of Liang as the Zhu brothers' bodyguard in this matter.

Especially since he was accompanying Zhu Yougui this time, if they couldn't even send the body back to Tokyo, people in the Liang Prince's entourage might think that he was biased towards the eldest son and did it on purpose.

Just imagining the consequences made his head throb with pain.

However, after roaring, before he could do anything, Ge Congzhou immediately fell silent.

Ye Jing looked up at the sky and saw an ancient bronze mirror casting a clear light that enveloped the entire courtyard.

"Is it Taiyi Zhenren's Bone-Illuminating Mirror? That makes sense. Being so close, he must have seen everything that just happened."

Relieved, the old father looked at the young man and woman standing beside him in a subtly tense atmosphere and a complicated expression appeared on his face.

I was worried that a family-arranged marriage would make my daughter resistant, but now it seems...
There is no way for women to stay in college.

"Senior Brother Guo, are you alright?"

Li Cunxiao coughed lightly, and he and Ye Shuyi simultaneously looked away, helped Guo Zhao up, and took out a bottle of pills.

Guo Zhao took the pill, quickly swallowed one, and circulated his true energy several times, which improved his complexion somewhat.

"Fortunately, I suffered some internal injuries, but I'll be fine after a few days of rest."

"This beast's methods are rather wicked; I was careless and fell for his trick."

Upon hearing this, Li Cunxiao waved his right hand lightly, and the red dragon immediately lowered its body and poked its head forward.

Reaching inside, unnoticed by others, Li Cunxiao could clearly "see" a dark red, glass-like bead biting in the dragon's mouth. This was the bead he had extracted from Zhu Youzhen's body using the Dragon-Binding Rope.
After sensing it for a moment, he immediately understood.

"It must be that malevolent energy has mixed with true essence, exceeding the proportion of spiritual energy, which is why it's so tainted. However, this high-purity malevolent energy seems to contain not only the aura of demons but also the blood and true energy of martial artists."

Judging by the quality, it might have been made from materials from Heavenly Ladder martial artists. In that case, it's no wonder Guo Zhao suffered a temporary setback.

As Li Cunxiao pondered, he casually offered an explanation, never uttering his subsequent guess.

Guo Zhao nodded at first, but then couldn't help blaming himself:

"Junior brother, I am sorry for what happened to you."

“That dog Zhu Quanzhong is vindictive. You killed his son, so I’m afraid this matter won’t be so easily resolved.”

"The relationship between the court and Zhu Quanzhong is tense now. I'm afraid that once news of Zhu Youzhen's death spreads, that traitor will immediately take the opportunity to launch an attack."

"Although most of the officials in the court are reasonable, I'm afraid there will be a few who will blame you for provoking a dispute and starting a war."

"That does not work!"

Ye Shuyi's willow-leaf eyebrows immediately stood up.

"Junior Brother Li only acted to save me, how can we let him bear the consequences alone?"

"Junior sister, since I said so, I won't let that happen."

Guo Zhao was both amused and exasperated. After explaining repeatedly, Ye Shuyi finally calmed down.

Seeing Ye Shuyi defending him, Li Cunxiao felt that inexplicable flutter in his heart again. After the two of them calmed down, he explained:
"Senior sister, senior brother Guo, actually Zhu Youzhen is not dead yet."

"Ok?"

The two were stunned for a moment, only to see the huge red dragon's body stretch and transform into a red-gold rope with shimmering dragon patterns, tightly binding Zhu Youzhen within it.

After walking inside the fire dragon's belly, Zhu Youzhen's clothes and hair were all turned to ashes.

Without hair and eyebrows, he looked like a hard-boiled egg, his features twisted and squeezed together by fear and anger.

But his only intact part was his face; the skin below his neck was all bright red, like a boiled shrimp, with occasional patches of skin showing through the charcoal-like black, where pink buds were wriggling and growing.

The Dragon-Binding Rope, bound to his body, was like a living thing, constantly wrapping and tightening around his skin. It even slowly moved around his body as he struggled and writhed, causing him even greater pain.

But at this moment, besides anger, he felt mostly fear.

The madness pill he took was not a common one; it was specially made by the Ming Cult's Dharma King at Zhu Quanzhong's behest, and could be used to save his life in critical moments.

However, this power was useless against Li Cunxiao. In just one exchange, Zhu Youzhen felt his true essence and blood energy being shattered.

The medicinal power that had been surging in his blood was rapidly dissipating. However, he didn't know that Li Cunxiao had the ability to absorb evil energy, and could only guess that it was because he was injured and unable to lock in his physical essence.

"capture?"

Guo Zhao couldn't hide the shock on his face. In martial arts combat, killing and capturing alive are two completely different things.

Li Cunxiao's nonchalant statement implies that he himself is no match for his peers.
Shocked by the sight of his opponent in such a sorry state, Guo Zhao couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction, and Ye Shuyi beside him looked much the same way.

Noticing the way the men were eyeing him like livestock, Zhu Youzhen's resentment nearly exploded.

But seeing Ge Congzhou motionless not far away, and after calling out to him several times without any response, he had to recognize the situation and force himself to calm down.

"who are you?"

"A disciple of the Taiyi Zhenren," Li Cunxiao replied casually, as the Azure Dragon Mercury Pearl transformed into a hair-thin dragon whisker and pierced into Zhu Youzhen's body.

He was curious about the other party's performance just now. Although he had the bead, he still wanted to see the condition of the physical body.

"what!"

The thousands of steel needles piercing her body felt like torture; the sudden burst of pain almost made Zhu Youzhen faint.

He had seen Li Cunxiao and Ye Shuyi's expressions just now, so he subconsciously felt that they were standing up for their beloved.

But now that he was on the brink of life and death, he could only grit his teeth and endure it while trying to think of a way to survive.

'Taiyi Zhenren didn't have many disciples. I've seen a portrait of Li Siqi. If this isn't Li Siqi, then it must be Li Cunxiao?'

'That Li Cunxiao, the master of both alchemy and weapon crafting?!'

'That Li Cunxiao who rose to power overnight?!'

Zhu Youzhen was filled with deep regret at that moment. Although he was arrogant and domineering, he was not stupid.

The only thing to blame is that we acted too hastily this time and didn't have time to find out the situation of the people from Louguandao.
It's just that Master Taiyi is acting out of the ordinary this time. Everyone says that this master has an eccentric personality and is rarely close to even his own disciples. So why is he bringing his disciple to stay at the Prince of Fenyang's residence this time?

There's no turning back once the arrow is released; if he wants to challenge Zhu Yougui's position as successor, he has no choice but to take the risk.

Now that we've made a wrong move, regret is useless; we have to beg for mercy.

“Li Cunxiao, I was blind to your greatness this time, I admit defeat.”

“But I came to the capital on behalf of the King of Liang. If you kill me, it is merely to vent your anger for the moment.”

“If I die, my father will surely raise a large army to attack, leaving the land scorched and blood flowing like rivers.”

"At that time, all of this will become your responsibility. Don't you think so?"

Snapped!
A heavy slap landed on Zhu Youzhen's face. For a moment, he even felt as if darkness had fallen before his eyes, and he almost fainted.

"Li Cunxiao!!!"

Seeing Zhu Youzhen's eyes wide with fury, Li Cunxiao calmly withdrew his right hand and disdainfully took out a handkerchief to wipe his face.

In just a short while, the burned flesh began to grow, and some of the charred skin peeled off, revealing the terrifying, writhing flesh growing underneath.

In a sense, the physical regeneration abilities of Heavenly Ladder warriors are no different from those of demons.

"Zhu Youzhen, know your place. You are my prisoner now, what right do you have to negotiate with me?"

Zhu Youzhen was furious when she heard this, but just then, a familiar voice rang in her ears.

It was a voice that could save him, but it was also the voice he least wanted to hear in his current disheveled state.

"Brother Li is right. When people do foolish things, they naturally have to pay the price for their actions." "I just wonder if I have the right to negotiate?"

Zhu Yougui, accompanied by another clone of Ge Congzhou, stepped into the gate of the Duke of Yue's mansion.

In an instant, the clone that had been frozen in place by the Bone-Illuminating Mirror suddenly began to tremble violently. It flashed away from the light of the Bone-Illuminating Mirror and merged with the middle-aged man beside Zhu Yougui.

A flash of light seemed to pass before Ge Congzhou's eyes, but after a moment he returned to normal, and his gaze toward the bronze mirror in the air held a hint of apprehension.

'Ge Congzhou, another grandmaster-level expert under Zhu Quanzhong, besides Yang Shihou.'

'By cultivating the Demon Mother Dharma Image, he refined a clone from a living infant, then fed it with rare and precious materials, thus breaking through the limits of a typical Grandmaster's incarnation. However, the clone's strength could not exceed the eighth realm.'

Li Cunxiao looked at the distinctive feature of the pinpoint pupil and instantly matched it with the information in his memory.

Hariti is an evil deity in Buddhist scriptures.

The vows made by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are mostly to save sentient beings from suffering.

However, before her death, the Demon Mother vowed to devour all the infants in a city, becoming the mother of five hundred demons.

Ge Congzhou's Dharma form is that of a ghost mother, while his other forms are ghost children.

He relied on his ability to create multiple clones, appearing suddenly in all directions during battles, so he was also known as the "Cloning General".

'The true form Zhu Youzhen just cultivated resembled a powerful Vajra, but it differed from the ordinary Vajra in Buddhism; it was likely a modified version incorporating Ming Cult doctrines.'

'And this Demonic Aura Pill is very similar to the madness pills I've seen before, only much more advanced. Heavenly Ladder martial artists who consume it will increase their strength without losing their minds.'

Li Cunxiao's thoughts raced as he silently withdrew the qi needle that had been inserted into Zhu Youzhen's body, causing the latter to let out a muffled groan in pain.

"You shameful thing, go back and ask your father to punish you."

Zhu Yougui snorted coldly, seemingly referring to his younger brother, but his eyes secretly swept over the bronze mirror in the air before meeting Ge Congzhou's gaze.

The latter shook his head slightly.

"Zhu Youzhen apologizes to the Duke of Yue and the three high-ranking officials of Louguan Dao."

The cold voice was completely flat. Zhu Yougui looked at his half-brother's indifferent expression and felt a surge of anger rising within him.

But circumstances are beyond one's control. To run into a grandmaster and survive is already a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune.

"Duke Yue, it was my rudeness and disrespect that offended you and your distinguished guest."

Snapped!
"what!!!!"

A crisp sound echoed in the courtyard as Zhu Youzhen's newly grown, thin layer of skin was scraped off by Zhu Yougui's slap, leaving it bleeding profusely.

Such ruthlessness caused Li Cunxiao, Guo Zhao, and the others to gasp in shock.

Do you brothers have a deadly feud?
"Speak louder! Your whining sounds like a fly; how can anyone hear if you're apologizing?"

'Zhu Yougui, hello, you're doing well.'

Zhu Youzhen's eyes were filled with resentment, but she dared not let Zhu Yougui see it. With her head down, she shouted her apology.

After this whole process, regardless of whether Zhu Youzhen truly admitted his mistake, Zhu Yougui's sincerity was evident.

"I know that a verbal apology is not enough to show sincerity."

"Please accept this apology from the three of you."

As Zhu Yougui spoke, he took out three palm-sized brocade pouches. Seeing that Li Cunxiao was unmoved, he handed them directly to Guo Zhao.

"An apology? My Prince of Fenyang's residence is not lacking in daily necessities. If it's some random junk..."

Guo Zhao's eyes widened as he opened the brocade pouch, and he swallowed the rest of his words.

Seeing this, Li Cunxiao also took a brocade pouch. After seeing the blue mineral inside, dotted with gold stars, he immediately understood.

It is gold essence.

Back in Songzhou, Li Cunxiao obtained two fist-sized pieces of gold essence through a gambling match in order to resolve the feud between Qi Ci and Yang Lingjun.

It was thanks to this rare divine mine that Master Taiyi was able to upgrade the pair of Wind and Fire Wheels from high-grade magical treasures to divine weapons.

Now, Li Cunxiao has refined the Dragon-Binding Rope, a top-grade magical treasure, and he has been collecting gold essence to prepare for upgrading his divine weapon.

However, as a by-product of natural gold, gold concentrate is extremely difficult to find and scarce, and it is basically not traded on the market.

After all, this stuff is like the raw material for missiles; few forces can obtain it, and even fewer are willing to give it up.

Even though Li Cunxiao is now a prominent figure in Louguandao, he associates with the most elite nobles and kings of the Qin Dynasty.

But now, he has only managed to scrape together a measly tael of gold.

Each of the three brocade pouches given by Zhu Yougui contained at least one pound of gold essence.

What a generous traitor!

After a moment's thought, Li Cunxiao put the golden essence into his storage magic treasure.

The Dragon-Binding Rope transformed into a stream of light and was re-bound around his waist. Zhu Youzhen, now free, staggered backward, barely managing to keep from falling.

That's enough for today.

The conflict between the imperial court and the Prince of Liang was about to erupt. Li Cunxiao had only come to the Great Crimson Heaven and the Taiqing Realm to seek opportunities. There was no need for him to get involved in the mess too early, let alone become the fuse for the war between the two sides.

Killing Zhu Youzhen was easy, but the trouble that followed required his own master and senior master to resolve, which was rather irresponsible.

"So, is my apology sincere enough?"

Seeing that Li Cunxiao had already accepted, while Guo Zhao and the Ye family had not yet expressed their opinions, Zhu Yougui quickly pressed his advantage:

"Today's events were Zhu Youzhen's fault to begin with. As for the court, I will naturally take the initiative to apologize to the Grand Chancellor."

"If that's still not enough?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youzhen suddenly had a bad feeling and wanted to turn around and run away.

However, Zhu Yougui seemed to have anticipated this. His true essence, a purplish-copper color, adhered to the edge of his palm, and he raised his hand and made a sweeping motion—

puff!
Blood gushed out like a fountain from the smooth cut of the severed arm, shooting into the sky and turning into a rain of blood.

Zhu Youzhen only had time to let out a hoarse groan before her eyes rolled back and she fainted due to the sudden, intense pain.

This scene stunned everyone present. Even Ge Congzhou was taken aback for a moment before he quickly picked up Zhu Youzhen's severed arm and used his true energy to seal the wound at the severed arm.

Seeing the Zhu brothers make a bloody mess in the house, Ye Jing couldn't be bothered to care anymore. She reached out, her true essence materialized, and handed the brocade pouch to her daughter before waving them away.

Zhu Yougui showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever. He respectfully bowed to the group before having Ge Congzhou carry Zhu Youzhen away.

But before leaving, he paused, smiling at Li Cunxiao and the bronze mirror in the air:

"The world is in turmoil, and all living beings are suffering."

There are many warriors who know how to fight, but few doctors who know how to save lives.

“Your skill is truly profound, and Brother Li is also a leading figure in alchemy. If you are interested in the future, you can come to Henan Province for a meeting. My father is eager to find talented people and will certainly welcome you with open arms.”

"Loyal and virtuous men joined hands to restore order to the world, their names will be remembered in history, is this not a wonderful story?"

After saying that, he calmly left.

Li Cunxiao stared at the two figures as they walked away, and at the trail of blood that had dripped down their backs, his expression shifting.

'With such an injury, if not treated promptly, not only will the severed arm not be able to be reattached, but Zhu Youzhen may also be left with a permanent defect, unable to break through the Xuan Gate.'

'Is Zhu Yougui feigning ruthlessness to intimidate us, or is he killing two birds with one stone, eliminating his rival in the process?'

'He even has the leisure to recruit me?'

'What a madman.'

(End of this chapter)