Scourge Messenger

Chapter 231 Eyes of the Mortal World

Ten years ago, the messenger from the Central Plains collected thirty reward and punishment orders and opened the secret realm of the Divine Marquis's Mansion.

Even knowing that only a very few people would return alive, all the peak third-level cultivators who held the tokens participated in this grand ceremony, causing the three kingdoms of the Central Plains to enter a period of recuperation for many years... Half of the peak third-level cultivators who had accumulated over decades perished in it.

Among these thirty people, Li Long's strength was not among the top tier, but those who traveled with him included Duke Zhao Yuanbao of Chu, General Pharmacist Fang, and 'War King' Helan Ying... They traveled together, slaying demons and repelling enemies in the Divine Marquis's Mansion, narrowly escaping death several times, and finally found the location of the Foundation Establishment Pill.

The problem is, there's only one Foundation Establishment Pill.

Even though they had developed a deep bond during their battles, they couldn't simply relinquish their chance to pursue the Dao. Just as they were at an impasse, a woman appeared.

A woman of unparalleled beauty, captivating all who beheld her.

But even the most beautiful unfamiliar woman appearing in the Divine Marquis's mansion is either a demon or a third-rank enemy from a powerful enemy state. Li Long and his group didn't hesitate for a moment; they launched a coordinated attack, determined to ruthlessly destroy the beauty. After all, the opponent was only one person, while they had four. How could they possibly miss this opportunity to eliminate their rival?
Even years later, Li Long still didn't fully understand what happened next.

He only remembered that Zhao Yuanbao suddenly severely injured the pharmacist, and then he and Helan Ying fought back Zhao Yuanbao. Helan Ying then tried to kill him, and he had no choice but to fight back... When he came to his senses, he was already under the woman's feet. The woman was holding the Foundation Establishment Pill in her hands, and the corpses of Helan Ying and the pharmacist lay around her, with blood flowing like a river.

"Considering how diligently you've killed your companions, I'll allow you to live," the woman said leisurely. "You're all too weak; I have no interest in exterminating you all."

"You should remember my great kindness for the rest of your life." As she spoke, she stepped on Li Long's face with her heel. Her heel was sharp and high. In Li Long's memory, these were high heels that only dancers would wear to accentuate a woman's beautiful figure... But these shoes became a nightmare that he could never forget for the rest of his life!
Ying Le used her high heels to slowly cut open Li Long's face. Li Long would never forget this scene. In addition to the humiliation of being trampled on, there was also an unspeakable fear. When Ying Le was watching him, Li Long was like a small animal being watched by its natural enemy, and he completely lost the courage to resist.

What kind of eyes were those? Blood-red eyes with eerie vertical pupils, a ferocious beastly aura emanating from them, malice seemingly materializing, yet so beautiful and sacred, more dazzling than the most brilliant ruby, making one unable to resist being captivated by them.

These are not eyes that mortals could possess; they are errors that lie somewhere between gods and demons.

Li Long escaped the Divine Marquis's Mansion alive, along with Zhao Yuanbao, but he never saw Zhao Yuanbao again after returning.

He spent a lot of time researching and finally reconstructed what happened at the Divine Marquis's Mansion that day. The reason they were so easily defeated was that Ying Le did not use professional characteristics, tokens, or secret techniques, but rather a power that transcended mortals: supernatural abilities, or rather, semi-supernatural abilities.

It is said that before his death, Qi Shenwu made a desperate attempt to obtain gold, and although he ultimately failed, he gained a deeper understanding of his own supernatural powers. He successfully integrated these powers into his bloodline, making it possible for his direct descendants to awaken their bloodline supernatural powers and even wield the authority of a Foundation Establishment Messenger while still in the mortal realm!

Qi Shenwu succeeded. Seven of his ten children awakened their bloodline supernatural abilities, which they called 'Shenwu True Blood'. Each of them was the number one person below the Foundation Establishment stage, and some could even rival a fourth-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator! That was the most prosperous period for the Qi Kingdom. If it weren't for the fact that Emperor Taizu of Liang and Emperor Taizu of Zhou were still alive, perhaps the Qi Kingdom would have unified the Central Plains.

Everyone assumed that after the deaths of Emperor Taizu of Liang and Emperor Taizu of Zhou, the divine bloodline of Qi would be established one after another, conquering both states and unifying the Central Plains with overwhelming force. However, unexpectedly, Qi was plunged into internal strife first.

The Divine Martial Bloodline began to kill each other.

No one knows the truth, only that within less than ten years, Qi Shenwu's direct bloodline dwindled to a single person. By the time of his grandsons, fewer than three had awakened the 'True Blood of Shenwu,' and even then, they quickly turned on each other and perished.

Li Long was unaware of the Divine Martial Bloodline because it was already a thing of the past before his birth. Even if someone found it in old documents, they would only think it was self-aggrandizement by the Qi royal family. Among the living, only Foundation Establishment cultivators had witnessed this era when mortals dabbled in supernatural powers. Everyone thought the Divine Martial Bloodline was impossible to reappear... until Ying Le ascended the throne.

Ying Le is the last awakener of the Divine Martial True Blood!
According to historical records, in addition to improving one's qi, blood, and spirit, awakening the Divine Martial True Blood also brings a very obvious phenomenon: blood-red eyes shaped like fox pupils. Therefore, both the Zhou and Liang kingdoms referred to the awakened as 'demon foxes'.

As for what kind of semi-divine powers the fox demon possessed, there are many different opinions. One book says that the fox demon can make people kill each other, while another book says that the fox demon can make people obediently accept their death. Ultimately, it is because the fox demon leaves no trace and leaves no survivors. Mortals can only speculate about the fox demon's abilities through the corpses.

As one of the few who survived the fox demon's attack, Li Long was still completely baffled by Ying Le's semi-divine abilities. He felt that everything in the book was correct, but none of them touched on the core of the matter... It wasn't until he was attacked a second time that Li Long truly understood the truth.

"Hallucination." Li Long looked at Ying Rushi, who was spitting out blood, but his eyes brightened.

"You can make me see illusions... Back then, we didn't have any internal strife at all. It was Ying Le who made us see a false image! Your eyes, it's your eyes!"

“Very perceptive.” Ying Rushi twisted the hilt of his sword, utterly crushing his heart. “You are a worthy opponent. Your defeat is solely due to your enmity with me… your enmity with the Divine Martial True Blood!”

Let alone a mortal like Li Long, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator personally investigating wouldn't be able to touch the core inheritance of the Shenwu Ying family. A hundred years ago, among the three sixth-stage cultivators, Liang Taizu was the best in combat, and Qi Shenwu was the best in supernatural abilities. The supernatural ability sealed in Qi Shenwu's bloodline was his little-known Dao Foundation supernatural ability—[Reflecting the Mortal World].

A dream of wealth and glory on the pillow reflects the mortal world in my eyes.

The Divine Martial Emperor's "Reflection of the Mortal World," and the Ying Family's "Eyes of the Mortal World"!
This is a supernatural power that can deceive even the most discerning eye. While she could not achieve the same level of wish fulfillment as the Divine Martial Emperor of yesteryear, with her [Eyes of the Mortal World], creating illusions to confuse the enemy was as easy as breathing for her, as if it were an innate ability.

The moment Li Long and Ying Ru locked eyes, he had already become a prisoner of the [Eye of the Mortal World]! It was only when Li Long's blood and qi were low, his spiritual power was exhausted, and his emotions were turbulent that the [Eye of the Mortal World] completely confused his senses, immersing Li Long completely in an illusion.

This is the power of the Divine Martial True Blood, this is the authority of the [Eye of the Mortal World]!

However, Li Long burst into laughter.

"Good, good!" He seemed to have a sudden burst of energy before death, his voice booming, his face full of mocking laughter: "Two fox demons, two fox demons, hahaha! I'll be waiting in the underworld, waiting for you or Ying Le to come down! This is the fate of your Ying family, the fate of killing each other—"

Hey!
He should have just killed him with a single sword to the throat, but that wasn't enough; he should have beheaded him completely, cutting off any possibility of survival.

Watching Li Long's heavy body collapse, Ying Rushi stood there, panting softly, slowly calming her heartbeat. Her eyes returned to their original brown color, no longer showing the ferocity and evil of before, and even appearing somewhat dazed.

Activating the [Eye of the Mortal World] requires neither vital energy nor spiritual power, but it does consume mental energy. Ying Rushi felt as if she had been reading a difficult and obscure article for three consecutive hours. Although her body was not tired, her mind did not want to work.

After a long while, Ying Rushi's mind slowly returned to normal. She squatted down and searched for Li Long's keepsakes, recalling Li Long's final curse.

After awakening the Divine Martial True Blood at the third stage, Ying Rushi naturally investigated the situation of his ancestors. Li Long's words were not unfounded; historically, whenever more than two people awakened the Divine Martial True Blood, almost always only one would survive, without exception.

That's why Li Long was smiling so brightly. In his view, Ying Le and Ying Ru Shi, those two fox spirits, would inevitably repeat the same mistakes... Not to mention that Ying Le was also an awakener of the Divine Martial True Blood, even if she wasn't, there was a high probability that she would persecute Ying Ru Shi.

The most ridiculous thing is that Ying Rushi knew very well that Li Long was right.

But it doesn't matter, Ying thought. As long as she doesn't reveal her "Eyes of the Mortal World," His Majesty won't find out.

"If she doesn't find out, does that mean she won't kill you?" someone mocked from behind her. "If she doesn't kill you, don't you want to kill her?"

"who!?"

Ying Ru was shocked and decisively swung her sword backward, but only struck thin air. Looking at the empty, almost ruined room, her pretty face beneath the mask gradually turned deathly pale.

(End of this chapter)