Chapter 5097: Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace and Demon Subjugating Immortal Exalted
“Your heart might be black, but your soul is pure. I must say that my method of soul nourishment is rather effective,” the Ox-nosed Old Daoist said with a gleeful smile.
This was what he had been anticipating for a long time.
Yet, his excited smile soon faded a while later. There was a forlorn look on his face when he looked at the withered remains of Sima Xiangtu.
“After so many years of scheming, I thought that I would be too excited to sleep when I finally succeeded. I didn’t think that I would feel this way instead,” the Ox-nosed Old Daoist muttered under his breath.
He pondered for a long while before finally coming to a decision.
“Forget it, I’ll grant you a dignified death.”
The Ox-nosed Old Daoist waved his hand, and spirit power rushed into Sima Xiangtu’s body. His withered body swiftly recovered back to its normal form. He was still dead, but at least his corpse looked dignified.
The Ox-nosed Old Daoist personally constructed a coffin and placed Sima Xiangtu’s corpse in it. Then, he lightly pushed it outward and watched as it floated into the vast world of cultivation. It was only when it finally vanished from his line of sight that he turned his attention back to the soul in his grasp.
Without any hesitation, he opened his mouth and gobbled the soul up. Following that, he formed a series of hand seals. Light glowed from his eyes, and his body started undergoing a transformation.
If anyone else was present, they would have been able to tell that this transformation was for the better. However, the Ox-nosed Old Daoist started to panic.
“I’m still off by a bit?”
The Ox-nosed Old Daoist turned his sights toward the Wretched Black Demon and pulled him into his grasp.
Gah!
The Wretched Black Demon let out a wretched cry as the Ox-nosed Old Daoist devoured his soul. It didn’t take long for him to fall completely silent.
When the Ox-nosed Old Daoist finally released him, his body dissipated into ashes and scattered all around the vast world of cultivation. However, the Ox-nosed Old Daoist’s panic didn’t alleviate in the slightest.
“He’s too weak. This isn’t enough,” the Ox-nosed Old Daoist murmured.
However, his face soon brightened up.
“I nearly forgot about that old man.”
He took out an item from his Cosmos Sack and threw it upward. The item quickly expanded into a massive palace. It was the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace, a treasure that once belonged to the Wretched Black Demon.
Back then, Chu Feng, Xia Yan, and Princess Xiaoxiao had once entered the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace as a trial during the matchmaking convention of the Wretched Black Demon’s granddaughter.
The Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace was a unique treasure, in the sense that it wasn’t completely under the Wretched Black Demon’s control despite belonging to him. It would be more accurate to say that they were in a partnership.
The Wretched Black Demon had to infuse the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace with thirty years worth of spirit power in order to open it once, and access into the palace was limited to only the juniors.
If a junior obtained something good from the palace, the Wretched Black Demon would be able to receive rewards from the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace. That was also why the Wretched Black Demon was willing to allow outsiders in despite having expended thirty years of spirit power on it.
Boom!
The Ox-nosed Old Daoist thrust his palm forth and struck the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace, causing cracks to appear all over it. Then, he manifested a hand out of martial power and slipped it into the palace through one of the cracks.
When he finally pulled out the hand made out of martial power from the tower, there was an additional figure in his grasp.
It was an old man with hair and beard that flowed gracefully like silk for tens of meters. He looked like a benevolent immortal descending from the world of immortals. Yet, his body was shackled down by countless chains that extended into the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace.
Chu Feng had met this old man back when he entered the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace. The old man told him that he was trapped in the palace, and that if Chu Feng returned to save him after becoming a God-cloak World Spiritist, he would repay Chu Feng for the favor.
The old man also said that the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace was under the control of the Thousand Transformations Fox Demon, which implied that he was trapped here by the latter.
He wasn’t willing to reveal anything else other than that, so Chu Feng’s deepest impression of the old man was his powerful Demon Subjugating Divine Flame.
Whoosh!
The Ox-nosed Old Daoist suddenly tugged at the chains with his hand of martial power, and all of the shackles shattered right away. That shocked the old man.
After breaking the chains, the Ox-nosed Old Daoist finally released the old man, returning the latter his freedom.
“Milord, thank you for saving me from the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace.”
The old man immediately bowed deeply to the Ox-nosed Old Daoist.
“You told my disciple to save you that day, promising to reward him if he did so. I saved you in place of my disciple today, so you can reward me instead,” the Ox-nosed Old Daoist said.
In truth, he had been following Chu Feng all this while.
He was the hidden figure who eavesdropped into the conversation between the Lady of Dao Sea and the Godwish Grandmother back then. He was the mysterious man who saved Chu Feng from Shengguang Shishen and Shengguang Qianyu back at the Whitesky Star River.
He was also present at the Wretched Black Demon’s matchmaking convention. In fact, he was able to peer into the Thousand Transformation Illusory Palace to know what was happening within.
“Milord, may I know who your disciple is?” the old man asked.
“My disciple is Chu Feng. You might have been hiding inside the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace, but I didn’t seal off your vision. You should be aware of what happened. I’d be annoyed if you continue feigning ignorance, Demon Subjugating Immortal Exalted,” the Ox-nosed Old Daoist said with a smile.
He was well aware of the old man’s capabilities, so he knew that the latter could see everything that had happened from the moment he captured the Wretched Black Demon. The only thing the old man wouldn’t know was that Chu Feng was his disciple.
“You know who I am?” the old man asked in surprise.
He wasn’t surprised that the Ox-nosed Old Daoist was aware of his encounter with Chu Feng. Given the Ox-nosed Old Daoist’s capabilities, it was not impossible for him to peer through the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace.
However, it was a shock to him that the Ox-nosed Old Daoist knew of his true identity.
“I don’t just know who you are, I’m also aware that you’re a vicious person. After your master, the Demon Subjugating Saint, passed away, you attempted to massacre everyone in the Demon Subjugating Divine Flame Sect so that you could monopolize the Demon Subjugating Divine Flame.
“In order to stop you, your juniors sacrificed their lives to activate your master’s treasure, the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace, in hopes of destroying you. It was just that they were too weak. They succeeded in sealing you within the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace, but they weren’t able to kill you.
“I’ve already checked the internal structure of the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace. While you were sealed by the palace, you did inherit your master’s teaching and have some understanding of the palace. Over the years, you were able to gain partial control over the palace. In fact, you were the one who orchestrated the deal with the Wretched Black Demon.
“No, it would be more accurate to say that you have struck a deal with everyone who came into possession of the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace. Those people would pour into the palace not just spirit power but countless lives too. How could someone like you possibly have a kind heart?
“You only allowed juniors into the Thousand Transformations Illusory Palace because you wanted to find someone who can help you. You only helped my disciple that day because you noticed that he was talented and saw through his loyal nature. You thought that you could use him to regain freedom and establish full control over the palace.
“And my guess is that even if he did help you, you weren't planning to reward him with anything at all. On the contrary, you would have taken his life,” the Ox-nosed Old Daoist said.
He looked at the Demon Subjugating Immortal Exalted with sharp eyes that looked as if they had seen through everything right from the start.