Chapter 175: “clearing The Name”
After the seventh gate opened, the demon tower did not give the intruders a show of strength like when the previous doors opened.
Or perhaps the show of strength had already disappeared? It was just a group of normal-sized toads squatting collectively behind the door.
These toads originally wanted to pounce over, but after sensing the difference in size between their bodies and the soldiers, they collectively braked. Then they jumped to both sides, just like a frog pond in summer that had been hit by a stone, with the group of frogs scattering in all directions.
However, most toads could not escape the fate of being kicked flying mid-air; just like there’s a soda can by the roadside in the 21st century, it’s hard for anyone to resist kicking it.
Xuan Chong accurately grabbed one toad and performed a dissection surgery with his sword, confirming that its abdomen was full of parasites! — So, if they were amplified to human size by rotten power, they would be extremely terrifying.
After entering this seventh layer, everyone discovered numerous corpses and a series of slime molds. The green slime molds were stepped on by feet, leaving one footprint after another; and as they stepped into them, some flying insects in the slime molds also scurried up.
Everyone held torches, and the firelight shining on this place full of slime molds appeared extremely eerie, making people explore cautiously, searching for where the monsters really were. Suddenly, a huge monster seemed to walk out from the shadows, and the entire army immediately formed ranks.
But as Xuan Chong’s gaze focused, this phantom became smaller and smaller as it revealed itself, increasingly faint and undetectable, until what Wu Fei saw was a slug on a stone covered in slime mold. This thumb-sized slug had a translucent body full of numerous parasites, and as its tentacles wriggled, they glowed like neon lights.
After Xuan Chong arrived, the seventh layer had no more trials; everything had been seen through.
Of course, Xuan Chong was very objective and did not believe that “rotten power” was purely human illusion; in his understanding, under the evil moon’s illumination, those monsters swollen with rotten pustules were actually a kind of “jelly” substance full of massive amounts of information.
This “jelly” could fill in the volume, mass, and various states of creatures in three dimensions.
Rotten power could inflate a mosquito to pterodactyl size, and all the mosquito’s wing nerve flight controls in the real physical world could synchronously correspond to the giant mosquito in the massively expanded jelly information state by hundreds of thousands of times, just as Bai Renfeng encountered in the sixth layer.
Of course, the huge pustules on humans, as well as rotting skin, were also caused by being contaminated with this “information jelly” substance.
So in this area of slime molds mixed with various filth, whether maggots or mosquitoes, they were all things corrected by the information jelly projected down from the evil moon.
Xuan Chong: “So, is it possible that there exists something completely detached from reality, with all physiological functions and even thoughts fully uploaded into the ‘jelly’? (That is the state after demon ascension.)”
Xuan Chong looked at this quiet spore zone and had already guessed what the trial of this seventh layer of the tower was originally like.
In other words, the target that needed to be resolved was perhaps in some unremarkable slime mold right under his feet.
And if he did not find this information node existing in a mustard seed-sized place now, then the “information power” supporting the seventh layer of the tower would not eliminate the existence.
“So—” Xuan Chong: “We’re stuck!”
…Cutscene animation, no spawn…
Bai Renfeng walked in this slime mold area. Behind him were the orderly sounds of armor plates rubbing and officer whistles from the soldiers moving.
Bai Renfeng originally prepared to draw his sword, but after scouting around and finding no enemies, he was slightly confused, then sheathed his sword. After the previous battle, his arrogance had been tempered.
Bai Renfeng mildly said to a soldier nearby: “I’ll scout far ahead; I trouble everyone here.”
However, as he prepared to ride his sword qi away, a soldier called out to this sword immortal.
Squad Leader: “Immortal, my lord has ordered you to wait a moment.”
This command was like an immortal-binding rope, instantly pulling him back, and Bai Renfeng had to stop in his tracks.
After hurrying back to the military formation, Xuan Chong said to this sword immortal: “Immortal Elder Bai, please act together with me next.”
Bai Renfeng frowned: “This Bai’s sword is accustomed to wandering alone; your army isn’t encountering enemies now, so it’s perfect for me to explore.”
Xuan Chong: “No need to search; the enemies are right here. They’ll appear soon—get ready with everyone.” — While speaking, Xuan Chong picked up a piece of cloth and covered his eyes.
Right after Xuan Chong covered his eyes, Bai Renfeng immediately felt the surrounding malign intent rising, with various things moving a hundred paces away in the distance.
Xuan Chong explained to Bai Renfeng: “Your Excellency, the main purpose of our coming together this time is to plant the ‘World-Cleansing Object’ in the source of filth to quell this chaos! As for killing, it’s endless because the enemies are inherently infinite; every filthy corner under our feet can spawn enemies at any moment.”
Then Xuan Chong thought of something: “Right, you’re a cultivator; military law and orders bind you—um, take this!” Xuan Chong took out a command flag, which could command a thousand-man troop, at the colonel level.
After Bai Renfeng took the flag, he felt his spiritual power limit suddenly rise to the extreme. His sword light could now sweep a hundred zhang away. But it wasn’t just him; at this moment, the blazing flame like an eternal constellation was also rising in Xuan Chong’s body, corresponding to the “Heart Lodge” constellation in the sky.
Bai Renfeng looked back at the malign intent appearing around and the constellations in the sky, then turned to gaze at Xuan Chong’s covered eyes, and a phrase leaped in his mind: “Suppressing one side’s auspicious qi”.
“Peace under heaven with eyes open, demons and monsters dance with eyes closed.” Bai Renfeng thought to himself: “Is he a sage?”
…Night falls, please close your eyes…
Blazing flames rose around Xuan Chong, enveloping the entire troop, and all the slime molds under the troop’s feet were completely burned to death; no monsters spawned underfoot.
A foul stench came from afar; in the clouds and mist, four toad-lizards comparable to thunder dragons walked out, followed by densely packed rotten troops that seemed dozens of times more numerous than their own, standing up.
Among these rotten troops, many were civilians who died in this plague. The soldiers gathered collectively around Xuan Chong, while Bai Renfeng waved the battle flag, issuing orders for the army corps to hold the line.
The battle began; ranks of crossbow bolts started firing, but the numerous soldiers under Xuan Chong soon discovered that the arrows in their quivers were infinite, and they carried flames after being shot, so they began recklessly sweeping with the crossbow bolts.
And the front-rank soldiers in armor had their weapons also rising with flames.
As one pustule demon soldier after another charged up, Bai Renfeng took the lead, rushing into the demon army; his powerful sword light swept over a hundred zhang, felling a large swath of demon soldiers; but immediately after, Bai Renfeng discovered these demon soldiers shaking their heads and standing up again after being swept by sword qi.
After about two rounds of ultimate moves, Bai Renfeng was gasping heavily; his magic power had once again reached its limit, but at this time the lotus seed had jumped into his dantian, supplying an incomparably powerful stream of spiritual energy continuously. Thus, he unleashed another sword, clearing the monsters in front of him.
Normally, cultivators in qi refining stage have nine layers; afterward, magic power liquefies into foundation establishment, which has twelve layers, and liquefied magic power condenses into a golden core.
Now the lotus seed had broken through his magic power limit to the twenty-eighth layer of qi refining stage; the density of his magic power had long surpassed the density of liquefied magic power required for foundation establishment, and he could even feel that the metal spiritual energy unleashed by each of his sword lights had the fineness of golden core-level magic power.
His current qi refining state was formed under extremely harsh conditions. In terms of magic power density, it had reached golden core, but mixed with killing intent, the magic power could not condense into an entity. Yet due to the powerful auspicious qi force, the liquid magic power could not dissipate. In this wondrous realm, under the unrestrained killing intent, Bai Renfeng’s sword intent was clear.
The battle lasted a full shichen, with the dozens-of-times-larger demon army crashing like a tsunami against a reef, but the three-hundred-man troop remained unmoved.
And at this moment, a group of small demons pushed out a huge golden bull; on the golden bull’s back was something like a piggy bank smashed with a hole, and at its broken opening was a seat with a fat man on it.
Bai Renfeng looked seriously at this demon-possessed general in front of him. This demon general was fifteen meters tall, with another human face on his forehead, and a rusty, twisted dagger-shaped blade stabbed into his chest. Xuan Chong knew there was no dagger as long as a cow’s leg in reality; daggers could rust but would never grow pustules.
This rotten fat face was distorted yet weirdly smiling, praising: “Young ones, you’ve fought very well!”
Bai Renfeng: “Who are you!?”
The fat man raised his rotten giant blade and slowly said: “Who am I exactly? Let me think!”
As he spoke, the great blade had already slashed down. Even though Bai Renfeng’s swordsmanship had reached an unprecedented realm, he was still forced to retreat step by step by this general’s swing of a blade dozens of meters long.
Wu Hanluan was mild and affectionate like an old father: “Young one, don’t dodge; my blade has no edge and doesn’t hurt.”
At this time, everyone could see pustules dripping from the blade edge.
Bai Renfeng saw “Wu” hanging on Wu Hanluan’s waist token and immediately understood, shouting: “You’re Wu Hanluan!”
At this moment, the soldiers were discussing animatedly, and many looked toward Xuan Chong, because Xuan Chong had repeatedly stated that Wu Hanluan was dead and that the plague evil arts were a frame job; but after fighting to this point and everything unveiled, how would Wu Fei explain now?
Xuan Chong did not explain, merely saying slowly: “He is not Wu Hanluan.” — His tone bright and resounding through the field.
Wu Hanluan, sitting in the damaged golden bull, gazed at Xuan Chong in the military formation, furrowing his brows in confusion: “Who are you? Such a familiar feeling. You resemble my nephew, but my nephew doesn’t seem to have your courage.”
At this, Wu Hanluan laughed heartily: “My poor nephew—his father died when he was little, but he doesn’t know, doesn’t know it was me who accidentally cursed him to death.”
At this time, Wu Hanluan was a demon among demons; he himself had fallen to demonhood, but the long-held demonic thoughts in his mind had also become devils.
Wu Hanluan’s demon was from back when he was frail and sickly, feeling unfair and using witchcraft and sorcery on his brother. In the end, all his brothers died violently, and he carried this heart demon, barely clinging to half-life.
It seemed that this half-dead, half-alive state in his heart allowed him to master the golden dou.
Just as Wu Hanluan’s knife once again swung mildly over, when Bai Renfeng had no way to block it.
The soldiers suddenly felt the room brighten up; the rotten long blade in front became a candlestick, with shattered ceramic pieces embedded in the candle, looking like a knife; and the original pustules were just dirty candle wax.
Xuan Chong half-removed the cloth strip over his eyes, revealing his tightly closed left eye, then the left eye half-opened in a daze, but even this half-covered gaze flickered with dazzling golden light.
As for Wu Hanluan, he was not a five-meter-tall behemoth but an old man with a dagger stabbed into his chest. However, the restoration gem prompted Xuan Chong that this was still false and could not be restored.
The false Wu Hanluan was weak as a thread; his face no longer smiling but brows tightly locked. Even the entire scene was shaky, like a mirage.
Bai Renfeng turned his head and saw “Wu Fei” walking out from the army; in his view, it was like a domain radiating from Wu Fei. The originally overwhelming malign intent was pushed away by a stream of green qi, dissipating the malign intent, and the environment began to twist and change like waking from a great dream.
Within several zhang around Xuan Chong were ordinary floor tiles and messy grass and trees; even windows on the distant walls could be seen. Everything seemed to be in a room—strictly speaking, a prison.
There was no seven-layer tower; it was just dozens of prisons twisted into these seven layers.
Of course, in the full army’s view, a bit farther from Xuan Chong—that is, where the damaged golden bull Wu Hanluan now was—a few zhang away was still twisted realm! Grass and trees reformed into maggots, floor tiles into filthy pustules; damp liquid dripped from wood, with flow marks turning into foul-smelling slugs.
As Xuan Chong passed by, he patted Bai Renfeng, immediately slapping the filth off him. And after Xuan Chong withdrew his hand, the lotus seed had already fallen back into his palm.
Xuan Chong said: “Leave the rest to me.”
The lotus seed sprouted in Xuan Chong’s palm; the tender sprout swayed continuously, each unfolding releasing massive spiritual energy, and each slight closing causing large swaths of filthy qi to collapse.
Xuan Chong walked straight toward the damaged golden bull. With each step Xuan Chong took, Wu Hanluan’s strength weakened by a portion.
After the information power of the rotten moon was eliminated, he was like an old man eroded by wind at the end of his years, emitting large amounts of green gas, about to dissipate into smoke at any moment.
Only then did Bai Renfeng, standing in front, see that beside him was another rotten corpse; from the corpse’s movements, it was this guy who had stabbed the dagger into Wu Hanluan’s abdomen. — In other words, this was the initial cause of the prison mutation.
But wasn’t Wu Hanluan assassinated while attacking Lao City? This had to do with the information projection of the evil moon realm; this Wu Hanluan now was completely molded from information jelly.
Even the restoration gem couldn’t be used, giving Xuan Chong full reason to deny he was Wu Hanluan.
Wu Hanluan looked at the approaching Xuan Chong; on the verge of death, he gave a bitter smile: “You just heard it.”
Xuan Chong paused slightly: “I heard.” — That is, just now, what Bai Renfeng heard: Wu Hanluan’s self-confession of using witchcraft and sorcery to curse his own brother back then.
Xuan Chong silently observed the information projection, preparing to project and send the lotus seed into the sky.
Wu Hanluan: “You hate Uncle, right.”
Xuan Chong whispered back almost inaudibly: Why hate.
Then he smiled: “Just petty emotions between your generation. When I was little, I often drew turtles behind Wu Hengyu’s back too.”
Wu Hanluan: “But my witchcraft and sorcery caused your father’s…”
Xuan Chong said seriously: “Uncle, as a general, do not blindly believe in ghosts and spirits’ power!”
With that, the lotus seed shot upward; in this room closest to Supreme Heaven, the light from the lotus seed Xuan Chong flung landed on the celestial garden above, where all things in the garden decomposed and green lotuses bloomed.
Wu Hanluan laughed, crawling out like a last burst of light before death, clapping his pus-covered hands; but under Xuan Chong’s merciless gaze, he revealed his true form.
At this time, people stood fully behind Xuan Chong.
Just moments ago it was dozens of paces away, now space suddenly shrank, everyone squeezed together. Looking closely, many had rashes and mosquito bite bumps on their bodies.
It seemed the rotten damage everyone just suffered was merely these everyday ailments.
But when everyone turned to look, where was any golden bull? It was just a table half-buried in the ground, and inside the table was a set of armor with a dagger inserted in the armor’s gaps! There was no Wu Hanluan at all.
Xuan Chong pulled out the dagger and said to the numerous soldiers who had seen with their own eyes: “Everyone look clearly: there’s no Wu Hanluan here; what just happened was demons and monsters illusionally faking a corpse. My uncle devoted himself tirelessly to the people of Chong Land until death; his lifetime of clear reputation will not be slandered.”
All the soldiers looked at each other, and some prepared to accept this “final verdict”.
At this moment, that armor moved, immediately making everyone look involuntarily at the armor and Wu Fei again. As if Wu Hanluan revived wanted to give Xuan Chong a thumbs-up.
Xuan Chong stared at the armor, then picked it up with his sword; a toad jumped out from it—that was the reason the armor had moved just now.
Xuan Chong looked at the numerous soldiers.
Soldier A: “General Yuan Chang speaks correctly; Marshal Wu Hanluan has a benevolent heart for the people!”
Soldier B: “It was all villains stirring trouble in Zhenzhou. We share an irreconcilable enmity with them!”
Soldier C: “Me too!”
In this battle, most soldiers would be exiled, but not stating their position now meant exile to the farthest border.
The lotus seed body landed in the garden, but another lotus seed condensed in Xuan Chong’s palm. Xuan Chong paused, then handed this lotus seed to Bai Renfeng: “Immortal, there are still some plague demons in the territory next; I hope you will slay them.”
Bai Renfeng paused; facing this invitation to “jointly eliminate demons,” he nodded in acceptance.
Narration: Xuan Chong could force others, but this sword immortal? Had to offer benefits, pull him into his own battle line—at least neutral next. As for what benefit? Xuan Chong considered all options and only had this lotus seed. (Does it hurt? A bit, but to get help, must pay remuneration.)
