Guo Chunfeng, the three battle-type Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, the Secret Sword Agents, and the hundreds of prisoners were all gazing at Lu Zui in disbelief!
Twelve shocking bloody holes were still on Lu Zui's head. He had not freed himself from the shackle on his body that weighed hundreds of kilograms and could be charged with high-voltage electricity either. Dozens of super experts and more than ten crystal cannons had locked onto him!
However, he was smiling in great relief. As if a chess player walking to another game, he floated into the air and glanced around.
Wherever his eyes reached, everybody could not help but move their head away. Not just Guo Chunfeng, even the three battle-type Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators hesitated to make eye contact with Lu Zui, as if his casual observation would see through the deepest secrets in their heart!
Suddenly—
Lu Zui grunted. His aura shrank, and his skin broke into parts. Dim spots of light were popping up on his body. His flesh and blood around the spots quickly withered, giving no sense of vitality anymore.
It was as if a burning torch was about to kill him from the inside!
"I'm about to die." Lu Zui smiled at Guo Chunfeng.
Guo Chunfeng and the three battle-type Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators looked at each other. They finally realized what was happening to Lu Zui.
The advancement of levels was not necessarily a good thing.
The higher one's level was, the more energy they would consume, just like the more advanced crystal warships would certainly boast larger power rune arrays and cost more crystals.
For general Cultivators, when they were about to break into a new level, they would certainly prepare tremendous Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and use them to make up for the consumption of their body and soul.
Li Yao had a breakthrough in the middle of a combat, but before the battle, he had swallowed a lot of strengthening drugs. After the battle, he rested for more than half a month and absorbed more incredibly precious materials and drugs than anybody could count before he managed to stabilize himself in the new level.
But Lu Zui was different.
He was a prisoner and probably the most dangerous one ever since the Star Glory Federation was founded. He had been watched over in the strictest way. Over the past month, not to mention the resources for training, even his soul had been suppressed all the time and could not be drier.
Advancing into a higher level under such circumstances was like committing suicide.
It was like a weak, little mouse suddenly mutated and was granted with a brain that was larger, smarter, and more complicated than a human brain.
The new brain might bring new wisdom to the little mouse, but before that, the nutrition that the brain needed would drain its body!
That was exactly Lu Zui's situation.
No, not exactly. More precisely speaking, Lu Zui did not make a breakthrough by accident; he had burnt his life and soul and detonated all his Cultivation in the past two hundred years in that moment, trading his life for a brief epiphany. That was how he had broken all the blockages and marched into the high level of the Nascent Soul Stage!
Guo Chunfeng and the three battle-type Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators were all awed by Lu Zui's resolution!
There were many questions that they had not asked Lu Zui yet. Many secrets about the Patriots Partnership had yet to be unveiled. How could he die right now?
Guo Chunfeng's face was as gray as that of a corpse. In front of his old boss, he was like a rooster that had lost a fight, shaking violently in anger!
"I can live one to two days at best." Lu Zui looked at him without either delight or sadness on his face. He extended two fingers. "Ah Feng, do you want a deal? One of the production bases of the Demon God Virus hasn't been revealed yet. Also, there are three secret storage locations where the unstable semi-products of the Demon God Virus are stashed. Although they are semi-products, they can still cause a great disaster if they are released. Do you want to know where they are?
"Hehe. You should be very clear that, now that I'm in the high level of the Nascent Soul Stage, the soul searching technique will not work on me. If I want, I can shatter my own soul with a telepathic thought and bring all my secrets to the deepest depths of hell. You will not be able to get anything from me!
"However, as long as you promise me one thing, I will be the most cooperative person in the world and give you everything that you want to know. Even if I die, I will not play any tricks on my brain. You will still be able to retrieve a lot of things from it."
Guo Chunfeng's voice was hoarse. "What do you want?"
"I want to meet someone and have a private conversation with her for half an hour, during which time you are not to interfere with us no matter what happens." Lu Zui smiled. "That's all."
Guo Chunfeng was angry. "Are you still trying to send messages to your accomplices outside?"
"Ah Feng, seriously? If I am requesting to see my accomplice, won't I be exposing her? Moreover, you will certainly be monitoring our every action. Whatever we say and do, including the tiniest movements of our pupils, will all be under your control. What are you scared of?"
Guo Chunfeng was silent for a moment. He calculated the pros and cons quickly before asking, "Who do you want to meet?"
Lu Zui gave a name.
Guo Chunfeng's face was brimming with disbelief. He was dazed for a long time before he asked, "Why do you want to meet her? Is she a member of the Patriots Partnership? It's impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"You will know the reason after she arrives," Lu Zui said. "You can take your time to consider, but I don't have much time on my side. Make a decision quickly if you don't want me to bring all my secrets to the crematory!"
Guo Chunfeng stared at Lu Zui hard, trying to look for traces on the face of his former boss.
However, Lu Zui descended from the midair and simply crouched in the corner again, dragging his withered body that was slowly smoldering. His eyes passed through Guo Chunfeng, the White Silver Fortress, the blue sky, the white clouds, and the atmosphere, darting toward the sea of stars and a long, long time away in the future.
…
Three hours later, inside the most heavily guarded prison cell in the White Silver Fortress, Lu Zui's head was covered in another barrier that was even stronger. His limbs were tied up by more than ten chains attached to the corners of the prison cell and connected to aggressive magical equipment of more than ten attributes, allowing them to trigger electricity, fire, and frost at any time.
Although he was still free to move his hands and feet, the zone of activity was quite limited. His fingers were bound to tiny chains, too, to ensure that he would not be able to make seals quickly.
Even his tongue had been pierced through by three long nails, which could burn his tongue into ashes the moment he started enchanting any attack runes.
One could not be too prudent about the unparalleled brutal man who had broken into the high level of the Nascent Soul Stage by force despite the suppression of multiple barriers.
Lu Zui was not moving at all. His limbs and body were even drier than three hours ago. The black spots leaking out of his pores were gradually joining each other.
But his eyes opened wider and wider. An indescribable glimmer was beaming out of his eyes, as if he had dedicated all his vitality to his brain in order to get a chance to look into the future in the next hundred years!
Shua!
Shua!
Shua!
Opposite him, the three gates were opened one after another. A female Cultivator whose red hair was burning furiously walked in.
Lu Zui smiled. The glimmer in his eyes was entirely focused on the girl. He looked at her as if she were a raw jade that had yet to be carved but was full of potential.
"Fellow Cultivator Ding, you are here."
"Cut the cr*p. Who the hell is your fellow?"
Ding Lingdang strode over, covering almost ten meters in only one step. She grabbed Lu Zui's collar and picked him as well as shackle that weighed hundreds of kilograms with just one hand while waving her other hand in front of Lu Zui's eyes. Grinning, she said, "Old b*stard, do you know why I agreed to meet you? Do you know what the one thing that I regret most in the battle a month ago is?
"The thing I regret most is that I didn't beat you up to my heart's content, old b*stard!
"But today you are feeding yourself to me! Excellent! If there's anything you want to say, wait until I punch you several times! Let's make it simple. Three punches. Just three punches! If you are still breathing after three punches, we'll talk then!"
Guo Chunfeng was so anxious that he was sweating hard. He shouted through the broadcast rune arrays, "Miss Ding, don't be rash. He is dying. He cannot withstand a single punch from you!"
"Hehe!" Ding Lingdang sniffed. She glared at Lu Zui for a long time before she slowly let go of him and frowned. "Speak now. Why did you want to meet me? I'm really baffled. If there's anybody you want to meet before your death, it should be Li Yao! Why do you want to talk to me?"
Lu Zui looked at Ding Lingdang with a smile, not offended by her recklessness and rudeness at all but full of the pleasure of picking up a treasure. He said slowly, "Who is Li Yao? An idiot who is obsessed with the petty kindness. He is not qualified for me to waste my precious time before my death."
Ding Lingdang narrowed her eyes with dangerous brilliance beaming out. "Hey, watch your mouth. Don't force me to blow up your head in one punch!"
"What a shame. Fellow—Miss Ding, in fact, twenty years ago, when you lost your parents in the beast tide and were heavily wounded and almost disabled yourself, I heard the news and even considered adopting you," Lu Zui said. "It's a pity that your mother's colleagues in the Grand Desolate War Institution took you away before me."
Ding Lingdang could not help but hold her arms and shudder. "Then I can't thank you enough for what you didn't do."
Ignoring Ding Lingdang's sarcasm, Lu Zui continued. "Also, half a year ago, when we organized the discussion club and recruited the 'patriots', we vetted you from various aspects, too. You were excellent in every regard, except that you hesitated for a moment in the end.
"Due to safety concerns, we didn't recruit you. Otherwise, you might be one of us right now."
"Even if I was a member of the Patriots Partnership," Ding Lingdang declared resolutely, "the first thing I would've done after learning of your shameless plan would be to punch your nose to the back of your head!"