A great commotion was stirred as Arhat Bao Sheng fought those soldiers outside. Wu Qi had no worry for him though. The human soldiers had lost their General. Even if there were several tens of thousands of soldiers here, they could not cause any harm to the monk, who had a cultivation base of that a Thirty-third Tier Heaven Immortal. After chasing away a few Yu Dynasty officials guarding before the entrance of the west side hall, Wu Qi pushed open the heavy stone doors and strode inside.
The hall measured one thousand feet in both length and width, but was only about eighty feet tall. It had walls and ceiling made of black rocks, and the light was dim. An oppressive feeling lingered in the atmosphere. At the corners where light could not reach, some spirits or similar existences seemed to hide, who were letting out soundless sighs. A total of twenty-four stone pillars, each wide enough to take two men to encompass with outreached arms, loomed in the hall, on top of which hung numerous strange and eccentric animal skulls. It gave a further touch of gruesomeness to the ominous-looking hall.
Wu Qi knitted his brows into a tight frown. The hall was at least several tens of thousands of years old. It was poorly lit, and was not exposed to any sunlight. As it was rarely visited by people, it had accumulated a very strong Yin energy. He reckoned that it was purposely done by the General stationed in this place. Even a Heaven Immortal would feel depressed upon entering an environment such as this, which would create an opportunity for the General to ask for a few more energy stones, an extra profit for him.
After cracking the true purpose to the ominous decoration, Wu Qi smiled and strode straight to the center of the hall.
Four white jade pillars with the diameter of a water tank loomed at the center of the hall. They stood about fifty feet apart from each other, creating a square-shaped, empty field between them. There were nearly one thousand upper-grade energy stones socketed on each of the pillars, and countless golden runes densely covered their surface. Wu Qi scanned these golden runes with his divine will. Every single rune was drawn with a mixture of several very rare and precious materials, giving it exceptional effects of channeling energy and fighting against the spatial pressure.
Four diamond-shaped crystals hovered midair above the empty field between the pillars. They had a pale green hue, and were shimmering faintly, illuminating the small patch of square space. In their center was a strange rock. It was the size of a human head and looked colorless, but when one gave it a careful second look, it seemed to contain myriad colors and shadows. Vaguely, a strange sound kept echoing out from within it.
Wu Qi smiled. It was indeed the Dark Tune Divine Stone, a material which was valued at over ten thousand immortal stones! It was an extremely rare stone, and even in Scroll of Stealing, Wu Qi could only find thirteen dangerous places where it was produced. Of course, those almighty experts could still get it by visiting those dangerous places. However, the real challenge was that it required a very strict condition, as well as a very long period of time. Only then could it be formed by the forces of the Heaven and Earth. It was not a process which those almighty experts with extraordinary ability could interrupt.
Furthermore, its value of over ten thousand immortal stones was just a price given by the market. The fact was that among those powers who owned a Dark Tune Divine Stone, who would want to trade it for immortal stones? A strategic resource such as this was always better to be controlled by themselves.
Carefully and diligently, Wu Qi exercised the Mystic Eyes of Universe to observe the complicated formation carved on the ground in the hall. After making sure there was only a layer of formation on the surface, and it did not go deep into the ground, he felt relieved and nodded. With this kind of setup, he could easily remove the entire voice transmitting formation when he was done. Apart from the Dark Tune Divine Stone, the four Sky Crystals hovering around it were expensive materials, and the four jade pillars carved out of Spirit Suppressing Dark Jade were of great value as well. The total cost of this voice transmitting formation well exceeded 100,000 immortal stones. Wu Qi had been lying, cheating, stealing, kidnapping people for so long, yet he did not even own more than one thousand immortal stones.
Glancing to his left and right, Wu Qi cast numerous primordial runes and sprinkled them around. The primordial runes formed with his energy flickered in the air, before quickly dissolving into the void and forming several dozens of layers of invisible sound insulation restrictive spells. Even the air was slightly twisted. If there were someone looking at this place, unless they had also practiced a divine technique such as the Mystic Eyes of Universe, there was no way they could see him now.
He swiftly activated the voice transmitting formation. A sheet of strong light burst from the four Sky Crystals, shaking the Dark Tune Divine Stone as it produced a strange sound. Wu Qi pressed his right palm against one of the Sky Crystals, using his divine will to quickly communicate with the formation runes carved in its core, and sending a strange frequency over.
A very subtle buzzing noise rang out of the Dark Tune Divine Stone, and a blinding light radiated from the four jade pillars. An enormous amount of energy was drawn from the upper-grade energy stones socketed on the pillars, then was kept being injected into the formation. In a flash, a small rift was ripped in the void. At the same time, following the frequency channeled by Wu Qi, the voice transmitting formation constructed at the core of Green City in the far away Xuan Yang Heavenly Realm was activated.
A white mist rose from the voice transmitting formation, amidst which, a fuzzy image of a Daoist with a white beard revealed himself.
"What happened?" The Daoist asked quickly and shortly. It was very costly to communicate with a voice transmitting formation, as just a few words would consume several hundred upper-grade energy stones. Although those powerful immortal sects were very wealthy, a high cost like this was still painful for them. Therefore, their executing-disciples who were in charge of monitoring the voice transmitting formation had learned how to communicate the maximum amount of information with the simplest words possible.
"It's important, please get Reverend Li Yang here!" Wu Qi answered the question with the simplest words as well.
The Daoist replied immediately, "Shut the formation. Reverend will be here shortly!"
The formation dimmed, and a clear popping noise was heard coming from the jade pillar behind him. The brief communication between Wu Qi and the Daoist had depleted all the energy in one of the upper-grade energy stones, causing it to explode. Wu Qi could not help but twitch his lips, marveling at the incredible consumption rate of the formation. How could a not so wealthy power afford to use this voice transmitting formation? No wonder even Yuan Hua Sect did not have one in their sect, although they were pretty wealthy. Apparently, they were not wealthy enough to use a luxurious formation such as this. Of course, it was also because they could not afford to build one themselves.
About ten breaths of time later, the formation lit up again. But this time, it was another middle-aged Daoist who appeared amidst the white mist. He was tall, handsome, and had a casual and elegant bearing. Upon seeing him, Wu Qi had an impression as if his extraordinary appearance could surpass all flowers. He looked exceedingly extraordinary. Not only did he have a standard visage of a handsome man, every single strand of his brows, his hair, his movement, and his smile were perfect, so much so that no flaw could be picked.
And although he had a beard under his chin, it did not make him look old, but rather, it brought a touch of gracefulness and steadiness to him. Wu Qi gave the beard a quick glance: not a single strand was tangled with another; they were dark and glossy. It was a perfect beard.
"Junior Greed offers Greeting, my Senior!" Wu Qi cupped his fist and bowed deeply to Reverend Li Yang.
"What happened? Tell me quickly!" Reverend Li Yang asked with a straight face. He did not waste time, straightaway asking the reason of activating the voice transmitting formation.
Wu Qi beckoned to his side. A celestial fiend puppet disguised as Shui Yi came before the formation. Reverend Li Yang opened his eyes slightly and said with a nod, "Oh, it is Shui Yi. What is happening? Tell me quickly. How strange! Why are you not using the voice transmitting formation you brought to Pangu Continent? I think this formation you are using now is rented from the authority of Yu Dynasty, isn't it?"
Shui Yi cupped his fist and bowed deeply. Then, using the quickest speed and the simplest words, he explained the causes and effects of the entire incident.
Upon hearing everything, Reverend Li Yang was seized with a great joy. Paying no heed to the struggle between Daoist Yun Zang and Daoist Yun Han, he asked excitedly, "From what you said, that An He City and the region of one million miles around it could potentially become Green City's outpost?"
Wu Qi answered with respect, "Not potentially, but it is already the outpost for Green City. As long as I, together with Reverend San Le, announce the decision to the regions around An He City, Green City will be able to reasonably occupy An He City and the regions around it, having the entire An Le County under control."
He paused briefly, then put on a bitter smile and said, "But, the only problem is..."
Reverend Li Yang waved his hand gallantly and said with a roar of laughter, "Are you worrying about that Patriarch Xuan Yi from the Dark Palace? Mm, do not worry about that. I'll now invite a few Sect Elders to pay Pangu Continent a visit and participate in the launching ceremony of Green City Manor. Hmph, if that Patriarch Xuan Yi has anything to say, ask him to come talk to me!"
After a brief moment of pondering, Reverend Li Yang continued with a cautioning tone, "Of course, you have to act carefully before we arrive. Do not let that junior Muji ambush you. There is a difference between Immortals and Evil Immortals. As Hui Ming Heavenly Realm and Xuan Yang Heavenly Realm are very far apart, if you are murdered by him, it will not be convenient for Green City to seek justice from Dark Palace. And, if that happened, we will have to let An He City slip from our fingers!"
Wu Qi and Shui Yi cupped their fists and bowed.
"Daoist Greed? Mm, you've done well, excellently well! Since you have a great admiration for Green City, I'll take you as my personal disciple when I arrive at An He City! With your contribution, this is the perfect reward for you!" Reverend Li Yang said happily.
Wu Qi bowed deeply again. As Reverend Li Yang roared with laughter, he shut the voice transmitting formation. However, his roaring of laughter had depleted two more upper-grade energy stones, causing them to explode with a loud pop.
Once the formation was shut, Wu Qi immediately reached out his hand and cast a couple dozens of restrictive spells into the surrounding, trapping the entire formation. After that, with a twist of his body, three celestial fiend puppets rushed out of him. Together with Shui Yi, they stood at the four corners of the formation, poking their hands into the ground and lifting the one hundred feet wide formation with a light snort. A dark beam shot out of the black dragon spirit ring and rested on the entire voice transmitting formation, pulling it into the ring's internal space.
Laughing wildly, Wu Qi retracted all the celestial fiend puppets and ran hastily out of the west side hall.
There were corpses everywhere; at least ten thousand soldiers were killed. The ground was filled with large cracks and holes. Arhat Bao Sheng was seen taking over a large storage bracelet from a few black-clothed officials while laughing complacently.
As he saw Wu Qi rush towards him, Arhat Bao Sheng's expression changed drastically. He swiftly grabbed the storage bracelet and spun, getting ready to leave.
Without giving Arhat Bao Sheng the chance to escape, Wu Qi came before him with just a blink of his body. His mouth opened, and the acquired earth spirit pearl shot out with a loud buzzing noise, bringing up a vast underground magnetic force that smashed towards the monk. Abruptly, the gravity in the surroundings skyrocketed to about one thousand times stronger, stiffening Arhat Bao Sheng's body and making his flying speed as slow as an ordinary mortal walking.
Laughing dryly, Arhat Bao Sheng passed the bracelet over to Wu Qi and said, "Fellow Daoist, what are you doing...?"
Wu Qi snatched the bracelet, looking at Arhat Bao Sheng with a cold grin as he said, "I thought you are going to run away with all the loot!"
Arhat Bao Sheng glared at him and bellowed, "A disciple of Buddhism will never tell lies! How is it even possible for me to do that after we've agreed to split the loot? Aye, you damn Daoist!!!"
Wu Qi was quick in his actions. Even as Arhat Bao Sheng was covering up his ugly deed with words, a beam of purple light flew out of Wu Qi's wrist and tightly tied up the monk. Not waiting for Arhat Bao Sheng to shake off the binding of the spirit-restricting rope, he pulled out a golden axe which he robbed from Mister Gold, raised it up high, and thrust it down heavily.
Suddenly, a lotus flower shot out of Arhat Bao Sheng's body, pushing the spirit-restricting rope far away from him. However, Wu Qi's axe had already landed on his shoulder and nearly took away his arm. With a cold snort, Wu Qi reached out his right hand and ripped off the black cloth veiling the monk's face. Then, he spun and fled.
Arhat Bao Sheng stamped his feet and cursed with a loud voice, while Wu Qi's roaring of laughter could be heard coming from a far distance.
"The murder and robber is Arhat Bao Sheng, the disciple of the Three Lotus Thrones Six Arms Evil Subduing Great Bodhisattva, grand disciple of the Great Solar Wheel Glorious Buddha from the Great Solar Heavenly Realm!"
Amidst the furious roars of Arhat Bao Sheng, Wu Qi had long fled to a very far distance.