National Preceptor Qingyang frowned. "You surrendered without a fight just to ask this?" This person's behavior was growing more and more bizarre.
"I know it is a relic of Panlong City. Please enlighten me."
The name "Panlong City" made the corner of Qingyang's eye twitch slightly. But now, both she and the Heavenly Palace understood that anyone capable of infiltrating Zhaixing Tower to steal a divine artifact was naturally connected to the Dafang Pot and Panlong City!
This was already a topic neither side needed to avoid.
"Is it difficult for you to say, or do you not dare?" The captive even resorted to goading her.
"How do I find your accomplice?" National Preceptor Qingyang glared at him. "You are my captive. I ask, you answer!"
"When you obtained this flute, was its original owner dead or alive?"
National Preceptor Qingyang pressed the tip of her staff against his throat. "Which faction do you belong to? Speak!"
The captive paid no heed to her threat. "It happened over a hundred years ago. Panlong City is gone, so what do you still fear to say?"
National Preceptor Qingyang laughed. She drew out the celestial centipede bone flute and brandished it before him. "Why wouldn't I say it? When I obtained this flute back then, I saw with my own eyes that its owner met a horribly wretched death! You have committed monstrous crimes at Mount Xu; your end will be no better than hers!"
He pressed on, "Who was the flute's owner? Her name! Give me a name, and I'll confess the intruder's whereabouts!"
National Preceptor Qingyang said indifferently, "You first."
"Once the deed is done, rendezvous behind the hills of Xiangshan Posthouse, outside the south city gate!" the man answered without hesitation. "Your turn."
National Preceptor Qingyang flung out a flying cable, binding him tightly. "Once I catch him, I will tell you."
The man did not lose his temper, pressing further, "Did you kill her to take the flute? Surely you can tell me that much?"
The kid was remarkably obstinate. National Preceptor Qingyang glanced at him, sensing an odd woodenness in his expression. "You could say that."
The man immediately let out a long breath; Qingyang could not tell whether it was anger or relief.
"That is enough. That was truly all I wanted to know," he muttered. "We will meet again. National Preceptor Qingyang, we have an old score to settle!"
Having spoken, the captive's head suddenly drooped.
*Taken poison?*
Qingyang's pupils constricted. She seized his chin, yet saw no sign of poisoning. When the man opened his eyes again and found the National Preceptor inches away, he was first terrified, then utterly bewildered. "N-National Preceptor? What happened?"
Why this reaction? National Preceptor Qingyang frowned slightly. "State your name and rank."
"Tongxin Guard, Third Battalion, Seventh Squad, Wang Lijie," the man answered fluently. "Seconded to the Grass Sea since the seventh month."
"Who was your accomplice causing havoc at Mount Xu?" A bad premonition deepened.
"Accomplice? Havoc at Mount X-Xu...?" Wang Lijie was thoroughly shocked. "National Preceptor, I swear! I have no accomplices! I haven't been to Mount Xu in two years!"
"Why did you swim here?"
Wang Lijie looked left and right, filled with shock and dread. "Earlier, I jumped into the water to d-dodge the Donao beasts. I had only swum a few zhang before I blacked out. Then... then I was here, and I saw you!"
*This fellow was possessed just now and remembers nothing he said?*
Recalling his previously stiff expression and unnatural movements, National Preceptor Qingyang believed him somewhat.
The mastermind behind this had told her they had a score to settle.
Could it be... Xi Yunhe?!
Xi Yunhe knew of the celestial centipede bone flute, and had a partial grasp of its origins.
No, wait, something wasn't right. She had worn that flute in public dozens of times; plenty of people had seen it.
What was this person's connection to the flute's original owner?
The Dafang Pot, Panlong City, and those earth-shattering battles—to a veteran like her, they were all painful memories of a past she dared not look back upon.
Now, the Dafang Pot lid had actually been stolen. Could that past be returning to haunt them once more?
This was surely what the Emperor and the gods were desperate to avoid. No wonder the Heavenly Palace had reacted so violently; she could almost smell their fury and fear.
She held up the dripping mask. "Before you lost consciousness, did you see this mask?"
Wang Lijie nodded like a woodpecker. "Y-Yes! As I was swimming, someone burst out from under the water, less than two feet from me! He was wearing this mask—it scared me half to death!"
National Preceptor Qingyang recalled a little-known secret technique capable of controlling others for one's own use.
However, there was a distance limitation between the caster and the puppet.
Which meant the target had still been nearby just moments ago.
Yet she had already circled the sandbar without spotting so much as a shadow. The other party hadn't used concealment illusions, as such tricks rarely fooled her.
He must have hidden in the water.
Once Wang Lijie was taken back, the Heavenly Palace would naturally have ways to determine the truth of his words. But deep down, National Preceptor Qingyang knew the fellow was likely innocent.
Ripples gently lapped across the water around her; the intruder had escaped right under her nose.
The rendezvous location he had spoken through the puppet was, of course, utter nonsense.
With this capture foiled, her hopes of redeeming herself through merit had also come to naught. National Preceptor Qingyang took a deep breath, feeling utterly despondent.
***
Four legs usually ran faster than two. As for eight legs...
In any case, Zhu Erniang's colossal form moved with such speed that she left blurred afterimages in her wake; except for Celestial God Baizhan, no one could hope to catch her.
One fleeing and one pursuing, they quickly drew far away from the lake shore.
Rolling hills undulated across the landscape, the vegetation growing increasingly dense.
When Baizhantian gave chase, an entire hill suddenly shifted, erupting straight toward it in an overwhelming deluge.
As swirling sand threatened to blind its vision, Baizhantian waved a palm, sending a blast of gale-force wind to sweep the grit aside. Unexpectedly, the ground beneath its heels caved in. The giant spider burst up from below, her twin pincers thrusting forward to lock it in a crushing bear hug from behind!
Two small trees were caught in the embrace as well; Baizhantian immediately heard a sharp crackle of trunks snapping and branches splintering.
Though Zhu Erniang's forelegs could not open and close as freely as a sea crab's claws, the tremendous force of slamming someone against her body was enough to squeeze their guts out.
Even with divine power protecting its body, Baizhantian's vision darkened under the compression.
Had it been Lu Shishi herself, she would have been crushed into mincemeat by now.
At the same time, it drew in a breath and hollowed its abdomen, the aura of energy around its body turning exceptionally slick. Squeezing it felt to Zhu Erniang like trying to pinch a bar of wet soap; with a sharp whoosh, it slipped free from the death grip.
Zhu Erniang had already bared her fangs, ready to inject another dose of venom, but snapped on empty air.
She shook her front claws uncomfortably.
A bowl-sized wound on her pincer was spreading, expanding in the blink of an eye to the size of a millstone as flesh and blood dissolved into black ash and blew away in the wind.
The moment it escaped, Baizhantian had struck back, landing a punch squarely on Zhu Erniang's foreleg.
This power of annihilation clung like maggots on bone; even the spider immortal found it hard to endure.
Back and forth they traded several swift blows, stripping two entire layers off the earth and sweeping the surrounding area bare like a catastrophic hurricane, leaving nothing behind.
Together, the human form and the giant spider spelled out the word "extinction."
The two adversaries circled each other for a few paces, measuring up their opponent. Baizhantian spat a mouthful of bloody water onto the ground and adopted a different tone: "Come back with me now, and we will let bygones be bygones. From now on, you will be an honored guest of Lingxu City, with an inexhaustible supply of spiritual energy and origin power. What do you say?"
"Like Juju?" Zhu Erniang was an ancient demon after all; how could she be swayed by a few hollow words? "Or like the master of the turtle shell?"
How formidable was Juju, the natural guardian spirit of Mount Xu, yet hadn't Lingxu City and the Heavenly Palace tried every trick in the book to suppress and tame it?
After pulling a stunt like today's, Zhu Erniang had made herself an irreconcilable enemy of the Heavenly Palace, leaving virtually no room for compromise.
"As long as you hand over the intruder and bring back the divine artifact," Baizhantian tapped its chest lightly, "we can enfeoff you as the Marquis of Bishan. From Bishan to Blue Bay will be your domain. You and your descendants can flourish generation after generation, and no one will dare disturb you!"
It said softly, "When you left Beijia in fury all those years ago, wasn't it because the Lingxu Royal Court failed to accord you adequate respect and territory? We are old acquaintances; I can plead your case."
"Plead my case?" Zhu Erniang gave a dry chuckle. "Looks to me like you haven't been doing so well in the God Realm either, stooping to serve as Lingxu's hunting hound, barking at whomever they point at. You finally manage to descend to the mortal realm, and Lingxu City prepares only a battered mortal husk for you, unable to unleash even a tenth of your power. Heh heh, are you still the fiercely proud and unbridled Baizhantian of old?"
She had plenty of reasons for leaving Beijia, far more than just that one. But now was not the time to argue; she knew full well the nature of celestial gods.
Baizhantian said coldly, "Do you think you can still escape?"
It had remained in constant contact with the Heavenly Palace and knew that in half a cup of tea's time at most, at least dozens of great demons and two thousand troops would arrive on the scene!
By then, the giant spider wouldn't stand a chance of fleeing even if she sprouted wings.
Zhu Erniang countered, "Your eyes are just as blind as they were three thousand years ago!"
What did that mean? Baizhantian was puzzled.
"Dangling benefits in front of me all of a sudden—you're trying to stall for time, aren't you?" Having seen through it all along, the giant spider scratched her belly. "Truth is, so was I!"
With those words, her front left pincer fell right off.
For a giant spider standing over four zhang tall, that massive pincer weighed at least a thousand jin, slamming onto the ground with a tremendous thud.
This was a lethal combat weapon, yet Zhu Erniang seemed completely nonchalant. Like crabs, giant spiders could sever their own limbs at will and regenerate them later.
Baizhantian frowned, suddenly catching a rumbling din echoing from behind.
It was the sound of countless hard footpads trampling the earth. Had reinforcements arrived so quickly?
It stole a glance backward, only to be struck with shock.
What arrived was not the Lingxu reinforcements, but the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth that was supposed to have fled far away!
Naturally, it did not lack lackeys trailing behind it.
Worse yet, no one else was on this slope—only Baizhantian and the spider immortal locked in a standoff. Evidently, the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth was charging straight for them.
"They're here for you, so I won't meddle." Zhu Erniang lifted her right claw. "Until we meet again!"
How could Baizhantian allow her to escape? But just as it took a step, Zhu Erniang moved all eight—no, seven—legs, scuttling right past toward the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth.
The moment Baizhantian moved, the behemoth reacted in kind, and the herd of Donao beasts behind it shifted course in unison.
Hundreds of eyes glared fixedly at it, unblinking.
Baizhantian was startled, realizing that they truly were targeting it!
Moreover, more than four hundred large Donao beasts had gathered behind the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth. Stampeding forward with earth-shattering momentum, they surged with a ferocious fury that seemed ready to slay even gods in their path!
No matter how arrogant Baizhantian was, it had no desire to tangle with the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth right now.
This was, after all, only a mortal husk, not its true self in person.
Chapter 703