Fu Ye walked inside. The people within moved mechanically, making way for him before kneeling one after another.
“Welcome, Holy Son.”
Fu Ye walked through the crowd toward the steps.
At the top of the steps, Xiaohua and Xiaoyu stood beside a luan-patterned arrow rack carved from huanghuali wood. On the arrow rack, a golden-feathered, jade-bodied arrow emitted a faint, glimmering light.
Zhuohua, which Xi Yu had searched for so long, was right before his eyes.
But Zhuohua… no longer responded to his summons.
There was not even a barrier blocking him. It simply did not respond to his summons.
Fu Ye slowly walked to the top of the steps, then knelt before Zhuohua, his expression devout.
“Please, God, bestow new divine power upon my people.”
Xi Yu crawled out from Fu Ye’s sleeve. He had just wanted to land on the arrow rack and touch Zhuohua when a wave of spiritual power sent him flying far away.
Fortunately, Xi Yu had been prepared. Otherwise, that one strike would have forced him to reveal his true form.
What the hell? You little piece of crap, you won’t even let me touch you now.
Xi Yu flapped his wings, preparing to fly back into Fu Ye’s sleeve, but after flying two meters, he suddenly stopped.
The Zhuohua arrow that had just sent him flying was now being lightly removed from the arrow rack by Xiaohua, whose expression was cold and solemn.
On the other side, Xiaoyu no longer looked playful and adorable as usual either. His face was cold. He closed his eyes and spread his arms.
Immediately afterward, the little amounts of spiritual power within the people kneeling on the ground were absorbed into Xiaoyu’s body one by one.
Meanwhile, Xiaohua manipulated Zhuohua, making it fly into midair. He formed a hand seal with his fingers and sent it straight toward Zhuohua.
The next second, Zhuohua erupted with intense spiritual power, pouring it into each person’s body.
The people whose spiritual power had been drained by Xiaoyu, leaving them numb, pale, and emaciated, immediately became rosy-cheeked and full of flesh and vitality.
Yet their eyes remained dull, staring blankly at some point without focus.
Xi Yu understood.
It was not Zhuohua absorbing their spiritual power at all.
That old dog’s companion must have run away in fright after witnessing only half of what was happening.
It was not that Zhuohua absorbed their spiritual power.
Rather, these people needed to rely on Zhuohua to remain in this world.
Zhuohua’s power was like a battery to these people, and on the fifteenth of every month, their batteries were replaced and recharged.
These people had died long ago.
Their clothes and appearance were from ancient times. At the very least, they had been dead for several hundred years.
And throughout all these hundreds of years, it had been Zhuohua sustaining them.
Xi Yu’s gaze fell upon Xiaohua, who was manipulating Zhuohua.
Chenyu was the sword of the ancient Demon Venerable. After the Demon Venerable died, it now wanted to betray its former master and collude with the demonic aura inside Lu Zhixing’s body.
And as for Zhuohua, its master had also died. It was not impossible for Zhuohua to choose a new master.
But this thought only passed through Xi Yu’s mind for a moment before he rejected it.
Xiaohua could manipulate Zhuohua, but he could not unleash all of Zhuohua’s power.
He could only use Zhuohua’s spiritual power to nourish these people.
Then what about Chenyu? Xi Yu wondered.
When he had first heard that the magical artifact in Wutong Stronghold absorbed people’s souls, he had always assumed that Chenyu was the one causing trouble. After all, Chenyu was also in Wutong Stronghold.
Chenyu had been able to send out a strand of its sword soul, which proved that the barrier had already weakened.
But just like with Zhuohua, he could not sense Chenyu’s aura.
He could not even see it.
Over the past two days, whenever he had tried to summon Zhuohua, he had also tried looking for Chenyu.
It was clearly in Wutong Stronghold, but just like with Zhuohua, he could sense neither Zhuohua nor Chenyu.
But Zhuohua’s location was easy to find.
Chenyu, with absolutely no clues, was the truly troublesome one.
Knowing nothing about its whereabouts made it feel even more like a time bomb.
Xi Yu landed on the wall and watched as the people kneeling on the ground stood up under Xiaohua’s control, then walked outside.
Xiaohua placed Zhuohua back onto the arrow rack. His young face had become somewhat pale, and Xiaoyu hurriedly supported him.
Xi Yu stared intently at Xiaohua’s weakened appearance.
Suddenly, something flashed rapidly through his mind.
But before he could grasp it—
Fu Ye stood up from the ground and looked toward the wall where Xi Yu was hiding.
“Mr. Xi Yu, are you coming out?”
………………………..
Xi Yu flew down from the stone wall. When he landed on the ground, he looked toward Fu Ye.
The stone door of the secret chamber was tightly shut.
Only Fu Ye, Xiaohua, and Xiaoyu remained.
At this moment, Xiaohua and Xiaoyu stood in front of Fu Ye in a completely protective stance.
“Big Brother, why won’t you listen to me?”
Xiaoyu pouted as though he were very troubled. But because he was simply too beautiful, even like this he looked like a sweet little dumpling.
He stomped his feet, looking puffed up with anger.
“I really like you. I don’t want you to die. But why won’t you listen!”
Xi Yu had never expected to be able to quietly take Zhuohua away.
Xiaohua and Xiaoyu could see him. If he used his invisibility technique, they would notice him, and they would naturally notice if he transformed as well.
But they had not stopped him.
Instead, they had simply allowed him to enter.
It seemed they were confident that they had nothing to fear from him discovering this place.
Or rather, they were confident that he could not take Zhuohua away.
Within Wutong Stronghold, the ones truly protecting the village were probably not this Holy Son, but these two children who looked only about five years old.
As for Fu Ye—
Xi Yu’s gaze fell upon his still-gentle face.
Fu Ye smiled at Xi Yu, but his hand landed on Xiaoyu’s head and rubbed it.
“Didn’t we agree that we wouldn’t kill people? We only need to lock this Big Brother up and let him stay here to play with you. How about that?”
“No!” Xiaoyu swatted Fu Ye’s hand away. “I want to kill him!”
Xiaohua frowned and looked at Xiaoyu disapprovingly.
“I’ll trap him. How many times have Fu Ye and I told you? You can’t kill people.”
The few of them were discussing the matter heatedly above him.
Xi Yu’s mouth twitched.
“Can you ask me what I think first?”
Fu Ye shook his head.
“Once you enter Wutong Stronghold, your opinion is no longer important. I know that Mr. Xi is not an ordinary person, but you cannot take away the sacred artifact our Wutong Stronghold relies upon for survival either.”
Xi Yu raised his brows slightly.
“With all due respect, even the three of you together are not my match.”
“I naturally know that.” Fu Ye smiled. “But what if I add a little bargaining chip? Would that be enough to make Mr. Xi surrender without resistance?”
The moment Fu Ye finished speaking, Lu Zhixing and Luo Cheng’an suddenly appeared beside him.
The two of them were bound and suspended against the wall.
“Brother!” Luo Cheng’an cried out, struggling desperately against the ropes.
Lu Zhixing’s face was pale. His gaze fell upon Xiaoyu.
Xiaoyu turned his head and gave him a brilliant smile.
Luo Cheng’an continued shouting, “Brother, don’t worry about me!”
Zhuohua was within arm’s reach.
Luo Cheng’an’s body trembled slightly—not from fear, but from excitement.
As long as Xi Yu obtained Zhuohua, Lu Zhixing’s time of death would arrive.
Lu Zhixing lowered his eyes, saying nothing. His face was pale, without the slightest trace of color.
Luo Cheng’an continued shouting. Xiaoyu was probably annoyed by his noise, because with a wave of his hand, he sealed Luo Cheng’an’s lips.
“You actually managed to break through my barrier.” Xi Yu looked at Fu Ye. “I underestimated you.”
“But I wouldn’t dare underestimate Mr. Xi.” Fu Ye pressed his lips together in a smile. “I don’t want to kill anyone. I only want to protect my people, so I have no choice but to keep you here in Wutong Stronghold. Mr. Xi can understand that, can’t you?”
“Your people died long ago.” Xi Yu’s voice turned cold. “Yet you forcibly keep them here, preventing them from reincarnating. Holy Son, do you really love your people?”
The moment Xi Yu finished speaking, a crack finally appeared in Fu Ye’s previously flawless expression.
His breathing became heavier, and he gritted his teeth.
“You’re talking nonsense! My people are alive right now!”
“Alive? So this is how you define these walking corpses?”
Xi Yu remembered what Sang Biao had said before: reproduction within the stronghold relied on Gu worms, and humans and demons could not marry.
Those corpses indeed could not be with the demon race. Otherwise, demonic power and spiritual power would repel each other, and they would easily be absorbed.
And reproduction was nothing more than puppets shaped from spiritual power.
Fu Ye had truly arranged everything in Wutong Stronghold down to the smallest detail.
Everything had been dressed up to look no different from that of normal people.
Fu Ye looked at Xi Yu. After adjusting his emotions, he rubbed Xiaoyu’s head and looked toward Xi Yu.
“They have emotions. They can speak. How are they not alive?”
“And now they no longer have to experience birth, aging, illness, and death. They can live more peacefully.”
Xi Yu coldly looked at the increasingly deranged Fu Ye.
“You’ve prevented them from entering the cycle of reincarnation, and you still have the nerve to speak so arrogantly.”
“Shut up!”
Fu Ye was enraged by Xi Yu’s words. He glared viciously at Xi Yu.
“They don’t need to enter reincarnation! As long as Zhuohua exists, they are alive! They are alive!”
Xi Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, deep in thought.
After a moment, he let out a quiet laugh, his gaze falling upon Xiaohua.
“So that’s how it is…”
Fu Ye watched Xi Yu’s suddenly relaxed expression, and the look of victory on his face wavered for a moment.
After a pause, he walked over to Lu Zhixing. He pulled out a dagger from behind and pressed it against Lu Zhixing’s neck.
Only after taking the hostage did the uneasy feeling in his chest ease somewhat.
Fu Ye looked at Xi Yu.
“Mr. Xi, you don’t want your younger brother and your lover to have their blood spilled before your eyes, do you? I won’t kill you. As long as you voluntarily seal your magical powers, you can stay here in Wutong Stronghold with him for a long, long time.”
Fu Ye looked coldly at Xi Yu.
No one could take Zhuohua away from him.
No one could interfere with him and his people.
A thousand years ago, a sudden plague swept through the entire stronghold.
They were skilled in Gu techniques, but they were not proficient in medicine, and the plague spread far too quickly.
He had watched helplessly as every one of his people died before his eyes.
Only he had been left with a single breath of life.
It was because his people had given all their medicine to him.
The Holy Son protected the village, but he was still only a mortal body.
He could not protect his own people.
He could only watch them fall one after another.
And all he could do was helplessly watch, begging Heaven for mercy, begging the gods to descend and save his people.
It was at that moment that Zhuohua appeared.