Chapter 7, Section 11: The Demon-Suppressing Pagoda

At first glance, Patriarch Xuankun was clearly a seasoned veteran of countless battles. Naturally, he would not utter nonsense about admiring his opponents, lowering his cultivation realm, or granting them three strikes.

The reason he did not make a move from the very beginning was certainly not out of any misplaced mercy or appreciation for talent. Instead, he harbored the intention of wiping out all hostile forces in one fell swoop. After all, he could not act on behalf of Kongtong on his own initiative, but if others provoked him first, the situation would be entirely different.

Chen Hongxu naturally did not bother to guess what was going on in Xuankun’s mind. Since a fight was inevitable, he no longer hesitated. Greeting the others with a shout, he lunged toward Xuankun with a swift burst of speed.

Neither of them used any arcane techniques; it was purely close-quarters combat with blows landing solidly on flesh. To an untrained eye, the two exchanged offensive and defensive maneuvers in a lively and dazzling display. However, those with a discerning eye, such as Xue Xi, noticed that after a round of hand-to-hand combat, Chen Hongxu had been reduced to a completely passive and defensive state.

Not only had Xuankun struck his chest twice with deceptive swiftness, but a low kick aimed at his groin—which Chen Hongxu had failed to dodge entirely—had also landed squarely on his thigh joint.

"Thud!"

With a muffled sound, Chen Hongxu raised his arms to block, only to be blasted away by a single palm strike from Xuankun.

"Puff!"

A stream of crimson blood speared from Chen Hongxu’s mouth. Flying backward, his body slammed directly into a boulder a hundred meters away, embedding itself deep within the rock.

With a panicked expression, Xue Xi rushed over to check on Chen Hongxu. Noticing that Chen Hongxu’s body was enveloped in a layer of white translucent membrane, she felt somewhat reassured.

Having his body repaired by the Weapon Embryo, Chen Hongxu struggled to his feet. On the surface, he looked completely fine, but in reality, his body had suffered quite severe trauma. Staring at Xuankun, who was now fighting fiercely against Liu Yixian, Gu Jiesong, and the others, Chen Hongxu said in a deep voice, "The moment this old man appeared, something felt bizarre about Mount Kongtong."

"It's a Domain," the Weapon Spirit explained within Chen Hongxu's mind. "A Domain is generally an ability that only a Human Sovereign-level powerhouse can possess. This old Taoist priest Xuankun is no ordinary figure. It is even possible that he once stepped foot into the Human Sovereign realm before being beaten back down; otherwise, there is no explaining why he possesses a Domain."

Horrified, Chen Hongxu stared at this terrifying opponent, then turned his head and glared at Elder Ge. "Hurry up! My people are not going to hold out much longer."

Elder Ge had no time to be distracted; he merely gave a heavy nod.

Just as Chen Hongxu was speaking, Liu Yixian and Gu Jiesong were successively knocked flying by Xuankun.

Chen Hongxu’s brows tightened. Disregarding the fact that his injuries had not yet fully healed, he hurriedly rushed back into the fray. This time, Xuankun’s force completely overwhelmed Chen Hongxu. With every direct clash, Chen Hongxu was forced to spit out mouthfuls of frothy blood.

The white membrane on Chen Hongxu’s body began to dim gradually. The repair energy of the Weapon Embryo was almost exhausted. After all, the Weapon Embryo was fundamentally fueled by lines of slaughter, and the slaughter threads Chen Hongxu had accumulated while traveling through minor worlds had all been expended on Liu Yixian and the others, leaving him with none to spare.

Having traded blows head-on with Xuankun three times, the blood Chen Hongxu spat out could practically be measured in basins. If not for having such a heaven-defying artifact like the Weapon Embryo inside his body, no matter how great his natural talent was, the two-realm gap would have left him utterly battered and torn apart by Xuankun.

"Bang!"

Knocked flying by Xuankun once again, Xuankun clearly had no intention of waiting for Chen Hongxu to recover this time. While Chen Hongxu was still airborne, Xuankun closed in aggressively, intending to finish him off before he hit the ground.

Xue Xi, Fan the Coward, and the others were terrified and prepared to step in to help.

"Boom..."

A deafening roar echoed through the air as a pagoda-shaped object slowly descended from the heavens. The body of the tower was shrouded in seven-colored light, looking exceptionally magnificent in the pitch-black night.

"The Demon-Subduing Pagoda? Your Kunlun truly possesses such an item! It seems you old Taoist had malicious intentions coming up to Kongtong this time." Xuankun stared at the pagoda suspended in the air, his expression a mix of shock and anger.

"Good eyes. They say there is an Immortal Weapon Ranking in that other world, and this Demon-Subduing Pagoda firmly holds a spot in the top three. It seems the legend that you once visited the Nine Provinces is true," Elder Ge smiled darkly.

"Top three?" Fan the Coward looked incredulous. One had to remember that the Weapon Spirit used by them earlier was merely the Piercing Immortal Spear, which ranked eighth on the Immortal Weapon Ranking. How could Kunlun, a sect merely content within a corner of a minor world, possess an immortal weapon ranked in the top three?

"You want to capture me? In your dreams!" Xuankun flew into a rage, swinging his backhand as an illusory figure darted out.

"The Vein of the Heavenly Dragon?" Elder Ge stared at the phantom and let out a cold snort. His hands continuously formed incantation gestures, and in an instant, the light of the Demon-Subduing Pagoda flared intensely, illuminating a radius of a hundred miles as if it were broad daylight.

"Capture!" Elder Ge’s eyes narrowed as he let out a sharp cry. The seven-colored pagoda shrank rapidly, eventually transforming into a miniature pagoda that flew back into his palm.

The ground looked as though it had been swept by a tornado, left in utter devastation. Aside from some broken branches and scattered leaves, the ground was entirely empty.

Xue Xi, Fan the Coward, and the others searched the surrounding area. Finding no trace of Chen Hongxu, they glared at Elder Ge and shouted, "Old Taoist priest, you had my man go up there to stall from the very beginning. You planned all along to capture my man as well, didn't you?"

A bitter expression crossed Elder Ge’s face. In truth, his initial plan had indeed been to capture Chen Hongxu and the others as well. After all, in his mind, stopping Xuankun would require more than just one person. Who could have foreseen that Chen Hongxu would be such a freak? Although he had been beaten to a miserable pulp, he had genuinely managed to hold Xuankun back.

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead—some caused by the recent exertion of spiritual energy, and others by the anxiety of dealing with the aftermath. After all, he certainly did not believe he could withstand monsters like Xue Xi and her companions.

"How could I possibly be that kind of person?" Elder Ge put away the pagoda, raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow, and explained, "Actually, this might just be an opportunity for Chen Hongxu. You must remember, one day here is equivalent to a year inside the Demon-Subduing Pagoda. Once he finishes his cultivation inside and emerges after ten days, he will be entirely capable of sweeping across the world."

"One day here, a year inside?" Xue Xi blinked her eyes, then flew into a fury. "Won't Xu Xu turn into an old uncle when he comes out? I'm going to kill you..."

"Ahem!" Seeing that Xue Xi was not joking, Elder Ge gave a dry cough and smiled bitterly, "The change in time dilation has nothing to do with aging. In actual terms, only ten days will have passed for him too."

"Then why not just let Chen Hongxu out directly? Why go through all this trouble?" Fan the Coward asked, puzzled.

"It's not that he doesn't want to, but that he lacks the strength to do so." An illusory figure materialized—surprisingly, it was the Weapon Spirit.

"Sister Weapon Spirit!" Xue Xi greeted her sweetly.

The Weapon Spirit nodded and said, "This is indeed an opportunity for Chen Hongxu. After all, that matter cannot be delayed any longer. Furthermore, the Lotus Slave is here; although she cannot communicate directly with Chen Hongxu, she can still sense his location within the same realm.

Once your cultivation reaches great completion, even if Chen Hongxu hasn't emerged by then, you can all enter together to find him. As for that fellow Xuankun, there is no need to worry about him for now. The Demon-Subduing Pagoda transmits people based on strength. When Chen Hongxu fights his way to Xuankun's level, his fate will be anyone's guess."

"Oh!" Xue Xi nodded with a half-understanding expression, then ran over to virtuous old man Yan and said, "Sense Chen Hongxu's location."

Faced with such an unreasonable demand, virtuous old man Yan naturally dared not harbor the slightest bit of grievance. After all, this woman was the master's wife—didn't everyone see how she constantly pulled on the master's ears?

Closing his eyes to sense the connection, virtuous old man Yan opened them with a bitter expression and said, "He has turned on Do Not Disturb mode."

"Damn!" Sweat poured from the group's foreheads.

"Kongtong is already ruined. Where should we go next?" Fan the Coward kept winking at Xue Xi.

"Huh?" Xue Xi feigned deep thought. After a moment, she said uncertainly, "Since Xu Xu doesn't know when he'll come out, I'm afraid I won't have the patience to wait. Why don't we go stay in Kunlun for a while? We can wait for Chen Hongxu there, and at the same time, exchange cultivation insights with Kunlun's elites."

The corners of Elder Ge’s eyes twitched violently. Refusing was certainly something he dared not do.

Consequently, the group no longer lingered at Kongtong, taking flight instead toward Kunlun.

As for the ordinary people on the ground, they looked at one another in dismay while simultaneously rushing up the mountain to plunder the cultivation manuals of Kongtong. Naturally, those blinded by greed would meet only death; even if Kongtong had lost a few supreme cultivation experts, it was still not something ordinary mortals could presume to covet.