Chapter 74 Immortal Master?

The reason Chen Hongxu wanted to kick that cute, stinking bug was naturally not to flaunt any tyrannical authority as its master; he was simply not that kind of person.

The irritation stemmed from the fact that this was his very first attempt to take a tiny advantage of someone, only to find himself thoroughly conned—and by a mere bug, no less.

The instant the soul pact seal was cast, a sliver of Jiajia's soul came under Chen Hongxu's control, naturally granting him insight into the creature's thoughts.

This fellow had actually been playing the pig to eat the tiger all along. From Jiajia's memories, Chen Hongxu learned that it indeed underwent metamorphosis and indeed suffered from amnesia, but the moment it came into contact with its shell, it had clearly remembered everything and still dared to scheme against him.

Jiajia was a member of the royal family in the demon world. As for how it had been captured and imprisoned within the Demon-Sealing Pagoda, its memory bore no record. However, deep within Jiajia's soul lay a patch of blood-red substance. Upon probing it, Chen Hongxu discovered it to be a memory forcibly implanted into Jiajia by someone else.

Driven by curiosity, Chen Hongxu secretly cast a glance at it. The scene witnessed there was enough to shake even him, a man who had already glimpsed a sliver of the chaos in the City of Worlds. It was a battle of countless demon kings across the heavens, plunging the world into total darkness.

Glancing sideways at the pitiful-looking Jiajia, Chen Hongxu sighed. "Trying to steal the chicken only to lose the grain used as bait."

After all, judging by that implanted memory, Jiajia had undoubtedly been left behind as a seed of vengeance. Now that it had become his pet, the responsibility he carried was immense indeed.

Ignoring Jiajia's aggrieved gaze, Chen Hongxu walked up to a stone pillar and systematically struck it with rhythmic slaps of his hand. Moments later, the stone pillar shattered into irregular, fine gravel that scattered across the ground.

Yet Chen Hongxu, who had seemingly just stretched his limbs casually, was now panting lightly as he squatted on the ground, as exhausted as a tired dog after breaking just a single pillar.

Jiajia had long since trotted back, obediently circling around Chen Hongxu's feet.

After a long while, once Chen Hongxu had sufficiently rested, he rose and walked toward another stone pillar, repeating the process until every single pillar had been smashed to pieces.

By this time, all the gravel on the ground had assembled into a pattern resembling a ghostly face. This time, Chen Hongxu did not rest. Following the narrow path formed by the gravel, he walked to the very center of the ghostly face pattern. With a slight twitch of his brow, he leaned down, scooped up Jiajia, and pricked a tiny hole in the creature's body with the tip of his finger.

A drop of ink-green blood oozed from Jiajia's body, falling right onto the tip of the ghostly face's nose. Seeming to understand why Chen Hongxu was doing this, Jiajia let out a whimper but offered no resistance.

In the blink of an eye, the colors of heaven and earth shifted. A massive green gate materialized faintly within the void space nearby. Narrowing his eyes without a second word, Chen Hongxu scooped up Jiajia and plunged straight through the shadowy phantom of the gate.

There was no sensation of dizziness. Chen Hongxu stood near the threshold, gliding through the void like a spectator passing scenery from the window of an automatic conveyor belt. Occasional glimmers of light flickered in the void, as brilliant as stars.

Aimless space travel easily makes one lose track of time. Patting the somewhat bewildered Jiajia, Chen Hongxu murmured, "I know what you're thinking. The fourth floor is bound to be far more perilous than the fifth floor. Accumulating strength on the fourth floor would be the sensible choice, but I simply cannot afford to wait."

Jiajia let out an "Oof" sound. Though it held no particular resentment, it simply could not comprehend why Chen Hongxu refused to play it safe and steady.

Chen Hongxu said no more, closing his eyes to sense whether there was anything of note within this void. From Jiajia's awakened memories, he had learned the method to breach the fifth floor of the Demon-Sealing Pagoda and knew that each floor possessed a boss-tier guardian entity. Only by defeating these beings could one advance to the next level.

The fourth floor should bring him face-to-face with an ancient demon, he sighed inwardly. After all, not every floor's boss would undergo metamorphosis and lose its memory like Jiajia.

"Huh? What on earth is that?" Chen Hongxu, sensing the surrounding void, abruptly opened his eyes. He discovered that the star-like objects around him were capable of spontaneously generating spiritual energy, and this energy carried a remarkably dense sensation.

Just as Chen Hongxu felt a surge of astonished curiosity and wondered if he could harvest this substance, a blinding glare suddenly flashed before his eyes.

Squinting slightly, before he even had time to raise a hand to shield his eyes, the sensation of standing firmly on solid ground washed over him abruptly.

"Huh?" Chen Hongxu slowly turned his head to survey his surroundings. It was a world bathed in green, though this fourth floor did not seem as monotonous as the third. Grass, trees, and water exuded a vibrant aura of vitality—except that the water was green in color.

Who would dare drink that? In any case, Chen Hongxu certainly did not dare to, at least for the time being.

"You Qi clan members had better not push things too far! Otherwise, even if we of the Shangguan clan perish, we will make your Qi clan suffer heavy losses!"

"Suffer heavy losses? Heh heh heh. You Shangguan folks are far too short-sighted, and your intelligence network seems rather outdated as well. Did you not know that just last month, a female member of our Qi clan became a Saintess?"

"A Saintess?"

The voice trembled slightly... Chen Hongxu frowned. Relying on his exceptional hearing, he knew the commotion was taking place within a nearby forest, but why did the voices sound human?

Was the Demon-Sealing Pagoda not a place where demons were imprisoned?

Fraught with doubt, Chen Hongxu cradled Jiajia and walked toward the forest.

...

The trees within the forest possessed nothing particularly extraordinary about them. The only thing that piqued Chen Hongxu's curiosity was that although these trees varied in height and girth, they all apparently belonged to the very same species.

The gaps between the trees were remarkably wide; roughly a dozen trees casually chopped down would be enough to clear a hundred-meter-wide open space.

In just such an open clearing, upwards of thirty people clad in garments "woven" from leaves were glaring with bitter resentment at four individuals standing opposite them.

In the eyes of these locals, there was anger, fear, and even a sliver of awe.

Conversely, the four individuals facing them appeared completely at ease. Not only were their outfits crafted from genuine animal pelts, but their overall appearance left the "leaf-wearing" fellows trailing far behind by streets.

Among the four, three were elderly, while the fourth was a young girl resembling a doll. The girl's expression was icy cold. Judging by the barely perceptible curve of her chest and the youthful delicacy of her face, it was easy to tell she could not possibly be very old.

Presumably, these were the people who had been arguing just moments ago? How could they possibly be human?

These individuals possessed at most the strength of the fifth rank, which naturally posed no threat in Chen Hongxu's eyes. Moreover, the quickest way to find the path leading down to the third floor within the fourth-floor world was to locate a native born and raised right here.

Chen Hongxu made no effort to conceal his presence, stepping out openly and preemptively declaring with an overbearing air, "I ask, you answer. Do not test my patience."

Both the Shangguan clan members and the Qi clan members were utterly baffled. Then, upon catching sight of Chen Hongxu's attire and styling, terror gripped them so fiercely that they dropped to their knees and prostrated themselves on the ground. Only the cold-faced young girl remained standing undaunted, a reaction that left Chen Hongxu himself completely bewildered.

"I ask, you answer." Having no spare time to ponder these people's thoughts, Chen Hongxu demanded, "Who has lived here the longest?"

"Replying to the Immortal Master, it is this humble servant. This humble servant is already seventy-three years old," an elder dressed in animal skins answered tremblingly.

"Seventy-three?" Chen Hongxu frowned slightly. Seventy-three years of age was hardly enough to guarantee knowledge of what he wanted to find out. Nevertheless, he said in a deep voice, "Then have you noticed anything unusual about this world?"

"About the world?" The elder was momentarily stunned, a flicker of greed flashing swiftly across his eyes. He quickly lowered his head to prevent Chen Hongxu from catching his expression. "You mean the Immortal Mountain, my lord? Could you be unaware of it?"

"Immortal Mountain?" Chen Hongxu repeated.

Taking advantage of this moment, the elder who had answered Chen Hongxu's question suddenly turned his head and shouted, "Attack! This fellow is a fake Immortal Master! Shangguan clan, as long as you help my Qi clan capture this person, I swear by the name of our ancestors that my Qi clan will no longer make things difficult for you!"

With that, aside from the animal-skin-clad girl, the three elderly Qi clan members simultaneously burst into motion. Judging by their movements, their intent did not seem to be taking Chen Hongxu's life, but rather capturing him alive...