The Golden Finger's Backlash, A Face Like Ashen Death
The Golden Finger’s Backlash, A Face Like Ashen Death
The figure clad in Dark Iron Battle Armor stood there like an iron tower, his gaze cold and merciless, radiating a soul-stirring pressure.
He raised his palm and suppressed the woman in the green dress. Sky-piercing baleful qi condensed into chains that bound her hands and feet, rendering her unable to move.
“Protect the daren!”
Outside the room, a large number of figures came charging over with roars, blades and swords in hand, killing intent surging.
But before they could even get close, they were crushed into mists of blood by the overwhelming pressure, body and soul annihilated.
The enormous gap in cultivation realms was simply not something numbers could make up for.
Ah Da merely stood there, without making a single move, and the permeating pressure alone was enough to shatter everything.
“It’s over. Someone must be making a move against Nether, and you’ve been used as a pawn.”
The Mysterious Stone Fragment glowed with a soft luster. The middle-aged man witnessed all of this and spoke in a heavy voice, an ominous premonition rising in his heart.
Back in his day, he had been the lord of one of Nether’s palaces.
He had experienced no shortage of events, and at a glance he saw through the cause and effect of this whole affair.
At the end of the day, it was because Lu Ming had been trying to track down Nether’s contact these past few days, drawing the attention of those with ulterior motives lurking in the shadows.
This left him somewhat vexed. In the end, he was merely a Remnant Soul.
If he had been at his peak, how could he have failed to sense the prying eyes in the dark?
“Then what do we do now? Do we surrender, or find a way to escape?”
Lu Ming was deeply unsettled as well, and asked the middle-aged man.
However, sensing an even more terrifying aura descending upon the pleasure boat from outside, the middle-aged man had no time to answer him. He hastily concealed his own aura and hid away.
Since Lu Ming had long been marked, if he wasn’t careful, he too might be dragged out by the other party.
Lu Ming called out several more times, but the middle-aged man never answered.
His heart gradually sank.
Today, he was likely doomed.
The other Cultivators and beings aboard the pleasure boat, trembling with terror, prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to move either.
They could only watch as several figures walked in from beyond the pleasure boat.
The one at the front was dressed in white, his figure tall and straight, his eyes deep and profound, his countenance handsome and refined.
He was like a young banished immortal, otherworldly and transcendent, with radiance flowing all over his body.
Many of the Cultivators recognized him, and their faces filled with even greater dread.
During this period, the entire Battlefield of Hundred Worlds had been thrown into boundless turmoil by Gu Changge’s arrival.
None of them had imagined that he would appear here tonight, and looking like he had come with ill intent at that.
Behind Gu Changge followed quite a number of people.
There were upper echelons of the Alliance of Thousand Merchants, as well as Xue Yan, the young woman from the Blue Flood Ancient World, all with solemn expressions.
The reason Xue Yan had come along was actually because she was worried about Lu Ming and wanted to persuade him not to oppose Gu Changge.
Although Gu Changge had previously promised that he would not harm Lu Ming, Xue Yan still felt somewhat uneasy in her heart.
The reason Lu Ming’s whereabouts had been exposed tonight...
...was largely because she had truthfully reported Lu Ming’s recent movements to him.
“Gongzi, how should these people be dealt with?”
Qing’er’s gaze slowly swept over everyone aboard the pleasure boat, her expression cold as she respectfully asked Gu Changge.
Among these people, no one could be certain whether or not there were Nether operatives.
“Take them all into custody. Seal their Knowledge Seas and cultivation.”
Gu Changge said casually, not particularly concerned about these people.
His attention was actually still on the big fish aboard the pleasure boat.
Soon, swathes of soldiers clad in black battle armor surged in from around the pleasure boat.
Everyone here, regardless of age or gender, was taken into custody.
Because of the Void Forbidden Technique, this place had become a domain of its own.
Only the Cultivators and beings who had stepped into this place could know what had happened here.
Moreover, the Cultivators and beings inside were unable to send any word out.
“Master, everyone inside has been captured. How should they be dealt with now?”
All the Cultivators aboard the pleasure boat were silent as cicadas in winter as they watched Ah Da, clad in his Dark Iron Battle Armor, walk out.
In his hand, he was still gripping the woman in the green dress, whose face was ashen as death.
Lu Ming and the others followed behind with their hands hanging at their sides, not daring to make any move.
“So this is Nether’s contact?”
“Take her back first.”
Gu Changge glanced at the woman in the green dress, but did not interrogate her in front of everyone.
“Gu Changge...”
Looking at the white-clad man before her, the woman in the green dress’s face was utterly pale, her voice trembling, only final despair remaining in her heart.
Had it been anyone else, she would have felt there was still some chance of turning tonight’s events around.
But the person before her was actually Gu Changge. Even if her shifu, Meng Po, were here, she could only obediently surrender.
“Why is it him? Why is Xue Yan-shimei here too?”
At this moment, Lu Ming naturally recognized Gu Changge as well, and his eyes couldn’t help but widen.
Especially when he saw Xue Yan-shimei standing behind Gu Changge.
In an instant, he connected many things, the blood draining from his face as it all suddenly became clear.
“Impossible. How could Xue Yan-shimei do this...”
Lu Ming’s eyes reddened somewhat, webbed with blood vessels, his fists clenched tight. He wanted very much to rush forward and demand an answer in person.
In his impression, Xue Yan-shimei was sensible and clever, mature and steady. How could she have schemed against him in the dark? How could she have reported his every movement to Gu Changge?
However, before Lu Ming could step forward to confront her...
Seeing him, the young woman Xue Yan let out a soft sigh and walked straight toward him, her words carrying some guilt. “Lu Ming-shixiong, I’m sorry. I had my difficulties. I’ll explain everything to you in a moment.”
“But you absolutely must not oppose Gu-gongzi. Otherwise, no one will be able to protect you.”
Her words were very sincere, carrying deep remorse.
After all, if she hadn’t leaked Lu Ming’s recent whereabouts, he wouldn’t have fallen to such a state.
“Why?”
“Why did you do this? Why did you scheme against me like this?”
But right now, Lu Ming no longer had the reason to listen to these words of hers.
His gaze was full of disappointment and pain, endless fury surging up in his heart.
“I’m sorry, but I truly had no choice.”
Xue Yan’s gaze dimmed somewhat, and she felt genuinely guilty in her heart.
Although Lu Ming had kept many things from her, he had never hurt her.
And this action of hers might very well push Lu Ming into an abyss of no return.
“I understand now. Gu Changge must have threatened you into doing this, right?”
“That night, when he summoned you over, it was for this matter too?”
Lu Ming was no ordinary person after all, and he quickly pieced together the whole sequence of events.
His furious gaze fell upon Xue Yan’s face, filled with disappointment.
Hearing this, Xue Yan was momentarily at a loss for words and fell silent, not knowing how to explain.
“There’s a hidden soul fluctuation on him.”
Ah Da looked at Lu Ming and spoke in a somewhat muffled, booming voice.
“I know.”
Gu Changge smiled, not interrupting the conversation between Lu Ming and Xue Yan, watching from the side with great interest.
The first time he saw Lu Ming, he had understood that this Fortuitous One had encountered quite a few fortuitous encounters, and was bound to have something like a Golden Finger on him.
Now it seemed that this Golden Finger of his likely had considerable ties to Nether.
Perhaps it housed the Remnant Soul of some figure.
“Xue Yan-guniang, as agreed, since you’ve helped me with this favor, I naturally won’t take this shixiong of yours’ life.”
“I want to find someone through him, and that person is on him right now.”
Gu Changge smiled faintly, and as he spoke, he walked slowly toward Lu Ming.
Naturally, he was just saying this casually, with no intention whatsoever of having obtained Xue Yan’s consent.
Whether it was Lu Ming or Xue Yan, in his eyes they were all the same.
“Lu Ming-shixiong, you heard it too. Gu-gongzi said he won’t take your life.”
“He only wants to find someone.”
Seeing this, Xue Yan also spoke earnestly, hoping Lu Ming wouldn’t fail to appreciate the situation and thereby lose his life.
Lu Ming stared fixedly at Gu Changge, a struggle showing on his face.
He knew that what Gu Changge cared about was not him, but that Mysterious Stone Fragment of his.
Or rather, to be precise, it was likely the middle-aged man within the Mysterious Stone Fragment.
Otherwise, how could an ant-like, insignificant nobody like him be worth Gu Changge’s attention?
After a moment, countless struggles flashing across his face, Lu Ming finally spoke with difficulty.
At this point, he knew he had no other choice but to hand over the Mysterious Stone Fragment.
However, just as his words fell and he made his choice...
The Mysterious Stone Fragment hidden beneath his sleeve suddenly burst forth with gleaming radiance.
Dazzling lightning interwove, as if it had been set ablaze, incomparably scorching.
“Damned brat, you actually sold me out.”
The middle-aged man’s expression was incomparably grim. Unwilling to sit and wait for death, he could only resort to his final measure, intending to fuse his soul body with the Mysterious Stone Fragment.
At this moment, Lu Ming also screamed miserably. A horrifying, burning pain radiated out from the center of his palm.
Even if he wanted to throw the Mysterious Stone Fragment away, he couldn’t.
This object that had aided him all along, the very thing he had relied upon to walk step by step to the top of his peers in the Blue Flood Ancient World, seemed to burn straight through his palm in an instant, fusing and growing into it.
Crimson-red flames spread out from Lu Ming’s palm all at once, instantly engulfing his entire body.
He rolled on the ground, screaming and wailing incessantly, trying to lessen the pain.
But the Mysterious Stone Fragment contained a special power that ceaselessly devoured his flesh and soul, seeking to use his flesh and blood as a catalyst to break free and escape this place.
“Lu Ming-shixiong!”
Xue Yan was also stunned by this sudden turn of events and couldn’t help crying out, wanting to act to save Lu Ming.
However, Gu Changge moved faster than her. His sleeve shook lightly, and a stream of pure qi swept down like sweet rain after a long drought, directly extinguishing the crimson flames on Lu Ming’s body.
But Lu Ming had already been burned beyond recognition, his breath faint as a thread, long since passed out.
“Rather clever, trying to escape through this method...”
“Come to think of it, doesn’t this count as the Golden Finger’s backlash?”
Gu Changge’s gaze fell upon the horrifying hole burned into Lu Ming’s palm, and he chuckled softly.
He naturally would not allow the Remnant Soul within to escape.
Force of Law, vast as clouds and mist, emerged, and immediately an indescribable aura surged through this space.
Everything slowed down. Whether it was the thoughts or the gazes of the crowd, all seemed to enter a state of stillness.
Then time flowed backward. Fine motes of light, visible to the naked eye, emerged from the surrounding void.
Those were the shattered fragments of the Mysterious Stone, fused with the shards of the middle-aged man’s Remnant Soul. But under the control of Gu Changge’s will, they all began to exhibit a reversing, rewinding state.
Countless fine points of light slowly gathered, converging toward Gu Changge’s palm, and soon became a stone fragment the size of a palm.
Time reversal—returning everything to its original beginning.
The many upper echelons of the Alliance of Thousand Merchants following behind Gu Changge all stared with wide eyes in astonishment.
Filled with disbelief.
As if they had witnessed a miracle.
Such an unfathomably profound technique—even a True Daoist could never hope to accomplish it.
They absolutely could not reverse time and restore everything to how it was.
After all, the law of time was one of the most mysterious and unpredictable supreme laws in this world.
Of course, Gu Changge also knew that he had only just begun to grasp this law.
He could only manage a brief reversal of time.
The true power of time was far more vast and mysterious than anyone could imagine.
“You... who exactly are you?”
The middle-aged man’s Remnant Soul emerged upon the stone fragment, filled with shock and terror.
He had never imagined that even after fusing his Remnant Soul into the stone fragment...
...to a Cultivator, that was equivalent to the annihilation of body and soul.
Yet in Gu Changge’s hands, his Remnant Soul had been reconstituted. Such a method was no different from resurrection from the dead.
Touching the threshold of the Celestial Realm...
And he was still a young man.
At this moment, the middle-aged man thought of the only possibility, and monstrous waves of shock surged through his heart, his horror reaching its peak.
“A Remnant Soul at the True Daoist level.”
Gu Changge gazed at the middle-aged man emerging upon the stone fragment, somewhat enlightened.
So this was what Lu Ming had relied upon to contact Nether.
However, he did not interrogate the middle-aged man about various matters in front of everyone. Instead, with a wave of his large hand, he directly stowed him into his Storage Space.
Gu Changge was not worried about failing to extract answers.
With True Daoist strength, the man had been the lord of a palace within Nether.
Even if there were Forbidden Techniques sealing his divine sense, preventing him from revealing many things...
For Gu Changge, finding Nether’s location was already a trivial matter.
Soon, all the Cultivators and beings aboard this divine boat and within a hundred li radius were taken away.
This place sank into a strange dimensional void.
Unless a True Daoist came to investigate in person, no one would know what had happened here.
After all, what Gu Changge wanted was to catch them off guard. To avoid alerting the enemy, he naturally had to arrange everything here properly.
As long as the realm where Nether hid itself emerged, everything else would be easy to handle.
What happened tonight only spread within a small circle of the Alliance of Thousand Merchants’ upper echelons.
Because Gu Changge had given the order to keep the matter strictly sealed.
Of course, there was no doubt that the Alliance of Thousand Merchants had Nether’s spies within it.
So, after returning to his previous residence, Gu Changge dismissed everyone.
“Spare my life, and I will tell you everything I know.”
The middle-aged man’s Remnant Soul was released by him.
He took a deep breath, gazed at Gu Changge before him, and guaranteed in a heavy voice.
Having lingered on in survival for sixty million years, one could see how intense his will to live was. Naturally, he did not want to die at this moment.
“What I want to know, I don’t need you to tell me.”
However, Gu Changge had no intention of saying more to him, his expression calm and indifferent.
Between his fingers and palm, dense black light spread out. Grand Runes appeared one after another, transforming into a Grand Flask that bore down fiercely upon the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man had originally wanted to negotiate terms with Gu Changge, never imagining that Gu Changge simply wouldn’t give him the chance.
Moreover, as the former lord of a palace, his knowledge was vast beyond measure.
He recognized this Grand Flask at first glance, and his face was instantly filled with terror.
Soon, the screams within the palace came to an abrupt halt.
The palace lord of sixty million years ago...
Gu Changge closed his eyes, quietly perusing the middle-aged man’s many memories. Even though deep within the man’s soul there were Restrictions left behind to prevent the leakage of Nether’s many secrets...
...before the devouring power of the Grand Flask, those many Restrictions crumbled and collapsed like melting snow, utterly useless.
The middle-aged man’s many memories now lay before him like the pages of a book, to be perused at will.