Chapter 236
Chapter 236
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: Grab the Toad, Squeeze Hard
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From Baili Mu's voice, the Saintess Ying heard what true demonic nature was.
Her master, Abbess Miaoyin, had once told her that demonic nature arose from selfish desires. Once desires took root and were not restrained, they would grow unchecked and transform into demonic nature.
Her understanding of demonic nature had always been vague. Before, she thought Chen Shi embodied it, because he had killed too ruthlessly, using the Demonic Wood Talisman to slaughter over a thousand cultivators from the Moving Mountain Sect and Hundred Refinement Hall in succession—truly evil beyond redemption.
But now, for the first time, she clearly sensed what demonic nature truly was.
Demonic nature truly stemmed from desires, breeding and thriving in the darkness, constantly growing stronger.
The Classic of Rites said: The gentleman is cautious when alone and does not deceive himself in a dark room.
Because when no one else can see, all sorts of wicked thoughts easily sprout. Those wicked thoughts would continuously demonize, evolving into demonic nature.
That was exactly what Baili Mu was doing.
In the depths of Great South Lake, in a desolate place untouched by humans, far from the capital Nandu.
A wounded woman lay bound, tied in an extremely provocative way, surrounded by wriggling tongues. This scene stirred something different in the dark corners of his heart.
Here, cries to heaven went unanswered, pleas to earth fell on deaf ears.
If he handled it cleanly, no one would ever know what had happened!
"Young Master's woman— if he can play with her, why can't I?"
Baili Mu's throat felt parched. He muttered lowly, "What am I? A lowly grave-digger, scum beneath even the ninth-rate. I'm just a tomb robber. A saintess from the Bodhi Dojo is only for the Young Master to toy with. Who do I think I am?"
He tugged at his clothes and stepped closer to Saintess Ying.
Saintess Ying's hair stood on end as she sensed the increasingly intense demonic nature. She cursed inwardly in despair, struggling desperately to break free from Chen Shi's bindings.
But Chen Shi had bound her securely and ingeniously, leaving her no way to exert force.
She strained to activate her Nascent Soul, trying to break through the Heavenly Gate, but the gate was blocked by her congealed blood, keeping the Nascent Soul at bay.
The harder she struggled, the more disheveled her clothes became. More and more snow-white skin was exposed—her shoulders, her waist, beneath her skirt—glimpses of spring beauty flashing enticingly.
Even in a place like Tongue-Pulling Hell, it was doubly alluring.
She heard Baili Mu swallowing hard, panic flooding her heart as muffled whimpers escaped her throat.
"Young Master is my lord. And who is Saintess Ying? My lady, his wife."
Excitement bled through Baili Mu's voice. Suddenly, he shouted, "Chen Shi, you're hiding in the shadows, aren't you? You deliberately left Saintess Ying like this, didn't you? Trying to mess with my mind, create an opening for your sneak attack—right? I'm not falling for it!"
Saintess Ying relaxed slightly, thinking: He still has some sanity. I misunderstood him. I thought his inner desires had turned to demonic nature. I must have sensed wrong.
Baili Mu laughed.
"But even if I do fall for it, what can you do? I'll just kill both you and Saintess Ying. Who will know what I've done?"
Pfft.
Before his words finished, an inexplicable force yanked his tongue from his mouth, sending it flying into the air amid a spray of blood.
Baili Mu froze.
The tongue hit the ground and became unusually lively, hopping and jumping away before blending into the mass of tongues on the floor!
Saintess Ying watched, a flicker of satisfaction in her heart.
"Wu wu!"
Baili Mu's mind reeled. Without thinking, his soul flew out, reaching to grab at the tongues!
Hundreds of tongues covered the ground, scurrying everywhere.
These were the tongues of those who had fallen into Tongue-Pulling Hell for lying and false words—far too many to count.
He couldn't tell which was his.
He seized one tongue, saw no blood on it, and tossed it away to grab the next.
"My tongue was just pulled out—it's fresh with blood, and still warm!"
He thought to himself.
Saintess Ying lay on the ground, her heart pounding wildly: Chen Shi was waiting for this exact moment! This demon is surely waiting for the instant Baili Mu's tongue is pulled—when his mind is unguarded. The perfect time to strike!
At that moment, hordes of toads hopped out from nowhere, croaking "gu gu."
"Gu gu,"
they called, their long tongues lashing out to coil around the scampering tongues on the ground.
They dragged them into their mouths.
The toads hunted like they were catching bugs—the fleeing tongues their feast.
Baili Mu was shocked and furious. He grabbed a toad and squeezed hard. The toad's mouth popped open involuntarily, revealing a wriggling tongue inside.
Baili Mu pulled it out for a look, then disappointedly tossed both tongue and toad aside. Not his.
He snatched another toad and squeezed, checking again.
Toads blanketed the ground, covering an acre or so, hopping everywhere.
Baili Mu had nowhere to step, forced to grab them one by one.
Saintess Ying grew anxious inwardly: Why hasn't he struck yet? Chen Shi should act now! With Baili Mu in total disarray, it's the best chance!
Baili Mu grabbed toads frantically, growing more deranged by the second. Suddenly, his soul flew over, seized Saintess Ying, hoisted her up, unbound her, and slammed her to the ground. He snarled viciously,
"Saintess, help me find my tongue, and I'll leave your purity intact!"
He was at the Divine Descent Realm, his soul now sixteen feet tall. Blessed by the true god, it was as solid as substance, with room to grow further.
But the moment he spoke, pfft—another agile tongue flew from his soul's mouth!
Even his soul's tongue had been pulled out!
Baili Mu was stunned with rage. His soul clamped its mouth shut, at a loss.
Saintess Ying felt both hatred and glee, thinking: He's lying! Even if I find his tongue, he'll still violate me!
This was Tongue-Pulling Hell, filled with unfathomable Dao rules. Even if the hell was broken and the Dao's workings weakened, pulling a mere Divine Descent Realm tongue was effortless.
Saintess Ying spat out the sock from her mouth, puzzled anew.
Did souls even have tongues?
She realized suddenly: Souls fused with soul and Nascent Soul naturally had tongues.
Tongue-Pulling Hell originally pulled the tongues of ghosts.
Baili Mu's soul tongue was gone too—he could no longer speak. The pain from his soul made his whole body tremble, far worse than fleshly pain, a hundred or thousand times more agonizing!
His soul shook uncontrollably, his body's muscles quivering like chaff!
"If I were Chen Shi, I'd strike right now!"
Cold sweat drenched Saintess Ying's palms. She avoided looking at Baili Mu, her heart racing as a voice screamed: This is the perfect moment!
Time dragged on, each second stretching endlessly. To Saintess Ying, even her heartbeat slowed to a crawl—her heart swelling slowly, contracting slowly, pumping blood through limbs and body.
She could almost hear her blood flowing, rushing to her brain amid whooshing sounds in her ears.
She was too tense.
Tenser than Chen Shi himself!
Opportunity fled in an instant. If Chen Shi missed it, he'd never kill Baili Mu!
If he mistimed, Baili Mu would kill him!
"What is Chen Shi doing?"
Saintess Ying's heart raced in panic.
By now, Baili Mu was calming down, no longer frantic—despair gripped her.
Chen Shi had missed the prime ambush window!
Baili Mu used his mana to suppress all the toads and tongues across seventy acres. Now he could leisurely search which toad held his tongue.
Saintess Ying helped search, but her heart grew colder.
Chen Shi's scheme was ingenious, but he'd botched the timing, squandered the chance. He must have fled to evade Baili Mu.
Once Baili Mu reattached his tongue—with his Divine Descent Realm body's vitality—it would be easy.
After recovery, he'd surely...
She dimmed inwardly.
Now, she hoped Chen Shi would charge in recklessly and kill Baili Mu!
Suddenly, she spotted bloodstains on a toad's mouth. Shocked, she lunged and grabbed it.
Baili Mu saw it too and snatched it away. He squeezed hard—the toad's mouth gaped, exposing a bloody tongue, clearly freshly pulled!
"Found it!"
Baili Mu exulted inwardly, seizing the tongue and yanking it out.
It wriggled in his hand as he shoved it toward his mouth.
Sudden change!
The tongue transformed into a man-high canopy, buzzing open. One hundred eight folds, twelve hundred talismans bloomed with light as twelve hundred Hua Xia gods bore down, the Luotian Grand Offering crushing onto him!
At the same instant, a black gleam shot from the canopy, stabbing lightning-fast into Baili Mu's mouth.
"Expand!"
Chen Shi's voice rang out. Pfft—the Judge's Dragon Whisker Brush exploded in Baili Mu's throat!
With that "expand," Baili Mu's throat bones shattered with cracks. His neck burst instantly from the thickening brush, which pierced from throat down through heart, lungs, organs, anus, swelling madly outward!
Pfft!
Baili Mu's body split apart. The brush ballooned to ten feet thick, over thirty feet long—a pillar propping heaven and earth. At its base, only his legs remained intact, stuck to it.
Atop the thirty-foot tip, his head impaled on the nib, eyes bulging, blood streaming from eyes, ears, mouth, nose!
Clang!
The Tathagata Treasure Seal tumbled from his corpse's sleeve, rolling to Saintess Ying's feet.
Saintess Ying stared blankly, still processing, when a watery sword light pierced Baili Mu's soul!
As it struck, thousands of toads leaped airborne, morphing into components of the Mysterious Mechanism Hundred Changes Furnace—thousands of mirror shards alone!
Their arrangement was ingeniously precise, forming the furnace's rough shape!
Saintess Ying's scalp crawled in disbelief.
Chen Shi had disassembled the Mysterious Mechanism Hundred Changes Furnace, now reassembling this insanely complex treasure!
He hadn't destroyed it but memorized every component's position with his prodigious memory!
The toads had seemed chaotic, but their positions matched the furnace's layout perfectly.
Now, Baili Mu's soul was inside!
Countless mirrors ignited, spinning rapidly around his soul. Each reflected the Dark Spring Soaring Dragon Sword's light—not into talisman soldiers, but streams of sword qi like coiling dragons, like dark springs!
Sword qi shot from all directions at the soul in the furnace!
This was the true killing blow!
Prepared by Chen Shi specifically for Baili Mu's soul!
The Mysterious Mechanism Hundred Changes Furnace contracted inward, components interlocking to form a colossal thing—forty or fifty feet tall, fifty or sixty feet wide!
Inside, sword light surged like tides, clanging wildly!
The Dark Spring Soaring Dragon Sword's power reached heights Chen Shi had never imagined.
Saintess Ying nearly clapped in awe.
Disguising the canopy as Baili Mu's tongue, striking when joy at finding it left his mind unguarded—Luotian Grand Offering to suppress him, Judge's Dragon Whisker Brush to burst his body.
But killing the body wasn't enough. His soul held power surpassing the flesh; before Chen Shi, it was invincible.
So Chen Shi dismantled the furnace, trapped the soul inside, amplified the sword's edge and sharpness with the furnace's mechanisms, eradicating the soul in one go!
A stroke of absolute genius.
As she thought this, Chen Shi charged. The canopy flew up, gods arrayed beneath in brilliant light, spinning down onto the furnace mouth!
At the same time, the youth leaped high. The Judge's Dragon Whisker Brush flew to him like a massive spear. Nib quivering, it traced dark spear flowers in the air, thrusting at the furnace!
Saintess Ying's eyes widened. The contracting furnace now expanded, cracking!
Baili Mu's soul power exceeded its limits!
Divine light from the soul grew denser, brighter. Amid a heaven-shaking boom, the Mysterious Mechanism Hundred Changes Furnace exploded!
Baili Mu's soul burst free from the shards!
His soul head bore a sword—the Dark Spring Soaring Dragon Sword impaled in his occiput.
His form was riddled with wounds, no patch of skin intact.
Tongueless, he couldn't scream, but writhed in agony.
Even suppressed by the Luotian Grand Offering, it hadn't hurt this much.
Defying the Offering's pressure and the charging brush, he rushed Chen Shi!
Despite the ambush, despite grievous wounds from sword and furnace, despite suppression and body death, despite lacerations—he still had power to kill Chen Shi in one blow!
His realm dwarfed Chen Shi's. Even with the underworld judge's death-noting brush, Chen Shi was helpless!
Chen Shi roared furiously, wielding the brush as a spear to thrust back—even if suicidal, he pressed on!
Saintess Ying's gaze fixed on Baili Mu's soul occiput, where Chen Shi's Dark Spring Soaring Dragon Sword protruded, hilt shaking as he charged.
As if possessed, she crouched, snatched the Tathagata Treasure Seal at her feet, and poured all her blood essence into it!
Whoosh—
Empowered by her Buddhist arts, the seal flew behind Baili Mu's soul head, slamming the hilt with immense force.
Pfft—the sword tip burst from his forehead!
Chen Shi's spear pierced the soul body, nib sharpening to skewer him through!
The spear shook hard—Baili Mu's soul shattered, three souls and seven poises scattering.
Chapter End.