Returning from the Immortal World - Chapter 703

Chapter 703: The Might of Immortal Magic Arts

The tautness in Han Jintong's heart stretched out as he apologetically said, "Please tell me, Mr. Tang."

"If I understood it well, you and this vampire called Shanjenna are being hunted by these divergent races. Why is that?" Asked Tang Xiu.

"Shanjenna used to be my student, a very kind hearted soul, not crafty nor evil," said Han Jintong. "I did not know that she was a Bloodkin then, I only thought that she was a genius in martial arts. Only until she got hunted down and ran to China yesterday did I finally learn her true identity."

"Then, you're still adamant on saving her despite knowing she's one of the Bloodkin?" Continued Tang Xiu with a pensive look.

"As long as she's not wicked, I will still save regardless of who she is," said Han Jintong seriously. "Of course, what is most important is that she was once my student."

Appreciation flashed in Tang Xiu's eyes. He had seen myriads of alien races when he was in the Immortal World, hence there was no distinction of races in his eyes, only good or evil. But for Han Jintong, as a very weak cultivator, to have this kind of understanding was admirable.

"So, tell me why she's being hunted down."

Han Jintong was about to reply, but was interrupted by Grove Bear's rough voice.

At this time, a flame of anger suffused in Grove Bear's eyes, along with burning killing intent when he glared at Tang Xiu. Little did he think that he would be ignored outright, even his question was utterly dismissed. He was an assassination agent, one of whom had a strength feared by countless people. Even his position in the Stygian Club was also honored.

"Damn Orientals. I got words for you. DO NOT meddle in others' business, else you'll die!"

Finally, Tang Xiu slowly turned his head toward him, and then indifferently said, "There are only two kinds of fate for the people who threaten me. The first one is to beg for mercy, and the other is death. Which one do you want to choose?"

"Do you really want to stand up for them?" Roared Grove Bear furiously.

"Yup. I will stand for them." Tang Xiu coldly smiled. "What can you do to me?"

"ATTACK! KILL THEM!" Roared Grove Bear in a heavy tone.

The two Wingmen flapped their wings, pulled out their Darkfiend Artefacts and streaked toward Tang Xiu, while the vampire and the Beastmen stormed over toward Jin Shi and the others. After so many battles, cutting men down was like cutting hemp for them, resulting in vicious killing auras after countless killings.

"KILL!"

A cold voice spat out from Tang Xiu's mouth as Jin Shi and the other nine men instantly moved. The strongest among them was at the Foundation Establishment Stage, but they were also seasoned powerhouses who had gone through various battles. More so that they were also armed with spirit weapons, their flying swords, and were able to suppress the five Silver Badge assassination agents in just a few breaths.

Mo Awu soared to the air, wielding a dagger backhandedly, and stormed over Grove Bear. He also released the flying sword to hover around him and posed a huge, looming threat to Grove Bear.

Tang Xiu did not move, but lowered his head to look at Han Jintong and said, "You haven't told me the reason yet."

Han Jintong retracted his eyes from the fierce combat scene and started explained everything from the beginning to the end of what Shanjenna had told him. In the end, there was anger and hatred in his tone and expression as he concluded, "I'm not a superman who can save the world, neither am I a God who safeguard the world peace, but I loathe and abhor their inhuman actions. Let alone that this concerns the safety of my own student, so I must stand up."

A murderous light flashed in Tang Xiu's eyes. He suddenly turned around and shouted, "Awu, get back."

Upon hearing Tang Xiu's command, Mo Awu, who was in a mortal combat against Grove Bear, controlled his flying swords to hack Grove Bear and returned back to the front of Tang Xiu in just two breaths.

At this time, his arm was wounded and bleeding, but Grove Bear's abdomen and back were bleeding from horribly torn open wounds.

Tang Xiu stared at Grove Bear and asked in a deep voice, "Are you really affiliated with the Stygian Club?"

Dread and fear had birthed in Grove Bear's heart after fighting against Mo Awu. But when he heard Tang Xiu's question, his momentum immediately climbed up, and then he shouted, "You already know that we are from the Stygian Club, yet you even dare to provoke us? Are you not afraid of retaliation from our Stygian Club?"

Tang Xiu did not answer with his mouth, but took out the black spear in an instant and his body personally shot forward. His speed was several times faster than Mo Awu's as he appeared before Grove Bear in almost an instant. For Tang Xiu who lived in the Immortal World for 10,000 years, having command of 18 types of weapons was something not worth noting, as he could even use 18,000 weapons at once with ease.

Grove Bear could only see a black spear that was as though a black dragon that hovered around his body, undulating under Tang Xiu's mind control as it blasted through his chest and instantly destroyed his heart.

"Terra Celestial Bastille!"

In the wake of the spear's afterimages that shrouded Grove Bear, Tang Xiu took out more than a dozen pieces of jades at the same time. His fingers then frantically outlined an array pattern and controlled each piece of jade to fill each node of the array. In a flash a moment later, he released his Primal Chaos Force to arrange and activate the array, causing Grove Bear to be confined inside the "Terra Celestial Bastille".

"All of you, draw back!"

Tang Xiu no longer paid attention to the heavily mauled Grove Bear. His figure dashed like lightning and swept away his spear to directly smash the wings of the two Wingmen, as he then shot the spear toward the lone vampire. The other two Beastmen vomited blood repeatedly a few seconds after getting struck with his strike blast, as Tang Xiu eventually kicked them into the Terra Celestial Bastille.

"What a strength!"

A shocked expression appeared on Han Jintong's face as he looked at Tang Xiu. He already knew that Tang Xiu had a very formidable strength, yet never did he expect that Tang Xiu was terrifying to this degree. One must know that he was also a cultivator, and despite being at the Qi Refining Stage, 100 martial arts grandmasters were not his match at all. But still, he was not able to defeat a single Silver Badge assassin, let alone Grove Bear who was a Golden Badge assassin.

However, such a frightening powerhouse like Grove Bear could not withstand even a single blow from Tang Xiu. How strong was he?

Next to him, Shanjenna dumbfoundedly watched the invincible might displayed by Tang Xiu. It was like she was seeing Steve Cain, the strongest powerhouse of the Bloodkin. In her mind, only the Prince-rank, Lord Steve Cain, could be compared to Tang Xiu.

At the same time the shock struck her, however, ecstasy also filled her heart since the stronger Tang Xiu was, the safer she and the professor would be. Because, at this time, she had already seen that this terrifying lord in front of her was an acquaintance of the professor.

"Be praise to the Great Fisher of Souls! Thank you for sending us our savior." Shanjenna piously made a gesture of the highest etiquette of the Bloodkin.

Tang Xiu dragged the two Wingmen and threw them into the Terra Celestial Bastille like garbage. He did not have the slightest pity toward these ruthless butchers.

Grove Bear covered his chest as desperation filled his eyes. He had imagined Tang Xiu's strength, a very young normal human who could not possibly have such a terrifying strength at such a young age, the reason why he dared to move.

And yet, his estimation on Tang Xiu's strength was gravely mistaken and finally ended up this miserable. Else, as assassin, he would have dragged his five men to flee and escape.

Tang Xiu treaded on the air as he looked at Han Jintong and asked, "How are you going to deal with them if I hand them over to you?"

Abhorrence filled Han Jintong's eyes as he decisively said, "I'll kill them, for it means that countless people will be saved from them."

Tang Xiu nodded in response. With a wave of his hand, a flame was directly produced, and in almost an instant, the flame surrounded the area around the Terra Celestial Bastille, roasting the six assassination agents inside.

"YOU DAMN BASTARD! JUST GIVE US AN EASY DEATH!"

Grove Bear could only endure for a few minutes. Getting burned by such intense heat finally made him roar furiously.

Still, Tang Xiu ignored him, and instead turned to look at Han Jintong and said, "Killing them is too easy for them, I think. It's better to make them taste endless pain and torture. We can still kill them when their spirits have collapsed."

After saying that, he gently waved his hand as the burning flame instantly disappeared without a trace, was replaced by a biting cold current. Countless silvery ice needles constantly pierced into the Terra Celestial Bastille. Intense heat and chilling frost took turns to unceasingly make Grove Bear and the other severely wounded five Silver Badge assassins taste pain that nearly drove them insane. But as atrocious and vicious as they were, they could still endure it.

Han Jintong gaped upon seeing the scene in front of his eyes. He felt like his whole being was inside a dream, for this kind of scene could only be seen in Xianxia movies, and yet, it now appeared in front of him. Seeing this scene made his spirit surge up and his heartbeat to rapidly soar.

It was shocking! A shock that could never be replicated!

Once in the past, he imagined that he could display all sorts of magical arts the likes of abilities the Gods could perform, and would one day become a very formidable cultivator. He also felt that he was formidable enough after he reached the Peak Qi Refining Stage, and thought that nobody under the heaven could be stronger than him.

But after knowing Tang Xiu and having been hunted down in the last two days, he finally realized that he was like a frog looking at the sky in the bottom of a well. His vision was too shallow and small, while Tang Xiu was like the true celestial being!

"If… if I can learn magical arts and become stronger, then…" A strong desire ignited inside his chest.

After a long period of time, Tang Xiu looked at pained six assassins, and a smile finally appeared on his handsome face, as he said, "Alright. I'll give you a chance to live, but you must tell me something. I'll let you go if you beg for mercy. So, how about it? Do you want it?"

Chapter 704: Giving a Promise and Denying it in Succession

Grove Bear was not dead yet. Though his heart had been blasted he was still strong, since the Life Crystal Core in him was still intact. The dark energy inside it, however, was consumed at a very fast rate, and once its dark energy was completely gone, only death would await him at that time.

Amidst despair and desperation, regret birthed inside him.

Originally, he used his connections to mediate and ask an important figure in the Stygian Club to get the mission to hunt down Shanjenna. Certainly, the rewards he would get after accomplishing the mission were very handsome. But now, he had to wait for death to fetch him up, a feeling that seized him with regret.

Before coming to China, he had heard from that important figure in the Stygian Club that this distant mysterious oriental country had some people with terrifying strength residing there. And yet, he disapproved and did not take it seriously. Only now did he realize that everything said by that bigshot turned out to be true.

"What do you want to know?" Now, Grove Bear's tone was no longer a roar but a weak inquire.

"Your status in the Stygian Club should be quite high given your strength," said Tang Xiu slowly. "I want you to tell me intelligence information on the Stygian Club. I can spare your life if your information is consistent with the investigation obtained by the people I sent. If it is not, you can be sure that I'll immediately treat you and then imprison you with some special means, then you can expect yourself to enjoy suffering and torment for days and nights that will make you want to die, hardly keeping your life and yet you can't ask any of them."

"I'll tell you! Please spare me, Lord!"

The first one to beg for mercy was not Grove Bear, but the Wolfkin Beastman. At this time, he looked very wretched, the pain he felt from the torture had siphoned away his already weak willpower and finally breached his limit.

Grove Bear's swept at him with a contemptuous look, though he immediately concealed it, and said, "I give you my word."

Tang Xiu clapped and smilingly said, "Good. One who knows his situation is a wise man. You opted to treasure this opportunity, so some people will tell me whether what you will tell me is true or not."

With that said, Tang Xiu's feet landed on the lakeside, and he immediately took out the jade pieces to arrange a big Feng Shui array. After having laid out six containment arrays with a soundproof array, he immediately removed the Terra Celestial Bastille array and threw the six assassination agents inside the containment arrays separately.

"I've detained and contained you inside. It's impossible for you to escape from it. Furthermore, I have laid out a soundproof array as well, so no one outside can hear anything you say inside. I will ask you the exact same information I sent my men to investigate on. You can be sure that your death will be very horrible if the answer you give me is different. But if you tell me some secrets my men did not discover, not only will I not kill you, I'll also give you some benefits, and you can definitely leave the Stygian Club after you obtain them." Tang Xiu stood in the middle of the six arrays and said with a smile.

Grover Bear did not trust Tang Xiu a bit. He tried to call the name of his comrades in the other arrays, but no one replied to him. Since things had gotten to this point, he had to remember and think clearly, for he would be found lying if he carelessly made up information.

On top of Mt. Lao.

Ji Mu lied amidst the rocks, holding binoculars to observe the valley a few kilometers below. He dared to swear that he had never thought that such an situation, whether fortunate or not, could happen in his lifetime where he saw that really were existences like celestial beings and monsters like in the legends in this world.

The most unbelievable thing for him was that he unexpectedly saw some someone he knew, an acquaintance, among that group of people. Someone whom he felt dread and was afraid of…. Tang Xiu.

"Brother Mu, you have been using the binoculars for nearly two hours. Shouldn't it be my turn to already?" Next to Ji Mu was a lean young man donned in an outlandish attire. Looking bored, he groaned at him. He had not seen the scene below from the beginning to the end, so he felt strange that Ji Mu kept observing that pitch-dark mountain valley.

"Did you forget what I told you?" Ji Mu whispered. "Do not speak without my permission. This night vision binoculars is too precious and you'll be in trouble if you break it. Just stay still and shut your mouth. We'll wait here and then leave later."

The lean young man rolled his eyes at him and grunted in a low voice. Then, he turned around with a resentful expression and looked up at the black sky, silently thinking about his worries.

As a twilight appeared in the horizon, Jin Mu's expression suddenly changed. He reached out to wake up the lean young man, and then said in a low voice, "Let's leave this place and drive our car to the circuit. But remember, you have never accompanied me here tonight, and I slept at my place."

The thin young man looked baffled and asked, "What the hell happened to you, Brother Mu? Did you get bewitched or something? We're obviously..."

"Just promise me, will you? I'll give you my Bumblebee sports car," said Ji Mu sternly.

The young man's complexion changed and he subconsciously turned his head to look at the valley, but he still couldn't see anything. He then nodded and said, "Okay. I'm also sleeping at my home tonight, and did not leave out of the door at all. Alright, Brother Mu, I'll keep your word."

"Sure!"

Ji Mu backed up a few meters and then climbed up from the ground and quickly disappeared on the other side of the hill with that thin young man.

At the lakeside of the mountain valley.

Tang Xiu looked at the pile of intelligence data after the whole interrogation, and a smile appeared on his handsome face. After the interrogation in the middle of the night, he had already dug out a lot about the Stygian Club. The most important information was that the Stygian Club was not composed purely by human beings. The person who held the most authority, power and force there was someone named Angus from the Beastman's Reynard Clan, one who was also known as the first powerhouse of the Stygian Club.

The Stygian Club itself was a place of interlacing forces. There were a total of eight powerful figures under Angus, who controlled many forces and clans, while those forces and families were also separated by ranks…

Furthermore, other than these forces of darkness, he also learned about the situation of another faction, the Luminance Castle located in Europe. This force was one who was dedicated to exterminating the creatures of darkness. It was very powerful, and was the faction who operated the second most powerful organization in the world, the League of Archcrusaders.

"Release us!"

Shouted Grove Bear inside the array.

Tang Xiu nodded to Mo Awu. After he turned all the six arrays off, Mo Awu and the other five men moved and striked lightning, killing the six assassination agents directly.

Nearby, Shanjenna was tongue-tied and dumbfoundedly as she watched the killing scenes orchestrated by Mo Awu's group of six. After Tang Xiu stored the six dead bodies into his interspatial ring, she seemed to have woken up from a dream, and turned to lean on Han Jintong with an apprehensive and alarmed expression, as she then said with a shivering voice, "P-Professor, d-didn't he said that he'll spare Grove Bear and the others? Why did he take back his words and kill them?"

With his sharp hearing, Tang Xiu did not wait for Han Jintong to answer to her. He turned his head, let out a faint smile and said, "What I said was very clear. I gave them a chance. But I did not promise anything that my men can't kill them, did I? Don't tell me you are pitying these wicked bastards?"

"No no no. I did not pity them." Shanjenna shook her head. "I even wished I could kill them myself. If anything, I thank you for saving us, Mr. Tang. I'll tell my big brother in Salzburg of the bitter experience I just had today. I think my big brother will thank you, too."

With a greatly interested look, Tang Xiu asked, "Now that you said that, how will your big brother thank me, exactly? Just wagging his tongue for some glib, or would he present me with gifts?"

"About that…" Shanjenna was rendered speechless.

Tang Xiu shook his head, as his eyes then fell on Han Jintong and lightly said, "Just count it as I have paid back the favor I owed you. Thus, we don't owe each other from now on."

"No. The grace of saving lives is greater than the firmament." Han Jintong shook his head. "It's the kind of benevolence that I, Han Jintong, will always remember in my heart. Feel free to call me at any time if you ever need me in the future."

Tang Xiu could not help but smile and said, "Anyways, she won't be able to stay in China. If you want to avoid unnecessary trouble, you had better think of a way get her outside, and do it fast. Maybe it won't take long before some fellas from the state's Special Department to rush to Shanghai."

Han Jintong was taken aback, and then he immediately said with a grateful expression, "I'll keep it in mind and deal with it fast."

Tang Xiu did not speak again and led Mo Awu and the others to leave quickly. He had accomplished his purpose in coming tonight and was rather anticipating to study the bodies of these Beastmen, vampire, and Wingmen. When he was in the Immortal World, a lot of Demon cultivators used the bodies of various races and all walks of life as medication, and some even used them as living specimens. Tang Xiu himself was not a Demon cultivator, though his cultivation technique, the Heavenly Art of Cosmic Genesis, was the best cultivation technique in the Demon Realm.

As a matter of fact, there was no significant distinction between the cultivation systems of the Immortal and Demon cultivators, but only the difference in personality and conduct. One would not be notoriously hated by the public despite being a Demon cultivator as long as he had a benevolent character. Likewise, evil and wicked Immortals would also become the target of hostility and hatred.

Good and Evil!

Immortals and Demons!

In the flesh, Tang Xiu could be said as cultivating a Demon God body, yet keeping virtuousness and benevolence inside his heart.

In the valley.

While looking at the back of Tang Xiu as he departed, Han Jintong muttered to himself, "I knew that his strength was not normal, but never did I think that he was strong to this degree. Anyways, the feeling to be able to go on living is… really great."

Shanjenna, who stood next to him, took back her vision and asked, "Who exactly are they, Professor? Though I already knew that you're very powerful, never did the thought that some people could be more powerful than you crossed my mind. That is, we're putting my divergent races aside since we already possess strength far beyond humanity since birth, to begin with."

Han Jintong snapped back from his reverie and said with a forced smile, "Do not ask about his identity, it won't bring you any good. Shanjenna, what is the most important now is to help you return to Salzburg and go back to your big brother's side. Else, no one else can help us again if more assassination agents from the Stygian Club were to find us."

"But you know these people, Professor," said Shanjenna quickly. "Can you ask them to escort me back? I'm willing to pay to hire them."

"Do you think you can hire powerhouses with money?" commented Han Jintong with a wry smile.