Chapter 717 – [Bloodthorn Hall]
In accordance with the black theme that dominated the architectural style of the Black Demon Pool, the alley was made using an unknown type of black rock which could pass for black iron. Black Demon qi enveloped the extremely narrow alley, which could accommodate at most two or three people walking shoulder to shoulder and had a length of several hundred meters. There was nobody else within, and it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Ye Qingyu and the emaciated elder trudged along the alley, one behind the other.
There were a very limited number of formation lamps, which gently fluttered along with the Black Demon qi, within the spooky alley that seemed like a passageway to the realm of ghosts.
However, several steps in, the airflow in the alley began to change slightly.
"Murderous spirit?"
Under his hood, the corners of Ye Qingyu's mouth twitched before arching upward.
The exposure of murderous spirit meant that the comer was not Huang Tayun.
But even so, this person was probably closely related to the latter.
Ye Qingyu had anticipated this. Given Huang Tayun's craftiness, he would certainly not be so quick to act in person.
Soon, the entire alley was pervaded by an increasingly terrifying and dense murderous spirit.
A withered stalk dropped from the top of a wall. When it was ten meters away from Ye Qingyu and a meter above ground, a dark force suddenly seemed to sweep into it and instantly turned it into powder.
Yet there was still no one else in the alley.
Bursting forth like a violent and furious wave, the originally invisible murderous spirit stirred the airflow and, accompanied by the Black Demon qi in the surroundings, turned into extremely powerful, tentacle-like air waves that surged toward Ye Qingyu and Shuang Wuyan.
Just then…
Swish swish swish.
Rapid air-breaking noises rang out.
Gleaming in flowing light, several figures darted forth.
Dozens of ghosts resembling masked black shadows showed up in a flash.
Under the dim lights, sharp dark-colored weapons which were barely visible swarmed toward Ye Qingyu.
A terrifying murderous spirit instantly began to spread like a bloody rainstorm.
As if unaware, Ye Qingyu continued to saunter on without even raising his head.
Neither did Shuang Wuyan have any sort of reaction.
With his head lowered, he followed unhurriedly at an arm's length behind Ye Qingyu.
The latter was apparently just about to be minced by the tempest of dark blades that came out of nowhere.
Suddenly and inconspicuously, countless crystal-like ice cones flew out of the void without making a sound.
Controlled by a strange and invisible power, the ice cones spun rapidly and, at a lightning-fast and undetectable speed, raised a magnificent and resplendent beam of glittering starlight that shot forth within the dark alley.
The bodies of the ice cones were sparkling and translucent, and appeared to be much harder than age-old ice.
Above their sharp ice tips was a radiance which resembled the shine of bright stars and which could be indistinctly seen to contain a trace of the power of laws that governed every phenomenon of the universe.
"Ah!"
Puff!
Several successive brief cries of pain and horror mingled with the noises of flesh being perforated and blood splattering.
It took only an instant for the seven or eight assassins, who were originally as quick as lightning, to become motionless. Their bodies remained static in midair, as if they had been frozen still in extremely weird postures upon being struck by the ice cones.
Bam!
Several noises, like that of ice cracking violently, abruptly rang out.
The struck assassins instantly turned into ice chips which were as fine as dust, and which dispersed all around Ye Qingyu and Shuang Wuyan.
But an even stranger scene ensued.
Instead of dissipating into the void, all of the ice chips converged in a bizarre trajectory and transformed into ice statues. Emanating a similar chill to that of Shuang Wuyan, these statues stood neatly behind him and seemed as if they would attack their former companions as soon as they were ordered to!
This was the first time Ye Qingyu personally witnessed the strength of Shuang Wuyan in action.
Standing beside the emaciated elder whose yuan qi was worked up, Ye Qingyu's every blood vessel and all of his qi and blood, as well as his entire dantian world, were affected by the power and oppression which had indistinctly suppressed everything in the surroundings.
He could clearly feel that an extremely terrifying yuan qi power was surging throughout his entire body.
For a time, even he could not control this surging power.
It was only after this incident that Ye Qingyu realized why the Alliance of Domains only deployed two reception elders, who invariably and sincerely pledged that they could protect the life and safety of the envoy mission, and why, at the Wall of Storm test site, these two elders were completely indifferent to the appearance of the Office master, such that they did not even greet him. It was increasingly clear that their statuses were absolutely extraordinary.
In the meantime.
Discharging an incomparable yuan qi power, Shuang Wuyan resembled a killing god who was standing still in icy mist.
"[Bloodthorn Hall]? I never thought people would engage you all to attack… however, you must not know your limits if youl dare to touch anyone protected by the Alliance of Domains!" The frosty voice of the emaciated elder rocked the narrow alley.
Indistinct ripples appeared in the distant darkness.
They seemed like the ripples caused by a snakehead diving underwater.
[Bloodthorn Hall]?!
Ye Qingyu's heart budged a little.
The pentagonal token recorded several details about the [Bloodthorn Hall].
It was a mysterious assassin organization which dwelled in the Black Demon Pool for several thousand years, and its notoriety was one of the highest ranked within the Alliance of Domains. One of its killers, who was said to be able to rival a quasi-emperor, had assassinated three Great Saint-level experts and had been a felon on the Alliance's top wanted list.
These assassins are [Bloodthorn Hall] men.
Did Huang Tayun engage them?
Or…
In the distance.
"Kekeke!" A laughing voice which sounded like the friction of rusted iron emerged and drifted indeterminately within the alley, "Old thing, you think the Alliance of Domains is really powerful? Kekekeke, in these hard times, whoever pays gets to be god… Old Shuang, you'd better scram. The client doesn't want your life, so don't impede your brethren's means of making money. I won't get paid if I kill you by accident, that would be so unfair!"
"Ho, you know me? More and more bad eggs are appearing among the younger generation of the [Bloodthorn Hall] indeed. You dare talk like this in front of an old man like me… die!" Two beams of piercingly cold light flashed across Shuang Wuyan's pupils.
In a twinkling, thousands upon thousands of ice crystals once again formed and pierced through the void.
Meanwhile, the ice statues standing behind Shuang Wuyan suddenly revived and struck toward the assassin.
"Keke, Old Man Shuang, you win this time. Take good care of that bastard, his head is the [Bloodthorn Hall's] for sure." As if he did not want to tussle with Shuang Wuyan, the assassin in the nothingness decided to leave.
Ripples twinkled in the void.
The other dozens of [Bloodthorn Hall] assassins who were hiding in the darkness, too, lost no time in leaving the alley.
"Hmph, it’s not so easy to run away!" In a bad mood, Shuang Wuyan was intent on killing. After transforming into a beam of lightning, he brought along the dozen-odd ice statues and gave chase.
"Wait…" By the time Ye Qingyu, who remained rooted on the spot, made his first utterance, everyone and their auras had completely vanished.
He laughed bitterly.
The entire alley was completely empty and seemed as if nobody but him had ever come around.
"This ice elder is so unreliable, didn't he say he would protect me… to think he'd be so easily lured away." Ye Qingyu did not know whether to laugh or cry.
He stood quietly for a while, observing the high walls on both sides and the streets at both ends of the alley.
A while later.
There were no attacks from other forces, and everything appeared extremely calm.
It seemed like the wave of assassins and killers had truly left.
I must say, the person hiding in the dark is certainly enduring enough.
A barely perceivable smile formed at the corners of Ye Qingyu's lips.
He continued to walk out of the alley, then left the 10th zone and headed even deeper into the Black Demon Pool.
A figure gradually emerged out of the Black Demon qi in the valley after Ye Qingyu left. It looked in the direction Ye Qingyu went, revealing a hideous and sinister smile on its face.
…
Two hours later.
In the 12th zone of the Black Demon Pool.
This zone was also an ancient ghost city.
Buildings constructed from black rock were scattered on both sides of the streets. As soon as Ye Qingyu arrived, every peddler and passerby took notice and looked with vigilance and hostility at the unexpected arrival of a person who walked by driftingly.
After looking all around for a while, Ye Qingyu's eyes brightened as they fixed on what seemed to be a small teahouse building.
He walked straight toward it, as if he had thought of something.
At the entrance of the teahouse.
Two waiters, who were both pinnacle Heaven Ascension realm experts, stood at the entrance greeting customers.
One of them wore a black-base blue gown while the other wore a black-base red gown. Their faces were covered with black-and-white makeup on one side, a strange sight indeed.
However, even stranger people and things would be considered normal here in the Black Demon Pool.
Having passed through the previous eleven zones, Ye Qingyu had become accustomed to the unusual.
He was welcomed into the teahouse by the two extremely hospitable waiters even before he had taken a proper look at the plaque outside.
In the teahouse.
"Judging from your demeanor and dress, you don't look like a native. Where are you from?" The waiter in the blue gown used a cloth to fan off the non-existent dust on a chair while warmly signaling to Ye Qingyu to take a seat.
The other waiter immediately prepared a tea, the aroma of which could only be produced by brewing over charcoal fire, and handed it in an odd-colored cup to Ye Qingyu. He said cheerfully, "Elder, you must be thirsty from the long journey down. Come, have a cup of [Sole Fish Black Tea], it's excellent for hydrating your body and quenching your thirst."
[Sole Fish Black Tea]?
Ye Qingyu frowned slightly.
The 40th-placed medicinal demon herb on the on the Black Demon Pool's Demon Plant List.
Although its body did not have any demonic properties, its leaf veins contained a unique aroma which attracted sole fish bugs from dozens of miles away to nibble on its leaves. The excrement of these bugs after the fact was one of the ingredients for preparing [Sole Fish Black Tea].
According to the Demon Plant List's records, this tea was indeed a very precious medicinal tea in the Black Demon Pool. In particular, it aided in the consolidation and development of the yuan qi of Black Demon beings who drank it regularly.
Ye Qingyu rapidly swept a glance across.
There were only two or three occupied, not to mention sparsely-occupied, tables in the large hall of the teahouse. Every guest was either shrouded in black mist or wearing a mask, such that their faces could not be seen clearly.
