Chapter 293: Eighteen Layers of Hell
On the 2nd of February, Su Rui noticed a large number of troops being dispatched to the east by the cultivation alliance. Suddenly, they launched an attack from the midfield, surrounding Yuqing Spiritual Master Zhou Yan at Hidden Moon Mountain. As soon as Ma Huaizhen received the news, he immediately led his troops to rescue them.
In a sunken valley, a pool of blood, covering several acres, flowed steadily. Countless corpses surged up and down in the pool.
Amidst the ongoing battle, Zhou Yan, dressed in white, was almost completely stained red. Gripping his sword tightly, drops of fresh blood fell from his trembling hand.
Lu Pihan pressed his hand against Zhou Yan's back, his other hand clenched into a fist near his lips, blood gushing from his mouth without stopping.
Not far away, Ma Huaizhen knelt on one knee, holding his chest. He vomited blood expressionlessly, his face pale. Behind him lay trenches of varying depths, with his wheelchair shattered into pieces.
In front of them stood a formidable army, their demeanor stern and their armor shining brightly. Against the vast snow-covered plain, a glaring red color dominated the scene.
The man had his dark hair tied up in a high ponytail, bound behind his head. His heavy armor was splattered with blood and flesh. With an indifferent gaze, he looked at the sea of corpses before him and softly declared to Hall Master Ma: "You are about to lose."
The League of Cultivators couldn't withstand Su Rui's fierce attacks. Under this swift and brutal assault, they were immediately overwhelmed and defeated.
Fang Lingqing's hair was messy, and almost all ten of his fingers were badly injured. These were the aftereffects of forcibly controlling the puppets.
Looking at Xiao Boyang's face, which was somewhat similar to Pei Chunzheng, it was cold, rigid, and "handsome". Xiao Boyang was panting heavily, with a stiff expression, as if he had eaten something very unpleasant.
Who could have imagined that in the end, they were defeated by Pei Chunzheng's uncle!
Su Rui was different from anyone else on the battlefield. He was like a noble young man who had come to train on the battlefield. His heavy armor couldn't hide his grand demeanor. He emanated an understated radiance, and even had a hint of humility. It was different from Xiao Huan's hypocritical and fake humility. Su Rui's humility was a calmness that didn't view everything as important. His gaze was indifferent, and his glinting eyes even had a hint of ruthlessness.
So, when giving orders during battle, he could sacrifice his own demon soldiers without hesitation, and keep advancing round after round.
Ma Huaizhen, with deep eyes, suddenly moved his lips and said, "Can you guess what I'm thinking?"
"I'm thinking, if the few of us here risk our lives, can we keep you here?"
"Even if you kill me here," the man didn't seem angry at all, "you still lose."
"Hall Master Ma, your people are already few."
Ma Huaizhen fell silent for a while before saying calmly, "Too slow."
"Too slow," these words were said to no one in particular.
Su Rui looked puzzled on his face.
Behind them, the elders of the Cen family, Cen Zicheng, the elder of the Lu family, Lu Chunsheng, as well as Xiao Boyang, Fang Lingqing, and others, remained silent.
In the valley, only the sound of the cold wind whistling remained.
Only they knew what Ma Huaizhen meant by those two words, "too slow".
He was referring to Qiao Wan being too slow.
Su Rui's attack had changed too suddenly.
Qiao Wan had been in Kunshan for many years. She had been working with Zhou Yan for a long time, so she knew his personality well. When Su Rui made the decision to attack from the center, Ma Huaizhen's face changed and he immediately led the troops to the rescue.
"Rescue" requires speed, so the vanguard went ahead, while the weapons that had been prepared during this time were still behind.
As for Qiao Wan, she had a special mission. Ever since Masui City was breached, she had been in charge of developing gunpowder with a group of students from the Mathematics Department on a flying boat.
They worked day and night, without any breaks.
The first priority was to protect Qiao Wan. This was the first order Ma Huaizhen gave them after the city was breached.
Compared to underground, the sky was safer. The second order Ma Huaizhen gave them after the city was breached was to develop gunpowder on the flying boat.
This batch of gunpowder was supposed to be delivered according to plan.
Unfortunately, Qiao Wan and the others hadn't made it here yet.
The battlefield was constantly changing, and Ma Huaizhen felt a bit regretful. If only he had a little more time.
After several clashes, the strength on both sides was actually quite similar, like six or half a dozen. But the slight advantage on the demon realm's side could potentially become the key to the battle.
Fearless in the face of danger, Ma Huaizhen's eyes were deep. If he could just have a little more time, he believed that his efforts during this time would not be in vain.
If he could buy a little more time for the follow-up firepower troops, he could immediately counterattack!
But it was clear that this small amount of time could cost them their lives.
Should they take the risk, or not?
If Qiao Wan didn't arrive soon, they would all be defeated here. Was this sacrifice worth it?
Ma Huaizhen clenched his lips and asked himself, after they were gone, were there any usable people left in the cultivation sect?
Cen Zicheng on the other side paused, looking at Ma Huaizhen, a mix of admiration and a sudden coldness filled his heart.
The man never valued his own life. His life was nothing more than a transaction to him. And now, he was calculating how much his life was worth.
Snow fell gently from the sky.
A flying boat was soaring through the clouds, surrounded by a beautiful flurry of snow.
As they flew forward, the cold air seemed to have a faint smell of blood.
At this moment, Qiao Wan finally put down her "telescope" and spoke in a serious tone, instructing the people on the boat to line up.
"We've arrived," she said to Qi Feidao.
"Yes," Qi Feidao replied with a mysterious expression, trying to force a relaxed smile. "We've finally arrived."
They had reached the Hidden Moon Mountain.
Whether it was a mule or a horse, it still needed to be taken out for a walk.
As time passed, Qiao Wan was unable to catch up.
Just as Ma Huaizhen began to ponder whether to sacrifice his life and engage in a deadly battle with the monster.
Fu Xuan, standing beside Su Rui, looked anxious. "General, aren't you going up yet?"
The young man couldn't meet Ma Huaizhen's cold gaze. He hurriedly avoided eye contact.
Cen Zicheng, with a red face from anger, angrily shouted, "Traitor, how dare you show your face here?!"
He felt guilty for betraying the realm of cultivation.
The young man felt a mix of embarrassment and anger, and couldn't help but retort, "Elder Cen, wise people adapt to the changing times. Didn't you see that Xiao Huan left with the Xiao family long ago?"
"History has proven that Xiao Huan made the right choice. In this turbulent era, learning to pick the right side is the most important way to survive!"
"If I hadn't sided with the demon realm," Fu Xuan couldn't help but look towards the pool of blood, sneering, "perhaps, sooner or later, I would have died here. As for you, Elder Cen, you might have to give an account for your actions today."
"You--!!" Cen Zicheng immediately turned livid with anger, his face turning pale. He quickly raised his hand, about to make a move--
Suddenly! Fang Lingqing showed a look of surprise on his face, saying, "They're here!"
They're here?!
Along with that came a deafening roar in their minds!
Su Rui and Zhou Yan were both startled.
The war god in the demon realm looked up in astonishment.
Cen Zicheng's hand also paused abruptly.
In Ma Huaizhen's eyes, which usually never showed any emotions, a sudden sense of joy sparked!
They heard a thunderous sound, as if it was coming from a distant snowy mist and icy wind. Then, the sky seemed to be stirred by something, forming a massive vortex. Snowflakes spun around and splashed everywhere. As they approached the walls of the flying ship, the powerful heat immediately melted the snow into water, which fell like a shower of raindrops.
"Rain?"
Su Rui blinked, extending his hand and looking at the droplets of water in his palm. His eyelashes drooped down.
The wind was strong and the snow was falling heavily, making visibility very low. It was dangerous to drive in this weather as there was a risk of crashing into the mountains.
Qiao Wan stood calmly on the deck, with the snow swirling around her and her clothes fluttering in the wind.
The girl in the pink dress turned her head and asked, "Taoist Friend Qi, if I want to kill Fu Xuan, will you stop me?"
The people on the ground were still in shock.
The flying boat wandered alone on the top of the snowy mountains. With the support of Ma Huaizhen, they gathered supplies from the northern battlefield. Qi Feidao, the disciples of the Mathematics Department, and the scholars from Chongde Ancient Garden gathered around the Souvenir Stone. They discussed day and night for nearly a month, finally transforming the flying boat into a huge steel monster.
As the flying boat descended, the dim lights broke through the fog and cast a beam of light on the ground, revealing the cold and hard steel in front of everyone.
Su Rui's face suddenly changed.
Even Ma Huaizhen was momentarily stunned, not expecting Qiao Wan and her group to achieve such a level!
The giant steel beast spread its wings, revealing its cold and hard underbelly, as it soared above the heads of the people!
Just then, the cannons on the ship's wings shot out several columns of pale blue light.
Blinded by the blizzard-like light, Ma Huaizhen suddenly realized what the light columns represented and shouted angrily, "Get down!!!"
The trenches they had dug a few days ago finally served their purpose.
Xiao Boyang's face turned pale, grabbing Fang Lingqing and quickly diving into the trench. They listened to the deafening roar above them, sweat pouring down like rain.
A towering pillar of pale blue light shot up into the sky, resembling a fiery dragon piercing through the clouds. It shattered the blizzard and unleashed a tremendous force that exploded outward, creating a thousand-foot shockwave that sent the enemy soldiers flying!
The steel flying ship whizzed low above the heads of the people, leaving nothing but flattened ground in its wake across the valley.
As the snowflakes and dust filled the air, Fang Lingqing opened his mouth in astonishment. He watched in awe as several small flying boats were spit out from the belly of the iron beast. Sword practitioners stood on flying swords guarding the wings of these small boats, which were loaded with ammunition and thrown down below.
Zhou Yan was shaken to the core as he looked at the calm and composed girl commanding the boats to scatter on the deck. "Wan'er...?" he exclaimed.
Su Rui was bewildered as he gazed at the snow-covered boats, his hand tightly gripping his gun. He felt a surge of indescribable emotions in his heart.
The awe-inspiring greatness of the iron beast was different from any other profound cultivation. It brought a different kind of impact to people.
Qiao Wan and Fu Xuan were in the Republic of Heavenly Dynasty. People in that period had never seen a train before. They would stop working and stare in awe when they saw it. Some old women would lean on their canes and gaze in amazement, while some young men would stand still with their farming tools, completely captivated. Some cows would even get scared and run away. In this particular time and place, the people's reactions were not much different from what was described in the records.
This was a glimpse of the industrial civilization in another world, crashing onto everyone's faces like a wave.
The cultivators, who could travel through the sky and the earth, trembled with a sense of profound sadness and their own insignificance.
Fu Xuan stared blankly, speechless, suddenly filled with hesitation and regret in his heart.
Did he... make a mistake?
Did he do something wrong?
But before the hesitation and regret could fully settle on his face, a pale blue arrow was firmly aimed at his chest in the midst of the wind and snow!
Qiao Wan calmed her mind and focused, readying her bow and arrow!
The arrow flew through the air towards Fu Xuan , but it was too late for him to react. He could only watch as the arrow came towards his throat! Just as the situation seemed dire, Su Rui suddenly reached out his hand and grabbed the arrow out of the air.
With a calm and cold expression.didn't even blink as he effortlessly caught the arrow that was swiftly descending from the sky. He tightly pinched his fingers, and the electric "thunder arrow" immediately shattered into tiny blue specks of light, dissipating between the man's fingers. Su Rui then looked up at the girl in the pink dress standing on the deck.
Before anyone could react, the arrow was caught with bare hands. Qiao Wan remained calm and composed, swiftly leaping forward while drawing out a shining blade from behind her.
Su Rui was taken aback, trying to step in and intervene, but he was half a step too slow. In the blink of an eye, Qiao Wan had already sheathed her sword.
A young man's neck was cut by a knife, and his head and neck, covered in blood, finally couldn't bear the weight. With a "thud," they separated.
Just as he succeeded, Ma Huaizhen yelled from behind.
"Retreat!!"
Qiao Wan quickly stepped back after putting away her knife!
However, it was still too late.
When the experienced demon general regained his senses, she was half a step behind!
Su Rui swung his long spear!
Swoosh!
Ma Huaizhen felt his vision blur for a moment. Su Rui remained calm and steady, extending the spear an inch, piercing through the girl's throat.
Fang Lingqing and Xiao Boyang were both stunned, looking at the demon general as he lowered his eyelashes. With the tip of the spear, he sliced Qiao Wan's head from her neck to her forehead in front of everyone.
In the moment that blood splattered down, Fang Lingqing's vision blurred as well.
But suddenly, a figure in pink retreated into the air!
How could this be...?
Looking at this familiar and calm face, Fang Lingqing was completely shocked. How could there be two Qiao Wans??
And at this moment, the Qiao Wan who had been exposed was like a deflated balloon, slowly shrinking until she became a thin paper figure that fell onto the snowy ground.
This is a body swapping technique!
It was the same one they had seen in the ghost market! Fang Lingqing almost shouted out.
The body swapping technique was a skill that Qiao Wan learned from Chu Jiaojiao after escaping the demon realm. The principle is simple - she steps on a formation under her feet, instantly swapping places with a paper figure infused with her consciousness.
By using this paper figure as a substitute, Qiao Wan was able to seize fleeting opportunities in her martial arts skills and even escape unscathed after a brief confrontation with Su Rui, the war god of the demon realm.
However, the reality proved that the man in front of them was not so easy to handle.
The spiritual power continuously unleashed by the bombers in the sky was still in the experimental stage, lacking in both power and accuracy. While it could harm most of the demon soldiers, it couldn't harm Su Rui.
But the man didn't take it lightly at all. These magical explosives had exceeded his expectations.
In time...
Su Rui, almost astonished, thought.
As long as these students from the Mathematics Department are given some time, they will surely develop even more accurate and powerful weapons.
Regardless, Su Rui's long eyelashes trembled slightly as he tightly focused his gaze on the calm girl in front of him, dressed in pink.
The impact she had on him was unparalleled.
The man blinked his eyelashes, composed himself, and swung his long spear, smashing it into the ground. Suddenly, Qiao Wan felt a dizziness, stumbled, and heard Xiao Boyang and Fang Lingqing calling out in agony and desperation.
"Retreat!"
"Qiao Wan, get the hell out of here!"
Qiao Wan wanted to retreat too! But at this moment, she horrifyingly realized that, damn it! She couldn't move!
The art of substitution couldn't be used! It felt like a strong wind was blowing in my ears, followed by the piercing laughter of a woman. Then, a wave of blood filled my sight, and the desperate cries of demons echoed in my ears.
Help...Help me!! (>_<)
In an instant--
I was dragged into a bloody hell.
This is the famous skill of Su Rui, the number one god of war in the demon realm - the Eighteen Hells.
Just as Ma Huaizhen, with a cold and stern face, shattered the wind and snow with his palm strength, forcing Su Rui to take a step back with his long spear.
In front of me, there was nothing but empty space.
Not only Qiao Wan, Fang Lingqing, Xiao Boyang, Qi Feidao, Lu Pihan, and the others all disappeared without a trace!
Right when I witnessed Qiao Wan vanish, those figures who were rushing to save the girl.
Ma Huaizhen fell silent, then burst out laughing.
How did he not know that Qiao Wan had such good connections with people?!!
Just as they were about to forget, amidst the wind and snow, a figure in a green robe hurriedly approached. With a wave of his sleeve, he cleared the snow in front, revealing a handsome and cold face.
Looking weary and holding a sword, Li Pan arrived to offer help. He frowned and asked, "Where is Wang Ruyi and Yu Xingzhi?"
Just then, they heard a commotion up ahead. The young men and women rushed forward one after another, but in the blink of an eye, they disappeared without a trace.
Ma Huaizhen raised an eyebrow uncertainly. "Hmm... Maybe they went inside too?"
Li Pan remained expressionless for a moment before rubbing his temples. "Forget it."
"Let's deal with the immediate situation first."
Su Rui, who was sarcastically referred to as "this one" by the middle-aged cultivator, fell silent.
After a moment of silence, Li Pan brought shocking news. "Venerable One Miaofa might have left seclusion."
...
The so-called "Eighteen Levels of Hell" does not refer to the actual "Eighteen Levels of Hell" that people will face after death, but rather Su Rui's famous skill called the "Eighteen Levels of Hell".
Su Rui, the number one War God in the demon realm, was once exiled to a city called "Worry-Free City," which was built to resemble the Eighteen Levels of Hell. During the hundreds of years spent in "Worry-Free City," he not only turned into a heartless monster but also perfected his famous skill.
His skill allows him to instantly pull people into a tiny space, which is a man-made "Eighteen Levels of Hell" that exists separately from the real world.
...
Qiao Wan woke up from a bumpy ride. As she opened her eyes, she found herself in a carriage.
The carriage was filled with people, young and old, sitting closely together. Everyone had expressionless faces, silently sitting in their seats.
The wheels of the carriage rolled on the ground, and the carriage raced in the quiet night with no sound.
Roll, roll...
Roll, roll...
In the train car, there were more than ten people's skulls. Someone had drilled a hole the size of a candle in their skull, and candles were placed inside. The candles were almost melted, and their distorted tears fell into the dark holes, flickering with a mysterious light.
The carriage galloped silently, and outside the window, there was a scenery of blood-like crimson. The carriage sped up even faster.
Qiao Wan hesitated and covered her head.
Where... where was she?
When she turned her head, she saw men and women sitting next to her, their faces numb, their eyes unfocused, and their bodies swaying slightly with the bumps of the carriage.
A cold chill blew in from somewhere, and Qiao Wan felt cold. She frowned and rubbed her arms.
After hesitating for a moment, she turned her head and quietly asked the woman sitting next to her, "Excuse me... Where are we? Where... are we going?"
The creepy carriage was filled with people, but no one spoke a word. Even the children had a blank expression, making Qiao Wan feel uneasy.
The woman next to her seemed to ignore her question and continued to stare ahead.
Qiao Wan asked three or four people, but none of them answered. Everyone remained expressionless as the carriage took them into the endless darkness.
Qiao Wan tightened her lips, feeling a growing sense of unease. She stood up and walked around, but it was so cold that she couldn't bear it. She pushed aside her doubts and continued to sit in the carriage, taking in the surroundings.
The skull chandelier above her head flickered with the carriage's movements, almost blinding her with its eerie light. A chilling sensation seeped into her bones from the seat.
As the carriage jolted, the darkness outside flew by rapidly, making Qiao Wan feel even colder.
On the stone gate, there was a huge beast with a wide-open mouth, horns on its forehead, and sharp teeth. The stone gate was built right where the beast's "mouth" was.
The beast-drawn carriage ran faster and faster, its wheels engulfed in flames. As it traveled, it left behind a twisting tongue of fire, without stopping, all the way into a massive stone gate.
From a distance, the carriage looked like it was being swallowed by the beast.
After an unknown amount of time, the carriage finally started to slow down and eventually came to a stop.
Just then, there was a brief commotion in the previously silent carriage. Several people stood up from their seats one by one, still silent and expressionless, and filed out of the carriage.
Why did she end up here? Why did the carriage stop here, and what was outside? Why couldn't she remember anything?
Qiao Wan hesitated for a moment and stood up with the group of men and women.
Not far away, in the dark night, stood the "people" who had come to pick them up.
More than ten skeleton figures, with smiles on their faces, stared at her with wide grins, their eyes fixed on her face.
She was the last one to come out, with one skeleton leading the way for each of them. When it was her turn, the remaining skeleton looked at her with a big smile and reached out its hand, as if waiting for her to get off.
Qiao Wan froze, her hand gripping the carriage tightly.
What the heck is this?!!
Noticing that she didn't move, the skeleton took a step forward.
Qiao Wan clenched her lips tightly, silently staring at the skeleton in front of her, cold sweat dripping down.
The snow-white skeleton took another step forward.
Shivering, Qiao Wan averted her gaze and looked into the distance.
In the distance, a fire had been lit, but it was unclear when. A large copper pot had been set up over the fire, with boiling water inside.
Amidst the flickering flames, the piercing screams and wails of evil spirits gradually rose.
In a dark and quiet night, Qiao Wan looked at the boiling pot filled with people, their bodies green or red or blue, their faces twisted in pain. They were naked, with only a cloth around their waists. The pots were carried by little demons with pitchforks, who threw the people in headfirst. The pot filled with cries and screams, filling the cold silence.
In front of the pots, people were busy boiling chunks of meat in the boiling water.
Qiao Wan took a glance and instantly felt a chill running through her body.
In front of her, a smiling white skeleton took a step forward, one foot already on the carriage.
Unconsciously, Qiao Wan took a step back, turned around, and with a cold sweat, her heart pounding, she hurried back into the carriage.
As she rushed, her feet stumbled and she tripped into the carriage. This caught the attention of the people inside the carriage. They all lowered their heads, and Qiao Wan's gaze met the pale faces of the dozens of people.
Qiao Wan's heart suddenly twitched, she took a deep breath and stiffened as she slowly got up in front of these "people" staring at her.
Where in the world is this?!!!
Unlike before, this time the men, women, and children stared at her in silence for a long, long time, until Qiao Wan pretended to be calm and sat down in an empty seat.
The snow-white skull did not chase after her. With the sound of the wheels, the beast cart started moving again, dragging the carriage into the night.
The men and women seemed disinterested once again, lifting their heads and withdrawing their gaze, numbly waiting for the next stop of the beast cart.
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