Chapter 691: Backlash, As Pale As Snow

With his cold, merciless gaze, the figure in the battle suit made of Hell's Iron stood out, exuding an intimidating aura. He suppressed the woman in green with a raise of his hand. His overwhelming aggression crystallised into chains, which locked her limbs into place, hindering her from moving.

"Protect Mistress!"

Outside the room, many figures roared as they rushed over, armed with weapons and the intent to kill.

However, before they could even approach the area, they were crushed and disintegrated into mists of blood. The huge disparities between cultivation levels were not something that numbers could compensate against.

Just by standing still, Ah Da could effortlessly shatter everything around him with his wafting aura.

<Damn it! Someone must be trying to attack Neraka! And they're using you as their pawn!> From the mysterious stone fragment, a middle-aged man witnessed everything and solemnly spoke with distress. He was once the First Palace Lord of Neraka. Thus, he had a lot of experience and could already see what was coming.

In short, while Lu Ming was searching for a contact person to Neraka, he unintentionally attracted attention. As such, the middle-age man grew frustrated, given that he was now merely a remnant soul. Were he in his prime, he would have detected those prying eyes hidden in the dark.

"So what do we do now? Should we offer ourselves up or think of a way to escape?" Feeling uneasy, Lu Ming asked the middle-aged man.

Nonetheless, as the middle-aged man sensed an even more terrifying aura emerging outside the boat, he couldn't bother to answer Lu Ming. He hurriedly suppressed his own aura and hid in the deepest part of the stone fragment.

After all, considering that Lu Ming had already been targeted, he himself might be spotted if he didn't take precautions.

"Senior..." Lu Ming continued to yell a few more times but received no response from the man.

His heart sank. [What an unlucky day...]

Meanwhile, the others in the boat trembled and knelt in fear, not daring to make a move. They could only stare as the several figures approached the boat.

The leader of the invaders was a man in white with a sturdy physique. and a pair of deep eyes. He possessed deep eyes and dashing features, resembling a young extraordinary Immortal, with a body shrouded in vibrant light.

Instantly, the cultivators that recognised the man grew even more fearful.

Lately, great turmoil had erupted amid the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds due to Gu Changge's arrival as nobody expected that he would show up here with such a hostile expression.

Behind Gu Changge, there were quite a number of followers, including the higher-ups of the Alliance of Thousand Merchants and the young girl from Blue Flood Ancient World, Xue Yan. All of them carried stern expressions.

Xue Yan came over due to her worry of Lu Ming and her desire to talk him out of defying Gu Changge. Even though Gu Changge had assured her that he would not harm Lu Ming, she couldn't help but remain worried. Furthermore, the reason as to why Lu Ming's whereabouts was exposed tonight largely stemmed from the fact that she had honestly reported Lu Ming's every move to Gu Changge.

"Young Master Gu, how should we deal with them?" Ah Qing slowly scanned across those in the boat with a cold expression and respectfully asked Gu Changge.

It was uncertain whether there was any reinforcement among the people in the boat.

"Capture them and seal their Knowledge Sea and cultivation," Gu Changge causally ordered, not at all interested in these people. Right now, his priority was the big catch inside the boat.

Soon enough, a large number of soldiers in black armour swarmed to the boat and captured everyone, including men, women, and children.

Due to the void forbidden technique, the region became a domain of its own, and only those who stepped into this space could know what happened here. Besides, those trapped in this space would not be able to contact anyone outside.

"Young Master, we have captured every single one of them. What should we do with them now?"

Everyone on the boat was extremely quiet as they watched Ah Da come over in his battle suit made of Hell's Iron, along with a woman in green, whose face was as pale as snow, in his grasp.

On the other hand, Lu Ming and the rest who followed him were in low spirits, not daring to make any movements.

"So this is Neraka's contact point? Bring her back first." Gu Changge looked at the woman in green, but he did not interrogate her in front of everyone.

"Gu Changge..." The woman's face paled when she saw the man in white before her. Her voice trembled, and there was nothing left but despair in her heart.

Had it been someone else, she could still believe that the night might take a turn for the better. Alas, the man right before her eyes was Gu Changge himself. Even if her Master, Old Lady Meng, was here, she would have obediently surrendered.

[Why him out of all people? And Junior Sister Xue Yan is here as well? Don't tell me...] In that instant, Lu Ming naturally recognised Gu Changge, subconsciously widening his eyes especially after he saw Xue Yan, who was standing behind Gu Changge. Right away, as soon as he connected the dots, the realisation left his face tremendously blanched.

"Impossible... Why would Junior Sister Xue Yan do this..." Clenching his fists, he felt the urge to run up to her and personally question her.

In his memory, Junior Sister Xue Yan, whom he knew, was someone well-behaved and mature. It was impossible for her to have schemed against him and informed Gu Changge of his whereabouts.

However, Lu Ming could not even rebuke her for her actions.

The moment Xue Yan saw Lu Ming, she breathed a sigh of relief and directly approached him. With guilt in her voice, she apologised, "I'm sorry, Senior Brother Lu Ming. I had no choice but to do so. I will explain everything to you later. Regardless, please do not defy Young Master Gu. Otherwise... no one can save you."

Her tone sounded sincere, laced with a deep sense of guilt. After all, if she had not revealed Lu Ming's recent whereabouts, he would not have been in such a state.

"Why... why did you do this? You really schemed against me?" Unfortunately, at this point, Lu Ming lost all his rationale to hear Xue Yan out. There was only disappointment and pain in his gaze while endless anger rose in his heart.

"I'm sorry, but I had no choice." Xue Yan's gaze was rather dim as she was genuinely remorseful.

Lu Ming might have kept a lot of secrets from her, but he had never once hurt her, and this very decision of hers might push him into the abyss.

"I get it. Gu Changge must have threatened you into doing this, huh? When he summoned you that night, it was also for this, right?" At the end of the day, Lu Ming was no ordinary man, so he swiftly fathomed how the story went. When his angry gaze fell on Xue Yan, it was full of disappointment.

Hearing this, Xue Yan grew speechless as she was at a loss for words.

"Master, this man possesses obscure fluctuations in his soul..." Ah Da looked at Lu Ming and said with his hoarse voice.

"I know," Gu Changge replied with a grin, but he did not interrupt Lu Ming and Xue Yan's conversation. Instead, he simply observed them with a face of fascination. In fact, when he first saw Lu Ming, he immediately knew that this Fortuitous One had numerous wondrous encounters, and he might also possess a cheat or some sort.

Judging by the situation now, Lu Ming'scheat might even be intricately related to Neraka. His cheat might even have something to do with a remnant soul related to Neraka.

"Lady Xue Yan, as per our agreement, if you help me out with this favour, I will not inflict harm on your Senior Brother. Nevertheless, there is someone I'm looking for, and that someone is now hiding somewhere in his body," Gu Changge spoke with a faint grin as he slowly approached Lu Ming.

As usual, his tone was ever so mindless since he never had the intention to await Xue Yan's approval. In his eyes, be it Lu Ming or Xue Yan, they were all the same.

"Senior Brother Lu Ming, you saw it for yourself. Young Master Gu promised that he won't harm you. He is simply looking for someone." Seeing that, Xue Yan was sincere as she advised, hoping that Lu Ming would be wise enough to refrain from being rash and end up losing his life.

Lu Ming glared at Gu Changge, his face indicating an internal struggle. Of course, he was well aware that what Gu Changge cared the most wasn't him but the mysterious stone fragment in his possession.

More precisely, Gu Changge's target might very well be the middle-aged man hiding within the stone fragment. Otherwise, he wouldn't have paid attention to such an insignificant person like him.

"Very well then." Lu Ming remained silent with perturbation flashing across his face before speaking up. At this point, he understood that he was backed into a corner and could only surrender the mysterious stone fragment.

Nevertheless, as soon as he expressed his decision, the mysterious stone fragment that was hidden under his sleeves suddenly emitted a radiant gleam. The glaring divine dawn light intertwined with such fury, as if it had been ignited.

<Damned you brat! How dare you betray me!?> The face of the middle-aged man was incredibly sullen. Since he had no intention of giving in, he could only resort to his final measure—to fuse his soul with the mysterious stone fragment.

"Ahh...." At this moment, Lu Ming screamed in horror as a terrible and burning pain shot out from the heart of his palm. Despite his desire to toss the mysterious stone fragment away, he couldn't do it.

This very piece had assisted him in his journey to becoming top among his peers in Blue Flood Ancient World, but right now, it seemed to burn through his palm after it had grew into it.

With that, the crimson flames spread across Lu Ming's palm and instantly engulfed his body. Right away, he collapsed to the ground and continuously screamed as he attempted to alleviate the pain.

Nevertheless, as the mysterious stone fragment harboured a special power, it unceasingly devoured his flesh and soul in an attempt to break free and escape from this place with his flesh's guidance.

"Senior Brother Lu Ming..." Stunned by the sudden scene, Xue Yan intuitively exclaimed as she rushed to rescue Lu Ming.

Gu Changge, however, beat her to it. He gently shook his sleeve, emitting a clear gas that resembled fine rain to extinguish the crimson flames on Lu Ming's body.

However, at this point, Lu Ming was burnt beyond recognition and was on the brink of death as he had passed out a long time ago.

[Pretty smart to attempt to escape this way. I wonder if this is the backlash of this cheat.] Gu Changge's gaze fell upon a severely touched spot on Lu Ming's palm and revealed a subtle grin. He naturally would not allow this remnant soul to escape.

Vast Principles surged, followed by the emergence of an indescribable aura. Everything seemed to slow down, be it the crowd's thoughts or gaze. It was as if all things were in the state of stillness. As time seemed to have reversed, a fine glimmer of light that was visible to the naked eye appeared in the void.

That was the broken mysterious stone fragment that the middle-aged man's soul had fused with. However, under the control of Gu Changge's will, it seemed to revert to its former state.

Followingly, countless points of light slowly condensed as they fell upon Gu Changge's palm and turned into a stone fragment of the size of a palm.

"The reversal of time has restored everything to its previous state."

The higher-ups of the Alliance of Thousand Merchants who followed behind Gu Changge, all stared in horror and disbelief as if they were witnessing a divine intervention. Even True Daoists couldn't have cast such a mystical ability—to rewind time and return everything to its original state.

After all, the Dao of Time was one of the most enigmatic supreme Daos in the world.

But of course, Gu Changge was aware that he merely mastered the novice level of it, so he could only pull off a short time reversal.

True mastery, on the other hand, possessed vastness and mysteriousness that were beyond anyone's imagination.

"Who... just who are you!? The middle-aged man surfaced above the stone fragment in shock and fear, as he never expected his trick to be undone. After he fused his soul into the stone fragment, Gu Changge had managed to restore his remnant soul back to its original state. Such an ability was no different from reviving the dead.

"To be able to reach the threshold of the Immortal Realm... Yet... still being a young kid."

The instant the middle-aged man thought of the only possibility, he grew even more frightened and was shocked beyond words.

"A True Daoist's remnant soul..." A Gu Changge looked at the middle-aged man who appeared on the stone fragment, seemingly experiencing an epiphany.

As it turned out, the middle-aged man was the medium for Lu Ming to contact to Neraka. However, instead of interrogating the middle-aged man right in front of the crowd, Gu Changge waved his hand and sent him straight into his storage space.

After verifying the remnant soul's original strength, Gu Changge was not worried about receiving no answers. After all, a True Daoist, in terms of strength, was equivalent to a Palace Lord of Neraka. Although there might be some sort of Forbidden techniques that sealed off the middle-aged man's memories, which would disable him from revealing certain secrets, locating Neraka should be a breeze for Gu Changge.

Very soon, the divine boat was taken away along with every living soul within a hundred kilometre radius, causing the place to plunge into the void.

Unless a True Daoist came to investigate the place, no one would know about what had taken place here.

After all, Gu Changge planned to catch his prey off guard, and avoid startling his targets. He had already set up the place beforehand.

Once Neraka's location was revealed, everything else would be much easier to deal with.

Following Gu Changge's order to keep the matter in strict secrecy, tonight's incident was minimally spread among the higher-ups of the Alliance of Thousand Merchants.

Of course, there were definitely spies from Neraka among those of the Alliance of Thousand Merchants. Therefore, once they returned to their residence, Gu Changge immediately dismissed them.

"Spare my life and I'll tell you everything I know."

Gu Changge released the middle-aged man, who took a deep breath and solemnly assured as his eyes were fixed on Gu Changge. Having barely survived for 30 million years, he was clearly desperate to live, and he certainly didn't want to die now.

"You don't have to tell me what I want to know." Nevertheless, Gu Changge said nothing more to him, carrying an indifferent expression.

As he raised his palm, a dense black light filled the air as Grand Runes appeared before turning into the massive Grand Flask, which fiercely engulfed the middle-aged man.

"This is..." The middle-aged man initially wanted to negotiate a deal with Gu Changge, but to his surprise, Gu Changge did not have the slightest intention to entertain him.

On top of that, as the former First Palace Lord of Neraka, he had seen so much in his life that he instantly recognised the Grand Flask. Naturally, it caused his face to be filled with absolute dread.

The sound of screaming in the palace soon came to an abrupt end.

"The First Lord of the Neraka from 30 million years ago..."

Gu Changge closed his eyes, quietly digging through the middle-aged man's memories.

Even though there were protective arrays planted in the depth of the man's soul in order to prevent secrets of Neraka from being spilled, in the face of the Grand Flask's power to devour, the protective arrays speedily crumbled and dissolved. They were evidently turned useless.

Right now, the middle-aged man's many memories were now right in front of Gu Changge as if they were pages of a book, to be leisurely flipped through.