Being a Messenger

But in the realm of the Ancestor of Myriad Poisons, these poisons no longer obey their master.

The Devil Qi Blade Energy in the hand of a black-armored warrior at the late stage of the Martial Sect dissipated with a "poof." He looked down at his hand—his fingertips were turning purple, and the Demonic Poison within his body was seeping out of his meridians, slipping out of his control.

Another black-armored warrior at the Martial King First Stage fared even worse. His cultivation Cultivation Method was deeply intertwined with the Demonic Poison, and when the Demonic Poison went out of control, the Cultivation Method simply stopped working. The flow of his True Qi throughout his body paused for a moment, and he collapsed onto the deck.

Of the forty-odd people, more than half were directly rendered unable to fight.

Those still standing were only the two Martial King Second Level and a dozen or so peripheral disciples whose Demonic Poison had penetrated less deeply.

The bald, burly man gritted his teeth, while the young man opposite him showed no sign of tension.

"I've Clones your Sect Master's Dharma Form. I've also shattered your Sect Master's true form."

Su Zhan's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck a chord with everyone present.

"You now have two choices."

"First, lay down your swords and surrender. I will not kill surrendered soldiers."

"Second, keep fighting."

Su Zhan paused for a second.

"However, I can spoil the ending of the second choice for you—it's the same as your Sect Master's."

There was silence on the deck for three breaths.

The first to put down his sword was a very young warrior in black armor. His face was pale, and he threw down his sword, squatted down, and covered his head.

The second one. The third one.

Like dominoes.

Twenty breaths later, the decks of the three ships were littered with discarded knives.

The bald, burly man was the last to lay down his weapon. He slammed his knife against the railing and uttered, "What do you want?"

Su Zhan squatted down, looking the bald, burly man in the eye.

"What's your name?"

'... Bai Tiezhuang.'

"Bai Tiezhuang, what's your position in the Black Demon Sect?"

Commander of the Outer Sea Patrol Camp.

Su Zhan nodded.

"Okay. Bai Tiezhuang, I need you to do something."

"Spread this message: The Black Demon Sect is gone. The Sect Master is dead, the Main Altar has sunk. The thirty-six Martial King guardians of the Sect-Protection Grand Formation will be left without support from this day forward, left to fend for themselves."

"Spread it as widely as you can. Spread it until the entire Demon Sea hears it."

Bai Tiezhuang's expression changed several times.

"You made me..."

"Yes. To be a messenger."

The Bai Tiezhuang remained silent for a long while.

"... line."

Su Zhan patted him on the shoulder, stood up, picked up the bundle at his feet, and leaped into the air from the bow of the boat.

Enveloped in Purple-Gold Lightning, he flew towards the Teleportation Array once more.

Behind them, three black ships floated on the dark red sea. The forty-odd black-armored warriors on board watched the departing streak of purple-gold light, and none of them spoke.

Bai Tiezhuang slowly stood up. He looked down at the tiger's mouth on his hand, cracked by the lightning arc, and then at the light that was about to disappear into the blood mist.

"Damn it."

He cursed.

Then he turned and walked towards the cabin.

He went to deliver the message.

Su Zhan arrived at the reef—the location of the Teleportation Array's exit—in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The reef is still there. The Rune on the Teleportation Array have dimmed somewhat, but the structure remains intact.

Su Zhan landed on the reef and pressed his right hand onto the Rune.

A golden light shone forth.

Weightlessness. Dizziness.

Then, keep your feet firmly on the ground.

The aura of the Mustard Seed Grotto-Heaven rushed towards me—pure Spiritual Qi, unpolluted by Devil Qi, filled my entire chest.

In the Core Space, Yuan Ji was dozing off next to the sphere.

Upon hearing the noise, the old man sprang to his feet, nearly throwing his cane away.

"My Lord Divine Lord! You've returned!"

Su Zhan shook his hair, which was covered in seawater.

"I'm back."

"Sect Master...?"

"He's dead."

Yuan Ji paused for two seconds.

Then, two streams of snot-mixed tears welled up in those cloudy old eyes.

The old man felt as if all his bones had been removed, and he slowly slumped to the ground.

"Dead... really dead..."

The voice was trembling.

Su Zhan did not disturb him.

He placed the bundle on the ground and opened it.

The ground was littered with elixirs, jade bottles, fragments of Weapons, and Spirit Grass and flowers.

And three Nine-Turn Reincarnation Lotus.