Chapter 211: Utterly Ruthless
Old Chu propelled himself through the air with rapid, vigorous strokes of his limbs. In no time, he had closed the distance between himself and the fleeing You Ji, the Great Sage. Seeing him rapidly approach, You Ji—already struggling to resist the relentless thunder tribulation—wore an expression of both fear and disbelief.
She attempted to flee, but her speed was no match for Chu Xiu's.
"You cunning little beast! You pretended to be slow at first, but it was all a ruse!" she spat, panic evident in her voice.
"And you are as venomous as they come!"
Chu Xiu responded with a sinister laugh, his limbs churning through the air.
"You Ji, Great Sage of charm and deceit, your dear sister Qianye's body is still warm. Out of the kindness of my heart, I've decided to send you down to reunite with her. No need to thank me—this is my duty, after all."
"Don't come any closer!" You Ji screamed in horror, her voice trembling.
Just then, two colossal waterfalls of purple lightning descended from the sky. One struck Chu Xiu, engulfing him in an electrified storm, while the other raged down upon You Ji, its ferocity unmatched.
The overlapping thunder tribulations were unimaginably brutal.
Chu Xiu grimaced, enduring the punishing force. He activated the "Zhezi Secret", barely managing to stabilize his injuries, a testament to the resilience granted by his ancient saintly body. Others, however, were not so fortunate.
In the brief period during which Chu Xiu was preoccupied tormenting the charm demon You Ji, several other great saints had fallen under the thunder tribulation's relentless wrath.
"You despicable monster," You Ji snarled, her voice cracking with rage and despair. "Even as a ghost, I'll curse you. You will meet a horrible end!"
But her threats were drowned out by her own cries of agony as the storm continued to ravage her.
As time dragged on, the number of great saints who could endure dwindled rapidly.
Ten.
Eight.
Seven.
Five.
Three.
Two.
Finally, only You Ji remained, battered and broken, yet still alive.
As the thunder tribulation gradually subsided, Chu Xiu's gaze shifted to her limp form, floating upon the water. Her once-pristine body was charred and barely clinging to life.
"Impressive," Chu Xiu muttered, a faint smirk playing across his lips. "The wife of a powerful Saint King, indeed. With all those treasures, you actually managed to survive this far."
Even so, he did not approach carelessly. From a safe distance of two miles, Chu Xiu's cunning mind began to concoct a plan.
Reaching into his storage ring, he retrieved a simulated puppet, along with various vials and jars brimming with mysterious concoctions. With meticulous care, he secured the bottles to the puppet, ensuring every detail was perfect.
Then, with a brief moment of calculation, he launched the puppet toward You Ji.
The puppet struck its target with precision, and with a deafening crash, it detonated.
Boom!
A cloud of noxious fumes filled the air as the contents of the vials splattered across You Ji's charred body. White smoke rose, and the sound of flesh sizzling and corroding echoed hauntingly.
"Ahhhh!" You Ji screamed, writhing in unbearable pain.
Chu Xiu observed from a distance, a cold glint in his eyes. He had anticipated that she might feign death, so he remained cautious. His decision to unleash his toxic assault from afar proved wise.
The searing pain forced You Ji to drop her facade. She clawed at her face, her shrieks piercing the air.
"My face! My appearance!" she wailed.
"Chu Xiu, you vile monster… you will not die well!"
But her curses only seemed to amuse him.
"Ah, still alive, are you? You're a stubborn one," Chu Xiu remarked with a smirk. "Trying to outwit me, are you? Fortunately, I'm a cautious man."
Without hesitation, he began retrieving more bottles from his storage ring.
"Let's continue, shall we? These are fantastic for skincare. You'll thank me later," he taunted, hurling another round of concoctions from his safe vantage point.
One by one, the bottles shattered against You Ji, each explosion bringing fresh torment.
"Snap. Snap."
The sound of breaking porcelain echoed through the battlefield, mingling with You Ji's agonized screams.
Chu Xiu's precision was flawless, every bottle hitting its mark.
He watched impassively as the once-mighty charm demon's cries grew weaker, her body succumbing to the relentless onslaught of poison and pain.
The Great Sage You Ji had completely lost her composure.
Fueled by rage, she charged towards Chu Xiu, intent on tearing him limb from limb.
Seeing her unrestrained madness, Chu Xiu retreated with measured calm, all while ensuring to hurl a few more bottles of poison her way.
"You're persistent, I'll give you that," Chu Xiu remarked with a mocking grin.
Realizing she couldn't catch him, You Ji skidded to a stop, her frustration palpable. Yet the moment she slowed, Chu Xiu switched tactics. With a sudden turn, he darted after her and resumed tossing vials of venomous concoctions.
"You miserable wretch!" You Ji roared, her teeth grinding audibly. She hated him with every fiber of her being but knew this back-and-forth was futile.
Determined to escape the humiliation, she dove into the waters of the Wangchuan River, aiming to reach the safety of the shore.
But the river was far from ordinary. Its strange properties forced even a Great Sage to surface for air after diving for only a short while. Prolonged submersion risked suffocation—a vulnerability Chu Xiu exploited with delight.
On the riverbank, a group of monks and cultivators from both the demon and human races bore witness to an unprecedented spectacle.
A junior cultivator, barely at the entry level of the supernatural realm, was relentlessly pursuing a mid-stage Great Sage.
What made it surreal was the method:
When the Great Sage turned to chase him, the young cultivator would flee.
When the Great Sage fled, the young cultivator would give chase, flinging poison vials all the while.
"Here I come again!" Chu Xiu taunted, launching another vial with unerring precision.
"And there I go!" he quipped, swiftly retreating as You Ji lunged at him.
The absurdity of the scene left the onlookers in a daze.
Both demons and humans stared in disbelief, their expressions a mix of awe and disgust.
"This is… too much…" the Great Sage Qingyu finally muttered, squeezing the words through gritted teeth.
Beside him, the Great Sage Niutou nodded grimly.
"I don't think the Great Sage You Ji has just gone mad—I think she's been utterly broken," he said with a deep sigh.
All eyes turned to Qianmian Zhenjun, who had remained silent, his face a mixture of exasperation and resignation.
Suddenly, the crowd understood why Qianmian often wore such a weary expression.
Rubbing his temples, Qianmian Zhenjun said, "The thunder tribulation has ended. Prepare to retrieve her."
"If this goes on any longer, You Ji might not just lose her dignity—she might actually lose her life to that lunatic."
On the Now-Calm Waters of the Wangchuan River
Chu Xiu paused mid-throw, porcelain bottle in hand.
His sharp gaze lifted to the sky. A knowing smile crept across his face.
"The Holy King," he murmured to himself, his voice tinged with amusement. "Finally, you couldn't hold back."
Despite the thrill of battle, a faint note of regret entered his thoughts.
"It's a shame I couldn't finish her off myself," he mused, shaking his head.
Above, a shift in the heavens signaled the arrival of an extraordinary force.
And so, the tides of the confrontation began to shift once more.