Volume One: The Misty Immortal Palace Chapter 107: Slaughter

High above on the rocky cliffs, several figures gazed down at the towering alchemy cauldron below, remaining transfixed for a long time before they could collect their thoughts.

"Shanshan, do you think Zhou Hao will succeed? What if he really dies inside that cauldron?" Yu Nan asked, her face etched with worry.

Xiao Shanshan’s small face remained pale, and she looked listless, yet she managed a forced smile. "Don't worry, Senior Sister. Brother-in-law is blessed with good fortune. Since he could walk out of the Great Immortal’s dwelling alive, this bronze cauldron certainly won't be his end. Besides, don't forget that he released every single prisoner from this alchemy dungeon. Haven't you noticed that he is no longer the man he once was? Trust me, the day he emerges from that cauldron, he will be even stronger, and we will have a much better chance of dealing with Nangong Xun!"

"The little fairy is right. Little Hao is definitely the most resourceful person I’ve ever met when it comes to turning danger into safety. Even that peak-stage Great Immortal expert was killed by him. Do you really think he’d be afraid of this piece-of-junk bronze cauldron?" The Turtle chimed in, offering rare words of praise for Zhou Hao to comfort Yu Nan.

"Is that true? Did Zhou Hao really defeat a Great Immortal-level powerhouse?" Yu Nan and Xiao Shanshan exclaimed in unison.

"Would I lie? I’m not bragging, but the situation back then was ten thousand times more critical and a million times more dangerous. The heavens were collapsing, the seas were reversing, and only Little Hao stood firm to turn the tide, battling the Dragon Queen Luo Tianyi, who had fallen from the Immortal King realm. That battle shattered the stars, blotted out the sun and moon, turned the earth into a river of blood, and saw countless spirits perish..." Upon seeing the two women’s lingering doubts, the Turtle opened his mouth wide, his saliva spraying everywhere. He was truly a master of glib talk!

After a long while, Yu Nan and Xiao Shanshan no longer felt the slightest concern about Zhou Hao jumping into the bronze cauldron to refine himself into a human pill. The Turtle had thoroughly brainwashed them, exaggerating Zhou Hao’s heroic deeds to such an absurd degree that the two young women actually believed every word.

They suddenly felt that Zhou Hao was omnipotent and that any enemy before him was nothing but fleeting clouds.

"Senior Sister, I truly envy you for finding such a husband with limitless potential," Xiao Shanshan said, looking at her beautiful senior sister with stars in her eyes.

"Oh, keep it low-key, keep it low-key. Don't worry, you'll find one too. If you can't find one, Senior Sister will help you!" Yu Nan promised, patting her chest.

The Turtle stood to the side, snickering to himself, thinking how easy these two women were to fool—they must not have read many books!

"What are you laughing at? You look so lecherous!" Qingqing asked her husband, casting him a look of disdain.

"Ahem, nothing. I’m just happy—happy that we finally got out of that dungeon, hahaha..." The Turtle lied, his face not even turning red.

"Oh, yes, it is something to be happy about. Now that we're out of the dungeon, our immortal power circulation has returned to normal. But I wonder what the situation is outside? Nangong Xun should have sent people to the alchemy dungeon by now, but there hasn't been a sound," Qingqing frowned.

"There is only one reason: the prisoners released by Zhou Hao must have caused absolute chaos in the Nangong Immortal Palace. It must be a free-for-all out there, and even Nangong Xun cannot easily subdue so many demons and criminal immortals at once," Yu Nan said, squinting as she looked toward the tunnel exit.

"Then let's just wait here for Little Hao to finish his seclusion. Going out now would be bad; it's even more dangerous out there," the Turtle suggested.

"Right, we absolutely cannot let anyone disturb Brother-in-law’s seclusion, or his efforts will go to waste and the human pill will never be refined," Xiao Shanshan nodded.

The four figures then gracefully landed on the edge of the circular pit, sitting quietly around the towering alchemy cauldron, acting as guards for Zhou Hao.

Meanwhile, just as Yu Nan had guessed, the Nangong Immortal Palace was indeed in total chaos, with demons running wild. Hundreds of monsters, demonic creatures, and criminal immortals had burst out of the dungeon and headed straight for the first floor of the Alchemy Tower, frightening the palace elders who were in the middle of a meeting into a frantic retreat.

Although Nangong Xun was a Superior Immortal, he could not fight off a multitude of enemies with just two fists. Moreover, this was the meeting hall, and fighting here would surely topple the entire tower. Most importantly, he was being besieged by peers of his own level and had no time to spare!

The weakest of those who escaped the dungeon were at the late stage of the Lesser Immortal realm, and there were as many as three hundred Golden Immortals. Even if they were all at the early stage of the Golden Immortal realm, it was far more than the Nangong Immortal Palace could easily suppress.

Outside the Alchemy Tower, Nangong Xun was caught in the middle of a pincer attack by three figures. Inside the tower, it was a scene of utter devastation; immortals and demons were running amok, and soon they surged out of the tower, killing everyone they saw. Medicinal herbs and flowers were devoured, and all manner of immortal birds and auspicious beasts were eaten like snacks.

"Nangong Xun, do you still remember me? Today, I shall repay the kindness you showed me back then! Hahahaha!" Among the three figures was an old man with disheveled hair, wearing ancient Taoist robes and sporting a long, graying beard.

"Nangong Xun, to think that a despicable person like you has actually reached the Superior Immortal realm. Truly, congratulations!" Another figure was humanoid but bore the head of a deer.

"Nangong Xun, you have nowhere to run now. You set a trap to have me thrown into that dungeon to suffer for two thousand years, but you never expected that today, heaven would have eyes and allow me to come out and kill you with my own hands, you shameless dog!" The last figure was an old woman. Her face was ferocious, her eye sockets deeply sunken, and her eyes were bloodshot; the days in the dungeon had tortured her beyond recognition.

Nangong Xun, surrounded, remained calm. He bowed respectfully toward the Alchemy Tower and shouted, "I ask for the Night Envoy’s assistance! A lean camel is still bigger than a horse—these three old wretches were all mid-stage Superior Immortals in their prime. Even if they are not at their peak now, they cannot be underestimated."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a clattering of metal rang out from the top of the tower. Three pitch-black chains flew out, aiming straight for the heads of the three figures in the air.

"As I thought, you have colluded with the Night Palace! My only regret is that I took you in as my disciple!" The Deer-headed Immortal gritted his teeth, but he reacted quickly, waving his hand to unleash a palm strike intended to sever the black chain.

Clatter! But the Deer-headed Immortal had severely underestimated the signature weapon of the Night Palace envoys. The pitch-black chains were linked ring by ring, each link sporting two steel spikes, and the leading link featured a hook-sickle, its edge as sharp as a viper’s fang. The palm strike could barely hinder the hooked chain; it was as if the weapon treated his attack like air. The chain moved with incredible speed. Had the Deer-headed Immortal dodged at the start, he might have been fine, but now, the sickle had slashed his neck, and his head flew into the sky, blood spraying across the air.

His primordial spirit rushed out of his body, attempting to flee, but the golden spirit body was snatched by the chain and dragged back to the top of the tower. The speed was terrifyingly fast. As it was being dragged back, the primordial spirit felt its essence rapidly weakening; by the time it reached the top of the tower, it was on the verge of total decay, losing all consciousness.

It turned out that the hook-sickle chains used by the Night Envoys could consume primordial spirits! It was a pity that the once-great Deer Immortal had died right outside the prison he had just escaped.

The other two were clearly smarter; their first reaction was to dodge the black chain. They had naturally heard of the Night Envoy’s reputation; regardless of their current cultivation, even at their past peak, they would have been no match for an Envoy.

Their first reaction was to dodge; their second was to flee—and they fled in different directions!

If a Superior Immortal fled for their life, who could possibly catch them?

The answer came quickly, though it was a rather depressing one, as the two fleeing immortals were not much smarter than the Deer Immortal.

Though they fled in different directions, they ended up meeting at the same spot, which led to their dying at the same spot. Their mistake was fleeing toward the very gate they thought would grant them freedom—the gate where they believed that once they passed through, they would be as free as birds and fish, and that even the Night Envoy’s heaven-defying abilities could not stop them.

Yes, they fled toward the gates of the Immortal Palace, only to find the Night Envoy had been waiting there for a long time.

Two hook-sickle chains struck like black snakes, piercing the necks of the male and female Superior Immortals, and their primordial spirits were naturally devoured by the chains.

Having dealt with the three big fish, all that remained were the hundreds of demons and criminal immortals—the small fry.

At this moment, Nangong Xun and two black-robed Night Envoys looked coldly at the "criminals" ravaging the land below.

"Heh heh, Hall Master Nangong, will you handle this yourself, or do you need our brothers to do it for you?" a cold, raspy voice asked.

"My thanks to the two Envoys for your help. There is no need to trouble you with these small fry; I shall take care of them myself!" Nangong Xun said, bowing to the Envoys.

Clatter! However, unexpectedly, the Night Envoys unleashed their chains once more. This time, the entire world was covered in a dense web of chains. One after another, the pitch-black chains descended from the sky like ten thousand snakes emerging from their nest.

On the ground, the demons and monsters, which had been baring their fangs and claws to wreak havoc across the peaks of the Nangong Immortal Palace, were pierced by the hooks in the next instant, their blood staining the immortal mountains red.

"Envoys, what is the meaning of this?" Nangong Xun asked, confused.

"Pardon us, our little pets just got a taste of blood and couldn't help themselves... Hall Master Nangong won't blame us, will you?" one of the Night Envoys said, stroking the hook-sickle chain in his hand.

Nangong Xun looked at the chain in the Envoy's hand, and for no reason, his heart sank, a deep sense of dread welling up within him.

"No... no... the Envoy is joking. How could Nangong blame you!"

Soon, the two Night Envoys retracted their chains. Below them, the land was littered with corpses and scorched for miles, and the surrounding mountains were suddenly as silent as a graveyard. Only the highest peak, where the three of them stood, remained shrouded in purple mist and ethereal clouds, like a true immortal paradise.