Chapter 295

Chapter 295: Star Reaching Mountain Restriction Ward
Hua Tu rubbed his arms and shot a gloating look at Tu Hua Zhang, who had just blurted out the truth in terror.

As for pity…

He would never pity a scum like that.

Even if someone gave Tu Hua Zhang to him as food, he would feel it dirty his mouth.

Yu Zhao was burning with rage.

From Tu Hua Zhang’s own words, she learned that Han Xin Lan was not the only one they had taken. There were many more victims.

Yu Zhao had first planned to ask Tu Hua Zhang about Han Xin Lan’s exact fate and then decide how to deal with him.

Now she had changed her mind.

Someone like Tu Hua Zhang, who helped a tyrant do evil yet still thought himself a good person, deserved every bit of his punishment.

He should be killed.

Tu Hua Zhang had already been on edge because of what he had done to Han Xin Lan. Under Yu Zhao’s Illusion Art, he had no ability to resist. He poured everything out like beans spilling from a bamboo tube, telling them the whole story from start to finish.

It turned out that the Ancestor of the Tu Clan had limited talent. After stepping over the threshold into the Nascent Soul stage, he could not advance any further. When he saw that his lifespan was almost used up, he started to look into crooked, evil paths. By chance, he later joined an organization called Heaven’s Retribution.

The leader of Heaven’s Retribution was a Nascent Soul old fiend named Tian Pu Zi. He claimed he could communicate with the Heavenly Dao and that he was sent by the Heavenly Dao down into the cultivation world to pass on a method of longevity.

He taught that the reason cultivators’ talents differed was all because of how much they had believed in the Heavenly Dao in their previous lives.

Simply put, every hardship on the cultivation path was punishment from the Heavenly Dao. If someone wanted a smooth path, they had to sincerely worship the Heavenly Dao and gain its forgiveness.

Yu Zhao, who had been lucky enough to live a second life, felt deep awe toward the Heavenly Dao in her heart.

But when she heard the ideas of this so-called Heaven’s Retribution, she only found them laughable.

What was even more laughable was that the Ancestor of the Tu Clan actually believed it and treated it as his guiding rule.

To extend his lifespan, he followed Tian Pu Zi’s instructions and began to secretly kidnap offerings for the ritual. These offerings were forty-nine ritual boys and forty-nine ritual girls.

The ritual boys had to be born in the Hour of Extreme Yang. The ritual girls had to be born in the Hour of Extreme Yin.

Finding people who fit these exact conditions took a lot of work.

The Ancestor of the Tu Clan was desperate, but he was not completely brainless.

South Wind City was his base. If he acted there, it would draw attention quickly and expose him, so he traveled to other places to capture ritual boys and ritual girls.

Han Xin Lan had not been part of his original targets.

But by coincidence, just when he had gathered all the people needed for the sacrifice and returned to the old residence to rest, Han Xin Lan suddenly came to visit.

He met Han Xin Lan before Tu Yun Tian did.

Han Xin Lan had excellent spiritual roots, a pure aura, and a pretty face. She perfectly matched Tian Pu Zi’s description of a Saintess.

The Ancestor of the Tu Clan grew greedy when he saw this. To please Tian Pu Zi, he was willing to risk offending Hundred Flowers Valley. He ordered Tu Hua Zhang to drug the water, knock Han Xin Lan out, and then personally deliver her to the main base of the Heaven’s Retribution Cult.

Now, neither the Ancestor of the Tu Clan nor Han Xin Lan were in the Tu Clan Old Residence.

Yu Zhao forced the location of Heaven’s Retribution’s main base out of Tu Hua Zhang, then planted a Heart Devil Seed in his heart.

The Heart Devil Seed would not kill him right away, but it would trap him in endless nightmares until his mind and spirit were completely worn out and he died in terror.

Leaving the Tu Clan Old Residence, Yu Zhao took Hua Tu and headed straight out of the city.

To make his followers fully believe in his identity, Tian Pu Zi had placed Heaven’s Retribution’s headquarters on the tallest peak in the Western Region, Star Reaching Mountain.

Yu Zhao and Hua Tu traveled at full speed and finally reached the foot of Star Reaching Mountain one day later.

The moment they arrived, Hua Tu kicked off with both legs. Just as he was about to shoot forward like an arrow leaving the bow, Yu Zhao grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him back.

“Uh…”

His throat of fate caught in her grip, Hua Tu looked at Yu Zhao with a wounded, resentful face.

Yu Zhao let him go and pointed ahead with her chin.

Hua Tu took a quick look but did not see anything unusual. Only when he activated his Third Eye did he immediately break out in a cold sweat.

The calm outer slopes of Star Reaching Mountain were covered in dense black Mystic Threads.

The Mystic Threads were extremely thin and glowed with a strange light, like a huge spiderweb wrapping around the entire mountain.

Their layout looked messy at first glance, but in truth each thread was tightly connected. Touching one would shake the whole web.

If Yu Zhao had not stopped him, and Hua Tu had rushed in without knowing anything, he would only have become prey caught in that web.

“Formation array arts? Or a restriction ward?”

Hua Tu only half understood the magic arts of the human race and could only guess a little.

“It is a restriction ward,” Yu Zhao said for sure.

She was not skilled in this path, but at least she could tell the difference between formation array arts and a restriction ward.

Among the people she knew, the one best at the Art of Dispelling Seals was Ji Han Zhou.

Back in the Sea Palace, he had relied on his own power alone to break the restriction ward on the stone door.

The restriction ward outside Star Reaching Mountain was clearly even more complex and profound than the one Yu Zhao had encountered in the Sea Palace.

She did not think she could enter Star Reaching Mountain safely without damaging the restriction ward.

As for the silly leopard next to her…

Tsk. Counting on him was worse than counting on herself suddenly becoming a genius at formations.

Just as Yu Zhao was hesitating, wondering if she should give up on sneaking in and simply charge straight up the mountain, she suddenly sensed several faint auras drawing closer.

Hua Tu sensed them too. His eyes went wide as he bared his teeth at Yu Zhao, making a fierce face.

Yu Zhao shook her head at him, the corner of her mouth curving in a tiny, hard-to-see smile.

When mountains and rivers seem to block every path, a new village appears in the shade of willows and flowers.

She did not have to struggle with the choice anymore. Someone had already made it for her.

And they were even a few familiar faces.

Yu Zhao and Hua Tu were both experts in aura concealment, so when the group walked right past them, no one noticed they were there. The newcomers were tense and whispering to each other.

“Senior Sister Wei, are we really going up there? With just a few of us, isn’t it too dangerous?”

“Junior Brother Sha, I also wanted to ask the Sect for help, but there is no time. The ritual is tomorrow night. If we do not go, those children who were taken will definitely die.”

“But we are all only at the Golden Core stage. I heard there is a Nascent Soul old fiend on Star Reaching Mountain. We might not be able to save anyone and could lose our lives too.”

“Yeah, Senior Sister Wei, maybe we should think this over again.”

“You all said it yourselves. That is just ‘I heard’. We cannot give up on saving people just because the news might be rumors. If you do not want to go, then I will go alone. You can wait at the foot of the mountain and back me up.”

“That is not what we meant. How could we let you take the risk alone?”

“Right, Senior Sister Wei, we will go with you. At worst, we die together!”

“That is right. Our Tai Bai Academy has never raised cowards who cling to life and fear death.”

Listening to their passionate words, Yu Zhao nodded to herself silently.

They were reckless, but that kind of burning courage was rare.

When she first noticed them, Yu Zhao had already recognized them as disciples from Tai Bai Academy who had taken part in the Cultivation World Grand Tournament.

The one in the lead, Senior Sister Wei, was Wei Ying, who had once teamed up with Li Jing Rang and stood out in the arena matches. Among all the Tai Bai Academy disciples, she had left a deep impression on Yu Zhao.

Seeing them again today, their actions were once more eye-catching.

As expected, people like Li Jing Rang, who were arrogant and looked down on everyone, were the minority in Tai Bai Academy.

There were far more people like Wei Ying, with loyal hearts and a strong sense of justice.