Chapter 1765: 抓捕

No, he couldn't hold on; he had to return to Companion Hill Lighthouse as quickly as possible.

But just as his speed picked up, a shadow darted diagonally in front of him, faster than a diving hawk. It brushed past the Revolving Turtle Shell with a swish, instantly knocking the shell's forward path at an angle and sending it towards the large tree on the mountain wall.

The stone platform outside the mine shaft had collapsed, but two large trees remained rooted in the mountain wall, not having fallen into the chasm.

Zhao Youshen immediately knew something was wrong; it adjusted its angle and flew outwards. But with that slight delay, several large nets shot out from the tree, ensnaring it and pulling it back forcefully.

The edge of the turtle shell was truly sharp; spiderwebs that previously couldn't be cut by other means were now severed through several layers in an instant.

However, Granny Zhu's frantic netting skill was no weaker than her sister's, and in a flash, seven or eight more spiderwebs were cast, truly covering the Spirit Urn Immortal in white nets.

"Go on, try to cut through these."

The slower the Revolving Turtle Shell spun, the less damage it could inflict. Once it was so entangled in layers of webs that it couldn't spin anymore, that would be the moment Zhao Youshen would be forced to surrender.

"No, it couldn't cut through them anymore."

Granny Zhu continued to spray webs while dragging it back into the mine shaft.

Elder Liu raised his Demon-Subduing Staff again. Zhao Youshen retracted its neck, pulling its head back into the Faux Turtle Shell, and then decisively spoke: "Wait, wait a minute, I can help you!"

Help? What help could this demon, fallen from the heavens, possibly offer?

Dong Rui was both surprised and found it novel. A Heavenly Demon begging for mercy? But observing Elder Liu's unperturbed demeanor, it likely wasn't the first time he had encountered this.

Xiao Wencheng from Stone Dragon Peak also spoke through the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror: "Wait, first extract some information! The Heavenly Demons we've slain before died too easily."

The enemy's most secret intelligence would certainly not be known by ordinary Heavenly Palace warriors, or even elites, so this was a valuable captive.

Elder Liu raised his chin and said, "What right do you have to bargain with us?"

"Information!" Zhao Youshen immediately replied, "How many people did Miaozhantian bring? What trump cards does it have? You'd want to know that, wouldn't you? Just let me leave the Upside-Down Sea, and I'll tell you everything."

Elder Liu nodded. "Very well, speak. But if you dare to lie, you will personally sever your last chance at survival."

During their conversation, He Lingchuan made a few gestures to Granny Zhu, who immediately released her small spiders.

Zhao Youshen confessed: "Miaozhantian personally led the expedition to the Upside-Down Sea. Five of us attendant gods followed, eight subordinate gods, and three demon immortals from Flash Gold Plains also came..."

He Lingchuan interrupted: "Where did you get so many immortal skins?"

No matter how many Heavenly Demons were willing to descend, they needed suitable skins to land.

"Over the past two thousand years, we have excavated hundreds of immortal caves in Flash Gold Plains, but few of the immortal bodies were usable. Only about a dozen could be transformed into skins and preserved until now, and almost all of them have been deployed for Miaozhantian's current expedition to the Upside-Down Sea." Zhao Youshen continued, "Miaozhantian is fighting with its back against the wall; it must win and cannot afford to lose."

"Hundreds!" He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, "No wonder."

No wonder the Heavenly Gods and Heavenly Palace were so experienced in excavating caves; it turned out they had hundreds of successful precedents.

Zhao Youshen spoke lightly, but Elder Liu and He Lingchuan both knew that, regardless of the inherent dangers of excavating the caves, preserving immortal skins was extremely difficult.

From ancient times until now, the original owners of these skins could not save themselves, weakening day by day. How much effort and resources must the Heavenly Palace expend to ensure that their vitality and abilities do not diminish after seizing these skins?

The answer was two words: continuous sustenance.

The terrifying financial power of the Heavenly Palace was evident from this. Some demon immortals pledged allegiance to Beiga precisely to obtain resources.

He Lingchuan's eyes flickered, and he suddenly asked: "What great plan do the Heavenly Realm and the Lingxu multitude have? Why are the gods scrambling for the Dragon Punisher Column, and why is Miaozhantian risking a significant reduction in its own power to hunt down True Lord Qianhuan?"

Miaozhantian was already in a high position in the Heavenly Realm, even more glorious than most righteous gods. Why would such a precious deity not simply rest peacefully on its throne, but instead exert pressure on other Heavenly Demons to gain the right to 'open' Qianhuan?

The risks and rewards didn't seem proportionate.

While this certainly indicated its confidence in defeating Qianhuan, it also suggested that Miaozhantian was under immense pressure, forcing it to take such a desperate gamble.

Previously, when He Lingchuan asked this question at temples, none of the various wild gods would answer. Zhao Youshen didn't expect him to suddenly change the subject; it opened its mouth, and its words were a second slow to come out.

Finally, it said, "Miaozhantian wants a True Immortal's skin."

This answer was evasive; even it didn't want to directly answer He Lingchuan's first question.

Elder Liu didn't know what the "Dragon Punisher Column" was and wasn't concerned about it at the moment. Just as he was about to speak, He Lingchuan quickly interjected, "What is Bai Ziqi doing at Kidney Lake?"

As soon as the place name "Kidney Lake" was uttered, Elder Liu's expression changed.

"He deduced that it's the entrance to the real world." Zhao Youshen looked at Elder Liu. "So the entrance isn't Upside-Down Lake, but Kidney Lake, right?"

Elder Liu's face was impassive, and instead of answering, he counter-questioned: "What trump card did Miaozhantian bring?"

He was supposed to be interrogating the captive, but He Lingchuan had stolen two of his questions.

Zhao Youshen took a deep breath. "It's an incredibly powerful—" *Shrunk!*

It spoke very slowly; everyone was listening intently, when its head suddenly withdrew into its shell again.

Then, it vanished. Only its outer shell remained entangled in the layers of spider silk. Its figure reappeared five zhang away, about to fly off on a stream of iridescent light.

It didn't believe a single word of Elder Liu's guarantee; everything it had said was merely to buy time for its escape. If even He Lingchuan had an escape method like 'substituting a plum for a peach', how could a dignified Heavenly Demon or Immortal like itself not have a backup plan for escape?

This move was called 'Spirit Turtle Sheds its Shell'; the longer it accumulated power, the farther it could flash away.

If this place hadn't forbidden escape techniques, it would have been more convenient for Zhao Youshen to simply burrow underground and leave. Here, two immortals were ganging up on one of it, and the Spider Scorpion, in particular, seemed to have some subtle restraint over it. Even if it had strength remaining, it didn't want to continue fighting. It preferred to regroup with its companions at Companion Hill Lighthouse and deal with these two later!

However, just as it was about to leap from the cliff, its limbs suddenly became sluggish, and its body felt as heavy as a ten-thousand-pound weight.

This was bad!

Zhao Youshen instinctively staggered, immediately realizing something was wrong and quickly forming hand seals. However, it felt a breeze at the back of its neck; the enemy had already attacked.

He Lingchuan's long blade arrived first. Zhao Youshen barely managed to dodge twice, then was pulled by a handful of spider silk from Granny Zhu. The final blow was too much to bear; Elder Liu struck its crown with a Demon-Subduing Staff, causing its brain to rupture and blood to splatter five paces. It had discarded the Faux Turtle Shell during its previous 'shedding', greatly reducing its defensive capabilities. Elder Liu, fueled by anger, struck with a crisp thud.

He Lingchuan understood; so this was how the Demon-Subduing Staff was used.

Immediately after, a speck of green light emerged from the Spirit Urn Immortal's severely damaged orifices.

This was Zhao Youshen's primordial spirit.

In fact, it had nowhere good to go. The Upside-Down Sea was sealed by Qianhuan's divine ability, so it might not be able to get out; there were no suitable skins for it within the cave, unless Miaozhantian still had spares.

At the same time, He Lingchuan's neck suddenly grew very hot—

The divine bone necklace had reacted, and it was very eager, as if someone who had starved for three days and three nights had suddenly seen a fragrant braised pork hock.

As soon as Zhao Youshen's primordial spirit emerged, Elder Liu took out a jade purification bottle, ready to capture it. However, as soon as the green light appeared, it flew directly towards He Lingchuan's face.

In Elder Liu's view, Zhao Youshen might have been planning to escape past He Lingchuan, as behind He Lingchuan were the cliff and the night sky.

Only He Lingchuan knew that his constitution was special, and he was particularly attractive to primordial spirits flailing like headless flies.

Of course, Zhao Youshen realized halfway through its flight, it swirled around, intending to bypass him and continue soaring towards the sky. After losing its body, it couldn't do much, but escaping was certainly one thing it could.

Elder Liu raised his hand and struck with a Demon-Subduing Staff, forcing the Heavenly Demon's primordial spirit to change direction. With his other hand, he moved the jade purification bottle forward.

A strong suction came from the bottle's opening.

Unexpectedly, this green light suddenly split into two masses. One mass was sucked into the jade purification bottle, while the other continued to fly towards the sky, even faster.

This fellow even knew how to sacrifice a pawn to save the rook.

However, before it could fly much farther, a cold light suddenly arrived. The light of the Floating Life Blade flashed again.

It dodged left and right, but after only a few evasions, it was struck by the blade's edge. Everyone seemed to hear a miserable cry of "Ah!"

Elder Liu's eyes narrowed, and he praised, "Good blade."

Then He Lingchuan reached out to grab the primordial spirit, in a posture identical to catching a fly with a bare hand. How could it be so easy to catch a Heavenly Demon's primordial spirit? Even if his hand was fast, before he could touch Zhao Youshen, the latter flickered like a firefly, ready to flash directly behind him in the next second.

But for some unknown reason, the green light didn't manage to escape. It was as if Zhao Youshen's first escape attempt was delayed by a formation, and now He Lingchuan's palm also seemed to have a mysterious force firmly holding it, preventing it from leaving.

He Lingchuan clenched his fist, and it was caught.

Not to mention Elder Liu, Granny Zhu was also greatly surprised and immediately came closer: "Did you catch it?"

"Caught it." He Lingchuan opened his hand; in his palm was a black box with a tree drawn on its lid.

Elder Liu didn't see anything special about the box. "Can it contain it?"

"Yes," He Lingchuan said earnestly, "but once it absorbs a Heavenly Demon's primordial spirit, it begins refining it, and it cannot be taken out."

This box, of course, was just a trick. After being weakened several times, Zhao Youshen was directly swallowed by the divine bone necklace hidden in his palm.

Zhao Youshen becoming He Lingchuan's spoils of war only showed that his methods were extraordinary. Whoever had the skill claimed the prize; this was the rule among immortals. Elder Liu said no more, casually collecting the Spirit Urn Immortal's corpse. "Let's go, it's time to deal with that lizard."

He too had caught a portion of Zhao Youshen's primordial spirit. At the moment, he could either disperse it or seal it; there didn't seem to be a third option.

Just as he was about to summon the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror, Granny Zhu also recalled her small spiders.

After first spraying silk to capture Zhao Youshen, she had released a few small spiders, quietly ordering them to rearrange the collected Concentrated Abyss Formation artifacts within the cave.

With the formation's core now in He Lingchuan's hands, the formation would naturally serve their side.