Chapter 2020: 求仁得仁

The net covered everything. The woman braced herself on the ground with one hand and slipped underneath it.

However, her vision was suddenly filled by a black and white figure that had appeared abruptly!

It was a giant spider, as tall as a pony when it stood upright. It leaped forward, embracing her. Its eight legs tightly constricted the woman, and its fangs mercilessly bit her on the back of the neck.

A searing, burning pain transmitted through the host body to Her, making Her cry out in agony. Ordinarily, any damage to the host body, whether from weapons or divine powers, would not be felt by the possessing deity. But this time was different! This venom could actually directly harm the divine soul!

She convulsed violently from the pain, and her struggle instantly weakened. In that brief moment of delay, the spider quickly flipped its prey twice, encasing her in a thick layer of spider silk, taking particular care to prevent her fingertips from touching.

A ball of green fire erupted from the woman's palm, intended to ignite the spiderweb. However, the web itself was dark red, woven from Madam Zhu's vital essence, and was impervious to most divine powers. Her face and body began to swell, and it felt as if mice were scurrying beneath her skin. This was the Spider Queen's venom beginning to decompose the prey's body, capable of reducing a human body to a pool of pus within thirty breaths, and also severing a deity's consciousness from its host. In short, its paralyzing effect was incredibly potent. Consequently, the woman's incantation speed slowed, and she was unable to vocalize even three short syllables due to her swollen mouth and tongue.

Number Sixty-Six also flashed over and, without a word, brutally ripped off her head! They wanted no confession; they just wanted her dead!

Blood splattered across the ground, and a faint green light emerged from the corpse, soaring skyward. This was the Heaven Demon's earthly avatar. With its vessel destroyed, it could no longer remain and needed to return to its true form as quickly as possible.

Madam Zhu, from an unknown location, threw out a Jade Pure Vase. The bottle spun once before settling, and its opening unleashed a powerful suction. The green light tried desperately to evade but could not resist the pull and was ultimately sucked into the bottle. Without a physical form, its power was greatly weakened, and it could not contend with an immortal artifact. Indeed, this Jade Pure Vase had been lent to Madam Zhu by Immortal Liu Qingdao of the Illusion Sect. He had originally intended to use it against Zhao Youshen in the Upside-Down Sea, but He Lingchuan had preempted him, claiming the spoils with his divine bone necklace. Only now did they realize how potent this item truly was. The eyeball spider on Madam Zhu's head used a stopper to seal the bottle's opening, then made it disappear somewhere unknown.

It looked down at the headless corpse on the ground, then released a divine power to scan the surroundings. Only when it confirmed there was no danger did it speak. "Come out," it said.

With the divine art's effect gone, the Snail Toad emerged from beneath the ground. Dong Rui leaped out of the snail's shell, exclaiming angrily, "They were actually coming for me!" This divine avatar was indeed real and had always been with Guo Baiyu, yet it had not been deployed on the Miancheng battlefield. It was only after the battle concluded and Guo Baiyu was captured that the Heaven Demon quietly descended and knocked on Dong Rui's door. It was clear that the Heaven Demon's concern was not the fate of Miancheng, nor Guo Baiyu's battle, but Dong Rui himself! This was truly unexpected! He had almost met his downfall in an unexpected way.

Madam Zhu naturally asked him, "What did you do?"

"That's the problem!" Dong Rui fumed. "I didn't do anything at all!" Still a bit shaken, he added, "It's fortunate you arrived in time."

Madam Zhu felt a touch of satisfaction. She had rushed but missed the battle in Miancheng, which had been vexing. But here, she had managed to eliminate a Heaven Demon avatar and coincidentally saved Dong Rui. On another note, these Heaven Demons were growing increasingly cunning. Not only did they descend during the Imperial Flow Surge period to enhance their power, but they even sought to capture Dong Rui, though for what purpose remained unknown. The spoils captured in the bottle would need a thorough interrogation by He Lingchuan later.

A clanging sound came from the ruins behind them. The person and the spider turned to see movement in the courtyard. Miraculously, Fan Shuang was unharmed despite the divine battle raging in such a confined space. Throughout the fight between the demonic puppet and the Heaven Demon, he had remained curled up in a corner with his hands covering his head. Once the combatants moved away, he rushed across the courtyard to clear away the fallen bricks and timber. After moving two bricks, he spotted Tu Shanfang's leg and began digging with renewed vigor. A shadow flickered beside him, startling Fan Shuang. It was Demonic Puppet Number Sixty-Six, who joined him and quickly cleared away the remaining rubble.

A person lay beneath. It was Tu Shanfang. Blood stained the corner of his mouth, his eyes were wide open, and his battle-axe was still clutched tightly in his hand, but his chest was completely caved in. Even a Black-Armored Army warrior could not withstand the Heaven Demon's enraged strike.

"Brother Tu!" Fan Shuang cried, kneeling beside him instantly.

Dong Rui reached out and gently pressed his neck, shaking his head after a long moment. "This is Tu Shanfang," Dong Rui explained to Madam Zhu. "He's one of our army's warriors who has consistently led Miancheng's resistance against Guo Baiyu! Just now, it was thanks to him intercepting the Heaven Demon and alerting me. Otherwise..." He sighed, "You would truly have been one step too late." At that moment, Dong Rui had already relaxed and was occupied with materials inside the house. If Tu Shanfang hadn't thrown himself into danger, the Heaven Demon would have burst in sooner, and Dong Rui wouldn't even have had time to summon the Snail Toad! Against such a calculated attack, his escape had been pure luck.

Madam Zhu immediately said, "Then you must properly repay his family and fulfill this karmic debt." In its many battles, it had witnessed countless brave warriors' blood stain the battlefield, and each time, it couldn't help but sigh with quiet regret.

Number Sixty-Six gently lifted Tu Shanfang and carefully placed him on a relatively undamaged divan inside the house. Dong Rui bowed deeply to him, his fingertips touching the ground. Beside them, Fan Shuang was already sobbing uncontrollably. Tu Shanfang had clearly stated he joined the Black-Armored Army for money; yet, when confronting the Heaven Demon alone, why had he charged forward so fearlessly? This man truly did not match his words.

At that moment, a large contingent of people also rushed in from the street corner. Although the battle between the Heaven Demon, the demonic puppet, and Madam Zhu had been fierce, it was too short-lived. Wan Qiliang and others, having heard the disturbance, only now arrived.

Dong Rui patted Fan Shuang's shoulder, sighed, and stood up to find Wan Qiliang to explain the situation. Miancheng was once again placed under full city martial law, with orders to apprehend foreign spies.

Regardless of the outside commotion, Fan Shuang cried his heart out for a long while. Then he went to the outer room, found a pot of wine and two cups, and filled them. "You said we'd drink another day, so today is that day," he murmured. He picked up one cup, gently clinked it against the other, and said, "Thank you for saving my entire family once again!" He drained his cup, then gently poured the other cup of wine onto the ground.

From the next day, Miancheng plunged into intense post-war reconstruction, and the Fan father and son were tirelessly busy. Five days later, Dong Rui sent him a message: The Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds had arrived at Cihua County.

He immediately went to the relay station to borrow a horse and galloped off. Cihua County was indeed vastly different from half a month prior, with guards posted every five steps and heavy military presence. As a minor county official, he naturally lacked the qualifications to meet the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds. Fortunately, he still possessed the Silverwood Token. After submitting it to the authorities, he waited anxiously.