Chapter 723: Echo Number One on the Four-Day Leaderboard

Chapter 717 Echo 4: Number One on the Heavenly Proclamation

He Lingchuan remembered that when Mitian revealed the black line on Shao Jian's shoulder, a bowl-shaped artifact was used. However, when he saw the golden line on Madam Zhu, he didn't use any tools.

Was it because the divine powers of Bai Zhantian were different, or because He Lingchuan himself was unique? He certainly hadn't possessed this ability before.

A thought sparked in He Lingchuan's mind, and he suddenly drew his Fleeting Life Blade.

A cold glint flashed in his hand, and Madam Zhu tightened her eight limbs, asking warily, "What are you going to do?"

"Don't move, let me try," He Lingchuan said. He channeled a little energy, and a red glow swept across the Fleeting Life Blade.

This was the first time the Great Wind Army's primal energy was being tested in the human world.

He raised the blade towards the golden line, very lightly and slowly, to avoid Madam Zhu misunderstanding.

When Fleeting Life touched the golden line, it surprisingly had a tangible texture, and the line swayed with its movement. He Lingchuan's heart settled; this was promising!

However, cutting the golden line wasn't as swift as he imagined. Instead, it was like a small knife sawing through steel wire—tough yet hard.

Despite Fleeting Life's sharpness, it took over a dozen strokes to completely sever it!

Once severed, the golden line was no different from an ordinary thread, quickly dissipating in the bright light.

The karmic thread secretly placed by the Celestial God was now removed!

He Lingchuan couldn't help but burst out laughing, feeling greatly relieved. "It's done!"

So, Fleeting Life's "Void Breaking" effect could be used in this way?

Dong Rui and Madam Zhu couldn't see the golden line, so they were surprised. "You can cut it with a blade?"

"Apparently so," He Lingchuan said, patting Madam Zhu—ouch, thorny—"It's settled. I believe the Celestial God's tracking spell should now be ineffective."

The Fleeting Life Blade might not have had the ability to sever threads of fate before, but don't forget, he had just retrieved the lid of the Great Square Pot from Mount Xu!

Once the lid was reunited with the divine artifact, surely it would gain some wondrous new functions?

He truly wanted to see the expressions on the Celestial God and the Demon Emperor's faces when they discovered the thread of fate had been severed.

Once again, he had undermined them completely. His opponents must hate him to the core.

Oh, right, his opponents probably didn't even know who he was.

He Lingchuan smiled even more contentedly.

Next, the two mounted their beasts and switched to ground travel.

Dong Rui's scarred face was hidden by a human skin mask, so others couldn't spot anything unusual. However, Madam Zhu's physique couldn't be concealed, and He Lingchuan believed that the warrant issued by Lingxu City for her capture would soon spread throughout Beijia. Therefore, he intentionally avoided official roads, opting instead to travel through mountains and ridges to prevent their movements from being exposed.

The rock goats could traverse rugged mountain paths with ease, and the hybrid beast He Lingchuan had bought for Dong Rui at a high price was also quite fast. With his new face, Dong Rui was eager to show off outside, occasionally venturing near post stations and villages to restock food and water and gather information.

Upon his return, he reported that because they had stirred up a hornet's nest, officials and soldiers were swarming the main roads like wasps. Checkpoints were extremely strict, and bird demons were constantly circling overhead, searching for suspicious individuals like them.

The drastic changes at Mount Xu and Lingxu City were like a bomb detonated in the heart of the empire. The aftermath of the explosion and Beijia's wrath were just beginning to spread.

The imperial capital had enjoyed six centuries of peace; it was time for it to experience the hardship of turmoil.

Mount Xu was considered a sacred mountain by the people of Lingxu City, and indeed by all Beijian citizens. Its sudden upheaval would undoubtedly trigger countless suspicions.

With public sentiment raging, how much effort would the Celestial Palace and the Royal Court need to suppress it?

Everyone said the Celestial God was omnipotent, so why was the Celestial God's own earthly residence burned to the ground?

This incident was far more profound, widespread, and thought-provoking than the Elixir of Immortality case or the downfall of Imperial Preceptor Qingyang.

Of course, for an experienced fugitive like Dong Rui, evading the eyes of the officials was a trivial matter.

With just one sentence, Madam Zhu deflated his smugness: "Has my wanted poster been put up? What's my rank now?"

Dong Rui's smile vanished immediately. Reluctantly, he said, "It's up. You're now second on the Heavenly Proclamation of wanted criminals."

The spider demon had destroyed the Spirit Gathering Formation and caused the eruption of Mount Tianshu, a heinous crime! Therefore, she had jumped directly from the Earth Proclamation to the Heavenly Proclamation.

As for him, he had only handled logistics during the operation and hadn't shown his face. Thanks to Nian Zanli taking the blame, he was no longer wanted.

Damn it, Madam Zhu had completely stolen his thunder.

"The third spot on the Heavenly Proclamation has also been updated," Dong Rui continued. "It's called 'Du Feng,' probably that immortal bird that released the tornado."

He Lingchuan found the name a bit familiar. Did all these bird demons like to use "wind" in their names?

"Yes, that's it," Madam Zhu said, shaking her sharp claws.

"And the first place on the Heavenly Proclamation?"

"Don't know," Dong Rui thought for a moment. "It wasn't posted."

He Lingchuan smiled, raising his hand. "The top spot is right here."

Dong Rui scoffed, "What gall! How do you know you'll definitely be the primary culprit?"

"They don't know who I am, nor what I look like. How can they issue a wanted poster?" He asked, "Will they just put a question mark on a drawing? If no wanted poster is issued, that means it's me."

Dong Rui sneered.

"Still unconvinced?" He Lingchuan counted on his fingers for him. "Who obtained the intelligence on the formation's core?"

The information and details for building the formation's core were all in the mind of the retired official Zai Fu Kua. If conventional interrogation methods were used, even if the person was silenced afterward, it would likely alert the authorities. Once the Celestial Palace heightened its vigilance, the difficulty for He Lingchuan to succeed would at least double.

However, He Lingchuan used a Nightmare to extract the information, completely unbeknownst to anyone, not even Zai Fu Kua himself had any memory of it.

"Second, who acquired the hide of the Thunder Behemoth and fashioned the Lightning Amulets?"

Dong Rui pursed his lips.

Lightning-repelling artifacts were inherently rare. The "Thunder Pool" at the core of the Spirit Gathering Formation was something ordinary items simply couldn't withstand. Fang Canran had hosted the Dunyuan auction for many years, having seen all sorts of rare treasures, yet he had only found one barely qualified lightning-repelling artifact, and even then, he wasn't sure if it could be used to invade Mount Xu.

If the Furu Realm hadn't happened to open, and if the Thunder Behemoth hadn't happened to be locked in a life-or-death battle with the leader of the Null Beasts, where would He Lingchuan have found the Thunder Behemoth's hide to make the lightning-repelling amulets?

This guy's luck was simply too good.

"Third," He Lingchuan raised his third finger, "who calculated the position of the Sky Net Star?"

Dong Rui was speechless.

This point was indeed remarkable; he still didn't understand how He Lingchuan had managed it.

The Great Square Pot was He Lingchuan's deepest secret; he wouldn't tell anyone that he had enlisted external help.

"And there are many other elaborate considerations and details that I won't even mention," He Lingchuan said, curling his fingers into a fist with only his thumb pointed at himself. "Actually, all those opportune circumstances are secondary. The key is the person. If someone else tried, they'd die one after another. If I handle it, it's guaranteed to succeed."

Madam Zhu suddenly spoke, "Fang Canran is also very capable, but without you, he couldn't have launched this even if he waited another hundred years."

He Lingchuan gave her a thumbs-up. "Madam has excellent foresight! And she was very straightforward!"

Dong Rui wanted to roll his eyes but found no way to refute. He could only silently watch He Lingchuan's smugness.

(End of chapter)