Chapter 764: True Fragrance

Qin Mu was in the thick of a fierce battle when, in the distance, Lu Li suddenly raised a perfectly square cauldron lid.

Although the lid was square, its underside bore a circular imprint of all the stars, symbolizing the celestial disk. The four corners, on the other hand, were engraved with the forms of four demon gods: ox-headed, human-bodied, and tiger-faced. These four fanged demons were depicted biting the celestial disk, symbolizing Youdu.

As Lu Li held the lid aloft, a blinding white light shot out diagonally and, with a hum, enveloped Qin Mu and his companions. Qin Mu instantly sensed danger. The world began to spin, and he felt himself uncontrollably lifted into the air. He and several other gods and demons were snared by the light, drawing them towards the cauldron lid in Lu Li's hand.

Three more gods and demons were also ensnared by the light, and in their panic, they cried out, "God-Suppressing Hun Tian Luo!"

Qin Mu's heart pounded. Just as he was about to make his escape, the sky abruptly turned dark. He looked up to find it filled with countless stars.

Lu Li seized the lid and, with a resounding clang, sealed it tightly and perfectly onto the Youdu Cauldron of Slaughter, which had been forged by Earth Count's reincarnated self.

Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief and called out, "Aren't you going to help?"

Xuan Ming, Han Lei, and Yu Huang each immediately placed a palm on the Youdu Cauldron of Slaughter. Lu Li joined them, and the four individuals pressed their palms onto the cauldron's four corners, thereby activating the combined power of the Cauldron of Slaughter and the Hun Tian Luo.

Suddenly, several Youdu magnates descended. Yan Qianchong stepped forward and exclaimed, "Do not activate the Cauldron of Slaughter! Three fellow Daoists were just drawn into the cauldron. If you activate it, they too will be refined to death!"

Lu Li glanced at him, a smile playing on his lips. "In that case," he said, "let's open the lid and release the Little Overlord of Youdu. The Red Emperor can personally deal with him and send him back."

Yan Qianchong let out a cold hmph and remained silent.

"If the Youdu God Child is released, we will all perish."

Xuan Ming stated calmly, "While you are all venerable elders, you lack physical bodies and are thus naturally suppressed by the Youdu God Child. His return this time is different from twenty-two years ago. He has overcome his former weaknesses, and his divine powers are now immense. Moreover, within Youdu, it's virtually impossible to slay him. The only way to kill him is with the Hun Tian Luo and the Cauldron of Slaughter."

A hush fell over the group.

They had already witnessed the Youdu God Child's formidable power and terror, not once, but twice.

The first encounter was in his second month after birth, when the Youdu God Child unleashed chaos, devouring countless gods and demons from Youdu's major factions, growing ever larger and more arrogant.

Yet, in that battle, despite his power, the Youdu God Child was not invincible.

He possessed no understanding of divine abilities or magical techniques. Instead, he relied solely on his innate power and his unique status as Youdu's first post-heavenly being born of a womb. By remaining in Youdu, he could regenerate at will and absorb the souls and primeval spirits of others to empower himself, thus ensuring his survival.

Now, twenty-two years later, the Youdu God Child has returned to Youdu, demonstrating a level of power utterly incomparable to what he possessed before.

In the recent conflict, hundreds of Exalted Heavens and Emperor Throne experts suffered devastating casualties, with more than half of them falling at his hand.

Upon death, Exalted Heavens and Emperor Throne experts lose their physical bodies, leaving only their primeval spirits. While their power is indeed significantly diminished, comparable to gods and demons of the Jade Capital and Exalted Heavens realms, their insights and knowledge from their former lives persist, far exceeding those of ordinary Jade Capital realm gods and demons.

The fact that so many powerful beings had besieged him and still suffered such heavy losses truly sent shivers down their spines.

Lu Li had caught the Youdu God Child off guard and trapped him in the cauldron. If the Cauldron of Slaughter were to be opened and he escaped, re-trapping him would prove immensely difficult, potentially claiming the lives of countless ancient beings.

"These three fellow Daoists sacrificed themselves to eliminate the Youdu God Child. Their righteousness is boundless, and we deeply admire them."

Suddenly, High Heavenly King, with a sorrowful expression, placed his palm on the Cauldron of Slaughter and wept, "These three fellow Daoists are so noble. I shall mourn them bitterly, for their righteous sacrifice!"

The other ancient beings looked desolate, sobbing and shedding tears as they cried out in unison, "Let us bid farewell to our three fellow Daoists!"

A collective wail rose from the group.

Lu Li watched them with a smile, then suddenly beamed and declared, "All right, all right, gentlemen, there's no need for sorrow. The Youdu God Child may not die immediately upon entering the cauldron. To spare our three fellow Daoists any prolonged suffering, let us promptly activate the Cauldron of Slaughter and send them, along with the Youdu God Child, on their journey together!"

The expressions on everyone's faces turned grim. Yan Qianchong stated coldly, "Commander Lu Li, your self-serving ambition is excessive. Three fellow Daoists died because of you, yet you can still smile!"

Lu Li began to weep profusely, tears streaming down his face. Wiping them away, he said, "Others call me self-serving, but who knows I'm merely putting on a brave face?"

Xuan Ming, unable to stand the scene, softly interjected, "Important matters first. Let's attend to the main task."

High Heavenly King raised an eyebrow and asked, "Once the Youdu God Child is refined to death, whose physical body will it be?"

A collective jolt went through the group.

High Heavenly King chuckled lightly, "Four Commanders, the Hun Tian Luo was forged through the combined efforts of us Youdu magnates specifically to deal with the Youdu God Child. While we are undoubtedly saddened by the loss of so many fellow Daoists, the Youdu God Child's physical body is of immense significance. We should first decide on its ownership."

Lu Li's brow furrowed slightly before he smiled and said, "High Heavenly King, do you have a specific proposal? Feel free to state it clearly."

High Heavenly King chuckled softly, "We are merely the deceased; what thoughts could we possibly have?"

Yan Qianchong's thoughts stirred. He said, "The four Commanders all possess physical bodies, whereas we old ones do not. Therefore, once the Youdu God Child is refined to death, his physical body should naturally belong to us. The four Commanders ought to defer."

Yu Huang sneered, "There are so many of you ghosts, but only one Youdu God Child. How will you divide him? Since the Youdu God Child's physical body won't belong to us, why don't you decide now who among you will claim it!"

The ancient beings felt a chill in their hearts.

The allure of the Youdu God Child's physical body was truly immense. Imagine the prospect: resurrected, they would wield powers comparable to Earth Count's, and with continued growth, replacing Earth Count himself would be within reach!

Silence enveloped the Cauldron of Slaughter as the ancient beings stood by its edge, saying nothing.

Lu Li sneered inwardly. The other three Commanders stood by his side, studying the faces of the ancient beings, secretly maintaining their guard.

Inside the cauldron, Qin Mu and the three primeval spirits from the Exalted Heavens realm descended almost simultaneously, and the light of the Hun Tian Luo dispersed.

Utter darkness enveloped them.

Qin Mu looked up to see a dazzling array of stars, with the celestial river coiling above their heads.

Looking down, he beheld an immense darkness, within which countless faces drifted—some human, some of gods and demons.

They appeared to be crafted from the thinnest paper, utterly without depth, simply floating in the darkness, materializing and vanishing intermittently.

These were the powerful beings who had perished inside this cauldron. After being refined by the Cauldron of Slaughter, they had transformed into imprints within it, enhancing the great cauldron's formidable power.

"Hun Tian Luo!"

One of the primeval spirits cried out in despair, his voice sharp with agony: "The Hun Tian Luo, which we personally forged, has been turned against us by that little beast, Lu Li!"

"And the Cauldron of Slaughter!"

The primeval spirits of the other two ancient beings revealed profound fear, their voices hoarse: "The Cauldron of Slaughter, forged by Earth Count's reincarnation, Youdu's greatest treasure, its ultimate weapon of destruction!"

"During the Dragon Han era, Earth Count unleashed a massacre, using this cauldron to refine countless ancient gods and demigods until their souls were scattered!"

"We are doomed!"

"Let us out!"

The three primeval spirits shot upwards, soaring towards the celestial river. Qin Mu looked up and saw the celestial river and the stars in the sky begin to revolve. The three Exalted Heavens primeval spirits plunged into the river, were immediately struck down, fell into the profound darkness, and then burst apart within it, their luminous flames slowly fading.

"What a shame, I couldn't eat them..." the Big Head Doll lamented.

Qin Mu surveyed his surroundings, his expression grave.

He watched as the faces of the three ancient beings who had just perished appeared in the darkness, transforming into three additional imprints.

The beings who had been refined to death here were immensely powerful, yet under the might of the Cauldron of Slaughter, they were obliterated with virtually no resistance!

In ancient times, consumed by hatred over the deaths of his wife and daughter, Earth Count was swayed by his demonic nature, leading him to forge Youdu's supreme weapon of destruction.

His resentment and demonic nature reached their absolute peak at that moment, achieving a state where they broke free from Youdu's rules. The Cauldron of Slaughter, forged during that time, imbued with his most potent demonic essence and hatred, was truly terrifying.

"This cauldron hasn't attacked us yet."

Qin Mu observed the faces drifting all around him, his heart suddenly chilled. "Is Earth Count controlling this cauldron? No, that's not right. After his rampage during the Dragon Han era, Earth Count felt his sins were too profound, so he imprisoned his reincarnated self in Jade Lock Pass to endure the torment of karmic fire. This cauldron must have been abandoned by him, or perhaps claimed by the Heavenly Court and entrusted to commanders like Lu Li. This implies that the only reason the cauldron hasn't unleashed its full destructive power is likely because no one outside is actively operating it."

He composed himself. The three primeval spirits had just been struck down by the Hun Tian Luo, which triggered the Cauldron of Slaughter's power and led to their immediate obliteration. This suggested that while the cauldron's power could be activated, there would be no significant danger as long as it wasn't triggered—unless, of course, Lu Li and the others directly unleashed its full might.

"Earth Count forged the Cauldron of Slaughter during the Dragon Han era, which implies his mastery of arithmetic and divination couldn't have been very advanced."

Qin Mu remained calm, opening the eye on his forehead to survey his surroundings. "Back then," he mused, "the Dao Ancestor would have only developed the 'Classic of Calculations' and the 'Great Profound Classic of Calculations.' Earth Count likely hadn't learned them yet, which means there should be flaws in this Cauldron of Slaughter's killing formation."

He scrutinized his surroundings, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper, as beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

He could find no flaws.

Then, a crucial realization struck him.

The calculations and methods of the Daoist sect were designed to expound upon the Great Dao of heaven and earth. However, Earth Count himself was an ancient god, born of heaven and earth, the very embodiment of Youdu's Great Dao!

He had absolutely no need to employ such calculations!

In his eyes, such calculations were a rudimentary skill!

To abandon his innate Dao attainments in favor of studying mere calculations would be akin to "buying the casket and returning the pearls"—choosing the superficial over the valuable.

"This is going to be trouble..."

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Qin Fengqing, to his right, suddenly took deep, appreciative breaths. "This is truly a wonderful place," he praised, "filled with a delightful aroma everywhere—it smells so good!"

Qin Mu blinked. "Smells good?" he repeated.

Qin Fengqing nodded. "Absolutely! Can't you smell the sweet scent in the air? It's the aroma of souls, imbued with pain, fear, despair, resentment, regret, and all sorts of sinister little thoughts. It tastes exceptionally good!"

Qin Mu was momentarily stunned. He suddenly launched a divine ability into the darkness, and a thunderous boom echoed as the shadows surged. Yet, contrary to his expectations, there was no counterattack from the Cauldron of Slaughter!

The Cauldron of Slaughter remained completely unaffected by his attack. Only a single face, materializing from the darkness, contorted in pain, its mouth open in a silent wail.

Qin Mu stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly realized and let out a chuckle. "I understand now!" he exclaimed. "We two brothers are Earth Count himself! To this cauldron, we are identical to it. It won't attack Earth Count; it won't attack itself!"

His interest piqued instantly. He moved his feet, and still, the Cauldron of Slaughter did not attack.

Qin Mu flew towards one of the faces in the darkness. The enormous face's eyes swiveled, fixing on him with an expression of terror.

Qin Mu circled behind the face, only to discover it was still the same face. From any angle he viewed it, he could only see the front; the side and back were perpetually invisible!

He couldn't help but marvel. "Brother," he asked, "can you discern the Daoist techniques or divine abilities this cauldron employs? How did Earth Count create this face?"

"Hold on a moment!"

Qin Fengqing raised his hand, reaching his arm into the eye on his forehead and wildly rummaging within. Inside the Qin Character Continent, Heavenly Duke, Crimson Emperor, and Great Sun Star Lord hastily scrambled out of the way.

A moment later, Qin Fengqing pulled a head from the Qin Character Continent, blew on it, and the head floated up, drifting into the darkness. "Like this," he said.

Qin Mu watched, dumbfounded. He circled the head a few times and, sure enough, it presented a front face from every angle, with no side or back of the head visible.

"What Daoist techniques or divine abilities were employed here?" Qin Mu asked, completely bewildered.

"I don't know."

Qin Fengqing said, "Since there's no danger, I'm going to take some time to digest. You figure out how to get out on your own."