Chapter 231 - 227: Thick Spider (1)

Silence fell over the conference room as the two walked through the door.

Their gazes fell upon Hu Qi, all of them filled with confusion. They didn’t understand why Xuanqing would bring a stranger here.

Just then, Lei Bao was the first to break the silence, his eyes fixed on Hu Qi.

He asked, "And you are?"

"It’s me. I ran into some problems with my Cultivation."

Hu Qi’s tone was calm.

As he spoke, he released the fluctuations of his original Power of the Heart.

Seeing this, everyone’s expressions relaxed.

Appearance and body shape could be changed, but the unique Power of the Heart of every Refining God Venerable was unalterable, just as no two leaves in the world are exactly alike.

Although everyone was curious about Hu Qi changing his appearance and even his gender,

no one pressed the matter further.

Lei Bao was no exception.

Though Hu Qi wasn’t intentionally revealing anything, a faint sense of danger rose in Lei Bao’s heart.

The feeling was subtle yet real, like the first time he had entered a thundercloud to temper his body with lightning.

It was as terrifying as seeing that destructive bolt of lightning.

After everyone was seated, Hu Qi scanned the room and was the first to speak.

"Could you each tell me about your trip to the Earth Core? Did you discover anything?"

Hearing this, the others saw that Xuanqing, sitting to one side, had no intention of speaking, so they began to share their experiences one after another.

"What was there to discover? Before we could even begin, those two fools, Shi Xiao and Li Xianyu, got our trail discovered by the Food Masters. We were forced to leave the Inner Earth World."

Lei Bao’s face was grim.

"Amitabha. It was the same for this old monk. If not for the protection of my Jianan Buddha Beads, I might not have been able to leave at all."

Wang Jing said, chanting the name of the Buddha.

A few of the Buddha Beads on the string around his neck were missing. This was clearly the Jianan Buddha Bead necklace he mentioned, likely a powerful Blood Refining Spiritual Soldier that had been nurtured for many years.

His previous clash with the Food Masters had caused some damage to the beads.

"I only managed to investigate about a third of the Black Swamp Realm. I had originally planned to question the humans there—they are Natives of the Inner Earth World, after all, and might know something. Unfortunately, before I could even speak to them, I was spotted by a Food Master..."

Meng Ke said softly. She didn’t finish her sentence, but everyone present understood what had happened.

"Same here. I found nothing of value."

The last one to speak was Thick Spider from the Earth God Hall.

Their voice was slightly hoarse, and their face was hidden behind a black mask, making it impossible to distinguish their gender.

At this point, their gaze from behind the mask turned to Hu Qi.

"As far as I know, you spent a full half-month in the Earth Core. Surely you must have made some discoveries."

Hu Qi shook his head.

"Regarding the Earth Core, I’ve already investigated every region. I found nothing."

Hearing this, the others weren’t surprised.

They didn’t take his claim of having investigated every region seriously at all.

Although he had stayed in the Inner Earth World the longest, once the Food Masters discovered that Refining God Venerables had entered the Earth Core, they would have relentlessly scoured every corner of it.

He had most likely hidden somewhere, waiting for an opening to leave the Earth Core and return to the surface.

"You say you’ve investigated every region?"

Thick Spider continued, their tone laced with a distrust anyone could hear.

"That’s right."

Hu Qi replied calmly, as if he hadn’t noticed the skepticism.

"Then can you tell us how you managed to conduct your investigation while evading the Food Masters’ search?"

Thick Spider paused before asking.

This time, their tone held a hint of mockery.

The previous question had been an out. If he had taken it,

admitting he hadn’t searched every region would have been the end of it.

But unexpectedly, the man before them was this stubborn.

Thick Spider was already feeling displeased with him.

However, what Thick Spider didn’t expect was that Hu Qi’s next words would be even more arrogant.

"Evade? Why would I need to evade? If I run into them, I just kill them. Isn’t that easier?"

Hu Qi smiled.

"However, it’s not that I found nothing. Based on my deductions, if the Spirit Realm Sea Eye exists, it can only be in one place!"

Thick Spider was about to speak but was immediately captivated by the content of Hu Qi’s next words.

But before they could ask, Lei Bao interjected.

"Where is it?"

Everyone’s gaze fixed on Hu Qi.

The Spirit Realm Sea Eye was the passage to the true Spirit Realm—the Sea of Sumeru. Once they knew its location, they could use it to enter the Sea of Sumeru, travel to other worlds, and thus escape being killed by Mother Earth at the source.

Although entering the Sea of Sumeru and traveling to other worlds had its own dangers, it was far better than the near-certain death of staying here.

It was undoubtedly a perfect escape route. At the very least, it gave them the option to advance or retreat.

"The Valley of the Earth Abyss!"

Hu Qi said. Seemingly noticing everyone’s confusion, he explained.

"The Valley of the Earth Abyss is Mother Earth’s resting place. And, according to reliable information I’ve obtained, we have less than three years until she truly awakens!"

As he finished speaking, everyone’s expressions changed slightly. No one said a word. The atmosphere descended into a deathly silence.

"Haha! Ridiculous! Do you take us for fools?

You searched every region, slaughtered Food Masters at will, and even found Mother Earth’s resting place? Who do you think you are?"

Thick Spider slammed a hand on the table with a dull THUD, stood up, and sneered.

It wasn’t just them. Although the other three said nothing, they clearly didn’t believe a word Hu Qi had said.

Mainly because Hu Qi’s claims were too incredible to be believed.

If it were Xuanqing, it might be possible, but you’re just a Refining God practitioner at the Dharma Realm.

It’s not like there aren’t others here at the Dharma Realm.

"Proof?"

Hu Qi scoffed.

The next moment, a Pseudo Domain befitting the Refining God Limit and the peak of the Divine Image Realm radiated from his body, instantly enveloping the surroundings.

Under the Pseudo Domain, it felt as if a great mountain was pressing down on them, their movements becoming sluggish.

In that instant, the expressions in all four of their eyes changed.

"This... This is..."

Before was one thing, but now, Hu Qi’s unrestrained release of the powerful aura of a Refining God Venerable at their limit brought looks of bewilderment, shock, and disbelief to their faces.

"My power is the only proof I need.

The catastrophe is coming. Our only hope for survival is to unite.

I need a large number of Inheritance Secret Martial Arts and Life Map Cultivation Techniques to perfect my path forward.

Therefore, I hope you will all hand over the Inheritance Secret Martial Arts and Life Acupoint Cultivation Techniques from your respective Schools."

Hu Qi’s voice was nonchalant.

Hearing this, the others’ faces turned ugly, and they looked toward Xuanqing at the side.

As if sensing their gazes, Xuanqing spoke, but his words made their hearts sink.

"This humble Daoist also finds the young friend’s words reasonable."

His statement was an undeniable sign of his support for Hu Qi’s actions.

In other words, the two of them were in this together from the start.

For a moment, their expressions flickered between anger and uncertainty.

As Refining God Venerables,

even the youngest among them was over a hundred years old.

Their thinking was inevitably somewhat traditional. While they didn’t consider their Inheritance Secret Martial Arts more important than their own lives,

they would never willingly hand over the inherited arts of their Schools.

But now, they were under someone else’s roof and had to bow their heads.

They had never imagined that Hu Qi was an existence at the Refining God Limit. He might have even started taking that next step, for all they knew.

With Xuanqing on his side as well,

if it came to blows, they stood no chance of winning.

"You want the Earth God Hall’s Inheritance Secret Martial Arts? You must be dreaming!"

Thick Spider sneered.

Immediately after, the Power of the Heart fluctuated around their body. They actually managed to gather a force of their own, pushing back against the blockade of Hu Qi’s Pseudo Domain.

Their true strength was revealed to be that of a Divine Image Realm Refining God Venerable.

Although not at the limit of the Divine Image Realm, they still possessed Domain Power.

However, the Pseudo Domain constructed from their Power of the Heart was compressed within Hu Qi’s own, shrinking until it covered a space of less than half a meter around them.

And as time passed, it continued to shrink.

Realizing this,

Thick Spider didn’t hesitate for a moment.

With a flash of movement, they tried to flee.

But just as they moved, a blinding blade light came crashing down.

Faced with this attack, Thick Spider crossed their arms to protect their front.

Translucent threads materialized in the void, converging in front of them to block the sharp blade light.

PFFT!

But to their shock,

the instant the threads came into contact with the blade light,

they snapped apart inch by inch.

It was like a hot knife through butter, meeting almost no resistance.

CRACK!

A crisp crack sounded out.

The mask on Thick Spider’s face split in two, revealing the sallow face of a middle-aged man.

Then, his body trembled slightly as a line of blood rapidly spread down from his forehead.

The Vitality in his eyes quickly faded.

With a SQUELCH,

blood splattered everywhere.

His entire body was cleaved in two.

"This..."

This scene stunned the others in the room.

Hu Qi’s expression was also strange.

’To be honest, I have good control over my strength. I didn’t even use my full power.’

’Judging from the intensity of the Power of the Heart that burst from him just now, it wasn’t hard to tell he was a Refining God Venerable who had reached the Divine Image Realm.’

’Even if he couldn’t block that strike, he should have only been severely injured at worst.’

’There’s no way he should have died on the spot.’

’The power he displayed was equivalent to a Qi Dao Grandmaster Peak at most.’

’That level of strength isn’t weak,’

’but compared to a Refining God Venerable, it’s nothing.’

’It was like a paper tiger, impressive on the outside but bursting with a single poke.’

’Besides, I didn’t sense the aura of the Light of the Soul on him.’

’Then there’s only one possibility. This Thick Spider was just a Puppet.’

’His real body wasn’t here at all.’

"It’s actually a Refined God Puppet. A pity. Due to the crafting technique, its strength is much weaker than it was in life,"

Xuanqing remarked from the side.