One person above Qing Huang Ting

Chapter 874 The Dark Agent Destroyed
As soon as Hu Xiuwu emerged from seclusion, Zi Zhu'er, along with her eldest and second daughters, brought him a special fruit juice from Huaguo Mountain, as well as some delicacies from the Immortal Sword Clan and Heavenly Court.

"Congratulations on your return from seclusion, sir! The hot spring pool is ready. Would you like to take a bath, change your clothes, and enjoy some light tea and snacks to relax?"

Immortals are all of immaculate nature, and can live long lives simply by eating wind and dew, without needing to bathe or eat.

But bathing and eating are not only for cleaning the body and filling the stomach, but also a way to relieve stress and please oneself.

After a period of intense and stressful seclusion, a bath and some delicious food are excellent ways to relax.

Hu Xiuwu was of course willing, but asked with a curious smile, "I remember there is no hot spring pool on Flower Fruit Mountain. Where did the hot spring pool come from?"

Zi Zhu'er laid out the food and drinks, and Sister Zhu answered Hu Xiuwu's question: "It was prepared by Master's demon subordinates."

The eldest sister explained, "The Jiaojiao Demon Clan dug through the earth's veins and opened up the earth's fire veins to forge weapons. They remelted the armor and weapons of many heavenly soldiers and generals, and forged new weapons for the gods and demons in Li Huaguo Mountain."

"Gandharva felt it was a waste to use the earth fire only for forging weapons, so he spent some effort guiding the heat of the earth fire to the mountain stream outside the Green Cliff Path, digging out several interconnected pools, and diverting the water from the Water Curtain Waterfall into the pools to create several hot springs."

"After learning about the Great Sage's deeds, they named it the Stone Washing Pool."

“Mother just instructed me to prepare a hot spring bath in the Washing Stone Pool, which is available for Master’s use.”

Hu Xiuwu said, "After being so tense for so long, it's not a bad thing to relax a bit."

It's a pity Chen Duo isn't here; otherwise, soaking in the hot springs with her would have been a better way to relieve stress.

······
"...It's good to have some minor regrets, at least it gives us something to look forward to next time."

Hu Xiuwu's hair clung to his skin. He didn't dry off the moisture on his body, letting the hot spring water evaporate naturally. He wore a loose robe, his chest and feet exposed.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, looking lazy and content.

On the low table in front of Hu Xiuwu, only leftover food remained.

However, Hu Xiuwu's attention was not on that, but on the situation inside the Innate Demon Refining Tower.

Shortly after he emerged from seclusion, a treasure within the Innate Demon Refining Tower underwent a strange transformation.

That was the most precious treasure in the Innate Demon Refining Tower, besides the Tathagata's Golden Body and the Dao Fruit.

The Jade Emperor's right hand!
Even though Hu Xiuwu didn't do much to it, the crimson hand was still incredibly fresh when placed in the Innate Demon Refining Tower. The severed part looked as if it had just fallen off Wang Lingguan's neck, without a trace of decay.

Even the blood at the cut hadn't dried; it remained flowing, yet it didn't actually flow out of the cut. It was like a towel full of water in a weightless starry sky; no matter how you wring it, the water on the towel would float on top of the towel and wouldn't drip.

Once you get close to the Jade Emperor's right hand, you will feel an overwhelming pressure, which grows stronger the closer you get, even making immortals feel suffocated and frozen in place.

If an ordinary person were to attempt to come into contact with the Jade Emperor's right hand, the right hand would launch a fierce attack, summoning thunder or gales to tear apart any traitors who had offended the Emperor's majesty.

However, just as the Innate Demon Refining Tower was connecting with the karma of all living beings within it, and just as it connected with the Jade Emperor's right hand, a drastic change occurred.

The Jade Emperor's right hand is like a piece of corpse just taken out of a sealed tomb; it blooms briefly before quickly decaying.

It seemed as if the purpose was to prevent anyone from reacting, controlling the degree of decay of the Jade Emperor's right hand. The skin rotted into ash, the muscles decayed and stank, the blood turned into pus, and the bones withered and became brittle.

The five signs of decay of the heavens and man appeared in turn on the Jade Emperor's right hand, and in the process of decay, it also erupted with boundless resentment and killing intent that filled the abyss and filled hell.

Hu Xiuwu snorted coldly, and his fingertips extended an even more malevolent and ferocious sword aura, capable of destroying all things.

The Qi of the Immortal Execution Sword, like an earth dragon, nimbly burrowed into the Innate Demon Refining Tower.

The even more ferocious and malevolent sword energy transformed into four vicious dragons, which devoured the boundless resentment and killing intent generated by the corruption of the Great Luo Golden Immortal's right hand.

The malevolent Zhuxian Sword Qi, having absorbed the resentment of the Jade Emperor's corrupted body, has acquired resentment and malevolent energy that has materialized into blackish-red crystals.

This vicious material is perfect for forging the Four Swords of Zhuxian.

But Hu Xiuwu was not happy. Instead, he sighed and muttered to himself, "They're not stupid. Each move can only be used once."

What would have happened if Hu Xiuwu hadn't learned the law of causality and hadn't discovered the Jade Emperor's right hand?
Just as Hu Xiuwu was about to repeat his old trick, a deep-seated resentment and malevolent energy suddenly erupted, which was bound to impact the goddess Nuwa who was performing the ritual.

If not for a moment, the resentment generated by another Great Luo who sacrificed his incarnation would have injured even the Goddess Nuwa.

Although the Jade Emperor and Laozi were unaware of Nuwa's existence, they still guessed that Buddha might be attacked.

We are addressing all vulnerabilities that Hu Xiuwu could potentially exploit.

Among them, the Jade Emperor's right hand, which remained in Hu Xiuwu's possession, is the Jade Emperor's biggest loophole.

Originally, Hu Xiuwu could have used this hand to curse the Jade Emperor, but now Hu Xiuwu has only obtained four sword embryos.

No matter how you look at it, Hu Xiuwu was a step behind. He didn't think of protecting the Jade Emperor's right hand earlier. If he hadn't grasped a bit of the application of the law of cause and effect, he would have lost a reliable ally.

As expected, those who can become Great Immortals are not born with nothing. There is no such thing as relying on a single trick. As long as you use it once and reveal your information, they will find a way to deal with you.

"We still cannot rashly start a war."

Hu Xiuwu decided to postpone the attack on the Heavenly Court and instead focus on gathering more information about Laozi and the Jade Emperor, while also accumulating more power.

The combination of two Great Luo Golden Immortals is not a simple addition or multiplication, but an exponentially increasing threat.

Hu Xiuwu stretched vigorously, exhaled a breath of stale air, and then slowly stood up, feeling refreshed. He patted his stomach.
"Hmm~! We've had a good meal and relaxed, it's time to get back to work."

Hu Xiuwu walked barefoot out of the hot spring and onto the stone-paved path, where Zhu's eldest sister was waiting.

Hu Xiuwu disliked being served, but the Zhu sisters could not be impolite.

After passing by Zhu's eldest sister, Hu Xiuwu slowly said, "Go and tell everyone to come to the Water Curtain Cave to see me."

“It’s time for you guys to get moving; I can’t always have to do it myself.”