My CEO Bai Fumei’s wife

"Want to run away? Dream on."

Zhao Wuji followed closely behind, and the twelve guards chased him into the underground like twelve shooting stars.

The underground space was much larger than Qin Yu had imagined, but it was also much more bizarre than he had expected.

This is not an ordinary underground cave, but a mechanical maze made up of countless dark red gears and runes. Each of those gears is as big as a house and is turning slowly and rhythmically.

Blood-red liquid dripped continuously from above, and each drop of blood that landed on the gears was immediately absorbed and converted into energy to drive the gears to rotate.

"This is a creation of the Heavenly Mystery Sect."

Zhuge Chuchu's voice trembled slightly; her crystal-clear eyes had seen too much in this mechanical maze.

"The earth's veins have been altered. The entire foundation of Yanlong City is covered by the Heavenly Mystery Sect's array. This is a massive Soul Refining Furnace."

"Soul Refining Furnace".

"Yes, it's a device used to refine souls and extract pure spiritual energy. The energy required by the Heavenly Treasure Vault cannot be provided by ordinary spirit stones; it requires the souls of living people."

Qin Yu paused for a moment, remembering what Lin Tianhao had said.

They refined Yan Mingyu's soul into a weapon spirit to serve as material for Emperor Li's divine weapon.

It turns out that the people of Martial Emperor City have long been using this method to improve their cultivation.

Does your father know about this?

"My father was hunted down by Wudi City because he discovered this. The destruction of Shenwang Sect was not because it offended any sect, but because my father wanted to reveal the truth about the Heavenly Treasure Vault."

Zhuge Chuchu's voice grew colder and colder.

"The Martial Emperor City claims that the Heavenly Secrets Treasury is a treasure from an ancient ruin, containing a secret method that can help people break through to the Nascent Soul stage. But in reality, the Heavenly Secrets Treasury is a Soul Refining Furnace that has been devouring the fortune of the Flame Dragon State for three hundred years."

"Your father discovered the truth and then his entire family was wiped out."

"He not only discovered the truth, but he also found a way to shut down the Soul Refining Furnace."

Zhuge Chuchu pointed to her eyes.

"The Glass Eyes can not only see through disguises, but also control the creations of the Heavenly Mystery Sect. I am the last descendant of Zhuge Liang to possess the Glass Eyes, and also the only one who can shut down the Soul Refining Furnace."

Qin Yu finally understood why Emperor Li wanted to capture Zhuge Chuchu alive.

It's not to open the Heavenly Treasury, but to ensure that no one can close it.

As long as Zhuge Chuchu is alive, the Soul Refining Furnace could be shut down at any time. Only by killing or controlling her can Wudi City continue to devour fortune with this Soul Refining Furnace without worry.

"So you entered the Death Gate not to destroy the array's core, but to shut down the entire Soul Refining Furnace."

"Yes, but I need to reach the core area to control the formation. The core area is at the deepest part of the maze."

Before Zhuge Chuchu could finish speaking, a sharp whooshing sound came from behind her.

Zhao Wuji's personal guards caught up.

Qin Yu turned around, the Nine Dragons Sword held horizontally in front of him, the true dragon energy on the sword transforming into nine golden ribbons of light that swirled around him.

"I'll block your way, you go first."

Without hesitation, Zhuge Chuchu darted into the depths of the mechanical maze, the Heavenly Compass in her hand emitting a faint light to guide her.

The first guard who caught up was cleaved in two by the Nine Dragon Sword before he could even attack, and his body fell onto the gears and was crushed by the dark red mechanisms.

"One."

Qin Yu's voice was cold; he didn't even glance at the corpse.

The second guard circled around from the side, attempting to pursue Zhuge Chuchu, but was rammed into a gear by Kui Wu's bull-headed weapon and shredded into a bloody pulp as the gears turned. "Two."

Zhu Zhen's body blocked the third passage of the maze. His massive frame formed a wall of flesh in the narrow space, and the guards who tried to catch up with him through this path had their spines broken by his hooves.

"Three."

The dragon's breath covered the fourth passage, and golden flames spread between the mechanical gears. The two guards were engulfed by the flames before they even had time to scream.

Five.

In the blink of an eye, five of Zhao Wuji's twelve personal guards had died.

Zhao Wuji's face darkened completely. He hadn't expected Qin Yu's combat strength underground to be so formidable. His personal guards, who could unleash their full power on the ground, were completely unable to exert their full potential in this mechanical maze.

"You think you're safe just because you're hiding in a mouse hole?"

Zhao Wuji's figure swept past above the gears, and in his hand appeared a golden official seal, engraved with the mark of Wudi City.

"The Flaming Dragon Sealing Heaven Formation can not only seal the ground, but also the underground."

The official seal landed on a giant gear, which immediately stopped turning, and then the entire mechanical maze began to vibrate.

Qin Yu was forced to stop because he discovered that the gears beneath his feet had also stopped turning and had begun to rotate in the opposite direction.

“This Soul Refining Furnace has been under the control of Martial Emperor City for three hundred years. Do you think you can regain control with that woman’s Glass Eyes?”

Zhao Wuji stood on a giant gear bearing, looking down at Qin Yu.

"The descendants of the Heavenly Mystery Sect have all died out long ago. She is at most a half-bloodline awakener. She is nothing in front of my official seal."

Qin Yu frowned; he realized that what Zhao Wuji said might be true.

Although Zhuge Chuchu possesses the Glazed Eyes, her cultivation level is only at the Golden Core stage, while the official seal in Zhao Wuji's hand is clearly a magic weapon crafted by a Nascent Soul stage expert.

The difference between using the bloodline power of a Golden Core stage cultivator to fight against the magic weapon power of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator is not small.

"Have you thought it through? None of you are getting away today."

Zhao Wuji waved his hand, and the remaining seven guards stopped chasing Zhuge Chuchu and instead surrounded Qin Yu and the three divine pets.

"It's no use for that woman to go in. The core area of ​​the Death Gate has been sealed by me with my official seal. Even if she gets there, she won't be able to get in."

Zhao Wuji's voice grew increasingly smug.

"My original plan was to deal with you slowly after the blood sacrifice was completed, but I didn't expect you to deliver yourself to my door, which saves me the trouble."

Qin Yu didn't speak. His gaze swept over the gears that had stopped turning around, and then landed on the bearing under Zhao Wuji's feet.

"Your official seal can control the operation of this maze."

"Of course, this is a treasure bestowed upon the city by the Emperor himself, and the entire Yanlong City is under my control."

"What would happen if I, this young master, smashed your official seal?"

Zhao Wuji was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"You think you can break the official seal? Do you even know what material this official seal is made of? It's Xuanjin, refined in the Heavenly Furnace of Martial Emperor City. Even a Nascent Soul stage expert would need three days to leave a scratch on it. And you, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, think you can break it?"

Qin Yu's answer was a sword.

That sword strike carried the dark red arc of lightning that defied the heavens and the golden light of the true dragon's aura. These two powers, which should not have coexisted, merged on the sword's edge into a strange purple-gold sword aura.

Zhao Wuji's expression changed. He instinctively tried to dodge, but the gears beneath his feet suddenly began to turn, pulling his body forward half an inch.

It was that mere half-inch distance that allowed Qin Yu's sword energy to grazed past his official seal. (End of Chapter)