Bitter Realm: A Happy Person Traveling Across China

Chapter 83 The Little Uses of the King of Hell's Feather (Double Monthly Tickets Requested for May Day)

Ashes remain, green pines stand; forbidden ground lies behind the mountain.

After navigating through layers of mazes and camouflage, a hidden laboratory, hollowed out of the mountain and reinforced with magic, is revealed.

The spiritual energy here is completely isolated, with only a few cold, luminous stones embedded in the rock wall emitting a dim, eerie glow.

In the deepest corner of the laboratory, several dark stone pillars engraved with runes stand tall.

On one of the stone pillars, a villain dressed in the classic attire of the Pit of Sin is tightly bound in a "T" shape by cold iron chains in an extremely humiliating yet secure manner.

His limbs were twisted unnaturally at the joints, clearly broken, and hung limply, only held together by chains to prevent him from collapsing.

Although the bleeding from the wound had been briefly stopped, the excruciating pain and fear had turned his face ashen, and cold sweat soaked through his tattered clothes.

Not far away, in a steel cage, several other villains from the same Sin Pit were imprisoned.

They were fast asleep, like babies; being young, they fell asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow.

These people were all fish that escaped from the pit of sin after the Mad Dragon's Laughter was executed, and continued to do evil and torture innocent people.

They thought they could get away with it, but unfortunately they ran into Ye Jinming, who was looking for "experimental materials".

Being able to use such a rare item as the King of Hell's Feather is perhaps the last bit of value in their sinful lives.

Ye Jinming walked calmly to the villain who was chained to the stone pillar.

When the villain saw Ye Jinming approaching, his eyes flashed with extreme fear and pleading, and he made a hoarse "hoarse" sound in his throat, as if he wanted to beg for mercy.

Ye Jinming didn't give him any chance to speak, not even a single unnecessary word.

With a flick of his right hand, a long ebony box with an ancient design and dark runes flowing across its surface appeared in his hand.

The lid slid open silently, revealing a three-inch-long, jet-black Yama Feather lying quietly on a velvet cushion, exuding an ominous aura.

Without the slightest hesitation, Ye Jinming pointed his fingers like a sword and picked up the King of Hell's Feather.

With a flash of dark light at his fingertips, the sinister feather transformed into a black lightning bolt, piercing the villain's Yuzhen acupoint at the back of his head with unparalleled precision!

"Uh...ah"

The villain's body instantly stiffened like a bow, and a shrill, inhuman scream burst from his throat!

His eyes spun wildly, and his muscles twitched uncontrollably, as if he were enduring immense pain as if his soul were being torn apart and crushed.

The chains rattled as he struggled, but he couldn't budge them an inch.

This horrific process lasted for more than ten breaths.

Finally, the screams stopped abruptly, his head snapped back and then fell limply to the ground.

Ye Jinming, expressionless, reached out and slowly pulled the Yama Feather from the Jade Pillow Acupoint. He placed it back in the ebony box, stood quietly, and stared intently at the "corpse" with piercing eyes.

After a short while—

The head of that "corpse," which should have been dead, slowly and stiffly rose up!

It was still the same face belonging to the villains of the Sin Pit, but the expression on his face, especially his eyes, had completely changed!

The fear, pain, and humiliation of the past have all vanished, replaced by an indifference that has endured the vicissitudes of countless years, a coldness that regards all things as straw dogs and looks down upon them.

Ye Jinming met those eyes calmly and could clearly sense that their inner souls were now different.

He then spoke slowly, his voice echoing calmly in the empty cave: "Now, should I call you—Jue Ming Si or Xu Fu?"

Xu Fu stretched his neck, making a "crack" sound as his bones rubbed together.

He didn't answer immediately, but first looked down at the tightly locked, broken body, a mocking and dissatisfied smile curving his lips. His voice was hoarse and low, carrying an ancient charm: "Very—unique body. Rough and grotesque, its meridians blocked like a swamp, and its limbs cruelly broken—heh." He raised his eyes, his gaze fixed on Ye Jinming like a venomous snake. "It seems you harbor great fear and wariness towards me."

Upon hearing this, Ye Jinming smiled slightly, not denying part of his guess: "Faced with a legendary sorcerer who has lived for two thousand years and has mastered countless secrets, techniques and powers, no amount of caution is too much."

He changed the subject, his tone light but carrying an undeniable confidence: "However, you miscalculated one thing—"

You are not worthy of my fear. This is merely a necessary safety measure for the experiment.

As Xu Fu listened, he secretly tried to move his hands and feet, which were tightly bound by the cold iron chains, and even secretly circulated his cultivation technique, attempting to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy.

However, the runes engraved on the chains suddenly lit up, completely suppressing his weak struggles and shattering the trace of true energy he was trying to gather.

The cold iron chains emitted a heavy, grating scraping sound, yet remained completely still.

What alarmed him even more was that the spiritual energy of this place was completely different in nature from any other place in the "Nine Realms" he knew—it was far more violent and abundant. If—

A hint of undisguised shock finally flashed in Xu Fu's eyes. He abruptly looked up, his voice carrying a barely perceptible fluctuation: "I've never seen cold iron before, strange restrictive spells, and this completely different天地元气 (heaven and earth energy)—who exactly are you? What is this place?"

Ye Jinming revealed a mocking smile. "My origins? You don't need to think about that. However, I can tell you one thing—"

'

He paused deliberately before saying, word by word, "This place is no longer the Nine Realms as you know it."

"What?" Xu Fu's pupils suddenly contracted. Even with his two thousand years of experience, he could hardly maintain complete composure at this moment.

He frantically sensed everything around him—the unfamiliar fluctuations of laws, the completely different structure of spiritual energy—all signs seemed to confirm this utterly absurd statement.

But he immediately chuckled, the sound echoing in the cave, carrying a forced sense of skepticism: "Hahaha—traveling through worlds?"

Do you think this kind of joke, which only exists in myths and legends, can fool me?

Clearly, Xu Fu believed that Ye Jinming was using some kind of illusion or lie to deceive him and try to disturb his mind.

He absolutely refused to believe that anyone could separate him from the Nine Realms and take him to another completely unfamiliar world.

"Of course this isn't funny!" Ye Jinming was too lazy to argue with him. He raised his right hand, purple lightning crackling between his fingers, and then clenched it tightly!

With a series of crackling sounds, the cold iron chains binding Xu Fu suddenly burst forth with piercing purple lightning!

A powerful electric current instantly pierced through the mangled body, bringing extreme pain!

"Ughhhhh—" Xu Fu let out a shrill scream, his body convulsing violently, and you could even smell the burning flesh.

The lightning lasted for several breaths before it stopped. Xu Fu, like a dying fish, gasped for breath, his head drooping limply. His previous composure and sarcasm had vanished, leaving only the fear and weakness of surviving a catastrophe.

It was just a hair's breadth away from completely collapsing this already fragile vessel, which would have severely damaged his consciousness as well.

Ye Jinming took a few steps closer, looking down at him with eyes as cold as a blade: "This is the first and last time I'm warning you—don't try anything funny in front of me."

Clearly, Ye Jinming had already seen through his little trick of secretly circulating his cultivation technique to try to absorb the spiritual energy of the Bitter Realm.

After the initial intimidation, Ye Jinming cut to the chase without further ado, his voice carrying an undeniable pressure: "I have limited time, and my questions are very direct. I hope you can cooperate. The first question—"

He leaned forward slightly, staring into Xu Fu's eyes, which were filled with fear and resentment: "Tell me the complete cultivation manual of the Seven Arts of Yin Talisman. Remember, don't try anything funny."

Xu Fu's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly again. The Seven Arts of Yin Fu were the top-tier techniques of the Golden Light School of Strategists, and one of the core reliances he used to traverse the Nine Realms.

This person's knowledge of this point clearly indicates that he came prepared!

In a flash, Xu Fu managed a weak, cold smile as he tried to bargain: "The Seven Arts of Yin Fu? It seems you know quite a bit. However, if you want me to hand over such a precious secret technique, shouldn't you first show some sincerity? For example, unlock these chains, or at least heal this body that's about to fall apart? After all, good communication requires both sides to have enough—patience."

Before he could finish speaking—

A cold glint flashed in Ye Jinming's eyes. Without even making a move, a rune that had been carved on the rock wall beside Xu Fu suddenly lit up! A blazing white flame appeared out of thin air, as if it were alive, instantly burning a lock of Xu Fu's hair to ashes. The intense heat seared his cheek, bringing him a sharp, stinging pain!

"Ugh!" Xu Fu groaned, a genuine fear finally flashing in his eyes.

The other party didn't fall for his tricks at all; their methods were ruthless and decisive.

Ye Jinming's voice was as cold as ice: "It seems you haven't realized your situation. Here, you have no right to bargain."

He slowly raised his hand, dangerous purple lightning crackling around his fingertips once more, as if to activate his chain lightning spell: "Will you choose to cooperate readily, or will you choose—to experience that ago's sensation again, until your soul is annihilated?"

"You think—pain can subdue me?" Xu Fu's voice trembled slightly with pain, but it was mostly filled with cold mockery. "In my thousand years of experience, the suffering I have endured far exceeds your imagination."

"Oh, if that's the case, then—" Seeing Xu Fu's stubbornness, Ye Jinming flipped his wrist again, and in an instant, the sword was drawn.

Xu Fu's left leg was severed at the knee!

Blood gushed out, and Xu Fu's body swayed violently, supported only by chains and his remaining limbs.

The excruciating pain swept over him like a storm, and the life force of this already fragile body was rapidly ebbing away.

At the core of Xu Fu's consciousness, anger and resentment burned like poisonous fire, but even more so, there was cold calculation.

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