The night in the demon world is as short as if it had been slashed by someone, and just after the hour of the ugly, crab shell blue appears on the horizon. But in the "Danque Terrace" in the northwest corner of the royal city, the lights were more arrogant than the sun. Chu Xuan sat cross-legged on the terrace with a three-foot square jade table in front of him - it was not a tea set, nor a wine set, but a whole "sand table" : the streets and alleys of the royal city, the underground channels, the military routes, the watchtowers, and even the old locust trees at the entrance of the alleys had all been finely carved out with black crystal sand.
Su Meier leaned against the railing barefoot, her purple gauze gown was lifted by the wind, but she was too lazy to care. She held a palm-sized red copper gourd in her hand and took a sip from time to time, her lips glowing from the wine.
"Hey, Chu Xiaoxuan," she pointed at the edge of the sand table with her toe, "this' Water charm canal 'was marked by Mochen last night. Don't slip your hand. One wrong move and you lose the whole game."
Chu Xuan did not raise his head. He held a small flag of "Dark Hall Shadow Guard" three inches above the sand table with two fingers, which did not fall for a long time: "Sister Mei 'er, my hands are very steady. It's you, if you drink more, you'll drink the city of the king."
"What are you afraid of? If you get drunk, you'll just overturn the table." Su Mei 'er laughed with sharp teeth and sharp mouth, but the corners of her eyes were serious. "But the palace coup is not about flipping tables, it's about flipping heads. My head is precious. Let your little head test the wind first."
Chu Xuan chuckled, his wrist sank, and the shadow Guard flag "ding" pierced the end of the dark channel, where it met another red line - where the private army of the Demon Flame, the Crimson Flame Camp, was hiding in the abandoned granary.
"To lure a snake out of its hole, you must first leave a hole for it." He patted the dust that was not present on his hands and raised his eyes, "Tomorrow morning at the south gate of the royal city, I will have Mo Chen move the sharp-edged 'shadow tooth' of the dark hall to the outer city, loose on the surface, tight inside and loose outside. If the demon flames dare to move, the first thing they bite is this bait."
Su Meier narrowed her eyes, and her fingertips drew an arc on the sand table: "What about my military hall? Are you really giving up?
"Tanking should be done convincingly." Chu Xuan stretched his body, his knuckles crackling. "Of the three military departments, two are in the bright, the flags are resounding, but the troops remain motionless; The remaining one was divided into smaller units, scattered into the alleys, taverns and flower houses, and moved at the sound of the whistle. The snakehead peered, the two departments feinted back, the shadow teeth in the dark channel blocked the rear, the scattered military departments covered the flanks - three sides of the pockets, one gulp."
Su Meier stared at the sand table for a long time, then chuckled and threw the red copper gourd to him: "The plan works. I'll give you a sip, will you dare to drink?"
Chu Xuan took it, looked up and gulped it. When the wine entered his mouth, it rolled into his throat like a line of fire, burning his eyes red, but he grinned: "Strong enough, worthy of the wind of the demon world."
"It's good enough." Su Mei 'er turned, her purple veil lifted, revealing her snow-white ankles, and walked step by step towards the inner room. "Miss go and change into battle robes. You, burn slowly."
Chu Xuan wiped the corner of his lips and lowered his head to continue commanding troops. But soon the footsteps were gone and Su Mei 'er leaned against the doorframe and threw a black token - the size of a palm, with the word "army" on the front and the dark red word "Soul Deville" on the back.
"From tomorrow on, the military hall's military token will be yours." " She said in a casual tone, as if handing over a candy.
Chu Xuan was stunned. When the token was taken in, it was heavy, like a volcano being lifted.
"Sister Meier, this..."
"Don't be afraid. It's not for you to command all the troops alone." Su Mei 'er interrupted him, with a charming smile at the corner of her eyes, but with an unyielding certainty, "Just the power to transfer troops, and the qualification to take the blame. If the palace coup succeeds, you will share half of the credit; If it fails, I will lose my head with you."
Chu Xuan held the token tightly, his fingertips slightly pale from the force, for a moment he laughed, his teeth sharp and his mouth sharp: "All right, then I'll carry it. "Even if I lose my head, I'll give up my sister's pot."
Su Mei 'er chuckled and turned away, her voice coming from afar: "The little mouth is so sweet, apply more honey next time, I love to hear it."
The terrace fell silent again, with only the glimmer of the sand table flickering. Chu Xuan took a deep breath, tied the military token around his waist, sat cross-legged, turned his palm, and a wisp of dark demonic energy emerged - it was the basic chapter of the Soul-Deviting Magic Skill that Su Meier had personally given him last night.
The demonic energy was like a living thing, twisting between his fingers, sometimes turning into tiny faces, sometimes condensing into curved fangs. Chu Xuan closed his eyes, and his spirit body moved. The pale golden spirit energy and the dark demonic energy met, and there was no rejection. Instead, it was like two long-awaited reuniting streams, with a thunderous fusion.
"Hiss --"
A sharp pain hit, as if a thousand needles were piercing the meridians at the same time. Chu Xuan gritted his teeth and said nothing. He "saw" the demonic energy being purified bit by bit by the spirit body, stripped of impurities and transformed into the purest energy flowing into the dantian. The originally loose bottleneck of the foundation stage, under the impact of this new force, made a faint "crack" sound, like the first crack in ice.
"So that's it... He whispered, cold sweat rolling down his forehead, but the corners of his mouth lifted. "Devouring the soul, not devouring, but purifying - refining the most violent part of the demonic energy, leaving the purest 'soul power' to nourish the spirit."
This discovery made his heart race. If he could master the Soul Devouring Magic Skill, it would mean that in future battles he could turn the enemy's demonic energy, the evil energy, and even the chaotic energy of the Taotie into his own spiritual energy - stronger and stronger, never exhausted!
Outside the terrace, the sky is gradually brightening. The first ray of morning light pierced through the mist and fell upon the young man, as if gilding him with a pale golden outline. The young man opened his eyes, in which golden light and darkness interwoved, as if dawn and night were making peace in the pupils.
He rose and stretched, his knuckles crackling like roasted beans. The military token at his waist swayed and struck the jade table with a crisp "ding" sound, as if striking the first drumbeat for an impending storm.
Under the Danque platform, the morning breeze howls. Chu Xuan looked down at the sand table, his gaze falling on the small flag representing "Crimson Flame Camp", and said softly, "The snake hole has been dug, just waiting for the snake head to come out."
He turned around, his cloak lifted, like a young battle flag.
As soon as the drumbeat for the change of defense fell, the suspension bridge creaked down. Two teams of Red Armor Demon Guards marched out of the city in unison, their armor rubbing against each other, making a sound like surging iron waves. In the shadows, Chu Xuan crouched in the shadow of the female wall, with half a piece of dry cake in his mouth, mumbled: "Mo Chen, your soldiers walk with the wind, even more orderly than my group of sword cultivators of the Qingyun Sect."
Mo Chen, dressed in a black robe, with a mask pushed up to his head, said with a cold face, "The dark hall does not keep idle men. When the steps are disordered, the heads must be in order."
Chu Xuan choked for a moment and decided to stop chatting, raising his hand to make a gesture. In the shadow at the base of the wall, the twelve "shadow teeth" spread out silently, like ink drops into clear water, vanishing without a trace in an instant. Mo Chen raised his eyes, and his gaze swept over the end of the suspension bridge - where an abandoned arrow tower stood still, with a faint tinge of crimson at the sharp corner of the roof.
"The 'eye' of the demon fire." Mo Chen whispered, "pull it out within a stick of incense. Don't let him see that we 'loosen' too much."
Chu Xuan nodded, with a flick of his fingertip, a wisp of ice and fire spirit energy slipped into the crevice of the arrow tower. A moment later, the red dot swayed and went out. Inside the watchtower, the Fire Demon Guard, who was in charge of the watchtower, fell limp, with a thin ice thread as thin as a hair wrapped around his throat, with a small flame attached to the end of the thread, as if lighting a lamp for death.
"The eyes are blind." Chu Xuan spat out the dry cake and laughed out a mouthful of white teeth. "Next, please fall into the trap."
...
The jar is beneath the capital city.
The Water Enchantment canal, once a drainage channel, has now been transformed into a spider-web-like maze by the Dark Hall. The walls of the channel are damp, and every ten zhang there is a dim yellow magic crystal, which makes the face look like it has been coated with wax. Chu Xuan, with fifty elite soldiers of the military hall, lurked at the mouth of the canal, all covered with black scarves, breathing as lightly as cats.
"Remember, when the snake head comes in, seal off the rear route, cut down the seventh inch, and don't alert the snake." Chu Xuan's voice was very low, but each word was clear. "We don't have much time. We'll deal with it within three sticks of incense, or the 'Crimson Flame Camp' of the demonic flame will smell the blood and pounce and bite."
Everyone nodded, their eyes shining like wolves. A military man is never lacking in toughness.
Chu Xuan raised his hand, and a tiny array disc emerged in his palm - the "Locking Spirit Array" that Su Mei 'er had forged herself. Once activated, it could instantly seal off a hundred meters in front of and behind the dark channel, cutting off all breaths and sounds. On the edge of the array, there are small red characters engraved: A gift from a spendthrifty woman, remember to return it after use.
Chu Xuan chuckled, rubbing the red characters on his fingertips, and a warm current welled up in his heart. He gently placed the array disk in the groove of the channel wall, injected spiritual energy, and with a flash of red light, the array was quietly activated, like an invisible net, slowly tightened.
...
At the same time, on the west side of the palace, the Danque Terrace.
Su Mei 'er changed into a corset battle robe, her purple hair tied up high, and a silk bell hung around her waist, but the tongue of the bell was wrapped in black cloth to prevent it from making the slightest sound. She stood on the high platform, looking down at the royal city, and her gaze fell on the open square outside the south gate - where the "Red Flame Camp" of the Demon Flame was marching in formation, with red armor like fire and fluttering banners like a fiery dragon, strutting into the already laid pocket.
"The snakehead is already in sight." "Chu Xiaoxuan, the rest depends on how fast your knife is." She said softly, her mouth curved in a cold, elegant arc.
She raised her hand, and a little purple magic fire shone on the tip of her finger. The fire, in the morning light, was like a blooming mandala. The fire rose into the air and exploded with a roar, turning into countless tiny specks of light that floated over the royal city - it was a signal telling all the lurkers: the prey is in the net, the net is drawn.
...
In the dark channel, footsteps grew closer and closer, dense and heavy, like huge hammers tapping on the ground. Chu Xuan raised his eyes, his pupils slightly constricted - at the very front, a big man in red armor strode like a dragon and a tiger, his chest burning with the flame emblem. It was Chi Xiao, the number one warrior under Mo Yan's command. Behind him were two hundred guards of the Flame Demon, each holding a heavy axe, with a surge of demonic energy like a group of wild beasts out of their cages.
"Seal!" Chu Xuan hummed, the Lock Spirit array shone brightly, and a hundred meters before and after the dark channel were instantly enveloped by red light, blocking out all sounds. Chi Xiao paused his steps, raised his head sharply, and saw a fierce light surge in his eyes: "Ambush! Change formation!"
It's too late. On both sides of the canal wall, countless black spears were suddenly thrust out, their tips quenched with dark blue magic poison, specifically to break the protective magic energy. The Flame Demon Guards were caught off guard and instantly pierced through dozens of people, their blood spurting and staining the water in the channel red. Red clouds roar, the heavy axe swept through, will be over the spear is cut off, but listen "howls" surprises a lot - dark shadow who fell from the roof drainage, black was, in short blade as a viper, picking the joints, throat laid hands on him.
"Juntang, press!" At Chu Xuan's command, the elite troops of the military hall, who were lurking, pounced out from the shadows like a group of tigers descending from the mountain. The flashes of swords and spears instantly mingled with the guards of the Flame Demon. The space in the canal was narrow, and the heavy axe could not be used. The Flame Demon Guards were forced to abandon the axe and switch to the sword, but they collided with the military hall's most proficient close combat. For a moment, screams, roars, and the clashing of weapons mixed into a symphony of death.
Chu Xuan was not idle. With a flash of his body, he headed straight for Chixiao. The flames of ice and fire condensed in the palm of his hand and transformed into a slender fire sword. The blade was ice-blue and the edge was crimson, alternating between hot and cold, even the air was distorted. Seeing this, Chixiao sneered, his fists collided with each other, and crimson magic patterns appeared on the surface of his fists, like burning lava: "Little one, look for death!"
"It's you who's looking for death." Chu Xuan chuckled, and the fire sword pierced through the darkness, piercing Chi Xiao's throat. Chixiao roared, his fists burst out, and his demonic energy turned into a huge crimson flame fist, colliding fiercely with the fire sword.
"Boom!"
The loud noise shook the walls of the underground channel, causing stones to fall, and the interplay of ice and fire and red flames turned into a violent energy storm that overturned several nearby Flame Guards. Chu Xuan took advantage of the situation to retreat, tiptoe a little, and his figure, like a ghost, moved to the side and back of Chi Xiao, with the fire sword slaying sideways and straight at his waist. Chixiao reacted very quickly, spun around with his elbow like a hammer, and struck Chu Xuan's temple with a life-and-death strike.
Chu Xuan's eyes were slightly cold. The fire sword suddenly withdrew, and the ice and fire flames in his palm turned into a tiny ice shield to block the elbow strike. At the same time, with a flip of his left hand, a wisp of black demonic energy emerged - the soul-devouring magic Skill, simulating the Yin attribute of the soul-wailing grass, instantly wrapped around Chixiao's arm like countless tiny poison needles, piercing the skin.
"Soul Devouring?" Chixiao's face changed drastically. He felt a numbness in his arm and a wisp of demonic energy was forcibly drawn out of his body, as if he had been bitten by an invisible giant mouth. He roared and frantically circulated the magic energy, trying to shatter that strange black gas, but heard Chu Xuan chuckle: "Don't waste it, it tastes good."
Before he could finish his words, Chu Xuan's figure approached again, and the fire sword, like a venomous snake spitting out a letter, pierced straight into Chi Xiao's heart. Chixiao roared and punched, but felt his arms numb more and more, and his demonic energy draining faster and faster, like a gate that had been opened and could no longer be closed.
"Chixiao, I'll take your magic energy." Chu Xuan whispered, the fire sword thrust sharply into the other's chest, and the flames of ice and fire burst out instantly, freezing the heart into an ice mass and burning it to ashes in the next instant.
Chixiao opened his eyes wide, seemingly unable to believe that he would be defeated by a junior at the Foundation Establishment stage. He opened his mouth but made no sound, and slowly fell down like a collapsing mountain.
Chu Xuan retracted his sword, and the dark demonic energy in his palm surged up, devouring all the demonic energy that had dissipated from the crimson sky and transforming it into the purest soul power that flowed into his dantian. The bottleneck of the foundation stage loosened again, like a second crack in an ice layer.
"Next one." He said softly, turned and looked at the still-fighting Fire Demon Guard, his eyes interwoven with golden light and darkness, as if dawn and night were making peace in his pupils.
Outside the Lock Spirit Array, Su Meier stood on the high wall, looking towards the dark channel, and suddenly curled her lips: "It begins."
She raised her hand, her fingertips dancing with magic fire, like a blooming mandala. She said softly, "Little madman, stop playing around. Sister's wine is still waiting for you to warm it up when you come back."