Chapter 643 - 380: Magic Against Magic (Part 2)
As well as four puppets controlled by the Yama Underworld.
Unlike the Ninefold Celestial Court, which relies on "brainwashing," the Yama Underworld uses a special Evil Art to create puppets they can control at will.
Ordinarily, these puppets are indistinguishable from normal Cultivators.
They don’t even know they’ve been compromised. When controlled, they only feel as if they’ve had a strange, indistinct dream.
Zou Feng, who was handling the matter, was secretly alarmed to find that the patrol team of the Jade Dragon Marketplace had been infiltrated to such an extent.
He imagined that if these traitors hadn’t been purged beforehand, then with the addition of a high-ranking figure like Wang Buyi in the Celestial Hearing Tower, Zhao Feixiong and Luo Zhenzhen would have absolutely been given a "grand gift" on their wedding day.
In the worst-case scenario, the wedding could have even turned into a "bloody wedding"...
After dealing with the situation at the restaurant, Zou Feng was about to return to the Celestial Hearing Tower to report to Jiang Wanzhao and inquire about the progress of Wang Buyi’s interrogation.
But just as he turned to leave, he saw Zhao Feixiong, who had just fought a spy from the Ninefold Celestial Court, standing there in a daze, looking completely out of it.
With Zhao Feixiong’s strength, he couldn’t possibly be injured, so...
Zou Feng hurried forward and clapped Zhao Feixiong heavily on the shoulder. "Brother Zhao, what’s wrong with you!?"
Zhao Feixiong snapped back to his senses with a jolt.
After taking a few long breaths, Zhao Feixiong said, "I’m fine. I just suddenly felt a little dizzy for some reason..."
"Are you hearing some strange, meaningless voices in your sea of consciousness?"
Zhao Feixiong hesitated for a moment before finally admitting, "Yes. The Evil Arts of the Ninefold Celestial Court are truly insidious!"
Hearing this, Zou Feng immediately thought, ’This is bad.’
He was certain that Zhao Feixiong had already been lightly contaminated by the Queen Mother’s whispers.
Although it was only a light contamination now, it would likely deepen over time until he was beyond saving.
But logically speaking, a Ninefold Celestial Court spy of that level shouldn’t have been enough to contaminate Zhao Feixiong.
However, like Zou Feng himself, Zhao Feixiong had recently been engaged in constant, high-intensity battles with Tribulation Cultivators. On top of that, he had been severely poisoned and seriously injured before.
Even though Zou Feng had cured his poison, Zhao Feixiong’s condition was terrible lately; he was splitting his time between hunting Tribulation Cultivators and trying to please Luo Zhenzhen.
Furthermore, while he acted as if he didn’t care about the rumors surrounding Luo Zhenzhen, in reality, he was not unaffected.
With all these factors piled up, it was no wonder Zhao Feixiong’s mental defenses had failed, allowing him to be contaminated without even realizing it...
Realizing Zhao Feixiong might be in serious trouble, Zou Feng immediately manifested an unopened "Golden Lotus" in his palm and said, "Brother Zhao, the corruption from the Ninefold Celestial Court’s Evil Art is like a Chronic Poisoning. You have to take it seriously!"
"Are you going to cure my poison?" Looking at the Golden Lotus in Zou Feng’s palm, Zhao Feixiong naturally understood his intention.
And so, he allowed Zou Feng to press the Golden Lotus against his forehead.
As soon as it touched Zhao Feixiong’s forehead, the Golden Lotus sank into it and vanished.
However, Zou Feng couldn’t be certain if this would be enough to cleanse the contamination from Zhao Feixiong.
"Brother Zhao, this Golden Lotus can help you suppress the contamination from the Ninefold Celestial Court, but it might not be able to eradicate it completely... so you’ll still have to rely on yourself to resist..."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Feixiong’s expression turned pained. "Resist? Of course I’ve tried, but that voice still pops up from time to time..."
Zou Feng thought for a moment, then suggested, "Without exception, all Cultivators bewitched by the Ninefold Celestial Court deeply respect their so-called Queen Mother!"
"I think instead of fighting the voice with willpower, you should just try desecrating her!"
"Desecrate?" Zhao Feixiong didn’t understand what Zou Feng meant at first.
"That’s right. When you hear those voices, try cursing that Queen Mother with the most vulgar and profane words you can think of. While you’re cursing her, you can also conjure up corresponding images in your sea of consciousness!"
Hearing this, Zhao Feixiong got a strange look on his face. "Are you sure that will work?"
"Since the usual methods of resistance don’t work, you have to try a more unconventional approach!"
To put it bluntly, Zou Feng was telling Zhao Feixiong to try fighting magic with magic.
After all, the so-called Queen Mother of the Ninefold Celestial Court was likely just an extremely powerful Great Demon.
Zou Feng then instructed Zhao Feixiong to come find him immediately if he felt his condition worsening.
Or, he could simply apply to return to the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect and have the Celestial Dao Cauldron help him undergo a thorough cleansing.
Having thus reassured him, Zou Feng immediately returned to the Celestial Hearing Tower to report to Jiang Wanzhao.
The moment they met, Zou Feng could tell from Jiang Wanzhao’s expression that although they had captured Wang Buyi, they clearly hadn’t managed to pry anything more out of him.
’Even a Golden Core Realm expert can’t do anything about a Cultivator contaminated by the ’Queen Mother,’ so what Realm is this Great Demon, the Queen Mother, at?’
"Wang Buyi was too deeply bewitched. We couldn’t get anything out of him..."
"But quite a few of his subordinates have also been rooted out."
"As for Yu Lingxiao, we can basically confirm they’re clean!"
Zou Feng hadn’t even asked yet, but Jiang Wanzhao took the initiative to explain the situation to him.
After listening, even though this operation to purge the spies could be called a great and smooth success, Zou Feng didn’t feel relieved.
Wang Buyi’s deep brainwashing proved that he had been lying in wait as a spy for a very long time.
No one could say for sure just how badly the Celestial Hearing Tower had been corroded, or if there were other spies still in hiding.
As for Yu Lingxiao being clean, that didn’t come as a surprise to Zou Feng.
After all, though he’d had his suspicions, if Yu Lingxiao had really been a problem, something major would have likely happened at the Celestial Hearing Tower long ago.
"You did well this time. Your contribution in exposing Wang Buyi ahead of time is undeniable!"
"Otherwise, the marriage alliance between the Yu Long Lake’s Dragon Race and the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect might have really ended in disaster..."
But Zou Feng couldn’t help but ask, "Senior Sister Jiang, is it possible that what these Tribulation Cultivators are plotting isn’t just to sabotage the wedding or cause chaos, but... to destroy the Celestial Hearing Tower?"
Unexpectedly, Jiang Wanzhao just smiled faintly at his words. "That’s impossible!"
"Do you know why these Tribulation Cultivators are always causing all sorts of trouble, but have never truly mobilized their full force to try and destroy the Celestial Hearing Tower?"
"Are they afraid of reinforcements arriving from the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect?"
Jiang Wanzhao continued, "You could say that, but if reinforcements arrived at normal speed, the Celestial Hearing Tower would have been reduced to ruins long ago... The real reason we don’t have to worry about the tower being breached is actually the teleportation array at its peak!"
"It only activates in an emergency, as it consumes a massive amount of Spiritual Qi. But once it’s activated, the Upper Court Elders of our Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect will arrive. After all, if the Celestial Hearing Tower were destroyed, it would be an incredibly painful loss for the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, even if we could rebuild it!"
’Upper Court Elders?’
Zou Feng knew, of course, that Upper Court Elders were Nascent Soul masters. For the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, they were the equivalent of deploying nuclear weapons.
If a battle truly reached that scale, even if the Celestial Hearing Tower were to be breached, the price required would be unacceptable to both the Ninefold Celestial Court and the Yama Underworld.
After learning all this, Zou Feng felt much more at ease.
His biggest worry had been that the Tribulation Cultivators might just happen to be brewing a massive "surprise" for them during his time stationed at the Celestial Hearing Tower.
If the Celestial Hearing Tower were ever breached, then his situation would become exceptionally dangerous, as he was covered in various marks and had even been targeted by a Judge.
It would be uncertain if he could even escape back to the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect successfully.
But since there was almost no chance of the Celestial Hearing Tower being breached, he didn’t need to worry too much.
"Senior Sister Jiang, what about Wang Buyi now...?"
"His head exploded. And what exploded along with it were the teachings of that so-called ’Queen Mother.’ If Yu Lingxiao and I hadn’t been prepared, I’m afraid the entire Celestial Hearing Tower would have heard the ’Queen Mother’s’ voice."
Zou Feng had a sudden realization. So Wang Buyi himself was a "bomb" planted by the Ninefold Celestial Court.