Chapter 109: The Marvelous Uses of the Purple Flame

Chapter 109: The Marvelous Uses of Purple Fire

By this time, Duan Kun had completely slain the remaining martial artists, while Chu Jie had killed the blue-faced martial artist as well. Of the six members of the Luo family who had come in pursuit, only Luo Hao remained alive.

Chu Jie landed on the ground and instructed Wu Long and the others to clear the battlefield and gather the spoils.

He glanced at Luo Hao. At first, he had thought Luo Hao might have some hidden trump card, but even now there had been no reaction from him. It was very likely that Luo Hao had simply been arrogant, bringing along a few independent martial artists because he believed they would be enough to deal with Chu Jie. Instead, they had been utterly crushed.

Chu Jie had kept Luo Hao alive in order to pry some secrets of the Demon God Abyss from him. However, this place was not particularly safe, so he decided to take Luo Hao somewhere else.

Although the area was secluded, their battle had created too much commotion. It was inevitable that someone would come to investigate. They would be better off changing locations first.

By then, Wu Long and the others had also gathered some of the spoils.

“Boss, this is the blue-light poison sword belonging to the blue-faced martial artist. The sword itself doesn’t seem to contain any poison, but it can draw out the poison within the body. It’s a mid-grade treasure. There are also seven low-grade treasures, along with two storage bags containing more than five hundred superior-grade mystic crystals in total.”

Chu Jie took the items. He placed the mystic crystals and the low-grade treasures into the Ancient Wilderness Cauldron. As for the blue-light poison sword, it had displayed considerable power when the blue-faced martial artist wielded it.

After examining it in his hand for a while, he found that it was exactly as Wu Long had said. The sword itself contained no poison; it was merely suited to channeling and amplifying poison.

“You may use this sword.” Chu Jie handed it to Wu Long and let him decide who should receive it. Several of the seven men still used low-grade treasures, so replacing one with this mid-grade treasure would improve their strength.

Wu Long accepted the sword with delight. “Thank you, Boss! You are our god! We will devote ourselves wholeheartedly to assisting you and conquering the entire Blood Slaughter City!”

Chu Jie glanced at Wu Long, finding the man rather amusing.

“Haha, very well. We shall conquer Blood Slaughter City.” Chu Jie felt his blood surge. He did not merely intend to destroy the Luo and Yang families. In the future, he would conquer the entire Blood Slaughter City. Only then could he consider himself to have achieved something.

After surveying the surroundings, Chu Jie placed the bodies in the corroded pit at the center and buried them. All that remained were traces of battle; otherwise, nothing unusual could be seen.

“Let’s go. We’re changing locations.”

Chu Jie dismissed the golden armor, picked up the unconscious Luo Hao, and ran toward the exit of the rocky area.

This time, they were heading to the nearby Wind-Iron Woods, where they would question Luo Hao.

Before long, Chu Jie arrived at the Wind-Iron Woods with the others. They encountered several other martial artists along the way, but Luo Hao remained unconscious throughout and was not noticed by anyone.

By then, Chu Jie and the others had already removed their armor.

Chu Jie threw Luo Hao onto the ground and said to Wu Long, “Wake him up.”

Wu Long walked over and slapped Luo Hao, but Luo Hao did not regain consciousness. Wu Long then struck him alternately with both hands, the sharp slaps echoing without pause.

“Who dares hit me? I—”

Luo Hao covered his face and opened his eyes, but he swallowed the rest of his words halfway through.

“I did. What about it?” Wu Long looked at Luo Hao and rubbed his palm. “My hand’s tingling from all that slapping.”

Luo Hao looked around. This was no longer the rocky area where they had fought, but a forest. He knew this place—the Wind-Iron Woods. An eerie silence surrounded them. Apart from occasional lightning flashing overhead and the dead trees, there was nothing else.

“No, no… You slapped me well!” Luo Hao said meekly. He now understood that if he acted as he had before, he would lose his life.

Wu Long nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Chu Jie. “Boss, he’s awake.”

Chu Jie stepped forward and asked, “Which members of the Luo family came here, and what are their cultivation levels?”

“A clan elder came with us. He is at the eighth level of the Spirit Convergence Realm.” After answering, Luo Hao glanced at Chu Jie.

Wu Long slapped him again. “What’s so impressive about the eighth level of the Spirit Convergence Realm? Our boss nearly killed someone at that level last time.”

Disbelief appeared on Luo Hao’s face, but he said nothing. His life was still in Chu Jie’s hands. If he said the wrong thing, he might die without even a proper burial.

“Continue,” Chu Jie said calmly.

“Apart from the elder, there are only people like us, whose cultivation is somewhat lower. Others may come later, but that is beyond anything I would know.” Luo Hao answered honestly.

“Did Luo Long come?” Chu Jie asked again. If Luo Long was here, he would kill him on the spot.

Luo Hao naturally knew about the grudge between Chu Jie and Luo Long, and he knew that Chu Jie certainly intended to attack Luo Long.

“He didn’t come,” Luo Hao said. “But if you let me go, I can help you lure him here.”

Now that his life was at stake, Luo Hao was willing to do anything. His heart pounded with terror, and he felt that he might not live through the day.

“I haven’t finished questioning you. We’ll discuss that later. First, tell me everything you know about the Demon God Abyss,” Chu Jie said, making no immediate promise.

In truth, he could never agree to such a bargain. At present, he absolutely could not reveal that he possessed the golden armor. Once word spread, he would find it difficult to establish himself in Blood Slaughter City. Experts at the Star Core Realm would come to seize it, and he would have no way to withstand them.

After all, a martial artist needed to be at least at the Star Core Realm to truly use the golden armor. Even Chu Jie felt that he could currently access only a fraction of its power.

For now, he wanted to know what secrets the Demon God Abyss concealed and what priceless treasures it contained.

“The secret of the Demon God Abyss? I only know one thing. The purple fire has a special use, but I don’t know exactly what it is.” Luo Hao’s eyes darted about as he spoke, hoping to find some chance of escape. However, no martial artists passed by, and he saw none of the Luo family’s people either.

“What exactly is in this abyss that so many people are willing to come here and die?” Chu Jie asked.

Luo Hao furrowed his brow and remained silent for a long while.

Wu Long punched him in the head. “My boss asked you a question. Why are you frowning?”

Luo Hao’s body trembled. He was genuinely afraid that Chu Jie might lose patience and kill him outright.

“It is said that, in the distant past, a great expert once refined a Heaven-Breaking Artifact. The process consumed an enormous amount of resources, but not everything was used up. A considerable portion remained.”

Chu Jie and Duan Kun exchanged a glance. What Luo Hao described was similar to what the old man had told them earlier.

“One reason we came here was to collect those unused resources. The other, and more important, was to obtain the Heaven-Breaking Artifact,” Luo Hao continued.

“What exactly is the Heaven-Breaking Artifact?” Chu Jie asked.

The old man had also mentioned that someone intended to refine something capable of breaking through the heavens—the legendary supreme treasure hidden within the abyss.

“No one has ever seen it, so no one knows what it is. But since it is called a Heaven-Breaking Artifact, it must be extraordinarily powerful,” Luo Hao said. “I’ve told you everything. Can you let me go?”

Wu Long slapped him again. “Stop asking. Ask one more time and you’re dead.”

Chu Jie nodded. “Very well. Answer my questions properly. If I’m pleased, perhaps I’ll let you go.”

Luo Hao felt bitter and covered his face. In the Luo family, he held a certain position. Aside from his father, who would dare strike him?

But now, if he failed to read the situation, he would be killed.

He committed all of this to memory and secretly swore that, one day, he would tear Chu Jie to pieces.

He did not know, however, that the occasional vicious glint in his eyes had not escaped Chu Jie’s notice.

“Tell me about the purple fire those higher-ups ordered you to collect. What is it used for?” Chu Jie asked.

Luo Hao replied, “Through a special method, the purple fire can be used in cultivation to increase one’s cultivation level. Its value is comparable to that of certain rare heavenly treasures. However, only the higher-ups know how to cultivate with the purple fire. Even I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Chu Jie stared at him coldly.

Luo Hao said, “I learned about this by eavesdropping on a conversation between a clan elder and an outsider. I truly don’t know how to cultivate with the purple fire.”

Chu Jie glanced at Wu Long. Understanding immediately, Wu Long stood before Luo Hao and struck him alternately with both hands, making his already swollen face even more swollen.

“If you still refuse to tell the truth, you’re dead!” Wu Long grabbed Luo Hao by the collar and snarled.

Luo Hao’s face turned pale, and he nodded.

“The elder who brought us here knows how! As long as you capture him, you’ll definitely learn the method. As for me, I truly don’t know how to cultivate with the purple fire!”

Even after being pushed this far, Luo Hao still insisted that he did not know.

Chu Jie recalled the Fire-Seizing Art he had learned at the center of the abyss, but it was impossible to determine from that alone how one was supposed to cultivate with it.

He raised his head and gazed at the sky. The purple fire should descend again before long. Perhaps he would be able to discern something then.

“What else do you know about the Demon God Abyss?” Chu Jie asked calmly.

Luo Hao thought for a long time but could come up with nothing else of value. At that moment, he seemed to understand something, and despair appeared in his eyes.

“Did you never intend to let me live from the beginning?” Luo Hao suddenly asked.

“Whether you live or die depends on you, not me. If you had not provoked me, how would you have ended up in my hands? But you are a member of the Luo family. Every member of the Luo family will die. It is only a matter of whether it happens sooner or later,” Chu Jie said indifferently.

“Don’t kill me! I can lure Luo Long here. I can help you extract the method of cultivating with the purple fire from the elder. I can even lure more members of the Luo family here!” Luo Hao grew increasingly frantic.

“Not necessary.”

Chu Jie threw a punch. After a burst of scorching air, his fist smashed Luo Hao’s head apart.

The force, visible to the naked eye, passed through Luo Hao’s head and struck the ground, blasting out a deep crater.