Jiang Xinglan felt his entire body go weak.
He was completely unable to use any of his Divine Skills, reduced to a mere mortal.
"What’s going on? Where’s my Divine Power?!"
Jiang Xinglan was dumbfounded, standing rooted to the spot, completely at a loss.
As a Divine Level Upper-Grade Magical Treasure, the All Things Return to Origin Bell only required a tiny bit of Divine Power to be recalled.
But right now, Jiang Xinglan couldn’t muster even a shred of Divine Power. His body felt like it was falling apart.
There was simply no way for him to recall the All Things Return to Origin Bell!
And if he couldn’t recall the All Things Return to Origin Bell, Ye Guxuan and Chu Nianci wouldn’t be able to get in.
If they couldn’t get in, how were they supposed to save him?
Jiang Xinglan stared at the pure white Power before him and instantly understood.
’This must be a special Power unleashed by Chu Sheng!!!’
’But what’s the use of figuring it out now!’
He was now a mortal, too weak to even truss a chicken.
Any random Divinity Transformation Realm Cultivator could shatter his Divine Body and turn him into a bloody pulp!
"Ye Guxuan! Chu Nianci! Help me! Find a way to get in, quick!"
Jiang Xinglan was completely out of options.
He could only throw himself against the wall of the bell, pounding on it with all his might as he screamed for help from the two outside.
But because the All Things Return to Origin Bell stood in the way, Ye Guxuan and Chu Nianci couldn’t see the Mortal Realm Barrier inside, nor did they know what was happening within.
All they could hear were Jiang Xinglan’s desperate cries for help and the sound of him pounding against the bell.
"Jiang Xinglan, just recall the All Things Return to Origin Bell already!"
"If you don’t retract the bell, how are we supposed to get in and save you?!"
Ye Guxuan was just as anxious, shouting into the bell.
But after Chu Sheng had burrowed inside with his Realm-Breaking Claw, the defensive light barrier on the bell had already repaired itself, leaving it perfectly sealed once more.
Although both of them were at the Integration Realm Peak, they couldn’t possibly break through the All Things Return to Origin Bell’s Defense!
"I can’t use my Divine Power! I can’t recall the All Things Return to Origin Bell!"
Jiang Xinglan yelled frantically from inside, pointing in Chu Sheng’s direction to give the two outside a clue.
"It seems to have used some kind of Power to seal my Divine Power!"
Ye Guxuan and Chu Nianci exchanged a look, both seeing the horror reflected in the other’s eyes.
’It can directly seal a Cultivator’s Divine Power?’
’What kind of bizarre Power is this?’
’I’ve never even heard of such a thing!’
They understood at once.
Chu Sheng had used some special technique to temporarily prevent Jiang Xinglan from channeling his Divine Power.
That was why Jiang Xinglan couldn’t retract the Magical Treasure.
But what good did knowing do?
They couldn’t get in. With the All Things Return to Origin Bell between them, how could they possibly stop Chu Sheng from striking?
Standing outside the bell, a chill spread through their hearts.
"We’re screwed!"
"Not only did we watch Jiang Qingyao die right before our eyes, but now we can’t even save Jiang Xinglan."
"This is just great. Now, not even the Yellow River can wash us clean of this."
Outside the bell, the pair paced back and forth in anxiety, completely helpless.
Inside the bell, however, Chu Sheng had no intention of stopping his Attack.
He controlled the Five Elements Magic Ball before him, and tiny sparks of electricity began to arc across its surface.
The five Laws within it collided with increasing violence, and its terrifying aura continued to build.
"Jiang Xinglan, go and join your sister."
Chu Sheng gave a light flick of his foreleg.
The Five Elements Magic Ball drifted lazily toward Jiang Xinglan. It wasn’t fast, but it carried the stench of death.
"No!!!"
Jiang Xinglan shrieked in terror and tried to dodge.
But inside the confines of the All Things Return to Origin Bell, where could he possibly run!
"Help!"
Jiang Xinglan screamed again and again.
But soon, his screams were drowned out by the light from the Five Elements Magic Ball’s explosion.
BOOM—!
A muffled explosion erupted within the bell.
The force of the blast was contained by the bell’s walls, focusing entirely on Jiang Xinglan.
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Xinglan was obliterated, not even a speck of dust remaining. His Divine Soul and physical body had been blown to smithereens.
Chu Sheng rubbed his two forelegs together, preparing to retract the Mortal Realm and go find Gu Yuexi.
But he suddenly noticed that the All Things Return to Origin Bell was still running smoothly beside him, its light barrier having not disappeared.
’That’s not right.’
’Under normal circumstances, when a Magical Treasure’s owner dies, any active Treasure should lose power and shut down.’
’Jiang Xinglan was blown to dust, so how is the All Things Return to Origin Bell still active?’
At this thought, Chu Sheng didn’t immediately retract the Mortal Realm. Instead, he raised his guard and carefully observed his surroundings.
His compound eyes swept over every corner of the bell.
Suddenly, his gaze froze.
There, in a corner of the bell, clung a tiny, dusty-gray White-striped Aedes Mosquito.
The mosquito was stuck to the wall, perfectly still, as if it were part of a mural.
’Strange. Besides me, when did another mosquito get in here?’
Chu Sheng paused for a moment, then realized something was off.
’No.’
’The All Things Return to Origin Bell is a Divine Level Upper-Grade Defense Treasure. Not even a speck of dust can get in.’
’Aside from me using a special technique to get in, everyone else can only stare helplessly from the outside.’
’So how could an ordinary wild mosquito possibly have gotten in?’
Chu Sheng extended his Divine Thought again to probe it carefully.
There wasn’t the slightest fluctuation of a Divine Soul from the mosquito’s body. It seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary, mortal insect.
But he was almost certain.
’This mosquito is definitely connected to Jiang Xinglan!’
’Jiang Xinglan isn’t dead?’
’Did he use some special transformation ability when I attacked him, turning into a mosquito to try and fool me?’
’As soon as I retract the Mortal Realm and leave,’
’Jiang Xinglan will instantly recover, retract the All Things Return to Origin Bell, and hide behind Ye Guxuan and the others to save his own skin.’
Chu Sheng stared at the little mosquito playing dead and slowly flew toward it, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Jiang Xinglan, did you think that by turning into one of my kind, this Lord Mosquito wouldn’t be able to recognize you?"
Inside the All Things Return to Origin Bell, a drama of the real versus the fake White-striped Aedes Mosquito was unfolding.
Outside the All Things Return to Origin Bell, Ye Guxuan and Chu Nianci were completely stunned.
They stared blankly at Chu Sheng inside the All Things Return to Origin Bell.
They never imagined that even with all their preparations, they would still fail to save Jiang Xinglan.
"Gu Xuan... Brother, what do we do?"
Chu Nianci clutched her sleeves, her expression frantic. She had none of the composure expected of an Integration Realm Peak Powerhouse.
Ye Guxuan gave a bitter laugh.
"How would I know what to do?"
He couldn’t remember the last time a direct heir of the Eight Great Clans had been killed by a Loose Cultivator.
Ten thousand years?
A hundred thousand years?
Or three hundred thousand years?
In his memory, there had never been a case where two direct heirs of the Eight Great Clans were killed by a Loose Cultivator at the same time.
Although Jiang Qingyao was favored, she was only that—favored.
In terms of the Jiang Family’s interests and development, her greatest value was in a marriage alliance.
The Jiang Family would simply have to offer a few extra Divine Artifacts as her dowry.
That alone would be considered a sign of their immense affection for Jiang Qingyao.
But Jiang Xinglan was different!
He was publicly hailed as the number one prodigy of the Eight Great Clans, the future Patriarch of the Jiang Family.
His death not only meant the Jiang Family had lost a once-in-ten-thousand-year prodigy, but it was also a blatant slap in the face to all Eight Great Clans.
’This is your number one prodigy?’
’Is this all the strength he had?’
’Can’t even beat a mosquito?’
’And he got killed by it, just like that?’
From this day forward, the so-called prodigies of the Eight Great Clans would become a laughingstock.
It would inevitably shake the dominance of the Eight Great Clans in Luoping City!
Ye Guxuan could already guess.
Tomorrow...
No!
For the next month, all the trending topics would revolve around Jiang Xinglan and Jiang Qingyao.
The Eight Great Clans could hire all the online trolls they wanted, but it would be impossible to quell the fallout from their heirs’ deaths!
Ye Guxuan looked around blankly.
When his eyes fell on Gu Yuexi, an idea suddenly sparked in his mind.
’I’ve got it!’
’If we kill Gu Yuexi...’
’we can at least say we’ve avenged Jiang Xinglan and Jiang Qingyao!’