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696. Afterwards

Hui returned to the surface in the blink of an eye. He looked around, taking a moment to orient himself. I don’t know exactly how long I was in the Underworld, but it was at least ten years. Hopefully the battle finished well, and—

The Eight Tiers Palace stood before him, grander than ever before.

Hui swallowed. Er, uh, my apologies, everyone! I’m the one who foolishly thought that defeating the leader single-handedly would take out the entire army!

T...

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695. The Space Between 0 and 1

The reaper stumbled back. What little color existed in her body faded, and appeared in Tseng Caihong’s. The reaper fell to the ground, all but lifeless. Taking a deep breath, Tseng Caihong straightened to her full height and stretched. She smiled at Hui. “I think it’s time we have a proper fight, no?”

Her cultivation power burst out from her, oppressively powerful despite its thinness.

Hui gritted his teeth. Dammit! I made a critical mistake. Cultivators almost never f...

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694. The Long Enough Game

As he sat there, Tseng Caihong whaling on his barrier, Hui turned his thoughts inward. I can’t simply leave. Although leaving would ensure Tseng Caihong received no potential absorption, it would also mean that I have no idea whether she’s still trapped or not. I trust the reaper, but if something goes wrong, I want to be here to make sure nothing bad happens. Plus, in case Tseng Caihong gets smart and tries to do something other than breaking through to kill me, I need to be here to ...

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693. Welcome to Hell, Act 2

Hui died. Fully and truly. Immediately, his soul descended to the Underworld.

As it did, he reached out to his body, and gripped Tseng Caihong’s soul through his body. Not expecting an attack directly on her soul, Tseng Caihong jolted. Eyes wide, she lifted her foot to kick his hold free. Too late. Hui descended toward the Underworld, and Tseng Caihong fell with him, tied up in the inexorable pull.

“Useless. I’m a living soul. I’ll be expelled. Even if you trap our bodies ...

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692. The Method

Before Hui, the creatures from the Underworld, led by Black Dragon, battled Tseng Caihong, while the resentment demons rolled forth, getting under her feet and in her way however they could. Hui stood back, watching the fight unfold. He touched the large pill Xi Sanji had brewed, rolling it around in his sleeve thoughtfully.

Struggling up for a moment, from under a deluge of ghosts and resentment demons, Tseng Caihong glared at him. “Despicable!”

Hui bowed. “Thank you, Senio...

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691. Sprung

Falling into darkness, Hui kept a tight hold on Tseng Caihong. The portal closed behind them, and they tumbled into a dark, dank cave. Lumpy calcium deposits formed pale shapes around them.

Rather than a portal, it’s more of an alternate opening to the assassin’s secret realm. One that I had a clone open for me a few days back.

Tseng Caihong wrenched free. Whirling around, she turned back to the portal, but it was already gone.  She looked around her, then scoffe...

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690. Futile Struggle

Following after Jizhi Zhimei, the beast cultivators’ Tier Master flew forth, Lao Hu roaring fearsomely as wings burst from its back. Shuhang Han scurried after her, terrified, and behind him came the rest of the combatants. Wan Lu handed out pills like candy. All the cultivators who took his pills surged with power and flew to the front lines, blasting out at incredible speeds. Likewise, Xi Sanji offered a few of the fighters her pills.

Before any fool could take one, Hui quickly ran ...

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689. Launching a Trap

The Southern Sect Conference arrived at the barrier closing in Eight Tiers Palace. Hui flew over, standing at the barrier’s edge from inside. He placed his hand on the inside surface of the barrier and sent a powerful pulse of death qi into the barrier.

It doesn’t matter if Tseng Caihong knows I’m breaking the barrier. Now is not the time to worry about subtlety.

A black wave rippled through the barrier, and the barrier fell to pieces.

On the inside of the bar...

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688. Clash

The two armies faced one another down. In sheer strength, the upper tiers outweighed the lower, their pressure bearing down on the lower tiers. Jizhi Zhimei stood at the head of the army, fighting off their pressure with her own ninth-tier cultivation.

The sword tier’s Tier Master stepped forward, his swords swirling around him like fish. “Jizhi Zhimei, give up his hopeless rebellion. Stop listening to that man’s lies about the Palace Master.”

Jizhi Zhimei laughed. Waving ...

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687. To Battle

High above the battlefield, Hui hovered, sitting on the air, a hand on his chin. Below, the armies moved into position. From afar, the Southern Sect Conference’s warriors flew in, while the First through Fourth Tiers lined up outside of the Palace but within the Palace’s barriers, staking their claim. The teleportation portal in the First Tier that led to their space laid dead, while a new portal opened on the far side of the mountains. The top four tiers spread out, preparing to attack, ...

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686. Cub Reunion

Hui blasted down toward the First Tier, extending his divine sense all around him as he flew, searching for Tseng Caihong. A distant ping caught his attention. Instantly, Hui retracted his divine sense. Very far away. Good, good. Probably not good, actually. But the point is, she isn’t here!

Down at the First Tier, he flew into the big empty space. A portal opened as he arrived, and Hui flew in.

Directly into a wall of white fur.

Hui bounced off with a poof. <...

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685. Goop

Tseng Caihong looked at the bloody body in her hand. She shook her head. “A worthless struggle. Even if you split your soul into your clones, they won’t last much longer.”

In a moment, she crossed to the gelatinous blob and threw Hui inside. His body sunk into the gel like it was water, dropping straight into the depths.

Hui circulated phoenix fire, bringing himself back to life. He jolted awake. Looking around, he found nothing but milky gel in all directions. A strange sen...

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684. Resentment Reason

Hey, does anyone have a channel to First?

He went completely silent. I’ve lost all contact.

Oh shit. Not again.

I mean, it’s not an actual Immortal this time, right? …Right?

Still, it’s not a good sign…

Staring up at Jizhi Zhimei, the other clones jabbering in his ear, Sectgoer swallowed, gazing up at the beautiful woman before him. He backed away a step and bowed, trembling with every inch of his bo...

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683. Small Bug Struggle

Hui snapped his fingers.

Tseng Caihong tensed, then frowned. She looked around her, turning her eyes back to Hui. Her brows furrowed. “What did you do?”

“Ah? I thought Senior had the All-Seeing Eyes. Can’t you see for yourself what I did?” Hui taunted her.

Mortal reporting back! Activating long-distance teleportation formation. Hello, Li Xiang! Do you read me? I’ve got some clothes for the sect!

This is Peak Lord. Bai Xue, do you hear me? Sendi...

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682. Unmatched Battle

Without holding anything back, Hui activated the full strength of his cultivation. He burst back up to his full size, instantly healing his wounds at the same time. Activating the snakeskin technique, he shed his skin and escaped Tseng Caihong’s grasp. He dropped to the floor.

As he did, he called on the qi he’d gathered in Eight Tiers Palace, both Jizhi Zhimei’s qi from her lake and the yin energy from the ice palace in the Fourth Tier’s secret realm. When I was absorbing J...

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681. Gelatinous Mass

Hui backed away from the milky mass of strange gelatin as it wobbled faster and faster, its sides trembling like a struck drum. Is it a slime? I don’t remember slimes showing up a lot in cultivation novels, but… it sure looks like a slime!

No, the better question is, what is this slime thing doing alone in Tseng Caihong’s tier? Is it a slime? Why is it the only thing on the Eighth Tier? So many questions!

The gel trembled one last time, then began to settle...

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680. Eighth Tier

Circling around the palace, Jian Jile pointed her bird toward the very top of the Eight Tiers Palace. There, atop the palace, a flat space stood out amidst the decorations.

How practical, adding a helipad to your palace, Hui noted, nodding to himself. I suppose when you’re a sect this large, you’ll actually have large beasts and immortal ships landing at your place fairly often, so it makes sense to carve out a landing pad.

That, and most sects aren’t q...

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679. Emissary of the Beasts

The bird swooped down, flying through a massive open gate at the front of the palace. Its massive wingspan didn’t come close to touching the edges of the gates, the gates easily wide enough to fit an ordinary house through. Hui hummed to himself, barely resisting the urge to throw his arms out and play planes like he did as a kid. There’s something about flying on a giant bird that hits different. When you fly on a sword, you’re moving so fast that you basically have to create a qi ...

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678. Childe Cub Club

From the close, musty interior of the tent, the vast enclosed space of the First Tier felt wide open, moreso due to its relative emptiness. Only a few beast cultivators wandered in the actual First Tier, the space largely wide open, with little to populate it. Aside from the ornately-carved tile pad from which the rift emerged, little of value remained in the First Tier. It stood empty, a broad, dark space, only a few support pillars, each one as wide as an ordinary palace, to break the empti...

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677. Meet the Beasts

As Hui finished his tale, the Tier Master sat back. She closed her eyes and breathed out. “So it is as we thought. The Palace Master is in the business of unjustly stealing others’ beasts.”

“Er, was there doubt…?” Hui wondered aloud.

The Tier Master’s eyes snapped open. She narrowed them at Hui.

Hui quickly bowed. “Please excuse this small disciple. I’ve picked up the bad habit of speaking out of turn lately.”

She waved a hand, dismissing him. “As...

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676. Beasty Boys

They flew over the realm. A vast mountain range spread beneath them, populated with thick forest. A large river poured down a sheer cliff from the largest mountain, vanishing into a deep, round hollow cloaked in moss beneath. The wolf’s body undulated under Hui. He buried his hands in its soft fur.

Nodding to himself, Hui leaned down to press his face against the fluff. This really is the way to travel. When I get Zhubi back, I should get him to carry me around. It wouldn’t both...

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675. Despite Having a Beast, I'm No Beast Cultivator

The male cultivator gestured for Hui to join him on the back of his beast, an overgrown wolf thing with armored plates in its fur and a spiked tail. The wolf swished its tail and lowered its head as he approached. Instinctively, Hui offered it his hand to sniff. The wolf sniffed for a moment, then lowered its head again, this time in assent.

The beast cultivator raised his brows. “I see you have some experience as a beast cultivator. Most fools simply jump directly on his back.”

...

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674. Beast Tier Best Tier

“Pause.”

A firm, clear voice rang over the tumult. Instantly, without a single command from their riders, all the beasts fell silent, and the cultivators on their backs bowed their heads.

Hui looked up.

A wild-haired female beast cultivator strode over atop a massive spirit tiger, the creature so large Hui had a hard time spotting her at first. He squinted for a moment, then stared wide-eyed. She’s the beast tier’s Tier Master! Uh oh. If she’s a powerhouse anyw...

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673. Avoid The Void

Falling. Falling. Falling infinitely. Hui hurtled along, watching the small realm fade away above him.

The sensation of being watched grew stronger and stronger. He shivered, every hair standing on end. A sense of doom rolled through him.

There you are. Come to me.

Hui’s eyes widened. This presence… I’ve felt it before. This—this is the hand that reached for me! That pushed aside the Heavenly Net! The voice that even Master couldn’t surpass!

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672. Revealing All

Hui blinked. He furrowed his brows, thinking desperately as Xi Sanji’s sword fell. Reveal myself… I know I rejected it earlier, but I was less sure of Xi Sanji’s intentions then. Now that she’s planning to kill me so that I don’t reveal this space to Tseng Caihong, I’m pretty sure she’s actively planning a rebellion! Or at least, she is now that she’s acquired this lost garden.

If I don’t reveal myself, I can fake my death… but does that mean I’ll have...

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671. Power of Time

Obedient, Hui closed his eyes. Chen Wuya fluttered off his shoulder and landed on his head. Raven claws bit into his scalp ever so slightly.

Hui winced. Lowering my cultivation realm makes this whole situation very uncomfortable. Just as uncomfortable as it used to be!

“Cut off your perception. All of it. I’m going to extend my perception to you, so I don’t want you being distracted by your own perception,” Chen Wuya ordered.

Mmm… I’m not quite comfo...

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670. Do Revival Techniques Count as Kissing?

As Xi Sanji’s lips lowered toward Hui’s, Hui’s mind worked at a thousand meters per second.

I can’t let her kiss me. I already have Li Xiang, and Bai Xue, and, and maybe the reaper, I’m a married man! A married man!

But… if I get up, that projection is going to get angry again. If it’s angry, I won’t be able to loot this place. The only way I can get the loot, is to keep playing dead!

But if I keep playing dead, Xi Sanji is going to plac...

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669. Radiant Loot

Xi Sanji touched down on the sea floor with a little puff of sand. A second later, Hui followed suit. Ahead of him, Xi Sanji paused, looking at the palace. She waited a few moments, then looked back.

Hui stood there, his hands behind his back, a service smile on his face. He gestured for her to continue. Using the secret sound transmission technique, he said, I’m with you, Elder Sister.

Xi Sanji frowned at him. Returning his secret sound transmission technique, she repl...

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15. Cyborgs Dream of Part-Robot Sheep

High overhead, it looked down on its domain.

The perpetual semi-dark made the lights twinkle brighter. Far below, the LED strips and neon twists of its underlings glowed all the brighter for the dusk. It pressed a hand against the window almost longingly, eyes trained on those artificial stars. Darting left and right, those eyes moved at superhuman speed, twitching almost imperceptibly as they took everything in at once.

Somewhere down there, intruders lurked.

The k...

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668. Treasure is Life

Hui flew through the opened roof and out into brilliant blue. As far as the eye could see, blue in all directions, and more sunlight than his eyes could bear after the dark of the tower. He raised his hands against the glare, blinking his way back to vision.

Above, blue sky. Below, still blue water, reflecting the sky like a mirror. Hui and Xi Sanji flew between sky and sea, the only disturbances in a perfectly blue world.

Hui twisted his lips. I’m not seeing a whole lot of ...

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