Devour

Chapter 286 Ma Lei's Pillar

At the other end of the road, there was a large crowd of people. Hundreds of ice slaves were rushing towards them with sharp blades in their hands. They were grinning with a gloating expression, and their empty mouths were making threatening sounds.

The door of the silver and gold-inlaid hall next to it slowly opened, and Yong Yao and Xian Gen walked out.

Xian Gen whispered, "Master Miaoyin's Brahma reflection has disappeared, which means the plan has failed. It's too late to leave now, so we can only fight back."

Yong Yao shook his head and said, "Don't be hasty. If you are the first to step out, it will easily alarm Yin Mei. Let them disrupt the situation, and we will take the opportunity to retreat."

Gou Yifan looked at them intently and said, "It's that prince. They are very calm. They must have many experts under their command."

Zhai Xufei walked out of the palace door and returned to the form of a nine-headed giant. The nine heads all had interesting expressions, some full of sarcasm, some full of shock, and some exclaimed: "Yin Mei's Double Winged Nest, is she planning to fight three of us tonight?"

Everyone around him was speechless.

The Golden Silk Royal Wood Hall was shaking continuously, and the sounds of fighting were getting more and more intense. Wu Qiu was at a disadvantage, fighting and retreating to find a chance to escape.

Zhai Xufei didn't want to waste time, and his nine heads took turns to spit out fierce hurricanes, with powerful impact force roaring and surging, leaving no trace wherever it swept. The ice slaves who tried to block his way disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye, and no one knew where they were blown to.

The violent hurricane was unstoppable like a tidal wave, sweeping across the land, and with a bang, it blew the tightly closed door of the lord's mansion wide open.

Seeing that the road was clear, Gou Yifan was about to take the opportunity to rush to the gate of the lord's mansion. Lu Xiaoxi was quick to grab him and whispered, "Don't run around! Follow Senior Zhai."

However, Zhai Xufei did not run towards the gate to clear the way, but instead ran to the window sill not far to the left side of the Golden Silk Royal Wood Hall. Seeing this, the others followed closely behind him.

There were only two ice slaves nearby who were caught off guard and were killed on the spot by the rampaging Zhai Xufei. Then he jumped out from the empty window sill and immediately transformed into a ghost car giant bird, carrying everyone who had fought their way out of the lord's mansion and flew high, retreating out of the city.

Yong Yao saw it clearly, turned around, raised the golden mace to smash the way, and ran to the window sill on the right side of the silver and gold inlaid hall with Xian Gen, and rushed out of the lord's mansion almost at the same time.

At the gate of the Lord's Mansion, which had been swept clean and looked open and clear, a frosty hand that was larger than the door suddenly stretched out from the ground. There was a terrifying force between its five fingers, and it grabbed hard, and the surrounding space seemed to be distorted. Several cracks appeared in the void with a "crackling" sound.

The ice slave closest to the door was affected, and with a crisp cracking sound, it broke into pieces of ice and scattered on the ground. The other ice slaves were terrified and dared not approach the door again.

Lu Xiaoxi lay on the back of the ghost car, looking back at the lord's mansion, and saw this scene. She couldn't help but take a breath and said, "Fortunately, I didn't go through the main gate."

One of Zhai Xufei's heads explained, "Yin Mei's Ice-Splitting Heart-Breaking Technique is very unexpected. It can reach any place with ice and snow, and its attack range is far."

Hei Long admired and said: "Brother Zhai is very smart."

Zhai Xufei was secretly proud of himself and said proudly, "I don't like others to call me brother."

The Smoker and Black Dragon said in unison: "Master Zhai is mighty."

Zhai Xufei had many brains and could see far, so he shouted, "Look, His Majesty is waiting for us at the city gate."

Cheng Bai and Bei Tingjun waved on the ground and said, "Yin Mei is fighting with others. We can't miss this opportunity. Let's rush to the next level as soon as possible."

Zhai Xufei flew close to the ground, slowing down his speed. Cheng Bai and Bei Tingjun jumped up and landed steadily on his broad back.

The Ghost Chariot flapped its wings, bringing up the power of wind and thunder. The space trembled slightly, and its whole body turned into a phantom, crossing the distant land at lightning speed and arriving next to an icy cave.

"New battlefield, new challenge. Let's go to the fourth floor through the teleportation altar here." Cheng Bai followed the roster index and led the team into the cold and narrow cave corridor.

Zhai Xufei changed into a humanoid form and entered. He had to shrink his body a lot to barely pass through. As he walked, he said, "The ghost general guarding the altar here is named Ma Lei. He is good at transformation and knows how to heal. I have met him once."

Hei Long couldn't help but say, "This guy is stingy. He made his own door small and dark. It's obvious that he doesn't welcome guests."

Someone in the cave shouted sternly, "Don't talk nonsense, ignorant demon dragon. Within a radius of 1,800 miles, everyone knows that I, Old Ma, am kind and generous."

Everyone looked up and saw that the cave was created by nature, with magnificent scenery and a spacious area. On top of the three-story altar, similar to the one they had seen before, sat a 100-meter-tall giant with a horse's head and a human body, covered in hair, and fat and strong.

The horse-headed giant turned his head, and his huge head almost touched the ceiling of the cave. His calm aura was as steady as a mountain.

Zhai Xufei shouted, "Ma Lei, the demon general, I haven't seen you for a long time. There's no need to be so alert. Put away your changes."

"Brother Zhai is a powerful demon. I was entrusted by the Demon Commander to stay here. My cultivation has been stagnant for many years and I have been surpassed by you long ago." The giant grunted a few times, and his body shrank rapidly to less than six feet. His appearance was close to that of an ordinary person, and he looked quite majestic.

Bei Tingjun said with a smile: "Ma Lei is still as charming as ever, isn't he much more pleasing to the eye?"

Ma Lei returned to his original form, stood up and said, "Don't blame me for being on guard, little sister Bei. It's my duty. If it weren't for the movement of races within the Nine-Layered Abyss, we would rarely let them pass."

Zhai Xufei asked: "Can you please make an exception and let us pass?"

Ma Lei said: "It is not difficult to pass. All you need is a clearance letter from Lord Yin, and Ma Lei's Pillar will let you pass immediately."

According to etiquette, candidates for the imperial examination need to go to the Lord's Mansion in the City of Floating Ice to ask for a pass. Originally, the procedures at each level were roughly the same.

Although Yin Mei was not strict in her duties as the lord, she used her power to hunt for male beauty. Most of the handsome male monks who entered the Floating Ice City could never leave.

Cheng Bai was unhappy: "I just slipped out of the lord's mansion, where can I get a certificate?"

Hearing Ma Lei's official evasion, Zhai Xufei shook his head and said, "It's a waste of words to say that. Your Majesty, please take it away."

A golden light from the Shengjin Pagoda covered Ma Lei and took him away, saving him from even fighting. Cheng Bai couldn't help but laugh and said, "The demon general's soul possessed the stone pillar and wasted such a great talent. It would be better to refine it into a new magic weapon spirit in the future, which will be of use to me."

Everyone gathered at the altar. Cheng Bai recited according to the description on the roster: "Ma Lei, open the door." Instantly, the scene was teleported to the dark stone pillars of the fourth floor of the Hateful Swamp.

This layer of the continent is just as its name suggests, with rotten mud and dirty, smelly swamps everywhere, emitting a disgusting smell. If you are not careful when walking, you may fall into a bottomless quagmire.

The swamp is always gloomy and mysterious. In some places, the heat is boiling, shrouded in steaming clouds, making it difficult to tell the direction. In other places, ice slag is condensed, filled with biting cold, and steals the lives of people and animals without knowing it.

The sky was covered with haze, and acid rain and hail often fell. The extreme environment gave birth to strange and bizarre creatures that lurked in the depths of the swamp, making the harsh environment even more dangerous.

Cheng Bai weighed the situation and said, "The gas is poisonous. It would be difficult for ordinary people to survive in such a place for more than a few days, even if they don't encounter monsters."

Lu Xiaoxi used the Multi-leaf Divine Art to resist the foul smell of poisonous gas and said reluctantly: "The poisonous gas is not strong, I can still hold on. It would be very bad if I accidentally fell into the swamp."

Only Heilongjiang smiled and said, "I like the humid and poisonous environment. Long-term training in the Abomination Swamp is very beneficial to our tribe. It can be said to be a good place to live."

Zhai Xufei squinted at him and said, "Since you are so comfortable, it's most appropriate for you to carry everyone."

Heilong agreed generously: "It's my job."

Cheng Bai peered through the mist towards the abyss and judged, "It's about noon, and the smoke column is at its strongest. Is there a perfect place to hide from the dark wind at night?"

Bei Tingjun said: "The Ghost Head Mountain of Xiyi Ghost King can avoid the underworld wind. But it is not a town, but a chaotic area where people can kill but not bury. There are thousands of patrolling ghosts hiding there, divided into day and night. The upper echelons have seen the day patrols, whose status is more noble than ordinary ghosts and monsters, and they often serve as ghost messengers. The night patrols are more powerful."

The black dragon spread out its body, carrying everyone through the mist and clouds, looking for the direction to fly towards Guitou Mountain.

Not long after we walked forward, we suddenly heard a woman in the swamp shouting for help: "Brother Apu! No... Help!"