Black marks slithered across their skin before disappearing into their body. The two felt as if their internal organs were being chewed from the inside. Whatever the hell had entered was also greedily absorbing their lifelong cultivation and sucking away their spiritual essence from within.

They were once the distinguished nobles of the fox clan, now decayed to such a pitiful state; no more than a host for the sentient demonic entity! This affliction of torment, they would rather choose death!

But how could Huo Wei Hu let them off so easily? He was known for his ruthlessness, his brutality and his merciless conducts. Only one human woman was able to bring out a snippet of compassion within him and right now her cold body laid in his protective arms.

The mystical seals and ancient symbols etched on the brass bottle gourd provided specific purposes. They served various atrocious functions, such as maintaining the consciousness of the victims within, not allowing them a moment of reprieve. As long as they were trapped inside, no matter how many eons have passed, the victims would continue to be tortured. Even if their mind and body could no longer endured the hellish pain, the seals would make sure they preserved.

The one who suffered the worst fate out of the three was Guardian Yin Mei. As the offender responsible for Yu Liang’s comatose state, Huo Wei Hu naturally had other plans for her.

Unlike demons when they die whose very existence was simply wiped from the world, humans and deities have souls capable of reincarnations.

Thus, Guardian Yin Mei had long been killed brutally by Huo Wei Hu; her once voluptuous body twisted in half. The instant a glowing purple sphere emerged from her dead body, he imprisoned her divine soul inside the brass bottle gourd, preventing her soul from moving on to the next incarnation.

Within the brass bottle gourd, her soul was currently being boiled by hot, bubbling lava. The glowing purple sphere was now sizzling under the unforgiving heat as thick puffs of steam blazed out. The vicious lava gradually melted her soul and liquefied it into divine oil to feed the hungry flames.

Her tormented soul felt like it was being roasted from deep within a volcano. She felt every spike of pain down to the smallest sensation. From the scorching breath of hot mist, to the burning pool of bubbling lava, to every dreadful whip inflicted by the cyclone flame hurricane, down to the blistering fire chains enforced with dark diamond icicles tethered around her soul.

The pain was far worse than if she was still alive because her level of sensitivity was at the highest in her most vulnerable soul form — bared, without a layer of protection. She thought eventually she’d grow numb from the pain, but it only got worse. Her soul was on the brink of destruction every second, threatening to explode.

If only it did, that would have been merciful. Guardian Yin Mei didn’t care if she would no longer exist after being blown to smithereens; she only wanted the pain to stop. Like it was governed by a sinister entity, it would always magically reined back at the last moment and forced her to relive the torment again and again in repeated cycles.

Guardian Yin Mei cried and begged to be put out of her misery, but only the sounds of two other whimpers answered her. Just like the other two, the mysterious symbols embossed on the brass bottle gourd would prevent her soul from ever being fully melted, subjecting her to an eternity of aching misery.

He would never grant her soul salvation! Never!

Amidst the chaos, Huo Wei Hu finally realized there was no encounter with Ox-Head or Horse-Face, the two underworld guardians tasked with escorting dead souls to the underworld. A spark of hope ignited in his heart. Maybe, please maybe…

Leaning his head close to Yu Liang’s chest, he finally detected a faint inconsistent and disjointed breathing. As long as she still has a silver of breath left, there’s still hope!

“Yu Liang…” with a hoarse voice, he firmly held her hand tight. The suppressed sobs escaped as he gazed tenderly at Yu Liang in his arms, with a lost pair of shaken eyes. At this moment, his face was blanched, devoid of any color. His voice sounded bleak. There was no sign of the formidable, Immortal Emperor of Chaos presented.

He clutched the cold body tightly to chest, desperately trying to warm her up with his body heat. His heart wrenched in pain and his downcast expression was extremely heart-breaking. Without wasting any precious time, he supplied a steady stream of spiritual energy to her meridians and arteries, allowing them to circulate throughout her blood.

All the while, he prayed frantically; praying to whatever mysterious higher entity would answer his call. He didn’t care who or what, just that someone or something could save the woman he love and in return for the miracle, there was nothing he wouldn’t do.

The roof of the pagoda rattled and quaked before turning into dust. Bright, glaring sunlight immediately filled the place. A group of immortals descended from above, elegantly riding on cloud mounts. If Yu Liang was awake at this moment, she would have instantly recognized the old man within the group, the same old geezer who arbitrarily threw the two siblings into the pagoda trial.

The mysterious old man observed Huo Wei Hu, who narrowed his eyes in irritation.

“Nine-tailed fox, hand over Guardian Yin Mei! She is under our jurisdiction and will only be punished according to our heavenly laws!”

A nasty sneer graced Huo Wei Hu’s devilish face, “Hand her over? Over this king’s dead body!” He leisurely glanced at the group of immortals behind the old man, especially the man in the highest seat adorned in golden robe. “If the Jade Emperor have the ability, then come wage war with this king! Otherwise, this king have a rather peculiar preference of cooking deities’ souls to use as seasoning.”

The lack of respect in his tone as he taunted the Jade Emperor riled the other immortals and their faces blacken. Unruly brat!

A loud mellowed laughter boomed from above, dispersing the tense atmosphere. The voice was strong and powerful, befitting of the Jade Emperor who ruled the heavenly realm. “There is no need for unnecessary bloodshed; Yin Mei had committed a serious crime. I hereby decree her to be left in your care and no deity shall intervene! Do as you wish, Immortal Emperor of Chaos.”

Huo Wei Hu’s face remained expressionless, but a tinge of respect flickered across his dark eyes before it disappeared just as quickly, like it was never there in the first place. With a wave of his hand, he summoned a big fire-fox mount and disappeared in a blink of eye, only leaving behind a huge gust of wind and…Yu Tian!

From start to finish, his attention was only split between Yu Liang and his enemies, making sure he dealt with them quickly in order to minimize the harm that could befall on her. Yet, he forgot to account for Guardian Yin Mei and his negligence was his deepest regret. Where would he still have the time to pay attention to the anomaly surrounding Yu Tian?