Chapter 601: Subduing Yaoming, the Servant of a Battle Saint
Mo Yu slowly lowered his head, placing his foot on the ground below. His eyes narrowed slightly, and in the next moment, his hand fiercely grabbed toward the ground.
"Whoosh!"
With one swift motion, Mo Yu's hand carved an imprint in the sandy earth. As the dust and sand rolled away, a massive iron chain, hundreds of feet long, was suddenly revealed before his eyes.
Seeing the immense iron chain, Mo Yu's mind quickly calculated. With a grab at the air, the iron chain slowly began to be pulled out.
As the chain emerged, the ground trembled violently. Three more massive chains rose from the mud, each connected to the surrounding mountains. They were so firmly anchored that no matter how hard he pulled, they wouldn't budge.
Mo Yu didn't care where the chains were fastened. His gaze was fixed on the center, where the four chains converged. There, in a mass of pitch-black mud, something was buried.
Staring at the mud, Mo Yu's eyes narrowed slightly. With a casual wave of his hand, the mud scattered, revealing what was hidden beneath—a person!
A person who was shriveled up like a skeleton!
"Save me, save me! If you save me, I will make the entire Nine Nether Earth Serpent Clan serve you as its master!"
The moment the emaciated figure opened its deeply sunken eyes, it stared wildly at Mo Yu. Its hoarse voice echoed through the depths of the underworld like a ghost's wail, chilling to the bone.
Mo Yu looked at the struggling, skeletal figure bound by the chains and flashed a mysterious smile. Then, feigning ignorance, he asked, "Who are you? Why are you trapped here?"
"I am Yaoming, the chief of the Nine Nether Earth Serpent Clan."
In response to Mo Yu's inquiry, the skeletal figure gasped for breath before finally speaking. His voice was so raspy that it was like sand scraping against glass—harsh and piercing.
"Save me! If you free me, I will grant any wish you desire!" pleaded the person who called himself Yaoming, his eyes filled with desperation as he stared at Mo Yu.
Fearing that his offer wasn't enough, Yaoming quickly added, "I am the elder brother of Yao Xiaotian, the current chief of the Nine Nether Earth Serpent Clan. I was the rightful heir to the leadership, and many of the clan's elders supported me. But that scoundrel Yao Xiaotian secretly plotted against me. He poisoned me, drastically weakening my strength, and then he defeated me and sealed me at the bottom of this Yellow Spring Underworld. He wanted to ensure that even death wouldn't come easily to me. Haha! That brother of mine... he sure knows how to treat his elder brother, doesn't he?"
By the end of his speech, Yaoming couldn't hold back a bitter laugh, filled with sorrow and anger.
Hearing this, Mo Yu nodded slightly. Yaoming's words matched up with what he had learned from his memories.
"Great Master, I have the Nine Nether Staff, the symbol of the clan leader of the Nine Nether Earth Serpent Clan. Only with this staff can one truly be recognized as the leader. If you help me escape and deal with Yao Xiaotian, I will reclaim the position of chief, and no elder would dare oppose me. At that time, you will gain the loyalty of the entire Nine Nether Earth Serpent Clan!" Yaoming said eagerly.
"Oh? What level of strength do you currently have, and what is Yao Xiaotian's strength?" Mo Yu rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"When I was sealed, I was only a one-star mid-level Half-Saint. But over the centuries, the power of the Yellow Spring has tempered me. Though I have endured immense suffering, my strength has also grown. I am now at the level of a two-star Battle Saint." Yaoming paused before continuing.
"As for Yao Xiaotian, when I reached the Half-Saint level, he was still just a peak Dou Zun. Given his talent, he's probably reached the level of a one-star Battle Saint by now. However, he has a loyal supporter—the Great Elder of our clan. My guess is that the elder now possesses the strength of a peak one-star Battle Saint. That old dog was also one of those who helped Yao Xiaotian injure me and seal me here."
"Two one-star Battle Saints?" Mo Yu nodded slightly. The Nine Nether Earth Serpent Clan, although ranked at the bottom of the three great magical beast clans, was still formidable.
"I can free you, but I don't trust you," Mo Yu said, raising his head to look at Yaoming. He slowly shook his head. No matter how much power Yaoming had once wielded as a clan chief, if Mo Yu didn't restrain him, he could easily become a future threat.
The tales of traitors and backstabbers were endless in the Dou Qi Continent, and Mo Yu knew better than to be careless.
Seeing Mo Yu's hesitation, Yaoming opened his mouth, but no words came out. He understood he couldn't expect Mo Yu to trust him after a single meeting.
"However, it's not impossible for me to free you. I could even help you reclaim your position as clan chief, but there is a condition…" Mo Yu's eyes gleamed as he stared intently at Yaoming. "You must voluntarily expose your soul and allow me to place a soul imprint on it. If you lie or deceive me, I will detonate the imprint. Even a Battle Saint like you would be severely injured, and you would never be able to advance in strength again."
Yaoming's face changed slightly upon hearing this. Handing over his soul was essentially giving his life to another.
"Only this way can I trust you. If you refuse, I'll just turn around and leave," Mo Yu said coldly.
Yaoming gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with hesitation. He was unwilling to be controlled, but the thought of the centuries of torment he had endured fueled his rage. With a low growl, he finally made up his mind.
"Fine! Do as you say! I can no longer suppress my hatred—I must tear that scoundrel Yao Xiaotian limb from limb!"
"Good." Seeing Yaoming agree, Mo Yu smiled.
A servant at the Battle Saint level was a rare gift, especially considering Yaoming was the former leader of the Nine Nether Earth Serpent Clan. His value was immense.
"Whoosh."
Yaoming took a deep breath, and a flash of light appeared between his eyebrows. His soul energy flowed out and condensed into a massive black serpent in front of him.
Seeing Yaoming willingly reveal his soul, Mo Yu smiled again. With a thought, a wisp of his soul energy, crackling with black lightning, swiftly entered the black serpent's forehead.
As the soul imprint sank into the serpent's forehead, Yaoming's body trembled violently before the serpent dissolved and retreated into his mind.
A strange black lotus slowly emerged on Yaoming's forehead as Mo Yu felt himself gaining control over his soul.
"Master," Yaoming said, his voice full of respect. His eyes had a momentary look of confusion, but once it faded, he knelt before Mo Yu with a respectful bow.
Clearly, Yaoming had been successfully enslaved by Mo Yu's Black Lotus Soul Imprint.
"How can I free you? Should I destroy these four chains?" Mo Yu asked, smiling at his newly acquired servant.
"Thank you, Master, but it's not the chains that bind me. It's the Yin Stones at the ends of these chains that constantly drain my energy. There is a hidden mechanism where the chains connect to the mountains. If you can destroy it, the chains—though made of special materials—will no longer hold me."
"Really?" Mo Yu's eyebrows raised in curiosity. He moved to the end of one chain, where it burrowed deep into a pitch-black mountain.
"This is the Yellow Spring Yin Stone?" Mo Yu clenched his fist, and a vast amount of Dou Qi surged forth. He slammed his fist into the mountain.
"Boom!"
In the next instant, a strange wave of energy rippled out from the mountain, and the massive chains snapped apart.
"Thank you, Master!" Yaoming's voice, filled with joy, rang out as he was finally freed.
Just as Mo Yu freed Yaoming, back in the grand palace of the Nine Nether Earth Serpent Clan, the atmosphere was lively. Many tribal leaders were gathered, laughing and chatting. At the head of the hall sat a man dressed in black—Yao Xiaotian, the current clan leader.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Yao Xiaotian's half-closed eyes flew open, shock flashing across his face. "The seal... it's broken?"
"Clan leader, what happened?" An elder, with a venomous red snake coiled around his shoulder, asked with a frown.
"The seal imprisoning Yaoming has broken," Yao Xiaotian muttered coldly, standing up with a grim expression.
"What?! How is that possible?" The elder's face changed drastically, but he quickly composed himself. Glancing around at the other elders and tribal leaders in the hall, he whispered, "Go quickly. If Yaoming escapes, we're finished. I'll stay here to buy time."
"Don't worry, he won't get far," Yao Xiaotian sneered before disappearing from his throne.
...
At the bottom of the Yellow Spring, Mo Yu had just broken the final seal.
"Thank you, Master," said a now extremely weak Yaoming.
Then, as if remembering something, Yaoming's eyes filled with hatred. "Yao Xiaotian, you never thought I'd escape, did you? I'll make sure to twist your head off and turn it into wine!"
Mo Yu wasn't surprised by Yaoming's outburst. While the Black Lotus Soul Imprint could control a person, it didn't change their personality. Yaoming's hatred for Yao Xiaotian remained intact.
"As the former chief of the Nine Nether Earth Serpent Clan, once you kill Yao Xiaotian, you'll naturally regain your position. From now on, don't call me 'Master' in public—it undermines your authority," Mo Yu said, his voice calm.
"Once you reclaim power, lead the Nine Nether Earth Serpent Clan to join the Yuan Palace. I'll establish a Serpent Hall, and you will be its Hall Master. Address me as the Palace Master from then on."
"Yes, Master," Yaoming replied respectfully.
"Take some healing pills to restore your energy. We can't stay here long. Let's leave the Yellow Spring as soon as possible. Once you've recovered, we'll deal with Yao Xiaotian," Mo Yu said, tossing several bottles of healing pills to Yaoming.
"Understood!" Yaoming nodded and swallowed an entire bottle of pills in one gulp.
"Let's go!"
Seeing that Yaoming had been fully rescued, Mo Yu waved his sleeve, and the two of them shot upward like water arrows, swiftly escaping from the Yellow Spring.
The journey back was much faster, thanks to Yaoming clearing the way. In less than ten minutes, Mo Yu saw the distant glow of light, letting out a sigh of relief as he increased his speed.
"We're almost out!"
As they neared the surface of the lake, Mo Yu smiled. In one swift motion, he broke through the water with Yaoming in tow and landed on the lake's surface.
"Boom!"
The moment they surfaced, a deafening roar echoed from the sky. Powerful shockwaves rippled through the air, causing even Mo Yu's face to tense slightly. With a flick of his wrist, a lightning whip lashed out, dispersing the aftershocks of the distant battle.
The battle in the sky was clearly between two Battle Saints.
"You've finally made it out." A voice called out as three figures approached. It was Cai Lin and her two companions.
Seeing them, Mo Yu nodded slightly without saying a word. Instead, he raised his head. In the sky above, a man dressed in black hovered, his gaze fixed darkly on him.
"This man suddenly arrived and began fighting Zihuo. If it weren't for Zihuo's strength, we'd be in serious trouble," Cai Lin said solemnly.
Mo Yu nodded again. By now, he had a good idea of who this person was.
In the sky, the black-clad man's sinister eyes locked onto Mo Yu and the skeletal Yaoming at his side. A venomous smile crept across his face.
"You little brat! You dare meddle in my affairs? No matter who you are, today, you'll die in this Yellow Spring! As for your three lovely companions, I'll take good care of them. That's the price you'll pay for your recklessness!" (End of Chapter)
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