Chapter 359 Just a Pawn

Tentacles burst from beneath the earth, turning the entire Jumo City into rubble. Then, from the shattered ground, a monstrous figure emerged.

“It’s all your fault!”

The Ancestor of the Zuji Cult roared, his eight vertical eyes glaring murderously at Chen Fei.

But Chen Fei didn’t even spare him a glance. His gaze turned instead to where Mu Yunshu and the others were standing.

“So… you all knew about this, didn’t you?”

His voice was calm, without joy or anger, but inside, a thought surged violently:

Heaven and Earth are merciless, treating all things as straw dogs.

So too do sages treat the people.

Mu Yunshu and her group weren’t “sages,” but they had certainly revealed the cold, ruthless side of cultivators.

Wang Situ had clearly known about the significance of the Holy Daughters, which was why he had secretly dispatched members of the Dark Gate into Dongting Nation. Though the Zuji Cult discovered them quickly, the Dark Gate assassins managed to eliminate nearly all of the Holy Daughters using various schemes — just like Chen Fei did with A-Yue.

The Zuji Ancestor’s obsession with the Holy Daughters was because they were key to his ascension.

He had assumed that even in death, their souls would linger in Dongting’s land. As long as the nation’s fate endured, he could still use them.

But Wang Situ had anticipated this outcome. With the Holy Daughters gone, the Ancestor’s path to the Heaven Dao Realm was cut off.

No wonder he was furious.

“Even if this was the right move… it still doesn’t sit well with me,”

Chen Fei said softly.

The others seemed to grasp what he meant and fell into silence.

In truth, the Dark Gate’s missions often involved such grim choices. The more missions they took, the more numb they became. But this time, Dongting’s tragedy went far beyond anything they’d expected.

Barbarian Brother spat to the side.

“That’s why I’d rather be a simple brute. I don’t want to think too much!”

Without waiting for a response, he launched the first attack!

Chen Fei took a deep breath.

“Regardless, this entire catastrophe stems from this monster before us!

Peak Earth Dao Realm? Let’s see how tough you really are!”

As he and Barbarian Brother attacked, the others quickly followed suit.

To the Zuji Ancestor, this was blatant provocation.

“You damn bastards!”

He roared, unleashing a storm of tentacles that lashed out at them like black whips.

The entire battlefield shook violently.

“Something’s off!”

Barbarian Brother sliced two tentacles and dodged aside with a frown.

It wasn’t that the Ancestor was too strong — he was too weak.

An Earth Dao Realm cultivator should have manifested a true Dao Form, capable of devastating power. Yet this ancestor only lashed out wildly with tentacles — and even those weren’t on par with Earth Dao Realm standards.

Chen Fei noticed it too and instinctively glanced toward Mu Yunshu and her team.

It was clear now — Wang Situ had planned this from the beginning.

Otherwise, with so many Heaven Dao experts watching, why would mere Miao Realm juniors be fighting at the front?

“Either way, let’s finish him first!”

Chen Fei slashed down two more tentacles and charged forward.

The Zuji Ancestor opened a massive maw, lunging at him.

“Seal!”

From the distance, Liu Li shouted. Multiple talismans exploded in front of the Ancestor, halting his momentum.

Within the burst of flames, Chen Fei charged in.

“Get out of my sight!”

With that shout, he brought his Wufeng Greatsword down squarely on the Ancestor’s head — slicing straight through as if through butter.

Shlick!

The Ancestor’s massive body paused, then exploded into a flood of foul black ichor.

Everyone recoiled at the stench.

“That’s it? He’s dead?”

Barbarian Brother looked skeptically at Chen Fei.

But Chen Fei’s gaze stayed fixed on the black pool where the body had fallen.

Without hesitation, they all turned their weapons toward the water.

Suddenly, a white-clad figure burst out.

The true body of the Zuji Ancestor — bearing the typical features of a Dongting native — stood before them, his eyes filled with raw hatred.

“You ruined everything!”

He hissed, sweeping a hand outward.

“You’ve grown too confident!”

That last remark wasn’t directed at Chen Fei and the others, but at Mu Yunshu’s group!

“Foul Prison — Rise!”

With a shout, black water pillars erupted from the puddle, forming a barrier that encased the entire ruined city.

“This is my domain now,”

The Ancestor sneered.

“Didn’t those outsiders want a good show?

Let them watch you die, one by one!”

He grinned wickedly — years of planning had crumbled, his chance at transcendence lost. Now all he wanted was vengeance.

The disciples instinctively clustered around Chen Fei.

Though none were Earth Dao cultivators, as core disciples of Tianqing Sacred Land, they had plenty of techniques. Together, they were not so easy to kill.

But the Zuji Ancestor just looked at them with disdain.

“You really think you have a chance?

You don’t!

I’ll bury you all — and make Tianqing pay for their arrogance!”

His madness showed in every word.

Chen Fei coldly replied:

“You’re not even worthy.”

“Not worthy?!”

The Ancestor shrieked, turning toward Chen Fei with bloodthirsty rage.

At that moment, the Void Heaven Cauldron appeared in front of him.

“That little trinket again?”

The Ancestor scoffed. With a dismissive wave, he tried to knock it aside.

But the moment his hand touched the cauldron, mystic sigils lit up on its surface.

“Hmph!”

He tried to resist with his own energy, but his expression drastically changed.

A torrent of energy surged from him into the cauldron like a broken dam!

This cauldron… something’s wrong!

Panicked, he looked up at Chen Fei — but Chen Fei was already upon him.

He looked dazed and unsteady, as though drunk — his aura barely holding together.

But the sword in his hand was rock steady.

One strike — clean and precise.

Beheaded.

The Ancestor’s head hit the ground with a thud.

Chen Fei staggered back and landed hard, panting as he stared at the corpse.

And in that moment of stillness —

he understood.

So this… was the truth all along.