Chapter 605

Chapter 605: Closing the Gates to Trap the Enemy

Clearly, Zhu Xian employed a strategy of feigned action while secretly preparing an ambush. While appearing to have only one attacker, they’d hidden two Thunder Tribulation Immortals and numerous assistants in the void to cast curses upon Fang Lie.

Without the old bird’s warning, Fang Lie wouldn’t have noticed. Though shaken, he couldn’t help but grudgingly admire Zhu Xian’s professionalism and cunning.

They’d covertly taken over a Treasure Tower among hundreds that formed a small marketplace, filled with constant traffic.

The tower still operated as a spirit food tavern hosting dozens of patrons and serving attendants.

Even Fang Lie never suspected Zhu Xian would choose this location for their ambush – true darkness beneath the lantern’s glow!

Only his Void Eye allowed him to pierce subspace layers and discover their secret.

Zhu Xian had controlled only the tavern owner’s mind, leaving others unaware. Their assassins hid the Secret Realm’s entrance within basement warehouses, utterly undetected.

Creating such vast subspace without spatial disturbances surpassed even major sects’ capabilities. Zhu Xian’s spatial mastery had deceived everyone nearby, including Fire Tribulation Immortals residing in adjacent towers.

Had Fang Lie remained oblivious through the forty-nine day curse, he’d have perished painfully. Though the Cycle of Fire might revive him, Zhu Xian would’ve reclaimed their base and won this contest of wills.

But provoking Fang Lie and the old bird proved their undoing. The old bird abandoned its usual detachment, swiftly exposing the hidden threat.

Now discovered, Fang Lie prepared to retaliate.

While his main body casually feigned normalcy, clones converged from all directions.

Zhu Xian’s marketplace choice held double-edged consequences. The crowd provided cover but also masked approaching danger.

A hundred suspicious figures in wilderness would alert anyone, but in bustling markets, Fang Lie’s clones blended seamlessly – diners, shoppers, passersby gradually encircling the tower.

Completion brought swift action. A clone behind the tavern produced the Eighth-rank Space-Calming Bead, unleashing its power. Colorful light radiated, freezing spatial fluctuations across miles. No subspace exits or Ninth-Rank treasures could bypass this lockdown.

Revealing his golden wings and piercing gaze, Fang Lie heard panicked shouts:

"Fang Lie? Here?!"

"What’s that treasure doing?"

"Flee! Combat’s imminent!"

As crowds scattered, the sweating tavern owner pleaded: "Lord Fang! We’re innocent! No ties to Zhu Xian!"

"Pretending again? Keep pretending?" Fang Lie sneered coldly. "I’ve tracked you down—still acting innocent? How pointless!"

"I, I don’t understand what you mean," the plump tavern owner stammered, feigning innocence. Yet the cold sweat drenching him betrayed his guilt.

"Really? So you’re not with Zhu Xian, knew nothing about their Secret Realm hidden in your tavern, and had no clue over a hundred Zhu Xian assassins cursed me in that subspace?" Fang Lie scoffed. "Think I’m just a naive child you can trick?"

"Ah!" The owner gasped. "How do you know all this?"

"Fool. Don’t you recognize who I am?" Fang Lie snapped. "No more excuses now, eh?"

Nearby serving attendants paled, crying out, "Master Fang, we’re innocent! We knew nothing!"

"Yes! This was all the boss’s doing! Please spare us!"

Some begged while others simply bolted.

Fang Lie’s fearsome reputation was unmatched—the hundreds of Zhu Xian corpses still hanging from the Treasure Tower proved that. Who wouldn’t flee?

Disinterested in the underlings, Fang Lie waved dismissively. "Leave. This place will become a battlefield."

"Thank you, Master Fang!" they exclaimed, fleeing instantly.

Nearby Treasure Towers also sensed danger, activating flight mechanisms to escape. Patrons vanished even faster.

Within half a teacup’s time, only the tavern and its owner remained—proof of Fang Lie’s terror.

The owner dropped to his knees, wailing, "Master Fang, they forced me! They cursed me! Refusing them meant three years of agony before death!"

"Hmph!" Fang Lie glared. "You think helping them spares you? Zhu Xian silences all loose ends!"

"Ah!" The owner froze.

Zhu Xian’s ruthlessness was legendary. For millennia, their extreme secrecy let them thrive. Even minor leaks meant death.

Though the owner knew little, his knowledge of their subspace ability sealed his fate. Zhu Xian would never let that secret spread.

Realization dawned on the owner. Despairing, he cried, "Death either way! What can I do?"

Fang Lie, immune to curses but powerless to undo Zhu Xian’s magic, sighed and teleported the owner away. He then activated his Void Eye to monitor the subspace.

Chaos reigned inside. When the Space-Calming Bead activated, the two Thunder Tribulation Immortals sensed trouble but found exits sealed.

Panicking, they realized Fang Lie had trapped them.

Abandoning stealth, they unleashed attacks to breach the subspace.

Normally, Thunder Tribulation Immortals could shred subspaces like paper. But the Eighth-rank Space-Calming Bead transformed walls into steel. Their assaults shook the space but failed to break through.

Enraged, they summoned Eighth-rank treasures—a black three-foot Flying Sword and a blood-iron spike.

The sword morphed into a black dragon spewing corrosive smoke, eating a gap in the spatial crystal wall. Though unbroken, the outside became faintly visible.

The spike transformed into a blood wolf, firing a ten-zhang Sword Ray laced with Curse power. It pierced the weakened wall, leaving crimson threads that hindered healing.