Heaven's Devourer

After a long period of deadlock, the Ghostly Artificer still could do nothing to Wu Yu. Although he was maintaining his sinister smile and appeared to be in full control, the anger in him had shot through the roof! 

Just as he was pondering for a solution to make Wu Yu surrender, his face changed drastically. The next moment, he retracted the dagger that was pursuing Wu Yu. After which, he dashed towards the ground, weaved into it, and disappeared in an instant. 

When he vanished, the entire world underwent dramatic changes. The tall mountains and flowing rivers below the layer of frozen ice vanished instantly and the entire world seemed to be melting. Within an extremely short period, the magma world around Wu Yu emerged once again. Scorching hot gases could be felt sweeping towards Wu Yu, and the magma was tumbling. Although it was scorching hot, Wu Yu felt a lot more comfortable. This meant that the Ghostly Artificer had fled and the spirit design was no longer active. The Full Moon of Nanshan and him could finally escape from that dreadful spirit design. 

Looking across the magma world, boiling mist and tumbling, scorching hot magma filled the surroundings. Without a doubt, Wu Yu knew that the Ghostly Artificer had definitely escaped because the Yan Huang Tribe was coming. Moreover, he must have seen the changes here when passing by this area! 

Indeed, when Wu Yu was searching for that person, an intimidating, white-haired old man with a tall and burly build appeared before him. His most eye-catching feature was his eyes, which carried a little purple lightning. When looking into his eyes, Wu Yu could even feel stinging pain in his own eyes. It was as though the purple lightning had blitzed into them! 

This person was likely from the Thunder Flame Army. However, his identity and standing were evidently higher than the group of hidden dragon generals previously just from the looks of his purple and black armor. Typically, heaven dragon generals of the Thunder Flame Army would rarely visit this area. In that case, the old man before him should be the second class among generals, a thunder flame general! 

He was definitely a Dao Querying Three Disasters Realm cultivator and clearly stronger than the Ghostly Artificer. Otherwise, the Ghostly Artificer wouldn't have fled in such a hurry! 

Since he was from the Thunder Flame Army, Wu Yu had to be careful. After all, Wu Yu had devoured the flesh and body of those seven martial cultivators. 

Regardless, with the Ghostly Artificer gone and the Ghostly Artificer having no idea of Wu Yu's devouring ability, it was hard for this incident to leak out. Therefore, despite being in the face of this thunder flame general, Wu Yu was still dauntless. 

Before this, his Heaven Devouring Avatar had morphed into black mist and was tucked within his clothing. Only the Full Moon of Nanshan and Wu Yu remained standing here. The other party also observed them for a while before eventually focusing on Wu Yu. 

He observed Wu Yu for a while before speaking. "So it is Kingmaker Le. Shouldn't Kingmaker Le be in the Immortal's Capital? Why are you here? Moreover, if I didn't get it wrong, the one who fled previously is the Ghostly Artificer?"  

From this, it appeared that the Ghostly Artificer was rather famous in this place. 

Wu Yu nodded and answered, "I'm here to experience trials after receiving the approval from Yan Dragon General Yu Chenyang. During the process, I entered the spirit design of the Ghostly Artificer by accident. Luckily, you are here and I'm finally safe. However, can I ask if you are a thunder flame general from the Thunder Flame Army?" 

"Yu Chenyang is indeed a young and capable fellow with foresight. That's right. I'm Lei Ting and I am a thunder flame general." He still wasn't aware of what had happened and thus was more at ease. He hadn't pursued the Ghostly Artificer, clearly indicating that the infamous Ghostly Artificer was hard to nail. 

After Lei Ting verified his identity, Wu Yu knew he definitely could hide the matter with the seven hidden dragon generals. Therefore, he said directly, "There's something I have to inform you of. There were also seven other hidden dragon generals that entered the spirit designs by accident. This spirit design of the Ghostly Artificer had the capability to disorientate one's mind and trigger the darkest side in one's heart. As a result, those seven hidden dragon generals were attacking and killing themselves. I was only able to save this follower of mine through some of my means. It's a shame that those seven have all died in battle. As time is pressing, I didn't get to know the names of those seven. All I remember is that there was someone called Liang Sheng and Wan Er." 

"What did you say?" Initially, he was calm and composed. However, this changed drastically. As a member of the Thunder Flame Army, he obviously knew those people. It was very unlikely he wouldn't know of a seven-person team that was experiencing trials in this place. Moreover, they might very well be hidden dragon generals that were directly under him! Perhaps the Message Talismans they wanted to send out before were meant to go to this man. It was just that they were all intercepted by the Ghostly Artificer. 

Therefore, Lei Ting was extremely agitated at this juncture. 

Wu Yu continued solemnly, "I witnessed this first hand and I’m definitely not wrong about it. That Ghostly Artificer is brutal and scheming, with significant achievements in the aspect of spirit designs. I was only able to hold off his constant pursuit through a mystique relating to speed till this point. Unfortunately, the other seven weren't as lucky. Six of them died during the battle among themselves, while the last girl was finished off by the Ghostly Artificer!" 

"This is the Devilish Blood and Soul Reversal Design!" When Wu Yu finished speaking, Thunder Flame General Lei Ting named the spirit design immediately. He probably had some understanding of the Ghostly Artificer! 

At this point, Lei Ting knew that the deaths of the seven people had definitely occurred! 

This was a matter of grave consequences. After all, those were the youngest hidden dragon generals and the future pillars of the Thunder Flame Army. Their parents had sent them to the Thunder Flame Army but would have never expected such a thing to happen!

Lei Ting was clearly a lot more restless than before. The first thing he did was check the surroundings. Shortly after, he gathered some Sumeru Pouches and the advanced dao treasures that the seven used. These weren't taken away when the Ghostly Artificer left in a hurry. 

Lei Ting was baffled and asked, "Why are there only their belongings and not their corpses?" After all, this was a grave matter, and he would need the corpses to verify the claims. 

Wu Yu had thought of how to answer this. He said, "I didn't get a clear look. Perhaps they were taken away by the Ghostly Artificer. After all, the ghostly cultivators are known to often use corpses for their atrocious dao techniques." 

"In that case, why did he take away the corpses and not these treasures?" 

Wu Yu answered, "I don't know. Perhaps he knew he couldn't sell them even if he brought them along. His initial intention was to kill us all. As long as he killed us, no one would know it was him behind this. If he brought these remains along, he might get himself implicated eventually. As for the corpses, he would have many other means and naturally wouldn't be recognized by others." 

Wu Yu's explanation was logical. The key was whether they were dead or alive and not their corpses, which weren't as important. When Lei Ting tried to contact them, it's obvious he couldn't get anyone. 

He didn't say much and made Wu Yu wait. After which, he sent out several Message Talismans. He probably wanted to send reports of this incident out first. 

"Don't go away yet. This matter has relatively huge implications. What I know now came entirely from you. Their parents will likely want to know the process." 

As someone who survived here, the parents of those seven would definitely want to find out the truth from him. Nonetheless, the culprit could be easily determined and would be none other than that Ghostly Artificer. 

Although it was hard for others to relate this to the Heaven Devouring Avatar, if too many people interrogated Wu Yu or if they caught the Ghostly Artificer and questioned him under torture, this might give Wu Yu a certain extent of trouble. 

Regardless, one thing was for sure: the culprit behind the deaths of the seven people was definitely the Ghostly Artificer, and their deaths had nothing to do with Wu Yu. As for what happened before that, this had nothing to do with Wu Yu as well, and they had asked for it. Previously, they tried to snatch an advanced dao treasure of a Ghostly Yan Tribe member from Wu Yu. 

What Lei Ting meant was for Wu Yu to return to the Thunder Flame Fortress with him. After he explained the incident to the seniors and parents of those seven, they would definitely send people to the Thunder Flame Fortress as well. 

It was likely that there hadn't been such high casualties to the Eight Main Armies in the Infernal Inferno in a long time. 

"That Ghostly Artificer scumbag has killed a number of people from our Eight Main Armies. However, as he's well-versed in spirit designs and excellent in escaping, we have not been able to capture him or kill him. Who would have thought that he would go a step further!" 

Lei Ting was extremely resentful, but there was nothing he could do about it. The depths of the Infernal Inferno were occupied by the Ghostly Yan Tribe. The main objective of the Yan Huang Tribe keeping the Ghostly Yan Tribe was to provide the younger generation a place of trials. The Yan Huang Tribe possessed the capability to exterminate the Ghostly Yan Tribe. However, if they really wanted to do so, the Ghostly Yan Tribe would have gone extinct numerous years ago. 

At the very least, without the order from Yan Huang Ancient Emperor, no one would dare to do so. If the Ghostly Artificer hid in the deepest part of the Infernal Inferno after killing them, it wouldn't be easy to find him again. 

Wu Yu's objective of coming to the Infernal Inferno had been reached. The Heaven Devouring Avatar was sufficiently powerful and had even exceeded the Primordial Spirit of the main body. 

Therefore, there was no need for him to remain here. To him, making a trip to the Thunder Flame Fortress wouldn't be a problem. 

As such, he followed Lei Ting and embarked on his way back. 

Along the journey, Wu Yu received a Message Talisman. To his surprise, it was from the Army General of the Yan Dragon Army, Qu Yin. He saw the message on the Message Talisman. "Prince Le has completed his seclusion and it has been decided that the appointment ceremony will be held in the Immortal's Capital in five days. Come back as soon as you can. You have to be in the Immortal's Capital in five days." 

Prince Le was finally out and Wu Yu still had to face what was to come. 

It just so happened that Wu Yu wasn't particularly fond of heading to the Thunder Flame Fortress. Therefore, he handed the Message Talisman to Lei Ting. Qu Yin's standing and strength were way higher than Lei Ting’s, and this was related to the appointment ceremony of Kingmaker Le. For Kingmaker Le, this was an extremely grand affair. Moreover, he didn't have the guts to stop the Ancient Emperor's Edict. After thinking for some time, he said, "In that case, you can return first. However, after the end of the appointment ceremony, their parents and seniors might go look for you in the Immortal's Capital." 

"I'm fine with that." 

Wu Yu nodded before moving beside Lei Ting and eventually heading in the direction of the Yan Dragon Fortress. He was prepared to return to the Immortal's Capital as soon as he could. 

Soon after, they could see the Yan Dragon Fortress. 

At this point, news of this incident had yet to reach this place and therefore it was still quiet and peaceful.