Heaven's Devourer

"After Wang Fu and the others left, they must have found Zhang Futu and let him know that I was here. That is why he went to such pains to come here." Wu Yu caught on quickly.

He was clear that he was nothing but a fat sheep to the hungry tiger that was Zhang Futu. Now that he had scented Wu Yu, he came prowling. Those flat eyes actually held a sinister desire to kill.

Zhang Futu looked around, asking, "All these people. You defeated them?"

There was nothing in his voice, but he was actually surprised and pleased. From the moment Wu Yu defeated Wang Fu, he knew that it was more than talent. He knew that Wu Yu must have some ultimate legacy.

Wu Yu said, "Not so. They fought each other, and I slipped in for the scraps."

"Very good. No less than expected of my disciple." Zhang Futu gave a light laugh, sketching past it. In truth, Wu Yu already knew what Zhang Futu had decided.

Since he was the Abyss Guard, then his job was to resolve the Vajra Sword Talismans and bring the disciples out.

When he landed on the floor and banished the Vajra Sword Talismans, he asked Wu Yu, "Are you going out, or staying here?"

This was a dangerous question indeed. Wu Yu had come here to avoid him. Why would Wu Yu leave?

He was just about to say no, when a thought struck him cold. Zhang Futu was the Abyss Guard now. He had the right to roam within the Demons' Abyss. This was his dominion, and if he killed Wu Yu secretly, then no one would know, and he would not need to worry!

As long as Zhang Futu could enter and leave with impunity, the Demons' Abyss was even more dangerous than the outside for Wu Yu.

He was already sure that this Zhang Futu, who knew what Wu Yu was hiding, would one day betray him.

And so he changed his answer at the last moment, saying, "Your disciple has been here for many days, and has accumulated some modest rewards. I plan to return to Futu Hall and cultivate in peace in a day or two."

Wu Yu's own innocent poise hoped to lull Zhang Futu into thinking that Jindan Cave and the Demons' Abyss were all coincidences.

"That's good." Zhang Futu gave another narrow smile. He had already assumed control over all the disciples who had used the Vajra Sword Talisman, pulling them beside him. He stepped on his sword energy and looked down from above. "You have just reached the Jindan Dao Realm. Better settle down and train a few more dao techniques."

He had not said anything to persuade Wu Yu to stay. After he finished, he used the Art of Sword Flight and left. After all, they were in public, and he could not call suspicion to himself.

After Zhang Futu had left, Wu Yu finally relaxed a little.

Nangong Wei was a little confused. "Big Brother, is that the man you're hiding from?" She could feel it.

Wu Yu's expression was solemn. He said, "I have to leave the Demons' Abyss immediately. Are you still with me? It's going to be dangerous."

"Didn't you say you would leave in a day or two?"

Wu Yu shook his head. "That was a lie. I must leave now. Moreover, I might leave Shushan immediately after leaving the Demons' Abyss, for three months."

Wu Yu was very clear that if he had said he was leaving immediately, then Zhang Futu would have brought him out, and it would be difficult to escape his control. And now that Zhang Futu had left, he had to follow immediately. Each day in the Demons' Abyss was exposure to the risk of being caught by Zhang Futu.

The opponent was getting anxious.

After all, word of Wu Yu's talent would continue to spread.

"Big Brother, you are leaving Shushan?" Nangong Wei's eyes lit up.

Wu Yu had considered other courses of action as well, but for now, leaving Shushan seemed to be the best way to shrug Zhang Futu off. He definitely could not return to Futu Hall. Although the Common Sword Domain was large, he would be found by Zhang Futu. And if he left, he would be harder to find.

"That's right."

Nangong Wei clung to his arm, saying, "Wei Er wants to go too. I've never left Shushan before!"

She was extremely excited, and had let slip that her parents were of Shushan. They might very well be experts at Shushan, and possibly Heaven sword rank disciples or the like. That was the only way she could have grown up at Shushan.

Wu Yu had no idea how dangerous this journey would be, and was loath to bring her along.

But seeing his hesitation, Nangong Wei reached out to hug him like an octopus. "I want to go with you. Don't abandon me, Big Brother."

She gave a pained look, her puppy eyes threatening to erupt into full-out, on-the-floor wailing if Wu Yu did not agree."

"Alright...." After being together for all this time, Wu Yu was helpless when she was like this. This child was too pretty, as though she had walked straight out of a dream. Although she had not yet matured, her fresh youthfulness made one want to protect her.

"Let's go."

He did not proceed in the direction that Zhang Futu had gone, but instead took the most circuitous route he could. He passed through subterranean forests, through rivers, and finally hid near the entrance. He had said that he would leave after a day or two, and he guessed that Zhang Futu would be looking for him near the entrance.

What remained was a battle of wills.

Wu Yu and Nangong Wei could see the entrance, even while they themselves remained concealed. They kept their eyes on the entrance at all times.

"After he brings them out, he should be coming back to find me, or he will wait for me at the entrance." That was Wu Yu's prediction.

That was why he would not go, not before he had ascertained Zhang Futu's position.

As expected, not long after Wu Yu arrived, Zhang Futu had already settled those who had used the Vajra Sword Talismans. He immediately returned to the Demons' Abyss at a more sedate pace, searching in the direction that Wu Yu had been with the fox demon.

"He really wanted to finish me off in the Demons' Abyss!

"Luckily I knew his goal. I could arrive here a step ahead. Otherwise, if I had remained near there, I would have nowhere to run if I met him in a deserted place."

Hiding in the gloom and watching Zhang Futu's receding figure, Wu Yu's gaze was flat.

"Who would have thought that the one who brought me to the Shushan Immortal Sect would be my true enemy." Wu Yu should have been grateful to him, but now he just felt like he was a slab of meat on the block.

After finally confirming that Zhang Futu had disappeared into the darkness, and that he could no longer see the entrance, Wu Yu left with Nangong Wei, leaving Zhang Futu in the dark.

"If he had just guarded the entrance, I would have been trapped. But Zhang Futu is the hasty kind, and cannot watch for too long."

After leaving, Wu Yu returned at speed to the black hall, returning the Vajra Sword Talisman and then leaving readily. He and Nangong Wei naturally did not return to Futu Hall, but used the Art of Sword Flight to get out.

The Common Sword Domain was a huge place. By the time Zhang Futu noticed, it would be difficult to find him even in the Common Sword Domain.

After coming out, they were washed in spiritual qi. Along with the bright, daylight sun, they felt much better, especially when they looked at the towering Clear Sky of Shushan.

"He dares to covet my transformation. In the end, let's see who it is that falls." Looking back at the Demons' Abyss, Wu Yu's heart was nothing but ice.

"Big Brother, now we've gotten free of that baddy. If we leave the sect, where should we go?" Nangong Wei was also panting. She had been quite nervous.

Wu Yu said, "As long as we do not leave from the door of the Green Glass Sword Palace, leaving from anywhere should be fine. I need three months as buffer."

He naturally knew that he was currently far from Zhang Futu. He would go anywhere to find breathing space. In this period of cat and mouse with Zhang Futu, he had grown more and more dissatisfied.

In Zhang Futu's eyes, he must’ve seemed like a juicy piece of meat... that could walk.

"Aren't we going to the Achievement Hall to exchange the demons we killed for merits and sword cores? With sword cores, we can go to the Immortal Treasures Hall, the Dao Arts Hall, and other such places to trade for treasures."

In truth, each sword palace had its own Achievement Hall, Immortal Treasures Hall, Dao Arts Hall, Immortal Essence Hall, Immortal Medicine Hall, Talisman Hall, and Miscellaneous Treasures Hall. 

The Achievement Hall was where one handed in one's merits to exchange for sword cores.

The other halls were different from halls like Futu Hall. They were there expressly to accept sword cores in exchange for valuable objects. Each hall held countless treasures.

Of course, ordinary merits could be traded for sword cores with the assistant hall masters, and then traded with them as well. Except the assistant hall masters would hold on to fewer valuables.

The entire Common Sword Domain also had the Achievements Central Hall, Immortal Treasures Central Hall, and so on. They were of a massive scale, and the treasures inside were like grains of sand in a river. The million years of Shushan Immortal Sect history were accumulated there.

However, only fourth tier Jindan Dao Realm cultivators and above could enter the central halls. Even if the assistant hall masters did not have the needed treasures for the other ordinary dan disciples, the halls at each sword palace would be sufficient.

The immortal medicine refining arts and medicinal furnaces that the pair wanted could be easily obtained from assistant hall masters.

They considered this. If they exchanged their merits now, they would each have slightly more than 10 sword cores. After the medicinal furnace, they could get one immortal medicine refining art at best. The refining of many immortal medicines was closely related to the ingredients, fire, medicinal furnace, and steps. For Wu Yu, completely clueless about the whole thing, he had to find a way to refine immortal medicines.

They had too few merits, and Wu Yu shook his head. He said, "Next time, then. Let's not waste time now. We'll decide after we leave."

After Zhang Futu found that they were not in the Demons' Abyss, he would definitely come out to search for him.

Once he learned that Wu Yu understood his plans, he might take a more direct approach.

By escaping the Shushan Immortal Sect, he would at least have three months to prepare.

After obtaining Nangong Wei's consent, Wu Yu began a large-scale movement across the Shushan Immortal Sect. They basically moved from the east to the south side of the Common Sword Domain. This journey alone cost him 10 days’ time.

After all, he could not fly quickly within the Common Sword Domain, and he also had to avoid taboo grounds and clashes with other Shushan disciples.

There was roughly a million disciples at the Common Sword Domain, and hundreds of thousands of Jindan practitioners. Every day, there were countless swords flying in and out of the clouds. A majestic sight!

At Wu Yu's current strength, he was not considered an elite in the Common Sword Domain. There were still many disciples here gunning for the Huang sword rank.

After 10 days, Wu Yu had entered the territory of the Red Heart Sword Palace. The Red Heart Sword Palace was a sword palace on the periphery of the Common Sword Domain, and it had a gate that led outside of Shushan.