296: Chapter 296 The Universal Key

Shen Xingchen had expected the bespectacled deacon to be angry, to resist, and to despair, but he never expected that the bespectacled deacon would put on the Spirit-Suppressing Handcuffs without a moment's hesitation.

Shen Xingchen asked curiously, "Did you guess that I would send you to the Law Enforcement Bureau?"

The bespectacled deacon replied with a calm expression, "Prodigy Shen, I am a deacon of the Crimson Church after all. How could I possibly fall for such a cliché trick of yours?"

Shen Xingchen looked at him and smiled, "Interesting."

The bespectacled deacon said, "I have mastered many clues about the Crimson Church, and I can perform meritorious service to commute my sentence. This is the most sensible choice for me right now."

Shen Xingchen smiled.

Once someone joined the Crimson Church and participated in the operation to hunt down prodigies, they would no longer have any chance of commuting their sentence through meritorious service.

He didn't say much more; regardless, it would be fine as long as this deacon didn't resist.

Shen Xingchen came to the side of the three dead deacons, activated his spatial ring, and collected their corpses inside.

Then he went to the outskirts of Leichi Mountain and began a massive slaughter among the ordinary cult members.

Halfway through the slaughter, these heretics finally grew terrified and dropped to their knees one after another to beg for mercy.

Shen Xingchen stopped attacking and made them put on the Spirit-Suppressing Handcuffs just like that deacon, returning to the Law Enforcement Bureau with him.

He hadn't originally planned to kill everyone anyway.

Although spirit communication could indeed make the dead speak, the problem was that if so many dead people were interrogated one by one, Song Wan would be worked to death.

"Let's go!"

Shen Xingchen called out behind him.

Roughly a hundred ordinary cult members of the Crimson Church and one deacon quickly followed in Shen Xingchen's footsteps.

Shen Xingchen finally asked the bespectacled deacon, "What is your real name?"

The bespectacled deacon honestly replied, "Tian Yucheng."

Shen Xingchen asked again, "Tell me now, where are my classmates locked up?"

Tian Yucheng adjusted his glasses. "Inside a private hospital named 'Fengye' in the East District of Shangjing City. That is a very important stronghold within the church."

"A hospital, huh." Shen Xingchen was lost in thought.

"As Prodigy Shen has probably guessed, a hospital is both suitable for human experiments and can use the guise of surgical procedures to cover up bloody scenes. It's a very good disguise." Tian Yucheng seemed to have truly turned over a new leaf, and he talked a lot.

While leading this group down the mountain, Shen Xingchen asked, "How many deacons and bishops does your church have left now?"

Tian Yucheng replied, "Except for me... all the deacons have already been killed by you. There is only one bishop left. He has just been promoted to the Xiang Realm, his strength is not yet stable, and he doesn't often come out to take action."

Shen Xingchen nodded.

...

Outside Leichi Mountain.

The local residents saw Leichi Mountain emit such a blinding, scorching light for the very first time, and they gathered on the outskirts of the mountain to discuss the situation.

Someone asked, "Uncle Li, why do you think Leichi Mountain has become like this?"

Uncle Li thought about it and said, "I heard a long time ago that Leichi Mountain was transformed from the divine abilities of a powerful expert in the Dao of Thunder. Since Leichi Mountain has 'awakened', the expert in the Dao of Thunder must have returned."

Another person said, "Did you see the spiritual energy barrier around Leichi Mountain? That's obviously man-made. Someone is controlling the formation of Leichi Mountain!"

Just as the crowd was in a commotion,

a team of figures abruptly appeared at the entrance of the mountain path of Leichi Mountain.

That group of people was quite strange. Walking at the very front was a delicate-looking youth, and behind him were over a hundred people, all wearing blood-red robes like cult members of some church.

Uncle Li was well-informed and blurted out first, "This is... the Crimson Church that has been creating such an uproar these days?"

Someone screamed, "It's people from the Crimson Church! Run, everyone!"

Recently, the deeds of the Crimson Church had spread far and wide. Because what they did was too bloody and bizarre, countless residents turned pale at the mere mention of them.

Someone with sharp eyes looked at the group and said, "Look, are they all wearing handcuffs?"

The rest followed their gaze. "Right, they're all wearing handcuffs, as if they've been detained."

Someone asked, "Only the youth at the very front wearing casual winter clothes isn't wearing handcuffs... Could it be that he captured these people?"

No one answered this question.

Shen Xingchen took out a golden leaf from the gilded bracelet and threw it into the air.

The golden leaf expanded rapidly in the sky, transforming into a flying warship within a matter of seconds.

This was given to Shen Xingchen by Old Man Xue when he set off, named "Meritorious". It was originally a reward from Snowfield Dragon City to Xue Hezai, the former chief commander who had performed great military exploits, but it was now "requisitioned" by Shen Xingchen.

The residents at the foot of Leichi Mountain watched as Shen Xingchen and his group boarded the warship, and then the warship slowly rose into the air.

...

Riding the warship from Leichi Mountain to Shangjing took roughly two hours of travel time.

When they reached the halfway point,

Shen Xingchen suddenly asked Tian Yucheng, "You've been hiding for so long, aren't you planning to make a move yet?"

Tian Yucheng's expression remained unchanged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Shen Xingchen said calmly, "You couldn't possibly really go to the Law Enforcement Bureau with me, because you know that's a certain death sentence. Your plan from the very beginning was to wait for me to leave Leichi Mountain and then look for a chance to escape."

Tian Yucheng narrowed his eyes slightly. "Prodigy Shen, your strength is so formidable that you can kill a ninth-tier expert at the eighth tier. I really didn't dare to act rashly."

Having said that, he stopped hiding and pulled no punches. With a flip of his cuff, a bronze key appeared in his palm.

The bronze key was inserted into the keyhole of the Spirit-Suppressing Handcuffs.

With a click, the Spirit-Suppressing Handcuffs were opened.

Although Tian Yucheng had shaken off his restraints, he didn't relax in the slightest. Frowning deeply, his ninth-tier aura swept outward.

Seeing this scene, the remaining cult members were first stunned, and then ecstatic.

One had to know that this deacon was a tier 9, rank 6 existence, and that youth had only been able to show off his might earlier by taking advantage of the terrain of Leichi Mountain. It was different now; perhaps all of them could escape.

Shen Xingchen was surprised. "Your taboo item is really nice."

That bronze key was obviously not the matching key for the Spirit-Suppressing Handcuffs, yet it could easily open them.

Tian Yucheng held a long sword, full of vigilance. "Prodigy Shen, make your move. If I still lose to you this time, I will accept my defeat wholeheartedly and leave my fate in your hands."

Shen Xingchen's tone was flat. "You never had a chance to escape in the first place."

As he spoke, a silver armor draped over his body, and his aura climbed to tier 8, rank 6. At the same time, lightning intertwined in his hands as the Law of Thunder danced across his palm.

He had just comprehended the Law of Thunder and hadn't had the chance to properly show it off yet.

Unexpectedly, before Shen Xingchen even made a move,

Tian Yucheng, who had been brimming with fighting spirit just moments ago, turned and fled in the opposite direction.

Even Shen Xingchen was stunned by this scene. Lightning surged in his hands as he slapped out a palm strike. "I thought you really wanted to fight me to the death, but it turns out you were just putting on a show to look for a chance to escape."

That bolt of lightning crossed and entwined in mid-air, rapidly wrapping around Tian Yucheng's body.

Tian Yucheng had already been fighting with that blue-robed deacon for a long time, and his spiritual energy was long depleted; how could he possibly withstand such a blow?

After Shen Xingchen's lightning wrapped around Tian Yucheng, he didn't unleash a fatal strike; instead, it turned into a spherical giant net, encasing him within.

Shen Xingchen smiled, "Alright, since you've been caught by me again, honestly get into my Poké Ball."