Chapter 617 — Too Hot to Hold

Zhe Huali gave two dry laughs, then said gravely: "Brother Shen, you'd best kill me first, then take it back."

"How could I be so rude?" Shen Mu's face was all smiles.

Qi Jiuyi was also staring at the little box in Zhe Huali's hand. Zhe Huali's gaze flickered, and he probed: "Brother Qi, your status is exalted, and your master holds an extremely high position in the heavenly court. Surely you know how to open this box. Might you tell me?"

Qi Jiuyi coughed violently, coughing up bits of broken bone. His hunched body straightened a little, and the sword-scars Shen Mu had left on his forehead were gradually shrinking — which made both Zhe Huali's and Shen Mu's hearts tighten.

This Qi Jiuyi's recovery speed was simply too strong. He was practically an undying, indestructible body; even with injuries this severe, he could recover so quickly.

The reason he spat out broken bone was likely that new ribs were growing within his chest cavity.

Shen Mu was deeply envious. This kind of undying body was truly useful; he only wondered whether it was the effect of Qi Jiuyi's Imperial Throne-tier cultivation method or the racial gift of the Nine Phoenix clan.

After coughing for a while, Qi Jiuyi felt somewhat better and said, panting: "Give me the little box. I'll open it for you." Clearly, though he could rapidly heal his wounds and regenerate broken bone, the toll on his physical body was immense — otherwise he would not look so exhausted.

Zhe Huali shook his head: "If the little box falls into your hands and you open it and reveal the God-Slaying Mystic Blade, Brother Shen and I will immediately be parted from our heads."

Shen Mu suggested: "How about this, Senior Brother Li — you and I first finish off Brother Qi, then together study how to open the little box. One man's wit is short, two men's wit is long. With our combined wisdom, we're sure to open it!"

Zhe Huali smiled faintly: "If I trust you, it won't be two men's wit being long — it'll be one man's wit being impaired."

The three were locked in stalemate.

Suddenly, a hoarse voice came from behind them: "You argue back and forth — have you asked me, the rightful owner? The little box should return to its original owner."

The three — Shen Mu, Qi Jiuyi, and Zhe Huali — changed expression drastically and hurriedly looked toward the voice. There was Chixi, thin as a stick, striding toward them on two legs like dry firewood, already not far away!

This execution overseer of the Chiming era had three heads like shriveled black eggplants, eye sockets sunken deep, eyeballs like sun-dried jujubes.

The necks beneath his three heads were likewise withered, as if unable to support his heads.

He was like a three-headed shrimp; three arms on his left side leaned on a cane — he must have struggled here on that cane.

Shen Mu and Qi Jiuyi's fierce battle here had made an enormous commotion; it would not have been hard for Chixi to find this place. But judging by how laboriously he leaned on his cane, one could not guess how he had made the journey — after all, Shen Mu had fled very far before encountering Qi Jiuyi.

Presumably Chixi's powers were vast; though walking was difficult, he could still employ a portion of his magic.

Veins bulged on Shen Mu's forehead, but what he thought of was something else. He murmured: "It's raining?"

"That's right, it's raining."

Chixi looked as if he might keel over at any moment. Feeble, he said: "Not long after you left, it started raining again. Heaven has pity — I finally drank a little water that wasn't poisoned."

Shen Mu blinked and stood there without moving. Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali had already been slowly backing away, and suddenly the two turned as one and fled!

Bang, bang.

The two crashed into an invisible wall and were bounced back.

Chixi said indifferently: "There is no one in this world who can escape from under my hand... mm, you are the first. You escaped — you should feel proud."

He meant Shen Mu. Shen Mu wore an honest smile.

Suddenly, Zhe Huali tossed the little box straight into Shen Mu's hands and said loudly: "Brother Shen, your treasure back to you! Green hills unchanging, green waters flowing on — Senior, farewell!" With that he turned, only to crash into the invisible wall again.

Zhe Huali had no choice but to turn back and stand obediently.

On the other side, the simple smile on Shen Mu's face went stiff. Catching the little box, he at once flicked his wrist and tossed it out, throwing it to Qi Jiuyi, and said with a laugh: "Brother Qi, you can open the box — it's yours!"

"A mere dried corpse from the Chiming era dares to oppose the heavenly court? Let me kill him!"

Qi Jiuyi smiled faintly. The ten fingers of both hands flew, runes streaming ceaselessly from his fingertips as he tried to unseal the box.

After a while, his face turned ashen — he simply could not open this box!

The heavenly court's boxes that held God-Slaying Mystic Blades also had seals, and he knew the rune sequences to open them. But the rune arrays needed to open this box from the Chiming era were clearly different from the heavenly court's!

The muscles at the corners of Qi Jiuyi's eyes twitched wildly. He looked despairingly at Shen Mu. Shen Mu looked up at the sky, tapping his toes against the ground with little pats, pretending to admire the clouds.

Qi Jiuyi looked imploringly at Zhe Huali. Zhe Huali was earnestly picking at his fingernails, then put his thumbnail in his mouth and bit it.

Qi Jiuyi, trembling, looked toward that three-headed, six-armed "dried corpse" walking toward him. Suddenly inspired, he dropped to his knees with a thud and raised the little box high: "Senior, spare my life!"

Chixi sneered and came forward trembling on his cane: "This box was naturally sealed with the runes of the Chiming era. You use your so-called heavenly court runes to undo it — is that not playing the lute to a cow? This box — the three of you no longer fight over it? You made such a clamor fighting over it. Go on, keep fighting."

Shen Mu blinked and looked at Zhe Huali.

Zhe Huali was looking back at him, thinking: "He must be thinking the same as me — weighing whether to kneel and beg for mercy too. Should I kneel or not?"

His heart was in a tangle.

Shen Mu thought: "So Zhe Huali really is my rival in strength — his thoughts have converged with mine. Chixi will take all three of our lives no matter what, to moisten his flesh with our blood. He must be keeping his integrity, just like me."

"No one is fighting over this box anymore?"

Chixi sneered and came forward on his cane, walking toward Qi Jiuyi: "If no one wants it, then I'll..."

Suddenly a voice came: "I want it!"

A hand reached out and gently took the little box from Qi Jiuyi's hands.