Super Gene

Xie Qing King must have broken down a dozen walls, each one a shortcut through what had to be some manner of maze. There were countless branching pathways, each guided by thick walls that were around one meter tall. It was in this wall-breaking way that they proceeded.

Alu-Alu!

Another wall was smashed through. Beyond it, something new greeted their eyes. It was another palace, just smaller in size than the previous one. It did, however, have a pool at its center and a tree in the middle of that.

The tree was strange. It was two meters tall and it only had two leaves to its name.

Between the leaves was a sole grey fruit. It was hefty-looking—around the same size as a football—but it looked slimy and sickly.

“Holy-Jade Fruit.” Xie Qing King looked at the fruit with much excitement. He reached out and tried to grab it.

But before he could, the fruit broke. From within its sticky interior, a juice oozed out.

Xie Qing King’s face suddenly became ghastly, and so he punched the fruit away.

The ooze of the fruit splashed across the tiled copper floor, and after a moment’s rest, started to violently corrode the copper surface.

Han Sen was well-aware how solid that copper was, so it was frightening to see the potency of that juice. If it touched a human, Han Sen couldn’t imagine the pain that would befall its victim.

Xie Qing King’s hand suffered a couple drops of that corrosive liquid, and it had damaged his hand a good deal; it gushed blood.

The juice was no joke, if it had also managed to pierce and ravage his hand while it was still ablaze with the powerful silver light.

All Han Sen could think was how thankful he was, to have decided to hang several meters behind Xie Qing King. If he was any closer, he could very well have been sprayed by that horrendous fluid.

“King-Corpse Juice; that d*mned turkey. It is only fortunate I have trained in the ways of combatting evil. A splash of this stuff is all it takes to fell even the most powerful spirit.” After explaining, Xie Qing King punched the tree and snapped it in two.

When it broke, a grey mist seeped from the two broken ends. Suddenly, he was petrified and rendered unable to move.

Han Sen was shocked, seeing another trap immediately spring out to get Xie Qing King.

Phoenix Emperor must have known what sort of person he was. Ordinary people wouldn’t have punched the tree right after a spoiled harvest, but Xie Qing King did. Knowing he’d react this way, Phoenix Emperor had constructed another surprise trap for when he did.

The King-Corpse Juice was merely a red herring, and it wasn’t actually the planned way to stop Xie Qing King. It was not half as efficient as a substance that could petrify. Han Sen had no clue what it was, but it had worked without fault. In an instant, a king spirit was wholly petrified.

As Han Sen inched forward to inspect the tree, Xie Qing King started to shout. “He put Stone-Jade Miasma inside the tree. Pah! Weak. He’ll need to do better than that to petrify me. I’m going to dig his corpse up!”

Xie Qing King had managed to regain control of his eyes and mouth, but his body was still frozen stiff.

“What are you looking at? Are you going to help me or what?!” Xie Qing King yelled.

“How can I help you?” Han Sen asked him. It was no wonder Phoenix Emperor imprisoned him down there.

If he had known about him being locked up, Han Sen would not have helped him out. The spirit may not have been hostile, but he was not the same species and could not 100% be trusted.

Xie Qing King responded, “That sneak knew I’d use my Evil-Breaker Power to smash that tree containing the Stone-Jade Miasma. I have been petrified, yes, but only my exterior has been. Break the stones that encompass me and I will be free.”

“But I am so weak,” Han Sen pretended.

Xie Qing King said, “But you have to try. Typically, only his Undying Flame can break these stones, but it’s worth a shot.”

Han Sen looked at Xie Qing King and thought him to be strangely naive. He wondered why the spirit was so sure Han Sen would both be willing and able to save him from his entrapment.

Han Sen then recalled the time he had spent in the spirit base, and how lower-tier spirits would blindly follow one who was superior and provide them spirit geno points.

A real spirit would attempt to save Xie Qing King, no matter what it took.

But Han Sen was just a human, and he felt no obligation to save or truly follow a spirit who may have been superior to him.

“Hurry! The stone is starting to settle inside my flesh, strengthening. If we co-operate, perhaps the combination of our powers will be enough to break this curse,” Xie Qing King pleaded.

Han Sen wondered whether or not he should reveal who he truly was. But just as he considered doing so, he heard a wall on the side of that chamber begin to rise.

“Someone is here!” Han Sen looked around, checking to see if there was someplace he could hide.

Xie Qing King noticed this, as well, and so he stopped talking.

Han Sen saw two men standing behind that risen wall. It was a human and a spirit, and they were both visibly surprised to see Han Sen there. They had obviously entered expecting the place to be empty and free of others.

“Who are you?” the spirit asked, staring at Han Sen. His power looked crushing, as if he could squish him like a bug.

Han Sen thought to himself, “This must be Holy-Sword Emperor. The human next to him must be Brother Seven.”