Chapter 210 Bad News and Judgment
Duden Mayer, male, 35 years old, fifth level of Embers, is a craftsman.

Born in Qiandao, a common mixed-blood, like any ordinary ember, he has learned from many teachers and learned from many people - he worked odd jobs in various workshops. In order to become a craftsman, he pursued evil transformation, and after obtaining the blessing of stagnation, he bowed his head to the disciple of the deep mentor Jianyuan, and became a flute boy or a nominal one.

Read as a writing tool for students.

As a master who became famous a hundred years ago and defected from the association to join Jiu Nie, Jian Yuan can be said to be a model of teaching without discrimination.

For students, we teach them whatever is useful and then use them until they are no longer useful.

Over the years, as the number of students under his tutelage increased, he became a talented person, and cultivated countless monsters and demons, which earned him the reputation of being a stagnant and evil furnace. This meant that he had created countless monsters in his furnace.

And Duden is the worst of the worst batch...not a metaphor, but the real deal.

The basics are scattered and the theory is not precise. None of the four items, namely ascension, transformation, purification and integration, are decent.

After learning a bunch of contradictory skills from here and there, I was unable to integrate them or separate the dross from the essence. I ended up getting a stomachache after eating from a hundred families, and ended up losing my family after learning a hundred skills.

After making do with so much effort, I have become a craftsman with decent skills. I can say that this is my life.

No further progress.

This was what Jianyuan told him clearly. If it wasn't for the lack of manpower, he might not have been given the role of a tool.

But in Duden's opinion, it was clearly that this old man was unwilling to open up his inheritance and deliberately attacked him. In his mouth, this old man was as bad as he could be, as cruel as he could be, and he would slap a passing cat before it would leave... He was not as humble, calm, generous, and amiable as the senior in front of him!
So, can you please spare my life for my honesty? I am willing to turn from evil to good and be a dog of the Security Bureau from now on. I will thank you for your kindness for the rest of my life...

There was no torture, no coercion, and not even interrogation.

Ji Jue had just started and the process was not even finished, but Duden's little mouth was like a machine gun, and all the words came out of it.

I was afraid that if I didn’t tell the details, I would lose my life.

Especially after Ji Jue destroyed a piece of alchemical equipment with the Dissociation Technique in front of him, and then smiled and said nothing as he placed his hand on him...

Then, there was a long silence.

Everyone was silent.

Tong Shan hesitated for a moment and opened his mouth to ask. Xu Guan, who was monitoring the whole process, rubbed his face and sighed silently, "I didn't lie."

There is no trace of lies, nor any omission of key points.

Either this guy is playing the pig to eat the tiger, and his level is so high that he can easily crush everyone present to death, and he is just playing the game with them out of bad taste.

Or...what he said was true.

Then, a sound of people gasping for air was heard.

Ji Jue had no expression on his face, Tong Shan lowered his eyes and said nothing, Lou Feng's face turned pale, and the other members also broke out into their hometown dialect or Yacheng swear words.

I can only say, this is really a gathering of demons and monsters...

Today, the City of Springs is home to many talented people.

Under the initiative of the current chief priest, priest and holy envoy of the Huaxie Cult, also known as the big boss Lu Changsheng, the Nine Evils suddenly became turbulent, and various shameless villains appeared one after another. They gathered in Quancheng through the secret path under the vortex, to plan an event that the crazy guys love the most.

Whatever the big deal was, Duden, a lame little Karami who could only be a tool to help Jianyuan, had no idea at all.

But just looking at the scale...

Each one is more powerful than the other.

First, there was the Huaxie Cult, which worshipped evil creatures and spread evil; then there was the infamous Dragon Festival; the Wulou Temple, which followed Jueyuan and advocated the extinction of all living things; the Tianxin Society, which was chosen by Weiyang, the great evil corresponding to the Heart Pivot; and the Youshen Craftsmen of the Zhifu School...

Look at these five groups of people, which one is not an outlaw, which one is not a veteran demon, which one is not the beloved daughter of the Nine Sins, oh, the Dragon Festival will be a borderline one, not yet… but the Dragon Festival will do more and more exaggerated things for me to transform into a dragon and chase after natural disasters, okay!
These five waves of weird-looking guys gathered together to do something big...

Haizhou has never had such a gathering of heroes!
Even though it was impossible for all of them to go out in full force, except for the Huaxie Cult, at least they sent their own strong and core members.

If a single cult group fights against the Security Bureau, it will be like hitting a rock with an egg. But if this group of demons and monsters unite, the result will be disastrous.

Even though the other side was in fierce internal strife, the dog-eat-dog fight never stopped, but everyone was not stupid. With great benefits at hand, even if there were some differences, they were just minor disputes.

You must do the big things first!
Do something big! Do something big! Do something big!
Ji Jue couldn't imagine how big a treasure this bunch of amazing treasures could pick up when they got together!

I thought that after severely damaging a team of the evil cult, these guys would definitely suffer heavy losses, and at the very least they would suffer for a long time. Now it seems that it is not painful at all.

It’s not a big deal.

The disease caused by mustard lichen is nothing to worry about.

Now they can't even take the list of serious problems...

I don’t know whether it can be called a blessing in disguise - there is news about Lou Feng’s aunt.

The good news is that you're still alive, the bad news is that you're also still alive.

The survivors of the permanent investigation team were not killed indiscriminately, nor did they suffer humiliation or other torture. They were all frozen on the spot and taken away.

I don’t know where he was taken.

Lou Feng's expression was gloomy and he said nothing more.

He gritted his teeth and turned away.

He concentrated on the dismantling of the workshop, forcing himself to divert his attention. But just by hearing the loud noises of destruction, he knew how bad his condition was.

Ji Jue sighed.

At this time, don't feel sorry for these few things, just hope he can hold on.

"found it!"

While searching, Ji Xue relied on her terrifying speed and efficiency to finally find the most important thing - a palm-sized plate with many characters engraved on it and a pointer that kept spinning.

It's like a compass.

The others were shocked and looked at Xu Guan. After Xu Guan finished the inspection, he nodded slowly, and finally couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief!

That is Duden's geomantic disk.

There is no way that the Yousui craftsmen could sleep in the same bed with the evil cult. To say that they are sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams is a compliment.

During his several trips in and out of the Spring City, Duden secretly recorded several different routes on his own geomantic disk. Otherwise, if the situation reversed and the evil cult packed up and left, what would happen to the friendly forces?
Stay in Quancheng and wait for death?
The most important thing when doing things these days is not whether you can get it done, but to make sure you can do it next time if you fail.

Now that they have Duden's map, as long as they camouflage themselves well, they may be able to seize the time and get out of here.

The opportunity is right at hand.

Next, it’s time to deal with Duden…

When everyone looked at him coldly, Duden's expression suddenly changed, and he begged and kowtowed frantically to Ji Jue.

Ji Jue was about to speak when he heard Lou Feng calling his name.

He stood in Duden's workshop, pushed open the door, and looked uglier than ever.

"come over."

He said, "Look at this."

Then, Ji Jue's face also turned ugly.

In the workshop, there is a huge machine that has been mostly assembled. Like some kind of complex pillar, it has many spiritual circuits engraved on it from the inside out. The structure is rigorous and strange. The structure in some places completely violates modern alchemy, but they are inexplicably compatible with each other and thus exist.

If it weren't for the thick design drawings and the detailed instruction manual that stated there would be absolutely no problems as long as the operation and production were carried out according to the drawings, Ji Jue would have almost no idea what this thing was.

In fact, he doesn't understand it now.

The producer Duden also didn't understand, but he didn't dare to ask. He just did whatever the teacher asked him to do. Why did he ask so many questions? Did he want to take the postgraduate entrance examination? In Jianyuan's school, further study was never a good word.

Ji Jue could only guess what this thing was used for through the incomplete perception of the ex machina, his own theoretical level and comparison with the instruction manual.

But just a few scattered guesses were enough to make him feel dizzy.

"Are you sure?" Ji Jue held on to hope.

Lou Feng was silent for a moment, and after a moment his voice was equally hoarse: "I just can't be sure, so I came to you. But the parameters are like this, the module of spiritual essence frequency and verification sequence, I... have indeed seen it."

Ji Jue, nothing to say.

"Is the problem very troublesome?" Tong Shan asked.

"... Let me explain it to you from the beginning." Ji Jue took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and turned to the back of the design with trembling fingers: "To put it in an analogy, this thing should be a device similar to a substation."

"What's the effect?"

"To put it simply, its function is to connect to a very large system, act as a node and continuation, avoid the impact caused by output peaks and troughs, and use it to buffer and divert traffic."

Tong Shan was getting more and more confused: "What's the problem?"

"That's the problem."

Ji Jue swallowed dryly, turned to the middle of the design, and pointed at the parameters and requirements on it, "Why, in Quancheng, a deep craftsman would use the verification standards commonly used by the Security Bureau on an instrument made by him?
And why is it that the internal ectoplasm frequency and sequence verification are exactly the same as those of the outpost?"

"..."

Tong Shan's expression also became more ugly than ever before: "Are you sure?"

"I don't know. I'm also an apprentice who plays the supporting role."

Ji Jue smiled bitterly. When he was fighting in the lounge, he didn't expect that there was such a pit waiting for him. If he could participate in it... No, even if he participated, he might still be confused. Professor Ye's style of doing things is not to say what should not be said, and to learn everything by himself.

For this kind of project which has nothing to do with Ji Jue and involves the overall situation, she can only throw Ji Jue in to do hard labor. How much he can learn and how much he can see depends entirely on Ji Jue himself.

"To be honest, I don't know the association's intentions and plans, nor the specific implementation status, so I can't be sure how bad the situation is."

Ji Jue pondered and organized his words: "If we are lucky, it will just be a simple information leak, and someone has leaked the specifications and verification to the Huaxie Cult.

Maybe they have already prepared something to target us, and the association’s hard work is in vain and completely useless.”

But if, luck is a little worse...

Ji Jue didn't continue talking.

It is possible that many masters and craftsmen of the association put a lot of thought into coming up with an entire plan, and after completing 99% of the project, they suddenly discovered that all parts had lost their response.

The opponent who had been waiting for a long time took out the remote control that he had prepared long ago from his trouser pocket...

Next, you can start praying that it's just an ordinary sex toy.

The best thing about being a human is that you can always have hope.

So, it could be, and it could be.

It's the best!!!

But at that moment, as if it was an illusion, a tired sigh sounded in Ji Jue's ears.

Then, there was a terrifying roar as if the sky was collapsing and the earth was shaking. The sound swept across the city and enveloped Quancheng. Even in this dilapidated workshop, it could not be avoided.

In the flickering lights, countless dust particles fell.

And right there in the production room, the unfinished device suddenly lit up countless spiritual circuits, as if struggling to respond to something, but soon it fell apart under the pressure and became completely silent.

Then everyone saw it.

Its daybreak.

Amid the sound of collapse, the dark clouds that had enveloped the city of Quan for decades dissipated silently, revealing the long-lost starry sky in the world.

It was as if an invisible force had dug up the rotten soil, reaching deep beneath the earth, and causing the buried tombs to reappear in the human world, but the human world was so hideous.

There were cracks all over the sky, and the light of the stars was swaying. Countless strange streams of light were flowing through them, turning into heavy rain and pouring down.

A massive amount of pollution rained down, irrigating everything.

The rolling white mist spread in all directions, but seemed to be restrained by some invisible force. The harsh sound resounded through the sky and was difficult to expand.

Countless strange figures were roaring and running around in Quan City with excitement.

The darkness is like a tide, boiling endlessly.

The City of Springs is rising, step by step, loaded with decades of accumulated hatred and resentment... slowly and calmly, breaking through the blockade and heading towards the world.

The huge stone in Ji Jue's heart finally sank into the basement on the eighteenth floor.

When people are speechless, they really smile for no reason.

But I couldn't laugh out loud.

"...Look at it from a bright side, at least we don't have to find a way out anymore, right?"

No one responded.

In the dead silence, there was only silence, and even the trembling and terrified sounds in the pool of blood.

"No, it's not me."

Duden squirmed, struggled, and screamed in fear: "Mercy, mercy, I know nothing, I am innocent! I really... I, I..."

Tong Shan didn't even want to speak, he just stretched out his hand, but his raised wrist was held by Ji Jue.

It was as if I believed what he said.

Curious question:
"really?"

For a moment, Duden was ecstatic and wanted to nod, but found that he couldn't move at all. He wanted to make excuses or cover up, but he couldn't make a sound.

From the moment those eyes were gradually ignited by some kind of flame, I could no longer speak.

"Are you innocent?"

Ji Jue asked softly, step by step, forward.

Duden trembled and opened his mouth, but his throat seemed to betray him and he could not tell a lie.

The Path of Ashes is cruel to begin with, and it is impossible to judge a craftsman with such shallow words as good and evil. Moreover, for those who devote themselves to evil, there is no need to talk about such non-existent things as morality and bottom line.

He has mastered dozens of skills, but which one is not filled with betrayal and death? He has created hundreds of works, but how many of them carry hope and do not contain malicious intentions?

Melting living bodies to elevate spiritual intelligence, sacrificing infants to transform material properties, stripping souls to purify materials... Among the endless evils of the world, is your own part so insignificant that it can be forgiven and ignored?
Ji Jue stepped forward and asked again: "Do you practice the way of the highest good and uphold the principle of change?"

The voice, which was almost abnormally calm, rang out from the dilapidated workshop, clanging like iron or stone, sharp like a blade, penetrating into the soul and echoing endlessly.

The blood color on his face gradually faded.

And right within the matrix, the traces of evil pollution could no longer be concealed, and all of them were revealed, with sticky black rising like thick smoke.

It has already... penetrated into the soul and bones!

At that moment, Ji Jue finally broke free from the shackles. Since then, since entering the workshop, the rage and murderous intent that had risen from Fei Gong's spirit could no longer be stopped, filling his consciousness.

Also awakening was a tiny, barely perceptible flame deep in Ji Jue's soul.

So familiar.

But it was completely different from the flames I saw in nightmares.

It's like the marks and scars that can never be erased after a touch, or perhaps it's the wishes and expectations that flow from a moment of fusion in a lofty realm.

A trivial mark.

But the moment it was awakened, it surged and spread like a flame, irresistibly enveloping his soul, consciousness, and everything else. Just like that, it pushed him forward, urged him to ask questions.

To fulfill this mission and responsibility.

Then, from the bright flames in his soul, his pupils gradually turned into a dazzling pure white.

Like burning mercury.

From here on, I looked down.

"at last--"

Ji Jue lowered his eyes, "Do you have any other defense to make?"

No one responded.

Only the sound of cracking was heard from Duden's body.

His expression was spasming and twitching. He had no way to avoid Ji Jue's gaze, and no way to tell any lies.

From that cold gaze, countless traces of evil were violently disturbed, as if trying to escape from this uncontrollable body. But they could not break free from the shackles of the faint flames.

Obviously, in the eyes of others, this seemed to be just an ordinary question, but to Duden, it was like being thrown into a furnace, being brutally melted and unable to resist.

Like hell.

"me……"

Duden's expression was distorted and twitching. His bloodshot eyes widened. He opened his mouth with all his strength. He didn't know where he got the strength from. He shouted with all his strength, "I'm not wrong! What do you know? What do you know? I just, I just..."

I just want to stand higher!

I just think……

The roars and wails ceased silently.

A hand covered with an intricate silver emblem was pressed against his face, severing all thoughts, words and resistance.

"To throw oneself into stagnation and corruption, to turn one's back on reform, to use strange means to bring disaster, and to use licentious means to bring chaos."

Ji Jue sighed with regret: "What you have achieved can no longer be renewed with the fire of fire. Your future path is only the root of cruelty and nothingness..."

Therefore-

——I sentence you to sin.

The light and erratic spiritual fluctuations spread from between the five fingers, and instantly enveloped the body and spread all over.

Souls, blessings, matrices... wherever it passed, everything was reduced to ashes in the terrifying shock that seemed to come from the same source as the dissociation technique!
Nothing remains.

This is the only fate of you evil and ugly people!

(End of this chapter)