Tiannan Prefecture City.
Inner City, Workshop Department Treasury.
As the place in the Fu City specifically used to store various military tools, its occupied area was extremely vast, and it was definitely a crucial location in the Fu City; irrelevant personnel had no qualifications to enter it at all.
However, at this moment, in the Workshop Department Treasury, the various tools and machinery originally stored there had long since disappeared.
In their place were cages made of cyan gold, and there were actually as many as a hundred of these cyan gold cages.
Two-thirds of the cages held prisoners, and chilling roars and painful screams occasionally emanated from within.
Outside the cages, there were elite official soldiers dressed in black standing guard.
Most of these elite official soldiers possessed the formidable strength of the Late Stage of Blood Transportation, and some of them were genuine Bones Transformation Martial Artists.
In front of a cage that was noticeably much thicker than the other cyan gold cages, Gongsun Yuanzhou was looking at the figure inside the cage with a smile.
The figure in the cage before him was not some monstrous beast, but a woman. The woman was thin and petite, looking completely harmless.
At this moment, she was lying motionless in the cage, as if her life force had long since been extinguished.
But if one looked closely, they could see black patterns rapidly spreading across the woman's skin exposed outside her clothes.
In just a few breaths, the black patterns had completely covered the woman's exposed skin, not even sparing her delicate cheeks.
The black patterns continuously surged. The woman, who had been motionless, suddenly began to tremble violently, but the trembling quickly stopped. However, the woman's waist and abdomen suddenly arched in an extremely strange posture, her whole body resembling an inverted letter C.
Soon, even stranger things began to happen to the woman.
From the woman's inverted face, a gap split open on either side of her cheeks. A large number of black fleshy tendrils, much finer than silver needles, surged out frantically from the gap, followed by two black eyes that rolled out from within.
The two black eyes blinked rapidly, moving extremely fast, constantly shifting across her cheeks, before suddenly stopping, their gaze fixed on Gongsun Yuanzhou outside the cage.
Seeing this scene, Gongsun Yuanzhou was not surprised but delighted, his smile growing wider.
The next moment, a black single eye even appeared on his bare, shiny forehead, but it was only a flash and instantly returned to normal, as if it were just an illusion.
"As expected of the Hidden Dragon Bloodline, to be able to absorb the demonic blood to such an extent is truly remarkable."
Gongsun Yuanzhou looked at the strange woman in the cage with a smile, then seemed to think of something and slightly shook his head.
"No, this situation can no longer be considered her absorbing the demonic blood. It should be that the demonic blood has completely absorbed the Hidden Dragon Bloodline within her body."
He stroked his chin, lost in thought, as if he had discovered something very interesting.
"Although there have been previous precedents of this situation in the Pavilion, this is the first time I've seen it with my own eyes. I wonder how much this thing's strength has increased."
As he was thinking, the woman in the cyan gold cage underwent another massive transformation.
Numerous black slender limbs extended from her thin, small body. She moved around the cage like a hundred-legged spider, seemingly trying to get out.
However, the extremely thick cyan gold cage was very sturdy. The hundred-legged spider tried several times, its slender limbs striking the thick cyan gold pillars.
An earth-shattering roar erupted, causing the iron pillars, which were as thick as an adult's thigh, to slightly bend.
The huge commotion immediately attracted several elite official soldiers. Upon seeing Gongsun Yuanzhou, they stopped in their tracks and did not approach further.
After several consecutive collisions, although the cyan gold pillars were slightly deformed, there was no sign of breaking.
Seemingly understanding that it would be difficult to break the cyan gold pillars by relying solely on external force, the next moment, under the horrified gaze of the few official soldiers,
The monstrous-looking woman instantly melted, becoming a puddle of viscous black liquid.
Before the few official soldiers could react, the black liquid had already surged out of the cage and then suddenly disappeared into the ground.
Seeing this scene, the few official soldiers were greatly alarmed and quickly searched around. Soon, they discovered with horror that the black liquid had appeared on the back of one of the official soldiers at some unknown time.
That official soldier seemed unaware, not feeling the slightest abnormality.
However, the next instant, this official soldier melted at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Such a bizarre scene sent a chill down the spines of the remaining official soldiers, and they instinctively retreated. However, the black liquid had disappeared from their sight again, and soon the second official soldier also melted like the first.
Just as the black liquid was about to pounce on the third official soldier again, a large hand suddenly reached out and blocked it.
"Alright, you've had enough time to get some air."
Gongsun Yuanzhou still had a smile on his face as he spoke indifferently.
However, the black liquid covered his entire palm at a speed visible to the naked eye and quickly surged towards his head.
Gongsun Yuanzhou's expression remained unchanged. Yellow scales suddenly emerged on his arm, covering his body and completely blocking the erosion of the black liquid.
At the same time, the scales suddenly stood on end, like countless sharp daggers, cutting the black liquid apart.
Seemingly sensing the threat, the black liquid instantly disappeared from his arm.
When it reappeared on the ground, it had returned to its original monstrous female form.
The black eyes on either side of her cheeks stared at Gongsun Yuanzhou with indifferent killing intent, and she shot towards him.
"Hmph..."
Seeing this, Gongsun Yuanzhou let out a cold snort. His arm transformed into a black-scaled giant claw, and a layer of nearly substantial purple energy appeared on it.
With a single punch, he sent the woman flying. However, the woman's figure, which was flying backward, stopped in mid-air in the blink of an eye and shot towards him again.
Bang... Bang... Bang...
A series of collision sounds rang out, and the woman's figure was constantly sent flying backward.
Each time, before she could get close, she was directly sent flying by Gongsun Yuanzhou, but she quickly returned at an even faster speed.
A hint of impatience appeared on Gongsun Yuanzhou's face. After sending her flying one more time, the purple light on the black beast claw surged, and his five fingers, like hooks, directly seized the woman. The black scales on his arm surged and instantly enveloped the woman, and he threw her back into the cyan gold cage.
After doing this, he didn't look back and said indifferently,
"Zhou City Lord, Divine Catcher He, you've arrived. Did you bring me any good news?"
Behind him, the figures of Zhou Xingwen and He Lanjiang had arrived at some point.
Both of their gazes were now fixed on the woman in the cage.
The black scales that enveloped her body dispersed, and the woman had fallen into a coma.
Upon seeing the woman's appearance clearly, both of their expressions changed slightly.
"Special Envoy Gongsun, when did you capture Wan Shuang here? Does the Special Envoy know that she is the daughter of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect Master and also the Saintess of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect!?"
The reason their expressions changed was that they recognized the woman in the cage as the acknowledged successor to the next Sect Master of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect, a top power in Tiannan Prefecture.
The Ten Thousand Spirits Sect is extremely powerful, one of the two major forces.
There are three God-Form Martial Artists within the Sect, and the number of other Disciples is numerous. In terms of both the quality and quantity of its Martial Artist Disciples, it is even stronger than the Tianxiang Sword Sect in Linjiang Prefecture and other similar Sects.
Now that their Sect's successor had been captured here, and judging by the woman's state, something was very wrong. If the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect were to find out, there would be a high possibility of conflict with the Prefecture Yamen.
More importantly, this kind of action was likely to cause dissatisfaction among the various Sects and aristocratic families in Tiannan Prefecture. If they were to unite, the situation could become extremely serious.
This was definitely not the outcome they wanted to see.
Hearing the dissatisfaction in their words, Gongsun Yuanzhou didn't care at all. He turned around, a smile on his face, and said indifferently,
"Who cares about the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect or the Thousand Spirits Sect? You should know that the entire Great Yan belongs to the Imperial Court. These Sects and aristocratic families are merely parasites of the nation, and they will all be wiped out sooner or later."
"However, Zhou City Lord, I know what you are worried about. The news of my capture of this woman will not be leaked at all, you can rest assured."
After speaking, Gongsun Yuanzhou's gaze returned to the woman in the cage.
"Moreover. This experiment was very successful. The strength this woman can unleash is already comparable to that of a Martial Artist entering the Divine Transformation Realm. If she is cultivated further, her strength will continue to improve."
Gongsun Yuanzhou's words caused Zhou Xingwen and the other man to freeze for a moment, but they quickly reacted, exchanged glances, and saw a look of shock on each other's faces.
As true God-Form Martial Artists, they naturally understood the significance of the words Divine Transformation Realm.
Bones Transformation and Divine Transformation Realm were only separated by one major Realm, but the difference between the two was like a chasm.
They were naturally very clear about Wan Shuang's strength. Although her actual combat power could rival a Late Stage Bones Transformation Martial Artist, her Realm was at most mid-stage Bones Transformation.
She still had a very long way to go before reaching the Divine Transformation Realm, at least several decades of hard cultivation before it would be possible to step into the Divine Transformation Realm.
And now this woman actually possessed combat power comparable to the Divine Transformation Realm. Anyone who learned this would inevitably be shocked.
Moreover, they were very clear that this woman was definitely not someone with an ancestral return Physique.
Therefore, it was simply impossible to achieve this.
Seemingly understanding what the two were thinking, Gongsun Yuanzhou grinned, flicked his finger, and a burst of energy entered the woman in the cage.
The woman who had fallen into a coma quickly reacted and woke up, revealing her previous terrifying appearance.
This caused Zhou Xingwen and the other man to frown tightly. It was only after seeing the woman deform the cyan gold cage with a single blow that their eyes changed.
One should know that this cyan gold cage was made of the rather precious Hundred Refined Cyan Gold, and its toughness was several times stronger than ordinary cyan gold.
Even for God-Form Martial Artists like them, it was quite difficult to shake it. The fact that this woman could do it clearly showed that her strength was already not inferior to ordinary Divine Transformation Realm.
"It's actually possible to achieve this step."
Zhou Xingwen finally spoke slowly after a long while, still unable to hide the shock in his heart. At this moment, he had already understood how powerful the thing Tianhong Pavilion had created this time was.
"Is this what Tianhong Pavilion has come up with? I didn't expect it to have such power. No wonder the front-line battles have been so successful, pushing back the Qi army step by step."
Hearing this, Gongsun Yuanzhou came before the two of them, patted their shoulders with his large hands, and slightly shook his head.
"This is only a part of it, Zhou City Lord, Divine Catcher He. The purpose of our Tianhong Pavilion's experiments is not just to simply obtain some powerful Puppets. The real purpose is to strengthen ourselves."
"Strengthen ourselves..."
These words caused Zhou Xingwen and He Lanjiang to freeze for a moment, but the next moment their bodies shook, and they suddenly woke up, their eyes filled with disbelief, staring closely at Gongsun Yuanzhou.
"Special Envoy Gongsun, do you mean that this method can be used on..."
"Shh—"
Before the two could finish speaking, Gongsun Yuanzhou interrupted them with a smile.
"This matter is a secret of the Pavilion and must not be leaked in any way. The City Lord and the Divine Catcher just need to understand it in their hearts, there is no need to say more..."
"We understand."
Zhou Xingwen and the other man immediately nodded solemnly.
But their eyes were filled with suppressed joy.
At their level, wealth and power were within reach. The only thing that had a fatal attraction to them was naturally their cultivation Realm.
Cultivation in the Divine Transformation Realm was extremely difficult. In their youth, they were definitely top geniuses in a prefecture, and their cultivation path was naturally smooth sailing. Even the Bones Transformation Realm did not hinder their progress at all.
It was only after entering the Divine Transformation Realm that they realized the difficulty of the Divine Transformation path had completely exceeded their imagination.
By now, they had long felt that their potential was exhausted, and there was almost no possibility of further progress.
Now that they knew the path ahead was not necessarily a dead end, they naturally found it difficult to suppress the joy in their hearts.
"How is the collection of the Martial Artists I requested going? It's only just over halfway now."
Seeing the suppressed joy on their faces, Gongsun Yuanzhou knew the time was right and directly changed the subject.
"Special Envoy Gongsun, rest assured, the two of us will definitely resolve the remaining number within a month."
Zhou Xingwen and the other man exchanged glances and replied.
Originally, they had come this time to reduce the number of Martial Artists needed. Although they had collected quite a few Martial Artists through strong-arm tactics during this period, it had also caused a considerable chain reaction in Tiannan Prefecture.
But now that they knew the secret truth, they had naturally changed their original plan. This world had always been one where fists spoke, and nothing could compare to the improvement of one's strength Realm.
"Very good, then I will trouble the two sirs with this matter."
Hearing this answer, a look of satisfaction appeared on Gongsun Yuanzhou's face.
Just as he was about to say something else, black patterns suddenly appeared on his bald head.
This change caused his expression to change, and it quickly turned grim.
"Special Envoy Gongsun, what's wrong?"
Seeing that he was a bit off, Zhou Xingwen and the other man asked in confusion.
"There have been some mishaps. Meng Ke and Zhang Han have run into trouble."
Gongsun Yuanzhou's eyes narrowed slightly, and purple light appeared on his body, suppressing the black patterns on his head.
"I didn't expect there to be quite a few masters hidden in this Tiannan Prefecture."
"Meng Ke, Zhang Han? They were responsible for Luoshui County on this trip. Since something happened, I will arrange for someone to go and investigate immediately."
He Lanjiang frowned and immediately spoke.
These two were his trusted subordinates, and if anything went wrong, he naturally had to send someone to handle it.
"Divine Catcher He, it would be more appropriate for you to go personally."
Gongsun Yuanzhou gently stroked his forehead and spoke slowly.