Chapter 1243: Void

Di Hou stood nearby, listening to Di Hu's speech with sheer terror. He was openly provoking everyone, revealing the rebellion plan that had been hidden for so long. But was there a better way at this moment? With just one battle and a single statement, all the Di Ji and Ren Ji had quickly chosen their sides.

"You even want to kill Tian Long..." Di Long said, looking at Di Hu with a hint of fear.

"What's the big deal?" Di Hu scoffed. "I've already stirred up this much trouble. I've beaten the Sheng Xiao, smashed the Lie Che, and shouted the rebellion slogan. Are you saying that at the last minute, if I don't kill Tian Long, he'll just let me off the hook?"

Di Long lowered his eyes after hearing this, realizing the situation was even more serious than he had imagined.

"Since there's no way he'll spare me no matter what, we might as well take him out while we're at it," Di Hu said. "It might not be me who does it, but it's all part of the plan anyway."

The student standing next to Di Long saw his teacher remaining silent for a long time and couldn't help but ask, "Teacher... what do you say...?"

Di Long pondered for a while before finally waving his hand and replying, "What else can I say? Everyone saw it—I stepped in to suppress this right away. But I was defeated, badly injured, and can't fight anymore. From here on, I'll leave it to the others."

With that, he turned and walked away from the scene, supported step by step by his student.

Di Hu watched Di Long's retreating figure, feeling that things were going relatively smoothly. So, the Lie Che wasn't as formidable as he had thought. As long as they could find a way to create an opening here, even if it was just for a moment, it would be enough to insert their grand plan.

However, getting these thousands of scheming Sheng Xiao to unite temporarily was incredibly difficult—something most people wouldn't even consider.

Di Hu glanced down at the crack he had made earlier. The intense fight with Di Long had caused large sections of the floor to shatter, revealing what lay beneath the Lie Che.

He slowly crouched down and pried up a piece of the floor with his hand. Underneath the Lie Che, it looked just like the wall he had broken earlier—an incredibly dark expanse, like some kind of starry void.

Di Hu pulled a Dao from his pocket and tossed it into the crack. The Dao plummeted like it was falling into an endless abyss, sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness until it vanished completely.

He furrowed his brow slightly, then casually placed the floor piece back as if nothing had happened.

"Teacher..." Ren Hou squatted beside Di Hu and whispered, "What's wrong?"

"It's hard to say..." Di Hu replied thoughtfully. "If the other side of the wall is the Xukong, that makes sense... but if the floor below is also the Xukong, doesn't that mean the entire Lie Che is floating in the sky?"

"What?" Ren Hou frowned at Di Hu's words. "Lie Che is floating in the sky?"

"Look, I'm not educated, and I don't know much about science..." Di Hu continued, "But something this huge, with so many people inside—it just doesn't make sense for it to be floating up there."

Countless questions exploded in Di Hu's mind, leaving him without any answers for the moment.

If the area beneath the Lie Che was this starry void... then where was the Zhong Yan Zhi Di? Everyone said the Lie Che floated above the Zhong Yan Zhi Di, but now it seemed the two spaces weren't in a simple up-and-down relationship.

To avoid panicking the others, Di Hu simply put the floor back and acted as if nothing had occurred. He would have to wait until he saw Qi Xia to ask for his thoughts. Otherwise, if everyone started wondering why the Lie Che was floating in the sky, their rebellion plan would go off track.

"What should we do next?" Ren Hou asked.

"Next..." Di Hu paused, then looked at Ren Hou. "Wait, why are you asking me? Usually, I'm the one asking you."

"Oh..." Ren Hou chuckled awkwardly, flashing his white teeth. "Teacher, after seeing your passionate speech just now, I've gained a whole new respect for you. I figured you'd have a plan."

"The 'plan' is already done," Di Hu said. "Kicking down the door and yelling 'Tian Ji, come out and face your death'—that's my whole plan. Now, we just need to figure out how to take on the Tian Ji. But what about Lao Hei..."

Di Hu stood up and glanced in the direction where Hei Yang had been standing earlier. No one was there anymore—it looked like Hei Yang had already started mobilizing his people.

Though they needed to go after the Tian Ji, Di Hu wasn't sure what to do next. Should he go alone to find Tian Hu, or wait for Hei Yang to return?

He shook his head and turned back to speak to Ren Hou, but then he heard Ren Hou cry out in alarm—

"Teacher, watch out!"

Di Hu jerked his head up and saw something indistinct hurtling straight toward his face. He tried to raise his hands to block it, but he couldn't dodge in time.

Something slammed into his face with immense force, sending him flying. The impact was so powerful that it nearly snapped his neck.

Di Hu and the object tumbled across the ground for several rolls, smashing through countless floorboards and walls, before finally coming to a stop amid a cloud of dust.

Ren Hou and the other students saw what was happening and rushed forward, but Di Hu shouted from where he lay—

"Don't come over!"

He reached up, pulled the thing off his face, and held it in front of him. His hair stood on end at the sight.

This small creature, reeking of blood and a milky scent... it was clearly Tian Hu.

"Hee hee..." Tian Hu, now held in Di Hu's hands, grinned, showing dimples. "I'll eat you..."

Di Hu stared in horror at the child's face, smeared with dried blood, even his baby teeth stained with bloody chunks of flesh. The scene was eerily unsettling, with Tian Hu looking like an ordinary child suspended in the air.

"Go find Lao Hei!" Di Hu shouted to Ren Hou in the distance, still gripping Tian Hu. "I don't need you here!"

"But... but Teacher Hei Yang he..."

"Tell him 'no need to rush,'" Di Hu said with a fierce laugh. "Tell him to take his time. I can hold out here."

"Al... alright... I understand..."

"And... that fat monkey!" Di Hu called out.

Di Hou froze upon hearing it, though he knew it was about him, he didn't want to admit it.

"Don't pretend you didn't hear that! Who can't see you're a monkey?!" Di Hu gritted his teeth. "Go find a colorful quail! What's the point of just standing around watching?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Tian Hu wriggled free from Di Hu's hands, leaped to the side, and kicked him hard with his bare feet. Di Hu was sent flying through a door and into a room—the same one where he had broken the wall with Yan Zhi Chun earlier.

Tian Hu followed with a smiling face, and the two disappeared into the corridor.

The crowd outside witnessed this and realized that this "rebellion plan" was far from as straightforward as it seemed...

Even if they could force Di Long to back down, there were still the other Tian Ji to deal with. The overwhelming power was on full display—Di Hu, who had dominated Di Long, was taken down by Tian Hu in an instant.

Ren Hou knew that as a Ren Ji, he was useless on this battlefield. He exchanged glances with Di Hu's students and quickly headed toward Hei Yang's location.