The man in the red robe smiled pleasantly.
The Wood Martial God snorted coldly, not replying.
Xu Zimo could tell there was bad blood between the two, so he smiled and said, “We came to visit the master of the Lion Mansion.”
“The manor master is busy, he probably doesn’t have time to host you,” the red-robed man replied with a smile.
“That’s fine. If the manor master is busy, he doesn’t need to host us.”
Xu Zimo continued, “For a long time, I have admired the majesty of the Lion Mansion. Today I came only on a whim, to take a look and satisfy my admiration. We’ll just take a walk around and leave, would that be acceptable?”
Hearing Xu Zimo’s words, the smile on the red-robed man’s face did not fade. He seemed to be thinking about something.
“Red Lion, we are here under the orders of the city lord, don’t go too far,” the Wood Martial God said from the side.
“How would I dare?” the red-robed man chuckled, stepping aside. “Since it’s the city lord’s will, then please come in.”
The two exchanged a glance and followed the red-robed man inside.
After entering the manor, the red-robed man waved his hand, and a man in a servant’s attire, wearing a hat, walked over.
“I still have business today, so I’ll let him take you two around the manor,” the red-robed man said with a smile.
Xu Zimo nodded, not objecting.
When the red-robed man left, the servant came forward and asked, “Where would you two like to go first?”
“It doesn’t matter, we’ll just stroll around,” Xu Zimo said with a smile.
Following the guidance of the aura line, he walked ahead casually but deliberately.
“Who was that man just now?” Xu Zimo asked in a low voice.
“He’s known as Red Lion, his real name is unknown,” the Wood Martial God explained.
“He is the steward of the Lion Mansion. Though only a steward, his position is second only to the master, Mad Lion. On the surface, he manages trivial affairs of the manor, but in reality, he controls the entire force of the Lion Mansion. You could say he is the right hand of Mad Lion.”
“You two have a feud?” Xu Zimo asked curiously.
The Wood Martial God was silent for a moment, then nodded.
“I guard the entire City of Destruction, but the Lion Mansion always does illegal things in the shadows. Yet they are extremely cautious, and I can never catch them with evidence. Over time, we became mortal enemies.” As he said this, the Wood Martial God looked at Xu Zimo again and asked, “Did you find anything by coming here?”
While they were talking, they arrived at a courtyard.
And at this place, the aura line in Xu Zimo’s hand dispersed.
The courtyard looked ordinary. From the outside, it had several Illusion Trees planted within.
These trees were mainly used for assisting formations, and they were fairly rare.
The surrounding walls were light red.
“What is this place?” Xu Zimo asked the servant following them.
“Just an ordinary, empty courtyard,” the servant replied with a smile.
“Does anyone live here?” Xu Zimo asked.
“No, not for now,” the servant shook his head.
“Let’s take a look,” Xu Zimo said to the Wood Martial God.
The two stepped into the courtyard.
As soon as they entered, the Wood Martial God furrowed his brows tightly. “Something’s wrong.”
Xu Zimo also frowned.
Once inside, he felt the surrounding aura start to riot.
The space before him rippled, at times breaking apart, at times restoring itself.
“Go,” the Wood Martial God barked, rushing toward the courtyard’s exit.
But in the next instant, a powerful force slammed into him, throwing him back.
Then four beams of blood-red light rose from the corners of the courtyard, shooting into the sky.
A restriction was cast over the Lion Mansion. No matter how much turmoil happened inside the courtyard, the outside world could not see it.
The moment the four blood-red beams rose, Xu Zimo felt the space before him change.
The servant at the entrance now wore a cryptic smile on his face.
…
This was a space of blood.
Blood stretched endlessly, with hardly anything else visible.
The void around rippled in waves, as if an ocean of blood were surging with countless waves.
“What is this place?” the Wood Martial God said in shock.
This space saw no daylight, pressing down with suffocating weight.
Xu Zimo, however, looked remarkably calm.
Suddenly, the sound of clapping rang from the void without warning.
The space in front of them tore open, and with the Red Lion steward leading the way, a man with fiery red hair walked through.
This man wore a red robe with a roaring lion emblazoned on it.
His body was burly, his hair thick and wild, his eyes entirely black.
His beard was long, and his ears spread wide like screens.
“Welcome to the Lion Mansion,” the man laughed loudly.
“Shi Qianshan,” the Wood Martial God said slowly, word by word, staring at him.
“It’s been a long time, Mu Kan,” Shi Qianshan laughed.
So this must have been the true name of the Wood Martial God.
“What do you mean by this?” the Wood Martial God asked, looking at the scene around them.
“Is it not obvious enough?” Shi Qianshan laughed. “Is it that I haven’t made myself clear, or are you simply a fool?”
“You dare imprison me? Aren’t you afraid of the city lord?” the Wood Martial God said angrily.
“As long as I obtain the True God Sword and break the seal of the Blood Rune Beasts, what does the Lord of Destruction amount to?” Shi Qianshan roared with laughter.
“Unless the Holy Progenitor returns, who in this entire Progenitor Heartlands can stop us?”
At this, Shi Qianshan looked at Xu Zimo.
“I believe you’re a smart man,” he said.
“Where is Ji Ruobing?” Xu Zimo asked.
Shi Qianshan waved his hand, and an image appeared in the air before them.
In the image, Ji Ruobing was also trapped in a blood-colored space. Around her, a group of lion-beast humanoid monsters were fighting fiercely.
“Well then? Draw the True God Sword, and both you and your friend will be free to leave,” Shi Qianshan said with a smile.
“But I am rather stubborn,” Xu Zimo replied with a smile.
“You don’t look very smart. Let me help you become smarter,” Shi Qianshan said, apparently unwilling to waste more words.
He waved his right hand, and the sea of blood around them began to churn violently.
Countless blood-red lions with scarlet eyes leapt out of the sea of blood.
They bared their teeth and roared furiously at Xu Zimo and the Wood Martial God.
“Oh, by the way, a reminder. Don’t bother thinking about destroying this blood space,” Shi Qianshan added. “Because this blood space was evolved from the seal of the Blood Rune Space itself. You are not capable.”
“Manor Master Mad Lion, I don’t understand,” the Wood Martial God said from the side. “You are not of the Blood Rune Beasts, why help them like this?”
“There are many things you don’t understand. Must I explain them all to you?” Shi Qianshan chuckled lightly.
He waved his right hand again, and countless lions charged at the two of them.
The lions seemed endless, surging forward without end.