Ancient Godly Monarch - Chapter 983

Chapter 983: Reappearance of the Black Robes

 

Inside the treasure cauldron, Qin Wentian was closing his eyes in comprehension. He discovered that these tyrannical innate techniques were, without a doubt, all immortal-ranked arts.

Qin Wentian saw the runic diagrams of many ancient demons. Among them were the Great Demon Dragon, the sky-sovereign divine bird Great Roc, and the Divine Turtle, Xuan Wu. These diagrams transformed into scenes that played out in his mind.

He saw a Vermillion Bird spread out its wings of flame, shaking the heavens and earth with a single strike.

He saw a Shenxiang transform into an unparalleled demonic beast, stomping upon the sky.

He saw a Kirin warring the heavens, akin to a battle god that exuded an unmatched magnificence.

He saw Zhenkong roaring, and its cry had the power to destroy entire worlds.

He saw a Hundun galloping, causing time and space to change. With its open maw, it devoured the stars, possessing a supreme boundless might.

Demon Dragon, Great Roc, Xuanwu, Divine Statue (Shenxiang), Vermillion Bird, Kirin, Zhenkong and Hundun!

Carved into the interior of the cauldron, Qin Wentian saw eight supreme and ancient demonic beasts that possessed the power to ravage the heavens and earth. The boundless runes transformed into ultimate Greater-Demon innate arts, all of them immortal-ranked and unparalleled in their power. However, Qin Wentian could barely see the scenes, and didn’t know how to comprehend any of them.

Maybe he had to reach the realm of immortal kings and emperors; only then would he be able to comprehend this supreme and desolate might. He’d be able to use these Greater-Demon techniques to shake the heavens themselves.

Qin Wentian entered a state of deep contemplation. Right now, even though his cultivation base was limited, these ultimate Greater-Demon arts still stirred his heart intensely. This was a sacred ancient treasure, and as long as he could comprehend a trace of insight, he would be able to unleash a terrifying might. With his current cultivation, the power he could unleash was merely the tip of the iceberg for immortal-ranked techniques like the Immortal Vanquishing Swordplay, but his attacks were still extremely powerful compared to people of the same realm.

Qin Wentian continued immersing himself as time flowed by. The formation was still active in his cultivation grounds and no one would be able to interrupt him. After all, the Sacred Luminance in this sacred cauldron was an extreme secret; he had to do things cautiously.

In the City of Ancient Emperors, the commotion caused by the changes to the Immortal Ascension Rankings had yet to die down, but on the second day, another more shocking piece of news circulated around the city, causing the hearts of everyone to tremble as they felt chills all over.

Countless experts gathered at the headquarters of the Violet Sect. Their eyes were all focused on a crater in the ground. There lay a headless corpse, with blood stains splashed all over. This body belonged to Zi Daoyang.

The news was real. Zi Daoyang had died, assassinated by someone in the City of Ancient Emperors.

After Qin Wentian had defeated him, his ranking dropped from first place. And now he was dead.

This was none other than Zi Daoyang, the ex #1 ranker on the Immortal Ascension Rankings, the son of the Violet Emperor. He’d actually died in the City of Ancient Emperors, and in such a brutal manner. His head had exploded from an attack, leaving behind only an incomplete corpse. Nobody felt happy that he’d died; they only felt chills run down their spines.

Who was it that killed Zi Daoyang?

For a moment, this question flashed through the minds of all the geniuses.

Who would kill Zi Daoyang?

Who had the capabilities to kill Zi Daoyang?

Who dared to kill Zi Daoyang?

“Was this done by Qin Wentian?” someone asked. Qin Wentian had publicly defeated Zi Daoyang, and the immortal sense of the Violet Emperor was destroyed by the law energy of the City of Ancient Emperors. In addition, Zi Daoyang was heavily injured, only managing to get away with the use of a treasure. Did Qin Wentian pursue him all the way to the Violet Sect to finish him off?

“Previously, Qin Wentian had even dared to kill Xuan Xing, so it’s natural that he would also dare to kill Zi Daoyang. Coincidentally, his demonic beast companion requires the portion of Zi Daoyang’s inheritance of the Brahma Heavenly Emperor. There’s a possibility that this was done by him.” The crowd speculated. Right now, Qin Wentian had the highest probability of being the murderer.

“There’s a possibility Mo Xie did it too. Mo Xie has always been ruthless and extremely dangerous. He has also obtained a portion of the Brahma Heavenly Emperor’s inheritance, and on the day when Qin Wentian fought Zi Daoyang, Mo Xie didn’t even show up. He might have launched a sneak attack on Zi Daoyang after the latter was injured,” someone suggested, bringing up Mo Xie.

Right now, only Qin Wentian and Mo Xie were above Zi Daoyang in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. Their strength was undoubtedly terrifying. If there was anyone who could kill Zi Daoyang, the two of them were the greatest suspects. And only the two of them would have enough guts to do this. After all, not many people would dare touch a son of the Violet Emperor.

The news soon circulated to the Qin Sect. Everyone from the Qin Sect felt their hearts shuddering; none of them had expected that Zi Daoyang would be assassinated.

Very soon, a piece of news started to spread from the Qin Clan. Ever since Qin Wentian had defeated Zi Daoyang, he’d been in closed-door seclusion and hadn’t left the Qin Sect’s headquarters for even half a step. It was basically impossible for him to kill Zi Daoyang. Naturally, there were also people who said that Qin Wentian did kill Zi Daoyang, he just wouldn’t admit to it.

After Qin Wentian finished his cultivation, he also heard the news from Jun Mengchen and his companions. Upon hearing that Zi Daoyang had been assassinated, Qin Wentian frowned and said, “This must have been done by Mo Xie.”

“How can you be so sure of that?” Nanfeng Yunxi stared at Qin Wentian.

“Have you forgotten about that last battle in the Underworld Mountains? Mo Xie waited until both our Qin Sect and the Violet Sect had heavy casualties before showing up to reap the benefits. After I crushed the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, I publicly proclaimed a challenge to Mo Xie, but he didn’t turn up. Zi Daoyang was different. After our battle ended, the strand of his protective immortal sense had already disappeared, and the entire Violet Sect had dispersed. According to what you guys said, Zi Daoyang was alone in the Violet Sect recovering from his injuries. If Mo Xie wished to seize the inheritance, that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.”

“That’s right, Zi Daoyang was heavily injured because of you. He would have been at a disadvantage if he were dragged into a fight. Mo Xie would never have found a better opportunity than that night to plunder the inheritance.” Nanfeng Yunxi agreed with Qin Wentian’s words. Mo Xie was an ambitious and ruthless character. He would never give this chance up. And if she was Mo Xie, she would also have chosen that precise time to act.

“In that case, Mo Xie is truly dangerous. Although Zi Daoyang was incomparably arrogant, he was still willing to discuss matters with us out in the open,” Jun Mengchen added.

Qin Wentian’s gaze flickered. “Tell Little Rascal to be more cautious. There are only nine portions of the Brahma Heavenly Emperor’s inheritance. If Mo Xie really did kill Zi Daoyang, then he already has three portions. He would never spare Little Rascal.”

In the outside world, people continued to speculate since no one could determine the identity of the killer. After that, the people who headed into the depths of the Underworld Mountains came back feeling disappointed. They had found the Antiquity City, but had no way to enter it. The ancient pathway had already been sealed off, leaving them with no chance at all.

Time slowly flowed by, and the commotion caused over Zi Daoyang’s death gradually faded away. Qin Wentian and the others were busy cultivating. Nanfeng Yunxi, Qing`er, Jun Mengchen, and the others were busy consolidating their foundations. Now that they were at the ninth-level of Celestial Phenomenon, they could already start making preparations to establish their immortal foundations.

For their current level, the target of all stellar martial cultivators would be to break through to the immortal realm.

In the blink of an eye, another two months had passed. During this period of time, Qin Wentian consolidated his cultivation and raised his strength in all other aspects, all while trying to comprehend the ultimate arts of the Greater-Demons from the treasure cauldron. The situation in the City of Ancient Emperors was no longer a time where the Qin Sect were going through their meteoric rise, and it seemed to have returned to the era where Zi Daoyang dominated the City of Ancient Emperors. The only difference was that the Violet Sect had been replaced by the Qin Sect—there were no other powers that could shake their position.

Qin Wentian was the #1 ranker, while Mo Xie was #2. There was no one else that could threaten their rankings in the City of Ancient Emperors.

In fact, for the other eight members of the Qin Sect who were in the top eleven, their rankings were as stable as the mountains. It was impossible for them to fight among themselves, and therefore, even if some of them had grown stronger than before, the rankings still wouldn’t change.

Mo Xie seemed to have disappeared completely. It had been a very long time since anyone had seen him. As for Qin Wentian’s challenge, it seemed like Mo Xie had either ignored it, or he was completely unaware about the matter.

And even now, people were still speculating whether Zi Daoyang’s killer was Qin Wentian or Mo Xie.

…….

The night was as heavy as still water.

In the air, voluminous flowing black robes could be seen. Silently and without any presence, a beam of light shot forth from within the robes, as bright as starlight, shooting towards the Qin Sect. An instant later, the beam of light vanished, and the black robes continued to float forward.

In a courtyard, Little Rascal was lying on the ground. Thunderous rumbling sounds echoed from his body, and he radiated a brilliant light. It felt like Little Rascal was currently cultivating, and he seemed completely unaware that danger was near.

Because of the late night, a majority of the Qin Sect’s members were all cultivating. The silent black robes immediately appeared in the sky, blending completely with the night. No one had detected its presence.

Not far from Little Rascal, Purgatory was there. She seemed to have sensed something, and her eyes opened as she stared at the sky. All of a sudden, a blazing glow filled the sky and she issued out a long screech, instantly startling the entire Qin Sect.

But at the very same instant, a saber of darkness appeared from within the robes, immediately slashing down with crushing force like a bolt of black lightning.

“Yi!” Purgatory clawed the ground and layers of runic light abruptly filled the sky as a grand formation was activated, forming a screen of light that enveloped the area. This was something that Qin Wentian had inscribed. After learning that Zi Daoyang had been killed, he made some preparations because he understood how dangerous Mo Xie could be.

Little Rascal was already awake when Purgatory screeched. His body instantly turned small as he prepared to flee. The terrifying devil saber smashed down on the screen of light, only pausing for a moment before slashing the grand formation apart. And an instant later, a deafening boom sounded out. A crater appeared on the ground where Little Rascal had been just moments ago. Because Little Rascal transformed into his ordinary size, the saber had missed narrowly him. Just a few inches more and Little Rascal would have been beheaded.

—BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!— Numerous powerful auras gushed forth from the members of the Qin Sect as they all started to rush to Little Rascal’s location. However, the figure in the black robes had already descended. He slashed out with his saber once again as boundless darkness surged forth. A protective talisman appeared in Little Rascal’s paw as runes manifested, transforming into a fearsome golden wall that possessed a terrifying defense, blocking the saber’s strike.

Qin Wentian and his companions had killed countless experts in the City of Ancient Emperors, and then seized their interspatial rings. Hence, all of them possessed an immense amount of treasure. It was only natural that they’d all have at least one protective treasure on them.

However, although the protective treasure on Little Rascal was powerful, it was apparently not powerful enough. The golden wall couldn’t endure the slash from the devil saber, and it was directly cleaved apart. With a roar of rage, Little Rascal transformed into a golden-winged great roc, and explosively retreated with a speed akin to lightning!

Chapter 984: Line between Life and Death

 

All this happened in the time it took for a spark to fly off a flint. If the movements of Purgatory and Little Rascal had been slightly slower, the devil saber would have already beheaded Little Rascal.

Although Little Rascal evaded the strike, he still had yet to escape from danger. The mysterious man in the black robes slashed out once again, cleaving the void into two. The golden-winged great roc that Little Rascal had transformed into roared in anger, soaring into the air so fast that after-images were left in his wake. At the same time, an immortal-ranked sword appeared in his paws and he frenziedly slashed out in defense.

—BOOM!— The immortal sword shattered, and the devil saber continued to descend through the air. At this time, the other experts of the Qin Sect had already rushed over. They all took out their immortal weapons, and tyrannical auras of power swept through everything, creating a terrifying tempest.

Qin Wentian also appeared. His aura towered up the sky, and the look in his eyes was cold to the extreme. The demon sword in his hand hummed incessantly, and abruptly, a long spear materialized and shot through the air, aiming for the mysterious man in the black robes.

That man in the black robes also understood that he was in a disadvantageous situation. He soared up the air and unleashed another saber strike. A terrifying tribulation force gushed out, containing the might to split apart the heavens and earth. The long spear that Qin Wentian shot out couldn’t defend against it. The black-robed figure immediately shot towards the direction Little Rascal had flown away to. No matter what, he was determined to get hold of Little Rascal, but the golden-winged great roc that Little Rascal had transformed into was simply too fast. Little Rascal had no desire to do battle at all. He knew this opponent was extremely dangerous.

“Mo Xie, stop hiding.” Qin Wentian stepped out, brandishing his demon sword and slashing out with it. The experts of the Qin Sect crowded over, sealing off the entire area. They wanted to see if that black-robed figure was truly Mo Xie.

“How dangerous… He’d managed to infiltrate the Qin Sect without giving away his presence. This concealment ability seems to have been granted by those voluminous black robes. When one uses their senses to probe it, they only sense emptiness; there was no aura from any person at all.”

“Zi Daoyang must have been killed by this man.” A thought flashed through the minds of the experts from the Qin Sect. They all fixed their stares onto him, wondering silently if this person was Mo Xie.

“Didn’t you want to fight against me? I came here today to grant your request.” A voice rang out from within the black robes. After which, the black robes receded somewhat as a pair of hands and face appeared. The surrounding experts all narrowed their eyes when they saw who it was.

“Mo Xie!”

“It’s truly Mo Xie. He’s the one who killed Zi Daoyang. This Mo Xie is simply too dangerous.”

“Despicable, he actually tried to sneak attack us. Senior Brother, let’s kill him together. There’s no need to fight with him one-on-one.” Jun Mengchen and the others had all arrived. Luckily, Qin Wentian made preparations or Little Rascal wouldn’t have survived.

“Qin Wentian, to fight or not to fight?” Mo Xie gripped his devil saber, staring straight at Qin Wentian. His dark golden eyes flashed with coldness, appearing immeasurably deep.

The experts of the Qin Sect also looked to Qin Wentian, only to hear him laugh coldly. “Since you wish to fight, I, Qin, will keep you company. Brothers of the Qin Sect, seal this place and don’t let him escape. Since he wishes to fight, I will accompany him all the way until the end.”

“Okay.”

“An imposing attitude.”

The experts of the Qin Sect all praised his actions. Before this, Qin Wentian had defeated Zi Daoyang in battle, but Mo Xie had killed Zi Daoyang by ambushing him. It was necessary to have this battle between the #1 and #2 rankers in the Immortal Ascension Rankings; it would ultimately show which of them could peer down at all geniuses from the peak in the City of Ancient Emperors.

A violent wave of energy burst forth from Mo Xie—the black robes continued shrouding his figure as he unleashed his power.

Qin Wentian stepped out and activated the God’s Hand. He didn’t dare to underestimate Mo Xie.

This man was originally the #2 ranker on the Immortal Ascension Rankings, and even Zi Daoyang had been filled with trepidation at the thought of fighting him. Now, Mo Xie already had three-ninths of the Brahma Heavenly Emperor’s inheritance, and also an indestructible physique. In addition, he had also experienced the baptism of the Sacred Luminance, and hence Mo Xie’s combat prowess would surely be higher than Zi Daoyang’s.

—bzz!— A tyrannical aura gushed forth from Qin Wentian. He executed the incarnation burst technique, which manifested multiple silhouettes that rushed straight at Mo Xie. The silhouettes then unleashed star-seizing palm strikes that contained a suppressive annihilative might.

Mo Xie tilted his head, and his dark golden palms blasted out in rapid succession as runes of darkness filled the sky. Their fearsome attacks clashed against each other in mid-air, with both ending up mutually destroyed.

“Show me how strong the power of the God’s Hand is,” Mo Xie sneered. A towering devilish might gushed forth from him and his dark golden eyes were terrifying to the extreme.

“I shall show you since you wish for it so much.” Qin Wentian soared into the air, appearing directly in front of Mo Xie. They weren’t unleashing their constellations to augment their respective strengths. This time, Qin Wentian chose close combat, using the God’s Hand to attack Mo Xie directly.

Mo Xie’s palm also blasted out. The dark golden palm imprint contained a terrifying devilish tribulation force of darkness, seeming to originate from the abyss. The instant his palm struck out, a fearsome vortex manifested, and frenziedly absorbed the energies within its surroundings.

“What a fearsome palm imprint.” The hearts of everyone shuddered. Qin Wentian’s and Mo Xie’s palm imprints collided together, the impact shaking the heavens and earth, and their qi and blood churned. However, their bodies remained standing tall and neither were forced back as they blasted out once more with their other palms.

In the next instant, thunderous rumbling sounds echoed and shook the entire space. Layers of destructive light enveloped them as they warred to their heart’s content. Each and every blow exchanged caused the spectators to feel their qi and blood churning. Such close combat attacks were simply too fearsome.

“Mo Xie’s palm attack seems to contain a devouring power within, able to devour, transform and even revert the attack from the Qin Sect leader. Could it be that after consuming the portions of insight and power that Zi Daoyang had, he also gained a trace of comprehension for Zi Daoyang’s Thousand Autumns Emperor Art?” somebody exclaimed in shock.

“If that’s the case, it means that Mo Xie’s Brahma Heavenly Emperor’s inheritance has already started to gradually take form.”

The two of them continued fighting. The others were shocked that their attacks had grown more and more powerful, and the impact of their strikes were increasingly ferocious. Qin Wentian’s bloodline power erupted forth as he unleashed devastatingly suppressive attacks that could break everything apart. Mo Xie’s devilish tribulation force towered up into the sky as his energy exploded with overwhelming might, fighting with such strength that the sky changed colors.

“The Qin Sect sect leader is gradually gaining an advantage. He seems to be a little stronger than Mo Xie.”

“Mhm, it looks like the perfect God’s Hand and his bloodline power contain such might that they can even shake Mo Xie’s indestructible physique. It’s evident that the Qin Wentian right now is more powerful than Mo Xie, despite Mo Xie having three portions of insight from the Brahma Heavenly Emperor’s inheritance.”

“Mo Xie, if that’s all you’re capable of, then you’ve already lost!” Qin Wentian roared, akin to a supreme battle god. The vast desolate might of his demon bloodline thrummed, as he prepared to unleash an even more powerful attack.

“Is that so?” A mocking cold smile flickered in Mo Xie’s eyes. This smile caused Qin Wentian to suddenly feel a sense of uncertainty. An earth-shattering boom rang out from the impact of their attacks once more. But this time, a terrifying surge of destructive energy erupted from Mo Xie in response. Qin Wentian’s God’s Hand was able to shake the heavens, but it was forcibly shattered bit by bit by Mo Xie’s destructive tribulation energy.

At this moment, the tribulation devilish force enveloped the space he and Qin Wentian were in as the boundless destructive might continued to shatter God’s Hand. Qin Wentian’s countenance turned incomparably unsightly. Mo Xie’s strength…

“This…” Expressions of shock and disbelief appeared on the faces of the Qin Sect ‘s experts. A surge of devilish tribulation might shot into Qin Wentian’s body, rumbling his insides while Mo Xie then placed his hand of darkness on his head. The destructive black-colored runes transformed into a fearsome black vortex, preparing to devour all of Qin Wentian’s power.

“Plundering my inheritance?” A cold smile appeared on Mo Xie’s face.

“Senior Brother!” Jun Mengchen rushed out. Little Rascal and Purgatory were roaring, while Qing`er’s expression had drastically changed, radiating boundless might as she also flew towards Qin Wentian. Nanfeng Yunxi was bathed in flames, and she stepped out and cried in rage, “Mo Xie, you’ve already established your immortal foundation! And you still came here to fight one-on-one with an ascendant? Despicable scum!”

“Immortal foundation. Mo Xie has already established his immortal foundation…” Only now did the other experts realize what was going on. Their countenances all changed; Mo Xie hid the fact that he had already broken through. Before this, he wanted to devour Little Rascal, and after that failed, he lured Qin Wentian to fight with him because he wanted to devour Qin Wentian’s power.

A tribulation cloud suddenly appeared in the air as the law energy of the City of Ancient Emperors appeared. An unsightly expression appeared on Mo Xie’s face—it looked like his time was up. The black robes he’d cloaked himself in was a very valuable treasure that could completely conceal his presence and aura. A few days ago, he had already established his immortal foundation in the City of Ancient Emperors. It was because of this set of black robes that he hadn’t been discovered by the law energy. Everything he did was to further his aims, and he would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

“SCRAM!” The power of his immortal foundation blasted out as currents of destructive power danced wildly, generating waves of might that ravaged the surroundings, pushing away the law energy. The devil saber appeared once again in Mo Xie’s hand. He started to infuse the power from his immortal foundation into it and slashed out in a wide arc, driving everyone away and making it so nobody dared to approach.

Qin Wentian stared at Mo Xie, his eyes gleamed with a dazzling light as his Yuanfus began to rumble, condensing boundless amounts of astral energy into a Greater Demon similar to that of a true dragon. One… two… more and more Greater Demons coalesced inside his body. The power of his demonic bloodline exploded outwards, and the demonic qi was so thick that it felt like Qin Wentian was a descendent of some ancient primordial demon god.

“ROAR!” A thunderous roar echoed from Qin Wentian, like the roar of an angry demon god. His bloodline protection kicked in, manifesting the phantom of a supreme Greater Demon which then enveloped him. The phantom roared, and with a wave of its hand, all the Greater Demons formed by Qin Wentian materialized out in the open, lunging towards Mo Xie.

Mo Xie frowned, his left hand brandished the devil saber to defend against the attacks and he also had no choice but to retract his right palm from Qin Wentian’s head. The immortal foundation within him released an unparalleled might that blasted towards the Greater Demons, shaking the heavens and earth. The Greater Demons all exploded, but the powerful impact also forced Mo Xie to back away. Qin Wentian naturally took the chance to slash out a sword strike with his demon sword at this exact moment, unleashing a powerful immortal beam of light.

Mo Xie abandoned his devilish saber. Focusing on both of his palms, he thrust them outwards, while channeling the might of his immortal foundation.

“BOOM!” A burst of destructive runic might erupted forth, destroying the immortal beam of light from the demon sword.

However at this moment, the law energy of the City of Ancient Emperors finally descended, forming layers of light that enveloped Mo Xie. This scene caused Mo Xie’s expression to turn incomparably ugly to behold. He stared at Qin Wentian ahead of him, extreme reluctance in his eyes.

“I should have killed you immediately. Consider yourself lucky today,” Mo Xie coldly spoke. The layers of light that enveloped him grew even brighter. Qin Wentian knew that the law energy of the City of Ancient Emperors, upon sensing immortal might exuding from people at the first level, would instantly expel them from the city.

Mo Xie had depended on those black robes to mask himself from the law energy of the City of Ancient Emperors, and now he was exposed.

Mo Xie’s body was forcibly floating up in the air, directed by the law energy. Qin Wentian stared at him coldly, “Mo Xie, I will see you again in the immortal realms.” Mo Xie’s eyes similarly flashed with coldness. See him again in the immortal realms? He too hoped for such an encounter.

Finally Mo Xie disappeared, but the hearts of everyone still weren’t calm. The former #1 ranker, Zi Daoyang, had already died at Mo Xie’s hands, and Qin Wentian, the current #1 ranker, had narrowly died as well. Mo Xie was simply too dangerous.

Even when Mo Xie’s silhouette disappeared, Qin Wentian’s eyes were fixed on his trajectory for a long time. Qing`er and the others arrived around him, only to hear Qin Wentian mumbling, “It’s about time for us to leave the City of Ancient Emperors as well.”

Chapter 985: Evergreen Immortal Empire

 

Mo Xie departed, sent away by the law energy of the City of Ancient Emperors. Yet, the hearts of the experts from the Qin Sect couldn’t calm down. This Mo Xie was truly a ruthless character. Just
from the fact that he killed Zi Daoyang, it was already clear that he was extremely dangerous.

Now Mo Xie had an indestructible physique, three-ninths of the Brahma Heavenly Emperor’s inheritance, had gone through the baptism of the Sacred Luminance, and had even established his immortal foundation.

Other than Qin Wentian and his companions, Mo Xie could be considered one of the ultimate winners during this journey to the City of Ancient Emperors. And sadly, the most tragic loser was undoubtedly none other than Zi Daoyang.

Naturally, Mo Xie’s overwhelming strength did nothing to mask Qin Wentian’s glory. It was apparent he’d made advance preparations and that was why his demonic beast companion was still alive. Also, he had even successfully escaped from Mo Xie who was now at the immortal foundation realm. Anyone would be proud to have such achievements.

It was only that the battle had been truly too dangerous.

“If we encounter Mo Xie again in the immortal realms in the future, we must kill him for sure.” Jun Mengchen had an unsightly expression on his face. Mo Xie’s methods were too ruthless.

“Everyone, please disperse. Since Mo Xie has already left, there won’t be any more disturbances in our Qin Sect.” Qin Wentian stood in midair, and spoke to the spectators. Now that the Violet Sect had disintegrated and Mo Xie was gone, the Qin Sect was undoubtedly the commanding power of the City of Ancient Emperors.

The others nodded as they departed, one after another. Qin Wentian slowly floated to the ground as Qing`er, Nanfeng Yunxi, Jun Mengchen, and the others all followed behind him.

“Qin Wentian, are you preparing to leave the city?” Nanfeng Yunxi asked. Earlier she had overheard Qin Wentian’s words.

“Mhm, there’s no longer any pressure here in the City of Ancient Emperors. It’s about time for us to leave,” Qin Wentian replied quietly. “Anyway, I came here mainly to look for Qing`er.”

Qing`er’s beautiful eyes flickered. Nanfeng Yunxi glanced at her and smiled, “I see. You have already reached the summit by ranking at the top of the Immortal Ascension Rankings. Given the strength of our Qin Sect, it’s also true that no other power will be able to contend against us. There’s truly no longer any reason for us to remain here. I’ve also been out adventuring for quite a number of years, and it’s about time for me to make preparations to ascend to immortal foundation once I return.”

“How about you guys? Any thoughts? It’s fine if you all wish to remain in the City of Ancient Emperors.” Qin Wentian stared at the others.

“Zi Daoyang has died and Mo Xie has departed. The top ten positions in the Immortal Ascension Rankings are already fixed, so there are no more reasons for me to remain,” Jun Mengchen said, the others smiled in response to his words.

“In that case, then okay, we will head to the transference area tomorrow and return to the immortal realms.” Qin Wentian nodded. “Let’s go back and rest for now.”

The others nodded and they all departed respectively. During the second day, Qin Wentian summoned the experts of the Qin Sect and told them about his plans to leave the city. The experts of the Qin Sect weren’t too surprised by his decision.

“Brother Qin, in the future when we meet again in the immortal realms, please don’t treat me as a stranger.” An expert smiled.

“Even after we leave the City of Ancient Emperors, if we were to meet out there in the immortal realms and if all of you are still willing to be friends with I, Qin, then we’ll still be brothers.” Qin Wentian spoke with an air of heroism.

“Good. Haha, let’s hope we’ll still have opportunities to fight side by side then.” Another expert smiled. Qin Wentian glanced at Xu Ruxue. “After we depart, the position of sect leader will be delegated to Xu Ruxue. The remaining brothers in the Qin Sect can discuss and vote on what direction the Qin Sect will take in the future.”

Xu Ruxue stared at Qin Wentian and his companions, feeling waves rocking her heart. This group of people all exuded a magnificence that spanned across the generations. Even though they hadn’t stayed here for very long, the entire City of Ancient Emperors would surely remember them.

“Everyone, farewell.” Qin Wentian soared up into the air. His group climbed onto Qing`er’s spatial leaf boat and waved to the experts of the Qin Sect. The experts of the Qin Sect inclined their heads and stared at their figures, waving back in farewell. A bright light flashed and the leaf boat instantly vanished as Qin Wentian’s group departed.

“They left.” Everyone sighed. There were countless geniuses in the immortal realms that came and went in the City of Ancient Emperors. Some of them would remain buried in the river of time, while a rare few would become characters whose names could shake the entire immortal realms.

“If that fellow doesn’t die, he’ll surely become a great power of a certain region.” Li Yu gazed at the horizon. He was one of the first few to join the Qin Sect, and knew Qin Wentian and his companions from their time in the Xiao Sect. Qin Wentian’s rate of improvement was just too terrifying; his future prospects were limitless.

“Let’s hope that if we hear his name again a thousand years from now, he’ll either be a king or an emperor of a region,” Xu Ruxue murmured.

Very swiftly the news spread around the City of Ancient Emperors, causing another wave of commotion.

The identity of Zi Daoyang’s killer had already been ascertained; it was none other than Mo Xie. And last night, Mo Xie had also tried to kill Qin Wentian and his demonic beast companions, and had narrowly succeeded. In addition, it was discovered that Mo Xie had already established his immortal foundation and ascended to immortality.

Other than this, Qin Wentian and his companions—the upper echelons of the Qin Sect—had also departed the City of Ancient Emperors. From now on, their names would no longer be on the Immortal Ascension Rankings. Xuan Yang would most probably be boosted to the position of the #1 ranker.

However, this time around, nine out of the top ten rankers in the Immortal Ascension Rankings had all left at the same time. This was an unprecedented event, and the new top ten rankers would probably be the most inferior batch of all time in the City of Ancient Emperors.

At the eastern side of the City of Ancient Emperors, at the boundary of wilderness, there was a sea of destruction. This place was the location one had to go to in order to leave the City of Ancient Emperors.

Qin Wentian and the others had already arrived. Before them, terrifying dark clouds converged and a black-colored maelstrom could be seen in the middle of the sea. However, before the sea there was an ancient-looking building that flowed with law energy and within that building, numerous arrays of spatial transference could be seen. Immortal-foundation experts would be immediately sent out by the law energy of the city, but ascendants who wished to leave had to come to this place no matter what.

“Let’s enter the building,” said Nanfeng Yunxi. After which, their group advanced forward, stopping before the arrays of spatial transference. There were a total of nine arrays, all scattered in different directions.

“These arrays will send you guys to different locations. It’s rumored that this place was built by the ancient emperors and it’s a one-way teleportation, able to span countless miles and boundless regions. My Southern Phoenix Clan is located in the southern part of the Azure Mystic Immortal Realms. I will be getting on that particular array. How about you guys?” Nanfeng Yunxi pointed to an array as she spoke.

Qin Wentian looked at Qing`er, only to hear her ask quietly, “Will you accompany me back to the Evergreen Immortal Empire?”

Staring at Qing`er’s beautiful countenance, Qin Wentian smiled and nodded his head. He held her hand and replied, “Mhm, I will accompany you.”

“How about the rest of you?” Qin Wentian turned his gaze towards Jun Mengchen, Hua Taixu, and the rest.

“I wish to visit my master,” Hua Taixu replied.

“Senior Brother, you’re going to pay your respects to your future father-in-law. In that case, me and Senior Sister Qingxuan won’t disturb you two. We will return first.” Jun Mengchen laughed. Qin Wentian glared at him. Of course, he understood where Jun Mengchen and Zi Qingxuan would be going next. Most probably, they would be heading back to the Heavenly Talisman Realm.

“The Evergreen Immortal Empire is located in the same region as the Eastern Sage Thirteen Prefectures. You guys can stand on the same array, and split up when you get there.” Nanfeng Yunxi pointed to another array as she spoke.

There were only nine arrays here and it was impossible for them to be connected to every place in the immortal realms. From a broader perspective, the Evergreen Immortal Emperor and the Eastern Sage Thirteen Prefectures belonged to the same region.

“Okay, let’s move out.” Qin Wentian nodded his head. A moment later, Nanfeng Yunxi moved onto her array while Qin Wentian and the others stood on the other. Traces of law energy descended, activating the power of the spatial transference, and instantly, a bright light flashed amidst thunderous rumbling sounds. Qin Wentian felt like they were in the middle of a field of terrifying flashing runes, akin to the end of the world.

“What a fearsome array of spatial transference,” Qin Wentian said quietly.

“This is a grand array of spatial transference that can span countless miles. It’s only natural for it to feel so powerful,” Nanfeng Yunxi explained, glancing at them. “Let’s meet each other once more in the future, should fate decree it.”

“Nanfeng Yunxi, goodbye!” Qin Wentian called out. The boundless runic glow enveloped them, and intense spatial fluctuations rumbled the space as the color of the skies changed. An instant later, all of them vanished completely from the area.

…

The Evergreen Immortal Empire spanned countless miles, and Everpeace City was one of its largest main cities. A regiment of powerful troops were stationed at the city, and they guarded the eastern side of the Evergreen Immortal Empire.

Everpeace City was extremely prosperous and had countless experts. It could be considered the hegemon of this region within the empire. The Evergreen Immortal Emperor bestowed the title of Everpeace Marquis to the immortal general stationed to guard this place. This man was also an extremely powerful immortal king character that aided the Evergreen Immortal Emperor when fighting for his empire.

At this moment, in the airspace of the Everpeace City, a strong gust of wind billowed, accompanied by intense spatial fluctuations. Countless people tilted their heads upwards, only to see quite a few figures seemingly materialize out of nowhere. Naturally, these people were none other than Qin Wentian and his companions.

The eyes of Qin Wentian and his companions flashed as they stared at the city below. The powerful array of spatial transference wasn’t very precise; it would only transfer them in the general vicinity of a preset location. Hence, it was possible to appear anywhere within the region that array was connected to.

“What a powerful spatial storm. Who are these people?” The experts below started questioning their arrival out of curiosity.

Upon noticing the experts, Qin Wentian stated, “Let’s go down and ask for some directions.” Within moments, their group descended. Jun Mengchen looked at one of the local experts and asked, “Sir, may I know what this place is?”

“You guys came here using a spatial transference array?” the person curiously inquired.

“Mhm, but we have no idea where it teleported us to.” Jun Mengchen grinned.

“Oh, I see. This is the Everpeace City,” that expert replied.

“Everpeace City… what power governs this place?” Jun Mengchen continued to ask. That expert rolled his eyes, “This is one of the main cities of the Evergreen Immortal Empire. The head of the major power that governs this place is a person named the Everpeace Marquis.”

“We’ve actually arrived in the Evergreen Immortal Empire.” Jun Mengchen’s eyes brightened, turning back to glance at Qin Wentian and Qing`er. “Seems like your luck is pretty good.”

“Everpeace City is still a distance away from my home, but the city lord’s manor should possess an array of spatial transference connecting to it,” Qing`er said quietly. Qin Wentian nodded, “In that case, shall we head to the city lord’s manor right away?”

“Mhm,” Qing`er nodded. Given her status, there would naturally be no problem if she wanted to use that array.

“Since that’s the case… Senior Brother, Senior Sister Qingxuan, and I will return first,” said Jun Mengchen. Since Qin Wentian and Qing`er were going to meet the Evergreen Immortal Emperor, they naturally didn’t want to disturb them.

“Senior Brother, good luck!” Jun Mengchen smiled, immediately stepping out with Zi Qingxuan as he waved a hand. “Bye!”

“I will make a move first, too. Let’s bid our farewells here,” said Hua Taixu. Qin Wentian nodded and said, “Take care.”

Qin Wentian had Little Rascal in his embrace, and Purgatory returned back to his bloodstream. In his place, only he and Qing`er remained. The two of them shared a look as they moved out together. Qin Wentian’s eyes flickered with a little nervousness—he didn’t know how the Evergreen Immortal Emperor would regard him!

Chapter 986: Marquis Manor

 

The Evergreen Immortal Empire was different from the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. The Evergreen Immortal Empire was the official name for the nation, while the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect used the structure of a sect to govern the Eastern Sage Thirteen Prefectures. Hence, the people of authority had different titles.

The position of the Everpeace Marquis was equivalent to a prefecture lord in the Eastern Sage Thirteen Prefectures. He controlled a large area and his authority towered up the sky. He was also an immortal king, and it went without saying that he was an exceptionally powerful one.

In addition, all the powerful officials of the Evergreen Immortal Empire had been personally anointed by the Evergreen Immortal Emperor, and they all had outstanding war merits. They were all subordinates who’d aided the Evergreen Immortal Emperor in the war he’d fought for this empire. After the Evergreen Immortal Emperor had seized authority of this region, he began a complete ‘cleansing’ and restructured its power hierarchy. Hence, all the great officials currently in power were all subordinates that were fully trusted by the Evergreen Immortal Emperor.

The Everpeace Marquis Manor was a majestic building that exuded boundless authority. It was situated right at the center of Everpeace City, and there were numerous guards patrolling the surroundings, with many troops stationed inside.

At this moment, two figures could be seen walking over. They stopped outside of the Everpeace Manor and stared ahead at the straight pathway that led all the way into it.

“Halt.” Seeing Qin Wentian and Qing`er approaching, the guards advanced and called for them to stop moving. They pointed the spears in their hands at the two of them as they spoke, “Outsiders are forbidden from entering the Everpeace Manor.”

“I want to see the Everpeace Marquis,” Qing`er replied icily, staring straight ahead. Upon sensing Qing`er’s extraordinary aura, and the fact that she’d immediately demanded to see the Everpeace Marquis, the guards didn’t dare to show her any disrespect. One of the guards asked, “How may we address you, my lady?”

Qing`er then took out a jade command token, which was engraved with the runeword that represented the color ‘Green’. The guards glanced at it as their brows furrowed. This seemed to be a token of the immortal empire. But what did the word ‘Green’ represent?

Glancing at Qing`er again, their eyes involuntarily narrowed. Then one of them asked, “My lady, are you Princess Evergreen…?”

“It is I,” Qing`er affirmed. After which, the guards instantly knelt down on bended knee. “Your subordinates pay their respects to Princess Qing`er.”

All the surrounding guards were extremely shocked. Their attention was over here, and an immortal-foundation expert walked over. Upon seeing the authority token in Qing`er’s hand, he instantly knelt as well. “Your subordinate pays his respects to Princess Qing`er.”

Behind him, all the guards knelt down, each one filled with incomparable respect.

“All of you may rise. I wish to see the Everpeace Marquis,” stated Qing`er.

“Princess, please follow me.” The immortal-foundation expert stood up. The surrounding guards instantly opened up a path between them, allowing Qing`er and Qin Wentian to pass through as they continued down the pathway.

“Inform Sir Marquis that Princess Qing`er has decided to grace the Marquis Manor with her esteemed presence!” a voice rang out. An instant later, the sound of this command rang out endlessly through the manor, circulated by the servants.

Within a certain majestic hall, two figures were currently sitting there and enjoying their tea. This pair was a couple; the male exuded a powerful presence while the female was clad in luxurious clothing, emitting an extraordinary aura. One look and everyone could tell that they were of the nobility, possessing a dignified air that no commoner would have.

“Reporting to the Marquis, Princess Qing`er has arrived…”

At this moment, a voice rang out in the great hall. The couple exchanged glances as astonishment flashed in their eyes.

The daughter of His Majesty, Princess Qing`er?

However, these two were immortal kings and their expressions soon returned to normal. The Everpeace Marquis stood up and spoke, “Since Princess Qing`er has come all this way, we must go and welcome her.”

“I heard that Princess Qing`er has spent these past few years in the City of Ancient Emperors to temper herself. She must have arrived here by chance, and now wishes to borrow the spatial transference array to directly reach the empire’s royal palace.” The Marquis Madam’s eyes flashed with intelligence, accurately guessing Qing`er’s circumstances and her intentions in coming here today.

“Why do we need to care about her reasons for coming here? Since she’s already here, we naturally just have to welcome her and provide protection to escort her back,” said the Everpeace Marquis.

However, the eyes of the Marquis Madam flickered incessantly. A moment later, she smiled, “Of course, we must provide a warm welcome and escort her back. But since it’s so rare for Her Highness to come to our Manor, we definitely need to make good use of this opportunity. Send some men to inform Fan`er, let’s give him the chance to interact with the Princess.”

“You and your ideas. Haven’t you heard of Princess Qing`er’s personality? She’s like an ice beauty—she’s never expressed any interest in men before. And even though Fan`er’s talent isn’t bad, he is still a distance away when compared to Princess Qing’er,” said the Everpeace Marquis; he was well aware of their limitations.

“My father is a half-step immortal emperor and has fought many wars for his Majesty. In the end, he was bestowed a kingship for his merits. Fan`er is my son, the maternal grandson of my father. How is his status inferior?” The Marquis Madam’s eyes gleamed with sharpness as she continued, “My father now needs to take the final step to reach the upper echelons in the royal palace. It’s naturally for the best if Fan`er and Princess Qing`er can form a relationship. Even if Princess Qing`er doesn’t like Fan`er, it won’t be disadvantageous for them to become friends.”

“Your words aren’t without logic. But the Princess is only here to use the spatial transference array. I’m afraid she won’t stay for long,” said the Everpeace Marquis.

“Well, if you enter closed-door seclusion, there will be no one in the Everpeace Manor that has the authority to activate the spatial transference array, right? Just go lock yourself in closed-door seclusion, and let me handle the rest.” The Marquis Madam was extremely decisive. The Everpeace Marquis nodded, “That sounds good. Handle this well.”

After speaking, he departed and headed to the depths of the great hall.

The Marquis Madam stood up, her eyes gleaming sharply as she moved out of the great hall.

Qin Wentian and Qing`er continued heading into the manor. This manor was extremely vast, and they hastened their steps. But then, they caught sight of a group of people in the distance walking towards them. The person in the lead was a middle-aged woman, a smile painted on her face as she exuded gentleness and elegance. She walked before Qing`er, gave a slight bow with a smile and said, “I pay my respects to Princess Qing`er.”

“Your Highness, this is the Marquis Madam. She is also the daughter of the Cloud King.” The immortal-foundation expert made the introductions. Although Qing`er had never been at this manor before, she still knew who the Cloud King was.

“Madam is too courteous. Is the Marquis available?” Qing`er nodded slightly, speaking politely. She naturally knew of the Cloud King, who was someone with immense power and authority in the empire. The Cloud King had fought countless wars, and because of his many impressive battle achievements, had gained numerous war merits.

“The Marquis is currently in closed-door seclusion and is now at a critical moment prior to breaking through. He should emerge a few days from now. To welcome Princess Qing`er’s arrival, I have given the order for a banquet to be prepared, if it pleases you.” The Marquis Madam politely extended her hands out in invitation. Qing`er wouldn’t feel right if she rejected this offer, hence she continued to follow her. She then asked, “When will the Marquis finish his closed-door seclusion? I wish to use the spatial transference array here, and head towards the royal palace.”

“Is Your Highness in a hurry?” asked the Marquis Madam.

“Mhm.” Qing`er nodded; she wasn’t willing to waste time staying here.

“Alas, there’s a rule in the immortal empire. Without the authority of a Marquis-level figure, no one can activate the spatial transference array. Your Highness, how about resting at our manor for a day? After enjoying the banquet, I will accompany Your Highness to select a demonic beast mount. If the Marquis still doesn’t exit his seclusion by tomorrow, we will send a demonic beast king as protection to escort Princess Qing`er back.” Marquis Madam smiled. She had covered all the aspects, to the point where Qing`er had no reason to reject her. She glanced at Qin Wentian, who could only smile and nod in assurance.

The Marquis Madam naturally saw this scene. But she didn’t say anything in response.

The Marquis Manor was located in a very luxurious and elegant region of the Immortal Empire. The banquet was instantly prepared and served, and other than the Marquis Madam, many major characters had also come to pay their respects to Qing`er.

At this moment, a young man and woman could be seen walking over to their table. The young man was handsome, while the young woman was also quite lovely in appearance.

“Fan`er, Lian`er, quickly go pay your respects to Princess Qing`er. Her Highness was innately born with an immortal king physique, so you two would do well to learn from her.” Marquis Madam smiled at the two of them. The young man was clad in simple clothing, yet that couldn’t mask his extraordinary demeanor. The young woman’s eyes were filled with a lively intelligence. The two of them walked to the front of Qing`er and Xia Fan greeted her. “We pay our respects to Princess Qing`er.”

“We’ve long heard of Princess’s name, but I didn’t expect Sister Princess to be so beautiful, just like a celestial maiden.” Xia Lian smiled. Qing`er wasn’t adept at conversing and merely nodded her head at them.

“Sister Princess, can I sit beside you?” Xia Lian giggled. She glanced at Qin Wentian, who smiled back at her. “You can take my seat.”

After speaking, Qin Wentian shifted. Xia Lian smiled at him, “Thank you! I wonder, where are you from? Since you and Princess Qing`er left the City of Ancient Emperors together, you must be a descendant of an immortal king or emperor, right?”

Qin Wentian shook his head, “An expert of the senior generation sent me there. I am not a descendant of an immortal king or emperor. At the City of Ancient Emperors, Princess Qing`er and I decided to travel together. We are currently heading to the Evergreen Royal Palace to broaden my horizons.”

“I see.” Xia Lian’s beautiful eyes flickered. After that, she raised her wine cup to Qing`er. “Sister Princess, let me toast you. In the future when I go to the royal palace, can I trouble Sister to look out for me?”

“Sure,” Qing`er replied. In the banquet, the Marquis Madam and Xia Lian seemed to be extremely excited, and they livened up the conversation with their chatter. All of them were extremely polite, treating Qing`er as a valuable guest. However, Qing`er wasn’t used to these kinds of situations, and not long after, she suggested, “Why don’t we go and select a mount now?”

“Naturally, it’s no problem. Let the banquet come to an end.” The Marquis Madam stood up. She then bowed slightly and turned to Qing`er, “Your Highness, please follow me.”

After that, she soared into the air. As the Madam Marquis led the way, Qing`er and Qin Wentian followed suit, while Xia Fan and Xia Lian trailed after them.

Not long after, they came to a vast area occupied by many demonic beasts. The weakest were at the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, and in fact, there were many immortal-ranked demonic beasts here. Their eyes were incomparably sharp, and were all powerful variations of demonic beasts that had mutated. Naturally, there were also many powerful demonic beast keepers working at the Marquis Manor, specifically to feed them all.

“Princess Qing`er, do you need a demonic beast as a mount? This demon forest has many demons with powerful bloodlines. Your Highness can choose whichever you like,” offered Xia Fan.

“It’s fine.” Qing`er shook her head. Little Rascal, who she was currently embracing, took a good long glance at Xia Fan when he heard that.

“Fan`er, go and accompany Princess Qing`er, and help her choose a demonic king beast.”said the Marquis Madam as she glanced at Xia Fan. Xia Fan nodded, and he turned to Qing`er, “Princess, the demonic king beasts all have very violent temperaments. Do let me accompany you.”

“I will choose one for the Princess instead,” interrupted Qin Wentian, stepping out. How could he be unaware of the Marquis Madam’s intentions? In addition to what had happened at the immortal banquet, it was clear that the Marquis Madam was intending to form more chances for Xia Fan to interact with Qing`er.

“Mhm, okay.” Qing`er nodded at Qin Wentian.

“Princess Qing`er, trust me. All the demon kings are extremely violent, and strangers will be easily injured if they approach them,” said the Marquis Madam.

Qing`er frowned, after which she turned to the Marquis Madam. “Since this is the case, why don’t you accompany me instead?”

The Marquis Madam naturally understood Qing`er’s intentions when she heard this. Evidently, Qing`er had no wish to interact with any men. Hence, it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to continue pushing her either. She then smiled and said, “That’s fine. Then I will accompany Princess Qing`er instead. You guys can wait here for us.”

“Okay.” Xia Lian smiled sweetly. After the Madam and Qing`er left the area, she turned to Qin Wentian and laughed. “Brother Qin, Princess Qing`er must hold you in high regard since she’s willing to bring you back to the royal palace. Does she intend to recruit you as her subordinate?”

“I guess?” Qin Wentian replied softly. He didn’t really mind what these people thought of him.

“Oh.” Xia Lian nodded, continuing to smile. However, a second later, her smile turned into a sneer, “In that case, you are nothing but a damned slave. Are you planning to use your connections to the Princess to rise up in power?”

Chapter 987: Acting To Kill

 

Qin Wentian’s eyes narrowed slightly when he heard Xia Lian’s words. His eyes turned to Xia Lian, only to see her smiling coldly at him. It was as though her words were of no great matter. The beauty of her pretty face collapsed instantly in that moment.

Was this her real face? She’d acted so perfectly in front of Qing`er, but the moment Qing`er was gone, she’d taken off the mask and had become another person.

“Am I right? Are you angry that I embarrassed you because I’m right?” Xia Lian giggled, ignoring Qin Wentian. “There are countless nobles in the palace, and even the descendants of grand officials are as numerous as the clouds. You’re merely a damned dog slave, yet you also wish to rise in power? Truly a foolish dream.”

“Have you finished talking?” Qin Wentian said indifferently as he looked at Xia Lian.

“What? Are you not happy? Will you go and tattle on me to Princess Qing`er now? If you, a tall, strapping man ran to tell tales on me, that would be quite interesting too.” Xia Lian laughed. She blew a whistle and two powerful demonic beasts flew over, landing beside her and her brother, Xia Fan.

“No matter my identity, since I came here with Qing`er, that makes me a guest. Even if I’m her servant, it’s still not up to you to humiliate me,” Qin Wentian said coldly.

But how could Xia Lian even put him in her eyes? Her and her brother’s silhouettes flickered and they mounted the demonic beasts. Xia Lian straddled a fearsome avian beast with traces of a Great Roc’s blood in its bloodline. Xia Fan was seated on a baleful and terrifying white tiger that roared thunderously. Little Rascal poked its head from Qin Wentian’s embrace, staring coldly at the demonic beasts.

“Are you still unhappy?” The smile on Xia Lian’s face grew even more radiant. Seated on the white tiger, Xia Fan then soared up into the air and spoke in a low voice, “Xia Lian, let’s go.”

He didn’t even bother to glance at Qin Wentian. The two siblings truly had good acting skills. Earlier, they’d exhibited such enthusiasm, only to reveal their true faces now.

“Okay.” Xia Lian nodded. She glanced coldly at Qin Wentian as her beast took to the air.

However, Xia Lian’s mount’s momentum was abruptly halted. Her demonic beast let out a screech, and she turned her gaze around to stare coldly at Qin Wentian. He was tightly holding onto the tail of her demonic beast, looking at Xia Lian with a steady gaze. “This place is the Marquis Manor. I don’t wish to make things difficult for Qing`er. Apologize and I will forget about this matter.”

“IMPUDENT!” Xia Fan coldly snorted when he saw this scene. “How dare you, dog slave.”

Qin Wentian inclined his head, and his eyes were like ice as he stared at this pair of siblings. They truly had no one in their eyes.

“Dog slave, I will teach you a lesson on Princess Qing`er’s behalf.” Xia Lian waved her hand and a fiery red whip suddenly lashed out at Qin Wentian. Instantly, a whip shadow formed, emitting a terrifying whistling noise. If this whip struck, the flesh of those it hit would surely be lacerated.

Qin Wentian’s palm shimmered with a terrifying runic glow, and he grabbed at the long whip directly with his hand. When that long whip struck out against his palm, it caused no damage.

A fearsome screech echoed, and Xia Lian’s demonic beast mount lunged at Qin Wentian, exuding a baleful aura that towered up into the sky.

Little Rascal witnessed this entire scene while in Qin Wentian’s embrace, and a dark light flashed through his eyes. With a thunderous roar, he leapt out and grew in size, immediately slashing out with his sharp talons to rake through the brains of the other demonic beast. A terrifying runic vortex of darkness formed as the powerful demonic beast mount let out cries of agony, each shriek filled with despair. It was being forcibly devoured by Little Rascal.

Xia Lian was stunned at this scene. Her countenance soon turned extremely ugly to behold, wiping away her smile. Qin Wentian’s demonic beast actually dared to devour her mount? Although her mount was merely at the Celestial Phenomenon level, it was ultimately still her mount.

“You are courting death!” Xia Lian screamed in rage as a tyrannical aura gushed forth from her, generating waves of power that flowed over to Qin Wentian. However, Qin Wentian calmly raised his palm and slammed out with it. A gigantic palm imprint appeared in the air, crushing everything. With a deafening boom, Xia Lian’s body was flung away by a slap through the air. Her entire body was jolted into numbness by that strike. She felt a hot burning sensation on her face as numerous bones fractured. She was slammed to the ground, convulsing helplessly as fresh blood trickled out from her mouth.

Xia Lian’s face turned completely pale, so ghastly that it was terrifying.

This place was the Marquis Manor, the residence of the Everpeace Marquis. The Everpeace Marquis Manor had immense authority and power in this entire empire. Her grandfather was even a powerful general and a trusted subordinate under the Evergreen Immortal Emperor, who doted on her and treated her like the apple of his eye. But today, she’d actually been beaten so miserably by a slave? Sent flying through the air with a single smack. Although he was a slave of Princess Qing`er’s, what he did was still unforgivable.

In the air, Xia Fan was completely stunned by what he saw. The surrounding demonic beast handlers, who’d been busy feeding the demonic beasts, were all stunned as well.

“I want him to die,” Xia Lian icily commanded. Numerous demonic beasts rushed over from afar. Xia Fan frowned, this had become a huge matter, and he didn’t want it to be blown out of proportion. Although he disdained Qin Wentian, he wasn’t stupid. If one wanted to hit the dog, one still had to see who the dog’s master was. Before this, they only intended to humiliate him and wouldn’t have truly made a move against him. After all, if they had really done so, Princess Qing`er would surely find out. It wouldn’t look too good if they acted against an expert in her entourage while she was here at the Everpeace Marquis Manor.

But right now, it had become a big issue. This dog slave had actually sent Xia Lian flying with a smack? How dare he do such a thing?

“Kill him,” Xia Fan coldly commanded. Since the situation had reached such a point, it would be for the best if they took the initiative. They could take their time explaining it to Princess Qing`er after that. Once Qin Wentian was dead, they could just say anything and make up any story they wanted to. And even if it made the Princess unhappy, there was no other choice. Unfortunately, the good intentions of his mother, the Marquis Madam, would be wasted.

And in addition, the status of the Everpeace Marquis Manor was extremely stable. His grandfather was someone who followed the Evergreen Immortal Emperor to fight for his empire. Even if Princess Qing`er was unhappy with them, she most probably wouldn’t be able to do anything.

Hence, Xia Fan decided to give the order to kill Qin Wentian.

Qin Wentian’s eyes flickered with an extreme coldness when he heard Xia Fan’s words. They wanted to kill him?!

Xia Fan had actually issued the command to kill him. This was already on a different level compared to their earlier humiliation. By issuing the command, it didn’t just mean that they were treating his life like a weed, to be rooted up at any moment. They weren’t even putting Qing`er in their eyes. Even if he really was a slave of Qing`er’s, he shouldn’t be someone they could kill.

Qin Wentian held nothing back as his aura gushed forth. A terrifying might swept over everything. Little Rascal let out a heaven-shaking thunderous roar as he soared up into the sky, as his body expanded and turned terrifyingly golden.

—BOOM!— Little Rascal transformed. Golden wings formed behind him, the feathers so sharp that they were even more fearsome than real swords. He transformed into a golden-winged roc, hovering in the sky as rays of gleaming gold shot forth from his eyes.

His body gleamed with a dazzling light. Little Rascal’s silhouette flickered, transforming into a golden stream of light as he arced through the skies. Fearsome whistling noises rang out, his speed was simply too fearsome. Several of the ascendant-level demonic beasts were all ripped into pieces in an instant.

Qin Wentian stepped out, immediately moving towards Xia Fan. Xia Fan could clearly sense the towering might exuding from Qin Wentian. He couldn’t help but tremble, and an instant later, a rumbling boom rang out as a gigantic palm imprint manifested. It blotted out the sky, smashing towards Xia Fan. The white tiger he was mounted on roared and valiantly rushed forward. However, one could very well imagine how powerful a palm strike from Qin Wentian had now become.

He was the #1 ranker in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. Even from the perspective of the entire immortal realms, there was scarcely anyone who could stand against him within the same cultivation realm.

The white tiger was jolted to death from the impact, obliterated by pure power. The power of that palm continued to surge forth in waves, sweeping over everything, capable of even shattering the heavens.

Xia Fan paled. He hadn’t expected Qin Wentian to be so powerful. Was this the reason why Princess Qing`er had accepted this man as a follower? As expected from someone who came from the City of Ancient Emperors, they were truly all terrifying monsters.

Xia Fan circulated the entirety of his strength to resist it, but he was still sent flying from the impact, and slammed ruthlessly onto the ground.

More and more demonic beasts rushed over. There were even demon immortals being released. This caused Qin Wentian’s expression to turn extremely ugly. He gave a loud roar and unleashed a torrent of palm imprints, more than millions in number, causing even the space to tremble from the might. The numerous demonic beasts immediately roared in pain and agony as they were killed by the domineering suppressive pressure. In this region, their blood splattered about like rain falling from the sky.

At this moment, a figure could be seen rushing this way. Crossing an immeasurable distance with a single step, her speed was incomparably fast, to the point of being extremely terrifying. She instantly arrived at the battlefield—this person was none other than the Marquis Madam.

The beautiful eyes of the Marquis Madam were extremely cold as she surveyed the situation. Her son had been ruthlessly blasted to the ground, and so was her daughter. Their clothes were all torn and tattered as blood trickled from their mouths. There were also numerous demonic beasts that were either dead or injured.

From afar, numerous experts rushed over, all feeling their hearts shaking when they saw this scene. The Marquis Madam was the daughter of the Cloud King, and she had always shielded her children’s shortcomings, and covered up their errors. But today, both of her children had actually been heavily injured by an outsider.

The Marquis Madam’s cold eyes turned to Qin Wentian, with killing intent gleaming within.

“Mother, this man is extremely rude. He completely lacks manners. He actually used words to take advantage of my modesty!” Xia Lian cried out in a distraught tone. “I confronted him, but he was so snobbish that he even said that our Everpeace Marquis Manor counted for nothing. Since he is a follower of Princess Qing`er, he simply didn’t put our Manor in his eyes.”

The aura of the Marquis Madam grew even colder as she advanced towards Qin Wentian. She didn’t act instantly, as though she was considering something.

As a mother, how could she not understand which of her daughter’s words were true or false? But Xia Lian was truly intelligent—by speaking first she had immediately pinned the crime on Qin Wentian.

“Daring to kill my people within my Everpeace Marquis Manor? Even if I have to offend the Princess, I cannot spare you,” Marquis Madam said coldly. After which, her finger stretched out. Qin Wentian instantly paled. He could feel a supreme overwhelming might boring down on him.

“Stay your hand!” An icy voice thundered out. Qing`er turned ashen, controlling her spatial leaf boat to rush here as soon as possible from afar.

The Marquis Madam’s eyes flickered. Her finger still continued piercing forward as the sky changed color. Qing`er’s expression drastically changed, this was a strike from an immortal king!

Chapter 988: Qing`er’s Rage

 

The finger attack continued to descend. Qing`er’s heart pounded violently. She never expected that such a thing would happen.

She clearly commanded the Marquis Madam to stop, but she was actually continuing with her attack? If this attack landed, even a casual strike from an immortal king could effortlessly reap Qin Wentian’s life away.

Qin Wentian’s countenance drastically changed. The destructive might surged over, filled with an unfathomable pressure. He didn’t even have time to think too much. With an intention of his will, a treasure cauldron appeared before him. He could only use this ancient sacred treasure to block this strike for now. He didn’t even have time to unleash his demon sword, and moreover, he might not be powerful enough to block this strike with his own strength even if he depended on the demon sword.

Only an ancient sacred treasure like the treasure cauldron would have a chance to block it.

The finger attack was able to penetrate anything. Undoubtedly, if it landed on Qin Wentian, he would definitely die. However, an instant before the finger pierced through him, the treasure cauldron appeared and took on the strike for him.

A thunderous boom sounded out, the finger attack blasted into the treasure cauldon, and the impact created fearsome sparks of fire. The might of that finger attack wasn’t explosive, but its power was completely concentrated and could disintegrate anything it touched. However, it failed to penetrate the cauldron.

But even so, the impact still forced the cauldron backward, causing it to slam into Qin Wentian. Qin Wentian was flung through the air, coughing out blood, before smashing unceremoniously onto the ground.

The eyes of the Everpeace Marquis Madam were extremely terrifying. When she realized that her finger attack had failed to kill Qin Wentian, she lifted her palm and prepared to blast out with indomitable might once more.

“If you dare to make another move, I will eradicate your entire clan.” A voice rang out, so cold that the chill seeped deep into the bones, icy to the extreme.

What status did the Marquis Madam have? If it were an ordinary person threatening her, she would ignore it and kill the person. However this time, the person making the threat was none other than Princess Qing`er. And the tone of her voice was simply too cold. Even though she was an immortal king, the bone-piercing coldness in Qing`er’s voice still seeped into her heart. Her lifted palm wavered in the air, but ultimately, she chose not to blast it out.

A bright light flashed, Qing`er appeared beside Qin Wentian. And at this moment, Qin Wentian had already helped himself up from the ground. His eyes were staring at the Marquis Madam as he coldly spoke, “To think the Everpeace Marquis Manor is actually a place where the rats gather. How sad.”

“IMPUDENT!” The Marquis Madam icily shouted. She turned to gaze at Qing`er and said, “Princess, although this man is your follower, he used words to outrage the modesty of my daughter. Not only that, he even dared to kill my people here in my manor. He’s simply a lawless tyrant. I hope Princess will be able to take charge of the situation for me. Please punish this vile creature with death.”

“Of the people in your manor, one is increasingly more shameless than the rest.” Qin Wentian put away his treasure cauldron, staring at the Marquis Madam as he continued, “Your daughter humiliated me by calling me a dog slave, yet she’s actually twisting her words by accusing me of outraging her modesty with my words? Even if you were to give her to me for free, I would throw away a woman such as her simply for being too filthy.”

“You…” Xia Lian stood up, pointing her finger at Qin Wentian. By this time, the other experts of the manor had already rushed over. Their gazes were all filled with unfriendliness and dislike when they stared at Qin Wentian. It didn’t matter who was right and who was wrong, wasn’t this Qin Wentian nothing more than an outsider? Since he dared to act in such a manner in their manor, he’d best prepare to die in order to pay for his crimes.

Qing`er’s aura grew colder and colder. Just one second late… if she’d been slower by another instant, Qin Wentian would have died in the Everpeace Manor, under the hands of her father’s subordinates.

Upon thinking of this, Qing`er clenched her fist. There was lingering fear in her heart, as well as an intense, smouldering rage. Her eyes were cold to the extreme, and with a step forward, she appeared directly before the Marquis Madam.

The Marquis Madam looked directly in her eyes without even trying to evade her gaze. She then spoke in a self-righteous tone, “I hope Princess would consider the reputation of our Marquis Manor, and mete out a punishment of an appropriate level to this man.”

Qing`er’s hand lifted up, causing the Marquis Madam to furrow her brows. The next instant, the expression on the Marquis Madam’s face turned incomparably cold as she realized what Qing`er wanted to do. Her powerful aura gushed forth, yet she didn’t dare to prevent this from happening.

—bam!—

A clear sound rang out in the air, followed by absolute silence. Everyone was staring at this scene as their hearts shuddered, not daring to believe it was real.

Even for the Marquis Madam herself, she was frozen solid, standing there with a dumbfounded expression.

She was the wife of the Everpeace Marquis, the daughter of the Cloud King. She had actually been slapped by Princess Qing`er within her own manor. In addition, this was a slap in full view of the public, in front of everyone.

“HOW DARE YOU!” An expert loyal to the manor roared in rage. Several figures stepped out as their auras gushed forth.

“GET BACK! This is the Princess. Are you guys intending to rebel?!” The Marquis Madam stared at the crowd as she shouted coldly, waking them to their senses. But even so, there were still people who were extremely infuriated. “Princess, do you know what you are doing?”

And right now, under everyone’s stunned gaze, Qing`er lifted her hand once more.

At this instant, an extremely cold ray of light shot out from the Marquis Madam’s eyes. “PRINCESS!”

Her voice thundered out, directly entering Qing`er’s mind. However, there was no change to Qing`er’s expression. She swung her hand, slapping the Marquis Madam once more.

—bam!—

The sound of this slap was extremely crisp, and similarly, this slap was practically smacking the faces of all the experts in the Marquis Manor.

Some experts gasped in disbelief, staring at Qing`er. Xia Lian and Xia Fan were both horrified, their mouths agape.

Never in their wildest dreams would they imagine that Princess Qing`er would actually slap their mother’s face in public, all for the Qin Wentian’s sake.

Their mother was the daughter of the Cloud King, the wife of the Everpeace Marquis. Their mother was an immortal king expert!

“Are you planning to punish me with death as well?” Qing`er coldly stared at the Marquis Madam. In her eyes, she didn’t care about the status of the other party. Just now, if she’d been a step slower, Qin Wentian would have been killed by this woman. She only hated herself for her low strength. If not, how could her punishment be so simple by merely giving a few slaps? She would have immediately killed the Marquis Madam!

“Your subordinate doesn’t dare.” The Marquis Madam choked on her words, yet her eyes were like ten-thousand-year-old ice as she glared at Qing`er.

“You don’t dare? What else is there that you wouldn’t dare to do? Your son and daughter dared to touch my friend, and earlier when I commanded you to stop, you still dared to continue with your attack. In your eyes, do you still acknowledge the royal clan? Do you still have me, the Princess of the Evergreen Immortal Empire in your eyes?” Qing`er’s voice was glacial. She had never used her status to suppress others before. This was the first time she had done so.

Evidently, she was truly angered. By bringing Qin Wentian home to the Evergreen Immortal Empire, she’d expected that they might encounter difficulties during the trip. But no matter what, she had never once thought that somebody in the Marquis Manor would actually dare to kill Qin Wentian. How could she not be angered?

The countenances of everyone in the surroundings changed. From Qing`er’s ice-cold voice, they could clearly sense her rage. This was the youngest daughter of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor, someone whom he doted on the most. She was now talking to the Marquis Madam in the fullest extent of her authority – with the mantle of Princess, the daughter of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor, and the future successor of the Evergreen Immortal Empire.

The Marquis Madam also hadn’t expected for things to turn out like this. It was like earlier, she could feel the coldness from the words ‘eradicate your entire clan.’ Even though she was an immortal king expert, she still felt traces of fear in her heart when she sensed how cold Qing`er had become.

“Princess is too serious. However, Princess’s friend is truly too outrageous. Your subordinate acted in a moment of impulse earlier, and I apologize for my mis…” The Marquis Madam gritted her teeth as she spoke.

—bam!— Another slap landed on her face. This was now the third time, and even before the Marquis Madam had finished her sentence, Qing`er had already smacked out with her palm. From the Madam’s current expression, words like ‘anger’ were insufficient to describe her emotions.

In the tens of thousands of years since she was born, no one had ever dared to humiliate her in this manner before.

The experts of the manor could only stare helplessly. They were all speechless.

“Mother…” Xia Lian was incomparably pale. Before this, she had acted extremely bubbly and polite in the presence of Qing`er, only to remove her mask and start humiliating Qin Wentian once Qing`er was gone. From this, one could see how shrewd she was. But at this moment, all her shrewdness had been overwhelmingly shattered by Qing`er.

Xia Lian suddenly felt regret. It was her actions that had caused her mother to be humiliated like this out in public, causing the entire Marquis Manor to be shamed.

“Qin Wentian.” Xia Lian glared coldly at him, as killing intent flickered in her eyes. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined that Princess Qing`er would act in such a crazed manner for the sake of this man. Earlier, she and her brother had wanted to kill Qin Wentian rather than brush the matter aside with an apology. Now in hindsight, that was extremely laughable. If they had really killed Qin Wentian back then, most likely this entire manor would be buried together with him.

“Princess, even if the Madam was wrong, Princess’s actions have truly wronged her. This unfairness causes chills in the hearts of all your subordinates.” Somebody stood out and spoke.

“Yeah, that’s right. After all, it was Princess’s friend who first used words to outrage Miss Xia Lian’s modesty. How can Your Highness humiliate the Marquis Manor for the sake of someone like that?” Another person spoke in a loud voice. Although that person kept his head lowered, indicating respect, his tone was filled with provocation.

The Evergreen Marquis Madam stared at Qing`er, but at this moment, Qing`er turned around and swept her ice-like eyes over everyone.

“Outraging Xia Lian’s modesty with words? Is she even qualified for him to do so?” Qing`er stared frostily at everyone. These people were all slandering Qin Wentian in her presence, how truly ridiculous.

Qin Wentian tried to take advantage of her modesty with his words?

Qing`er stared coldly at everyone as she spoke, “Qin Wentian, he is the #1 ranker in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. The top expert in the City of Ancient Emperors.”

As the sound of her words rang out, the expressions on everyone’s face stiffened as their gazes all landed on Qin Wentian. Although many of them had never been to the City of Ancient Emperors, they had clearly heard of it before.

In the City of Ancient Emperors, the vast majority were descendants of immortal kings and emperors, and the experts there were as common as the clouds.

This man was #1 in the entire City of Ancient Emperors.

Even for the Marquis Madam, her countenance also stiffened when she heard that. She naturally understood the meaning of being #1 in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. Undoubtedly, Qin Wentian would certainly also become an immortal king in the future.

Xia Lian and Xia Fan froze, and upon recalling their humiliation of Qin Wentian, they felt incomparably perplexed in their hearts. But was this really the reason why Princess Qing`er was so enraged?

Naturally, it wasn’t because of that. Even if this man was the #1 ranker in the Immortal Ascension Rankings, what connection would that have with Qing`er?

In that moment, Qing`er’s silhouette flickered as she appeared beside Qin Wentian. She stretched her hand out and held onto him. The two of them stood side by side together. This scene caused everyone’s eyes to narrow in disbelief as their hearts trembled.

“Xia Lian? Is she even worthy?” Qing`er coldly spoke. Her simple words were like the most forceful slap ever, smacking the faces of everyone. Qin Wentian and herself were a pair, so would he even take advantage of Xia Lian? Was Xia Lian even worthy of his attention?

The lies she’d told, they collapsed even without them needing to do anything to meddle!

Chapter 989: Dominant Qing`er

 

In the Everpeace Marquis Manor, Qing`er held onto Qin Wentian’s hand. The people in the surroundings stood frozen, and all of them felt the hot burning sensation of humiliation on their faces. In front of Princess Qing`er, they’d actually kept on slandering the person she loved. It was no wonder that she would be so angry and had even slapped the Marquis Madam three times. So the reason was because Princess Qing`er and this young man were lovers.

Qin Wentian, the #1 ranker in the Immortal Ascension Rankings.

Qin Wentian and Princess Qing`er were both mutually in love.

Would he even use words to outrage the modesty of Xia Lian?

Be it in talent, demeanor, status…what did Xia Lian have that could compare with Princess Qing`er?

In addition, as long as these people weren’t idiots, they would all understand. As the daughter of the Everpeace Marquis, Xia Lian’s status was extraordinary. However, given Qin Wentian’s talent and the fact that he was the #1 ranker in the Immortal Ascension Rankings, he would be gladly welcomed no matter where he went. If he wanted to, it would take him no effort to have an immortal emperor as his master. Such a character was more than enough to match up against Xia Lian. Unless Qin Wentian was retarded, was there even any need to use words to outrage her modesty?

Such slanderous lies were extremely ridiculous. Xia Lian now felt a burning sensation on her face as though she was the one slapped. How laughable, she was the one who’d called Qin Wentian a dog slave earlier.

The entire area fell into silence. Now, the truth was clear. Xia Lian had lied, slandering the person Princess Qing`er loved, and she had even commanded the demonic beasts to seek his death. Truthfully speaking, her actions were disgraceful, and it was a grave breach of propriety to offend her superiors. Even if Qin Wentian was merely Princess Qing`er’s friend, Xia Lian didn’t have the authority to order his death. If she did so, that would be the equivalent of slapping Qing`er’s face.

Qin Wentian was watching all of this with a cold smile on his face. He also hadn’t expected that someone in the Marquis Manor at the Evergreen Immortal Empire would attempt to kill him. With their status and authority in the empire, they were so audacious to the point where they didn’t even see the need to give Qing`er face.

The actions of Xia Fan, Xia Lian, and the Marquis Madam had all been taken into consideration by Qing`er. Their plan was simple; they would have Qin Wentian killed and with him dead, no one could refute what they said. They could simply shift all the blame onto him.

Right now, Qing`er’s rage still hadn’t abated. Her eyes were as cold as ever, and if Qin Wentian had been in danger from contending against someone while roaming the outside world, it would have been fine with her. But in this place, the Everpeace Marquis Manor was the subordinate of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor. With her status as the Princess, did these people even have any regard for her? She was the one who brought Qin Wentian here, and they even dared to go so far as to attempt to kill him?

How could Qing`er be willing to let this matter rest?

Her cold eyes landed on Xia Lian. Qing`er then spoke in a glacial tone, “Xia Lian insulted Qin Wentian first. After that, she acted together with Xia Fan, and sent demonic beasts to kill him. And even later, the Marquis Madam acted selfishly without investigating the truth of the matter. She audaciously continued on with her attack despite my command to stop, intending to kill Qin Wentian. My presence has never been in your eyes. The whole lot of you have showed no regard to the Evergreen Immortal Empire, as well as my royal father, the Evergreen Immortal Emperor. Tell me then, how should I judge this crime?”

Qing`er spoke, her cold eyes on the Marquis Madam. And upon hearing her words, all the experts broke into a cold sweat. This crime was undoubtedly a large one. In addition, it was clear Princess Qing`er had no wish to gloss over the matter.. She had even used the name of the Evergreen Immortal Empire and the Evergreen Immortal Emperor in her words just now.

The Marquis Madam’s mouth twitched and her expression was incredibly unsightly. Right now, she practically had no way to refute Qing`er.

“Xia Lian, are you the one who insulted Princess’s friend first?” The Marquis Madam spoke icily. Right now, she could only continue with this act. If not, did she wish to have a falling out with the Princess? If she really did so, she would no longer have any leverage to turn this around. If she clashed with the daughter that the Evergreen Immortal Emperor doted on the most, even her father, the Cloud King, wouldn’t be able to protect her.

Now, Xia Lian had no other choice. She could only ignore the shame and continue with her act.

Qing`er and Qin Wentian both had cold smiles on their faces. The Marquis Madam spoke, “Princess, previously I only acted in a moment of impulse, moving to kill without first verifying the truth of the circumstances. Your subordinate is guilty, but since Princess has already punished me, can this matter be temporarily forgotten? As for who’s right and who’s wrong in this case, your subordinate will investigate it with impartiality and update Princess as soon as possible.”

Delaying. Right now, the Marquis Madam considered this the best plan. She wanted to delay this matter as long as possible and send Qing`er away.

“You should know that you are already in the wrong. You chose not to verify the truth and instantly acted with the intent to kill a person. With such behaviour, shielding the shortcomings of your children, you still want us to wait for you to investigate? Are you joking with us?” Qin Wentian laughed coldly.

Qing`er then said, “Let me ask you again. Will you give me a satisfactory answer to this or not?”

Qing`er didn’t like to speak this much, let alone cause trouble for people. But this time around, for Qin Wentian’s sake, she had to speak out.

For a mere Marquis Madam to even dare to punish Qin Wentian with death? In that case, when she brought Qin Wentian into the royal palace, how great a pressure would Qin Wentian have to face then? This was something she could never tolerate.

“Since Qin Wentian is the man Princess is in love with, Princess will naturally believe in him. But this doesn’t mean that his words are the truth. At the very least, Princess has to give me an opportunity to investigate things clearly.” Even now, the Marquis Madam was still unwilling to apologize and admit her guilt as she continued defending herself.

Qing`er stepped out, moving towards Xia Lian. This scene caused the Marquis Madam to freeze. Xia Lian’s expression was frozen as she stared in fear at Qing`er.

—BOOM!— An intense spatial fluctuation gushed forth. Qing`er directly appeared behind Xia Lian, grabbing hold of her with her hands. Instantly, the fearsome ripples of spatial power enveloped Xia Lian, causing the Marquis Madam’s countenance to drastically change. However, the Marquis Madam took no action to stop Qing`er. If she did so, it would be equivalent to her acting against Qing`er. And then this matter would only be blown even more out of proportion.

“Since you want to shield her shortcomings so much, I can only choose to act myself. We are supposed to be the guests of the Everpeace Manor, yet Qin Wentian was insulted and narrowly killed. With her lowly status, Xia Lian actually dared to try and kill my friend? That is a crime… only punishable with death!” Qing`er’s icy voice rang out. Xia Lian stared at those cold eyes, and she finally knew what terror was. Her body couldn’t help but shudder involuntarily.

“Princess, my father, the Cloud King, has rendered many war merits for the sake of this empire. Can it be Princess is going to kill my daughter without even a fair investigation, just like that? Xia Lian is the granddaughter of the Cloud King. Princess’s actions will surely cause the hearts of all the dukes and marquises of the empire to grow cold.” The Marquis Madam brought the Cloud King’s name out, intending to suppress Qing`er.

“Just because the Cloud King has rendered several war merits, you guys dare to kill my friend in front of my eyes? If the Cloud King had rendered even more war merits, wouldn’t that mean the whole lot of you could even dare to to kill me in front of my royal father as well?” Qing`er’s voice was like thunder, causing everyone’s hearts to shiver. Such words were truly ruthless, and there was nothing more for the Marquis Madam to say.

—BOOM!— A violent spatial lacerating might gushed forth from Qing`er. The countenances of everyone drastically changed. The Marquis Madam shouted in shock, “Princess!”

“Princess, please stay your hand.” A thunderous voice rang out through the air as an imposing figure materialized. This person instantly appeared in the air, staring in the direction of Qing`er and Xia Lian as he spoke, “I, the Everpeace Marquis, apologize for the conduct of my daughter. In the future I will guarantee to be more strict and will punish her heavily for what she has done. Can Princess please spare her life?”

Qing`er turned her gaze onto the Everpeace Marquis who’d just appeared. Her aura hadn’t weakened in the slightest, and her coldness actually grew even more intense. She stared at the Marquis as she said frostily, “Closed-door seclusion? So it turns out that the Everpeace Marquis has been watching your daughter and son insulting my friend, Qin Wentian, right from the start. You did nothing even when they gave the order to kill him. You watched silently in the shadows when your wife, the Marquis Madam, ignored the rights and wrongs of the matter, even when she audaciously ignored my command and attempted to kill him. What a righteous Everpeace Marquis!”

After she spoke, Qing`er’s long hair fluttered in the wind. Her aura was cold to the extreme. The countenance of the Everpeace Marquis turned incredibly unsightly, and after that, he only saw Qing`er striking her palm out as the boundless spatial energy ripped through the body of his daughter, Xia Lian. A miserable scream of agony echoed through the air. At this moment, the faces of all the experts from the manor were as pale as paper.

“XIA LIAN!” The Marquis Madam stepped out, appearing beside her daughter. A terrifying might gushed forth from her, sweeping over Qing`er. But Qing`er merely turned and eyed her calmly. Did the Marquis Madam dare to do anything to her?

The Everpeace Marquis had also appeared, he pulled his wife back, silently reminding her to endure this. If she really attacked the Princess, that would be tantamount to a rebellion. When the Evergreen Immortal Emperor lay down the blame, the entire Everpeace Marquis Manor would instantly be vaporized by his rage.

“Princess, are you satisfied now?” The voice of the Marquis Madam was quivering with emotion as she stared at her daughter who had fallen to the ground.

Qing`er stared at her and said, “You should be lucky that you met the current me. If I had enough strength, I would spare no one who dared to make a move against Qin Wentian…”

“…including you yourself!”

Qing`er stared straight at the Marquis Madam, and the overwhelming coldness of Qing`er’s voice chilled her entire body. She could clearly sense Princess Qing`er’s determination. She finally understood that Xia Lian was wrong, so terribly wrong. Given Qin Wentian’s position in Princess Qing`er’s heart, if the Princess had possessed enough strength, this entire manor would have been leveled flat into the ground.

She had slandered and insulted him, yet Xia Lian had even acted to kill Qin Wentian? How could she still live?

“We cannot afford to antagonize this man.” The experts of the Everpeace Marquis Manor mused silently in their hearts. Touching him was like touching the reverse scale of Princess Qing`er. The Everpeace Marquis Manor could not afford to make this mistake.

“Everpeace Marquis. I order you to immediately activate the spatial transference array.” Qing`er stared coldly at the Everpeace Marquis.

The expression on the Marquis’s face stiffened. He then spoke with a harsh tone, “I obey, my Princess.”

After he spoke, he turned and soared into the air. Qing`er and Qin Wentian followed after, when Qin Wentian suddenly stretched his hand out, and held on to Qing`er. He naturally understood that the reason Qing`er was acting in such a domineering fashion was all because of him.

Qin Wentian would be more than qualified to stand on equal grounds with the marquises and dukes in the royal palace, and not just the Everpeach Marquis Manor. Qing`er wouldn’t allow those people to bully him. A mere Marquis Manor had already been so bold as to want his life, so if she didn’t act in this manner, who wouldn’t refrain from trampling over Qin Wentian when they reached the royal palace?

At the area where the spatial transference array was located, a bright light flashed, indicating the array was activated. Qin Wentian and Qing`er stepped within and soon after, an intense spatial fluctuation rocked the area as the two of them vanished.

At the instant they vanished, a fearsome aura gushed forth from the Everpeace Marquis, transforming into a terrifying windstorm that ravaged everything in the surroundings. His silhouette flickered and instantly returned to the place where Xia Lian had fallen. Right now, only silence remained… the Marquis Madam was hugging the corpse of her daughter as she icily stated, “I want to bring Xia Lian into the royal palace.”

The hearts of everyone shuddered when they heard that, understanding what their madam wanted to do. She was going to complain to her father, the Cloud King!

Chapter 990: Princess Changping

 

In the royal palace of the Evergreen Immortal Empire, there were numerous majestic immortal estates situated there, so many that it seemed like an entire city.

This royal palace was the residence of the dukes, marquises and kings of the Evergreen Immortal Empire and was the heart of the nation where the strongest immortal kings and emperors were located.

Every building here was a residence for extremely important characters, there were no exceptions. In any of the estates, there would be elite troops guarding it, and the vast majority of the people staying there were all at the immortal king level.

For kings, dukes and marquises, they were allowed to have their own troops. The imperial residence granted to them was so vast that they seemed more akin to small towns, spanning over a few hundred miles. In fact for some kings, their residence spanned over thousands of miles. When one personally saw how majestic the royal palace of the Evergreen Immortal Empire was, only then would they understand how many experts the Empire had.

Or one could say that the elites of the Evergreen Immortal Empire were all gathered here in this place.

Naturally, the most resplendent place within the royal palace was none other than the emperor palace at the center of everything. It was the place where the Evergreen Immortal Emperor, his descendants and relatives, and the troops under his command resided. Even if an immortal king wanted to enter, he had to undergo a stringent process of checks.

At this moment at the area where the spatial transference array was situated, a bright light flashed and two figures appeared. The guards in the surroundings turned their gazes onto the two and swiftly knelt down to show their respects as they called out, “Welcome home, Princess Qing`er.”

“We welcome Princess Qing`er’s return to the royal palace!” The voice of the troops rang out unceasingly. Qing`er nodded to them and with a wave of her hand, her spatial leaf boat appeared. Qin Wentian and herself mounted it as they shot forth in the distance. Although they already arrived at the royal palace, there was still quite a far distance between this place and the emperor palace she resided in.

“We welcome Princess Qing`er’s return!” The loud voices thundered through the air while Qing`er and Qin Wentian were already shuttling through space. Qin Wentian stared at the royal palace of this empire as awe filled his heart. The owners of those majestic estates, the staggering amount of troops standing guard, these were all for the core characters of extreme importance who could wield towering amounts of authority and power in the Evergreen Immortal Empire.

For characters like the Everpeace Marquis, although he was a grand official, he didn’t have the qualifications to stay in this place, but was sent to guard a region of the empire instead.

Very swiftly, the return of Princess Qing`er was circulated throughout the palace. Right now, she and Qin Wentian were still traveling via the spatial leaf boat, but many people already knew of her return.

“Princess Qing`er has returned, she’s already at the peak of the ninth level of Celestial Phenomenon. Now, she’s only a short distance away from immortal foundation.”

“Ye`er, the Princess has returned. You should visit the emperor palace more often in the future.”

“Son, Princess Qing`er is back and she even brought a young man along with her whose around your age. You’d better grab hold of this opportunity.”

“Grandson, the Princess has never shown interest in any man before. If you can gain her favor, it would bring great hope to our clan.”

Among all the major estates, voices rang out endlessly. Many of those voices were reminding the young men to pursue Qing`er, and also talking about Qin Wentian.

Princess Qing`er was the youngest daughter of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor, someone whom he doted on the most. Although the Evergreen Immortal Emperor would surely select an outstanding supreme genius for her in the future, a majority of the decision still lay in Princess Qing`er’s hands. In any case, before his Majesty officially accepted a son-in-law, everyone still stood a chance. If they didn’t fight for it, they wouldn’t even have the slightest hint of a chance at all. These were the thoughts of everyone.

The Evergreen Immortal Emperor naturally also understood this point, but he couldn’t be bothered to care about such things. In any case, there had never been anyone capable of gaining his daughter’s favor before. Not even one.

The spatial leaf boat finally slowed after traveling a considerable amount of distance, halting before a majestic-looking residence. The guards below soared up when they saw the boat, but when they saw who was riding it, they instantly knelt down in the air as they respectfully greeted, “We pay our respects to Princess Qing`er.”

“Is aunt in the palace?” Qing`er asked.

“Replying to Princess, Princess Changping is in the palace,” the man in the lead respectfully replied.

“Okay…” Qing`er waved in dismissal as she continued forward. The one staying in that residence was Qing`er’s blood-related aunt, the younger sister of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor. Her imperial title was Princess Changping.

Qin Wentian didn’t say or ask anything, he just followed Qing`er as she led the way, walking into the heart of the central region of the royal palace. On the way, many experts bowed when they saw Qing`er. There would naturally be no one obstructing her path, and also, it was common knowledge that there were very few people Princess Qing`er was close to. Princess Changping was one of the rare few that had a very good relationship with Qing`er, and Qing`er would often visit her estate.

From afar, a group of figures could be seen walking over. The person in the lead was a white-robed female beauty, appearing in her early thirties. Not only was she beautiful, her aura was transcendent as well. Regardless of her fair, white skin or her lithe figure, everything could be said to be perfect. This made Qin Wentian sigh silently in admiration, “Seems like all the females in Qing`er’s Clan are all supreme beauties.”

“Little girl Qing`er, you’ve finally returned.” The beauty in white smiled at Qing`er. Although she looked extremely young, there was a look of doting love in her eyes that resembled that of an elder gazing at their juniors. Her actual age was most likely many times older than Qing`er’s.

“We pay our respects to Princess Qing`er.” Those guards standing behind Princess Changping all bowed as they greeted.

“Aunt!” Qing`er’s melodious voice rang out. Princess Changping had already arrived in front of Qing`er. She smiled while she glanced at Qin Wentian. “What? You brought a son-in-law back for your father?”

Princess Changping was someone who was wise and farsighted. Since Qing`er had directly brought this young man here and was walking side by side with him, with only the distance of a step between them, she naturally could already infer several things from this. She understood her niece very well, and there was no way ordinary men would stand a chance, let alone be allowed so close to her. And now that her niece had brought this person here, the meaning was clear without words.

Her gaze studied Qin Wentian, seemingly as though it was capable of seeing right through his heart. She was truly very curious as to what kind of man was qualified enough to receive the adoration and love of her dear niece, Qing`er.

What made Princess Changping even more astonished was that after she teased them, Qing`er actually didn’t deny it. Undoubtedly, this silence displayed tacit approval to her words, signifying that the relationship between herself and Qin Wentian was closer than what she’d originally thought.

“Junior Qin Wentian pays his respect to Senior.” Qin Wentian felt somewhat uncomfortable being studied by Princess Changping. But even so, he dipped into a bow that was neither servile nor overbearing, indicating his respect. The first person Qing`er brought him to meet, was none other than her aunt. Evidently, this aunt had a very important position in Qing`er’s heart.

“Little fellow, to be able to get my dear niece to fall in love with you? Awesome! How did you manage to do that?” Princess Changping stared at Qin Wentian as she smiled. She was really very curious how this fellow managed to chase that ice princess who was her niece.

“Senior, stop teasing me, I’ve known Qing`er since a very long time ago,” Qin Wentian replied.

This sentence caused Princess Changping’s eyes to flicker as she asked, “In the particle world?”

“Mhm.” Qin Wentian nodded.

“Pursuing her all the way from a particle world to our Evergreen Immortal Empire in the immortal realms?” Princess Changping’s eyes gleamed, her approval of Qin Wentian instantly shot up when she heard this. Such determination was impossible unless one felt great enmity or a person truly loved the other.

“I was acquainted with Qing`er when I was 16. Some years after Qing`er was escorted back to the Evergreen Immortal Empire, I was lucky enough to meet an immortal-foundation senior who opened the spatial tunnel for me, sending me to the immortal realms. After that, I participated in the once-per-hundred-year immortal banquet of the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect and encountered Princess Glaze from there. It was Princess Glaze who told me Qing`er was in the City of Ancient Emperors, and hence, I asked for help from another senior to bring me there so I could look for Qing`er.”

The reason why Qing`er brought Qin Wentian to this place was because she understood it was tough to stand solidly alone in the royal palace, there must be someone else in support of her and Qin Wentian. Qin Wentian understood this as well. Hence, he used simple terms and told his story clearly. Firstly, this would avoid Princess Changping from having a wrong interpretation of his motives in coming here. Secondly, he hoped to gain her support for whatever situation that may arise.

“Ooo, childhood sweethearts?” Princess Changping laughed. Qin Wentian even mentioned Princess Glaze, and the moment Princess Changping heard that, she instantly understood many things. Firstly, to be sent to the City of Ancient Emperors, this young man’s talent would undoubtedly be extremely good. Also, there was either an immortal king or emperor supporting him.

“Aunt, I will leave him here first. Help me take care of him, okay? I will go meet with father,” Qing`er spoke to Princess Changping. Princess Changping naturally understood that it was impossible for Qing`er to instantly bring Qin Wentian to meet her elder brother, the Evergreen Immortal Emperor, the first instant she returned to the royal palace.

“Okay, I will take good care of this youngster.” Princess Changping smiled.

Qing`er’s beautiful eyes turned to Qin Wentian as she spoke in a light voice, “Stay at my Aunt’s place temporarily, okay…?”

“Mhm.” Qin Wentian nodded. “Qing`er, just go ahead with your matters.”

Qing`er nodded as she departed. Princess Changping then turned to Qin Wentian, “Let’s go. I still have many questions I want to ask you. For starters, are you the disciple of the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor?”

Qin Wentian had a bitter smile on his face as he shook his head, “The Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor probably hates me to the bone.”

“What do you mean?” An interested expression appeared on Princess Changping’s face. Hate was a strong word. Had Qin Wentian actually done something to make the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor hate him?

“Back then when Qing`er was escorted back from our particle world to the immortal realms, she once asked a favor from the Evergreen Immortal Emperor. She asked to get the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor to accept a disciple from the particle world we were in. I was the top ranker during the recruitment test, but in the end, the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor only offered me a period of freedom once every thousand years. I didn’t agree, and he then remarked on my bad character, thus forsaking and humiliating me. And later on, I learned that what he did was all intentional…”

Qin Wentian told everything that happened to Princess Changping, summarizing the details. “After that, I went to the City of Ancient Emperors to look for Qing`er and along the way, I killed his personal disciple, Que Tianyi, in the face of his immortal sense.”

“You sure have guts. No wonder that lass Qing`er is so fond of you.” Princess Changping smiled.

And just when they were speaking. At the same location, inside the royal palace within the Cloud King Manor, the Cloud King was staring at the corpse of his granddaughter as his rage towered up into the sky. His voice thundered out, “Lian`er, even if I have to bring this up with his Majesty, I will get justice for you.”

In the Cloud King Manor, the Cloud King was completely enraged. And very swiftly, news circulated around the royal place that the granddaughter of the Cloud King, the daughter of the Everpeace Marquis, Xia Lian, was killed by Princess Qing`er.

Not only that, the reason for that was actually because the Princess had been acting on behalf of a man.

And not too long ago, Princess Qing`er had just brought a young man into the royal palace. This incident instantly caused a huge deal of commotion in the royal palace of the Evergreen Immortal Empire!

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Note: Princess Changping’s name can also stand for Princess Everpeace. But the character used for the word ‘peace’ is a different one although they mean the same thing. To avoid confusion, I will use the pinyin of the chinese characters, calling her Changping instead.

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Important News:

To all readers, I just received news today that this series is going to go premium on 21 March 2018. To patrons, there will be no more advanced chapters available after 21 March 2018. If you are still willing to pledge, do note that it’s only to support my work alone. Thank you!

Chapter 991: Father and Daughter

 

Waves of commotion rocked the royal palace of the Evergreen Immortal Empire.

Princess Qing`er had brought a young man into the royal palace, and this matter simply couldn’t be hidden. In fact, very swiftly many major characters even knew that Princess Qing`er arranged for that young man to stay in Princess Changping’s estate. This verified the guesses of many people. It was very possible that Princess Qing`er might truly have fallen for this young man.

“Considering the princess’s age, it’s very normal for her to fall in love. But who exactly is that young man? Which immortal emperor is he the descendant of?” The major characters in the royal palace all mused silently, wanting to know more about Qin Wentian’s origins.

Princess Qing`er had fallen in love, and it was fine if she did so, but this person must definitely be able to match up to her status. If not, all the young men who were pursuing Qing`er wouldn’t be convinced otherwise.

“The name of that young man is Qin Wentian, right? There are no peak-level immortal emperors in this layer of the immortal realms that have the surname of Qin. He must be either a descendant of an ordinary immortal emperor or a powerful one that’s hidden in seclusion.”

“I’ve heard some information from the guards at Princess Changping’s estate. This young man isn’t a descendant of immortal emperors—he came from a particle world. Apparently, he became acquainted with Princess Qing`er in that particle world, so Qin Wentian must be a genius in that particle world.”

The commotion caused by this news was extremely terrifying. In just a short instant, all the major characters in the royal palace knew of Qin Wentian’s name and origin. Most probably, even Qin Wentian himself had no way to anticipate the commotion he had created. It had caused his name to resound endlessly, shaking the major characters of the Evergreen Immortal Empire.

“This man actually originated from a particle world? Could it be his talent is heaven-defying? Exuding magnificence through the generations?”

“Maybe because Princess Qing`er is still too young, and hence she’s blinded by the so-called love she’s feeling. The princess is not yet mature, and might have been cheated by this guy’s flowery words.”

“Princess Qing`er actually killed the granddaughter of the Cloud King for the sake of someone from a particle world? In addition, this happened when the two of them were staying as guests at the Everpeace Marquis Manor? This is somewhat too overwhelming. it will most likely even displease his Majesty.”

The commotion had reached an unbelievably large scale. There were some geniuses of the younger generations who were completely reluctant to accept this, and they felt unconvinced. They had always wanted to be closer to Princess Qing`er, but she had never given them a chance at all. Her icy demeanor kept countless pursuers away, and she had shown no interest in a relationship before, regardless of what identity and status the pursuer had. But now, she had actually brought a man from a particle world here and even killed the granddaughter of the Cloud King for him.

Jealousy reared its ugly head. There were already many young geniuses who hated Qin Wentian.

Qing`er had completely no idea of the waves her actions caused. The reason she brought Qin Wentian back was to tell her family of Qin Wentian’s existence and to let them know of her feelings. It would be best if they could approve of Qin Wentian.

The Great Emperor Palace was situated in the central region of the royal palace’s vast territory. Immortal qi permeated the atmosphere, exuding boundless elegance and majesty. Qing`er arrived before a luxurious-looking hall and entered through it.

“We pay our respects to Princess Qing`er.” The guards outside the hall knelt down as they saw Qing`er approaching.

Within the majestic great hall, a middle-aged man with an extraordinary demeanor could be seen. He put down the brush in his hand and looked up, staring at the beautiful figure walking towards him with a gentle smile on his face. “Qing`er, you are back.”

“Mhm.” Qing`er nodded. Even when facing her father, her expression was as cool as ever. However, the Evergreen Immortal Emperor understood her and naturally didn’t blame her for it. In fact, he had always blamed himself for missing out on Qing`er’s childhood.

“I…” Qing`er opened her mouth, and as she tried to speak, the Evergreen Immortal Emperor stretched out his hand and stopped her. He smiled, “I already know. It’s Qin Wentian, right? I didn’t expect that he would find his way to the City of Ancient Emperors from a particle world. His determination is truly out of this world.”

Qing`er’s beautiful eyes flickered. She calmly stared at the Evergreen Immortal Emperor, and didn’t say anything. She waited for him to continue.

“Right now, the entire royal palace is affected by this commotion. Many kings, dukes, and marquises are already denouncing Qin Wentian. They say he isn’t qualified to be with you.” The Evergreen Immortal spoke lightly. Qing`er didn’t reply, but the light in her eyes had grown colder.

“I know you suspect me of orchestrating that incident with the Eastern Sage Immortal Emperor. But you don’t have to suspect me. I can tell you straight away that I didn’t tell the Eastern Sage to play Qin Wentian like a fool,” the Evergreen Immortal Emperor said calmly. “Naturally, I also didn’t tell him to look out for Qin Wentian. Everything he did was according to his own intentions. If he really had accepted Qin Wentian as a disciple, I wouldn’t have any objections either. It’s only that I didn’t anticipate Dongsheng Ting to also fall in love with you, which made them intentionally suppress Qin Wentian.”

“But you also didn’t want him to become the disciple of Eastern Sage, right? You didn’t even want him to come to the immortal realms,” said Qing`er as she looked at her father. Her thoughts were very meticulous, and she was also very sensitive. She had long sensed some of her father’s thoughts on this matter.

“You can put it that way. But do you know why?” asked the Evergreen Immortal Emperor. Qing`er didn’t reply, waiting for her father to tell her himself.

“Because of you.” The Evergreen Immortal Emperor sighed. “All the kings, dukes, and marquises in our empire are discussing what status a person must have before that person can be a match for you. But they also know I care nothing for identity or status. Right from the start, this world has always been very fair. If you want a high position, you have to climb up the ladder yourself. And when you are at a certain height, people below will start fawning over you. They will want to use you to help them climb up as well. Right now with my current status, there’s almost no one whom I need to look up to. What I truly hoped was for you to grow in strength.”

The Evergreen Immortal Emperor stared at Qing`er, his eyes filled with love and affection as he continued, “In this world, in regards to existences like immortal kings and emperors at the peak, there are many more males compared to females. Why is this so? It is because men have a deeper obsession for cultivation, a deeper thirst for power. Although they have people they love, it is very rare for them to sink completely within that love. However, this is different for women. Women are much more sentimental and emotional, and they are easily swept away by the tides of love. Qing`er, you are precisely an example of this.”

Qing`er’s beautiful eyes flickered. It was very rare for the Evergreen Immortal Emperor to converse with her the thoughts that were truly in his heart. She had brought Qin Wentian back with her to express her feelings on the matter. Her royal father seemed to understand her intentions, and he was similarly telling her the true thoughts in his heart.

Women were more sentimental and emotional and were easily swept up by the one they loved. She was a classic example of this… Qing`er had no way to refute it. She knew what her father said was the truth.

“Child, I did indeed hope that he wouldn’t come to the immortal realms. I don’t wish to see you sinking into the river of love so young in your life. Sometimes, the things that you cannot obtain and cannot see will, in turn, transform into a kind of intense motivation that pushes you on. For example, during the period of time when the two of you were separated, you improved with godly speed. Qin Wentian was the same as well. Maybe this is the reason why he arrived in the immortal realms so quickly and found you in the City of Ancient Emperors after such a short time had passed.

“Hence, even if you blame Father, I will still stick to my thinking. One day, if both of your strengths are high enough to reach my level, you can do whatever you want. But as for now, I really don’t support the two of you,” the Evergreen Immortal Emperor said honestly. Qing`er didn’t know what to say; she couldn’t blame her dad for his love for her.

“Being together can give me motivation as well. I will avoid delaying my cultivation, and so will he.” Although Qing`er understood the Evergreen Immortal Emperor’s concern, her voice was still filled with determination. Just as the Evergreen Immortal Emperor had said, females were usually more sentimental and emotional in comparison, and since she was already so deep in the river of love, it naturally wouldn’t be so easy to pull her out. She was unable to accomplish such a thing.

The Evergreen Immortal Emperor sighed with melancholy. “His level of cultivation is merely one of the reasons why I don’t support this. Do you wish to hear about the main reason?”

“Mhm.” Qing`er nodded.

“Right now, imagine that if you and Qin Wentian were to run into danger, with him facing a life-and-death crisis. The you now, if you could sacrifice yourself to save him, would you be willing to do so?” The Evergreen Immortal Emperor asked solemnly, his tone turning heavy. Qing`er’s body trembled slightly, looking into her father’s eyes.

Would she? Naturally, she would!

“The look in your eyes has already told me your answer.” The Evergreen Immortal Emperor bitterly smiled. “I already know about that incident in the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect. Also, when you were in the City of Ancient Emperors, Qin Wentian caused a wave of events to unfold. Every time he was in danger, you would always be by his side, fighting shoulder to shoulder with him, even when he was killing the descendant of the Xuan Emperor or when he fought against Zi Daoyang.”

“Even if we disregard all that as nothing, in the future when Qin Wentian ascends to immortality and meets with even more dangerous situations on his path to rise to the top, would you escape alone?” asked the Evergreen Immortal Emperor.

“No,” Qing`er calmly replied. The Evergreen Immortal Emperor already knew she would answer this way.

The Evergreen Immortal Emperor turned his head, staring at a portrait in the great hall. In that portrait, the image of a supreme beauty could be seen. She had a smile that could topple empires, and she also bore a strong resemblance to Qing`er.

“I’m not proficient in spatial energy. You inherited your talent in spatial energy from your mother. You should also know the energy sealed in your body is something she left for you. You were only born just before she died…” The voice of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor grew misty as he sank into his memories. Qing`er silently listened, and a moment later, the Evergreen Immortal Emperor continued. “Qing`er, do you know how your mother died?”

“No…” Qing`er shook her head. The death of her mother was something no one in the royal palace had dared to talk about.

“She died to protect me.” The Evergreen Immortal Emperor slowly turned back, and his immeasurably deep eyes shone like the stars as he stared at Qing`er. His calm voice caused Qing`er’s heart to tremble violently.

At this moment, Qing`er understood that it was impossible for her to change her father’s opinion.

“Child… to me, your accomplishments in cultivation will always be ranked second in my heart no matter what. Your safety is my main concern, and it is everything to me.” The Evergreen Immortal Emperor sighed. “I don’t wish for you to take the path of your mother. I don’t want her footsteps to echo before yours as you follow them down. Qin Wentian doesn’t have the ability to protect you. At the very least, the him now isn’t strong enough to do so.”

“One day, only when he is finally strong enough to protect you, the doors of our immortal empire will open for him,” the Evergreen Immortal Emperor said slowly, telling Qing`er the truth in his heart. Undoubtedly, the Evergreen Immortal Emperor was a good father, even though he didn’t support Qing`er and Qin Wentian.

Qing`er had no way to contradict anything he said. In fact, she didn’t even have the qualifications to change her father’s thinking. How could she still persuade him?

The Evergreen Immortal Emperor valued her life more than anything. Naturally, it also exceeded Qin Wentian. This was because Qing`er was his daughter.

“Father…” Qing`er called out. The Evergreen Immortal Emperor simply stared at his daughter.

“Thank you.” Qing`er spoke in a low voice, as a smile appeared on the Evergreen Immortal Emperor’s face. The word ‘father’, and ‘thank you’, truly made him feel very happy in his heart.

“I understand your love,” said Qing`er, gazing at her father. A gentle smile appeared on her face as she continued, “However, I too, have the right to choose who I love. You can choose not to support us, but father… you cannot object to this!”

Staring at the smile in Qing`er’s eyes, the Evergreen Immortal Emperor was left speechless for a long time!

Chapter 992: Provocation with Words

 

The news of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor and Qing`er’s meeting was soon circulated around. Many of the major characters were waiting to see what the Evergreen Immortal Emperor’s attitude would be.

Ever since Qing`er was brought back to the royal palace, many descendants of the kings and marquises wanted to pursue her, but Qing`er had always ignored them. The Evergreen Immortal Emperor had always maintained a stance of neutrality—nobody knew what his true thoughts were, and they could only try their best to guess.

But this time, Princess Qing`er had already brought a man to her home and had gone to see the Evergreen Immortal Emperor. In that case, no matter what, his Majesty should at least make his stance clear, right?

Would his Majesty support or object to this?

If his Majesty agreed to Princess Qing`er and Qin Wentian, all the commotion and the discussions about Qin Wentian would instantly die down since they would be pointless. Qin Wentian would instantly become the prince consort of the Evergreen Immortal Empire, and his status would be set in stone. This was evidently something many of the nobility didn’t wish to see.

In Princess Changping’s residence, the aunt that had always been close with Qing`er had already given the order to prepare a welcome banquet for Qin Wentian. After all, since Qing`er arranged for Qin Wentian to stay here, and as her aunt, she naturally had to ensure that she took good care of Qin Wentian.

In the banquet, Princess Changping’s husband and daughter were present as well. They regarded Qin Wentian with curiosity, and probed him slightly with their questions. From this, they gleaned some information and gradually came to understand Qin Wentian a little better.

Princess Changping’s husband was an immortal king known as the Scarlet Eye Immortal King. He was bestowed the title of the Scarlet Eye Marquis by the Evergreen Immortal Emperor, and was also a prince consort of the Evergreen Immortal Empire. Although both Princess Changping and the Scarlet Eye Marquis weren’t that strong in terms of combat prowess, they still had immense authority and status in the empire. After all, Princess Changping was the blood-sister of the Evergreen Immortal Emperor, and she had given her all to aid him back when they were fighting for the right to establish this empire.

“Qin Wentian, you are famous now. With a sweep of my immortal sense, I hear endless mention of your name throughout the royal palace. Even the slaves and servants are excitedly discussing you.” The Scarlet Eye Marquis laughed straightforwardly. Qin Wentian bitterly smiled, “I know that we caused a great deal of commotion when Qing`er brought me into the palace, but I didn’t expect the news to circulate that fast.”

“Hahaha, you have to understand who the people in the royal palace are. Every one of them are either kings or marquises. Their immortal senses can easily sweep through the royal palace, so it takes no effort for them to gain information.” The Scarlet Eye Immortal King laughed. Qin Wentian thought about it and nodded in agreement. After all, this place was the royal palace of the Evergreen Immortal Empire where all the elites gathered.

“What are they saying about me?” Qin Wentian laughed.

“They are talking about your cultivation level, your background, where you came from, etc.” said the Scarlet Eye Immortal King.

“There are certainly many who hold me in contempt, right?” Qin Wentian laughed casually. There would surely be many who disliked him—the Scarlet Eye Immortal King was just too polite to say anything.

“Do you feel the pressure is very great?” The Scarlet Eye Immortal King glanced at Qin Wentian. Qin Wentian’s situation was similar to his. The Scarlet Eye Immortal King was also a prince consort and had received his fair share of criticism when he pursued and married Princess Changping back in the day. His talent was evidently good enough since he had become an immortal king, but even so, he wasn’t considered a peak-tier character, and was someone ordinary among the immortal kings in the royal palace.

Naturally, back then Princess Changping didn’t have the status that Qing`er had now. Now that the Evergreen Immortal Emperor governed the empire, and the fact that Qing`er was the person he doted on the most, in addition to the fact that Qing`er had another extremely powerful teacher, her status was almost unparalleled in the entire immortal realms. It explained why it had caused such a great commotion when she’d brought Qin Wentian back to the royal place.

“There’s indeed some pressure. But some things cannot be changed so easily, even with a large amount of people. Since Qing`er brought me here, I will directly face whatever may come my way,” Qin Wentian said stoically. Princess Changping and the Scarlet Eye Immortal King smiled, nodding silently at Qin Wentian’s maturity. It was very rare for juniors like Qing`er and himself to have this amount of courage.

However, just as Qin Wentian had said, some things couldn’t be changed so easily, even with a large amount of people. This was especially true when it came to a person’s attitude. An example would be the Evergreen Immortal Emperor’s attitude. If everyone else in the royal palace supported him and Qing`er but her father didn’t, they would merely be expressing their stance. Ultimately, they were unable to change anything.

At this moment, a butler dressed in black walked over and called out, “Princess, Marquis.”

“What’s the matter?” Princess Changping asked.

“There are people who have come to pay a visit,” the butler replied. The Scarlet Eye Immortal King and Princess Changping swept out with their immortal sense, and their eyes flickered with a smile as they glanced at Qin Wentian.

“There are plenty of descendants from kings and marquises already here to probe you. Qin Wentian, you’d better be prepared in your heart. There are no kind souls among these people,” said Princess Changping. After that, she stared at the butler and said, “Invite them in for the banquet.”

“Yes, Princess.” The butler nodded before he left. After a short period of time, over ten proud-looking young people could be seen walking over. All of them were of the nobility, and clearly also good-looking and talented. A majority of these people were either at the eighth or ninth level of Celestial Phenomenon, and they were all from the same generation as Qin Wentian. Somehow, this seemed to be intentional.

“We pay our respects to Princess and Marquis.” These people were exceptionally polite as they bowed in the direction of Princess Changping and the Scarlet Eye Immortal King.

“You youngsters need not be so polite. Come and take a seat.” Princess Changping smiled. Everyone respectively walked over to the banquet as they took their seats. At this moment, many gazes turned to Qin Wentian, their eyes gleaming with sharpness.

Qin Wentian lowered his head and tasted the wine, not bothered by all the attention currently directed at him. He allowed these people to study him as they wished.

“Princess Changping organized a banquet for such a handsome-looking young man, but forgot to invite us. This made all us juniors truly heartbroken.” A young lady smiled, speaking with a teasing note in her tone. However, the first sentence out from her mouth had cut right to the chase, directly referring to Qin Wentian.

“You guys are so busy everyday, I don’t wish your elders to blame me for delaying your cultivation progress.” Princess Changping smiled.

“Princess, don’t say that. If you invited us, I’m sure our elders would undoubtedly all be very happy.” The beautiful young lady spoke in a gentle manner. After that, she turned to Qin Wentian, “Princess, why don’t you introduce this young man to us? Seeing that he can be invited to this banquet, I’m sure he must be an extraordinary individual.”

There was an underlying meaning within the words in this sentence. It was clear that she already knew who Qin Wentian was, but she still wanted to ask.

“He is Qin Wentian. I’m sure most of you already know his name. That little lass Qing`er tossed him to me, so naturally I must take good care of him,” explained Princess Changping.

“True. This is the first time Princess Qing`er brought someone back to the royal palace. The other kings and marquises are all paying close attention to this matter. Since Brother Qin can obtain Princess Qing`er’s approval, you must surely have a heaven-shaking identity, right? Do you care to share where you come from? And by the way, which immortal emperor are you a descendant of?” The young lady smiled as she turned her gaze towards Qin Wentian.

Princess Changping and the Scarlet Eye Immortal King leisurely sipped their wine as they silently observed. They didn’t plan to help Qin Wentian out of this—they had already reminded him in advance to be prepared in his heart. These were all things he had to face if he wanted to be with Qing`er.

Qin Wentian put down the wine cup in his hand. He stared at the beautiful young lady and replied, “I’m from a particle world, and I don’t have an illustrious identity.”

“Oh?” An expression of interest appeared on the female’s face, looking as though she was surprised and had just learned about this.

“Brother Qin is truly too humorous,” said a young man clad in blue, with brows angled like swords. At this moment he lifted his head and continued, “This is the royal palace of the Evergreen Immortal Empire, a place where kings and marquises reside. Even ordinary immortal kings would find it impossible to enter. If Brother Qin is really from a mere particle world, what qualifications do you have to sit here and enjoy this banquet?”

“That’s right. Since Brother Qin is already here, why must you still hide your identity. Why don’t you just tell us the truth?” another young man added, his eyes gleaming with sharpness. Although none of his words were overly rude, it was clear he was filled with disrespect. He was obviously implying that Qin Wentian shouldn’t even be qualified to enter the royal palace, let alone sitting here enjoying a banquet.

Simple words they may be, but the underlying meaning was clear to all.

Everyone turned their attention to Qin Wentian, wanting to see how he would reply.

“Has everyone here attended banquets before at other important places?” Qin Wentian chose not to immediately reply, and instead, countered with another question.

“Of course,” someone replied.

“That’s something that occurs frequently. In fact we have also been to several banquets organized by very important characters.” The young lady smiled.

“When everyone here attends the banquet, do you all need to report the name of your clan and identity to gain entry?” Qin Wentian asked again.

Those people laughed. One among them then spoke, “That’s natural as well. For some of those places, you’re not allowed to enter even if you have outstanding talent. Without telling people of your identity, you basically have no qualifications to attend any immortal banquets.”

At that last sentence, the person who spoke purposely caused his voice to sound out louder as a smile filled with hidden meaning appeared on his face.

“Oh, so in other words, if your current identity and status were wiped away, then everyone here would have no qualifications to attend any banquets?” Qin Wentian asked. The same matter, presented in another way, caused the meaning it intended to be different as well. When Qin Wentian spoke these words, a light, mocking tone could be heard in his voice.

“Status and identity, these two things are akin to halos of light that are an inherent part of who we are.” Someone laughed, narrowing his eyes as he stared coldly at Qin Wentian.

“That sounds right.” Qin Wentian smiled. “But some people are just so sad, thinking an illustrious identity and status means everything. At the very end, without true strength, they are doomed to end up like jokes in the eyes of others. In any case, I didn’t lie to any of you. I’m indeed from a particle world, but I don’t find this to be a shameful matter. And am I not already sitting here enjoying the banquet? In addition, both Princess Changping and the Marquis have even become good friends of mine. At the very least, they wouldn’t mock me.”

“Oh, but are you forgetting something? The fact that Brother Qin could even step into this place was all because of Princess Qing`er,” the young lady continued.

“You guys are so proud of the identity and status you have, which you only gained as a result of the merits rendered by the senior generations. Could it be that all of you are ridiculing Princess Qing`er’s judgement?” Qin Wentian coldly laughed. “Or in other words, are all of you here jealous of me?”

“Brother Qin truly knows how to joke.” The voice of the young lady had turned cold.

“What a sharp tongue you have. No wonder Princess Qing`er fell for you,” a young man rudely added, and Qin Wentian’s expression froze as he stared at the person who spoke.

“Brother Qin, don’t blame them. They are all very direct people, and they always say the first thing that comes to their mind without ever processing it carefully,” said the young man in blue. “But that person who spoke is right. You were able to gain Princess Qing`er’s favor with flowery words, which caused her to bring you into the royal palace. This is undoubtedly a showcase of your ‘capabilities’.”

“However, this type of ‘capability’ is only fit to be looked upon with scorn,” that person continued, doing nothing to hide the disdain in his voice. His tone grew ruder, but Qin Wentian merely regarded them emotionlessly . These people had intentionally come here to anger him. If Qin Wentian really acted because of this, he would become nothing but a joke.

“Hmph.” Qin Wentian’s lips curled into a smile. Wanting to anger him into taking action against them? What a joke. He sat there, and enjoyed his wine alone as the smile on his face grew wider.

“What are you smiling at?” someone questioned.

“I’m smiling at how superficial and ignorant the descendants of nobility in the royal palace are.” Qin Wentian put down his wine cup. His words instantly caused the eyes of everyone to turn as sharp as swords as they turned to Qin Wentian!