Chapter 43: Not to Be Trifled With

A sudden voice interrupted their conversation, yet it failed to disrupt their train of thought. Exchanging a glance, they smiled at each other and walked one after another toward the bedchamber of Empress White.

Listening to the accounts regarding Tang Yexi, Cheng Xiyun turned slightly pale. Although Pei Shiyin deliberately kept her tone understated and intentionally omitted some of Tang Yexi's indecent assaults against her, Cheng Xiyun still felt extremely nervous.

The nine-tailed fox Tushan originally possessed nine tails. Legend has it that one of them was severed by his wife to forge a whip as a weapon for their son, leaving him with only eight tails. However, Tushan had always been a flirtatious figure with numerous paramours, and no one could ever say for certain who his true wife was.

When he placed the black jade in the palm of his hand and examined it closely, he seemed to notice something unusual, feeling that this piece of black jade possessed a distinct quality.

"Hmph, Wanmei, have you had a change of heart? Why are you taking the outsider's side like this?" Cheng Yihai cast a surprised glance at Bai Wanmei. It certainly did not match her usual personality to defend Pei Shiyin in such a manner.

What he mentioned went a bit too far, especially the concept of "battle formations." Such tactics were only utilized by the troops of the local prefecture's governor and were neither valued nor promoted among the tribes. Jin Bei turned his head to look at him in astonishment, while Bai Nu wore a look of utter perplexity.

The commanding demonic beast at the side grew furious, and just as it was about to bark a command to stop them, a sword suddenly slashed toward it. The blade was smooth as glass, and in an instant, a sharp, searing pain washed over him.

If it were a "knife," this particular "knife" had already reached the tip of his nose. Unfortunately, it was no cold, sharp blade. It was not a knife at all, for Pang Tong caught a whiff of a scent resembling a mixture of floral water and charred charcoal—a delicate fragrance carrying an array of pungent, acrid undertones, followed almost immediately by a smoke so choking it became nearly unbearable.

Seeing Wei Meng's condition, Bai Linghuai suddenly felt a pang of heartache. She gently wiped the sweat from Wei Meng's brow, unable to understand why Wei Meng was suffering from such intense heat while she felt so comfortable herself. She recalled feeling quite warm upon first entering the room and promptly falling asleep, yet why had the heat vanished now?

Wang Changsheng saw the two figures breaking through the door, but not a trace of anger surfaced on his face; instead, a faint smile emerged.

Today, that man in black had actually shown such politeness to Old Man Su, which demonstrated that this old man was no ordinary figure. At the very least, his strength was undoubtedly on par with that man in black. In other words, Old Man Su's background was one that the Wanfu Auction House would not dare to provoke lightly. Consequently, everyone present cast gazes of deep reverence toward Old Man Su.

"This is not a matter of whether one is happy or not. If an ending is destined to be absent, it is far better for even the beginning never to have existed. That way, we can avoid such profound agony," said Ye Ziao.

"No, it's not like that, Boss Yang. I—I beg you, please spare us! We will never set foot in Qingping County again for as long as we live!" Deng He was on the verge of a complete breakdown. Recalling the scene of how Yang Zhengjie had dealt with Zhao Dafa just moments ago, he shuddered involuntarily.

If it were merely a short-term consumption during elixir refinement, or a battle that demanded victory at all costs, Cai Zijin would have been willing to assist Ye Ziao in unleashing a burst of power. Under such circumstances, the damage inflicted upon the body could be selectively ignored.

The crowd discovered that the closer they got to Ye Ziao, the more riddles seemed to shroud him. What manner of mindset could possibly have driven him to his current plight?

As the fleeing radiance subsided, it revealed a青衣道姑 with delicate facial features and a well-proportioned red-robed Daoist priest. Both the cyan-robed Daoist nun and the red-robed Daoist priest were at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Most physical-cultivation sects either retained a large cohort of apothecaries or established cooperative ties with nearby factions that specialized in training them. The apothecaries helped body cultivators concoct the required medicinal formulas and even guided them in the use of auxiliary materials for physical refinement, thereby earning commissions.

Looking at the wine and dishes laid out before the table, Lian Yun knew instantly that either his three uncles or his cousins feared he might feel overly lonely and desolate.

Yet the moment that arrogant and overbearing aura erupted, it was reined in with extreme speed, causing the body of the Wutai Sword to revert once more to its ordinary, unpretentious appearance.

After seeing Yan Ruhyun off, Chu Yuan casually ate some food, cultivated for a brief moment, and feeling his earth-attribute battle strength begin to recover steadily, he immediately headed toward the cellar alongside Wan Qingchun.

The beautiful and arrogant phoenix wheeled and soared through the air before plunging toward me once more. My entire tree trunk instantly trembled uncontrollably. What... could it possibly want to do now?

Qiu Shiyan served as the chief steward of the Five Spirits Courtyard, overseeing all its affairs. He had no direct affiliation with the Hall of Hearing Battles, the Hall of Knowing Battles, or the Hall of Communicating Battles, meaning Chu Yuan's entry into any of those halls would have no impact on him.

It must be said that His Highness the Crown Prince was truly unfortunate. Exhibiting such unprincipled behavior himself, how could he possibly expect his subordinates to possess upright character? Finding his sphere of influence thus diminished, he had only his own habitual lack of discipline to blame for leaving behind handles for Feng Wuji to seize.

Gazing at Liyuan's seemingly angry expression, I bit my lip but remained silent. Was he angry with Lingge? Could it be that she truly had no knowledge of this matter?

Yet as it happened, that senior was none other than the retired former matriarch of the Zijing Valley from many years ago. She was also the sole surviving senior figure of the Zijing Valley, possessing not only immense prestige but also a level of strength and seniority far beyond Yunmeng's reach. Consequently, even Yunmeng lacked the authority to command that senior to do anything.

Lan Feng's abrupt emergence caused Fan Zeng to feel pressure for the very first time, and it even stirred within him a faint sense of excitement and thrill.

"One million two hundred thousand. I've long heard that Cathay has a mountain of jade, but I never found the time to visit. Today, I wish to purchase this stone to try my hand at it," a Black man said with a smile.

A minute later, Yu'er arrived by Guo Huai's side, and with a trace of playful annoyance, she reached out and tapped Guo Huai on the head. Over the past few occasions, he had not once left her without worry. A wicked smile bloomed at the corners of Guo Huai's lips, and disregarding Shui Yunzi's presence, he pulled Yu'er straight into his embrace.

"Naturally, we return first to my Wind God Palace to retrieve Xiangmei's true form, and then head to the South China Sea to beseech Guanyin Bodhisattva," I replied.

The second option was to completely absorb the demonic energy, righteous energy, and spiritual energy within the dragon vein. Once the dragon vein was devoid of internal energy, one would no longer need to worry about the problem of energy turbulence. However, doing so would cause the dragon vein to lose its effect of suppressing the fortune of the Central Plains, equivalent to the Central Plains suffering the loss of a sacred artifact dedicated to suppressing national destiny.

Had the entrance to the valley been fortified with formations, preventing Ye Feng from entering, Zhong Wanchou could have relied on his own methods and felt secure. But now that Ye Feng had already breached the perimeter while he himself had made no preparations whatsoever, leaving him unable to deploy any of his techniques, if Ye Feng harbored any malicious intentions, wouldn't his entire family be reduced to fish on a chopping board, completely at the mercy of others?