“INSOLENT!”
A thunderous roar erupted from within Jiang Wuhen’s temporary palace.
An incomparably powerful aura crashed down.
Outside the great hall, Lin Ziyan’s delicate body flinched, and her brow furrowed sharply.
Before her, Dragon Peng Venerable stood radiating an imposing presence, his cold eyes fixed on her.
“The imperial son’s palace is no place for your theatrics. Get lost!”
With the furious shout, Dragon Peng Venerable raised his hand and brought a palm crashing toward Lin Ziyan.
But at that very moment—
“Hold!”
Xiao Chen rushed over from nearby and called out urgently. “Senior, please give me face and show mercy. Spare her this once, and I’ll persuade her to leave immediately.”
Dragon Peng Venerable raised an eyebrow.
This Xiao Chen may be a junior, but his talent is extraordinary and he’s someone my master values. I’ll be working alongside him for a long time to come. Suppressing this woman is merely for show before my master. There’s no need to offend Xiao Chen over it.
With that thought, Dragon Peng Venerable nodded. His tone was stiff. “This woman disrespects the rules and shows no regard for the master. She deserves severe punishment. However, since the young friend pleads on her behalf, I’ll let it slide this time.”
“Next time, there will be no mercy!”
With that, Dragon Peng Venerable swept his sleeve and stepped aside.
“Many thanks, Senior!”
Xiao Chen cupped his fists to Dragon Peng Venerable, then turned to Lin Ziyan.
“Brother Jiang has already released you from serving as his maidservant. This isn’t where you belong. Go back to the Divine Maiden Sect with Senior Yun Lan…”
Xiao Chen urged.
But before he could finish, Lin Ziyan shot him an icy glance.
“Back in the clan, my father never disciplined me. In the sect, my Shizun never restrained me.”
“Xiao Chen, who do you think you are, trying to lecture me?”
“I have my own plans. I don’t need you nosing into my business, much less making some grand sacrifice on my behalf!”
Lin Ziyan said, brushing past Xiao Chen. She raised her head toward the great hall and called out in a clear voice.
“Jiang Wuhen! Didn’t you keep saying you wanted me as your maidservant?”
“I’m here now. Why are you cowering inside, afraid to show your face?”
“Could it be you’re scared that if we meet again in battle, you’ll lose to me?”
Before her words faded—
BOOM!
In an instant, the hall doors burst open.
A wave of fist force, roaring like a dragon and snarling like a tiger, thundered toward her.
Lin Ziyan’s heart lurched. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned her purple longsword.
The blade swept through the air, and sword qi blazed like a rainbow.
The terrifying fist force shattered under the sword qi.
But the shockwave of the dispersing power still sent Lin Ziyan reeling back more than ten zhang.
Not far away, Jiang Wuhen emerged from the great hall, his black brocade robes billowing in the gust, with Mu Yunxi attending at his side.
Seeing this, Lin Ziyan narrowed her eyes.
What a domineering fist!
Just a casual punch, and it carries such power. These past few days, he’s grown stronger again…
She stepped forward slowly, then flicked her wrist and slung the sword across her back.
“Didn’t you say you wanted me as your maidservant?”
“Well, I’m here!”
Lin Ziyan studied Jiang Wuhen, her expression full of prideful expectation.
It seemed she was waiting for Jiang Wuhen to formally invite her.
Jiang Wuhen regarded her and said lightly.
“No need. Go back.”
“We don’t need you here.”
Joking aside, Lin Ziyan was his bargaining chip for Xiao Chen.
Right in front of Xiao Chen, how could Jiang Wuhen go back on his word and take her on again?
Yes, this successor of the Azure Nether Sword Emperor had some ability. But how could she compare with a bona fide son of fortune?
With that, Jiang Wuhen walked past Lin Ziyan.
His gaze never lingered on her for even a fraction of a second.
That cold disregard struck a deep blow to Lin Ziyan’s pride.
“Jiang Wuhen, you… stop right there!”
“Three days ago, in front of everyone, you demanded I become your maidservant.”
“Now, with one casual dismissal, you want to kick me aside.”
“What am I supposed to do with what’s left of my dignity!”
Lin Ziyan shouted.
Jiang Wuhen, his back to her, waved a hand dismissively.
“That’s your problem. It has nothing to do with me.”
“I only spared you out of respect for Brother Xiao, since you’re his fiancée.”
“I have urgent matters to attend to now. If you keep pestering me, don’t blame me for being discourteous!”
His steps never faltered. With Mu Yunxi, Xiao Chen, and the others, he strode off in a single direction.
Not far away, nine pure white jade flood dragons, snow-pure and serene, lay prostrate on the ground. Behind them stood an ornate carriage magnificent enough to rival a palace.
On both sides of the carriage stood rows of fully armed, armored Heavenly One Divine Guards, their expressions solemn and their eyes burning like torches.
“Nine pure-blooded jade flood dragons at the reincarnation realm!”
“Nearly a hundred elite experts at the life and death realm!”
“That carriage is wreathed in immortal qi, with both offensive and defensive capabilities. Its interior even contains its own space. It must be at least a venerable artifact!”
“Master, this is…”
Dragon Peng Venerable gazed at it all, his expression puzzled.
“These nine jade flood dragons and the ‘Jade Emperor Carriage’ are my Shizun’s conveyance. She’s lending them to me for the trip to the Yaoguang Sacred Ground.”
“All of you, come with me.”
Jiang Wuhen said lightly.
“The Yaoguang Sacred Ground? I heard the Yaoguang ancestor died under a nirvana tribulation months ago. Now they’re leaderless and besieged by multiple powers. By my reckoning, their last line of defense will fall within days.”
“It’s total chaos over there right now. Brother Jiang, are we going to fish in troubled waters and exploit the situation?”
Xiao Chen asked.
“You’ll find out when we get there.”
Jiang Wuhen smiled mysteriously, neither confirming nor denying.
The group boarded the Jade Emperor Carriage. Dragon Peng Venerable stood respectfully at Jiang Wuhen’s side, his brow creasing slightly as he glanced to one side.
“Master, that little girl from the Divine Maiden Sect… she followed us aboard…”
“Should I throw her off?”
Dragon Peng Venerable asked carefully.
“Let her be. If she wants to tag along, so be it.”
“But Brother Xiao, do me a favor and remind your fiancée. She can follow, but if she dares to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong and ruin my plans, I won’t be polite.”
Jiang Wuhen said frankly.
“Understood!”
Xiao Chen nodded.
“Then let’s move out…”
Jiang Wuhen waved his hand. The nine jade flood dragons raised their voices to the heavens in a long howl, and the Jade Emperor Carriage radiated a faint white glow.
The next instant, it soared into the sky.
Jiang Wuhen gazed at the distant horizon, the corner of his mouth curving upward.
“Yaoguang Sacred Ground… Lin Chen…”
“Will my arrival… defy all of your expectations?”
…
Eastern Divine Immortal Domain. The far north.
Within a secret vault buried under snow and ice, a young man with a resolute face sat cross-legged in midair.
An ancient stone stele covered in runes hovered above his head, pressing down on an ice talisman that squirmed restlessly before him.
The ice talisman bore equally intricate ancient patterns, patterns no one could comprehend, as if they recorded the mysteries of heaven and earth’s origin.
With wisps of cold energy flowing from the ice talisman into the young man’s body, his aura grew ever more terrifying.
Meanwhile, the ice talisman before him turned increasingly faint, almost translucent.
But just then, he suddenly stopped, frowning as he examined the ice talisman, and let out a soft sigh.
“What a pity. At my current cultivation, I still can’t fully refine this ‘profound ice heavenly talisman.’ Otherwise, I could have powered straight through, opened the great life and death apertures in my body, and broken through to the life and death realm!”
“Still, seventy percent refined is enough!”
“By my reckoning, it’s been several months since the Yaoguang ancestor fell. The Yaoguang Sacred Ground must be at its breaking point.”
“This is the perfect moment for me to make my entrance!”
“As long as I break their siege, everyone in the Yaoguang Sacred Ground, from top to bottom, will look to me, Lin Chen, as their leader.”
“And Senior Sister Su will even throw herself into my arms. Hehe. The immortal jade spirit body will pave a smooth road all the way to my path of proving the great emperor dao!”
Muttering to himself, Lin Chen waved his hand and put away the incompletely refined profound ice heavenly talisman, then walked out of this secret realm.
He looked toward the Yaoguang Sacred Ground, his gaze darkening.
“The Tianxuan Sacred Ground, the Tianji Sacred Ground, the Qin Clan, and the various rogue cultivators. None of them have a great emperor anchoring them, but they do have nirvana realm experts in the field. With my current abilities, I’m not enough to suppress them all.”
“Time to call in some reinforcements…”
As he spoke, Lin Chen flicked his wrist. A talisman radiating a dark glow slowly materialized in his palm.
