I'd Like to See Who Dares Bully My Husband!

As soon as the words left her mouth, Su Mei waved her hand. Yang Qing struck in an instant, his boundless immortal essence immediately binding Li Guanqi to the spot! Su Mei barked furiously toward the flickering projection, "If you dare shatter the Xutian Stone, I will torture him to death!" Sure enough, Pengluo froze the instant those words rang out. Li Guanqi's face turned grim in the extreme. The negotiations were thoroughly broken. All they could hope for now was that the Lin family's Golden Immortal reinforcement would arrive quickly. Yet... until then, he could only stall for time and avoid enraging them. If that woman Su Mei decided to slaughter them before the reinforcement arrived, they would be utterly helpless... Li Guanqi drew a deep breath, already steeling himself to endure humiliation today. "Uncle Lin, no matter what happens in a moment, do not lose your composure. I can take it." Lin Jinting's eyes bulged with fury, his teeth nearly grinding to powder. His body trembled faintly, yet he said nothing. Lin Shengwu looked at Li Guanqi, his gaze shifting repeatedly. For the first time, he realized this junior was truly extraordinary. Talent? He had seen far too many talented youths in his lifetime. Yet someone possessing such mental fortitude, shrewd depth, and sheer endurance was someone he had never encountered before. Needless to say, in the Human Spirit Realm, a man like Li Guanqi must have been a towering titan. And now... he could instantly discern the situation and had already prepared himself mentally to suffer humiliation today. A mind with such forbearance was bound to achieve great things in the future! Still, Li Guanqi was not one to simply resign himself to suffering. Looking straight at Su Mei, he said plainly, "Shall we talk?" Su Mei aimed the red-hot branding iron at Li Guanqi's eyes, her face dark as she demanded in a chilling voice, "Talk about what?" Li Guanqi was trapped in place by chains of immortal essence. Both the essence within him and his sea of consciousness were firmly suppressed, rendering him unable to mobilize a single scrap of power. Yet he spoke softly with an air as calm and unhurried as drifting clouds. "I have already stated my previous terms. They granted Xutian Palace all the dignity and practical benefit it could ask for. "The terms were simple. "Yet you refused them. What, then, do you propose? "I advise you not to disregard Xutian Palace's interests merely for your so-called pride and arrogance. Clash of great factions... is not conducted like this." At his words, Su Mei's eyelids twitched faintly. Without hesitation, she shoved the branding iron directly against his cheekbone! *Sizzle—! Hiss, crackle, hiss!* A wisp of dark smoke rose. The fiery branding iron seared through the flesh of his cheek, burning straight through meat and gristle to brand itself against Li Guanqi's immortal bone. Burned flesh clung to the iron, and the sickening scent of roasting meat wafted through the air. Yet Li Guanqi's cheek merely twitched; he did not utter a single sound. "Stop! Do you have any idea what you are doing?!" Lin Jinting bellowed in fury, yet he too was pinned in place under the crushing pressure of a Golden Immortal. A violent chain of immortal essence abruptly pierced through his shoulder, hoisting him up to dangle from a roof beam! Su Mei tilted her head back to look at the man, sneering, "Whatever I, Su Mei, choose to do, it is not your place to lecture me." With that, she turned back toward Li Guanqi, whose forehead was beaded with cold sweat. "You... have quite the backbone, don't you? "Indeed, everything you said was correct. In fact, the plan you offered was the best one." Her tone shifted, and the hand holding the branding iron slowly twisted. "Yet... why should Xutian Palace accommodate you? "Hm? Tell me! Compared to Xutian Palace, what kind of worthless thing do you think you are?!" Pain! Piercing, bone-deep agony! Li Guanqi stared fixedly at the woman, fury roiling relentlessly in his heart. Within his body, faint wisps of flame were quietly gathering, undetected by Yang Qing. This power belonged solely to Shiwu, and the old man had not suppressed it. Li Guanqi looked at Su Mei, his eyes brimming with frigid murderous intent. "Xutian Palace, your father... have you always relied on others like this? "How pathetic. How laughable! "If you were not the daughter of Xutian Palace's master, what kind of thing would you be? "When I was slaying demons and butchering immortals, who knows where you were still playing house? "Had we met in open combat out in the world, killing you would be like slaughtering a dog! "You rely on nothing but your background and your father, yet you truly take yourself for some chosen daughter of heaven?" At this point, Li Guanqi paused briefly, a mocking smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he looked at her. "Su Mei, what makes you so proud? "Why do you look down on lower-realm cultivators from your high perch? "Could it be jealousy? "Jealous that we so-called lowly wretches are more capable than you? That our wills are far more unyielding than yours?" Su Mei's chest heaved violently at his words. Yet in the very next breath, an uncanny, dreadful fire flared into a blazing inferno! In an instant, flames bored into her seven facial apertures! *Clatter!* The branding iron dropped to the floor. The scorching fire instantly incinerated the woman's robes, ruthlessly devouring her flesh, blood, and meridians! "Aaargh!" A shrill scream pierced the air. Li Guanqi's eyes were shot through with crimson veins. Yang Qing's expression changed drastically. He severed the connection between the two with a swipe of his hand. Immortal essence surged violently as he raised his palm, forcefully suppressing and expelling every trace of flame from within her body. Even so, more than half of Su Mei's skin, flesh, and meridians had already been burned to ruin. Yang Qing hurriedly channeled his immortal essence to soothe and realign her meridians, pulling out a medicinal pill and feeding it to her. Having regained a sliver of strength, Su Mei trembled all over. Pointing at Li Guanqi like a shrieking shrew, she roared, "I want you dead! "Aren't you an ascended cultivator?! "I will make every lower-realm dog watch how anyone who crosses me, Su Mei, dies!" Wrenching herself free from the elder's hold, Su Mei seized Li Guanqi by the hair, dragging and hauling him out of the hall. Moments later, a line of cultivators stood on the plaza outside the Xutian Palace hall, dressed in tattered rags, emaciated to the bone, and covered from head to toe in whip scars. Their eyes were lifeless, their expressions numb, and their hair withered like dry straw. *Thud!* Li Guanqi was hurled onto the center of the plaza. The woman had fetched a large, conical-spiked hammer from who knew where. With her hair disheveled and her face terribly disfigured by burns, she sneered, "Just wait. That spirit in your projection will be captured very soon. "Once I have the Xutian Stone, every last one of you will die here! Every single one of you! "Pah! "Disgusting lower-realm vermin, to dare harm me!" Lin Jinting and Lin Shengwu remained bound where they were, their eyes filled with agonizing urgency. The man shut his eyes tight, unable to bear looking out the door, and could only pray in silence. *Hurry... I hope they make it in time!* Lin Shengwu said in a grim whisper, "This woman's mind is thoroughly warped. To harbor such bitter malice toward ascended cultivators from the lower realms... "I fear Congxin will suffer terrible torment." Seeing this scene unfold, the gathered slaves felt a chill seep into their very bones. Many among them had been crippled by that very woman wielding that very hammer. Yet not a hint of hatred dared show in their eyes; they merely averted their gazes in timid terror. With disheveled hair, Su Mei looked around at the crowd. "Widen your eyes and take a good, hard look! This is the fate of lowly vermin like you! "His name is Li Congxin, the very man who forced the sect master of the Tianhua Sword Sect to apologize! Impressive, isn't he? "Hahahahaha! So what if he's impressive? Isn't he still lying right here like a dead dog, branded with my slave mark?!" With that, she swung the hammer and brought it smashing down viciously against Li Guanqi's ankle! *Crack! Crunch!* The bones of his ankle shattered completely. The hammer was inscribed with a Peak-Shattering formation, allowing it to pulverize Li Guanqi's ankle with ease. Li Guanqi let out a muffled grunt, cold sweat drenching his brow, yet he bit down hard on his teeth and uttered not a word. Lowering his head, he let the icy ground cool his burning thoughts. He dared not invoke the sword spirit's power within Xutian Palace. This place was far too conspicuous... *** Hundreds of li away, Pengluo was fleeing in sheer desperation. A good hundred figures were hurtling toward it in relentless pursuit. By now, wounds covered its body. Had it not possessed the ability to shift through space, it would have perished long ago. Tears brimmed in its eyes as it bolted forward, consumed by a single thought: *Run! I can't let them catch me!* For half an incense stick of time, it fled without stopping, having lost count of how many times its arms and legs had been severed. Just as it grew utterly exhausted and was pushed to its absolute limit, it suddenly slammed into someone's body! *Thump!* Pengluo spun around to run, only to freeze dead in its tracks. Standing in place, it rubbed its eyes. It pulled a pendant from the void, and seeing the brilliant, ever-flickering radiance shifting upon the pendant, it could no longer hold back its tears. Clutching the stone to its chest, Pengluo wailed at the top of its lungs and threw itself into the woman's embrace. Meng Wanshu frowned, her eyes filled with heartache as she looked at the battered, wound-covered Pengluo. Reaching out to scoop it into her arms, she asked in a gentle voice, "Pengluo, what happened? Where is Brother Qi?" "Uwah... wah... Mistress..." "Master, Master has been captured by the people from Xutian Palace! "There's a woman... That woman even poked Master's face with a branding iron!" Meng Wanshu's expression grew darker than it had ever been! She looked up at the cultivators charging toward them from all sides. Behind her, an elder narrowed his eyes and flicked his sleeve. In an instant, a rain of blood filled the sky! Every single black-robed pursuer dissolved into a cloud of bloody mist, vanishing between heaven and earth without even a sound of detonation. Meng Wanshu placed Pengluo onto her shoulder and spoke slowly, her voice dripping with murderous intent. "Immortal Elder Yu, if I raise havoc in the Fuyu Lands... can the Jiuding Heavenly Palace protect me?" The elder beside her threw his head back and laughed heartily! Flicking his sleeves, he clasped his hands behind his back, his face radiating boundless, invincible confidence. "Rest assured, Saintess. Even if you punch a hole straight through the heavens of the Fuyu Lands, this old man—and the Jiuding Heavenly Palace—shall fear nothing and no one!" Meng Wanshu nodded gently, lifting her chin as she said softly, "Very well. "Then please accompany me to Xutian Palace, Immortal Elder. "I'd like to see who dares bully my husband!" Perched upon her shoulder, Pengluo glanced at the ethereal, transcendent old man and couldn't help but shudder. *Good heavens... An externalized Void World Seal... The Immortal Venerable realm!*